How to Eat at Hom on the Go - Week 10 Meatball Subs

Welcome to Week 10 of How to Eat At Home on the Go, a series where I offer my tips, tricks and recipes to eat at home, even when your family is on the go for sports, church, school, work or anything else that may come up. You can check out the rest of the series here - Week 1, Week 2 , Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, and Week 6,  Week 7,  Week 8 and Week 9. 

Meatball Subs have been a dinner time staple around our house for years.  They are a true family favorite and a very quick meal with the help of a crockpot. 

Meatball Subs

Enough frozen meatballs for your family - about 5/sandwich
1 jar spaghetti sauce (we prefer Bertolli Tomato Basil for our subs)
Mozzarella or Provolone cheese (sliced or shredded)

Place frozen meatballs in crockpot, top with sauce.  Stir to make sure all meatballs are covered with sauce.  Cook on HIGH for 2 - 3 hours or LOW for 4 - 5. 
Serve on whatever bread you prefer - hamburger buns, hot dog buns, hoagie rolls, etc topped with a spoonful of sauce and the cheese of your choice. 

For years we did this with frozen meatballs from the grocery store, but this summer I started making my own meatballs and I have been threatened with my life if I ever serve the frozen grocery store variety again.   I make a huge batch, cook them in the oven and freeze in meal size portions.  4 lbs of ground beef will yield 4 meals for my family of 4.   Here is the recipe I use, courtesy of Amanda Beth from Food.com. 

Hubby Will Inhale Them Meatballs

4 lbs of ground beef
1 small onion
40 fat-free saltine crackers, crushed
4 t garlic powder
1 t kosher salt
2 t black pepper (this makes them just a bit spicy, add less if you want)
2 t dried basil
2 t dried oregano
4 T Worcestershire sauce

1.  Finely grate onion in large bowl, making sure to keep juice in the bowl as well.
2.  Add remaining ingredients and mix well.  Use your hands for best results.
3.  Shape into 1 - 1 1/2" balls.
4.  Spray baking pan with sides with cooking spray (or cover pan with aluminum foil and spry with cooking spray for easier cleanup)
5.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.   Check for doneness.   

****If freezing, remove from pan, cool.  Flash freeze, then bag for long term storage.  Tastes great from the freezer within 3 months, may be longer, but they don't last longer than that around here. 

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How To Eat At Home on the Go - Week 9 - Toasted Sandwiches

Welcome to Week 8 of How to Eat At Home on the Go, a series where I offer my tips, tricks and recipes to eat at home, even when your family is on the go for sports, church, school, work or anything else that may come up. You can check out the rest of the series here - Week 1, Week 2 , Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, and Week 6,  Week 7 and Week 8.



We just added Toasted Sandwiches to our menu rotations a few months ago.  It was kind of a fluke actually.  We had just returned from a weekend away and were too tired to go to the grocery store or even to pick up takeout.  I rooted through the refrigerator and found ham, salami, cheese and hot dog buns.  Not really in the mood for just a sandwich, I decided to throw the ingredients under the broiler for a couple of minutes and voila, our own toasted sandwiches, much better and much cheaper than Subway.   Since then, toasted sandwiches have appeared on our menu quiet often, especially on busy sports nights.  I can have these sandwiches with chips, veggies or fruit on the table in 15 minutes. 

Toasted Sandwiches
sandwich meat
cheese
bread
condiments

Turn the oven to Broil.  Place bread slices on baking sheet and place under broiler until just lightly toasted.  Top bread with sandwich meat of your choice.  Return under broiler until meat is heated through.  Top meats with cheese of our choosing.  Return to broiler again and heat until cheese is bubbly.  Top sandwiches with your favorite condiments.  I always top mine with mayo, shredded lettuce, sliced cucumbers and banana pepper rings.  Delish!

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How to Eat at Home on the Go - Week 8 - Appetizers

Welcome to Week 8 of How to Eat At Home on the Go, a series where I offer my tips, tricks and recipes to eat at home, even when your family is on the go for sports, church, school, work or anything else that may come up. You can check out the rest of the series here - Week 1, Week 2 , Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, and Week 6 and Week 7.


