Porcupine Meatballs with Gravy

What a month... about four weeks ago, I decided I have had enough of my long commute to work. I recently took over a new programming area in a new community center and along with these new responsibilities has come longer hours. As a result, I am exhausted and I never see my family.

So, we are moving to Oswego, Illinois. Our new house is 9.87 miles from my work- I am going from 110 miles a day to under 20! I cannot wait. This whirlwind of events has caused my projects and my blog to take a backseat. I promise I will resume shortly- in fact, I'm in the middle of a project for our new home and will share it once we're settled around the first week of April.

For now, I'd like to share one of my favorite meals from my childhood- porcupine meatballs with gravy. I recently started making these for my family. I forgot how delicious and budget-friendly this recipe is. With just a box of Rice-a-Roni, a pound of beef and an egg, you have a great dinner for the family. And if you have a young family like mine, you'll have plenty of left-overs. This pairs perfectly with my Garlic Mashed Potatoes recipe.

Here is the recipe...

Chicken Enchilada Crescent Bake

I love Mexican food. The spices mixed in with the tomatoes, peppers and meat create an amazing combination. I've found that whether its in pasta, tortillas or now, crescent rolls, its always amazing.

I came up with this recipe after I made a similar recipe with just chicken, cheese and cream of chicken soup. This is a quick and easy dinner that can be made during the week that is also healthy. 

Here is the recipe: 

French Bread Pizza with BBQ Pizza Sauce

This is my busiest time of the year at work...getting ready for preschool to start means editing staff manuals, planning a week of teacher training, hiring new staff, planning open houses, and assembling all the back-to-school literature for the preschool participants...in addition, we're writing the winter 2013 program guide- with the addition of a new facility that means more classes- and we're working on 2013 budgets. Its a lot to get done in the month of August and I'm exhausted!

I have had no energy by the time I get home the past couple weeks and making dinner has become a chore. I have been on the hunt for cheap, easy meals that aren't totally from a box.

Pizza is always a hit in our family and this recipe is a healthy, delicious meal that takes only a few minutes to prepare. The one loaf fed the five of us with no leftovers.

Low Point Taco Pockets

This recipe is originally from Pillsbury, but I made a couple modifications to lighten it up and add a little flavor. It tasted great and was only 8 WW points. With a quarter cup of corn, I had a very delicious and filling nine point dinner. Clinton has already made the request that I make this more often.

It is a little weird to have 12 biscuits as an ingredient, since its not quite two cans, however, if you only need 8, you can save the leftover meat for tacos for your lunch the next day.

Taco Pockets

12 Reduced-fat buttermilk Jumbo refrigerated biscuits
1 lb lean ground beef or turkey
1 packet taco season
1/2 C water
1 1/2 C salsa
1 can black beans
11 tbsp reduced-fat cheddar cheese

Heat oven to 375. Brown beef. Add taco season, water, salsa and black beans. Heat through.

Roll out biscuits into a 6 inch circle. Fill one 1/2 of each circle with 1/3 C taco mixture and 1 Tbsp cheese. Fold over the empty side and seal with a fork. Bake 9-12 minutes until pockets are golden brown.