Replies

That is a beautiful memory.

Do you now cook in a dutch oven?

Fresh biscuits, butter and applesauce would taste good.

I will bet your cabin was beautiful, one of those things that I wanted.

I had great plans to build a cordwood house and they fell apart, that would have been easier than a real log house, as you stack it and cement it together.

http://www.skin-care-recipes-and-remedies.com/home-remedy-for-mosquito-bites.html

Home remedy for mosquito bites...
soothe the skin and prevent swelling

ads from Shopzilla

Try this home remedy for mosquito bites, it really is soothing and prevents irritation and itching:

Use 2-3 drops of lavender oil or tea tree oil and massage the spot gently.

If there is swelling, mix the two oils and apply on the skin.

If the swelling is getting worse, mix some distilled water with chamomile oil and lavender and soak a towel in it.

Apply on the bite spot.

Repeat this every hour or so until the swelling diminishes.

Insect bites healing balm is a home remedy for any kind of insect bites. It reduces the swelling and redness and helps the skin heal faster.

In order to prevent mosquito bites which are quite annoying, go ahead and try these natural mosquito and natural insect repellants to prevent insects even biting you :)

To prevent insects even getting into the house, place a bowl with vinegar in it in front of the window or door. To prevent mosquito bite, apply some eucalyptus oil on your skin.

Tick removal

Home remedy for head lice

http://www.skin-care-recipes-and-remedies.com/insect-bites.html

Insect bites home remedy...
ouch! no more!

I have written about insects bites before when I gave you home remedy for mosquito bite and bee sting. Both of these remedies have in common the use of lavender oil, an essential oil that not only smells heavenly but also has powerful healing properties.

Our reader Candy sent us this insect bites home remedy, a balm recipe that has lavender oil as one of the ingredients.

We spend the summers out on the lake and of course, my kids and I always end up covered in insect bites. My mom’s friend shared this recipe with me and I recommend it to everyone exposed to insects. Apply it liberally, it is great! It reduces swelling and redness and there is almost no itching.

Insect bites healing balm
You will need:

# 1/2 oz of beeswax
# 4 oz of olive butter
# 2 oz of neem seed oil
# 1 oz of petroleum jelly (or Lanolin)
# 1/2 oz of eucalyptus essential oil
# 1/2 oz of lavender essential oil
# Tins or glass jars

Preparation

Melt over low heat in a pan beeswax, petroleum jelly, olive butter. Once this mix has melted, add neem oil to it. Remove from heat and let it cool down a couple of minutes. To this, add essential oils and stir the whole time.

Pour into tins (or glass jar) and store in the fridge.

Thanks Candy!

More home remedies

Send a recipe and receive a free skin care ebook

http://www.skin-care-recipes-and-remedies.com/homemade-insect-repellent.html

Homemade insect repellent - Natural insect repellent recipes

Homemade insect repellent is as effective as the chemically enhanced, store bought one. The advantage is that it is cheap to prepare once you get a supply of essential oils needed to prepare it. Preparing natural insect repellent recipes also has an advantage of being natural since you’re using pure essential oils so you know the skin is safe. Some of the oils used might cause adverse reactions, please be cautious when using them. Before you read about the homemade insect repellent recipe, you might want to check out recipes for treating insect bites such as insect bites home remedy, bee sting remedy, home remedy for mosquito bites, or insect bites healing balm.

The recipe for homemade insect repellent found here calls for the use of tea tree oil, peppermint, and eucalyptus essential oils. Each of these oils is quite potent by itself, but mixing them together in a homemade insect repellent recipe yields a powerful mix of oils sure to repel those annoying insects. Enjoy your summer naturally :)

How do you prepare a natural repellent? Here’s how:

Using Essential Oils As Insect Repellents

Instead of bringing out the harmful pesticides and chemical ointments here’s some natural earth friendly options for dealing with those pesky insects.

Insect Repellent Essential Oils:

Single Essential Oils: Peppermint, Spearmint, Eucalyptus radiata, Lemon, Lavender, Tea Tree, Cedarwood, Idaho Tansy, Rosemary, Patchouli, Citronella, Lemongrass, Thyme, Sage

Essential Oil Blends:

Purification (contains: Citronella (Cymbopogon nardus), lemongrass (Cymbopogon flexuosus), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), Melaleuca (Melaleuca alternifolia) lavandin (Lavandula x hybrida), and myrtle (Myrtus communis)

Thieves(contains: Clove (Syzygium aromaticum), lemon (Citrus limon), cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum), Eucalyptus radiata and rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis CT 1,8 cineol)

Melrose (contains: Melaleuca (Melaleuca alternifolia), naouli (Melaleuca quinquenervia), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), and clove (Syzygium aromaticum).

Insect Repellent Blend:
6 drops Peppermint
6 drops Tea Tree
9 drops Eucalyptus radiata

Application:

Topical: DILUTE 20/80 using a base oil such as almond or jojoba or V6 and apply to exposed skin as needed or mix with 8 ounces of water in a spray bottle, shake well and spray directly on exposed skin areas.

To repel insects, essential oils can also be diffused or put on cotton balls or cedar chips (for use in closets or drawers)

Specific Oils for Specific Insects

Mosquitoes: Lemon, Peppermint, Eucalyptus radiata, Lemongrass.

Moths: Patchouli, Cedarwood, Hyssop, Lavender, Peppermint, Spearmint

Horse-flies: Idaho Tansy floral water, Purification Oil

Aphids: Mix 10 drops Spearmint and 15 drops Orange essential oil in 2 quarts salt water, shake well and spray on plants.

Cockroaches: Mix 10 drops Peppermint and 5 drops Cypress in 1/2 cup salt water. Shake well and spray where cockroaches live.

Silverfish: Eucalyptus radiata, Citriadora

Ants: You can smear a line of Peppermint or Spearmint across your kitchen counter or floor and the ants won’t cross it. If you already have a line of ants invading your house, just draw a line of oil across them and they will turn back.

Beetles: Peppermint, Thyme

Caterpillars: Spearmint, Peppermint

Chiggars: Lavender, Lemongrass, Peppermint

Cutworms: Sage, Thyme

Fleas: Peppermint, Lemongrass, Spearmint

Gnats: Patchouli, Spearmint

Spiders: Peppermint, Spearmint

Ticks: Lavender, Lemongrass, Sage, Thyme

Weevils: Cedarwood, Patchouli, Sandalwood

For Pets: Put 10 drops each of Citronella, Eucalyptus radiata, and Peppermint in an 8 ounce spray bottle with water. Alternate formula: Put 2 drops pine, 2 drops Eucalyptus radiata, and 5-10 drops Citronella in a spray bottle of water. OR Mix 5- 10 drops Idaho Tansy or Peppermint Oil in a spray bottle full of water, shake vigorously and spray.

PLEASE NOTE: The information in this article is based solely on the use of 100% Pure Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils due to their high quality and tested purity.

The use of a brand of uncertain quality and/or purity will provide you with potentially dangerous, if not lethal, results. The author assumes no responsibility for your improper use of this information.

The statements about these oils have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These oils are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Rebecca Noel is the author of The Essential Oils and Aromatherapy Info Blog where you can find out everything you could possibly want to know about essential oils and their uses. With category links to aromatherapy accessories too.

Visit: Essential Oils and Aromatherapy Info Blog

Article Source: Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rebecca_Noel

If you found this homemade insect repellent recipe interesting, you might want to check out more of skin homemade recipes we offer on this site.

Many recipes for all kinds of skin problems, too many to copy:

http://www.skin-care-recipes-and-remedies.com/facial-mask-recipe.html

This list is actually links to the page with the recipe/article, each is a live link:

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Our readers’ tips

Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...

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Jennifer

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Tea tree facial wash

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Home remedies for acne - natural recipes

Home remedies for acne listed here are very simple to make, and usually have very good results.

Optionally, you could try preparing home face masks that target acne - a good option for acne home remedy treatment.

One thing to know about acne is that the holistic approach to treating them is the best way to go. By holistic I mean being careful about eating processed foods, sugar and flour and paying attention to other possible causes of acne. You can treat the outside appearance of skin but that won’t do much good unless you employ a fully holistic approach to treating acne and their causes.

Homemade acne treatment - vinegar solution

Homemade acne treatment that consists of vinegar solution is the easiest of all home remedies for acne.This is what you will need:

20oz of water

1 tablespoon of apple vinegar

Let it cool down and add one tablespoon of apple cedar vinegar. Dip cotton balls in it and apply every night before going to bed. You can keep this solution in a clean plastic bottle in a dry, dark spot.

Using this solution should help reduce the redness and diminish the acne problem.

Tea tree oil acne treatment

Use pure tea tree oil. Dip in a cotton swab and gently dab on acne. Do this once or twice a day.

Tea tree oil is a strong antiseptic that cleans out the ongoing infection. It is gentle on the skin and leaves as little scarring as possible after the acne has healed.

Acne Skin Problem Lotion

This is a lotion, easily prepared.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons of lemon juice

2 teaspoons of honey

7 oz of water

Mix the ingredients. If the mass is too thick, try adding a bit more water. Pour into previously prepared plastic bottle or jar. They have to be clean, so make sure they are washed well. Shake it. Keep in dry and dark place and apply few times a day. Wash off with water.

Parsley face mask (for oily, acne skin)

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon of chopped parsley

3 teaspoons of sour cream

Mix these two and apply to face. Wash off after 10 minutes using lukewarm water.

Often, aspirin ingredient, acetyl-salicylic acid is used as a base for exfoliating creams used for acne treatment and skin care in general. Read more about efficient aspirin face mask and its benefits.

If you are looking for more information on acne skin care, acne treatment, cause of acne etc., you can find it in this Acne booklet published by National Institute for Arthritis and Musculosceletal and Skin Diseases. Great read, full of information.

Additional resources

Cause of acne

Clear acne naturally

Back acne treatment

Acne face mask

http://www.skin-care-recipes-and-remedies.com/skin-conditions.html

Skin conditions- cause, symptoms and treatments

There are number of skin conditions, some easy to treat and some not.Here is a list of most common skin conditions, their cause, symptoms and treatments. For each of these, I will provide a home remedy suited for that problem.I will be adding more soon.

[continued, with many types of problems covered.]

http://www.skin-care-recipes-and-remedies.com/home-remedies.html

Home remedies:
natural, easy and effective skin remedies that work

“Great home remedies, I used your lavender yogurt sunburn remedy recently after a nasty sunburn. It cooled the skin, it didn’t peel at all! Thanks!”

It was not until five years ago that I realized how powerful home remedies can be. I just had a baby and was moving across the ocean, to the U.S.

The move took about a couple of months, during which the only attention I paid to was my baby. I neglected my nutrition, my stress level was through the roof.

I noticed some strange things happening. Not only was I exhausted all the time, my body was deteriorating, too. My hair started falling out. A bit. And then, I started losing handful every time I would strike my hair.
We recommend:
Did you know green tea neutralizes UV light, prevents cancer, rejuvenates the skin, and prevents inflammation among other things? Check out my friend’s Julian website for more information on green tea and its benefits to skin - Green tea use in skin care

Natural Health Lifestyles
Natural Health Lifestyles offers a variety of natural health tips including information on alternative therapies, natural cures, and green living.
I visited a dermatologist who asked me all the right questions, from the medical point of view. Not for a moment was I asked about stress or the overwhelming situation I was going through.

I was given Vitamin E ampules to apply on my scalp daily and that helped a bit, but I kept losing my hair. Rapidly.

A friend of mine knew what I was going through, and how helpless I felt about it. She gave me a wonderful garlic based hair loss remedy she heard about from a friend. Garlic, I thought, on my hair?! But, what did I have to lose but more hair?

So, I tried it. I applied it almost every week for a few months. Gradually, the hair stopped falling out. New hair was growing and my hair didn’t feel as dry and lifeless as before. I can’t describe the excitement and happiness!

Natures Super Foods, Super Recipes & Super Food Remedies. Live Longer & Live Younger.

I truly hope you find a remedy that will help you as much as this one helped me.

Browse the complete list of remedies

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Earache home remedy

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Toe nail fungus remedy

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Cellulite natural remedy

Toenail fungus cure

Mayonnaise lice home remedy

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This group uses the same books you do for canning and they are very fussy about being safe.

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Join our sister group for access to all the recipes and files for Home canning, this is a file access only group:
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The Simple Dollar.com

Nine Tactics for Making Healthy, Incredibly Simple, and Cheap Meals for You and Your Family

Posted: 06 Mar 2009 12:00 PM PST

I enjoy preparing complex dishes, but many evenings, the focus around our house is getting a tasty and healthy (and inexpensive) meal on the table quickly. We have a three year old and a one year old at our house, so our goal is to established a fixed meal time, put something on the table that will meet all their nutritional needs and still be pleasing to their (and our) palate, do it quickly, and do it inexpensively. This fills all of our bellies with some good fuel, keeps money in our pocket, and also gives us plenty of family time in the evenings.

So, how do we pull this off night after night without regularly resorting to prepackaged food bought with coupons? Over the years, we’ve developed several tactics for making this work - and it works so well that we often prepare the same things for guests when they come to visit.

Here are nine tactics we turn to time and time again.

1. Make your main dish as simple as possible.
A chicken breast. A fish fillet. A basic hamburger. Eggs. A very simple stir fry. A pot roast. Pasta with tomato sauce. These are the things that make up our main course most nights. Nothing complicated at all - just a very basic food.

There are some big advantages here, though:

There are a wide variety of such basic items. Our meals are far more varied than you might think. We rarely repeat out foods for weeks at a time.

These items are stunningly simple in their basic preparation. Once you’ve grilled a chicken breast a few times, it becomes incredibly routine. You don’t have to focus on it any more. Instead, you can focus on the little details (below) that transform it from boring to amazing.

These items are inexpensive when bought in bulk and frozen. We look for versions of these items that meet our quality standards on sale, and when we find them, we stock up big time. Then we just unthaw them by setting the items in the refrigerator the night before - they’re ready to go at meal time the next day.

2. Use simple tactics to add variety and flavor to the main dish.
In other words, be creative and liberal in your seasoning of the food and do it well in advance so it can soak into the food. Most of the time, we’ll actually season the food in the morning (see the next tip) so that it’s ready to go when we walk in the door in the evening.

Even better, because the main entrees are often such a blank slate, we can create a huge variety of very different flavored dishes starting with the same simple main course.

Here are a few ideas for the most common items.

Chicken breasts We just put chicken breasts in a Rubbermaid container in the morning along with whatever seasonings sound interesting. Want lemon chicken? Dump in some lemon juice, some pepper, and a few lemon slices. Italian? Put in half a cup of red wine vinegar, a third of a cup of olive oil, and a lot of seasoning (a bit of lemon juice, garlic powder, oregano, red pepper, black pepper, parsley flakes, and anything else you like). There are infinite possibilities here - just play around.

Hamburger Just mash up hamburger meat with whatever flavorings you like: barbecue sauce, blue cheese salad dressing, ranch salad dressing, Italian salad dressing, black pepper, red pepper, paprika, salt, celery seed, brown sugar, ketchup, onion, dill, caraway, turmeric, scallions, ginger, dill, cumin, coriander, bay leaves - just try different things and find out what you like. I like to let the hamburger soak in this for several hours in the refrigerator before making the patties, though.

Fish fillets Much like the chicken breasts, just toss the fillets in a Rubbermaid container along with some seasonings. Italian dressing is one place to start, as are citrus fruits and pepper. I like using Parmesan cheese and olive oil, for one, with a healthy dose of pepper. The key is to just try different things and let these things sit together for a long time to meld their flavors.

3. Do as much as you can in the morning before you leave.
One big advantage of preparing the entrees in the above fashion is that much of the work can be done in the morning before you leave. For similar reasons, we also enjoy using our slow cooker - we can just toss things together in the morning and be ready to go when we get home.

I find that doing as much of the meal preparation as I can in the mornings while the kids are eating breakfast at the kitchen counter is a great way for me to get going with something productive in the morning while carrying on conversation with them and making sure they’re eating their breakfast.

Here are a few tactics for getting things done in advance in the morning (and the night before):

Main entrees Marinate and/or spice them and put them in a Rubbermaid container in the refrigerator for the day.

Homemade pizza This is one of our family’s favorite foods. One great way to make it easier at night is to make the dough the night before, let it rise in the refrigerator overnight, then spread it out on the pan the next morning. Preheat the oven to 425 in the morning, then bake the crust for seven minutes or so. After that, you can go ahead and put any toppings on you want (like the sauce) or you can just stick the crust in the oven. Doing this “pre-bake” makes for a superb crust … actually, a “homemade pizza” guide might make for a great post.

Crock pot meals If you can possibly make a meal in the crock pot, do so - it’s such a huge time saver on busy evenings and the meals turn out quite well if you use quality ingredients to begin with. For us, it’s very simple - we have a lot of great five ingredient crock pot meals that we love making.

4. Use flash frozen vegetables (but not fruit) as a side dish.
For a long time, I was very insistent on eating fresh vegetables as a side dish. This is a good tactic to use during the summer months when you can get ultra-fresh produce from the farmer’s market or from your own garden, but during the winter, “fresh” produce often isn’t very fresh.

The solution I’ve discovered - for vegetables at least - is frozen vegetables. While not quite as good as truly fresh vegetables, they’re quite often tastier than the vegetables you find in the fresh food aisle during the winter months.

Frozen vegetables are easy to prepare - they can very easily be steamed and this can be done in the microwave if you want (some even come with the capacity to steam in the bag). Flash frozen vegetables are also pretty inexpensive, especially if you wait for a sale and stock up - we often get bags for $0.75 or less, which provide a large portion of vegetables for all four of us. Even better, they’re easy to spice up a bit - just add a bit of pepper (or a bit of another appropriate spice or two) as soon as they’re done steaming (or even during steaming) and you’ll wind up with a tasty result.

A big tip: check the ingredients before you buy. If you see any ingredients besides just the vegetables in the bag (or perhaps a few basic spices), don’t buy it. Avoid any that have high fructose corn syrup - there’s no reason to have that in your vegetables. In fact, this is why I avoid most frozen fruits - they seem to often have sugar or corn syrup added for no real reason other than to add a cloying sweetness.

5. Utilize the simple main dish in a second dish later in the week.
Let’s say we’re making chicken breasts for the family. We unthaw twice as many as we would eat and season half of them as we desire. Then, we bake all of them in the oven (not adding any cooking time at all), then put aside the cooked breast for a couple of days to use in another dish, like chicken stir fry or a chicken pot pie.

Let’s say we’re having hamburgers. We cook up a batch that’s seasoned and an unseasoned batch, then we crumble up the unseasoned burgers and use the meat as pizza topping a few days later, allowing us to have homemade pizza with a hamburger topping without using a skillet to brown the meat.

Using these kinds of techniques adds virtually no time to the meal preparation at hand, but it certainly saves time with a meal later in the week.

6. Drink water, but make it lively!
Water is the default beverage at our dinner table. It’s essentially free and provides necessary hydration. Yet, for many, it’s boring - it doesn’t provide the flavor of other beverages you might consume with dinner.

There are several subtle things you can do to make water more interesting, though. The biggest one is citrus - a slice of a citrus fruit (lemon, lime, orange, etc.) and/or a dash of a citrus juice into your water can make a big difference. This pairs very well with white meats of all kinds.

A simple herbal tea is another great beverage to accompany a meal. Simply heat up the water, steep it with the tea, and you’ve transformed the water into something compelling.

Even the simple touch of adding ice to water can make it seem a lot more refreshing and enjoyable as a partner drink to your dinner.

7. Use a simple formula for casseroles of all kinds.
Complete!We picked up this useful tactic from Amy Dacyczyn’s excellent Complete Tightwad Gazette. She offers a framework recipe for a basic casserole:

1 cup main ingredient
1 cup second ingredient
1-2 cups starchy ingredient
1 1/2 cups binder
1/4 cup “goodie”
seasoning
topping

Main ingredient: tuna, cubed chicken, turkey, ham, seafood, etc.
Second ingredient: thinly sliced celery, mushrooms, peas, chopped hard-boiled eggs, etc.
Starchy ingredient: thinly sliced potatoes, cooked noodles, cooked rice, etc.
Binder: cream sauce, sour cream, can of soup, etc.
“Goodie”: pimiento, olives, almonds, water chestnuts, etc.
Topping: cheese, bread crumbs, etc.

This formula works really easy for turning almost anything you have on hand into a very tasty casserole. You simply just mix together these items in a casserole dish, toss it in the oven, and bake it until it’s done. One tip - one good binder is leftover chicken stock with a bit of corn starch in it.

8. Clean out your cupboards and/or pantry.
Another great way to line up some inexpensive and simple meal ideas is to simply clean out your cupboards and pantry. This is a great weekend project, actually - it helps you discover lots of items that you have on hand that you may have forgotten about and also helps you organize things in a way that makes it easier to find the things you need.

When you’re discovering these useful items that have disappeared in the back of the cupboard, plan around them, right then. Jot down ideas for meals that revolve around these items, then when you put things back, keep those items near the front so you can find them quickly.

The end result? You’ll be making interesting meals without the need for a grocery store run and the items will be easy to grab quickly as they’ll be at the front of the cupboard.

9. Do a dinner exchange with your neighbors.
Even after all this, there are some nights where you’d just like a home-cooked meal on your table with no fuss at all. One very creative way to do this is to do a dinner exchange with a neighbor.

It’s pretty easy. Find a neighbor that has a similar-sized family to you. Then arrange it so that once a week or once a month, you make a double portion of your evening meal, place half of it into containers, then take it to that neighbor’s house. All they have to do is meet you at the door, take the containers, and serve - it’s like free delivery.

Then, that family does the same for you, perhaps even with the same containers. They make a double batch of their dinner meal, then bring you containers with enough of that meal to feed your family. Easy as pie.

While this doesn’t particularly save you any money, it does save you quite a bit of time.

Good luck preparing a tasty, healthy, and inexpensive meal tonight for you and your family!

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2009/01/30/the-frugal-magic-of-the-five-ingredient-crock-pot-meal/

What’s amazing is how easy it is to create a truly tasty meal with minimal ingredients. Even if you don’t choose to pick up a spice packet at the grocery store, you can still create a wide array of great recipes with just a few ingredients in the crock pot.

In fact, my wife and I often strive to come up with great crock pot meals that require only five ingredients. With such a small list of ingredients, it takes only a minute or so to pull the crock pot out of the cupboard, toss in the ingredients, turn it on “low,” and leave for the day, only to come home to a deliciously prepared home-cooked meal.

Here’s one such recipe from The Art of the Slow Cooker:

here’s the simplest really tasty recipe I know of for a slow cooker.

