Pesto and Biscuits

What's for dinner? Pesto and Biscuits

I had 9 basil plants 2 years ago that yielded me enough pesto to freeze that I am using the last of it today. What bits is that none of the basil I planted made it to now. So, I will need a new source for my freeze supply.

The pesto has whole wheat shell pasta, pesto, fresh diced tomatoes, and diced rotisserie chicken.

The biscuits are those yummy cheddar bay biscuits, like at Red Lobster. There are a lot of recipes on the internet. I dont use Bisquick so I made some up since it is the base.

I know it a shocker that I bought a cooked chicken. If I am going to do that I will get 3 or 4 meals out of it to make it worth it. Always buy them at Costco so you get the biggest bird for your money. Here is my meals with the chicken.

1 breast and back meat for pasta

1 breast split in two and served with a baked potato

1 leg and thigh for buffalo pizza

1 leg, thigh, and wings for salad

Review on Camp Post

The couscous salad was really good. I thought it would be good made ahead of time but the reviews said it was best fresh. I only had it fresh and it was really good.

Aldi no bean chili made with beef and TVP is good and did not upset my stomach. We had dogs with left over hot dogs, I was kinds opposed but they were good.

In the future I will have rain/emergent meal(s). We had rain twice and praise the Lord my in laws had a camper to retreat to. We would have been fine in our tent but our food would have been hard to prepare. I made quick meals up for Guy's backpacking so in the future I will have a one of those ready to grab. Also, tuna salad on the go packs would have been good for this problem as well.

We did eat out for 2 meals so we had a lot of food left over at the end of the weekend. I had a feeling this would happen. I had to throw some food away which I HATE! I will try to foresee a bit better.

Altogether our trip was about $25o. That is 4 nights of camping site split with Heather, 2 lunches out, duck tour in Branson, gas, a lot of ice, and a trip to Wal-Mart. The pontoon boat my in laws paid for which was a great treat. In the future I would be willing to go in on it to make it happen. It was a lot of fun!

Camp Food

What's for Dinner- Camp Food!

This summer the Bailey family will be spending some time camping on Table Rock Lake. I think it just as important to save money and limit chemicals on vacation as well as at home.

Breakfast:

Whole wheat bagels with neufchanel cheese.

Cereal

Eggs with fresh shredded hash brown and turkey bacon

Pancakes (Mix up your own at home with powdered milk and ground flax seed. Put in a shaker bottle. When ready to make all you have to do is add water!)

Lunch:

Sandwiches/ Wraps

Chili Dogs

BLAT's (avocado instead of mayo)

Dinner:

All beef hot dogs and corn on the cob

South Dakota Taco Salad

Steak with salad, potato/onion packet, and no bake cheese cake

Fish with Greek couscous salad

Dessert:

Banana boats (the best part of camping in my mind)

Smores (I prefer fudge shop cookies and roasted marshmallows)

This picture is the closest I can find to our way. I just use chocolate, no PB or mellows. Rap in foil and throw on the fire. When squeezable soft remove and enjoy.

Snacks:

Stove top granola in large pieces for granola bars

Cliff bars

Trail mix (smaller granola pieces, M n M's, cranberries, almonds)

Fruits

Chips (tortilla and Sun Chips (MSG free))

Recipe for South Dakota Taco Salad

1/2 lentil taco recipe

lettuce

red onion

1 can kidney beans

tomato

avocado

cheddar cheese

tortilla chips

thousand island

Mix everything together in a bowl but the chips and dressing. Layer chips, salad, and top with dressing.

Greek couscous salad

1 box parmesan cheese couscous

1 can chick peas

diced cucumber

diced fresh tomato

finely sliced red onion

goat/sheep feta

EVOO and balsamic to taste

Hot Dog Buns

Tip of the day- Hot dog buns!

I absolutely love when there are leftover hot dog buns. You may think to just let them sit until they are stale or moldy but I would say you are missing out! Here are some ideas,

Croutons- Cube them and let them sit on a cookie sheet over night. You can toast in the oven but why waste the energy when nature does it for free. Store them in a airtight container. When you are having salad lightly toast them in the skillet with a little EVOO. Then toss with italian seasoning and garlic powder. You dont want the seasoning in while toasting because they will burn, yuck.

Bread Crumbs- Let sit out until dried out, you can cut them up a bit if you like. Then whirl them through the food processor. You can season them but I leave them plain for more possibilities.

Garlic bread- Split open the bun and brush with EVOO and top with garlic, italian seasoning, and parm. Toast until the broiler, watching close.

Meatball sandwiches- Make the garlic bread above then top with meatballs and marinara for a delicious dinner. I use froze meatballs so this is a quick and tasty dinner.

Greek Salad

Tip of the day- Greek Salad!

Oh, the taste of summer is in fresh tomatoes! My friend and follower Jennie introduced me to greek salad several years ago and I cant stop. The real deal is in the feta. I get a sheep and goat cheese blend at Costco that is the bees nees. When I first started buying the cheese it was French and now it is greek. Mt Vikos Feta is the brand and it is written in Greek style writing. It is $6.99 for 18 oz which is a lot for me. So, I cut the block into 4-5 slices and freeze the extra that I dont need today in baggies. This way I can have feta ready whenever my own tomatoes decide to spring up and sing.

Greek Salad

Tomatoes diced

Cucumber peeled and diced (I use English cucumbers from Costco)

Red onion sliced thinly and chopped up a bit

Olives of choice, I use black

Feta

I put equal amounts of tomato and cucumber. Toss in onion until it looks like enough and the olives. I keep the feta on the side for people to add to their liking.

Greek Dressing

1/4 EVOO

1/4 balsamic vinegar

3/4 tsp oregano, basil, garlic powder

1/4 tsp salt, pepper, onion powder, dijon mustard

Shake it all up in a tight sealing container. I also serve on the side because if there is leftovers it will trash the salad

Sweet Potato

Tip of the day- Sweet Potato!

In our house we love sweet potatoes. Baked, baked fries, and grilled are the normal. Reasons to eat more of them is because they have almost twice the recommended daily allowance of vitamin A, 42 percent of the recommendation for vitamin C, four times the RDA for beta carotene, and, when eaten with the skin, sweet potatoes have more fiber than oatmeal. All these benefits with only about 130 to 160 calories! Well here are three new ways to use them. (foodreference.com)

Potato Pocket

Yukon gold potatoes

Sweet potatoes

Yellow onion

Thinly slice potatoes and onions. Put in foil with salt and pepper and dot with butter. Seals the foil pocket and grill until potatoes are tender.

Sweet Potato Pancakes

Add 2-3 medium cooked and mashed sweet potatoes to pancake batter. I add spices like clove, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, and/or cardamon.

Sweet potato burritos

This is a recipe I plan to try soon. Here is an example from allrecipes.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Addictive-Sweet-Potato-Burritos/Detail.aspx

Bacon'n Pancakes

Tip of the day-Bacon'n pancakes!

This is one of the few life's lessons I learned from my Papa. He introduced Guy and I to the revolutionary idea of cooking your bacon into your pancakes. With real bacon some of the fat is sucked up in the batter but with turkey bacon (my lot in life) no so much, but still good.

First partial cook your bacon, or at least on one side.

Then mix up your batter, I use the old fashion pancake recipe on allrecipes, with aluminum free baking powder.

Then pour out your batter and place the bacon on the uncooked side.

Then, partake in the goodness.

Eva is always a great help. While I cooked these up she rearranged the spices. Sweet girl!