Stuffed Zucchini

I love zucchini, and this year our plants have actually produced more than one baby zucchini. I've been so excited about it and have been actively searching for yummy recipes that utilize our garden abundance. The tricky part is finding normal recipes that still fit in with our preferred food-tastes. Just because I want to use zucchini doesn't mean that I want to use feta or goat cheese.  David is tolerant of zucchini, but doesn't adore it, so recipes that somehow incorporate the zucchini while remaining fairly consistent with what we normally eat are best. I decided to take a chance on my own version of a stuffed zucchini, even though it's got a bigger presence than I would normally attempt. Again, most of the recipes I found were pretty outside of our normal scope of food taste - but I decided to just go for it. As I was making it, I totally chickened out and just made things up as I went instead of following the recipe in hopes that it would end up being something that we would actually eat and enjoy. It ended up turning out awesome and I would definitely make it again.

Stuffed Zucchini
Source: The Peaden Kitchen

Ingredients:
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1-2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 bottle marinara sauce (we love Prego)
1 medium/large sized zucchini

Directions:
Slice zucchini in half end to end and use a spoon to scoop out the middle, creating a little boat. Place on a baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and stick in a 350 oven for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, In a medium sized skillet, brown ground beef. When almost completely cooked through, add onion and bell pepper and cook until tender. Add about 1/2 cup of marinara sauce and stir to combine.  Place meat mixture in hollowed out portion of zucchini and top with additional sauce and remaining cheese. Increase oven temp to 375 and place pan back into the oven. Bake for 20 minutes or until zucchini is completely fork tender and cheese is melted. Slice into sections and serve. Enjoy!

Freezer Meals

I've always wanted to try my hand at freezer meals. Every so often I see a new post about "such and such number of meals in one day" and think to myself "Self, you really need to do that - it would be awesome." However, it's kind of intimidating time-wise as well as intimidating budget wise. But with Baby #2's arrival just around the corner, I decided that I wanted to stock up at least a few meals that I thought our family would actually eat and enjoy for after baby gets here. Instead of making a huge day out of it, I've started building up my freezer meal supply over the course of several weeks. About twice a week I've tried to plan meals that would be good freezer meals, then as I'm making dinner I just make twice as much and freeze half of it. It's worked out pretty well so far! Some recipes I've already used, like our favorite chicken enchiladas, chimichangas, and southwest soup, others I've found online and then made them for dinner while making extra to freeze. Hopefully I'll have a good combination of meals to use over the following months. Usually I would do a separate post for each meal - but I'm falling a little behind on my blogging and I don't want to lose these recipes. I think that I'll try to take a picture of the finished meal on the night that I actually make it and then post the recipe and picture then. Until then, I'll just keep the recipes all together here in one big post to draw from.

Savory Pepper Steak
Source: Mommy's Fabulous Finds

Ingredients
1½ lbs round steak, cut into ½ in strips
¼ cup flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 small onion, diced
4-5 garlic cloves
1 green pepper, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 (16 oz) can Italian style tomatoes
1 tbsp beef bouillon
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp steak seasoning
1 tbsp steak sauce

Instructions
Toss steak in salt, pepper, & flour and add to gallon-sized freezer bag. In a med bowl mix together the rest of the ingredients, add to bag. Zip close and place in freezer. When ready to use thaw in fridge overnight. Empty contents into crock-pot and cook on low 8 hours.

Crock-Pot BBQ Spareribs
Source: Mommy's Fabulous Finds

Ingredients
2lbs of pork ribs
1½ cups ketchup
1½ Tbsp seasoned salt
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup white vinegar

Instructions
Place pork ribs in gallon sized ziplock. Mix remaining ingredients together in a separate bowl and pour over ribs. Seal bag and place in freezer. Thaw over night in fridge. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-7 hours.


Chicken Fajitas
Source: What's for Dinner Facebook Group - Larissa Rees

Ingredients
2 peppers (one green and one red)
1 medium onion
1 ½ lbs chicken breast
½ cup chicken broth
Taco seasoning packet
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp paprika
1 tsp salt


Directions:
Slice peppers and onion into strips. Place peppers, onion, and chicken breast into a gallon sized ziplock. Add the rest of the ingredients to the bag and seal. Lay bag flat and place in freezer. On day of cooking: place frozen in the crock pot and cook on high for 3-4 hours, or low for 5-6 hours. Once cooked, shred the chicken and serve on warm tortillas with your favorite toppings.



Freezer-Friendly Pizza Pockets

Source: Money Saving Mom

Ingredients: 

Pizza Dough

Pizza Fillings 

(ex: 1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cup pasta sauce
2-3 cups shredded cheese)
Other optional filling ingredients: diced black olives, pepperoni, diced green pepper, and/or diced mushrooms

To make dough: Mix yeast into warm water until dissolved. Add sugar, salt, oil, and flour. Mix well and dump onto a floured surface and knead for 3-5 minutes.