1 can condensed cream of chicken soup (chicken & herbs if you can find it)
1 small can mushroom pieces (a 4 ounce can, drain off the water first)
1/2 chopped red onion
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts (cut into strips if you’d like)
1/4 cup white wine (optional)

Put them all in the crock pot. Turn it on low. Walk away for four hours. For every additional two hours it will cook, add a quarter cup of water.

This makes for a delicious little chicken dish that I like to call “creamy chicken casserole.” It takes about two minutes to prepare in the morning and fills your belly right at night.

Like that one? Here are five more recipes, all of which we’ve eaten in the last few months. The directions for each are easy:

Combine all of this into a crock pot. Add salt and pepper to taste. Turn it on low and walk away for eight hours. Add a quarter of a cup of water for every additional two hours you intend to cook it.

Got that? That’s all you have to do for each one. Here are the ingredients.

Crock Pot Chili
1 large can tomato sauce
1 pound lean ground beef
2 cans beans (kidney beans are fine, but you can use whatever you like)
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/4 cup diced onion (or onion salt)

Simple Pot Roast
1 2 to 2.5 lb. roast
2 cups chopped carrots
2 cups chopped potatoes
1 cup chopped celery
3 cups beef broth or beef stock

Ham and Potato Casserole
4 red potatoes, sliced
2 red onions, finely chopped
1 1/2 pounds cubed ham
1 can condensed cream of celery soup, diluted according to can directions
2 tablespoons flour

(This one is very good with cheese on top just before you serve it.)

Shredded Beef Sandwiches
2 pounds beef brisket
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 1/2 cups beef broth or beef stock
2 cloves minced garlic
1 chopped red onion

(Serve this on buns - magnificent!)

Breakfast Apple Cobbler
4 medium-sized apples, peeled and sliced (try Honey Crisps)
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 cups granola cereal

(Start this one at 10 or 11 PM - ready for breakfast!)

It takes only five ingredients and a few minutes to come home to (or wake up to) a delicious home-cooked meal that doesn’t cost you very much money at all.

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2009/01/30/the-frugal-magic-of-the-five-ingredient-crock-pot-meal/

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (we like the dark meat, but you could use breasts too)
1 can of cola (coke, pepsi, whatever, just no diet due to the artificial sweeteners breaking down)
1 large onion, sliced thin
1.5 cups ketchup
1/2 cup mustard (any kind you like)

Great on buns!
Kristen

My personal favorite needs a 5qt (large) slow cooker, but is absolutely outstanding:

2 cups brown sugar, along the bottom
1 Picnic ham (picnic specifically - others can be too dry)

Start with 1.5 cups brown sugar at the bottom of the slow cooker, ham on top. Score the ham across the top, then pat in another 1/2 cup brown sugar into the top. Cook 8 hrs on low, the sauce works best if you siphon the fat off the top, then stick it in the fridge ~15 minutes to congeal it rather than leaving it as just a liquid.
Jamie

Super Tender BBQ Chicken Wings:

Toss wings in Crock
Add 1 1/2 cups BBQ Sauce
Add 1/2 cup Water

Cook on high 4 hours

Drain wings, add more BBQ sauce and microwave till sauce is hot…enjoy, fall off the bone wings!

This works great for party prep too, just cook them in the crock then refrigerate until party time, add fresh BBQ and microwave or return to the crock for warming….yum!
Lacubriousone

2 ingredient chicken:
1 whole young chicken
1 bottle beer
fill with water or chicken broth to cover chicken

Come home, slide the meat off the bones and done. Serve with salad and bread or mac & cheese.
Heidi

I have used my crockpot for pulled pork and also for meatballs. The pork comes out amazing!

I put pork butt in the crockpot with some water, cover, put on low and go to work. Come home from work, the house smells incredible and the meat is done! Just make the sauce (coke & ketchup works for starters), pull the pork off and shred it with a fork, and serve on buns!

@Little Miss Moneybags I have never ever had a problem leaving my crockpot on while I was at work (9 hours). I think the low setting is about 100-200F. I pull it away from the wall and make sure that nothing is near it. I also don’t have any pets to worry about getting into it. Instead of putting water in every two hours, I just put a bunch in to start.
leslie

My easy fave: Beef in red wine gravy
1 1/2 lbs stew meat
3 cups red wine
4 tbsps corn starch
2 beef boullion cubes
1 chopped onion
dash of salt
dash of pepper

Low: 8 hours, or
High: 4 hours

Serve over favorite pasta.
Dar

We like making thai curries with ours - throw in some meat, random veggies, a spoonful of curry paste, can of coconut cream and enough water to cover. Or, double the coconut cream, add some cooked noodles at the end, and you’ve got laksa.
Jillian

I have a slow cooker, rather than a crock pot. I think the main difference is that the slow cooker will cook at a higher temperature (it has a 1-5 setting) and, therefore, is somewhat faster and will even cook at a slow simmer. I cook dried beans and/or rice at least once a week. I also cook different one-dish meals, such as chili or soups. I’ve never left mine all day, but it is easy to be home with it several hours on a Saturday or Sunday. My favorite recipe is

2 pounds or so of a cheap cut of beef
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 can water
1 can milk

Cook for 4-5 hours. Sometimes I add red wine or sour cream to the leftovers to make an entirely different dish.
Charlotte

If you are looking for more crock pot recipes, a fabulous place is http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/
She uses more than 5 ingredients, but makes everything under the sun (Gluten Free)

I am lobbying for a small crock pot from DH for Valentine’s Day.
Melissa

I love my crockpot so much that I have three! My son has one up at college. They are made to be left cooking without supervision, so don’t worry about using it when you aren’t home. Also, you can buy them very inexpensively ($4-$5) around here at any Goodwill store. Just plug it in and set it on high and wait to be sure it warms up before you leave the store with it. One more note about making stock–put in 1/2 to a cup of white vinegar when cooking the meat, bones, etc. The vinegar leaches the calcium out of the bones and makes the broth an excellent source of calcium and you can’t taste the vinegar at all!
Susan

For some really good recipes, check out another one of my favorite blogs: A Year of CrockPotting (crockpot365.blogspot.com/). Stephanie used her crockpot daily in 2008, got invited onto the Rachael Ray show, and is planning a book based on her year-long experiment. All the recipes I’ve tried from her site have been great. Her year of crockpotting is over but she still adds recipes occasionally.
Elissa

[The year of crockpots is an excellent site....granny]

My easiest crockpot recipe ever.

1 Chuck Roast
1 jar pepperochini peppers in vinegar.

Put the meat in the CP and pour jar over it. Cook all day on low. Serve over noodles-Spicy beef noodles! I like it with salt :-) This literally takes 30 seconds to prepare!
Christine

Beans come out really great in the crockpot, but here’s our favorite simple recipe:

Meat of choice (we usually use a cheap cut of beef)
Jar of Salsa (we like the frontera chipotle)

Pour salsa over meat. Cook until done.

Serve with mashed potatoes or shred meat and serve on buns or over toast.

If you have a fatty cut of meat, put it in the fridge and the next day the fat will have floated to the top and hardened and you can just pick it up out of the sauce. Reheat and its even better than serving it the day it’s made. Freezes well, too.
Merry

I love my ancient crock pot and use it 1-2 times per week. It does not have a digital timer, but an inexpensive lamp timer works just as well. My all-time favorite easy recipe is the following:

1.5 to 2 lbs. London broil
1 can tomato soup, undiluted
1 can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1/2 to 1 packet powdered onion soup mix.

Put London broil in the bottom of the crock pot. Dump cans of soup over the top and stir in the onion soup mix. Cover and cook on low 8 hours. Delicious and so easy!
gilora

I use my crockpot pretty well weekly because, as an Orthodox Jew, I don’t cook on the Sabbath, yet must serve hot food. I make cholent (kind of a meat stew with beans and barley) or a regular meat stew or a meat and potatoes based soup. Pretty well everybody I know uses one and we all keep ours on for the full 25 or so hours of Shabbat (on low, of course) and there’s never any problem. We sleep while it’s on and we leave the house to go to services, so I certainly wouldn’t worry about leaving it on while you’re at work or whatever.

In fact, I know that some working mothers like to start dinner before they leave the house and come home and just be able to dish up.

Our food is prepared Friday afternoon and served for lunch on Saturday. You take the liner out to serve the food and then just leave it out at that point, but the crockpot doesn’t get turned off until after dark.

I have heard that some of the newest ones are problematic though (i.e. the digital ones and some others don’t allow you to leave them on indefinitely) so read the operating manual beforehand if that’s important to you.

As an aside, this is also what’s happened with electric stoves since their clocks all became digital. The oven starts an annoying beeping to be turned off at the 12 hour mark. So appliance manufacturers now sell stoves with “Sabbath Mode” ovens that will stay on for up to 72 hours continuously without any noise or other problem.
Shevy

I love crock pot recipes! They are so versatile - you can throw in the pot anything you have on hand. Here’s my beef stew recipe:

1 pound stew meat, cubed
1 diced parsnip
2 diced carrots
1 medium onion
5 small red potatoes, cubed
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2-1 cup water
1 tablespoon thyme
2 teaspoons steak seasoning
1/2 tablespoon rosemary
2 tablespoons dried gravy mix (I use El Bisto)

Put potatoes, parsnip and carrots at the bottom of the crockpot. Season stew meat with salt and pepper. Brown quickly in a skillet. Add to top of vegetables. Put onions over the meat. In a mixing bowl, combine the tomatoes with water and seasoning. Pour over top of meat. Heat on medium-low 8-10 hours. Yum!
Cathy

try one 2-3 lb boneless pork roast and a bottle of barbecue sauce. Set it and forget it. It makes a great pulled pork sandwich. My kids love it.
marc

This is a great party recipe.

1 Can Cranberry Sauce
1 12 oz bottle of Chili Sauce
1 2 lb bag of frozen, pre-cooked meatballs

Combine Cranberry Sauce and Chili. Mix till smooth. Pour over meatballs. Cook on High for 4 hours.

Tastes GREAT!
Zovette

Easy Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos

boneless, skinless chicken breasts
canned or homemade chicken broth/stock/boullion (your budget, your choice)
taco seasoning mix (we make our own, but you can use store-bought, too)

cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4. Fork-shred. Load onto tortillas with slotted spoon. Enjoy!
Lynne

Either of Paula Deen’s pot roast recipes work perfectly in the crock pot, assuming that you add enough liquid to cover the beef. I get my roasts at Costco, and they draw raves every time.

season and brown the roast in a skillet, then put in the slow cooker

Then add two crushed garlic cloves, one sliced onion, two crushed bullion cubes, a can of cream of mushroom soup, a bay leaf, a tablespoon of worchestershire sauce, a couple of cups of red wine, and enough water (or more wine) to cover the brown roast. Cook it for six to eight hours on low, and you’ve got pot roast with gravy, ready to go.
Spectacular Blog

Crockpot uses same wattage as average lightbulb.

Our favorite crockpot recipe for Sauerbrauten:

2 lbs. beef pot roast, 3-4 inches thick
1 c. vinegar
1 c. onions, sliced
8 whole cloves
1 T. sugar
1 c. water
2 bay leaves
1-1/2 t. salt
Dash of pepper

Cover meat with above ingredients. Let stand in refrigerator 24 hours or more. Remove from liquid; wipe dry. Brown meat in skillet. Add to crockpot with 1-1/2 cups of strained marinade liquid. Let cook 8-10 hours on low. Remove meat. We thicken the drippings with crumbled gingersnaps for a delicious gravy.

This recipe was originally made in a pressure cooker, but the lazy daughter that I am converted it to a crockpot with great results.
Lauar

My biggest complaint with most crock pot/slow cooker recipes is the use of condensed “cream of whatever” soups and other convenience products. Having said that, I do use them every 3-4 months or so.

Above someone recommended Robin Robertson’s “Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker”. I second that recommendation. I’d also recommend Beth Hensberger’s “Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker” and “Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Recipes for Two”. Also, the “Fix It and Forget It” series, but they rely a lot on the convenience products.

I do nearly all my soups in the slow cooker, cook all dried beans in it, and quite a few other dishes. Just about anything you would simmer on the stovetop or requires a long baking or braising time can be done in a slow cooker.

These two are helpful:

http://busycooks.about.com/od/slowcookerrecipes/a/crockpot101.htm

http://busycooks.about.com/od/slowcookerrecipes/a/crockpot102.htm

My basic bean recipe:
http://kitchenparade.com/2008/02/pork-poblano-skillet-with-creamy-slow.php

Here’s one of our favorites:

CHICKEN CROCKPOT RECIPE

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

2 cans (14 ounces each) black beans, drained
1 1/2 cup frozen corn
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 jar (12 to 16 ounces) of your favorite salsa

Procedure:

1. Place all ingredients in a crock pot, layering beans, corn, chicken and salsa on top. Cook in crock pot on low for 8 to 10 hours (or high for 3-4).

Optional: Can be served over rice, in tortillas or by itself. Garnish with cheese, sour cream, or guacamole, if desired.
Sally @ 9:59 am February 2nd, 2009 (comment #98)

There’s this, too:

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/
Sally

Your ham and potato dish reminded me of another one I like to do:

Potatoes
a chopped onion
Green beans
Ham (or ham bone)
Water

I put the potatoes, onion and green beans in the crock pot with water (2-4 cups — depends on how soupy you want it) and let them cook. If using a ham bone, put it in at the start of cooking. If using ham, I put it in after the vegetables have cooked for a few hours.
Sally

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2008/01/17/preparing-your-own-skillet-meals-in-advance/

Preparing Your Own Skillet Meals In Advance 66comments
January 17, 2008 @ 2:00 pm - Written by Trent
Categories: Food, Frugality
Bookmarks: del.icio.us, reddit

Many busy familes (even on occasion, our own busy family) often resort to prepackaged skillet meals in order to get a hot, prepared meal on the table quickly at dinnertime. With both parents getting home at five or later and a desire to get a meal on the table early enough so that there is some semblance of a family evening, it’s not surprising that the ease of preparation, the speed, and the relative healthiness of prepackaged skillet meals have become popular.

There are a few problems here, though:

Prepackaged skillet meals are often very expensive for what you get. Skillet meals are almost always at least $6 and often cost significantly more than that. Pick up five of them at once and you’re talking a bill of $35 or so. The food in the bag often adds up to less than a pound in total weight.

Such meals are often laden with preservatives and “industrial” ingredients. As a rule of thumb, if I don’t know what that ingredient is, I don’t like to eat it. Using that rule, pick up pretty much any prepackaged meal you can find and read that ingredient list. My stomach is flopping.

Such meals are often not very healthy in terms of fat, sodium, etc. These meals are designed to be tasty, not to be healthy. Based on the nutrition facts on these items, I’d have to say that most of them don’t worry about healthy too much at all.

I generally like most of the prepackaged skillet meal offerings, I just wish they were healthier - and preferably cheaper. As a frugal parent, I’d like to find a better solution to this situation. I’d like to have a healthy and tasty meal that I could prepare quickly.

My solution? Make a whole bunch of them in advance.

All you have to do is find a good skillet meal recipe, quadruple the recipe, prepare all of the ingredients, then fill four freezer bags with the meal. Then, when you’re ready to eat them, get that bag out of the freezer, thaw it, and then cook it in the skillet until it’s nice and warm. Done!

You can find countless skillet recipes online. My usual technique is to cook the meat in advance, then add all of the needed ingredients to the ziploc bags. Here’s an example:

Trent’s Beef and Vegetable Skillet Meal

The normal recipe involves the following:

3/4 lb. lean ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped green pepper
3 1/2 cups diced tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 cup peas (frozen ones are okay)
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup uncooked rice
1 1/2 cups water

I add everything but the ground beef to each bag. Then, I cook up three pounds of ground beef and drain it, then add a quarter of that beef to each ziploc bag. On the outside I write “beef and vegetable skillet - simmer 40 minutes” on masking tape (so I can reuse the bag for another meal later) and I toss the bags in the freezer.

When I come home, I get out a bag, run it under hot water for a bit so that I can easily get the contents out, then I put it in a skillet on high until it’s just barely boiling, then I drop the heat until it stays just barely boiling. I cook it for about forty minutes or so, then it’s ready to serve.

A similar philosophy applies for pretty much any skillet meal you might prepare. They all work pretty well.

Making skillet meals in advance actually makes for a great weekend afternoon project that saves money and helps you to eat healthier. The meal above is really healthy - it’s loaded with vegetables and, if you cook lean ground beef and properly drain it, it’s very low fat, too.

Plus, the ingredients all together cost only a bit more than one ordinary skillet meal. Compared to the cost of four typical skillet meals, the needed ingredients save about $15, and you can have the bags ready to go into the freezer in less than an hour. That’s $15 saved (compared to prepackaged skillet meals) even without considering the positive health effects - quite a bargain in my eyes.

Here’s our standard “skillet meal”…
1 onion cut thin and long.
2 carrots cut thin and long
2 sticks celery cut thin across the diagonal
Saute in 1 tbsp olive oil
Add 4 ounces thinly sliced chicken breast or turkey or shrimp or pork or beef.
Saute until cooked.
Add the contents of 1 pack of ramen noodles and ONE cup of water. break up and stir and put a lid on it until the noodles are soft. Serves 4 for lunch or two for dinner. We sometmes add leftover other veggies (peas, broccoli, spinach etc.)
JReed

My favorite quick meal:

2 cups rice
4 cups water
1 can of beans

Cook rice according to directions; add beans. Eat.

If you want to make it in advance (and get a little more fancy) saute a bit of garlic and onion along with some cumin, and then mix in the beans. You could then warm that up while the rice is cooking.

I’ll add whatever vegs I have around, as well. It’s a pretty flexible recipe.
Melissa

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/04/09/ten-financial-reasons-to-turn-off-your-television-and-ten-things-to-replace-it-with/

Ten Financial Reasons To Turn Off Your Television - And Ten Things To Replace It With

159comments
April 9, 2007 @ 10:00 am - Written by Trent
Categories: Frugality, Television

Big George is watching youMy wife and I have reduced our television viewing to roughly four hours a week: two hourly dramas and maybe two more hours combined throughout the week. I believe that it won’t be too long before we turn the television off for good. Why? It’s too expensive. Here are ten reasons why.

Cable / satellite bills Our cable bill used to cost us roughly $60 a month. That adds up to $720 a year spent just to get more programming. Three years worth of that and we’re looking at a very nice vacation. Five or six years of that, put into a savings account, potentially replaces a car.

Electricity We had two televisions, and they would each be on an average of four hours a day. Given a cost of $0.10 per kilowatt hour, and the fact that the smaller television used about 100 watts and the larger one used about 160 watts, that meant we were using a bit over a kilowatt hour each day. There’s another $40 a year that vanished.

Guilt Television programs often create a glamorous image of a life that is far outside the financial capabilities of most people watching. When viewers watch such programs then reflect on their lives, it creates a set of negative feelings. For me, the most prevalent feeling was guilt - I can’t give my family this stuff, I would think. Thus, my sense of self-worth would go down. This would put me in a mindset to be more susceptible to the ….

Commercials Those wonderful short little programs that are designed to sell you stuff, period. Even better: they often work in concert with the programs to create a sense of guilt - and they offer a psychological way out. One commercial isn’t powerful, but when you’re inundated with them… very powerful.

Less time for other opportunities If the television is on for four hours a day, that’s four hours where I could be doing something more constructive with my time, like starting a successful blog (*ahem*) or starting a business or working on a novel or getting household chores done and so forth.

Stress When we spend a lot of time watching television, we put off other things that we should be doing, like paying bills, playing with the kids, and so on. After a while, these things build up and we begin to feel stress in our lives that wouldn’t be there if we didn’t spend so much time watching television. Over time, elevated stress leads to health issues.

Poorer dining habits Instead of spending time preparing a healthy, inexpensive meal from scratch, we would hurry up and eat an more expensive prepackaged meal (or takeout) so that we could catch certain television programs. These costs added up, not only on our wallets, but also around our waists.

Poor health / obesity Television is almost always a sedentary activity. Over time, it begins to show. Television is the big reason for the “obesity epidemic,” because Americans simply don’t get the natural exercise from doing non-sedentary activities that they once got. The health costs from this can be tremendous.

Less communication When the television is on for hours each day, it’s much more difficult to have real conversations with the people in your life. Over time, less communication means weaker relationships with the people you love, and this means that quite often you have to “supplement” the relationship with additional spending.

Less sex For a married couple, not only is it good exercise (and thus healthy), it’s free and it can help heal a lot of costly relationship issues. With heavy television usage, particularly in the bedroom, couples can fall asleep watching television instead of in each other’s arms. I know it’s true from experience.

Ten Things To Replace Television With

If you take a one week challenge to turn off the television, several things will happen, chief among them boredom and a sense of having a ton of “empty” time. Here are ten things to do to fill that time.

Start an exercise plan. If you didn’t watch Mad Money every night at six o’clock, you might be able to spend that hour walking around the block, doing leg lifts, or doing an aerobic workout. Most exercise routines cost nothing, though it can be more fun if you do something like a DDR exercise regimen (something I’d love to write about, but I can’t really conceive of how it fits on The Simple Dollar).

Prepare meals. Learn how to cook at home. Prepare some interesting meals. Get a good cookbook and dig in.

Read a book you’ve always wanted to read. Something like Anna Karenina or The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (both were the “book I always wanted to read” for me at various times). Read something to educate your mind and your spirit.

Start a second business. I keep this blog running on less time than I used to spend watching television each night and it is earning some money. I also started a computer consulting business, where I fix people’s computers locally. This has opened up two solid revenue streams for me that, added together, approximate what I made from my job before. This has made me feel much less stressed about work - I do my job, but it no longer has the paralyzing “Oh my God what if they downsize?” fear that it used to have.

Be social. Have healthy, focused conversations with your immediate family. Patch up bruised relationships and friendships. Go out to community events and meet people. Find a group connected to the things you’re interested in and get involved (like a book club).

Take an evening class. Most universities offer degree programs towards a master’s degree (or higher) in the evenings. See what’s available and get into such a program. It will fill your evenings with food for thought and put you on a much stronger career path.

Learn a new skill or a new hobby. When my great grandfather died, my great grandmother spent her evenings learning how to paint, something she’d always wanted to learn how to do. She had a ton of natural skill, and as she learned the craft, it began to show. It was something that her married life and television watching had never left time for before.

Take on a major project. Do something huge that you’ve always wanted to do. I’ve done things like made a homemade bullwhip, learned how to speak Mandarin, and so on, just in my newfound spare time.

Get things done. When I finally turned off the television and looked around, I saw literally hundreds of little things that needed to be done that I simply hadn’t done. So I started getting them done; I literally spent three days making a giant checklist of every task that would take longer than five minutes, then I just started going through them. I felt so productive while doing this that it was a huge endorphin rush just by itself.

