Last 2 weeks I had legitimate excuses...the first week, all I had was a pizza pan. My crock pot lid got shattered in transit (thank you, TSA) and Nick hadn't arrived with my boxes o' kitchen goodies. Last week, he had arrived (YAY!), but the boxes were in the back of the truck and didn't make it out until midweek.
BUT!!!
NOW!!!
No more excuses!!!
The general appliances are all out, available, and functional. This past week we've been living off of Tuna Helper and those frozen pasta meal things, and that's made me realize that a) there are cheaper ways to make frozen pasta meal thingies, and b) I need to stop being so lazy about this.
That said, there's also no way I'm spending more than about 20 minutes on a given week night in actual cooking effort, so we're back to the "cook all the things" weekends. This week, to jump start the freezer selection, we've got the following:
The Food Pusher: Chile Colorado Burritos: Chile Colorado Burrito.
With any luck it'll look like this:
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| Picture source is above link. This is not my picture, just better than one I could take. I promise I'll post something when I actually make this dish. |
4.5 to 6 pounds stew meat or other beef cubed (top sirloin is great)
3 large cans mild enchilada sauce (at least 19 oz.)
6 beef bouillon cubes
3 cans refried beans (she calls this optional, but I love me some refries)
15-21 burrito size flour tortillas
3 cups or so of shredded cheddar cheese
The plan of attack:
The only part of this recipe that requires cooking is the meat. For 1.5-2 lbs, it takes 6-8 hours in the crock pot on low. I'll probably put it on high tomorrow, since a) I'll be home to monitor it and b) it's 3 times a much meat to cook and I'm not running that thing for 24 straight hours. Once the meat is cooked, I'll put one batch in tupperware and the other 2 batches in large ziplock bags, so they optimize the space better in the freezer.
On each bag I'll put the following instructions:
Chile Colorado Burritos
Thaw in fridge. To make dish, warm on stove until warmed through. Warm refried beans separately. Set oven to broil. In a casserole dish, spoon meat and beans into tortillas and roll into burrito forms. Once all tortillas are filled, spoon enchilada sauce over burritos and cover in cheese. (Leave half the dish cheeseless for Nick.) Broil until cheese is bubbly. Consume.
Html code for "recipe card" table gratefully lifted from here.
Next up, we have a casserole-style dish, so I'll be making 3 (disposable) pans of this and putting 2 in the freezer:
Turkey-Spinach Lasagna
Here's the shopping list (tripled):
3 pound ground turkey breast
3 onions
6 garlic cloves, chopped
6 (26-ounce) jars low-fat marinara sauce
3 (16-ounce) carton fat-free cottage cheese
3 eggs
3 ounce preshredded fresh Parmesan cheese
dried parsley flakes
black pepper
3 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
24 cooked lasagna noodles (I may not cook them, since they'll be sitting in the fridge/freezer for a while anyway)
24 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
Like I said, I'll make these in 9x13 disposable foil pans with lids on them, and will put 2 in the freezer (hopefully they'll fit...) The other one I may just put in a regular pan since I'll bake it later this week. Lasagna is basically the best freezer meal ever, so I'm psyched to try out a new version. And since this one requires me to buy the sauce instead of making it, it's a double win.
On the tags for each I'll put this:
Turkey Spinach Lasagna
Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until cheese melts and sauce is bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Consume.
I'm also planning on putting the original make date on the tags, so I make sure to be rotating through things in a timely manner. In theory, nothing should be in there more than 3 or so weeks.
And last but not least, we have a solid standby:
Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes
I'd like to pretend like I'm going to try to make these by following the stovetop directions, but this stove is new to me and is gas...and frankly, the stupid thing terrifies me.
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| How well would you like your house cooked? |
Anyway, here's the shopping list:
4.5 pounds lean ground turkey
3 (16-oz.) package ground turkey sausage
3 small onions, chopped
3 small-size green bell pepper
3 (8-oz.) can tomato sauce
cider vinegar
Worcestershire sauce
all-purpose flour
24 hamburger buns (you can freeze these too, but make sure you toast them for dinner...would thaw them in the fridge the night before)
There's really not even a label necessary for this one except the date. Just heat on the stove until warm and then maow down. Oh, and toast the buns a bit.
For breakfasts, we've got this:
Make-Ahead, Healthy Egg McMuffin Copycats
I'm going to make 3 varieties of this one with the same base (English Muffin, egg): sausage and cheese, just sausage, bacon. So the shopping list looks like this:
36 large eggs (may substitute Egg Beaters or use all egg whites, if desired)
36 100% whole grain English muffins
24 cooked turkey sausage patties
12 slices low calorie cheese
12 strips maple-smoked bacon
black pepper, freshly ground
For these, I'll just make the whole things up, then wrap as instructed on the site. On the bag (of individually wrapped sandwiches), I'll put this (text copied directly from the site...not my text. Except the word "consume". That's all me.):
Egg McMuffins
REHEAT IN MICROWAVE. If thawed, 40-60 seconds at full power. If frozen, 3 minutes at half power, turning over after each minute.
REHEAT IN OVEN. In 350 degree oven, place on baking sheet and heat for 15 to 20 minutes if thawed; 30-40 minutes if frozen. Consume.
So the shopping lists are based on what I know I have/need, which means yours may differ if you're following along, But if your pantry is like mine, here's the cumulative list:
8 pounds lean ground turkey
3 pounds ground turkey sausage
24 cooked turkey sausage patties
5 pounds stew meat or other beef cubed
12 strips maple-smoked bacon
39 large eggs
3 small-size green bell pepper
6 onions
6 garlic cloves, chopped
3 (8-oz.) can tomato sauce
6 (26-ounce) jars low-fat marinara sauce
3 large cans mild enchilada sauce (at least 19 oz.)
3 cans refried beans
6 beef bouillon cubes
cider vinegar
Worcester sauce
all-purpose flour
3 (16-ounce) carton fat-free cottage cheese
3 ounce preshredded fresh Parmesan cheese
24 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
12 slices low calorie cheese
3 cups or so of shredded cheddar cheese
3 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
24 cooked lasagna noodles
36 whole grain English muffins
24 hamburger buns
20 burrito size flour tortillas
Since it's now after dark and homette don't do Walmart after dark, I'll shop this mess tomorrow.
SO that's pretty much it. Next step: coupon hunt. Anyone got tips?
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