Simply Learning and Living

Roasted Cauliflower~Cheap, Easy, and Healthy!

2012-02-05T10:02:00.000-06:00

Half way through the 10 day Advocare Cleanse, I am needing to find ways to change up the veggies I am eating to make them appetizing to me...so I decided to make Roasted Cauliflower using ingredients that are approved for the cleanse with one little splurge of adding in some parm cheese at the end :)

Roasted Cauliflower (serves two)
1/2 head cauliflower, washed and cut the florets into bite size pieces
olive oil
seasoning such as garlic & herb
cooking spray
parmesean cheese

Place cauliflower pieces in baking dish that has been sprayed well.

Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25-28 minutes until pieces beginning to brown, stirring half way through.
Sprinkle with Parm Cheese after removing from oven.

Served with a salad & grilled chicken makes for a low calorie and cheap meal!

Easy, Cheap, and Homemade Chinese Food

2012-01-22T12:29:00.000-06:00

We LOVE Chinese food but of course we don't like the price of going out to eat (nor the time or energy with two young children)...so I like to experiment with things at home that we like to order at restaurants. Today I decided to try Sweet & Sour Chicken but baked so it was healthier. I also made homemade Fried Rice with the help of a packet of seasoning made by SunBird :)

Baked Sweet & Sour Chicken (serves 3-4)
2 large chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
1 1/2 cups Panko or bread crumbs
3 eggs, beaten
salt
pepper
cooking spray

Add salt and pepper to your Panko crumbs, spray baking sheet, and then form your assembly line.

Dip chicken pieces in egg, then in crumbs, and place on baking sheet. After all are dipped, spray the tops of the chicken pieces with cooking spray (this helps the browning process).

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes...turning over after 10 minutes. Serve with Sweet & Sour Sauce.

Easy Fried Rice
1 1/2 cups cooked and cooled rice
1 tbsp cooking oil
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup peas and carrots (cooked)
1 splash of soy sauce
1/2 packet of Fried Rice seasoning (the brand I used was SunBird)
2 eggs, beaten

Heat oil in large skillet...add in rice and onion. Stir fry until starting to brown. Add in splash of soy sauce (to taste) and seasoning packet. Cook for another minute stirring every 10-15 seconds. Push rice to one side of pan. Pour eggs into empty side of pan and scramble, breaking into little pieces. Mix in with rice and add peas/carrots...cook another few minutes until all heated through and mixed well.

The chicken is crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside! The rice is a perfect blend of spices and veggies to complete your homemade Chinese meal! This entire meal (add in a fruit to round it out) easily costs less than $5.

Chicken, Bacon, & Spinach Alfredo Pizza

2011-11-12T18:50:00.000-06:00

This pizza turned out amazing! Even if you aren't a fan of spinach, you really can't taste it because there are so many flavors meshing together.

Chicken, Bacon, & Spinach Alfredo Pizza
-1 batch of homemade pizza dough or 1 large premade crust
-1 1/2 cups cooked and diced chicken breast
-8 slices bacon, cut and cooked until crisp
-2 cups chopped fresh spinach leaves
-2 cups shredded cheese of your choice
-1 cup Alfredo sauce
-Olive oil or cooking spray
-Italian Seasoning

Spray a pizza pan and roll out dough (or use premade crust), sprinkle with Italian Seasoning. Bake at 425 degrees for 5 minutes (this helps the crust not be so soggy after you add the toppings).

Let crust cool for a few minutes, then spread alfredo sauce evenly on the crust, and top with chopped spinach leaves.

Top with cooked chicken and bacon.

Sprinkle evenly with shredded cheese. Bake at 425 degrees for 13-14 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is browned/crisp.

ENJOY!!!

Mini Apple Pies~100 calorie version

2011-11-12T11:39:00.000-06:00

Tis the season for apples and pumpkins...and lots of baking! Unfortunately, tis the season to lots of calories as well which is why I decided to attempt a low(er) calorie apple pie that is not too sweet (AKA limited sugar/calories) and is portion sized already for you to just grab and eat!

Mini Apple Pies
1/2 cup warm water (105-115 degrees)
1/2 tbsp yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup white flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour

3 apples, peeled/cored/diced into bite size pieces
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp lite margarine
1/2 cup oats
4 tsp brown sugar

Add warm water and yeast together, let sit for a few minutes. Mix in salt, sugar, applesauce, and flour. Knead together for 5 minutes until dough is smooth (add a tbsp of flour at a time if dough is too sticky while kneading). Let dough sit for 5 minutes, then separate into 12 balls.

While dough is sitting, peel/core/chop your apples into bite size pieces. Mix with cinnamon and sugar in a bowl until covered evenly.

Flatten each ball of dough so that it fits into regular size muffin cup with covering all edges.

Repeat for all 12 balls...forming and pinching dough as necessary!

Split apples between the 12 cups.

Mix together margarine, oats, and brown sugar until crumbly mixture forms.

Sprinkle the apples with the oat mixture. Bake in 400 degree oven for 13-14 minutes or until apples are softened and oat mixture is slightly browned.

Yummy, yummy, yummy!

Add some whipped topping or vanilla ice cream if you like:)

Peaches & Cream

2011-10-22T20:57:00.000-05:00

Day 3 of calorie counting means I've been focusing more on how much I can eat for the least amount of calories and still give myself a few "treats." We eat quite a bit of fruits and veggies in this house but there is ALWAYS room for improvement! I wanted to fit in one more fruit today so decided to use it in a yummy sweet treat before bed. The single serving "treat" ended up being only 115 calories!

Peaches & Cream
1/2 large peach or 1 small peach (45 calories)
lemon juice
1 tbsp light cream cheese (30 calories)
1 tbsp oats (25 calories)
no calorie spray butter
dash cinnamon
1 tsp brown sugar (15 calories)

Clean and remove pit from peach...chop into small bite size pieces. Place in sprayed oven-safe individual dish.

Sprinkle peaches with lemon juice and then top with cream cheese.

In separate bowl, spray the oats with spray butter and mix in cinnamon and brown sugar. Sprinkle on top of peaches and cream cheese, bake in 400 degree oven (place small dish on cookie sheet) for 18-20 minutes until peaches are soft.

A yummy mixture of slightly sweet, creamy, and crunchy!

A close up bite!

Homemade Flour Tortillas

2011-10-11T14:45:00.000-05:00

I've been wanting to do this for some time but a couple posts that I saw on blogs I follow made it seem like they could be quite iffy so I just wasn't sure! Today I took the plunge...and I am so excited with the results! Not only is this recipe minimal ingredients, but it's cheap and doesn't take long. The hardest part was the trial & error in the beginning with determining how much dough I needed to make a 6-8 inch tortilla, how thin it needed to be rolled out, and how to work my rolling pin so the tortilla resembled a circle (note I said "resembled" as I obviously am doing this by hand and do not have a machine to cut a perfect circle for me!). On my 4th try, I was able to get the hang of it and hopefully I will give you enough tips to ensure it doesn't even take you 4 tries...and if it does, who cares because the cost of this recipe is so cheap to keep trying! Once you get the hang of it, I estimate it will take less than a 1/2 hour to make a dozen of these. They should also freeze very well as long as you separate them with waxed paper or "flash freeze" them before stacking them together in a freezer bag. Otherwise, refrigerate them in ziploc for up to a few days...reheat for a few seconds before using them to roll to ensure the flexibility needed.

Homemade Flour Tortillas (makes 1 dozen 6-8 inch)
3 cups flour
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
1 cup warm water

Mix all ingredients together in bowl. Knead a few times.

Measure out approximately 1/4 cup dough.

Flatten with hands.

Begin rolling dough out in a clockwise fashion. Roll to the top, to 1 o'clock, 2 o'clock and so on until you have it shaped how you would like. You want to roll it quite thin, but not thin enough that it will break when you peel it up from the counter. Don't worry if it does and you have to start over with this one...it happened to me multiple times :)

Have large skillet preheated to medium. On my gas stove, this was about a 4 on the dial. Lie your rolled out dough in the dry skillet. Do NOT spray it ahead of time! Cook 1 1/2-2 minutes and it will begin bubbling in the middle and the edges will be drying out.

Flip and cook another 30 seconds or so until cooked through. It does not take long for the second side to cook at all.

See the cooked spots on the tortilla? That's what it's supposed to look like! I tried them plain, and also tried them with shredded cheese rolled up and microwaved and they were great! Flexible and did not tear at all when I rolled them.

Now, if you have a package of store-bought tortillas in your house...look at the ingredients. The one that I have lists a bunch of things with "acid" and preservatives. This homemade one not only is so much better for you...but it is very very cheap! I estimate a cost of about $0.45 to make a dozen using white flour only. When I made the batch above, I chose to use 2 cups white flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour. This raised the cost to $0.55 per dozen. At our local store this morning, a package of 8 tortillas cost $1.99...so it would be around $3 to purchase a dozen that you can make from home for 1/6 of that price (and less if you get your ingredients on sale!). How about that for saving some money?!

Layered Pumpkin Pie Bars

2011-10-08T13:27:00.000-05:00

This dessert is so full of sugar and calories...BUT I'm going to give myself one point because I did use whole wheat flour and oats which are better for you than many other things. Imagine pumpkin pie with an extra layer of creamy goodness!

Layered Pumpkin Pie Bars

Crust & Topping:
2 sticks margarine, softened
2 cups oats
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup packed brown sugar

Pumpkin Layer:
30 oz can pumpkin
2 tsps pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup milk

Cream Cheese Layer:
1- 8 oz tub of Philly Cream Cheese (I chose the seasonal Pumpkin Spice one for extra flavor)
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix together crust ingredients until crumbly. Reserve 1 cup for topping.

Pat rest of mixture into bottom of greased 9x13 pan.
Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.

Meanwhile, mix together pumpkin layer ingredients until smooth.

Mix together cream cheese layer ingredients until smooth.

After removing crust from oven, let cool a few minutes.
Then layer half of the pumpkin mixture over the crust.

Spoon all of cream cheese mixture over pumpkin layer and carefully spread.

Add other half of pumpkin mixture overtop of cream cheese layer.
Sprinkle with reserved cup of topping.
Return to oven and bake about 40 minutes until middle is just slightly jiggly.

Let cool for 20 or so minutes, then cut into pieces and serve warm! Top with vanilla ice cream or whipped topping!

Squash & Potato Casserole

2011-10-02T20:01:00.000-05:00

I was looking for a new way to incorporate squash into a meal and use up a few other ingredients before they spoiled so it turned into a one dish casserole for supper! This could easily be meat-free by excluding the bacon, or you can make it with cooked ground sausage instead for a different flavor. I tried to use veggies that complimented each other but of course you could substitute in peppers, zucchini, eggplant, carrots, mushrooms, etc for something different. This dish will easily serve 4-6 adults for a main course!

Squash & Potato Casserole
1 large squash, peeled & seeds removed, cut into 1 inch pieces
5 med-large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
4 celery stalks, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
1 large onion, roughly chopped into bite size pieces
6-8 slices bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces and fried until almost crisp and drained
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tbsp margarine
salt & pepper
1 cup shredded cheese (I chose a mix of two different kinds for extra flavor)

Place potato and squash in even layer in greased 9x13 casserole dish.

Top with chopped celery, onion, garlic, and cooked bacon. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Add small pieces of margarine on top...bake at 425 degrees for 45-50 minutes, stirring carefully every 10-15 minutes.

When squash and potatoes are fork tender, sprinkle cheese on top and return to oven another 5-7 minutes until cheese is melted.

So many different flavors and colors! A great dish to start the Fall and includes a variety of healthy veggies for a reasonable price.

Cabbage Roll-Ups

2011-09-30T16:09:00.000-05:00

I had 1/2 large head of cabbage in the fridge to use up so I decided to experiment with using the large leaves to roll around a meat mixture, or make a "taco" as Aubree informed me as she watched me roll! Not only did this use up some leftovers in my fridge, it is minimal and cheap ingredients AND it's low calorie! To make it a meat-free dish, substitute rice for the meat and possibly add mushrooms and/or beans for protein.

