Grilled Cheese Rolls with Bread Heels

We don't eat a lot of meatless meals around here, thanks to my meat-loving, anti-vegetable husband, but one meatless meal we do enjoy often is grilled cheese with tomato soup. I normally use eight slices of bread for grilled cheese, making 2.5 sandwiches for Nathan and 1.5 for me. But when I wanted to make grilled cheese this week, I realized we only had four slices of bread left. However, we also had two heels. I had recently read about making grilled cheese rolls by removing the crusts and rolling a slice of cheese with a slice of bread, so I decided to give that a try with the two heels I had.

The verdict? They were delicious! They're really more grilled cheese "envelopes" than rolls since they wouldn't fold that well, but they tasted fantastic

What do you do with the heels in your loaf of bread? Do you eat them like the rest of the slices or use them for something else. I have a few in the freezer that I've been meaning to use to make bread crumbs. Sometimes I'll put them in with the brown sugar if it gets hard to soften it up again. And now I know I can use them for grilled cheese!

Once a Week Cooking in 2 Hours

If you read about my once a week cooking experiment last year and wondered if I've kept up with it, well, I haven't. I never tried it again after that one time. It would be rough for me to do that much cooking on a weekday (I work full time), and my weekends have been fairly busy with other things. But a couple weeks ago, I decided to try it again.

This was my dinner menu plan for the week:

Potato Bacon Corn Chowder

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

Chocolate pancakes with strawberry topping (for Valentine's Day)

Salmon patties, macaroni and cheese

Pizza casserole

Chicken Fried Rice

Dinner with friends

I didn't make every dinner ahead of time since the others were quick ones anyway, but I was able to get two main dishes ready to bake and two others ready to assemble. Before I started, I listed all the tasks I would need to complete and then ordered them in a way that would keep things moving. I forgot a few things initially, so this probably would have taken much less than 2 hours if I'd been more efficient. I also didn't menu plan based on the idea that I would be cooking ahead of time. Next time, I would choose more meals that are easy to prepare ahead of time and that share common ingredients (two dishes with pasta, two with beef, etc.).

12:50 - I start cooking the rice and heating up the skillet for the bacon.

12:58 - Cover rice to simmer; still cooking bacon

"Can I have some?"

I start putting together the enchiladas (with chicken I had cooked previously). Then I remember I need to be cooking hamburger and pasta for the pizza casserole and get that started.

1:44 - Enchiladas are ready, except for the sauce. The tortillas are falling apart (they were a little old), so I switch them to a smaller dish to keep them together a little better.

1:56 - I remember I have laundry that needs switched to the dryer.
Nathan steps in to work on browning the hamburger.

After the hamburger is done cooking, I make the sauce for the enchiladas.

2:22 - Enchiladas are done and I start assembling the pizza casserole.

2:33 - Pizza casserole is done!

2:34 - Oops! I forgot I needed to cook onion for the chowder.
I chop one up (sniff, sniff) and cook that.

2:49 - And we're done! Chicken enchiladas, pizza casserole,
rice for fried rice, and bacon and onion for chowder.

I try to pretend the kitchen doesn't exist for a while,
but Nenya is happy to begin cleanup for me.

Shared at Works for Me Wednesday.

Keeper Recipes {Biscuits & Apple Crisp}

I don't know what it is about biscuits, but I haven't had much success making them. My first attempt was so bad that Nenya wouldn't touch them, and she's eaten radish and wasabi peas before. My imitation Red Lobster biscuits weren't much better, and neither were these. I've tried a couple other recipes, but I pretty much just stick with Pillsbury.

The other night I wanted to make biscuits but had no milk. I came across a recipe that used just flour, salt, butter, and oil, and it turned out to be the best one I've made so far. You can get the recipe here. Nathan was surprised when I told him I'd made them from scratch. They weren't amazing, but they were at least good.

My first attempt at making apple crisp was also not very successful. I tried a new recipe this year, and it was amazing!

