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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Teaching Your Kids to Budget and Be Financially Responsible

The hoodie he HAD to have... 

School is fast approaching and that means back to school shopping! My kids and I love taking the day to shop for supplies, go out for lunch, and just spend time together. We always make a day of it and enjoy coming home with bags of new clothes, shoes, and supplies. It's fun right?! Well yes, but it also gets pretty expensive. And I only have two kids! Last year I spent way too much on new clothes and supplies for the kids, so this year I reevaluated how I approached back to school shopping. I couldn't be more glad I did!

I love the idea of introducing your kids to a budget and teaching them how to be financially responsible at a young age. You don't have to wait until your kids are heading off to college to instill these necessary skills. I'm sure some of you may already do this in the form of chores and a weekly allowance? That is one way to teach your kids financial responsibility! Kids realize that you have to work for your money, and they realize the more you work, the more you can earn! As far as my kids, and most kids I know, they believe money grows on trees and have no idea of just how much things really cost.

Kids have no concept of money unless you teach it to them. To begin our back to school shopping, I set a budget for each kiddo. The kids have more than enough clothes as is, are well taken care of and not lacking by any means. I decided their budget for back to school shopping this year was going to be $175 each. Something I think that is important is to be open and honest with your kids about what it takes for you to earn that money. Now, you don't have to go into detail and tell them your salary or what you bring home each month, but making them aware that it isn't just "free money" they're getting to spend. We are pretty open with our kids and will tell them "It took us __ hours of work to earn that $175". There's a reason we go to work each day and I think it's important that they realize our hard work is paying for their stuff.  We want them to realize that money is not just something we get... we have to earn it. We work hard for our money which is why we need to be smart about it, responsible, and stay on budget. Teaching kids these things early in life will better prepare them for when they are on their own.

This year before hitting the stores, I put $175 in two envelopes. One for each kid. I wrote their name on it and explained that this is their shopping money. This is all they get. They have to decide how to spend their money but also have to make sure they have everything required for school. Any money that they have left over goes into their saving account. I made this pretty clear because right away my 8 year old said, "I'm just going to buy the cheapest stuff so I can buy video games!" Wrong. This money is for school supplies and clothes, nothing else. Left over money, if there is any, goes into savings.

There was excitement to go shopping because to a kid $175 is a lot of money to spend! And it is a lot of money. BUT there was also the realized that they had to be "smart" with their money and couldn't just throw things in the cart like they prefer to do. They have to be responsible and accountable for their purchases. I'm mean aren't I? Turning something that is suppose to be fun and turn it into an educational experience. To help with their spending, I told the kids "my budget" would cover one pair of new shoes. Their $175 was to be used for school supplies, clothes and anything else they needed for school (no toys, sorry).

Before we took off shopping there were thing I wanted to cover and go through with the kids. We looked over their school supplies lists and talked about things that we could reuse from last year in order to save some money. Rulers, calculators, pencil cases, unused folders and scissors were all things that we had on hand and didn't need to repurchase! Score- their first money savings opportunity.

We then discussed the stores we wanted to shop at and other ways we could save money. We talked about comparing items in stores, looking at prices, and making sure we were getting the best deal. Do I get a name brand notebook for $4 or save and get a cheaper one for $1? A new backpack for $35 or can we use the one I had last year? $0.50 folders or $1.50 folders? How important is it to have those name brand items? By giving your kids the responsibility, putting them in charge of their spending, they will have to make these decisions and take ownership. What's more important? Name brand or saving money? Sometime name brand items (especially when it comes to clothing) can be more important to a kid than saving money, and that's okay as long as they have budgeted and allowed money for it.

One thing that was important to me is that the kids bought their required school supplies first. The more they saved on school supplies by reusing items from previous years and being smart with their money, allowed them to spend more on new clothing and extras. *Real life application right here: Just like in real life- there are things that have to be paid for before you can spend money on "fun stuff" or "extras". Things like your mortgage, groceries, electricity, etc. need to be paid for first before spending money on other things. You can't spend all your money on new clothes and not have any left for the required school supplies. New clothes is not required, it's just nice to have. Make sure your kids realize this.

