Freezer to Table

While I may be four days into this ten-day regiment of antibiotics for what turned out to be a sinus infection (don't you hate those?), I am really only starting to feel like myself again today. My energy levels are returning to normal, and I was motivated enough this evening to clean up around the condo, something that always falls to the wayside when I am feeling sickly (much to my OCD chagrin!). Even better, last night I actually wanted to help cook dinner, days and days after not wanting to even step inside the kitchen since it meant abandoning the cozy couch.

Whether you are single or married, a corporate ladder-riser or self-employed entrepreneur, coming home in the evenings and tackling dinner is always a bit of a chore, and adding sickness or any kind of issue to that makes it that much worse. Sure, the weekly grocery shopping definitely helps -- I am pretty sure there is a scientific negative correlation between having done grocery shopping and the number of meals purchased on a whim out that week -- but sometimes there are those nights where you come home and just think "ughghgh" when you realize it's time to make dinner.

Sure, I'd love to be the one living up to the Buckhead Betty hype, staying home on Sundays and prepping meals ahead for the week. Ha. As if! We all know that it gets down to Thursday and all you want to do is call up the local pizza joint. Then any diet regimen and exercise momentum are gone and gone right with that empty pizza box.

I recently had the opportunity to try out a local life-saver for just those said occasions. Half-Baked is a local Buckhead operation that serves up oven-ready casseroles, perfect for any person or family wanting some delicious home-cooked meals without the effort.

J.J., Half-Baked's super chic co-owner and cook, was kind enough to pull out a few of her special frozen meals for us to try. It didn't take me but just a few days to have one of those nights where I knew cooking wasn't going to be happening. Knowing it was going to be a doozy of a day, I pulled out her Eggplant Lasagna the night prior, dropping it into the fridge to start defrosting. An hour later in the oven that night and we had a lightened-up version of lasagna that tasted absolutely nothing like a "light" version. In fact, I forgot it was technically a "light" version until just now, ha! The lowfat cheeses, sauce, eggplant and mushrooms combined into something homemade and awesome.

The second dish we tried was the "Cheese-o-roni" -- a fun name for what was insanely amazing mac n' cheese. It had crackers all over the top and a rich cheesey sauce that definitely satisfied the guys' munchies one late evening at home. Since I hadn't defrosted the meal ahead of time, I popped the dish out of the tin foil and into a glass casserole, dropped it in the oven as it was preheating and cooked it for about 40-45 minutes.

While we have not yet tried our last sampler meal, the Chicken Tetrazzini, I am anxiously awaiting another "busy" day where we can let J.J. and Lee do the cooking! I think it might be this week ... :)

Ready for some home cooking that you don't have to do yourself? Check out Half-Baked's menu for appetizers, main dishes, veggies and desserts (oh, the desserts!!). All of the dishes come in three sizes. The small meals, just $11.99, served up two generous portions perfect for a hungry couple, but you can also order a Medium for $22.99 that will serve a family of four.

Half-Baked is located on Roswell Road just north of the merge with Peachtree. They are open 10-6pm on Monday-Friday and 10-12pm on Saturdays.

Buckhead Betty tip: These meals would make fantastic gifts for new moms, or for a neighbor family if someone is in the hospital or really sick! 


Disclosure: I was provided complimentary meals from Half-Baked as part of this review, but all opinions are my own.

Slow Cooker Beef Enchiladas

My favorite part about cooking (besides eating it all, of course) is that I control what goes into the dish. I am 100% in control of the health factor of what I am making. Sure, I can make a high-calorie pasta dish just as easily as a vegetable stir-fry, but I know that the stir-fry is more in line with what my body needs AND what will taste the best in the end. Even better, making my own food and in quantities to feed us for the week ahead, really saves some pennies. Sure, the grocery bill might be $70-100, but it easily feeds two mouths for Week 1 lunches and dinners, and usually leaves enough food stock-piled to feed us in Week 2, too.