Take care of whatever bothers you. For me, it was taking a little bit of time each day to meditate and get in touch with my spiritual side, and it made a huge difference in my life.

In short, by cutting out television, you can not only directly save money, but live a much more rich and fulfilling life.

http://www.miserlymoms.com/miserlytips_updated.html

My kids love fast food, but it is expensive and not very healthy. So, on the rare occasions when we do get fast food, I save the empty bags,clean napkins, and condiment packets. Then, when my 4 year old is begging me to stop at McDonalds, we go home and play McDonalds. I make his lunch (sometimes frozen chicken nuggets), wrap it up and put it in the bag along with the napkins, condiments, etc. I also save those little plastic stadium cups with lids for his drink. I include a “prize”, such as a small candy or a prize that came in a cereal box. We role play ordering lunch and paying for it. This is fun, cheap, and healthier than going out for fast-food.

Submitted by: Elissa

These tips have been saving us both money and time:

We use a combined shampoo/conditioner. We save money because only one bottle needs to be purchased instead of two separate bottles. The conditioning step is eliminated, thus saving time. Wholesale clubs (i.e., CostCo, BJ’s) often sell economy size bottles of a selection of combined shampoo/conditioner brands.

I use a combined powder/foundation makeup instead of seperate liquid or creme foundation plus powder. I save money by buying only one cosmetic item instead of two. Time is saved because the liquid or creme foundation application step is eliminated. I have found that the combined powder/foundation goes on thick enough to cover what the liquid or creme would have.

My husband uses 100% aloe vera gel in place of men’s aftershave. We purchase a large container of aloe vera gel towards the end of the summer when the sun care products are on clearance. A large enough container could last through the following year. Additional benefits of aloe gel are the mild scent, it doesn’t burn, it’s soothing to sensitive skin. Women can also use it after shaving legs.

Many different brands of makeup are manufactured by the same limited number of subcontractors. Keep this in mind when selecting cosmetics. A considerable amount of money can be saved without sacrificing quality when selecting cosmetics from brands offered in the supermarket or WalMart versus the brands sold at expensive department store counters. Time is saved picking up cosmetic items at the supermarket when grocery shopping (look for those coupons!).

Submitted by: Anne

I love quality products, especially for my hair, but got tired of spending up to $20 for brand name salon hair products. I then discovered the “Generic” line of hair products at “Sally’s” stores (specifically for cosmetologists but open to the public). The products come in black & white generic bottles and sell for about $2.79-3.99 but often go on sale for even less! I swear they are as good as the Paul Mitchel, Nexus,KMS,etc. If your hair is damaged from highlighing, perms, etc.,like mine, please give them a try-you’ll be amazed!!!

Submitted by: Lori

I am a new SAHM with one child. One of the things I am doing to save money is buying a gallon of whole milk each week (instead of the two I used to buy). When the gallon is half empty (or half full :) I mix a half gallon of non-fat powdered milk with it and have instant 2% milk! No one in my family has ever noticed the difference!

Submitted by: Tonya

I am a Stay at Home Mom now for nine years. I have found a great way to cut the cost of cleaning supplies in our home. To clean my house I use only three things.

I use a spray bottled of diluted rubbing alcohol (one part alcohol to five parts water) to pretty much clean my entire house. I clean windows, mirrors, bathroom fixtures - disinfect doorknobs, counters etc. I stock up on this alcohol when it goes on sale four or five bottles for a dollar. A very cheap disinfectant.

I also have a spray bottle of diluted white vinegar (one part vinegar to 4 parts water). I use this to clean my linoleum floors. I spray it on and wipe it off and leaves it with a great shine. Believe me I tried everything on the market and this is absolutely the best. A big gallon of vinegar at the store costs less than a buck. Yes there is an initial vinegar smell but it dissipates rather quickly. Amazing.

My most expensive item is a good scouring solution with bleach to clean the tubs, toilet and sinks. This has truly helped our budget!

Submitted by: Lisa

I purchase a gallon jug of bubble bath at the local discount store (K-Mart, Wal-Mart, etc.) for about a dollar and change. I use the bubble bath in many ways:

1. I re-fill soft-soap dispensers by each sink at our house.
2. I use it as a replacement for those expensive, “gotta-have” body washes. (No one has noticed a difference - especiallly if you buy a lightly-scented bubble bath that works for both sexes).
3. I use it to wash our two huge Black Labrador Retrievers...no skin problems to date.
4. In a pinch, we use it for shampoo...just use a little and rinse extra well.
5. It can be used as dish soap. (Read the labels...it’s all the same ingredients, but the bubble bath is a lot milder).
6. AND...TA-DA...we use it as Bubble Bath!

Hope this secret gets out to lots of folks!

Submitted by: D.

I find that it is very hard to control impulse buying. I give myself an allowance every week that covers lunches, dinners out, and ALL impulse buying. For anything else I want (not need), I must wait three days. It is amazing what you don’t need after three days.

Submitted by: Diane

My favorite way to save money is by using vinegar. I know it’s an old trick but it really works. I fill a small bottle with 1 part vinegar to 4-5 parts water and place it beside my shampoo. After shampooing and rinsing, add a little of the vinegar mixture to your hair. Rinse. You will smell the vinegar but the rinsing removes the odor and your hair
does NOT retain the vinegar smell. This is a great cost saver in place of conditioner. Vinegar can be used for your automatic dishwasher. Use the cheapest brand of dishwashing detergent and add 2 tsp. of vinegar to the load for sparkling, odor free dishes.

One final tip is for the laundry. I buy the cheapest gallon of store brand fabric softener I can find, pour some into a large butter tub, and add a few small sponges. I squeeze out a sponge and toss it into the dryer with the wet clothes and it takes the place of those expensive dryer sheets.

Submitted by: Robin

I left my part-time job several months ago when I found out I was pregnant with our first child. Now that my due date is quickly approaching, and the purchase of our first home, I need to learn more ways to save! Some of the best tricks I’ve discovered so far:

1. We had our long-distance disconnected and switched to using prepaid calling cards instead. I’ve found a local grocery store that carries 250 minutes for $10 (yup, that’s $.04 per minute) with no surcharge for connecting the call. Also, it announces each time you make a call how much time you have left, and it’s made me much more aware of how much I’m spending. I still pay for local calling (about $25/month) but I can usually get by with one to two $10 cards a month, so I cut my monthly phone total from $75-$100 down to less than $50.

2. I recycled an empty soft-soap bottle and filled it with laundry detergent, and set it next to the clothes hamper. Now when I need to pre-treat a stain I can just squirt a little detergent on it, throw it in with the dirty clothes, and it can wait till laundry day. It works well and saves on those expensive stain-treatment sticks and gels.

3. I save empty 20-oz or liter size soft-drink bottles and refill them for car trips. They work great for bottled water or juice, and you can freeze them ahead of time (don’t fill all the way, or they’ll burst!) so it’s good and cold.

Submitted by: Jennifer

[Too many cans, but planned leftovers would really make a difference....granny]

http://www.miserlymoms.com/casserolerecipes_updated.html

Casserole/Baked Recipes

Turkey Pot Pie
I’m not very good at making pie shells, but my family and I love pot pies. So I came up with this recipe to make a good pot pie without all the fuss (and it tastes pretty yummy too!). This is also a good way to use up those Thanksgiving and Christmas leftovers.

2 c. cooked turkey, cubed (pennies if using leftovers)
1 can cream of chicken soup ($.60 on sale)
1 can Veg-all brand mixed veggies, drained ($.50)
1 can biscuits ($.50 on sale)

In a 2 quart casserole dish combine turkey, soup and veggies; mix well. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until heated through. Remove from oven. Place biscuits on top of casserole. Increase oven heat to 400 and bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown. Total cost of this dish is around $2.00 for 6 servings. That averages out to about $.30 per serving.

Submitted by: Brandy, Columbia SC

Tamale Pie
This is a wonderful Mexican meal that I serve my family often. Chock full of ingredients that my family loves, its a bargain.

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef (.99 per lb.)
1 jar salsa (1.50)
1 can green chilies (.50)
2 c. pepper jack cheese (or any other cheese you like) (1.50)
2 boxes jiffy cornbread mix (.25 per box)
1 can refried beans (.50)
1 can whole kernel corn (drained) (.33)

In a bowl, prepare cornbread mix as package directs adding 1/2 can corn, set aside. In a skillet brown ground beef, drain. In a large bowl combine beef, salsa, chilies, remaining corn and 1 cup cheese. Spread refried beans in the bottom of a well greased 13 x 9 x 2in glass pan. Top with meat mixture and remaining cheese. Top with cornbread mix. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until heated through and cornbread topping is well cooked. Yield: approximately 8 servings. Total price per serving: $.73

Submitted by: Brandy White

Mother’s Macaroni Bake
My mother used to make this casserole often when I was a child. Now I make it for my family and my two young boys love it. It’s inexpensive and easy to make. Add a salad and some rolls and you have a hearty meal.

2 cups dry elbow macaroni, cooked and drained ($.99 for entire box, so at most $.50)
1 small onion, diced (pennies)
1 small green bell pepper, diced (free from my garden, or about $.35 from local Farmer’s market)
1/2 stick of margarine (pennies)
1 can tomato soup ($.33 on sale)
2 slices of American cheese singles, cut in half diagonally (whole package of 16 singles, store brand, on sale for $.99, so pennies)
Grated parmesan cheese (optional, as topping)

Cook and drain macaroni, set aside. Sautee onions and peppers in margarine until tender. Add vegetables to macaroni and mix lightly. Stir in soup. Pour mixture into a lightly Pamed casserole dish and arrange cheese singles over top. Bake in 350 degree oven until heated through and cheese is melted (about 15 mintues). Sprinkle with parmesan cheese before serving. Serves 4. Approximate cost, $1.50 for the whole casserole.

Submitted by: Stephanie Martin

Bean & Beef Dish
This is a dish that my family absolutely loves.

Ingredients:

1# ground beef (1.68 per pound)
1 can beans with MOLASSES (about 1.19)
1 cup ketchup
1 cup brown sugar
2 small biscuit tubes ( I buy the ones that are 3 for 88 cents, they
contain 5 biscuits each)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese ( about 99 cents)

Brown ground beef. Drain and place in ungreased, round 1 1/2 qt casserole dish. Stir in beans, ketchup and brown sugar. Mix well. Take biscuits and cut in half so that one side is flat. Place in two rows around the casserole dish. ( LEAVE the middle open or the biscuits will not cook right). Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake at 350 until the biscuits are done. ( about 20 minutes)

This feeds my husband ( BIG appetite), myself, and three boys ages 7, 6 and 21 months and provides us with leftovers. (at least one lunch serving)

Submitted by: Anna Benneta

Grandma’s Casserole
This is a casserole that my grandmother passed down to my mother who then passed it on to me. I have 2 very picky little girls who turn their nose up at most foods (it’s the age you know) but eat this with no complaints. This recipe serves 6 and costs only $.39 per serving. Serve with green beans and you have a complete meal.

1lb. ground sausage (wal-mart brand @ $.99)
2 five oz. packs of saffron yellow rice (bella brand @ wal-mart is $.50 per pack)
1 pk. dry onion soup (wal-mart brand is $.77 per box of 2)
water

Brown sausage well and drain. In a 2qt. casserole dish combine rice, soup, and water according to both packs of rice (aprox. 3 cups). Stir well. Add sausage but do not stir. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour or until rice is tender. The sausage will all be on top of the dish, add some chopped green onions and this is a dish you can serve to guests.

Submitted by: Brandy White

Shepherd’s Pie
1 lb ground turkey ($.85)
1 8 oz can tomato sauce ($.30)
1 or 2 cans drained green beans (up to $1.00)
2 or 3 cups mashed potatoes, from instant ($.30)

Brown turkey in a greased skillet, add tomato sauce and green beans, season to taste. Dump into 9” casserole dish. Drop spoonfuls of prepared mashed potatoes onto mixture. Bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned, about 25 minutes. This serves 4 very hungry people — can be stretched by putting in larger dish and adding more mashed potatoes.

Submitted by: Leigh Carpenter

Easy Taco Casserole
1 # ground beef .88 on sale
1 can store brand mushroom soup .59
1 can store brand rotel tomatoes .50
1 store brand taco kit 1.00
1 block cheese, shredded .99 on sale

Brown ground beef and drain. Add mushroom soup, rotel tomatoes, taco seasoning and taco sauce from kit. Heat together. Take taco shells and heat according to package directions in oven. (Will not work if heated in microwave.) Crumble half of heated taco shells and line bottom of square pyrex dish. Add beef mixture, then crumble other half of shells over beef mixture. Layer shredded cheese over shells. Cover with foil and heat in oven for 25 - 30 minutes on 350 degrees. This makes six servings and each serving costs .66!!! This is very easy and my kids love it!!!

Submitted by: Kim Harveston

Enchilada Casserole
This is a tasty dish that I make often for my family. At only $1.12 per serving how can you lose.

1lb. ground beef (on sale $.99)
1 pack flour tortillas 10 count ($1.89)
1 large jar salsa ($2.29)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese ($1.50 on sale)
2 tsp. chili powder (pennies)
2 tsp. garlic salt (pennies)
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (pennies)
1/4 c. water

In a large skillet brown ground beef, drain well. Add spices and water, boil for about 5 min until water is almost completely absorbed. Add 1/2 jar salsa and 1 cup cheese to beef, mix well. Fill each tortilla with 2 tbs. of meat mixture rolling as you go. Place filled tortillas seam side down in a 9x13 glass baking pan. Top enchiladas with remaining salsa and cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 for 20-25 min. Serves 6 at $1.12/serving

Submitted by: Brandy White

Pôt de Chinois
Here is a family favorite that has been enjoyed for at least 5 generations! It is a quick and easy French-Canadian casserole that tastes even better the next day.Sauté 1 lb. of ground beef (sale price: . 99/lb.) along with 1 medium onion, chopped (sale price: 3 lbs/99 =.15)

Drain any fat, season with salt and pepper to taste (negligible) and place in the bottom of a casserole dish.

Boil 2 lbs. potatoes (sale price: 20/lb =.40) until tender. (If serving a larger crowd, cook more)

Drain and mash along with 2 Tbsp. margarine (Sale price: 19/lb. =.01),1/2 cup milk(mixed storebrand, reconstituted instant milk ($8.99 for the economy size box)along with storebrand whole milk@$2.69/gal)= .07), salt, pepper and onion powder to taste (=.05)

Spread mashed potatoes over the top of the ground beef mixture.

Top with 1-2 15 oz. cans of cream corn(sale price: .33/per can) (use 2 cans if serving more than 4 or if you want 2 nights worth)

If desired, top with small dots of margarine to help to make a golden crust. (about a tablespoon’s worth=.005)

Bake @350 F for 30 minutes. Serves 4-6

For $2.00, I can easily serve a family with leftovers for the next day. Traditionally, this has been served with a coleslaw of shredded green cabbage(4 cups=.20), a chopped, red apple (.15), 1/2 cup raisins (.15), tossed along with a few tablespoons of mayonnaise (.10)

It just wouldn’t be the same without the coleslaw. This can be even cheaper if using garden produce, more vegetables and less meat. Depending on time and prices, instant potatoes may work out better for you.

Submitted by: Carol Coderre-Marx

Comment by a reader:

I just can’t help but comment on this recipe. Being a French-Canadian from Montréal, Québec, it really made me chuckle! Although I’m sure that it tastes very good as is, please let me just mention the following. It is called Pâté chinois, not Pôt de Chinois. Pôt de chinois means a chinese pot and not pâté. But that is just the title... The traditional order in which the ingredients are put in the pan is essential to the enjoyment of this time-tested recipe. First the meat, then the creamed corn, and then lastly, the potatoes. By putting little dollops of butter and sprinkle paprika on the potatoes, you get a lovely golden crust. And that, Miserly Moms, is the right way to make pâté chinois. Doing it upside down is a little bit like putting the cherry under the sundae !

In any case, I really enjoy Miserly Moms and get wonderful tips from your website. It helps me not lose sight of how, as a single mom with two teenage boys (My gosh, do they all eat that much ??!!!), I need to do things in order to stay afloat.

Have a great weekend!!
Isabelle, Mtl, Québec

Italian Mac Recipe
Very inexpensive, makes a large batch, freezes well and takes hardly any time to make! For my family of 3 we eat one meal, leftover lunch for husband, and still have half a pan to freeze for another meal!

2 boxes Mac & Cheese (store brand 2@.89)
1lb hamburger (on sale @ .89/lb)
1 small onion diced (unsure of price)
1/2 green pepper diced (unsure of price)
1 16oz can spaghetti sauce (store brand meat flavor @ .89)
1 package (2 cups) mozzarella ( store brand 1.50 on sale)

Make mac&cheese according to package directions. Brown hamburger, onion, and pepper. Drain and add spaghetti sauce. In a 9x13 baking dish layer hamburger mixture, then mac &cheese, then mozzarella. (I use a 1 cup measuring cup and spread it out evenly). End layers with a cheese layer. Everything is already cooked
so bake at 350 until cheese is as melted or browned as your family prefers. Serve with Salad (or we do green beans). Approx - $5.00 for entire pan.

Submitted by: Kim Bailey

Tuna Slop
This recipe is so fast, easy and cheap. I’ve been making it since I was 15. My family has affectionately titled it “Tuna Slop.”

1 can Tuna Fish (0.89)
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup ($1.00)
Milk (1soup can full) (pennies)
1 package wide egg noodles ($1.00)
1/4 lb. cheese (any kind works) (0.50)
Soy Sauce approx. 5-6 dashes (to taste) (pennies)
Salt & Pepper to taste

While the water is coming to a boil for the noodles, I combine all of the other ingredients (except the cheese) in another saucepan and start heating that through. By then, it’s time to add the noodles to the water. While the noodles are cooking, I cut up whatever cheese I have in the fridge into chunks and add to the tuna mixture. Drain the noodles when done, combine with the tuna mixture and serve.

Submitted by: Sandy Miller

Sausage Rice Casserole
I serve this as a meal sometimes I might serve it with another vegetable.

1 lb sausage - on sale .99
8 oz sour cream — use fat free to help cut down the fat - 1.19
1 can cream of mushroom soup - .49
1 can of corn — .39
2 cups of rice (raw) — 1.00 (if that much)
water
(I buy in bulk and at discount grocery stores)

Brown sausage and drain well. Drain and save liquid from corn. Using the liquid from the corn and adding water to make 4.25 cups cook the rice. Mix all ingredients into casserole dish; cover; heat at 350 for 15 minutes or until heated through out.

Makes about 6-8 serving at the low cost of .68-.51 each.

Submitted by: Lori Brandt

Easy Lasagna Recipe
This is a simple, delicious, and less expensive way to make lasagna. My family likes it better than “real” lasagna. Total cost $7.00 for at least 9 servings. Leftovers reheat very well. You can substitute low fat ingredients with good results, too.

12 oz. bag egg noodles (.49)
1 lb. ground beef (about $2.00 on sale for extra lean)
1 - 28 oz. jar spaghetti sauce ($1.29)
24 oz. cottage cheese ($1.59)
16 oz. sour cream (.99)
4 oz. shredded mozzarella (.64 on sale)

Brown ground beef and drain if necessary. Cook egg noodles until just done; drain. Mix noodles, cottage cheese, sour cream and ground beef. In a 9 x 13 pan, spread a layer of spaghetti sauce. Spread a layer of beef/noodle mixture.

Alternate until all ingredients are used, ending with sauce layer. Top with shredded cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350 until heated through, about 45 min. to 1 hr. I usually uncover the last 10 minutes.

Submitted by: Melanie Ditzel

Tater Tot Casserole
1 pound hamburger meat
1 bag tater tots ( 16 oz)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can of milk

Brown the hamburger in a skillet. I normally put my tater tots in theoven and begin letting them brown, I use a baking pan for this. When my hamburger is done I drain off the excess grease. When the meat has drained, I then sprinkle it over the tater tots. I then mix my can of cream of mushroom soup and a can of milk. I pour this over the tater tots and hamburger. I put the pan in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes. I serve it with homemade biscuits or a salad.

I have found a cheap grocery store that sells off brand items (Sav-a-lot). I can buy basic soups for 39cents. The soups actually remind me of Campbells. I buy tater tots for 99 cents. And I normally skimp on the pound of hamburger meat which averages $1 a pound. We don’t use a lot of milk in my household so this is a good way to avoid throwing it out. I figure about 30 cents worth of milk. The dish isn’t costing more than $2.75.

Submitted by: Carol

Frugal Lasagna
8 lasagna noodles
1lb of hamburger
1 can spaghetti sauce
1 packages of Mexican cheese
1 10 oz cottage cheese

Box of Lasagna noodles cost .96$ and I usually get 2 or 3 lasagna’s out of them. So I figure let than .50$ in noodles. 5 lbs. of hamburger at our grocery is about 5.00$ so $1 dollar for hamburger. Spaghetti Sauce is $1. Mexican Cheese at our grocery is 1.79. Sometimes you can catch it on sale and is it buy one get one free. And cottage cheese is .69$. So total for this dish is for under $5. And I feed 7 or more people with this dish and still have leftovers for days for lunch. Not to mention my kids love inviting their friends over to dinner because this is one of their favorite dishes.

Brown meat, add spaghetti sauce. Lay 4 (uncooked) noodles in bottom of glass casserole dish. Layer one layer of spaghetti sauce, meat mixture using 1/2. Then 1/2 package of Mexican cheese. Top with half of container of cottage cheese. Add second layer of uncooked noodles. Layer of spaghetti sauce, meat mixture (using last of mixture). Remainder of Mexican cheese and cottage cheese. Top with aluminum foil. Cook at 350 for 1 hour when you remove foil do so carefully some of cheese will be stuck. Allow to cool about 10 minutes and serve is good with garlic bread but not necessary.

I have 5 kids and 2 adults in my household. I have to find ways to make our grocery dollars stretch. Last month I spent 122.00 for the month at the grocery store. This is a normal grocery bill for us.

Submitted by: TPZDEER

Taco Casserole
This is a taco casserole my mom makes - very filling and very good

1lb ground beef
1 large can refried beans
1 pkg. taco seasoning
cheese (about 1 cup depending on tasted)
2 pkg. corn bread mix

Toppings - lettuce, tomato, onion, sour cream (pretty much whatever is on sale)

Make corn bread batter according to pkg. directions.Brown ground beef; drain fat. In 9 x 13 pan spread the beans along the bottom; then layer the ground beef and the cheese pour corn bread batter over the top. Bake at 425 for about 10 - 15 minutes (until cornbread is done) yummy! It will easily feed 4-6 people and costs around $5 depending on sales

Submitted by: Megan at mom22@bellsouth.net

Hamburger Rice Casserole
1/2 to 1 lb. Hamburger
1/2 Chopped Onion
2 Cups Cooked Rice
1 Can Condensed Tomato Soup
1 Small Can Tomato Sauce
A Few Dashes of Worcestershire Sauce
Seasoning Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder
Shredded Cheese (optional)

Brown hamburger with onion and seasonings (drain). Add to rice and tomato soup and sauce. Cover and bake in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Add shredded cheese and bake 5 minutes more or until cheese is melted.