We love to eat appetizers for dinner at our house.  This fits perfectly with trying to eat at home on the go.  Just fix one of these 3 quick and easy dips, serve with chips or crackers, add sliced fresh veggies and a fruit bowl and you have a great quick meal.  Each of these recipes can be prepared earlier in the day and popped in the oven 15 - 20 minutes before eating.  Enjoy!

Football Dip
This is a family favorite we have every time we watch college football.  So easy and very quick!

1 8 oz. cream cheese
1 can Hormel chili with beans
2 c shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350*.
Soften cream cheese (30 seconds in the microwave - take out of foil packaging first!).  Spread in the bottom of an oven safe dish. 
Top with chili (Homemade chili or the canned variety of your choice works well. This is just what we like.).
Top with cheese (use the cheese of your choice - colby jack is great)
Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly. 
Best served with Fritos Scoops.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

2 8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 c Franks Chicken Wing Sauce
1 c Ranch dressing
1/2 c chopped celery (I leave this out all the time)
1 can chicken, drained (I use a large one, my sister uses a small one, you decide)
1 c shredded cheddar cheese

Super Quick - dump everything in a saucepot, heat over medium heat on stove, stirring constantly until all ingredients are incorporated and heated.  Serve with Fritos Scoops.

Quick - Soften cream cheese.  Dump everything in a bowl, mix until incorporated.  Pour into an oven safe dish and bake at 340* for 20 minutes, or until bubbly.  Serve with Fritos Scoops.

Not So Quick - Dump everything thing in a crockpot.  Stir to incorporate.  Heat on LOW for 2 - 3 hours, stirring occasionally to mix.  Serve with Fritos Scoops. 

Spinach Artichoke Dip
1 (10 oz) pkg frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 (14 oz) can artichoke heart quarters, drained and chopped
1 (5.5 oz) container garlic and herb spreadable cream cheese( I like Aloeutte)
1 c shredded Parmesan cheese
1 (8 oz) container sour cream
1/2 c mayonaisse
1 (2 oz) jar chopped pimentos, drained
6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled (I use precooked bacon pieces)

Stir together spinach and next 6 ingredients.  Spoon into a lightly greased baking dish.  Bake at 400* for 20 minutes or until bubbly.  Sprinkle with bacon.  Serve with crackers or chips. 

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How To Eat At Home Week 7 - Rice Bowls

Welcome to Week 7 of How to Eat At Home on the Go, a series where I offer my tips, tricks and recipes to eat at home, even when your family is on the go for sports, church, school, work or anything else that may come up.  You can check out the rest of the series here - Week 1, Week 2 , Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, and  Week 6. 

Before school started I completed a HUGE, mega freezer cooking session.  You can read about that adventure here.  One of the items I made were grilled chicken strips.  I marinated boneless, skinless chicken breasts, grilled and sliced them, then froze in meal size portions. 

Here they are in the freezer, waiting to be used in a quick, delicious, homecooked meal.

I usually thaw these and use in salads, wraps or thow them on top of homemade pizza, but I wanted something different last night.  We love the bowls you can get at Moe's and Chipotle, so I decided to make my own.  This was a super quick dinner, completed in 20 minutes - perfect for eating at home on the go.

Rice Bowls
modified from Big Oven

3/4 c long cook rice ( I use jasmine rice)
1 1/2 c water
1 bouillion cube (you can use chicken broth, but mine was frozen and I didn't have time to thaw it)
1 T olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 c diced onion
2 c cooked chicken strips, thawed (mine were marinated in Asian Sesame Dressing before cooking) - cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 c frozen peas, thawed
1/2 jar baby corn, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 t low-sodium soy sauce
2 t water

Cook rice in water with boillion cube according to package directions. (Takes 20 minutes)

Heat olive oil in non-stick skillet.  When hot, cook garlic and onion until tender.  Add chicken and cook until warm through.  Add peas and baby corn cook until hot.  Add soy sauce and water.  Simmer until rice is done. 

