Frugal Menu Mamas

Doesn’t the title make you want to eat this NOW?!  I happen to love the Parmesan-Crusted Chicken at Longhorn Steakhouse and have had something like it at Olive Garden, so when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it.  The recipe is from Kraft Foods and I will be making it again!

The chicken was super flavorful and the cream sauce was delicious!  I changed the ingredients a bit based on what I already had at home.  I used regular cream cheese instead of the chive & onion, probably would have had a little more flavor with that.  I also could not find the Ritz crackers that I knew I had so I used plain bread crumbs.  Guess what?  Found the Ritz crackers a few days ago.  :)  And I made the brown rice according to the Kraft directions….did NOT work, I ran out of liquid and it got crunchy.  Next time I will just follow the package directions substituting 1 can of chicken broth for some of the water.

Oh well, you live and learn, right?  I now know what to do for this recipe and it will probably be fairly regular around here.  I hope you enjoy it too!

Parmesan-Crusted Chicken in Cream Sauce

You are going to love this!  Perhaps I am becoming somewhat of a “copycat” recipe person.  But you know?  Its rather random.  I don’t copycat super famous recipes.  They are just recipes that I love and start to get a craving for.  And I can’t just go out to eat all the time to get the recipes.  So far, I have perfected (I think) my version of Longhorn Steakhouse’s Strawberry Salad.  I am still working on finding and perfecting Garfield’s Restaurant’s Loaded Baked Potato Soup.  (I am trying another recipe tomorrow.)  And this week we tried a new one…and it was delicious!

We have a Greek deli next door to the building where our church gathers.  When some of our friends suggested we eat there, me, being a picky eater, turned my nose up.  The only thing Greek that I know I like is Greek salad.  :)  The gyros idea did not appeal.  Well, we went there and I tried this thing called something like “Greek Salad on a Pita”.  I ordered it like this, “I’d like the Greek Salad on a Pita.  I don’t want onions or olives or tomatoes or peppers.  So, basically I just want the lettuce, chicken, and dressing.  Oh and the feta…I LOVE feta!”  The gal smiled and brought me exactly what I ordered with extra feta and it was fabulous!  I basically have been craving it ever since (and I’m getting hungry now, just typing about it).  So, I made my own.  But the Greek deli used these “pitas” that were more delicious than any I’d ever eaten.  So, first I had to find those.

I found them at Publix and they looked like this:

When using them, I suggest using the method on the back of the package where you heat it in oil in a pan.  It made the pitas more pliable and they didn’t tear apart.

Then, I bought a bottle of Kraft brand Greek Vinaigrette Dressing.  I cut some chicken breasts into strips and marinated them in the dressing.  Then I cooked them in a skillet until done.  Then, I warmed the bread.  I piled on chicken, feta, lettuce, and dressing.  It was delicious!  I think my husband would have appreciated some black olives, onions, and peppers, so we’ll have to do that next time.

Super easy meal!  You could freeze the chicken in the dressing and have it ready to go at any time!  It was delicious…try it!

Do you remember when I talked about “dump” chicken recipes?  Well, since then we’ve been trying a few.  I must say that our favorite so far has been the Lemon Garlic Chicken.  It was one of the last packages of dump chicken I had left in the freezer.  I pulled it out this week and plopped it in the opened.  Oh, it was tasty!  The kids even loved it, which is HUGE at our house!  Now, it really didn’t have any “goop” to put over rice, so next time I will not plan plain white rice with it.  Anyway, I thought I should feature it today because it is so delicious.  This recipe is from Soopermom’s Dump Chicken pages.

By the way, I wish I had a photo of this lovely and delicious chicken, but we ate it too fast.  Sorry!

Lemon & Garlic “DUMP” Chicken
2 Cloves Garlic — chopped (I used pressed garlic)
4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Chopped Parsley (I used dried parsley)
3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
1/8 Teaspoon Pepper
1 1/2 Pounds Chicken Pieces

For immediate cooking: Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Place all ingredients into a
large baking dish, turn chicken to coat. Bake until chicken juices run
clear (45-60 minutes for chicken pieces, or 20-30 minutes for chicken
breasts).

For freezing: Place all ingredients into a 1 Gallon freezer bag. Lay flat
in freezer.

To thaw and cook: Take the bag out of the freezer the night before, make
sure the baggie is completely closed. Place the Bag on a shelf furthest
from the freezer (It works best if the bag is laying flat, although this
may not be the best option with a side-by-side fridge/freezer). Preheat the
oven to 350 F. Empty the contents of the bag into a large baking dish and
bake until the juices run clear (45-60 minutes for chicken pieces, or 20-30
minutes for chicken breasts).

Enjoy!

Have a great weekend!