Submitted by: Julia

Fiesta casserole
This is a big family favorite and easy to prepare. I use a 13x9 inch casserole dish. It’s under 5.00 to make and virtually free if you use up leftovers instead of starting from scratch.

4 cups cooked rice
2 cups cooked pinto beans-including a small amount of the liquid
2 bunches diced green onions
1 diced tomato
1 can of kernel corn
1 batch of biscuit or cornbread batter (or sprinkle some cheese on top)

Layer in order given, adding any seasonings you like. Bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Submitted by: Lisa

Baked Omelet Casserole
When it comes to dinner my husband is a die hard meat and potatoes man. I on the other hand like breakfast for dinner or a vegetarian meal once in a while. This meal is inexpensive and even he will eat it. It is also extremely versatile so I can whip it up with whatever I have on hand in the fridge or ripe in the garden most times. I hope you like it as well as we do. Serves 4 @ .43 per servings

8 pieces of bread from the Day old Bread Store, crust cut off and diced into 1 1/2”-2” cubes .15
8 eggs .60
1 cup of milk .25
2 cups of diced assorted omelet type fixings you have handy in your fridge. .75

Here is a list of fixings I’ve used:
Mushrooms
Cheese
Onions
Pepper
Deli meats
Left over ham, bacon or sausage
Asparagus
Broccoli
Sliced tomato

2 tablespoons seasoning salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9” casserole dish. Place bread cubes in the casserole dish. Beat milk into eggs, toss in omelet fixings and pour over bread cubes. Using your hand mix all ingredients together. Bake 30 minutes or until top is golden brown. Best served with a tossed salad or sliced fresh fruit.

Taco Tater Tot Casserole
1 lb. ground beef- $1 (only buy when on sale for $1/ lb. or less)
1 pkg taco seasoning—33 cents
1/4 cup water-free
1/2 medium onion diced— about 8 cents
1 can whole kernel corn, drained- 33 cents
1 jar salsa con queso $2.99-at BI-Lo (but I usually get them 50 cents a jar at our grocery outlet)
1/2 package (1 lb) tater tots 60 cents ($1.19/ 2 lb package)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown ground beef and onion together in skillet. Drain. Add taco seasoning and water and simmer according to package directions. In a 13x9 casserole dish spread taco meat on bottom of pan. Layer the corn on top of it. Then place tater tots in a single layer on top of corn. Spread the salsa con queso on top of everything. Cook in preheated oven for about one hour. We usually spread sour cream to taste on each serving. At 99 cents for a large container that adds about 30 to 40 cents to the total cost.

Normally I pay $3.29 for the whole dish—$5.78 if I have to buy full price salsa, but that’s still a bargain.
This feeds my family of 6 with seconds for my husband and leftovers for my husband’s lunch the next day.

Pasta Bake (serves 6 generously)
One 16 oz bag chunky dry pasta (rigatoni, penne, etc). ($.50-1.00)
One 28 oz jar pasta sauce of your choice (sale, typically $1.00-1.50)
Water
1/2 lb package Brown and Serve sausage, crumbled by hand ($1.25 on sale)
2 cups shredded mozzarella (whole milk works best) ($1.00)

In a 13 x 9 inch baking pan mix the pasta, sauce, one sauce jar full of water and the sausage.
Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake in a 425 degree oven for 30 minutes. Stir well, recover
and bake 10 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle with cheese and bake until cheese melts.

Great for getting rid of assorted leftovers. You can add whatever you like to this and it works
great.

Submitted by: Lucinda

Hamburger Casserole (serves 4)
1Lb. Hamburger (1.49)
1onion(.35)
1can corn(.35)
1-8oz. cream cheese(.99)
10 oz. egg noodle(.99)

Cook hamburger with onion. Drain hamburger. Mix cream of mushroom and cream cheese. Cook noodles. Put hamburger back in pan add drained corn and cream cheese mixture. Heat hamburger sauce enough so it will be easy to mix with noodles. Pour noodles and hamburger sauce in casserole, mix. Heat in oven until bubbly.

When I really am in a pinch for time: I don’t heat sauce in fry pan I just mix and throw in oven or heat sauce and serve over noodles. This was a recipe my mom made us as kids I still love it and it makes great comfort food on a budget.

Sausage and Cheese Casserole
This is a family favorite and I get asked for it over and over. It is easy and you can make it so cheap

1lb. Breakfast sausage ( walmart sells their brand for .88 cents or watch for sales...i usually pay no more than 1.59 for jimmy dean when on sale)
12 ozs. Of macaroni...My family likes this with shell shape or spiral macaroni but you can use any kind. (dollar general sells elbow
macaroni and the spiral..$1.00 for 2 1lb. Bags
1 can cheddar cheese soup (campbell’s is .99 cents to 1.09 depending on where you shop)
1/2 soup can of milk (price depends on if you use dry instant milk or the regular. I use regular...so about .25)
1/8 tsp black pepper or to taste (we like a little more pepper..cents on price)
1/4 tsp. Dry ground mustard (same here..I use a tiny bit more...cents on price...dollar general sells their spices 2 for $1.00)
1 medium onion, chopped (cost about ..40 cents)
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper or whatever color you have (green bell pepper will cost you about .30 in this red, yellow or orange bell pepper will cost you more...about .75 cents)
1/2-3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese (depending on how much you like cheese walmart brand will cost you .50 -.75 cents if already grated..grate your own and cut the price more)

Cook noodles according to package directions and drain. Crumble sausage and cook in frying pan until done...drain off grease.. You want it to be like crumbled hamburger meat. In large bowl, dump hot noodles, soup, spices, milk, onion, peppers and cooked sausage. Mix together well and then add your grated cheese. Put into a casserole dish and cook uncovered at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes, depending on how brown you want the top to be. this will serve 4-6 very generous servings. Enjoy!

Submitted by: True, pottsboro, texas

Tuna Casserole
This casserole is very tasty and very frugal. I couldn’t believe how good
it turned out to be and easy to prepare when you have nothing else on hand.
You can add any leftover veggies you have on hand to stretch a little
further.

1 regular can of tuna (approximately .75 cents)
1 can of mixed vegetables (.34 cents at United Dollar)
1 can cream of mushroom soup (.50 at United Dollar)
½ bag of egg noodles ($1.00 at United Dollar)
chopped onion to your liking and 2 gloves minced garlic (pennies)
Parmesan cheese (pennies)

I started by boiling ½ bag of egg noodles per directions and drained. In
saucepan, I sautéed chopped onion and garlic, then added all other
ingredients except Parmesan cheese and heated through. When noodles are
finished, fold all ingredients into casserole dish and sprinkle with
Parmesan cheese at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Very tasty and only
around .45 per serving for six servings.

Submitted by: Marylea

Easy Chicken Casserole
3-4 cups cooked chicken (whole chicken 5.80)
2 cans generic brand whole kernel corn (.66)
1 can generic brand cream of chicken soup (.50)
1/3 cup chicken broth (free)
1 small container generic brand sour cream (.89)
1 sleeve ritz crackers (.75 3.00 per box, 4 sleeves per box — Using regular saltine crackers would lessen cost even further but the buttery taste of ritz really makes this dish in my opinion)
2 Tbsp. generic brand butter or margarine (.10)

Cut and boil chicken until cooked through. Dice chicken to make 3-4 cups. Place in 9 in casserole dish. Drain corn and pour over chicken. Mix soup, sour cream and 1/3 cup chicken broth (from when you boiled the chicken) in small sauce pan and heat through stirring constantly (be careful, this mixture will splatter considerably when it begins to heat up). Pour soup mixture over corn. Crumble 1 sleeve Ritz crackers over soup mixture. Pour 1 tbsp. melted butter over Ritz crackers. Sprinkle with pepper (no extra salt needed). Bake in oven at 400 for 15 - 20 minutes or until crackers are brown and soup is bubbly around the sides of the dish. This is my husband’s favorite meal. Feeds my family of 4 for dinner and we always have leftovers for lunch the next day. Total cost is $8.70 or $2.20 per person for dinner and lunch. I use any leftover chicken for chicken salad or chicken burritos.

Submitted by: Lori, Warrior, Alabama

Chicken Enchilada Bake
This recipe is a favorite of my family. You can whip it up in a snap, and it feeds 6 people or more. Leftovers thrown into the oven the next day taste awesome. Cheap recipe with lots of flavor!!

1 onion chopped (pennies)
1/4 c margarine (.10 cents or less)
4 c shredded cooked chicken (great to use chicken thighs if you don’t mind dark meat). ($2.00) (about a pound of chicken)
1 cup hot water
1 chicken bouillion cube (pennies)
1 can cream of chicken soup (.50 cents)
1 can chili beans ($1.00)
1 can corn (.50 cents)
1 small can chopped tomatoes (.50)
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder
1-2 cups grated cheese (I usually use mexican cheese) ($1.50)
5 flour tortillas (.50 cents) (tear into pieces)
TOTAL COST : $6.60

Saute onion in butter until onions are softened. Add chicken (Generally I cook the chicken with the onions). Dissolve boullion cube in hot water, add to chicken. Add cream of chicken soup, beans, pepper and chili powder. Stir to combine. In a 13x9 inch pan, place a layer of torn tortillas to cover bottom of baking dish. Add a layer of chicken mixture and cover with half of the cheese. Add another layer of torn tortillas. Follow with another layer of chicken. Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Easy Mexican Casserole
I have a large family and am always finding ways to use less meat which is expensive, without taking away from nutrition. I always use store brand.

1lb ground beef or chicken $2.50
1 jar salsa $1.29
1 onion chopped .05
1 bag plain tortilla chips (or another 1/2 bag for more of a quantity) $.99
1 16oz container sour cream $.99
2 cans chicken broth $.59 each
handful of flour
2-4 cups shredded cheddar cheese $2.50
mexican seasonings like cumin, chili powder, coriander powder, garlic powder (or buy a packet of taco spice mix $.59) ( I never buy spice mixes, as they are a waist of money and not natural. Buy spices and you can always use them and mix them yourself!
This makes a huge casserole large enough for 2 meals easily

Brown the ground beef
Add in your spices, as much as you like
In a seperate bowl, put chicken broth and flour and mix and pur into ground beef and simmer for about 10 minutes. This will take away the flour taste and also thicken the mixture a bit. Turn off and add the sourcream. stir until melted.
Take a large casserole dish, the largest that you have.
Crush all your chips and put a layer on the bottom of the dish. spoon some groundbeef mixture, sprinkle some chopped onion and cheese and spoon on blobs of salsa. Layer until finished and top with cheese, onions and salsa. Bake at 350 until cheese is melted. approx. 30 minutes

Tortilla Chili Bake
1 can chili beans (less than $.40 in WI)
¼ cup cheese – cheddar, jack, Mexican cheese - whatever your family likes
1 onion – a few pennies
6 corn tortilla shells
chili spices/ salt/pepper to taste
1 can tomatoes or use fresh from the graden

Brown onion in pan. Add tomatoes and cook together for a few minutes
Still in spices a little at a time until it reaches your families taste
Add can of chili beans
Cook over stove on low heat for about 5-10 minutes
Layer tortillas 2-3 in bottom of a baking pan, cover with chili bean mix and alternate with tortillas like a lasagna.
Sprinkle with cheese. Bake 350 20-30 minutes.

I usually make this the night before and pop it in the oven the next night. It costs me less than $1.50 to make this recipe and it can be stretched easily with extra veggies or ground turkey ($.50 lb when purchased in a tube).

Tastes great w/ corn muffins and a salad

Submitted by: Aleisha

http://www.miserlymoms.com/breakfastrecipes_updated.html

Breakfast Recipes

Cheese Danish
My family and I love a good danish, but they are very costly to buy from the store. So I came up with this simple and frugal way to make them at home. Enjoy!

2 tubes refrigerated bread sticks (on sale for $.50 each)
1 8oz. package of cream cheese (store brand @ $.99)
1/4 c. powdered sugar (aproximatly $.05)
1/2 tsp. lemon juice (pennies)

Frosting
1/2 c. powdered sugar (aprox. $.10)
1-2 tsp. milk (pennies)

Seperate bread sticks but do not uncoil, place on ungreased cookie sheet. With your thumb make an indention into the tops of each coil. In a bowl mix cheese, sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Place about 1 tbs. of cheese mix into indentions. Bake at 400 for 15-20 min. Meanwhile combine remaining sugar and milk until smooth. Drizzle frosting over warm danish. Yields 1 dozen. At about $.16 per danish you can’t lose.

Submitted by: Brandy White

Peanut Butter Granola
cost - aproximately $4.12 for all ingredients. Fills a 1 Gallon (recycled) Pickle Jar.

1 1/2 cups Crunchy Peanut Butter. (I bought Home Harvest - 1.19 on sale)
1 cup brown sugar (.20, whole bag costs about .69)
1 can frozen concentrated apple juice. (.99)
10 cups of instant rolled oats. (Also Home Harvest brand. 1.39)
1/2 cup of oil. (I use Safflower oil, has vitamin E added to it. cost of 1/2 c. aprox .35)

Mix the apple juice, peanut butter and oil in one container. Mix the oats and brown sugar in another container, until brown sugar is mixed in well. Add in the liquid ingredients and mix well with a spoon until it gets too thick, then I use my hands to mix, like a cookie dough. The granola mixture will be thick.

Spread on two cookie sheets, making sure to keep the Granola no more than an inch thick on the pan. Toast the Granola at 225 to 250 in the oven for an hour or so. You want it lightly toasted, not dark brown. You will probably have to turn the granola once during cooking. Keep an eye on it, it might not take the full hour. If you are careful turning you will have both tiny flakes and lumps (the lumps are good for snacking, and the tiny flakes are good for breakfast cereal with milk.) Let the Granola cool and put it in an airtight container.

If you wish to add fruit or nuts to this you may, but it makes the cost go up. I use the Crunchy Peanut Butter because it has small pieces of peanuts already in it.

Submitted by: Meriah

Rice Cakes
My family loves these as breakfast, or as a snack.

2 c. cooked rice (about .65)
1/2 c. minced onion( about .25)
2 eggs ( about .25)
3 Tbs. flour (couldn’t figure this one-sorry!)
salt and pepper
oil/fat for frying

In large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Drop by 1/4 cupfuls into hot oil in skillet. Fry on each side until brown and crispy. Sprinkle with paprika, if desired. Makes 8 cakes.

Fruity Breakfast Oatmeal
This isn’t entirely original, but has been a big hit with the kids (8,6 &3yrs). My kids were used to the store bought instant oatmeal. I tried to make regular quick cooking oatmeal but it didn’t impress the kids. Then I tried this and it was a huge success!!! I now make a big pot at a time, freeze many servings in individual sized containers (purchased Styrofoam bowls with plastic lids from Gordon’s - just pennies). This heats up from the rock hard frozen state, in the microwave in just 90 seconds!

Quick Cooking Oatmeal (Save-a-Lot-$.79 for large container)
water (according to package directions)
Preserves, jelly...any flavor! (pennies, especially if homemade)

First and most important step, to get it like the store bought instant oatmeal is to zip dry oatmeal in food processor until fine. Then cook as directed, add preserves (to taste). YUM!!

Submitted by: Molly, Otsego, Michigan

Macaroni Egg/Ham Casserole
This was a favorite while growing up. It’s cheap and easy and my family loves it! It’s easy to add other ingredients if this is a little bland for your taste...

Elbow Macaroni
6 eggs
1/4 cup - Milk
1 1/4 cup - Ham/Turkey Ham - diced
1/2 cup - Parmesan Cheese
Salt/Pepper

Boil enough Macaroni to fill up your favorite casserole dish. Drain macaroni and place in the casserole. Whisk the eggs together & add milk. Add 1/2 cup parmesan cheese. Add Salt/Pepper to taste. Poor mixture over the macaroni. Add 1 cup of the diced ham and stir in. Sprinkle the remaining ham and a little parmesan cheese over the top. Cover and bake for approx. 1 hour (depending upon the casserole size). It’s done when the eggs are set up. Take off the lid for the last five minutes to brown the top a bit. Sometimes I add broccoli or beans to it.

Submitted by: Irene Filipponi

Oven Omelette
10 eggs, beaten (80 cents)
2 shredded potatoes (about 50 cents where we live)
1 tsp. seasoned salt (pennies)
1/2 diced onion (35 cents)
1/2 diced bell pepper (40 cents)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese or 8 oz. (1.50 a block)
1 pkg bulk sausage, cooked, crumbled and drained of fat (99 cents at Wal Mart)

Mix all ingredients and pour into a greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 for 60 minutes. This can be used for breakfast, or for dinner.

Submitted by: Vicky

http://www.miserlymoms.com/maindishrecipes_updated.html

Other Main Dishes

Aunt Bev’s BBQ
This recipe is really great. My family loves it. Especially in the summertime. I love it too cause it is so easy to just put on and let cook all day. Sometimes we let it cook all night and I finish it in the morning. After it’s been in the fridge all day, the seasonings have set and it’s even better. I don’t know the real cost because the big expenses are the meat, BBQ sauce and buns. Other than that, we always have the seasonings on hand. The other great thing is if you’ve run out of something, you can just leave it out or if you don’t have ground mustard use regular mustard. If you don’t have onions, use onion powder. It’s so versatile a recipe. My husband likes cole slaw on top of his sandwich so I make that and some baked beans for sides.

Sometimes I buy the bigger piece of meat at 7 or 8 lbs and just cut it in half when I get home.

3 lbs or more Boston Butt (Pork) ($.99/lb on sale $1.49 regular)
2 onions (pennies)
2 stalks celery (pennies) (i don’t like chunks so I grind in the food processer with onions)

Spices (never exactly measured, just sprinkle in on top of the water)
garlic powder
ground mustard
cumin
ground red pepper
ground white pepper
ground black pepper

BBQ sauce (use your favorite; I use Bull’s Eye Orig or KC Masterpiece Orig, whichever is on sale $1.50ish)
10 shakes Worcestshire Sauce (I use Lea & Perrins) (pennies)
10 shakes of Colgin’s Liquid Smoke (pennies)
1/3 cup UNPACKED brown sugar

8 pack Hamburger Buns ($.70 at bread store)

Place roast in crock pot. Put celery and onions in crock pot. Cover roast with water. Sprinkle each spice into the water until they they have spread and lightly cover the top of the water. Turn crock pot on low for 9 - 12 hours. Meat will be done when you pick it up and it literally falls off the bone. Take meat out and let cool a little.

While meat is cooling, drain crock pot reserving the celery, onions, and spices. Take meat by chunks or pieces and pull apart by hand into shreds. (Really easy). Place meat back in crock pot with reserves. Add 9 -12 oz BBQ sauce and brown sugar. Taste. Add more spices to taste and/or more BBQ sauce. You can eat right away, but I let it cook a little while longer so the sauce and everything can get soaked in.

Makes about 8 sandwiches. About $.60 per serving.

For an easy side dish, you can use the same spices, BBQ sauce, Worcestshire, and Liquid Smoke to taste and add to the baked beans. (I use Campbell’s pork & beans) and let them simmer for awhile to absorb the seasonings

Mystery Burgers
2 egg whites
1 cup low-fat or fat-free cottage cheese
1 cup rolled oats
1 pkg. onion soup mix

Mix ingredients together and make into small “burgers” or “meatballs.” Fry in a small amount of oil, about 3 minutes on each side. I think these taste even better a day after you first make them. Less than $1.00 per batch. (Try the house brand of dry onion soup mix, or there is a recipe in the Tightwad Gazette book.)

P.S. Save the egg yolks for custard (also good with this meal, especially chocolate.)

Submitted by: Renee Gorby

Salmon Cakes
1 can salmon ($2/can)
1/4 cup relish (about 10 cents)
1/4 cup mayonnaise (about 10 cents)
1 diced carrot or celery stick (about 10 cents)
One lemon (about 30 cents)
1/4 cup corn meal (about 10 cents)
vegetable oil spray (negligible, about 10 cents?)

This is quick and healthy. Combine salmon, relish, mayonnaise, carrot/celery. Zest the lemon and mix zest and juice of lemon with salmon mixture. Form into patties. I use this quick technique:

Sprinkle a little corn meal in the bottom of a quarter cup measuring cup. Add salmon mixture almost to top. Top with more corn meal. You end up with about 10-12 perfectly sized, corn meal coated salmon cakes. Pan “fry” on medium to medium high about 2-3 minutes per side. With a salad and a loaf of bread, a great meal.

P.S. You can take the bones out of the canned salmon but I keep them in; they taste fine and provide calcium. A yummy way to get those healthy omega oils (from the salmon) in your diet.

Total cost about $2.80 for entire recipe, 70 cents per person.

Submitted by: Catherine

Red Beans & Rice
1 lb. smoked sausage (about $2.00 or less if it’s on sale)
1 can (10 ounces) tomatoes and green chilies (about $.60 store brand)
2 cans (16 ounces each) red beans or dark red kidney beans, undrained (about $.50 each store brand1 can (10 3/4 ounces)
cream of mushroom soup (about $.60 store brand)
3/4 tsp Creole seasoning (miniscule amount unless you have to buy a new container; we keep some on hand all the time)
4 -5 cups cooked white rice (about $.50)

Cut up sausage into 1 inch chunks. Brown sausage in 10 inch skillet.
Add tomatoes, beans, soup, and seasoning and heat through. Add cooked rice and heat through again, if necessary.

Another variation on this I tried this week that was just as delicious was using cubed chicken (bought on sale for $1.69 lb in frozen bag) - I used three chicken breasts and browned them in about a tablespoon of oil and 1/4 tsp of the Creole seasoning.

I got this recipe from a friend who brought it to us when my son was born last December. We loved it so much, and since it was only about $.95 a serving (it’ll serve 5 easy, and add more rice to have leftovers!) we have had it many times this year.

Submitted by: Heather M.

MacWeenies
This is a quick, easy, and surprisingly tasty recipe for lunch or dinner. My Mom used to make this for us when we were kids, but it didn’t get its name until my two boys came along, giving it the now obvious title!

