What's for dinner? Taco Soup

Have I mentioned that I love soup?  I really do.  I would love to live somewhere cold so I could eat soup every day.  Unfortunately, I live in Texas and we don't really have what would be considered a "winter" but it did drop below 80, so I decided i wanted soup.  


Tonight's dinner is one of my family's absolute FAVES!!  I got this recipe from my mother-in-law a few years ago but have adapted it to become my own.  

Taco Soup
1 lb ground turkey
2 tbsp Pampered Chef Southwestern Seasoning
1 package ranch dip mix
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 can black beans drained and rinsed
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn 
1 can water


Brown turkey in large pot seasoned with Southwestern seasoning and Ranch mix.  I use the Mix 'N Chop to get my meat chopped up very small and to avoid those big chunks you get with ground turkey.  Drain of excess grease.


Add tomatoes, beans, corn and water.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat.  Simmer for at least 30 minutes.  


Serve over tortilla chips and garnish with cheese and sour cream.  

Easy Beef Stroganoff

Once again, I was challenged for a cheap dinner for the eldest child and her boyfriend.  LOL!  She picked up these ingredients, including garlic powder and she said the total was around $7.  Sounds like a deal to me.

Easy Beef Stroganoff
1 lb ground beef
1 can cream of mushroom soup
6 oz sour cream
1 package egg noodles prepared

 Brown ground meat seasoned with garlic powder and salt and pepper.  Drain excess grease.  Add can of cream of mushroom soup and 1 can of water.   Add noodles and simmer for 10 minutes, the longer it simmers the better it is.  Turn off heat and add sour cream.

Optional: sliced baby bella mushrooms.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

As promised here is the post about the laundry detergent.  Honestly, it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be.  I researched a lot of different recipes and decided I would use the recipe found on The Delgado Seven but slightly modified it.


Here is the basic recipe:
1 cup of Borax, 1 cup of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda, 3 bars of Ivory soap.  I also added 1 cup of oxy clean and bought some lavendar essential oil to add to the load for a great scent.  I put a couple drops in the fabric softener dispenser and it makes the clothes smell WONDERFUL.

A friend of mine who also makes this said you can use just one bar of Ivory soap and it works just as well.  So, that is what I did.  I used my Microplane grater to grate the soap, and it was super easy.  

I tried to use my food processor first but it just made the soap clump up and made a HUGE mess.  To store it I had a container that some very sweet student had given to the hubs with cookies in it for Christmas last year.  It worked perfectly.

I've done quite a bit of laundry with this so far and it works great!  I'm very pleased.  It was super cheap to buy, the most expensive thing was the essential oil and that isn't a mandatory ingredient.  It was 8.99 and honestly, I use such a small amount, that bottle will probably last me FOR-EV-ER!! 

This morning my BFF, and sometimes oldest child, texted me that she wanted an easy recipe that could be made for less than $5.  It got my wheels turning.  I couldn't think of anything for less than $5 but I told her I could do something for less than $10.  With that I present, Loaded Baked Potato Chowder.  

Loaded Baked Potato Chowder

Ingredients:
3   baking potatoes (about 2 1/2 lb/1.1 kg) 3 1/2   cups (875 mL) milk, divided 4   oz (125 g) cream cheese, softened 2   tbsp (30 mL) butter 2-3   green onions with tops (1/4 cup/50 mL sliced)		4   oz (125 g) sharp cheddar cheese, grated 1 1/2   tsp (7 mL) salt 1/2   tsp (2 mL) coarsely ground black pepper Optional toppings such as chopped cooked bacon, sour cream or steamed broccoli florets

Directions:
1.	Slice potatoes in half lengthwise with Santoku Knife; place in Deep Covered Baker. Pour 1/2 cup (125 mL) of the milk over potatoes. Microwave, covered, on HIGH 11 minutes. Remove baker from microwave. Move center potatoes to ends of baker and outer potatoes to center. Cover; microwave on HIGH 8-11 minutes or until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. Remove baker from microwave. Coarsely mash potatoes with Mix ‘N Chop.
2.	Meanwhile, whisk cream cheese until smooth in Classic Batter Bowl. Slowly add remaining 3 cups (750 mL) milk, whisking until smooth. Add cream cheese mixture and butter to baker. Microwave, covered, on HIGH 3-5 minutes or until mixture is hot. Slice green onions with Chef's Knife.
3.	Carefully remove baker from microwave. Grate cheddar cheese over chowder using Rotary Grater; add green onions, salt and black pepper and mix usingSmall Mix ‘N Scraper®; until cheese is melted. Serve with toppings, if desired.
Yield: 6 servings (8 cups/2 L)  Nutrients per serving: (about 1 1/3 cups/325 mL): Calories 390, Total Fat 19 g, Saturated Fat 11 g, Cholesterol 65 mg, Carbohydrate 43 g, Protein 14 g, Sodium 880 mg, Fiber 3 g  Cook’s Tips: For a lighter version, omit butter. Substitute fat-free (skim) milk, reduced-fat (Neufchâtel) cheese and light cheddar for the 2% milk and full-fat cheeses.  U.S. Nutrients per serving: Calories 300, Total Fat 8 g, Saturated Fat 5 g, Cholesterol 30 mg, Carbohydrate 43 g, Protein 16 g, Sodium 890 mg, Fiber 3 g  © 2010 The Pampered Chef used under license. All of the ingredients, including bacon for the topping cost $12, cheaper than McDonald's.  Of course telling her about it, it made me want to make it myself.  So, this is also what we had for dinner tonight.  Unfortunately, for her, the BFF does not have the Deep Covered Baker, also known as the "magic pot".  So, I had to adjust the recipe for her to make it on the stove top.  If you are in the same boat as her, here is the adjusted recipe. Boil potatoes in water or chicken stock, drain and return to pot, add milk and cream cheese mixture.  Bring to a boil and then turn heat to low.  Pick up with step #3. If you are regular reader and are wondering about the homemade laundry detergent, well, I made it and have done several loads of laundry.  Hopefully, I will be able to post how it went tomorrow. Until then, happy clippin' and cookin'

