Make it Monday: Country Pasta with Mozzarella

8 oz. uncooked rigatoni (I used penne and it was wonderful)
8 slices bacon, cut in 1 inch pieces (I used real bacon pieces from Costco)
2 c. broccoli flowerets
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
2 c. shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese (I used real Parmesean)
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4 c. chopped parsley (I used much less)

Cook rigatoni according to package directions, drain. Meanwhile, in 10 inch skillet, cook bacon over medium high heat until brown. Reduce heat to medium. Add broccoli and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until broccoli is crispy-tender.

Add rigatoni and remaining ingredients, except parsley. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with parsley.

Notes: Since I used bacon pieces I just cooked my pasta, and while it was cooking I steamed my broccoli. When they were both done I added everything together. Really easy and delicious!

Make it Monday: Country Pasta with Mozzarella

Christmas Breakfast

Are you still trying to decide what to have for breakfast on Christmas Day? Try one of my favorite recipes. We always have this breakfast omelet on Christmas Day. I had this every year growing up and it isn't Christmas to me without it! We also have lots of fresh fruit, cinnamon rolls and juice.

I hope you all have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas Breakfast

Waste Not, Want Not

I love pumpkin.....pumpkin food. This begins my favorite time of year for baking. And those jack-o-lanterns we had for Halloween are a good thing to use for pumpkin puree in our recipes.

As I was buying my pumpkins this year, I couldn't help but notice how expensive they were. Then I saw this post on one of my favorite blogs and I knew I wasn't alone in thinking that! Crystal has a great recipe and the how-to in cooking a pumpkin so you don't waste a thing! Last year I pureed my pumpkins and I still have some in the freezer to use now.

Here are more things to make from your pureed pumpkin. Just substitute your pumpkin instead of using canned pumpkin.

• mom's pumpkin pie squares (a personal favorite growing up)
  
• banana pumpkin bread
• pumpkin roll (another favorite!)
  
• pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

And if those aren't enough, BHG has 28 yummy pumpkin recipes for us, with photos. YUM.

Oh, and don't forget to roast the pumpkin seeds! My favorite part!

Waste Not, Want Not

Frugal Living Friday: Frugal Recipes

Welcome to Frugal Living Friday! Each week I will feature a tip that can help us stretch our budget and live more frugally! If you have a tip that you want shared on Frugal Living Friday, let me know and you could become a guest blogger for a day.

We all know that eating out can add up. If we want to eat well but go easy on our budget then the solution is to stay home. It can be a challenge to find meals that fit into our budgets as well as our tastes.



Many of the recipes that I use regularly are frugal because I make them with items I got for free or really cheap...like the Ragu sauce at Albertson's I got for .30 a jar. Also items like pasta, baking goods, chicken, beef, etc. Having a stockpile of these things allows me to be flexible when I am planning menus or even making something spur of the moment. Then I can supplement the meals with fresh veggies and not feel like I spent a fortune on dinner. GO HERE to see a list of several meals I like to make that don't cost very much.

Here are some good resources for finding some recipes that don't cost much.

Nourishing Frugal Recipes
Hillbilly Housewife Frugal Recipes
Ms Frugal
$5 Dinners

Do you have a favorite frugal recipe you would like to share?

Frugal Living Friday: Frugal Recipes

On the Menu

I have not been posting as much. My family needs me right now, so I hope you can excuse my less frequent posting. I haven't been posting my menus, although I have been making them.

In the meantime, I thought you might want to know what we are having for dinner tonight:

Can I say DELISH. If there is one meal in the world I love it is this.

CLICK HERE for the recipes!

On the Menu

Make It Monday: Fagioli Soup

This is a fabulous fall soup...and just like the fagioli soup at Olive Garden. YUM!

