Three meals in one

With our crazy schedule and limited income, we are all about re-using leftovers in some creative way. Some of them don't work and end up being dumped. Others, like these three recipes, are definite repeats.


Day 1: Pork and Beans

• 1 pound ham hocks
• 1 16-oz bag pinto beans
• 6 cups water

1. Add all three ingredients to a very large crock pot. (Keep in mind the beans will more than double in size while they cook.)
2. Turn on high for 8-10 hours, until beans are soft.
3. Serve with warm cornbread... at least that's how we do it in our house.

Simple, right? Now, expect leftovers and use them in this recipe:

Day 2: Taco Soup

• 1-2 cup leftover pinto beans with ham pieces (be sure to remove any bone)
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 package Taco Bell taco seasoning
• 1 bag frozen corn
• 1 cup chopped bell pepper
• 2 cups shredded cheese
• sour cream
• tortilla chips, optional

1. Cook the ground beef thoroughly.
2. Mix together, in a large saucepan, the beef, beans/ham, taco seasoning, corn, and bell pepper. Cook on medium heat until the corn in cooked through, about 15 minutes.
3. Serve topped with shredded cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips.

Mexican Corn-Chicken Chowder

My favorite type of cooking is piecing together three or four different recipes and creating something new, hoping the result is tasty enough for everyone in our family to enjoy it. This weekend's invention was a definite hit.

Mexican Corn-Chicken Chowder

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 Tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 Tablespoon cumin
1/2 Tablespoon southwest seasoning or chili powder
10-12 splashes of hot sauce
1 can cream-style corn
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
2 cups Monterey jack/cheddar cheese mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup milk
1 diced bell pepper (or Anaheim, jalapeno, or banana pepper for added heat)
1 diced tomato

1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic, onion, chicken, cumin, and southwest seasoning. Cook until chicken is cooked thoroughly, about 6 minutes.
2. Add corn, creamed corn, cheese, sour cream, diced pepper, and milk. Stir until mixed thoroughly. Reduce heat to medium.
   
3. Add hot sauce and additional cumin or southwest seasoning to achieve desired spiciness.
4. Continue cooking until heated thoroughly, about 10-15 minutes.
5. Just before serving, stir in chopped tomato, if desired.
   
6. Serve topped with tortilla chips and extra cheese.
   

Chicken picado

Delicious! Easy! And the kids even ate it!

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thawed and cut into 1-inch chunks
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup milk
salt & pepper
3/4 teaspoon minced garlic
4 ounces sour cream
1 diced tomato
5 green onions, chopped
8 ounces monterey jack cheese, shredded
1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed in 1 teaspoon water
2 tablespoons butter

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a saucepan, melt 1/2 stick butter. Add to that, milk, salt, pepper, garlic, and sour cream. Stir until smooth.
3. Add cornstarch/water mixture and juice from diced tomato to the saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook until thickened, 1-2 minutes. Set aside.
4. Meanwhile in a skillet, melt 2 T butter. Cook the chicken and green onions, until chicken is cooked through.
5. Pour chicken into a pie plate.
6. Pour sauce over chicken.
7. Sprinkle diced tomato and green onion over chicken.
8. Sprinkle cheese over chicken mixture.
9. Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes, until cheese is melted.

Serve with warm tortillas.

Nacho Soup

Nacho Soup, in honor of our N-day. I plan to make extra taco meat on Wednesday's M-day and use it in Thursday's soup, for an extra easy meal night.

• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
• 1 can condensed nacho cheese soup (10 3/4 oz.)
• 1 can diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained (10 oz)
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• shredded Cheddar cheese
• tortilla chips
• sour cream

1. Brown ground beef in a medium saucepan. Drain. -OR- Reheat leftover taco meat in a saucepan.
2. Over medium heat, stir in remaining ingredients except shredded cheese and tortilla chips.
3. Cook 8 to 12 minutes or until heated through.
4. Ladle into bowls and serve with cheddar cheese, chips, and sour cream.

Loaded Rice

My menu called for spanish rice, but I ended up improvising and created a pretty tasty meal.

