Once a Month Cooking!

So I have been MIA once again. :( my bad! We have been dealing on and off with a little boy sleep walking which cut into my quilting time. Speaking of the quilt is still about half finished :/ I will get to it....eventually. 

Scott applied to med schools at the beginning of the month! He is already got a secondary application to the University of Cincinnati! I am so excited for him that his dreams are starting coming true. 

With Scott's applications and (cough) my less then great spending habits we have noticed that we need a budget. Over the 3 years we have been married I have gotten used to using the credit card for everything. Not such a good habit I know. We decided to start doing an all cash "envelope" budget. I found this great site to download and print your envelopes and you can track what you have spent on the front.Click here! We started on Friday and so far I am loving it. It cuts down my impulse buying by a ton! 

I love to cook but during the summer it gets really hot in our small house without air conditioning. I was looking around pinterest for ways to save money on food and found once a month cooking. I almost bought the book from amazon and lucky for me my mother in law had a copy I could have!  Most of my recipes for this month came from there but I am a recovering picky eater and so I knew I was going to need a few other choices to replace the few I wouldn't eat. (Like Baked Eggs.... yuck) Pinterest to the rescue! I found 3 other recipes to add in to the mix! Here is my menu for the next month! I planned it out on my calendar and we have meals through the first few weeks of September! And before all of the crazy recipes here is picture of all of my hard work :)

Once-a-Month Cooking Menu 7-21-12

1. Ham & Cheese Braid Bread – 2 meals Recipe here

2. Chicken & Black Bean Chili – 4 mealsRecipe here

3. Pineapple Pepper Chicken – 1 mealRecipe here

4. Cheddar Ritz Chicken – 3 meals- my own recipe

5. Chili Verde – 2 meals- once a month

6. Chicken and Wild Rice – 2 meals- once a month

7. Chicken Packets – 2 meals- once a month

8. Calzones – 3 or 4 meals- once a month

9. Mexican Stroganoff – 2 meals- once a month

10. Balkan Meatballs – 2 meals- once a month

11. Marinated Flank Steak – 2 meals- once a month

12. Lasagna – 3 or 4 meals- Recipe here

13. Potato Soup – 2 meals- Recipe here

 Shopping List 7-21-12

Burrito Tortillas - $1.78

4 oz. green chilies - $0.58

1 loaf French bread- $2.44

Bread Crumbs- $2.44

Croutons- $1.36

Corn Torts- $2.16

2x 12oz. bags egg noodles- $2.00

3 loaves Rhodes bread dough- $2.62

Shredded mozzarella cheese- $2.14

8oz. Sour Cream-$0.96

2 pk. Crescent rolls- $1.78 each

1 1/3lbs. Flank Steak- $6.53

2lbs round steak- $9.32

Celery- $1.28

Onion- $0.54

All Spice- $1.96

Chili Sauce- $1.08

Spaghetti sauce- $0.86

1 qt. freezer bags- $2.98  coupon $0.55 off

1 gal. freezer bags- $11.99  (153) Costco

 8 oz. dry pinto beans- $1.38 (WIC)

1 gal Whole Milk- $2.25 (WIC)

Chili- $0.86

2 Jello- $.74 each

Strawberry Lemonade Mix- $2.00

Lemonade Mix- $2.00

28 oz. tomato sauce- $1.24

1 Green pepper- $0.68

Potatoes- $1.97 (10lbs)

Italian Dressing mix- $3.26 (4 packets)

Vinegar- $2.38 (bulk size)

Hydrogen Peroxide- $0.68  coupon $0.50 off

Garbage bags- $6.57

Aluminum Pans- $1.06 for 2 $1 store

Butter- $7.79 costco

Sliced Ham- $2.98

Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning mix- $1.48

Uncle Ben’s Wild Rice- $3.06 Smith’s

Total: $101.75

Budget: $200.00

Granted I had a lot on hand already

Recipes

Lasagna

1 lb. Italian Sausage

1 (26 oz.) Jar Spaghetti Sauce

 1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce

1 (8 oz,) pk oven ready lasagna noodles

1 (15 oz.) container ricotta cheese

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

Crumble and cook sausage in large skillet over medium heat until browned. Remove from heat and stir in pasta sauce and tomato sauce. In a small bowl, combine ricotta cheese and Italian seasoning.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spread 1 cup sauce into bottom of a 9x13 pan. Top with 3 noodle. Cover noodles with 1/3 of ricotta cheese mixture, 1 cup mozzarella and 1 cup sauce. Repeat layers two more times. Add last 3 noodles. Top lasagna with remaining sauce and with remaining mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with parmesan over mozzarella. Cover and bake 45-50 minutes or until noodles are tender. Uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes to melt cheese.