2-3 packages store brand macaroni and cheese (3 - 4 packages for .99)
1/4 cup butter/margarine per package of macaroni used (?)
1/4 cup milk per package of macaroni used (?)
1 package hot dogs (on sale for 2 for $1.00 at Winn Dixie)

Boil Macaroni as suggested on package. About 2 minutes into the macaroni boiling, add cut up hot dogs* and allow to cook until both macaroni and hot dogs are done.

Drain macaroni and hot dogs in collander and return to pot.

Add butter, milk and the cheese packets from the boxes of macaroni and stir over very low heat until well blended.

That’s all there is to it, all for $2.00 or less. Add a veggie or a salad and bread and you’re done! I’m not a hot dog or even boxed macaroni fan, but I really like this — maybe because it’s so easy!

* Caution - If you have small children, cut hot dogs lengthwise before cutting into chunks - hot dog “circles” are easy for a small child to choke on.

Submitted by: Linda M

Potato/Salmon Au Gratin
7 potatoes peeled and sliced
1 onion
2 Tbs. butter or margarine
2 Tbs. flour
2 cups milk
1 can salmon
1/8 block of velveeta type cheese or 3/4 cup shredded cheddar
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter or margarine in skillet. Cook onion until tender. Add flour. Whisk in milk. Boil for one minute, stirring constantly. While heat is low, add cheese and melt. Then add drained salmon to au gratin mixture. Arrange half of the sliced potates in casserole dish. Pour half of salmon mixture on top. Repeat. Bake for 1/2 hour at 350 degrees or until bubbly. We love this with sliced tomatoes out of the garden. Will feed 3 people 2 meals or 6 people one meal. Cost is approximately $4.00.

Submitted by: Karen Edwards

Stuffed Bell Peppers
This is a cheap dish especially if you can grow your own peppers. If you do not have this luxury (as I do not) buy them at your local farmers market. I have found peppers as inexpensive as $.35 each! If you still can’t find them cheap this recipe works well with tomatoes or onions as an alternative.

6 large bell peppers ($.35 each on sale or home grown)
1&1/2 cups uncooked rice (aprox $.50)
1 lb ground sausage ($.99 on sale)
1 pk dehydrated onion soup ($.79/box on sale)
1 jar your fave spagetti sauce ($.99 for store brand)
water

Cut the tops off of peppers (or onions or tomatoes) and scoop out the seeds. Set aside. Cook rice in water as package directs. Let rice cool completley before handling. This should take about an hour. In a large bowl combine cooked rice, sausage, onion soup & 1/2 jar spagetti sauce, mix well. Stuff each pepper until just over the top of opening. Place in a large glass baking pan. Pour remaining sauce over top of peppers. Bake at 350 for 1hour & 15 min so sausage can cook completely. Total cost per serving: $.85... Enjoy!

Submitted by: Brandy White

Quick Quiche
This can be made in 10 minutes, thrown in oven for 40 minutes and can be eaten hot or cold. Can be made as simple or elegant as required from your choice of fillings and toppings. Good for lunches or dinners. Can be a meal in itself.

Mix in bowl:
1/2 cup flour (20c)
2tsp baking powder (cost negligible)
salt and pepper to taste (cost negligible)
1 cup grated cheese (50c)
1 cup milk (20c)
4 eggs ($1.00)

Choose 2 or three items from list below for filling according to cupboard, purse and taste:
1/2 can creamed corn
4 leaves silverbeet (spread on bottom of bowl)
1/4 head brocolli chopped
1/2 cup mixed frozen vegetables
1/2 cup grated carrot,
4 rashers bacon, chopped
1 can of asparagus (or fresh)
1/2 finely chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 small tin of tuna
any leftovers in fridge
What do you like?

Put into base of greased oven-proof dish. Pour egg mixture over top. Top with rings of tomato for decoration. Sprinkle with chilli or cumin powder to taste. Bake at 180* Celcius for 40 minutes, or until golden. Leave for 5 minutes until it has shrunk slightly in dish. Can be served with a simple summer salad for dinner, a good lunchbox item, or quick lunch.

Hope people like this. I am not the best of cooks, and haven’t been able to destroy this recipe yet.

Submitted by: Anita Hudson

Barbecued Ham Sandwiches
This is by far the best barbecued ham recipe I have ever tasted. It’s tangy, not spicy, and even kids love it. I have served it at birthday parties and picnics and even taken it to funeral gatherings. It is also very inexpensive to make even for a crowd (I usually double the recipe) and keeps well all day in a crockpot. Leftovers are great and it can be frozen.

2 pounds chipped ham ($1.98 - on sale for .99 pound)
1 can condensed tomato soup (.50)
1 15-oz. can tomato sauce (.50)
1/2 cup brown sugar (don’t pack) (.20)
1/2 cup vinegar (.10)
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (too small to calculate)
1/2 cup ketchup (.25)

Slice chipped ham into strips. Set aside. Combine sauce ingredients in large saucepan and cook for 20 minutes until hot, stirring to keep from sticking. Then add ham and cook for 20 minutes more or until heated through. Serve with tongs onto hamburger buns (.80 for a dozen). Makes at least 12 sandwiches for total cost of around .36 per sandwich.

Submitted by: Melanie Ditzel

Frugal Turkey Leftovers
Here is a recipe for using up left over Thanksgiving turkey. I just developed it today and it is good. To 4 cups of chicken stock add 3 whole cloves, l/4 cup of red wine. l teaspoon of garlic and l l/2
cup of pearl barley. Cook until barley is only slightly tender, but not mushy. This takes about l/2 hour. You might have to add water as this cooks. When barley is almost tender, add 4 chopped carrots, 2 stalks of celery, chopped, and chunks of left over turkey. (The breast seems to taste the best in this soup). Cook until veggies and barley are tender. Sprinke with a dash of dill weed and freshly ground black pepper. Adjust water if necessary.

Good and not too turkey tasting for people who are growing tired of turkey.

Submitted by: Joan Heller

Salisbury Patties
2 lbs. TVP Crumbles
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 1/2 c. soft bread crumbs
1/3 c. water
1 TBS. Worcestershire sauce
ground black pepper a bit

Mix all ingredients well. (I use my stand mixer for this, so my hands don’t get as messy.) Then shape into 10 oval shaped, slightly flattened patties. Brown well, cool and freeze in 2- 1 qt. freezer bags. Makes two meals of 5 patties each. Adjust your portion sizes to your family. Serve with mashed potatoes, a green veggie, and mushroom gravy.

The TVP crumbles were 1.19 each (You need 2 bags) at Canned Foods, onion soup mix (maybe 1.00 pretty cheap; I made my own). Worcestershire sauce was $.99. The bread crumbs I made from a loaf of bread that I bought for $.49. So, I would say the whole recipe costs $4.86; which would be about $0.49 per serving. This makes 10 servings.

Submitted by: Joanne Sabio

Pancake Pasta
I found this tasty recipe a few years ago and it is a dish that my daughter always asks for. The spices give it a wonderful middle eastern flavor. It’s very inexpensive to make, about $1.60 when the pasta is purchased at sale prices, and it serves about 4. You can serve it with plain yogurt.

4 cups cooked spaghetti (one 16 oz. box)
4 large eggs
1 t. ground cardamon
1/2 t. anise or carraway seeds
1/4 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. sugar
salt & pepper
3 T. butter or vegetable oil

1. In a mixing bowl whisk together eggs, spices, and sugar. Add pasta, salt, pepper.
2. Heat butter or oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pasta mixture and reduce heat.
3. Cover skillet and cook until bottom is crisp; about 15 minutes.
4. To serve, invert skillet over a platter. Cut into wedges and serve with yogurt if desired.

Submitted by: Diane McHugh

Tortellini and Vegetables
This is a family favorite and is quite inexpensive if you can use some garden produce. It makes a generous amount that can easily be increased by adding an extra vegetable or two.

1 16 oz. pkg. frozen cheese tortellini (1.64 on sale)
1-2 tomatoes, cut into medium size chunks (free from garden)
1 onion, cut into wedges (.26)
1-2 medium zucchini, sliced thickly then cut in half to make half-circles (.35 ea.)
approx. 1/3 cup olive oil
parmesan cheese (approx. .50 for oil and cheese)

Cook and drain tortellini according to package directions. Heat olive oil in a large skillet then sautee onion and zucchini until onion begins to become transparent and zucchini becomes tender. Add tomatoe (s) and heat through for approx. 2 minutes. In large serving dish combine tortellini with vegetables and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Submitted by: Diane

Vegetarian Burritos
Here is one of our family’s favorite recipes. Not only is it pretty cheap, but its *fast*... it only takes me about 10-15 min. to make from start to finish.

Ingredients:
1 can corn
1 can tomatos
1 can black beans
a dash of red pepper (if you like things spicy)
grated cheddar or jack cheese
Flour tortillas

Pour the corn, tomatos and beans into a pan (if the tomatos are whole, use a spatula to chop them into chunks). Heat the mixture to boiling and then let simmer until heated through (5 - 10 mins). When you add the beans, corn, etc. into the pan, add about 1 tbsp of cumin and 1 tbsp of chili powder (or thereabouts... I’ve never actually measured it). Basically, the spices are “to taste.” Meanwhile, warm up the tortillas in the microwave or on a burner. When the filling is ready, use a slotted spoon to put a spoonful (or so) on each tortilla. Sprinkle a little grated cheese on top of the filling, if desired. Wrap the tortilla around the filling “burrito-style.” These are a little messy to eat, but very tasty.

Makes about 6 burritos (depending on how much filling you use for each one).

Just imagine how cheap it would be if you started with dried beans,
homemade tortillas, and tomatos and corn from your garden.

Submitted by: Shari

Macaroni, Peas And Cheese Salad
Take the macaroni from a box of macaroni and cheese dinner
Take 1/4 package of frozen peas
Take 3 Tbsp. of mayonnaise from a jar
Take 1/4 lb. of cheese from a 2 lb loaf

Cook the macaroni and peas in boiling water for the length of time recommended for the macaroni to cook. Drain. Cool. Chop the cheese into little cubes. Add the mayonnaise and mix. You can add a little dash of garlic salt or herb salt to jazz it up a bit. This recipe is going to cost you about 80 cents to make and you could have servings for 3 to 4 people so that is 20 to 27 cents per serving. It is a good summertime recipe especially.

Submitted by: Julie

Tortilla Pizza
1 package of flour tortilla any size you want
1 can pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce (will only use about 1/2 of pizza or 1/3 of spaghetti)
1 8oz pkg mozzarella cheese
whatever toppings you would like we use mushrooms and pepperoni

Top flour tortilla with sauce, cheese and toppings and bake at 450 for about 5-8 minutes or until cheese is melted. Very cheap and kid friendly. Both my sons (ages 2 and 6) love to help make and eat these pizzas. And the best thing is that everyone can have the toppings they want because they are just right for individual servings.

Submitted by: Suzanne

Sausage in a Crock Pot
1 turkey smoked sausage(1.99)
2 cans French-style green beans(.39)
8 medium potatoes
1 large onion

In a crock pot, layer 1can of green beans (drained),1/2 onion sliced, 1/2 of potatoes thinly sliced. Repeat layers. Cut smoked sausage into about 10 pieces and put on top of layers. Add a dash of salt and pepper. Cook on low 8 hours or on high 5 hours. Very easy and delicious. My family asks for it over and over.

Submitted by: Tracy

Tuna Barbeque
A friend of mine gave me this recipe and I was skeptical at first. But I did try it and you will not believe how wonderful it tastes. Everyone always asks me the same question. “How do you get your roast so tender”? You can’t taste the tuna. You have to try this. It’s cheaper and takes no time at all. This recipe feeds a family of four.

3 Cans of drained Tuna in water (completely drained)
1/4 C. of onion (or what your choose)
1/4 C. of green pepper (if desired)
1 1/2 Cups of barbecue sauce (homemade works great)

Combine all ingredients in a nonstick skillet. Heat thoroughly for about 10-15 minutes. Serve on bread of your choice.

Submitted by: Karen, Louisville

BBQ Pork
1 T. vegetable oil (negligible)
3 lbs boneless pork (I found boneless Hollywood ribs on sale for about.99/lb., but I imagine a pork butt cut into large chunks would work just fine)
1 bottle spicy BBQ sauce (store brand 0.79)
1 12 oz. can beer (.50)
1 med onion, sliced (.50)
2 t. dried thyme (.20)
salt and pepper to taste
a few dashes of hot sauce if desired
Brown pork in oil on all sides, set aside on plate. In crockpot, mix together BBQ sauce, beer, onion, thyme and salt and pepper. Add pork to sauce mix and turn to coat all pieces. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. When done, pork is wonderfully tender and flavorful!! I served with rice and the shredded the leftovers for BBQ pork sandwiches the next day. Enjoy!!!

Submitted by: Angie

Creamy Chicken Noodles and Vegetables
3 packages creamy chicken ramon noodles (usually around 30 cents a package)
1 bag frozen mixed vegetables, I use broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower. (less than a dollar for the bag)

*Cook the vegetables according to the directions on the package in a pot big enough for the vegetables and noodles. Drain vegetables or use the water for the noodles. (you want 3 cups of water all together.) bring water to boil with vegetables then add broken noodles and seasoning packet from ramon noodles. Stir and cover. let cook about 2-5 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure that all of the noodles get soft. it is done when the noodles are soft and most of the liquid has been absorbed.

Sometimes I add cubed or shredded chicken to this, which would make it cost about 2 dollars more. (I buy a rotisseri chicken for 4 dollars and strip the meat to make 2 or 3 meals.) The whole meal costs around 4 dollars (with the chicken) and feeds my family of 6. If you need more noodles add more and 1 cup of water for every package of noodles.

Submitted by: Sandra

One Pan Potato Dinner
I make this dinner when I need to use up those 10lbs/$1 potatoes in my pantry.

8 large potatoes (33 cents)
1/2 c. margarine (12 cents - Aldi)
lg. green pepper (25 cents or less)
lg. onion (10 cents)
lb. ground turkey (49 cents - Aldi) or lb. smoked sausage (99 cents)
1/2 c. frozen peas (10 cents)

Quarter potatoes ealry in the day (or night before) and boil in salted water until cooked but firm. Allow to cool enough to handle and peel; dice in large dices and refrigerate.

At dinner time, brown turkey or sausage cubes in Dutch oven. Melt margarine and saute onion and green pepper. Add cold potatoes, mix well. Lower heat to medium and cover; allow potatoes to “brown”. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Season with salt and pepper.

Sometimes I need to add more margarine (a margarine/oil combo tastes great, too). Depending on the number of potatoes you need to use up, this recipe can feed quite a crowd! I make this to serve 5, and add a salad or another cooked green vegetable. I often serve sale applesauce for contrast. Total cost: $1.39 (ground turkey), $1.88 (smoked sausage).

Submitted by: Jennifer

Tuna Patties
My mom used to fix these for my sister and I alot. We liked them so much and that was great for my single mom raising us on a budget. I would say they cost about $1.25 to make the whole batch. I usually whip them up when I’ve forgotten to set something out to thaw or am in a hurry. I also find tuna a great alternative to other fish and meats when money is low. It’s healthy and cheap!

2 cans tuna, drained
1 egg
8 crackers, crushed
1 tsp Worcestershire or soy sauce
dash garlic powder, salt & pepper

Mix all ingredients until combined. This should be just sturdy enough to make a patty-they will be a bit moist, but not falling apart. If too wet to hold a patty, add a couple more crackers. If too dry, add a dash of soy or w. sauce. This should make 4-6 patties. In a large skillet, heat enough oil to cover bottom of pan. (I don’t substitute the oil with cooking spray because it takes the outer crunch away) When oil is hot, place patties in skillet and cook on each side until golden. Just a couple of minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels. You can eat this on a bun like a burger, or just as you would a meat entre’. I like mine best without the bun with a little ketchup on the side for dipping. YUMMY!

Submitted by: Vickie

Another BBQ Pork
This quick and tasty meal takes more forethought than talent . . . when buying roasts I always buy a few pounds more than my family of 5 will eat in one meal. The remaining can be frozen or stored for a couple of days. Now the fun begins with the left over meat and most of these ingredients we all have in our kitchen every day!

1-2 cups of pulled cooked roast (beef or pork), ~ $1.32 per lb reg price for pork
1/2 bottle of BBQ sauce, .39 cents for store brand
1/2 onion
2 T. mustard (spicy is you have it)
1/4 C brown sugar (alternative: syrup)
1-2 T. cooking oil
Worstechire sauce to taste
Hot Sauce to taste
Garlic powder or fresh garlic (use 5-6 cloves, sliced thin but big enough for the little ones to pick out :o)
Salt and pepper to taste
Any sort of bread (buns, left over garlic/French bread, day-old bakery loaves, it’s endless and cheap). We toast ours in the oven.

Heat fry pan with oil, brown onion (and garlic if using fresh), add meat and heat through for about 6-7 minutes. Mix all other ingredients in a bowl and pour into pan. Bring to a simmer then lower heat and let sit for about 5 minutes. Toast bread and spread a spoonful of mixture onto each piece. Eat as a sandwich or open-faced. Condiments: onion, cheese, or jalapeno.

Another method is to mix all ingredients into a baking dish and top with a box (or 2) of cornbread mix to create a cornbread bake. Just bake according to package directions and the meat mixture will cook and blend - too good!

A great tip I have learned is to purchase a large beef rump roast (no bone or marbling). Ask the butcher to shave the whole roast and separate every 1.5 or 2 lbs with butcher paper so it can be easily frozen into meal portions. This is great for stir fry, steak sandwiches or slice in strips for casseroles. I have yielded 3 meals from a $.6.50 roast - that is 15 portions @ .43 cents each for the main ingredient!!! Thanks for your website - it has saved my dinner dramas many times!

Submitted by: Kelly, Mom of 3

Fast and Easy Pollack
6-8 Pollack fillets ( Under $2.00)
2 Tbls olive oil (.20 cents)
2 Tablespoons of yellow mustard (.10 cents)
1 cup of bread crumbs (can be any left over bread or can use cornflakes, .20 cents)

Place Pollack fillets in the bottom of a baking dish. In a bowl , mix the mustard and olive oil, brush onto the tops of the fillets. Pour the bread crumbs over and press lightly onto the fillets, bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Fish will flake apart when it is done, just lift one end of a fillet and check every 5 minutes after a first check at 25 minutes.

Rice & Beans
Soak 1lb beans overnight, put into crock pot
Smoked turkey neck or ham hocks (really cheap, a little goes a long way)
large onion chopped
pepper, salt, garlic, whatever else you like

You can leave in crock pot all day. It will not burn. When you get home start rice. Bake corn bread, you can get Jiffy mix 4 for a dollar. Put rice on plate or bowl add beans. This may not sound like a traditional meal, but it
tastes really good. It also goes a long way.

Homemade Egg Noodles/Dumplings
All you do is take 1 cup of flour (pennies), 1 egg (0.05 cents) and approximately 1/2-3/4 cup of water/chicken broth from boiled chicken( no cost) and salt and pepper to taste. Just mix this all together and roll out on a floured surface and I take a pizza cutter to cut in to noodles. drop them in boiling water with chicken and let simmer about 45 minutes and you have great homemade chicken and noodles, these taste better than the Ream’s frozen ones. I have a family of four and I usually double this recipe. One of my family favorites. there is hardly any mess and no need to dry the noodles, just drop them in as soon as they are cut.

Scrambled Noodles
3 pkg Ramen Noodles ($.60)
4-6 eggs ($.25-$.50)
1 c cooked peas, broccoli, or other leftover veggies ($.50 maximum)(can also use uncooked summer squash)
1 c cooked chicken or other meat (I use one chicken breast from a package of IQF breast from Aldi’s,
could cost as much as $1.25)

Break up and cook Ramen noodles according to package directions, but do not add seasoning. When noodles
are done, drain and put into large nonstick skillet. Scramble eggs and add to skillet with seasoning packet (one is
enough for my family, less salt that way), veggies and meat. Cook, stirring, until eggs are done. This recipe feeds
my family of 5, including a hungry 15-year-old for about $3.00. Add a fruit or vegetable salad.

Submitted by: Donna Evans

Homeade Shake-N-Bake
Here’s one that happened by accident one evening. I was planning a meal of shake-n-bake pork when I realized I didn’t have the mix. As a SAHM of four (two of which were napping at the time), I needed to improvise.

Dozen or so Club Crackers (crushed finely) - about $0.30
2 tsp. paprika - $0.05 maybe
3 Tbsp. Season Salt - $0.20
2 Tbsp. flour
salt & pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large plastic bag. Add your rinsed pieces of pork or chicken - shake to coat. This amount will easily coat about 4-5 medium pork chops or chicken pieces. Bake in the oven. Enjoy!

Submitted by: Ali

Tuna Chili Surprise
My family love this meal even though they dislike tuna. It feeds up to 10 people or leftovers can be reheated. It is easy and quick to prepare. The cost is less than $5 here in Australia.

1 500g pkt pasta spirals
1 tbs butter or margarine
1 tbs plain flour
1/2 cup milk
2 oxo chicken stock cubes
1/2 kg frozen mixed veggies or equivalent fresh diced veggies
1 400g tin tuna in brine, undrained
1 tbs sweet chili sauce
1 cup grated cheese (optional)

Cook pasta and drain.
In a saucepan, melt butter and stir in flour for one minute over medium heat.
Add milk and chicken stock cubes. Stir well.
Add veggies and heat through.
Add tuna and pasta. Stir well.
Add chili sauce.

Place in oven proof dish. Sprinkle with cheese and heat in a moderate oven until gold on top.

Submitted by: Melissa Klimo

Bell Peppers and Potatoes
This is a recipe I use quite often that is cheap, easy, and tasty.
1 pound smoked polish hot dogs. About 1.15 a pound when you buy the 3 pound package. (I freeze the rest for another day)
1 large green bell pepper .50 (when not out of my garden)
1 large onion or 2 med size ones .50
5 potatoes .50
1/2 cup Italian dressing .25 when bought on sale

Wash potatoes well (do not peel), take the outer skin off the onion and discard. then cube the pepper, onion, potato, and polish sausage into large chunks. Throw it all in a large plastic bag, add the Italian dressing and shake well. Empty contents of the bag into a large baking dish and bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes or until potatoes are tender. This cost about .75-.80 a serving and that is “big portions”.

Submited by: Mary Cameron

Cheap and Easy Spanish Rice
This quick and easy recipe can be made for under $3.00 ( .50 per person) and serves our family of 6 with hearty portions.

1 pd. pork sausage - mild or hot (.99)
1 small onion - chopped (.25)
1 green pepper - chopped (.25)
1 16 oz. can of diced tomatoes (.33)
1 C of water (free)
3/4 c. of rice (.30)

Brown sausage, onion, and green pepper in skillet over medium heat. When sausage is browned and vegetables are tender add tomatoes, rice, and water. Simmer covered, over low heat, stirring occasionally. Cook about 20 minutes or until rice is done. Serve with bread.

