So though this may be simple, there are many ways to make macaroni and cheese. I have a harder more old-fashioned, like my grandmother makes recipe for mac and cheese too that I will put up sometime later! This is for a quick side!
Money Savers:
So... since it is Tuesday night, anything that I put up from Publix will be over in about an hour when the close and the sales change for this next Publix week. So... it is probably about time for them to run the sale again for Kraft cheese 2/$4 and that is a great deal! Other than that, get the noodles on sale :)
INGREDIENTS:
about 1/4 a cup milk
1 package of shredded cheese (4 cups)
A package of elbow noodles
2 tbs butter
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Cook the noodles as instuctioned on the box. Drain.
2. Melt the butter in the same pot as you cooked the noodles on a low heat setting.
3. Return the noodles to the pan. (keep on low/medium setting)
4. Add the cheese and about half the milk.
5. Stir until cheese melts.
**You kinda have to judge how cheesy you like it! You could see the pulled melted cheese in what I made tonight. But do it how you like. If you like it really creamy, add a little more milk.
REMEMBER: a little milk goes a long way!!! You don't need that much! If you add too much, you just end up with cheesy noodle soup!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Fiesta Salad
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained
1 bunch green spring onions, chopped
1 chopped green bell pepper
1 chopped red bell pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
lime juice (about two or three limes)
chopped cilantro (handful)!
Option: Add a little bit of watercress if desired for a little more healthy eating!
This sounds delicious and Linda noted it goes great with anything grilled! I can't wait to try it!
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained
1 bunch green spring onions, chopped
1 chopped green bell pepper
1 chopped red bell pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
lime juice (about two or three limes)
chopped cilantro (handful)!
Option: Add a little bit of watercress if desired for a little more healthy eating!
This sounds delicious and Linda noted it goes great with anything grilled! I can't wait to try it!
Saturday, February 19, 2011
So I have slacked this week... We ordered dominos last night. I feel like I cooked a good bit this week but some of it was recipes that are already up here. Oh, and my mother-in-laws chili recipe which I don't think will be posted here. Some recipes stay in the family :) If you come visit sometime, I'll make the chili. It does make for some great leftover chili-cheese dogs.
Thursday night, we made oven fried chicken tenders. Walt has been wanting some kind of fried chicken and this is the recipe that we decided to go with (of course, it is from my cookbook I got for Christmas). To go along with it, I had homemade french fries. This was a little bit of an experiment because I had never done them before and decided to just go for it without any kind of recipe (they turned out well and were really easy).
Money Savers:
Get the Crushed Cornflakes when they go BOGO at Publix! Also, you can use a Kellogg's manufacturer's coupon from the paper. Cereal coupons come all the time for different values.
The same goes for the butter! BOGO on Land of the Lakes was last week. When this comes around use the manufacturer's coupon too and stack up!
For clean up afterward, check out how you can get free dish washing soap from polkadotpantry.com. This site is $5.99 a month but you save a ton!! They give you the free, better than free, and ridiculously cheap items at stores in your area (target, walmart, walgreens, publix, kroger, riteaid, etc). You don't have to get the paper to get the deal. You can get coupons online or buy them in bulk! Check it out!
INGREDIENTS for the Oven Fried Chicken Tenders:
1 egg, beaten
3 tbs milk
1 1/4 cups crushed cornflakes or other rich round cracker (approximately 35)
**I used Ritz crackers and they worked really well. Make sure you get plenty of the crackers crushed. I think I will try it next time with the cornflakes for a little crunchier chicken. Very good with Ritz.
1 tsp crushed, dried thyme
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 tbs butter (melted)
3 chicken breasts cut in strips ** I got about 3 strips out of each chicken breast. Just depends on how big you want the strips to be.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Combine the beaten egg and milk in a bowl.
2. Combine the cornflakes, salt, pepper, thyme, and paprika in a separate bowl. Stir in the melted butter.
3. Dip the chicken in the milk mixture and then coat with the flake mixture.
4. Place on cookie sheet in a single layer.
5. Bake, uncovered at 400 F for 10-12 minutes or until done.
**Do not turn tenders while baking!
INGREDIENTS for Homemade French Fries:
approximately 4 medium potatoes, peeled
cooking oil **I used canola oil. And you only need enough cover the bottom of the skillet about 1/4 inch thick.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Cut the potatoes into rectangular shapes. (approx 4-5 inches long and 1/4-1/3 inch thick)
**Best way I have found to do this is to make a large rectangle out of each potato by cutting a little straight off each long side. You can still cut what you took off to make it kinda rectangular and cook well.
2. Heat the oil on the stove in a medium skillet for about 5 minutes or until looks hot. You have to get to know your stove a little, but for mine it worked best somewhere between medium and medium-high.
**You want it hot enough to brown the outside but cool enough to do it slowly so the inside is cooked through.
3. Place a handful of potatoes in the oil, carefully. Allow them to cook about 3-4 minutes. Then flip each potato to the other side. Allow that side to cook 3-4 minutes as well.
**From here out, you have to kinda eye it. They should reach a golden brown. If you like them crunchy, let them sit a little longer. If you like them softer, turn the heat down some more and let them just cook longer!
4. Take off the skillet and put on a paper towel or something to absorb the extra grease. You can eat them as is, OR throw some seasoned salt on top! That's what we did :)
Enjoy!
ps. This is a pretty quick meal. You can have it ready in a little over 20 minutes.
