Scalloped Potatoes & Ham

Do you have leftover ham from Thanksgiving or Christmas? Or are you just looking for a meal that's easy to put together that's also delicious? This recipe for scalloped potatoes and ham is one of our favorites and is a great way to use up leftover ham. The thing that sets this recipe apart from others is the seasoned breadcrumbs that gives it a nice toasted top!

This recipe is easy to whip up, but you do need to allow baking time (approximately 60-90 minutes). Here's what you need to do:

Thinly slice 6 medium potatoes and cube 1 1/2 cups of ham. Chop 1/2 cup of onions. In a skillet, melt 3  tablespoons of butter and add 3 tablespoons of flour. Whisk together and then slowly add 2 1/2 cups of milk. Stir until well blended and thickened. Boil for about 1 minute. In a greased 9 x 13" dish, add half the potatoes, ham and onions. Pour 1/3 of the sauce over the potatoes in the dish. Top with the remaining potatoes, ham and onions and pour remaining sauce over. Top with seasoned Italian breadcrumbs and cover, baking for 30 minutes at 350*. Uncover and bake an additional 30-60 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Enjoy!


Scalloped Potatoes & Ham:

6 medium potatoes (peeled and cut into thin slices)
3 T. butter
3 T. flour
2 1/2 C. milk
Salt & pepper to taste
1 1/2 C. diced ham
1/4- 1/2 C. finely chopped onions
Italian breadcrumbs

Melt butter in saucepan over low heat. Blend in flour and salt and pepper. Stir until smooth. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to a boil- stir constantly. Boil and stir for 1 minute. In greased 9 x 13" pan, put half the potatoes, half the ham, and half the onions. Pour 1/3 of the sauce over the potatoes. Add rest of potatoes, ham and onions. Top off with rest of sauce. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 30-60 minutes, until potatoes are tender.

(Frozen) Cranberry Banana Salad

Now before you start making harsh judgements towards cranberries, hear me out.

This recipe for frozen cranberry salad has been a favorite of mine since I was little. My mom found this recipe years ago, and it continues to be one that we enjoy today! This easy to make salad is delicious frozen or unfrozen, and a great addition to your holiday meals.

I feel like cranberries often get a bad reputation, but in this salad the cranberries provide a tart taste that is a perfect compliment to the pineapple, bananas, and cool whip! I personally prefer the jellied cranberry sauce since cranberries are not something I normally gravitate towards. If you are hesitant to try cranberries, I would recommend that you try the jellied cranberry sauce over the whole berry sauce. 

To make to Frozen Cranberry Salad you will need:

This recipe is perfect for little helpers!

* 1- 20 oz. can of pineapple tidbits (Can't find pineapple tidbits? Use pineapple slices and cut into bite-size pieces)
* 5 medium bananas (cut lengthwise and then sliced)
* 2 cans of jelled or whole cranberry sauce
* 1/2 C. sugar
* 2 small containers of cool-whip (thawed)
* 1/2 C. nuts (optional)

Drain the pineapple juice and set pineapple aside. In a large bowl, combine cranberry sauce and sugar; blend well. Add the pineapple and bananas and mix. Stir in cool whip and nuts. Pour into a foil-lined 9x13" pan. Cover with a lid or another piece of foil. Freeze until solid. Remove from the pan using the foil to help lift it out. Allow it to sit for about 15 minutes before cutting.

*If not freezing, store in fridge and serve immediately. Due to the bananas and cool whip, this salad will not keep long in the fridge. Freezing is your best option!

**We always leave out the nuts due to allergies and add extra bananas! We love the frozen bananas in the salad!

Once all of the ingredients are mixed, pour into a foil-lined pan & freeze.

Baked Chicken Taquitos & Spanish Rice

When preparing my freezer meals, baked chicken taquitos always makes the list. These are super easy to make, yummy (kid tested and approved!), and can be frozen for an easy meal at a later date.

Something else that's a win in my opinion- they can be taken right out of the freezer and baked from a frozen state. No thawing!

Spanish rice is a nice side to add with baked taquitos or any spanish dish! It's also very easy to prepare and can be cooked while the taquitos are baking in the oven.

Baked Chicken Taquitos
 3 oz. cream cheese- softened
1/4 C. green salsa (can use regular salsa!)
1 T. lime juice
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 T. chopped cilantro
2 T. sliced green onions
2 C. shredded cooked chicken
1 C. shredded Mexican cheese
12 small flour tortillas

Mix cream cheese, salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, and garlic. Once combined, stir in cilantro, onions, chicken, and shredded cheese. Add 2-3 T. chicken mixture on lower third of tortilla. Roll up tight and bake at 425* for 15-20 minutes.

TO FREEZE: Prepare taquitos but do not bake them. Simply roll up taquitos after filling them and place them in a freezer bag. To bake taquitos from the freezer, place on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes at 425*.


Spanish Rice
2 T. oil
2 T. chopped onion
1 1/2 C. uncooked white rice
2 C. chicken broth
1 C. chunky salsa

Heat oil in a large, skillet over medium heat. Stir in onion and cook until tender- about 5 minutes. Mix uncooked rice into skillet, stirring often. When rice begins to brown, stir in chicken broth and salsa. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes, until liquid has been absorbed.

