[No sugar added] Tropical Yorbet

The other day I was cleaning the kitchen and came to the realization that my pineapple and two
mangoes were getting dangerously close to overripe. I didn't want a smoothie because I prefer my smoothies with banana in them and I was out of bananas. A fruit salad wasn't sounding terribly appealing to me either. I decided to grab my blender and ice cream machine from the cupboard and play. I tossed in the mangoes, half the pineapple (I let the kids munch on the rest), a cup or so of coconut milk, and 16 oz. of plain Greek yogurt (although vanilla would go nicely as well).

Christmas Banquet 2013

Jared and I had the privilege of planning our church's yearly Christmas Banquet. I thoroughly enjoy planning, decorating, and cooking for banquets and things so I was really looking forward to doing it. We planned our previous church's Valentine's banquet almost every year that we were there and found that we worked well as a team. This is the first year that I have also had the opportunity to prepare the food besides planning and decorating. I had some awesome help in every aspect so I don't suggest trying to pull something like this off unless you can recruit some help at every stage.

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

Most of our family really enjoys pancakes (Miss S asks for them at breakfast a LOT). I wanted to try something different than my standard buttermilk pancake so I play around with my pancake recipes and some fresh blueberries.

Pepperoni [or Grilled Chicken] Pasta Salad

As I've mentioned before we're trying to had some sort of "salad" twice a week for the month of July. We love lettuce salads, rice salads, etc., but for a quick, easy, and flavorful salad (that can be made ahead of time) Italian-style pasta salad is my "go to" dish. It can be taken to picnics, eaten as a side dish, or enjoyed as a main dish with the addition of mini pepperoni or grilled chicken. I made a huge bowl of this last night so it was ready to eat as soon as we got home from church today.

Santa Fe Rice Salad

My sister made this awesome black bean and rice salad for our annual 4th of July cookout at my parents' place. It was so delicious that I just had to get her recipe and include it in my July menu.

Menu 2013: July 1-August 4

Summers are always busy, hot, and humid around our house so I want to keep things simple, cool, and refreshing. We have our Vacation Bible School at church this month (don't forget that there is a menu challenge for this month). Jared and I need to get back into an exercise/running routine as well as eating better so that we can handle a 5k later this summer. With that in mind, my menu for this month (except my freezer meal week) will be:

• Salad twice a week
• Sandwich/wrap/pita
• Spicy
• Grilled
• Misc. dish

NEW! Printable version of my monthly menu here.

July 1-7: Happy Birthday, America!!
We're spending most of the week with my family out of town so I only need a few meals.

• Sub Sandwiches and fruit salad
• Berry Almond Salad - I'm going to attempt a Wendy's copycat - Italian blend lettuce, fresh blueberries, fresh strawberry slices, shaved Parmesan, toasted almonds, and raspberry vinaigrette)
• Steak, grilled corn, sauteed green beans, asparagus, and fresh bread
• Chef Salad

July 8-14

• Homemade pizza
• "Philly cheesesteak" pitas (freeze your pita bread, and freeze onions and peppers ahead of time, then saute with deli roast beef and top with sharp provolone to save time), and side salad
• Burgers and sweet potato fries
• Taco Salad
• Spicy grilled chicken breast with Santa Fe rice salad
• Pepperoni Pasta Salad

July 15-21

• Santa Fe Salad
• Grilled one-pouch feast over brown rice
• Fajitas with black beans and rice
• Cobb Salad
• Cold Cut wraps (ham, turkey, salami and veggies on a wrap), veggie chips, and fruit salad

July 22-28 (VBS & Freezer Meal Week)

• Chicken enchiladas with a creamy green chile sauce and a side salad (I am making this for supper tomorrow and doing up a double batch, we'll eat one pan and I'll freeze the other)
• Homemade Frozen Pizza (if you'd like some extra ideas for toppings check out my post on homemade pizzas) and fresh veggie tray
• Chicken cordon bleu freezer casserole, sauteed green beans, and side salad
• Ranch cheddar burger, side salad, and French fries
• Tater Tot Casserole (just prep this in a 9x13 pan instead of the skillet)
• Asian grilled chicken (I will toss the ziplock bag in the freezer), Minute brown rice, oven roasted corn on the cob, and fruit salad

July 29-August 4

• BLTA Croissants and fruit salad
• Grilled Caprese Chicken with balsamic reduction, asparagus, glazed carrots, parmesan herb pasta, and fresh bread
• Santa Fe Salad
• Chef Salad
• Jambalaya
• Lasagna Roll-ups, glazed carrots, side salad, and French bread

Butter Braid: Savory or Sweet

Sweet - Strawberry Mango Braid

A few years back, my sister introduced me to butter braids. The school my nieces attend was selling them as a fundraiser and they were delicious! But...they made for an expensive breakfast. My sister decided there had to be an alternative and came up with her own recipe. I wanted to try her recipe but she was out of town so I just winged it. This recipe make 3 loaves (each loaf cuts nicely into 8-10 pieces) and my sister usually freezes 1 or 2 of them but I still need to get her freezer instructions...

Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Oatmeal [Raisin] Pancakes

Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Oatmeal Pancakes
with Mixed Berry Peach Syrup

Our family enjoys having breakfast for dinner at least 1-2 times a month and pancakes are one of the kids' favorites. I wanted to try something different than the standard buttermilk pancake so I adapted a Taste of Home recipe.

Chili Dog Sauce

I LOVE chili dogs but am not a fan of how unhealthy the store bought sauce is for you so I decided to make my own a couple of weeks ago. It turned out beautifully! A friend, who is not normally a fan of hot dogs, commented on how good it was. The sauce has a nice amount of spice, a lot of flavor, loads of extra nutrients, and makes a huge batch. I like that it makes a great big batch because then I have leftovers - leftovers that can be used in a tomato chili, frozen for future chili dogs, or added to nacho cheese for chip dip.

• 1 lb Ground Turkey (you could also sub beef, venison, chicken, etc.)
• 1 1/2 cups Small Red Beans (Dry)
• 2 cups Spinach leaves - Raw
• 2 cup Carrots, grated
• 1 medium Onion, cut into chunks
• 1 cup red bell peppers, cut into chunks  
• 2 cans Red Gold - Chili Ready Diced Tomatoes 
• 1/2 cup Ketchup
• 3 teaspoons Jalapeno Hot Sauce
• 2 tablespoons Chili Powder
• 1 tablespoon Paprika
• 1 tablespoon Cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
• 1 tablespoon Oregano, dried
• 3 cloves Garlic
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Rinse and cook beans (never cooked your own, here are some cooking instructions / tips).
2. while beans are simmering, throw all the ingredients (except the meat and beans) in a food processor or blender and puree. Then pour them into a 6 quart slow cooker on low. (You may need to process/blend in a few batches as it may be too much liquid for just one.)
3. Brown turkey with salt and pepper; drain and add meat to the slow cooker.
4. Once the beans are cooked, toss them into the food processor or blender and pulse till they are small crumbles in size (you can also leave some whole for texture; add to slow cooker.
5. Let everything simmer for 3-6 hours. 
6. Then enjoy!

If you like a meatier sauce, by all means, add more meat. I may add another half a pound next time I make this.

1 serving = 1/4 cup of sauce (36 calories)

Banana Pancakes

I needed to use up a bunch of VERY ripe bananas and decided to try my hand at banana pancakes. I happened upon a great (and healthy) recipe at Shef Shanan's. They were a huge success and the kids ate them up faster than I could dish them up! I did triple the original recipe as I was hoping to have extras to freeze.

Crockpot Black Beans

I have been looking for a good crockpot black bean recipe and finally found a really good one at the feast within. I added bell peppers and made up a double batch so I could freeze half for later.

Light & Fluffy Dinner Rolls (my basic bread dough recipe)

Many months ago I found this recipe for light and fluffy dinner rolls on TheSavvyHomemaker.com. It was a huge hit at our house and has become my "go to" recipe for almost anything that requires bread dough (stromboli, breakfast braids, pepperoni rolls, cinnamon rolls, etc.).

I have made a few changes and additions so I figured that it was time to post my variation. The first change comes in removing all of the dairy. We have a friend who is allergic to dairy and we have her over for dinner fairly often so I decided to attempt these without the use of milk or butter. They turned out just as delicious as they are with dairy.

They second change is in the size of the dinner rolls. I've started dividing the dough into 24-36 rolls instead of the original 20. There are two reason for this: 1. it lowers the calorie count per roll (which is great when you are trying to lose weight like I am), and 2. I have a good number of rolls to freeze for later use (I will include directions below).

Menu: February 27-April 1 (Freezer Meal Month)

Right now you might be saying to yourself, "Wow! Beka got the menu done extra early this month." I know I'm usually very late with finishing up the month's menus and somtimes I'm still working on them during the first week of the month. There is a reason for "sudden" speed in menu writing. A couple of weeks ago I was inspired to attempt a month's worth of freezer meals after seeing a "Pin" on Pinterest. So here are the results of that inspiration, 40 meals (5 weeks worth) with main dishes that all begin in the freezer. I made up all of the meals on weekends during the previous or made doubles of meals and froze the extra batch.

If you'd like to find more freezer meal options, Fabulessly Frugal has a wonderful master list of freezer meals. Food Network also has a decent list of freezer friendly meals.

