Sweet and Salty Salad Wraps

This is the meal that Lara and I were in charge of. We had the lunch for Saturday and this was a really quick and light meal, which was perfect as we were all in the middle of our projects so no one really wanted to stop for a big lunch. Here is the original link from Our Best Bites:

Spinach

Cooked Chicken

Craisins

Crumbled bacon (Sam's and Costco both sell big bags of precooked bacon that keep for about 6-9 months in the fridge once opened. Saves SO much prep time, I'm sold.)

Cheese

Poppyseed dressing

Sweet & Sour Meatballs

Here is another favorite from my cousin Heidi at Tasty Sensations. This is one of the recipes I make more frequently because it is super easy (when using the frozen meatballs) and I LOVE Jake's reaction while he's eating them :)

1 can (20 ounces) pineapple chunks
1/3 cup water
3 Tbsp vinegar
1 Tbsp soy sauce
½ cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1 batch of 30 meatballs
1 large green or red pepper, cut into pieces
Hot cooked rice

Drain pineapple, reserving juice. Set aside. Add water to juice if needed to measure 1 cup. Pour into large skillet. Add 1/3 cup water, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, and cornstarch. Stir until smooth. Cook over medium heat until thick, stirring constantly. Add pineapple, meatballs, and green pepper. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes or until heated through. Serve over rice.

I've also included her home-made meatball recipe if you're feeling adventurous and want to make your own.

Meatballs

4 eggs
2 cups dried bread crumbs
½ cup finely chopped onion
1 Tbsp salt
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp pepper
4 lbs lean ground beef

Beat eggs in a large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients, but meat. When everything is mixed together then add beef and mix again. Roll in to 1-inch balls. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 400 degrees, 10-15 minutes, turning once. Once meat balls cool, put on clean cookie sheet and put in freezer until they are frozen. Once they are frozen you can put them in a Ziploc freezer bag, and just pull them out of the freezer when you want them. They are also really good in spaghetti sauce.

Crunch Almond Chicken

I love when I find ridiculously easy dishes like this one that are a hit. Makes me happy :) I found the original over at You Got Served, but here is my adaptation.

1 c fresh bread crumbs (I used seasoned stuffing mix)

1 c blanched slivered (sliced works too) almonds, toasted and finely chopped

2 T chopped parsley

1/2 t ground ginger

1/4 t salt

1/8 t pepper

2 large chicken breasts, cut in to thirds.

1 c italian dressing

Instructions

Marinate chicken in italian dressing over night or for at least 4 hours. (I only did the 4 hours, I bet it would be even better if it was marinated longer)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl, combine bread crumbs, almonds, parsly, ginger, salt and pepper. Dip chicken in bread crumb mixture, coating well.

Arrange chicken in a large shallow baking dish. Bake uncovered 30 minutes or until done.

Serve with rice pilaf and steamed broccoli. Serves 4.

Meatloaf

Dinner tonight was courtesy of my Cousin's wife, Heidi, over at Tasty Sensations. The first time I made this was back in our first few months of wedded bliss and Jake still loves when he sees it coming up on our menu.

1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1.5 pound lean, ground beef
1 c. oats (quick or regular)
1/2 c. plain bread crumbs
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 TBS. dried parsley
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 finely chopped onion

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix above ingredients well.
Place meat in loaf pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Remove from oven and baste with:

Savory Topping (mix all below ingredients until smooth)
6 TBS. brown sugar
1/2 c. catsup
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. prepared mustard

Place pan back in oven for 15 minutes. Serve with baked potatoes.

Ravioli Bake

I was in the mood for something easy tonight since I knew I would be working and it also served as a pretty good Super Bowl dinner (with the breadsticks). I adapted it a little from this recipe with the stuff I had on hand. I liked the sausage as opposed to the ground beef I normally use in recipes like this because it gave it a little more flavor.

1/2 lb turkey sausage

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh basil

1/8 c heavy cream

salt and ground black pepper

1 (9 ounce) package fresh cheese ravioli

1/2 c shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Bring 2 quarts water to boil in large pot.

Cook sausage in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, breaking meat up with wooden spoon until lightly browned and no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Drain meat and set aside.

Add oil and garlic to skillet and return to medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and reserved sausage and cook until slightly thickened, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in basil and cream and continue to simmer until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove skillet from heat, cover, and set aside.

Add 1 T salt and ravioli to boiling water and cook, stirring often, until tender. Drain ravioli and return to pot.

Stir sauce into ravioli and season with salt and pepper to taste. Spread mixture into 8 x 8-inch baking dish and sprinkle evenly with mozzarella. Bake until cheese is melted and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Serve warm with breadsticks.

French Dip Sandwiches

The first time I ever had this was while going to school and my roommate Katie introduced me. I LOVE French Dip Subs. I've tried other versions that took much longer (slow cooker all day) that aren't much better than this one. I had to work today and got off right at dinner time. This is such an easy recipe that comes together really quickly.

1/2 lb sliced deli roast beef

Green Pepper (1/2 pepper)

Onion (1/4 onion)

Butter (1 T)

Deli Rolls

Sliced Swiss or Provolone Cheese

Au Jus Envelope

Saute sliced green pepper and onions in the butter. Meanwhile, prepare the rolls open-faced with cheese and meat. Top with sauted veggies and put under the broiler (set to low) for about 5 minutes. While it's in the oven, make the Au Jus according to directions on the envelope. Keep an eye on your sandwiches though, oven temps vary. Easy Peasy.

Shepherds Pie

Brown 1 pound ground beef with onion. Mix meat with 2 large cans of vegetable beef soup in a 9 x 13-inch glass pan. Put mashed potatoes on top and top with grated cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

A super easy go-to recipe for when you can't think of anything else, such as tonight at our house. :)

Mexican Meat Cups

This is one of the recipes that was a favorite growing up. I remember always LOVING when my mom would make these. Now that I'm married, I'm glad Jake likes them just as much as I do. The meat filling makes kind of a lot for our family of 3, so I can either half the recipe or freeze the other half that we don't eat. (I love finding good freezer meals, too. :)

Ingredients:

1 can flaky refrigerator biscuits

1 cup shredded cheese

1 lb. ground beef, brown and drain

½ cup ketchup & ½ cup barbeque sauce, mixed together

1 can corn (opt.)

Place each biscuit in a muffin cup. Press dough to cover bottom and sides, forming a ½ inch rim. Put about 1 T. of cheese into each cup. Combine ground beef, ketchup-barbeque sauce mixture and corn. Spoon into biscuit. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until biscuits are deep golden brown. Cover tops with shredded cheese during the last 5 minutes.

*Freezer option: Freeze the filling separate from the biscuits. Take out the night before, or the morning of, to thaw. Then assemble and bake as normal.