No ad wednesday

There were no ads in our mailbox yesterday.

Since the holidays are upon us, I thought I would post some somewhat healthy dips from my blender cookbook.

HUMUS

1/2 of a small jalapeño pepper, seeds removed
1 clove gRlic
1/2 medium small onion, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 of a medium green pepper, cut onto chunks
2tsp olive oil
1/2tsp cumin
1can garbanzo beans, drained
3T water

Place in blender in order

Jalapeño, pulse 5-10 seconds

Onion and green pepper, pulse 5 seconds 2-3 times


Heat oil in skillet and sauté garlic and cumin, add onion mixture and cook until veggies are tender. Cool

Place onion mixture, beans and water in blender. Mix until smooth.

Place in serving bowl.

2 cups



CREAM OF BROCCOLI AND CORN SOUP

From kitchen aid

2 T butter
1/2 cup chopped onion

2 T flour
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp pepper

2cups chicken broth

1/2 cup water

1 16 ounces frozen broccoli
1-1/2 cups corn

1 cup milk


1) cook onion in butter 2-3 minutes. Stir in flour, dry mustard, thyme, pepper, broth and water. Bring to a boil.

2). Add broccoli. Reduce heat and leat on loe about 10 minutes. Cool.

3) place mixture in blender in batches. And blend until smooth.

4) return mixture to saucepan.

5). Add corn and milk.

6) simmer until warm.

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Jane

Makes 4.5 cups.

Tuesday QUICK

I pulled out my bisquick leaflet book for today's blog. My mother in law used to make pie from bisquick. Apples are a buck a pound now, so it is a lot of bang from your buck!

FRENCH APPLE PIE

Topping

1/2 cup bisquick
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped nuts
2T firm butter


Pie

3 Tart apples, peeled and sliced.
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup bisquick
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 T butter
2 eggs

Heat oven to 325. Spray 9 inch pie plate with cooking spray.

In small bowl, mix dry ingredients for topping. Cut in butter.
Set aside

in medium bowl, mix apples, cinnamon and nutmeg and pour into pie pan.

Mix remaining ingredients. Pour over apples.

Sprinkle topping on top of bisquick layer.

Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.

Doneness test is when the apples are tender and the topping is golden brown.


RANCH OVEN FRIED CHICKEN WITH WARM CORN RELISH

3/4 cup bisquick
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup reduced fat ranch dressing

4 Boneless skinless chicken breast

2T butter, melted

2 cups frozen corn

Heat oven to 425 degrees

Spray a 9x 13 pan

In shallow pan, mix bisquick, salt and pepper
In another dish, pour 1/2 cup salad dressing
Coat chicken with dressing, and then with bisquick.
Place in pan and drizzle with melted butter.

Bake in oven for 30 minutes or until meat reaches 170 degrees and juices run clear.

Cook corn and drain. Stir in 1/4 cup dressing. Serve over chicken.


Notes

I think you could use boned chicken, but adjust the cooking time.


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Jane

Monday madness

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

European Pork Stew

1 poumd pork cubes ( about 3/4 of an inch)
olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic

2cups chicken broth
1can diced tomatoes
1 red pepper, roasted
1/4 cup Greek olives, pitted and cut up
2 tsp orange peel
1-1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
Pepper
2 medium yellow summer squash , cut I to small pieces

12ounces ORZO cooked and drained

1) cook meat cubes in oil until browned. Do it in batches.
2) Add onion and garlic and cook briefly. Add broth, tomatoes, peppers, olives,
Orange peel, seasonings.
3) bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 50 minutes.
10 minutes longer until squash and meat are tender.

Serve with ORZO or couscous.


Notes
I think that you could brown the meat and finish this in the slow cooker up to the squash addition. Then put the squash in and set it to high.
I cook pasta in a microwave pasta cooker and use a bit less time than it calls for. I haven't cooked couscous, but I think it is as simple as instant rice.

Greek olives are a bit of a stretch of the budget. Red peppers are fifty cents often at grocery outlet. Oranges are inexpensive this time of year. Yu can use the orange for another meal.


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Jane

Notes on Sunday

Nine dayS until Christmas. I know we all wanted to hear that.

