Turkey Meatloaf
Turkey Enchiladas (crock pot)
Mini pizzas with hidden sweet potatoes
Chicken Soup
6 Baked sweet potatoes
Cherry Dump Cake (crock pot)
The thing is, I am not Super Woman, as many of my friends like to say. Though I would love to wear a cape some time. All it takes is some thinking ahead. I did my shopping list and shopping yesterday. Since I knew I wanted to make the meatloaf and the enchiladas using the same type of meat, I bought one of those 3 lb packages of turkey meat. I used 2/3 of it for the meatloaf and the rest for the enchiladas.
The mini pizzas were made using Pillsbury Grand biscuits, left over sweet potato from last weekend, pizza sauce and cheese. I just smash down the biscuits, mix the sweet potato with the sauce and then make little pizzas. Since my oven was on 350, I just popped them in.
Shhhhhh...they're good for you!
I took out my big stock pot to make the soup and pulled a chicken carcass from the freezer (from the last time we had a roasted chicken) and threw that in the pot, along with water, carrots, a parsnip, celery, head of garlic and some salt/pepper/crushed red pepper. Then turned on the burner and that was ready. The veggies don't have to be chopped, just thrown in whole. Very rustic.
Meanwhile, after mixing up a yummy meatloaf with 4 slices of Wonder Smart White Bread (extra fiber and calcium included), dijon mustard, ketchup and garlic powder, salt and pepper, mounding in a pan and leaving some room on the sides for some sauce, I got to work browing up the meat for enchiladas. Added corn and onions and this time added some spinach. (I had extra onion chopped, so I just put that in the freezer since I know I will need chopped onion next week). Oh, almost forgot to mention that in between the soup and the meatloaf, I washed 6 sweet potatoes and then covered them in aluminum foil. Pulled the mini pizzas out of the oven and then put the sweet potatoes around the perimeter. Then put the meatloaf right in the middle.
Phew....
Next, got the crock pot and sprayed some cooking spray inside. Spooned the mixture into flour tortillas and got to work on the enchiladas. Recipe to follow.
Mmmmm, my mouth is a'waterin!
Finally, just for fun, and since I had another crock pot empty, I made a dump cake. Thanks to my cousin Brandon who recommended the recipe. It is literally this: two cans of any fruit pie filling, one box of yellow cake mix, one stick of butter. Literally dumped in a crock pot and set on high for 3-4 hours. There, that's done.
Here are some pics and two of my favorite recipes. I've had a lot of requests for my Aunt Anita's crock pot veggie lasagna recipe, so I am posting that. Also, the enchilada recipe, which is a variation on my dad's old enchilada recipe.
The thing is, with all of this stuff organized, literally all of this was done by about 11AM this morning. Food for the whole week and then some. People often think it takes tons of time and energy to do this. It took me maybe 2 1/2 hours and now it is done. Don't feel like you have to match me, but anyone can do one or two of these. I promise you can do it. I am not a chef, I have little patience for long lists of ingredients, but I make simple, healthy recipes that take almost no time. The key is to plan ahead. Please feel free to ask questions at any time.
Without further ado, this weeks recipes and some pictures, too!
Slow Cooker Turkey Enchiladas - Shel Style (pictured above)
1 lb ground meat (turkey or beef will do)
½ medium onion finely chopped
1 cup frozen corn
1 package of 10 flour tortillas (you could use corn if you prefer)
1 jar or can of your favorite enchilada sauce (I like Frontera chipotle garlic)
1-2 cups of cheese
Cumin
Garlic Powder
Chili Powder
Black Pepper
Nonstick spray
In a pan, sauté meat, onion and corn. When browned, add all of the spices to taste. I usually do about 1-2 tsp of each, stay on the lower end with the pepper. Also, you can add some Cayenne pepper if you want a kick. Spoon mixture into tortillas. Roll and place in crock pot. Keep layering until you have all ten. Between each layer add a little sauce and cheese. Then top with remaining sauce and cheese. Set your crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours. YUMMMMMMMMMMM!
Slow Cooker Fresh Veggie Lasagna
Nonstick cooking spray
1 cup marinara sauce
1 & 1/2 cup mozzarella
1/2 cup ricotta or cottage cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp dried oregano
1medium zucchini sliced
1 tsp garlic powder
no-boil lasagna noodles
1 bag ( 6 0z.) baby spinach
1cup thinly sliced mushrooms
Spray 4 quart crockpot. mix together Mozzarella, Ricotta, Parmesan, egg, oregano and garlic ,set aside. Spread 2 Tablespoons of sauce in the bottom of the pot. Sprinkle 1/2 of the zucchini over the sauce and top with 1/3 of the cheese mixture. Break 2 noodles into piece to cover cheese. Spread 2 Tablespoons of sauce and the layer 1/2 of the spinach and 1/2 of the mushrooms. Repeat layering, ending with cheese and the remaining sauce. Firmly press ingredients into pot
Cover and cook on low heat for 4-5 hours. Allow lasagna to rest 20 minutes before cutting into wedges to serve.
