Thanksgiving leftovers in January

I love making extra food to save.  It's one mess and several meals.  This past Thanksgiving I made a turkey with all the fixings.  We had several leftover days and a few turkey sandwiches from it but there was still turkey leftover so I tossed it in my foodsaver and froze it for another day.  Yesterday I rummaged though the freezer and the pack of turkey crossed my path and it was my inspiration for dinner.  What to do with turkey? Make thanksgiving dinner again right.  However I hate making a lot of dishes, especially in this house.  We don't have a dishwasher so I try to limit how many dishes I use.  So how do you make Thanksgiving dinner in one pan, read on!

What you need for thanksgiving dinner in a pan:

Turkey- I used about 5 cups or 1.5lbs worth I'd guess. It's what I froze.
Potatoes- for making mashed potatoes
Green Beans- one frozen bag or 2 cups worth
Stuffing- use your own homemade or pre-made box
Gravy
Shredded cheese

First peel and dice your potatoes, I used 5 medium/large potatoes.  Put them in a pot of water on the stove to boil.  Many of you have made mashed potatoes for years, but there are a few cooks out there learning, I'll walk you though how I make mine.

 Cover them and place them on med heat. Let them boil for about 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.  While those are boiling it's a great time to make up the gravy.

Take about 1.5 cups of chicken broth and place them in a skillet.  Turn it on and let it come to a boil.

In a 2 cup measuring cup place 3/4 cups of water and 1/4 cup flour and mix well.  Pour that into your boiling broth very carefully. 

 

Stir constantly with a whisk until thickened.  If it's too thick, don't worry just add a bit more water until you get gravy consistency.  Oh and don't forget to add some salt & pepper to it too! About 1/4 tsp of each is what I add.  

 

Now that the gravy is ready to go, it's time to mash the potatoes.  Drain the potatoes and place them back in the kettle.  

I add in about 1/2 cup milk, 1/3 cup of plain Greek yogurt or sour cream depending on what I have on hand, 2-3 tbsp butter and 1/4 tsp salt.  Mash them up with a potato masher or mixer.  It's that easy!

Now it time to assemble our dinner.  In a 9x13 greased pan, place your stuffing. I used a box mix I had on hand.  I also added the 2 cups of water the box called for.

Now take your turkey and lay it on top of the stuffing. I cut mine into smaller pieces before laying it on top.  If you don't have leftover turkey, no problem. Cooked chicken works for this as well, use about 1-1.5lbs of chicken for the recipe.

Next layer is green beans. I tossed mine on frozen.  Then pour your gravy over the beans.

 

Last step is take the mashed potatoes and spread them over the top of it all.  I tossed a handful of shredded cheese on top too because everything is better with a little cheese right?! 

 Now its time for the oven.  Bake at 350 degrees for an hour.  It's that easy.  This would also be a great way to use up those thanksgiving leftover when you have them too.  You could even prepare this ahead of time in a freezer safe pan and place heavy duty tin foil over it and toss it into the freezer for another day.  That's great for when you are just sick of eating leftovers from turkey day but don't want to waste them!  

After it's hour in the oven it's ready for the table!  Only thing missing from this Thanksgiving in January is the biscuits, cranberry sauce and extended family members!

Feels like Fall outside

Do you ever notice how your meals change with the season?  At least they do for us. Perhaps that's because we have four seasons in Minnesota.  In the summer we stick to more light meals, grilling, and salads.  But in winter its the food that makes you feel all warm and cozy inside.  This meal is defiantly one of those!  I've been asked by a few readers for this recipe since it was on our last meal plan.  It's super easy to make and reminds me of thanksgiving.  You have to try it.

Chicken Supreme:
1lb chicken breast cut up
2- small packages roast beef sandwich meat (like buddig or store brand)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup water
2 cups shredded cheese (your choice, I use co-jack, swiss, provolone, I like to mix it up sometimes!)
1 box stove top stuffing
 


First preheat the oven to 350*.  Grease a 9x13 pan generously and set aside.  Open up the two packages of roast beef meat and cut into small squares.  Sprinkles these all over the bottom of the pan you just greased.  Next layer on the cut up chicken. 

