Tag Archives: eating on a budget

Recipe of the Day: Beef Burgundy

1 Feb
Beef Burgandy on a bed of rice with green beans

I like Beef Burgundy so much, I have to be careful not to make it too often or we'd be eating it every single week.

I love Beef Burgundy. I could get into a Beef Burgundy rut if I am not careful, I’d make it all the time. My family likes it and it’s relatively easy to make.

Here’s the original recipe with my modifications

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 pounds beef round steak (or in my house, a pack of stew meat)
oil to saute meat
2 or 3 Tbl. flour (I don’t measure, I sprinkle all over meat)
2 tsp salt (I don’t measure again, I sprinkle)
1/4 tsp marjoram (I’ve never used this, we never have it)
1/4 tsp thyme
1/8 tsp pepper
2 Beef Boullion cubes
12 small whole onions, or 5 medium onions sliced (I do one medium onion sliced)
1 1/4 c. Burgundy wine
3/4 c. water
1/2 pound mushrooms sliced (I do a whole package and slice them)

Kids can help with slicing mushrooms.

Mushroom slicing is an easy way to get bigger kids to help out with this recipe.

DIRECTIONS:
Thoroughly chill or partially freeze steak for easy slicing. (I freeze my meat on shopping day and thaw that day.)

Cut steak into strips 1/4″ wide and into 2 to 3 inch pieces (stew meat is cubed)

In large skillet over medium heat, brown steak in hot cooking oil.

Pour off drippings.

Sprinkle steak with flour, salt, marjoram (if you have it!) thyme and pepper.

Add boullion cubes, onions, wine and water (I measure out wine into a 2 c. measuring cup, add the water to it and throw in the boullion cubes while I’m prepping everything and then just dump the whole measuring cup in together.)

Cover and simmer 45 minutes.

Because of our issues with space, I love anything that is cooked in just one pan.

Stir in mushrooms; cover and cook 15 minutes longer or until steak and mushrooms are tender.

We serve this over white rice, with steamed broccoli or some veggie like that. It’s great with french bread baguette if you have it.

Enjoy!

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Recipes and Resolutions: Easy Chicken and Wine

31 Jan
Easy Chicken and Wine

The "Easy Chicken and Wine" recipe really IS easy!

Since today is the last day of January, this is technically the last recipe in my January theme, Recipes and Resolutions. The message behind that theme for January was that you don’t need to give up on quality, even gourmet, meals just because you shop on a budget. However, I wanted to just state for the record that just because January is over and just because I won’t be calling the recipes “Recipes and Resolutions” recipes anymore, doesn’t mean we’re going off the deep end here with our budgets. Really anything I post is budget-friendly, or we wouldn’t be eating it. That’s a promise.

On to today’s recipe…Easy Chicken and Wine.

This is another one of my favorite meals from growing up. According to my mom, she’s been making this before it was published in their “Newcomers Cookbook” in 1979. The recipe was from her life-long friend Nancy Roy, whose mother, Helen Thurston, passed it along to her. You don’t need a ton of ingredients and you mix them up in one 2c. measuring cup and then pour them over the chicken before baking, so it’s super easy. All of my kids like it, so it’s a winner all around.  It does take a little while to bake, but while it does, I can do something useful; like helping kids with homework.

INGREDIENTS

4-6 breast quarters (I use split breasts which I got at Aldi’s. Each pkg. had 2 breasts in it for about $2.00. I cooked four breasts total and we had an entire one left over, which I will eat for lunch this week.) Also, as a note, I know that skin on chicken is not as healthy as skinless, and so often we do use skinless chicken. But, this recipe is just soooo good with the skin on, so it’s a treat for us. However, you can do as you please with yours. It’s yummy though, just saying.

1 cup burgandy wine (I use whatever red wine we have on hand or the Holland House red cooking wine)

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil

1/4 tsp. crushed oregano

2 tablespoons water

1 garlic clove sliced in quarters (tonight I used minced garlic)

1 tablespoon brown sugar

This recipe makes a neat "teachable moment" for science, seeing the oil go to the top, the wine settling to the bottom.

DIRECTIONS

Wash and drain chicken quarters.

Place in shallow baking dish.

Combine all other ingredients and pour over chicken.

Cover with foil.

Refrigerate if there is time to do ahead. If so, spoon sauce over chicken several times before baking.