Serve rice in a bowl, top with chicken and vegetables.  Serve hot. 

These can also be made with any left over meat you might have in the refrigerator - pork, beef, turkey, or vegetarian by adding a varity of vegetables.    I am going to try them next with the buffalo chicken strips in my freezer - subbing regular corn for the baby corn and buffalo sauce for the soy sauce and thowing some fresh cilantro and cheddar cheese on top before serving. 

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How To Eat At Home Week 6 - Delicious Ham and Potato Soup

Welcome to Week 6 of How to Eat At Home On The Go, a series where I offer my tips, tricks and recipes to eat at home, even when your family is on the go school, sports, work, church or anything else that might come up.  You can check out the rest of the series here - Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, and Week 5. 

This is a cold weather favorite.  In fact it has been on the menu twice in 3 weeks since Hotlanta finally saw temps below 80.  Whenever my kids see it on the menu board, they can't wait.  This is one of those recipes where I should have lots of leftovers, but it never happens.  Originally from allrecipes.com, I have changed it just a bit.  It is a very forgiving recipe and can be put together in 30 minutes or less, plenty of time before or after you participate in your evening activites.  I cook the soup as soon as I get home from work, refrigerate it and just warm it up after football, lacrosse, gymnastics or cheerleading.   This is a very thick soup.  I have been know to stretch it by using more water and milk.  Works great.


Delicious Ham and Potato Soup

3 1/2 c peeled and diced potatoes
1/2 c finely chopped onion
1 c diced cooked ham (I use about 2 cups)
3 1/4 c water
1 chicken bouillon cube
1/2 t salt
1 t freshly ground black pepper
5 T butter
5 T all purpose flour
2  c milk


Combine potatoes, onion, ham and water in a stockpot.  Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 - 15 minutes.  Stir in bouillon, salt and pepper.

In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Whisk in flour and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute.  Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form.  Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, about 4 - 5 minutes. 

Stir milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through.  Serve immediately topped with shredded cheddar cheese and bacon bits. 

Enjoy with a piece of warm crusty bread on a cold night. 

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How To Eat At Home On The Go Week 5 - Wraps

Welcome to Week 5 of How to Eat at Home on the Go, a series where I offer my tips, tricks and recipes to eat at home even when your family is on the go for school, sports, church, work and anything else that comes up. You can check out the first three weeks of the series here - Week 1, Week 2,Week 3 and Week 4. 

This summer we discovered the joy of wraps.  Don't know why it took us so long, but now that we have discovered them, they are a favorite.  On our busiest nights, wraps are a great way to eat quick and make sure we get protein and veggies.  My trick is grilling or baking my chicken earlier in the week, so all I have to do is heat and assemble when we get home from practice.  However, I also have a favorite quick wrap that can be whippped up on the spur of the moment. 


Grilled BBQ Chicken Wraps
originally from Kraft Foods Website

picture from www.kraftrecipes.com

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 c  BBQ sauce
4 - 10 inch tortillas (warmed)
1 c shredded colby-jack cheese
2 c shredded lettuce
2 T chopped cilantro
1/4 c BBQ sauce
1/4 c ranch dressing

1.  Marinate chicken in 1/2 c BBQ sauce
2.  Grill chicken until done.  Cool slightly and slice into strips on the diagonal.
3.  Mix together 1/4 BBQ sauce and Ranch dressing. 
4.  Spoon BBQ dressing down the middle of each tortilla.  Top with chicken strips, cheese and lettuce.  Sprinkle with chopped cilantro.
5.  Fold opposite sides and roll like a burrito.  Cut into 2 pieces on the diagonal. Serve. 

