Chicken Sausage and Potatoes

Well this recipe is one I made up following the success of my Sausage and Peppers recipe.  My husband just raved about Sausage and Peppers and it was so easy to make.  So I brainstormed and came up with this beauty!  If you are looking for a recipe without a creamy soup base but still has a lot of flavor then this is one for you! 

Ingredients:

2 pkg precooked chicken sausage        7.48
1 onion                                                         .30
1 lb small potatoes                                  3.00
2 yellow squash                                          .66
1 red pepper                                                 .33
1 pkg of ranch dip mix                             1.50
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp blk pepper

Directions:

Wash and place potatoes in a medium sauce pan.  I was excited to try this bag of tri-color fingerling potatoes.   Cover with water.  Bring to a boil.  Boil for 20 minutes or until fork tender.  Drain and let cool.

Meanwhile peel and slice the yellow squash.  Slice the onion.  Seed and chop the red pepper into large chunks.  Place these veggies in a medium mixing bowl. 

Slice the chicken sausage into bit size pieces.  Set aside. 

Once potatoes have cooled add them to the bowl of veggies.  Pour olive oil on top.  Sprinkle with the package of ranch dip and pepper.  Stir gently with a spoon or mix with your hands. 

Place 1/3 of the ranch and olive oil coated veggies into 3 8x8" pans.  Place 1/3 of the chicken sausage on top. 

Cover with foil and label. 

Freeze until needed.  When preparing to eat this meal please defrost a pan in the fridge for two days.  Then bake covered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  You can remove the foil and bake for 5 more minutes at 400 degrees if you'd like the sausage and potatoes to brown a little bit.

The purple potatoes really freaked my husband out!  He took one to work in his leftovers and asked everyone in the shop what in the world that purple thing was.  =)  I tried to tell him it was a potato, but I don't think he was listening.  I was able to make three pans of chicken sausage with potatoes for $4.42. 

I hope you enjoy this one as much as we did!
Christie aka Keeza

Pork Egg Rolls

My husband and I live out in the country and it's hard to find good Chinese food.  James loves egg rolls so I thought I would suprise him with egg rolls for dinner.   You can make these as a side dish, but we enjoy them as a main dish with rice. 

Ingredients:

2 lb ground pork                                 5.96
1 yellow onion                                       .30
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
4 Tbsp red sodium soy sauce             .25
1 tsp salt
1 tsp blk pepper
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 tsp white sugar
1 16 oz bag of cole slaw mix               1.58
      (or one head of cabbage sliced thinly)
1 16 oz pkg of egg roll wrappers       2.58

Directions:

In a large frying pan cook the ground pork until no longer pink.  Chop the onion and add to the pork along with 2 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce, 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of pepper,
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar and 1/2 tsp of ground ginger. 

Simmer for a few minutes until sauce is slightly reduced and onions get tender.  Move pork and onions to a bowl and set aside to cool.

In the same large frying pan cook add the bag of coleslaw mix along with 3 tsp sugar, 2 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce, 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of pepper and 1 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar.  Stir well and cook the cabbage mixture for about 5 minutes.  You want the cabbage to be slightly tender, yet still have a little crunch when you taste it.  Move the cabbage mixture to the same bowl with the ground pork and stir well.   Let cool to room temperature.

Open the egg roll wrappers.  Put a few tsp of cold water into a small bowl and set aside.  Put one egg roll wrapper down on your work surface.

Using a slotted spoon place two heaping spoonfuls of filling onto the bottom half of the egg roll wrapper.

Fold the bottom corner up over the filling.

Fold the sides in to form a small envelope.

Dip your finger in the cold water and rub along the two upper edges of your egg roll envelope. 

Carefully roll the bottom of the egg roll up and onto the top corner of the egg roll. 

Place competed egg roll on a paper towel or kitchen towel to rest while you continue rolling the rest of the filling.  I had enough filling for 15 egg rolls.  If I were to make this recipe again I would add another pound of ground pork to try to fill all 20 egg roll wrappers that come in a 16 oz package.