My cheapest meals to shop for have been crock-pot meals. Crock-pot meals typically start with a huge chunk of meat. This is easily the most "expensive" thing you will buy, and it's not even that expensive compared to the higher-end cuts of meat for other meals. Then you cover it with cheap broths, vegetables,  and water, and voila! Easy and healthy, and you barely had to do any work.

I have realized that I can't always get my game together to put crockpot items together in the AM. That means getting up early and dealing with mostly raw chunks of meat. Ick. Instead, I often cook these types of things on Low overnight, waking up with time still left on it's "warming" function. Then I take out the whole crockpot dish and put it in the fridge for the day. Before we go to eat that night, I can then scrape off any excess fat, too, which will have risen to the top and hardened.

This particular recipe proved pleasing for any time you are craving Mexican food. Which, if you are like me, is quite often :) Luckily, this dish serves a crowd, or can be stretched out over a few lunches and/or dinners for two. Enjoy!

Image Source

Crock-Pot Beef Enchiladas
Jane Talso, Albuquerque, NM
Fix It and Forget It Cookbook

4-lb. boneless chuck roast
2 tbsp. oil
4 c. sliced onions
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. cumin
2 4.5 oz. cans peeled, diced green chilies
14.5 oz. can peeled, diced tomatoes
8 large tortillas
1 lb. cheddar cheese
4 c. green or red enchilada sauce

1. Brown roast on all sides in oil in saucepan. Place roast in slow cooker.
2. Add remaining ingredients except tortillas, cheese and sauce.
3. Cover. Cook on High 4-5 hours.
4. Shred meat with fork and return to slow cooker.
5. Warm tortillas in oven or microwave. Warm sauce on stove or in microwave. Fill each tortilla with 3/4 c. beef mixture and 1/2 c. cheese. Roll up, top with sauce and serve.

Note from KJM: This recipe was easily halved and it still made enough for dinners and lunches for two. I cooked the halved recipe on low for 6 hours and it turned out perfectly! Once the meat gets stewed up like this, you can be a bit more liberal with the timing on Low.

Comfort Food Menu for the Week

I hope everyone had a great weekend! We went and saw my beloved Jackets lose on the road (Clemson v. GT is always a toss-up, blah) but then were excited to see that the Auburn Tigers are now #1! War Eagle! At least one team did well for us this weekend :)

After all that football, it got around to Sunday, and I sat down to do what has become normal routine for me on the weekends -- first reviewing the coupons/sales at the stores, and then planning out my weekly menu based on that and what recipes I am in the mood for.

Ironic side note: I posted about menu-planning almost exactly one year ago. It must be the cool weather, shorter days and upcoming holiday season that makes me rethink my weekly dinner strategy!

Menu-planning really pays off bigtime for me, in both time and money -- I can usually save about $15-20 on groceries with coupons and sales. The best weeks are when I don't have to go to the store any other times during the week, and we can come home to a stocked fridge with a few different meals to choose from. 

This week, I am shooting for similar success. Here's my menu-plan for the week. Right now I am all about Fall and coziness and comfort foods, but I am trying to keep it quasi-healthy at the same time. This menu will also let us chill out after work, without having to cook up a storm.

* Taco Pie -- the taco fixings are on sale at Publix this week with their recipe for Taco Nacho Rice, so I stocked up on cheese, ground chuck, tomatoes and shreds for this family favorite. I use crescent rolls to layer out the beef and cheese, but here's another version of the recipe from Betty Crocker (picture credit) that sounds delicious.

* Halloween Hot Dog Mummies with salad -- for the child at heart in all of us :)

* Teryaki Pineapple Turkey Burgers with sweet potato fries -- this recipe is a quick fix by using frozen Jennie-O burgers instead of making them from scratch. I will roast up the "fries" in the oven.

* Pasta with asparagus tips and sauce -- gotta love an easy night with little to no "cooking" actually required :) We picked up a fun-shaped Archer Farms bag of pasta from Target that will jazz up this weeknight basic.

What does your menu look like for the week?

Stay tuned! Later this week, I am going to take you inside my recipe binder (and all it's chaos, as you will see) and share with you some of my go-to healthy meal favorites. Happy Menu Planning!