Cabbage Roll-Ups
6 large cabbage leaves
1 1/2 cups shredded chicken
1/2 cup onion
1/2 cup shredded cheese

Mix shredded chicken and onion.

Blanche whole cabbage leaves in boiling water for about 5 minutes until softened. Remove and let cool a few minutes.

Spoon mixture into middle of cabbage leaf and roll up, trying to tuck in ends if possible.

Lay cabbage rolls in greased baking dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Sprinkle with shredded cheese and bake another 7 minutes until cheese is melted!

Creamy Chicken Fajita Tortilla Crisps

2011-09-20T09:42:00.000-05:00

I am obsessed with turning every meal into a tortilla crisp! It pretty much ends up like a very thin crust pizza...with a variety of toppings. Last night, I decided to try out a version based on chicken fajitas.

Creamy Chicken Fajita Tortilla Crisps
-6 soft tortillas
-2 cups shredded cooked chicken
-2 bell peppers (I chose both green because they were free to us from a friend's garden)
-1 onion
-3 cloves garlic
-1 tub Philadelphia Cooking Creme (reduced at the store due to expiring soon) OR 8 oz cream cheese softened
-1.5 cups shredded cheese
-fajita seasoning
-fresh chives or parsley for garnish (gotta make it look pretty!)

Cut green peppers and onion into 1 inch pieces. Finely chop the garlic. Sautee all in some olive oil until cooked but still crisp.

Mix veggies with shredded chicken in a bowl.

Mix with cooking creme/cream cheese and fajita seasoning (we like seasoning so I was quite liberal with this).

Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. Lay tortillas flat and spread mixture evenly across the tortillas.
Sprinkle with 1/4 cup shredded cheese of your choice.

Bake at 425 degrees for 12-13 minutes until bottoms are crisp and cheese is bubbling. Garnish with fresh chives or parsley!
My tortillas were crisp enough that this could be cut into pizza slices and eaten with hands if preferred.

Crockpot: Cheesy Cauliflower Soup

2011-09-13T10:44:00.000-05:00

I had a variety of veggies in my fridge that needed to be used up soon as well as 1/2 of the cheese block from last week's soup, so what better way to use them than to make ANOTHER soup! I chose cauliflower to be the "main" ingredient in the soup because the heads were very cheap last week at our store and I had a lot leftover in the fridge. At the last minute, I also decided to throw in a container of sliced mushrooms because they were marked down in the produce section when I shopped yesterday morning and I love to bulk up my soups with whatever veggies we can at a low cost.

Cheesy Cauliflower Soup
6 cups chicken broth
1 lb velveeta cheese, cut into pieces
3 cups fresh chopped cauliflower
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
8 oz fresh sliced mushrooms
1/2 lb (about 6 slices) bacon cut into 1 inch pieces and cooked until slightly crisp
shredded cheese and chives to garnish

Throw all the above ingredients except for the garnish items in the crockpot! Turn on low for 8 hours (if possible, try to stir half way through to break up cheese better). Easy, easy!

Crockpot: Chili Cheese & Potato Soup

2011-09-10T08:34:00.000-05:00

Cooler weather means preparing soup in our house! Homemade soup is easy, budget friendly, and so versatile. You can put almost anything you have in your pantry, fridge, or freezer into soup and have it turn out wonderful!

Chili Cheese & Potato Soup
-5 cups broth (I used homemade chicken broth I had frozen previously)
-1 cup chopped onion
-3/4 lb ground beef, browned and drained
-4 medium potatoes, peeled & diced into 1 inch pieces
-1 pkg chili seasoning
-16 oz Velveeta cheese, cut into cubes (I used the Fareway brand)
-1 1/2 cups canned diced tomatoes (if using fresh, do not add until right before serving)
-parsley to garnish

Add all ingredients into crockpot and stir well. It makes a huge batch so expect leftovers! Cook on high 5-6 hours or on low 8-9 hours. Use whisk before serving to ensure cheese is mixed in thoroughly.

Sprinkle with torn parsley before serving! Perfect with a side salad and breadstick.

Chicken Alfredo Tortilla Crisps

2011-08-30T18:59:00.000-05:00

I'm having a lot of fun experimenting with these tortilla crisps! The other day I made a mexican tortilla crisp for Mike at lunch that included the rest of the ingredients from the Tortilla Soup I made last week (black beans, corn, chicken). You really can do anything with these tortillas and they take very little time!

Today, I decided to make a spin-off of Chicken Alfredo using the tortilla and some veggies we like. Since I used a low carb-high fiber tortilla, as well as light alfredo sauce, each tortilla was under 250 calories as well making this a great low calorie dish as well.

Chicken Alfredo Tortilla Crisp
1 flour tortilla
2 tbsp light parmesean alfredo sauce
1 cup fresh spinach leaves, torn
2 tbsp diced onion
1 oz cooked & shredded chicken breast
1/4 cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup diced tomato

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray cookie sheet and lay tortilla flat. Spoon sauce on alfredo and spread to edges evenly. Layer torn spinach leaves on top of sauce.

Layer shredded chicken and onion on top of spinach.

Sprinkle shredded cheese over top. Bake for 8 minutes.

Layer diced tomato on top of melted cheese and return to oven for another 3 minutes. ENJOY!

Mini Egg Bakes

2011-08-26T17:33:00.000-05:00

I had recently made breakfast burritos for the freezer so Mike could warm one up for a hot breakfast before work, but we were disappointed in how they heated up...so I decided to try something different this time. I used a muffin tin to make mini egg bakes that should heat up a little better because of their size. These were very cheap to make...about $2.25 for 12 of them, divided into packages of 2. That means each hot breakfast for Mike will be less than $.40!

Mini Egg Bakes
12 slices of bread, made into circles that are slightly bigger than the muffin tin
7 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup of any kind of meat diced (I used some turkey sandwich meat we had in the fridge)
1/2 cup shredded cheese
1 cup veggies (I used tomato and onion)
handful of torn basil leaves
pinch of salt and pepper

Cut bread into circles using cup just a little bigger than muffin tin.

Push each slice into sprayed muffin tin as shown above. Bake for 2 minutes in preheated 400 degree oven so they are slightly toasted.

Mix together eggs, veggies, meat, and cheese.

Spoon evenly into muffin tins making sure it doesn't spill over top. Bake for another 12 minutes until mostly set. Then broil on high for another 3 minutes to finish cooking the tops of the egg.

Let cool for a couple minutes in pan, and then remove carefully with a knife to either serve or cool completely.

I packaged 2 in each small baggie, and then put the 6 baggies into a gallon freezer ziploc bag in the freezer. Remove as needed, place on plate and microwave in 30 second increments until heated through!

Loaded Baked Potatoes

2011-08-25T09:59:00.000-05:00

One of the ways I save money and time is to make extra of one item (such as the meat for a meal) and use it in a different meal either later that week or put it in the freezer until the next week. I also save money by stretching the taco seasoning packets. I know the directions say to add to one lb of ground beef, but there is definitely enough flavor that you can get away with adding it to 1.5-2 lbs instead. It may only save you one or two quarters now, but those quarters add up week after week! On this day, I used the leftover taco meat from the freezer to make loaded baked potatoes for us. Potatoes are very cheap and simple to make, so why not stretch your pennies further and make them the main ingredient in your dish!

Loaded Baked Potatoes
potatoes (scrubbed clean, poked with fork a few times, and microwaved until cooked)
leftover taco meat
cheese slices or shredded cheese
chopped veggies like onion, tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, etc

Doughnut Muffins with Peaches

2011-08-25T09:46:00.000-05:00

I am addicted to a new food blog called "How to: Simplify"! I found this recipe on it http://www.howto-simplify.com/2011/04/cinnamon-and-sugar-mini-doughnut-bundt.html and decided to adapt it into muffins. I also had a big peach that wasn't quite ripe when I cut into it so decided to dice that up to include in the muffins for a little nutritional value.

Doughnut Muffins with Peaches
1 3/4 cup flour (I used mostly whole wheat for more nutrition)
1 1/2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar (I used mostly brown sugar)
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1 cup diced peach (skin removed before dicing)

Frosting (I found the recipe actually made twice as much as I needed, so this is about half)
2 tbsp melted margarine
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp milk
3/4 cup powdered sugar

Mix muffin ingredients together, folding in diced peach at the end. Divide between 12 muffin cups. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-16 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from pan after a few minutes and let cool for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together the frosting ingredients until smooth. Pour frosting over muffins and put in fridge until frosting is set before serving.

Crock-Pot: Chicken Tortilla Soup

2011-08-22T17:17:00.000-05:00

This recipe has been in the works for a few weeks now! It started with only a few ingredients and continued into quite a few, but all of them are low cost or free if you have a garden/know someone with a garden. This is hands-down the best homemade soup I have ever made! I am so excited that it made an entire crock pot full so I can put a container in the freezer to have in a month or so.

Crock-Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup (Total cost= $5!)

6 cups chicken broth (I used bouillion cubes so this only cost me cents, so estimate $.15)
1 10.5 oz can tomato soup (this can be bought for around $.35 on sale)
1 10.5 oz can cheddar cheese (about $1.50 at Fareway)
1 10.5 oz can cream of chicken soup (can stock up for $.50 per can)
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken (made from hindquarters on sale cheap, so $.50)
3/4 cup corn (free from my parents)
3/4 cup black beans (only part of can on sale $.25)
1 cup diced onion (cheap, cheap, cheap $.25)
1/2 cup diced celery (about 1 small stalk, so $.10)
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped ($.15 estimate)
2 tbsp diced green chilis (or the whole small can if you like it spicier) (1/3 of small can, $.25)
shredded cheese, fresh parsley, diced tomatos, and tortilla chips for garnish (both parsley and tomatos are from my garden, so maybe $1.00 for other two to garnish the entire crock full)

Spray crockpot with cooking spray. Combine chicken, all veggies and garlic in bottom of crockpot (this step can already be done the night before to save time!).

Pour chicken broth over chicken mixture.

Stir in all 3 cans of soups well. Cook on low for 9ish hours.

This is the beautiful crock-pot of soup you will come home to! It should definitely yield you some leftovers for the freezer or a leftover night...or you can make it for a party!

This is what you will garnish the soup with when serving to make it look even prettier and more flavorful!

You probably can't stop at just one bowl either! Have I mentioned lately how much I LoVe to CoOk!

Crock-Pot French Toast Casserole

2011-08-21T20:21:00.000-05:00

Who doesn't love French Toast?! Who doesn't love "breakfast for dinner"?! Who doesn't love a great crock-pot meal that makes your house smell heavenly?!

I've made French Toast Casserole in the oven before (bake at 375 degrees for about an hour covered with foil until the last few minutes), so thought I would try it in the crock-pot this time to see if I could get the same results. Overall, I would say that it did work out wonderfully, though I wouldn't let it cook longer than 8-8 1/2 hours or the sugars start to carmelize and burn around the edges. If you are going to be away from the house longer than that long, investing in a crockpot with a timer where it automatically goes to "warm" instead of "low" after 8 hours would work best.

Crock-Pot French Toast Casserole

-20 slices of bread, cut into strips

-10 eggs

-2 cups milk

- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

-1 1/2 tsp vanilla

-1 cup brown sugar

-1/2 cup white sugar

-4 tbsp margarine, cut into pieces

Bread in one bowl, sugars and cinnamon mixed in 2nd bowl, eggs/milk/vanilla mixed in 3rd bowl. Reserve 1/2 cup of sugar mixture for topping.

Mix sugars in with bread, pour egg mixture over top and mix well. The bread will start soaking up the liquid mixture immediately.

Spray entire crockpot (make sure to spray well up the sides) and put pieces of margarine on bottom of crockpot.

Pour into crockpot and sprinkle with reserved 1/2 cup of sugars. Cook on low for 8 hours. As the casserole is cooking, you will see the bread rise up to the top and then slowly fall down a couple inches. If you leave it cooking too long, your sugars will start to carmelize around the edges and begin burning.

Final product tastes like a bread pudding! Drizzle maple syrup over top, chop apple or raisins to garnish the top, or sprinkle with powdered sugar when serving. Yummy, yummy!