If not, bake chicken covered for one hour at 375 degrees.

Uncover and cook 10-15 minutes longer and cook 10-15 minutes longer and baste with wine sauce for further browning. This is really yummy with baked potatoes (which I put in the oven for the same baking time as the chicken) or over rice. We put the sauce into a gravy separator and use it over the chicken at the table as well.

Easy Chicken and Wine, asparagus, baked potato

Another meal brought to you by an Aldi's grocery trip! We *love* their asparagus too.

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To Coupon or Not To Coupon? That was the question.

30 Jan
Coupon holder

I will not be an Extreme Couponer, I will not be an Extreme Couponer, I will not be an Extreme Couponer, I will not be....

I admit, I am a little obsessive. Definitely a Type A personality. When I want to do something I do it and I give it 110%, no matter what it is, which is good…and bad….because how many things can one person give 110% to without losing their minds?

Sometimes Don says, “Can’t you ever just do something 75%? Just once?”

Um…No.

When I started this blog, I wasn’t going to blog EVERY day, I mean, that’s a lot. Just on occasion, when the mood strikes me.

You see my problem.

Therefore, when all of this Extreme Couponing started popping up on TV, Twitter, Facebook, etc., I was so tempted.

“I could do that,” I’d think to myself.

“I would be so GOOD at that!” I’d think.

But then, I’d remind myself: I shop at two stores for all my groceries that don’t take coupons because their pricing is already so low, namely Aldi’s and Price Rite. And, I don’t want to change that and I don’t want to go all over town buying one thing here or there just because it’s free.

Yet, I also shop at Walmart and CVS (I’m addicted to Extra Bucks) where I *could* use coupons and where I was probably missing such great deals because I don’t coupon.

I was so torn.

It kept me up at night.

Finally though… it happened. I got an email from my friend Karen. “You should really coupon…” Since she’s the one who introduced me to Don, I trust her entirely, I mean, she was so right about the husband thing…

So I decided to venture into it just a little bit. I promised myself I would NOT be an Extreme Couponer, that I would NOT spend entire days couponing or hours and hours in a store, but that I would just try to be better about having coupons for the things I do buy at Walmart, CVS and omg…I forgot about Target, love it there, and try to save even more money than I already do by shopping where I do.

The first time I went to CVS with coupons AND Extra Bucks, I was so nervous! I wanted to make sure I had the best deals to spend my Extra Bucks on so that I’d make the most of them. I was mad when I got home because I realized that they didn’t count one of my dollar off coupons, so I promised myself that next time I’d do a better job like those ladies on the TV show, of watching what goes in and what comes off the bottom line BEFORE I get home. My mom was always so good at that, still is. My attention to mathematical details…not so good.

Despite the fact that I missed getting one of my dollars off, I think I did pretty well! I came home feeling pretty proud of myself!

So, there it is. I’m officialy couponing. A little. And I have to tell you, literally EVERY time I get a tissue from one of my free boxes of Kleenex brand tissues (which would normally be a splurge in our house,) I think to myself, “This tissue was free.”

Every. Single. Time.

I’m still trying to keep to my promise of not being extreme, and I can definitely tell why people who are extreme need dedicated storage spaces for their haul, because as silly as it seems, my first thought when I got home was, “okay so where do I store four deoderants,” since I usually only buy one as I need it. But, I found a place. However, those are small items, and those extreme couponers…they buy lots of stuff and lots of bigger items.

I won’t be that way.

Right?

I won’t….

Here's what I paid for....

coupon haul at CVS!

And here's what I got for free!! Yes, that's SIX boxes of Kleenex brand tissues!!

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The Best Things in Life

29 Jan

Today we took our kids out to breakfast. We had a coupon AND a gift card, so we were good to go. We were so careful with our selections that we will be able to go out again with what’s left on the gift card on a night when they have “kids eat free.”

While we were there, we sat and planned out our meals for the next two weeks, since it’s a pay week,  making our grocery list, and then headed for the store. At Price Rite we spent exactly $200 on the two weeks’ of groceries and we got 85 items; ingredients to make two lasagnas, a roasted chicken, BBQ ribs and more, more, more.

But, despite all that we did and all that we got, the best thing of all was free….the cardboard box from Price Rite. It wasn’t even from today’s trip, it was from a different trip, but they spent the whole morning playing with it.

