Meat and taters….that seems to be the heart of our meals most days so making sure I can make them taste good all the time becomes a challenge.  I’ve baked them with Ranch dip, mashed them with butter and cheese, and done just about everything else I can think.  One of our most favorite ways to eat taters is to pan fry them.

Our secret is to cook them in the same pan a steak has been cooked in!  I knew we had steaks the night before so I covered the pan and saved the goods for the next day.  There wasn’t much grease but all those little pieces are still there and that’s the good stuff!  I simply add some better, salt and coarse pepper and MAN, the taters soak up all that steak flavor, making the taste fantastic!! Simple I know but sometimes that’s all you need……

What is your favorite way to make taters?

This recipe was submitted by Sherri W, into March’s Food Challenge where the theme is GREEN!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs of brussel sprouts
• 1/4 lb father’s tomato blt bacon (bacon of choice)
• 1 tbsp evoo
• 1 tsp thyme
• 3-4 thinly sliced or minced garlic cloves
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. wash and trim brussel sprouts. cut tips off and slice in half
2. cut bacon into 1/2 inch strips
3. in a large heated frying pan add the evoo and bacon pieces. fry bacon until crispy. remove the bacon and set aside.
4. toast garlic about 1 minute until golden brown. remove and set aside
5. add brussel sprouts, thyme and salt (if needed) and pepper to pan. don’t crowd in pan. pan roast brussel sprouts about 5 to 6 on each side until golden brown
6. add bacon and roasted garlic to the brussel sprouts

This is an excellent side dish for St. Patrick’s Day. Serve with corned beef and oven roasted potatoes. Enjoy!!

It’s another round of meal solutions and this time there’s not too much to think about because the ingredients reflect two very common dishes, especially for the holidays.

Here are the list of ingredients for this week’s meal solution:

• Bruce Cut Yams, 40 oz. – $1.98
• Jet Puffed Mini Marshmallows – $.84
• Great Value Light Brown Sugar, 2 lbs. – $1.58
• Del Monte Cut Green Beans, 14.5 oz. – $.67
• French Fried Onions, 6 oz.
• Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup
• Ocean Spray Jelly Cranberry Sauce, 16 oz. – $.88
• Betty Crocker Pumpkin Cookies

I chose to use the green bean casserole ingredients using two additional ingredients. To give my casserole more flavor, I boil my green beans in Swanson’s Chicken Broth first for about 10-15 minutes. It really does give them much more flavor. I also decrease the amount of Cream of Mushroom I use. I believe the standard directions call for one can of COM per can of green beans, however, I used one can of cream of mushroom with 3 large cans of green beans and only one can of fried onions. I also sprinkled some Parmesan cheese on top for a kick.

I find that most of my family doesn’t really like green bean casserole made with so much cream of mushroom which is why I adjust it.  I’m glad they prefer the green beans more plain, it’s better for them anyways.

I’d love to know what YOUR meal solution would be. Do you have a favorite holiday recipe using these ingredients?

If you want to see how other Walmart Moms put a twist on their meal solutions, check out Denise from Wholesome Mommy,  Jenn at Frugal Upstate, and Heather at Domestic Diva.

Disclosure: Walmart has provided me with compensation and a gift card in return for this post. Participation in this program is voluntary.  All opinions are my own, always have been, always will be.  Read my full disclosure and blogging ethics. There will be more meal solution posts to come so be on the lookout!

Tomatoes and onions create some wonderful dishes and this one is no exception.  Because it’s nearly impossible to find green tomatoes around here, I used firm red tomatoes instead.  This is part two of three of the dinner meal I planned for you guys.  You can see the creamed corn I made earlier and stay tuned for part three, Blackened Catfish, to complete the dinner.

INGREDIENTS

• * 1/4 pound bacon
• * 1 cup fresh bread crumbs
• * 2 large onions, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds
• * 4 large green tomatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick
• * Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• * 6 ounces sharp white Cheddar, grated, about 1 1/2 cups

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Render bacon in a large skillet over medium heat. Transfer the cooked bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Add the bread crumbs to a small bowl. Remove 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat from the skillet and stir into the bread crumbs. Add the onion rounds to the skillet in batches and cook, without breaking the round slices apart, until there is some golden color, about 5 to 6 minutes per side.

