Another Kind of Southwest Salad

This was kind of a gourmet leftovers creation. I went to the grocery store while the employees were restocking produce, and ended up with a bunch of extras for cheap. To make this salad:

rice, cooked

beans, cooked

meat, grilled (ours was beef, but chicken or pork would be good, too)

corn, cooked

bell peppers and onions, sautéed

lettuce

tomato

cilantro sprigs

avocado

cheese, shredded (cheddar, colby jack)

dressing (I wanted to make a lime cilantro vinaigrette, but time required ranch)

Layer first five ingredients in salad plate and allow to cool slightly so lettuce doesn't wilt. Just before serving, layer remaining ingredients and drizzle with dressing. We didn't have any, but this would be good with warm tortillas.

Crunchy Turkey Salad

Salad

green leaf lettuce

cooked, shredded turkey

sliced almonds

chopped celery

diced red onion

dried cranberries

Layer ingredients on salad plates and chill. Serve with honey lime dressing from Chicken Cilantro Salad recipe.

Chicken Cilantro Salad

Salad

green leaf lettuce

cilantro sprigs

grilled chicken, chopped

dried cranberries

diced red onion

shredded mozzarella cheese

Dressing (from ourbestbites.com)

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 T grated onion

1/3 C fresh orange juice

3T fresh lime juice

2T honey

3/4 t cumin

1/2 t salt

1/4 t ground black pepper

1/2 C vegetable oil

Combine dressing ingredients in small jar or dressing container with lid. Shake well and refrigerate. Layer salad ingredients on individual salad plates. Chill. Before serving, shake dressing and drizzle over salads. Serve with biscuits or bread.

All Vegetable Lasagna

2 T olive oil

1 small onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp basil

pinch crushed red pepper flakes

2 cups crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup water

2 small zucchini, sliced into circles

2 large tomatoes, sliced

4 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded

Saute onions until tender. Add garlic and saute for 2 minutes more. Add salt, spices, crushed tomatoes and water. Simmer until slightly thickened and saucy. Remove from heat. In greased 8 inch square pan, layer small amount of tomato sauce followed by a layer of zucchini, then tomato, then sauce, then cheese. Use half of ingredients for each layer. Repeat for second layer, finishing with mozzarella. Bake covered at 375 for 20 minutes, then remove foil for 15 minutes and allow cheese to brown slightly. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before cutting. Serves 4.

We served ours with garlic french bread, carrot sticks and broccoli florets, and watermelon.

Lentil Stew on Potatoes

It's been awhile since I've posted something delicious! Let's get cooking.


2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp basil
2 T olive oil
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 lb lentils
10 oz. spinach
salt and pepper, to taste

Saute onions, carrots and celery until just tender but still a little crunchy. Add spices and stir. Pour in lentils and add two cups of water. Cover and let simmer for about an hour, or until lentils are tender. Stir in spinach and cook until just wilted. If using frozen, cook until warmed through. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve over mashed potatoes. Serves 8.

Poor Man's Alfredo Sauce

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 cup milk

2 T flour

1 tsp garlic

1/2 tsp basil

1/4 cup grated parmesan

salt and pepper, to taste

Melt butter in small saucepan. Stir in milk. Stir in garlic, basil, salt and pepper. Whisk in flour and continue to stir until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in parmesan and allow to melt. Serve over fettucini. Other optional toppings include: broccoli, mushrooms and chicken.

Homemade Fry Basket

When you get the hankering to go out to eat with your honey, just think of how much fun you'd have making the food together! My husband and I frequently choose what looks yummy off of a menu and run to the store to buy the ingredients. It's not the most frugal approach to regular cooking, but for a special night together, it's cheaper than eating out, and usually a lot more fun!

Tonight, the winners were mozzarella sticks and onion rings.

1 cup flour

2 eggs, beaten

2 cups bread crumbs

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp seasoning salt

1/2 tsp garlic

salt and pepper, to taste

1 small onion

4 oz. mozzarella cheese

Note: flour, eggs, bread crumbs and garlic measurements are doubled, and will be used separately in this recipe.