Also, I got a tip to be careful with the salt! You might wanna measure it out to make sure it's not too much! :)
Thursday night, we made oven fried chicken tenders. Walt has been wanting some kind of fried chicken and this is the recipe that we decided to go with (of course, it is from my cookbook I got for Christmas). To go along with it, I had homemade french fries. This was a little bit of an experiment because I had never done them before and decided to just go for it without any kind of recipe (they turned out well and were really easy).
Money Savers:
Get the Crushed Cornflakes when they go BOGO at Publix! Also, you can use a Kellogg's manufacturer's coupon from the paper. Cereal coupons come all the time for different values.
The same goes for the butter! BOGO on Land of the Lakes was last week. When this comes around use the manufacturer's coupon too and stack up!
For clean up afterward, check out how you can get free dish washing soap from polkadotpantry.com. This site is $5.99 a month but you save a ton!! They give you the free, better than free, and ridiculously cheap items at stores in your area (target, walmart, walgreens, publix, kroger, riteaid, etc). You don't have to get the paper to get the deal. You can get coupons online or buy them in bulk! Check it out!
INGREDIENTS for the Oven Fried Chicken Tenders:
1 egg, beaten
3 tbs milk
1 1/4 cups crushed cornflakes or other rich round cracker (approximately 35)
**I used Ritz crackers and they worked really well. Make sure you get plenty of the crackers crushed. I think I will try it next time with the cornflakes for a little crunchier chicken. Very good with Ritz.
1 tsp crushed, dried thyme
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 tbs butter (melted)
3 chicken breasts cut in strips ** I got about 3 strips out of each chicken breast. Just depends on how big you want the strips to be.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Combine the beaten egg and milk in a bowl.
2. Combine the cornflakes, salt, pepper, thyme, and paprika in a separate bowl. Stir in the melted butter.
3. Dip the chicken in the milk mixture and then coat with the flake mixture.
4. Place on cookie sheet in a single layer.
5. Bake, uncovered at 400 F for 10-12 minutes or until done.
**Do not turn tenders while baking!
INGREDIENTS for Homemade French Fries:
approximately 4 medium potatoes, peeled
cooking oil **I used canola oil. And you only need enough cover the bottom of the skillet about 1/4 inch thick.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Cut the potatoes into rectangular shapes. (approx 4-5 inches long and 1/4-1/3 inch thick)
**Best way I have found to do this is to make a large rectangle out of each potato by cutting a little straight off each long side. You can still cut what you took off to make it kinda rectangular and cook well.
2. Heat the oil on the stove in a medium skillet for about 5 minutes or until looks hot. You have to get to know your stove a little, but for mine it worked best somewhere between medium and medium-high.
**You want it hot enough to brown the outside but cool enough to do it slowly so the inside is cooked through.
3. Place a handful of potatoes in the oil, carefully. Allow them to cook about 3-4 minutes. Then flip each potato to the other side. Allow that side to cook 3-4 minutes as well.
**From here out, you have to kinda eye it. They should reach a golden brown. If you like them crunchy, let them sit a little longer. If you like them softer, turn the heat down some more and let them just cook longer!
4. Take off the skillet and put on a paper towel or something to absorb the extra grease. You can eat them as is, OR throw some seasoned salt on top! That's what we did :)
Enjoy!
ps. This is a pretty quick meal. You can have it ready in a little over 20 minutes.
Also, I got a tip to be careful with the salt! You might wanna measure it out to make sure it's not too much! :)
Monday, February 14, 2011
Tonight we are doing a recipe that gets reserved for special occasions. Cancel the reservations! By far, this is the best recipe we make! It's called "Feta Cheese and Bacon Stuffed Chicken Breasts."
Money Savers:
Idaho Potatoes $2.99/ 5 lbs (save $1)
Green Giant canned green beans as low as $.40 a can!!! And it can be lower if you buy some different things in bulk!!! Check out polkadotpantry.com for details and more great deals through:
http://www.polkadotpantry.com/?affid=464&affref=other
INGREDIENTS:
8 tbs olive oil
2 tsp lemon juice
4 cloves crushed garlic
1 tbs dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
crumbled feta (one container)
4 slices of bacon, fried and drained
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Combine the oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper.
3. Place chicken in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish and pour oil mixture over chicken.
4. Stuff each chicken breast with feta and one slice of bacon. Secure open sides with toothpicks.
**There are two ways to do this. I typically use thin chicken and fold it in half. If you have thicker chicken and skill, you can cut slits in the actual chicken. I tend to be able to get more feta and bacon in every bite with it folded!
5. Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes.
I am making mashed potatoes, green beans, and rolls to go with this tonight! (hence the money saver potatoes and green beans) Have a great Valentine's Day! :-*
Money Savers:
Idaho Potatoes $2.99/ 5 lbs (save $1)
Green Giant canned green beans as low as $.40 a can!!! And it can be lower if you buy some different things in bulk!!! Check out polkadotpantry.com for details and more great deals through:
http://www.polkadotpantry.com/?affid=464&affref=other
INGREDIENTS:
8 tbs olive oil
2 tsp lemon juice
4 cloves crushed garlic
1 tbs dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
crumbled feta (one container)
4 slices of bacon, fried and drained
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Combine the oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper.
3. Place chicken in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish and pour oil mixture over chicken.
4. Stuff each chicken breast with feta and one slice of bacon. Secure open sides with toothpicks.
**There are two ways to do this. I typically use thin chicken and fold it in half. If you have thicker chicken and skill, you can cut slits in the actual chicken. I tend to be able to get more feta and bacon in every bite with it folded!
5. Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes.
I am making mashed potatoes, green beans, and rolls to go with this tonight! (hence the money saver potatoes and green beans) Have a great Valentine's Day! :-*
Sunday, February 13, 2011
I wasn't sure I was going to get a blog up this weekend between Star Wars watching, Catan playing, and Young couples dinner with church. However just before the deadline, I thought I would put something up. One of my favorite parts of the weekend is getting to make pancakes or waffles on Saturday morning! So I thought I would share the buttermilk pancake recipe. They are delicious!!!
Money Savers:
So... it's basic again and kinda hard to get good deals on! But, there is a coupon in walgreen's ad for $2.29 for a 4 lb bag of domino sugar! That's a pretty good price!
INGREDIENTS:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbs sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 baking soda
1/4 salt
1 egg (slightly beaten)
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (if you want regular, just use regular milk and omit the baking soda. Increase the baking powder to 1 tsp)
3 tbs cooking oil (I just used vegetable oil)
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, and salt.
2. In another bowl, slightly beat the egg. Add the buttermilk and oil.
3. Add the egg mixture all at once to the flour mixture. Stir together until just moistened (batter should be slightly lumpy). If desired you can stir in a fruit! (The less you can stir the fluffier the pancakes!)
4. Pour about 1/4 a cup batter onto a hot, lightly greased griddle or heavy skillet. Spread the batter if necessary (I did. It made thick pancakes anyway! This helped keep them from being too thick.)
5. Cook over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Turn to second side when pancakes have bubbly surfaces and edges are slightly dry. Serve warm
**Mine didn't really bubbly because they were thick! So make sure that you watch it closely!
I hope you enjoy the pancake as much as I do on the weekends! :)
Money Savers:
So... it's basic again and kinda hard to get good deals on! But, there is a coupon in walgreen's ad for $2.29 for a 4 lb bag of domino sugar! That's a pretty good price!
INGREDIENTS:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbs sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 baking soda
1/4 salt
1 egg (slightly beaten)
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (if you want regular, just use regular milk and omit the baking soda. Increase the baking powder to 1 tsp)
3 tbs cooking oil (I just used vegetable oil)
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, and salt.
2. In another bowl, slightly beat the egg. Add the buttermilk and oil.
3. Add the egg mixture all at once to the flour mixture. Stir together until just moistened (batter should be slightly lumpy). If desired you can stir in a fruit! (The less you can stir the fluffier the pancakes!)
4. Pour about 1/4 a cup batter onto a hot, lightly greased griddle or heavy skillet. Spread the batter if necessary (I did. It made thick pancakes anyway! This helped keep them from being too thick.)
5. Cook over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Turn to second side when pancakes have bubbly surfaces and edges are slightly dry. Serve warm
**Mine didn't really bubbly because they were thick! So make sure that you watch it closely!
I hope you enjoy the pancake as much as I do on the weekends! :)
Thursday, February 10, 2011
I know it has been a few days. It is looking like the optimistic idea of putting up a recipe everyday may not happen. We will shoot for about every other day instead! (Remember, if you have a great recipe send it to me!!! Facebook or email!) Yesterday for dinner, I made medallions of pork with apples. It is another recipe from the cookbook Walt got for me. It also happens to be in the 20-minute section so it was a quick dinner!
Money Savers:
There is always some kinda of apple on sale at Publix. You will see what I say about the apples in this recipe but I think a sweet apple will work best!
INGREDIENTS:
1-lb pork tenderloin (I bought mine already cut because it was the better price and more convenient!)
2 cloves garlic, minced (I used my garlic press)
2 tbs olive oil or butter (I used the butter :) For healthly recipes, go with the olive oil)
20-ounce can sliced apples, drained
**soo... about the apples. I got just regular apples in water. No sugar added or anything. I think this was the part of the recipe that was lacking. I would either do fresh apples and let there be a little bit of a crunch to them. You also could get canned apples with sugar. I added sugar to the recipe when I put in the apples (probably like 1/4-1/2 cup).
2 tsp snipped fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme, crushed (I used the dried from my spice rack)
DIRECTIONS:
1. Cut the pork crosswise into 1/2 inch slices. In a 12 inch skillet cook the garlic in hot oil over medium-high heat for 15 seconds. (I cooked it longer than that. Probably a minute or two.) Carefully place pork in the hot oil. Cook for 2 minutes on each side or until browned and no longer pink in the center. (Mine took a lot longer than that... probably like 4-6 minutes on each side).
2. Add apples and thyme to skillet. Cook covered for 1 minutes or until apples are heated through. (I cooked it a good bit longer than this too. I guess you could say that mine wasn't really 20 minutes).
Good luck! Let me know if you try it and if you did anything differently! It was good enough to give it a shot, but I definitely think I will do the fresh apples next time and maybe add a little sugar :)
Money Savers:
There is always some kinda of apple on sale at Publix. You will see what I say about the apples in this recipe but I think a sweet apple will work best!
INGREDIENTS:
1-lb pork tenderloin (I bought mine already cut because it was the better price and more convenient!)
2 cloves garlic, minced (I used my garlic press)
2 tbs olive oil or butter (I used the butter :) For healthly recipes, go with the olive oil)
20-ounce can sliced apples, drained
**soo... about the apples. I got just regular apples in water. No sugar added or anything. I think this was the part of the recipe that was lacking. I would either do fresh apples and let there be a little bit of a crunch to them. You also could get canned apples with sugar. I added sugar to the recipe when I put in the apples (probably like 1/4-1/2 cup).
