Cookbook Giveaway ~ 30 Day Gourmet's Big Book of Freezer Cooking

As I begin my freezer cooking expedition, I have ended up with two of these books.  I ordered one from them directly and thinking it was not coming (since there was no confirmation or response to email) I ordered another from Amazon.  Since I get free shipping from Amazon Prime, they cost almost the same.  I ordered the Amazon book six days later and got them at the same time.  So if you want it quickly, I would order it from Amazon.   When I get a new cookbook, I read it cover to cover. . . and that is what I did.  I drank in the details and imagined the possibilities.  The recipes all seem simple and delicious.  It is full of tons of pertinent freezer cooking information and forms.  All in all. . .it seems very do-able and enjoyable.  I am very excited to get going!

Now for the extra book!  I felt like this is a wonderful time to do a give-away.  Who doesn't like something for free?  And for me this is a good opportunity to ask you to share the blog. So in order to enter, please do the following:

1. At the top right of this page, subscribe to the blog.


2. Then at the bottom of this post, share it on Facebook.

A drawing will be held on February 8th at noon (est) for the winner.  Book must be shipped within the USA.   I look forward to sharing my journey with all of you and a book with the winner.

Easy Lasagna Recipe

 

Dinner last night was a very easy and delicious Lasagna. I hope you will make it and enjoy it.

1 lb ground beef

1 32-ounce jar of thick spaghetti sauce (I use two 24 ounce jars )

1 medium onion - chopped

1.5 cups water

2 cups ricotta cheese

3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (plus a little more for the top)

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

2 eggs

1/4 chopped parsley

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

24 lasagna noodles

Brown ground beef in 3-quart saucepan, stirring until crumbly.  Near the end add the chopped onion to soften.  Add sphaghetti sauce and water; mix well. Simmer for 10 minutes. Combine cheeses, eggs, parsley, salt and pepper in a bowl; mix well.  Spread a thin layer of the meat sauce in 11x15 inch (or close size)  baking dish.  Layer noodles on sauce. Then layer 1.5 cups meat sauce and half of the cheese mixture. Repeat layers. Top layer will be a layer of noodles, followed by meat sauce. Finish it with a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese.

Bake 350° covered with foil for 55 minutes. Bake uncovered for 10 minutes.

This recipe comes together very easy and would be great served for company with a salad.

Vacation Meals

This post is going to be a little different in that last week we were on vacation.  We stayed right outside of Walt Disney World in a nice two bedroom condo resort for less than we could have done an onsite budget resort.  One of the biggest budget breakers for vacation is meals and yet as the mom I still want to feel like I am on vacation.  We spent 4 days in the Disney parks and one day at Holy Land Experience.  My general plan was not to have more than one meal out per day.  Here is what we did:

Breakfast was easy.  I made Sausage Balls before the trip.  I also took cereal and breakfast bars. Everyone just picked what they wanted for breakfast.  It was quick, easy and had us in the parks at rope drop.

For lunches we did have a couple of meals planned. The days we didn't have plans, I just packed a lunch in a backpack cooler.  We included sandwiches of everyone's choice (ham, turkey or peanut butter), apples, crackers (or chips) and drinks.  Lots of parks do allow you to take food in now so just check before leaving home.  We had no problems at any of the Disney parks.  Once we got into the park, we put the cooler into a locker and were off for the day.  When lunch time rolled around we avoided the crowds and found a nice place to sit.  Not only did we not miss eating at the parks but it was very nice.

We had two dinners out but the other nights included simple fare at the condo.  I had cooked ground beef with onions before leaving home.  We needed three evening meals. We had Sloppy Joes and chips, Chili Cheese & Fritos and Hot Dogs.

Each day we did have a breakfast or lunch out so we really had too much food everyday.  But we kept it simple which made it fun and budget friendly.

What's for Dinner?

Today will be southern all the way.  We will be having cube steak with gravy, rice and green beans. Please share your meal ideas if you like.

For valentines day, I got a great new kitchen appliance.  It is a slow cooker. . .oh but wait this one is different.  The insert is stovetop safe.  That means that I can sear meat before slow cooking it in the same pot.  I can also thicken sauces or gravies when I am finished slow cooking.  It is a great new kitchen gadget that is getting lots of use in my home.  Hamilton Beach Stovetop Slow Cooker

 

What's for Dinner

Breakfast for dinner! Love these nights. Breakfast casserole, grits, and Monkey Bread.

This is such a simple meal and the family loves it.  Breakfast casserole comes together very easy and is forgiving if you need to change the meat or leave out the green pepper.  I make grits in my rice cooker.  The rice cooker is my most used small appliance as you will discover as this blog progresses.  The Monkey Bread takes a little more thought to let the dough rise but can also be used with frozen or canned biscuits if you are in a hurry.
Hope this is a dinner idea you can use!