Got Fresh Veggies? Proceed ahead!

2011-08-20T15:57:00.000-05:00

Summer is the season for so much fresh produce! Good taste, great prices (or free from garden!)...makes wonderful salads! This post is a great example of how to look around your kitchen and just think "outside of the box" to make a simple and tasty side dish to any dinner.

I had a variety of veggies in our fridge that needed to be used up within the next couple of days before spoilage set in. I despise throwing out food if I have a way to use it...and I can ALWAYS find a way. Just clean, chop, dice and throw into a bowl. Add some basic dressing ingredients and some cheese, and you just created a simple dish in a matter of minutes that was cheap, fresh, healthy, and still very tasty!

My salad consists of baby carrots (each cut lengthwise into 4 pieces), green pepper, onion, tomato, and cucumber.

Sprinkle garlic salt and black pepper to taste, small splash of vinegar, healthy drizzle of olive oil, and a handful of torn basil leaves (I used about 10 good sized leaves). Mix well.

Do you have any cheese in the house? I had a chunk of mild cheddar and some string cheese. I cut about 2 oz of cheddar and two cheese sticks into small bite sizes before adding it to the veggies and dressing.

Voila! A great and healthy side dish to go with anything. Our menu consists of chicken breasts and cornbread with this tonight!

My Story in the Kitchen

2011-08-20T14:23:00.000-05:00

I choose to do this blog for me. It's not to get my name out there or to make money, but to do something I enjoy and to share it with those who are also interested in these things. Not only am I mom and a wife, but I am my own person. I'm independent and want to have things that are just for me! That's where this blog comes in...though of course it's contents are shared with people, and my family helps with being the "testers" of my new creations, it's about me and what I love to do within my means.
Since becoming a stay-at-home mom a few months ago, I've struggled with the fact that I don't bring any income into our family. Don't get me wrong, we are making ends meet...but it's not that easy sometimes especially with the unpredictability of my husband's job and knowing we could be moved at any time with very little warning. Today's life can be so expensive! Mike and I are both very dedicated to our children and want to give them the best in life just like most other parents. The "best" is different for everybody. Our "best" is not the same as your "best." We want to ensure our children are healthy and grow up to be independent individuals who are not afraid to challenge themselves to either succeed or fail. The "best" for Brycen differs a little from the "best" for Aubree just because of the circumstances in our family.
Now I've gotten off subject a little bit here, but what I really want to make a point of is that creating meals (and yes they are all created by me with some help of googling ingredient amounts and matches, and if I ever use someone's recipe exactly, I will always link to their site or blog) on a limited budget is fun to me. Sharing those creations is fun for me. Having pride in what I do is fun for me. It's not about the gadgets I don't have, the lack of training I have in the kitchen, the limited ingredients at my fingertips...it's about cooking for my family and being proud that this is the way I can contribute to my family. I may not bring home a paycheck like my husband, but I know the various things I do all day contribute to our family just as much. Whether it is scouring the ad and matching coupons to items on sale to stay within our monthly budget or cooking from scratch to save money, I know that is how I can contribute to our family. Our budget currently allows for $300 per month for all groceries, out to eat (very rarely happens), and household supplies for our family of 4. I'm sure I could do less if I really needed to, but I do know I was at far more than this just a few months ago before I was staying at home.
I am proud to do what I do...proud to be a stay-at-home mom, wife, and woman...and proud to be able to share this part of my life with you! I'm proud that I learned some cooking skills from both of my parents and my grandparents, and proud to be able to share with them some of the things I am now learning. I enjoy talking to my parents and my grandma about cooking, and really enjoy taking a frozen meal to my grandparents when we visit (though I do get "the look" from grandma!). I love to cook for my parents and in-laws when they are visiting! Above all, I love to cook for my husband who works hard all day, week, month long to provide for our family. His opinion on my amateur cooking is really what makes or breaks it...though I have to say he knows better than to say anything too mean or future food may not find it's way onto his plate when he gets home from work:)

Two Simple & Healthy Snacks

2011-08-17T17:40:00.000-05:00

I don't know about you but I think it's hard to get all of the servings of fruits and veggies in each day that they recommend! I am pretty good about sliding some extra veggies into our main course meals and including lots of lettuce salads each week, but for some reason being creative with fruit for me is harder without baking it and making it into a calorie splurge. I like fresh fruit but sometimes I just want it a little bit different. Below are two ideas to sneak another veggie and fruit into your day!

1/2 peach (pit removed obviously!), spray butter on flesh side, sprinkle 1 tsp brown sugar on top. Heat grill pan on medium (or grill outside), put skin side down first for a few minutes to soften, then flip so brown sugar side cooks for a couple minutes to carmelize. Serve with 2 tbsp of Reddi Whip and sprinkle of cinnamon. This dish is approximately 55 calories.

Place 6 wheat thins (I used Multigrain) on a cookie sheet. Slice about 2-3 inches of a peeled cucumber into 6 slices. Place one on each cracker. Cut 1/2 ounce of cheddar cheese (60 calories worth as you could also use shredded if you prefer) into 6 pieces and put on top of cucumber. Place in 450 degree oven until cheese is slightly melted (remove before it slides off the cucumber). Divide 1 tbsp of lite sour cream among the 6 crackers. Total calories for this snack is approximately 145 calories.

Put both of these snacks together for a reasonable 200 calories to tide you over until the next meal!

BLT Pizza

2011-08-17T13:56:00.000-05:00

If you like BLT's and pizza, then this is heaven for you! I really didn't think it'd be very special, just transforming normal ingredients again into a little something different...but then I tasted it fresh out of the oven with the lettuce and tomatoes smothering it and I said "WOW"! I couldn't wait to post this one and I feel horrible that Mike isn't even home today to share in the joy of this new creation.

BLT Pizza
-pizza crust mix (I make my own with whole wheat flour)
-tomato sauce
-bacon, cut into small pieces and cooked/drained
-chopped onion
-shredded cheese (I like to use two different kinds for more flavor)
-chopped or shredded lettuce
-chopped tomato

Roll out dough in circle on greased pizza pan. Pinch up edges to form a
shallow "bowl". Bake at 375 degrees for 5-6 minutes until dough is slightly cooked. I choose to bake my crust by itself first to prevent a soggy middle and to ensure evenly cooked.

Remove from oven and spoon sauce evenly across crust. Sprinkle bacon pieces, onion, and shredded cheese over top. Back in oven for another 8-10 minutes until cheese is melted and crust is browned and no longer soft in the middle.

Top with lettuce and chopped tomato...and ENJOY!

Crock-Pot: Chicken and Pasta

2011-08-17T09:36:00.000-05:00

Over the next several weeks, I am going to be experimenting with various easy crock-pot meals for those school and therapy days that are busier than others. This week, I created a chicken and pasta meal that used either ingredients I already had or ingredients that were on sale or marked down at the store this week. The spinach in this recipe can easily be replaced with a bag of frozen or head of fresh broccoli (just cook it most of the way before adding it to the crockpot at the same time as I did the spinach), and of course the chicken and bacon could be omitted to make it a meat-free meal.

Crock-pot Chicken and Pasta

3 chicken breasts

6 slices uncooked bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 tub Philadelphia cooking creme (I used the Savory Garlic)

12 oz elbow noodles (or any smaller noodle)

1 9oz bag of fresh spinach

1/2 cup sour cream

Add chicken broth, chicken breasts, onion, bacon pieces, cooking creme, and garlic into crock pot and set on low for 8-9 hours.

Remove chicken breasts to a plate and shred with two forks. Meanwhile, boil the noodles for 8 minutes (will not be fully cooked as the crockpot will do the rest) and drain.

Add noodles and chicken into crockpot and mix well.

Add spinach to crockpot, mix well, and continue cooking on low for another hour or on high for 1/2 hour until spinach is cooked and liquid is soaked up by noodles. Mix in sour cream immediately before serving.

Summer Appetizer: Stuffed Tomatoes

2011-08-12T10:46:00.000-05:00

Whether you are making a side dish for home or a dish for a picnic, these stuffed tomatoes are fabulous! I chose to use cherry tomatoes for my dish as I am preparing this for a family reunion, but you could use small roma tomatoes instead if you are just planning them for a cold side dish for dinner.

Stuffed Tomatoes
8oz tub of whipped cream cheese
1 cup fancy shredded mozzarella cheese
4 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped cucumber
garlic salt and black pepper to taste
4 pints of cherry tomatoes or half dozen roma

Mix cream cheese, shredded cheese, onion, basil, cucumber, bacon, and seasonings together in bowl.

Clean tomatoes, and then use small knife to core and remove seeds. If using romas, slice in half and remove insides so you can use both halves to fill.

Spoon cheese mixture into ziploc, press out air before sealing. Cut one corner (very small bit because you can always cut more if needed but can't make it smaller!).

Carefully pipe cheese mixture into each tomato, but don't overfill or it gets messy (coming from experience!!).

Since I am transporting these in a cooler for the potluck, I chose to layer them in a tupperware container. I made sure each was upright before using a layer of waxpaper between each. If you have any filling leftover, it goes great with crackers!

Crockpot: Mexican Meatloaf

2011-08-09T18:07:00.000-05:00

I'm going to start experimenting with crockpot meals in these coming weeks due to school starting soon and a change in Brycen's therapy schedule. I'm hoping to have more time to exercise in the mornings when both kids are at school and to also volunteer at the school now that I am not working and have more time to be involved. Anyway, today was a new creation based on tacos but made into a meatloaf. Because of the ingredients used, it's not a slow cook recipe meant for all day, but for about a 4-5 hour stretch. It of course can be made in the oven in an hour as well!

Mix beef, onions, beans, rice, seasoning,
and eggs together in bowl.
Spray crockpot, and then press meat mixture
into bottom of crockpot.
Cook on low for 4 hours.

Mexican Meatloaf
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup black beans
3/4 cup dry rice
1 packet taco seasoning
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups chopped tomato
1 cup taco shredded cheese

Spread chopped tomatoes on top of meatloaf and sprinkle evenly with cheese. Recover and cook on low another 30-45 minutes until cheese is melted. Yummy, yummy!

If cooking in oven, cook meat mixture for 45 minutes at 375 degrees, and then another 15 minutes after adding tomato and cheese.

Tomato & Egg Bake

2011-08-09T08:36:00.000-05:00

Our meat-free dish of the week turned out fabulous! My two tomato plants have been giving me quite a few ripe tomatos the last few days so I wanted to incorporate them into a low calorie, meat-free recipe. My basil plant has also been flourishing well so I needed to use up some of that, as well as some of the onions I picked from my onion box/garden outside. Don't you just love fresh and FREE veggies?!

Tomato and Egg Bake

8 eggs

1 cup skim milk

1/2 cup diced onion

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil

2/3 cup shredded cheese (divided)

salt and pepper to taste

2 small tomatos (or one large) sliced

1 tbsp parmesan cheese

Mix eggs, milk, onion, basil, salt, pepper, and 1/3 cup shredded cheese in bowl. Pour into sprayed baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Egg mixture will be set around the edges but still runny in the middle. Place tomato slices on the top, pushing them into egg mixture slightly.

Sprinkle with last 1/3 cup of cheese and also 1 tbsp of parmesan cheese. Bake for another 20-25 minutes until egg is set through and cheese is melted and starting to brown.

The recipe makes 6 servings at about 175 calories per serving. Paired with a slice of wheat toast and some fruit, this meal could easily be under 350 calories.

As for cost, all of the veggies were free to me. The cost of all the other ingredients was less than $2 making for a very cheap, healthy, and easy dinner.

"Name This Dish" Edition!

2011-08-05T09:54:00.000-05:00

I have no clue what to name this dish so upon Mike's suggestion, I decided to leave it up to you! All I know is that this idea came out of nowhere using ingredients we had, trying to put together a light meal since we had a big lunch this day, and also focusing on another meat-free meal for the week. It turned out sooooo good that we will definitely be repeating in the future using any veggies we have on hand.

