Another Easy, Go To Dinner Idea

Here is a great family-friendly recipe that the kids will love! You can even "hide" veggies in it if you have a picky eater! My step-son is very picky with veggies, and he ate two helpings without complaining about veggies!! It was a success! Moreover, this is super easy and fast! You will likely even have the ingredients on-hand! This dish also freezes well, just prepare in a freezer-friendly pan!

Please note: I don't usually measure ingredients, so these amounts are estimated. You can always add or omit any ingredient!

Tex Mex Lasagna (for 4-6 servings)
1 lb. of ground beef, cooked and drained
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups of mixed peppers (green, yellow, orange, and/or red), finely chopped so there is no evidence of veggies
1 can of diced tomatoes
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn kernals
1 pkg. corn tortillas (about 10)
2 cups shredded cheese (I like the yellow/white marble or Tex Mex blend)

1. Cook ground beef until no longer pink and drain grease.
2. Saute onion, garlic, and peppers.
3. Add tomatoes, cumin, chili powder, beans, and corn. Cook on low until warm.
4. Layer ground beef mixture and tortillas like you would a traditional lasagna, overlapping tortillas, in a lasanga casserole pan.
5. Spread cheese on top.
6. Bake 350F for about 25-30 minutes, until hot throughout and cheese is melted.
7. Allow to cool for about 10 min.
8. Serve with tortillas chips, salsa, sour cream, and fresh tomato slices.

I hope this is a hit with your family as it was in mine!

Saving Money on your Grocery Bill

Tired of wasting money on groceries? Tired of throwing food away? Tired of buying something only to find out it was on sale last week? Making dinner and realize that you are missing the key ingredient?



With organization these woes can be solved! First of all, I must tell you that I am pretty frugle and LOVE to save money! I get excited over a good deal! With that being said, I will share with you the ways I save my family money by shopping smart.



When I lived in the United States, I was a religious coupon clipper. In Sunday's newspaper, I would clip coupons and scan the ads for good deals. There were several products that I refused to buy without a coupon. I keep my coupons in two envelopes. One envelope has coupons for groceries and one for household items. However, now living in Canada, coupons are hard to come by! They do not come in the newspapers. I have found a few online sites that offer coupons in Canada, but I find that to be really time consuming and often not worth my time to do it. Therefore, I had to come up with a better way to save money on our groceries and household items.



Using the Weekly Ads to Save Money



Now I scan the weekly ads that come in the mail on Fridays. On the weekend, I look over the ads, find out what is on sale, and make a list. My list looks something like this:

• fruits/vegetables


• bakery/bread


• deli


• meats/seafood


• grocery items


• refrigerated/dairy


• frozen


• paper/cleaning products


• health/beauty items


• miscellaneous

Note: So I remember where the item is on sale, I put the first letter of the store next to the item.

Meal Planning According to What is On Sale

Next, I plan my meals around what meat and fruits/vegetables are on sale for that week. On the back of my list, I write the meals that we will be having for the week. When meal planning for your family, think about what your family enjoys, but don't be afraid to try something new as well!

Buying in Bulk or Family Sized-Items

I typically buy in bulk for many items. Please note that most of the time, but not always, it is more cost effective to buy in bulk. Pay attention to the unit price to which size of an item is the better deal. You should see this on the price tag by the scu number. Items that are nonperishable or frozen (or can be frozen) are best to buy in bulk because they will not go bad, as long as you have the storage space and/or a freezer for such items.

I always buy meat/fish in family pack sizes when they are on sale. I then divide the meat/fish into dinner-sized portions, label, and freeze. In the summer, when berries are at their best, I wait for them to go on sale, wash them, pat dry, layer in a single layer on a cookie sheet, and freeze. Once they are frozen transfer them to freezer bags and label.

I hope these ideas can help you save time and money at the grocery store! By taking the time to look over the ads and making a grocery list, it can save you time

Manage Your Time; Make Double Batches!

What family these days isn't busy? With children being involved in extracurricular activities and parents working, it is very easy to just pick up take out or fast food for dinner on your way home from work! However, if you want a healthy alternative that will save you time and money, make double batches of dinners and FREEZE them! It is easy to take out something from the freezer to thaw before you go to work or to take it out to thaw when you get home. My mom used to have me take out the meat out of the freezer when I got home from school. That way it was thawed when she got home from work. As I got older, I would do much of prep work in preparing the dinners making it even easier for her when she got home.

How much would it take to make a double batch of your family's favorite dinners? My answer...very little! If you are making it already, it would only take a few extra minutes of prep work and a few minutes to place into freezer bags, label, and freeze! I keep freezer bags of different sizes and a Sharpie marker stocked in my kitchen to make it easy. Be sure to label what is in the bag, it may not be recognizable after it is frozen, and the date!

Here are some ideas of foods that I make double batches of and freeze:

• soups (cream based and broth based)
• stews
• chili
• chicken pot pie filling (use a prepared frozen pie crust to finish)
• manicotti pasta stuffing
• lasagna
• mashed potatoes (they make excellent potato pancakes or hashbrowns for breakfast)
• bean dishes
• squash dishes
• casseroles
• spaghetti sauce
• meatloaf
• meatballs
• homemade hamburger patties

Make and freeze your family's favorites. It will make your life easier on those busy nights while giving your family a healthy meal!