Creamy Poppyseed Chicken

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I hope you have someone you love to cuddle up with and share this special day with you, even if it's just your snuggly little children. If you don't, I hope you enjoy your Single's Awareness Day, and just think how the rest of us fondly remember the days we could walk into Walmart without saying "no" 458 times and at least one potty trip. Ah, blessings.

Stroganoff Skillet

The first time I discovered this little gem of a recipe, it was Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. It dawned on me:

There's nothing in the house for dinner.

So I scoured through cookbooks trying to find a recipe that would feed us all, and I had all ingredients on hand. I found this recipe in my Gooseberry Patch cookbook. There are two things I love about it. Okay, three. No, wait, four. (I should really think before I type, huh?)

Bow Tie Chicken Salad

Ages ago, my sister was thrown a baby shower. Our family friend Sallie Petersen (and wife of my dad's business partner and former neighbor), offered to host it at her home. She also offered to throw together this simple salad. Since then, this is our family's favorite salad. It's the perfect salad to toss together for company.

French Dip

When I was a kid, my sister, Anna, decided to make our family a meal she had first had in the school lunch room: french dip. At first, I told her I didn't want to try it. I don't like roast beef sandwiches, and to this day I'm not a fan. But she looked at me and told me I had to try it. From that day forward, a beautiful relationship was born. I loved french dip and it's accompanying cup of au jus. If I go to a restaurant and french dip is on the menu, chances are, I'm going to order french dip.

Pizza On the Grill

Ugh. I'm so mad. I posted this big long lovely post about my Summer on the Grill 2010 adventure, and I clicked something and poof. It was gone. I was almost done! If you have a little baby, you know how hard it is to get even a few minutes to do something the first time. Time to repeat it? Very unrealistic.

Burritos

My favorite thing about this recipe-my favorite thing-is that it freezes so well. My mom and I (with help from my husband, bro-in-law, and sister) recently made 18 freezer meals and split those up between her family, mine, and my sisters. I'm in love with freezer cooking I think. Anyway, this is one of the dishes we made and I didn't get to taste it until a week later. So good and ridiculously simple. If I make these again, I'll probably make some for dinner that night and an extra batch (or two!) for the freezer. Beats store-bought frozen burritos any day.

Beef Pot Pie

This is one of the few recipes I've come up with on my own. I absolutely love chicken pot pie, and I'll post my super simple recipe for chicken pot pie soon. About a year ago though, I was watching a lot of Food Network, particularly "30 Minute Meals with Rachel Ray." I started experimenting with foods more, in particular, beef. Steak isn't my favorite food, and I never eat it plain. But I got creative one day and came up with this lovely little dish.

Corn Dogs

Today we're making something you can typically only find in a box in your frozen foods section at the grocery store, or even better, at your state fair. I tried making these delicious corn dogs once a long, long time ago... and they were a flop. I've recently learned a few tips and tricks (thanks, Alton Brown!) and decided to try, try again.

Hearty Lasagna

I got this recipe from Home Baked Memories. I've never made a lasagna without using a jar of spaghetti sauce. This only had a couple more steps to it, and my family LOVED it.

Welcome!

Welcome to Cheep Eats & Sweets! I'm Sarah, the writer/designer/photographer/cook/creative mind/busy mom behind this yummy food blog. I wanted to start this blog because a) I adore food blogs, b) I love to cook and have the fab camera to prove it and c) I wanted to show other moms some great, quick meals to cook on a budget.

And I am. On a budget, that is. Occasionally I might throw in a "splurge" meal here or there, but the majority of my meals feed a family of 4.5+ for less than $10 and mainly using typical pantry items. No fancy shmancy gourmet cookin' here, just plain good food. And bonus, I'll include a 4x6 recipe card for each recipe to add to your own recipe box.

So to kick it off, I'll start with a recipe I just loved as a kid. It's called Poppyseed Chicken. I think my mom asked for the recipe after eating dinner at a family friends' house. I'm sure she regretted it once us kids requested it over and over and over... and over. It's delish, and easy enough to prep in the morning and pop in the oven at night. Or if you have a super busy day ahead, prep the night before!

Poppyseed Chicken

2 c. cooked chicken, cubed (use leftover chicken, grilled chicken, rotisserie chicken, whatever you have on hand!)

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 c. sour cream OR 1/2 c. sour cream and 1/2 c. milk

Ritz cracker crumbs (about 1 sleeve)

1 T. poppyseeds

1 T. butter, melted

1 lb. egg noodles

Cook the egg noodles and drain the water. Mix the sour cream and cream of chicken. Stir in the chicken. Pour egg noodles into 9x13 casserole pan. Pour on chicken mixture. Top with cracker crumbs and pour melted butter over crackers. Sprinkle poppyseeds. Cook in a 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes.

Here's your recipe card!