Nanci Slagle

Seven Layer Bars

 Low Sodium, Recipes, Snacks and Desserts, Under 350 Calories  Comments Off on Seven Layer Bars
Oct 012005
 
Share This Recipe

Mom always made these too. I love the butterscotch chips and coconut. Yum!
Click here to go to a Printer Friendly Page Click here to go to a Printer Friendly Page
Advantage Cooking owners click here to download this recipe.

Recipes

1

2

3

4

5

6
Servings

24

48

72

96

120

144
Ingredients
Butter or margarine

1/2 C.

1 C.

1-1/2 C.

2 C.

2-1/2 C.

3 C.
*Graham cracker crumbs

1-1/2 C.

3 C.

4-1/2 C.

6 C.

7-1/2 C.

9 C.
Sweetened condensed milk

14 oz.

28 oz.

42 oz.

56 oz.

70 oz.

84 oz.
Semi-sweet chocolate chips

6 oz.

12 oz.

18 oz.

24 oz.

30 oz.

36 oz.
Butterscotch chips

6 oz.

12 oz.

18 oz.

24 oz.

30 oz.

36 oz.
Coconut

1/2 C.

1 C.

1-1/2 C.

2 C.

2-1/2 C.

3 C.
Walnuts or pecans; chopped

1 C.

2 C.

3 C.

4 C.

5 C.

6 C.

 

Assembly Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 9×13 baking pan or dish, melt the butter/margarine in the oven. Remove pan/dish and sprinkle graham cracker crumbs evenly over melted butter. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over graham cracker crumbs. Top evenly with chips, coconut and nuts. Press ingredients down or the nuts and coconut will fall off the top when they’re done cooking.
Bake 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Watch the edges.

Freezing and Cooking Directions:
Cool bars thoroughly. Cut into small squares and freeze in freezer bags or containers. For gift-giving, wrap individually or in pairs.

Comments:
Nanci makes these every Christmas as part of her “goody tray” gifts for neighbors and friends. They are delicious!
*Graham crackers – 15 squares = 1 C. of crumbs

Nutritional Info:
Per Serving: 210 Calories; 12g Fat (47.3% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 26g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 6mg Cholesterol; 105mg Sodium.
Exchanges: 1/2 Grain (Starch); 2 Fat; 1-1/2 Other Carbohydrates.

Round Steak Bake

 Beef, Recipes  Comments Off on Round Steak Bake
Oct 012005
 
Share This Recipe

This is one of those comfort food-type recipes. It is filling and satisfying, but it does require over an hour to bake and it won’t make the list of the 10 lowest fat recipes of the year. It reheats beautifully, so this is a recipe that can be fully cooked before freezing.
Click here to go to a Printer Friendly Page Click here to go to a Printer Friendly Page
Advantage Cooking owners click here to download this recipe.

Recipes

1

2

3

4

5

6
Servings

6

12

18

24

30

36
Ingredients
Flour

1/2 C.

1 C.

1-1/2 C.

2 C.

2-1/2 C.

3 C.
Seasoned salt

1 t.

2 t.

1 T.

1 T. + 1 t.

1 T. + 2 t.

2 T.
Ground black pepper

1/4 t.

1/2 t.

3/4 t.

1 t.

1-1/4 t.

1-1/2 t.
Garlic powder

1/4 t.

1/2 t.

3/4 t.

1 t.

1-1/4 t.

1-1/2 t.
Round steak or cube steak

3 lbs.

6 lbs.

9 lbs.

12 lbs.

15 lbs.

18 lbs.
Olive or vegetable oil

1 T.

2 T.

3 T.

1/4 C.

1/4 C. + 1 T.

1/4 C. + 2 T.
Cream of mushroom soup, 10.75 oz. can

1

2

3

4

5

6
Beef broth

14.5 oz.

29 oz.

43.5 oz.

58 oz.

72.5 oz.

87 oz.
Medium onion, sliced into 1/4 “ thick rings

1

2

3

4

5

6
Butter or margarine, melted

1/4 C.

1/2 C.

3/4 C.

1 C.

1-1/4 C.

1-1/2 C.
Dried bread cubes

3 C.

6 C.

9 C.

12 C.

15 C.

18 C.

 

Assembly Directions:
In a shallow dish, mix the flour, seasoned salt, black pepper and garlic powder. Cut the round steak into serving size pieces, discarding any extra fat. Coat each piece of meat all over with the flour mixture, shaking off any excess. Heat the oil in a large skillet and brown the meat on both sides over medium high heat. As the pieces are browned, place them in a 9×13 inch baking dish. When all the meat is browned, add the cream of mushroom soup, 1 cup of the beef broth, and the onion to the remaining flour mixture and mix well. Pour the sauce mixture into the skillet scraping up and stirring in any browned bits of flour into the sauce. Heat the mixture until it is simmering. Pour the sauce over the meat in the baking dish. In a bowl, combine the remaining broth and the melted butter. Add the stuffing mix to the broth and toss to mix well. Spread the stuffing mixture over the steaks.

Freezing and Cooking Directions:
The dish can be wrapped and frozen at this point, or completely cooked, cooled and frozen. To cook now, bake in a preheated 350 degrees oven for 60-90 minutes until the steaks are tender. Cubed steaks will be tender more quickly than regular round steaks.

