Frugal Menus

Simple and Delicious - Campbells Recipes

Sunday, February 20th, 2011

Do you know what one of my old favorites is? It’s a recipe that Mom made all the time growing up. It’s tuna casserole.

She probably made it because it was frugal, but I SO looked forward to meals with tuna casserole. I loved the creaminess, the feel of my tongue on the pasta, the warm smooth texture.

I continued the tradition, having that same tuna casserole once a week or so, for my own family.

Daughter called last week asking for the recipe! Some things just never go out of style!

The secret to the creaminess is a can of Campbells cream of mushroom soup.

I like to start my tuna casserole with a little chopped onion sauteed in some organic extra virgin olive oil. When the onions are translucent, I add in a can of albacore tuna, a can of Campbell’s cream of mushroom, a little shredded cheese, or velveeta depending upon what I have on hand, and cooked macaroni.

Our family likes the shell macaroni for this dish. Mom used to take hers, add bread crumbs to the top and bake for a few minutes to brown the crumbs. This casserole is good either way!

It’s a great last minute meal, as are the many different campbells recipes you can make when you have canned soup on hand.

Tuna casserole is so versatile. You can add a veggie like peas or broccoli. You can try a different shape of noodle or even exchange the pasta for rice.

I keep Campbells mushroom (and others) on hand. That way I can whip something up in no time!

Cream of mushroom is great cooked with pork chops, and just as good over rice and chicken. It’s a staple in quick chicken and rice. Great in a meatloaf recipe and great as a sauce base. I wouldn’t be without it in my pantry, and I’m not!

campbells cream of mushroom

campbells cream of mushroom

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Diabetic Meals

Sunday, January 23rd, 2011

Do you have a diabetic in your household? Do you have a diabetic that’s still just not getting it? Are you in charge of meals?

You need this new diabetic cookbook. We’re talking low-carb meal plans that are easy to cook/make/prepare and fit entirely into what your diabetic should be eating. If you’re in charge, they may never even know that these recipes are designed for a diabetic, they’re that good!

You’ll find free tools to manage your Diabetes - Make a Healthy Meal Plan in Minutes. The Best of Diabetic Connect Low-Carb Recipes Includes: More than 60 delicious, healthy recipes 10g of carbs or less per serving—in every recipe. Pork, chicken, beef, desserts, soups, salads and much more. Check it out!

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Friendship Bread Starter

Monday, August 16th, 2010

You know, bread can make a meal! Bread can take a so-so dish and turn a meal into a tummy filling taste sensation.

Bread can help fill the void in your menus, especially when money is tight and there’s nothing better than warm bread with butter and jelly!

Plus bread is a great filler - especially if you’ve a hungry, growing teenage boy in the house!

Try this Friendship Bread Starter and Cinnamon Bread

Starter:
1 tablespoon Active Dry Yeast
1/2 cup Warm Water — (110 degrees)
1 cup Flour
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Milk

Bread:
1 cup Vegetable Oil
1 cup Sugar
2 cups Flour
3 Eggs
1 small Vanilla Pudding Mix — Instant
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 cup Milk

Cinnamon Sugar:
1 cup Sugar
2 tablespoons Cinnamon

For Starter:

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water in a deep non-metal container. Stir in the rest of the milk, flour and sugar. Beat until smooth.
Cover. This first batch of starter contains fresh yeast, you can skip the next set of directions and go directly to the instructions for splitting your start.

Do not refrigerate! Do not stir with a metal spoon! The starter requires
10 days for fermentation.

Day 1- Begin or receive starter
Day 2- Stir with wooden spoon
Day 3- Stir with wooden spoon
Day 4- Stir with wooden spoon
Day 5- Add 1 cup sugar, 1 cup flour, 1 cup milk
Day 6- Stir with wooden spoon
Day 7- Stir with wooden spoon
Day 8- Do Nothing
Day 9- Do Nothing
Day 10- Add 1 cup sugar, 1 cup flour, 1 cup milk

Put 1 cup of starter in each of three containers. Give 2 away to friends
and keep one. This will begin their Day 1.

For Bread:

You will have about 1 cup of batter left (besides the 1 cup you have saved
for yourself). To the remaining batter add vegetable oil, sugar, flour,
baking powder, baking soda, eggs, milk, vanilla pudding mix, cinnamon, and salt. Beat until well blended. Add one cup raisins, chocolate chips or
nuts, if desired. Grease 2 loaf pans well, and sprinkle with cinnamon
sugar, coating bottom well. Turn batter into pans, and sprinkle remaining
cinnamon sugar onto tops of loaves. Bake at 325 degrees for one hour.

toast

toast

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Bought Too Many Carrots?