1 lb ground beef (I usually use 1/2 lb)
1 small onion, diced (1 cup)
1 lrg carrot, julienned (1 cup) sometimes I grate mine
1 stalks celery, chopped (1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes, with liquid
1 15 oz can red kidney beans, with liquid
1 15 oz can northern beans, with liquid
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 12 oz can V-8 juice
1 TBL white vinegar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 pkg Ditali pasta (short macaroni tubes)

Brown the beef in a large saucepan. Drain off fat, if any. Add onion, celery, carrots, and garlic and saute for 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, except pasta, and simmer for 1 hour. About 50 minutes into simmer time, cook pasta according to directions until al dente, or slightly tough, about 10 minutes. Drain. Add the pasta to the soup and simmer for 5-10 minutes and serve. Serves 8.

If you find that it is too tomatoey, add some water until you find a consistency and taste you like. This recipe also freezes well. Enjoy!

Make It Monday: Fagioli Soup

Cooking Tip

Have you ever cooked breads or pies in the oven and had the edges burn only when the rest isn't cooked yet?

Enter one of my favorite kitchen items.....tin foil!

Just put some tin foil on the top so it doesn't burn the edges. I will take it off the last 10 minutes or so of cooking to brown up the rest a bit.

This is one of our families FAVORITE recipes....ham and cheese braid. HERE is the recipe.

Cooking Tip

Five free recipe books!

I posted back in November 2007 about 4 free recipe books you can order from Sunmaid. Well guess what....this offer is still valid! Plus, it looks like they have since added a 5th book. GO HERE to order yours! Here is what is available for order:

• Fruit and Sunshine
• The New Taste of Tradition
• Recipes for Healthier Eating
• Fall Favorites
• Family Favorite Recipes

Five free recipe books!

Make It Monday: Triple C

Remember the Post cereal sale? I stocked up on a lot of Shredded Wheat biscuits because I love to make this cereal. This is a recipe I grew up with. My grandma made it all the time, and so my mom followed suit. Grandma called it "Chewy Cold Cereal" but I grew up calling it "Triple C." This is seriously one of my favorite cereals ever! I hope you like it too.

Triple C

Take 12 Shredded Wheat biscuits and put them in a large bowl.

Use your hands (clean, of course) to break them up. I don't like large chunks so I smash them up really well, like this.

After this is done, add the following ingredients:

1 c. raw, hulled sunflower seeds (not salted)

2 c. oats, quick or regular

1/2 c. dry milk

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. wheat germ

1/2 c. milled flax seed

Use a large spoon to mix together and smash up the brown sugar good all throughout. The end result looks like this:

I want to make more just posting about this! I love topping my bowl with fresh berries, especially blueberries and strawberries. Bananas are good with it too. I also love the sunflower seeds in it so I always add more than 1 cup.

ENJOY!

Make It Monday: Triple C

Make it Monday: Homemade Granola

I grew up on homemade granola. Oh YUM. If you have only had store bought granola you don't know what you are missing!

I took my mom's recipe & my mother-in-law's recipe, combined them and tweaked it a bit to my changing taste. Here is how our family loves granola.


CRUNCHY GRANOLA

5 c. oats (I usually use quick oats)
1/2 c. wheat germ
1/2 c. milled flax seed
1/2 c. coconut
1 c. sunflower seeds
1/2 c. sesame seeds
1 1/2 c. nuts (almonds, walnuts, etc. whatever you want!)
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 c. water
3/4 c. oil
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. molasses
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp mapleine

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl, combine oats, wheat germ, flax seed, coconut, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, cinnamon, nuts, Blend well. In a small saucepan over low heat, combine water, brown sugar, oil, honey molasses, salt, vanilla, and mapleine. Heat and stir until sugar and honey are dissolved. Do not boil. Pour syrup mixture over dry mixture, and mix up well. Cover large cookie sheet with the granola mixture. Cook for 30-35 minutes for soft granola, longer for crunchy granola. Cool completely before putting into an air-tight container. Sometimes I end up cooking it for about 45 minutes if I am in the mood for really crunchy.

I love to eat granola for breakfast or snacks! I always top it with fresh fruit, or canned peaches in the winter.

Make it Monday: Homemade Granola

More on Homemade Popsicles

I have mentioned before that I love to make homemade popsicles for my kids. I came across this fabulous article today, 32 Unique Homemade Popsicle Recipes and Ideas, that you need to check out!

