Happy Independence Day

Have a cookout to go to? Don't know what to bring with you? Looking for something to make at the last minute? Check out these recipes: (I am so glad AllRecipes is back up! yeah)

• How to Make a Flag Cake
  • 
• Great American Potato Salad
• Star of a Ritz
• Firecracker Cupcakes
• Hearty American Cheeseburger
• Patriotic Poke Cake
• Patriotic Layers
• Red, White and Blue Cheese Coleslaw
• Raspberry Lemonade
  
• Rootbeer Baked Beans
• Sweet Hot Baby Back Ribs
• Easy Peach Cobbler

Enjoy the food and fireworks. Happy Independence Day!!

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.

Menu Plan Monday 6/15

If you want to save money on groceries, meal planning is key. Every weekend I plan out my meals for the next week. When I have my menu planned for the week, I save money and I save time. I share it with you, to give you ideas of how we eat on a limited budget. Hopefully, this inspires you to plan your own menu for the week.

Here is my meal plan for this week:

• Monday - leftover pork chops, veggie, side of pasta
  
• Tuesday - lasagna and green beans
  
• Wednesday -chicken and biscuits
  
• Thursday - leftovers
  
• Friday - homemade pizza, salad
  
• Saturday - panninis, vegetable
  
• Sunday - chili and cornbread
  

Menu Plan Monday 6/1

If you want to save money on groceries, meal planning is key. Every weekend I plan out my meals for the next week. When I have my menu planned for the week, I save money and I save time. I share it with you, to give you ideas of how we eat on a limited budget. Hopefully, this inspires you to plan your own menu for the week.

Here is my meal plan for this week:

• Monday - baked chicken, veggie
  
• Tuesday - meatball subs, veggie
  
• Wednesday - leftovers
  
• Thursday - chicken stuffing and veggie bake
  
• Friday - frozen pizza and salad
  
• Saturday - son's birthday party - we are having hot dogs, hamburgers, and salads.
  
• Sunday - leftovers
  

Frugal Meal Friday 5/29

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 tuna noodle casserole. Now, there are several ways to make tuna casserole. I learned to make it with a white sauce (It's cheaper and you can use white sauces for other recipes like macaroni and cheese). I usually make a double batch and freeze half of it for another day. A regular batch will cost you less than $4. I also add topping to mine and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. (adds about $1 or less to the cost of the meal)

Tuna Noodle Casserole

2 cups egg noodles ($.50)
1/4 cup butter (.50)
1/4 cup flour (.10)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups milk ($.50)
1 can tuna ($1)
1/2-3/4 cup Parmesan ($.75)

1. Cook macaroni as directed on package.

2. While macaroni is cooking, melt butter in saucepan over low heat. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until mixture is smooth and bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute until sauce has thickened; remove from heat. Add Parmesan. Let cool for a couple of minutes. Drain tuna and flake it into the sauce; mix.

3. Drain macaroni and mix with sauce.


To add topping and bake:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Mix 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs and 1/4 cup Parmesan in small bowl. Use fork and add a little olive oil at a time while you are mixing. Add enough just to moisten all the breadcrumbs and cheese. Place mixed noodles and sauce into ungreased casserole dish and sprinkle on topping. Bake for about 20 minutes or until topping is brown.

And there you have it. A meal for less than $5. You can also mix in about a half pound of peas when you throw it in the oven for an additional 50 cents.

Cake in a Mug

****Edited to add:
Has anyone made something similar to this? I tried it and it was awful! How is the cake supposed to rise with not soda or powder?******

Have you ever bought those single serve microwaveable treats? I believe they are from Betty Crocker. Anyway, I thought I would share with you a recipe I got from my husband's grandmother. It makes one serving, so no risk of overeating, and it's very frugal!


1 coffee mug
4 tbl. flour
2 tbl. sugar
2 tbl. baking cocoa
1 egg
3 tbl. milk
3 tbl. oil
3 tbl. chocolate chips (optional)
small splash of vanilla extract




Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.
Add the chocolate chips, if using, and vanilla and mix well again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 min. at 1000 watts. The cake will
rise over the top of the mug but don't be alarmed!
Allow to cool a little, and tip onto a plate if desired.
This is called the most dangerous cake recipe in the world because we are only 5
minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!

The Advantages of Meal Planning

Do you know what you're making for dinner everyday or are you constantly asking "What's for dinner?" If it is the latter, then maybe you should try meal planning. Planning your meals will help your day go smoother and it will save you money at the grocery store.

You can plan either weekly, bi-weekly or monthly. It depends on when you do your shopping and what you prefer. We usually shop either every week or every other week, so I plan for 2 weeks or even for the whole month.

In preparing to do your plan for the first time, you may want to come up with a list of the meals that you make quite a bit. These are your tried and true recipes. You can always add to your list as you try new recipes and find that you like them. I have a list of about 30 different meals and I challenge myself to try one new recipe a week. If it's a good recipe, I add it to my main recipe binder and add the meal to my list.

Step 2 to meal planning is the actual planning what meals you want when. You will need to take into account any days you have planned to eat out or when you might eat at someone else's house. Also I usually include an occasional leftover day, especially after a larger meal like chili. I usually just plan dinners, but if you cook breakfast and lunch, you may also want to plan them.

After you get your meals planned, check out your pantry and freezer and list what you will need to buy at the store. What I also do is take out the recipes I will need, put them in the order I will be making them and put them back in the front of the binder.

For the design of your plan, there are many things you can do. You can just list the day and then the meal(s), either on paper or typing them up. What I like to do is go into Word and use one of their calendar templates and add in the meals. Then I usually put my plan on the refrigerator so even the kids can see it and know what we will be having for dinner.

I challenge you, if you don't already to plan your meals. And let me know how it works out for you.

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