Freezer Meals

With the school year quickly approaching, meal planning and prepping is a MUST (at least for me it is!) Freezer meals makes dinner time a synch and allows you to serve home cooked meals quickly. It's easy to get in a routine of ordering a pizza or swinging through a fast food joint; however, with a little planning and prepping you can save a lot of time and money and feel good about what you're serving!

Recently, with the help of my mom, we were able to fill the freezer.  Here's what we prepared:
4 packs of taco meat
2 packs of maid rites
2 pans of lasagna

3 loaves of banana bread
20 homemade waffles (individually bagged)
1 batch of chili
1 batch of chicken noodle soup 
2 batches of homemade noodles
2 batches of chicken fajitas
1 batch chicken and vegetables for crockpot
2 batches of chicken taquitos
1 meatloaf
1 batch of sweet and sour chicken
1 dozen + ears of sweet corn
Homemade granola bars
Chocolate covered banana slices

A glimpse. Read more on my other blog post. 

As requested, I'm going to share some of these recipes. I'll go through the list and break down what I did. If you have further questions, let me know!

Step One:I plan out my meals for about 2 months. (I blogged about this before, check it out in the link at the bottom of the page) I like doing this because it allows me to ensure that we aren't eating the same thing every week, and it makes grocery shopping easy. Based off my menu I have planned, I look at what meals I can easily make in advance and get in the freezer.

Step Two:I go through each recipe and compile a master grocery list. I tally how many pounds of ground beef  and chicken breasts I will need, and make sure I either have the necessary items in my pantry or get them on my shopping list. This is important so you don't miss a key ingredient while shopping (like I have done in the past). Next, get your groceries and watch for sales!

*NOTE:Make sure you grab freezer Ziplock bags (I used quart and gallon size) and any disposable foil baking pans you may need. Maybe check and make sure you have wax paper, foil, and press and seal wrap on hand too?

Taco Meat:My kids love tacos and I realize that tacos aren't super time consuming to make, but when you can cut that time down to about 5 minutes, wouldn't you?! To freeze taco meat, all I do is make a large batch and cook it like I normally would. No fancy recipe here, I just use Ortega taco seasoning.  Allow it to completely cool then put it in freezer bags and label it. To reheat, you can cook on the stovetop or microwave if desired  (On Sundays I look at the meals I have planned for the week and pull all the meat out of the freezer and put it in the fridge to thaw).

Maid Rites/ Sloppy Joes:I love sloppy joes but my husband does not. So for that reason, we usually have maid rites. To freeze sloppy joes or maid rites it's just like taco meat- cook as you normally do, allow it to completely cool and then bag it. Reheating is the same process as taco meat.

 

Lasagna:I have found that a 9x13" pan of lasagna is too much for my family of four. It's very filling and we are left with lots of leftovers. A 9x9" pan is more what we need. So when I make lasagna I just take my recipe and divide it between two 9x9" pans. Freezing is simple and reheating doesn't take much effort. If you pull the lasagna out of the freezer a day or so in advance and allow it to thaw in the fridge it will greatly help the day you go to cook it. Before popping it in the oven, I would allow it to sit at room temperature for just a bit to make sure the middle gets fully cooked. 

Banana Bread: I love banana bread. It makes a a great breakfast or snack. An alternative to making it in loafs is baking it in muffins. Below is my favorite banana bread/ muffin recipe- I typically will double it because it's so yummy! To freeze, wrap bread or muffins tightly in press and seal wrap/plastic wrap and then put in in a freezer bag. To thaw, simply leave at room temperature. 

Waffles:I like having something that is quick and easy for the kids at breakfast time. Cereal isn't exactly healthy or filling, in my opinion Poptarts are cookies/dessert -not breakfast, and I don't have time to make omelets and bacon each morning. Waffles are "something more" and will fill the kids up. I really like using the prepared mix, Kodiak Cakes, because it's packed with protein which is a great healthy choice and also will help keep tummies full! 

I made a bunch of waffles using my waffle iron, allowed them to completely cool, then individually bagged them (making it easy for the kids to grab in the morning), and threw them in the freezer. To reheat, simply pop in the toaster! If you want to try your hand at homemade waffles, here is a recipe I really like:

Soup:I like freezing soup. It's easy and so yummy on cold days. When I froze my homemade chicken noodle soup, I froze the broth/chicken together and left the noodles out. I didn't want my noodles to be mushy when I reheated it. I made homemade noodles and froze them uncooked, separately. When I go to reheat the soup, I will put the broth/chicken in the crockpot and boil the prepared noodles separately, adding them to the broth once cooked.  

Meatloaf:My mother is a great cook... I learned from the best! But meatloaf is one thing she did not succeed at. My husband loves meatloaf and thank goodness his mom had a recipe I could steal. Personally, I'm not a fan of meatloaf- it's too dry and I'd much rather refer to it as "meat brick". I'm guilty of sneaking things in meatloaf to make it more moist. Because of this, my family can't seem to agree on what makes a good meatloaf. Below I will share with you my husband's beloved version of meatloaf and my "sneaky version" of meatloaf. You be the judge. 

*NOTE: To freeze meatloaf, prepare 'loaf' and sauce separately but do not pour sauce over meat. Pour sauce into a small freezer bag and freeze along side the meatloaf. To reheat, thaw meatloaf and sauce in fridge for a day or so, allow it to sit at room temperature and bake as directed.

What to read more??   "What's For Dinner?" <-- Blog post about meal planning  https://susiehomemakerwannabe.blogspot.com/2017/02/ 
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