3 Meal Series Part 3: Open Faced Beef Melts

Prep: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

9 oz sliced pot roast
1 cup gravy
4 slices Texas Toast, lightly toasted
4 slices cheddar or swiss cheese

In a large skillet heat pot roast and gravy until heated through. Spread toast on broiler pan, Divide pot roast slices evenly among toast. Spoon most of the gravy over the meat and top each sandwich with a slice of cheese. Broil 1 minute or until cheese is melted.

3 Meal Series Part 2: Shepherds Pie

Prep: 55 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

3 cups beef broth
3 tbs flour
2 1/2 cups shredded pot roast
10 oz frozen carrots & peas, thawed
1/2 tsp oregano
5 medium potatoes, peeled, & boiled until soft
1/8 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 1 1/2 quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Mash potatoes with milk until smooth & creamy, set aside. Whisk beef broth and flour together in a medium saucepan. Heat until simmering, simmer for 1 additional minute or until thickened.

Reserve 1 cup gravy in fridge for tomorrow.

Stir in pot roast, vegetables, and oregano. Spoon mixture into prepared baking dish. Spoon potatoes over top of meat mixture. Bake for 30 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

3 Meal Series Part 1: Roast Beef & Goulash

Prep: 35 minutes, plus 4 hours in crock pot
Yield: 4 servings plus leftovers for 2 more meals

1 4 lb bottom-round pot roast
1 tbs cooking oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 large onion, sliced
2 cups beef broth
1 can tomato sauce
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup flour
1/2 lb egg noodles, cooked

Place roast in crock pot. Add broth, salt & pepper, tomato sauce, and onion. Cook on high for 4 hours. Remove roast, and slice approximately 1/3 of the roast into slices. Reserve remaining roast in fridge for meals later in the week. Strain onions from drippings and reserve. Add flour to drippings in crock pot and whisk until smooth. Add sour cream and heat until thickened. Return onions to sauce. Pour sauce over egg noodles and serve with roast beef.

Salsa Chicken

Yield: 4 servings
Prep: 15 minutes

4 Chicken Breasts, grilled
1 cup salsa
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

Place chicken in a baking dish and top each with 1/4 cup salsa. Sprinkle with grated cheese & bake until cheese is bubbly.

Tips & Tricks:
Make extra chicken & reserve 4 breasts to make this recipe later in the week. This is super easy & delicious! Experiment with different types of cheese. Bagged salad & boughten or leftover rolls make this a meal that is ready with minimal prep.

Suggested Sides:
Green Salad & Rolls.

Lentil, Sausage & Rice Soup

This recipe comes to us from Mrs. Micah.

Yield: 10+ Servings
Prep: 2 hours

1 Sausage
2 c. dried lentils
2 c. rice (brown is healthiest)
11 c. water or chicken broth or both (if you don’t have any broth, bullion will add some flavor)
2 carrots
1 onion
1 1/2 tsp. paprika
salt & pepper to taste

If not using broth, heat water and add bullion cubes. You don’t have to make the exact amount’s worth of chicken broth, but a few cubes will add flavor. Or just pour broth into the pan. Add rice & lentils. Bring to a boil and then simmer. While water is coming to a boil, brown the sausage and add to the pot. Let simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Dice carrots and onion. Add to soup along with paprika. Let simmer another 35-45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Salt and pepper to taste.

This recipe costs less than $10 to make and has at least 10 servings. Most of the cost $4 is in the sausage, so you can always add more lentils and throw in some pepper for spice. Or use leftover meat.

No Baste-Turkey Dinner and a Week of Delicious Leftovers

Here's a delicious way to plan meals and save money! Whole turkeys are typically extremely inexpensive (especially this time of year!), and with easy leftover meals, you can enjoy an entire week of delicious turkey-based dishes! Turkey is delicious, healthy, and is high in Triptophan so it is a natural antidepressant.

Prep: 20 minutes, plus roasting
Yield: varies by size of your turkey. For my family of 4, a 12 lb turkey will feed us for a week.