I'm so glad I didn't just give up on either of these dishes the first time I made them. I've hardly mastered them, but at least I know there's hope.

For more recipes that have worked well for a beginner cook and baker like me, check out my Top 10 Recipes for Beginner Cooks and my Favorite Recipes board on Pinterest.

Are there any dishes you've tried and tried again to get right?

Adventures with Pumpkins: Carving & Cooking

Can you guess whose pumpkin is whose?

Our approaches to pumpkin carving were a good example of our varying approaches to most things in life.

I kept my design simple since I had never carved a pumpkin before, but I still put a lot of thought into it. I sketched out my design, created vector art in Illustrator, printed it out, taped it to my pumpkin, and traced over it with a pushpin. 

Finally, I was able to start carving.

Nathan grabbed a knife and went at it, with no plan whatsoever.

"Are you making a dog or an alien?"

"I'm not sure yet!"

We're good for each other.

I toasted most of the seeds, but I wasn't impressed with how they turned out. I'm not sure if I did something wrong or if I'm just not a fan.

I also put all the cutout pieces into the crock pot and made puree out of them. I got about a cup and a half out of it. Now I just have to decide what to do with it. I've made four pumpkin recipes so far this season, but I still have several recipes on my Pinterest pumpkin board left to try.

Have you had any adventures with pumpkin this year?

What to Do with Stale Cereal (Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheerios Bars)

I hate letting food go to waste. I do my best to make sure we use food before it goes bad, but sometimes we still have some wilted lettuce or sour chicken broth. When we ended up with 3 cups of Cheerios that were too stale to eat, I really didn't want to throw them out.

With just four other ingredients, I was able to use the Cheerios to make some cereal bars. You couldn't tell the Cheerios were stale, especially after a day or so. I was pleasantly surprised at how much better these are than the cereal bars you can buy at the store. I bought some Cheerios and Cinnamon Toast Crunch bars once since they were cheap, and five months later we still have one left. Nathan devoured these homemade ones.


Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheerios Bars 
(Adapted from The Homesteading Housewife)

3 cups Cheerios

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup peanut butter (I used crunchy)
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

Combine the honey and sugar together over medium heat and bring to a boil. Once the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat.

Add the peanut butter and stir until it's well blended. (As you can tell by the flame in this photo, I forgot the "remove from heat" part of the previous step.)

Stir in the cocoa powder until it's mixed in.

Pour the chocolaty peanut butter goodness on top of your Cheerios and mix until the Cheerios are coated.

And pour the Cheerios mixture into a buttered 9x9 pan (I used an 8x8 pan since I don't have a 9x9).

Once they've cooled, cut the pan into squares. If you let them cool in the refrigerator too long, you will probably need a saw. Nathan managed to cut them after a lot of work with a big knife.

What ways have you found to use up food that is a little past its prime?

Shared at Frugal Friday on Life as Mom.

Our First Farmers Market Trip

I'd been meaning to check out the local farmers market since it opened a couple months ago, but I had never managed to make it there. I usually don't go grocery shopping until at least 11:00 on Saturdays, and the market is only open until 11:30. 

What finally motivated me to get out of bed and go? Corn. Corn is one of the five vegetables Nathan will eat, and he's very picky about the kind of corn. All my attempts at serving him good corn had failed, and locally grown corn was my last hope. I also wanted to find some tomatoes, green beans, and red potatoes.

Now that we've had our first experience, I can't believe we waited this long to go. I found everything I'd hoped to find and even threw in a beet as well. The corn was really, really good.

I boiled the red potatoes and green beans and served them over pasta, loosely following this recipe. I think my potato to pasta ratio was a little off since the potatoes I used were so big, but it was pretty tasty.

The most amazing find for me was this lovely little thing. I have always hated beets. Or so I thought. It turns out I just hate canned beets.

After 35 minutes at 400 degrees and some olive oil, it's a completely different story. I was shocked. The taste reminded me a little of sweet potato fries, which I love. That beet pretty much changed my life.