Here’s a sneak peek at this week’s menu:

SUNDAY: BBQ ribs and chicken with homemade corn bread

MONDAY: Poached salmon over rice with steamed broccoli hollandaise

 

TUESDAY: Sausage and Peppers

WEDNESDAY: Cranberry Chicken

THURSDAY: Spaghetti with Tuna sauce

FRIDAY: Daddy Does Dinner…surprise!

SATURDAY: Make two, freeze one Lasagna

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Superbowl Week: Easy Apps

26 Jan

Apps as in appetizers, not as in for your iPhone or iPad. I thought today I’d share two easy appetizers that you can serve on Superbowl Sunday or any time you need an appetizer idea. One of them we make often when we are asked to bring an appetizer with us and the other one, Don makes all the time for dinner on Friday nights, which is usually his night to cook while I take the girls to dance and Girl Scouts. It’s a late night and they look forward to that night’s dinner as it’s more laid back than our other nights’ meals.

The first is Kielbasa Roll-Ups, something we’ve been making for years and years. Don has pretty much taken over making these as the years have gone by and he’s really, really good at them!

Kielbasa and Crescent Rolls

These only need two ingredients: the kielbasa and the crescent rolls.

You need just two ingredients: two tubes of crescent rolls and one package of kielbasa.

First, open up your package of kielbasa and cut the pieces into bite-sized pieces, about the size of your thumb. Cook them in a frying pan in a little bit of oil. Try not to eat lots of the little pieces while you cook them.

A few easy steps and this appetizer is done.

Next, open up your crescent roll dough and cut each triangle in half. Roll the cooked kielbasa right up in the crescent roll dough and place on a cookie sheet.

Bake in the oven at the temperature on the crescent roll container until they are golden brown, about 10 minutes or so, according to the container. The kielbasa is cooked all the way through so you’re just cooking the crescents around it. Serve warm or cold and with a side of mustard if desired. You may have more pieces of kielbasa then you do crescents to wrap them in, so those you can eat while you wait for the appetizers to cook!

Next up: Loaded Nachos…this is the one the kids crave on Friday nights. When we come home and they see that Don’s made them for dinner, they literally cheer. He often makes them along with another dish like a pizza or calzones, but I could eat a whole plate of just nachos alone.

Loaded nachos

The good thing about this appetizer is you can use whatever ingredients you'd like!

The only definite ingredient you need to make a Loaded Nacho appetizer is the chips. After that you can decide what else you want to add to them on top of the chips: meat (chicken or beef), veggies (lettuce, tomatoes, olives, chili peppers), cheese, guacamole, sour cream etc. You decide.

Layer your chips first, and then the cooked meat of your choice on top. Bake for a few minutes until chips are crispy and then sprinkle your cheese on top. Cook until melted. You can even broil them a little bit to crisp them up, as long as you watch them carefully so that they don’t burn.

Add cold ingredients to the top once your baking is finished.

Enjoy!

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Resolutions and Recipes: Basic Pancakes

22 Jan
Basic Pancakes

It's good to have a variety of different syrups on hand for pancakes. We often have maple, blueberry, strawberry or boysenberry.

Last weekend I posted my recipe for Hot Blueberry Compote, and I showed it over homemade waffles. However, it’s also delicious over pancakes. We always make our pancakes from scratch and the recipe is super easy. You can put anything in them or on top of them and we vary them with toppings and fillings such as: blueberries, strawberries, bananas, chocolate chips (of course) and craisins. My absolute favorite combination is a “pancake sandwich” of two banana pancakes stacked with a chocolate chip pancake in between them. Butter, syrup…mmmmm…..

Here is our recipe for Basic Pancakes, which uses very basic ingredients that you probably already have on hand. As usual it’s the recipe I grew up with. We keep it taped into the front cover of our recipe tin so that all we have to do is lift the cover, and there it is (Don’s idea.)

BASIC PANCAKES

INGREDIENTS

2 eggs

2 cups Buttermilk (2 TBL white vinegar and enough milk to make 2 c.)

1/4 c. canola oil (or vegetable oil)

2 cups flour

2 TBL sugar or honey

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS

Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl. Pour onto hot frying pan or griddle.  Add desired fillings and/or toppings.

