Ball Canning Jars At A Crazy Great Price

Do you can?  I do.  Not much.  A few preserves.  To use mostly as gifts.  Salsa.  Which I give sparingly as gifts because I hoard it for myself.  And sometimes something quirky like pickled watermelon rind or banana pineapple jam.

But jars are awesome for a million other uses.  Like vases or storage or casual water glasses and the list goes on.  Check out Pinterest for awesome ideas.

Plus, jars last forever.  Seriously, they are a lifetime purchase.  You just need to buy new tops if you plan to can with them. 

Right now, Lowes has them on a crazy, super awesome sale.  Prices and availability vary by region.  Because the best deal is to ship them for free to the store.  So you are limited to what your store has available. 

But at these prices, I am absolutely stocking up for next summer's canning. 

Asparagus Salad

So I picked up two bundles of asparagus with the help of coupons earlier in the week but only just got around to using them last night.  To make an asparagus salad.

I found a recipe on Pinterest (my obsession, second only to Diet Coke).  But I forgot to pick up a few key ingredients.  So I just sort of did my own thing.  And ooooh hot diggity dog was it a success!  This will be a new summer favorite for sure.

Again, please note that I made this on a whim.  With ingredients I happened to have around the house.  You can certainly add and subtract ingredients as you see fit.  If you don't like something, just leave it out.  

Asparagus Salad:

Ingredients:
* 2 bundles of fresh asparagus
* 1 tsp salt
* 2 tbls Greek yogurt or sour cream or mayo
* 1 tbls orange juice
* 2 tbls lemon juice
* a few cranks of the pepper mill
* 1 tsp. minced garlic
* 1 tsp. brown mustard
* 1 tbls soy sauce
* 1 pinch brown sugar
* 4 oz feta cheese (plain or herbed)

Directions:

* Fill a large pot with water and bring to a simmer. 
* Snap ends off asparagus.  They snap naturally at the spot between tender and not tender.  So snapping is better than randomly cutting. 

* Once all ends are snapped, cut asparagus into bite size pieces (1-2" long).

* Blanch asparagus in simmering water.  So drop them all in and let them be for no more than about 2 minutes.  Then either immerse them into ice cold water or drain them and run the cold tap over them to stop the cooking process.

* In a mason jar, add all of the ingredients except for the asparagus and the cheese.  Twist on lid and shake, shake, shake. 

* In a bowl, toss together cold asparagus, dressing mix and crumbled feta (plain or herbed are both tasty) together well.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

I seriously had to stop myself from eating the entire bowl by myself.  Crazy fast and easy but a totally fun take on a side salad.

Lovely, Light Summer Salad Dressing

This is such a skimpy post but I randomly threw together this "recipe" (in quotes because I use the word recipe lightly) the other night and it was so delish!  Nice and light on a screaming hot summer's night.  I used up the ice berg lettuce and some of the berries I picked up on sale this week at Price Chopper.

Citrus Summer Salad Dressing

Ingredients:
* 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
* 1/2 cup orange juice
* pinch of salt

Directions:
* Put yogurt (any flavor- I used coconut but plain or a fruit flavor or vanilla would all be delish), orange juice and salt in a mason jar.  Twist on lid.  Shake shake shake.
* Pour over salad and enjoy!
* You can adjust the thickness of the dressing by playing with the amount of juice you add.  If you use fat free yogurt...well duh...the dressing will be fat free too. 

Dinner #5 and #6: Cheesy Chicken And Rice Freezer Meal...Times Two

Yes...I said times two.  I made two meals at the same time.  One to eat tonight actually and one to freeze for later use.  I used the rest of the mojo chicken from Monday's dinner.  And the rest of the sliced onions too.  Yup...it's still creating yummy dinners.  Can you believe it?  I told you it is super awesome to cook once and use it for many different meals.  Just makes sense, no?!

If you don't have leftover chicken, you can absolutely cut up one chicken breast per meal.  That's all you need if you are using the big chicken breasts that Price Chopper has on sale this week.

So first, let me again note that I cook rice a bag or two at a time.  I don't see any point in cooking rice in small batches.  It takes but a few minutes more to just cook an entire bag and it's not like it requires any extra work.  Once you get the water simmering, you just cover and walk away.  So I cook big batches of rice.  Use what I need that night and once cooled, I portion out the rest of the pot into small zip top baggies.  Press flat and freeze.  These are SO HANDY to have ready to use.  Simply defrost in the fridge or even straight into the microwave.  As you can see, they take up very little space when pressed flat in the baggies.  The first time you use a convenient, ready-cooked bag you will realize you can never go back.  This is my #1 quick dinner tip!

The following recipe makes TWO meals.  If you just want to make one meal, cut everything in half.  Each meal serves 4 people.