Serving Directions:
If you froze the dish unbaked, thaw thoroughly and follow cooking directions above. If you precook this and then freeze it, you should cover the dish with foil during heating so the bread layer does not dry out. Reheat the thawed dish at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until heated through.

Nutritional Info:
Per Serving: 695 Calories; 42g Fat (55.4% calories from fat); 51g Protein; 25g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 135mg Cholesterol; 1328mg Sodium.
Exchanges: 1-1/2 Grain (Starch); 6-1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 4-1/2 Fat.

Mississippi Mud Cake

 Recipes, Snacks and Desserts  Comments Off on Mississippi Mud Cake
Oct 012005
 
Share This Recipe

I had heard of this but never made one before. Since I forgot to bring my digital camera home over the weekend, I was forced to take the cake to school, photograph it and then leave it in the teacher’s lounge. No one seemed to be too upset:)

MississippiMudCake
Click here to go to a Printer Friendly Page Click here to go to a Printer Friendly Page
Advantage Cooking owners click here to download this recipe.

Recipes

1

2

3

4

5

6
Servings

18

36

54

72

90

108
Ingredients
Butter or margarine

1 C.

2 C.

3 C.

4 C.

5 C.

6 C.
Cocoa

1/2 C.

1 C.

1-1/2 C.

2 C.

2-1/2 C.

3 C.
Eggs

4

8

12

16

20

24
Flour

1-1/2 C.

3 C.

4-1/2 C.

6 C.

7-1/2 C.

9 C.
Sugar

2 C.

4 C.

6 C.

8 C.

10 C.

12 C.
Salt

Dash

1/8 t.

1/4 t.

3/8 t.

1/2 t.

1/2 t. + 1/8 t.
Pecans, chopped

1-1/2 C.

3 C.

4-1/2 C.

6 C.

7-1/2 C.

9 C.
Mini marshmallows

3 C.

6 C.

9 C.

12 C.

15 C.

18 C.
Frosting Ingredients
Butter or margarine

1/2 C.

1 C.

1-1/2 C.

2 C.

2-1/2 C.

3 C.
Milk

1/2 C.

1 C.

1-1/2 C.

2 C.

2-1/2 C.

3 C.
Cocoa

1/2 C.

1 C.

1-1/2 C.

2 C.

2-1/2 C.

3 C.
Vanilla

1/2 t.

1 t.

1-1/2 t.

2 t.

2-1/2 t.

1 T.
Powdered sugar

16 oz.

32 oz.

48 oz.

64 oz.

80 oz.

96 oz.

 

Assembly Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large mixing bowl, melt margarine in microwave. Add cocoa and eggs. Beat well. Stir in flour, sugar, salt and pecans; mix well. Spray and flour a 9×13 pan. Spread mixture into pan. Bake for 30 minutes.

While baking, prepare frosting. In small pan, melt butter or margarine. Add milk and cocoa. Heat till boiling. Boil one minute. Remove from heat and add vanilla and powdered sugar.

Immediately after removing cake from oven, pour marshmallows over top. Spread frosting over cake.

Freezing Directions:
Cool and freeze. OR Cool, cut into squares and freeze individual squares. Place in freezer bags or containers. Seal, label and freeze.

Serving Directions:
Thaw and enjoy!

Nutritional Info:
Per Serving: 470 Calories; 24g Fat (43.6% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 65g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 42mg Cholesterol; 213mg Sodium.
Exchanges: 1 Grain (Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 4-1/2 Fat; 3-1/2 Other Carbohydrates.

Chocolate Peanut Clusters

 Recipes, Snacks and Desserts, Under 350 Calories  Comments Off on Chocolate Peanut Clusters
Oct 012005
 
Share This Recipe

When I am anywhere near a “pay by the pound” candy counter, this is the treat that I am most tempted to buy. There’s something about that mix of sweet and salty. This three ingredient recipe offers a very close alternative.

ChocolatePeanutClusters2
Click here to go to a Printer Friendly Page Click here to go to a Printer Friendly Page
Advantage Cooking owners click here to download this recipe.

Recipes

1

2

3

4

5

6
Servings

30

60

90

120

150

180
Ingredients
Vanilla bark or candy coating

1 lb.

2 lbs.

3 lbs.

4 lbs.

5 lbs.

6 lbs.
Semi-sweet chocolate chips*

12 oz.

24 oz.

36 oz.

48 oz.

60 oz.

72 oz.
Salted peanuts

4 C.

8 C.

12 C.

16 C.

20 C.

24 C.

Assembly Directions:
Put vanilla bark and chocolate chips in large bowl or glass measuring cup. Microwave on high 45 seconds, and then stir. Repeat until mixture is smooth. Stir in the peanuts. Drop peanut mixture by teaspoons onto a wax paper lined baking sheet.

Freezing Directions:
Freeze until firm. Store in ziptop freezer bags or freezer containers. Seal, label and freeze.

Serving Directions:
Thaw and enjoy!

Comments:
*12 oz. is 2 C.
Makes 30 large or 60 small.