Last week on the chew , they featured a pork roast that they comed, spread with Dijon mustard and rolled om chopped herbs. It sounded really good. I am sure that the recipe is on the website.

Nacho Pie
From taste of home

1pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 -8 punce can tomato sauce
2T taco seasoning

1 tube crescent rolls

1-1/2 cups crushed tortilla chips, divided
1cup sour cream
1cup shredded American cheese

In skillet, cook beef and onion until beef is no longer pink, drain
Stir in tomato sauce and taco seasoning. Let cook 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, open crescent rolls and pinch together to make a " pie crust."
place on pie pan.

Speinkle 1 cup crushed chips over pie crust
Top with meat mixture
Carefully spread sour cream over meat mixture.
Sprinkle with cheese and remaining chips.
Bake at 350 for 20-35 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is golden.


Notes :

In would use already cooked and defatted meat. I would probably add some peppers.
It would be a good recipe for leftovers from a party. The bottom of the ch bag, crescent rolls are on sale during the holidays, the recipe for taco seasoning
is in an older post. Serves6-8.

On another note--I went to the goodwill this week. Some of the prices on gloves and gift bags were more expensive than the dollar store. I found canvas boxes for organization in a broad range of colors for 4.99 and they have straight sides. They also had white shelves with a plate groove really cheap.

Of anyone has an idea for a post, please let me know.


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Jane

Grocery shopping is a crap shoot!

We went shopping as usual this week. I picked Top foods and Costco. I noticed that prices were up and just for you prices were more than I paid for the same products last week. I expect some fluctuation on sale prices. But, Costco is usually pretty stable.

Cheese that was 1.92 a pound last time I bought it, was 2.79 a bound. A forty percent increase.


We just got notification of our social security raise...you can bet that it isn't forty percent!LOL

To say that prices are not stable would be an understatement. Top had cheese shreds on "sale " for 2.00. That's four dollars a pound. It's harder to second giess what is the lowest price, but you can still compare and take advantage of what is the lowest price.

We don't buy a huge variety of foods so it isn't to hard or time consuming to keep track.

I'm trying to continue on my easy fast meals to reduce the stress of holiday time. I am finished with my decorating, Christmas cards, and wrapping. I don't bake anymore, I'm diabetic and the last time I spent hours baking Christmas treats the family decided they were on fat police diets and just wanted cardboard cookies. In figure someone else can bake, and I'll spend the time enjoying the kids. Their excitement is so fun to watch. Christmas is for kids.

I made the students in my daughters class snowman soup packets and place favors for another group.

On to the recipes!

I did get pork loin for 2.00 a pound.

Pesto Pork Roast
Pesto:
mix in blender or food processor
1/4 cup olive oil
2cups basil leaves
1/2cup parmesan cheese
4 peeled garlic cloves
Process until blended

Reserve 2 T pesto in a small bowl. Add 2 T olive oil to the reserved pesto.



Cut 12 Roma tomatoes into slices. Place on bottom of roaster. Salt and pepper.
Place 4-5 pound roast on the top of the tomatoes. Salt and pepper roast. Spread pesto over roast.

Bake at 350 for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until meat registers 160 degrees.

Cook a pound of dried egg noodles. Drain. Remove roast to rest on platter. Add tomatoes to the noodles.

From taste of home

Notes

I would roast the tomatoes separately in olive oil maybe with a little Parmesan.
And add them to the noodles. If basil is to pricy, you could substitute parsley or check to see if costco's pesto is cheaper.

This would also work for a smaller roast . Just adjust the cooking time.
I have a thermometer that has a probe and a programable pad that you can set the meat and the doneness. It beeps at you when the meat comes up to temperature, I think I paid 25 dollars at Costco years ago. It was well worth the expense.

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Jane

Finally Friday

Friday...I have had a cold and haven't left the house all week.

Meat has taken another hike. Safeways just for you has higher prices than I can get the food elsewhere.

Roast is cheaper this week than hamburger. A dollar a pound makes it well worth your time to grind your own.


Pasta Pizza Soup

1 pound ground beef
4 ounces sliced mushrooms
1 medium onion, chopped
1 celery rib, sliced
1 tsp minced garlic
4 cups water or beef broth
1can diced tomatoes
1.5 tsp dried oregano
1.5 cup cooked tricolor spiral pasta

Sauté meat and veggies until veggies are tender and meat is no longer pink.
Stir in remaining ingredients

Cover and simmer for twenty minutes. Add pasta until heated through.


