Make Your Own Meal Kits

Written Thursday, October 15th, 2009 by Penny Hawkins

Some of you might remember my post from last July where I described some of my favorite supermarket shortcuts from the freezer. In that post, one of the shortcuts I listed was Jimmy Dean Breakfast Scrambles, which my husband and I love for a quick meal anytime. They are soeasy and convenient that I usually have one of these handy little time-savers in the freezer at all times! A few days ago, after we had another of our “breakfast scramble” suppers, I started thinking that it would be cool to try and make my own kits and see if I could do it for less money. Since my husband’s favorite breakfast scramble is sausage, I decided to try and copy that one first. 

After a quick trip to the store for ingredients, I am delighted to say that my experiment was a success. For the same price as one Jimmy Dean Sausage Breakfast Scramble (purchased at the local Superstore for $3.48), I was able to purchase enough ingredients to create three kits of my own, equal in size to Jimmy Dean’s, for just $2.65 each! In addition to the great savings, the best part was that I had total control over what went into my kits! I like that there were no worries about excessive sodium, that I could adjust the ingredients to suit our tastes, and that I could make it healthier by using turkey breakfast sausage instead of pork sausage.

Now that I know how easy and economical it is to make my own meal kits, I plan to experiment with some more and blog about it in future posts (so stay tuned)! If you have any meal kit ideas, please give me a shout out…maybe your idea will be a feature on Food for Thought here at Half Hour Meals!

Penny’s Breakfast Skillet Meal Kit:

In a large skillet, brown turkey breakfast sausage in vegetable oil; remove from skillet and drain on paper towels. In a large bowl, combine cooled turkey sausage with potatoes and pepper/onion mix and toss ingredients to combine evenly. Divide mixture in equal amounts among three gallon-size freezer bags (I found scooping it out with a one-cup measure worked great). Label and freeze, use within 6 months. Note: Since you only need 1 ½ lbs. turkey sausage for the recipe and it’s sold in 1 lb. rolls, you obviously have to buy two lbs. I cook it all, and then just freeze the extra ½ lb. for use later (or use it to make up a quick quiche)!

To prepare Breakfast Skillet:

In a large pan, heat vegetable oil over medium heat. When oil is hot, add contents of Breakfast Skillet Kit. Cook Breakfast Skillet until potatoes are beginning to brown and onions and peppers are soft. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk eggs and milk until combined. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, push Breakfast Skillet to one side of the pan; pour egg mixture into the empty half of the skillet. Using a wooden spoon, constantly stir and scrape the eggs until they begin to scramble. Once eggs are scrambled, stir to combine with Breakfast Skillet. Remove from heat and serve.

Variation: Breakfast Skillet Kits make a great frittata!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Take contents of one kit, thawed, and arrange in a greased 9-inch pie pan. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and milk; pour over breakfast skillet mixture; sprinkle with pepper. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes. Top with shredded cheese and bake an additional 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted and beginning to brown.

Supermarket Shortcuts- From the Shelves

Written Friday, August 1st, 2008 by Penny Hawkins

Some of my favorite Supermarket Shortcuts are on the shelves. With a little imagination, there are so many things that can help you get dinner on the table fast. Here are just a few ideas:

“Ready Rice�- These are an easy and convenient side dish as well as a meal-starter because they’re ready in 90 seconds. Add some sautéed meat and veggies and you have your own rice bowl. Uncle Ben’s and Comet both have several varieties that are really good.

Canned Stew- When homemade is not possible, with a little imagination these can be an acceptable substitute. Canned beef stew can be topped with mashed potatoes and baked in the oven for easy Shepard’s Pie, or topped with biscuits or a pie crust for a quick pot-pie. If you can find it, Mrs. Fearnow’s Brunswick Stew is pretty good as well. My family likes it served over rice. Remember to round out your meal with a salad or some fresh fruit.

Progresso Soups- There are several varieties that are great served over cooked rice or topped with biscuits or dumplings.

Packaged Dinner Kits- Like their frozen counterparts, these are both easy and convenient, especially for people who don’t like to cook. Not as good as homemade, but they can be doctored with some dried herbs or sautéed onion to make them a decent alternative. If you go this route, try to stick with the ones that allow you to add your own fresh meat. Also remember to look at the label on these if you are watching your sodium intake as they tend to have high sodium content (like Hamburger Helper).

Boboli Pizza Crust- These are almost a no-brainer! Add some jarred pizza sauce, fresh mozzarella and pepperoni and dinner is done! Your imagination is the only limit to the varieties of pizza you can make with these. They are also a great foundation for last-minute appetizers.

Angel Food Cake- A super-easy dessert idea (and the cake is fat-free!). Top it with fruit and ice cream, cut it in chunks and layer it with pudding and canned pie filling, or smother it with custard sauce and fudge. The possibilities are endless for a quick and delicious dessert using store-bought angel food cake!

These are just a few of the shortcuts to be found in your grocery store. If you begin the practice of looking at items and thinking of other ways to use them, you’ll be surprised at what you can come up with. Be creative, don’t be afraid to take chances and try new combinations. Not every one will be a winner, but some of the best-loved recipes of today began as accidents (ever hear of chocolate chip cookies?).

One last thing: remember to pay attention to the labels when using convenience foods, because they can be high in sodium and saturated fats. For a more well-rounded meal, try to combine convenience foods with fresh ingredients or serve them along with fresh ingredients like a salad or some fruit. I hope you find these shortcuts helpful and I hope they save you as much time, money and frustration as they have for me.

Supermarket Shortcuts- From the Freezer Part 2

Written Sunday, July 27th, 2008 by Penny Hawkins

Here are some more of my favorite shortcuts from the freezer aisle of the supermarket:

Jimmy Dean Breakfast Scrambles- When you're in the mood for "breakfast supper" these are a super fast and easy meal. All you have to do is add fresh egg and in 10 minutes you're done! They come with the meat already in them, and I found there was plenty of it and it did not taste like rubber. We like the sausage best, but the bacon was also very good. I often make these for breakfast when we have had overnight company. With fresh fruit and toast, muffins or biscuits, they make an easy and satisfying breakfast.

Frozen Stir-Fry Veggies- Add your own beef or chicken and a bottle of teriyaki sauce or a package of stir-fry seasoning and you have dinner in about 15 minutes. Serve over Minute rice, or my new favorite, Ready Rice by Uncle Ben's that you microwave for 90 seconds.

Frozen Cakes, Pies and Cream Puffs- These are great for emergency desserts when you get last-minute company and have no time to bake. I love the Pepperidge Farm cakes because they taste fresh and they are just the right size (no too big, not too small). I am not a huge fan of bake-and-serve pies because most of them aren't as good as my homemade, but I do love the lemon meringue pies from Edwards (their pecan pies are also very good). Frozen cream puffs are also great because all you have to do is set them out to thaw on a serving plate an hour or so before dinner, drizzle some jarred fudge sauce over them and serve (for a really elegant look, scatter some fresh berries around them too). Yum!!