Turkey Tacos in the Crock-pot

I'm not gonna lie- I use my crock-pot year round. And I finally upgraded and got a programmable CP (my cool abbreviation for crock pot). Which is super cool because I am usually not home in time for the 6 hour window, so it automatically switches itself to warming mode.  For some reason this week when I planned my dinner meals, I ended up having 5 CP recipes in a row. Which I am not going to lie- was pretty awesome to come home and not have to cook.

First up, was an idea that came to me when I couldn't sleep (like most ideas do) I had gone to my friend, Amy's house, earlier that night. The Cubs were in the playoffs and we watched the game with the families. Let's not talk about how the Cubs ended the playoffs (wound still too fresh). Anyways, she made turkey tacos. They were really good! And for someone who once refused to jump on the ground turkey train- that's very big for me to say! I try and make my meals as "heart healthy" as possible so ground beef is not really consumed in my casa much anymore. And if it is, it's usually a 93/7 mix- kinda dry for taco meat. So anyways, one of my favorite things to make in the CP is Turkey Chili. I literally throw everything in there, including frozen ground turkey, and let it cook for 6-8 hours. So i figured I would try the same for taco meat.

Long story short- the results were really amazing. I used 4 whole ingredients, which makes this recipe great on the budget! And I think because the meat simmered all day long, it wasn't turkey tasting at all. And when I came home, all I had to do open a can of beans and warm up some tortillas.

Overall, it's a super easy recipe, very versatile, and great for large groups or even parties. I didn't get a chance to snap a picture of the finished product, because everyone scarfed it up so fast. But here's the dets:

Crock-Pot Turkey Tacos

Ingredients:

Gotta love recipes where you dump everything in!

• 1 lb Ground Turkey (frozen works fine)

• 1 Chopped Onion

• 1 14.5 oz Can Diced Tomatoes (Rotel would be awesome!)

• 1 envelope of Taco Seasoning (I used one envelope to one pound meat ratio, you could always do more/less)

Directions: Spray Crock Pot with Nonstick spray. Dump all ingredients in Crock Pot. I put the taco seasoning directly on the meat, which worked really well. Let cook on low for 6-10 hours. Crumble meat with spoon, stir, and enjoy! :) 

Nutrition Facts
Servings 5.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 176
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 6 g	10 %
Saturated Fat 2 g	8 %
Monounsaturated Fat 0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 68 mg	23 %
Sodium 631 mg	26 %
Potassium 47 mg	1 %
Total Carbohydrate 10 g	3 %
Dietary Fiber 1 g	5 %
Sugars 3 g
Protein 18 g	36 %
Vitamin A	21 %
Vitamin C	14 %
Calcium	4 %
Iron	11 %
* The Percent Dai

How I Saved My Husband $300 a Month

This weekend was epic. Literally. Hubby and I were able to get out and have some fun with my very best friend and her husband. What I thought would be a night of pizza and beers ended up being pizza, beers, 7 and 7s, more beers, video gaming, hole in the wall bars (literally), karaoke, chocolate Long Johns, and CVS trips at 3 am. Mike Tyson's tiger needed to show up and the night would have been complete.  We only needed all of Sunday to recoup but it was so much fun! Since we have really been trying to budget our money, I was surprised we could swing spending the money. However, Hubby told me that me pre-making his breakfasts and lunches have saved him $300 a month! So in combination with his Breakfast bowls/burritos/ Breakfast Sandwiches and his premaid sandwiches, he stays away from the drive thru and saves money. This thought alone is what dragged my happy hungover butt off of the couch Sunday afternoon and head to the grocery store. 

Since Roast Beef was on sale this week, he got roast beef sandwiches for lunch. And I got to spend some time with the little one :) She was all about helping momma make daddy's sandwiches. I like to use the precut aluminum foil sheets. They are a tad bit more expensive but it makes it easier to wrap up the sandwiches. And sometimes you can find them at the Dollar Store. We set it up similar to an assembly line. Horsie Sauce, Cheese and Roast Beef. Easy Schmeshy- and we had so much fun too. What's Horsie Sauce you ask? A wonderful little creation I learned from the Hubby and it is literally one of the only things he has taught me in the kitchen so I cherish it very dearly. I'm not gonna lie, I was a little sad when I realized Arby's had this condiment as a regular side to it's sandwiches. However, I still love it and it's better than the bottled stuff you can find in the ketchup aisle. It's very complicated, and hard to grasp but please bear with me. 