Place 1/2 cup flour, 1 egg, and 1 cup bread crumbs in three separate bowls. Season bread crumbs with Italian seasoning and 1/4 tsp garlic. Slice cheese into 1/4 inch X 1/4 inch X 3 inch sticks. Dredge cheese sticks in flour, dip in egg, cover with breadcrumbs, then sprinkle with flour again. Repeat with all sticks until finished.

Place remaining flour, egg and breadcrumbs in three separate bowls. (I used the same bowls, but you can use clean ones.) Season bread crumbs with seasoning salt and remaining garlic. Slice onion into 1/4 inch slices and separate into rings. Coat using same process as above.

Fry cheese sticks and onion rings 3-5 at a time in a medium saucepan with oil heated to about 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Each should take a minute or less to fry. Remove when lightly browned and place on paper towels.

Creamy Turkey Salad Wraps

We had a turkey for Easter dinner. I know it sounds odd. But in order to accommodate our budget I bought the turkey after Thanksgiving for $.25/lb. And then I saved it in the freezer until Easter.

The other cool thing about having turkey for Easter dinner is...I didn't feel inclined to share it with guests. I typically love to have dinner parties and invite friends to join our holiday feasts, but 1. I'd just done that the Friday before and 2. nobody really wants turkey for Easter dinner. Right?

So when our family of four finished getting our fill of a nearly 13 pound bird, I got to work de-boning and shredding. The result? 10 more meals worth of meat. $.25/lb x 13 lbs = $3.25/11=$.30 a meal. Not bad.

I froze most of it, but a small portion was left out for use this week. Everyone knows about the infamous Thanksgiving turkey leftovers...well, I asked my ever-so-wise and experienced mother for recipes. She had a plethora. To narrow it down, I specifically asked for picnic applications, and this is what I got. It was delicious!

Creamy Turkey Salad Wraps

1/2 lb. turkey, cooked and shredded

1 hard boiled egg, chopped

2-3 whole dill pickles, chopped

1/4 cup finely chopped onion (quite strong; we like onion)

2 T mayo

1 tsp. mustard

2 T dill pickle juice

salt and pepper to taste

whole wheat tortillas

Mix it all together in a small bowl and serve wrapped in tortillas. Best if served cold. This made enough for dinner last night and lunch today. (5 wraps)

Dinner Menus

Last Friday we threw an Easter Egg Hunt and dinner party at our house. I was really pleased with the results because we fed 30 people and had an Easter egg hunt for the kids all for $50. But, it's making it tough to stick to my budget this month! And I decided to start potty training my toddler, so that makes it even trickier--it's already cost me $20!

Anyway, in an effort to really stick with it, I'm making a plan. Mostly, it's a dinner plan, but if I already know I have what we need for dinner, the rest I can do easily with what we have on hand.

This Week

M: Penne pasta w/marinara and Parmesan, peas, canned peaches

T: Split Pea Soup and leftover rolls from Easter dinner

W: (Geo Caching night!) turkey wraps and dried fruit, "pigs in blankets" for a snack when we got home

Th: Creole Red Beans and Rice

F: Tuna Casserole, broccoli--make one for the freezer, too

Sa: hamburgers, potato salad

Su: spinach and ricotta pasta

Next Week

M: Beef Dumpling Stew

T: Spanish Rice Bake

W: Salmon Burgers, fries

Th: Chicken Cacciatore, green beans

F: Coconut Chicken Fingers, mashed potatoes, broccoli

Sa: Pizza

Su: Vegetable Lasagna, salad, French bread

Homemade Graham Crackers--I Already Love These!

Photography from MarthaStewart.com

I found the recipe on Martha Stewart's website. I didn't change the ingredients, but I took shortcuts where I could on the instructions. We haven't tried them yet, but there are some in the oven right now!

Deliciously Irish

I put my Irish heritage to work last night and served cabbage stew for dinner. This is what it had in it:

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1/4 head cabbage, chopped

2 potatoes, chopped

1/2 cup ham, chopped

seasoning salt

paprika

Sautee onions in a couple tablespoons butter. Add cabbage and cover with water. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Add potatoes and more water if needed, season with seasoning salt and paprika, cover and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in ham and cook until potatoes are done.

We served ours over mashed potatoes, which turned out well for two reasons: the stew was a little salty, so it helped tone it down a bit, and it made it go around a bit more--we were hungry! Even our two-year-old gobbled it up.

