Tag Archives: Frugal

Sunny Day Meals

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As the temperatures rise, I find myself less and less inspired to cook.  I neglect the housework until the last possible moment and spend as much time outside as possible. The kids are at an age where I’m bargaining with them on a nightly basis and promising we will be outside as soon as possible the following morning, just to get them inside so I can wash their feet, faces and hands before bed!

With this in mind, I put together this list of my favorite beautiful day meals. Meals I serve because it’s too gorgeous to stay inside at the stove or it’s just too hot to even think about eating a full meal.

Summer Steak Salad: Nothing like a beautiful afternoon to make you want to fire up the grill!  This is our summer go-to date night meal.

Dippin’ Chicken Tacos: Quick and easy to eat in between water balloon fights or even poolside, this recipe is one of our family favorites.

Thai Chicken and Vegetables: I made this last night!  I recently discovered a wonderful rice pasta that cooks up in about 5 minutes and the kids just gobble down.  I love to eat this as left overs, cold, the next day too!

Cheddar-Stuffed Burgers: This is my husband’s pride and joy.  And it just takes burger night to a fun new level with the oozy cheese in every bite. :)

Sloppy Lentil Sandwiches: Sometimes, you need fast picnic-style food that isn’t for the carnivores. This is another one of my cold-leftovers-for-lunch favorites.

Creamy Quinoa and Vegetables: I fully intend to make a large batch of this on a weekly basis and bring it with us as pool-side lunches.

Peanut Butter Fondue: Another poolside option for me.  I like this dip as a meal or a quick snack, but either way it’s loaded with protein and good fats, so it’s practically guilt-free… right?

So there you have my summer’s worth of go-to meals. What are your favorites?  I’m going to be in need to poolside snacks in another month or so, what do you take with you for the kids to munch on during the lifeguard breaks?

Honey Orange Granola and Bars

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I think that if you had read my earlier Facebook post, you’d have gotten the idea that my day was going very smoothly. I had high hopes for today, despite being very tired. In the end, my husband walked in the door tonight and didn’t bother to ask what was for supper. Instead he commented on my tired, puffy eyes and asked how soon I wanted to lay down. We wouldn’t have starved for at the very least we could have eaten granola bars for supper.

The amount of money I spend each month on granola bars is laughable. Shameful, even. But I tell you, for whatever reason, despite trying dozens of recipes and even finding a few that I loved, my children would not eat my homemade creations. Now I will admit that Liam still turned his picky 3 and a half year old nose up at these, but he’s been in a foul mood all day.  Sylvi couldn’t shove hers in her mouth fast enough. What’s more, the husband gave these guys a firm stamp of approval.

I made a quick batch of granola first.

  • 2 cups of gluten free oats
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. melted butter
  • 2 Tbsp. honey
  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. orange extract
  • orange zest (optional)

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.  Melt the butter and mix in the honey, orange extract and any zest you choose to add. Mix together the oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and a pinch of salt.  Then, pour the honey mixture over the top and toss through the oats.  Line a baking sheet with foil and dump your granola out on it.  Spread the granola out and cook for 10 minutes.  Stir the granola well and cook for an additional 10 minutes.  Recipe makes just over 2 cups of granola, which is the perfect amount for the bars.

Once the granola cooled… and I got my hands out of the pan… seriously.  I couldn’t stop eating the little granola clumps!  Honey and orange with the oats is amazing! Anyway, once the granola cooled, I made it into bars.

  • 1 recipe of granola
  • 2 cups puffed rice cereal
  • 6 Tbsp butter
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/2 cup mix-ins (chocolate chips, cranberries, raisins, peanuts, etc.)

Mix together the granola and rice cereal.  You can reuse the foil from making the granola, but this is very important: grease the foil before you put the granola mixture on it.  I know there’s butter in the recipe, but it still sticks like the dickens and that’s just not pretty. :)  Then, melt the butter in a small pan with the brown sugar and honey.  Bring it to a boil and stir constantly.  The mixture will become caramel colored and bubble constantly, remove it from the heat and very quickly stir it into the dry ingredients. Press the granola into the prepared pan.  My bars were about 10 inches square, so I just molded it so that they were fairly even across the top.  Then, press your toppings into the granola and set aside for 20 minutes while the caramel hardens.