Nutritional Info:
Per Serving: 250 Calories; 18g Fat (60.5% calories from fat); 6g Protein; 20g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 3mg Cholesterol; 173mg Sodium.
Exchanges: 1/2 Grain (Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 3 Fat; 1 Other Carbohydrates.

Chocolate Cheerio Bars

 Low Fat, Low Sodium, Recipes, Snacks and Desserts, Under 350 Calories  Comments Off on Chocolate Cheerio Bars
Oct 012005
 
Share This Recipe

Everyone can always use another recipe with cereal, chocolate, butter and marshmallows. Yum! My kids love these. As with most bars, cookies and candies, they can be made ahead and individually frozen for a quick lunchbox or after school treat.

ChocolateCheerioBars2
Click here to go to a Printer Friendly Page Click here to go to a Printer Friendly Page
Advantage Cooking owners click here to download this recipe.

Recipes

1

2

3

4

5

6
Servings

18

36

54

72

90

108
Ingredients
Melted butter or margarine

1/4 C.

1/2 C.

3/4 C.

1 C.

1-1/4 C.

1-1/2 C.
Marshmallows*

10 oz.

20 oz.

30 oz.

40 oz.

50 oz.

60 oz.
Semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 C.

2 C.

3 C.

4 C.

5 C.

6 C.
Cheerios

5 C.

10 C.

15 C.

20 C.

25 C.

30 C.

Assembly Directions:
Melt butter, marshmallows and chips together over low heat or in microwave oven (30 seconds, then stir. Repeat until thoroughly melted.) Stir in Cheerios. Spoon into a 9×13 sprayed pan. Chill.

Freezing Directions:
Cut into bars. Freeze in small ziptop bags for a quick lunchbox or after school treat. Seal, label and freeze.

Serving Directions:
Thaw and enjoy!

Comments:
*10 oz. is 40 regular or 5 C. mini marshmallows
Makes 18 large or 36 small bars.

Nutritional Info:
Per Serving: 148 Calories; 6g Fat (33.0% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 25g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 117mg Sodium.
Exchanges: 1/2 Grain (Starch); 1 Fat; 1 Other Carbohydrates.

October 2005 Chewin’ the News with Nanci

 2005, Chewin' the News  Comments Off on October 2005 Chewin’ the News with Nanci
Oct 012005
 

Freezer Cooking News from Nanci

Happy October!

Fall is in full swing here in Indiana. I love fall! I just wish it wouldn’t go from 90 degrees (a few days ago) to 45 degrees (present temp). It’s those 60 degree days that are wonderful. If you live where the seasons change and you haven’t gotten out and kicked some leaves yet, do it! Life is too short not to smell the proverbial roses along the way. A few weeks ago my 17 year old had to do a required 4 hour “personal retreat” for a class at school. We went to the marina at a local state park and I sat on a pier and read most of “The Old Man and the Sea”. Ahhhhhhhh. . . it doesn’t get any better than that.

Unless, of course, we’re talking chocolate. Don’t you just love the stuff? One of my students is putting together a coffeehouse at school this coming Friday night to raise money for hurricane relief. I volunteered to collect chocolate desserts from our staff members to sell. Now this is my idea of fun! Of course, I’m going to make a few of my own to donate. The kids have already requested Oreo Truffles, No Bake Cookies and Frozen Peanut Butter Bars. Since all of these can be made ahead and frozen, I’ll start on them this weekend and not be going crazy on Thursday night!

Here are a few new chocolate desserts that I couldn’t resist trying out.

 

ChocolateCheerioBars2Chocolate Cheerio Bars

Everyone can always use another recipe with cereal, chocolate, butter and marshmallows. Yum! My kids love these. As with most bars, cookies and candies, they can be made ahead and individually frozen for a quick lunchbox or after school treat.

 

 

ChocolatePeanutClusters2Chocolate Peanut Clusters

When I am anywhere near a “pay by the pound” candy counter, this is the treat that I am most tempted to buy. There’s something about that mix of sweet and salty. This three ingredient recipe offers a very close alternative.

 

 

MississippiMudCakeMississippi Mud Cake

I had heard of this but never made one before. Since I forgot to bring my digital camera home over the weekend, I was forced to take the cake to school, photograph it and then leave it in the teacher’s lounge. No one seemed to be too upset:)

 

 

I looked back through all of our newsletters and I don’t think that we have ever pulled together all of our CHOCOLATE recipes for you. So here’s a handy list of every recipe on the site that contains chocolate. If you are a dessert lover and like to have desserts handy in the freezer, I would also highly recommend that you buy Tammy’s Freezer Desserts to Die For! ebook. For only $6.95 you can download 25+ freezer recipes plus lots of great info on freezing desserts. It’s a great deal. Here’s a list of the recipes in the ebook.

Chocolate Desserts from 30 Day Gourmet
Ready? Now don’t eat them all in one day – HA!