Another thing that is hard for kids to understand is tax. We talked about how when calculating our items in the cart, that we needed to allow a little extra money to cover the tax on those items. One nice thing about shopping at Target is if you use your Target Red Card, you can save 5% automatically. The 5% saving helps offset some of the tax. Now, obviously if you choose to pay with a Target Red Card or another type of saving card, it takes the responsibility of handling the money out of your kids' hands. This is an option that you will have to weigh and decide. (*Note: I ended up paying for the kids' items on my Target Red Card to save them 5% and then just took the cash they spend out of each of their envelopes.) If you're interested in doing this with your own kids, this would be great to do during tax-free weekend because then you wouldn't have to worry about calucating tax! (I never shop tax-free weekend because I want to avoid the crowds and chaos even if it means missing out on the savings! I don't do Black Friday either... ha!)

Before hitting the store I grabbed a small calculator, notepad and pen. I wanted the kids to be able to keep track of their purchases and totals. I knew that shopping was going to take a little longer by requiring them to be in charge of their money, but I felt it was worth it. I also think there was a sense of pride and accomplishment when they got to take the money out of the envelope and pay for things by themselves.

Our first stop was Target for school supplies. Lucas ended up getting all his supplies for $20.63 and Natalie spent just $15.28. They were both off to a great start!

Decisions, Decisions... 

Shopping for clothes was another story... there were several times I had to question their choices and help them understand that they may not be making the best financial decision with their money. Lucas has expensive tastes and can care less about finding deals. His clothing style of choice: Under Armour. He only had $63 left to spend and had 4 Under Armour shirts picked out. Each shirt: $25. He says to me "Can't you just give me a little extra money?" Sure I could, but no I won't. We talked about our options and looked around the store some more. He was able to find some nice Under Armour shirts in a different section of the store for less. In the end, through lots of conversation, pouty faces, and compromise, he decided on 3 UA tops that fit within his budget.

*NOTE: The lady at Dillards was so nice! She was patient and helped Lucas as he counted his money. She treated him like a real customer and even asked him how he'd like to receive his receipt, electronic or paper copy! He chose a paper copy.

The $30 white tank top/shirt

This brings me to the $30 white tank top Natalie insisted on buying from Dillards. It's cute don't get me wrong, but $30 cute? I don't know... And a tank top isn't exactly something you can wear all year round, at least not here in Iowa. We talked for awhile and she was adamant she wanted to spend her money on it. I can't complain too much about the top since overall Natalie did very well about watching her money. She found some great deals and was eager to shop sale racks. Unlike Lucas, brands weren't her main focus, price was!  (She scored a shirt at Old Navy for just $1.98!)

In the end, Lucas got 6 shirts, 1 zip up hoodie (*sigh* I lost that one too), a couple pairs of jeans, and a pair of shorts. Natalie got 13 new tops/dresses, a couple pairs of jeans, and a couple pairs of leggings. Can you tell who was smarter with their money?! And yes, I realize my days of buying jeans from Old Navy, Justice, and Gap are limited. There will be a day when they want to spend $100+ on jeans. I understand what it's like to be a teenager. When that day comes, I will do just as I did today... "Here's X amount of money to spend. If you want something that costs more than what I have given you, you will have to pay for it on your own." I'm your mom and I love you, but I'm also not an ATM. Nothing wrong with having to work for something or earn it.

I asked the kids if they had fun and liked getting to be in charge of their own money and decide how they spent it. Natalie said "yes"! Lucas said "no". When I asked him why he didn't like it he said, "Because I didn't have any left to put into my savings account."

Overall I would say the day was a success. The kids got to be "grown ups" with their "own" money and we got to spend a fun day together!