These granola bars and crispy and chewy and just the right amount of sweet.  Store them wrapped tightly for 2 weeks.

Scrambling!

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At the beginning of the year, the fitness group I belong to, Mommy and Me Fitness, initiated a fitness challenge to jump start everyone’s new year resolutions and get us all moving again, despite the dreary winter weather. At the same time, I’m in training for a real sprint triathlon in a few months and so I’ve been using this as the motivation to keep myself going during this hard part where I really don’t want to go to the gym and exercise. Melissa has been offering fun tips on the Facebook page for the challenge and it’s helped get me out of my rut.

I’ve been keeping an eye on my calories over the last year and noticed that I really don’t get enough protein. I don’t like it in general, so this has been a rough area for me. I do like cheese and I like eggs, so I’ve been making scrambles for myself a few times a week. I like to add either broccoli or kale to mine right now, but in the Spring, I think there will be asparagus too!  Even if I have this as an after workout snack, it’s filling without using up too many calories… the total calorie count (according to Livestrong MyPlate) is a mere 287. It does pack a nutritional punch with 20 grams of protein!

Feta and Kale Scramble

  • 2 eggs
  • a Sploosh of milk
  • 2 Tbsp. Feta cheese
  • 1 cup kale, chopped

Whisk the eggs well and add the other three ingredients. The feta is salty enough that I didn’t add any extra salt, but I did crack some black pepper into the eggs and added a pinch of garlic powder. I like my eggs dry, so it took a while to cook the eggs until I was satisfied. But you do what you like. :)

Pantry Comfort

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One of my favorite comfort foods is Stroganoff. I don’t really care what’s in it, I’m here for the sauce. And the egg noodles. My grandmother makes it sirloin steak strips. My father made his with mushrooms while we were practicing vegetarians. Depending on who I plan to serve it to, I now use ground beef.

This is definitely a budget version of my grandmother’s recipe, but it doesn’t alter the flavor. It freezes very nicely and if you don’t like egg noodles, it’s wonderful over rice as well. By the time I make supper tonight, it’s supposed to be in the single digits, so I’m looking forward to this warm meal with a side of green beans. Yum!

Stroganoff

  • 1-2 teaspoons olive oil or butter
  • 8 ounces sliced mushrooms (optional, I don’t like them so they aren’t ever in my home :) )
  • 1 ½ pounds lean ground beef/turkey, thinly sliced sirloin steak or Portobello mushrooms
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • ¼ cup flour
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 cup beef (or vegetable if making the mushroom version of this recipe) broth
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley or 1 tablespoon dried
  • 1 pound egg noodles, cooked
Melt the fat in a large saute pan, add in the onions and garlic and cook until tender and fragrant. Remove from the pan and brown the ground beef. When the beef is cooked, remove it as well, but reserve the drippings. Again, in the same saute pan, heat the drippings and stir in the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, paprika and flour.  Whisk in the flour and sour cream until the sauce is thick and bubbly. Taste and season accordingly. Return the onions, garlic and beef to the pan and stir to combine thoroughly. Serve over egg noodles and top with parsley.
**Note: If you want to substitute in the mushrooms or steak, you’ll still need to cook them separately until cooked to your liking. The rest of the ingredients can remain the same, unless noted otherwise.

 

Crunch Munch… Lunch

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Confession: my weakness is the Taco Bell Crunchwrap. It started when I was pregnant with Liam and Mexican style food was the only thing I could sort of keep down. Ever since then, I think it would be fair to say I have a problem. As in, if the thought of a Crunchwrap passes through my head at 10am, I can’t get it out of my head until my belly has been filled with 500+ calories of sodium.

CRUNCH!!!!

For some reason, although I’ve been eating them for years, I was under the impression that there were refried beans in the Crunchwrap . And for this mistaken reason, I put off trying to make it in my own kitchen. It took me quite a while, but I did figure out a fantastic recipe for refried beans. I didn’t take a photo because, well, pureed beans aren’t… pretty.

