Good Eats

First thing is my baby girl is 1 month already and cuter than ever. To see a full update check out her 1 month post on my other blog!

So while i have been on maternity leave i have had some time to actually cook food! I don't usually cook but we are low on money and needed efficient ways to grocery shop, save money and have meals for 15 days! So i researched recipes that had similar ingredients and used what we already had and then cooked for 2 days! They all turned out REALLY good. i didn't take pictures of them but i am going to link to where i got the recipes (credit where credit is due) and give them all my reviews. A side note: they are all SUPER easy as i have NO skill level in the kitchen. Also i kinda improvised and added/subtracted whatever i had or didn't have for all of these and they all still turned out, so the recipe is not a super strict one.

1. i made Buffalo Chicken Garbage Bread! It was SO GOOD and i give it 2 thumbs up! Kel ate as much as he could. It was really easy and we used a different wing sauce (one kel preferred) and we had chicken left over so i made buffalo chicken to go on a panini (we have a panini maker and a quesadilla make so it worked well.) I actually don't like super spicy food and Kel does, but this was perfect for both of us. It has enough ranch and cheese to make me happy and he like the baked in flavor of the spicy chicken.
2. then i had a ton of apples about to go bad to i went apple recipe nuts. i made Apple Egg Rolls and they were good. i would have baked them a bit longer or even thrown the in hot oil to make them crispier, but now i know for next time. also learning how to roll egg rolls is not easy, only one actually looked good, but again something to practice. the Lemon juice: ingenious! it adds some tartness that makes the apples taste fresher and is something i will add to every apple pie recipe from now on. not too much lemon juice but definitely some. These would be awesome for a party with finger foods! Thumbs up!
3. next i made my own creation. I took a pizza dough and lined a muffin tin with it. then i created my own apple pie mix (no measurements but sugar, brown sugar, apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice all mixed) into it and covered it with a crust (stick of butter melted with oatmeal, brown sugar, cinnamon stirred until oatmeal well coated) and baked until the crust is golden and cooked! TWO THUMB WAY UP! i was so proud i did this with no recipe, no measurements and before i had seen something like this on pinterest (i swear, i got my own idea first). I am not very creative in the kitchen but this was a turning point.

meanwhile i was doing all this cooking i needed a snack to i whipped out some pepperoni and cresent rolls and mozzarella cheese, baked them and dipped them in pizza sauce for a munchy snack! Ashamed to say i ate all but 2! That was all for day 1 of cooking, but successful!


The next day here is what i made:

1.  steamed carrots: we had carrots and since i have an all purpose cooker and was already going to make noodles i just threw the carrots on top and let them steam!
2. Buffalo Chicken Pasta: AMAZING! i was going to double this and freeze some but remember that is serves 4-6 and Kel and i are only two people so i actually cut this a bit. I baked the chicken first (healthier) with some Italian seasonings and left the extra chicken cut up for a nice salad and paninis for lunch all week! The pasta turned out great. Not a very good freezer meal unless you like spicy. Spicy foods get SPICIER with time and we left ours sit overnight and BOY WAS IT HOT! but the pasta had tons of time to absorb the sauce so the texture was awesome. I had to add ranch to it and down milk with it, but Kel LOVED it! Two Thumbs UP!We used spaghetti noodles, but i think shells or penne would be best. 
3. Tacos! no recipe just meat and taco seasoning with some green onions for more flavor then build your own!
4. Meat Thing (literlaly no clue what to call it)! Kel and i had some old chuck steaks from the 1/4 cow we got previously and it's not too good with much and super hard to cook. So i found this recipe and thought it'd try it. We couldn't however find the onion soup mix so i googled onion soup mix and picked the one i had all the seasonings for and threw it in the crock pot! then i made rice and served it over rice and OH MY GOODNESS MELT IN YOUR MOUTH SO GOOD! if i had three thumbs I'd put them ALL up! looks gross but is so creamy and good! and the easiest of them all. Kel and i are literally fighting over who gets the leftovers. and with such a crappy cut of meat- deal. so cheap to get the bad cuts from a store and it's SO GOOD and SO SIMPLE here! If everyone who reads this only tries one recipe try this one! and it's so easy you should have time to try another one too!
5. Next was my own creation (but i know lots of people who make this) Pizza Pasta! It's SO SO SO easy and very few ingredients: 
• Pasta
• 1 can pizza sauce (large can)
• pepperoni (would be good with sausage added in or any of your favorite pizza toppings for more flavor)
• mozzerella cheese. 

• Make noodles, mix everything together, top with layer of cheese and pepperoni (toppings) sprinkle with Parmesan and bake until cheese is melted all the way through. Again the noodles absorb the sauce giving a great texture and it really does have a pizza taste for any picky eaters but it looks like spaghetti and is a different way to eat an old favorite. 
• Also i have in the past used small glass bowls and made a couple "individual pizzas" for different people with their own toppings. easy way to have everyone make their own but all you have to do is cook pasta and throw the sauce on it beforehand.

 So it was an eventful and delicious day! we have enough for leftovers and meals for about a week and a half. all of these can be doubled and put in the freezer (note the spicy food clause: it gets spicier but in the freezer it halts until it thaws). Since the pasta recipes call for them to be baked later again it works really well to freeze. also get a panini maker, i am not a sandwich person, but i LOVE hot sandwiches (chicken, cheese bread and some sort or seasons- ranch or itialian dressings are my fav- 2 minutes on the panini and YUMMY) . These aren't the healthiest recipes, but the are good, easy and in moderation not bad. plus they can all be modified for health and if you (or your kids) are picky about veggies like me adding a veggy into any of these would not kill the flavor, just add to it, and it would disguise the veggies.

I am proud of my cooking now and all these recipes i looked up (i cheated, i "pinned" them) made a grocery list (it was all under $75 including the meat) and made it! Hope you all enjoy these too!