We spent the entire weekend painting the exterior of your house. Of course, it’s not done. Anyhow, since we were busy doing that, I put my daughters in charge of Superbowl food. We had lots of  Little Smokies left in the freezer from our last family event. The only problem, they forgot to pick up crescent rolls from the store for some pigs in a blanket.

It just so happens that I bought a pack of wonton wrappers the last time I went to the store. Being as busy (and hungry) as I was, I told them to just try those instead. They took the smokies that they had simmering in BBQ sauce and folded them into their little wonton blankets and stuck them in the oven. WOW! What a treat! And the BBQ sauce stays neatly in the little package instead of all over your shirt!

I just know (not that I care much ) that they were much healthier for you than a crescent roll. They were so much cheaper too. You get oodles of wrappers in 1 package. Did you know that you can do so much more with wonton wrappers? Like dessert even! Check out some recipes from the Weight Watchers website. What’s your favorite thing to do with wonton wrappers? How about your favorite football munchie?

We are half way through the school year and I just got done making the 456,895th lunch since August. Well, not really but you know what I mean. I am so tired of making lunches in the morning. I feel like I’m sending them off with a sack full of sugar & carbs. I only pack for 2 these days because the “little” will buy lunch anyway. That’s a whole other story. He eats breakfast at school too, right after I feed him breakfast at home. He used to get free breakfast & lunch. I think he thinks the cafeteria is there for the taking. lol

The 2 “middles” are pretty picky. One doesn’t like fruit. The other doesn’t like cheese snacks or yogurt. They usually wind up with a sandwich, chips or crackers and a juice. If they have a healthy sandwich, they get a treat. If they get pbj, they don’t.

I’m having a lunch block. What do you pack your picky eaters in their lunch that is healthy & economical?

Chicken is a staple around here. We often have a lot leftover when we cook a bag of chicken leg quarters or when breasts are buy one get one free. To me, leftover chicken means less work for your next meal. Chicken is such a versatile food. Pick the leftovers off the bone and store them in the fridge until you are ready to use them (within 3 days). These leftover chicken ideas are all throw together recipes. If you hadn’t guessed by now, I don’t measure often outside of baking. You can call it laziness. I call it experimentation.

Chicken Fried Rice
You will need:
a few tbsp. of sesame or vegetable oil
Leftover chicken cut into small pieces
White Rice
Soy Sauce
about 4 Eggs, scrambled with a fork
Frozen Veggies of your choosing

Start off by cooking a batch of white rice according to directions. We have a large family that loves chicken fried rice so I double it. Cool the rice in the fridge. You want it cold & sticky.
In a large fry pan, heat a few tbps. of oil such as sesame or vegetable. Get it pretty hot and dump in your rice. You want to hear it sizzle. Stir it around for a minute and add your small chunks of leftover chicken. When you think it’s all pretty warmed up, add soy sauce to the mix until it looks golden brown. Make sure you stir it really well. It should all be the same color.
Push all of the rice and chicken mixture to one side of the pan and pour about 4 eggs, scrambled with a fork into the empty spot. Push them around really well until the eggs are cooked and incorporate them into the rice. Last, add some frozen, diced carrots, onions and peas and cook until everything is warm.
My kids LOVE this!

Easy Chicken Pot Pie
You will need:
Leftover chicken cut into small pieces
2 cans of veggies (1 each) such as corn, green beans, peas or carrots
2 ready made pie crusts (one for the top, 1 for the bottom)
2 cans cream of chicken soup

Lay a pie crust into a pie plate. In a bowl, mix together cans of cream of chicken, cans oven veggies, drained and cut up chicken. Pour into the crust. Top with the other crust. Fold the edges of the crust, pinching as you go and slice a few slits in the top with a knife. Bake at 350 til golden brown & bubbly.

Chicken & Gravy
What you need:
2 cans of cream of chicken soup
Leftover Chicken
A batch of white rice
A vegetable and biscuits on the side

In a medium pot on the stove, dump your cream of chicken soup. Add the cut up chicken. Prepare the rice separately while you wait for the chicken to heat up. If your gravy is to thick, you can add a few tablespoons of milk. Put a serving of rice on a plate, top with gravy and serve with a biscuit. The veggie is for mom’s piece of mind.

I can’t believe the price of lunch meat. With 4 kids at home, lunch meat goes FAST around here. $7/lb of sliced turkey? Really?! I can get an entire turkey at Thanksgiving for $.59/lb.  I’m wondering just how cost effective it would be to purchase a meat slicer and make lunch meat myself.  If I purchased this meat slicer (which gets great reviews, by the way) for $89.99 and sliced whole turkeys, hams,  roast beef, etc.. myself, wouldn’t I eventually be saving money? I imagine I could slice our favorite french dip, cheeses and all sorts of stuff. What are your thoughts on this? How do you save money on lunch meat? What else could you use a meat slicer for? Do you think it’s a practical idea?

The idea of making french dip kind of scared me to tell you the truth. It sounds a little difficult. You have to make the meat, the sauce and then put it all together. Here’s a family favorite that is cheap, SO EASY and OMG delicious!

What you need:

1 london broil cut of beef

1 can condensed French Onion Soup

2 cans Beef Broth

Kaiser or Hoagie Rolls

Cheese

What ever else you like to put on your sammy.

Directions:

Toss the london broil in the crock pot. Pour the onion soup and broth on top. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. When it looks about ready, take the steak out and cut it into thin strips. Toss them back in the crock pot for about 10 more minutes.

While you’re waiting, you can prepare your rolls with cheese, mayo, mustard, creamy horseradish or what ever your heart desires. I love to stick mine in the oven on broil to get it toasty. It toasts REALLY fast so watch it.

Top your roll with the juicy, melt in your mouth meat and ladle some of the juices in the crock pot into a small bowl for dipping.  Serve with a vegetable.

I’ll try to remember to get a picture later. Ours is cooking now for dinner tonight.