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Fun for Family “Movie” Night: Whirley-Pop Three Minute Popcorn Maker

20 Jan

Tonight was the first night of American Idol, a show our family enjoys watching. We especially enjoy the audition nights, because of the umm…array of talent…that’s out there. We record the show so that the kids watch the first hour and then, since it’s a school night, they have to go to bed and we watch the second hour at another time. Since it was a somewhat special night, being the first night of the show, we decided to christen another one of our Christmas gifts, this one was from my aunt and uncle:

Whirly Pop Three minute popcorn maker

This was one of our popcorn themed-gifts this Christmas and we tried it out tonight.

My aunt and uncle also gave us some popcorn accessories to go with it:

Popcorn accessories

These are the other accessories that were given to us to go with the popcorn maker.

Since we’ve never had a popcorn popper before, we were very curious as to how it would work and we thought tonight would be a fun night to try it out.

Here’s what it looks like out of the box:

Whirly Pop Popcorn maker

It's a pretty cool piece of equipment.

Once out of the box, the popcorn maker has to be seasoned with oil. After that, we followed the directions, putting oil in the bottom of the pot and a half cup of popcorn. As it heats up, you turn the handle until the popcorn is done. It cooked up very quickly and the entire pot was full. We decided to try the Kettle Corn flavoring. Well, more honestly, I decided that we were trying the Kettle Corn flavoring. They wanted Nacho Chip flavor, but somehow I won them over and we tried Kettle Corn. It was a combination of sweet and salty.

Popcorn into the big popcorn bowl

Last year we got the coolest popcorn bowl at our dollar store...for one dollar, perfect for tonight's treat.

Finally, to top it all off, the gift came with one-time use individual popcorn cups as well, so everyone got their own. It was an especially fun way to start off the season of American Idol this year. We found the Whirley-Pop popcorn maker very easy to use and we can’t wait to try out the other flavors of popcorn.

Here's to another season of American Idol!

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Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: Recipe of the Day: Crockpot Oatmeal

17 Jan
Overnight Oatmeal in the crockpot

My family loves this recipe so much, I double it.

As I write this, today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a day to remember and reflect, and and a bonus day for us to spend together as a family. Of course, by the time you get this post, it will be the day *after* MLK Day. I hope you were able to take at least a minute to reflect on the legacy of Dr. King and all that he did.

We had to laugh the other day when our youngest came home from school and informed us that today was Dr. Martin “Looter” King Jr.’s birthday and it was a sad day because “he got shooted.” As I listened to her speak though, I was impressed and pleased that she retained so much of what she’d heard in the story they read in class, and I was glad that they took the time to remember him.

The recipe I’m sharing with you is one that my family loves. I found it last year on Weelicous, a foodie website I follow. It’s a recipe for Overnight Oatmeal in the Crockpot. It’s fantastic for a cold winter day and I made it again just last week as the weather has begun to change here. It’s so cold right now, I’d love a big bowl of it right now! Last week on Weelicious, she even posted an update to this recipe, Pumpkin Spice Crockpot Oatmeal. To see that recipe, click HERE. I haven’t tried it yet, but I plan to! In the meantime, below is her original version of the recipe. As an added piece of information, Steel Cut Oats tend to be expensive in the bigger stores. However, last week a friend of mine found them at Aldi’s, and other friends have found them at Ocean State Job Lot, so look around for the best price before you buy.

Oatmeal in the Crock Pot (Serves 4-6)

1 Cup Steel Cut Oats (not instant)

2 Cups Water

2 1/2 Cups Milk

1 Tsp Cinnamon

Desired accompaniments: honey, maple syrup, walnuts and or raisins, etc.

1. Place the first 4 ingredients in a crock pot and stir to combine. (I add diced apples to mine as well.)

2. Cook the oatmeal on low heat for 6-9 hours (the amount of time can vary depending on your crock pot. Some crock pots that don’t have non stick surfaces can get hotter then others).

3. Stir in desired accompaniments and serve.

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Resolutions, TWO Recipes and a New Waffle Maker!

15 Jan

This whole month I am focusing on budget-friendly recipes and tips for eating in without sacrificing your love for good food. Being a Sunday morning, today’s recipe is a great one for Sunday Breakfast (or Saturday for that matter) and if you have leftovers, it makes a great special treat for a weekday breakfast as well.

Each year my parents ask us for a couple of wish list ideas for Christmas gifts and this year  I suggested two items that we were doing without since they’d broken. The first one I featured this week, the food processor, and the second one is today’s feature:

Cuisinart Waffle Maker

This was our other wish list gift from my mom and dad this year.