Cheesy Chicken and Rice Freezer Meal (makes two meals)

Ingredients:
* 2-3 cups cooked chicken (or 2 raw breasts cut small)
* 4 cups cooked rice
* 2 onions, sliced
* 1 tbls butter
* EVOO
* 2 bags frozen veggies (I used mixed but plain broccoli is great too)
* 2 cups shredded cheese
* 1/4 cup milk
* 3 tbls cornstarch
* 2 tsp salt

Directions:
* In a pan, saute onion in butter and EVOO until translucent.
* In another small pan, whisk together milk and cornstarch as temperature comes up to medium.  Add cheese and whisk together until smooth.  Remove from heat.  As it cools it will get very thick.
* On the outside of two zip top freezer bags, label the name of the meal and cooking instructions.  Very important to do this before you fill up the bag.
* Open bags and flip down top to keep clean.  Place bags in bowls to keep upright.
* In each bag, place half of each ingredient.  So each bag gets 1-1.5 cups cooked chicken (or one breast cubed), 2 cups cooked rice, 1 sauteed onion, 1 bag frozen veggies of choice, 1/2 of the cheese mixture and 1 tsp salt.
* Remove as much air as possible when zipping bag closed.  Press flat.  Freeze for later use.
* When ready to use, defrost in fridge over night.  Dump bag into baking dish and mix up a bit more with a spoon.
* Bake at 350 for 30-45 mins (on the shorter end if using pre-cooked chicken- longer if using raw chicken).
* Serve with a salad and enjoy!


So there you have it!  We just completed a series of SIX meals over the course of five days.  Did anyone try these recipes?  Do you also prepare once and use multiple times like we did with the chicken and onions this week?

Dinner #4: Sweet And Sour Chicken Freezer Meal

Freezer meals are the hottest blog topic these days.  And I am all about it!  They are just so smart.  Make meals when you have time.  And they are ready to go when you need them.

Today we are making sweet and sour chicken.  I used more of the shredded chicken that I made on Monday but you can certainly just cut up raw chicken.  You will just need to cook it longer.  I also used more of the onions from Tuesday.  So this meal came together in just a few minutes. If you are making it to eat the same night, there is no need to place it in a zip top baggie of course. 

Be sure to write on the bag what you have inside and any instructions BEFORE you fill up the bag.  I plan to serve this over rice but it would also be yummy over egg or rice noodles.  By now y'all know that I keep portions of cooked brown rice in my freezer at all times.

Sweet and Sour Chicken Freezer Meal

Ingredients:
* 2 cups shredded cooked chicken or chopped raw chicken
* 1 large green pepper, chopped
* 1 small onion, chopped
* 1 cup salsa
* 1 can chunk pineapple with juice
* pinch of salt

Directions:
* Chop veggies and if necessary, chicken.
* Dump all ingredients into a zip top freezer bag.  Freeze flat.
* Thaw the night before using.
* Dump thawed bag into crockpot.  If using cooked chicken, cook in crockpot for 2-4 hours on low.  If using raw chicken, cook in crockpot 4 hour on high or 8 hours on low.
* Serve over rice or noodles.

Dinner #3: Crockpot BBQ Pork Ribs

This is yet another easy peasy meal.  Sooo filling and yummy and just a great summer staple.  Be sure to pick up the BOGO boneless pork ribs at Price Chopper this week so can you make this too.  I actually plan to pick up two more packs to keep in the freezer for later use.  This is the season for BBQ sauces to go on sale so be sure to stock up when they hit rock bottom prices.  Notice we are again using the onions we chopped the other day.  I love love love to use my time efficiently like that!    This meal easily feeds 4-6 people. 

Crockpot BBQ Pork Ribs

Ingredients:
* 2 packs of pork ribs (I used boneless)
* 1 small onion, sliced
* 1/2 bottle BBQ sauce (purchased on sale a while ago)
* 1 tbls grainy mustard (optional)
* 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:
* Dump everything into the crockpot.  Cook high for four hours or low for 6-8 hours.
* Serve with baked potato (clean, prick with fork and microwave covered for 5-8 mins depending on size) and salad (I love the Dole salad kits).

Seriously...it cannot get any easier than this.  And the best part is that when you use a crockpot in the summer, it doesn't heat up your whole house like an oven.  Use any leftovers to make pulled pork sandwiches (pull apart the meat and add the rest of the BBQ sauce in the bottle- serve hot or cold).

Dinner #2: Lettuce Wraps

As we continue on the road to happy tummies, our next stop is lettuce wraps.  Ala PF Chang's.  This was another quick, easy and yummy meal.  And so flexible because you can add in a variety of ingredients based on what you have around the house.  For example, next time I will add rice.  But I completely forgot this time- ha.  You could also add extra veggies.  I added a few extra tablespoons of broccoli and black beans (jumping an ocean, I know!) from last night because I needed to use them up.  You can add peanuts or   So flexible!  This is another gluten and dairy free dish than can easily be vegan too.

Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:
* 1 1/2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
* 1 cup cooked rice
* 1 small onion + 3 small onions (4 total)
* 1 can bamboo shoots, drained
* 2 tbls soy sauce, plus more for dipping
* 1 tsp ground ginger
* 1 garlic clove, minced
* leftover veggies if you have them, chopped
* EVOO
* a few tbls water
* 1 head Ice Berg lettuce

Directions: 
* Finely chop 1 onion.  Slice other three onions and store in tight closing container (to make sure your fridge doesn't stink) for use later this week.  Tip number two in the game of do something once and benefit many times over game.
* Saute the finely chopped onion in a little EVOO until translucent.  
* Once onion is cooked, add bamboo shoots, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, any extra veggies, and chicken from last night.
* Add rice and if needed, a few tbls water (or more soy- to taste).
* Peel outer layer or two of ice berg lettuce (note this was my very first time ever to buy ice berg- not a personal favorite outside of lettuce wraps).  Cut out core and slice in half.  Give each person several large lettuce pieces to use as wraps.
* Serve with a little soy sauce (add hot sauce or ginger if so desired) and enjoy!

What To Make For Dinner

Did everyone pick up the yummy sausage and inexpensive green peppers at Price Chopper too?  If you are looking for a way to use those up, you can give this recipe for stuffed peppers a try.  I made this last night (without the red sauce because I forgot all about it) and it's a total no fail.  Even without the tomato sauce, it's such a delicious winner of a recipe.  Even easier if you keep rice in your freezer too!

Cheap And Easy Dinner Idea : Chicken Fried Rice

This is what I call a "not for company meal."  Meaning, it's delicious but not exactly pretty.  Keep it for your family meals.  Not the boss and her family.  But this is a cheap and easy and GLUTEN FREE meal that is completely yummy.

But beauty challenged aside, this meal is so yummy and really healthy.  And like everything else coming out of my kitchen, you can use what you have on hand.  For example, I titled this chicken but I actually used leftover turkey from Thanksgiving.  You could also use ham or go meatless and add a can of chickpeas.  I use brown rice in just about everything.  I love it.  But feel free to use whatever you prefer.

This recipe is really all about prep work.  I keep cooked rice and cooked chicken/turkey in bags in my freezer at all times.  I always have a variety of frozen veggies in the freezer too.  If you don't have/want to use the preserves, just add a little oil or water.

Ingredients:
* Cooked rice
* Cooked chicken
* Large bag of frozen veggies
* 1/3 c. Soy sauce
* 1-2 tbls Apricot preserves (optional)
* 2-3 eggs, soft scrambled

Directions:
* Scramble a few eggs.  Don't overcook them as they will be added again to a cooking pan later.  Set aside.

* In large pan (I use the one that I scrambled eggs in to keep this a one pot meal), add a bit of soy sauce and preserves.  If not using preserves, feel free to instead add some brown sugar, EVOO or even just water.  You are making the sauce.  So make something saucy.

* Once you have a sauce going (about 1/4-1/2 cup is all- just to coat), add bag of frozen veggies.  Once defrosted, add chicken.  Once brought to temp, add rice and scrambled eggs.  Toss together to bring to the same temperature and coat in sauce.  Taste.  Add more soy sauce if needed.

* Serve warm.

This meal is full of protein in the brown rice, eggs and meat.  Lots of yummy veggies if you use a big bag.  It's cheap and super simple.  Oh and completely comforting on a chilly night!

Use It Up: Pickled Watermelon Rind

A great recipe for making pickled watermelon rind.  I love being able to use things that would normally be thrown away in an incredibly yummy way!  There's a bonus drink recipe at the end too.

Honey Mustard Chicken And Rice

This is less of a recipe and more of a "hmmm...what's at home that I can use to make dinner tonight without running to the grocery store" meal.  But even though it's not the prettiest dish (a not-for-company-meal as I like to call them), it's super tasty and healthy.  Also, I rarely measure stuff.  So my measurements are just a guesstimate.  Use your best judgement and make it your own.

Honey Mustard Chicken and Rice

Ingredients:
* 1/4 cup honey
* 1/3 cup mustard (I use spicy brown because I LOVE mustard.)
* 1 tsp. soy sauce
* 2-3 tbls. sour cream (I use fat free.  Mayo would work great too.)
* 1-2 tbls. EVOO
* 1 large chicken breast, cut in small chunks
* 1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed
* 3 half bags of frozen green veggies (I used collard greens, broccoli and peas.)
* 2 boxes/packages wild rice

Directions:
* Mix together in small bowl the mustard, honey and soy sauce.  Add cut chicken.  Cover in plastic wrap.  Go walk the dog.

* Cook the rice.

* While rice is going, add EVOO to large pan and cook chicken on med-high.  Add frozen veggies.  Add any remaining honey mustard marinade from the chicken bowl.  Once the veggies are defrosted, the rice should be ready.  Add to pan.  Mix well and cook together for another few minutes.

Enjoy!

If you are dairy free, just substitute mayo for the sour cream.  If you are vegetarian, just add an additional can of chickpeas.  Again, it's not company worthy.  But it makes a TON, is easy, low-fat, healthy, inexpensive and very yummy.