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! 

Summer slow cooker meal plan!

I am so excited, I got me a brand new slow cooker, look how pretty it is:

LOVE IT! I sure did love my old one, but it has served me well and it was time for it to go, it was all cracked on the bottom and I just knew one day my dinner was going to come busting through the bottom. So we saved up our air miles and got this one for free!! This slow cooker is super smart, it can tell when your food is done and turns itself to "warm" so your food doesn't over cook and mushy, I love it and I am so excited to use it! So I started to look for some summer slow cooker meals, perfect for the days when you don't want to heat up the house! But who wants to eat soups and stews in the summer? Not me, so I went searching for meals in the slow cooker that actually go with summer time, and I found some interesting ones, so I will give them a try. Here is our meal plan for the next 2 weeks, including some summer slow cooker meals: 

This meal plan only has 10 meals cause we plan to be out and about for a few nights so we won't need home meals, also we never made the chicken ranch tacos from the last meal plan, so they are being carried over to this meal plan. The Balsamic chicken, the Mexican Haystacks, the ribs and the King ranch chicken over potatoes are all summer slow cooker recipes that we will be trying! Almost everyone of these meals is a new (to us) recipe, found on www.pinterest.com and I am so excited to try them all! just because it's summer doesn't mean you have to stop using your slow cooker! Keep reading my blog to see more summer slow cooker meals over the next few weeks, if you would like any of these recipes, just shoot me a message! Happy cooking! 

20 Cheap or free Summer activities!!

We all love summer, chillin' outside is everyone's favorite pastime in the summer, but the expenses can add up quick and summer or not, there are always bills to pay, so I thought I would help y'all out and give you a list of cheap or free summer activities! There is so much fun to be had out there and it doesn't have to cost a thing, the best things in life are free, and with family or friends by your side, you can't go wrong!!

1- Fly a kite, if you don't have one, you can easily make one, http://www.handmadecharlotte.com/lets-go-fly-a-kite/ making one might even be more fun!
2- Go on a nature walk, walk around your community you might be surprised what you see, flowers, butterflies, birds etc, bring your camera catch a few pretty shots, let the kiddo's take pics too, see the world through their eyes.
3- Go to a Parade, most people have a parade near by, parades are always free, they are fun for the young and old, bring your lawn chair and get some free candy to boot! Fun for all!
4- Have a Picnic! This is the same meal you would have had at home, so it is still free, grab a blanket and eat outside, you would be surprised how much better food tastes outside, everyone loves a picnic!
5- Blowing bubbles, we make our own out of dish soap, 1/2 cup blue dawn dish soap in a 2 liter bottle, top with cold water and you have enough bubbles to last all summer, you can buy some bubble wands or make your own out of pipe cleaners!

6- Celebrate the first day of Summer or any old day with a bonfire! Roasting marshmallows on a fire is wonderful way to spend the evening! Throw in some family and friends and you have got yourself a wonderful summer night! 

7- Go fishing, well you will need a license depending on your age etc, but they are usually pretty cheap and in the end you get dinner! (hopefully) There is so much fun to be had out at the lake with your line in the water, beauty! 

8- Visit your local splash park, or turn on your sprinkler, on a hot day, water is water, and we love it. Find a puddle lol! Most splash parks are free and so nice on a hot summer day! 

9- Harvest food and fruit from your community, if you live in the Country ask around find out where some local free food is growing and bring some home, yum! If you are out in the city, find a farmers market and get some delicious food, fresh off the farm! 

10- Go on a bike ride! Take the family or friends out for a ride! Everyone gets some exercise and a change of view too! 

11- Take pictures, take lots of picture, these are the moments, you don't want to forget them! 

12- Go to baseball or football game,  there are a lot of schools that have free ball games you can attend, take in a local game and cheer on the home team!

13- Watch fireworks, fireworks are always free and a great way to spend a summer night, get out and enjoy!

14- Plant a garden or flowers, for the price of a few seeds you can have entertainment all summer long, watching the seeds sprout and harvesting your fruits or veggies is tons of fun and about as organic as you can get! 

15- Catch butterflies, examine them, look up their breed, they are so beautiful and fun to catch, they have nets at the dollar store, 1$ for an afternoon of fun sounds good to me! 

16- Pick wild flowers, there are wild flowers growing all over this beautiful country of ours, go on a nice country drive, look for wildlife and for flowers, some  wild flowers are not to be picked, make sure you check that out for your area.

17- Send a post card to a loved one, post cards are inexpensive, grab one and send it out, you are sure to put a smile on someones face! 

18- Bird watching, head out to your local park and check out all the pretty birds we have here, bring some bird seed or bread and really make a birds day! 

19-  Set up an entertainment swap, gather some old books, board games and dvds, that you and your family no longer want and swap them with your friend and neighbor for their unwanted entertainment! This is a great way to try out new things and it doesn't have to cost you a thing!

20- Organize a garage sale or sell your stuff online, take the extra cash and go for ice cream! Or better yet, make your own ice cream! 

I sure hope this list inspires you to get out there and have some fun this summer, fun doesn't have to cost you a thing!! Enjoy! 

Your new summer meal plan!

Hi there everyone, with summer quickly upon us, our meal plans change, here is our summer meal plan for the next 2 weeks!

I love trying new recipe's there are a few new ones on this menu plan, you never know when you will find your families new favorite by trying something new! I spent sometime this week looking for summer slow cooker recipe's, cause I love my slow cooker all year, but I don't want to eat heavy soups etc in the summer, I found a lot of great recipes and my new fancy slow cooker is on it's way to me know, I am so excited to try out these new summer slow cooker ideas, much nicer then heating up your whole house on those hot days! Thinking ahead! Thanks for reading my blog and as always please feel free to leave me a comment asking for any recipe you might want to try! 

Meal Plan!

I sure hope some of you are motivated by these meals posts and have started planning your meals, every time you do it, it gets easier and faster! Meal planning is so convenient and with busy summer days coming, it is always nice to have your meals planned ahead of time! Now for my faithful followers you may notice some of these meals are repeated from last week, we ended up going out for supper a couple of time, which we hadn't expected, so we just roll over those meal ideas to the next week, we already have the groceries for these meals, so win win!

If you would like any recipes feel free to message me! 

Here is the Meal Plan for the next two weeks!

Hopefully some of you have started meal planning and discovering how much easier it truly makes your life, I don't know what I would do without it! So here we have my meal plan for the next couple weeks, make your grocery list, head to the store and that is half the battle right there! You can do this, and you will thank yourself for it too! Here it is:

 Week 1

6 meals

Spaghetti with garlic bread

steak and corn on the cob, scalloped potatoes

bbq'd cheese burgers, raw veggies and dip

lasagna and salad

turkey pot pie

leftovers

Week 2

6 meals

Rice and black bean Burrito's

Cheesy Taco pasta

potato and ham soup

ONE POT CHILI MAC AND CHEESE

Left overs

Chicken ranch taco's

if you have any questions or need any recipes don't be scared to ask, happy meal planning folks!