Chop any veggies you have in the fridge! You will need about 1/2 cup for each tortilla. I used a mixture of onion, zucchini, cucumber (sliced this instead of chopped) and tomato. I cooked the onion and zucchini in a small pan on the stove for a few minutes to tenderize them.
Spray cookie sheet and place tortilla on it. Sprinkle a little shredded cheese on top of the tortilla, layer veggies (I placed cucumber slices first, then layered the rest on top ending with tomato). Sprinkle with garlic salt or any seasoning of your choice. Add a little more shredded cheese on top.
Bake at 400 degrees for 10 or so minutes until tortilla is crispy and cheese is melted. Top with sour cream if desired.

Breakdown of the cost for this meal (kids ate just plain cheese quesadillas instead):

4 tortillas: $0.80

veggies: free

shredded cheese: $1.25

garlic salt, spray, sour cream: $0.25

fruit: $1.00

1/2 can baked beans on sale: $0.20

TOTAL COST OF THE MEAL= $3.50 for 4 people!

Chicken Gravy/Mashed Potatoes

2011-08-05T09:23:00.000-05:00

I have been recieving so much free produce lately that I've been focusing my meal planning around that instead of around a main meat dish. It's a different way of thinking, but it will save tons of money each week while it is either given to me or I am paying a sale price at the store while it is in season.

A few weeks ago, I had cooked up some bone-in chicken breasts in the crockpot and saved the broth from it. I also added about 1/2 cup of shredded chicken to the broth before freezing it for a future meal. After thawing the mixture, I skimmed the fat off of the top and discarded it, then warmed the broth up on the stove. I chose to use cornstarch to thicken the broth into a gravy. A hint with cornstarch is to add it to a little bit of water first and wisk it together until smooth. This prevents clumps of it when you add it to the hot broth. Because I wasn't sure how much I would need, I initially measured out two tbsps into water and added that, letting it boil while stirring for a few minutes before deciding if I needed more. I continued with just one tbsp at a time until it was the thickness we liked (I think I ended up using a total of 4 tbsp). I also added some salt and pepper to taste, as well as some chopped fresh parsley.

Meanwhile, I peeled and cut 1/2 dozen decent sized Yukon Gold potatoes and boiled them until fork tender. I used skim milk and some margarine to mash them into a consistency we liked.

When serving, I chopped up some fresh chives for the top for an extra flavor and color.

Here is a breakdown of what this meal cost us:

Potatoes= free

Broth, chicken pieces= $0.50 estimate

Wheat rolls= $0.50

1/4 large canteloupe= $0.75

Lettuce and veggies on salad= free

Milk, margarine, cornstarch, salad dressing, salt & pepper= $1.00 estimate

ENTIRE MEAL= LESS THAN $3!!

We even had some potatoes and gravy left to add to our leftover night this week!

Weekly Meat-free Meal: Zucchini Skillet

2011-08-02T12:31:00.000-05:00

Zucchini is becoming one of my favorite produce items lately! I received another large zucchini over the weekend from a friend and decided to use it again this week as the base for our meat-free meal.
Here is the recipe I used as a guideline from my friend's blog, though I did make some additions of more veggies: http://heywhatsforsupper.blogspot.com/2010/03/mozzarella-zucchini-skillet.html.

Cut onion and green pepper into one inch pieces, 1 pckg of sliced mushroooms.

Wash, peel, and dice one large zucchini. Sprinkle with a little salt and let sit for an hour in the fridge to remove the excess water.

Drizzle a couple tbsp of olive oil in bottom of pan (I had to use a large stock pot due to how many veggies I had, but a skillet would work fine for a smaller portion). Heat on medium-high and add zucchini and other veggies. Cover and stir every 5 minutes for about 25 minutes or until zucchini is soft.

Drain excess liquid from veggies and add jar of spaghetti sauce. Mix well. Sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese on top and cover for 5 minutes so cheese melts.

I served it with wheat rolls and sliced fresh peach.

Here is a list of the ingredients and their cost:
3 small onions (free from mine and friend's garden)
1 green pepper (free from parent's garden)
1 pkg sliced mushrooms ($1.50 in ad at Fareway)
1 large zucchini (free from friend's garden)
salt and olive oil for main dish, and margarine for bread (.40 estimating high)
jar of spaghetti sauce ($1.00 on stock up sale this spring at Fareway)
1.5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (3/4 of bag that was $2, so cost of what I used was $1.50)
wheat rolls (day old table at Fareway for .99, used only 1/2 so $0.50)
one fresh peach and one banana ($0.75)
Kids ate 7 chicken nuggets instead of zucchini dish (1/12 of $4 bag, so $0.35)
TOTAL COST OF MEAL: $6.00 FOR 4 PEOPLE

Garlic, Herb, and Parmesan Potatoes

2011-08-01T13:40:00.000-05:00

My friend gave me some smaller potatoes from their garden that I decided to use to make a hot potato salad dish to go with our sandwiches last night. Both Mike and I agreed it was very good and will definitely be added to the side dish rotation!

Start with about a dozen small scrubbed potatoes to feed 2-3 people. The ones I used were Yukon Gold but red potatoes would also work. Cut them into bite size...about 4 per potato. Put them into sprayed dish, spray the tops of them with butter spray, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for about 25 minutes at 425 degrees, turning often and adding more butter spray as needed until they are fork tender.

Meanwhile, gather the rest of your ingredients: olive oil, garlic salt, parmesan cheese, fresh parsley, and fresh chives. You may also use dried herbs, but I LOVE the taste of the fresh ones and have worked hard to keep my herb plants alive.

Drizzle some olive oil in a bowl (about 3 tbsp), add garlic salt to taste (I added a good couple shakes as these potatoes are meant to be full of garlic), and add chopped parsley and chives. Mix well. Add hot potatoes and gently coat them with olive oil mixture. Add a palmful of parmesan cheese and stir again until evenly covered.

I served our potatoes with a steak, onion, and cheese sandwich using up some steak and french bread we had in the freezer, as well as a fresh lettuce salad from my parent's garden.
Because the potatoes and lettuce was given to me, and I bought the bread and charcoal steak when it was on sale, this entire meal cost us under $4 (adding in an extra dollar for the rest of the smaller ingredients). Very tasty and very cheap!

The Financial Savings in Leftovers!

2011-07-25T12:58:00.000-05:00

I know some people that just balk at the thought of having leftovers for a meal! I grew up in a household that ate mostly at home and had at least one meal a week that consisted of a buffet of leftovers from the previous few evening meals. It's a great way to save money and time by not having to plan a meal, spend money on extra ingredients, and cook one night a week. Our leftover nights tend to be on Fridays since Mike closes at the store and has his dinner break at 4 which is usually a little too early for the kids and I to eat. We each eat what we want out of the fridge contents, or I will sometimes make the kids chicken nuggets or grilled cheese sandwiches if the fridge contents won't appeal to their tastes.

One of my favorite kind of leftovers is chicken breasts! You can do so much with a couple extra grilled chicken breasts, so I tend to throw in one or two extras when we grill out each week (we have chicken at least 1-2 times per week in some form). I usually choose to marinate them with part of a bottle of cheap salad dressing like the off-brand Lite Italian. Cheap way to add extra flavor and juiciness to the chicken!

Here are two great and easy ideas of how to use up a leftover chicken breast!

Spinach and chicken salad with any extra veggies you have on hand...I chose to dice up onion, green pepper, and tomato, with a couple tbsp of shredded cheese, & some lite Ranch drizzled over the top.

Chicken Sandwich...1/2 breast sliced and warmed up, a tbsp of cooked and crumbled bacon, a tbsp of shredded cheese, a few slices of red onion, and a few leaves of fresh leafy lettuce.

Leftovers don't have to be boring, nor do they have to be used in the exact way you ate them for the first meal! Just think outside the box and throw together something with what you already have. It'll not only save you a few bucks, but will save you a lot of planning and cooking time!

Zucchini Lasagna

2011-07-23T09:08:00.000-05:00

Free zucchini this week from Mike's coworker's garden! Was so excited to try a new recipe using the zucchini instead of noodles in lasagna. A good low carb meal that is better for all of us! Mike, my parents, and I had it for dinner last night and we all agreed the zucchini replaces the noodles perfectly. Not only that, but it turned out to be a minimal ingredient meal and the entire lasagna was less than $5 to make (it could have been even less if I had omitted the hamburger). Paired with some garlic "bread" (made from leftover hamburger buns that needed to be used up), lettuce salad, and sliced apples...the entire meal for 4 adults and 2 kids was definitely less than $8!

Zucchini Lasagna
2-3 zucchini, peeling removed and sliced lengthwise (about 1/4-1/2 inch thick)
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 lb hamburger (optional as it would be a great meatless meal without it and make it even cheaper!)
1 cup diced onion
3 cups shredded mozzarella
fresh chopped parsley for garnish

After slicing the zucchini, place in pot with water and boil for 6-7 minutes until softened. Drain well, blot dry with paper towel or your lasagna sauce will turn out watery in the dish.

Brown hamburger in skillet, drain and add in onion to soften for a few minutes. Mix in spaghetti sauce.

Line up of sauce, zucchini slices, and cheese.

Spray casserole dish with cooking spray, and then spread small amount of sauce mixture on the bottom. Layer zucchini slices on top, then one cup of cheese. Repeat this 2 more times so you have 3 entire layers.

Bake in 350 degree oven covered with foil for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake another 20 minutes to melt the cheese on top. Garnish with parsley and let sit for 10 minutes to set up before serving.

Baked Egg Rolls

2011-07-18T15:08:00.000-05:00

I received a free cabbage again this last weekend (thank you, Sarah!) so decided I was wanting to make my own egg rolls. But I wanted to bake them instead so they'd be just a little healthier! The texture of the shell was a little different than a fried egg roll but I expected that considering they were not bathing in hot oil. Overall, very easy to make and very cheap if you get past the cost of the egg roll wrappers themselves! I was able to make 22 of them at a cost of about $4.50 so they were about $0.20 each to make...a lot cheaper than buying the box of premade ones or ordering a side of them from a restaurant!

Baked Chicken Egg Rolls

one pkg Egg Roll wrappers (found mine in the produce section near the greens)
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 small head of cabbage, cored and finely chopped
2 cups diced raw veggies (I chose onion, celery, and carrot)
1/4 cup+ soy sauce
black pepper
oil for brushing

Steam the chopped cabbage and veggies in large pot with a little water.

Drain water and add in cooked chicken, black pepper, and soy sauce to taste. Mix well.

Lay out egg roll wrapper carefully...measure out 1/4 cup cooled mixture on one end of wrapper.

Wrap sides over about 1/2 inch and then roll bottom edge over the mixture. Use finger to brush water on top edge of wrapper to help form a seal. Roll tightly from the bottom until meeting the water and push together to seal.

Placed egg rolls on greased cookie sheet. Brush oil over top of each. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Turn over and bake another 8 minutes until bottom is golden brown. Turn over again to bake another 3-4 minutes until other side is brown.

Drain/blot with paper towels to remove any leftover oil and cool for a few minutes before serving. Serve with choice of dipping sauce (Sweet and Sour was our choice).

If choosing to freeze leftover egg rolls, let them cool down either on counter or place on baking sheet in freezer for 10 minutes. Wrap egg rolls individually in small pieces of foil and place in ziploc bag for freezer. Then you can pull out the number of egg rolls you want, unwrap from foil and bake on cookie sheet until heated through.

Chicken Burritos!

2011-07-16T18:58:00.000-05:00

I cooked up $5 worth of bone-in chicken breasts in the crockpot today to shred for recipes. I didn't realize just how much meat was on those things! I was able to use some for 5 burritos tonight, a cup put into the broth for the freezer for a future meal of chicken and dumplings, as well as two bags in the freezer for other meals and another small amount in the fridge to make homemade egg rolls. I definitely got my money's worth from those today!

These Chicken Burritos are so versatile with whatever you have in the fridge! I've made some before with chopped cucumber and ranch dressing as well.

