(On-the-Go) Pizza Burgers

Since this was one of my meals this week, I thought I would share the recipe with you.

My original recipe includes SPAM, but I didn't have any, and truthfully don't really like using it, so I skipped it.  I think they tasted just great without it!

Here is my recipe:

Pizza Burgers
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*Ground Beef, one pound (browned)
*1/2 Tbsp. Minced Onion or 1/2 fresh chopped onion
*1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (a little more, if you like!)  :)
*1 cup spaghetti sauce
*1/2 cup tomato sauce (skipped this last time...worked out fine)
*1/4 tsp. sage
*1/2 tsp. oregano
*1/4 tsp. salt
*1/2 tsp. parsley

Combine browned ground beef, onion, and cheese.  Add sauce and spices.  Mix well.  Spread meat onto open face hamburger buns.  Bake at 350* for 15 minutes.

This recipe can easily be doubled, tripled, etc. and frozen.  I like to freeze the mix alone.  I have never tried freezing the mix on the buns before, but it probably would work out fine.

I think this would qualify for an on-the-go meal, don't you??  :)

This recipe was featured at Family Balance Sheet as part of "12 Fast Family Dinners"!  Check it out! Pin It

Healthy Snacks To Go Ebook Giveaway

Oh, this really goes along with my quest for finding healthy on-the-go snacks and meals to make!
Right now, Heavenly Homemakers is offering a chance to win one of five Healthy Snacks To Go Ebooks!
From Tater Skins, to Power Bars, the recipes look great!


Check it out, if you want a chance to get some great ideas on healthy snacks!

Thank you Heavenly Homemakers! Pin It

Ham & Cheese Melts with Poppyseed Mustard Sauce

I am happy to report that my menu planning has been going very well!  Yay!  Last week, I changed a couple of the days around, but that wasn't a problem....I can be flexible!  :)
This week, I have stayed on schedule and I wanted to share a recipe that my WHOLE family loved!  Those recipes are KEEPERS!

We used to have the pleasure of eating at church on Wednesday nights.  It was wonderful!  One of the menu items was nummy little ham & cheese melts with a mustard & poppy seed sauce.  I didn't have the recipe, but I sure can let my fingers do the walking on Swagbucks!  Hee hee!  To my delight, I found many recipes for Poppyseed Ham Rolls, Party Ham Rolls, Poppyseed Ham Delights....they had all different names, but were basically the recipe I was looking for!  Yay!

So, this is what I did:
Ham and Cheese Melts
*8 hot dog buns (I had these leftover from the weekend, you could use any buns)
*6 T. butter, melted
*3 tsp. mustard
*1 tsp. poppyseeds
*1 tsp. worcestershire sauce (I might try without this next time)
*deli ham (8 slices)
*swiss cheese (8 slices)

Preheat oven to 350*.  Melt butter in small saucepan.  Add in mustard, poppyseeds, and worcestershire sauce.  Mix well, but do not boil.  Open buns and spread (pour, maybe) sauce on both sides of open buns.  Layer swiss cheese and deli ham on each bun.  Place buns in a 9x13 pan.  Cover with foil.  Bake in 350* oven for 15 minutes.

These are very nummy!  They actually could qualify for my On-The-Go meals, I believe!  They could easily be individually wrapped, frozen and then thawed before baking.

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On-the-Go Italian Scones

This was totally an experiment!!!!  I think it will be a recipe though, that I will enjoy adjusting with different ingredients.  My inspiration came from Family Fun magazine's recipe for Pizza Scones.  I loved the idea because it is more on-the-go food for our busy baseball season.  I wanted to give it a try.  When I read the ingredients for the pizza scones, I wondered if my Very Easy Scones recipe would work for the base.  I love my recipe, because it has less ingredients and uses canola oil instead of butter.  Then, I thought, since I am using italian seasonings, why not use olive oil instead of canola oil!!!  Even better for you!!!  :)  This is what I came up with....

On-the-Go Italian Scones
*2 c. flour
*2 tsp. (heaping) baking powder
*1 T. oregano
*1/2 tsp. basil
*1/4 tsp. kosher salt
*1 cup shredded cheese (I used half cheddar/half mozzarella)
*1/3 c. olive oil (gives a very distinct flavor, you could use canola oil)
*2/3 c. milk
(Optional ingredients to add:  chopped up pepperoni, sun-dried tomatoes...)
Preheat oven to 400*F.  Grease cookie sheet.  Mix dry ingredients.  Add shredded cheese.  Mix oil and milk.  Add to dry ingredients.  Stir until moistened.  Turn onto a floured board, or use a little corn meal, if you have on hand.  Knead into a ball, and then form into a flattened circle, about an inch thick.  Cut into 8 - 12 wedges, depending on the size you would like to make.  Place wedges on cookie sheet.  Bake at 400* for approx. 13 - 15 minutes.  The time will vary depending on the thickness of your scones.  Bake until a light golden brown.

As usual, I had mixed reviews at home.  But, as long as, a few liked them, I consider them worth making again.  One of these days, I will make the Family Fun version too, just to compare. 

This post is linked to:
Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
$5 Dollar Dinner Challenge
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday 
A Southern Fairytale Pin It

On-the-Go Snack Mix...Frugal too!

In my quest for on-the-go meals to have on hand for sports nights, I remembered something that I use to always bring along with me in the days of carrying a diaper bag (those days seem like sooo long ago)!  I always had some snack along, in case hunger struck the little ones, or me, for that matter!  Since I have the pleasure of only having to carry my purse wherever I go, I had forgotten about the wonderful little snack mixes I used to make....a lot!
This is a great idea for eating on the go, and you can create endless varieties.  I am referring to make your own snack mixes, using cereals, nuts, pretzels, raisins, you name it....it is also a great way to use up the last little bit of cereal in each box.  (For some reason, we have about 6 boxes of cereal in the cupboard, with about a 1/2 cup of cereal in each....but I'm off topic now....)
This will be great a great on-the-go snack for going to the games, for the fans watching the games, and for some nourishment on the way home from the games....I better make a BIG batch!!!

