One staple....three meals!

One of my favorite menu-stretching strategies is taking a staple item, and stretching it into multiple meals for the week. I'm known for planned "leftovers" transformed into other dishes. While I am Blessed with two men who both love eating up leftovers, I also want to keep things fresh, not making them eat the same meal for days in a row!

I love to start the weeek with a large ham on Sunday, traditionally baked, served with potatoes and veggie. There is something so comforting about baked ham on a cold day! Day two is scalloped potatoes and ham, or ham and noodles, an old family favorite that my mom used to make. Both dishes start with a simple white sauce, added to ham and cooked egg noodles, or poured over thinly sliced potatoes, onions, and ham. But my FAVORITE in a ham week is day three. I take the ham bone and either slow cook it on the stove all day with either mixed beans and lentils for ham and bean soup, or with dried red beans, to become red beans and rice. Three totally different meals, all based off one ham. Keep this in mind next time ham goes on sale! Always good to have a ham in the freezer, when you can stretch it into three meals!

Another one of my favorite menu stretchers is chili... Not chili soup, with noodles, which is a standard at my house, but meat and bean chili, that I cook in the crock pot all day. It's a recipe that my husband brought home from the mill YEARS ago, and is a standard in our family! It is good with beef or venison, and I love using leftover beef roast. I'll make a BIG roast on Sunday, and then make the leftovers into the chili for Monday. Another time saver is having chopped onion and green pepper in the freezer, either your own from your garden, or purchased. You can throw the chili together before going to work in the morning and dinner is ready when you get home!

Crock Pot Chili

2 - 16oz cans kidney beans, drained

2-14.5 oz cans tomatoes (petite diced, crushed, stewed, whatever your preference)

2 lbs. browned ground meat (or leftover roast)

2 med or 1 lg onion chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

2-3 Tbsp chili powder

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp cumin

salt to taste

Put ingredients into crock pot in order listed. Cook on low 10-12 hours. 

So this chili (which could already be day TWO of the roast) is amazing - serve it with cheddar cheese, sour cream, corn chips, anything! But the beauty lies in the transformation of this chili into new meals down the road!

Chili nachos - simply put hot chili over tortilla chips, layer with additional goodies - cheese, onion, lettuce, black olives, etc. Or make it the filling in burritos - using soft taco shells!

MY FAVORITE way to use this chili? A southwest bowl. Cook up some brown rice (or white is fine). Open a can of black beans, and rinse them. Open a can of corn and drain it. Layer rice, beans, corn, and chili. Top with either ranch, or a homemade taco dressing, and VOILA. Instant yumminess in a bowl!

One dressing to try:

Southwest dressing

3/4 cup mayo

1/2 cup milk (can also thicken with a little sour cream per a friend!)

2 Tbsp taco seasoning *

* A recipe for making your own taco seasoning - http://saturdaymorningcoffeewithmissy.blogspot.com/2014/01/stocking-my-seasoning-pantryhomemade.html

The key to stretching your dollars...and making menu planning a little easier? Thinking ahead. Having some recipes in mind for those leftovers.