Frugal Meal Friday 7/24

Every Friday I will be sharing with you a frugal recipe. These meals will average $5 or less for a family of four, and many will give you lots of leftovers for lunches. If you have any recipes you would like to share with others, please feel free to email it to me at: couponqueenofcorning @ hotmail.com and I will include it in my Friday's posts.

I found today's meal over at The Finer Things in Life. Now, I haven't tried this recipe yet, but it is quick and easy, and it looks yummy. It's one of those meals that can be thrown together at the last minute. A great way to avoid eating out for dinner or when money is really tight. It's actually very similar to something my mom used to make when we were kids, except she added ground beef instead of hot dogs. Go check out the recipe on Amy's blog and check out the rest of the site while you are there.

Hot Dog Skillet

Ingredients

1 package hot dogs - $1.50
6 (or so) large potatoes - $1.25
1/2 onion - $.25
cooking oil
salt and pepper
ketchup (optional)
salsa (optional)
vegetable - $1


Directions

Scrub, quarter, and thinly slice the potatoes. Heat oil in large skillet. Cook potatoes on medium heat, stirring frequently. Chop onion. Add to potatoes. Slice hot dogs and add to the mixture. Cook until potatoes and hot dogs are lightly browned and potatoes are tender. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve with salsa or ketchup. Add a vegetable (fresh or frozen) to round out the meal. I think this would also be good with a little garlic thrown in there.

Frugal Meal Friday 7/17

Every Friday I will be sharing with you a frugal recipe. These meals will average $5 or less for a family of four, and many will give you lots of leftovers for lunches. If you have any recipes you would like to share with others, please feel free to email it to me at: couponqueenofcorning @ hotmail.com and I will include it in my Friday's posts.

This week I decided to share with a wonderful recipe using chicken. This is originally from Kraftfoods.com and you can find it here. The total comes to a little over $6, but you get a lot of leftovers for the next day and it super yummy. Although the original recipe says chicken leg quarters, I have substituted with breast and they still tasted great.

Italian Chicken Simmer

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil - $neg.
1 1/2 pounds of chicken, skin removed - $3
1/3 cup tomato paste - $.30
1 can (14 1/2 oz) dice tomatoes, preferably Italian-style - $.50
3 cups chopped red pepper (about 2 small) - $1
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese - $.45
1/2 cup shredded Mozarella - $1.50

Directions:
1. Heat oil in large pan on medium-high heat. You may need to cut apart chicken legs and thighs, or if you are using breasts, you may want to cut in half. Add the chicken to the skillet, and cook 10 minutes until both sides are brown, turn occasionally.
2. Add the can of tomatoes with their liquid and the tomato paste and mix well. Stir in peppers and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
3. Remove pan from heat and stir in Parmesan. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Serve with rice if you would like.

Frugal Meal Friday 7/10

Every Friday I will be sharing with you a frugal recipe. These meals will average $5 or less for a family of four, and many will give you lots of leftovers for lunches. If you have any recipes you would like to share with others, please feel free to email it to me at: couponqueenofcorning @ hotmail.com and I will include it in my Friday's posts.

Today's meal is what I made for dinner today - Chicken, Stuffing and Veggie Bake. It is cheap and really quick and easy to make.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup milk
1 can of cream soup (vegetable, chicken, mushroom, etc)
1 tbsp butter
1 box of stuffing
1/2 cup boiling water (can add a little more if you like moist stuffing)
1 pound of chicken, strips or breast
1/2 bag of mixed frozen veggies (or any half bag you may have in freezer)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Spray 9x13 glass pan with cooking spray. Add cream soup, milk, frozen veggies and chicken. Now, I used frozen chicken that was already cooked (I did thaw in microwave for a few minutes so I could break them into pieces - and this was all I had on hand), but you can use uncooked chicken as well. Mix together, making sure to coat veggies and chicken well.
3. In microwavable container, microwave water and butter. Let boil and then add stuffing and mix well. Spread the stuffing over the chicken and veggies.
4. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 30 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.