Potato Soup

1 Tsp. Olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

3 Tsp. flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. dried basil

½ tsp. seasoned pepper

3 cups chicken broth

3-5 potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 cup half and half

½ tsp. hot pepper sauce

Shredded cheddar cheese

Bacon crumbles

In a large pot boil potatoes in chicken broth. In a medium sauce pan sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until tender. Stir in flour, salt, basil, and pepper. Mix well. When potatoes are soft add onion mixture to pot. Bring to boil and stir for 2 minutes. Add cream and hot pepper sauce, heat through but do not boil. Garnish with cheese and bacon.

French Bread Pizza

1 loaf unsliced French bread (not sour dough)

3 cups Spaghetti Sauce

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

3 oz. pepperoni slices (half a package)

This recipe is assembled on the day it’s served. Put sauce in a 3-cup container, cheeses in  2 1 qt. bags, pepperoni in 1qt. bag; wrap bread in heavy foil. Freeze the together.

To prepare for serving, thaw bread, sauce, grated cheeses and pepperoni. Slice loaf in half lengthwise. Layer sauce, parmesan cheese, pepperoni and mozzarella cheese on each half. Set oven to broil and/or 550 degrees. Place on a baking sheet and put in oven. Broil until mozzarella is melted. Cut pizza into servings sized pieces. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Chili Verde

8 oz. dry pinto beans (1 1/4 cups)                                          3 chicken bouillon cubes

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts ( 2 cups cooked)  1 tsp. minced garlic (1clove)

1 (4oz.) can chopped green chilies                                         1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cumin                                                                 2/3 cup finely chopped onion

¾ tsp. dried oregano leaves                                                    1 cup grated Monterey jack cheese

1/8 tsp. ground cloves                                                              1 dozen corn tortillas

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper                                                          1 (11 ½ oz.) jar salsa

3 cups water

Rinse pinto beans, soak them in cold water overnight, then drain them. Cut chicken into 1 in. cube; cook until no longer pink in small amount of water. Combine chicken with chilies and seasonings; refrigerate until needed. At the same time, combine beans, water, bouillon cubes, garlic, salt, and onion in a large pot; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until beans are soft, about 1 hour. Add more water if necessary.

Combine chicken and spices with beans; simmer 10 more minutes. Cool and freeze. Grate cheese, put in a 1 pt. bag, and attach it to the freezer container with the chili. To serve, thaw chili and cheese. Simmer chili 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Top with salsa and grated cheese serve on warmed tortillas. Makes 5 [i] servings

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Wild Rice Chicken

1 (6 1/4oz.) pk. Quick cooking long grain and wild rice

1 cup cooked, chopped chicken

1 (8oz.) can sliced water chestnuts drained

1 cup finely chopped celery

1 ¼ cups finely chopped onion

1 cup light mayonnaise

1 (10 ¾ oz.) can condensed cream of mushroom soup

Cook rice according to package directions. Combine rice with chicken, water chestnuts, celery and onion; put mixture in a 1 gal. bag. To prepare for serving, thaw rice mixture, remove from bag, and place in a 2 ½ qt. baking dish. Stir in mayonnaise and condensed soup together, and spread over top chicken. Bake covered in a preheated 325 degree oven for 1 hour. Makes 6 servings

Chicken Packets

2 cups cooked, chopped chicken

1 (3 oz.) pk. Cream cheese, softened

1 Tbs. chopped chives

2 Tbs. milk

Salt to taste

½ cup crushed, seasoned crouton crumbs

2 pks refrigerated crescent rolls

¼ cup melted margarine

Mix chicken, cream cheese, chives and salt in a medium bowl. Mix with hands to make filling and store in a 1 qt. bag, attach it to bag of chicken filling, and freeze them. Refrigerate crescent rolls. To prepare for serving, thaw chicken mixture. Unroll crescent rolls. each tube will contain 4 rectangles of dough with a diagonal perforation. Press dough along each perforation so the rectangle halves with no separate. Place about ¼ cup of chicken into the center of each rectangle. Fold dough over filling, and pinch the edges to seal tightly. Dip each packet in melted margarine and coat with crouton crumbs. Place packets on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Packets are good either hot or cold. ( serve early in the month so the rolls won’t expire) makes 8 packets.

Calzones

2 loaves frozen bread dough

6 oz. sliced mozzarella cheese

5 cups spaghetti sauce

Thaw 2 loaves of bread dough. Divide each loaf into 5 parts each. One at a time roll each dough piece on a floured board or stretch with your hands, making 10 7-in. squares. Fold each dough square over half of cheese slice to form a turnover, and pinch edges to seal. ( you can also ladle 1/3 cup sauce onto square before making the turnover but the sauce tends to seep out). Place each turnover in a small sandwich bag. Put 5 turnovers in a 1 gal. bag. Divide sauce in half, and store in 2 1 qt. freezer bags; enclose each bag of sauce in a bag of calzones. Do the same with the remaining 5 turnovers. To prepare for servings, thaw sauce; heat in a medium pan 10 to 15 minutes until bubbly. At the same time, take frozen turnovers out of the bags, and place them about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet sprayed with pam. Preheat oven to 350 degrees  for about 15 minutes. Turnovers will be golden brown when done. Ladle sauce on top of turnovers, and serve. Makes 10 servings