2 tsp snipped fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme, crushed (I used the dried from my spice rack)
DIRECTIONS:
1. Cut the pork crosswise into 1/2 inch slices. In a 12 inch skillet cook the garlic in hot oil over medium-high heat for 15 seconds. (I cooked it longer than that. Probably a minute or two.) Carefully place pork in the hot oil. Cook for 2 minutes on each side or until browned and no longer pink in the center. (Mine took a lot longer than that... probably like 4-6 minutes on each side).
2. Add apples and thyme to skillet. Cook covered for 1 minutes or until apples are heated through. (I cooked it a good bit longer than this too. I guess you could say that mine wasn't really 20 minutes).
Good luck! Let me know if you try it and if you did anything differently! It was good enough to give it a shot, but I definitely think I will do the fresh apples next time and maybe add a little sugar :)
Monday, February 7, 2011
So... I didn't get a post up this morning. But to my defense, I am a little sick. Thankfully, I am starting to feel better. However, I did still manage to get dinner in the crock pot (and thank goodness it was a crock pot recipe today!). I didn't want to post it before we tried it in case it wasn't good! This is another recipe from the cookbook that Walt got me for Christmas :). SUPER EASY! I had a hard time finding some of the ingredients so I just improvised and I think it worked out!
Money Savers:
It calls for cooking oil. I used vegetable oil but if you want you could use olive oil. $3 at Publix! (BOGO)
The meat!--I don't think it was necessarily on sale but it wasn't expensive! If my memory serves me right, it was about $4 for the pound!
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb boneless beef round steak (about 3/4 to 1 inch thick)
salt
black pepper
1 tbs cooking oil
14.5 oz can Italian-style stewed tomatoes (undrained)
3 tbs Italian-style tomato paste (you can get a really small can)
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
16 oz package of frozen pepper stir-fry vegetables (yellow, green, and red sweet peppers with onion)
**if you can't find Italian-style stewed tomatoes and tomato paste you can use 1 tsp dried Italian seasoning, crushed.
I was unable to find it. I actually used Mexican-style stewed tomatoes because I had them already and just regular tomato paste. I didn't use Italian seasoning either. So if you don't have it, don't sweat it!
**can't find the stir-fly veggies?
Me either! And I looked... I found frozen green bell peppers and used just them. Looking back, I think I will spend the little bit of extra money and just buy a fresh green and a fresh red pepper. The frozen bell pepper was diced a little small for what I would have liked. It will pair really well with the peppers!
**I added sugar... I know that might sound a little strange. I didn't add a lot but because I didn't have the sweetness from the yellow or sweet red pepper, I thought that I would add in a little of my own. It was probably just a little more than a tsp. I don't know if it made a big difference, but it tasted good!
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Trim fat from meat. Cut the meat into four pieces and sprinkle them lightly with salt and pepper. In a large skillet brown the meat on both sides in hot oil. Transfer to 3 1/2 - 4 qrt slow cooker (aka crock pot).
**Make sure you go with the 1 tbs oil... I just poured some in there and did WAY too much! It made quite a mess and you should have seen me this morning at 6 am dancing around the hot oil... Word to the wise.
**I cooked in on the stove on about medium to medium high. My stove gets a little hotter than most (I think?) so somewhere in that range. You might wanna start at medium and see how quickly it browns it!
2. In a bowl, stir together undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour this mix over the meat in the crock pot. Top with the frozen veggies!
3. Now, you can sit back and relax! :) If you have time to let it cook 10-12 hours, set it on low. Otherwise you can set it on high for 5-6 hours! The longer the better in my book! It will be more tender!
The review:
It was definitely good! Like I said, I think I will get the fresh bell peppers next time and maybe add them in half way so they don't get too soggy. I like a little crunch! The meat was so tender it will fall apart when you try to get it out of the crock pot! We aren't big tomato people, so we didn't eat the stewed tomatoes but they were great flavoring!
I served it on top of rice and it was GREAT! I also made green beans. In attempts to be healthy, we don't eat a lot of bread. However, some dinner rolls would be perfect!
Money Savers:
It calls for cooking oil. I used vegetable oil but if you want you could use olive oil. $3 at Publix! (BOGO)
The meat!--I don't think it was necessarily on sale but it wasn't expensive! If my memory serves me right, it was about $4 for the pound!
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb boneless beef round steak (about 3/4 to 1 inch thick)
salt
black pepper
1 tbs cooking oil
14.5 oz can Italian-style stewed tomatoes (undrained)
3 tbs Italian-style tomato paste (you can get a really small can)
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
16 oz package of frozen pepper stir-fry vegetables (yellow, green, and red sweet peppers with onion)
**if you can't find Italian-style stewed tomatoes and tomato paste you can use 1 tsp dried Italian seasoning, crushed.
I was unable to find it. I actually used Mexican-style stewed tomatoes because I had them already and just regular tomato paste. I didn't use Italian seasoning either. So if you don't have it, don't sweat it!
**can't find the stir-fly veggies?
Me either! And I looked... I found frozen green bell peppers and used just them. Looking back, I think I will spend the little bit of extra money and just buy a fresh green and a fresh red pepper. The frozen bell pepper was diced a little small for what I would have liked. It will pair really well with the peppers!
