CheyCanCook...and Drive...unlike others...Spicy Turkey Stirfry still made, though:)

Hi world - today I started my day as I always do - up and at em, breakfast, warm my nice, damage-free car up, and drive the 35 minutes to work...oh wait, today I made it 10 minutes before another wonderful driver ran a stop sign and hit my car!   My car is damaged, my arm is a little sore because my body jerked when she hit my car so hard, but I'm overall a-ok.  But what the heck!  Not how I like to start my day.  But, I handle accident claims for my job, so I know how it goes, what to do, etc, so I'm just glad I'm okay.  Now I can tell all  my people that  hey you got in an accident, so didn't I!

I rested all day because of the arm soreness and headache (from stress I think), but luckily had planned a quick, Wicked  Cheap Wednesday meal that I still had the enthusiasm (well half enthusiasm) to make:)  I really really liked it, one of my fave recipes in awhile, and I can't wait to make it again...but then again, maybe this meal is bad luck...anyway...

What you'll need:

• 1 lb turkey breast meat, I bought mine in thin strips, like you'd use for a scallopini, and cut the pieces into bite-sized pieces
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 8 oz frozen red, yellow, and green peppers
• Asian 5-spice (I had never heard of it, and couldn't find it in the grocery store), so I used my own 5 spices - dashes of CRP, cinnamon, poultry seasoning, ground ginger, and ground coriander
• salt and pepper
• 1 package of Knorr Asian sides teriyaki noodles, prepared as directed
• honey roasted peanuts, chopped or whole, whatever you prefer
  

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add one tbsp oil - when heated, add peppers and cook/stir for 3 minutes.  While those are cooking, place the bite-sized turkey pieces into a bowl and cover with all 5 seasonings and salt and pepper.  Stir to coat.

Once the 3 minutes are up, add the other tbsp of olive oil, then the turkey, cooking about 15 minutes, or until the turkey is cooked-thru.

While this is cooking, cook the teriyaki noodles as directed.  When both are finished, place the noodles on your plate, then the pepper/turkey mixture, and then the peanuts - sooooo good, and very light, a definite keeper!!

 

This recipe was adapted from a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook I received as a wedding shower gift last year = loved it, and loved that I could put my own spin on it:)  Here is the cost breakdown:

• turkey - around $5.00
• 1/2 package of 16 oz of peppers - .85 cents
• noodles - $1.50
• peanuts - $2.50

= $9.85!  I already had all the spices, or it would've cost a bit more, but I'll take it!

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for me!  Tomorrow I really need to get in the mindset for this that is on Saturday - keep us in your thoughts as my husband, myself, and a lot of his family members do this for a very worthy cause!

Enjoy your night:)

Wicked Cheap Wednesday Carmelized Pork!

Happy Wednesday, everyone!  How is your week so far?  You making it?  We're almost to the weekend!  I can't wait - I get to see a good friend's new house, sleep, clean, cook, and watch figure skating!  Woohoo!  Or am I boring?;) 

Anyway, I'm still researching meals for our Celebrate the Olympics fun-ness that will be February 12-28 (and I hope you will still give me some suggestions!) but tonight was all about a fave of mine that I probably haven't made in about a year or so - carmelized pork!  Easy easy easy, and will keep your house smelling yummy all night long!  Adapted from my Betty Crocker cookbook:)

You will need:

• 1 lb pork tenderloin, cut into 1 inch pieces or slices
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped to a size you like
• Pam spray
• salt and pepper
• 3 tbsp orange juice
• 3 tbsp maple syrup or molasses
• 3 tbsp brown sugar

Heat a fry pan over medium high heat, spraying with Pam Spray just before you add the meat.  Add the pork and garlic to the fry pan and cook, turning occasionally, and cook for about 9 minutes, or until pork is just pink on the inside.  Salt and pepper the pork and garlic while turning, just one time.

Add the orange juice, maple syrup, and brown sugar to the pork and garlic.  Stirring frequently, continue to cook until pork is cooked thru and the liquids have merged together, forming a sauce that sticks to the meat.