Crockpot Refried Beans

  • 1 pound dry pinto beans
  • 9 cups chicken broth
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. sea salt
  • 1/2 cup milk
Put the beans, broth, onion, garlic powder and salt in a crockpot.  Set the temperature on low and cook for 12 hours. Remove the onion from the pot and strain the beans, but SAVE the broth. I have always made my beans in the food processor, but this time I used my immersion blender… I’m a convert. Smooth and silky, they were the perfect texture! Add in the milk and as much broth as you need to make it smooth. The beans get firmer as they cool, so make the beans a little bit watery. Season to taste.
To assemble a Crunchwrap, all you need are large tortillas, small crunchy corn tortillas and whatever filling you desire. I made the refried beans, rice, taco meat, cheese sauce made with Monterrey Jack Cheese and 3 slices of white American I also had salsa, shredded cheese, lettuce and sour cream for the sides. Pile and layer your fillings before folding up the tortilla and then grill. We have a George Foreman grill; it’s pretty quick to set up and use. So yes, it’s still not a candidate for nutritious meal of the year, but man is it good. So, amazingly good. I am trying out freezing a wrap and some of the beans to see how well they hold up for advance pre. I am hopeful. :)
Sadly, my husband took the opportunity to use some of the dozens of stockpiled Taco Bell sauces to add an “authentic” flavor and according to him, the addition made it “perfect”. I made mine with just rice, beans and cheese and a full 2 hours later am still pleasantly sated. Obviously, by making this meal at home, I have control over all the ingredients AND I can make it whenever I’d like… errr… experiment with fillings.  Ahem.
And thus ends my tale of addiction to cheap fast food. Have you ever tried
a fast food remake of your own?

Snow and Salads

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This post went live yesterday at the Green Phone Booth, but I thought I’d share it here too! We are finally home and settled back into our regular routine (which I love!!!). Yesterday we were hit with the first major snow storm of the year… I guess 2012 was just too mild that Mother Nature was in a hurry to pack it in for the year. And with 8 inches of snow in a matter of hours, I’d say it was successful.

I don’t plan to leave the house for a few days and that’s ok. The fridge is stocked and we have plenty of coffee. In the meantime, we’ll be having a salad loaded with cranberries, grilled chicken and kale for lunch. I bought some kale on Christmas eve so I’d be ready to detox all the rich foods we’ve been consuming over the last few days! The salad is filled with magnesium, calcium, iron and vitamin C. All of which are beneficial for healing bodies that have been thrown for a loop by eating foods we don’t typically eat while celebrating the holidays!

Cranberry and Chicken Salad with Millet
• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast (grilled or baked)
• 2 cups kale, washed and stripped from the ribs
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup millet, rinsed
• ½ cup balsamic vinegar
• ¼ cup. roasted sunflower seeds
• ½ tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. dried mustard
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
Place millet, a tiny pinch of salt and 3 cups of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. When the water is absorbed, remove the pan from the heat, fluff the grains and cover until you are ready to add it to the rest of salad.
Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a skillet and bring to a medium heat. Add in the onions, kale, and garlic. Sauté until the kale is limp and the onions are tender. Sprinkle with paprika, mustard, salt and pepper. Toss thoroughly. Slice the chicken and add to the skillet. Stir so that the contents are well mixed. Reduce the heat to low and pour in the vinegar. Simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the millet and mix the ingredients well. Serve in bowls topped with the cranberries and sunflower seeds.

The reason I can’t stop checking the crock pot today…

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We are going to my in-law’s for Thanksgiving. I know there are going to be lots of amazing side dishes and a huge turkey, but I’m there for the pot roast. Unconventional, I know, but I am here to tell you that my mother-in-law’s pot roast is a revelation and I probably won’t eat a bite of turkey all day. I begged my mother-in-law for her recipe and it turns out that it just involves adding dry french onion soup to the roast.

You know how I am, I can’t just go buy a packet of onion soup, I have to make my own. I mix it up each time I make a roast, so I don’t keep it on hand since I only make one, maybe two roasts a month. My roast isn’t exactly like my mother-in-law’s, but it’s darn close. And the best roast I’ve made since I  learned how to cook meat. So it keeps me held over until I can back up to Amish country and avail myself on the comfort of roast beef and mashed potatoes.

