Chicken and Rice Casserole( with pre-cooked rice)

It seems that Chicken and Rice Casserole recipes are everywhere.  But they all seem to use minute rice.  What about for those of use who choose to use the real deal? 

Here is one interpritation using all homemade items!

Cook up a large batch of rice or pull what you need from the freezer

Yes, you can freeze rice!  And you can do it as part of your Batch Freezer Cooking day. :)

Toss with your favorite veggie.

Here I chose a frozen greenbean.

Pour over your Cream of Anything Soup Mix.

I made a double batch.

Pre-grilled chicken breasts (again can be pulled from the freezer from part of you Batch Cooking)

Lay on top...

Cover with foil and toss in the oven at 350* for approx. 30 minutes or until heated through.

Healthy, delicious and easy!

Get in and get out!  That's what I love!

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Guest Post from Allison, our Extreme Couponing Busy Mom!

Allison Here, Have you ever used a coupon before?  I remember what it was like the first time I used a coupon – I was very nervous!  Would the cashier refuse it?  When do I give them the coupon?  Am I doing this right?

Here are some coupon basics that will hopefully ease the coupon panic on your first couponing trip!

A manufacturer’s coupon is a piece of paper with a discount for a specified product printed on it.  The coupon can be used at most stores that carry the specified product.  To receive your discount you must purchase the product and give the cashier the coupon.  The cashier will scan the coupon and the coupon amount will be deducted from your purchase.  You then pay for the remainder of the purchase.

Coupons may only be used once. You may not buy ten boxes of cereal and scan the coupon for $1 off cereal ten times.  The store will only be reimbursed for the single coupon you scanned.

You may use one coupon per indicated items purchased. If you have two coupons to save $1 on one box of cereal, you can buy two boxes and use both coupons.  The coupon will say “one coupon per purchase.”  This means you may not use both $1 coupons on one box.  If you purchase two boxes then you may use two coupons.

You may not use two coupons on one item. You may not buy one package of diapers and use ten coupons on it.  You may only use one of your coupons on the diapers.  You may, however, use one store coupon and one manufacturer coupon on one item.

Coupons may not be copied or scanned.  Copying coupons is illegal. You can obtain multiples of coupons in legal ways like buying multiple newspapers.

Read the wording of the coupon and ignore the picture! Manufacturer’s usually put a picture of their most expensive product on the coupon to make you think that is what you have to buy.  If you actually read the terms of the coupon, it will usually say “save on ANY brand xyz product.”  That means you can buy even the least expensive product and still save with the coupon!

You can use a coupon on an item that is on sale or clearance too! Rarely I will have a store clerk tell me otherwise, but it is usually cleared up with a chat with a manager. 

If a product rings up higher than advertised or they miss one of your coupons, let them know!  I always read over my receipt before I leave the store to make sure everything is correct.  Any mistakes over $1 are pointed out to customer service.  You may be thinking that $1 does not seem like much, but let me put it in perspective.  If you visit 3 stores per week and each store overcharges you “just $1″ at each visit then you are being overcharged $156 per year (that’s a week’s worth of groceries for some people!).  It is usually more than $1 though, and rarely takes more than a minute at customer service.

Stand up for yourself! If you are using coupons correctly then shop with confidence.  Many times the cashiers are just misinformed.  Be calm and confident when you explain why you CAN use the coupon.  If the cashier still doesn’t accept it, ask nicely to speak to a manager.  It is your money and you should not feel bad about being a smart shopper!

Attend a Couponing Seminar.  Attending seminars provide you with more detailed information on the ins and outs, tips and tricks of couponing and when to coupon.  It will not only benefit you but your entire family.  Check your local area for a seminar today!

There are no stupid questions! If you have any questions, feel free to ask! I would be happy to answer!

Allison Spratt

USAFwife79@gmail.com

Creator of EXTREME COUPONING FORUM Facebook Group

Chicken Broth to Chicken Soup

Nothing is more delicious that a bowl of homemade chicken soup.

There is nothing as easy or as great a flavor enhancer than chicken broth to rice or pasta dishes.

All it takes is the left overs of a cut up chicken or two, or in this case three.

Toss everything into a pot, fill up with water and bring to a boil.

Turn to low and let simmer for 4-6 hours.

Don't have time to stick around?  Toss it in your crockpot on low and be on your way.

You can't over cook this!  The longer it simmers the better the flavors!

Strain out your chicken pieces and all you are left with is delicious broth.

It really is this simple!  All made with left overs and water!

How much cheaper can we get?

Strained, you get pure glorious broth!

Want to turn it into your favorite soup?

Add some celery, onions, and chop what ever your favorite veggies might be.

Let simmer for 30 minutes until tender.

Now to serve it up as is or add your noodles or rice!

Brown rice cooked seperately....

Served with chicken and veggie soup over the top. 

Perfect for a cold fall or winter day!

As always, I'd love to have you follow us on Facebook!