 

Member Section:
Almost Candy Bar Brownies 
No Bake Cookies 

Newsletters: 
Birdie’s Banana Split Dessert 
Buster Bar Dessert 
Candy Bar Pie 
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (to be eaten raw as dough; not baked)
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Loaf 
Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls 
Chocolate Smoothies
Cookies and Milk Bars 
Double Chocolate Muffins
Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies 
Fireman Dan’s Chocolate Cream Pie 
Frozen Peanut Butter Bars (from the Freezer Cooking Manual)
Crunchy Peanut Butter Ice Cream Bars
Homemade Ice Cream Mix
Hot Fudge Ice Cream Topping
Ice Cream Shop Pie including variations for Toffee Bar Crunch Pie and Chocolate Cookie Pie
Ice Cream Sundae Squares from Freezer Desserts to Die For!
Malted Chocolate Chunk Cookies 
Muddy Buddies
Oreo Truffles 
Pretzel Turtles
Pudding Pops 
Pudding-wiches 
Seven Layer Bars
SNICKERS® Pie 
Toffee Pecan Bars 
Triple Chocolate Delight 

From our ebook samplers: 
Brownie Pie from Freezer Desserts to Die For!
Carolyn’s Chocolate Chip Cookies from Coop Cuisine
Cheater’s Chocolate Chip Cheesecake from Freezer Desserts to Die For!
Chocolate Chip Muffins from Freezer Cooking for Daycare Providers
Merry Kiss-Mousse Pie from Holiday Freezer Cooking

Company and Website News

November – January are always our busiest months! Shop early and avoid the rush! Please consider giving 30 Day Gourmet gifts for Christmas. We can gift wrap for $1 per item. We can also ship to a different address. Just put a note in the “special instructions” section of your order.

Here’s a quick list of our items:

Emails from Happy Customers

30 Day Gourmet wins baby contest!!
My husband & I took a 30 Day Gourmet class last summer before our baby was born so that we could have meals ready once he arrived & we just didn’t have the energy to cook.

I entered a contest a few months ago sponsored by Nestle that asked for a short essay on “How I Got Off to a Good Start With My Baby.” I wrote in part about how the 30 Day Gourmet class was instrumental in getting us off to the right start & out of over 5,000 contest entries, our story won a runner up prize (3 free months of housecleaning – yippee!)

Best Regards,
Lisa from Buffalo Grove, Illinois
Click here to read Lisa’s winning entry 

New Freezer Cook says “THANKS”!
I purchased your cooking manual and have already made my first freezer meal. (Due to the size of my kitchen I will have to do one or two meals a weekend.)

I made the stuffed bell peppers (my first time ever) and was very pleased with how easy it was to follow the recipe when making so many (I made 6 recipes). The peppers were picked from the garden so they should be wonderful!

Also, I had some of the meat mixture (1/2 turkey and 1/2 sausage) left over so we made some dirty rice with it. My kids loved it!

Again, thank you so much! We will be eating healthy, home cooked, economical meals from now on! Have a great day!

Lisa from Wadsworth, Ohio

30 Day Gourmet travels down under
I am Lori from Australia, I just received your manual! It is BRILLIANT!!!!! I can t wait to cooking day! The recipes are really good too, they aren t garbaging things that my family won t eat, they are real food!

Church serving with software
I ve had my software for over a year now & have used it to literally prepare over 1000 meals!! I ve organized HUGE cooking days with people from our church & others, where we ve done over 200 meals in just one morning (by meals, I mean 4-6 servings PER meal!). Your program is FANTASTIC to say the least!

More software kudos
I wanted to let y’all know that I have started a personal chef service, and I am so happy to tell you that I am prepared to do this due to your hard work and influence on my life! I have been on board with you guys for 7 years, and this has prepared me with all the skills I need to create a (hopefully) lucrative business for my family. The Advantage Cooking program is a huge part of this business for me! I will keep you in the know as my business grows. Thanks again!

Julie from Noblesville, IN

Closing Comments from Nanci

That’s all for this month. Tomorrow I’ll be at school from sunup to sundown teaching and then holding auditions for our musical and then overseeing the induction ceremony for our Drama Club. Never a dull moment!

Next month we’ll talk about the holidays and how your freezer can help cut down on the stress that always accompanies the fun-filled days!

        Nanci

Muddy Buddies

 Recipes, Snacks and Desserts, Under 350 Calories  Comments Off on Muddy Buddies
Oct 012005
 
Share This Recipe

Nanci: Jenna loves making this cereal box recipe favorite with me. I included the parent and kid steps in the recipe because we always make them together. If I just leave these in a big bowl on the counter, they’re gone in a few hours so I usually divide them up among the four kids and put them into small ziptop bags with their names on them. Then I put all of the little bags into a larger freezer bags and the snacks go into the freezer. The kids can easily grab a bag and I find that they’re less messy coming straight from the freezer.

Jenna

Click here to go to a Printer Friendly Page Click here to go to a Printer Friendly Page
Advantage Cooking owners click here to download this recipe.

Recipes

1

2

3

4

5

6
Servings

18

36

54

72

90

108
Ingredients
Chex-type cereal

9 C.

18 C.

27 C.

36 C.

45 C.

54 C.
Chocolate chips

1 C.

2 C.

3 C.

4 C.

5 C.

6 C.
Peanut butter

1/2 C.

1 C.

1-1/2 C.

2 C.

2-1/2 C.

3 C.
Butter or margarine

1/4 C.

1/2 C.

3/4 C.

1 C.

1-1/4 C.

1-1/2 C.
Vanilla

1/4 t.

