These have been the handiest things to have stashed away in the freezer.  We’ve eaten them for a quick lunch or when someone needs to have dinner at an odd time.  The heat up in the microwave and taste great.

I read about the idea on the SC Johnson website in a post written by Sandy of The Reluctant Entertainer.  She shared her method for freezer burritos, but didn’t share a recipe.  I took her idea and decided to create a black bean and rice filling.  In just a little time I had 20 delicious burritos in the freezer.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 3 cups uncooked rice
• 3 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 packages taco seasoning
• 8 oz Pepper Jack cheese, shredded
• 8 oz Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
• 20-25 burrito-sized tortillas (didn’t make it in the photo)

Cook the rice according to the package directions.

In a large bowl, stir the black beans and taco seasoning together.  Add the cooked rice and cheeses, stirring to combine.

Fill the tortillas with the rice and beans.  Wrap each burrito in plastic wrap and store in zip top freezer bags.  I had enough filling to fill a few more burritos, but ran out of tortillas.  I did put 20 burritos in the freezer.

To heat, microwave unwrapped on a plate.  For our microwave, 1 minute and 45 seconds is a good amount of time.  Serve with salsa if you like.

This post is being shown off at Tasty Tuesday, hosted by Beauty and Bedlam.

Happy Labor Day!

I did not put together a new menu + grocery list for this week.  Please browse through the list of Weekly Menus to print one from a previous week.

Last Wednesday I started a new weekly series called Ingredient Spotlight.  This is a chance for you to link up the recipes on your blog.  Last week we stared with chocolate chips.  The recipes you linked up were divine!

In case you like to plan ahead, I thought I’d share the schedule for this new series with you.

• September 8 – whole wheat flour
• September 15 – apples/apple sauce
• September 22 – beans, dried or canned
• September 29 – eggs
• October 6 – cake mix
• October 13 – diced tomatoes
• October 20 – soy sauce
• October 27 – pumpkin
• November 3 – potatoes
• November 10 – oats
• November 17 – roast, beef or pork
• November 24 – cream cheese
• December 1 – canned cream soups and substitutes
• December 8 – bananas
• December 15 – fish
• December 22 – nuts

This schedule scares me a little, just because there aren’t that many weeks till Christmas!  Yikes!

Don’t forget to come back Wednesday to link up your whole wheat flour recipes.  I could use some good ones.  And tomorrow I’ll have a new recipe posted for you here.

Have a great Labor Day!

Dinner is a natural time for family conversation, but it can be hard to involve everyone sometimes.  My kids are so spread out in age, with one in her freshman year of college, one in high school, one in middle school and our “baby” nearly 8 years old.  Dinner conversation ranges from getting kids to finish before they run out to play, to “meetings” about the family calendar to…we won’t even discuss how it goes some nights.

Enter Table Talk cards.  I am so excited to share this resource with you!  A few months ago, our church began to offer these cards to parents.  Here’s what Peggy, our Family Ministry Pastor says about the cards:

It is our desire to partner with you in your parenting journey. What
an awesome privilege that God has given us as parents. Wow!
What a task ahead of us!

We know how busy families are and it is not our desire to add 1
more thing to your already hectic schedule. That is why we try to
create opportunities and provide resources to help you teach your
kids about God during your normal everyday routine.

Using the cards has really helped our dinner conversation.  The topics are a way to involve everyone in the family in the conversation.  Some are serious, some fun, some challenging.  A few have a Bible verse to look up, but most just involve conversation.

Even if you don’t go to church, I think you will find find that the topics on the cards will easily open conversation with your kids.  There are questions like:

• “Define respect”
• “Who is your favorite teacher”
• “What does ‘actions speak louder than words’ mean?”

You can download and print these for free by clicking here:  Table Talk cards topic: respect (262)

The document is set up to easily make 6 sets of cards, so you can share or just use a set for yourself.  Visit xroadschurch.org/family for more resources for families and parents.

Please excuse the charred spots.  I’m not an expert griller.  These still tasted great though.

A few weeks ago, I shared on Facebook that I had totally ruined Jim’s birthday dinner of grilled pork chops.  That time I set the whole grill on fire.  Flames were shooting from the grill, black smoke billowed into the yard and children were screaming.  We ended up with pizza for dinner.

I did better this time though.  The honey mustard is easy to stir together and gave the meat a nice flavor.  You could do the same thing with chicken instead.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 6-8 boneless pork chops
• 2 Tbs. Dijon mustard
• 4 Tbs. honey
• black pepper, to taste

Grill the pork chops over medium heat.  Stir the mustard, honey and pepper together.  Baste the pork chops with the sauce a few minutes before removing from the grill.

I grill all the time, but I’m not very good at it.  We recently got a new grill, which helps a lot, but I still have moments of doing battle with flames.  How often do you grill?  Are you good at it? Have any tips for me?

This is a guest post from Saidah at AProverbsWife.com.  If you are interested in guest posting on Eat at Home, contact me with your ideas.

One of the biggest challenges I tend to face is making sure that I have a healthy meal on the dinner table each night. I do not know what it is about dinner time that seems to throw me for a loop.

Maybe it’s the fact that dinnertime,  just seems to be the busiest part of the day. And not to mention, it is the time of day when I feel drained.

Since dinner is something that needs to be provided everyday I’ve tried to come up with ways to make preparing it as easy as possible.

I have been bulk cooking for the freezer for several years now and by cooking a little extra each time I cook I now have several close to cooked meals in the freezer.

I recently began incorporating my crock pot to prepare freezer meals which saves both time and energy. Cooking meals ahead with a crock pot doesn’t require a lot of attention which is why it works great for busy families.

Here is how to use a crock pot to fill your freezer with healthy precooked meals.