**I added sugar... I know that might sound a little strange. I didn't add a lot but because I didn't have the sweetness from the yellow or sweet red pepper, I thought that I would add in a little of my own. It was probably just a little more than a tsp. I don't know if it made a big difference, but it tasted good!
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Trim fat from meat. Cut the meat into four pieces and sprinkle them lightly with salt and pepper. In a large skillet brown the meat on both sides in hot oil. Transfer to 3 1/2 - 4 qrt slow cooker (aka crock pot).
**Make sure you go with the 1 tbs oil... I just poured some in there and did WAY too much! It made quite a mess and you should have seen me this morning at 6 am dancing around the hot oil... Word to the wise.
**I cooked in on the stove on about medium to medium high. My stove gets a little hotter than most (I think?) so somewhere in that range. You might wanna start at medium and see how quickly it browns it!
2. In a bowl, stir together undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour this mix over the meat in the crock pot. Top with the frozen veggies!
3. Now, you can sit back and relax! :) If you have time to let it cook 10-12 hours, set it on low. Otherwise you can set it on high for 5-6 hours! The longer the better in my book! It will be more tender!
The review:
It was definitely good! Like I said, I think I will get the fresh bell peppers next time and maybe add them in half way so they don't get too soggy. I like a little crunch! The meat was so tender it will fall apart when you try to get it out of the crock pot! We aren't big tomato people, so we didn't eat the stewed tomatoes but they were great flavoring!
I served it on top of rice and it was GREAT! I also made green beans. In attempts to be healthy, we don't eat a lot of bread. However, some dinner rolls would be perfect!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
So as most people know the Superbowl comes on tonight! I must say I think I am going to be pulling for the Steelers. I won't be hosting tonight but there are a couple really easy recipes that you can do for side dishes!
ONE: Picante and Cream Cheese Dip (aka Cheese dip but a little different then you are probably used to)
Though I say picante, you can use any salsa. We just like that picante is smooth with less chunks. Don't go think and chunky (at least not your first time :-P).
This should serve about... five to ten people. So you might wanna consider doubling it if you are having a larger party.
Money Savers:
Pace salsa- There is a coupon in the paper last week for Picante sauce. I think 50/2 cents off! You may have this if you clip coupons. Also, Publix still has the BOGO sale on their Pace salsa making it $1.40 for one and $1.39 for the second. The 50 cent coupon will be doubled at Publix so you can get two for $1.79! Remember, at publix you could get just one, but you wouldn't be able to use the coupon.
Cream cheese- Publix also has a sale going on the Philadelphia cream cheese! It's on sale 4/$5. You can go here: http://print.coupons.com/Couponweb/Offers.aspx?pid=14552&nid=20&zid=bg78 to print off a coupon for .50/2 (which double at publix is a dollar!). This makes the cream cheese 4/$4!
Total price: $1 for cream cheese + .90 for salsa = $1.90!
INGREDIENTS: one package of cream cheese and one jar of salsa.
This is an EASY recipe! All you do is put the salsa and cream cheese in a blender and mix them together!!! Depending on your blender you might want to cut the cream cheese into about eight pieces. It will take less time for it to blend that way!
TWO: This is a little more advanced, but if you are tight on time (which is likely for today) you can just buy the pizza crust! (or if you don't wanna try this yet!)
Homemade Thin Crust Pizza!!!! This is definitely a favorite of ours!
Money Savers:
Publix has BOGO olive oil today! I always make sure to get this when it happens! I am going to purchase mine in a few hours! :) It will be $3.50 for olive oil. You can use other cooking oils if you want in this, but being an italian dish (technically) I like to use the olive oil.
Kraft cheese: Publix has 2/$4 cheese (block or shredded). At the end of last month, there was a coupon in Smart Source for $1/2. So if you have the coupon, it's $1.50 for a block or bag of cheese! Not bad!!!
INGREDIENTS for the dough:
*** this is another great time to use that KitchenAid mixer with the dough hook!
2 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour
1 pkg dry yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup warm water (120-130 degrees F)
2 tbs cooking oil or olive oil
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Combine 1 1/4 cups flour, yeast and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the warm water and oil. Beat with electric mixer for 30 seconds, scraping the bowl. Then beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon stir in the rest of the flour (f you don't have a wooden spoon, that's fine! Just use a spatula or plastic spoon if you have it). **Here you will be using the attachment that looks more triangular (not the whisk or bread hook).
2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead in the remaining flour to make it moderately stiff, smooth and elastic. **You can also change the attachment on your mixer to the dough hook and on a medium to high speed let it knead about 7-8 minutes or until consistency is reached!
3. Divide the dough in half. Cover and let it rest for 10 minutes. (sometimes I have found it takes long than this. You want to get the dough to expand to about twice the size. It is going to be important that the water was at the right temperature in the beginning. You can also preheat your over to 200 degrees F before you are making this and turn it off and when it is just luke warm, stick the dough in the oven).
OPTION:
Whole wheat dough: use 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour just as the recipe states. When stirring in as much as you can later in the recipe, 1 1/4 cups to 1 3/4 cups flour use whole wheat flour. Knead in whole wheat flour until stiff dough that is smooth and elastic.
INGREDIENTS for homemade pizza:
homemade pizza dough or dough bought from the store (such as Pillsbury pizza dough)
**if bought, you will need two.
pizza sauce of your choice (about 24 to 32 oz)
Cheese (we often use Kraft triple cheese but it's your choice!)
toppings!