Easy Refried Beans

·         2-3 cups Cooked Pinto Beans

·         2 Tbsp Canola Oil

·         3 Tbsp dried minced onion

·         2 Tbsp Granulated garlic

·         2 Tbsp Chili Powder

·         1 Cup water divided (plus more for thinning)

·         1 Tbsp Salt  (More if desired)

·         Pepper

On High, pour Canola Oil in large frying pan and add Minced Onions, Granulated Garlic and Chili Powder.   Mix and add ½ cup of water.  Sauté to rehydrate onions and garlic.  Add pre-cooked pinto beans.  With a hand masher, mash as you mix spices with beans.  Add more water and keep mixing and mashing until you reach your desired consistency. 

Top with cheese, sour cream or chopped onions or scallions.

As always, I'd love to have you follow us on Facebook!

Cooking Dry Beans 101

Canned beans are so convenient!

 But they are pretty pricey when you compare them to their dry counter part by the serving.

How do we get the perfect consistency of beans?  After all we don't have all day to stand by the stove.

Follow along and I'll show you!

Measure out your beans, here I have 4 cups of dry pinto beans.

If you are unfamiliar with cooking with beans pinto's are a great one to start with.

We first need to rinse them well and sort through them, to make sure we have not rocks, or bad beans.

I even remove all the broken beans.

Place them in your crockpot, cover with lots of water at least a 1:3 ration (three cups of water to every cup of dry beans) or more.  These guys will really soak them up.

DO NOT ADD SALT! Salt while cooking will give them hard centers!

 If your beans have sat for more than  year you may add a bit of baking soda to help soften them, along with extra cooking time.

Cover, turn on low and let the crockpot do it's thing. 

In 6-8 hours your will have the most tender beans ever!

When done drain them in your colendar and place in a bowl, pot or pan to season for your favorite recipe.

That really is it!

Here, I've added salt and pepper and mixed.

Because beans are kinda bland, don't be surprised when you use quite a bit of salt to get them to your desired flavor.

Here they are used in a bean, rice and cheese burrito.

Here they are made into refried beans. 

Absolutely delicious!  Not to mention cheaper and better tasting than anything we can get out of a can.

As always I'd love to have you follow us on Facebook!

The Perfect Pot of Rice

No wonder so many people purchase pre-cooked rice today.  There is nothing worst that biting into rice and getting those dreaded cruchy pieces, or to find out your rice is mushy

 or even just plain under cooked. 

 My hope is that I can explain how to make the perfect pot of rice white or brown, EVERY TIME!

First thing you need to know is how much water rice needs to cook.

Whether it is white or brown, rice needs a 1:2 ratio.  Meaning if you put in one cup of rice, you need 2 cups of water.  Making 2 cups of rice, then you need 4 cups of water…. Well you get the idea.

So fill up your pot with your water and add your rice.

Turn your burner on high....

and cover.

You don't want to go very far from your pot.

The point is to get your water to heat up quickly and bring it to a boil.

Once it's at your boil, not so sure my picture turned out, but you get the point.

Turn your burner all the way low....

Set your timer to 20 minutes for white rice and

40 minutes for brown rice.

and recover. 

DO NOT remove the lid or stir at any point.  Just let it sit and do it's thing.

When the timer goes off turn the burner completely off.

You can stir at this point if you wish to check on it...

re-cover and let sit for 5-10 minutes for white rice,

and 10-20 minutes for brown rice.

The perfect pot of brown rice.... Mmmmmm

NOTE: You want your rice to absorb all the bits of steam to give you nice fluffy rice.  If you want sticky rice, you may serve after just the first couple of minutes of sitting.

That's it, it really is that easy!

As always, I'd love to have you follow us on Facebook!

Batch Freezer Cooking with Chicken Part 3

Part 3 of our Batch Freezer Cooking with Chicken!

Burritos are AWESOME to keep in the freezer!

Of course everything I make is over sized to allow me to make multiple recipes.

I will post all recipes after the Batch Freezer Cooking has posted

I will also post the how too's.  It was brought to my attention than making the perfect pot of rice or how to cook with dried beans is not common knowledge today. 

Remember the chicken from Part 2?  Here it is  cut up sprinkled with salt, pepper, onion and garlic powders.

Sprinkled with chili powder.

Mixed together.

Rice added to the chicken and mixed.

Placed some on the center of a  to a burrito size tortilla...

added some shredded cheese...

And rolled them up. 

Each burrito was then individually rolled in plastic wrap to help them store better in the freezer.

The perfect pot of brown rice!

Again if you are not familiar with cooking with brown rice, I will show you exactly how to do it to get the perfect results every time.

I mixed my rice 50/50 this time, half white and half brown.

It was then seasoned with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and chili powder.

Pinto beans, cooked and seasoned with salt and pepper.

Beans, rice and cheese added to another burrito size tortilla.

All rolled up and inividually wrapped.!

Individual burritos in bags and ready for the freezer!

To reheat, unwrap and place on a microwave safe dish on High for 1:30, or until fully reheated.