Microwave Blueberry Oat "Muffins"

My 1st Attempt

I am always up for quick, easy, and healthy dishes for breakfast or snacks so when I happened upon a recipe for 1 Minute Berrylicious Microwave Muffin I decided to try it.

Spicy Teriyaki Sauce

I needed some teriyaki sauce for a recipe tonight but didn't want to run to the store for some. Instead, I made my own. I used this recipe on Food.com.

• 1/4 cup Kikkoman Low Sodium soy sauce
• 1 1/4 cup water
• ground ginger (about 1 tbsp or to your taste)
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2-1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly until sauce is thickened. 
2. Remove from heat and let cool.
3. If the sauce is too thick add a little water or soy sauce to thin.

Read more: http://low-cholesterol.food.com/recipe/teriyaki-sauce-55859#ixzz1nLlPy6d1

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.

Egg "Pizza"

A couple of months ago, I decided to try something special for my kiddos for breakfast - Egg "Pizza". They thoroughly enjoyed them then so I decided to do it again for Valentines. I let the kids add the "toppings" and cheese. Here's how they work:

In a small bowl whisk together eggs (2/person) and milk (a couple of teaspoons for each set of 2 eggs).

Remember

Jared, Miss S, and I recently went on a Mission Trip to Puerto Rico with a team from Bearing Precious Seed. The entire trip was a real encouragement to my walk with God from the very beginning.

Ham, Cheese, and Broccoli Stromboli

I know this isn't the best picture but it sure was yummy.

A delicious blend of bread, cheese, broccoli and ham and only 185 calories per slice.*

Menu: January 30-February 26

I know that I'm posting this a week late but we just got back from a Mission Trip to Puerto Rico on Friday and it's been quite the whirlwind trying to get things back to normal.

January 30-February 5

• Lasagna Casserole, mixed veggies, and dinner rolls
• Chicken Pot Pie
• Chili
• Brats, curly fries and veggie tray
• Sub Sandwiches, potato salad, and veggie tray

February 6-12

• Pizza Bites (Pinterest idea) and jello salad
• Ham, Cheese and Broccoli Stromboli, fruit salad, and lettuce salad
• Brat Stew and French bread
• Tacos and Mexican Rice (I will be making a double batch of taco meat so that I can freeze it for use at a later date.)
• Sweet Potato Pancakes, scrambled eggs, and fresh fruit

February 13-19

• Chicken and Dumplings
• Happy Valentines Day!! Jambalaya - this is one of Jared's FAVORITES!!
• Chicken Kiev, California medley veggies, garlic herb fingerling potatoes, and dinner rolls
• California Medley Soup and dinner rolls
• Cuban Braised Beef Venison over rice (may or may not include the avocado and onion salad)

February 20-26 

• Lettuce wraps, cauliflower poppers, and rice  (both the lettuce wraps and cauliflower poppers are Pinterest ideas) 
• Chicken and Cheese Lasagna Roll-ups  (Pinterest idea) and mixed veggies
• Chicken Enchiladas, and black beans and rice (making up a double batch for the freezer)
• Pepperoni Rolls and salad (I may attempt freezing some to see how they turn out)
• Puerto Rican Beans and Rice 

Snacks and Things to Make this Month

• no-bake energy bites
• slow-cooker brownies
• blueberry cinnamon rolls
• cinnamon raisin bread

For more ideas, check out the "master" list.