To make filling (I browned this while mixing up the dough): Brown ground beef with onion (and green pepper, if desired). Drain. Add pasta sauce and mix together. Add other optional filling ingredients, if desired.

To make Pizza Pockets: Divide dough into 15-20 pieces. Roll pieces into balls. Flatten balls into circles with rolling pin. Dollop a few tablespoons of filling onto dough circle and sprinkle with cheese. Fold over and seal tightly.

Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 500 degrees for 10-15 minutes until browned.

To freeze: Cool completely and store in an airtight ziptop freezer bag for up to 2-3 months.

To serve: Remove desired number of pizza pockets from the freezer and warm them individually in the microwave for about two minutes or until heated throw. Or, warm on a cookie sheet in a 350-degrees oven for 20 minutes, or until heated through.

Crescent Rolls

My friend Amy (who I've gotten several recipes from in the past) shared this recipe on our online Facebook Dinner group and I immediately knew that I had to try them. These rolls are so incredibly soft and delicious. I made them the first time and swore right then and there that I would never buy crescent rolls in a can again. (Which is probably not true, but it is certainly WAY less likely.) They were so easy and just turned out so amazingly delicious that I would make them a hundred times over. They aren't as... flaky as the store-bought rolls, but they really are just so soft and yummy.

Crescent Rolls
Source: Amy Pugsley- Janet Rose's Roby Rolls

Ingredients:
2 T yeast
1/4 c warm water
2 eggs
1/2 c sugar
1 t salt
1 c warm water
1 cube butter, melted
4 1/2 c flour

Directions:
Combine yeast and 1/4 c warm water and let sit for 5 minutes. Add eggs, sugar, salt, 1 c warm water, and butter. Mix well. One cup at a time, add and mix in flour (might not take entire amount - dough should be soft).

Mix well until all flour is incorporated, but don't knead. Place in a greased bowl and cover. Let rise 1 1/2 hours or until doubled. At this point, either refrigerate overnight or roll out. (If refrigerated overnight, remove from fridge and let sit on the counter until room temp and then follow remaining instructions.)

To roll out, divide dough in half. Flour (or grease) counter space and roll each half into a large circle - dough should be about 1/4 inch thick. Using a pizza cutter, cut the circle in half, then in half again, etc... until there are 16 triangles from one circle. Roll each triangle up crescent style and place on greased baking sheet. Let rolls rise until doubled. Bake at 425 for 10 minutes. (Rotate the pans in the oven halfway through baking time.)

Yield: 32 crescent rolls

Twice Baked Potatoes

We love potatoes, and I really love twice baked potatoes. I know they aren't super healthy - so I try to limit the number of meals I pair them with but they are just so darn good. The first time I ever remember eating twice baked potatoes was on a Homecoming (Winter Ball? Prom? I can't quite remember.) Date. My date and I doubled with another set of friends and we ate dinner at our friend's house. His parents (Brother and Sister Ammons, who were in my ward) had completely decked out their dining room with fancy decorations including white twinkle christmas lights. Brother Ammons dressed up as a waiter and took our orders and a little while later came out with these giant twice baked potatoes that Sister Ammons had baked. You know those giant baking potatoes you can buy at the store? They were huge and seriously so delicious, I think I ate more of the potato than I did of the main dish (which was also delicious I'm sure - just not as memorable.) I've always been half tempted to call her and ask for her recipe, but I realize that might be weird to call up ten years later. I'm also always tempted to buy the large baking potatoes, but I almost always end up just using regular Idaho potatoes from our 10 lb bag. This recipe is from the Pioneer Woman, and it's just about as easy and delicious as they come! 

Twice Baked Potatoes
Source: The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:
4 Potatoes

4 Tbs Butter 

1/4-1/2 cup Sour Cream 

1/4 cup Milk
2 cups Cheddar Cheese

Bacon Bits

Lawry’s Seasoned Salt 

Black Pepper

Green Onion (optional)

Directions:
Wash, and poke holes with a fork  then place eight baking potatoes directly onto the rack of a preheated oven. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour until cooked through.

As soon as the potatoes are done baking, slice them in half and scoop out the insides into a large mixing bowl. (The potatoes will be HOT! Use a hot pad or paper towel to hold them while you are scooping.) Make sure to scoop out as much potato as you can while leaving the skin intact. Sometimes this means leaving a bit of potato around the edges to give the skin a little more substance.

Start mixing up potatoes with paddle attachment. Add butter, sour cream, and milk and mix through until creams. Add bacon bits, seasoned salt and a good amount of black pepper. Add cheese and onion just until combined.

