Ham and Potato Pockets

This month I challenged myself to use what I had in my pantry and not be wasteful. I had made some ham for New Years, and we had a lot left over. I didn't want to make bean and ham soup, so I came across this recipe. It was great. Different and fun. I think that you could easily make it with jack cheese (instead of swiss) and italian dressing (instead of ranch.)

It was good the first night, but it was great for leftovers the next day!
http://onceamonthmom.com/ham-potato-pockets/

Ingredients
3/4 lb cooked ham, diced
1 cup Swiss cheese, shredded
1/2 cup ranch dressing
2 cups frozen hash brown potatoes
1/2 cup onion, diced
2 Tablespoons margarine
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
2 cans refrigerator crescent rolls

Directions:
Place 2 cups of frozen hash brown potatoes in microwaveable safe bowl and defrost for approximately 3 minutes.
In a small skillet, cook onions and hash brown potatoes in butter until warmed and slightly browned. Add garlic powder.
In a separate small bowl, mix together ham, Swiss cheese and ranch dressing.
On a cookie sheets spread out refrigerated crescent dough and pinch together triangle perforations to make 4 squares (if you using the non-perforated dough cut into 4 large squares).
Place 1/4 cup of potato mixture and 1/4 cup of ham mixture into the center of the crescent squares.
Fold over dough and seal with a fork.
Place in 350 degree oven for 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned.

Freezing Instructions

Let cool and then flash freeze (or place each in a small zipper sandwich bag) and place in a gallon size freezer bag. Freeze. To Serve: Place in microwave for 2-4 minutes OR in oven for 10-15 minutes until heated through.

Pizza Pasta Bake

I opted to use pizza toppings that we all like, but I’m sure you could substitute your favorites.
I got this recipe from http://stolenmomentscooking.com/pizza-pasta-bake/

It was a hit at our house...next time I'd use more pepperoni.

Pizza Pasta Bake
1 lb. penne rigate or mostacolli, fully cooked and drained
1 c. ricotta cheese
3 c. marinara sauce (homemade or from a jar)
30 slices pepperoni (or more)
1/2 c. sliced mushrooms (I used canned, but only because that’s what I had on hand)
1/2 c. sliced black olives
1 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese


1. Combine hot pasta with ricotta cheese and stir until cheese is melted and smooth. Pour into a 13×9 casserole dish.
2. Pour marinara sauce over pasta. Top with pepperoni, mushrooms and olives. Add shredded mozzarella cheese on top.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes, until warmed through and cheese is melted.

Banana Sour Cream Muffins

Breakfast is a tough thing to get my kids to eat when we are in a big rush in the morning. This is a FANTASTIC recipe that freezes really well. I made 120 muffins(mini) at the beginning of the month, and we're on our last bag...my boys just eat them up for breakfast. I made half the batch have chocolate chips and the other half not. Make sure you dust the pans with cinnamon sugar--it really makes the muffins taste great!

Ingredients
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup butter
3 cups white sugar
3 eggs
6 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking soda
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
12 oz chocolate chips (optional, but oh so tasty!)

Directions
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease four 7x3 inch loaf pans(or muffin tins). In a small bowl, stir together 1/4 cup white sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Dust pans lightly with cinnamon and sugar mixture.
In a large bowl, cream butter and 3 cups sugar. Mix in eggs, mashed bananas, sour cream, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix in salt, baking soda and flour. Stir in nuts. Divide into prepared pans.
Bake for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Easy Taco Soup

I credit http://www.onceamonthmom.com for this one! It was really good and a real hit with the kids! It makes enough to have one time for dinner(family of 4) and enough to put in the freezer for a second night. It's called Taco Soup, but it reminds me a lot of chili too...I guess it depends how you doctor it up!


Ingredients:
2 lbs Ground Beef
1 medium Onion, chopped
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
1 package Ranch Dressing Mix
15.5 ounces Canned Whole Kernel Corn
1 can (15.5oz) Canned Diced Tomatoes
1 can (15.5oz) Canned Ro-tel Tomatoes with Green Chilis
3 cans (15.5oz) Ranch Style Texas Beans
2 cups Water

Directions:
Brown ground beef and onion. Drain. Add meat and remaining ingredients to crockpot. Cook on low for 4 hours. Serve.
For added flavor serve over tortilla chips and offer sour cream and shredded cheese.

Servings:
12

Freezing Instructions:
After fully cooked, place soup in medium or large plastic ware or gallon size zipper freezer bags. Make sure to leave at least 1/4 inch space above the liquid as it does expand during freezing.

Fried Chicken

Best fried chicken I've had... (the list of ingredients looks strange because it soaks in a brine overnight).

Ingredients

1. 1 gallon cold water
2. 1 cup plus 2 teaspoons kosher salt
3. 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons honey
4. 12 bay leaves
5. 1 head of garlic, smashed but not peeled
6. 2 tablespoons black peppercorns
7. 3 large rosemary sprigs
8. 1 small bunch of thyme
9. 1 small bunch of parsley
10. Finely grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
11. chicken pieces to fry
    
12. 3 cups all-purpose flour
13. 2 tablespoons garlic powder
14. 2 tablespoons onion powder
15. 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
16. 2 cups buttermilk
17. Vegetable oil, for frying

Directions

1. In a very large pot, combine 1 quart of the water with 1 cup of the salt and the honey, bay leaves, garlic, peppercorns, rosemary, thyme and parsley. Add the lemon zest and juice and the lemon halves and bring to a simmer over moderate heat, stirring until the salt is dissolved. Let cool completely, then stir in the remaining 3 quarts of cold water. Add the chicken, being sure they're completely submerged, and refrigerate overnight.
2. Drain the chickens and pat dry. Scrape off any herbs or peppercorns stuck to the pieces.
   
3. In a large bowl, combine the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne and the remaining 2 teaspoons of salt. Put the buttermilk in a large, shallow bowl. Working with a few pieces at a time, dip the chicken in the buttermilk, then dredge in the flour mixture, pressing so it adheres all over. Transfer the chicken to a baking sheet lined with wax paper.
4. In a very large, deep skillet, heat 1 inch of vegetable oil to 330°. Fry the chicken in 2 or 3 batches over moderate heat, turning once, until golden and crunchy and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of each piece registers 160°, about 20 minutes. Transfer the chicken to paper towels to drain, and keep warm in a low oven while you fry the remaining chicken pieces. Transfer the fried chicken to a platter and serve hot or at room temperature.

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Crockpot Pork Chops

On a day that I desperately needed a new recipe, I gave a shout out to my facebook friends begging for something new. My sister in law posted this and I have since tried it and so have a few other friends who read my post and felt the same way. Anyway, super easy and very tasty!

Brown boneless pork chops and place in crockpot with a can of each, cream of mushroom soup and cream of celery soup. (I used two cans each for my family and four pork chops.) Turn on low all day, about 6-8 hours. Serve over white rice and some steamed veggies. Enjoy!

Crockpot Southwestern Chicken

This is the best thing ever and is sooooo easy! I got it from another food blog but I make this often since my kids love it also. Enjoy, I know we did!

* 1 small bag frozen corn

* 1 can black beans -drained and rinsed

* 2 large frozen chicken breasts (this is enough, 3 may be ok but 4 is too much!)

* 1 16 oz jar of MEDIUM salsa (do not use mild, the flavor is not the same)

- Put the chicken, then corn, then beans and salsa all in the crockpot on high for 1 hour then low for 4 hours.

- Shred chicken with a fork and mix together

You can do anything you want with it. I make mini borrito's out of it and for the kids I make quesadilla's and they love it. Add sour cream, alvacado, cheese and eat. Enjoy!