1/2 t.

3/4 t.

1 t.

1-1/4 t.

1-1/2 t.
Powdered sugar

1-1/2 C.

3 C.

4-1/2 C.

6 C.

7-1/2 C.

9 C.

Assembly Directions:
1. Parents & Kids: Measure out ingredients.
Kids: Pour cereal into large bowl and set aside.

2. Kids: Combine chocolate pieces, peanut butter and butter/margarine in 1 quart microwave-safe bowl.
Parents: Microwave on HIGH 1 to 1 1/2 minutes or until smooth, stirring after 1 minute. Stir in vanilla.

3. Parents: Pour chocolate mixture over cereal, stirring with a large slotted spoon until all pieces are evenly coated. Pour cereal mixture 2 cups at a time into ziptop bag with powdered sugar. Seal securely.
Kids: Shake until all pieces are well coated with powdered sugar.

4. Kids: Spread muddy buddies on waxed paper to cool.

Freezing Directions:
Divide muddy buddies into one cup portions and put into small ziptop bags. Label bags with names of kids to keep snacks “even Steven”. Put the small bags into a larger freezer bag. Tastes great straight from the freezer and keeps the sticky fingers to a minimum if eaten frozen.

Nutritional Info:
Per Serving: 229 Calories; 10g Fat (37.6% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 34g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 202mg Sodium.
Exchanges: 1 Grain (Starch); 2 Fat; 1 Other Carbohydrates.

September 2005 Chewin’ the News with Nanci

 2005, Chewin' the News  Comments Off on September 2005 Chewin’ the News with Nanci
Sep 012005
 

Freezer Cooking News from Nanci

nanciwebHurricane Relief
It’s been quite a month hasn’t it? One day we are lamenting about the end of summer, the start of school, the refrigerator that needs to be cleaned out, the kids who don’t pick up their clothes, the car that needs repairs (again!) and then WHAM! something like Katrina happens and none of those “problems” seem like much anymore.

To those of you who have been directly affected by the hurricane our hearts go out to you. Please e-mail me and tell me your stories. We have a large community of cooks here who would love to help you.

I won’t list websites or tell you where to give your money. Most of us have plenty of opportunities to help. We have a monetary collection at our church on Sunday and a “goods” drive going on at school. I challenged my classes yesterday to bring 500 items for babies and their moms. When they bring the 500 items, I will have them all over to my home and cook them dinner. That’s 95 kids! Good thing I know how to cook in bulk, eh?

I did find a website that has a good database of volunteer opportunities for people in lots of different cities who would like to help victims of Katrina.
http://www.volunteermatch.org/opportunities/hurricane.jsp
If you know of places where our cooks could serve, please e-mail and let me know.

School Lunches Update
After my last newsletter, many of you ordered a lunches ebook for yourself. Please let us know how it’s going for you. Each of our ebooks has a corresponding area on our message boards where you can e-mail the author, ask questions and share tips and stories. 

Cooperative Cooking
Here’s my next venture. I’ve never tried Coop Cooking but ever since Jan Limiero, our Coop Cuisine ebook author, told me about this I’ve been intrigued. It’s a great option for people who would rather cook alone and swap recipes than cook in the same kitchen with another person. Right now my schedule is so crazy that the best time I can find to cook may be on a Friday night from 8 pm till 2 am. Another person who might benefit from this is the cook who doesn’t have enough cooking knowledge or experience to make 10 different recipes but she could make her killer chili or her famous chicken divan and just make 10 of them.

I put out the word to the teachers and staff at the school where I teach limiting the group to ten.

Meet my group and the recipes that we chose to make:

  • Stacy, one of our Guidance Counselors making Vanilla Coke Pork Ribs
  • Debbie, our treasurer making Taco Meat
  • Jason, our freshman Bible teacher making Pot Roast
  • Lisa, our head librarian making Poppyseed Chicken & Pork Roast Slices
  • Theresa, our art teacher making Sweet Carrot Nut Bread
  • Danni, our computer teacher making Turkey Cranberry Meatloaf
  • Jamie, our yearbook and newspaper teacher making Teriyaki Chicken
  • ME making Spaghetti Pie and Cheeseburger Quiche*

*We had two drop out so Lisa and I are going to make 2 recipes and then take two at the swap.

Following Jan’s ebook makes it easy to start a group. I asked everyone to read the ebook so that they understood the concept and knew what to expect. For our first cooking session, I also asked that cooks choose a recipe from the ebook. Having “tried and true” recipes that are already multiplied out to “1-5-10-15-20-other” makes it so much easier (trust me on this:)).

Click here to download a free 7 page sampler of Coop Cuisine including these three free recipes: Ham Steaks, Wild Rice Quiche and Carolyn’s Chocolate Chip Cookies. You can also use this link to see a complete index and recipe list from the ebook.

To order your Coop Cuisine ebook ($6.95 to download immediately) click here. Ebooks include a zip file for quick transfer of recipes for software users.