3 cups cooked rice (I used the bag rice; it's much cheaper!)
1 small onion, diced
4 tomatoes, diced (keep the juices) or 1 can Ro-Tel
2 bell peppers, diced
1 pound ground sausage
3-4 tablespoons taco seasoning
salt and pepper, to taste

Combine the sausage, onion, and pepper in a large skillet. Cook until the sausage in browned and the onion is translucent. Add the tomatoes and seasonings. Stir, and cook until warmed through. Add the rice. Stir, and let simmer for 5-10 minutes.

My husband and I added Tabasco sauce to our servings, but kept the dish mild so the kids would eat it.

Taco potatoes

It's starting to look like we eat a lot of mexican-style dishes around here. It's gotten to the point that, when I make taco meat, I make a double-batch to carry over a few meals. Here's one of my 2nd-meal uses.

Bake 4-5 potatoes. (I just use the microwave setting, but make sure you stab the potatoes first.)
Warm up the taco meat.
Split the baked potatoes, spoon taco meat over it, then sprinkle cheddar cheese, tomatoes, olives, sour cream, and whatever other toppings your family enjoys.

Easy, huh? Because some nights, who has time for complicated?

Burritos

Ah, burritos. So good in so many ways!

Our family's version of it is pretty simple. You can spice it up or down to your tastes.

Burritos
1 pound ground beef
1 can refried beans
about 2 cups cheddar cheese
about 12 large to medium flour tortillas
1 cup of your favorite salsa

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Ground beef in a large skillet. Drain.
3. Stir salsa and refried beans into beef. Stir and cook on medium-low until combined.
4. Place a spoonful of the meat/bean mixture on each tortilla, evenly distributing among them all.
5. Sprinkle cheese on top of meat/bean mixture.
6. Add anything else you want in the burritos. (Onions, peppers, cumin, cilantro, lettuce, tomato)
7. Roll tortilla and put seam-side down in a 13x9 casserole.
8. Bake 15 minutes or until cheese is melted completely.
9. Serve with sour cream.

Chicken quesadillas

The Menu says chinese food tonight. Translation: I'm making the fried rice posted last week.

But if that doesn't suit your tastebuds, try this.

1. Preheat the oven to broil.
2. Dice up some of that leftover chicken from the beer-butt chicken.
3. Saute some diced onions in butter, then add the chicken until warm.
4. Place flour tortillas on a baking sheet.
5. Spoon the chicken and onion mixture on the tortillas and spread evenly.
6. Top with cheddar cheese or colby-jack.
7. Place a second tortilla on top.
8. Broil on low until cheese is just melted or until tortillas start to turn golden brown.
9. Put a dollop of sour cream on each quesadilla and enjoy!

Tip: use a pizza cutter to cut the quesadillas into wedges, to make it easier for the kiddos to eat.

Tacos as backup

Tacos are a constant back-up meal in our house. Not only is it quick and a hit with everyone, but it usually turns into two meals. Tacos can be made in so many ways; you just need to play around with it to find what fits for your household.


Tacos, Our Style

1 pound ground beef
1 Taco Bell taco seasoning
Soft tortillas for the girls and taco shells for adults
Shredded cheddar
Sour cream
Additional optional toppings, including wedged tomatoes, diced bell pepper, jalapenos, bread-and-butter jalapenos, salsa, lettuce, onion, carrots and any other veggie that sounds good

1. Cook the ground beef and prepare according to the directions on the Taco Bell seasoning packet.
2. Spread sour cream on a tortilla or taco shell.
3. Spoon beef on top of that, then cheddar cheese and any other toppings you want to add.

MEAL TWO: Mexi-cornbread

1. Save any leftover taco meat and toppings.
2. Prepare a boxed cornbread mix and add a can of cream corn.
   
3. Stir taco leftovers into cornbread mixture.
4. Pour into an 8x8 casserole.
5. Combine 1 cup sour cream and 1 cup cheddar cheese, and drop the sour cream/cheese mix onto the cornbread mix.
6. Bake according to the cornbread mix directions.