Mexican Stroganoff

2 lbs round steak                                                           1 ¾ cups water

1 cup finely chopped onion                                         ½ cup chili sauce

2 garlic minced garlic                                                   1 Tbs. paprika

2 Tbs. Vegetable oil                                                      1 Tbs. chili powder

1/3 cup red wine vinegar                                            2 tsp. seasoned salt

1 tsp. soy sauce                                                             1 (8 oz.) can mushroom stems and pieces, drained

1 (8 oz.) carton sour cream or low-fat yogurt         3 Tbs. flour

1 (12 oz.) package wide egg noodles

Cut steak into bite-size pieces. Cook and stir steak, onion, and garlic in oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until brown. Drain off oil. Stir vinegar, water, chili sauce, paprika, chili powder seasoned salt, soy sauce, and mushrooms into steak mixture. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 1 hour until meat is tender. Cool and store in freezer container.

To prepare for serving, thaw meat mixture and heat in saucepan until bubbly. Cook egg noodles according to package directions. Stir sour cream or low-fat yogurt and flour together; combine with stroganoff. Heat to boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat; simmer and stir about 1 minute. Serve stroganoff over noodles. Makes 6-8 servings

Balkan Meatballs

1 egg                                                                          1 lbs. lean ground beef

¼ cup milk                                                                 ½ lb. ground turkey

1/3 cup crushed seasoned croutons                    2/3 cup finely chopped onion

¾ tsp. salt                                                                  1 (8oz) package wide egg noodles

¾ tsp. sugar                                                               2 Tbs. margarine

¼ tsp. ground ginger                                                ¼ cup flour

¼ tsp. ground nutmeg                                             2 cup milk

¼ tsp. ground allspice                                              parsley for garnish

In a medium-size mixing bowl, beat egg with milk. Mix in the crushed croutons, salt, sugar and spices. Add beef, turkey and onion; mix thoroughly. Shape meat mixture into meatballs the size walnuts. Place meatballs on a rimmed cookie sheet; broil until lightly browned. Cool; put meatballs in a large bag, and freeze them.

To prepare for serving, thaw meatballs. Cook noodles according to package directions. At the same time make white sauce in a large skillet. Melt margarine over low heat. Add flour, stirring constantly until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Gradually stir in milk. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute until thick and smooth. Add meatballs to sauce. Bring to boil; reduce heat. Cover pan; simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve meatballs and sauce over wide egg noodles. Chop parsley; sprinkle over top. Makes 4 servings

Chicken and Black Bean Chili

4 chicken breasts- boiled and chredded

56 oz. tomato sauce

30 oz. black beans

30 oz. corn

2 onions- diced

4 stalks of celery

2 packets chili seasoning

Garlic

Chop everything up, throw it in a crock pot and let it simmer for an hour or two.

Freeze in 4- 1 gal. bags

Ham and Cheese Braid Bread

1 loaf Rhodes bread dough

¼ cup butter or margarine

½ cup envelope hidden valley ranch mix (not generic)

¾ lb. thinly sliced ham

1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 tsp. poppy seeds

Roll bread dough out into a rectangular shape so its approx. ½ inch thick. Combine margarine and ranch mix. Spread about 5 Tbs. of mixture on the rectangle. Layer ham and cheese down the center of the rectangle. Use a pizza cutter to cut strips along each side of the dough (even numbers on each side). Starting at the bottom, take each piece, cross and twist. Continue cris-crossing until your pizza is braided. Brush remaining butter/ranch mixture over top. Sprinkle with poppy seeds. Wrap loaf with plastic wrap and then foil.

To thaw overnight. Place in fridge as is if you wish to cook it on the foil. If you do not wish to cook it on the foil unwrap it and place on a lightly greased baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap. Let thaw overnight. A couple of hours before you are ready to bake place it on the counter to continue to taw and begin to rise. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Pineapple Pepper Chicken

2 cups unsweetened pineapple juice

1 cup sugar

1 cup vinegar

¾ cup water

½ cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup cornstarch

¼ cup ketchup

3 Tbls soy sauce

1 tsp. ground ginger

4 chicken breasts

1 can (8 oz.) pineapple chunks, drained

1 medium green pepper, julienned (optional)

In a gallon freezer bag combine the first 10 ingredients, then add chicken. Seal and freeze. Set aside pineapple for pantry and freeze sliced pepper in a separate bag.

Thaw ingredients enough to place in a crock pot. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. 30 minute before it is finished add pineapple and green pepper, cook an additional 30 minutes. Serve on rice.

It was a miracle that it all fit into my tiny freezer but it did! :) 

I know that was crazy long! Let me know if you have questions and I hope it made sense! :)