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

I do that.

I buy that big old 5 lb bag at Sams thinking that YES, I’ll eat carrots and ranch as a snack every day. It works for a while, but one person trying to eat 5 lbs of carrots….. well, let’s just say you get tired of them….

Make carrot bread. It’s kind of like carrot cake only without that high calorie frosting..

Try it!

Carrot Bread

1/2 butter (softened)
1/2 c white sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
3 eggs
2 c flour
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
3 c grated carrots
1 c chopped walnuts (if you have them)

Preheat oven to 350. Butter a bread pan.

Cream the butter and sugars and beat until fluffy. Add in the eggs and beat well. Add the dry ingredients and fold in the carrots and nuts. Mix well. Pour into bread pan and bake for an hour or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Freezes well too!

Great as a dessert.

Great as a breakfast bread!

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Shredded Zucchini

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

Shredded zucchini can be used in most any muffin recipe. Try adding just a half cup to your favorite recipe.

You can also sneak shredded zucchini into many a dish. Think meat loaf, soups, salads…..

You can pan fry it like hash browns……

You can also FREEZE IT for use in cakes and muffins in the winter.

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Squash - Raw

Monday, July 12th, 2010

RAW????????????

Yes!!!!

The first time I had squash ‘raw’ was in a pasta salad from a high-end bbq joint. DELISH!!!

Try that sometime. It adds a little something extra to your pasta salad and people will love it - and probably won’t be quite sure just ‘what’ it is! Just cube it up to about 1/2 inch size.

How else raw?

Slice them up into circles and use as dip chips….

Cut them into circles and top like you would a ritz cracker. Anything you can put on a ritz you can put on a squash circle.

Chunk ‘em up and toss them in your green salad.

Cube and add to soups….

Marinated in italian dressing! (Yum)!!!

How do you use squash raw?

squashyellow

squashyellow

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Picnic Potatoes

Wednesday, June 9th, 2010

Picnic potatoes that aren’t salad? Sure!

Try these lemon roasted ones!

olive oil
pat butter
3 lb potatoes
1/4 c lemon juice
4 t fresh thyme
salt/pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Melt the olive oil and butter in a skillet until butter begins to turn gold. Add in the peeled potatoes and toss gently to coat. Remove from skillet and spread out on a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan. (A lip will keep any ‘extra’ oil from running off the pan.)

Bake at 400 for 40-45 minutes stirring once or twice. When done, put in a serving bowl and toss with the lemon juice, thyme and salt/pepper. Serve while still hot!

“““““““““““““““`
You can always use the leftovers for potato salad tomorrow.

But most likely, you’ll find there are no leftovers!

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Summertime Foods

Sunday, June 6th, 2010

I think I’ll focus on summertime foods for the next few posts.

Summertime foods can be many things to many different people.

For some, they’re sandwiches.

For others, it’s salads.

For others it’s anything cooked outside and for some it’s ‘cool’ foods.

Or maybe a combination of all these and more!

Watch for some easy cool summertime recipes to show up in the new few days! RIGHT here

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On a Diet?

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

Youre probably wondering why you arent seeing as many menus and recipes on my site.

Just one reason.

Chili-man has decided to go on a diet!

Hes avoiding almost everything.  Meals that would normally disappear in short time, now last three days.  Ive leftovers for the first time in ages and ages.

I plan big full wonderful dishes, and he just wants plain old chicken baked with nothing, absolutely nothing on it.  Plain old dry chicken breast.

The other day, we were in Sams, and he asked what was for dinner. My response of Cuban Black Bean soup with sausage, wasnot what he wanted to hear.

He wanted chili.  Chili it was. Chili with no sides. No rice, no cornbread, no crackers.

The good news is, he is loosing weight.

The bad news is my website is suffering for it.

I guess I can still plan big wonderful dishes in my head, there just wont be any pictures to go with it. :(

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Use Old Cookbooks

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

There are lots of new cookbooks out at the bookstores these days for frugal menus for frugal cooks. But, you can create lots of frugal meals without spending big bucks on some new cookbooks.

Most old cookbooks have lots of recipes that are frugal.

Used cookbooks can be acquired at used bookstores for a fraction of new. Even better, dig out some of your own.

I’ve an older Family Circle cookbook that has a frugal section, inside each category. The Betty Crocker cookbooks, the older ones anyhow, are filled with frugal recipes.

Remember, most anything made closer to scratch is typically way cheaper than pre-packaged foods from the grocer.

cookbooks

cookbooks

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