Italian Beef

This is one of my favorite ways to prepare stew meat.  I like to put things together, put it in the freezer, then let it marinate as it defrosts.

In a bowl, mix a few tablespoons of olive oil, a few tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, one small can of tomato sauce, one can of ginger ale and one packet of Italian dressing mix.  Add two to three pounds of stew meat.  I divided it up into five individual meals, put into baggies and into the freezer.

On the day I want to have this for dinner, I will put it into the fridge first thing in the morning to start defrosting.  By lunchtime, I will dump the bag into the crock pot and cook on low for four to six hours.  Sometimes I don't remember to put it in the crock pot until early afternoon, so I will put it on high for three to four hours.

It turns out tender and flavorful.


Pamm





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Meatloaf Muffins

I was out of meatloaf muffins (a favorite lunch of mine) and had some Italian flavored ground turkey (behind the regular ground turkey in the photo above).  I wasn't sure the stuffing and Italian flavors would mix well, but was willing to give it a try.

I mixed both turkey rolls, two boxes of stuffing mix, two eggs, and two cups of water.  I made 24 "muffins" using my ice cream scoop.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

After they cooled, I packaged two in a baggie, then put them in the freezer . . .

. . . all but two.  I couldn't wait to try with the Italian seasonings.  It turned out GREAT!  I'm happy to be stocked up on my lunches.



Pamm





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Breakfast Strada

Originally, I wanted to make Breakfast in a Muffin, but on this same day I knew I needed to use my Muffin Pan for for another recipe, so I decided to make this in my crock pot like last time, but use my Breakfast in a Muffin recipe instead of my Breakfast Strada recipe.  Both recipes are very close, just a few differences in how you put it together.

Cook a one pound of sausage (I used turkey sausage).  Cube a loaf of French bread and put in a large bowl.  In a small bowl, mix one dozen eggs, 2 cups of milk, garlic powder, onion powder, and onion flakes.  In the large bowl toss the bread with 2 cups of shredded cheese, the cooked sausage.  Pour the egg mixture over the bread mixture and mix well. 

Put the mixture in a greased crock pot.  Cook on low for six hours or high three to four hours.

It turned out great.  I put big scoops (toddler meal portions) into quart-sized bags and into the freezer.  The day I wanted to serve this for a toddler lunch, I popped it out of the freezer and dumped the bag into a mini crock pot first thing in the morning.  I stirred it a couple of times.  It was defrosted and heated through by lunch time and the toddlers (and I) gobbled it all up.




Pamm





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Spare Set

Just wondering if anyone else has a spare set of containers?  The ones I have, pictured below, get used when the others are all full elsewhere.  It is most important to label this set; masking tape and a Sharpie marker is what I use.

Pamm





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Cooking Day

My freezer was nearly empty--a sight I hardly see.  I started to fill it up again . . .

Crockpot Breakfast Strada

Meatloaf Muffins

Italian Beef

Homemade Dog Food

Watch Leftovers On Purpose this week for more details.



Pamm





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Taco Corn Muffins

I wondered what would happen if I added taco meat and cheese to corn muffins.

I made two boxes of corn muffin mix as directed.  I added about a cup and a half of taco-seasoned meat and a cup or so of shredded cheese.

I baked them in the muffin tin using the instructions on the muffin mix box, but baking a few more minutes, until done.

They came out golden brown.  I put them in plastic baggies and into the freezer.

The toddlers love them!  The only thing is they fell apart and made a crumbly mess.  I think I will try a cup or less of meat next time.







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Have You Washed Yours?

Do you use reuseable grocery bags?  Have you washed them?

There is a lot of attention given to this subject lately.  Here's a great article from Connect Green about why you need to wash  your bags.

All of my bags say to hand wash, but I've had great success washing in the machine on gentle.

I hang them to dry.

I started using these bags to be a little more green, but it turns out I really like using them.  Items seem more manageable to carry to and from the car than using the standard plastic bags.

Pamm






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Delicious Dessert

Delicious Dessert appeared for many holiday meals during my childhood and didn't last very long! 

1 stick butter or margarine, melted

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup finely-chopped walnuts

2 eight-ounce packages softened cream cheese

1 cup powdered sugar

2 eight-ounce containers Cool Whip

3 cups milk

2 small boxes chocolate instant pudding mix

In medium bowl, mix butter, nuts, and flour.  Press evenly into ungreased 9 x 13-inch pan.  Bake for 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven until golden.  Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

In a medium mixing bowl, cream together powdered sugar and cream cheese.  Fold in one 8-ounces of Cool Whip.  Spread over cooled crust.

Beat milk and two packaged pudding mix.  Spread over cream cheese layer.  Spread one 8-ounce container Cool Whip over pudding layer.

Refrigerate several hours or overnight until ready to serve.

It tasted just like my childhood!  Yum!








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I thought I had . . .

. . . some frozen pastry, but it was unusable when I opened it.  The problem was I had already cooked the ground beef, mixed it with barbecue sauce and had cheese standing by for my next batch of Beef N Cheese Fold-Over.

I needed a quick crust, so the first thing I thought of was to make a biscuit dough.

I got out my  Betty Crocker Cookbook and followed the recipe for baking powder biscuits.  I made a double batch of biscuit dough since I had cooked two pounds of hamburger.

I wanted to make six individual "Fold-Overs", so I cut the dough into six portions.  (There are 5 portions in the photo because I had already used one).

I rolled each portion out into a rough circle.  I put 1/6th of the meat mixture in the middle and sprinkled with grated cheese.  I then folded the dough over the meat and cheese.

I had the oven preheated to 400 degrees.  I baked the fold-overs for 25 to 30 minutes, until they were brown and the biscuit dough was cooked.

Each one fit nicely in a one-quart baggie.  I put 5 in the freezer and had one for dinner.  This is one item I don't use a crock pot to reheat.  I defrost, then reheat in the microwave.

It turned out great and extra yummy with the homemade bread.  Sometimes a mishap makes cooking even better than you expected!


Pamm





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