1. Get two cookies sheets. Grease them (we use crisco and a paper towel to do the trick) and spread the dough on the sheets. Spreading the dough is a little difficult. You will want to start either in the middle or in one corner and patiently spread the dough out. Try to avoid making holes in the dough. But if it happens just close them up. This could take a little while.
2. If you made the homemade dough, cook it at 425 F for about 10 minutes or until light brown. If you purchase the dough from the store, follow the instructions on the package.
3. Remove the dough from the oven and place sauce, cheese and toppings on top! Cook until hot and bubbly (about 10 minutes!).
This is delicious pizza!!! And pretty inexpensive (definitely compared to delivery from somewhere!)
THREE: Mustard and Grape Jelly Smokies (SUPER easy)
***So, we haven't made this but I am taking my husband word for it as he has had them before and says though it sounds disgusting, it is delicious!
INGREDIENTS:
6 ounces grape jelly
6 ounces mustard
1 pound little smokies
INSTRUCTIONS:
Put all ingredients into crock pot. Stir all ingredients together as jelly melts. Simmer for an hour. Serve hot!!!
This is so easy and something you can just throw in an hour before people get there!
Have a great Superbowl Sunday! :)
Coming up this week: Crockpot Pepper Steak and Medallions of Pork with Apples (a 20 minute meal)
ONE: Picante and Cream Cheese Dip (aka Cheese dip but a little different then you are probably used to)
Though I say picante, you can use any salsa. We just like that picante is smooth with less chunks. Don't go think and chunky (at least not your first time :-P).
This should serve about... five to ten people. So you might wanna consider doubling it if you are having a larger party.
Money Savers:
Pace salsa- There is a coupon in the paper last week for Picante sauce. I think 50/2 cents off! You may have this if you clip coupons. Also, Publix still has the BOGO sale on their Pace salsa making it $1.40 for one and $1.39 for the second. The 50 cent coupon will be doubled at Publix so you can get two for $1.79! Remember, at publix you could get just one, but you wouldn't be able to use the coupon.
Cream cheese- Publix also has a sale going on the Philadelphia cream cheese! It's on sale 4/$5. You can go here: http://print.coupons.com/Couponweb/Offers.aspx?pid=14552&nid=20&zid=bg78 to print off a coupon for .50/2 (which double at publix is a dollar!). This makes the cream cheese 4/$4!
Total price: $1 for cream cheese + .90 for salsa = $1.90!
INGREDIENTS: one package of cream cheese and one jar of salsa.
This is an EASY recipe! All you do is put the salsa and cream cheese in a blender and mix them together!!! Depending on your blender you might want to cut the cream cheese into about eight pieces. It will take less time for it to blend that way!
TWO: This is a little more advanced, but if you are tight on time (which is likely for today) you can just buy the pizza crust! (or if you don't wanna try this yet!)
Homemade Thin Crust Pizza!!!! This is definitely a favorite of ours!
Money Savers:
Publix has BOGO olive oil today! I always make sure to get this when it happens! I am going to purchase mine in a few hours! :) It will be $3.50 for olive oil. You can use other cooking oils if you want in this, but being an italian dish (technically) I like to use the olive oil.
Kraft cheese: Publix has 2/$4 cheese (block or shredded). At the end of last month, there was a coupon in Smart Source for $1/2. So if you have the coupon, it's $1.50 for a block or bag of cheese! Not bad!!!
INGREDIENTS for the dough:
*** this is another great time to use that KitchenAid mixer with the dough hook!
2 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour
1 pkg dry yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup warm water (120-130 degrees F)
2 tbs cooking oil or olive oil
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Combine 1 1/4 cups flour, yeast and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the warm water and oil. Beat with electric mixer for 30 seconds, scraping the bowl. Then beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon stir in the rest of the flour (f you don't have a wooden spoon, that's fine! Just use a spatula or plastic spoon if you have it). **Here you will be using the attachment that looks more triangular (not the whisk or bread hook).
2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead in the remaining flour to make it moderately stiff, smooth and elastic. **You can also change the attachment on your mixer to the dough hook and on a medium to high speed let it knead about 7-8 minutes or until consistency is reached!
3. Divide the dough in half. Cover and let it rest for 10 minutes. (sometimes I have found it takes long than this. You want to get the dough to expand to about twice the size. It is going to be important that the water was at the right temperature in the beginning. You can also preheat your over to 200 degrees F before you are making this and turn it off and when it is just luke warm, stick the dough in the oven).
OPTION:
Whole wheat dough: use 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour just as the recipe states. When stirring in as much as you can later in the recipe, 1 1/4 cups to 1 3/4 cups flour use whole wheat flour. Knead in whole wheat flour until stiff dough that is smooth and elastic.
INGREDIENTS for homemade pizza:
homemade pizza dough or dough bought from the store (such as Pillsbury pizza dough)
**if bought, you will need two.
pizza sauce of your choice (about 24 to 32 oz)
Cheese (we often use Kraft triple cheese but it's your choice!)
toppings!
1. Get two cookies sheets. Grease them (we use crisco and a paper towel to do the trick) and spread the dough on the sheets. Spreading the dough is a little difficult. You will want to start either in the middle or in one corner and patiently spread the dough out. Try to avoid making holes in the dough. But if it happens just close them up. This could take a little while.
2. If you made the homemade dough, cook it at 425 F for about 10 minutes or until light brown. If you purchase the dough from the store, follow the instructions on the package.
3. Remove the dough from the oven and place sauce, cheese and toppings on top! Cook until hot and bubbly (about 10 minutes!).