Our Freezer Cooking Manual and online newsletters also have lots of great recipes that work well for Coop Cooking. It’s best to choose recipes that don’t have very many ingredients and can be assembled quickly. If they don’t have to bake and can be packaged in a freezer bag, that’s a big plus! Here are some suggestions:
From the Freezer Cooking Manual and Members area:

 

From the online newsletters:

Closing Comments from Nanci

Enjoy the last days of summer. Fall is my favorite season! Next month (believe it or not) I’m going to encourage you to start on your holiday freezer cooking!
Again, our thoughts and prayers go out to all of you affected by Hurricane Katrina.

        Nanci

August 2005 Chewin’ the News with Nanci

 2005, Chewin' the News  Comments Off on August 2005 Chewin’ the News with Nanci
Aug 012005
 

Freezer Cooking News from Nanci

Happy August everyone!

nanciwebFunny how life changes. I can remember being anxious to get back to school when I was a kid because I missed my friends. Once I got out of college and began teaching, my back-to-school perspective changed. A teacher’s view is totally different. It’s all about imparting wisdom and challenging young minds!

When I became a mom and was home with three kids under 5, I can remember envying the moms whose kids were going off to school. I saw the looks of relief on their faces:) Then I became that relieved mom (except for about 5 years of homeschooling:)) and boy did those years fly by. Now I’ve come full circle and live both roles – mom and teacher.

So I’m figuring that this is my 42nd year to experience “back to school” in some fashion. This year I will go kicking and screaming. The summer was too short! My kids are fun to have around now! I didn’t finish my “to do” list!

We are so hard on ourselves, aren’t we? I have been bemoaning the end of summer for a few weeks now (teachers report on August 12th). I’ve been staying up late, running around like a chicken with its head cut off and muttering about all of the stuff I didn’t get done. Yesterday, I had a moment of inspiration. I thought that maybe I should actually write down everything I DID get done. Of course, these are the big things. Moms never put “vacuum living room” or “stop everything and run to Walmart for shampoo” on their lists of accomplishments. We just DO those things. Over and over and over again.

I’m sharing my list to encourage you. Each one of you has a list a proverbial mile long of what you accomplish each day or each summer. If you wrote it all down it would fill a book. Maybe your list includes changing 20 diapers a day or taking care of your aging parents. Just know that you are valuable and what you do is important!

So here’s “What I Did Over Summer Vacation”. (Maybe the English teacher will give me extra credit points eh?)
 HOUSE

  • cleaned out my dresser and closet
  • updated my wardrobe
  • cleaned out Bob’s dresser and closet
  • updated Bob’s wardrobe
  • organized my greeting cards
  • bought all birthday cards for next year
  • cleaned out Jenna’s room
  • gave a van full of stuff to Goodwill
  • cleaned the basement to make room for Kaytee’s “not taking to college” stuff

 

FINANCES

  • researched scholarships for Becky
  • finalized all of Kaytee’s college loans & scholarships
  • set up online bill pay with our monthly bills
  • gathered medical bills and faxed to Medical Spending Account
  • got all 6 of us to the dentist
  • did Kaytee’s cavity follow up app’t
  • went to Adam’s orthodontist appointments
  • researched prices to yank Becky’s wisdom teeth
  • went to 2 of Kaytee’s dermatology appointments
  • took Kaytee to eye doctor for new contacts
  • took myself to eye doctor for exam and bifocals (ouch!)
  • helped Kaytee open new bank account & close old one
  • helped Becky complete safe driver stuff for State Farm
  • helped Becky look for a car, test car, pay for car, and fix car
  • helped Becky insure car and do plates and registration
  • renewed my driver’s license

 

FUN & FAMILY

  • helped Becky get ready for a week of camp counseling in Wisconsin
  • spent a long weekend in Michigan visiting family & attending cousin’s wedding celebrated my 26th wedding anniversary
  • vacationed in Alaska for 10 days
  • sat in airports on standby for 2 days
  • hosted my sister from Maine for 6 days
  • helped Becky get ready for a week at CIY (Christ in Youth) in Illinois
  • helped Becky study for SAT
  • hosted my mother-in-law, niece and nephew from Michigan for 4 days
  • went to Brickyard qualifications for a day of sun and speed
  • took Jenna and her friend to the pool several times
  • watched about 50 episodes of Gilmore Girls with Becky
  • supervised several of Adam’s “band” practices
  • took Adam to buy the 6th Harry Potter book at 1 a.m.
  • got my first ever manicure and pedicure!
  • shopped with Kaytee for school
  • shopped with Becky for school
  • shopped with Jenna for school
  • got Becky’s senior pictures taken
  • made lots of special breakfasts (homemade donuts or pancakes)
  • made lots of cookies, brownies and other sweet treats
  • made lots of lunches & dinners
  • slept in lots of days
  • connected with friends

 

TEACHER STUFF

  • read The Negotiator by Dee Henderson (recommend it!)
  • read new Janet Evanovich book (don’t recommend it!)
  • watched the 1932 version of “Of Mice & Men”
  • watched the Harry Potter movies (1,2, & 3)
  • bought posters, pillows, etc. for my classroom

 

30 DAY GOURMET

  • cleaned out my office
  • hired Becky to make 100 of each CD before school starts
  • hired Adam to shred pre-2000 orders and haul old filing cabinet out
  • hired Jenna to fold and bag aprons
  • switched to UPS online
  • switched to stamps.com
  • sent the postage meter back
  • fixed Becky’s computer
  • bought Becky a new printer and set her up to do CD’s and labels
  • upgraded my system to XP
  • reorganized monthly newsletter

 

That makes me feel better. I will never get it all done. I am a hopeless list maker and I always put too much on the list. I have learned the value of doing things the EASIEST way possible though. Like online bill paying and direct deposit and e-mail. If your current methods aren’t working, try something NEW! I realized this summer that I really need to get a handle on snacks around here. My kids have slowly slipped into junk food junkie mode. They can drive themselves to McDonald’s (or pay their sister to drive them). There are vending machines everywhere they go. They are bombarded with TV ads for fast food. They can quickly forget what “real food” is.

