Freezing Grapes

Sometimes there are good deals, and sometimes there are GREAT deals. 

This week ( June 18-22) Red Seedless Grapes: 

This deal is going on at Rancho Markets ( located in several locations across the Salt Lake Valley).  Instead of driving on down to Rancho, I stopped at my local Walmart and price matched them. Since the deal was so good, I bought several bunches of grapes. 

They were priced at 1.98 per lb at Walmart so I saved 75% on grapes today!!!! 

When prices are this good, I always buy a little more than I normally would. But I don't want my produce to go bad. 

Did you know you can freeze grapes? 

Yep, you can. 

1. Wash grapes
2. Dry grapes and pick off vine.
3. After they are completely dry lay them flat on a cookie sheet and place into freezer. This is so they freeze individually and don't clump together
4. Once completely frozen, transfer to a ziploc freezer bag.
5. Grapes should keep for 2-3 months. ( If you can make them last that long!)

Learning to freeze food is one of the best ways that you can save money. 

Plus with all this hot summer weather, a handful of frozen grapes sounds like the perfect healthy, refreshing treat that I need! 

Hope you enjoy! 

Slow Cooker Chicken Philly Sandwiches

There is nothing I love better than an easy to throw together dinner. 

Especially one that is made from yummy fresh ingredients. 

So if you are looking for a quick, yummy, summer dinner 

then look no further! 

Ingredients 

2-3 chicken breasts 

2 green peppers (sliced)

1 medium onion (sliced)

favorite seasoning ( I just used Lawry's) 

dash of onion powder 

butter

buns 

provolone cheese 

Directions:

Place butter in bottom of crock pot. Place sliced onions then 1 sliced bell pepper. 

Layer chicken on top. Sprinkle with seasonings. 

Cook on low for 4-5 hours or high 2-3 

When done cooking shred chicken and serve on buns and top with Provolone cheese ( and since I like a little added crunch I will add the rest of the uncooked green pepper on top)

recipe  adapted from  Food Family Finds 

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Confession. This recipe comes from the minds of my little sister and a group of 14-15 year olds.
Another confession. It's freaking yummy!
It came about from a young men/young women's activity.  They were split into groups and given a few food items and had to come up with a dinner. This pizza was the runner up that night.

BBQ Chicken Pizza
Ingredients:
Pizza crust. ( For this one, I'm lazy and use store bought crust. If you have a crust recipe you love, by all means use it!)
1/4 cup bbq sauce
1/4 cup pasta sauce
2-3 chicken breast, cooked and cubed
green pepper
tomato
red onion
mozzarella cheese

In a skillet cook and cube chicken. Set aside.
Combine bbq sauce and pasta sauce together. ( if you like it more tangy add a bit more bbq sauce).
Roll out pizza dough. Pre-bake if needed.
Cover dough in pizza sauce, chicken, cheese and other toppings.
Bake in oven according to crust directions. ( Usually about 8-10 minutes)
Enjoy!
Seriously simple and seriously tasty. Just the way I like it! This makes a great weekend night meal to be followed by a family night movie :)

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches (Crock Pot)



 

 

This blog has been consolidated with my "other" blog in an effort to simplify, streamline, and make my life easier.

You can find the recipe at Life as Mrs. Larson by clicking the link here.

 

Sorry for the inconvenience!

 

 

Baked Chimichangas

I don't know about you, but here in my kitchen we love ourselves some Mexican food. This past Saturday I decided to try out a new recipe that I had pinned a while ago on Pinterest ( you can find the original site here ).

Let's just say that it did not disappoint and will be going into our regular rotation for meals.

The best part is that Chimi's are usually fried in oil, but these little babies are baked.

It was made even more exciting by the fact that earlier in the day we were able to score a free patio dining set from my grandparents.  It needs a little TLC and some touch up paint for rust spots, but it's perfect and was free!

We got to sit outside and enjoy the summer weather and a delicious dinner as a family. It was absolute perfection.

 

Here is the recipe for Baked Chimichangas:

1 8oz package of cream cheese

1 cup shredded cheese ( I used Mexican blend.)

1 1/2 TBSP taco seasoning

3-4 chicken breasts cooked and shredded

8 tortillas

cooking spray

garnishes ( green onions, salsa, sour cream, guac, ect....)

 

Mix together {softened} cream cheese, shredded cheese and taco seasoning.

Fold in shredded chicken

Divide into tortillas and fold up edges

Place in sprayed cooking dish ( I used a 9x13) seam down

spray top of tortillas with cooking spray or brush with butter.

Cook at 350* for 15 minutes

Turn over and cook another 15 minutes.

Serve hot with topping of your choice. ( I thought they were delicious with salsa, cheese, green onions, and a side of guac.)

 

 

Rotten Bananas?

 

It's true my friends, there is no such thing as a rotten banana. Which is fabulous because I had a ton of bananas from my last shopping trip (5 lbs to be exact) and these little beauties have just been "tanning" away in my kitchen for the last few days and today was the day we turned them into something delicious.

 ( Or "De-dish-yus" as my two year old would say.)

 

I've gone through a few different banana bread recipes in my day and have been tweaking them, I will continue to do so but today I would like to share with you a healthy/healthier recipe with you.

 

Here is what you will need for

 

3-4 brown or black bananas
1/2 cup applesauce (insider tip: the little individual applesause pack that you buy for your kiddos are exactly 1/2 cup!)
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
dash of cinnamon


1. Preheat oven to 350* and grease a 9x5 baking pan
2. In a mixing bowl, combine applesauce and sugars.
3.Add in eggs and then bananas and vanilla
4. Combine the rest of the dry ingredients and add them into the mixture
5. Bake for 50-60 minutes ( check with a toothpick )
6. enjoy the tasty aroma filling your house!
7. Let it cool and enjoy!

 

I wanna know!

What other things do you like to make with "rotten" bananas? 

Chicken Fried Rice

 Dinner Tonight was quick, easy, and tasty! The best part was that no Chinese restaurant was involved!
This recipe is a new favorite in our house. It can be used as a side dish or like tonight we made it our entire meal.
The secret to this dish is the seasoning mix. One day I would like to make my own, but for now and for those of you who like to keep things simple, a mix it is.

 I found this one for 0.70 at Walmart and I really like the taste.
Without further ado, the ingredients
Chicken- I used 2 chicken breasts cut up into bite size pieces
Rice- 2 cups
Carrots- chopped
Peas
Green Onions- chopped
2-3 eggs- scrambled
seasoning
soy sauce

Cook rice and set aside. Brown chicken and scramble eggs.
In a skillet heat oil and brown the carrots and green onions
Add rice, chicken, and eggs.
Stir in seasoning and 2 tsp soy sauce
add in peas and any other veggies.
Serve hot and enjoy!
( chopsticks optional!)

Go ahead and add this recipe to your pinboard !

You    can follow me on Pinterest , here!
Linking up today with Joyful Homemaking for Think Tank Thursday