five ingredient fridays: your perfect halloween sidedish

tomorrow night i'm hosting a small halloween harvest dinner. here's our very orange menu:

• jamaican chicken breasts (not festive, but we needed a main dish - i'll post these soon as they are amazing!)
• sweet potato fries
• bones and blood (bone-shaped breadsticks and marinara - idea from our best bites)
• amazing orange jello (again, recipe to come)
• pumpkin and bat sugar cookies cut and decorated by my 2 year old
• carrot puree

okay... the carrot puree sounds scary, right? let me tell you right now, it's not. my friend carole served it at a fabulous lunch at her house last month and we're all still drooling. and it's the star of five ingredient fridays because it's sooooo easy!

carrot puree
from martha stewart

picture from martha stewart

2 pounds carrots, cut into 2-inch lengths
coarse ground salt and pepper
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream

1. cover carrots with water by 1 inch in a sauce pan. add salt. bring to a boil and then simmer for 25-30 minutes or until carrots are very tender.
2. drain carrots and transfer to a food processor or blender. add butter and sour cream. season with salt and pepper. process until smooth, scraping the bowl/blender when needed. serve.

are you doing a festive dinner? what are you serving?

don't be afraid to create!

do you ever have a million random ingredients in your fridge/cabinets and don't know what to make for dinner? i know that happens to me pretty frequently.

these are the instances you should never be afraid to get creative! there are some ingredients that, when combined, you really can't go wrong. here are a few things i like to get creative with when i'm in a bind for dinner or i have random leftovers coming out my ears. i can't tell you how many leftovers have been saved from going bad with this simple dinners. no recipe needed - just get creative!

"kitchen sink" enchiladas - because i throw everything in them but the kitchen sink. possible ingredients (as many or as few as you'd like):

• leftover or frozen shredded chicken, ground meat of various varieties
• flour/corn tortillas
• red/green/white/yellow onions
• garlic
• beans - black, pinto, whatever you have laying around
• rice - leftover white/brown (am i the only one that is always making too much), mexican rice (this makes a huge amount so i always have leftovers)
• sauce - homemade red enchilada sauce, leftover canned green enchilada sauce, the last of your salsa, sour cream, cream cheese, cafe rio-style cilantro lime ranch dressing (this is soooo good just thrown into the filling - yum!), plain ranch dressing, the sky is the limit!
• fresh/frozen spinach
• leftover canned tomatoes (do you ever make something that calls for 1/2 a can! argh!) or fresh tomatoes that need to be used
• peppers that need to get used - bell, jalapeno, serrano
• cheese - whatever you've got
• spices - if you're mixture is feeling a little bland toss in some garlic salt, cumin and chili powder
  

combine all ingredients. roll up in tortillas. top with sauce and cheese. bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

goulash - basically meat and beans and tomatoes with pasta

• pasta - any variety
• tomatoes - canned or fresh, or tomato sauce
  
• onions - any kind, and garlic
  
• meat of some sort (ground is best)
• beans - kidney or pinto are my favorite here
• bell peppers
• spinach - fresh or frozen
  
• hot sauce
• cheese
• sour cream
  
• spices - season with garlic, chili powder and salt and pepper

saute veggies/onions/garlic dash of olive oil. add meat and brown. stir in "sauce" (tomato sauce/canned tomatoes/fresh tomatoes) and simmer for 10 minutes. stir in cooked pasta. top with cheese/sour cream/hot sauce to serve.

veggie pasta skillet/bake - use whatever you have!

• pasta of any variety
• jar of cheap pasta sauce
• garlic, black pepper and crushed red pepper
• whatever veggies you need to use up! i.e....
• broccoli
• eggplant
• peppers
• onions
  
• zucchini
• yellow squash
• mushrooms
• carrots
• cheese

saute some garlic and a dash of crushed red pepper in a dash of olive oil. add pasta sauce - heat through and add some black pepper (makes it taste more like homemade pasta sauce!). in a separate skillet, saute veggies in a dash of olive oil til tender. season with salt and pepper. combine sauce, cooked pasta and sauteed veggies in large bowl and serve as is or put in 13x9 inch baking dish, top with cheese and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

do you have any meals like this? please share!! we all need quick fixes like these in our dinner arsenals. :)

sour cream chicken enchiladas

last night i tried a different white enchilada recipe - just for fun. i got it from another food blog i really like. sometimes it's fun to make a different version of a classic meal, right?