Now for the next layer (aren't layers fun?! Ok so Ma Bacon may be a little over tired here. We've had a busy start to November with Mr. Bacon's birthday and Little Miss Bacon's birthday back to back.  Oh and keep watching, I will be posting our fun frugal birthday party we had for Little Miss Bacon too!).  Take your shredded cheese and sprinkle it over the chicken.  I used co-jack for this dinner. I also happened to have a few slices of swiss cheese left over in the fridge that needed to be used up.  So I broke them up and placed them on top.  You don't need to add more cheese unless you are like me and was born in the great cheese state of Wisconsin! (GO PACKERS!)  Yes we eat a lot of cheese at our house.

Now in a small bowl add your soup and water.  Mix it well. 

Take the soup mix and pour it over the cheese.  See I told you this would be easy to make!

Next take your box of stuffing (no need for it to be name brand, it was just what I had in the pantry) and dump it in the bowl you used for the soup mix.  If you'd like you can rinse the bowl first, I don't mind getting messy though.  Add in the recommended amount of HOT water but no butter according to the box.  I just use hot water from the tap since ours comes out so hot.  You don't need to boil the water first at all. Just mix the stuffing with warm water in the bowl. Sometimes I even use my hands for this step.

Sprinkle the stuffing over the top.  Now it's all ready for the oven.  Bake at 350* for 1 hour. 

That's it, when it's done let it cool a few minutes before serving.  I make some of the corn we froze and homemade buns to go with this.  Amazing diner without the thanksgiving work! 

Who needs Olive Garden?

Mr. Bacon and I love Italian food.  One of our favorite places to go is Olive Garden.  We use to go there a lot in our pre-kid days.  When Bacon Jr was little it was one of his favorite places to go, we even had a full cupboard of Olive Garden kids cups!  But there is no way I want to attempt to take 4 kids out there now, and I couldn't imagine the cost of that bill!  Those were also the days before we learned how much we wasted money on things we 'though' we needed.  I'm happy to have those days behind us!  I love Chicken Alfredo. It's one of my favorite things to eat.  So I was very happy when I found this recipe!  Want some amazing Italian food without the restaurant price and hassle?  I thought so! 

Chicken Alfredo:
1 lb chicken breast- cut up
2 cups broccoli - thawed or raw cut into small pieces
3/4 box fettuchini noodles

Sauce:
1 stick butter
1-8oz cream cheese (low fat is ok!)
2 tsp chopped garlic (I use heaping tsp but we like garlic)
2 cups milk
6oz grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp pepper

First get your water boiling for your noodles, cook them according to the package. Now you want to get the sauce going.  I use a small pot for this.  Add the butter, cream cheese and garlic to the pot.  Set on the stove on low heat and allow it to melt.  You don't want this to be cooked on high heat or it will burn.  Once that is melted it will look quite lumpy, don't panic it's suppose to be like that.  I use a whisk to mix it good.  Then slowly add in the milk while mixing.  This will smooth out the lumps into a creamy sauce!  Add in the pepper and cheese and allow it to cook on low or med low heat.  The Parmesan cheese takes some time to melt down so I like to start this right away and let it warm on low heat while I cook everything else. 

Next take your cut chicken and saute it in 1-2 TBSP oil and your favorite seasoning. I use Mrs. Dash garlic and herb for this recipe. 

When the chicken has been cooking for about 5 min on med heat, add the broccoli to it.  This will cook it but hopefully not make it too mushy. Continue cooking for another 5-10 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked.  I was going to take a picture of this.  But as you can see we were a little busy. Sister in law Bacon was here to play with the kids and we decided to make some fun cookies!

When the noodles are tender, drain them.

When the chicken is cooked, add the Alfredo sauce to the chicken. 

Next take the biscuits out of the oven.  Yes you can't have chicken Alfredo without some biscuits or bread sticks!  Remember this recipe?!

Now find a big dish.  I used a 9x13 pan.  This pictures looks like it's going to over flow, but don;'t worry, I made a batch and a half when I cooked this time. 

Ahhh... savor the aroma.  I love this stuff so much it's making my mouth water for some. Too bad we dont' have any leftovers anymore.  You have successfully made an amazing Italian meal at home for a fraction of the cost of going out to eat.  And you don't have to be embarrassed about how you kids act while you eat it!  Enjoy!

