Salsa Chicken One-Pot

I really love to make one-pot meals, not just for the easy cleanup, but the fact that you can make large portions and freeze them for another day. This is a great ‘leave it and forget it’ recipe, but you sure don’t have to leave it for long, as it cooks in only 6 minutes after pressure buildup. A great 30 minute (or less!) meal idea. Since this recipe has so many great flavors, you really don’t need to spend too much on the salsa ingredients, (jarred store brands will do) or, even better, if it’s the growing season, you can use soft tomatoes and peppers that you might find marked down at the grocery or,  (even better) in your own backyard garden!

Equipment Necessary

• 6qt or larger Electric Pressure Cooker

Ingredients

• 2lbs Ground Chicken
• 1 Large Onion, diced
• 2 (15oz) cans Black Beans, drained
• 1 (12oz) jar of Salsa
• 1 (15oz) jar of Salsa Con Queso
• 1lb Dry Ziti Pasta
• 1 (6oz) can Tomato Paste
• 1 (8oz) cup jarred Taco Sauce
• 3 Cups Water
• Sour Cream (optional)

1. Saute the Ground Chicken and Onion using the Saute option on your pressure cooker.
2. Cancel Saute function, add rest of ingredients.
3. Cook on High Pressure for 6 minutes, then do a Quick Release. Serve with dollop of Sour Cream, if desired. YUM!

Leftovers freeze great, and a quick one-pot cleanup. Please leave any comments or questions below, I would love to hear from you! Enjoy!

Suzy

Supermarket Shortcuts!

Over the years I’ve been able to discover lots of different ways to change everyday grocery products into big ‘helpers’ in my kitchen. They save me time (and money!) and have made it possible for me to serve delicious meals to my family night after night. I’m sure this is a topic I will return to because I have so many items I use, I just take it for granted at this point. So for now I will start with a few, and update later. Some of them may seem obvious, or even things that you are already doing, but I want to list them here anyway, in case you haven’t thought of them!

JARRED SPAGHETTI SAUCE

OK. So you say, how can jarred sauces be economical? Yes, there are many sauces that are expensive, but if you buy the inexpensive ones (on sale), you can add your own twist to them and make them taste just as good (or better!) than the more expensive versions. I never use more than ONE jar of premade spaghetti sauce, and I always have large cans of diced and crushed tomatoes on hand to stretch it. A bottle of Wegman’s spaghetti sauce is under $1, and they come in lots of flavors. To that, you can add the canned tomatoes, then spices (garlic, basil, Italian seasoning, etc), leftover vegetables, onions and tomatoes, mushrooms (whatever you have on hand!), and have a delicious version of the (more expensive) “Chunky Garden” sauce. Add enough for a thick, delicious sauce and you have a hearty meatless spaghetti meal! Super economical and good for you too!!

POWDERED GRAVY PACKS

Gravy packs are a great way to add flavor to soups, sauces and stews. When I make beef stew,  (see recipe here), I use brown gravy mix. Just one envelope adds a really nice flavor to the meal. These gravy packs come in lots of flavors, too! I usually keep Beef, Brown, Chicken and Pork on hand so I have them for nights when I run out of flavor/sauce ideas.  I use the chicken packet when I make homemade soups, and instead of water, I add prepared bouillon (vegetable or poultry flavored) as well for lots of flavor! Grab them at the supermarket when they go on sale, and you can save even more! (I never pay more than 79 cents for them). The flavor packet aisle has lots of ideas for quick prep, so make sure you check it everytime you shop. Every now and then you’ll find an instore sale and pick them up 3 (or 4!) for just $1. AMAZING!!

