Easy taco salad and sauteed spinach

This is one of J and S's favorite suppers. Unfortunately, it is neither especially cheap nor healthy. I suppose it's healthier and cheaper than food we'd buy at a restaurant ...

I tried to healthy-up my supper. I microwaved a baked potato and sauteed spinach to eat along with the taco salad. And ate it on a monkey plate. The rest of the family did not want to join me in healthying-up their meal :)

Taco salad:

• Brown 1-2 pounds of beef in a skillet. Add taco seasoning with water as directed. One of these months we will perfect our own taco seasoning
•  Crunch mission chips onto a plate. Top with beef
• Add tomatoes, black olives, canned diced chilies, diced onions, diced tomatoes, diced green pepper
• Top with sour cream, cheddar/taco cheese, salsa

A child's hand reaching for the black olives.

Any ideas how to make the taco salad healthier? Cheaper?

For the spinach, I sauteed onions in tarragon vinegar. Added defrosted frozen spinach (catch that?). Sautee until cooked through. I'm trying to up my calcium intake and I think that regular spinach will help.

Sausage and vegetable stir fry

 Herbivores and carnivores: UNITE

S made chili and it was DELICIOUS! So delicious that it disappeared before I could take pictures. We will try to document next time.

Tonight, I made a fantastic meat and veggie stir fry. The recipe is based on this recipe. I started with ground sausage, since it was just as cheap as hot dogs. Plus, I like sausage better.

Instructions:

• Brown the sausage in a frying pan
• Remove the sausage and cook vegetables. I use whatever veggies I have on hand. Tonight I used potatoes (cut up small to cook faster), carrots, frozen vegetable mix, leeks, onions and celery. The vegetables cook in the sausage juice, which adds so much flavor. I did end up adding a little olive oil to keep the potatoes from burning
• Add the sausage back and let simmer for a few minutes 
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Serve on a starch. In the past, we have put it on rice. Tonight, we put it on leftover mashed potatoes. 

Delicious! Easy, relatively inexpensive dish that packs a lot of nutrients and flavor. It's not the fastest recipe; the vegetables took about 20 minutes to cook. But, I was able to start the veggies cooking and continue working nearby.

We will definitely be making this often.

New family favorite: beef bourguignon in the crockpot

I really wish I had time to take a camera class. Trust me; the stew was delicious, even if the picture doesn't capture it.

This recipe is adapted from Julia Child's recipe. I like it because it is a flavorful, hearty stew that cooks all day in the crockpot. The downside of this stew is that it does take about 20-30 minutes to prepare.

1. Fry the bacon. Eat some. Crumple the rest of the bacon and add to the crockpot.

2. Brown the stew meat in the bacon grease. Add to crockpot.

3. Drain most of the bacon grease and saute mushrooms, carrots, celery, leeks, parsnips, potatoes and other stew vegetables in the bacon grease. Add a liberal amount of tomato paste. When tomato paste is nicely malleable, add vegetables to crockpot.

4. Mix in fresh and dried herbs available. I have been using fresh rosemary and parsley, as well as salt and pepper.

5. Pour in red or white cooking wine and stock. I used regular water today and it still tasted delicious.

6. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.

7. Eat with fresh bread or rice. Loosen belt.

Nutritious and delicious meatballs

The girls went gaga over them! Slurped up the spaghetti and sauce. Definitely recommend. E asked for me to make it again!




I based the meatballs on this recipe

It was a nice, easy recipe I can throw together in about 15 minutes, after being out all day. I used Panko breadcrumbs, because all other breadcrumbs seem to have dairy and/or soy. I added two eggs and used 1/2 pound sausage and 1 pound of ground beef (low fat). For flavor I added chili powder, since I could not find garlic powder.

Smush it all together and add to oiled, heated skillet. I used two skillets to keep the meatballs from being smushed together. I ended up using all the sauce in the house: 3/4 can of spaghetti sauce, and two almost-finished cans of pizza sauce. No cheese, of course.

I was surprised at how long it took the meatballs to fully cook. Next time I will simmer in a covered skillet. I paired the dinner with microwaved frozen peas and corn. I think in the future I might blend some vegetables in, if I have the time.

Week of June 6

Meatloaf X2
Chicken strips
Basil chicken (stir fry)
Chipotle chicken with sweet potato (crockpot)
Cheese enchiladas (crockpot)
Beef and beans (crockpot)

Chocolate chip strawberry cake

Smoothies

Week of May 8

Chinese spaghetti and meat sauce (new family favorite)
Meatloaf (x2)
Maple dijon chicken (crockpot)
Crockpot chili verde for cinco de mayo
White beans, fennel and sausage soup (crockpot)

Boule

Choco loco bites

Roasted red pepper bean dip