We’ve always liked to make our waffles homemade and we had a waffle maker for the longest time. Ours broke in September after a long life, and we had not yet replaced it. We missed our homemade waffles on the weekends. Therefore, I was excited that my parents got us this Cuisinart waffle maker for Christmas and I could not wait to use it. Included with the box was a recipe my mom gave us for the waffles she makes so we tried that out this past weekend.

Growing up my mom often made a hot Blueberry Compote to go on top of our waffles or our pancakes.

Hot blueberry compote on waffles with whipped cream

This is one of my favorite breakfasts, after french toast.

It was, and still is, one of my favorite weekend breakfasts. It’s easy to make and delicious to eat. If you like whipped cream you can add it on top.

Therefore, on this lovely Sunday morning, I’m passing along both the waffle recipe and the Blueberry Compote recipe. Enjoy them both!

Cuisinart waffle maker

Brand new and ready to go!

All-American Waffles

serves 2-3

INGREDIENTS

1 egg, separated (put yolk in two quart bowl and white in small bowl.)

1 cup plus 2 TBL milk

1 tsp. vanilla

2 TBL canola or vegetable oil

1 cup plus 2 TBL flour

4 tsp. sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS

The waffle iron gets hot, so younger kids can't help out with dropping the batter onto the squares, but older kids can. Plenty of mixing and measuring for the younger kids to do though.

Separate the egg,  putting egg white aside in small bowl.

In larger bowl, combine the egg yolk, milk, vanilla and oil. Blend together, by hand, with wire whisk.

Add flour, sugar, baking powder and salt to the liquid ingredients and blend with wire whisk. (There will probably be some lumps.)

Beat the egg white with electric mixer until stiff. Fold into the batter with wire whisk until just blended.

(Do not beat egg whites into batter,  just fold in.)

When waffle iron is ready, drop batter into the four squares and use according to directions.

Hot blueberry compote

This is what the hot blueberry compote looks like when it's done.

The hot blueberry compote is kind of a neat recipe to make. It looks completely different from beginning to end, and I find it interesting to watch it go from a bright red color when you start,  to a deep purple color when it’s done.

HOT BLUEBERRY COMPOTE

INGREDIENTS

2 cups cold water
2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen (I usually do one frozen 16 oz bag unless I’ve got fresh on hand.)
2 1/2 TBL cornstarch
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 TBL Lemon Juice

Hot blueberry compote

Here's what the compote looks like when you first begin.

DIRECTIONS

In large frying pan combine all ingredients.
Bring to a boil over medium heat.
Stir constantly until it boils. (You’ll see the mixture change from a bright red to a deep purple and thicken when it’s about done.)
Simmer for a few minutes over low heat.
Serve hot (warm).
Whipped cream on top is optional.

ENJOY!

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Resolutions and Recipes: Shrimp Scampi

12 Jan
Shrimp Scampi

Tonight's dinner, one of my favorite new recipes.

So many of the recipes I post are recipes I grew up on. Today’s recipe is not. Today’s is a recipe shared with me by my friend Donna. We often have the “so what are YOU having for dinner tonight” conversation and one day her answer was Shrimp Scampi, a recipe she promised was super easy and delicious, my top two qualifiers for a recipe. We tried it for the first time as a surprise dinner I made for our anniversary and it got all thumbs up from everyone in our crew. Even if someone doesn’t like part of it, they all like something in it.

To start with you’ll need to assemble your ingredients because the recipe is a quick one. Have everything ready.

Ingredients for Shrimp Scampi

Get your ingredients ready while your oil and garlic are sauteing.

Here’s the recipe:

SHRIMP SCAMPI
INGREDIENTS

1 pound shrimp (we keep a big bag of frozen shrimp in the freezer.)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup cut up tomatoes (If I have them, I slice grape tomatoes just in half, it’s faster and they hold their shape better.)
3/4 stick butter
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tsp Parsley (otherwise known as What’s That Green Stuff Mommy?)

DIRECTIONS

Simmering scampi

Simmer until the shrimp is pink and the tomatoes are soft.

Put olive oil in pan and saute garlic three minutes.

Add wine, lemon juice and butter and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer 5-10 minutes

Add shrimp and tomatoes and saute until shrimp is pink and tomatoes are soft.

Pour over rice or pasta (we use pasta.)

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