"Just Wing It" Dinners

So, as I mentioned before, the end of the month seems be the time to scrounge in the freezer and cupboards and just hope there are enough decent ingredients to put together a few meals.  And I'm happy to say, we made it to the start of a new month rather successfully.  I hate reading recipe books and getting discouraged by not having the ingredients, but I'm not usually creative enough to adjust it for what I have.  And I really like to cook, but I often lack inspiration.  We have our favorite meals and I tend to make them, or a version of them, on a regular basis. 

Here are a couple of "just wing it" meals that I'm pretty proud of this month :) 


Dinner 1: Apple Cider Pork Roast
(I didn't take exact measurements of the ingredients...so hopefully this is close)

Pork Roast
2 cups of apple cider (ours was homemade and I'd already added some cinnamon and mulling spices)
Garlic (as much as you can handle...we like alot)
salt and pepper to taste
1 onion, chopped

Throw everything in the crockpot and cook on low about 6-7 hours.  I threw my roast in straight from the freezer, so if it's thawed (which in my house it rarely is), it would probably cook less. 

This came out AMAZING!!  The subtle sweetness from the apple cider was so good, but it still left enough pork flavor.  I did end up dipping mine in bbq sauce because I'm a total dipper and I'm falling madly in love with bbq lately :) 


Dinner 2: Taco Casserole. 
I've had a few different versions of this, but I'm pretty sure this was a unique creation :) 

Tortilla Chips
1 can chili beans (I randomly had this in the cupboard, next time I'll just use pinto beans)
1/2 pound of ground beef, cooked and seasoned with Taco seasoning
1/2 an onion, diced
1-12 oz can of diced tomatoes
1/2 cup salsa
1/4 t. cumin
Grated cheese

Crush tortilla chips to line the bottom of pan (I used something like a 10x8 casserole dish).  Mix remaining ingredients and spread 1/2 over the crushed chips.  Top with grated cheese, then repeat with another layer of chips, filling, and cheese.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. 

This turned out really yummy too!  I was afraid that the leftovers were going to be mushy and disgusting, but they were actually pretty good!  The chips just tasted like a corn tortilla.  I am blessed to have a husband who will eat just about anything, including leftovers, so I usually only have to eat it once or twice :)