PASTA or RICE PREFLAVORED BOXES (or ENVELOPES)

Preflavored rice or pasta mixes like Rice-a-Roni or Knorr can be a really nice side dish with your protein for dinner, but they can add up fast if you’re feeding a hungry crowd. As with the Sauces, I never use more than ONE of these. For the rice, I prepare an extra cup of white (or brown, if you prefer) rice along with it, add some extra spices, and we always have enough! For example, just a few nights ago I prepared a Rice Sides envelope of Butter and Herb Rice. I make it in my microwave rice cooker, so I followed the instructions for the microwave. The recipe called for 3 cups of water, but I added 1 cup of dry rice, so I added 5 cups instead (1 cup of dry rice cooks in 2 cups water). Then I added some spices I keep in my pantry all the time (see my post here). Parsley, Rosemary (just a little!) and black pepper. It did take longer to cook (instead of 15 Mins I did it for 20 and let it sit to finish) YUM! I easily doubled what I would’ve yielded from the original envelope, and it tasted just as good. You can do this with pasta as well. No matter what flavor it is, just add a little more, and be certain if you are microwaving to add extra liquid for cooking. (If you are not using the microwave, you can cook the extra pasta/rice on the stove and add it in when you finish preparing the enveloped or boxed mix). I even mix up pastas and just use whatever I have on hand!

There are so many shortcuts we can take in the kitchen, this is just the beginning! Feel free to comment below and give MORE ideas! It would be great to hear from all of you.

Happy Cooking!!

Suzy

Fresh Food to Have on Hand

So here we are in our last installment to ‘The Well Stocked Pantry’ series. The reason I decided to start my blog with this series is to  help you be better prepared to make most of my recipes in the most economical way.  In the ‘Refrigerated’ section, we’ll discuss the items I feel in my kitchen are essential to helping me come up with new and healthy recipes without spending extra money.The ‘Fresh’ section contains only a few items that keep well, to avoid having to make trips back and forth to the food store.

 

Refrigerator Must-Haves

• Minced Garlic: I know many cooks would be very upset with me for suggesting to use this item over fresh garlic, but for those of us who need to stay on a budget, jarred minced (or whole) garlic can be a way to have it on hand so we don’t have to do without it. Some dollar stores carry minced garlic in smaller jars, so it is very economical.
• Mustards: These come in many varieties, and I use them all! Spicy Brown, Dijon, Yellow, and Horseradish are the flavors I keep. I just grab them when they go on sale at the store, and they come in handy when I make up sauces for my meals.
• Hard Cheese: While most people always have sliced cheese for sandwiches, not everyone keeps hard cheese in their kitchen, and I feel this is a big mistake. I can think of many times when I needed just a little something else to make a dish special, and having some hard cheese on hand to shred over the final product  was just what that meal needed. And when you have kids, it can make the difference as to whether they will eat or not!
• Juices: Instead of keeping fresh lemons and limes (which can be pretty pricey and tend to spoil quickly), I always have a bottle of lemon juice and lime juice available. These juices usually don’t have any added sugar, and make great citrus marinades to tenderize chicken, pork or beef. They are reasonably priced at your local supermarket, usually only costing around $1 to $2 a bottle, and lasting at least 2 months.
• Salsa: If  I can, I try to make my own salsa, mainly because jarred salsas can get pretty pricey to cook with. To make a meal with them, you usually have to use a whole jar, and that can add $2 or $3 to your meal, which in my meals, would practically double the price!! I like to keep it on hand though, as it is very helpful when you’ve run out of canned or fresh tomatoes. Just remember it isn’t an essential, but if you see it on sale (particularly in the large bottle), make sure you grab it to save on being left without a sauce!!
• The Usual: These items are the typical things that most people have in the refrigerator-Milk, Butter, Eggs.  I really don’t use these items very often (butter more than the others), but they are handy to have when creating dishes.

