Let's stock up that freezer for winter with Freezer Burrito's!

My family and I recently made a trip to Qdoba, a wonderful little burrito joint, much like Mucho Burrito! I love all the real food and yummy options, I thought to myself, why don't I make these at home more often? Well the truth is when I hear the word burrito, I think "fart in a tortilla" !! LOL! The word burrito makes me think of refried beans, which I am not a fan of, but then I thought, I can put whatever I want on them, after a quick google search for burrito toppings, I came up with tons of option I knew me and my family would love.

Here are the ones I thought we would like the most: rice, cheese, black beans, parsley, hot sauce, ranch or sour cream, beef, tomatoes, garlic, tortilla's, salsa, peppers, bacon, onion, green chillies, hashbrowns or potatoes, eggs

You can also turn these into breakfast burritos by simply adding breakfast toppings to your tortilla

I made 24 burritos in about 45 minutes, beginning to end, and so can you! Here we go!

for my tortillas I used 24 of them, you can use more or less depending on how much you fill them up! 

 My filling, I chose, ground beef, black beans, salsa, corn, rice, seasonings, chili sauce, onions, garlic, tomatoes, peppers, YUM!

 Next is the cheese, I grated one large block for my burrito's, you may need more or less depending on your preference

Then I added sour cream I put it in my Pampered Chef icing dispenser. Here is the link if you would like one, it is totally not necessary, but it made it easier and funner! lol! http://www.pamperedchef.ca/ordering/prod_details.tpc?prodId=4552&catId=122

Look at that beauty of a burrito! drool! 

Now I have 24 of these sitting in the freezer, just waiting to be devoured! These are perfect for hubby to bring to work and for those late night suppers when you have nothing else, top it off with a salad or soup and you have a nice meal! 

So when you are ready to eat one, you just:

1. Unwrap frozen burrito from foil

2. Wrap burrito in damp paper towel

3. Microwave for 3 mins on high.

4. Wait to cool, then eat it!

Let me know if you give these a try! That was 45 minutes well spent!

Preparing for School Lunches!

My daughter is starting Kindergarten and one of the things I hear over and over again is how awful it is to make school lunches everyday, there are a few things you can do to make sure this task isn't so bad. First of all, be prepared, do the work ahead of time and it will lighten the load for those super busy school mornings. Second I am a huge fan of leftovers, if we have them, I am sending them! So here are a few things to get you started:

Chocolate chip zucchini mini muffins, I made 200 of these, took me about an hour and a half counting baking time, one day I will have a convection oven and cut my time in half, until then, it took an hour and a half lol!

I love these mini muffins, they are full of zucchini (4 cups) but kids love them cause they have no idea whats in them lol! I put these in individual baggies and tossed them all in the freezer, they are ready to go, no chemicals or processed junk, just home made goodness. Plus these cost next to nothing when you do a break down of all the ingredients and all those individual snacks on the store shelves are only getting more and more expensive, I have 100 baggies here, plenty of snacks for my girl! 

Zucchini Chocolate Chip muffins!

1 c oil

4 tbsp cocoa

½ buttermilk (You can use regular milk and add 1/4 tsp vinegar)

1 1/3 c white sugar

½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

2 ½ c flour

2 eggs

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

1 bag of hersheys milk chocolate chips (I use half a bag)

2 cup shredded zucchini or squash

Mix ingredients in order they appear.



350 degrees 20 mins makes 24 muffins can also be made into a 9 x 13 cake and bake 35 to 40 mins! Good luck, enjoy!

Next I made Focaccia bread, a nice quick and easy bread, I wrapped around 40 individual wedges of this, it is quick to make and yummy, a good filler too, goes great when you have a soup or casserole and just need something to finish off the meal. These take no time to whip together and bake about 15 minutes, i did a double recipe to get 40 wedges. 

Gold Medal® Classic Focaccia

Ingredients

2 1/2

to 3 cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour or Better for Bread® bread flour

2

tablespoons chopped fresh or 1 tablespoon dried rosemary leaves, crushed

1

tablespoon sugar

1

teaspoon salt

1

package regular or fast-acting dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)

1

cup water

3

tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

Cooking spray to grease bowl and cookie sheets

2

tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

1/4

cup grated or finely shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions

• 1In a large bowl, stir 1 cup of the flour, the rosemary, sugar, salt and yeast with a wooden spoon until well mixed. In a 1-quart saucepan, heat the water over medium heat until very warm and an instant-read thermometer reads 120°F to 130°F. Add the water and 3 tablespoons oil to the flour mixture. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed 3 minutes, stopping frequently to scrape batter from side and bottom of bowl with a rubber spatula. With a wooden spoon, stir in enough of the remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until dough is soft, leaves side of bowl and is easy to handle (the dough maybe slightly sticky).
• 2Sprinkle flour lightly on a countertop or large cutting board. Place dough on floured surface. Knead by folding dough toward you, then with the heels of your hands, pushing dough away from you with a short rocking motion. Move dough a quarter turn and repeat. Continue kneading 5 to 8 minutes, sprinkling surface with more flour if dough starts to stick, until dough is smooth and springy. Spray a large bowl with the cooking spray. Place dough in bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap; let rise in a warm place 30 minutes or until dough has almost doubled in size. Dough is ready if an indentation remains when you press your fingertips about 1/2 inch into the dough.
• 3Spray 2 cookie sheets or 12-inch pizza pans with the cooking spray. Gently push your fist into the dough to deflate it. Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a flattened 10-inch round on a cookie sheet. Lightly spray 2 sheets of plastic wrap with cooking spray; cover the dough loosely with the plastic wrap, sprayed side down. Let rise in a warm place about 30 minutes or until dough has doubled in size. Remove plastic wrap.
• 4Heat the oven to 400°F. Using your fingers, gently make 1/2-inch-deep depressions about 2 inches apart in dough. Carefully brush with 2 tablespoons oil, using a pastry brush; sprinkle with cheese. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm or cooled.

Next comes the Best ever Chocolate chip cookies, these are so nice and soft, even after being frozen. I did a double batch, these are also smaller cookies, so two would be a perfect snack, all bagged and ready to go.

Best Ever Chocolate chip cookies

1 c marg (I use ¾ of a cup)

2 ½ c flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2c white sugar

¾ c brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1pkg instant vanilla pudding (4servings)

2 eggs

1 - 12 oz package chocolate chips (I only use half the package; I find the whole package is WAY too much)

Cream eggs, marg, sugars and vanilla. Add all dry ingredients then chocolate chips. Bake 350 degrees f oven for 8 minutes.

Enjoy!

Now to figure out how to keep my husband from eating these cookies, they are his favorite too! 

Next I made a home made ham, veggie, barley soup and froze it in individual containers for those days where there is nothing to send, anytime you have leftovers, soup etc freeze it for lunches, it will come in handy one day when you have nothing to send.

Now I know I am a rookie here and I am not claiming to know it all when I have never had to make lunches day after day, I am just hoping these tips will help all of us, rookies and veterans! 

Send something delicious in their lunches today!