Dry French Onion Soup Mix

Dry French Onion Soup Mix

  • 2 1/2 Tbsp. dried onion flakes
  • 1 1/2 tsp. dried parsley
  • 1 tsp. dried onion powder
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp. paprika
  • 1/4 tsp. dried mustard
Mix all the ingredients together and pour over a 3-5 pound pot roast. Add 1 cup beef broth to the bottom of a crockpot and add the roast.  Cook on low for 8-10 hours. I mean it when I say low. Don’t rush this, the longer the roast cooks at a low temperature, the more tender it will be. All the better to spoon over a mound of glorious mashed potatoes, right?

 

October Freezer Cooking

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This past week was one that I was so grateful for a stocked freezer.  Supper prep for the most part involved walking into the kitchen and asking Liam what he wanted to eat. This past week, I needed the ease of a frozen meal, freshly washed lettuce for salads and fruit for the kids. I’m having to make some adjustments with Liam’s routine again and make sure he’s getting a quiet period during the day so he can rest. That boy… just like his mama. Too much busyness and he is a disaster. Thankfully, I’m learning through his needs that I can say “no” to people and activities if it’s just too much. A lesson I really, really needed!

Anyway.  I grocery shopped on Thursday of last week. It took hours because I did Sam’s Club, Kroger, Target, bulk food store, Wayne’s and our butcher shop. But again, I will only have to go to the grocery in the next month for fresh fruit and vegetables and milk. Totally worth it. I did a whole food menu for the month of suppers and made sure to account for leftovers to be eaten on the weekends and for lunches. I also calculated in for a few meals that will not be eaten at home due to birthdays, the tri and Boo at the Zoo. Friday morning, I got up with my list of meals and did the crock-pot prep meals. I started working at 930 and did not put the last dish in the dishwasher until about 830 that night. BUT, I took time out of working to play with the kids, assist in the potty, color, serve meals, read stories, change diapers, answer questions and hand out snacks. If I hadn’t done those things, I think I could have been done in about 5 hours.

  • Taco Soup (2 batches)
  • Tuscan Mac and Cheese (2 batches)
  • Meatloaf (2 batches, meatloaf made and shaped then frozen)
  • Greek Casserole (4 batches… this was a mistake, should have only been 2, but they are in the freezer for a quick meal when needed)
  • Pizza (2 batches of dough made and then frozen.)
  • Chicken Tikka (ingredients in a bag that will easily dump into the crockpot whenever I’m ready)
  • Chicken Parmesan Meatballs (not prepped and recipe to be shared… eventually)
  • Meatballs (2 batches, one for stroganoff and one for bbq meatballs with orzo)
  • Cheeseburger Mac (meat and seasonings cooked, and in a bag with the cheese and pasta… will take 10 minutes to finish)
  • Dippin Tacos
  • Sloppy Janes with ground turkey (not sure how great this will be… I was tired by the time I got to this recipe, so this could wind up being a pb&j sort of night.)
  • Pot Roast with mashed potatoes (Meat will go in the crockpot and the mashed potatoes are made and ready to bake.)
  • Spicy Apple Glazed meatballs (new recipe that I can’t wait to share!!)
  • Beef Pot Pie (this will be made with the leftover pot roast meat so it’s not even prepped)
  • Confetti Chicken Pasta (new recipe, not freezer friendly)
  • Chicken Alfredo and Rice Casserole (new recipe and I’m not certain how freezer friendly it will be… we’ll see)
  • Grilled Cheese and Tomato soup
  • Panini
  • Falafel (not prepped, but the garbanzos are cooked and waiting in the freezer)
  • Sloppy Lentils (also not prepped, but the lentils are cooked and in the freezer)
  • Bread (4 loaves made and 3 frozen)
To be entirely fair, the beans and lentils were already cooked and in the freezer (which is how I picked those meals) and I baked the bread Wednesday. I also decided to bake the meatballs instead of frying them and I may never go back.  I made 2 pounds of meatballs and then just baked an entire pan full while I continued to work. In the next few months, I won’t do as many freezer meals because of the holidays, but I do plan a turkey for next month and look forward to some fun casseroles or quesadillas with the leftovers!
So my freezer is stocked and I’m free to spend my afternoons playing in the still pleasant weather or baking. Although… now that I’m not training for something, I probably shouldn’t bake so much. I hopped on the WiiFit this morning and it yelled at me for snacking. I wonder who told that nosy thing?!

