Melissas Bargains

I posted a lot of information about my family and how we plan meals in this initial post.

Sunday: Chicken enchiladas (we were supposed to have these yesterday, but we ended up eating out instead)

Ingredients:
1 can cream of chicken soup (I use the 98% FF kind)
1 can cream of mushroom soup (I use the 98% FF kind)
2 cans green enchilada sauce
1 8 oz-16 oz. tub of sour cream (depends how spicy you want the enchiladas)
2-3 chicken breasts, shredded (if I’m in a hurry, I use canned chicken)
1 lb. cheese, shredded
1 dozen flour tortillas (you could use corn also)

Add cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, and enchilada sauce to a pan. Cook on medium low heat, stirring occasionally. When sauce is will mixed and starts to thin, add sour cream. Continue stirring occasionally until the sauce is well mixed and thinned out. Place a layer of the sauce along the bottom of a 9X13 baking dish. Fill each tortilla with the shredded chicken, sauce, and cheese. Roll and place in the baking dish. When you have filled all of the tortillas (this should make 1 dozen), pour the remain sauce over the top of the enchiladas and then cover with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until the cheese is well melted.

Monday: Pesto burgers (freezer swap meal)

The recipe that was used hasn’t been posted on our freezer swap blog yet, but I found this one on Mom’s Budget to Share

Ingredients:
3 lbs lean ground beef (not previously frozen!)
3 bread slices, crumbed (white or brown bread is fine)
2 onions, chopped
3 eggs
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
6 tbsp pesto
3 garlic cloves, minced

Optional Basil Mayo for serving day (enough for 4 burgers)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp pesto

In a large bowl, combine egg, bread crumbs, onion, cheese, pesto and garlic, mixing well. Add ground beef, stirring until fully combined. Divide into 12 and make 12 burgers (about 5″ in diameter), making sure to depress the center of each slightly. Flash freeze on cookie sheet, then transfer into freezer ziploc bag container. Or seperate each with wax/parchment paper, and freeze stacked.

On serving day: Remove burgers from freezer the night before or morning of serving, and allow to defrost in refrigerator. Cook on grill (indoor or outdoor) until center of burgers reach a temperature of 160F. Serve with basil mayonaise (mixing mayo and pesto together) on a bun with your choice of burger toppings.

Tuesday: Chicken Lickin’ Good Pork Chops (slow cooker meal)

Ingredients:
6-8 lean pork chops, 1-inch thick
1/2 cup flour (omit if you don’t brown chops in skillet)
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp oil (omit if you don’t brown chops in skillet)
1 10.5oz can chicken & rice soup

Dredge pork chops in mixture of flour, salt, dry mustard & garlic powder. Brown chops in oil in a large skillet. Place browned pork chops in crockpot. Add can of soup. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3 1/2 hours. If I don’t brown the chops, then I just toss the salt, dry mustard & garlic powder in the crockpot instead of dredging the chops.

*Note: When making this meal, I use a can of family size chicken & rice soup and drain off some of the broth – it keeps the meat tender and there is more of the chicken & rice mixture for everyone!

Wednesday: Chicken Marsala – When we go out for Italian (which is rare these days), Chicken Marsala is one of my favorite meals! I saw this recipe on my friend DeAna’s blog Balancing Act Basics and decided to try it out this week! (it looks like this can also work as a freezer meal)

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp dried marjoram, crushed
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (I usually just use a can of mushrooms)
2 Tbsp sliced green onion
3 Tbsp margarine or butter
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp cornstarch

Directions:
Rinse chicken and cut off excess fat; pat dry. Place each breast between 2 pieces of clear plastic wrap. Working from center to edges, pound lightly with the flat side of a mallet until 1/8-inch thick (I actually pound rather hard with the point-tenderizer side of a mallet, so go for whatever works best for you). Remove plastic wrap. Stir together flour, marjoram, salt and pepper. Lightly press chicken pieces into flour mixture on both sides; shake off excess.

In a large skillet, cook mushrooms and onion in 1 Tbsp of butter until tender; remove from skillet. In the same skillet, cook chicken in remaining butter over medium-high heat for 4 minutes, turning to brown evenly. Return mushrooms and onions to skillet. Mix broth and cornstarch with a wire whisk; carefully add to skillet. Cook, uncovered, 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. If freezing: Place in food saver bag, vacuum-seal, and place in freezer. Thaw at least 24 hours before heating in skillet and serving.

Thursday: Old Fashioned Meat Loaf (freezer swap meal)
Courtesy Paula Deen with changes by Sara Brown

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef, turkey, or both
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped bell pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
8 ounces canned diced tomatoes with juice
1 cup Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix
salt
pepper

Topping:
1/3 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon mustard

Prep Directions:
Salt and pepper meat, mix all meatloaf ingredients well and shape into a loaf. Wrap loaf in Plastic Wrap and place in Freezer for 1-2 hours to firm up (this is so loaf will hold it’s shape while being stored).
Mix ingredients for topping and place in Quart-size Freezer Bag.
Once loaf is firm, place plastic wrapped loaf into a Gallon-size freezer bag, along with smaller bag of Topping. Remove air and seal.

Serving Directions:
Thaw completely. Place loaf in baking dish, cover with Topping. Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour.

Serve with mashed potatoes

Friday: Creamy bacon chicken (slow cooker meal)

Ingredients:
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 3 oz package precooked bacon bits (not artificial)
1 can roasted garlic cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 c. sour cream

Place chicken in slow cooker. Mix all remaining ingredients together and pour over chicken. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve over egg noodles or rice.

Saturday: My daughter’s birthday – eat out!