Now that I'm an adult...

On October 1 I turned 30 years old.  I know that is not old to many people, but to me it was devastating.  I really had a hard time with the anticipation of it.  When the day came it was not as painful as I had originally thought it would be, but something happened that day.  I really can't explain it, but I really feel that I have changed in the past month.

I know it seems so silly, and honestly, it's not even something I have given a conscious thought to.  In the past month, I have started caring more about my house, decorating it, becoming more organized, and doing more crafty things.  I've also wanted to dress better, a friend of mine gave me some gorgeous dangle earrings for my birthday and I have been so excited to wear them.  To the shock and dismay of another friend who gave me a hard time for wearing the same James Avery earrings everyday.  But of course, I'm doing all of these things on my shoe-string budget.  LOL!!

So, I'm making some goals for this week and I will let you know how it goes.

First of all, I am going to try to make my own laundry detergent.  I found a recipe over at The Delgado Seven and I'm going to go buy the ingredients tomorrow and give it a try.  Of course, I will blog the progress.

I also found this super cute craft I am going to try with my girls
sometime this week.  I'm planning on cutting them with my circle cutter and them making them into ornaments.  Ideally, I would love to say I will do this every year, but first I'm going to just say I'm doing it this year and we'll see how it goes.

So, I'm hoping to keep up the momentum.  Of course, I'm also trying to do all of this, raise my girls, keep my house, and run my business.  But really, who needs sleep anyway?

Pizza Night - Pesto Pizza

I LOVE PIZZA!  Deep dish, pan, thin crust, stuffed crust, you name it, I LOVE it!!  I especially love making it at home.  I have discovered it is cheaper than delivery and quicker too.  


Tonight was Pesto Pizza.  It is roughly based on a Pampered Chef recipe for Mini Pesto Pizzas, which are great for parties, but for our family dinner it's easier to do it this way.


Pesto Pizza
Ingredients
1 prepared refrigerated pizza dough
2 tbsp prepare pesto sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
2 plum tomatoes, sliced


Pre-heat oven to 450
Lightly brush large bar pan with olive oil with silicone basting brush.  Unroll pizza dough and stretch the length of the bar pan.  Evenly spread pesto sauce over the dough.  Top pizza with 1 1/2 cups of the cheese, evenly place tomatoes on top of the cheese.  Scatter the rest of the cheese over the tomatoes.  


Bake for 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted and browned.


The 4 year old ate four pieces of this and the baby LOVED it.


What is your favorite homemade pizza?

Tonight's Dinner: Chicken Fajitas

Tuesday nights we have soccer practice at 6:00 pm. So, usually dinner is something quick and easy. Ashamedly, last Tuesday my 4 year old had Ramen noodles for the first time. I made myself feel better by boiling them in low sodium chicken broth but I still fed her Ramen.

Well tonight I have thought and planned ahead and we're having chicken fajitas with spanish rice and refried beans.

I am so excited to use my new Pampered Chef Grill Pan to grill chicken for the first time. I used it last week for pork chops and it was so quick and easy.

To grill chicken:

Heat pan over medium heat 5 minutes. Spray pan with vegetable oil. Cook chicken 7-10 minutes. Turn chicken over; cook 7-10 minutes or until Digital Pocket Thermometer registers 165°F (74°C) and juices run clear.

The fajitas are the seasoned chicken thighs from HEB. These are on sale all the time and I usually have a package in my freezer. I got the tortillas last week at Kroger's, they were in the bakery for $1.

The refried beans are also the Kroger brand, as is the instant Spanish rice. I try not to use pre-packaged foods but it was so cheap and easy that I couldn't pass it up.

For the baby and myself, I have 2 fresh avocados that were also on sale last week. The husband or the 4 year old won't eat avocado.

There is usually some sort of cheese on sale, this week Kroger has them 3 for $5. So I have the mexican blend shredded cheese.

Total this meal probably cost less than $10 and is enough for us to have for dinner tonight and the hubby can take some to school for lunch tomorrow.