well, we were disappointed. they just weren't as good as my normal recipe. i guess i'm happy to say, then, that mine are lots better than the alternative we tried! :) i posted this deliciousness over 2 years ago. it's so good it's time for a repost. attribution to my bff who basically taught me to cook, with a few modifications by me, of course.

sour cream chicken enchiladas
6-8 servings

3 chicken breasts, cooked and sliced/cubed (i pan fry it in a tiny bit of oil, lime juice and sprinkled with garlic, pepper and cumin)
1 cup fat-free or reduced fat sour cream
1/4 cup green enchilada sauce
1 can green chilis
1 cup grated cheese
8-10 flour tortillas (depends on how packed you like your enchiladas, whole wheat are good with these)

1/2 can 98% fat free cream of chicken soup
1/4-1/2 cup enchilada sauce
milk (for thinning the sauce for the top)
more cheese!!

1. combine cooked chicken, sour cream, 1/4 cup enchilada sauce, green chilis and 1 cup cheese in a large bowl. spoon mixture into tortillas and pack into 13"x9" pan.
2. make sauce for top by combining 1/2 can of cream of chicken soup, 1/4-1/2 cup enchilada sauce (add until it tastes right to you!) and milk if you'd like your sauce thinner.
3. spread sauce over the enchiladas and top with desired amount of cheese.
4. bake in oven at 350 F for 30-35 min.

couponing

have you ever been behind one of those crazy couponing ladies at the grocery store. you probably found yourself really irritated - "why is she doing so many transactions?", "is she seriously buying 16 boxes of cereal and 16 boxes of granola bars?", "how many coupons are in that stack?". then remember how her total went down and down and down... and then you felt jealous instead of irritated?

i'm one of those crazy couponing ladies. i'm not going to try and convince you that everyone should coupon, but i figure if i can make you a little jealous you might at least think about trying it. :) one of the greatest highs (natural only... no idea what an unnatural one feels like but i promise you this is much better) i've ever had is getting food for free or ridiculously cheap.

what i paid for the above items (per item) at albertsons (keep in mind some of this isn't a usual purchase for me - but poptarts, hot dogs and capri suns are great camping food and we went camping a few times recently!):

item	regular price	sale price	i paid
kelloggs fruit loops	$ 3.69	$ 2.00	$ 1.00
kelloggs frosted mini wheats	$ 3.49	$ 2.50	$ 1.00
oscar meyer franks	$ 3.99	$ 1.50	nothing
cool whip	$ 2.19	$ 1.00	nothing
nutrigrain bars	$ 3.69	$ 2.50	$ 1.00
poptarts	$ 3.49	$ 2.50	$ 1.16
kraft salad dressing	$ 3.49	$ 1.99	$ 0.50
kraft 8oz cheese (block & shredded)	$ 4.99	$ 2.00	nothing

i paid $28 for over $270 worth of groceries! that's over 90% savings!

do i have your attention now? here's the idea:

• buy things that are on sale with the coupons available
• use a website like grocerysmarts.com to match coupons with sales in your area

it isn't brain surgery. the website does it for you! it's definitely the easiest way i can think of to obtain 30 free bags/blocks of cheese. :)

happy... happier shopping is in your future! give it a try!

breakfast for dinner: baked breakfast taquitos

we almost always each exclusively hot cereal for breakfast so sometimes real breakfast foods sound really good - for dinner. like scrambled eggs or cheesy waffles. so a few weeks ago i made these baked breakfast taquitos with lime chipotle dip for dinner. they were to die for! and besides, any meal that bakes something that is supposed to be fried is a winner in my book. :) these would be great for a breakfast or brunch with friends or family. very impressive, yet easy (and the main ingredient is eggs - cheap!!)!

baked breakfast taquitos with lime chipotle dip
recipe by our best bites
with a few very minor, healthy changes by yours truly

cooking spray
12 large eggs
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
1/2 teaspoon kosher/sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 cup grated pepperjack cheese
1/4 cup chopped roasted red bell peppers
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1-2 teaspoon hot sauce

16 6" flour tortillas
cooking spray or olive oil

dipping sauce:
1 1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

preheat oven to 425 degrees. line a rimmed baking sheet with foil for easy clean-up. spray with cooking spray and set aside.

heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. crack eggs into large mixing bowl. whisk in 1/2 cup sour cream, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. when skillet is hot, spray with cooking spray and add egg mixture to pan. using a rubber spatula, gently scrape bottom of pan and fold eggs over to scramble. remove from heat when slightly undercooked. add cheese, roasted red peppers, green onions, cilantro, and hot sauce to taste. gently fold to combine.