Okay-have any of you ever made old-fashioned chicken and dumplings?  I don’t really remember my mom making it when I was a kid (Did you Mom?).  Last winter, my friend Rhonda made it for our freezer cooking co-op and I really enjoyed them.  So I asked her to send me the recipe.  I got it a few weeks ago (Thanks Rhonda!) and I made a double batch last weekend (sorry, no photo).  It was delicious and I can honestly say, I LOVE chicken & dumplings!  It does include two of my favorite foods:  chicken and “bread”.  It is almost a soup type recipe.  It does freeze well, but I have a few thoughts….

#1-Boiling two whole chickens is a tight fit in my largest pot.

#2-This is probably fairly frugal with the few ingredients in it.

#3-My pinched off drop dumplings crumbled a little, I’m wondering if rolled dumplings would hold together better.

#4-This was not easy to make for me this first time through, but now I know what to expect  and can plan better next time.

After all that, here is the delicious recipe:

OLD-FASHIONED CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS

1 (2 1/2 to 3 lb.) broiler-fryer

1 tsp. salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup buttermilk

2 quarts water

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. baking soda

3 Tbs. shortening

-Place chicken in a Dutch oven; add water and 1 tsp. salt.  Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour, or until tender.  Remove chicken and let it cool slightly.  Bone chicken, cutte meat into bite-size pieces (it was easier for me just to tear it); set aside.  Bring broth to a boil; add pepper.

-Combine flour, baking soda, and 1/2 tsp. salt; cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Add buttermilk, stirring with a fork until dry ingredients are moistened.  Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead lightly 4 or 5 times.

-For drop dumplings, pat dough to 1/4 inch thickness.  Pinch off dough in 1 1/2 inche pieces and drop into boiling broth.  Reduce heat to medium-low and cook 8 to 10 minutes, or to desired consistency, stirring occasionally.  Stir in chicken.

-For rolled dumplings, roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness.  Cut dough into 4 x 1/2 inch pieces.  Drop dough, one piece at a time, into boiling broth, gently stirring after each addition.

Have a great weekend!

Welcome to Freezer Friday!  Have I got some great ideas for you today!  First the recipes, then the articles and other posts…

With Pillsbury deals being so great lately, I cannot resist buying crescent rolls and biscuits.  I know they aren’t that good for you, but I love them!  I try to buy the reduced fat whenever possible.  

So, I decided to try this recipe for Chicken Crescents with my crescent rolls.  They were pretty good.  I used onion powder instead of the chopped onion.  I guess I was too conservative because I think they needed a little more flavor.  Anyway, they froze well and we ate them this week (I know–NOT on my menu plan, that’s another topic for another day).  They were pretty easy to make and it gave me some ideas:

-you could make these with leftover chopped chicken from a whole chicken or leftover turkey from a whole turkey (Thanksgiving leftovers would be perfect!)

-I wonder if you could do this with some of the Pampered Chef ring/braid recipes.  (Go to the website and look for any recipes ending in ring or braid.  I used to be a PC consultant.  I enjoyed the ring/braid recipes, but you can’t freeze a whole ring or braid…but you could do it the way these are packaged.)

-I should try this with one of our favorite recipes…ham and cheese pockets.

So, my son and I made 21 pockets today and we will freeze them once they cool.  I think it will work great.  And how nice to have a convenience food like that in the freezer.  I am hoping we can just pop out 5 or 6 as needed, not the whole bunch.  Its like homemade Hot Pockets!

All that to say, when you are looking for freezer recipes…they don’t have to be just recipes that are indicated as such.  Experiment with favorites of your family!  Money Saving Mom did a freezer cooking day this week and she posted about doing the best you can today.

So, here are few posts I read recently that are about freezer cooking and are worth reading if you freezer cook:

-Freezer Tips

-Maximize Your Freezer’s Potential and Minimize Freezer Burn

-Freezer Cooking Day (MSM)

-Freezer Cooking Day (life as a mom)

-Freezer Cooking on the Cheap

Remember, I don’t typically freezer cook all in one day like the ladies I linked to above.  It still intimidates me a little bit.  But I do make double batches of a few recipes each week and freeze the extra.  I do have days where I make one or two things just for the freezer when I have spare time.  And my freezer is so stocked that I can eat one or two freezer meals every week this month.  I am trying to make sure I put into the freezer almost as much as I take out each week.  :)  So far, I’m doing great!  :)  But if you want to try one big freezer day, check out Once a Month Mom.  She puts out a plan every month and breaks it down…she makes it look easy! 

Have a great weekend!

Freezer Friday is here!  Sorry it took me so long, I was working on my freezer stuff to show you!

Remember my post about “dump” chicken a few weeks ago?  Well, boneless, skinless chicken breasts were on sale this week.  So, I did a mini-”dump” chicken freezer cooking session.  (I did prep the chicken like I suggested here first.)  I made 4 different kinds made into 7 different meals going into the freezer.  I made two sets of the chicken in Italian dressing for chicken brushetta.  The other three recipes were from this “dump” chicken site that I mention a few weeks ago.  I made one set of “sticky chicky” and two sets each of lemon  and garlic chicken and honey glazed chicken.  I chose these recipes because I happen to have all the ingredients on hand.  Let me tell you, it was super easy! It took me less than an hour and I have 7 meals ready to go in the freezer.  I’ll let you know how they taste after we try them.

