Easy Appetizer - Spicy Bacon Turkey Wraps

I just had a "Dish to Pass" party to attend and made these simple appetizers to share. Four ingredients and hardly any culinary skills involved!!

Ingredients:

3 large spinach tortillas (they come in many flavors, you could change it up!)
1 package of bacon - cooked
1 package of deli turkey
Spicy Mayo (I used Target's Market Pantry brand and it's a light mayo)


Directions:

Cut the tortilla into strips (about 6-7 per tortilla)
Put a little bit of spicy mayo onto each strip, then 1/2 slice of bacon, then turkey.
Roll each strip up and secure with a toothpick
Arrange the Turkey Rolls on a plate and enjoy!

Grocery Budget Challenge: Feeding my family of 5 for the week with $38!!

I've decided to cut my grocery budget and this is my first month....I find myself in the last week with $38 left in my budget. I'm a little competitive so I've made this into a personal challenge.

Terms of Grocery Budget Challenge: Be able to provide healthy, well balanced meals for my family for the week. There is no eating out or buying lunches and I can't spend more than $38.

Challenge accepted (and I'm posting it to keep me accountable!).

What do I need for the week???

Breakfast:
40 breakfasts

Lunch:
10 lunches for the weekend
15 lunches for the week (small celebration for the boys having lunch included with their tuition!)

Dinner:
5 family dinners

Snacks:
18 snacks

What do I already have??

Time to take inventory of the fridge, freezer and pantry!!

Make a Plan!

Based on what I had, I brainstormed some ideas and listed it all out with what was needed to complete the meal and then listed what items I would need to buy. It looked something like this:

Natalie's lunches:
5 PBJ sandwiches
5 GoGurts
5 apples
5 juice boxes
5 granola bars

Lunches for us (10)
3 soups
3 frozen meals
4 left overs

Snacks
Apples, Cereal

Dinners:
Kale Tortellini Soup
Quiche
Taco Night
Chicken and Rice
Turkey burgers
Pasta Night

The Grocery List - There's an App For That?!

As if I didn't already love Wegmans...I discovered their app and now I love them more!!  I was able to enter in all the items that were on my "needed" list and compare brand name with store brand prices (I had coupons) and then get a total before setting foot in the store!! All of this in the comforts of my PJs and slippers!

The final list had all my groceries listed in order of the store aisles - so no wandering around trying to find items! (Wandering usually leads to extra items going in my cart anyhow!!)

Stick to the List...Stick to the List.... 

With blinders on and armed with restraint, I went into Wegmans and for the first time ever, I only got the items that were on my list!!!! Here is a picture of my cart!! And the grocery bill was $34.12!!!

I've got my plan, I've got my food....let's see how this goes!

Saturday: 

Homemade chicken noodle soup with on hand ingredients

We were invited to a friends house (dish to pass) and I made these Apple Crumble Bars with items in the pantry:

Sunday:

I made two quiches for dinner and have enough left overs for a couple lunches or breakfasts!

Monday: 

The good news: A neighbor dropped off a loaf of banana bread as a thank you for helping them dig out their driveway!!

The bad news: It didn't take long for my plans to get kinked...I got a reminder email about my Bunco group tomorrow and that we changed the rules this year so that everyone brings a dish to pass (good rule change, bad timing - or bad memory by me!!). Better go back to the pantry and get creative....

Tuesday:
Look what I managed to make for Bunco!!! Mini Wraps with Turkey and Bacon - I knew that Bacon Club would help out at some point!!! $0 spent!

 

Wednesday: 

I had a work event that included free lunch - score!!!! Chicken and rice for dinner with lots left over for lunches!

Thursday: 

The Free Food Gods are smiling on me this week - another work seminar and it comes with free breakfast! Plus, a vendor stopped by with samples of healthy vending food options - perfect timing!

Friday: 

Family dinner at my sisters - no shopping or cooking needed!

Saturday:
Feeling very thankful for the banana bread from my neighbor or it would have been a pretty sad breakfast for me! Lunch was a hodge podge of left overs from the week but everyone was happy and I got to go to the store again!!

Budget Challenge Lessons: 

• I have waaaaay more in my pantry, freezer and fridge than I ever imagined! 
• It is well worth the effort to meal plan starting what you have instead of starting with what would you like. 
• Taco kits will have stale tortillas if left in your pantry too long...children do not think stale tortillas are tasty.  
• My kids actually prefer the Wegmans brand of Honey Nut Cheerios over the name brand!
• I still was able to function each morning with the $2.29 Wegman's French Roast as opposed to  my standard Starbuck's $8.99 Pike's Place....but I can still taste the difference! 
• I saved more by buying store brand than I would have by using some of the coupons I had clipped. 
• It felt really nice to actually use the food we made instead of throwing a bunch away - it felt much more efficient. 
• My kids never noticed that I didn't do a big shopping trip - not one comment about not having enough snacks, breakfast, etc. 

Now, to apply some of this new found knowledge throughout the month so that I have more than $38 left at the end of it!!! 

Apple Crumble Bars

I made this recipe from items I had on hand in my pantry!!! Super easy and super yummy!