 

Look, how yum-looking is this!?!

Tonight I paired this with some mixed veggies in a cheese sauce and ....ooops...fries - I felt like them!  Normally I'd pair this with onion-soup mix roasted potatoes, but not tonight:) 

I didn't realize how much I missed this meal!  It's so easy and non-time consuming, and so tasty!  I love making pork, because I love how tender it stays if cooked just right.  The best part - cheap!

• 1 lb pork tenderloin - $7
• garlic - $1

Umm...I had everything else!  So I spent $8 on this meal!!  $8!!  If you had to purchase the other items it would cost as follows:

• pork - $7
• garlic - $1
• small carton of OJ - with some leftover for you to drink! - $1.00
• small amount of brown sugar - .50
• small amount of maple syrup - $1.00
• veggies with cheese sauce, bagged - $1.75
• fries - $2

= $13.25!  And again that's if you didn't have a lot of these ingredients already!  What a steal!

I hope you will all try this out and let me know what you think, and comparing it to my other pork recipes, which do you prefer?  I'm off to post on the foodbuzz (I'm a new member - friend me!) and the other fb, facebook, and to catch up on Project Runway!  Have a great Wednesday night, and keep thinking of Olympic meals!  Talk to you tomorrow night:)

I wish I could just eat nachos for dinner, but I'll make a nacho chicken bake instead:)

Happy Thursday, everyone!  Remember, it's my Friday this week, so I'm in an especially good mood:)  That will all change once I go and play Bejeweled and can't get over 150,000, but anyways...

Tonight!  Worked late, and was supposed to make Chicken Whatchamacallit from www.cookingfororzo.com, but on the way home, I started craving Mexican-type food.  We were supposed to have the chili cornbread casserole from theweatherincascadia.blogspot.com tomorrow night, but the husband is going out, and I don't want to make such a big meal for myself (Wendy's anyone?  maybe sushi:)), so the Whatchamacallit got bumped and tonight became Mexican night!  I had obviously defrosted boneless chicken breast, so I had to think of what I had that I could make Mexican-style.  So easy!  Nacho Chicken Bake!  Pretty much the simplest meal to ever make, and so yummy!  I've made it before, but the husband didn't remember it, and he was loving it!

You will need:

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast or more, whatever suits your needs - cut into small pieces, about half the size of your palm each
• salsa or taco sauce
  
• sour cream
• nacho chips
• any kind of shredded cheese - I used Kraft Natural Monterey Jack and Cheddar
• anything else you may like!  I used avocado
  

Really, that is all you need, and everything is stuff that alot of us have on-hand all the time!

Preheat oven to 400.  Cut chicken pieces, if you bought them in larger pieces, into the half palm sized pieces and place on a foil-covered baking sheet.  Cover with as much salsa, then sour cream, then nacho chips (or broken up) as you'd like!

Oh, and excuse our mail in the background;)  Bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on how big you really cut your chicken pieces (mine were palm sized and I took them out at 17 minutes, just when the nachos were really starting to brown).  Add shredded cheese on top of the nachos and place back in the oven.

Bake for an additional 11 minutes or so, until the cheese has melted to your liking, and double checking to make sure the chicken is completely cooked through (I like to cut the biggest piece to check, or you can use a meat thermometer and make sure it reads 165 or more).

 

I then topped mine with avocado, which perfected it for me!  We paired this with a nice Spanish rice mixed with cherry tomatoes and enjoyed a nice meal together while watching Seinfeld and Jeopardy:)  More than you needed to know, okay;)

Like I said, this is a perfect in-the-pinch meal when you want to deviate from your "plan."  I rarely deviate from my menu plan, but was so happy tonight with the outcome of this!  How can you not want to eat this!

I don't mean my husband's leg, I  mean his plate full of good food!

I hope some of you will try this out - cheap, quick, yummy, and again full of places you can add your own touches.

I hope you all have a great night and I'll talk with you tomorrow  - I don't know what I'll be sharing yet, but it will be something:)  Wish me luck in Bejeweled;) 

Um, so I forgot...