Super Quick Week Day Wrap

1 can chicken (drained)  or 2 c cooked chopped chicken (left over rotisserie chicken in good)
1/2 c ranch dressing
2 c chopped lettuce
4 - 10 inch tortillas

Mix chicken with ranch dressing.  Spread down middle of a warmed tortilla, top with lettuce.  Fold opposite sides and roll like a burrito.  Cut into 2 pieces on the diagonal.    Serve with extra ranch for dipping.

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How to Eat at Home on the Go - Week 4 - Sloppy Joes

Welcome to Week 4 of How to Eat at Home on the Go, a series where I offer my tips, tricks and recipes to eat at home even when your family is on the go for school, sports, church, work and anything else that comes up. You can check out the first three weeks of the series here - Week 1, Week 2 and Week 3.




This week's recipe to help you eat at home on the go requires advanced prep, but makes meal time on busy days a breeze!  If you already freezer cook, you can just add this recipe to your freezer cooking rotation.  If you do not freezer cook, then this is the PERFECT recipe to get started with.    Cook up these Sloppy Joes and freeze in meal size portions.  I double the recipe and get 3 meal size portions for my family of four - I have one preteen boy who LOVES these, so you may get more than I do.  On a busy night before practice partially thaw Sloppy Joes and place in the crockpot on low.  I do this as soon as I get home from work and when we get back from practice 4 hours later, it is ready to go.  An quicker alternate to this is to simly thaw and heat on the stove for 10 - 15 minutes and serve. With this, I can have dinner on the table 5 minutes after we walk in the door.  I serve with chips, dip and fresh fruit or vegetables. 

I always forget this is a Weight Watchers recipe until I pull out the recipe.  It tastes nothing like a "diet" meal, so please don't let that deter you from making these, your family will thank you!

WW Sloppy Joes



2 pounds uncooked, lean ground beef (7% fat)
1/4 c packed brown sugar
3 c canned tomatoe sauce
1/4 c canned tomatoe paste
1 medium red onion, chopped
3 T red wine vinegar
2 T Worcestershire sauce
2 T Montreal Steak Seasoning

Mix together brown sugar and steak seasoning. Spray pan with cooking spray. Break up ground beef in pan, pour brown sugar/steak seasoning mix over and brown. When meat has browned, drain off excessfat, add onions, Worchestershire and red wine vinegar and cook for 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and sacue, cook for another 10 - 15 minutes and serve. Serve on Whole Wheat buns.

5 points/sandwich

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How to Eat at Home on the Go Week 3 - Quesadillas

Welcome to Week 3 of How to Eat at HOme on the Go, a series where I offer my tips, tricks and recipes to eat at home even when your family is on the go for school, sports, church, work and anything else that comes up.  You can check out the first two weeks of the series here - Week 1 and Week 2. 

A family favorite at our house is quesadillas and they are a quick and easy weeknight meal with a bit of preparation.  I prep the meat the night before, preferably from leftovers, then assemble and grill them when we get home from practice.  Serve with a side salad and you have a great meal on the go.

Filling Options -

• Leftover grilled chicken, taco meat, pork roast, steak or roasted vegetables 
• rotisserie chicken from the grocery store
• Cheese and salsa
• Peanut butter, jelly  and fresh chopped fruit (really, try it, we love it)

I toast mine on a large flat grill made by Presto.  You use a  skillet on the stove or a George Foreman grill or one of those fancy quesadilla makers.  Place one tortilla on the flat grill, top with desired toppings (don't forget the cheese) and cover with a second tortilla.  Toast until cheese is melted and first tortilla is brown and toasty.  Flip and toast a couple more minutes.  When finished, use a pizza cutter to cut quesadilla and serve with sour cream, salsa or if you are my kids, homemade ranch dressing.  All in all, it takes about 8 minutes to put a warm, home cooked meal on the table for your family. 

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How to Eat at Home on the Go Week 2 - Baked Potatoes

Welcome to the second week of How to Eat at Home on the Go, where I share the tips, tricks and recipes I use to feed my family at home even when we are on the go.  You can check out Week 1 to see how we got started.   