More on Homemade Popsicles

Thrifty Thursday Tip

Do you have some overripe bananas and are tired of making banana bread? Don't throw the bananas out! Here is a yummy recipe for banana brownies...they are divine! It's a perfect way to use up overripe bananas.

Banana Brownies

3/4 cup butter (soft)
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 ripe bananas (mashed)
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
chocolate chips (I did about 1/4 of a bag or a little more)

Mix everything together, put in a 9x13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Let cool and enjoy (don't overbake -- they look a bit "undone" sometimes).

I also use overripe bananas in smoothies. How do you use overripe bananas?

Edited to add: This recipe is originally from Stacy Julian.

Thrifty Thursday Tip

Frugal Living Friday: Frozen Burritos

Welcome to Frugal Living Friday! Each week I will feature a tip that can help us stretch our budget and live more frugally! If you have a tip that you want shared on Frugal Living Friday, let me know and you could become a guest blogger for a day.

Here is a fast and frugal lunch or snack to have on hand in your freezer. Instead of purchasing frozen burritos in the store try making your own. I have a good recipe you can try. I made a bunch of these before I had my baby for my husband to use in his lunches.

FROZEN BURRITOS
1 lrg can refried beans
1 lb ground beef or turkey
1 12 oz taco sauce
small can chopped green chilies
grated cheese
flour tortillas

Brown hamburger. Add beans, taco sauce, and chilies. Roll 4-5 TBL in each flour tortilla. Sprinkle with cheese. Wrap up tight. Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze. When ready to eat, place in microwave. Top with sour cream, salsa, etc.

I like to wrap my burritos doing the sides first so they stay folded nice and neat and the filling doesn't come out.

Nice and neat!

Then I labeled them and stuck them in the freezer. It's a quick and easy item to have on hand.

Frugal Living Friday: Frozen Burritos

Free cookbooks from Reynolds Wrap

Do you like new recipes? I do! You can sign up to get three free downloadable cookbooks from Reynolds Wrap! The cookbooks include:

Delicious Family Meals for Less
Signature Family Recipes
The Way Mama Cooked It

Inside these cookbooks you’ll find recipes for Chili Lime Pork, Super Italian Meatballs, Southern Spare Ribs, Chocolate Macadamia Cookies and more!

Thanks Couponing 101!

Free cookbooks from Reynolds Wrap

Frugal Living Friday: Homemade Bread

Welcome to Frugal Living Friday! Each week I will feature a tip that can help us stretch our budget and live more frugally! If you have a tip that you want shared on Frugal Living Friday, let me know and you could become a guest blogger for a day.

I am not the best bread maker. I have many flops. Every time I make bread I experiment. My mom is the expert bread maker....she told me once you become good by practicing. I guess I am doing that. Why make homemade bread? It is so much healthier for you than store bought bread. Cheaper too. If you do buy the bread that IS healthy for you, then you are paying close to $4 per loaf. That is not thrifty at all.

I recently was given a wonderful bread recipe that has turned out EVERY SINGLE TIME! Just look at how the bread looks. YUM! It's nice and spongy and soft too. My kids love it. I think the secret I learned was to sponge the dough (you let it sit for a specified time...see recipe). I hadn't done that before and it makes a huge difference in how the bread turns out!

We are a whole wheat family. I only use white bread on special occasions. Most of the flour is whole wheat that I ground up in my grinder. I usually put a few cups of white flour in the bread though. Here is the recipe. Thanks Sarah for sharing the recipe with me to begin with. Enjoy!

(These are proportions for a Bosch mixer. If you have a Kitchenaid, just cut it in half and I think that would work. It makes about 4 really big loaves or 5 med-small loaves.)