Submitted by: Jennifer Urbino

Salmon Burgers
These are a favorite in our house!

1 14.5 can salmon –bones and skin removed (1.00 on sale)
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed (2 cents)
1/2 -3/4 cup bread, cracker or cornflake crumbs (free?)
chopped onion to taste (5 cents)
1/4 c mayonnaise with optional horseradish or Tabasco mixed in (10cents)
1 egg (7cents)
Dash of Old Bay seasoning or lemon pepper or oregano, thyme, and basil
4 toasted hamburger buns (40cents)
lettuce and tomato (20cents)

Mix everything except buns, lettuce and tomato together. Shape into burgers – cook in nonstick frying pan and a little oil on medium high until brown and crisp on the bottom, flip over and brown other side. Serve on buns with lettuce tomato, and other burger fixings (also good as salmon cheeseburgers with American cheese and the old bay seasoning, or salmon Parmesan burgers with mozzarella and a dab of tomato sauce – in which case use the oregano, thyme and basil combo of spices and add extra garlic if desired). Cheap, nutritious, can be customized lots of ways with spices — and kids like ‘em.

Submitted by: Wendi

Salmon Quesadillas
2 garlic cloves, minced [or a couple of scoops out of a jar of pre-minced] (cents)
1 teaspoon vegetable oil (cents)
1 can (14.75 oz) salmon, drained, bones and skin removed (.99)
1 to 2 teaspoons of dried basil (cents)
1/2 teaspoon pepper (cents)
1 tablespoon butter or margarine, softened (cents)
4 flour tortillas (pkg of 10 for 1.39)
2 cups (8 oz) shredded cheese [mozzarella, jack, cheddar, etc.] (1.99 mixed pizza cheese, pre-shredded)

Salsa [I use a can of RoTel tomatoes w/green chiles...cheaper and no one can tell the difference] (.59)

In a skillet, saute garlic in oil, stir in salmon, basil and pepper. Cook over medium heat until heated through. Meanwhile, spread butter over one side of each tortilla. Place tortillas, buttered side down, on a griddle. Sprinkle each with 1/2 cup cheese. Spread 1/2 cup of salmon mixture over half of each tortilla. Fold over and cook on low for 1-2 minutes on each side. Cut into wedges, serve with salsa. (four servings, at a cost of about $1.00 each).

This is also super quick (I found it on a list of “10 minutes to the table” recipes) and my family loves it - even my picky two year old.

Submitted by: Angi C. Harben

Stuffed Peppers
4 large bell peppers (red, yellow, or green) (4 or 5 for 1.00)
1 medium onion (.25)
3 cups cooked rice (pennies)
1 large can of tomatoes (.49)
1 can of black beans (.25)
1/2 cup of grated cheddar cheese (.25—.99 for 2 cups)

Preheat oven to 350 F. In large bowl mix cooked rice, diced onion, beans, and tomatoes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Cut off tops of peppers and clean out the insides. Stuff with mixture. Sprinkle grated cheese on top.

Pour 1/2 cup of water in a shallow casserole dish and place stuffed peppers in this. Cook for 30 minutes or until peppers are tender. This is a great main dish. Serves: 4

Submitted by: Stephanie

Cheap Hot Pockets
My boys are always asking me to make these. It’s very cheap,easy and a great way to use leftovers.

refrigerator biscuits..(1.00 for 4)
meat leftovers..(turkey, ham, beef)
leftover spaghetti sauce
some veggies or cheese
Seperate the biscuits and let them sit for 10 minutes so you can roll them out using a little flour. Add desired filling, fold over and pinch sides.You can fry these or bake them until golden brown.
These are very cheap....(about 25 cents a person if you use leftovers.)

Submitted by: Rhonda

Ramen Idea
This recipe can be made in small or large quantities. The following is the ratio.

1 pkg Ramen (any flavor)
2 hot dogs
1 egg, beaten

Very thinly slice hotdogs and put in pan on medium heat to start cooking. Boil noodles, add to hot dogs, add season packet from ramen and mix together. Next add egg and cook, stirring occasionally, until egg is
finished. Top with a dollop of sour cream if desired. My family loves it!!!

Submitted by: Andrea

Poor Filipinos’ Fried Rice
8 cups day old, cooked long grain rice
3 eggs
1 diced leftover sausage
4 tbsps Peanut oil
3 tbsps Minced garlic
2 tbsps Minced ginger
1 Bunch Chopped white scallions
3 tbsps Soy sauce
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp White pepper

Using a wok, soft scramble the eggs in 2 tbsps of oil, then remove them and place
them in a separate dish. Add 2 more tbsps of oil, and then stir fry the garlic
and ginger. Drop in your sausages and white scallions, add the rice, and mix
thoroughly, then add the eggs, soy sauce, salt, and white pepper. You may replace
the eggs and sausages with tofu and add hot peppers if you are a vegetarian.

Servings: 4

Submitted by: Susan

Pork Chili Verde
This is a tasty, inexpensive meal that you can make in the crockpot. This recipe also works well with left-over pork roast that has been shredded or cubed. Here is a shopping tip: buy spices at your local “dent store” or in your Latin Foods section in your grocery store. I always buy my boullion cubes in the Latin Foods section it is much
cheaper.

1 lb package of pork stew meat - $1.64
2 - 3 T. cooking oil - $.05
salt/pepper to taste - negligible
1/2 white or yellow onion diced - $.20
1-2 cloves of garlic - chopped - $.10
1 can salsa verde - try the Latin Foods section in your grocery store - $1.58
1 cup chicken broth - use chicken boullion and water - $.10
2-3 cups cooked rice - $.50
corn or flour tortillas - $1.50/ 12 pack

In a skillet, brown uncooked pork in cooking oil with garlic and 1/2 of the diced onion - season with salt and pepper. Remove all ingredients and place in crockpot. Pour salsa verde and chicken broth and remaining onion into crockpot. Stir. Cook on low setting 8 hours.

Serve over rice with tortillas and your favorite toppings such as cheese, sour cream, cilantro. My family likes to mix the rice and sauce together and spoon into warm corn or flour tortillas and add toppings. It is just as good without the toppings though.

Submitted by TLF, Washington State

Fried Rice
This is one of my favorites, my picky kids always have seconds with this one!

2-3 cups of cooked rice (25 cents)
1/2 cup frozen peas (20 cents)
3 eggs (30 cents)
1-3 tsp. soy sauce (neligible)
1/4 cup chopped onion (neligible)
Cooking spray,or 1 tsp of fat (marg, oil, butter, bacon grease) (neligible)

Optional: add any on hand leftover meat such as chicken,bacon, ham, beef ect.) (nothing)
you can also add any veges that you may have that are in refrigerator (neligible since the amounts are so small)

Heat your choice of fat (I use generic cooking spray that I buy at WallMart) in skillet. Add cooked rice , peas and veges and soy sauce. for 3-5 minutes to heat up , stir occasionally and keep an eye on it so you don’t burn rice. If you would like you can add extra veges or protein at this time. ( I have made it both ways , it taste great without anything extra)

Beat eggs with a fork and pour over rice mixture once it is nice and hot. Turn rice over with spatula and mix eggs into rice evenly. Once eggs are done it is completed!

This is so yummy and cheap! I buy everything on sale and or bulk so I based prices on a 5lb bag of rice (WallMart) for 3.00, I based the peas on a $1 16oz bag but usually buy them for 69 cents a bag on sale. Eggs I buy for average of $1 per dozen but watch the ads. Last week I bought 3 dozen eggs for $1 ! So you could easily make this recipe for 50 - 75 cents for the whole meal! To round it out you can serve it with salad and sliced apples. I often serve it by itself especially if I add meat and other veges.

Submitted by: Angela

Egg Yu Yong
9 eggs, beaten (69 cents from 1 dozen at 98 cents)
1 cup chopped bean sprouts (20 cents)
6 chopped green onions (33 cents a bunch)
1 packace Rice a Roni Beef, or chicken flavor,
cooked according to package directions and cooled (69 cents a box)
1 tblsp. soy sauce (pennies)

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Drop by 1/4 cupfulls onto a greased griddle. Brown on both sides. Makes 12 delicious snacks!

Submitted by: Vicky

Leftover Taco Fixins
What can you do with leftover taco fixins. Ground turkey, by the way, is way cheaper than ground beef (on sale 99 cents). Make easy and fast spanish rice get a large pan with a good lid.

1 cup rice
leftover meat
8oz can tomato sauce
leftover chopped tomato about 1/3 or 1/4 of a cup
a little chopped onion
2 cups waters
1TB oil
leftover cheese

In your pan brown your rice with the oil, after rice is browned pour in your water, onion, tomato, meat, and about half of the tomato sauce, season with garlic powder,salt,season salt, 1 boulion cube, and cumin (play with this because, this is a season to taste), bring to boil reduce heat, cover. Cook for 15 min or until water is absorbed. top with leftover chesse. easy add in corn, or you can save the tomato instead of cooking it in and top with that also. You can use any leftover meat also. Play it up! Add side salad, left over beans, and some corn muffins (walmart .33 cents a box), and there you go!

Submitted by: betharoo

Easy Tortilla Pizza
1 package tortillas (10) $1.50
1 jar pizza sauce .89
1 package mozarella 1.75

Heat tortillas on both sides under broiler until “stiff”. Add pizza sauce and mozarella cheese and put under broiler until cheese is bubbly. My daughter would eat these every day if I would let her!!

http://www.miserlymoms.com/dessertrecipes_updated.html

Dessert Recipes

Rice and Raisin Custard
I use left over steamed rice for this one. Its easy fast and filling and makes a teriffic dessert or breakfast.

1 cup of pre cooked rice (.20 if you buy the big bag’s like me)
1/2 c Rasins (.40 also bought in bulk)
1 tsp vanilla (too small to calculate)
2 eggs (.15)
1/4 c sugar White or brown l prefer brown (.20)
1/4 c milk /fresh canned or powdered (varys depending on whats used)

Mix all ingrediance in a pan and cook at 325 till a knife comes out of the center clean (about 20-30 min depending on how deep your pan is), If I have left over cocconut I add it to the recipee. Also If you use it for a desert Ive found that drizzeling some corn syrup or molassas over the top makes it verry yummy or if you prefer sprinkel with 1 tsp powdered sugar.

Submitted by: Diana Smith

Frugal Whipped Cream
This is the cheap way to make whipped cream:

1 c ice cold water
1 c powdered sugar
1 c powdered milk (non instant)

Whip at high speed until desired consistancy is achieved. Store in refridgerator.

OR:

6 Tbsp instant (3 1/2 Tbsp non-instant) milk
1 c boiling water
2 Tbsp cold water
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp unflavored gelatin
2-4 Tbsp sugar

Dissolve milk in the cup of boiling water and scald. Soak the gelatin in cold water. Combine both mixtures and add sugar. Stir and chill in the refridgerator until it jells. Now beat the mixture until it acquires the consistency of whipped cream. Add the vanilla and whip again. Cost per recipe is $0.50

Submitted by: Jennifer

Oatmeal Banana Bars
3/4 cup margarine
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 mashed bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
4 cups rolled oats

* Choose ripe bananas that have some dark brown flecks on the peel. Use enough to make about 1 cup mashed.

Cream the margarine and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg substitute, salt, bananas, vanilla and peanut butter. Beat until very well mixed. Stir in the oats and blend thoroughly. Grease a 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan. Spread the mixture evenly in pan. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool slightly, then cut into bars of about 1 x 2 inches.

Yield: about 4 dozen bars

These are very inexpensive and taste pretty good too. They were a hit with my son’s preschool class.

Submitted by: Stephanie

Apple Betty
4 - 6 McIntosh apples, depending on size
Cinnamon
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1 cup of sugar
3/4 cup of flour

Spray square baking pan lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Peel and slice apples, arranging in bottom of baking pan. Sprinkle with a little bit of water. Then sprinkle with cinnamon to taste, maybe a teaspoon or so. Crumble butter or margarine, flour and sugar together until small crumbs form to make a streusel. Drop streusel onto apples. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned. We like this cold from the fridge but some people like it warm.

About a pound of apples, 99 cents or less depending on the season; 1 tsp. of cinnamon 10 cents; 1/3 cup margarine, one pound purchased at .69, approximately 15 cents; 1 cup of sugar 21 cents; 3/4 cup flour, 15 cents. Total cost approximately $1.50. If you use butter it would cost a bit more but I can get butter for $1.89 pound at Aldi locally so I occasionally use it in baking. This doubles easily into a 9x13 pan.

Submitted by: Melanie

Elephant Ears
1 package flour tortillas (The shelf kind works better than the ones that are in the refrigerator case.)
Sugar/Cinnamon Mixture for coating.
Oil
Heat oil (1/4 to 1/2 inch deep) in fry pan.
Put 1 tortilla in for about 5-10 seconds. Turn with tongs and do the
other side. After it is turned it will “puff” up.
Remove from pan with tongs and put in a container with the
cinnamon/sugar mixture—put the lid on the container & shake to “coat” the ear with the mixture.

These cost approximately 20 cents to make at home (10-12 cents for the tortilla, another 8-10 cents for topping & oil to fry them in) At fairs & such these cost at least $3.00 & up! Other toppings such as powdered sugar (plain or flavored) or cocoa could be used instead of the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Quick, cheap & easy!

Submitted by: Loretta

Apple Pie Recipe
Less sugar, Less pie crust and very tasty!

4 cups of peeled, sliced Golden Delicious Apples (4-5)
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 1/2 Tablespoons of flour
1/4-1/2 c. light brown sugar
pie crust

Roll out pie crust to 2 inches greater in diameter than pie pan to be used. Mix all other ingrredients and put in pie pan. Fold crust over. A large diameter of the mix will still be showing. Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 min: then reduce temperature to 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Submitted by: Carolyn

Monkey Cake
4 packs biscuits (10 each)
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 sticks margarine
5 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Grease Bundt pan. Mix sugar and cinnamon in large bowl with lid. Open 1 pack biscuits; quarter the biscuits, roll in sugar mixture and place in pan. Repeat until 4 packs are finished.
Melt margarine in pan with remaining sugar mixture. Bring to a boil. Pour over biscuits. Bake for 45 minutes.
Turn cake over onto a plate (do this before cake cools completely).
Tastes especially good if eaten while still warm

Serves 12

Submitted by: Sandy

Strawberry Shortcake
Using a yellow cake mix, prepare according to directions on the box and bake in a 9x13 baking pan. Once cake
is cooled use a wooden spoon to punch holes in the cake (about halfway deep as the cake), add 2 packs (can or bag) thawed, frozen strawberries to top of cake and spread evenly. Next top cake with 1 container of Cool Whip (or store brand whipped topping), top with fresh strawberries, either sliced in half or hulled and standing. Refrigerate until ready to serve. I fix this for family get-togethers and I always bring home an empty cake pan.

Peach Cobbler
I use this when I need a nice dessert quick and CHEAP. I took it one year to my husband’s Christmas party using peaches and from that year on they have asked me to bring my “peach cobbler”. My whole family loves it. It was passed on from my mother and is very versatile. My mother in law made it with pineapple and added brown sugar to the bottom and it was like a pineapple upside down cake.

2 regular size cans or 1 large can fruit in light syrup (peaches, cherries, apples, etc) (about $1) 1 yellow or white cake mix - dry ($1, .50 cents if you can get them around holiday time on sale) 1 stick of butter (melted) (.10 cents) Total cost is usually less than $2

Pour fruit (do not drain) into an 8x8 baking pan. Pour dry cake mix (do not make cake batter) onto fruit. Top with melted butter. Bake about 20-25 minutes uncovered in 350 degree oven until golden brown. The dry cake mix will absorb some of the juice off the fruit making a cobbler like top. You can use fruit pie filling if that is what you have; just add some water to the filling and stir before putting the cake mix over the top. My mother made it with a chocolate cake mix and cherries and topped it with cool whip for a fancy dessert. This recipe is easily doubled to make a larger pan and is great hot out of the oven with ice cream. My favorite is to use peaches (and they’re cheap)

Submitted by: Katrina, Oregon

Homeade Popsicles
1 can of fruit ( .45 cents from the scratch and dent basket) or free from your garden. (Peaches, pears, or strawberries work well)
1 can of frozen lemonade ( pink or yellow ) any frozen juice would work.You could use Kool-Aid or any of the powdered juice mixes as well. Just mix according to directions or wing it to taste.

Puree or mash the fruit in a bowel, use the juice too. Mix the lemonade with two cans of water instead of the usual three. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, then pour into Popsicle molds. The molds can be purchased at a dollar store very cheaply. Freeze. If you make these at night after the kids are in bed, they will be ready for the next day.

Submitted by: Becky in Washington

Vanilla Ice cream (makes about 3-4 liters)
1 can low fat evaporated milk chilled
6 tables spoons skim milk powder
1 cup of non fat yogurt
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoons vanilla essence (or you can add any other flavorings, fruit pulp, nuts, etc to make this special)

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl beat for 3 minutes. Place in freezer for 40 minutes until well chilled and starting to jell up. Remove from freezer and beat until creamy, thick and double in size. Pour into ice cream container and freeze.

Submitted by: Agnes of New Zealand

Easy Peanut Butter Cookies
1 Cup Peanut Butter (Smooth or Crunchy) .50 cents
1 Cup Sugar .25 cents
1 Egg .05 cents

Gently warm peanut butter in microwave safe bowl, stirring often until melted (1-2 minutes on low). Stir in the beaten egg and the sugar. Form into 1” balls and place on cookie sheet, then slightly flatten with a fork. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until slightly golden brown. Yields about 16 sweet, warm, crumbly cookies that absolutely melt in your mouth! If you didn’t know better, you’d think one of the main ingredients was flour! Can also be baked in a toaster-oven. (Hint... You’d better double this recipe!) Cookies cost about .05 cents each, and are so delicious and so easy! You can also experiment with toppings like sunflower seeds or even chocolate chips.

Submitted by: Sandra Barnes

Dragon Droppings
Here is a recipe that my family loves. I don’t know if it’s cookies or candy.

Melt one regular size package of chocolate chips slowly over low heat with a glob of crunchy peanut butter (about 3/4th cup.) Stir till smooth. When the chocolate chips have melted and the peanut butter is mixed in add 3 cups of cheerios.. or what ever store brand cereal you have that is like cheerios. stir till covered. Spread in a 9X12 cake pan. Let it set.. break it into pieces and eat. Now for the reason why I call them dragon droppings, if the princess the dragon ate was an hawaiian princess. add 1/2 cup of coconut (my personal favorite). Add raisins if he ate a middle eastern princess. Add peanuts if he ate a daughter of a southern peanut baron. You get the idea. Be creative.. the kids love it!

Submitted by: Bev

Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake
We are a military family, and traveling from place to place. Sometimes you can miss the comforts of home. I have a good friend who used to make this all the time for me, and she still does every chance we get to see each other. It’s a special way of saying “THANK YOU”... Hope you enjoy.

Cake Recipe
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 cup of water
1 cup of mayonnaise
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Chocolate Frosting Follows

Combine first 5 ingredients; mix well. Add next 3 ingredients; stir until smooth. Pour batter into a greased and floured 9 inch square pan; bake at 350 for 25-30 mintues or until cake testes done. Cool. Spread with frosting. Yields 9 servings

Chocolate Frosting
2 3/4 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa
1/4 cup butter or margarine melted
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
Combine all ingredients; beat until smooth. Yield: enough frosting for one 9 inch cake.

Submitted by: Lori, Ft. Campbell, KY.

http://www.miserlymoms.com/sidedishrecipes_updated.html

Side Dish Recipes

Frugal Salsa
My husband loves salsa, and I got tired of paying grocery store prices. This homemade salsa is a snap to make, and by varying the amout of jalapenos can be as mild or fiery as you like. Total cost is about 65 cents per 16 ounce batch.

In food processor with metal blade, pulse the following:
1 16-oz. can stewed tomatoes, drained (.49 a can, Sav-a-lot)
3-10 jalapeno slices, depending on taste (.10—.15)
1t.-1T. juice from jalapenos, to taste (negligible cost)

Can be stored in the refrigerator for several days.

Submitted by: Karen Worley

Cheap Corn Tortilla Chips
I have a recipe of sorts for cheap corn tortilla chips—take a package of 36 or so, cut them into quarters, and bake on an oil-sprayed pan for 10-15 mins. on both sides in a 400 degree oven. A 36-pkg. of corn tortillas in my area is .89, and when cut, makes 144 chips. Cut them into eighths and make 288 chips—all for the same .89! These keep for about 2 weeks in a zippie-type bag, and they’re no-salt, no-fat, maximum crunch chips!

Submitted by: Heidi Mapp

Easy Southern Biscuits
4 cups Bisquick (or Aldi’s store brand for $.99 a box) $.50
1 cup sour cream (about $.50)
6 oz. 7-up (about 15 cents, on sale)
3 Tbsp. melted butter (about 25 cents, on sale)

Place baking mix in a mixing bowl, and cut in sour cream to make a crumbly mixture. Add 7-up and blend by hand. Roll onto floured surface to about 1/2” thickness. Cut and place on greased baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Brush with melted butter immediately. (I sometimes butter them twice.) Makes 15-20 biscuits.

Submitted by Becky Phillips

Pickled Eggs
These are great for snacks, salads, or whatever you need hardboiled eggs for and they keep for several days.

1 carton large eggs (try to buy about 7 days before and keep in
refrigerator until ready to cook)
white vinegar
water
fresh dill (if available)

Boil eggs in large pot. I pour a good amount of salt over eggs before
boiling, helps keep from cracking. Boil about 10 minutes, let sit for about 30 minutes. Drain, rinse eggs, peel and put in large jar or container. Pour white vinegar to top of eggs and add water to top of jar. If you have fresh dill, add this also. Let sit for a day or so and enjoy! The eggs get more pickled each day. We usually eat ours within 3 or 4 days. I wouldn’t keep much longer than a week.

Hope this helps all the egglovers out there.

Submitted by: Nancy

Editor’s Note: I LOVE pickled eggs. I use a similar recipe, but add 1/2-1 tsp. of sugar to the mix. It adds a smoother taste.

Another Reader’s Comments: I read where someone is asking for a recipe for pickled eggs and I just learned of one that works extremely well. It is a far penny less than the store bought version and is not only safer without preservatives, healthier since it’s natural ingredients, but is very easy to make and your family will love the snack value.