Cost of dinner: about 5o cents.

Sunday Dinner

No pictures today, but our dinner was scrumptious so I had to share. It was probably the most expensive meal of the week, but it still didn't exceed $5.00 for the whole family. The menu?

Barbecue Beef Sandwiches-made with a roast I got on sale last week and homemade hamburger buns I pulled out of the freezer.

Sweet Cole Slaw-made with your basic slaw ingredients, but I grated my own cabbage and carrot for a fraction of an already cheap cost. Since these veggies are in season, this was super cheap!

Homemade Baked Beans-made with excess sauce I spooned out of the crock pot from the beef and some already-cooked-beans I had in the freezer.

Freshly Squeezed Lemonade-made from lemons picked out of my in-laws' backyard! You can't beat free.

To top it off, there was enough leftover beef to store for TWO future meals! Of course I'll need sides to accompany those meals again, but it's so wonderful to get three dinners for the work put in to one!

Dessert from Pantry Staples

Most people get a hankering for dessert every now and then. Since our dinner last night was...less than impressive...our stomachs were calling for reinforcements only a couple hours later. So I peeked into the pantry to see what we had, and this is what I saw:

Doesn't that just speak, "No-bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Drops" to you? (No-bake Cookies, Mountain Bars, whatever you call them) I used my mother-in-law's recipe because it's my husband's favorite for this reason: they set up at room temperature and he can eat them sooner! I always make one alteration: an additional cup of oats.

1/2 cup milk

2 T cocoa powder

2 cups sugar

2 T butter

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup peanut butter

3 cups quick-cooking oatmeal

Combine sugar, cocoa, milk and butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to boil, boil 1 minute, then remove from heat. Off heat, add peanut butter, vanilla and salt. Stir until well blended. Mix in oats one cup at a time. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto wax paper. Let cool.

Eggs-ellent Creations: Hash Brown Quiche

Still working from what we had on hand this week, I cooked up a pretty simple dinner the other night that ended up being pretty tasty. No real recipe here, because you can use whatever sounds like a yummy combination, or what's available in the kitchen. I started by grating potatoes and adding them with a little butter into the bottom of a pie plate. I baked it at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes to allow the hash browns to crisp a little, then took it out and dumped in my fillings: cheese, ham and onions.

Then I beat a few eggs with salt and pepper and poured it over the top, returned it to the oven and baked at 350 for about a half an hour. We ate ours with homemade biscuits, since this dish by itself wasn't enough to be filling!

Gourmet Leftovers

My sister wrote me a letter recently, in which she described the difference between having goals and having plans. I have lots of goals for thrifty living, but I have yet to develop a real plan (thus the reason for this blog). So in the meantime, we're eating leftovers: both the typical, "we ate this for dinner last night" kind and the "I didn't use all of this last month, so I have some left this month" kind.

Anyway, that's what I've been cooking with this week.

Last night it took the form of sweet and sour beef stir-fry, with the best sauce I've ever made--really! I didn't measure, unfortunately, but here are my approximations:

1/2 lb ground beef, browned

2 T olive oil

2 carrots, chopped

1/2 large onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1/4 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1/4-1/2 cup pineapple juice

1 can condensed tomato soup

2 T brown sugar

1 tsp garlic

1/2 tsp ginger

My beef was already browned and in the freezer, but you could brown yours and then use the drippings rather than olive oil...not sure what that would do to the flavor, though.

Saute vegetables in oil. Stir in beef. Add juice, soup, brown sugar, garlic and ginger; simmer until thickened. Serve over rice.

*I served ours over the leftover rice from the night before, which was seasoned with French Onion soup mix.

New Beginnings

I've been "on the quest" to be a frugal spender for the past few years. I admit, I do have a frivolous itch in me that surfaces occasionally. One purpose of this blog is to have a little more accountability for where I send my precious pennies!

Basic goals of the month:

-save $100 overall for my family fun fund

-spend no more than $70/week

-organize my pantry list, shopping list and menu

Tonight our dinner was French Onion Chicken and Rice, which I pulled straight out of the freezer and popped in the oven while we went for a walk as a family. We microwaved some frozen peas when we got home to add a vegetable.

Approximate cost of dinner for 3: $2.30