 

Fresh Items

• Onions: I use these in practically every dish I make, so I always make sure I have at least 3 on hand at all times. I’ve found that it is cheaper to buy them in the 3lb (or if you can find it, the 5lb) netted bags, where you can get anywhere from 8 to 10 in a bag. Choose carefully, though, as they tend to spoil quickly!
• Celery: Before we started our low carb lifestyle, I never kept celery, but now I use it quite often. It’s not too expensive, and if you keep it refrigerated, it stays good for about a month. I purchase it marked down as well, because even if it’s a little limped, you can still cook with it.
• Tomatoes: During the summer months, I go through a TON of tomatoes. Whenever I find them marked down, I buy them all, because it saves me from using up my pantry kept canned tomatoes. This is another item that you can buy mushy (but not too mushy…you can only salvage them up to a certain point). A great money saver!
• Seasonal Fruit and Vegetables: One of my biggest money savers is when I purchase any fruit that is marked down and bring it home to cook with. Peaches, pears, apples, oranges…you name it, whatever is in season you can usually find marked down. I just picked these marked down apples up yesterday at the store. With apples on sale for $1.69/lb, I found this 3lb bag for just $1.74!! I see homemade applesauce in our future recipes, paired along with a beautiful pork loin (that was marked down, of course!!) 

This is true for vegetables too.  Eggplant, Squash, Zucchini, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Spinach…the list just goes on and on.

 

As you will see from my recipes, I use a variety of ingredients, and that is mostly due to the fact that I plan my meals around whatever I can find marked down and need to use it up fast!  Make sure you keep that in mind when making your meals, because if you need to go out and purchase the ingredients without getting them on sale, you will wind up spending too much on your meals.

Now that we know what we need to have in our kitchen, we will be moving on to some great money saving grocery shopping ideas that I use all the time. After all, we don’t want to overspend stocking our kitchen, as that will lead to the price of our meals skyrocketing!  If you would like to be informed (by email) when my next post is up, just hit the “Follow” button on the right. And if you have any questions, please feel free to comment. I would love to hear from you!

Your Spice Rack

I’ve decided to start at the beginning, and have my first few posts let you know what items I keep in my pantry and refrigerator at all times. These items are essential to have on hand so that you can create your own recipes (or use mine!). Many of these items are handy for creating your own sauces as well. Store bought jarred sauces are expensive and full of sugar, so making them yourself will let you know exactly what (and how much) ingredients you are eating. I am pretty sure that I will be updating this list often, so you’ll want to check back!

DRY SPICES and HERBS:  Most of these are available at any Dollar Store, so they are a very inexpensive way to stock your kitchen.  Just in case you are just stocking your kitchen for the first time, I’ve starred (*) the items that I consider ‘starter spices’, just to get you going!

• Salt/Pepper*: I know that this one seems pretty obvious, but when I first started cooking, I just kept my salt and pepper on the dinner table. Now I have a separate pair that I use to flavor with.
• Basil/Oregano*: If you want, you can do a 2 for 1 on this in the Spice Classics brand, and just get the Italian Seasoning, which is a combo of the two of these.
• Adobo: This is a combo spice of garlic, oregano and black pepper and is available from Goyo. It’s certainly not an essential, but does come in handy. So if you see it on sale at your local market, pick it up!
• Parsley*: I mostly use this on salads and in soups. Definitely a must have.
• Garlic Powder*: As opposed to garlic salt, which I do not use. Too salty for my taste.
• Chili Flavoring*: This is also available in packets for individual meal use, but that comes out to be way to expensive, so I just buy the bottle for a buck, and add a few more spices to my chili. Also great for sloppy joes!
• Ginger: This is one of those spices that I usually forget I have, but it does add a nice flavor when going for an asian flair.
• Paprika: Another spice that I don’t often use, so I will be experimenting with it more.
• Rosemary: I have just recently discovered this, (I couldn’t get it at the Dollar Store), and it has a very strong flavor. Use with caution. I messed up an experimental chicken recipe with this one night.
• Dill: Another spice to be careful with. I know it has a powerful effect on a dish.
• Cinnamon*: Not just for cinnamon toast!! I use cinnamon quite often to cook meals with, especially since we have added more fruits to our diet.
• Nutmeg: Like cinnamon, a great addition to a meat (particularly pork)/fruit recipe. Use sparingly though.

So now you know my spice rack. I have a few more things in there, like flavored salts that I picked up at the store marked down to $1.29 each, but I really don’t use them often, as I’m not a big fan of using alot of salt in my recipes. But they do have a nice flavor, so I’ll hang onto them.