Chicken Burritos

flour tortillas

shredded chicken breast

chopped tomato

diced onion

fresh spinach

shredded cheese

garlic salt

Layer chicken and veggies in the middle of the tortilla. Sprinkle with cheese and garlic salt, fold together so one end is open. Heat griddle or grill and use cooking spray to prevent sticking. Heat until cheese is melted, a couple minutes. If using griddle, will need to flip part way through to brown on both sides.

Black Bean-Beef Burgers

2011-07-07T17:59:00.000-05:00

Garnish with favorite burger toppings...
my choice was cheese, lettuce, and ketchup.

My goal for this week was to try black beans...so we decided that adding them to ground beef would work great to make burgers and to introduce me to one of the veggies that I despise the most.
Surprisingly, they were not that bad!
A little mushier than the typical burger obviously, but still tasty and juicy.
I plan to make this recipe again!

Black Bean-Beef Burgers
1 lb ground beef
1 cup cooked black beans, mushed with fork
1/2 cup diced onion
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (or 2 tsp dry)

Add all ingredients together and form into patties of desired size (my batch made 6 patties). Cook or grill at least 5 minutes on each side until done. I chose to sprinkle Lawry's seasoning on them while they were cooking.
Hint: If you choose to use more beans than above, add one egg to the mixture to help the burgers stay together while cooking.

Cheap & Easy Crockpot Meal: Cabbage & Sausage

2011-07-05T18:07:00.000-05:00

I don't think crockpot meals can get any easier than this one! I made this in March when cabbage was very cheap, so when one of Mike's coworkers sent another cabbage home with him a few days ago because she had so much in their garden, I knew exactly what I wanted to make again. This time I used even fewer ingredients and was able to make this meal for only $2.50!

Crockpot Cabbage & Sausage

1 head of cabbage, core removed and rest roughly chopped
1 large onion, peeled and sliced into wedges
1 sausage ring, slice into 1 inch pieces
salt & pepper
2 cups water
parmesan cheese for serving

Layer cabbage, onion, and sausage in crockpot. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, then pour water over all before covering. Cook on low 6 hours until cabbage and onion is cooked down. I choose to stir it together after about 3 hours to mix, then drain some excess water at this time also. Sprinkle with cheese after serving.

Breaded Mushrooms!

2011-07-02T18:08:00.000-05:00

Sometimes a girl just needs her favorite bar food...homemade of course! Breaded and fried mushrooms were my favorite appetizer/bar food when Mike and I used to eat out more. It has probably been about 2 years since I've had them. When I had about a dozen fresh mushrooms to use up today before leaving for the rest of the weekend, I decided to attempt to bread and fry them. They turned out juicy and yummy! I might try to bake them next time to see if I can make them healthier, but in the meantime a little fried food isn't going to hurt!

Breaded Mushrooms

dozen whole small mushrooms (Baby Bella)
1 cup breadcrumbs
seasonings such as dill weed, garlic salt, black pepper, etc.
1 egg, beaten well
1/2 cup flour
oil of choice (I chose Canola as that is what I had in the pantry)

Use small sauce pan and heat 1 inch of oil over low-medium heat for 5 minutes. Clean mushrooms, wipe dry. Roll mushrooms in flour, dip in beaten egg, and cover in breadcrumbs. Slowly add them to hot oil, and turn them every couple of minutes for around 10 minutes or until slightly soft and golden brown. Drain on paper towel and serve with favorite dip like ranch dressing!

I estimate a dozen of these breaded mushrooms cost me about $1 to make...whereas we would have spent a lot more ordering them at a restaurant of course! Definitely a cheap appetizer (not exactly healthy unless you count the serving of veggies) and very easy to make!

Eggplant & Pasta

2011-06-30T20:50:00.000-05:00

This new recipe smelled absolutely fabulous as it was baking in the oven today!

I chose to buy another eggplant when they were on sale earlier this week so I could make another meat-free meal this week.

I don't think we even noticed the absence of meat from the "spaghetti" because the eggplant was very filling and flavorful.

We served our Eggplant & Pasta with lettuce salad and garlic bread.

Eggplant & Pasta

1 eggplant, peeling removed and sliced into 1 inch thick slices (ours made 10 slices)

2 eggs, beaten well in bowl
1 cup fine bread crumbs
garlic salt, paprika, & pepper
handful of fresh oregano, torn into small pieces
mozzarella cheese (we used slices but could also use shredded)
12 ounces pasta (we used elbow because it's easier for the kids to eat)
1 jar spaghetti sauce

Mix breadcrumbs and spices together in bowl. Spray large cookie sheet. Dip eggplant pieces in egg, then in cover in breadcrumb mixture on all sides. Place on cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes, turning over after 15 minutes. Add mozzarella to top and put back in warm oven until melted. Meanwhile, boil your pasta, drain, and add spaghetti sauce. Serve eggplant slices on top of pasta.

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

2011-06-30T20:34:00.000-05:00

Such an easy and cheap summer meal using the crockpot and sneaking in some veggies without really tasting them! The addition of veggies also bulks up the dish and made enough for two meals for our family of 4 which is also a time saver for another evening of leftovers.

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches (makes about 8 sandwiches)

2 cups cooked and shredded chicken

2 cups diced veggies of your choice (I used green pepper, onion, and mushrooms)

1 bottle BBQ sauce

hamburger buns

Mix chicken, veggies, and sauce in crockpot and cook on high for 2-3 hours until veggies are tender and mixture is hot.

Grilled Eggplant

2011-06-27T19:02:00.001-05:00

Going along with our attempt to eat healthier, try new things, and budget our money wisely, we bought an eggplant last week at the store for $0.99 and was told it is really good on the grill. So after a little research, we decided to slice it, brush it with olive oil, sprinkle garlic salt and pepper, and then grill it up tonight. I also decided to make a "salsa" that included red onion, fresh basil. tomato, and seasonings to put on top of the eggplant for some extra flavor. After grilling, I sprinkled parmesan cheese on top of them, then put a spoonful of salsa on top. We both really enjoyed it, though I found I prefer to eat it without the peeling!

We are going to attempt a new recipe on Thursday with

another eggplant

for our meat-free dinner for the week!

Our veggie to try for next week is black beans

(Mike has had them, but I'm not a fan of beans in general

so this will be a test for me).

Snack Food Experiments!

2011-06-27T15:35:00.000-05:00

I've been focusing on making our food a little bit healthier lately and trying to make as much as I can from home instead of buying pre-made boxed items at the store. I know that is a big step to take (especially with two young children) so I've been starting slow. Today I decided to focus on new snack food that not only has some healthy ingredients in them, but is cheap and also tasty so the kids are willing to try and eat them.

I decided to search for an easy granola recipe that doesn't have a ton of sugar, is cheap, and with very few ingredients. I succeeded in that mission today! Both kids approved...and I mixed in a few chocolate chips to reward them for trying something new :)
I started with this recipe from a blog that I read often http://thehappyhousewife.com/cooking/granola/, and then adapted it to what I had in the house and how I thought I would like it.

Stirring granola part way through baking.

Easy Granola
1 stick margarine
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
3 cups oats

Granola!

Melt margarine on stove. Add honey, cinnamon, salt, and brown sugar and mix well. Remove from heat and stir in oats. Spread mixture on greased cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Mix granola, spread out again, and then put back in oven for another 5 minutes until lightly browned. Cool and then store in container with tight lid.

I have also been wanting to experiment with dehydrating fruit...but I don't have a dehydrator and I don't care to spend money on another appliance that I don't have room to store or that I won't use on a regular (weekly) basis. I decided to attempt the fruit in the oven instead while I was making the above granola. I was surprised to find out it actually worked well and was very tasty. It took me two attempts at the bananas to get them the way I liked them (I actually don't like fresh bananas but have always liked banana chips!) but bananas are so cheap so I don't mind trying over with those types of things. The apples worked on the first try so I was happy about that! Aubree was willing to try both kinds and she asked for more so I'm guessing these are kid approved as well. Brycen refused to eat them, but I don't take his reaction personally given the fact I told him he was getting a banana, and the chip obviously doesn't look like the banana that his literal mind pictures.

Soaking the banana slices...

Banana and Apple Chips
1 apple, peeled
1 banana, peeled
1-2 tbsp brown sugar
1 cup lemonade or orange juice

Slice apple into 1 inch long pieces and about 1/4 inch thick. Slice bananas into 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Mix brown sugar and liquid together in bowl. Soak pieces of fruit in liquid for a few seconds and then place on well sprayed cookie sheet. Put in oven at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes, turning halfway through. The fruit will kind of stick to the pan, so be careful when flipping and watch carefully to prevent burning on one side. The finished product will be chewy. Cool and enjoy!

Success!

Aubree & Brycen trying the homemade granola with some chocolate chips sprinkled in for afternoon snack!

Meat-free dishes= money saved!

2011-06-22T20:13:00.000-05:00

I recently vowed to start making more meat-free dinners to not only be healthier, but to stretch our dollars. I found the following recipe at http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/easy-italian-pasta-bake and adapted it to meet our family's needs. I chose to not include meat, but to include more veggies instead, as well as to decrease the amount of cheese the recipe includes.

Meat-free Pasta Bake
2-3 cups of fresh chopped veggies (mushrooms, carrots, celery, onions, peppers, etc)
4 cups tomato sauce
2 cups water
10 oz pasta, any kind
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
various herbs and seasonings like basil, oregano, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper, etc

Cooked pasta has absorbed the liquid.

Sautee veggies in pan with drizzle of olive oil until soft. Boil water and tomato sauce. Add seasonings and pasta and cook until pasta is ready according to box, stirring often so it doesn't burn. The pasta will absorb the extra liquid and be coated in the tomato sauce. Add veggies to pasta and pour into greased baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Sprinkle chopped parsley on top!

The recipe ends up being very few ingredients, easy to make, and very cheap when you use up veggies you already have and don't include meat! The entire bake cost me about $4 (that's probably a high estimate too!)!

Stuffed Peppers---with leftovers!

2011-06-21T14:58:00.000-05:00

Just like homemade soup, stuffed peppers can be made with various leftover ingredients in your fridge! Since peppers are much cheaper in the summer (green especially can be found for 2 for $1 or less!), this is a budget friendly meal just like homemade soup is in the wintertime.

I found myself with some leftover sauteed onions from a previous meal, leftover chopped tomatoes, and two cooked sausage patties that I needed to use up. I also had two whole green peppers that were very cheap at the store last week that needed to be used before they started getting mushy.

I cut the two peppers in half (top to bottom), cleaned out the inside and cut out the stem from each. I then sprayed a cooking dish and placed the peppers inside, sprayed the peppers and sprinkled them with salt and pepper. I cooked the peppers by themselves for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees to soften them slightly.

While they cooked, I mixed together the chopped tomatoes, chopped sauteed onions, chopped sausage patties, fine bread crumbs, shredded cheese, grated parmesan cheese, one egg, garlic salt, and a drizzle of olive oil. I then "stuffed" each pepper half with part of the mixture. Placed them back into the oven for another 15 or so minutes until hot and cheese is melted.

Stuffed peppers are so easy and they can be stuffed with a variety of things! You could use pretty much any kind of leftovers in your fridge like taco meat or leftover rice with some cheese and other veggies to fill them up. Since you are using up leftovers and small amounts of other things, this really becomes a very cheap meal, often for only a few dollars for a family of 4. Add some garlic bread and fruit for a healthy and budget-friendly meal!

Father's Day Dinner for Mike!

2011-06-19T18:07:00.000-05:00

Everybody that knows Mike knows that food is the way to his heart! I experimented with a couple things for this meal and crossed my fingers that it would turn out...and it did! Everything was fabulous (I did take shortcuts by using frozen green beans and frozen garlic bread!).

