Free Cooking Magazine

If anyone is interested, Kraft Foods has a free food magazine, Food & Family, they mail out 5 times a year. (I just got the recent issue in the mail last week, hence this post.) You can sign up online here.

Most of the recipes are along the "quick and easy meals" vein. (i.e. lots of pasta) I wouldn't necessarily put it in the healthy foods category, but most of the meals could be adapted to your eating style. And, the pictures are great for inspiration.....Especially if you are hungry while browsing. (As I was! :-) )

Lunches that Travel

Hey, Marthas, rally 'round. We're planning a weekend trip, mostly because Darren has been traveling a lot lately and, since he can't be at home with us, we'll just join him on the road.

Here's what I need: to cut down on food costs, I want to pack breakfast/snack/lunch stuff to take with us. Lunch especially. Sandwiches are okay, but I'm looking for something a little more filling. And we can't be sure we'll be near a microwave, so I can't necessarily heat anything up. Any suggestions?

Also, I need your suggestions pretty quickly, since due to my usual forethought and planning, I didn't think of this until today. Thanks in advance for any help, and fie on you if there isn't any. That's all.

-- SJ

Does anyone have...

a recipe for haystacks?

At least, I think that's what they are called. I'm referring to those chow mein noodle things, usually butterscotch, sometimes chocolate. At worst, I can just melt some butterscotch chips and dump chow mein noodles in, but I'm sure there's more to it than that.

Any help would be much appreciated!

Enchiladas

Last night I was at the grocery store trying to figure out what to get for dinner (our fridge and cabinets are VERY empty right now) when suddenly I was inspired by the mexican food aisle to make enchiladas. After all our traveling and fast food lately, Nathan was very happy to actually eat a hot, home made meal. :-)

For those of you who like to wing it in the kitchen, here is the way I fix my enchiladas. (As learned from my sister in law) Adapt to your taste and spice level. This makes 6 large enchiladas last night in a 9x13 pan.

In a large skillet (enough to hold all the filling) brown 1lb. ground beef. Drain. Add 1 can refried beans and some salsa (about 1 c.) to taste. Mix well.

Lightly grease 9x13 pan. Pour some enchilada sauce over bottom of pan. I use the El Paso brand canned sauce.

On the side assemble your enchiladas as follows in the large flour shells: Meat & Bean mixture, a few diced fresh tomatoes, light sprinkle of cheddar cheese. Roll and place folded side down in pan. Repeat until pan is full.

Pour remaining enchilada sauce over top. I used 2 cans total for one pan. Sprinkle diced tomatoes, cheddar cheese and black olives over top as desired. Bake in oven at 350 until hot and cheese is melted. (About 20+ minutes.)