I really believe in the adage that a parent’s values are more “caught than taught”. One of the best ways that we can keep the art of cooking and baking alive is to model it for our kids. I don’t make my kids help anymore (other than carrying groceries) but I really think that just seeing me in the kitchen with an apron on doing actual COOKING rubs off on them. When Becky went to a week-long conference on a college campus recently they were given a food debit card to use for their meals. She had her choice of 5 or 6 fast food restaurants. At first, she said, it seemed like heaven. On her way home, she called from the church bus and begged me to cook her a “real” dinner that night. She was so tired of fast food. Music to a mother’s ears!:)

SNACK & LUNCH RECIPES 
So my big push this past week was FOOD. When I re-did the family budget this summer I realized that we are spending too much money on snacks and school lunches – whether that means lunches bought at school or those Michelina lunches that I was buying too many of. I did a big cooking day earlier this week and had the kids taste-test everything before it went into the freezer.

I highly recommend Carol’s ebook Freezer Lunches to Go. It has great recipes along with tips and loads of ideas. Click here to check out a free sampler including three recipes. Download it now for only $6.95.

You can also check the “Recipes” section of our site to find great lunch and snack recipes that can be frozen.

Here’s what I made:

Pizza Burgers from the website
We all love these. The kids will use them more for after-school snacks than lunches since they are best reheated in the oven or toaster oven.

Awesome Mac ‘n Cheese from the website
Kids these days don’t know what REAL Mac ‘n Cheese tastes like so I made one batch and tried this out on the kids before freezing any. On cooking day I actually had 4 extra kids here (Adam’s band and a friend of Jenna’s) so I got a good sampling of teens. They ate the whole pan! I think the Velveeta gives it that “Kraft” taste. I froze individual servings to reheat in the microwave.

Pepperoni Sticks from the Freezer Lunches to Go ebook – I put cheese dip and spaghetti sauce in small Ziploc containers and put them in the fridge for the kids to grab to go with the breadsticks

Chicken Pockets from the Freezer Lunches to Go ebook – The crust using the crescent rolls is great! I did an egg wash so that they had that shiny look. I did a quick price comparison on these and the popular “Hot Pockets”. You can make them for about .50 each. Hot Pockets are about $1.00 each. Bob and I love the chicken and cream cheese filling in these but the kids didn’t care for it. I substituted their favorite “hot pocket” fillings.

Becky’s Turkey, Bacon & Cheese Pockets 
4 pockets – 1/4 C. honey mustard (she likes the O’Charley’s brand we buy at Walmart), 4 slices turkey diced , 4 slices white American cheese diced, 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (makes 1 C. filling. 1/4 C. filling for each pocket)

Adam’s Pizza Pockets 
4 pockets – 1/4 C. pizza sauce, 1/2 C. pepperoni, 1/2 C. shredded mozzarella cheese (makes 1 C. filling. 1/4 C. filling for each pocket)

Easy Chicken Fettuccine
I adapted this recipe from a recipe-of-the-month winner. Adam likes the Michelina’s Fettuccine but they are $1 and at 8 oz. each it takes 2-3 of them to fill him up. I made him 20 oz. servings for the same $1 price. Our homemade version has lots more chicken, broccoli and cheese in it also. The store-bought ones are primarily noodles. I use the shredded Parmesan & Romano cheese. It costs a little more than the grated cheese but tastes better in this recipe I think.

Tara’s Favorite Muffins
I set out to make a muffin that could replace the Entenmann’s Little Bites Chocolate Chip Muffins that Adam loves. They are $2.50 for a box of 25 making them .10 a piece. He eats 5 at a time easily. So I tried using this recipe adding 1 C. of chocolate chips. I reduced the oven temperature to 350 degrees and baked the muffins for about 12 minutes. They came out great! The trick is not to over bake them. If a kid sees anything that looks DARK they declare it BURNED you know?! I made 60 mini-muffins for about .05 each. Yeah!

Website News

July – best month in 2 years!
Thanks to the weekly newsletter format and the special sale, business doubled in July. Thank you to everyone who ordered! Please pass the word to your friends. Our newsletter is FREE! Tell your friends to sign up. Recommend us in your e-mails and Christmas letters:)
800# no longer available – sorry folks but I have dropped the phone line. I know that doesn’t seem very professional to many of you but here are my reasons:

  • I am rarely here during business hours.
  • My # is one off from the “Just for Men” hair replacement product that is advertised on TV. I was getting tons of their calls and even though the voice mail clearly said “30 Day Gourmet” they were still leaving their addresses and asking me to send them a free sample.
  • My basic phone bill for the business line was running over $100 a month.
  • Since we got cable in the house (the office is in the basement) I really didn’t need a separate line for the computer anymore.

