Blueberry Crisp

Delicious!

Filling:

3 cups blueberries
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt

Topping:

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup oats
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar

1. Mix blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and salt in a bowl for the filling. Transfer to a baking dish.
2. Mix flour, oats, baking powder, and salt. Cream butter and sugar together; stir dry ingredients into butter.
3. Sprinkle topping evenly over filling. Bake at 375 until bubbly in the center about 30 minutes or until topping is brown.

Italian Meatballs

A few months ago I purchased a couple of 1 pound bags of frozen meatballs for $1.99. They made boring spaghetti into yummy spaghetti and meatballs! We finished our last bag of meatballs and I knew that making meatballs from scratch had to be better for us. So when I found ground beef on sale for $1.19 a pound this week I decided to make meatballs!

Here is the recipe (which I doubled to make 2 pounds):

1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup Italian Breadcrumbs
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 medium onion
garlic
salt
pepper

Mix all ingredients together. Don't add all of the water at one time. Mixture should be moist but not so that meatballs fall apart. (I only used half of the water!)

Shape meatballs to desired size. (I used this cookie scoop to make sure all of my meatballs were the same size.)

Place on a broiler pan. (I just used my cookie sheets!)

(Close up of uncooked meatball.)

Broil until outside is slightly brown on one side and then turn and broil the other side. (Here is a shot comparing the cooked meatball and the uncooked.)

I then put mine on the cooling rack so they would completely cool before I froze them.

Yield: 62 meatballs (doubled recipe)

I separated the meatballs into 5-12 packs and froze them so now I have homemade meatballs to add to my spaghetti sauce! (And I sampled the other 2 which were delicious!)

Italian Breadcrumbs

Here is a recipe for making very frugal Italian Breadcrumbs!

1 cup plain breadcrumbs*
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon sugar
dash of oregano

Mix all ingredients.


*I used 4 pieces of bread, toasted it and put it in the food processor to make fine breadcrumbs. (I used the end pieces and the lone slice from last week's loaf which I typically would have just composted and an end piece from my new loaf!)

Blackberry Cobbler

4 cups berries
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
6 Tbsp. butter
1 egg
1 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour

Place berries in an 8x8 baking dish; sprinkle with lemon juice. Stir together egg, sugar, and flour until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle over fruit. Drizzle melted butter over topping. Bake at 375 for 35 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly.

Pizza Pockets

Makes about 40 pizza pockets

Filling:
Cook up 2 lbs of pork sausage and crumble well.
Dice up 1 package of peperoni and mix with sausage.

Sauce:
1/2 can of diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1 can tomato sauce
3 tablespoons oregano
salt and pepper
*Blend in chopper to make a paste

3-4 cups of grated mozzarella


Dough:
9 t. active dry yeast (or 4 pkg.)
4 c. warm water
1 t. salt
8 t. olive oil
4 t. oregano
2 cups whole wheat flour
6-8 cups white flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large mixing bowl. Add salt, olive oil, oregano, and 2 1/2 c. flour. Mix until a soft dough is formed. Add remaining flour, 1/2 c. at a time, until dough is no longer sticky. Knead for 2 minutes.
Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise for at least one hour. Punch dough down. Roll dough into 40 even balls. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Flatten each ball of dough and put some sauce on it, put a tablespoon or so of the meat and then add on top some cheese. Pinch up closed and let rise for a few mins on a pan with a sprinkling of cornmeal on pan. Bake for 15-20 mins each tray.

Let cool and put in a bag to freeze!

I found this recipe at A Call to Higher Places! Yummy!!

Hamburger Gravy

1 pound hamburger
1/2 quart milk
1 small onion, chopped
1/8 cup all purpose flour
salt & pepper to taste

Cook hamburger. Remove from heat and sprinkle flour over cooked hamburger. Stir evenly until coated. Place skillet over medium heat, add 1/2 of milk and stir until gravy begins to thicken. Add remaining milk until gravy comes to a boil. Season with salt & pepper.

Serve over mashed potatoes.

* This is a really simple and really good meal using very few staple ingredients!

Bruschetta Chicken Bake

Again this week I decided to try a new recipe! Tonight we tried Bruschetta Chicken Bake. I have been wanting to try this for a few months and finally did!

Here it is:

The picture on the Kraft website has cheese on top, instead I layered the casserole dish with chicken, basil, cheese, and stuffing mix on top!

Yummy!

This turned out pretty good, I followed the recipe, I did not omit anything at all! We did decide that next time I am not going to use as much basil or garlic, it was a little too "seasoned" for us. However, it is on the list of recipes to keep!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

John David loves Buffalo Chicken anything!