 

Apple Crumble Bars

Ingredients: 

Sugar Cookie Mix

1 Egg

1 Stick of butter

1 Can Apple Pie Filling (21 oz)

Topping:

3/4 cup Quick Oats

1/2 cup cold butter or margarine

3/4 cup all purpose flour 

3/4 cup Brown Sugar 

1 tsp Ground Cinnamon 

Directions:

Make the Sugar Cookie dough as directed 

Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray

Press the cookie dough into the base of the pan

Spread the apple pie filling onto the cookie dough 

In a separate bowl, mix the ingredients for the crumble topping. Use a fork to get it all blended together. 

Spread crumble topping onto the apples and coat evenly.

Bake in the oven at 375 for 25-30 minutes until the dough is cooked and the topping is bubbling. 

Let cool completely before cutting into squares. 

One Bulk Package of Chicken, Five Easy, Yummy and Healthy Meals!

I've been really focusing on meal planning this year and keeping my meals healthy and my grocery bill in check. One thing I learned was to take advantage of and plan your meals around meats that are on sale. So, I purchased a bulk package of chicken (it was just under 6lbs!).

For the first meal, I just took the chicken out of the package and right into the crockpot. I then baked the remainder of the chicken in the oven with some Italian Dressing as a marinade. I kept the cooked chicken in Tupperware in my fridge and used it for the rest of the recipes - it made life sooo easy (ok, the cooking part of my life that is!!).

Meal 1: Slow Cooker Fiesta Chicken (I doubled the recipe)

Ingredients:

• 2lbs uncooked chicken
• 2 cans diced tomatoes (undrained)
• 1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
• 1 can corn (drained)
• 1 packet of McCormick Slow Cooker Fiesta Chicken seasoning

Directions: 
Place all ingredients into a crockpot. 
Set crockpot to low for 8 hours
Shred the chicken before serving.

We ate it like a chili with some shredded cheese on top, but you could also serve with:
- Rice
- Pasta
- In a burrito

Topping ideas: 
- Sour cream
- Avocado
- Greek yogurt
- Shredded Cheese 
- Fresh Cilantro

Meal 2: Quinoa Fiesta Chicken Casserole

Ingredients
Left Over Fiesta Chicken 
1 cup Red Quinoa
Shredded Cheese 

Directions
Combine cooked Quinoa with left over Fiesta Chicken
Sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese on top
Bake in oven at 350 until hot and cheese is bubbling

Meal 3: One Skillet Chicken Stir-Fry

Ingredients
2 cups Instant Brown Rice
1 package frozen vegetables (I use the stir fry veggies or broccoli and carrots)
1 can water chestnuts
2 cups diced chicken
3/4 cup Stir Fry Sauce (I love the Wegman's brand!)

Directions: 
Combine all ingredients into a large skillet. Cook on high until it is at a boil, reduce to simmer and cook for 5-10 minutes until rice is tender.

Top with fried noodles

Meal 4: Tuscan Chicken & Broccoli Pasta

Ingredients: 
1/2 package Linguine (I like to use the wheat)
2 cups diced chicken breast
1 package of frozen broccoli
1 cup cherry tomatoes
Olive Oil
1-2 Tbsp Tuscan Bread Dipping Seasoning**

*I had a jar of seasoning from a local Olive Oil store (Olive on Brooklea for anyone who is local to Syracuse, NY) or you can make your own:

1Tbsp dried Oregano
1 Tbsp Dried Basil
1 Tbsp Dried Rosemary
1/2 tsp Dried Powdered Thyme
1 Tbsp Crushed Red Pepper
1 Tbsp Garlic Powder

Directions: 
Cook linguine in a pot
In a large skillet, heat olive oil and then add chicken, broccoli and cherry tomatoes
Add the cooked linguine to the skillet and toss all the ingredients together with the Tuscan Seasoning.

Meal 5: Grilled Chicken Wraps 

Ingredients: 
2 Cups diced cooked chicken
4 Tortillas
Shredded Cheese
Lettuce
Any other toppings you can think of! 

Directions: 
Throw all your ingredients into a tortilla and enjoy!!

Turkey Meatball Kale Tortellini Soup

My children ate (and loved!) kale!! This is an easy soup recipe that got thumbs up from my kids!!! I probably could have made the turkey meatballs myself, but I needed a quick recipe so I opted for pre-cooked frozen meatballs.

Turkey Meatball Kale and Tortellini Soup

Ingredients:
3 chicken bouillons ( I use Herb ox packets which has no sodium or MSG)
6 cups boiling water
1 tsp minced garlic (this is 2 cloves if you mince your own)
1 small onion chopped
1 cup carrots, peeled and chopped
2-3 cups of fresh kale
Frozen turkey meatballs (I put about 15 in)
10 oz frozen cheese tortellini (about 1/2 a package)
Pepper to taste


Directions:
- Put chicken bouillons and boiling water in a pot and stir until it dissolves
- Add garlic, onions and carrots
- Bring to a boil
- Add meatballs and tortellini
- Let it simmer for about 10 minutes
- Add kale and let it cook for another 5 minutes
- Add pepper to taste
- Serve with Parmesean cheese