Sausage and Peppers

This is a very quick and easy meal.  The only trick is that you cannot freeze raw potatoes!  They will turn black and ruin your dinner.  So this recipe requires you to boil the potatoes before you freeze them, but the rest of the prep can be done in ten minutes or less.  This is a great meal to leave for your husband if you are going out of town.  It's easy to make and tasty to eat.  You can use any peppers that you like so make it mild or super spicy! 

Ingredients:

1 pkg Eckrich Smoked Turkey Sausage     2.00
1 onion                                                                .40
1 bell pepper                                                      .48
8 small red or gold potatoes                        1.00
1 cup Italian dressing                                      .75
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Fill a medium saucepan with water and place on the stove.  Scrub the potatoes and place them in the pan.  You do not need to remove the skins.  Turn burner on to medium high heat and bring to a boil.  Boil potatoes 15-20 minutes or until soft when poked with a fork.

Meanwhile slice the turkey sausage, peppers and onions.  Set aside. 

When the potatoes are cooked move them to a towel with a slotted spoon.  Let cool about 5 minutes.  Place half of the potatoes in two 8x8" pans.  Divide the onions, peppers and sausage between the two pans.  Sprinkle each with salt and pepper.  Pour 1/2 C of Italian dressing over each pan. 

Cover with foil, label and freeze.

Once thawed bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, remove the cover and bake 10 minutes more.  I was able to make two pans of sausage and peppers for $2.32.  These are great to have on hand for a last minute supper.  You can even open up a thawed pan, skewer the veggies and sausage and warm them on the grill.  The potatoes and sausage are fully cooked and you just need to heat the meal through.  Once baked you can scoop the potatoes out with a spoon and put the sausage and peppers on a bun and eat it as a hot sandwich.  Lots of options for this quick meal! 

Here it is after baking.  The potatoes are nice and soft.  The green peppers still have a crunch.  And the dressing turns tangy and zesty in the oven.  Yum!  My husband loved this one.  It's a nice change from the creamy sauces of other baked dishes.  Here's my dinner!

Enjoy!
Christie aka Keeza

Chicken and Stuffing

This recipe is my own version of Swiss Chicken.  In the original recipe there are no veggies and it calls for a layer of Swiss cheese between the chicken and the stuffing.  It also directed you to drizzle melted butter on top of the stuffing before baking.  Yikes!  Although that all sounds pretty good it also sounds very fattening.  This is a slightly better version with less fat.  I prefer sharp cheddar cheese to Swiss, but please use Swiss cheese if you like that flavor.  I have also made this recipe with pepper jack cheese and it came out great.  Pick a cheese with a little zing! 

Ingredients:

8 oz frozen mixed vegetables                       .98
7 oz frozen broccoli florets                           .94
             (not pictured)
1 onion--chopped                                            .40
2 cans reduced fat crm of chicken soup   2.44
     I have three cans in the picture, but you only need two
3 cups chicken --cubed                                3.48
8 oz shredded sharp cheddar                     2. 33
     (half of what is pictured)
8 oz dry stuffing (not prepared)                 1.68

Directions:

In a medium mixing bowl combine the frozen mixed vegetables, broccoli florets, chopped onion and two cans of cream of chicken soup. 

Divide the mixture into three 8x8" pans. 

Top each pan with 1 cup of cubed chicken.

Shred 8 oz of sharp cheddar cheese and put one third of the cheese in each pan.

Top each pan with one third of the dry stuffing mixture.  Do not prepare the stuffing according to package directions.  This will be a crunchy topping.

Cover each pan with foil and label.  Freeze, then thaw in the fridge for two days when you are ready to eat.  Bake 350 degrees for 40 minutes. 

This is always a hit at our house.  My husband brings leftovers to work and always gets compliments on how good this smells!  I was able to make three pans for $4.08 each.  This is a good one to bring to a friend because it is so comforting and filling.  Try different cheeses and veggies to see what your family likes best.  This works great with green beans  and Lima beans.  Yum! 

Enjoy!
Christie aka Keeza

Chicken a la King

This is a tasty meal that looks fancy and can be made ahead of  time and frozen.  The puff pastry comes frozen right from the grocery store!  You only bake as many shells as you need and put the rest back in the freezer in a plastic storage bag.  The filling is made ahead of time and frozen.  Just thaw the filling in the fridge and warm it on the stove top when ready to eat!  Easy Peasy! 

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked and cubed chicken       3.48
4 cups chicken broth                           free
4 heaping Tbsp of flour
2 Tbsp margarine or butter
2 Tbsp olive oil 
1 onion--chopped                                  .40
1 green pepper--chopped                      .85
1 red pepper--chopped                        2.00 (ouch!)
1 8oz can of sliced water chestnuts     1.85
3 tsp chicken base                                 .25
salt pepper and all purpose seasoning
2 boxes of puff pastry shells               6.78

Directions:

In a large saucepan melt the margarine and add the olive oil to warm over medium heat.  Add the onion and peppers.  Saute 5 minutes.  Add the three tsp of chicken base and stir well. 

Sprinkle in the 4 heaping Tbsp of flour.  Stir well. 

Then slowly stir in 4 cups of chicken broth.  Drain the water chestnusts and add to your sauce.  Stir in the cubed chicken.  Turn the heat up to high and stir well until sauce thickens.  If sauce seems too thin take a separate small bowl, stir 2 Tbsp flour into cold water and slowly add to sauce until you get a nice smooth sauce.  You want it to be thinner than gravy, but thicker than soup.  Taste the sauce and add salt, pepper and all purpose seasoning to your preference.

Turn off heat.  Divide into two quart size containers and freeze. 

Thaw the chicken mixture two days in the fridge and heat in a sauce pan on the stove top to serve.  Leave the puff pastry frozen until 20 minutes before you are ready to eat.  Preheat your oven and bake off one to two puff pastries per person according to package directions. 

Before                                                             

After

Serve the chicken and pepper sauce over top of the puff pastry.  If you have a little parsley in your garden that would make a great garnish.  Very fancy...and tasty!

 I was able to make two meals (one quart of chicken mixture and 6 puff pastries) for $7.81 each.  If you'd like to cut the cost down you can use chopped roasted red peppers from a jar and have the same flavor without the crunch.  I have heard that sliced mushrooms go well in this dish too, but I have a mushroom aversion. 

Enjoy!
Christie aka Keeza