Chili Skillet

1 pound ground beef
1cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 tsp minced garlic
1 cup tomato juice.
1can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
4 tsp chili powder
1tsp oregano
1tsp salt
1/2 cup uncooked long grained rice.


1cup corn
1/2 cup black olives
1cup cheese


Cook ground beef until no longer pink with the onion, green pepper and garlic.

Add the tomato juice, kidney beans, chili powder, oregano, salt and rice. Cover and simmer 25 minutes or until rice is tender.

Stir on corn and olives. Cover and cook 5 minutes. Add cheese and cover and cook 5 minutes more.

From taste of home


NOTES

I would use 3/4 of a pound of pre cooked, defatted hamburger and use less onion.
Rinsing canned beans reduces a lot of the sodium . Cooking dried beans is the about the same price as canned. If you cook dried beans, you need to use them including leftovers soon. Beans and rice have a short fridge life. When on sale, sliced olives are cheaper than whole olives.

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Jane

Thursday cold weather dishes

I had one hit on yesterday's ad post!

Beef Barley Soup

1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
2-1/4 cup tomato juice
1/2 cup water

1/4 cup pearl barley
1tsp chili powder

Salt and pepper

Cook beef and veggies until veggies are tender and meat is no longer pink.

Stir in remaining ingredients.

Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer an hour.

2 servings

Note. You could use pre cooked and defatted meat and just cook the veggies and add meat. You could substitute cooked stew meat into small cubes.


ZUCCHINI AND TOMATO SOUP

2 small zucchini, chopped
1/4 cup chopped onion
Olive oil
Salt

1cup v8 juice
1small tomato cut Into wedges


Sauté zucchini and onion until tender. Salt. Add V8 juice and tomato. sprinkle with pepper and dried basil.

Cook until heated through.

Garnish with shredded cheese and or crumbled bacon.


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Jane

You can leave a comment below. There is an anonymous option. If you don't want the ads dissected, please let me know. L

Dollar dinner mix

At grocery outlet this weekend I picked up a taco kit for a dollar. It had six flour taco shells, six hard corn shells, taco seasoning, taco sauce. I used leftover chicken, re fried beans , lettuce, tomato, cheese .

A dinner for three dollars and fifty cents and I have shells and sauce and seasoning left for another meal.


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Jane

Wednesday ads

These are this weeks ads

SAFEWAYS

ham .99
Apples .88
Milk 2.69
Beef bottom round 2.99

FIVE DOLLAR FRIDAYS

Baby back ribs
Oranges, 8 pounds


TOP

MULTI DISCOUNT..BUY 4

Cream cheese .99
Shredded or singles 1.99


Pork loin 2.00
Turkey .69

Lean ground beef 3.99 ***

Pasta 1.00

Foccacia bread 3.99 ***


QFC

English cucumbers 1.00
Butter 2/5.00
Sour cream 1.00
Baby carrots .99


ALBERTSOMS

Ham .99
Coffee 7.99
Chicken .99
Canned veggies .69


notes ***. Roast is a dollar a pound less than the lean ground beef if I had to jace broind beef, I would gri d my own. The bread is no bargain, but the best bread I have ever eaten if you like hot peppers.

That's about all.

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Jane

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Skillet suppers

Following the theme of quick and easy.

CHICKEN AND NOODLES

1 pound cooked chicken cubes
1 medium onion, chopped
1cup baby carrots, cut in half
1 cup frozen broccoli

2 ounces uncooked noodles ( 1 cup)
1-3/4 cups chicken broth

1 can cream of mushroom soup

Parsley to garnish

Sauté onions in olive oil until soft.

Add all ingredients to the skillet and bring to a boiling, reduce hest and simmer 10 minutes covered. Uncover and cook 5-8 minutes longer until veggies and noodles ar tender.

SPEGHETTI AND MEATBALLS, UPDATED


Pre-made meatballs

1/2 package speghetti

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can tomato sauce
4 ounces pesto
1 tsp oregano

1) cook and drain speghetti and heat meatballs in microwave.