warm tortillas in microwave to ease rolling process. working with a few tortillas at a time, place a scant 1/4 cup egg mixture into the center of each one and roll up into a cylinder. place rolled tortillas on prepared baking sheet, seam-side down, so they are not touching each other. when all tortillas are rolled and filled, lightly spray tops with cooking spray, or lightly brush with olive oil. bake for 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown and crisp.

while taquitos are baking, coming 1 1/2 cup sour cream, lime juice, chipotle chili powder and kosher salt. stir to combine and store in fridge. remove taquitos from oven , let cool for 5 minutes, and then serve with dipping sauce.

discovering your dollar store

when i moved less than a year ago some other frugal ladies from church introduced me to something i now rely on weekly for my cooking ventures: the 99 cents only store. this amazing dollar store sells nothing for more than 99c and they have some great fresh produce, some of which i definitely can't find cheaper anywhere else. here's a list of some of the things i've found there (over the course of time - not all in one trip):

• 2 pack of red/orange/yellow bell peppers
• container of mini bell peppers - multi colored and just red
• 3 pack of green bell peppers
• 2 lb bag of peaches/plums/nectarines
• 2 lb bag of dole bananas
• 6-8oz container of raspberries/blackberries/blueberries
• 3 pack hearts of romaine lettuce
• 5 lb bag of potatoes
• 3 pack of mangoes
• 3 pack of avocados
• 3 lb bag red/yellow/white onions
• 2 lb bunch broccoli/cauliflower
• 2 pack of large cucumbers
• 8 oz package of brown/white/baby bella mushrooms
• 2 pack of portobello mushrooms
• 2 lb bag carrots
• 6 pack roma tomatoes
• 1 pint cherry/grape tomatoes
• bagged organic spinach
• 4 pack large bunches of cilantro
• bag of green onions

i've also found some other non-produce items that i've been happy to find there too:

• 1 lb lasagna noodles
• bottle of oyster sauce (for asian cooking... see my asian label for more)
• 4 pack unsweetened applesauce/berry applesauce (good baby food to go)
• gerber meals for toddlers - 3 for $1
• boxed gerber granola bars - 3 boxes for $1
• wheaties fuel cereal
• large bag twizzlers nibs (confession - i love these)
• jelly flops (real jelly belly jelly beans that are funny shaped or stuck together)
• 6 pack large pita breads

i've been really happy with the quality of nearly everything i've bought from my dollar store. my hearts of romaine are even fresher and last longer than the ones i buy at other stores.

and of course i love that shopping at my dollar store makes meals like the one below possible. we loved this salad at our house - and it is as beautiful as it was delicious. packed full of beautiful (and usually) expensive veggies, this one is a keeper as long as my dollar store keeps providing bell peppers. :)

thai peanut noodle salad

find recipe here at our best bites

(i left out about 1/3 cup olive oil, though!)

just for fun, a few other great non-food items i've found at the dollar store:

• halloween costume stuff (including really cute wings - usually so expensive!)
• nick jr and disney books (like diego, backyardigans, disney princesses, etc.)
• awesome coloring books (discovery channel, disney)
• silk flowers
• picture frames

so discover what dollar stores are near you - you never know what you'll find!!

five ingredient fridays: creamy avocado pasta salad

i whipped this up the other night for a church function and it was a hit! just thought i'd share it since pasta salad is such a great warm weather food!

i know it's a few over 5 ingredients, but it's super simple. promise.

creamy avocado pasta salad
8 servings (main course, lots more as a side dish)

1 lb pasta of choice, i used macaroni
1 chicken breast, butterflied and heavily covered on both sides in taco seasoning, then pan-grilled and chopped
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained.
1 green peppers, chopped
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
1/4 of a red onion, minced

kroger brand (from smith's) lite creamy avocado ranch with lime dressing, to taste
chopped fresh cilantro to taste
salt and pepper to taste

next time i'd also add sliced black olives. yum.

1. cook pasta according to directions and cook chicken.
2. combine pasta, chicken, beans, peppers, tomatoes and onion. start with 1/2 cup of salad dressing and stir to combine. continue to add 1/4 cup at a time until you are happy with the taste/consistency. stir in cilantro and salt and pepper to taste. chill in fridge until ready to eat.

enjoy!