Potato Soup

Okay so I didn't make it to September before I used a meal! But Collette the Soup was a hit! The only thing I did wrong is I put it in water to thaw this morning and I must have opened it alittle but water got in it. Soooo when we got home from church I just added Potato pearls and perfecto! The girls LOVED it! Thanks.

Lasagna was Yummy

Amy, thanks to your stellar directions on how to cook the lasagna, it was a big hit at our house. I am glad to know that the "Great Value" brand is just as good or better than Stouffers. Thanks for introducing us to deliciousness!

One more thing...

I forgot to mention something. When you take out the french toast it will look very dry and you might think you need to add syrup. Be my guest if you are a sugar freak! If not, just look for the peaches and caramel sauce under the bread to give you extra flavor and sweetness.

Lasagna and Rolls

Simple...follow heating instructions on box! HA! I don't know why I think it is funny I just do.

Saute chicken in 1/4 c. olive oil

I just saw that I didn't write to saute the chicken in 1/4 c. olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until simmering. Saute until golden on each side, about 5 minutes.

I can't read the yellow font

Marianne, can we change the color of the yellow font? I can't see it on my computer, or maybe I'm color blind...

Directions for Chicken Parmesan

Thaw the chicken & sauce overnight. Bring water to a boil and cook the spaghetti as directed. Bring the sauce to a boil in a sauce pan and cover and keep on low until ready to eat. In a bowl, beat 1 egg. In another bowl, combine bread crumbs with some black pepper. Dip chicken pieces in egg, then in bread crumbs. Saute in oil until golden on each side, about 5 minutes total. Transfer chicken to wire rack (sprayed with Pam) over cookie sheet. Top with mozzarella cheese. Broil until cheese melts and is spotty brown, about 4-5 minutes. Serve with pasta, sauce and extra Parmesan cheese. Serve with corn, green beans, salad, and/or bread. Enjoy! (This is Cyndy Young's recipe from the Ward cookbook page 35.)

Directions for Peach French Toast

Let the peach french toast thaw in the fridge for at least a day. Prior to baking, remove from the fridge and let it sit out for 30 minutes. Next bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes with the foil on. Remove the foil and bake an additional 25-30 minutes. Top with whipped cream. Below is the recipe in full...

PEACH FRENCH TOAST
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. butter
2 T. water
1 can (29-oz.) sliced peaches, drained
1 loaf of French bread (you'll have some left over)
5 eggs
1 1/2 c. milk
1 T. vanilla
cinnamon

Bring the brown sugar, butter and water to a boil. Simmer for 7-10 minutes. Pour into a 9x13 dish. Strain peaches and place them on top of the caramel sauce. Arrange bread slices over the peaches. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and then stir in the milk and vanilla. Pour on top of the bread slices and sprinkle the tops with cinnamon. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight. Prior to baking, remove from the fridge and let it sit out for 30 minutes. Next bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes with the foil on. Remove the foil and bake an additional 25-30 minutes. Top with whipped cream.

Sloppy Joes

Re heat on the stove and put over buns (toasted or non-toasted). I hope you like.
Thanks for all the yummy looking meals at the trade...Later

Potato Casserole with Ham and Rolls

Directions: Thaw in fridge overnight. Empty contents into casserole dish and top with either extra cheese, corn flakes, or even crushed Ritz crackers. Bake at 350° for approximatly 45 minutes +/- or until bubbly. If you like a thinner sauce, you may want to add just a little milk before you add the topping. Serve with rolls, and a green vegetable or salad. Enjoy!

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

Are you ready for a fiesta?! I hope so because I am going Mexican with my chicken this month. I made Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Casserole. All you need to do is bake it... If frozen, bake at 375 degrees for an hour and a half (or until it is bubbly around the edges). Remove the foil for the last 10 minutes to brown the top. If you plan ahead and thaw it first, you will only need to bake it for 30 minutes. It is a good idea to let it sit for a few minutes before dishing it up. This helps the sauce to set up a little.
This dish is yummy garnished with any or all of the following: lettuce, tomatoes, onions, sour cream, and olives. We also eat it with corn chips and spanish rice and/or refried beans. I hope it is BUENO!!

Chicken 'n' Rice casserole

My meal this month is a simple casserole This is a meal I grew up eating in my family and now I am happy to still serve it my girls. It is always a crowd pleaser. It will be completely cooked and I am putting it in gallon bags to freeze. I am guessing that you just take the bag out and thaw completely, then put it in a casserole dish and put it in a 350 degree oven to warm through. We like to cover it with foil to cook and then take the foil off for the last 10-15 minutes to brown the top. If you want to be daring, try squeezing fresh lemon or lime juice on top. That is another twist my family has put on this meal. Maybe try it without and then put some juice on the next little bite and see if you like it. Just a suggestion. Yummy!

Breakfast for Dinner!