Remove bowl from mixer, and start scooping the creamy potato mixture and begin filling the shells. Keep going until the filling is all gone (I find that usually I have more filling that I think I need - but just keep scooping it into the shells until it's all piled in!)


Top each potato with grated cheddar place in a 350-degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the potato is warmed through. Serve hot!

Note: You can refrigerate them for up to three days until you are ready to serve, or you can freeze them in Ziploc bags. Just heat them through before serving. 

Crunchy Ranch Chicken

You know that we love Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing at our house - and this is a yummy meal that is super easy to throw together. Pair it with some twice-baked potatoes or corn on the cob and it's just perfect.

Crunchy Ranch Chicken

Source: Adapted from Chef in Training

Ingredients:
5-6 chicken tenders
1 cup ranch dressing (Hidden Valley Ranch, of course)
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs (I used panko crumbs)

1 tsp Dry Ranch Dressing Mix

Instructions:
In a bread pan pour ranch dressing. In a separate bread pan, combine bread crumbs and HVR dressing mix. Coat chicken tenders in ranch, then dip into bread crumbs. Evenly cover on all sides.

Place in a greased 9x13 pan and bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes or until chicken is done and tender.

*Chef in Training recommended using a bread pan instead of a bowl and I loved it! I'll never use a bowl again. It was just so much easier to coat the chicken. 

BBQ Ribs

I'd never even considered making ribs for dinner until one day I was talking to my sweet sister, Jenna, about meal planning/meal ideas/grocery budgeting/etc... and she mentioned that they have ribs fairly often and that they were really easy and delicious. I was impressed and a little intimidated, but when I saw some pork back ribs go on sale (2.98/lb) I decided to give it a try. For just under three dollars a pound, that's the same price as having hamburgers for dinner (we use the whole pound of hamburger, and I try to get that on sale for the same 2.98/lb). I bought the ribs and then called Jenna to make sure that I wasn't getting myself into something crazy. I don't know why I was so worried, these were the easiest thing I've made for dinner in the last two weeks and they were SO delicious. I just stuck them in the crockpot all day while we were at church, then came home and tossed a couple of ears of corn in the oven for a half hour and made some instant mashed potatoes. It was the most delicious Sunday dinner! I don't ever remember eating ribs before, so it was a fun experience (albeit a messy one) and I am already trying to figure out how to get them on my meal plan asap.

BBQ Pork Ribs
Source: Adapted from Jenna Haderlie

Ingredients:
1 lb Pork Back Ribs (Jenna said that she uses boneless ribs, but we picked up the ones that were on sale and after being in the crock pot all day the meat just falls off the bone.)
1 Cup Dave's Rich and Sassy BBQ sauce
1 Tbs Onion Flakes
Salt & Pepper

Directions:
Cut ribs into sections (about every 4th rib or so) and season with salt and pepper. Lay in crock pot and sprinkle onion flakes on top. Cover in BBQ Sauce and cook on low for 8-9 hours. About a half-hour before dinner, check the sauce - if it's dried out a little, add a little more sauce. Transfer to a serving plate and serve hot! (With lots of napkins!)


One note: David and I usually buy the Kraft or Bullseye BBQ sauce brand. However, we went to a friends house for dinner and they served brisket with some Famous Dave's Rich and Sassy BBQ sauce and we were in heaven! I honestly didn't know that the sauce would make so much of a difference, but we about died it was so good. Then we had some Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce at a different dinner, and again we were blown away by how delicious it was and how big of a difference it made. The point of this is that when we made the recipe we used the good BBQ Sauce and it was incredible! I would definitely recommend splurging just a tiny bit more and getting the good sauce. It makes a difference!

Banana Cinnamon Muffins

We love banana bread at our house, but we don't always have the time (or energy) to make it. However, I was looking for a yummy muffin recipe for breakfast the other morning and came across this beauty. It was perfect and Lydia absolutely loved them. I only had one fairly large banana and it wasn't even super ripe but it worked out perfectly. Also, I think that these would be super yummy if you switched out the banana for some chopped apple. (I'm definitely going to try that.) 

Banana Cinnamon Muffins

Source: Betty Crocker

Ingredients:

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

2/3 cup mashed very ripe bananas (2 small)

1teaspoon vanilla

1 2/3cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Topping

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

Directions:

Heat oven to 375°F. Grease bottoms only of 12 regular-size muffin cups with shortening or spray, or line with paper baking cups.

In medium bowl, beat 2/3 cup sugar, the oil and eggs with wire whisk. Stir in bananas and vanilla. Stir in remaining muffin ingredients just until moistened. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.
Bake 17 to 21 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately remove from pan to cooling rack.

In small bowl, mix 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Dip muffin tops into melted butter, then into cinnamon-sugar. Serve warm.