For best results place the egg rolls on a cookie sheet lined with paper towel.  Place the cookie sheet into the freezer for one hour.  Now you can put all the egg rolls into a gallon zippered bag and they wont stick to each other.  Label and freeze.  When ready to use frozen egg rolls do not thaw.  Bake or fry from frozen until golden brown.    

Now you have two choices.  You can fry your egg rolls on the stove top or you can bake them.  I chose to bake them.  For best results bake the egg rolls on parchment paper on a cookie sheet to prevent sticking.  I sprayed each one with a little cooking spray and then baked them for 25 minutes a side in a 400 degree oven turning them over once halfway through the baking time. 

These are awesome served with vegetable fried rice and sweet and sour dipping sauce.  Yum yum!  Who needs take out when you have scratch made egg rolls in your freezer!  I made 19 egg rolls for 56 cents a piece.  Enjoy!

Christie aka Keeza

Chipotle Chicken Meatballs

Hello Blog Friends!  I recently saw a recipe in a Rachel Ray magazine that featured Chipotle Chicken Meatballs.  So I researched Chicken Burgers and Meatballs and I compiled this recipe.  I cooked up a few meatballs in a pan while I was adjusting the seasoning and I like how these turned out.  I know that ground chicken doesn't have much flavor, so this recipe has a lot of seasoning to make sure they aren't bland. 

Ingredients:

2lbs ground chicken                      5.98
1/2 cup finely chopped onion          .30
1/2 cup cilantro-chopped                 .35
4 Chipotle peppers in adobo           1.50
6 oz finely shredded Mozzarella    2.10
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp season salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp cumin
2 cans enchilada sauce (optional) 2.00

Directions:

In a medium mixing bowl place the ground chicken.  Sprinkle all the powdered dry spices over top of the chicken.  Use a chopper or food processor to chop the onion.  If you don't have one just keep chopping until you have a nice dice on your onion.  Add to the bowl.  Roughly chop the cilantro and add to the bowl.  Sprinkle in the shredded Mozzarella.  (this will add moisture to the meatballs.  Chicken can be dry because it is so lean)  Lastly open one can of Chipotle in adobo.  Use a spoon to take out 2-4 peppers.  2 pepper will give you a hint of spice.  4 peppers will give the meatballs a spicy taste.  Use the amount you think your family will enjoy.  Place the peppers in a chopper, food processor or blender.  Process until finely chopped.  Try not to handle the peppers too much with your hands as these can be spicy! 

Scrape the chopped chipotle peppers into the bowl.  Mix the chicken with the peppers, cheese, onions, cilantro and spices by hand.

 Once well blended form 1 1/2 inch meatballs with the chicken mixture and place in 3 8x8" pans.  I was able to get 11 meatballs in each of three pans for a total of 33 meatballs.  Wash your hands well. 

If you prefer you can pour two cans of enchilada sauce over top of the pans.  I divided two cans between three pans of meatballs.  It did not add much flavor to the recipe so feel free to omit this step.  You can pour a jar of your favorite salsa over top, or a jar of your favorite taco sauce. 

Cover each pan with foil.  Label and freeze two.  Bake one pan for dinner at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  When you are ready to eat the frozen pans, put one or both in the fridge to thaw for two days.  Then bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes. 

The first time we ate ours with rice and sugar snap peas.  The next time was much better over pasta with mixed with 3 Tbsp of queso sauce from a jar.  My husband loved the meatballs this way!

 

To have even more variety you can make one pan or meatballs and one pan of chicken patties.  Then once you bake them you can eat them on burger buns with tomato and avacado for some killer chicken burgers.  Yum!  I made three pans of meatballs for $4.08 a pan.  Next time I would omit the enchilada sauce and it would be even more affordable.  I hope you give these a try.  They are pretty tasty and out of the ordinary weeknight meal plan. 

Enjoy!

Christie aka Keeza