2) heat sauce ingredients in a saucepan 10-15 minutes

3) place meatballs in sauce and add pasta.

Garnish with parsley and parmesan.


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Jane

Monday madness 12/10

It's Monday the dreaded start of the work week. The holidays are fast approaching.

From Betty Crocker

Four Cheese Mashed Potatoes for a croud.

5 pounds of white potatoes, peeled and cut into one inch pieces

3 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup blue cheese
1cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

8 ounces sour cream
1tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp paprika

Chives to garnish if desired

1) cook potatoes and mash.

2) in bowl beat together cheeses, sour cream and salt.

3) mix the potatoes and cheese mixture , add milk if necessary to make right consistency.

4) put into greased pan. 9X 13. Bake at 350 for 35-0 minutes. Serves 24.

5 grams fat each. 135 calories.

This can be made ahead and baked later.



LOW FAT MINESTRONE

1 can EACH OF

28 ounces of tomatoes

14.5 ounces of great northern beans
Corn, drained
Kidney beans

2stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 small zucchini, sliced
1 medium onion , chopped
1 cup shredded cabbage,

1/2 cup elbow macaroni or broken spaghetti

1 1/4 cups water
1tsp Italian seasoning
2veg bouillon cubes
1 clove garlic, minced

Parmesan to guarnish

Place everything but the Parmesan in a 4 quart pan. Heatto boiling. Reduce heat to low.

Cover and simmer 15-20 minutes until macaroni and veggies are tender.

2 grams fat, 305 calories


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Janet

Sunday notes

Last night we had pork roast and oven roasted root veggies. Both were cooked in the oven and took 30 minutes. I got some organizational work done in my studio while it Cooked. The roast was on sale at Safeways and I picked up garlic rosemary parmesan cheese at grocery outlet. I had to go get boxes at the dollar store so we stopped by the grocery outlet too. they usually have a good variety of cheeses. Sometimes they have bargains on them, but not all are on sale. The parmesan was .50. Because we had never tried it, I would rather have a small size. It was really good.

Parmesan Rice and Peas with bacon. From Betty Crocker Simple Home Cooking ,2006

2 slices bacon , chopped
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 cup uncooked long grained rice
1 can chicken broth (14 ounces)
1/2 cup water
1cup frozen sweet peas
3/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp pepper

In a two quart saucepan, cook bacon until done. Add onion and stir one minute. Stir in rice until it is covered with bacon fat. Stir in broth and water. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer about twenty minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Gently stir in peas. Cook one to two minutes until peas are hot. Stir in cheese and pepper.

Note.
I would use the bacon ends I got cheap. This would also work with instant brown rice.
I would use the Romano cheese that I already have and my chicken stock or better than bouillon .


Slow cooker pork stew

1-1-2 pounds pork cubes
1-1/2 cups carrots, cut into slices
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cups peeled and cubed parsnips
1-1/2 cups peeled butternut squash
4 cups chicken broth

Sage, thyme, salt, pepper--1/2 tsp each
3T flour
1T butter

Brown meat on stove . Place om slow cooker.
Add remaining ingredients except flour and butter.
Cook on low 7-8 hours.

Mix butter and flour to make paste. Stir into stew.
Cook on high for 30 minutes until Gravy is thickened.

Adapted from the same booklet as above.

Note. This would be a good Sunday dinner When you are busy with Christmas preparations.
I love the cook and walk away meals.


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Jane

Suddenly Saturday

It's Saturday . I thought I would continue to post recipes that are easy because we all have extra things on our agenda for the holidays and easy food is a stress reducer!
the holidays are supposed to be for having fun with friends and family.

Oven Roasted Vegetables

1/2 pound baby carrots
1/4 pound mushrooms
1 onion, peeled and cut into wedges
1 zucchini, cut into pieces
4 red potToes, cut into fourths

Olive oil
Italian seasoning
Parmesan cheese

Place veggies on baking sheet with sides. Drizzle with olive oil. oss to coat veggies. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and cheese.

Bake at 450 for 30 minutes.


Taco Skillet Helper!

Mix together in skillet:

1 pound taco meat ( 12 ounces cooked meat)
1.5 cups water
1cup salsa
1can corn, drained well

Heat to boiling. Stir in 1-1/2 cups instant rice.
Bring back to a boil. Cover, take off neat and let stand 8 minutes.