This is delicious pizza!!! And pretty inexpensive (definitely compared to delivery from somewhere!)
THREE: Mustard and Grape Jelly Smokies (SUPER easy)
***So, we haven't made this but I am taking my husband word for it as he has had them before and says though it sounds disgusting, it is delicious!
INGREDIENTS:
6 ounces grape jelly
6 ounces mustard
1 pound little smokies
INSTRUCTIONS:
Put all ingredients into crock pot. Stir all ingredients together as jelly melts. Simmer for an hour. Serve hot!!!
This is so easy and something you can just throw in an hour before people get there!
Have a great Superbowl Sunday! :)
Coming up this week: Crockpot Pepper Steak and Medallions of Pork with Apples (a 20 minute meal)
Friday, February 4, 2011
So last night Tuscaloosa was under a little bit of a freeze warning (though of course nothing happened). Instead of going to Chili's, we ordered dominos for delivery. Therefore, I think tonight is going to be Chili's night.
The recipe for today is BBQ Chicken "Quesadillas." They are more like burritos or wraps but it's another of Walt's favorite. This recipe comes from my mom and is often a quick dinner or a picnic at Shakespeare in the park. One of the best parts about this recipe is you don't need many ingredients or much time!
Money Savers!
Barbecue sauce- Bull's Eye BBQ Sauce BOGO at Publix ($1.09)
Kraft Cheese- 2/$2.75 at Publix (and I think Target and Walmart still!) ($1.37 each!)
They are on sale for 2/$4. Most Publix take Target as a competitor. If you go to Target's website and at the bottom click coupons, you can print a coupon for $1.25/2 Kraft cheese.
Ingredients:
6 flour tortillas (rule of thumb, one chicken breast makes about 2 using larger tortillas)
3 Chicken breasts
BBQ sauce (probably about 3/4 of a bottle)
Cheddar cheese
red onion or chopped tomatoes (if desired)
Instructions:
1. Boil the chicken on the stove until cooked (probably about 15-20 minutes depending on the size of the chicken)
2. When the chicken has cooled, pull the chicken to shred it and place in medium/large bowl.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
4. Add the BBQ sauce to the chicken and stir until coated.
5. Add the onion or tomatoes if you want. (We aren't too big on tomatoes and onion but my parent like it. I think you could use the white onion or sweet onion but I think the red works best. If some wants the onion or tomato and others don't, just add it when you are filling the tortilla.)
6. Fill the tortilla with the chicken mixture. Sprinkle the cheese on top and close the tortilla. Place it seam down on a baking sheet.
7. Just throw them in the oven for about 5-10 minutes (just enough to let it get brown and melt the cheese).
This is a great recipe to throw together in about 30 minutes! It goes great with chips and salsa or chips and dip!
The recipe for today is BBQ Chicken "Quesadillas." They are more like burritos or wraps but it's another of Walt's favorite. This recipe comes from my mom and is often a quick dinner or a picnic at Shakespeare in the park. One of the best parts about this recipe is you don't need many ingredients or much time!
Money Savers!
Barbecue sauce- Bull's Eye BBQ Sauce BOGO at Publix ($1.09)
Kraft Cheese- 2/$2.75 at Publix (and I think Target and Walmart still!) ($1.37 each!)
They are on sale for 2/$4. Most Publix take Target as a competitor. If you go to Target's website and at the bottom click coupons, you can print a coupon for $1.25/2 Kraft cheese.
Ingredients:
6 flour tortillas (rule of thumb, one chicken breast makes about 2 using larger tortillas)
3 Chicken breasts
BBQ sauce (probably about 3/4 of a bottle)
Cheddar cheese
red onion or chopped tomatoes (if desired)
Instructions:
1. Boil the chicken on the stove until cooked (probably about 15-20 minutes depending on the size of the chicken)
2. When the chicken has cooled, pull the chicken to shred it and place in medium/large bowl.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
4. Add the BBQ sauce to the chicken and stir until coated.
5. Add the onion or tomatoes if you want. (We aren't too big on tomatoes and onion but my parent like it. I think you could use the white onion or sweet onion but I think the red works best. If some wants the onion or tomato and others don't, just add it when you are filling the tortilla.)
6. Fill the tortilla with the chicken mixture. Sprinkle the cheese on top and close the tortilla. Place it seam down on a baking sheet.
7. Just throw them in the oven for about 5-10 minutes (just enough to let it get brown and melt the cheese).
This is a great recipe to throw together in about 30 minutes! It goes great with chips and salsa or chips and dip!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
So tonight is date night for Walt and I. Therefore, there isn't a recipe for tonight. Instead, it is a trip to Chili's. However, I didn't want to neglect the recipe blog so early and decided to put up my FAVORITE cookie recipe. If you have been skeptical of peanut butter cookies in the past, don't be! Walt said these cookies redeemed peanut butter cookies for him! (it's also out of the recipe book that he got me for Christmas! Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook) They are very easy to make! And for all the newlyweds who got the KitchenAid mixer, this one's for you (and there will be many more to come! I have loved my KitchenAid mixer!).
Money Savers:
Land of the Lake butter 2/$6 (not that great unless you have a coupon) at Publix
*I would just buy Publix brand (it's probably cheaper)
A lot of these are staple items and the way to get a discount on them is to use the coupons from the paper or websites like coupons.com, redplum, and smart coupons.