You seriously need to do this!  Chicken is on sale until tomorrow at our local Kroger and until Tuesday at the local Publix.  Go buy 10 lbs worth and make up some meals.  It will save you time and money.

I’ll announce the winner of my giveaway (video camera) tomorrow!

Do you remember this post about fajitas?

Well, I finally tried it!  Last week, we had fajitas for dinner.  I made a double batch and we froze half.  This is what I started with and how it looked all ready for the freezer:

Now, I used prepackaged fajita seasoning.  I followed the directions on the back.  I did cook the chicken, but not the veggies.  I am hoping just to dump the whole thing into a skillet for a few minutes after thawing and have a quick, easy dinner.  I am sure some of you have some homemade seasoning recipes that would make it a little cheaper, so please share if you do.  I hope this inspires you to try it yourself!  So easy and delicious!  Oh and a BIG plus for me, I only have to cut onions once for two meals!  (My eyes really burned!)

Have a great weekend!

Is it Friday again already?!  It is taking me a little while to get into this school routine.  My big giveaway will begin Monday and I’ll just say this, it has to do with being frugal and having friends.  Stay tuned!

Just as a disclaimer, I rarely buy prepackaged frozen foods.  However, I got this one last week for FREE after rebate, so we tried it.  It was pretty good.  And it was super easy.  It already had the tortillas.  All I did was warm the chicken/veggie mixture in a skillet, warm the tortillas in the microwave, and add cheese and sour cream.  Super simple!  Then it got me thinking…I bet I could turn fajitas into a freezer meal!!!  I am really excited about this because Hubby LOVES fajitas.  I haven’t done it yet, but here are some links to fajita recipes to try:

-Chicken Fajita Kits

-Freeze Ahead Steak Fajitas

-Steak Fajitas

-Three Pepper Fajita Chicken

-Baked Chicken Fajitas

I couldn’t believe there was so much out there and that I just discovered freezing fajitas!

Have you ever tried this, please tell us about it by leaving a comment below!

This week’s freezer recipe is from the “Don’t Panic, Dinner’s in the Freezer” book.  I especially like this recipe because it takes no cooking before freezing.  I prepared it and got it in the freezer a month or so ago and we finally tried it last week.  It was super easy, delicious, and full of flavor.  It was a 4 thumbs up from our family.  In fact, it was so good that we all cleaned our plates.  See?!

It was so yummy and so easy, just try it!  And by the way, it says to grill it.  We are without a grill at the moment, so I just sauteed it in a skillet.                   Without further ado:

Buttermilk Herb Chicken Breasts

1 cup buttermilk

1 Tbs. Dijon mustard

1 Tbs. honey

1 Tbs. fresh rosemary, finely chopped

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. dried sage

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. salt

8 boneless split chicken breasts

To prepare: Mix together buttermilk with mustard, honey, and seasonings.  Place chicken breasts in freezer bag.  Pour marinade over chicken breasts.  Freeze.

To serve: Thaw chicken, discarding marinade.  Grill over medium heat until chicen is tender and juices run clear.  (I put the chicken in a skillet and poured the marinade over and sauteed.)

Printable Version

Have a great weekend!

I know, weird huh?  We had lots of guests this week and getting a post up yesterday was just too much.  Plus, I actually made a freezer meal today and I wanted to post it for you today with a photo!  :)  I got this recipe from the book Don’t Panic, Dinner’s in the Freezer.  I like that I just bought all the ingredients and plopped them in a freezer bag!  So easy!  I like even more that to prepare it all I did was thaw it and plop it in the crock pot!  So simple!  Can you tell I’m excited?  Oh yeah, it tasted good, too!  :)  The picture does not do it justice…

Hawaiian Chicken

6 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

2 16 oz. cans pineapple slices, drained

2 15 oz. cans mandarin oranges, drained

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. ground red pepper

rice

Optional-green pepper chunks, almonds

To Freeze:  Place chicken in freezer bag.  Mix together fruit, cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce, lemon juice, salt, ginger, and ground red pepper.  Pour over the chicken in bag.  Freeze.

To Serve:  Thaw chicken mixture.  Place in crock pot, cover, and cook on low for 4-5 hours or on high for 2-3 hours.  Add green pepper chunks to the crock pot one hour before serving, if desired.  To serve, sppon over rice and top with toasted almonds.

When I did this, I made this recipe and used 4 large chicken breasts.  I divided it all into 2 bags, since we don’t need much and made it into 2 freezer meals. I omitted the green pepper and almonds.  I also did not like the oranges too much. 

One more thing, the freezer lasagna that my mom wrote about last week?  Well, those photos are of a batch that she brought here.  We ate it Thursday night and it was delicious!

Next week, I will be on vacation….actually until the 6th or 7th of July.  I have set up some posts to auto-post, but you may not get all the same stuff.  Bear with me and check back in a week and a half!  Thanks!