14-16 c. whole wheat flour (10-12 c. unground)
2 rounded T. yeast
1/2 c. high-gluten flour
1/4 c. dough enhancer (or 2 T. lemon juice or 500 mg vit C)
6 c. very warm water
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. honey or brown sugar (it turns out better with honey)
1 1/2 T. salt

Directions: Mill wheat so it is fresh and warm. Place 9 cups fresh flour into mixer with kneading arm. Add dry yeast, and gluten and pulse to mix. Add water and mix for 1 minute. Turn off mixer, cover, and let dough sponge for 10 minutes. (this makes the bread have a lighter texture.) Add oil, honey, lemon juice, and salt. Turn on mixer, and quickly add remaining flour, 1 cup at a time, until dough forms a mass and cleans the sides of the bowl. (I generally add a few more cups of whole wheat and then finish it off with a few cups of white flour.) Turn mixer to high and knead for 8 minutes. If kneading by hand, knead at least 12 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.

Preheat oven to 150 during this time. Lightly oil hands and counter surface. Divide dough into equal portions. Shape into loaves and place in greased bread pans. Turn off oven. Place bread in oven, arranging pans with space between to allow heat to circulate freely. Set kitchen timer, and watch closely. Let rise until almost double in bulk, approximately 30-35 minutes. Leave bread in oven and turn heat to 350. Bake for 30-35 minutes until light golden brown. Immediately remove from pans and let cool on wire rack. Store in plastic bags in freezer to preserve nutrients in wheat.

Frugal Living Friday: Homemade Bread

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Here is the recipe so many of you have been emailing me about. I have been making these cookies since I was about 10 years old. They are sooo good! It's a never fail recipe.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 c. shortening
1 c. white sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
2 c. flour
1 tsp soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
2 c. oatmeal (quick or regular)
1/2 c. chocolate chips (or more if you like!)
1 c. coconut (optional)

Cream together shortening and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix up dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add to wet ingredients. Add in chocolate chips. Mix together well. Bake at 350 degrees for 7-10 minutes. Makes about 3-4 dozen.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Frugal Living Friday: Homemade Condensed Soups

Welcome to Frugal Living Friday! Each week I will feature a tip that can help us stretch our budget and live more frugally! If you have a tip that you want shared on Frugal Living Friday, let me know and you could become a guest blogger for a day.

Did you have any idea you can make your own condensed soups, like cream of chicken, cream of mushroom, etc.? YOU CAN! I found out about this awhile ago and decided to try it last week. And I am telling you....the homemade version tastes SO GOOD! I think I just might be sold. I did this on a weeknight when I needed a can of cream of chicken soup and didn't have one in the cupboard. No matter...I just whipped up my own! Here is a picture of mine when I was done:


I was making a chicken gravy for Hawaiian Haystacks for dinner that evening. And I will tell you....I have never had gravy that good! It tasted much better than when I use the condensed soup from the store. My family loved it too.

I found out about this from Everyday Food Storage, a fantastic blog that helps you use your food storage in everyday ways and recipes. If you don't look at her blog regularly, you should! Crystal even has how-to videos which are VERY helpful! Browse around her site a bit, but here are the direct links to what you need to know in making your own condensed soups.

Condensed Cream of Chicken
Condensed Cream of Mushroom
Condensed Cream of Celery
How to make Magic Mix (used to make the condensed soups)

I know it might sound weird, but try it! I couldn't believe it myself until I used it. If anything, they will be a bit healthier for you too.

Frugal Living Friday: Homemade Condensed Soups

Frugal Living Friday: Homemade Mixes

Welcome to Frugal Living Friday! Each week I will feature a tip that can help us stretch our budget and live more frugally! If you have a tip that you want shared on Frugal Living Friday, let me know and you could become a guest blogger for a day.

Sometimes convenience is worth it when it comes to baking, don't you agree? Making everything from scratch can be time consuming and just plain tiring sometimes. However, did you know you can make your own homemade convenience mixes to keep on hand? The majority of the time it would be more economical and healthier to use homemade mixes than boxes from the store.

Many times you can find box mixes on great sales where they are super cheap. But just remember: They are processed. They have hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors and flavors, etc. You skip all this by spending a few extra minutes making homemade mixes yourself. It really doesn't take long. Yesterday I made a homemade brownie mix, and it took me about 15 minutes. It will keep for up to 6 months in a cool, dry place.