February 27-March 4

• Chicken Parmesan Bake, mixed veggies, salad, and French bread
• Savory Vegetable Beef Soup and dinner rolls
• Crockpot Orange Chicken, stir-fried veggies, and rice
• Mexican Lasagna (I made this meal from my taco leftovers last month)
• Beef Stroganoff over egg noodles, steamed broccoli, and glazed carrots

March 5-11

• "Mini" Smoky Chipotle Meatloaf, baby red potatoes, and glazed baby carrots (I followed the freezer instructions for the meatloaf from here)
• Chicken Kiev, California medley veggies, garlic herb fingerling potatoes, and dinner rolls (made a double batch last month)
• Pepperoni Rolls and salad (I froze some last month)
• Baked Rigatoni Pasta, steamed broccoli, salad, and French bread
• White Chicken Chili

March 12-18

• Chicken Enchiladas, and black beans and rice (I made a double batch of this last month and froze the extra pan)
• Italian Turkey Meatballs over pasta with mixed veggies and French bread
• Chicken and Dumplings (I made a double batch of the base and froze it last month, I'll add the dumplings once reheated)
• Tater Tot Casserole
• Chicken Carbonara Bake

March 19-25

• Peppery Beef Sandwiches, pasta salad, and veggie tray
• Stuffed Pepper Soup
• Four Cheese Stuffed Shells, mixed veggies, salad, and French bread
• Fajitas, and black beans and rice
• Chicken Pot Pie

March 26-April 1

• Gnocchi with peas, grilled chicken, pancetta, and garlic cream sauce
• Pineapple Curry Chicken and rice
• Shepherd's Pie
• Jambalaya (I am going to freeze all the chopped veggies and cooked chicken but will make the dish stove top as the recipe indicates)
• Peppercorn Steak, twice baked potatoes, mixed veggies, and salad

Sunday Breakfasts
We generally have to eat on the run on Sunday mornings and I don't always have time to bake muffins and things ahead of time so we end up picking up donuts or some other unhealthy breakfast option. I also like to take breakfast in for our Sunday School Class a few times a month and on those days we try to get to church early enough to have the kids eat in our classroom before everyone arrives. Because of all this I am going to attempt freezer breakfasts along with all the other freezer meals.

• blueberry cinnamon rolls (made up a huge batch of these last month and then froze them using the freezer instructions from my regular cinnamon roll recipe) 
• breakfast burritos
• banana blueberry bread
• egg sandwiches
• homemade bagels

Here are some notes on preparing dishes for the freezer:

1. You might be wondering what kind of dishes I am using to store said meals in the freezer. I laid freezer paper down in the pans before placing ingredients in them. Then I froze the meals. Once the meals were frozen, I removed them from said pans and placed them in large freezer bags or wraps them in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Before baking, I remove all plastic wrap, aluminum foil, etc. and place the meal in the proper pan for thawing.
   
2. For meals that will be cooked using the stove top or in a slow cooker instead of the oven, I placed all the ingredients in large ziptop bags and then put them into the freezer. I also wrote any extra ingredients and instructions on the front of the bags before filling them.

Chicken Enchiladas with Creamy Green Chile Sauce

The hubby (and all our kids) LOVES TexMex food so I try to do a "South of the Border" style meal every couple of weeks. Tonight, I settled on chicken (actually turkey) enchiladas but I wanted something that included green chiles. This is a modified recipe of what I found.

• 8 burrito size wheat tortillas
• 12-16 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 2 1/2 cups cooked chicken/turkey, shredded
• 3/4 cup minced onion
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup light sour cream
• 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chiles
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onion about 3 minutes, add chicken/turkey till warm. 
3. Divide meat mixture and 8 ounces of Monterey Jack cheese among the tortillas. Roll up each tortilla and place seam side down in a greased 9x13 baking pan.
4. Melt the butter in a saucepan with and 1/4 cup of broth over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until mixture begins to boil. Slowly add the remaining broth, stirring with a whisk until thickened. Mix in the sour cream and chiles, heat thoroughly but do not boil, stirring occasionally. Pour mixture over the enchiladas.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. Top with remaining Monterey Jack cheese and bake for 5 more minutes. Garnish with chopped green onions and cilantro.

You can also do this in the crockpot (see pictures below). However, I find it easier to just make this ahead of time and keep it in the fridge till I'm ready to bake it. The recipe also freezes nicely (unbaked) for a nice go to meal when you don't feel like cooking but don't want to shell out the $$ for a dinner out. 

Place about 1/3 of the sauce in the bottom, then top with enchiladas.

Cover with remaining sauce.

Top with cheese. Cook on low for 2-3 hours.