Grilled steak with sauteed onions: Slice one onion, drizzle olive oil and 1 tbsp margarine in bottom of skillet, add separated onion rings, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cover. Stir every couple minutes until softened.
Crab stuffed mushrooms: Clean and pull out stems of baby portabellas. Mix imitation crab, shredded cheese, chopped onion, chopped tomato, one egg, garlic salt, and chopped parsley. Bake mushrooms for about 10 minutes at 350 until softened a little. Add filling into mushroom and bake until cheese is melted or about 15-20 minutes.
Cheese & bacon twice baked potatoes: Scrub clean potatoes. Poke each with fork multiple times, bake for an hour at 375degrees. Let cool. When laying down, slice top 1/3 of potato, scrape out insides of top into bowl. Scrape out insides of bottom into bowl, leaving a little in the shell to hold it in place. Add margarine, cream cheese, grated parmesan, milk, and garlic salt and mash together (warm up bowl in microwave for a few seconds if needed to make mashing easier). Add in chopped cooked bacon and then spoon back into potato shells. Bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes until heated through. Sprinkle with fresh chives.

ENJOY!! A wonderful meal at home for only about an hour and half of work total and cost much less and far less stressful than going out to a restaurant with our kids!

Quesadillas!

2011-06-09T13:37:00.000-05:00

We love our quesadillas here! Typically, I will make them quite simple with just cheese, green onion, tomato, and garlic salt, but today I needed to use up a few ingredients before our move next week. Quesadillas are fast, cheap, and so easy to make!

Spinach & Chicken Quesadilla
tortillas
chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
shredded cheese
chopped onion
cooked spinach (I used fresh today, but frozen works just as well!)
cooking spray
garlic salt

Heat large skillet on low. Line up your ingredients on the counter as you will have to work fast to ensure the bottom of the tortilla does not brown too fast. Spray and then lay down one tortilla in the pan. Sprinkle small amount of shredded cheese on tortilla, followed by a handful of shredded chicken (see below).

Sprinkle chopped onion and spread cooked spinach across the top. Sprinkle with garlic salt, and another layer of shredded cheese.

Top with a second tortilla, spray top of tortilla and then carefully flip. Cook another couple minutes until second tortilla is browned and cheese is melted.

Serve with sour cream and enjoy!

Spinach & Artichoke Dip---healthier version!

2011-06-04T18:41:00.000-05:00

Mike and I LOVE hot Spinach & Artichoke Dip! The only problem is that most recipes I have ran across include multiple kinds of cheeses...and lots of it! I decided to create my own that focuses on the veggies. Of course, it's still not the healthiest snack out there, but it's simple and yummy and not horribly expensive either!

Spinach, Artichoke, & Onion Dip
1 can Artichoke hearts, chopped
1/2-3/4 cup diced red onion
1 cup spinach (I started with frozen, thawed and squeezed out liquid...1 cup was after these steps.)
8 oz cream cheese, softened (I used 1/3 less fat)
8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese (do not use fat free as it does not melt well!)
garlic salt
black pepper

Mix all ingredients together. Spray baking dish, spread mixture evenly in dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Mix well, and spread evenly again, baking for another 15 minutes until heated through. Serve with tortilla chips!

Basil Pasta Salad

2011-05-31T17:25:00.000-05:00

My first attempt at growing herbs has turned out wonderfully! I have parsley, dill, oregano, chives, and basil growing at a faster rate than I can even use. I have used each of them multiple times and love the addition of fresh instead of the dried. I'm pretty sure this is something I want to continue FOREVER!

Anyway, my basil plants have grown huge and I needed to find a new recipe that would use quite a few leaves. I also had some small amounts of two kinds of pasta to use up, so I decided to make a summer pasta salad that incorporates the basil, tomato, onion, and some mozzarella. When I make homemade pasta salad, I typically use Italian salad dressing to coat, but I wanted to try something different today so I used a mix of olive oil and balsamic vinegar for a fresh and mild taste.

Basil Pasta Salad
12 oz any pasta, cooked according to package
1 cup diced tomato

1/2 cup diced red onion
6 oz diced mozzarella cheese (could use shredded also)
1 cup fresh basil, torn into smaller pieces
salt & pepper to taste
olive oil (approx 1.5-2 tbsp)
balsamic vinegar (approx 1.5-2 tbsp)

Rinse pasta with cold water to cool. Add chopped veggies and cheese to pasta, drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar over top. Mix well and add salt/pepper to taste.

One Hour Freezer Cooking= 3 meals!

2011-05-10T11:36:00.000-05:00

My focus and time is now switching to using up what I have stockpiled in the freezer and cupboards so we have less to move to the new house in the middle of June. Since my wonderful parents kept Aubree for a sleepover last night and Brycen is at school this morning, I decided to focus some time on preparing some meals for the freezer. Since Mike already started at the new store, I need to plan in advance for him to take some freezer meals back with him each week because we not only do we obviously not have the money for him to eat out constantly for 5 days, but it's just not healthy to do that.

My plan for today was to use up about 1/3 gallon of milk that is expiring, a large opened can of tomato sauce from the fridge, and some meat from the freezer to start using up my stockpile. I decided to make a big batch of Sausage Gravy, one batch of Chili, and a batch of Chicken Dressing Casserole. All of them are easy with minimal ingredients, as well as very cheap meals!

Sausage Gravy (served over toast or biscuits)
1 lb ground sausage, cooked and crumbled
8 tbsp margarine/butter
8 tbsp flour
salt and pepper to taste
6 cups milk

Cook sausage and drain of grease, set aside. Melt margarine in large pot on stove, slowly whisk in flour until makes a paste over low-medium heat. Add milk, 1 cup at time while whisking until clump of flour mixture cannot be seen. Add salt and pepper, continue cooking over medium heat until bubbling and begins to thicken. Stir constantly so doesn't burn on bottom of pot. Remove from heat and add sausage. It will thicken more after removed from heat. Serve over toast or biscuits.

Chili (no beans...Ewww!)
1/2 lb ground beef, cooked and crumbled
1 large can of tomato sauce
1 large can of diced tomatoes
1/3 large onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 package chili seasoning
1-2 cups water

Cook beef in bottom of large pot and drain. Return to pot and add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, onions, green peppers and seasoning. Cook for about 10 minutes on low. Add in water to thin out depending on how you like your chili.

Chicken Dressing Casserole

2 cups cooked and diced chicken (or turkey)

1 can chicken broth (or 1 3/4 cup homemade)

1 can cream soup (I chose cream of celery today)

1/2 cup chopped onion

pepper

box of Stove Top stuffing (prepared according to box)

Mix chicken, broth, soup, onion and pepper in bottom of casserole dish. Spread prepared stuffing over top and bake for 30 minutes at 350degrees until heated through.

All of this really only took me an hour since I put the meat in the fridge to defrost last night! Mike will have 3 dishes to take with him next week (which will divide into at least the 5 hot meals he needs for the week), and the kids and I will have 3 dishes to heat up at home since cooking large meals when it is just me at home with both of them is not very easy. Cheap, fast, and simple!

Easy French Dip Sandwiches

2011-05-01T20:02:00.000-05:00

I've always loved French Dip sandwiches in restaurants, so of course it's something I love to re-create at home when I can get roast beef on sale from the meat counter at Fareway. Few ingredients and by far cheaper than getting it in a restaurant! The roast beef as the most expensive thing at $5 for the pound, but I probably spent about $3-4 on the rest of the ingredients so each sandwich only cost about $2-2.25.

French Dip Sandwiches
4 French Rolls (or any kind of bakery roll will do!)
1 lb sliced Roast Beef, warmed in microwave
1 pkg Au Jus
1 large onion
Olive oil, salt, and pepper
4 slices of either swiss or mozzarella cheese

Slice onion and separate rings. Heat about 1 tbsp of olive oil over low-medium heat in skillet, put onions in pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and stir to coat. Cover and continue to cook on low-medium until softened, stirring every couple minutes. Slice rolls, separate sliced beef among the 4 rolls, top with sauteed onion, then top with cheese (I tore my slices in half because my roll was long and skinny). Place in 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Prepare au jus as package instructs and pour into single bowls to dip.

Serve with french fries and a veggie for a well rounded meal!

Bacon Cheeseburger & Potato Casserole

2011-04-29T21:14:00.000-05:00

Time to be creative again with a new recipe! I ran across a similar recipe on a blog that was much simpler with fewer ingredients, but the only vegetable it included was some onion so I bulked it up with a few more things. Pair this casserole with lettuce & fruit, and you will have a decent family meal for around $7-8!

Bacon Cheeseburger & Potato Casserole:
1 lb ground turkey
1/4 lb bacon
4 potatoes
garlic
parsley
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
1/2-3/4 cup fresh/diced mushrooms
1/2 cup diced tomato
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
salt & pepper to taste

Brown ground turkey in pan, adding in either fresh chopped garlic or garlic salt/powder to taste and about 2 tsps of dried parsley. Cook bacon and then crumble once cooled. Chop onion and mushrooms and sautee until soft. Peel and dice potatoes into 1 inch pieces, cover with cold water and boil until just fork tender (not falling apart!), then cool. Add meat, bacon, onions, mushrooms, and potatoes together in big bowl. Mix sour cream, 1 cup cheese, and milk in a different bowl. Pour over and carefully coat the meat/veggie mixture. Add in diced tomatoes, salt, and pepper and pour into baking dish. Bake covered for about 40-45 minutes at 400 degrees. Uncover, sprinkle with last 1/2 cup of cheese and bake until bubbling (5 or so minutes).

Saving Money: Collecting your change!

2011-04-27T11:40:00.000-05:00

For years now, Mike and I have had an unconventional way of saving money for our annual vacations. All year long, we put all of our loose change into a big piggy bank, as well as put dollar bills aside to build our vacation fund. Since we use cash to pay for everything besides our set bills (rent, utilities, car payment, insurance, etc), we can accumulate change and bills very fast! Like I said, we would then use this to be able to pay cash for all of our vacations over the last few years...Chicago, Florida, Vegas, and Kansas City. Since we are not planning a vacation this year (we have two new nieces being born this spring to visit instead!), we will be using this change and whatever we make from a garage sale we are having in May to pay down our credit card. Not only are we wanting to simplify our life, but our goal is to one day not have any debt besides a mortgage when the time comes to buy a house. We know we can do it, but it just takes sacrifices on our part to give up things we once thought were necessities (cell phone plans, gifts to each other on birthdays/Christmas) so we can one day live a more stable life without debt hanging over our heads.

If you are interested in working hard to be debt free, I highly recommend reading a book from Dave Ramsey and implementing any and all of his suggestions. While we need to follow a modified version of Dave's plan because of our circumstances with a special needs child (having to keep within certain means for services) and knowing we will be moved multiple times over the next decade or so for Mike's job, we still use his basic principles which is simplify your life, snowball to pay off your debt, and then learn to pay cash for everything in the future. Here is a link to Dave Ramsey's website if you are interested:

http://www.daveramsey.com/home/

Yummy Chicken Enchiladas!

2011-04-23T20:53:00.000-05:00

After receiving a coupon for a free container of the new Philly Cooking Creme, I decided to use it this week to make a new chicken enchilada recipe. I looked over a few different recipes, then chose to concoct a new recipe with ingredients I already had and amounts that we like. I noticed the regular cost of a container of the cooking creme is over $2.50 at Fareway. I know I would never pay that price for it so if you are pinching your pennies like we are, you could easily substitute just sour cream, or a mixture of plain cream cheese and sour cream for a creamier mixture, and add a little seasoning to it such as parsley, paprika, chili seasoning, garlic salt, etc.

Yummy Chicken Enchiladas:

2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded, seasoned with salt and pepper
1 small onion, chopped and cooked to soften (I microwaved mine)

1 cup spinach (I used frozen and thawed it in the microwave)

1 can diced tomatoes

1 container Philly Cooking Creme (I chose the Santa Fe Blend)

1- 1.5 cups shredded cheese

8-10 soft tortillas

chopped green onions

Mix chicken, onion, spinach, tomatoes and cooking creme together in big bowl. Spoon mixture into middle of tortillas, roll up and place in big pan with seam side down.

I needed two different pans since my mixture filled 10 tortillas. Cover pans with foil and bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese and bake another 5 or so minutes until cheese is melted. Sprinkle green onions on top right before serving.

What is your financial "leak"?