This recipe was in the Tennessee Farm Bureau magazine, I made a half batch and tweaked the recipe a little bit. It was really simple, spread a block of cream cheese in bottom of pan, spread with shredded chicken & wing sauce, top with Blue Cheese dressing (I also added Blue Cheese chunks), and a little mozzarella!

I even liked it and I don't really care for Buffalo Chicken, however when I make it again I will not put Blue Cheese chunks in it, they are a little too strong for me!

Lessons Learned Making Taco Lasagna

One of the new meals I tried out this week was Taco Lasagna! I was oh so excited about trying this meal because we love anything Mexican and I just knew it was going to be a new family favorite. Well, it still could be a family favorite but due to carelessness and being a little too frugal equaled an edible, but not amazing dinner!

Here is the recipe:
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
2/3 cup water
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) Mexican diced tomatoes, undrained
6 flour tortillas (8 inches)
1 can (16 ounces) refried beans
3 cups (12 ounces) shredded Mexican cheese blend

In a large skillet, cook the beef, green pepper and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add water and taco seasoning; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 2 minutes. Stir in the black beans and tomatoes. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes

Place two torillas in a greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Spread with half of the refried beans and beef mixture; sprinkle with 1 cup cheese. Repeat layers. Top with remaining tortillas and cheese. Cover and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until heated through and cheese melts.

Here is my Taco Lasagna:

Here are my mistakes:

1. I forgot to spread refried beans on the bottom layer of tortillas because I was in a hurry (for no reason!) Since I left them off the bottom layer I decided to just forget the beans entirely!

2. I didn't use 3 cups cheese (that is a lot of cheese!!) Sometimes I tend to be too frugal and sparing with cheese but I should have layered it on thick to get a nice and cheesy casserole!

3. I didn't do a top layer of tortillas. We make our own tortillas and I didn't want to make up a huge batch so I didn't and left off a part of the casserole!

4.I didn't read the entire recipe (this is an old, bad habit of mine that I thought I had broken...guess not!) I didn't bake covered...it was a little dry, hubby even suggested that next time I cover it so it will be more moist! Guess he was right (I just fully read the recipe when I typed it!)

So the poor Taco Lasagna turned out nothing like it should have and I learned a very important lesson: when following a new recipe, follow it exactly and if we like it, then I can make changes and try to make it less expensive!

White Bean and Chicken Chili

We tried out White Bean and Chicken Chili this past week! It was a good meal that is a keeper! I followed this recipe closely but it needed a little more seasoning in it, we added pepper to our bowls of chili and that made it a little better.

I got this recipe from an issue of All You. Here it is:

2- 15 ounce cans white beans, rinsed and drained
4- cups low-sodium chicken broth
1-Tbsp. vegetable oil
2-whole bone-in chicken breasts (about 3 lbs.)
Salt and pepper
2-onions, chopped
4-cloves garlic, chopped
2-4 ounce cans roasted green chillies, drained
1-Tbsp. ground Cumin

1. Place beans and broth in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on high until beans are tender, 2 hours.

2. Warm oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Place chicken, skin side down, in skillet; cook until brown, about 4 minutes. Turn and cook for 2 minutes more. Transfer to a plate; remove and discard skin. Drain all but 2 Tbsp. fat from skillet. Add onions and garlic; cook until softened, 5 minutes. Add onion mixture, chilies, 1 cup water and cumin to a slow cooker. Stir; add chicken.

3. Cook on low for 6 hours, stirring twice. Remove 1 cup beans plus 1/2 cup liquid from slow cooker. Puree in a blender; return to slow cooker. Remove chicken, shred it and return to slow cooker. Spoon into individual bowls and serve.

All You said that this chili serves 6 at a cost of $1.58 per serving, which is $9.48 for the whole dish. That is too much for me! I didn't use canned beans, I bought dried beans @$1.98 a bag and used 1/4 so I used about $.50 worth of beans. I didn't purchase chicken broth, I cooked a whole chicken 2 days before I made this and used the broth from the chicken which really made that FREE! I only used 1 chicken breast to cut costs and there was plenty of chicken in the chili. The green chilies were $2 for 2 cans. I spent under $5 for this which is great for a dinner and we had leftovers for lunch!

Spinach Cheese Swirl

I tried out two new recipes last week and they both turned out pretty good. This Spinach Cheese Swirl has Spinach, Chicken Chunks, Garlic, Onions, and Mozzarella Cheese in it. It was pretty good however it was missing something! I followed the recipe exactly but I don't know exactly what it needed. Next time I am going to add more salt, pepper, and cheese to see if that makes it better!