Business Talk
I know that it isn’t smart business to reveal the exact size of your company to anyone but hey – what’s the big deal? I run the whole business out of my basement office. I process the orders, answer the e-mail, coordinate the newsletter with Carol, Tammy & Shelley by e-mail, keep the products stocked, and pay the bills. When I get mail addressed to the “customer service” department or the “business manager” I just laugh. I am all of those departments! I fill about 150 orders each month. I also send books to Amazon and to distributors who fill orders for bookstores.
The best way to reach me is by e-mail. I try to respond within a day or two. You can reach me, the ebook authors, our webmaster and our software support team through the Contact Us page.

Emails from Happy Customers

THANK YOU!!!

Freezer cooking has changed my life, and I am so grateful for your book. I started about 2 1/2 years ago when my twin boys were just over 1. I work full-time outside the home, and my husband is a full-time student training to become an elementary teacher. He loves it too because it gives him (a non-cooker) a chance to help with dinner since he gets it started most evenings.

                                                        Jenn T.

 

Several months ago I purchased your “e-book” Co-op Cuisine from the internet, and started a freezer cooking co-op. Your book helped me tremendously in the start-up of our group. It was the only good resource I found about a cooking co-op. So thank you for taking the time to write it and share your experience with all of us.
Beth 

I run a cooking program through my church and have had approx. 12 women in the group. Not the same women cook every month but there are three of us that have remained the same every month since I started. My church has asked me to run this program as a way to bring more women together in fellowship with one another each month. It has worked wonderfully. Women come together and talk, cook and have fun. We meet new people each month. My church loves it, I love it, the ladies love it and it is by far the best idea I have been able to offer my church. Everyone thinks this cooking once a month is just the grandest idea there is. Thanks for coming up with it.
Thanks,
Kerri

Closing Comments from Nanci

That’s all for this month. Tomorrow I report back to school and shift into teacher mode. In a few weeks, I will be knee deep in The Scarlet Letter and planning our December musical. Next Wednesday, I drive our eldest to college. Oh my. On Monday, our youngest starts middle school. Life is a vapor friends. Carpe Diem!!

        Nanci

Easy Chicken Fettuccine

 Poultry, Recipes  Comments Off on Easy Chicken Fettuccine
Aug 012005
 
Share This Recipe

I adapted this recipe from a recipe-of-the-month winner. Adam likes the Michelina’s Fettuccine but they are $1 and at 8 oz. each it takes 2-3 of them to fill him up. I made him 20 oz. servings for the same $1 price. Our homemade version has lots more chicken, broccoli and cheese in it also. The store-bought ones are primarily noodles. I use the shredded Parmesan & Romano cheese. It costs a little more than the grated cheese but tastes better in this recipe I think.
Click here to go to a Printer Friendly Page Click here to go to a Printer Friendly Page
Advantage Cooking owners click here to download this recipe.

Recipes

1

2

3

4

5

6
Servings

8

16

24

32

40

48
Makes

20 C.

40 C.

60 C.

80 C.

100 C.

120 C.
Ingredients
Fettuccine noodles

24 oz.

48 oz.

72 oz.

96 oz.

120 oz.

144 oz.
Margarine or butter

3/4 C.

1-1/2 C.

2-1/4 C.

3 C.

3-3/4 C.

4-1/2 C.
Half and half

1-1/2 C.

3 C.

4-1/2 C.

6 C.

7-1/2 C.

9 C.
Parmesan and Romano grated cheese

3/4 C.

1-1/2 C.

2-1/4 C.

3 C.

3-3/4 C.

4-1/2 C.
Chicken breast, cooked and cut into bite sized pieces

3

6

9

12

15

18
Broccoli florets, cooked and drained

16 oz.

32 oz.

48 oz.

64 oz.

80 oz.

96 oz.

Assembly Directions:
Cook the noodles half the recommended time. Drain noodles. In same pan, add butter tossing till melted. Add the Half and Half, cheese, chicken and broccoli.

Freezing Directions:
Put fettuccine in 1-gallon freezer bag for a full meal or in 2 1/2 C. portions in small freezer containers for individual servings.

Serving Directions:
Thaw overnight in the fridge or in the microwave. Reheat in microwave until hot. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

Comments:
If you are going to serve this immediately, cook the noodles fully.
Leave out the chicken and broccoli to make this a side dish.
My kids take this to school in 2 1/2 C. Ziploc containers for lunch. (They have access to a microwave.) By lunchtime the frozen noodles are thawed about halfway. I tell them to microwave it for a few minutes, then stir it up and do another minute or so.
I also freeze small containers or snack-sized bags of Parmesan that the kids can pack with their fettuccine.

Nutritional Info:
Per Serving: 629 Calories; 27g Fat (38.5% calories from fat); 27g Protein; 69g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 51mg Cholesterol; 401mg Sodium.
Exchanges: 4-1/2 Grain (Starch); 2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 4-1/2 Fat.

 Older Entries  Newer Entries