Pop-Pop’s Purple Pickled Eggs
Boil 2 1/2 dozen small eggs until hard center (Small eggs are easier and much cheaper than med.)
Recycle that gallon pickle jar
Layer these ingredients with eggs in the jar stacking them tightly: Two cans of purple beets (doesn’t matter if they’re sliced, diced, or whole...get the cheapest)
One to two sliced onions (if you like pickled onions, use two!)
A teaspoon of salt
A teaspoon of pepper corns (Go to a discount store and buy these for next to nothing!)
Add 1-2 peppers
Pour in 1 cup of tap water. Then, pour in vinegar (doesn’t matter if it’s white or apple cider...get what’s on sale)
Seal it really tight. Put in the refrigerator for at least three weeks.
Once or twice a week, flip the jar over (just to keep the ingredients from settling).
You’ll know they’re ready when they’re dark purple (from the beet juice) and when the center is not yellow.
These are amazingly yummy and so easy! What I like is to do them around Easter when the children are finished with the colored eggs...what better
recycling is that than to pickle them? Try this and enjoy!
~Stephanie, Glencoe, AL

Another Reader’s Recipe:
2 jars of Pickled Beets....less than $1.00 jar at grocery store.
Pour into a covered plastic container or larger jar with lid. Hard boil 6 or 8 eggs
and peel. Put these into the pickled beets. You may add about 1/4-1/2
cup more of your favorite vinegar (even balsamic) if you would like a more tart
taste...I always do this unless using home canned pickled beets. Let these sit for
about 3 days before ready to eat....Store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.....if
they last that long.
Michelle

My Mom’s Pizza Sauce
1 large can tomato puree (29 oz.) .69
1 small can tomato sauce (8 oz.) .25
1/2 cup salad oil .10
2 tablespoons grated parmesan .10
1 tablespoon sugar (cost negligible)
2 teaspoons salt (negligible)
1 teaspoon garlic salt .05
1/2 teaspoon pepper (negligible)
1 tablespoon oregano .05
1 tablespoon parsley flakes .05

Total Cost: Around $1.25; makes enough for about 4 pizzas! Tastes better than store-bought.

Mix all ingredients together. Do not cook. Stores well. Freezes well.

Submitted by: Melanie

Pinto Beans
These taste just like the ones at Chevy’s -

1 lb. pinto beans
1 large can of tomato sauce
ham pieces (approx. 1 1/2 cups)
One clove garlic, chopped

Soak beans in water overnight. Drain and Rinse beans. Put all ingredients in crock pot, add black pepper, onion powder, cayenne, garlic powder or whatever spices you like, and cook for 12 hours on low. Salt as needed after beans are cooked. Delicious.

Cost: beans $1.47, ham .25 (I buy on sale for .79 lb and freeze in small portions), tomato sauce .70, spices .35, garlic (free from garden).

Total Cost - under $3.00. Makes several meals, you can serve beans and cornbread for first meal, and use the left overs for burritos to freeze, or in other dishes.

Submitted by: Katherine

Taco/Burrito Filling
This is a great, cheap recipe that is a good taco/burrito filling.

2 cans black beans (dried is better) 1.98
1 can corn (.33)
1 TB taco seasoning (use homemade—many recipes)
1 sm. onion, diced (.20; and that is high)
1 TB diced green chiles (.59 for the whole can)
1 TB oil
a little bit of lemon juice

Sauté onion in oil until soft. Add chiles and corn. Stir for 1-2 minutes. Add taco seasoning and black beans. Add lemon juice. Heat through. Serve with taco shells, taco chips; burrito wraps; over rice; etc.

Submitted by: Stephanie

Vegetable Barbecue Couscous
1 package frozen corn, black beans, broccoli, and red peppers
1/2 container Barbecue sauce
couscous

Make couscous according to package. Put frozen vegetables in saucepan, add water to cover. Cook until tender, probably 7 minutes. Drain vegetables. Put vegetables pack in pan, and cover with barbecue sauce. Heat sauce. Serve vegetable mixture on top of couscous. Serves 4-6. This was pretty good, even my non-veg husband liked it.

Submitted by: Stephanie

Cheesy Pull Apart Biscuits
2 cans of can biscuits (about 60 cents)
handful of shredded cheddar (about 50 cents)
half cup melted butter (75 cents)
desired amount of garlic powder or garlic salt

Cut each biscuit into four pieces, in half and half again. mix butter and garlic. put quartered biscuits into baggie. Pour in garlic butter mixture. shake well try to coat all. pour half into loaf pan cover with cheese. pour in other half and add more cheese. bake at 350 till done in the middle. slice like homemade bread really tasty with spaghetti

Garlic Bread
Slices of any kind of bread (loaf of bread, baguette, any)
1 Tbls. butter
garlic powder

I put 1 Tbls butter on a saucer and put in microwave for about 30 seconds to 45 seconds to soften it. I spread the butter on the slices of bread with a basting brush. (This prevents the big globs of pats of butter that you usually put on each slice, and thus cuts down on fat and high cholesterol, etc.) Then sprinkle with garlic powder. Toast in oven until brown (or broil).

Sweet and Sour Meatballs
1can cranberry sauce
1 bottle Heinz chili sauce
1 lb. ground meat

Mix cranberry sauce and chili sauce in a pot and start to heat. Roll ground meat into balls and add to mixture. Cook until meat is done. People won’t believe that you didn’t buy this from a caterer. My gramom used to make it all the time

Scalloped Corn
1 small pkg frozen corn (.89)
1 pkg saltine crackers (.99) a box
1 lb sharp cheddar cheese (1.89) a block 1 cup of milk

Place crumbled crackers in bottom of small casserole dish, top with corn, then with sliced cheese, repeat layers until you get about an inch to top of bowl, then stop. Add milk @ half way up in dish. Bake at 350 for @25-30 minutes or until brown and bubbly. When my fiancé told me about this recipe I didn’t like the sound of it, but it is really good, and cheap and easy to make.My whole family loves this recipe even my picky step-dad.

Submitted by: Shelly, Bennington,Vermont

Tomato Cakes
This recipe is of the type my mother used to call “Depression Cooking”. They’re yummy and great as a side dish to macaroni and cheese for supper, or as a light meal all by themselves.

1 large can peeled tomatoes (appx. $1.50)
About 2 sleeves saltine-type crackers (.50 for store brand)
1/2 medium onion, chopped (approx .25)
About 2 tablespoons shortening (Crisco or lard) for frying [ Do *not* use vegetable oil or cooking spray, as the cakes will fall apart while frying!]

Drain most, but not all, of the juice off the tomatoes, then dice them in a bowl. Add chopped onion. Crumble crackers in until you have a stiff texture. Set in refrigerator approximately 30 minutes for the crackers to soften and soak up the liquid. Form into hamburger-like patties and fry in hot lard. Makes about 6-8 cakes, serves 2 adults and 2 children, or 2-3 adults. Approximately .50-.60 per serving.

Submitted by: Molly

The Frugal Fathers Chili Muffins
1 can of chili (any brand on sale)
1 can of 8-10 biscuits (storebrand if you can)

Place biscuits into a muffin tin and pinch around until the dough is flat to the sides of the muffin tin. Place a tablespoon of chili into the pinched dough. Bake according to the directions on the biscuit can.

Serve with a salad or soup for a complete supper or lunch. Makes 8-10 muffins depending on the size of the biscuits purchased.

Submitted by: Stephen Chaleff, The Frugal Father (tm)

Tater Tot Vegetable Side Dish
4 generous servings (frugal yes)

1 can condensed mushroom soup 39 cents (celery soup works too)
1 can cut green beans 25 cents
3 Tbsp. milk 4 cents
1 tsp soy sauce approximately 2 cents
1/3 bag of frozen tater tots 33 cents

Oil a casserole dish to prevent sticking. In a mixing bowl empty the can of mushroom soup. Add 3 Tbsp. milk and 1 tsp of soy sauce and mix well. Drain the can of beans. Add the beans and mix into the mushroom soup. Put the green bean and mushroom soup mixture into your casserole dish. Top with the tater tots. Bake at 360 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. About 25 cents per serving. My husband likes this a lot. Its warm and hearty on a cold night.

Submitted by: Julie, Oregon City, OR

Cowboy Beans
We call this cowboy beans to get the kids to think it’s more fun!

1 lb. hamburger (1.00)
2 cans of diced green chilies (1.00)
1 large can of Bush’s Baked Beans or whatever is on sale (2.00)

Brown hamburger, drain. Add green chilies and beans all with their canned juices. Heat through. Serve with tortillas, or our favorite Jiffy’s Cornbread Mix (0.33). If you like spice, throw on some Red Hot hot sauce or whatever you like. Lots of protein, and sweet enough for the kids to enjoy!

Pickled Eggs
2 cups cider vinegar
½ cup sugar
½ cup water

Heat until the sugar is dissolved. Fill a jar with peeled hard-boiled eggs. Pour the mixture over the eggs. Seal and chill 2-3 days (longer for more flavor).

Homemade Rice-o-Roni
This is even tastier than the store bought stuff and very cheap to make a huge batch. With the leftover rice you can add leftover hamburger or chicken plus plenty of broth and you have a great soup for lunches or another supper.

3 cups water (free)
1 1/4 cups rice (about .20 if bought in bulk)
1/2 cup spaghetti broken in small pieces (pennies)
3 tbsp. powdered beef or chicken bouillon (about .20)
1/4 cup EACH chopped carrot, celery and onion (total cost about .25)
2 tbsp. margarine (about .10)

Melt margarine in skillet. Add rice and spaghetti and cook until lightly browned. Stir in all remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 25-30 minutes or until water is liquid is absorbed and rice and spaghetti are tender.

Serves 6-8 as a side dish, or 4 with enough leftover for soup the next day for 4.

Submitted by: Audrey

Barbeque Beans
We usually have this very inexpensive dish as a main course with rolls, corn on the cobb and salad. However, it’s perfect as a side dish, too (great with barbeque!). The amounts can easily be adjusted according to the number of people being served and their appetites.

1-2 cans Pork-n-Beans (3 for $1.00 on sale at Wal-Mart)
1 lb. Pork or Turkey Sausage crumbled (.88 per one lb. roll at Wal-Mart)
1-2 Tbs. Worchestershire Sauce (pennies)
1 med. Onion (pennies - I usually get a 5# bag on sale for $1.50.)
1 Clove Garlic (optional)
Barbeque Sauce (.75 on sale - We like the honey bbq flavor. I use anywhere from 1/2 to 3/4 of the bottle and put the rest on the table for folks to add more if they want.)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Brown the sausage in a heavy skillet. Chop the onion and garlic into the skillet while the sausage is cooking. Drain off the fat. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for ten minutes of so to let the flavors blend.

Add home baked bread, a green salad or some corn and you have a very satisfying meal for an extremely low price!

Submitted by: Cheryl Goodwin

Salsa
5 lbs Tomatoes
2 lbs of onion
2 lbs of peppers- This can be a mixture of chili peppers, green, yellow, orange, red peppers, etc. depending on how hot or mild you want it or what’s in your garden
1 T. salt
1 cup white vinegar 5%
1/2 tsp. pepper

Skin tomatoes. Coarsley chop tomatoes, onion and pepper. Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer 10 minutes. Pack in hot jars and water bath for 10 minutes or put in containers and freeze. Makes 3 quarts.

Fried Pickles
Dill pickle slices
Flour
Oil
Salt and Pepper

Season flour with salt and pepper, coat pickles in flour mixture and add to hot oil. Cook until slightly brown. Dip in Ranch dressing.

This has got to be the simplest, most delicious snack food or appetizer. Kids love it!

California Salsa
We make this at home often. As we all know, California is one of THE most expensive states to live in, and if we bought ready made salsa in the jar, we would pay over $3.00 for half the amount this recipe makes! It’s also great on leftover barbequed meats, burritos, and great with homemade tacos. We always bring this to backyard get togethers, and it’s the first thing to go!

2 cans diced peeled tomatoes, drained (reserve liquid) (on sale at .49 cents each)
1/4 of 1 red onion, minced finely (.20 cents)
1 large clove garlic, minced finely (10 cents)
2 fresh yellow banana peppers, seeded and minced (.30cents)
6 green onions, chopped, green part included (.33 cents)
1 bunch cilantro leaves, washed and finely chopped (.33 cents)
1/8 tsp. ground coriander (.05 cents)
1/8 tsp. ground cumin (.05 cents)
1 tsp salt (.001.cents)
1/4 tsp. black pepper (.005 cents)
1 to 2 tbsp. white sugar, to taste (.05 to .10 cents)
1/2 cup red wine vinegar (.25 cents)

Place all ingredients except for green onions and reserved liquid (I put the reserved liquid in a freezer bag and pop the liquid in my next pot of soup, so nothing is wasted.) in the bowl of a food processor or in a large bowl, if you have a hand blender, pulse till you have the desired chunkiness you want. Pulse only 2 to 3 times for food processor, and then stir in green onions. Refrigerate, and serve any way you want. Makes about 8 servings (party size) at a cost of about $2.54 total, depending on what’s on sale.

Submitted by: Vicky

http://www.miserlymoms.com/chickenrecipes_updated.html

Chicken Recipes

Another Chicken and Dumplings
I noticed a recipe for Chicken and Dumplings in this column, and although I am sure it is wonderful, I think I can cut down on the amount of work, as well as the cost of the meal. My father in law would not eat chicken and dumplings since his mother died about 20 years ago. He eats mine and no one else’s now.

1 boiled chicken, deboned, (save the broth)
1 pack of large flout tortillas
dusting flour

After deboning a boiled chicken, cut up tortillas in 2 to 3 inch strips. Put the cut up tortillas in a large zipper bag, (or the original tortilla bag is what I use), and shake about 1/2 cup of flour over them. Seal, and shake the bag. Drop ONE AT A TIME into boiling chicken broth. Add chicked, and simmer about 5 minutes. This meal is my family’s favorite, and guests don’t know that my dumplings are made of tortillas. They turn out perfect every time. total cost: about 3.00 for a chicken, and about 1.00 for the tortilla. Minimal cost for flour.

Submitted by: Rory Slaughter

Chicken and Dumplings
Ingredients:1 whole chicken fryer
medium onion chopped
2-3 green onions chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1&1/2 c all purpose flour
1/2 c milk
1 egg
1-2 cups cooked white rice
pan of sweet cornbread (jiffy is good at .33 cents) may need to bake 2 packs

Boil the fryer in a large pot until juices run clear. Remove the meat off of the bone and set aside. Keep 3-4 cups of water in the pot from boiling the chicken or dump it all and start with fresh water. Dumping the boiled chicken water will cut some of the fat out. add both cans of soup to the water along with all onions. Sometimes I leave the onions out and the taste doesn’t change.

Bring to a boil and mix up the flour milk and egg. You can roll it out very thin and slice the dumplings into strips or do like me and take a small piece of dough in your hand and flatten as thin as possible. As I flatten dumplings with my hands I drop them into the boiling
mixture. Try to get them all in within 5 minutes.

They will need to simmer about 10 minutes. Add the chicken back in after you drop the dumplings in. Serve over cooked rice with a side of sweet cornbread. This is one of the quickest meals I know of and
about $6.00. We eat it for Saturday supper and Sunday dinner. Family of five.

Submitted by: Gebyon

Hen On the Nest
Left over rice (or about 3-4 cups depending on how hungry your family is)
2 cans cream of Chicken soup
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup sour cream
(Optional) A can of sliced mushrooms
Chicken either left over or 3 (?) breasts
four stalks of celery
1-2 chopped onions
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Pkg of frozen peas

This meal is so flexible. If you don’t like something take it out or make a substitution to suit your personal taste.
Sauté the onion and celery in a tablespoon of oil. Or if you are cooking the chicken now you probably won’t need the oil. Throw in the mushrooms during the last bit of cooking to warm them up. Salt and pepper to taste. Meanwhile mix together the soup and yogurt and sour cream. Add the veggies after they are cooked and make them crunch-chewy...like Chinese vegetables and chicken. (And frankly I think that this tastes better if you stew a whole chicken as you would for soup and then debone the meat use if for this recipe and use the broth for soup). Pour this mixture over the rice. Cook the peas and strain them and top the meal with them. If your rice was cold then put it into a 350 oven until everything is nice and hot, If your rice was just newly cooked then you can pour it
over and serve. Make sure to serve a salad or a veggie to round out the meal. Make sure when you serve it to get some of the sauce along with the rice and vice versa. Also when you go to put the leftovers in the fridge mix it all together first and then you won’t have to worry so much about the rice getting dry.

So the total cost is around $5.35 and this serves the whole family one meal and my husband, myself and the two little ones lunch for the next day and possibly my husband for a third lunch. My husband is a big guy and also a BIG eater and this is one of his favorites.

Submitted by: Dolly Perry

Busy Mom’s Chicken and Rice w/ Broccoli
2-4 breasts of chicken (buy the skin on/bone in @ 88 cents a pound, then simply de-skin and de-bone the chicken)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (50 cents/each - store brand)
1 box chicken & broccoli rice mix (Farmhouse or Rice-a-Roni are always on sale)
1 bunch broccoli (75 cents pound on sale)

Place chicken breast in crock-pot. Pour cans of soup over breasts. Season to your discretion. Cover crock-pot and cook on low for 10 hours. Before you are ready to serve the chicken, prepare box of chicken & broccoli rice according to package. Steam broccoli. Combine the two. Spoon breasts onto plates. The soup makes an excellent gravy topper. Add the broccoli and rice mixture as the side dish. Enjoy.

Makes 4 good size servings.

Submitted by: Kathy Newman

Fast & Easy Crock Pot Chicken
1 whole chicken fryer (88 cents/pound on sale)
cook’s choice of seasonings

Remove giblets. Rinse & dry chicken. Season inside and out with your choice of seasonings. Place chicken in crock-pot breast side down. Cook on high for one hour. Cook on low for 10 hours. When chicken is done, remove from crock-pot with slotted spoons or slotted spatulas (helps remove a lot of the chicken fat), and carve. Serve chicken with your choice of sides. Refrigerate or freeze leftover chicken for your next meal.

***I always buy 2-3 fryers when they are on sale because they are easy to store in the freezer, and you can get at least 2 good meals out of them.***

Submitted by: Kathy Newman

Easy Chicken And Biscuits
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 cups milk
2 cups cut cup chicken
2 cans refrigerated biscuits (10 to can)
sm. package of frozen mixed vegetables

Mix soup, milk, chicken, and vegetables in bowl. Set aside. Lay unbaked biscuits in 9x13 pan. Pour soup mixture over biscuits. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Submitted by: Stephanie

Huntington Chicken
2 cups cooked macaroni ($1.00)
1/2tbs. butter (cents)
3 tbs. flour (cents)
1/2 cups cream or milk (cents)
1 cup cream cheese(.88 cents at Wal-Mart for 8oz package)
1 cup hot chicken broth (nothing use the broth after cooking the chicken)
2 cups cooked chicken(3.00 or 4.00 for a whole chicken)
salt and pepper to taste (cents)
add all ingredients into casserole dish and bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 min
Also is good on toast

Submitted by: Tonia Jackson

Mushroom-Onion Chicken
2-4 chicken breasts (i usually get a large bag frozen on sale for 6 bucks)
1 can cream of mushroom (3 for 1.00 at dollar general)
3/4 can of milk *soup can* (pennies)
2/3 cup french fried onions (small can on sale for 79 cents @ winn dixie) black pepper (pennies)

heat a skillet. brown chicken, add soup and milk, stir... simmer about 10 min... add onions and season with pepper to taste. cheap, fast and easy....

Submitted by: Erin in Carrollton, TX

Italian Chicken Recipe
There are many good, good, good recipes on the backs of Campbell’s soups cans. Here’s one I recently tried and liked. (P.S. I have no children, but still like good food at good prices).

1 Can Campbell’s Tomato Soup (.99 cents)
1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breasts ($4.99 regular price, $3.00 sale price)
1 tsp. of garlic powder (.10 cents?)
1 tsp. of Italian Seasonings (the bottled kind, not the salad dressing mix, although, I did throw one of those in for extra taste and it was good). (Ital. Seasoning in bottle .10 cents; envelope of Italian salad dressing mix .60 cents?)
Grated cheddar cheese (I use 2% skim milk pre-shredded in package) ($3.00 a bag, use just a handful, = $1.00).

Brown the chicken in frying pan. Place in casserole dish.
In mixing bowl, mix the tomato soup, Italian seasonings, and garlic powder. Pour over chicken.
Bake the chicken with sauce for 25 minutes at 345 degrees.
When comes out of oven, sprinkle shredded cheese, which will melt on the chicken.

Arroz con Pollo
Editor’s Note: This is a great recipe for when chicken leg quarters go on sale

Chicken legs (as many as you need to feed your family-these are really cheap!)
1 can chilies and tomatoes as hot or mild as you like (I buy store brand $.69)
Splash of red wine vinegar ($0)
Add onion (in a bag .10)
Rice (in bulk $.25)
Water ($0)

Place chicken, tomatoes, chilis, vinegar, and onion in crock pot on low and cook for about 8 hours. Drain the juice from the crock pot and use to cook rice. Add additional water if you need to. This will not be as good if you use boxed rice. The flavor from cooking makes the rice delectable!
Serve chicken over the rice and with bread or a salad!

This is wonderful! Your family and your budget will thank you!

Submitted by: Sheryl Rexach

Crunchy Topped Swiss Cheese Chicken
4 chicken legs
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
8 oz. Swiss cheese
2 c. Pepperidge Farm herb stuffing
1 stick butter, melted over chicken and cheese

Boil chicken 20 minutes. Skin and bone it. Tear into pieces, place in bottom of caserole dish. Cover with cheese. Pour soup evenly over chicken. Mix butter with stuffing and spread evenly over casserole. Bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes.

Chicken Hot Dish
1/2 cup of raw rice ($0.25)
2 cans of cream of anything soup (I use the equivalent in a homemade dry mix similar to the one in the Miserly Mom’s book) If you buy the soup $0.75 if you use the mix $0.15.
8oz water
1 whole chicken cut up ( I buy these from a local farmer for $1 a bird but help with some of the butchering) In a store maybe $3-$5 for a fryer chicken.
Onion to taste
Chopped Celery opt.
Salt and pepper
French fried onions $1 (stock up after the holidays and use the coupons offered during the holiday and you can get for as little as $0.75 a large can)

Put raw rice, soup, onion and other ingredients in 9X13 baking dish. Place chicken pieces and top with the French fried onions. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Makes enough to feed 4-6. leftovers taste even better.

Submitted by: Tonya, Marshall, MN

Cajun Chicken Pasta
Here is a delicious and spicy dish that you can serve to impress your friends and family at your next dinner party. They’ll never guess that this restaurant worthy creation costs only $1.69 per serving!!!