"Yesterday's Meatloaf is today's Sloppy Joes"

Anyone remember those lyrics?  If not that's probably a good thing!  Mr. Bacon and I were taking a walk down memory lane listening to old songs we remembered on YouTube the other day.  Some he was even letting the kids listen to.  I found out that they actually do appreciate some big hair bands as well as a little Lunch Lady Land!  Mostly they just laughed at the video.  Anyway, I'm thankful to say this meatloaf will not become tomorrow's sloppy joes!  It's way too good (even as leftovers) to eat it any other way.

Last year I was looking for a good meatloaf recipe.  Meatloaf is a comfort food and is there anything better than comfort food?  It warms you up and makes you feel all cozy inside.  My friend Nancy was happy to share hers.  She said her boys would eat a whole pan at a time it was that good.  So I thought if her kids at it, surely mine would too right?  Yes indeed I was right.  Want to try it out too? Read on!


Nancy's Meatloaf:
1.5 lbs burger (beef or turkey or a mix works fine I've found)
12 saltine crackers- crushed
3/4 cup milk
1 egg beaten
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 TBSP Worcester sauce
1/4 tsp each- pepper, dry mustard, sage, celery salt, garlic salt
Ketchup to top

In a bowl or 1 cup measure cup, place milk, Worcester sauce and egg. Mix well.  In a large bowl place the burger, crackers, and seasonings.  Now if you don't have all the seasoning on hand, it's ok.  I for some reason didn't have everything either.  I did have pepper and sage.  I added 1/4 tsp more garlic powder instead of garlic salt, and I added roughly 1 tsp yellow mustard from the fridge since I couldn't find my dry mustard.  And don't ask me where the celery salt went either?  Seems like the pantry monster has been hungry around here lately, or maybe playing tricks on my by hiding my spices?

Next comes the messy part, Mixing.  Dump the milk mix into the meat and spices and mix away. I do this with my hands, it's the best way I've found to make sure everything gets mixed well.  If you choose to use a spoon that's fine too. Just make sure it's mixed up really well.  Next take out a 9x13 pan and grease it well.

Spread your meat mixture in the pan and shape it into a loaf.  You can also grease muffin tins and fill them with the meat mix and have mini meat loafs too. The kids love that. My friend Nancy uses a special silicone heart pan she bought for a special, always requested valentines meatloaf dinner.  Hey have fun with it, the more creative, the more kids like it right?!

Once you have your loaf, squirt ketchup over the top of it.  Place it in a preheated 350* 

oven and let it bake for 1.5 hours. 

Here is mine all snug in the oven!  We had baked potatoes and squash with it as you can see. 

Nothing like all the mess in the oven baking while I play with the kids!

How can you say no to a slice of meatloaf?  This recipe is amazing and always comes out moist.  Thank you Nancy for sharing your recipe with me! It's a family favorite here.

Mystery Meat Meal?

I've told you about our mystery noodles before, well this is all about the meat! Now when I say mystery meat, I don't mean the package of stuff you pulled out of the freezer but have no clue what it is because you forgot to mark it or it's so freezer burnt it's not recognizable.  I've found stuff like that before, trust me it's just best to toss that stuff!  But have you every had a package of meat in the fridge or freezer and you're wondering what should I make out of this?  Any time I have that, I use this recipe.  Oh and the other thing I love about this recipe, it's a crock pot meal!  I love my crock pot. I dump all the stuff in it in the morning, and by dinner I have a cooked meal with very little work.   This is perfect for a busy day or one that you don't feel like cooking.  It saves us from heading out for pizza or fast food too!

Country (mystery meat) crock pot dinner:
1 package of meat- this time I used pork chops
1 can cream of something soup- I used mushroom
1 soup can of water
1/4 cup chopped onion
4-5 med peeled, cut carrots
3-4 med cut up potatoes
1 tsp season salt
1/4 tsp pepper

In medium or large crock pot place soup, water and seasoning.  Mix well.  Add in your meat.  This can be anything. This time around I used pork.  But I've made it with thin beef steaks, ground burger, chicken or even turkey.  They all work.  If I'm making chicken or turkey I use cream of chicken soup in stead of mushroom soup.

Next chop some onions and toss them into the soup and meat mix. 

Do you hate chopping onions? This one was really bad and made even Bacon Jr cry while he was sitting at the kitchen table doing his homework. But what I really hate is when my hands smell like onions for DAYS afterward.  Want to know a trick to get rid of the smell?  When you are done cutting, wash your hands with a spoon. I put some soap on my hands, grab a spoon and scrub away. Then rinse like normal.  Takes the smell away every time. This works with a lot of things, I wash my hands like this after I use peppers or garlic too. 

