I was craving pizza tonight and didn't have dough or crusts made so I whipped out my Multigrain Crispbreads from IKEA, added sauce and some toppings, placed in the oven to melt the cheese and Walla - Mini Pizzas - so yummy!

Each crisp is only 40 calories each with 3 grams of fiber a piece (with out toppings)

I have been wanting to do Meals in Jars for some time now. This isn't a new concept. For me, I want to use them as my convenient meals. Yes, I realize that some of these are crock pot meals. So I will explain. I want to be able to grab my crock pot, grab a jar, pour the contents of the jar and the water in the crock pot, cover, and set time. I don't want to have to gather everything  and measure it all out the morning of. I would rather use that time for sleeping :). I hope you enjoy these recipes. If you have suggestions or variations, I would love to hear them. Please note that all the recipes are adjusted to my tastes. So if you don't like a lot of salt, or you hate mushrooms, you can leave them out or adjust the recipe to your tastes.
Some of the items I dehydrate myself but for the majority of the dehydrated & freeze dried items I purchase from Honeyville.

CLICK ON LABEL TO DOWNLOAD LARGER PRINTABLE VERSION - FILES ARE JPG'S

These recipes are for me to use within the month - even though they will stay fresh for longer, if you are going to store them for longer periods of time, I recommend using oxygen absorbers. Here is a great page on making your Meals in Jars for Long Term Storage >>Go to Page<< Chef Tess has more great recipes if you want to experiment with more Meals in Jars.

Ingredients
1 pound ground turkey
1 jar enchilada sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 dozen corn tortillas

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, lightly coat 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray.

Brown ground turkey on med-high heat. Once meat is cooked through add 3/4's of the can of enchilada sauce. Stir throughout the meat, reduce to medium heat. Cook for another 5 minutes or until sauce has thickened. Remove from heat.

Heat corn tortillas in the microwave, I do mine all at once, covered with a microwave safe bowl so it steams them. Be careful when removing the bowl - very hot and steamy.

Layout first tortilla (making sure to keep the others covered so they don't get cold), add 2 tbsp of meat mixture, top with 1 tablespoon of shredded cheese. Fold sides in and place in pan (seam side down). Proceed with the rest of the tortillas, meat, and cheese until your pan is full. Spread the remainder of the sauce on top of enchiladas. This will be a very thin layer.

Cover with foil, place in oven, bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, remove foil from top, add a light layer of cheese, place back in the oven (uncovered) for 10 more minutes, or until cheese has melted.

Top with Homemade Salsa and serve.

About 3 years ago, I started making my own French bread and baguettes. I couldn't believe how easy it was. Yes, it does take a little time, especially with the rising, but it is so worth it! I usually just set the timer and go do other things (like clean) for that amount of time. Usually I make them on the weekends, and I make them in large batches. That way I have them on hand when I don't have much time to cook after work. I wrap each of the baguettes separately and place in our deep freezer. Then when I want one for dinner, I take one out of the freezer and let it sit on the counter for about 10 mins (while the oven is heating up to 350 degrees). I place the baguette on a cookie sheet and place in the oven for about 10 minutes to warm it through. Walla! Hot bread with dinner!

With this batch that is pictured I doubled the recipe and also made a baking sheet of smaller ones. My hubby loves to use them for sandwiches!

I hope you enjoy making these as much as I do.

Ingredients
3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 packages active dry yeast
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups warm water or whey (120 degrees F to 130 degrees F)
Cornmeal
1 egg white, slightly beaten
1 tablespoon water

Directions
1. In a large mixing bowl stir together 2 cups of the unbleached flour, the olive oil, the yeast, and salt. Add the warm water to the flour mixture. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (8 to 10 minutes total). Shape dough into a ball. Place in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface. Cover; let rise in a warm place until double in size (about 1 hour).

3. Punch dough down. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into 4 portions. Cover; let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly grease a baking sheet. Sprinkle with cornmeal.

4. Roll each portion of the dough into a 14x5-inch to 16x5-inch rectangle. Roll up, starting from a long side; seal well. Pinch ends and pull slightly to taper. Place seam side down on prepared baking sheets or baguette pan. In a small bowl stir together egg white and water. Brush some of the egg white mixture over loaves. Let rise until nearly double in size (35 to 45 minutes).

5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Using a sharp knife, make 3 or 4 diagonal cuts about 1/4 inch deep across the top of each loaf. Bake for 20 minutes. Brush again with some of the egg white mixture. Continue baking for 8 to 10 minutes more or until bread sounds hollow when lightly tapped. Immediately remove bread from baking sheet. Cool on wire racks. Makes 4 baguettes (56 slices)

Recipe adapted from Better Homes & Gardens 2001 Cookbook. Changed it to use some Whole Wheat flour and Olive Oil.

2 cups nutritional yeast
1/4 cup kosher salt
2 TBS onion powder
1 TBS parsley
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp celery salt (or ground celery seeds)
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp marjoram
1 tsp thyme

Combine all the ingredients into a clean jar. Mix together. To test taste, add a 1 teaspoon to a quarter cup of water. Adjust accordingly.