This week I am sharing my Baked Potato tips.  My family loves baked potatoes, especially in the fall, however, spending hours baking potatoes in the oven does not fit our schedule very often.  In my quest to eat at home more and out less, I tried making my "baked" potatoes in the crockpot.  SUCCESS!! 

I use the super large baking potatoes, wrap them in foil and place in my slow cooker.  I do this at night before going to bed.  I then leave a sweet note for my 7 year old daughter to "cook" dinner when she gets home from school at 2:30, asking her to turn on the slow cooker on HIGH.  Since I am cooking them on HIGH, the bottom potatoes can get hard on the bottom, so when I get home at 5:00 I rotate the potatoes, placing those that were on the top on the bottom and the bottom ones on the top.  This allows for even cooking at high temperatures.  By using this process, our potatoes cook from 2:30 - 8:30 when we get home from football practice. 

How can you make this work for you?  If you don't want to eat in the middle of the night like we do, just cook your potatoes on LOW for about 10 hours and you will have delicious baked potatoes.  If you are cooking on LOW you do not have to rotate the potatoes unless your slow cooker cooks really hot. 

I set out the potatoes with cheddar cheese, diced ham (which I keep in portioned out in the freezer), butter, sour cream and ranch dressing.  My family then selects their favorite toppings and makes their own potato.  With miminal effort on my part, we have a quick week night meal with out resorting to a drive thru. 

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How To Eat at Home on the Go - Week 1 - Chef Salads

We are a sports family.  We participate in sports each season except for summer - football, cheerleading, dance, baskteball, gymnastics, and lacrosse.  This means we are constantly eating on the go.  Add to the complications that my athletes and coach do not like to eat before practice, leaving us eating very late.  We used to spend a great deal of time (and  money) in fast food drive thrus.  I was determined to find a better way.  I know there are many of you that share my dilemna, whether it be heading to church activities, band practice, tutoring session, shift work, etc.  Over the next 12 weeks I will share with you the tips and tricks we use to Eat At Home On The Go.


Chef Salads

This is a great way to use up what is in the refrigerator and is perfect for a hot night after a long hard practice.  You can also prep the components the night before or very quickly before heading to your evening activities. 

I chop a huge bowl of lettuce (I do this while everyone is in the shower right after practice) and make a tray of whatever salad components I have on hand.  The key is to have at least one source of protein and  a varitey of toppings to meet the different tastes of your family.

Sample platter - sliced deli ham and turkey, chopped hard boiled eggs, diced cucumbers, diced tomatoes, chopped green peppers, chopped banana peppers, sliced mushrooms, shredded or cubed cheese, bacon bits, croutons. 

Homemade Salad Dressings - these are our favorites
Avocado Ranch Dressing
Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix
Creamy Lime Cilantro Dressing

Each family member can then make their own salad tailored to their tastes.  Enojy!

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How to East at Home on the Go - A Series

Oh, the lazy days of summer are gone.  School, football and cheerleading all started on the same day -- it's enough to make you run to the nearest fast food drive thru.  This, however is not an option anymore, so I had to figure out a way to feed my family at home on nights when I get home from school at 5:00, leave again at 5:45 for the ball park and don't walk through the door until 8:45. 

Sounds impossible, but with the right recipes and a bit of planning, it is possible.  Follow me for the next 12 weeks as each Tuesday I share how my family eats at home, even when we are on the go.

If you are looking for a quick meal tonight, try this family favorite.

Taco Casserole

1 lb ground beef (I cook this ahead of time with garlic and onions and keep it in the freezer)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 small can corn, drained
1 can tomato sauce
1 pkg. taco seasoning ( I make my own)
3/4 pkg tortilla chips, crushed (my family likes Doritos)

Mix hamburger, taco seasoning and tomato sauce.  Heat over medium heat until flavors meld - about 5 - 7 minutes.  Add beans and corn.  Heat 2 - 3 minutes longer.  Mix in crushed tortilla chips.  Place in a casserole dish, top with cheese and bake at 350* until cheese melts and casserole is heated through.