I cook when I have the most energy instead of at dinnertime when I’m exhausted.

Mornings for me is when I am most energized which is why I defrost meat over night and throw it in the crock pot in the morning right after breakfast.

I fill the crock pot with as much meat as it can hold, season and add liquid. Once it’s done I divide it into Ziploc bags for later use. One of the easiest and most versatile meats for the crock pot is chicken breast. Cooked chicken can be used for chicken salad, stewed chicken, barbecued chicken sandwiches and tacos.

I always cook more than I need for each days meal.

The same technique can be used with roasts and whole chickens. Instead of just adding one meat to the crock pot, try adding two or three. When they are done, use one for dinner and freeze the extra pieces for future  meals.

There are many ways to use a crock pot to relieve the burden of cooking meals, many of which I haven’t mentioned. I’d love to hear how you use your crock pot to make meal time easier.

Saidah blogs at AProverbsWife.com where she shares inspiration, frugal tips and great conversation for living life as today’s Proverbs 31 wives & women! You can find her on Twitter or chatting with friends at her frugal community on Facebook.

This is the start of a new series where you get to link up your recipes!  Each week I’ll focus on a different common pantry ingredient.  I’ll link to a few of my recipes that feature the ingredient and then give you a chance to link up to your blog.

Chocolate chips are one of my favorite ingredients.  Sometimes they don’t even make it into a recipe before we eat them up!  I buy at least 1 bag each week and sometimes more.  I also like to keep mini chocolate chips on hand.

Our favorite way to eat these morsels is in Chocolate Chip Cookies, of course.

Here are some of my other favorite recipes that feature chocolate chips:

• Kentucky Chocolate and Nut Pie for the Derby
• Double Chocolate Bundt Cake
• Nutritious Bars
• Frito Candy
• Monster Cookies

Now it’s your turn!  Link up any recipe on your blog that uses chocolate chips.  It doesn’t have to be a recent post, just be sure to link directly to your recipe, not just the main page of your blog.  I only ask that you include a link back to Eat at Home in your post.  You can link directly to this post or use the button in the sidebar.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.  Some foods just aren’t photogenic.  Please forgive me for this photo.

Thankfully, it tastes great.  Kid-pleasing comfort food.  And it’s a slow cooker meal, which is perfect for busy school days.  I adapted it from Mandarin Chicken and Rice Bake from the More with Less Cookbook.  I wanted something similar that could be fixed in the slow cooker.

Here’s what you’ll need to make it:

• 2 lbs. boneless chicken breast
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 3 Tbs. soy sauce
• black pepper, to taste
• brown rice, enough for 6 people, cooked according to package directions

Place the chicken and onions in the slow cooker.  Stir the cream of chicken soup, soy sauce and pepper together and pour over the top of the chicken.  Cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 5-6 hours.  Serve over hot, cooked brown rice.

This dish doesn’t have a strong taste of soy sauce.  The soy just makes the gravy rich and flavorful.

This is bell pepper week.

Three out of 5 of the recipes on the menu this week have bell peppers in the ingredient list.  I didn’t realize it until I was typing it up.  If you don’t like them, this may not be the menu for you!

On the other hand, if you do like bell peppers this is going to be a good week!  If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to walk out to your garden and pick some.  I actually have 2 small green peppers in my garden.  I can’t wait till they are big enough to use.

Here’s what is on the menu this week:

1. Ravioli with Red Onion, White Wine, and Asiago, salad
2. Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas, salad, chips and salsa
3. Scrambled Eggs and Peppers, fresh fruit, biscuits
4. Italian Sausage and Rice, salad
5. Chicken Smothered with Summer Vegetables on a Bed of Couscous
6. Sweet and Sour Meatballs over Rice
7. Apple Brown Betty Muffins

To print, click here: Menu, Grocery List, Recipes Year 2, Week 3 (176)

This menu is part of Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com

This is more of a method than a recipe.  We ate it for dinner, but if you like a big breakfast, this would be great in the morning.

I used red and yellow bell peppers, onions and Italian blend cheese.  It paired up perfectly with biscuits.

• onion, chopped
• red, yellow, orange or green bell peppers, chopped (I used 1/2 each yellow and red)
• butter for the skillet
• eggs, beaten with a fork (I used 8 or 9 for 5 people)
• salt and pepper to taste
• Italian blend cheese, shredded

Put the butter in a skillet and melt over medium heat.  A couple tablespoons should do it.  Add the onion and peppers and cook until tender.

Beat the eggs in a bowl and add in the salt and pepper.  Add to the skillet and scramble till done.  Remove from heat and sprinkle cheese in, stirring to melt.  Serve with biscuits, toast or muffins.  Add bacon, sausage or ham if you want to make your teenage boy or hungry husband happy.

I like my scrambled eggs cooked so they are still a bit wet and not too done.  I know some people prefer them cooked very well and dry.  How do you like yours?

Apple goodness and sweet brown sugar make these muffins delicious.  But you know what made them even better?  A friend stopped by to share them with me!

Good conversation, a cup of tea and muffins warm from the oven can make a plain old Wednesday morning the best part of the week.

Muffins are about the perfect snack food.  They are such a quick way to have the comfort of homemade baking.  Here’s what you’ll need:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbs. baking powder
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 stick butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cups milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup diced apples (I used 2 small apples and had a bit leftover to munch)

Stir together dry ingredients with a spoon.  In a separate bowl, mix the butter and sugar with an electric mixer.  Add in the eggs, milk and vanilla, mixing until it looks caramely and smooth.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold together, stirring only until combined.  Gently stir in the apples.

Divide into greased muffin cups.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.  Makes 12 muffins.

How often do you make muffins?  Do you eat them mostly for breakfast or snacks?