Cover and turn the crock pot on high.  This recipe calls to cook this on high for 4-5 hours or low for 7-8 hours. So adjust your time as needed.  When I'm about 2-3 hours out from when I want to eat I add the veggies.  You can add this right away if you are cooking it on low too. 

I cut my peeled carrots into little carrot coins and toss them in. 

Potatoes get chopped as well. It's up to you if you'd like to peel them, I don't since that's where all the good stuff is and the kids eat the peels and don't even know it's good for them!  You can add other veggies if you'd like, use up what ever you have so it doesn't go to waste. 

Toss them all in and give it a good mix around.  Then put the lid back on.  Let it cook until the meat and veggies are both done.

Yes sometimes I let it go long enough and everything is falling apart!   It turns it more into a stew that way.  Serve it with some fresh baked biscuits, toast or just buttered bread.  Dinner is ready!

What to do with all that sauce?

Yes THIS post is going to be another pizza post. Can you tell we love our pizza around the Bacon house?  It's most requested for dinner on family fun night, and what can I say?  They give me the puppy dog face.  But I do get bored with the same ol' round pizza.  And you know I have lots of jars of that fantastic pizza sauce lined up in your cupboard right?  So what to make this time?  Pizza braids!  They are wonderful!  And quick and easy and freeze well....  So you want to make one for your family fun night too? Or just any night?  Read on!

First start with that tasty pizza dough.  Once it's all mixed up and rested, take the dough and divide it in half.

Press it out into a rectangle on a flour coated surface, I use my wood cutting board. Good tip to keep the board from slipping is to place it on a silicone hot pad or other non-stick material you have. I keep a chunk of that non-slip shelf liner in my gadget drawer just for this.

Roll out a nice rectangle.  Oh I think this one is about 15 inches long, yes I just guess I never measure much, just ask Mr. Bacon!  

Next add your favorite toppings down the center. Leave about a two inch boarder around the edge. Can you guess who likes to help here? Little Miss Bacon has been loving helping me out more in the kitchen.   

Next cut the dough about every 2 inches around the pizza only up to where the sauce is.  Do this only along both long sides, not the short ends.

Then I flip in the short ends, and bring in the cut stripes. I rotate one from the right, then the left, then back to the right. You get the picture right?!  Bacon Jr. loves to help with this step.  After all it is family fun night and which includes dinner at our house!

As for the other half of pizza dough, you can repeat all the steps above and have two pizza braids or you can go ahead and make some cheesy bread to go with it!  To make it first start with the steps above to make a large rectangle.  Then I melt some butter  (about 1/4 stick) and add some garlic bread seasoning to it.  It's from Tastefully Simple and so not thrifty, but one bottle lasts us about 6 months.  You can feel free to add in some garlic powder, Italian seasonings, Mrs. Dash garlic & herb or what ever you have on hand. Or you can just skip adding things to your butter.  After all it's suppose to be a fun relaxing night right?

Then brush your rectangle with the melted butter.  Next sprinkle on your favorite shredded cheese. We use a 3 cheese blend. 

Now it's time to braid it all up. You can see a little better the way I cross mine over, I'm not picky on this step so if it doesn't look all that pretty it's ok, I just tell people Mr. Bacon did it! 

Next toss them both on a greased baking sheet.  Yes this is a bit tricky with the transfer from the cutting board to the pan.  I just grab it at both ends and pick it up and set it on the pan.  It usually doesn't fall apart. And if it does, I just piece it back together. 

On top of the cheesy bread I brush on more of the melted garlic butter.  This is Little Boy Bacon's job.  He loves to paint dinner, and I love that everyone gets to do a part.  If you're wondering what Mr. Bacon got to help with it was sampling the pizza toppings!  Place in a 400* oven for 12-15 minutes or until the tops are nice and golden brown and the cheese is all melty.  

Now to to add just a little more cheese.  When it comes out I grate on some fresh Parmesan cheese over both the pizza and the garlic bread.  Slice then in strips and you're ready for your own family fun night!  We usually break out the board games after dinner and play many before it's time for the kids to tuck in to bed.  There is nothing better than spending time with my family and starting new traditions!  So what are you doing for family fun night?