Usually you can find a sale on peanut butter. I typically stick to Publix and stock up so be on the lookout for a peanut butter comment!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened (a stick)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (or 1/4 cup honey--I haven't tried the honey)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
Oven temp: 375 F / Prep time: 25 minutes / Cook Time: 7 minutes / yields about 36 cookies
1. Beat butter and peanut butter on medium to high for 30 seconds. It should look like really really creamy PB. To soften the butter you can leave it out for about 30 minutes to an hour, but I typically just microwave it til about half of it is melted.
2. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, and baking powder. Beat until combined. Make sure to get the extra off the sides of the bowl.
3. Add the egg and vanilla beating until combined.
4. Beat in as much of the flour as you can (I normally can get it all in with my mixer). Any extra stir in with a spoon.
5. If necessary, cover and chill dough until easy to handle. (Mine is normally pretty sticky so I will freeze it for about 30 minutes or so and it is much easy to roll. A sticky dough can be used but will make flatter/doughy cookies).
6. Preheat the oven to 375. Shape the dough into one-inch balls. Roll balls in additional granulated sugar to coat (I just dump some sugar in a bowl and roll the cookie dough around). Place the cookies 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet (you can make it closer than this normally).
7. Flatten the cookies by making a criss-cross mark on the top with a fork (just press one way and then the other. Sometimes I also add a little more sugar on top at this point).
8. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until bottoms are light brown. More to a wire rack and let cool.
These are definitely a favorite! Be on the lookout for upcoming snicker doodles and homemade pizza dough (whole wheat)!
Money Savers:
Land of the Lake butter 2/$6 (not that great unless you have a coupon) at Publix
*I would just buy Publix brand (it's probably cheaper)
A lot of these are staple items and the way to get a discount on them is to use the coupons from the paper or websites like coupons.com, redplum, and smart coupons.
Usually you can find a sale on peanut butter. I typically stick to Publix and stock up so be on the lookout for a peanut butter comment!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened (a stick)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (or 1/4 cup honey--I haven't tried the honey)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
Oven temp: 375 F / Prep time: 25 minutes / Cook Time: 7 minutes / yields about 36 cookies
1. Beat butter and peanut butter on medium to high for 30 seconds. It should look like really really creamy PB. To soften the butter you can leave it out for about 30 minutes to an hour, but I typically just microwave it til about half of it is melted.
2. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, and baking powder. Beat until combined. Make sure to get the extra off the sides of the bowl.
3. Add the egg and vanilla beating until combined.
4. Beat in as much of the flour as you can (I normally can get it all in with my mixer). Any extra stir in with a spoon.
5. If necessary, cover and chill dough until easy to handle. (Mine is normally pretty sticky so I will freeze it for about 30 minutes or so and it is much easy to roll. A sticky dough can be used but will make flatter/doughy cookies).
6. Preheat the oven to 375. Shape the dough into one-inch balls. Roll balls in additional granulated sugar to coat (I just dump some sugar in a bowl and roll the cookie dough around). Place the cookies 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet (you can make it closer than this normally).
7. Flatten the cookies by making a criss-cross mark on the top with a fork (just press one way and then the other. Sometimes I also add a little more sugar on top at this point).
8. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until bottoms are light brown. More to a wire rack and let cool.
These are definitely a favorite! Be on the lookout for upcoming snicker doodles and homemade pizza dough (whole wheat)!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
After some thought and help from those on Facebook, I have decided to start a blog on recipes. With so many people getting married or graduating college and beginning to cook more, I thought we could all use some new recipes! I will try to post the recipe that I am cooking for the night in the morning in case you need an idea for the day! I am new to the blogging world and it may take me a little while to make the design pretty and figure out the nooks and crannies, but know I am working on it. Also, as we go on I may post any coupon savers or sales and are included in the recipe.
So tonight for dinner, at the request of my husband, is the Layered Enchilada Bake. It's been a while since I have made this one (not since we have been married) so we are going to pretty much go by the recipe. The last time I made it, I don't think we included the black beans though tonight we will. Remember, any brand will work for these ingredients. Just pick the brand you like best or if you coupon clip / sale shop like me, the best price.
If you aren't a big onion fan, you have two options. You can leave it out (I don't recommend this one too much because it adds great flavor) or you can slice it into large pieces that can be removed before you add the other ingredients. I typically use about half an onion and save the rest in a ziploc in the fridge for a later recipe.
Money Savers:
Kraft cheese is $2 a bag at Publix, Walmart and Target this week. (this is lowest I have found Kraft cheese)
Pace chunky salsa is $1.39 at Publix*
Breakstone's sour cream is $1.12 for 16 ounces at Publix* (you might have a coupon from the paper or they sometimes have this one in store by the product!)
*This is buy one, get one (B1G1) at Publix. In case you didn't know, you don't have to buy two!
You can buy one at half price! :) LOVE Publix.
Layered Enchilada Bake
1 pound lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Thick 'N Chunky Salsa
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained, rinsed
1/4 cup KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing
2 tablespoons TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Taco Seasoning Mix
6 (8 inch) flour tortillas
1 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream (one cup is 8 oz)
1 (8 ounce) package KRAFT Mexican Style Shredded Four Cheese
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brown meat with onions in large skillet on medium-high heat; drain. Add salsa, beans, dressing and seasoning mix to the meat; mix well.
Arrange 3 of the tortillas in single layer on bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish; cover with layers of half each of the meat mixture, sour cream and cheese. Repeat all layers. Cover with foil.
Bake, covered, 30 minutes. Remove foil. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until casserole is heated through and cheese is melted. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting to serve.
ENJOY!