On-the-Go Snack Mix
*1 cup Honey Nut Cheerios (Oatmeal Squares, any Chex cereals, Fruit Loops for a special treat, cereals that aren't too fragile...)
*1 cup Mini pretzels, or pretzel sticks
*1 cup Raisins (or other dried fruit...banana chips, apricots, pineapples)
*1/2 cup Chocolate chips (in colder weather), or 1 cup M&Ms (any variety)
*1 cup Almonds, peanuts or any nuts...unless there are allergies in your family
*1 cup mini marshmallows
Of course, choose ingredients that your children will enjoy.  Sometimes I have found they might not like a cereal with milk, but they love it in the snack mix.  (The added treats seem to help them eat all of the mix also.)
The amounts don't have to be this specific...I sometimes just "eyeball it" and put together a mix that looks good! 
Place the mixture in a large airtight container or ziploc bag.  Another idea is to place individual portions into snack bags and store them in a large container to grab on-the-go!  These are so much cheaper than buying snack mixes!!!
Enjoy!

Do you have any other ingredients that you add to your on-the-go snack mixes at your house?  We would love to hear about them! Pin It

On-the-Go Pizza Rolls

Well, last evening was our first night with 3 boys in 3 different practices!!!!  It has only just begun.....but I will not get stressed about it.  I will try to take "a day a time" approach with a little meal planning thrown in!  :)
I stumbled upon this great recipe for Pizza Rolls.  It was posted on Once a Month Mom's blog.  She found it a recipezaar.com, however.  I thought I would give it a try and the results were great.  EVERYONE liked them.  We ate half of the fresh ones, and I froze the rest.  I might have to update this post after we thaw and eat the frozen ones, so I can let you know any tips.  The thing we liked about these too, is that they are good cold (kindof like eating cold pizza).

This is how I made the them...rather plain, because this was a trial run.  :)  The possibilities are endless of the fillings that you could add!  :)

On-the Go Pizza Rolls
*pizza crust dough
1 1/4 - 1 3/8 cups water
3 tbsp. olive oil
4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. active dry yeast
Place ingredients in bread machine pan.  Set on "dough" cycle and let the machine work for you.  When dough cycle is finished, place dough on a floured surface. 
*pepperoni slices (1/2 package)
*shredded cheddar (or mozzarella) cheese (approx. 1 cup)
**When dough is finished, roll out flat to a large rectangle.  Lay pepperoni slices on dough.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Starting on the long side of the rectangle, slowly roll up dough to make a long tube.  Slice off 1 inch slices and places flat side down on a greased cookie sheet.

Let the rolls sit for 10-20 minutes for the dough to rise/expand around the filling a little.  Bake at 400* for 20-25 minutes or until golden.

Serve hot.  We ate them plain, but you can serve them with a pizza sauce, if desired.

Update April 30:  Last night my son wanted to have two of these.  They were frozen and I simply placed wrapped one in a paper towel and microwaved for 30 seconds.  They came out great!  He ate that one, and we prepared a second one.  It too, was great!!!! 

This post is linked to Frugal Friday at Mrs. Moneysaver
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On-the-Go Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joes always sound messy, don't they?  I'm not sure if giving something so tasty a name like that, is very fair.  In my attempt to make "on the go" meals, I am first looking at recipes that my family already enjoys.  I thought about how I could make some of these and still take them with us, if need be.  Of course, sloppy joes are always best eaten at a table, or a least with a plate in front of you but here's a thought....I am going to prepare sloppy joes the usual way and then try serving them in a pita pocket!  I think my family would like that for a change.  Here's the recipe that I am preparing today.  (No baseball tonight, so we will use buns.)  I plan to buy pita bread to have on hand, however.  I will post a picture when I do.  :)   

Often when I make sloppy joes I don't measure anything but add a little ketchup, mustard, brown sugar and apple cider vinegar to taste.  I will give you a "real" recipe here!!!  LOL!!

Sloppy Joes
*3 lbs. ground beef
*1 1/2 c. ketchup
*3 T. brown sugar
*2 tsp. dry or regular mustard
*2 T. apple cider vinegar
*2 1/2 tsp. salt (that's quite a bit, use less if desired)
*1/4 tsp. pepper
*1 tsp. worcestershire sauce
*1 can tomato soup
***Brown hamburger.  Mix all ingredients and let simmer 15 to 20 minutes.  Fills 20 buns.

This is a great recipe to make and then freeze in portions.  When ready to use just reheat and fill buns.

Here is the On-the-Go version, I said I would post!  Mmm!  I bought Tasty Onion flavored Kangaroo Pita Pockets and they went well with the sloppy joe flavor!  By the way, I made it without the tomato soup and the worcestershire sauce.  It still tasted great!  :)
This post is linked to $5 Dollar Dinners, Blessed with Grace and Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.

For a printable version of the this recipe click here. Pin It

Baseball season is upon us!!! On the go food needed!!!!

Well, a sure sign of spring is the start of baseball season!  As a mother of 3 boys, that means 3 baseball players to follow!   We actually really love watching baseball and I am looking forward to another season.
The dilemma comes with preparing more "on the go" food that is both healthy to eat and frugal to make.  My goal is to plan and prepare meals that I can make ahead of time, and if need be, we can bring them along with us to baseball when needed.

Do you have that challenge in your house?  I would love to hear your ideas.  I will maybe even try my hand at a Mr. Linky so you can link up your favorite "on the go" meals to my blog.  Pin It