In all the craziness of being back to work full time - and by full time, I don't mean my 8:45-5 usual hours, but pretty much it's been 8:15-5:30ish...busy time of year....anyways, I forgot about Wicked Cheap Wednesdays!  As I said in my post last night, we had cheeseburgers last night, so I don't want to post a "gross" Wicked Cheap Wednesday!  So, here's a family favorite (sorry no pic as I didn't actually make it last night...) - meatpie!

What you'll need:

• 1 lb hamburg
• 1/4 ground pork
• 1/2 white onion
• 3-4 potatoes, or if you use the boxed potatoes, about 6-8 servings of those
• 2 pie crusts

So it sounds pretty similar to the meat dressing, right?   Same taste, with the extra goodness of potatoes and pie crust!

Cook the hamburg with the ground pork and grated onion.  While this is cooking, cook 3-4 potatoes, or again make the good ole boxed ones; if using real potatoes, mash when cooked.  Combine the potatoes with the meat in a bowl.  Place a pie crust on the bottom of a pie dish, put in all of the meat/potatoes mixture, and cover with another pie crust.  Bake at 400 degrees for around 40 minutes.

So easy, so yum, and so cheap!

• 1 lb hamburg - $5.00
• 1/4 lb ground pork - well 1 lb is $3.00, so about 75 cents
• 3-4 potatoes - about $2.00 or boxed potatoes, the same
• one onion - $1.00
• 2 pie crusts - store brand, $2.00

Equals about  $10.75!  Of course throw in a salad if you have those items on tap and you're good to go!  Some of my family members like to put ketchup on top - I think it's gross, but to each their own!

This photo is one I found online that's pretty close, but I'll post a picture next time I make one...now I want it!  I'll have to settle for turkey pot pie tonight though:)  Thanks to kopiaste.org for the picture:)

Wicked Cheap Wednesday introduces a yummy beef stew!

My mom made this beef stew way back when...she has since moved onto a different recipe but I have stuck with a one similar to the one she used to make because I love the broth and how it flavors the vegetables.

You will need:

• 1-2 lbs of stew meat, cut into bite size pieces
  
• either 3 large white potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size pieces or a large can of potatoes, chopped, and drained
• l lb of baby carrots
• 1 white onion, cut up
  
• 12 oz of tomato juice
• 4 tbsp tapioca pudding mix - not made, just right from the box
• salt and pepper to season

Preheat oven to anywhere between 250-325, depending on how long you have to cook it.  If you have 5 hours to spare, preheat to 250.  Since I was making this in 3 hours, I preheated and cooked it at 325.

Place cut up stew meat into a 9x13 baking dish, like one used for brownies.  Add salt and pepper.

Add cut up potatoes, carrots, and onions.  On top of this pour the 12 oz of tomato juice and 4 tbsp of tapioca pudding mix.  Stir all of it together, cover with foil, and bake.  Like I said, I baked mine at 325 for 3 hours - of course, for something like this, you want to be able to check that the meat is cooked thru (which is the easy part) and that the veggies, especially the carrots, are tender enough that a fork goes easily thru them.

I love love love this - I am not a fan of leftovers, but I took this for lunch the next day, as did the husband, and enjoyed it even more than the night before:)

So how is it "wicked cheap?"

• stew meat - 1.25 lbs for $3.75!
• large can of diced potatoes - $1.67
• 1 lb bag of baby carrots - $1.50
• 1 white onion - about $1.00
• tomato juice - now I bought a 6 pack of 6 oz cans, so I will have these for 3 beef stew recipes (we don't drink it around here) - the price was $3.00, so consider the 2 cans I used for this one recipe $1.00
• tapioca pudding box - leftover from another recipe - about .50 cents

Grand total -  $9.92!  I served it with a salad and crescent rolls, which I already had (I stock up on Pillsbury crescent rolls when they are on sale and I have coupons) and was in heaven!  I love the tomato taste, without the thickness of a tomato sauce or even canned tomato chunks. 

I hope everyone will try and enjoy this on a nice winter weekend day/evening and let me know if you add anything to it to make it your own:)   Thanks mom for making this way back when!