2011-04-23T13:04:00.000-05:00

We make many choices every single day on how we are going to spend our hard-earned money. Some people have the money to not worry so much, others will swipe the credit card without a thought of how much that will end up costing them on top of their already high balance, while others worry about every penny spent and are just trying to make ends meet. We all have financial "leaks" where we have a specific habit where we choose to throw money away.
In our family, the financial "leak" is pop! Mike and I LOVE our caffeine fixes each day. If we really had to tighten the financial belt more, this "leak" could obviously be fixed if we just didn't buy pop anymore. We are conscious of how much money we spend on pop and we try to be wise about it, such as buying a lot of it when it is really cheap (such as this last week was $2.50 for 12 pack which is about as low as it goes around here) and remembering to take some with us when we are on vacations so we are not paying the high price at gas stations. For some reason, Mike actually enjoys room-temperature pop so he chooses to buy a single can of the Fareway pop off the shelf for breaktime instead of getting it out of the machine because it saves about $.20 each time. Though we rarely eat out, we typically choose to not get a pop at the restaurant and drink water instead and then will just have one when we get home.
What is your financial "leak"? Is it buying more clothes when you already have a closet full at home? Do you choose to eat out lunch while at work when you could pack lunch from home? Do you stop at Starbucks multiple times per week? Do you choose to buy lottery tickets each week? Do you "need" all the namebrand of everything when you can easily find a cheaper version at a different store? Do you meet for happy hour every week when you could have your friends over to share a bottle of wine instead? Do you choose to go through the drive-thru on your way home from work instead of taking a few minutes the night before to plan ahead for supper?
With gas and food prices rising, it's important to pinpoint this "leak" now so that you can have a plan on how to tackle it and still be able to afford other things. If you make drastic changes right away, it probably won't last long and you will more than likely go back to the old way of things. I highly suggest you plan to change your habit slowly...if you eat out lunch 3-4 times per week, try only doing it 1-2 times per week instead. Keep a journal of how much money you saved by not eating out 3-4 and seeing that amount in writing will probably encourage you to cut back even more!

Saving Money: Laundry

2011-04-19T13:56:00.000-05:00

I'm going to be honest that saving money on laundry is something I just recently started taking very seriously. With a family of 4 (a husband that has work specific clothes and 2 young children), we seem to always have laundry piled up...I can't even imagine what my mom felt like with 4 kids or even my grandmothers for that matter with even more kids! Laundry is something we all have to do and though the savings aren't HUGE, I promise that they will add up over time if you are willing to be organized, plan it out, and take the time to see the savings in the end.

Here are the ways we save money on laundry in our house:

We only do full loads of wash...it's a waste of water and electricity to do multiple small loads.
We use cold water to wash almost everything (towels/sheets and under garments are the exception)
We make our own laundry detergent (see below for more information).
We do use store bought stain remover at this time (though I would love to find a way to make this cheaper and still be efficient) but we do not use any fabric softener. I choose to use 1/2 cup of vinegar occasionally in my loads to help with softening and smelly clothes (AKA husband's work socks after a 12 hr day of being on his feet!).
We only use the dryer for 2 loads per week (see below for more information).
I do use dryer sheets when using the dryer but cut them in half so a box lasts me a LONG time!
Clothing such as jeans, sweatshirts, and pajamas can be worn at least twice as long as no obvious stains. This is typically just for Mike and I because the kids get EVERYTHING dirty within minutes of getting dressed, but they do where their pajamas at least two nights (unless Brycen leaked out during the night) and some times can wear pants two days before washing if there aren't any food messes made.

HOMEMADE LAUNDRY DETERGENT:
Making your own laundry detergent is not only very inexpensive, but it only takes about 15 minutes for each batch and it's very good for people with sensitive skin (like Brycen). I prefer to make the liquid kind but I know there are recipes out there for powder also.

Here is the recipe that I use and instructions:

1/4 bar Fels Naptha

3/4 bar Ivory (if using 4.5oz bar, but if using 3.1 oz bar use the entire thing)

2/3 cup Washing Soda

1/2 cup Borax

Water

Bucket with lid (I bought mine from local hardware store)

Chop both bars of soap into very small pieces and put into a stockpot with 6 cups of water. Heat until soap is melted or at least only small pieces aren't melted. Add Washing Soda (NOT baking soda) and Borax to mixture and mix well until dissolved. Measure 4 cups of hot water in bucket and add soap mixture slowly. Stir and then add 22 more cups of water. Move to a safe location (away from kids!) and cover, let sit overnight to gel. When uncovering the next day, it will be a stiff gel, so get your hands in there (it's soap so nothing to be afraid of!) and squish it all together. The consistency is different than store bought detergent, but who cares?! Use about 3/4 cup per load. It does not suds up in the washer like store bought but that's a gimmick anyway to make you think that's how stuff gets clean:) Your house will smell wonderful as the soap is melting!

Do not use bleach with this mixture because I did read that it will interact with one of the ingredients. You can still use stain remover, or rub the bar of Fels Naptha over the wet stains (it's a stain remover), and/or add vinegar to your full washer to help with smell and other things. I prefer to pour the detergent into old store-bought bottles and use the lid to do the measuring (see top picture).

DRYER VS HANGING LAUNDRY:

I think it's quite obvious that we use A LOT of electricity every time we wash and dry our clothes. Not everybody has the luxury of having a line outside to dry their clothes on when the weather is nice...we did at our last rental where we lived for 1 1/2 years, but did not at the place before nor do we have one here. Our landlord here told us he doesn't like them though there would definitely be room for one in our fabulous yard. Not only that, but in Iowa you can't hang clothes out about 5-6 months out of the year because of how cold/snowy/rainy it is.

Anyway, so we make do with the room and materials we have to dry as much as we can by hanging. I have a drying rack that we got for our wedding years ago that we use for pants and the kids clothes. Then we also use 1/2 of the closet in our upstairs bathroom that has a rod to hang things like shirts and sweatshirts. In our old rental, my dad rigged up a line in our basement that helped in the cold/wet months, but we now live in a house that is 100 years old and you can imagine that the basement is not exactly appropriate for that now.

I have a plan and process for our laundry each week. It does take time and organization, but it's well worth it when the first month I did all of this we dropped our electric bill by over $20 per month (in conjunction with one other thing we changed with how we do dishes)! That may seem like small change to some people, but to us it is very significant...and it was only because of one change we made!

Here is my process (may or may not work for you but you can see how I work it out):

On one or two days during the workweek, I wash one to two loads of clothes. These loads only consist of pants, shirts, and sweatshirts (all to be hung, none to be in the dryer. I only dry undershirts, underwear, socks, and sometimes kids clothes). I then hang them on the drying rack and in the closet upstairs. They typically need about 2 full days to dry in our house. This means if I do 1-2 loads on Wed, I can do another 1-2 loads on Friday with same process.
One day each week (typically Sundays as that is our "lazy" day with both Mike and I home with the kids or sometimes Saturdays if we have a family event on Sunday), I wash everything else. We usually only have enough whites for one load per week so this is the day I do those. I wash the whites, hang Mike's work shirts and any other shirts/pants to dry (though our kids don't have much white stuff for obvious reasons that they are young and would stain it way too quickly), throw the socks/underwear/undershirts in the dryer where they wait for more to be added before drying.
I then wash the rest of the darks, hanging all of the pants and shirts/sweatshirts and majority of the kids clothes, throw Mike's black work socks/my tank tops/underwear into the dryer with the similar white things, and then dry those together with 1/2 dryer sheet.
I will also wash towels and sheets on this day as needed which accounts for the second load each week that I dry. I am hoping to not dry our sheets and blankets this summer if I can figure out how to hang them and still have room for everything else...unless I put up a line in the backyard against my landlord's wishes:)

I know a lot of people prefer to do all of their laundry at one time, but I don't like giving up an entire day to be constantly doing laundry. It works better for me to do it in chunks throughout the week...and once you have a "process" in place for what works for you, it really doesn't take much time! It saves a ton of money on electricity if you imagine that I used to dry about 6 loads per week and cut that back to 2 loads!

Cheap Meal: Chicken and Dumplings

2011-04-16T20:35:00.000-05:00

Perfect comfort food for a windy and snowy day in April! Have I mentioned yet how much I love to cook, especially when the entire meal costs less than $4 for all 4 of us?! This meal may not be the healthiest, but it's a cozy recipe that warms the tummy and doesn't make much of a dent into the grocery budget (and provided us enough leftover stew/gravy for a second meal this week!). In addition to the Chicken & Dumplings, we also had Garlic Cheesebread and frozen green beans.

Chicken and Dumplings

8 cups chicken broth (preferably homemade with small pieces of shredded chicken)

3 tbsp margarine

8-9 tbsp flour

1/4-1/3 cup chopped onion
1/4-1/3 cup chopped celery

salt & pepper

1 cup Bisquick

1/3 cup milk

Bring broth to a boil, melt margarine into broth.

Add 1-2 tbsp of flour at a time and whisk while boiling to get out all of the clumps. Continue adding flour until you have added 8-9 tbsps.

Add onion and celery, and lower heat under gravy, letting it simmer for 5-7 minutes until slightly thickened.

Take a small taste and add salt/pepper to your liking.

Meanwhile, mix Bisquick and milk to make dough.

Drop spoonfuls of mixture into boiling gravy (will make about 8 dumplings).

Continue cooking on simmer for 10 minutes, then cover and cook for another 10 minutes. Serve in bowls!

Garlic Cheesebread

1 pkg pizza crust (or homemade, but I had one pkg to use as I was running out of time to make homemade)

4 slices of mozzarella cheese (or 1 cup shredded if you prefer)

1/2 cup shredded cheddar

garlic salt to taste

dried or freshly chopped parsley

Prepare pizza crust and spread onto cookie sheet as thin as you like your crust (I like mine thick so I don't go to all the edges of the pan). I prefer to bake my crust for 5 minutes at 425 before adding toppings to ensure crust will be cooked thoroughly. After 5 minutes, tear up mozz slices and place over crust (there will probably be gaps between pieces but it melts to fill in all the gaps), top with shredded cheddar, sprinkle with garlic and parsley and cook the rest of the time (about 8-10 minutes) until cheese is melted and starting to bubble/brown.

Not only did this feed us tonight, but I actually had plenty of leftover gravy/stew to keep for later this week over mashed potatoes after I took out all the dumplings and ladled gravy over each!

If you would like to minimize leftovers, you can use only 6 cups of broth (decrease margarine and flour of course), but I prefer to have it deeper in the stockpot since the dumplings drop to the bottom of the gravy when first being added AND of course I love leftovers since we have one night a week that is "leftover" night. Enjoy!!

Saving Money- Simple Lunches

2011-04-16T12:15:00.000-05:00

"Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated." ~Confucius

This quote definitely does not apply to all aspects of life, but it does apply to so many including meal preparation, planning, and saving money while doing all of this. It's really not that hard to decrease your grocery bill and to simplify your meal planning.

One of the ways that we do this is by making our lunches very simple 6 out of 7 days of the week. Mike takes his lunch to work every day that he will have a break (currently 4 out of 5 work days since one day is a short day without a lunch break) also. Our simple lunches consist of sandwiches, fruit, and one or two other side dishes depending on what we have in the house that day. The sandwiches are typically peanut butter/jelly (or sometimes Aubree chooses peanut butter on crackers), but may also be grilled cheese, tuna salad, egg salad, or sandwich meat. I aim to put at least two more items on the plate which may include fruit, yogurt, chips, baby carrots (or celery for Aubree since she likes it), or chunks of cheese. Served with milk and this is very low cost and low maintenance meal for the day. Brycen currently eats lunch at school before riding the school van home so this doesn't always include him.

I'm sure some people are wondering if we get sick of eating the same old things for lunch, but since I vary our dinner each day it's really not that boring. I also choose to make two big meals on Sundays, so we don't have simple sandwiches for lunch on that day. The cost savings is tremendous compared to when I used to make various bigger lunches!

Groceries, meal planning, choosing to not eat out, and meal preparation is one big area of your life that you actually have more control over in what you spend. It's a big chunk of most family budgets, but it doesn't have to be so big if you just learn to simplify and teach your kids that this is what to expect while still giving them a few choices.