To assemble the gratin, overlap the green tomato slices in 1 row in a large baking dish, about 9 by 11 inches. Next, make a row slightly overlapping of the partially cooked onion rounds, being careful to keep the slices intact. Repeat steps until all tomatoes and onions are used. Season tomatoes and onions lightly with salt and heavily with pepper. Crumble the bacon over the vegetables; sprinkle the grated Cheddar over the top followed by the bread crumbs. Bake until the cheese is bubbly, about 30 to 45 minutes. If the top is getting too brown, loosely cover with foil.

Recipe courtesy of Food Network’s 5 Ingredient Fix

Do you know what real creamed corn is?  I’m sure you’ve eaten it from the can but making creamed corn from scratch, well, it’s just better.  I thought it was interesting to learn that the cream is actually inside the kernels so in order for you to get it out, you have to put a little work into creaming that corn.  The only drawback to making it from scratch is that it takes a whole bunch of cobs (at least 2 cobs per person) to make a good amount to the feed the family so unless you’re feeding only 4-6 folks, I would probably just buy the can…unless you are out to impress;)

This recipe is the first of three that will end up as a complete dinner.  Enjoy and if you have ever shucked and creamed your corn, I’d love to hear your recipes and stories!

INGREDIENTS

• * 6 slices bacon
• * 8 large cobs fresh corn, preferably white, shucked and cleaned
• * Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

DIRECTIONS

In a large skillet, (seasoned cast iron does well here) cook the bacon over medium-high heat until crisp. Turn off the heat and transfer the bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Reserve the drippings in the pan.

On a cutting board, cut the stalk ends of the corn cobs to make a flat surface; stand them up and shave the corn from the cobs with a sharp chef’s knife. Return the skillet to medium-low heat, and add the corn kernels. With the back of the knife, firmly scrape the cobs over a shallow plate to extract as much liquid (milk) as possible and add it to the skillet.

Season corn lightly with salt and pepper and cook until broken down and creamy, about 30 to 45 minutes, stirring often; add water if the pan gets too dry.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Note: Crisp bacon can be crumbled over the creamed corn when serving or reserved for another use. If you have bacon drippings on hand, use 1/4 cup for this recipe.

Recipe courtesy of Food Network’s 5 Ingredient Fix

Just another side dish idea.  We try to cook potatoes in a variety of ways and for everything but mashed, we use red potatoes. Basically you throw all this in a bowl, mix and bake. Pretty simple. I chose to use light dressing and no cheese since I’m trying to lose weight but normally we do add cheese.  Another great variation of this if you don’t like ranch, is to chop up an onion, mix it in, and cover with 1 cubed stick of butter.  Ummm, yeah, not so great on the heart but it sure is good.

The casserole pan is Emile Henry, some of the finest bakeware around. I love the way it cooks and if you have the chance to pick up some pieces for yourself, you should!

Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup Light Kraft Ranch Dressing
• 1/2 cup Kraft Shredded Cheddar Cheese (optional)
• 1/4 cup Oscar Mayer Real Bacon Bits (or real bacon)
• 2 lb. small red potatoes, quartered
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
• Salt & Pepper

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix dressing, cheese and bacon bits in large bowl. Add potatoes; toss lightly.  Spoon into lightly greased 13×9-inch baking dish; cover with foil.  Bake 40 min. Remove foil; bake an additional 15 min. or until potatoes are tender. Sprinkle with parsley.

Just another side dish, nothing fancy.  You can substitute the Velveeta cheese with something else.  I used a little bit of Mexican cheese instead myself.  Be on the lookout for an iPod Touch giveaway here or on my cowboy blog ’cause it’s coming soon! Might be better to subscribe;)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pkg. frozen chopped broccoli & cauliflower
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 can of cream of chicken
• 1/4 c. milk
• 1/4 lb. Velveeta
• 1 1/2 c. cooked rice
• salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

Saute onion in butter.  Add soup to onion, then add Velveeta cheese and milk.  cook until cheese melts.  Fold in cooked rice.  Cook broccoli and add to cheese mixture.  Pour into greased baking dish, cover and cook at 325′ for 30 minutes.

TIP: I usually start cooking my rice and during the last 5 minutes, throw in the broccoli, then drain.