Meal #1

Slow Cooker Ravioli

Ingredients

1 (25 ounce) bag beef or cheese ravioli
1 (26 ounce) jar pasta sauce
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Pour about half of the pasta sauce in the bottom of slow cooker. Add frozen ravioli. Pour additional pasta sauce, tomato sauce, and water over ravioli. Sprinkle cheese on top. Turn slow cooker on low and cook for four to five hours (until ravioli are tender).

Makes four servings.

Serve with a tossed salad.

Amy’s Tips:

If you are short on time or forget to put everything in the slow cooker, the same exact recipe can be achieved on the stovetop. Prepare the pasta as directed on the package; drain. Pour warmed sauce on top of the pasta and then sprinkle with cheese. Cover the pan with the lid for a couple of minutes to allow the cheese to melt on top.

Meal #2

Salmon Pockets

Ingredients

4 salmon fillets
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Olive oil
8 lemon slices
Aluminum Foil

Preheat oven to 400. Tear off 4 pieces of aluminum foil, about 8 x 12" each. Season salmon with salt and pepper. Lightly coat the foil with olive oil to prevent the salmon from sticking. Place a salmon fillet on each piece of foil. Drizzle olive oil over fillets. Top each salmon fillet with two slices of lemon. Pull edges of foil together and crimp, making a sealed pocket that fits loosely around the fillet. Place the four pockets on a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes. To serve, carefully open the pockets, but do not let juices run out. Transfer each fillet to a plate and pour juices over the top.

Makes four servings.

Rice & Noodle Pilaf

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter
1/2 tablespoon oil
2 cloves minced garlic
1 cup of egg noodles
1 cup of rice
1/2 cup dry wine
2 cups chicken broth

Heat oil and add butter. Once the butter is melted, sauté garlic on high. Add noodles and rice and toss until toasted. Reduce heat to low and add wine and chicken broth. Cover and cook for 20 minutes or until rice is done and liquid absorbed.

Makes four servings.

Meal #3

Turkey Meatloaf

Ingredients

3 lbs lean ground turkey
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
3- 8 oz can tomato sauce
2 eggs

In a large mixing bowl, lightly mix turkey, bread crumbs, cheese, 1 can of tomato sauce, and egg. Shape into two loaves in shallow baking dishes. Pour a can of tomato sauce over each of the meatloaves. Sprinkle top with garlic salt.  Bake one loaf uncovered at 350 for 1 1/4 hours. Baste several times while cooking.

*Freeze the other loaf (uncooked) for another meal later this month.

Each loaf makes six servings.

Amy’s Tips:

I do not have a big problem with grease with the ground turkey, but if you are trying to cut back on the fat there is a very easy way to do it. Before patting the meatloaf into the pan, lay down two pieces of bread to soak up the drippings. Pat the ground turkey mixture in, over the bread, and the bread will catch the fat at the bottom. It will also help to keep the shape of the loaf.

Cheesy Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

6 medium potatoes (peeled & cut into one inch cubes)
¾ cup evaporated milk
½ stick of butter
1 cup shredded cheese (preferably cheddar)
Salt & pepper to taste
    
Place potatoes in large saucepan. Cover with water; bring to a boil. Cook over medium-high heat for 15 to 20 minutes or until tender; drain.

Return potatoes to saucepan; add evaporated milk and butter. Beat with hand-held mixer until smooth. Stir in cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
    
Makes 6 servings.

Breadcrumbs Recipe

Making your own breadcrumbs can be easy and inexpensive. The flavor of fresh breadcrumbs versus the store bought variety is not even comparable. Store your breadcrumbs in your freezer and you will always have fresh breadcrumbs on hand. I keep mine in a freezer-safe container and when I get low, I simply make another batch. Breadcrumbs can be made out of loaf ends, stale bread, hot dog rolls, & hamburger buns- whatever you have on hand! Keep a bread bag with all of your bread in it and store it in the freezer. Once the bag is filled, it is time to make some breadcrumbs!

Directions:

Set your oven to broil and then lay all of the bread out on cookie sheets. You only need to broil the bread a couple of minutes (keep one eye on it because it can burn quickly) This helps just to dry the bread out and make it easier to handle. Once the bread is toasted, put this bread into my food processor. You can just have only the bread in there, or if you like the Italian seasonings type of breadcrumbs add your own seasonings (I add garlic salt, and an Italian seasonings dry blend of herbs to mine for that variety)  Run the food processor until the bread crumbs are of a fine consistency. Then put these crumbs into a freezer-safe container.

Meal #4

Poor Man’s Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients

2 jars of spaghetti sauce
1 lb ground turkey
1 cup breadcrumbs
2 cups breadcrumbs
1 egg
salt & pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste
Butter
Olive oil
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated or shredded Parmesan cheese

Place ground meat into a large mixing bowl. Add egg & incorporate into meat. Add 1 cup bread crumbs. Add salt, pepper & garlic powder to taste. Combine ingredients by hand until well-blended. Heat non-stick frying pan. Melt about 1 TB of butter & about 1 TB of olive oil in pan. Put 2 cups bread crumbs into flat dish. Measure 1/3 cup of meat with a 1/3 measuring cup & flatten meat into a patty, like a hamburger. Press patty into dish with bread crumbs to coat/bread patty. Cook patty in butter & olive oil just until both sides are browned. Depending on size of pan, cook 3-4 patties at once. Place patties in a flat baking dish, sprayed with cooking oil if desired. Repeat until all of meat mixture is used. Spoon some sauce onto top of each patty. Sprinkle with Parmesan and mozzarella. Drizzle more sauce on top of cheese. Bake at 350 until cheese is melted and bubbly, but not brown; about 15-20 minutes. Special Note: For kids, 1/4 measuring cup of meat is a great serving size.

Makes 6-8 patties.

Serve with angel hair pasta tossed with your favorite tomato sauce.

Amy’s Tips:

This is one of my favorite recipes for doubling and freezing for other meals. You can easily double the recipe and put the cooked patties in a freezer safe container to save you from another night of cooking.

Not in the mood for a chicken parmesan dish with pasta? This meal can be prepared as a chicken parmesan burger too! If you can’t get the kids to eat it the old-fashioned way, throw it on a bun and they will gobble it up!