In an effort to think outside the box (and not do a meal too similar to Shauna's!), I am going to run with my opportunity in the "other" category. I hope other families are like ours and sometimes have breakfast for dinner. I am going to make Peach French Toast and give you the goods to make some scrambled eggs as well. I've never frozen this dish but I think it will work fine b/c you are supposed to let the bread soak up the egg mixture the night before. A good day or two of thawing should do the trick. I'll post details on cooking and the recipe later.

A little scared!!

Okay so for this month I am doing Lasagna. But it won't be homemade. Today I was in a hurry after church to make something because believe it or not just because I have 2pm church I still didn't get dinner in the crock pot. So I go to my freezer and I see I have a pre cooked lasagna. Now alittle back ground on this lasagna. It is so yummy! I had never ever bought a precooked lasagna in my life because I just thought they would be totally gross. Well I was at my mom's one time and she made lasagna and Casey and I both LOVED it. When I asked her what her recipe was she said it is actually the Wal-mart brand lasagna! I have made this for lots of people for meals that I had to take over and you can ask Amy Jensen she came up to me at church and said...is your lasanga recipe in the ward cook book because I have been eating all week and love it. When I told her it was the Walmart lasagna she died. My kids love it. Hobbs is alot like your little boy Marianne that he is so picky and lives on about 3 different foods but when I pull out this lasagna he chows!!
So if you guys have any problems what so ever of me doing this please tell me because I will not buy them but if your on the fence then give it a try and you will like it! And the good part is you can either cook it for an hour frozen or cook it frozen in the microwave for 13 minutes and it is perfect! So I will be giving you lasagna and rolls...if you want! ;0)

Pork Preference??

Hey, I have pork this month so I will be using ham. I have two ideas, please let me know if you have a preference.
1. Honey glazed ham and homemade rolls OR
2. Cheesy ham and potato casserole (like funeral potoatoes but with ham chunks)

:)

Next Exchange

I don't know if people will be going out of town for Labor Day weekend so what about an exchange on Thursday the 28th? We could do the same thing we did last month but at my house if you wanted? I have to get Gracie from school at noon so maybe 10:30?? Let me know. Marianne do you want to rotate the assignements for this month.
Thanks Ladies!

Sweet Pork.. Sweet Meal!

We had the sweet pork a la Costa Vida the other night. We had the Messengers over and shared our grub and made a HUGE meal out of it! We made the dressing and the cilantro-lime rice. Todd also made some mango-pico-de-gallo. And we had all the fixins to make a great meal. Thanks Shauna!

Yummy to my tummy!

We have had the chicken sauce over the biscuits, chicken divan, pot stickers & London broil. We have enjoyed it all! I didn't even have a problem heating up the chicken divan in the foil pan. Thank you everyone!

Chicken Parmesan

I talked with Amy and she said we will be doing our exchange at the end of the month. So, with chicken on sale, I bought it and decided I'm going to do Cyndy Young's recipe for Chicken Parmesan. I will provide the preparation instructions after I get it all ready. I'm looking forward to more great recipes!

Rave Reviews!

Hi ladies! Our freezer meals really came in handy this last week while we were busy moving. I totally love this group that we have!
We ate the stuffed shells and absolutely loved them! Todd ate the leftovers and even raved about them to our friends.
We also loved the hawaiian haystacks. We eat this meal a lot at our house, but this variation was delicious. The turkey made the sauce taste extra yummy.
The other meal that we ate was the chicken and biscuits. I had to add a little bit of extra water to make the biscuits as moist as we like them and they turned out good. Chansey and Todd especially loved this meal and I was thankful for how well balanced it was... all by itself.
So, keep the yummy food coming! :) And I'll keep posting reviews as we try new things! Thanks!

Stuffed Shells

Hey guys, I totally forgot to tell you guys how to put together the stuffed shells with cheese and sauce. It is really easy. Just boil the shells and drain. Then cut a hole in the bottom corner of the cheese mixture and sqeeze into the shells. Then put some sauce on bottom of pan on some on top. I usually sprinkle some mozz or parm on top cuz my husband loves cheese! Have fun. Glad to see some of you have already enjoyed it.

So tough...so sorry!

I cooked my own meal tonight (london broil) and it was so tough! I cooked some well done and some medium. The medium wasn't too bad but the well done wasn't good at all. Hope you guys have better luck. If you can stand some pink in your meat I would highly advise going pink for this meal. Oh well, better luck next time!

Thanks Collette

We had your pasta shells tonight and my family loved them. Thank you!!! It was super easy to throw together.

I need help!

I need your help with recipes!!! Do you have any yummy Chinese recipes? Tami, can I get your sweet and sour recipe? Do you have a recipe for beef and broccoli or anything Chinese? We are serving it for enrichment and need to know of some good recipes. Thanks!

pulled pork

We loved the pulled pork...very easy and yummy, and we had watermelon with it. Thank you so much.