It does cut the mustard

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I’ve waited a few months since making this recipe to post about it.  I’ve been trying mustard for a few years now, but never knew that you may want to let it be for about 8 weeks before you start to slather it on sandwiches because it is wicked hot fresh out of the pan. But now… it is perfect.  Now I feel safe using it as my standby ingredient in recipes and am really pleased with the taste.

This recipe was unintentionally adapted from The Organic Family Cookbook. I say unintentionally because I wasn’t going to doctor the recipe at all, but I was unable to find brown mustard seeds, so instead of splitting the volume between yellow and brown mustard seeds, it’s all yellow here. The consistency is coarse, but it’s thick so I actually like it better than store bought since it sticks to the crevices of your bread and doesn’t ooze all over the place.

Simple Mustard (by Anni Daulter)

  • 2 Tbsp. dry mustard
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 c. white vinegar
  • 1 c. whole yellow mustard seeds
  • 1/2 c. water
  • scant 1/4 c. raw honey
  • 1/2 tsp. sea salt
  • 1/8 tsp. black pepper
In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, mix the dry mustard, eggs and vinegar and bring to a boil. Reduce heat after 30 seconds and simmer until the mixture is thick.  (Keep a close eye on the pan as the mixture bubbles up and then pops, spraying out of the pan.) Cover and store in the fridge overnight.
In a glass bowl, combine the mustard seeds and water.  Cover and let sit overnight.
In a food processor, combine the two mixures after they have rested over night.  Puree until smooth, adding the honey, salt and pepper to taste (you may want to add more than I did.) Store in an airtight container in your fridge.
*Notes: This recipe make 4 cups of mustard, which is a LOT. I gave at least half of mine away.  Also the author notes that it will last for 4 weeks, but since I allowed mine to mellow for 8 weeks before using, I don’t agree.  In fact, I think the longer it has sat in my fridge the better it has become, but that’s my opinion only.  Adapt as you need!

Homemade Mayo

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When I first started blogging, I took Julia Child’s advice seriously and was as fearless as I could be (my first blog’s name was The Fearless Chef).  I really didn’t know too much about cooking and there were honestly so many nights that we threw out my latest creation and hit the drive through.  I was so terrified of cooking meat or casseroles and now it just makes me laugh to think about how I would call a friend and ask her to tell me I could lift that roast out of the package, season it and put it in the roaster.

I’ve been working my way to a simple self sufficiency in the last few years and I decided this was the year to tackle condiments.  Have you ever read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle?  If you haven’t, do it.  It was the first book I bought for my Nook even though I’ve read it several times.  I love it.  Barbara’s life is my dream… except for the chicken processing.  I’m a pansy.  What I am not a pansy about is homemade mayo.  Granted, this is my third try, but I tried it again because a friend of mine encouraged me to.  Sometimes you need friends, right?

I’ve made mustard (which we’ll talk about soon), Remoulade, salad dressings and plan to tackle ketchup very soon.  Mayo had been on the list for a while, but it took me running out to actually do it.  And I’m so glad I did.  It will last for 2 weeks in the fridge, so I will only make half a recipe from now on since we have a small family.  Unless I get brave and try to ferment whey to make it last.  Which very well may happen in the next few weeks.  Until then, I’ll be enjoy this batch on my sandwiches thankyouverymuch!

Simple Homemade Mayonaise

  • 1 1/2 cups oil (You want to use as neutral an oil as possible.  I had a light olive oil and mixed it with about 1/4 cup of canola.)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 Tbsp. Lemon juice
  • 1 tsp. white vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp. sea salt
Place the eggs in a deep container, like the measuring cup an immersion blender comes with, or a wide necked Ball Jar.  Then, add all the other ingredients.  Using an immersion blender, insert it all the way to the bottom of the container and start blending.  As the eggs and oil begin to emulsify, the bottom will thicken, so just raise the blender above the thickened part and continue to blend.  It took less than a minute for my mayo to emulsify completely and thicken to the same consistency as I’ve gotten used over the years of buying mayo at the grocery.  Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks in a lidded jar.
That’s it.  No streaming in oil, no fussing about the order of the ingredients.  Just simple mayo that tastes amazing.  Zingy and creamy and perfect.