Horsie Sauce
1/2 cup Mayo
1-2 Tablespoons Prepared Horseradish

Mix together ingredients and use on everything delish. French Fries, Sandwiches, Chicken Fingers, anything delicious.

Which is where my point is going....we spackled some Horsie Sauce, some Sharp Cheddar Cheese, and Roast beef and made about 8 sandwiches. Hopefully daddy will be happy, and keep on saving that money, so he can take momma out :)

Not only did the sandwiches turn out great but the baby and I were able to spend some really good time together. I used to think people who brought their kids in the kitchen were crazy but it was awesome! And the best part is, my picky eater was actually curious about what certain things taste like. For example, roast beef something she would never eat in a million years- she actually tried it and liked it! She makes me proud :)  She also wanted to feed the dog 1/2 pound of roast beef but we were able to get the meat on the sandwiches. But Owen was there willing and able to take the meat off of her hands.

Please excuse my dirty fridge- It's on the To-Do List to be cleaned.

So once we got the sandwiches together we got them all wrapped up and put into the fridge. I have this very complicated and complex organization system for the pre-made lunches and breakfasts. We have to separate and label things in my fridge or everything will be eaten in a half a second. I was able to clean out one of my precious fridge drawers and devote it to his breakfast. This is where I will keep his Breakfast bowls/burritos/ Breakfast Sandwiches for easy grabbing. A Dollar Store plastic shoebox container holds his sandwiches for his lunches. Please note the very professional and crafty signs...NOT!

Overall, it was a great time spending with the baby. I saved Daddy money, and in the middle of his crazy work day he is able to remember how much his girls love him. :)

So I decided to start a blog...

So I decided to start a blog:

Why? Who the hell knows? I juggle many many many things in my life and I feel like I should always have some type of project to do. What better than a blog?? Everyone on Pinterest has one? And I am like the Pinterest Queen. Planning recipes, dream houses, vacations, craft projects, home decor.....only problem is I have no money to do all these things!! LOL

However, my New Year's Resolution was to be more organized in 2015. And Pinterest has helped me do this. And I have learned that meal prep, meal planning, and freezer meals have saved my life! HELL YES! Between working 40 hours a week, and Nursing School, and raising a 6 year old, and a 16 year old, and a husband....I need a lot of saving!

So I found some really great articles on Pinterest about Freezer Meals and I came across this....12-easy-freezer-meals-2-hours. It was a life saver! I was able to put together 9 different crockpot meals in about an hour. However, I had to make some alterations because the Hubby hates chicken. :(

I put the ingredients in the Gallon Sized Freezer bags and I wrote on the bags how long to cook on high and low and wrote what the recipe was in the bag- totally helped! And I have come to the conclusion, that you can pretty much freeze any type of crockpot meal.

So from the dinner category I moved to Breakfast! My daughter, Olivia brings her breakfast to eat at school in the morning. (Because her crazy mother has to be at work at 7 am!)  So I have to pack her a breakfast every morning. Long story short- the mom in me started to feel bad when she was eating Pop Tarts loaded with sugar every morning. So I decided to switch it up. I made her pancakes! I made an entire box of pancakes (following the directions on the box) let them cool completely (so they don't stick together when they are freezing) and stacked them in a gallon sized freezer bag.

1. The kid loves pancakes.
2. Super cheap- box of pancake mix cost me about $1.78 and made tons of pancakes.
3. It literally takes me two minutes in the morning to grab some pancakes out of the freezer bag, pop it in container for transport to school and microwave it . 

I found this great pin on pinterest about basically doing the same with french toast and making your own French Toast Sticks. Awesome idea! 

So while we are talking about breakfast, the hubby brings breakfast every morning on the way to work. Sometimes I am a good productive wife, and I make a bunch of different things for him to grab-n-go. Other times, the lady at the Starbucks drive thru takes care of him. Well, I got my shit together and made him some Mexican Breakfast Bowls. 

I originally got the idea from a pin for Breakfast Bowls. However, the hubby loves the spice! So I made the country potatoes and added some more yumminess!

I put the potatoes in the bottom of the bowl, added some chorizo that I cooked up, jarred salsa, shredded mexican cheese, and scrambled eggs....HOLLA! You got a breakfast bowl!! I used an entire carton of eggs, which isn't bad because I made 6 bowls aka 2 per bowl. I used a thing of chorizo, which isn't bad because when you break it up and cook it- there's not that much. 

I'm sure you could freeze these but he ate them up so quick, they stayed in the fridge.
It was a nice change for him from the Starbucks Drive Thru, and the Breakfast Burritos that I normally make and freeze for him. I will post those later :)
I think that is good for the blogging now.