Asian Lettuce Wraps

1 (20 oz) pkg ground turkey
1/2 c hoisin sauce
1/2 c Asian peanut sauce
1/2 cucumber, chopped
1 to 2 carrots, peeled and julienned
Fresh cilantro
1 head boston lettuce leaves, cleaned and dried
1 bunch sliced green onions (opt)

Cook turkey; pour off any liquid. Add hoisin and peanut sauces; heat through. Serve with the rest of the ingredients and build your own lettuce wraps. This is great with rice- my kids love this meal.

Note: The hoisin and peanut sauces aren't cheap- next time I will try to make my own

Old Fashioned Meat Loaf

Courtesy Paula Deen with changes by Sara Brown

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef, turkey, or both
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped bell pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
8 ounces canned diced tomatoes with juice
1 cup Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix
salt
pepper

Topping:
1/3 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon mustard

Prep Directions:
Salt and pepper meat, mix all meatloaf ingredients well and shape into a loaf. Wrap loaf in Plastic Wrap and place in Freezer for 1-2 hours to firm up (this is so loaf will hold it's shape while being stored).
Mix ingredients for topping and place in Quart-size Freezer Bag.
Once loaf is firm, place plastic wrapped loaf into a Gallon-size freezer bag, along with smaller bag of Topping. Remove air and seal.

Serving Directions:
Thaw completely. Place loaf in baking dish, cover with Topping. Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour.

Serve with mashed potatoes

Serves: 6

Maui Wowee Chicken

I started out with a recipe originally from Mom's Budget, but that recipe calls for 4 cans of Cream of Chicken Soup, which meant I would need 32 cans of soup for our 8 meals! I tested the recipe, and although my husband really liked it, it tasted too much of Crm of Chicken Soup to me. It is quick and easy though, so worth trying out if you want something fast to make. I knew I could make the sauce a little more fresh, and make it less expensive as well. So I tweaked my own version of it, closely using a recipe for Hawaiian Chicken in my What's For Dinner cookbook by Jana Schofield (Thanks Grandma, it's one of my favorites!).

Ingredients:
4 cups cooked and cubed Chicken Breasts
1 (20oz) can Pineapple Tidbits
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup Sugar
1 Green Pepper (1 cup)
1/2 Onion (1 cup)
2 carrots, sliced diagonally (1 cup)
2 Tbsp Cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
1 tsp soy sauce
On Hand:
4 cups cooked rice

Prep Directions:
To cook chicken breasts I boiled them in a large pot adding Chicken broth to the water, then I allowed them to cool and chopped. (this can be done ahead of time and packaged in 2 cup portions in the freezer for up to 2 months for fast dinner prep). Or chicken can be cooked in a large skillet with a small amount of oil until no longer pink. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.

Drain pineapple. Add enough water to measure 1 cup. Combine juice vinegar and sugar in skillet. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Add green peppers, onions and carrots to sauce. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until carrot is crisp-tender. In a small bowl, blend cold water and cornstarch stirring until smooth. Add to sauce stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils. Stir in pineapple tidbits, soy sauce and chicken. Heat through, if serving right away. If Freezing, label Freezer Bag, place mixture in Bag, allow to cool completely before laying flat in Freezer.

Serving Directions:
Thaw. Heat on Stovetop and Serve over Rice.

Serves 8 (although without sides, it would probably only serve 6)