1 turkey, thawed
Pam cooking spray
1 brown paper grocery sack

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Remove neck & giblets from turkey. Rinse with cold water inside & out. Pat dry with a paper towel. Place turkey in brown paper bag & staple closed. Place in roasting dish in oven. On a lower rack place a cookie sheet to catch drippings. Roast until meat thermometer reads 190 degrees, about 4 hours for a 12 lb turkey. About one hour before turkey is done, remove bag & discard bag, spray turkey with Pam. Return to the oven.

Carve turkey, and clean all visible meat from bones. Reserve any tiny pieces in a bowl for casseroles. Reserve carcass for soup. Reserve drippings for gravy.

Tips & Tricks:
Almost any chicken recipe can use turkey in its place.

Sunday: Turkey dinner with Mashed Potatoes & Gravy (make extra mashed potatoes & gravy, reserve leftovers for Tuesday & Wednesday.)

Monday: Turkey Noodle Soup

Tuesday: Leftover Turkey & Potatoes from Sunday

Wednesday: Turkey Dinner Casserole

Thursday: Turkey Divan

Friday: Enchiladas (use the tiny bits of turkey you reserved from Sunday to save time-no chopping needed.)

Saturday: Leftovers from the week. Or, for more recipes, try here.

Wild Rice Chicken Dinner

Prep: 15 minutes

Cook: 15 minutes

Yield: 2 casseroles/6-8 servings each

2 packages (8.8 ounces each) ready-to-serve long grain and wild rice
2 packages (16 ounces each) frozen French-style green beans, thawed
2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted
2 cans (8 ounces each) sliced water chestnuts, drained
2/3 cup chopped onion
2 jars (4 ounces each) sliced pimientos, drained
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon pepper
6 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 cup slivered almonds, divided

Heat rice according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, combine the green beans, soup, water chestnuts, onion, pimientos, mayonnaise, milk and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in chicken and rice; cook 3-4 minutes longer or until chicken is heated through.

Transfer half of the mixture to a serving dish; sprinkle with 1/2 cup almonds. Serve immediately. Pour the remaining mixture into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish; cool. Sprinkle with remaining almonds. Cover and freeze for up to 3 months.

To use frozen casserole: Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Cover and bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until heated through.

Tips and Tricks

This recipe is a 'cook once, eat twice' recipe because it yields a casserole to eat and a casserole to freeze. Omit the pimientos if you don't have them. I leave off the almonds and instead of ready-to-eat wild rice, I use the quick prep boxed kind from Uncle Ben's.

Make It Healthier

Use reduced-fat mayo, reduced-fat milk and reduced-fat reduced-sodium cream soup.

How Kids Can Help

Measure ingredients. Older kids can open cans.

German Sauerkraut Casserole

Yield: 4 servings (can be easily doubled for a large family or two for one meal)
Prep: 30 minutes, plus slow cooking 6 hours. Bakes 1 hour in oven.

2 cups thinly sliced potatoes
1 large onion, sliced
1 bottle sauerkraut, rinsed
4 pork chops
2 teaspoons caraway seed

Brown meat and reserve drippings for gravy. Layer bottom of baking dish or crock pot with 1 cup of potatoes, half the onion slices and half the sauerkraut. Sprinkle with 1 tsp of caraway seed and then top with half the meat. Add another layer of potatoes, onions, sauerkraut, seed, and meat.

Pour 1 cup water over all and bake uncovered for 1 hour, or cover and cook 6 hours in crockpot.

Make water gravy with meat drippings. To do so pour water into drippings, slowly pour a mixture of cornstarch and water into drippings and stir with a wire whisk to prevent lumps. Add seasonings to taste. Serve over casserole.

This is an authentic German recipe my Grandmother discovered while traveling and a family favorite!

Tips and Tricks:
I always double this recipe for an easy second meal! Its even better as leftovers because the flavors blend. Be sure to rinse the sauerkraut unless you like it really strong!

How Kids Can Help:
Kids can help layer the vegetables in the pan.