Price Break Down:

• milk - $.20
• stuffing - $.99
• soup - $.50
• chicken - $2
• veggies - $.50

Total Cost: $4.19

Frugal Meal Friday 7/3

Every Friday I will be sharing with you a frugal recipe. These meals will average $5 or less for a family of four, and many will give you lots of leftovers for lunches. If you have any recipes you would like to share with others, please feel free to email it to me at: couponqueenofcorning @ hotmail.com and I will include it in my Friday's posts.

Homemade pizza is on the menu for today. It tastes soooo good and is very frugal since you can add whatever toppings you would like. It is definitely cheaper than buying a sheet pizza for $20. You can use whatever pizza dough you would like. I use one from my Betty Crocker cookbook and it comes out great every time. Here are a few recipes I found online that you can use: pizza crust 1, Chicago deep dish pizza crust, and thin crust.

Now, we like our pizza crust thick, so I usually let it rise once, put it in the pan and let it rise again. This makes a really nice thicker crust. If you like your crust thinner, just don't let it rise for the second time.You will then want to bake the crust for 15-20 minutes at 375 until crust is just starting to get golden.

Now the fun part: adding the toppings. Add tomato sauce, pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce to the top of your pizza. I usually use about 1/4 of a jar of sauce and then I will use the rest within the next few days for chicken Parmesan, a spaghetti side, etc. Add mozzarella cheese or you could use any cheese you have in your fridge. Now just pick your toppings. I usually put chopped onions and peppers (I chop these up and freeze them for easy meal prep), pepperoni, and hot sausage (I usually use 2 patties from Aldi's) on ours.

After you have all your ingredients on your pizza, put it back in the oven and bake until cheese is fully melted. And enjoy. Add a salad or a veggie to round out the meal a little more.

The price will depend on what toppings you add to the pizza. Here is the breakdown of cost the way I make mine:

• Pizza dough - homemade costs me about $.30
• cheese - I buy on sale (keeps for several months) usually at $2 or less for 8 oz
• 2 sausage patties - I buy a package of them for around $3.50 at Aldi's and I think there are about 18 patties so about $.40 if I use 2.
• pepperoni - I buy the packs when they are $2 or less. I would say it costs less than $.50 for the pepperoni I use.
  
• 1 onion - I can usually get several pounds for a little over $1. So, I would say this was about $.25
• 1/2 -1 pepper depending on size - I buy these 3/$1.75 at Aldi's so even if I use a whole pepper it is still less than $.60.

So, for about $4.00 I can make a really tasty pizza. Adding a vegetable still keeps me under the $5 mark.

I made this last week and it was yummy! I also made strawberry banana muffins for dessert. These turned out yummy and I had the opportunity to use up a bunch of those free strawberries I had gotten. Here is the link to the recipe I used if you would like to make it: Strawnana Muffins.

Frugal Meal Friday 6/27

Every Friday I will be sharing with you a frugal recipe. These meals will average $5 or less for a family of four, and many will give you lots of leftovers for lunches. If you have any recipes you would like to share with others, please feel free to email it to me at: couponqueenofcorning @ hotmail.com and I will include it in my Friday's posts.

Panninis with veggies

Panninis are really great because you can put anything you want in them. I've made mine with ham and cheese, and with chicken, diced tomatoes and cheese. you will want to use a thicker bread so the oil doesn't soak all the way through. I made these last time with a loaf of homemade sandwich bread. It was awesome! Here's how I make mine:

1. Warm up grill, George Foreman grill, pannini press or even a flat pan to medium-hot.

2. Pour a some olive oil on a plate and press one side of bread into it just to get it covered. Add seasonings to the side with the olive oil. I have used italian seasoning, rosemary and garlic before.

3. Place side with olive oil onto hot grill. Add your ingredients on top of bread. You can use anything you like really. The possibilities are endless.

4. Dip one side of an other piece of bread into olive oil and add your spices. Place bread with the olive oil on the top, away from the ingredients in the middle.

5. If you are using a George or pannini press, close the lid. If you are using a regular grill or pan, place a heavy pan on top; you will need to flip the pannini when one side is toasted.