Saving Money- Introduction

2011-04-15T10:51:00.000-05:00

Saving money...something we all want to do and have in common! Money has never grown on trees and it never will, so it's time to accept that it's our choices and our decisions that help us to save money. Over the last few years, our family has been forced to face our choices in life and how we spend money due to the changes that have taken place in our family dynamics. My husband works for a company that requires moving across the state multiple times as he works his way up to a management position of his own store. This program takes many years (possibly 15 or more!) and many moves as he learns the ropes of managing a grocery store. Before this, I never knew how much you have to learn about pricing, ad matching, ordering, store set-up, etc just to run one grocery store! Anyway, as most of you know, we are on our 3rd stop/store of this journey and we know we have many years/stores ahead of us before we can plant ourselves in a permanent location. Some people may not think it is worth it, but this company takes very good care of their employees that make it through the long haul and not just in the form of a larger paycheck! Shortly after we started this journey, we had our two children and then our son was diagnosed with Autism. It was at that time time that we realized that I would probably never be able to go back to work full-time again. Between all of the phone calls, paperwork, and appointments it takes to keep his services going, and adding in the fact that it would not be feasible for him to attend a daycare center while I was at work due to the nature of his symptoms/safety concerns...it just isn't something that can work. I've been working part-time, mostly from home, since his diagnosis and we just recently made the decision that I will not be working at all anymore. I have to be honest and say that I NEVER thought of myself as a stay-at-home mom...I went to college for a reason and always imagined myself working a full-time job while juggling the other job of parenting. But when I imagined all of that, it never occured to me that I would be faced with a big challenge of having a child with special needs and would have to "imagine" my life in a different way. So, here we are! We are going to become a one-income family and have been working hard to eliminate the debt we have (one car loan, my student loan, and one credit card) to make all of this work. We know that we need to sacrifice A LOT to make this happen and we have been working hard at not only paying down our debt, but also looking at the small changes we can make on a daily basis that will save a few dollars here and there. As this blog continues, I want to share some of those things with you and hopefully encourage you to also make changes that will save money. Most of these things are very recent to us so we aren't even sure how much it really saves over a year's time, but it's not always about saving...but about simplifying our life and learning how to adjust the way we live to what challenges have been presented to us. I can't wait to share our "savings" with you and to hear about yours!

Our 6th Wedding Anniversary Meal!

2011-04-15T10:09:00.000-05:00

I used to love going out to eat! But now that I know I can cook pretty much the same meal at home for a fraction of the price, I would definitely choose to stay home anytime. This meal for the two of us was made for under $10 and actually produced a little bit of leftovers. The cuts of steak were an inexpensive kind and taste great after marinating for several hours and grilling to a medium-well...the sauteed veggies are fresh and a great addition to any grilled meat...the potatoes are homemade and jazzed up with some extra ingredients (see recipe below)...and the rolls are homemade (which I never thought I was capable of doing until recently!). A plate of this food would have easily been $15-$20 in a sit-down/nice restaurant which means with drinks included, we could easily have spent $45-$50 for both of us. After you see it like that, it's an obvious choice to stay home and enjoy ourselves!

Jazzed-up Mashed Potatoes (enough for 2-3 people):

5 small-medium Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces

1/4 block of cream cheese (I used fat-free)

2 tbsp margarine (I used lite Blue Bonnet)

2 tbsp of parmesean cheese

3 strips of bacon, microwaved and then cut into smaller pieces

2 green onions, chopped

garlic salt and pepper to taste

milk (could be as little as 1/4 cup depending on how thick or thin you like your potatoes)

Cover potatoes in cold water and boil until fork tender (15 minutes or so). Drain water, and then add cream cheese, margarine, garlic salt, pepper and a splash of milk. Use mixer to blend together, adding milk every once in awhile to consistency you like. Mix in parmesean cheese, bacon, and green onions with a spoon (not mixer or it may break the pieces up more!)...and SERVE!

Here is the recipe for the dinner rolls that I used from Simple Daily Recipes blog. I learned a few things since I first made this recipe...when making single batch of these which produces 12 rolls, I actually let the dough rise a second time for about 20 minutes after punching down the first time. Then when I was getting ready to roll the balls, I separated the dough into 2 pieces, then separated each into 3 so I had size separate pieces of dough, separate again into 2, and each piece will make 3 smaller pieces of dough to roll into each muffin cup. This made it easier to ensure I had the same size pieces. I also didn't use a coarse salt, just regular table salt to sprinkle them with before baking. http://simpledailyrecipes.com/244/homemade-dinner-rolls/

Everybody loves PIZZA!

2011-04-02T18:00:00.000-05:00

I made pizza crust from scratch for the first time tonight!! Money Saving Mom is a blog that I follow on Facebook and she had an easy recipe that she says is her family's favorite, so thought I would give it a try. Since we have moved to a very small town that only has a thousand people, we don't have the take-out, delivery options that we used to have. This is definitely not a bad thing when it comes to eating healthier and saving money! We have yet to order pizza from the small restaurant in town (though my parents did order it last year with the kids when we were gone one weekend and the leftover slice I had was excellent!). We actually rarely go out to eat and when we do maybe once per month is usually to take the kids to McDonalds playland which is about 30+ miles from us or when we are traveling. Anyway, so here is the link to the recipe on Money Saving Mom's website http://moneysavingmom.com/2009/02/homemade-pizza-in-less-than-30-minutes.html, though I did make a few changes. I did 1/2 tsp of regular salt and 1/2 tsp of garlic salt, used half wheat/half white flour, and added a tbsp of dried parsley to the dough. I would have preferred to add oregano, but I don't have any on hand at the moment. The dough after kneading and spreading out on the greased pan.

Our toppings were pepperoni on all of it and onions/green peppers on 2/3.

Sorry for the missing pieces...forgot to take a final picture before I put pieces on the kid's plates.

Pizza does not have to be expensive nor greasy! I used 1/3 of a large can of tomato sauce ($0.35), 1/4 of an onion (approx $0.15), 1/4 of a green pepper ($.15/ on sale this week), 1 8oz bag of mozzarella cheese ($1.50 on sale), and one package of pepperoni ($1.50 w/coupon). Add a simple lettuce salad on the side (1/3 of head on sale= $0.35) and dressing (very small amount= pennies), with 1/2 can of mandarin oranges for the kids ($.25 on sale). The ingredients for the crust was probably about $0.75. Entire meal cost us about $5!!! And we actually have 6-7 pieces of leftover pizza for leftover night!

Baking for the Freezer!

2011-04-02T09:32:00.000-05:00

First off, I am NOT a baker! I cannot come up with things from scratch so I rely completely on tried and true recipes from cookbooks, my mom, and the internet. I just recently started using active dry yeast as it really scared me before this. I've had a few flops, but also some successes and from my understanding, this happens to everybody with yeast.

I love to double and triple batches of things so I can fill our deep freezer for easy breakfasts (and other things!). Baking can be so time consuming and very messy, so it's nice to plan a day or two to get a lot done and not have to worry about it for another few weeks or even longer! I baked three different things over yesterday and today: Blueberry Muffins, Cinnamon-Sugar Donut Holes, and Banana Bread. None of them required yeast this time!!

Blueberry Muffins (makes about one dozen)

This recipe was adapted from a bunch I saw to meet what I wanted.

1 1/2 cups flour (I use half wheat, half white)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup oil or applesauce (obviously healthier with applesauce)

1 egg

1/3 cup skim milk

1 cup chopped fresh blueberries

Bake at 400degrees for about 14-15 minutes (depends on your oven and muffin tin).

Cinnamon-Sugar Donut Holes (makes A LOT! I suggest making only 1/2 batch your first time.)

This recipe was found at cooks.com.

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup skim milk

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups flour (I use half white, half wheat)

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

cinnamon-sugar mixture for rolling

Oil for frying

Heat about 2 inches of oil in medium sauce pan (or fryer/whatever you have) for about 15 minutes on low-medium (on my electric stove around 2-3 works good for me). Start with only one to test the oil...use two spoons to scrape about 1 tbsp of dough into the oil. It will drop to the bottom and within a minute will come to the top and be bubbling slightly around edges. If it gets very dark right away, your oil is too hot and needs to be turned down and wait another 5-7 minutes before trying again. If it's not bubbling much, then turn up heat a little otherwise they will take too long for each batch and get dried out. I drop about 7-8 in each batch, turn them around after a couple minutes to brown evenly (they will cook for about 5 minutes total), then drain on paper towels. When slightly warm, roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture!

These are absolutely horrible for you and have no nutritional value, but they are much cheaper and probably better for you than the ones you buy in the store!

Banana Bread (makes about 2 regular loaves and 4 mini-loaves)

This recipe is from my mom...not sure where she got it but it's pretty similar to the recipes on the internet and cookbooks.

1/2 cup margarine (I used Lite Blue Bonnet for less calories)

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp baking soda

3 tbsp milk

1 cup mashed banana (about 1 1/2-2 bananas depending on size)

1 tsp baking powder

2 cups flour (I use half white/half wheat)

Beat margarine and sugar together. Add egg, milk, baking soda and banana to sugar/marg and mix well. Add in baking powder and flour and mix until all incorporated. Separate into greased bread pans (2 reg loaves or 4 mini loaves) and bake at 350 degrees. Regular loaves will take about 40-50 minutes. Mini loaves take 30-35 minutes. I rotate them in the oven every 10-15 minutes.

After today, our freezer will have 9 mini loaves of banana bread (3 more were kept out for this weekend and to send with Mike this morning), 3 bags of muffins (6 to each; one more was kept out for this weekend), and 9 bags of donut holes (16-17 per bag)...at least 21 breakfasts worth!!

The beginning of something new!!

2011-04-01T19:11:00.000-05:00

After a few months of pondering, I've taken the plunge and started a second blog! While Autism is the first passion in my life, there are so many other things that make me who I am. I want this blog to show that side of me. While some things may still go back to being parents of a child with Autism, I want to share so much more. I love to cook! I love to try to save money! I love to challenge myself! "Simply Learning and Living" is what this blog will be about.

In the Kitchen: I've always enjoyed cooking and creating new dishes that may be based on other recipes, but including a twist of my own. I don't cook with exotic ingredients and I always try to tie them to my children's likes because I am a firm believe that I am not a short-order cook. I make one meal and if they don't like it, then they can wait until the next meal/snack time. I am also trying to cook more from scratch such as various breads, sauces, etc. Money is a component in my cooking (or "lack of" may describe it better!) so you aren't going to find my recipes full of ingredients that are hard to find or expensive. They are simple and tasteful recipes! We rarely eat out so I guess it's a good thing I love to cook!

Saving Money: Due to our family dynamics (husband in a position that will require us to move several times over the next 10-15 years & a child with special needs), it is not possible for me to work full-time and still make it all work. Therefore, saving money on whatever we can is a MUST! I'm learning about this all the time and of course, make mistakes all the time also. We are well on our way to paying off debt and we vow to keep it that way as we continue living a simple life. I'm not a huge couponer, but am just trying to make smart moves with our money in all areas of our life.

Challenging Myself: I've recently decided it's pertinent that I lose the weight I gained shortly after Brycen received his diagnosis. I'm in a better place in life and have worked through the stages of grief. While I'm not sure I will ever completely accept the diagnosis, I know that it's time to devote time to myself again. I have been working hard since December 2010 to eat healthier, be more active, and be proud of my body that gave life to two adorable children. This area will also include much more than being healthy but I guess that is the main example I have right now that I am working on!

While this blog is not aimed at anyone in particular, I have found over the last two years of blogging about Brycen and Autism, that I NEED to write. It calms me down, helps me to think through things, and gives me time to myself. Even if nobody reads this, I will still continue because it's what I need to keep going and to be strong in a life that definitely has it's ups and downs.

If you haven't already, I invite you to check out our blog about Brycen. There is a link on the left side of this blog that will send you right over there. Like I said at the beginning, Autism is my passion in life! Awareness, fighting, understanding, sharing...it's what most of my life revolves around and consists of, and these other things just compliment my desire to be the best mom I can be!