Honey-Glazed Spareribs

Father's Day is coming, and here is what is on our Menu: Honey Glazed Spareribs! They are just spicy enough to have a kick, and oh sooo tasty.

Prep: 25 minutes, chill 12-24 hours, 7-8 hours in slowcooker
Yield: 6-8 servings

1 cup packed light brown sugar
1-1/2 cups honey
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons Tabasco
6 pounds spareribs

In a medium saucepan slowly heat brown sugar, honey, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and add garlic, salt, ginger and Tabasco. Stir until completely combined. Let cool to room temperature.

Divide the spareribs between 2 (2-gallon) resealable plastic bags. Pour half the marinade into each bag, press out air and seal. Refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours. Turn over two or three times while marinating.

Place the ribs and marinade in slow-cooker; marinade will not cover all the ribs. Cover and cook on Low for 7 to 8 hours. About halfway through cooking time, carefully reverse ribs so that they all cook part of the time in the liquid. Meat is done when it is tender and falling off the bone.


Per serving: Cal 492 (60% fat), Fat 32 g (12 g sat), No fiber, Chol 129 mg, Sodium 314 mg, Carb 18 g, Calcium 59 mg

Suggested Sides:
Pasta Salad or Stuffed Tomatoes, Corn on the Cob & Garlic Bread

How kids can help:
Kids can help add ingredients to saucepan (before heating) & push buttons on the crockpot.

Make it Healthier:
Trim any visible fat from ribs or use a leaner cut of meat. Reduce or eliminate salt.

Tips & Tricks:
Be sure to use a saucepan that won't react with your marinade, discoloring your food or damaging your pan! I like to use boneless spareribs which are easier & less messy for kids to eat. Cut up & reserve leftovers to serve as a second meal over rice!

Chicken Noodle Soup

Tonight the plan was to have homemade pizza, but my son ended up being nauseated (nasty stomach flu going around) and requested soup. Here is my homemade Chicken Soup, with shortcuts to keep it from taking all day.

Prep Time: 30 minutes to Several Hours
Yield: 3 quarts (feeds my family of 4 two solid meals)

1 chicken carcass from a roasted chicken - I used two uncooked, split chicken breasts with bones & skin
8 cups water
2 cups cut up carrots
1 cup cut up celery
2 tsp dried basil
3 chicken boullion cubes
pepper to taste
2 cups homemade egg noodles-or 2 cups dried egg noodles

Put carcass in a stock pot with water and simmer for several hours until the meat slips off the bones completely. Shortcut: thaw 2 split chicken breasts in microwave. Once thawed, remove skin and cook completely in microwave. Remove meat from bones, put bones in stock pot with water and boil bones for 15 minutes. Remove bones from water. If you used the shortcut, cut up chicken and add to water. Add carrots, celery, basil boullion, and pepper and simmer until vegetables are soft. Shortcut: Dissolve boullion in small amount of water and pour over vegetables, microwave veggies until soft. Bring soup to a soft boil and drop noodles in one by one. Once noodles swell slightly, remove from heat and serve.

Suggested Sides:
Fresh Bread and Green Salad.

Tips and Tricks:
A lot of my friends complain that their DH's won't eat soup. The trick is to make a hearty soup with enough "stuff" in it to be worth his while. My husband doesn't care for overly brothy soups-he refers to them as a "warm beverage." I use lots of noodles, lots of veggies, and occasionally lots of meat to turn soup into a fill-him-up meal.

Make it Healthier:
Use low sodium boullion that is free of MSG. This is already a great recipe in that there is no added fat, the only fat is what is naturally occuring in the chicken, and the eggs in the noodles.

How Kids Can Help:
Toddlers can put veggies in a bowl & push buttons on the microwave. Older children can carefully drop the noodles into the soup (with supervision of course!)