Doesn't it look absolutely delicious?

Easy, Quick & Yummy Lunch

Today John David had a meeting over lunch. I didn't have any leftovers and I wasn't about to cook lunch for just me! Instead I made Toaster Oven Pizzas using ingredients I had on hand:

2 Slices of Bread
2 Spoonfuls of Alfredo Sauce
2 ounces shredded Mozzarella Cheese
8 Pepperoni Slices

I put the bread on the toaster oven tray, spread a spoon of Alfredo Sauce on each piece, sprinkled on mozarella cheese, and topped with 4 pepperoni slices! I toasted it in the toaster oven about 4 minutes.

Easy, quick, and yummy! A great lunch for just one!!

I have also made these with spaghetti sauce and they are just as good!!

Rotel Chicken

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This is really simple and yummy (if you likes spicy foods!!)

1 Can Rotel Tomatoes
Chicken Breast Chunks
1 Can Cream of Chicken
8 ounces Velveeta
1 pound Spaghetti-cooked
1 Onion

Saute onion in butter & cook chicken. While cooking onion & chicken cook spaghetti. Once onion & chicken is cooked add Rotel, Cream of Chicken, and Velveeta, stir constantly to melt cheese. After cheese is melted add in cooked Spaghetti. Serve warm.

Chicken Noodle Soup

I made homemade chicken noodle soup for supper tonight! It was really yummy topped with grated cheddar!! I have enough for our lunches for work tomorrow and we will probably do soup and sandwiches for dinner tomorrow night!



This is a really easy dinner! I boiled a whole chicken (after cutting the breasts off which were made into fajitas!!) After the chicken boiled I pulled the meat off. While I was pulling the meat off I cooked egg noodles in the broth then added chicken, green beans, corn, salt and pepper. ( I used a lot of salt to season but it was really good!) The beauty of this soup is you can add whatever vegetables you like to it. We had green beans and corn so that is what I used. My mom usually uses Veg All for a bigger variety of veggies!

**John David bought the Lodge Dutch Oven for me this Valentine's Day! I found it at Wal-Mart a week or two before for only $30! He surprised me with it and I just love it!!

Chicken Caesar Salad

Delicious Chicken Caesar Salad

Last week we had Chicken Caesar Salad twice for dinner. The salad was just as good as many that we have had in restaurants. The key in a good Casear Salad is the dressing and Kraft Classic Caesar is amazing!


Chicken Breast fried in Olive Oil

This is a really simple meal. I purchased a head of lettuce and cut it up. I divided it evenly so we could have two salads on two nights out of it.

To prepare the dinner I fried one chicken breast in olive oil. While the chicken was frying I coated the lettuce with 1/3 cup dressing and grated fresh parmesan cheese. Once the chicken was done I sliced it and topped the salad with it and sprinkled on parmesan! Delicious and frugal!

The cost (for 2 meals)
*1 head of lettuce $1.29
*2 pounds chicken @ $1.99/pound $3.98
*Kraft Classic Caesar (FREE with coupon) (Kroger did have these on sale a few weeks ago for about $1.60 though)
*Parmesean Cheese (maybe $.25)

Total: $5.52

$1.38 per salad

(I would guess if I purchased the dressing around $1.60 that 2/3 cup would cost approximately $.50, which would bring the total up to $6.02, still not bad for two meals for two people!)

Pizza Pasta

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This is an easy, inexpensive 4 ingredient recipe I came up with a few weeks ago!

Pizza Pasta (for 2)

1/4 pound sausage
2 cups Penne Rigate
Spaghetti Sauce
Fresh Grated Parmesan Cheese

Brown sausage; boil water and cook penne. When pasta finishes combine sausage, penne, and spaghetti sauce (I use about 1/4 jar because I don't want it too runny). Top with grated parmesan.

It is quick, easy, and yummy! I have cooked it twice in the last 3 weeks!

Quick, Easy, and Inexpensive Red Beans and Rice

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Tonight I made my version of Red Beans and Rice. It was really good and inexpensive!

1/2 pound Smoked Sausage
1 can Red Beans
Cumin
Salt and Pepper
1 cup Instant Rice

Slice sausage (I sliced thinly, then cut them in half so they would be bite sized). Heat beans and sausage, add cumin, salt, and pepper to taste (just a few shakes!). Cook the instant rice, when rice is done, stir in with beans and sausage and serve!

We like to eat this with vinegar in it to make it soupy and tonight we added hot sauce in our bowls!

I think it cost around $2.50 for this entire meal and only took 20 minutes to cook!