Quick Idea: Quesadillas

I love to make quesadillas with leftovers.  If we have any kind of meat leftover I will put it in a baggy and freeze it usually.  Then when we want to have quesadillas I just have to pull it out and defrost it. 

All I have to do is soften a tortilla in the microwave, spread a little refried beans on half the tortilla (sometimes I mix in a little enchilada sauce with the beans), sprinkle with meat, and cheese.  Sometimes I saute up some veggies but if your wanting quick these are still good without all the work.  Then fold the tortilla over and fry up on the stovetop with a little butter or cooking spray. 

Butter taste better of course and gives it that crunchy texture, but cooking spray will work if your watching your calories.  Also if your counting calories, or carbs for that matter, you can skip the tortilla and use a sheet of lavash.  We did this earlier this week and they were very yummy. 

Serve with some shredded lettuce, salsa, sour cream, and/or guacomole. 

Quick Idea: freezer burrito mix

I love to cook and I love to freeze meals.  It's always nice on a busy day to not have to do a lot of extra work.  Days like that is when my freezer is my friend.  I actually just upgraded to a huge upright freezer today, I love it!

Well, earlier this month we had some family over and per Anthony's request I made tacos.  We ended up with quite a bit of leftover meat, refried beans, and rice/bean side.  So I put it all together in a ziploc bag and stuck it in the freezer for later. 

I told you there was quite a bit leftover

Tonight we are having freezer burritos, from the above referenced ziploc bag mix that is.  All I have to do is pull out the ziploc bag, defrost, and assemble with some flour tortillas and a little cheese.  So easy and you're not throwing away a bunch of leftovers.  Plus it's a nice cheap meal to use at the end of the month (especially if your at the end of your food budget like me)

I hate throwing food out.  It feels so wasteful, so I try to repurpose food when I can.  I freeze individual portion sized meals for Matthew to take to work.  I'll also freeze small amounts of meat to add to quesidillas for the kids lunch or individual portions of veggies for me to have with my lunch.  Don't get me wrong we actually like eating leftovers but this was on a weekend and I knew we wouldn't eat all that was left within the next couple of days, so that's when things go in the freezer. 

The only thing I don't like about this kinda cooking is about 4:30, when I normally start cookng, I'm walking around the kitchen feeling like I should be doing something, but have nothing to do.  So I may just organize my pantry tonight, who knows. 

Quick idea: Quick Bread Sticks

With grilling weather fast approaching (ok, I can dream) here is something you can do with those extra hot dog buns.  Why do they never match up with how many hot dogs in a package?  We may never know, but I choose to take advantage of this.  Anytime there are extras I throw them in the freezer and pull them out when I need quick bread sticks.  Separate the two sides, place on  a cookie sheet bun side down, spread butter, sprinkle with a little Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, and a little shredded Parmesan cheese, or top however you like.  Place them in the oven at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes, this time is if they are frozen, if they are room temperature reduce time to about 5 minutes.

Quick idea: Stuffed French Toast

After I posted my Cinnamon French Toast  recipe a friend of mine sent me this quick idea on how to make them extra special.  I made this last Wednesday for Brinner, breakfast for dinner.  They were so yummy my husband asked me, "your going to put this on your blog, right?"



We really like breakfast foods at our house, can you tell!?



All you have to do is spread softened cream cheese on your bread just like you're making a cream cheese sandwich, then dip in your egg and continue with the recipe as usual.  I did a little more by leaving out the cinnamon from the original recipe and taking 8 oz of cream cheese, about a cup of strawberry jam, and 1 tsp of vanilla extract mixing that together and spreading the mix between my bread.  I served it with frozen berries, whipped cream and syrup.   Mmmmm so yummy!