To use as broth powder. Add 1 tablespoon to every 2 cups of water.

* recipe adapted from Budgeting with the Bushman's

1/2 head of white cabbage (sliced into small strips)
1/2 cup shredded carrots
3 green onions diced
2 tbsp Hoison sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 clove garlic minced
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup mushrooms thinly diced
1/2 tsp ground ginger
Salt & Pepper to taste
Egg Roll Wrappers (we used Melissa's Egg Roll Wraps)
1 egg (You need a scrambled egg (non-cooked) to seal the edges.)

In a medium pan, combine the first 9 ingredients and cook on medium until slightly tender, remove from heat and drain liquid. This is when we tasted to make sure it was the flavor we wanted. We added a little salt and pepper and then let cool slightly.

Lay egg roll wrapper on your work area. Place some of the stuffing mixture across the bottom 1/3 and roll up like a burrito being sure to fold in the sides. Moisten the top edge with the egg yolk and seal egg roll closed. Repeat for the remaining wrappers. Heat oil to 360ºF and fry the egg rolls until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Makes 2 dough balls, enough for 2 medium-large pizzas

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees)
1 envelope (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant or rapid-rise yeast
2-2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups rye flour
1 Tbsp kosher salt (I think it brings out the flavors, but if you don't like salt then only add 1 tsp)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 Tbsp Roasted Garlic & Herb Seasoning (McCormick Grill Mates Brand - we buy it at Wal-Mart)

Directions:
Place 2 cups of the unbleached all-purpose flour, the rye flour, the yeast and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix briefly on low speed.

Add the olive oil to the water, and then, with the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the water mixture into the flour mixture. Once the ingredients are well combined, turn off the mixer and switch to the dough hook attachment. Knead the dough on low speed until it is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. If the dough seems overly sticky, you can add the remaining 1/4 cup of unbleached all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, during the kneading process. (At this point, you can freeze half or all of the dough. Freezing directions are below.)

Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place until nearly doubled in size, about 1-1 1/2 hours.

To assemble pizzas, roll each half of the dough out into a 14-inch circle. (I use a combination of rolling with a rolling pin and stretching the dough with my hands.) Place dough on a piece of parchment paper that has been sprinkled with cornmeal, and place the parchment paper on a baking sheet. Top pizza as desired.

To bake pizza, preheat a pizza stone in a 500 degree oven for at least 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 425 degrees and slide the pizza and parchment paper onto the stone, using the baking sheet to help with the transfer. Bake until the cheese begins to brown and the crust edges are golden, about 8 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand a few minutes before slicing.

To freeze pizza dough: After kneading, divide the dough in half and form each half into a smooth, round ball. Dust each dough ball with flour and place in a zip-top plastic bag; place dough in freezer. Pizza dough can be frozen for up to one month. To use, thaw dough in refrigerator overnight, and then let it warm up on the counter for about 2 hours before using)

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 large carrots, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1.5 cups chopped leeks (white & light green parts only)
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken or turkey stock or broth
1 cup salsa
2 cups 2% milk
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp Aleppo peppers (crushed)
1 tsp ground cumin
3-4 cups shredded turkey
1 can corn, (drained)
3 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese

1. In a large stockpot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add vegetables and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes. Add salsa..

2. In a bowl, whisk together milk, flour, salt, crushed aleppo peppers and cumin. Increase heat to high and whisk milk mixture into soup. Stir until thick and bubbly, about five minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add turkey, corn, cilantro and cheese; stir until cheese is melted and soup is hot, 5 to 10 minutes.

2 cups rolled oats (not instant) or 1 2/3 cups oat flour
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting and kneading
1 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 3/4 cups buttermilk, plus more if needed, and 2T. for brushing

Oats or mixed seeds - sesame, caraway, poppy, etc.

Preheat the oven to 400°F with a rack in the middle of the oven. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

To make the oat flour, use a food processor to pulse the rolled oats a few times. Then process into a fine powder - another minute or two. If you are buying oat flour, not making your own, measure out 1 2/3 cups.

Wisk the flours, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the flour and pour in the buttermilk. Stir just until everything comes together into a dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured countertop and knead for 30 seconds or so, just long enough for the dough to come together into a cohesive, ball without many cracks or fissures. If your dough is on the dry side, add more buttermilk a small splash at a time. Now ease the dough ball onto the prepared cookie sheet.

Brush all over the top and sides with buttermilk and sprinkle generously with mixed seeds, flour, or oats, 2 tablespoons or so. Slice a few deep slashes across the top of the dough. Bake for about 45-50 minutes, so the top of the bread gets nice and toasted. The bread will feel very solid and sound hollow when you knock on it. Carefully lift it off the cookie sheet, in a timely fashion, and allow to cool on a wire rack. If you can, let site for an hour to cool before eating... that's if you can wait that long. Enjoy with a good slathering of salted butter.

Makes one loaf.

Prep time: 10 min - Cook time: 50 min

Recipe adapted from 101 Cookbooks