6. Make your favorite vegetable to go along with the panninis.

Costs to feed a family of 5 with leftovers:
loaf of thick bread $.50(homemade) to $2
some of the following ingredients:
- ham slices or diced ham($2-$3)
- 8 oz cheese ($2)
- diced tomatoes ($.50)
- 1 pound of chicken cut into pieces ($2)
- and more
1 pound of veggies $1

Frugal Meal Friday 6/19

Every Friday I will be sharing with you a frugal recipe. These meals will average $5 or less for a family of four, and many will give you lots of leftovers for lunches. If you have any recipes you would like to share with others, please feel free to email it to me at: couponqueenofcorning @ hotmail.com and I will include it in my Friday's posts.

Today's meal is homemade sloppy joes with a vegetable for a side. Depending on how much you pay for rolls, you could possible make this meal for less than $4.50.

Ingredients:
package of hamburger or kaiser rolls ($1)
1 pound of ground meat ($2)
1 pound of frozen veggies ($1)
1/2 onion chopped
2 garlic cloves or minced garlic
splash of vinegar
1 cup ketchup
4 tbsp water
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp salt

Directions
1. Cook meat, onions and garlic until meat is no longer pink. Drain excess grease.
2. Stir in remaining ingredients (except your veggies). Bring to boil. Reduce heat and let simmer 30 -40 minutes. Serve on rolls.
3. Cook veggies about 10 minutes before the sloppy joes will be done.

Job Interview Today

I had an interview today. It went well and I am really hoping to hear back from them next week. This really could be the perfect job for me. :) So, keep your fingers crossed. My family (and myself) could really use this right now.

I'm working on the Frugal Meal Friday post right now. I had it started, but never got it finished. I should have that up soon. I also have a review that I think I will be posting tomorrow. I received baby shampoo and body wash to use and review. Good stuff!

I'm off to finish my post and start getting dinner around. I would also like to get some pizza dough mixed and rising. I want to make some homemade hot pockets to stick in the freezer. Never tried making them before, so it should be an adventure.

Have a wonderful day!

Frugal Meal Friday 6/12

Every Friday I will be sharing with you a frugal recipe. These meals will average $5 or less for a family of four, and many will give you lots of leftovers for lunches. If you have any recipes you would like to share with others, please feel free to email it to me at: couponqueenofcorning @ hotmail.com and I will include it in my Friday's posts.

Bruschetta Chicken Bake ($5.60) is the meal for this week. This recipe comes in a little over $5, but you will have plenty of leftovers to eat for lunch the next day. I have made this several times and it is very tasty. my family prefers to have the petite diced tomatoes in this, as opposed to the regular. You could even get the diced tomatoes with the the spices to make this even better. Add a frozen veggie or fruit for $1 more. This recipe is originally from the Kraftfoods site.

Ingredients:
1 can diced tomatoes ($.50)
1 package of stuffing ($1 - stock up when on sale or get generic)
2 garlic cloves, minced ($.50 ... I just throw some dried in there $.10)
1 1/2 pounds of chicken, cut up into small pieces ($3)
1 tsp dried basil
1 cup shredded mozzarella (shred yourself - $1)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Place tomatoes in medium bowl. Add stuffing mix, water and garlic; stir just until stuffing mix is moistened. Set aside.

2. Place chicken in 13x9-inch baking dish; sprinkle with the basil and cheese. Top with stuffing mixture.

3. Bake 30 min. or until chicken is cooked through.

Frugal Meal Friday 6/5

Every Friday I will be sharing with you a frugal recipe. These meals will average $5 or less for a family of four, and many will give you lots of leftovers for lunches. If you have any recipes you would like to share with others, please feel free to email it to me at: couponqueenofcorning @ hotmail.com and I will include it in my Friday's posts.

Today's meal is Tex-Mex Shells N Cheese from the Kraft site. Go check out the site for more recipes that are quick and frugal. This is a staple in our house. We probably have it at least once a month, and it so quick and easy to make! Add a fruit or veggie to round out the meal a little better and your are still under $5.

Ingredients:
1 pound ground meat ($2)
1 package Velveeta Shells n Cheese ($1.50)
1 can diced tomatoes (you can use regular, italian, etc) ($.50)
1 1/4 cup water
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese (optional - $.50)

Directions:
1. Cook and drain ground meat.
2. Stir in remaining ingredients except packet of cheese sauce and shredded cheese. Bring to boil. Cover and simmer on medium heat for 15 minutes.
3. Add cheese sauce and stir until blended. Top with optional shredded cheese.