I cut the corn from our last cob and tossed it with chopped tomato and avocado. Too bad we don't have any locally grown avocados!

  

We will definitely be returning to the farmers market. The food might be a little pricey, but if it's 20 times better than the produce you can buy in the grocery store, not to mention chemical free, I think it's worth it.

Do you shop farmers markets?

More Try New Adventures Thursday at Alicia's Homemaking

More Finer Things Friday at Amy's Finer Things

How Do You Do Tacos?

A taco isn't a taco without hard-boiled eggs -- if you're Nathan, anyway. The ground beef should be saucy beef, like the kind you would use for sloppy joes. There should be tons of cheese and sour cream, but absolutely no lettuce or tomatoes.

I prefer my tacos more like taco salads, or haystacks as my mom calls them. I start with a base of lettuce, then add beef, tomatoes, black olives, salsa, and cheese. I crush tortilla chips or taco shells on top. I like my beef plain - no seasoning, and definitely no sauce.

I had avoided making tacos up until last week because I didn't want to deal with making saucy meat or boiling eggs. Thankfully, Nathan ended up being content with beef that was seasoned but not saucy. I attempted to boil eggs, although I managed to only boil them halfway (Nathan boiled them the rest of the way for us). I had my lettuce and tomatoes, and we were both able to enjoy our tacos. He thinks my way is nuts; I think his way is nuts. This is clearly a dinner that allows for some individuality.

So, how about you? What is essential for your taco night?

10 Easy Main Dishes for the Beginner Cook

I like cooking. I like the money that I save by not buying fast food for dinner. I like knowing what's in my food. But what I don't like, at least at this point in my life, are complicated recipes. The key word for these recipes is easy. These aren't healthy, whole foods recipes by any means - one uses cream of chicken soup, and one uses Pillsbury crescents. But all of them  have five ingredients or fewer, at least the way I prepare them, and don't require a lot of work.

Here are 10 favorites from my limited cooking repertoire. I've listed the ingredients I use for each recipe, and the recipe names link to the directions for them.

: : 1 : :

Basil Pork Chops

Pork chops
Brown sugar
Dried basil
Olive oil

The recipe calls for boneless pork chops, but I use bone-in.

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 : : 2 : :

Upside Down Pizza Casserole

 Lean ground beef

Italian-style tomato sauce
Shredded mozzarella cheese
10-ounce package  refrigerated biscuits

 : : 3 : :

Tuna Macaroni

1 box macaroni and cheese
1 can light tuna, packed in water
1 can cream of chicken soup

 My favorite version of tuna noodle casserole is actually not a casserole, and not the version pictured. All I do is make a box of Annie's Mac & Cheese, then mix in the soup and tuna. No baking required! We sprinkle chow mein noodles on the individual servings.

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: : 4 : :

Parmesan Chicken 

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Seasoned bread crumbs
Grated Parmesan cheese
Dried basil
Egg

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: : 5 : :

Salmon Patties

 Canned salmon

Egg
Sseasoned dry bread crumbs
Olive oil

 

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: : 6 : :

Ham and Cheese Crescent Roll-Ups

  Pillsbury® Refrigerated Crescent Dinner Rolls

Thinly sliced ham
Sliced cheddar cheese

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: : 7 : :

Chicken and Rice Dinner

 Boneless skinless chicken breast halves

Minute^® White Rice

Cream of chicken soup

Water

Oil

  : : 8 : :

Cod au Gratin

 Cod fillets
Margarine or butter
All-purpose flour
Milk
Shredded Cheddar cheese

It tastes better than it looks in the photo! 

I make this with 12 oz. of pollock and scale the other ingredients in half.

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: : 9 : :

Dump and Go Cheesy Chicken

Boneless chicken breasts
Cream of Cheddar cheese soup
Milk
Salt and pepper
Garlic powder

  : : 10 : :

Turkey Meatballs 

 Ground turkey

Egg
  Italian seasoned bread crumbs

I pour barbecue sauce over mine before baking and serve over rice. 


What are your favorite easy recipes?