Give it a try!

Have you ever seen something and said "uh, no thanks" before ever trying it? Well, today, I thought I'd try something different for lunch.

I made the Broccoli Cheese Potato Soup that I tried a few weeks ago. This time, I made a full batch. We all LOVED it.

I cooked some chicken breasts for Tim to take to work.

I threw in some Yummy Muffins that Amy raved about over on her blog. (and they ARE delicious, just as she said!)

And I cooked up a batch of Salsa Black Bean Chicken. I wasn't so sure about the whole Salsa over Chicken with little black beans in it but thought what the heck, if nothing else, I'll just call it a learning experience. We all need those every now and then. Right? So, I threw 2 frozen chicken breasts in a pan, covered them with the remaining salsa I had in the fridge, covered it and turned the heat on low. I flipped it every now and then and before long, noticed that my salsa juice was nearly gone. I added some canned black beans to the pan, stiring it up and letting it cook some more. I shredded the chicken, mixed it all in and it was done. We had a few soft taco shells left so I cut them in half, put the sour cream out and a bag of shredded cheese. Just as I had hoped, EVERYONE LOVED it! Tim admitted he wasn't so sure about it but that he really liked it (and the soup...and the muffins).

So, there is yet another meal that is rather inexpensive (and maybe better for you than ground beef). Give it a try. It was really yummy!

Anyone have anything new to share? I'd love to give it a try!

Chicken Pot Pie is a hit!

Chicken Pot Pie

Tonight, we made a homemade chicken pot pie. We found the recipe here

We didn't follow the recipe exactly as listed.

Purchased (approximate cost of $5-$6):
2- 9" pie crusts in the freezer section
1- 8oz bag frozen mixed veggies
2-small cans of cream of chicken soup (three if you like more gravy)
1-small can of chicken broth
3-chicken breasts
Salt
Pepper

Remove pie crusts from freezer (if frozen) Let thaw.

Place chicken breasts in a fry pan.
Dump small can of chicken broth over chicken
Season with salt and pepper
Cook until done
Remove chicken and cut into pieces.

Heat oven to 400 degrees

Using a fork, pierce the bottom and sides of the pie crust that will be used for the bottom of the pot pie.

In a bowl, mix cooked chicken, cream of chicken soup and mixed veggies. Once mixed, pour into the bottom pie crust. Use second pie crust as the top. **We did find that the frozen pie crust works great for the bottom but is difficult to remove from the pie pan in order to use it for the top. I think a rolled pie crust may be easier to use, perhaps one found in the refrigerator section.

Crimp the edges together with a fork, sealing them. Using a knife, cut three slits in the top of the crust. Slide the filled pot pie onto a cookie sheet to protect the oven in case of an overflow.

Cook approximately 50-60 minutes or until the top crust is golden brown.

Just a side note: If you were looking to decrease the cooking time, I imagine you could use canned chicken as well as canned veggies. We used "store brand" ingredients for everything this time. I thought I would *try* it as I tend to be a "name brand" snob with most of our food items. We used Meijer chicken breasts that were frozen in the bags at buy 1 bag, get 1 free this week. We used Meijer crusts (2 crusts for $1 this week). By the way, these crusts were amazing. So flaky and delicious. The mixed veggies were Meijer frozen 16oz bag. We used 1/2 bag for 1 pie. The broth and soup were actually from save-a-lot. I was hesitant to use anything but my "regular" brand but it really was quite tasty. I would definately use the same ingredients again. Next time, I plan to add some diced potatos. I totally forgot to do it this time!

This pot pie was delicious! We did discover that one pie will not feed our entire family, if we were all going to eat. I would say one pie would feed 4-5 depending on appetite and child/adult.

Reviews from the kids are as follows:
Jacob: Devoured it. I assume he liked it.
Austin: Didn't want to try it but after convincing him to see what his tastebuds say, he finished his plate.
Katelyn: Ms. Attitude slept through dinner and is still sleeping!
Emilee: "Um, no thank you" is what she told me after one bite.
Jonathon: Just as his brothers, he has devoured it.

Perhaps Chicken Pot Pie is a mans food? I'm not sure. I thought it was pretty delicious!

The smell....

Dinner is cooking, the fire is burning, and the smells are amazing! Tonight, we're having pot roast. What did you have?

I stopped on my way home and picked up the roast. I used

Placed the roast inside along with


and


Added some spices and popped it into the oven!

Total cost: $16.75
$10.00 beef roast
$2.00 seasoning & bag
$2.00 carrots
$1.25 large can diced 'tatos
$1.50 Dinner Rolls

Oh, I can't wait to taste this yummy meal. We even have dinner rolls to go along with it! Yummy!

So, what did you have for dinner tonight?

So, what's for dinner?

Today, it will be Chili or Spaghetti here.

We are back into the busy football season with the boys. That, of course, means practice every day of the week with the exception of Sunday. That also means that in addition to doing all of the regular day to day things, I now get to add into the mix of having practice until 8pm every night of the week. Then it's home to get the kids fed, bathed, and in bed...all single handed. (sigh) Wait, I lied. We do get Sunday off from practices.

So, I'm now attempting to find quick, easy receipes to make for dinner, preferably not something from a box each and every night. Today, I decided to just brown the extra burger and throw together a huge pot of Spaghetti and another of Chili. The rest of the burger will be for Taco/Nacho's. So, we're set for the next couple days. Then, it will be the weekend and I can start all over!

Any yummy quick receipes that you'd like to share with this frazzled momma?