Brownie Mix

8 cups sugar (I do less, but that is just me)

4 cups all-purpose flour

4 tsp. baking powder

4 tsp. salt

2 1/2 c. baking cocoa

2 cups shortening

In a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, like this:

Store in an airtight container in a cool dry place for up to 6 months. I put mine in Tupperware, label it like so and stick it in my fridge in the garage. Yield: 18 cups.


I got this recipe from Quick Cooking magazine a few years ago and clipped it. With this brownie mix, you can make fudge sauce, walnut brownies, brownie snack cake, and brownie crinkle cookies. Pretty nifty! I took a photo of the page, hopefully you can click on the picture and it will be large enough for you to see the recipes and photos.



With one recipe of this homemade mix, I figure it is like having about 4-5 box mixes from the store. You can make several batches of things with one mix recipe. I made the brownie crinkle cookies yesterday and got 3 dozen cookies. With the cost of the ingredients figured in, I estimate the cost for a batch of brownies with this mix to be approximately about .30 cents . Not too bad, eh?

Plus, like I said before you are getting the satisfaction of knowing you are making something that you feel good about. You know what goes in there. There is so much crap in those box mixes, so much stuff that is really bad for us.

Here are some websites with ideas for making your own homemade mixes.

Recipe Gold Mine Homemade Mixes

Cyber Kitchen Homemade Mixes

Hillbilly Housewife Homemade Convenience Foods

My friend Holly's Mix Recipes

Do you make your own mixes? Do you have any recipes to share? Oh, and don't forget to do THIS with your pancake mixes! :)

(I did a post on cooking from scratch awhile ago you may want to look at)

Frugal Living Friday: Homemade Mixes

The Sneaky Chef

The Sneaky Chef is a cookbook to help you sneak more veggies, fiber and healthy goodness into your recipes! I received this book free from my husband's medical insurance last year. If you are interested in this book, first I would recommend checking it out from the library before you invest the money. Try a few recipes and see if you will use it.

Also, check out her website. She offers many free recipes to try. YUM!

Here is one of her recipes that I tried over the weekend. Breakfast Cookies...they were very good! (Since this recipe was originally posted here on the internet, I figured it was okay to pass it along.)

SNEAKY CHEF’S BREAKFAST COOKIES
Nutrition Highlights: whole grains, calcium, and protein. Rich in vitamins B and E, iron, potassium, folic acid, calcium, tryptophan protein, and fiber.

2 cups whole grain cereal flakes (such as Wheaties or Total)
3/4 cup Flour Blend (1/4 cup white flour, 1/4 cup whole wheat flour, and 1/4 cup wheat germ)1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 large egg
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
Cinnamon sugar for dusting*

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or spray with oil).Using a rolling pin, gently crush the cereal (in a sealed plastic bag) into coarsely crushed flakes. Alternatively, you can quickly pulse the cereal in a food processor.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together Flour Blend, crushed cereal, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In another bowl, whisk together egg, sugar, oil, vanilla, and ricotta cheese. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix just enough to moisten dry ingredients. Drop single tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheets, leaving about an inch between cookies. Flatten cookies with the back of a fork and then sprinkle tops generously with cinnamon sugar (or just sugar if your kids don’t like the cinnamon flavor). Bake about 18 to 20 minutes, or until nicely browned and crispy around the edges. Makes 16 to 18 large cookies.*Cinnamon has been found to help stabilize blood-glucose levels, thereby preventing the usual “crash and burn” feeling we all get after eating sweets.

© Missy Chase Lapine, all rights reserved.

The Sneaky Chef

Stretching your food storage

Everyday Food Storage is a fantastic blog that puts real food storage and garden produce into real meals for your family.

I have been wanting to use my food storage and rotate it better, and I am so glad I found this blog! I made this macaroni and cheese recipe on Saturday for dinner, and it was amazing! The pureed yellow squash was not even noticeable. Two of my kids had thirds! I have a handful of recipes I am planning on making in the next few weeks from her blog. I can't wait to try them!

She has downloads for handouts, tutorials complete with videos, and tons of valuable information! Check out Everyday Food Storage and learn how to stretch your budget more, and use your food storage.

Stretching your food storage