Four Cheese Baked Ziti

prep-30 minutes
bake-10 minutes
yield-8 servings

1 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced green pepper
1/2 cup shredded carrots
2 garlic gloves, minced
2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) italian diced tomatoes
1 can crushed tomatoes (15 ounces)
1 cup vegetable broth
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
8 ounces uncooked ziti or small tube pasta
1 cup (8 ounces) part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded provolone cheese
1/4 cup loosely packed basil leaves, thinly sliced
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, saute the onion, green pepper, carrots and garlic until crisp-tender. Stir in the diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, broth and pepper flakes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the ziti according to package directions; drain and return to pan. Stir in the vegetable mix, ricotta, provolone and basil.

Transfer to a 13x9x2 baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan. bake, uncovered at 425 for 10-15 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.

Tips and Tricks
I used my Pampered Chef food chopper to chop the carrots because I buy baby carrots and it's difficult to grate those. I used one garlic clove because two would have been too much. I substituted swiss for provolone, a TBSP of dried basil and 1/8 cup romano instead of 1/4 parmesan. Unless your skillet is very large, use a stock pot for the sauteing, because once the canned items are added, the volume is large.

Make It Healthier

Use low fat or reduced fat cheese. Use whole wheat or whole grain pasta. Use low-sodium canned tomatoes.

How Kids Can Help

Hand over the chopper! Even my toddler can do this step. Older kids can grate the cheese.

Suggested Sides

garlic bread, salad, steamed corn

Sandwich Art

Our dinner last night was sandwiches in the style of Subway.

Total Prep Time: 15 minutes

We used:
6" French Bread Poor Boy Rolls
Mayo
Mustard
Dill Pickles
Cucumbers
Romaine Lettuce
Tomatoes
Cheddar
Chicken Breast
Roast Beef

Suggested Sides
Blue Corn Tortilla Chips, Pico De Gallo, and fresh fruit.

Make it Healthier
To cut fat and calories, use low fat sour cream as a spread instead of mayonnaise and lower fat cheese such as part skim mozzarella. Use whole grain bread instead of French Bread. For more health benefits, add more vegetables!

Tips and Tricks
When cutting up the vegetables and meats, cut extra and put them in a bowl. Your Chef's salad for tomorrow's lunch or dinner is ready made! This is a super fast, super easy meal that you can make a few hours ahead or take outside for an easy picnic or to eat on the way to T-ball practice. Just wrap the sandwiches and refrigerate until you are ready to eat them. Leave out foods picky eaters don't like.

How Kids Can Help
My son (5) assembled the sandwiches and I cut the veggies and cheese. This was a great way to incorporate counting, "put 5 pickles on each sandwich, and 3 tomatoes..." He loved serving a meal he made "by himself."

Cabbage Patch Stew

Prep time: 15 minutes
Simmer: 35 minutes
Yield: 3 quarts (feeds my family of 4 two solid meals)

2lbs hamburger
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, hulled and minced
1 cup diced potatoes
2 cups shredded cabbage
2 cups water
2 tbs sugar
1 quart stewed tomatoes
1 tbs worchestershire sauce
2 tsp chili powder
1-2 cups cooked kidney beans
1 cup diced celery
Salt to taste

Brown the hamburger together with the onion and garlic. While the hamburger browns, cut up veggies as desired. Drain fat. Put ground beef and remaining ingredients in a stock pot, heat and simmer all together for 35 minutes.

Tips and Tricks
This is a very easy, forgiving vegetable beef soup. You can add any veggies that you like-such as carrots or summer squash. My son didn't care for the kidney beans or onions, they can easily be left out. If your family isn't big on stewed tomatoes, they can be pulverised in a blender. Since I make this meal once to serve for dinner twice, I use 2 full lbs of ground beef, but to stretch your budget you can use less beef.

Make it Healthier
This soup is a winner at my house because its thick and hearty, but there is very little fat in it if you use extra lean ground beef. If you use canned kidney beans, use the low sodium variety and rinse beforehand to eliminate the salty brine.

How Kids Can Help
Toddlers can put vegetables into the stockpot. Preschoolers can measure the water. School age kids can open cans & help cut vegetables.