4 boneless/skinless chicken breast halves, cut into thin strips (I use the frozen packaged chicken breasts - $1.15/piece)
1-2 Tbsp Cajun seasoning (vary according to spiciness desired) (if you don’t have this on hand, may substitute 1 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp. garlic powder, 1/2 tsp. onion salt, 1/2 tsp. paprika, 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper for each 1Tbsp Cajun seasoning) (pennies)
2 Tbsp butter or margarine ( 6 cents for 2Tbsp from 1lb package of butter sale $.99)
2 (4oz) cans mushrooms stems/pieces, drained (29 cents each, sale)
2 cups heavy whipping cream ($0.80)
1/4 tsp dried basil (pennies)
1/4 tsp. salt (pennies)
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. pepper
Hot pepper sauce to taste (Tabasco) pennies
1 tsp. flour
1 lb. linguine, cooked and drained ($0.50 on sale)
grated parmesan cheese, optional

Place chicken and Cajun seasoning in a bowl or resealable plastic bag; toss to coat. In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté chicken in butter until almost tender, 5-7 minutes. Add mushrooms, cook and stir for 2-3 minutes. Reduce heat. Add cream and seasonings to taste, heat through. Toss with linguine. Sprinkle with Parmesan if desired. Serves 4

Submitted by: Jennifer

Chicken Rolls
This is a recipe that has been enjoyed by my husband’s family for about 3 generations now. My family loves it and we have it often.

1 whole chicken(cooked and deboned) $.89 a lb.
1 can cream of chicken soup $..79 can
1 cup mayonaise $.50
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese $1.50 store brand
1 package brown and serve dinner rolls $.50 store brand
Butter for rolls $.25

Cut off the tops of the dinner rolls and scoop out the inside with a spoon or a melon ball scooper. Mix together the chicken, soup, mayonaise, and cheese. Fill each roll with roll with the chicken mix. Butter the tops of the rolls and put back on top. Bake at 350 degrees till browned.

Submitted by: Christina

Chicken & Dumplin’s
1 1/2 pound of chicken legs and or thighs $1.50
5 cups chicken broth from boiled chicken $.0
21 1/2 ounces cream of chicken soup (2 cans) $2.00 (or make your own, then it’s pennies)
1/2 - 1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
16 pieces biscuit, canned (2 cans) $.50 (4 for a $1.)

Boil the chicken in 8 cups of water. Boil. Skin and tear chicken into bite size pieces, save 5 cups of broth. Keep torn chicken and chicken broth in pot.

Add cream of chicken soup to chicken broth, bring to a boil. Keep stirring, or the chicken will settle on bottom and burn. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Reduce heat to low, tear biscuits into quarter pieces, drop in biscuits (dumplins).

Cook uncovered over low heat for 10 minutes, then cook cover for an additional 10 minutes. Test the dumplins with a toothpick, dumplins are done when toothpick comes out clean. Serves 6-8

Chicken Fricassee
My Mother used to prepare this dish often!

1-3 to 4 pound broiler chicken (cut up) 3.00 to 4.00
flour to dredge chicken-pennies
1 medium onion, sliced 10 cents
1 can cream of chicken and 1 can cream of celery soup - store brand 50 cents each
Spices - Garlic powder, Salt , Pepper, Oregano - pennies

Coat chicken with flour and brown in a frying pan with one tablespoon of oil. Transfer to a Dutch oven. Slice onion and place on top of chicken. In the frying pan stir together browned bits with 2 cans of soup, add 2 cans of water and bring to a boil while stirring. Pour this mixture over the chicken; season with spices to taste. Cover and bake in a 350 degree oven for an hour and a half. Makes a delicious gravy-be sure to serve with mashed potatoes. Can be made less expensively with leg quarters purchased on sale.

Submitted by: Linda Edmonds

Homemade Tequila Lime Chicken
I have heard of three homemade tequila lime chicken recipes. I hope one of them helps you!

Combine:
12 ounces frozen Minute Maid lemonade concentrate
12 ounces frozen Minute Maid limeade concentrate
3 fresh limes (juice only)

Marinate chicken in this and grill.

Combine these in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring, to thicken the sauce:
1/4 cup lime juice
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tsp. cornstarch

Broil 4 chicken breasts for 10 to 15 minutes, basting with prepared sauce for last 5 minutes of cooking time. Brush on to chicken breast: Rose’s Lime Concentrate. Sprinkle with garlic salt and ground black pepper. Grill until done.

Happy cooking!
Jonni McCoy, Miserly Moms

Chicken Lentil
I made this recipe yesterday and my family loved it.

Boil around 6 skinless thighs, with a couple of shakes of pepper, a chicken bullion cube and a pack of Sazon by Goya. ( this is a spice found in the Mexican foods aisle) For about 30 minutes.

Add half an Onion. One small green pepper cut into chunks, three carrots cut in to bite size pieces and a half a pound of lentil, with three cups of hot water. Cook until chicken is done and lentils tender. Serve it over hot plain
rice for a delicious twist on boring old lentils.

Cost- I buy chicken quarters by the 40 pound case for 30 dollars, so about 1.50. The seasoning less then 50 cents . The sazon comes in packages of 8 for about 1.89 and you can use it to flavor almost anything. The vegetable maybe 1.50. Rice about .50. For a total of 4 dollars.

Oriental Chicken
This is one of my husbands favorite recipes. It can cost more or less, depending on what kind of chicken you use. The recipe actually came from a variation on my mother in law’s chicken and walnuts. We leave out the walnuts because they are just too expensive. I have also pared it down to a few ingredients so that it is easy to make, and flexible for leftovers. I use white meat chicken, but any part will do. This serves our family of 4 with no leftovers, I double it if I want leftovers. Including the rice it costs about $1.50 a serving, more if you add more stir fry veggies.

1 pound chicken, cut into small pieces for stir fry
1 can water chestnuts
1 can bamboo shoots
soy sauce
spices to taste, like garlic, ginger, pepper, salt

stir fry the chicken with a little oil and a little soy sauce and whatever spices you want. Just keep enough soy sauce in the pan so that it stays a little wet, but not so much as it is sitting gin liquid. When the chicken is done add the bamboo shoots and water chestnuts. Serve over hot rice or Ramen noodles.

That is it. My kids are picky veggie eaters so we usually have green beans or peas on the side. You can add whatever stir fry veggies you want.

You can take this and mix in the rice and peas with a little more soy sauce for fried rice. Or mix it with chicken flavor Ramen noodles for an all in one noodle bowl.

Submitted by: Danielle C., Grand Prairie, Texas

Thai Chicken (crock pot)
feeds 4/6

1 package chicken thighs (usually 6 pieces) $2.50 (or use leftovers)
2 16 ounce cans of diced tomatoes $1.00
1/3 cup peanut butter - chunky is ok too
1 med. red or green pepper, sliced 50 cents
1 med. onion, sliced 50 cents
red pepper flakes(optional) **if you need to buy these then do not add
scallions 25 cents
salt and pepper to taste
rice (enough to feed your family) - 2 cups for mine (1.00?)

In a crock pot add the sliced red/green pepper and onion to button of cock pot add chicken thighs in a bowl mix diced tomatoes and peanut butter will be chunky add red pepper flakes pour over chicken thighs and cook 7-9 hours serve over rice and garnish with scallions.

Cola Chicken
I don’t know the cost, but this recipe is very reasonable, and easy, easy, easy.

1 liter cola
1 sm bottle ketchup
1 uncooked chicken, cut up.

Combine all, boil on medium till chicken is done. Add more cola, ketchup, or water if needed. Chicken will fall off bone. 3 ingredients and you are done (add onions if you like).

Easy and Cheap Chicken Divan
1lb boneless breast $2.50 (you can subsitute boneless thighs for even less)
1/2 cup mayonaise $.50
3 cans cream of mushroom, or celery or chicken soup $40 each
2 soup cans filled with milk $.50
16 oz or 24 oz package frozen broccoli $.99
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese $1.25
1 cup crushed ritz crackers or bread crumbs

Boil chicken until done, remove and add broccoli and cook until crisp tender. In a bowl, mix soup, mayo and milk. whisk until blended. I add spices like garlic powder, cumin and a dot of mustard. You can just do with salt and pepper if you like. Or, you can just add in any spices you like, to your taste. Break the chicken into bite size pieces and add the chicken and strained broccoli to a casserole dish. pour the soup mixture over top. Top with cheese and sprinkle either crackers or breadcrumbs over top. bake at 350 until cheese is melted. about 30 minutes. You serve this over pasta, rice or toast.

3 recipes made with fresh Apricots - Apricot Marmalade -
Posted by: “Virginia

Here are three very different recipes.

I like the first one best because it has citrus peel.

From what I can tell the difference between a jam and
a marmalade is just the citrus peel and some don’t even
have that. I’ve see some with just citrus juice and it’s
still called a marmalade.

I haven’t put them in the melting pot yet. I’ve had them
in my files as temp files, but when people asked about
marmalades with fresh apricots I looked them up.

All of these are made with fresh Apricots.

Two didn’t have any BWB times.

Apricot Marmalade 2

* 2 lb. pitted fresh apricots
* 8 cups sugar
* 6 tbsp lemon juice
* 1 tbsp orange zest
* 3/4 cup diced candied citrus peel
* 1 pouch liquid pectin

Directions:
Apricot Marmalade

1. Bring apricots, sugar, lemon juice and
orange zest to a simmer, stirring often. Purée
roughly (to keep some apricot pieces intact)
and return to a simmer. Stir in candied peel
and pectin.
2. Remove from heat and jar according to
proper canning procedures. BWB for your altitude.
3. Once opened, marmalade will keep refrigerated
up to 4 months.

Recommended process time for Marmalade
in a boiling water canner.
Process Time at Altitudes of
Style of Pack Hot
Jar Size 0-1,000 ft 1,001-6,000 ft Above 6,000 ft
Half-pints
or Pints 10 min 15 20

Apricot Marmalade

6 pounds firm apricots
5 pounds sugar
1 cup water
1 cup lemon juice, poured at the end
after the marmalade has thickened

Wash the apricots very well and remove the stone.
Place them in a pot in layers, meaning one layer apricots,
one layer sugar, one layer apricots, one sugar etc. then
on top pour the water. Place the pot over low heat and
stir until the sugar has dissolved. Adjust the heat to
simmer the marmalade. Stir with a wooden ladle
carefully and constantly so the marmalade does not
stick to the pot. Cook until the mixture becomes
transparent and shiny. Once the marmalade is ready
and thick add the lemon juice and leave it to boil for
2 to 3 minutes more. Remove from the burner place in jars.
BWB for your altitude.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2117825_make-apricot-marmalade.html

Apricot Marmalade
By Meadowlark, eHow Editor

This recipe makes a great apricot marmalade that is
filled with whole chunks of fruit. Apricot marmalade
is delicious on toast first thing in the morning or on
piping hot dinner biscuits. Apricot marmalade can be
stored in your pantry and it also makes a great gift
during the holiday season.

# 10 8-oz. canning jars with lids and bands
# 5 cups fresh apricots
# 5 cups canned pineapple
# 5 cups sugar
# 6 oz. package orange gelatin

Step1
Sterilize jars, lids and bands. Keep jars hot in
200 degree oven and scald lids with hot water
until ready to use.
Step2
Wash apricots and cut into halves. Remove and
discard pits.
Step3
Place apricots, pineapple and sugar in a large pot.
Step4
Bring to a slow boil and boil for 15 minutes.
Step5
Add gelatin and stir until completely dissolved.
Step6
Ladle marmalade into jars. Leave 1/2 inch head space.
Clean rim of jar with a damp cloth. Place lids on jars,
screw on bands.
Step7
Place marmalade filled jars in a large pot of boiling
water. Water should cover the top of jars at least 1
to 2 inches. Bring water back to boil. Water bath for
10 minutes.
Step8
Remove jars from water bath. Cool in a draft free area.
Lids will make a popping sound when jars are sealed.
Step9
Store marmalade in a cool dark place.

V

Laugh a little,
Cry a little,
Live by the code of the west,
and don’t forget to look out for the unexpected.

To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/home_canning/

http://www.natures-health-foods.com/Power-Cooking.html

Power-Cooking in “Your” Kitchen!

I love this stuff.

9 Quick tips for healthier cooking

Easy ways to chop, sauté, and stir your way to living longer and living younger.

Stocked up on your leafy greens?

Super.

Did you know that sautéing them in a bit of olive oil instead of steaming them, will help you absorb up to five times as much of the vision-protecting antioxidant beta-carotene?

Buying healthy food is just the first step toward a better diet; preparing it correctly can make or break your nutrient bank.

Keep reading for even more surprising nutrition-enhancing prep tips.

1. Power-Cooking & Firing Up Some Heart Protection

Heating lycopene-rich tomatoes, instigates a chemical change that makes the heart-healthy nutrient much easier for your body to absorb.

So try halving some Roma tomatoes lengthwise arranging them on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.

Broil for 15 to 20 minutes, until slightly shriveled.

Adding canned crushed tomatoes or even tomato paste to your recipes works too, because they were heated during the processing.

2. Power-Cooking & Maximizing Your Cancer Prevention

High temperatures destroy allinase, garlic’s most important cancer-fighting and immunity-boosting enzyme.

So, after chopping, let the crushed garlic sit for about 10 to 15 minutes before adding it to a sizzling pan.

This allows the pungent herb to generate compounds that blunt the damaging effects of the heat.

Not alotta time to spare?

You can always enjoy raw garlic.

We love rubbing it on sliced, toasted Italian bread and topping it with chopped tomatoes, onions and a splash of olive oil for a simple bruschetta.

3. Power-Cooking & Getting 10 Times Your Iron

Cooking with tomatoes, apples, or lemons anybody?

Heat acidic foods like these in a cast-iron pot or skillet to spike the amount of the energy-boosting iron you absorb by more than 2,000%.

Some iron from the skillet leaches into the food, yes, but the particles are small enough that you won’t be able to see or taste them and it’s perfectly safe.

Bonus tip: Coupling certain iron-rich foods with high-acid ones gives a tenfold boost to your iron absorption.

While the iron in red meat is easily absorbed on its own, the type of iron found in beans, grains, and veggies is not.

So, when making a spinach salad, toss in some mango slices to increase the iron payoff.

Other healthy combos: beans and tomato sauce or cereal and strawberries.

4. Power-Cooking & Strengthening Your Eyes and Bones

Adding avocado, olive oil, nuts, olives, or another healthy fat source to red, green, orange, and yellow fruits and veggies increases the amount of fat-soluble vitamins, such as A, E, and K.

These nutrients boost vision, improve immunity, and protect against stroke and osteoporosis, respectively.

Fat acts as a transporter for them.

The same strategy works for carotenoids, the compounds that give tomatoes and carrots their bright hues.

Proof, you say?

A recent study from the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center found that men and women who ate salsa containing chunks of avocado absorbed 4.4 times as much lycopene and 2.6 times as much beta-carotene than those who enjoyed plain salsa.

5. Power-Cookng & Stocking Up on Calcium

If you’re preparing homemade chicken soup from scratch, it’s smart to add a hint of lemon juice, vinegar, or tomato to the mix.

Because, pairing a slightly acidic broth with on-the-bone chicken, can up the soup’s calcium content by 64%.

(This stock dissolves the bone’s calcium more easily than a non-acidic one would.)

Bonus tip: Other research that was referenced in the Harvard/Beth Israel study has shown that slathering spareribs with an acidic vinegar-based barbecue sauce will dramatically increase the calcium content.

Who knew?

6. Power-Grillin without any Worry

The high heat needed to grill meats can create carcinogenic compounds called heterocyclic amines (HCAs), but marinating can help.

When researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, CA, soaked chicken breasts in a mixture of brown sugar, olive oil, cider vinegar, garlic, mustard, lemon juice and salt for 4 hours, they developed up to 99% fewer HCAs after 20 minutes of grilling than unmarinated chicken did.

Try this marinade and you’ll be adding an extra antioxidant kick with this herb-packed food-soak:

1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar;

2 tablespoons of fresh rosemary;

1 tablespoon each of olive oil, honey, and minced garlic; and

1/2 teaspoon of black pepper.

Bonus tip: Instead of marinating hamburgers (too messy), mix in some rosemary.

Research has found that it can slash the production of some HCAs by as much as 72%.

7. Power-Cooking & Fight the Cold and Flu

When you’re slicing and dicing fresh produce, cut large pieces.

Lots of small portions expose more of the fruit or vegetable to nutrient-leaching oxygen and light.

A larger cut allows you to hold on to more vitamin-C, which helps bolster immunity.

Quarter carrots, potatoes, and tomatoes instead of dicing them; slice melons into crescents rather than cubing.

8. Power-Cooking Retains Key Nutrients

Save yourself some time and some key nutrients, by not peeling eggplant, apples, potatoes and other produce before using.

The peel itself is a natural barrier against nutrient loss and many vitamins and minerals are found in the outer skin or just below it.

Yam skin is loaded with fiber, and zucchini’s is full of lutein, which may help prevent age-related macular degeneration, for example. (Remove grit and pathogens with cold, running water and a vegetable brush.)

Bonus tip: Add citrus zest to your favorite recipes.

A University of Arizona study linked eating limonene, a compound in lemon, lime, and orange peel, to a 34% reduction in skin cancer.

9. Power-Cooking & Double the Antioxidants

Dressing your salad with herbs can more than double its cancer-fighting punch, according to a recent Italian study.

When compared with garden salads made with no added herbs, those featuring lemon balm and marjoram had up to 200% more antioxidants per serving.

Spices such as ginger and cumin also upped the antioxidant quotient.

http://www.rose-works.com/Rose-Hips.html

Rose Hips
the Health Food in your Garden!

rose hipsFor some reason I always associate rose hips with vitamin C and Vitamin C with Boy Scouts! I think it is because of a story my parents used to tell, me concerning the Boy Scouts in England. They were asked to work for the Ministry of Health, during World War two, by collecting all the hips they could, from hedgerows and fields, so that Rose Hip syrup could be manufactured as a vitamin C supplement. Of course my parents were urging me to join the Boy Scout movement because in their minds, “They must be such a healthy group!”

In fact the humble Hip or Rose Haw, with 1700 to 2000 mgs.of vitamin C, out-classes citrus fruits in this regard. Hips, it appears, also contain vitamins A, D and E, anti-oxidents and flavinoids. So rather than just an ornamental value, perhaps for flower arranging, we have our own health food growing right under our noses, so to speak.

This fruit of the rose comes into it’s own in fall and is best picked after the first frost has softened the fruit a little. There is an outer, fleshy layer which is often orange, dark red or purple in color, but within, are seeds embedded in a fibrous hair. These hairs are best removed before processing as they tend to have a detrimental effect on the stomach.

The best vitamin C sources come from the Rosa Canina ( the Dog Rose) or more commonly, the other old shrub Rose known as the Rugosa Rose. Once processed the products seem endless.........who knew such a humble fruit could be used for skin care products, cooking, vitamin tea bags or even Mead! (Called Rhodomel)

Well, historically, mankind has processed Hips for hundreds of years and although the claims of, “curing the shakes”, or “strengthening the heart”, may be debateable, there is no doubt about the power of vitamin C. With a little guidance from www.Rose-Works.com, we can all find a healthy use for our Rose Hips.

Pillar of Peppers with Eggplant
Vertical Vegetables at Their Best

Love the sweet pungency or fiery heat of Peppers but lack the space?

The Pillar of Peppers could be your easy answer. The idea is as simple as the name is pretentious. We simply create a vertical garden and fill it with Peppers. Now I always include a few Eggplants as well since their habits are very similar and a little variety in the diet is a good thing.

pillar of peppers What’s a Vertical Garden? Throughout my website it can be many things but for the Pillar of Peppers and Eggplant it is a simple circle of heavy wire mesh. This wire mesh bears the unlikely name of Hardware Cloth even though if bears no resemblance to actual cloth except that it comes in a roll. It is much thicker and sturdier than chicken wire and that is important because it has to stand up on its own and support the weight of soil, water and plants. You need a circle of 2.5cm (1 in) (that is the spacing of the wires,) Hardware cloth about 75 cm (30 in) in diameter; that’s about 235cm (95 in) of material. Any narrower and it falls over too easily. The height is determined by the width of the roll of material that you buy, usually 90 cm (36 in). Just cut each strand of wire and use the cut ends to loop over and hold the circle together. This is one of those steps that takes longer to write about than to actually do.

pillar of peppers Where’s the Soil? Your Pillar of Peppers needs to have the right soil. Work it a bit so that it is sunk into the garden soil by an inch or so. Line the wire circle with some landscape fabric. Stops the soil from pouring out through the mesh. Then make a mixture of good garden soil and some lightweight soiless potting mix, about half and half. It needs to be heavy enough to stay in place but light enough to allow water to flow through it freely while not collapsing from its own weight. Fill the entire mesh column with this mix, firming it in as you go and soaking the whole thing thoroughly as you get near the top. The firming and soaking is an attempt to stop the soil mass from settling after you have it planted.

pepper plants
How Do I Water It? The final step is to go into the kitchen and ‘borrow’ the large wire colander and sink it into a hollow in the top of the soil. This allows you to fill up the colander with water and let it soak in rather than having to stand there and slowly add enough water to get to the bottom of your Pillar of Peppers. This many plants in such a small space also requires some liquid fertilizer over the season and it can be applied in the same fashion.

peppers Where are The Pepper Plants? They are the easy last step. All the way around and up and down your pillar of soil; slice through the landscape cloth and make a little cavity in the soil with your finger and squeeze in a Pepper transplant. Don’t forget a few Eggplants. They should be about 20 - 25 cm (8 -10 in) apart in all directions. You will be amazed at the number of plants that can go into this garden. Four to five high, by about seven to nine rows, yields, by my math, at least thirty plants. Work the soil around the plants by pushing on the adjacent squares so that the little plant is firmly in place. You can put some sphagnum moss or a bit of landscape cloth around the stem of each plant to help retain the soil . The plants should angle down just slightly when you are finished planting your Pillar of Peppers.

Does It Work? Thoroughly water, (fill the colander 2 or 3 times,) the planted pillar. Within one or two days you will see that all of the plants have not only perked up but have turned up. The growing points will all have made a 90 degree turn upwards toward their source of energy, the sun. That is how you know that you have been successful. Any plants that don’t make the turn in a few days should be replaced. Water your Pillar of Peppers regularly, check it weekly, and fertilize it about once month. By late July you should have an amazing crop of Peppers and eggplants from a very tiny space.

Use several different varieties of Pepper and the miniature fruited Eggplants. I plant a few leaf lettuce plants around the colander to make use of that circle of soil at the top of my Pillar of Peppers.

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