Fluff rice.

Sprinkle with
3 ounces Mexican blend cheese
Cover and let stand until cheese is melted , about 2-3 minutes.

Garnish with lettuce and tomato.


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Jane

Finally Friday

It's finally Friday and I have a lot of errands to do. I just spent some four in the morning organizing my studio and purging.

On to food-- meals from the ads

My mix is 2 vegetarian, 2 chicken or pork, two beef and a fish. This assures a variety and enough of a mix to please everyone some of the time. Your mix may be different.




Chicken roasted
Hearty chicken soup

Tacos
Meatballs

Shrimp stir fry

Mac and cheese
Bean soup


Notes
Most of these meals are either fast or make ahead.

Once you have roasted the chicken and portioned it out, you have four meals partially made. The meatballs were done when you batch cooked the hamburger as was the taco meat. Stir fry is fast. Bean soup is a matter of throwing stuff in the slow cooker. That leaves scratch Mac and cheese.

Mac and cheese in the Slow cooker usually calls for evaporated milk. I am not too fond of evaporated milk so I would rather make it with a white sauce. I usually use a variety of cheeses. It's a good way to clean out the cheese drawer of bits and pieces,

I usually make a topping of breadcrumbs, Parmesean and parsley.

If you use rice with the meat balls, you can double batch it for the stir fried shrimp.


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Jane

Thankful it is Thursday.

It's Thursday already. Time to clean out the fridge and note what we might need.
Some notes? A friend of mine made a cake that was really healthy. It was a spice cake mix and a small can of pumpkin. Cake mixes are on sale this week. She made it in a bunt pan, but I would bet it could be made in a 9x13 also or in cupcakes.


Chicken is on this week as well and it's cold and flu season...yuk.

Hearty Chicken Soup

1 cup total of chopped carrot, celery, and onion.

6 cups chicken broth

1-1/2 cups chicken cubes

Salt, pepper, poultry seasoning to taste.

1-1/4 cups dry egg noodles.

Parsley


In a large pan, sauté veggies in olive oil. Add broth, seasonings , chicken and noodles. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until noodles are tender.

Chicken Shepherd's Pie

Make white sauce with 3Tbs butter, and 3 Tbs flour and 2-1/4 cups milk. stir in two tsp poultry seasoning.

Remove from heat and stir in 3/4 cup cheese.

Add about 10 ounces of cooked chicken pieces and 1-1/2 cups of peas and carrots.

Put mixture in a 2quart greased baking dish. Top with ome package instant mashed potatoes, made up.

Top with grated cheese. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Let stand for 5 minuts before eating.

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Jane

Wednesday , add day

The adds for this week.

Safeways

Chicken .99
Pears .99
Oranges .50
Pork shoulder roast 1.49

Stove top stuffing 1.99**

Raspberries 2.99

5 DOLLAR FRIDAY

SHREDDED CHEESE
ribs
Shrimp

TOP

Cake mix .99. ( buy for deal)
chocolate chips 1.49
Marshmallows .79 ***snowman soup alert
Chili 1.00

Dukes .69
Apples 1.00

ALBERTSONS
Raspberries 2.50
Grapes1.99
Lettuce .88
Apples .99 red delicious
Cheese, tillamock 5.49
Pears .99
Cake mix, Duncan Hines 100
Frosting 1.40

Buy 10--- 2.70
Sliced cheese
Tea
Chocolate!! Godiva. Stocking stutters?

Buy 10 - 1.70
Craisens

Buy 10- 2.20
Zero

QFC

Chicken .89
Apples .99
Broccoli, cauliflower .99
romas .99

Buy 2 Jimmy dean sausage for 6.00 and get free eggs

Retro and Costco cookbook

Last nights dinner. It was chili Mac from the Costco cookbook. We had nachos the night before, so I used the left over taco meat and chilies. Less than a five dollar meal.

Having a plan, but being flexible is the key. Without a plan, it is too easy to fall into the " let's order pizza " trap when you have had a long hard day.

Soup or stew in the crockpot is another tool to use when you know it's a hectic day. We all have busy lives and the holidays make life even more busy.


Last night we were talking about recipes from the sixties. Some of them my family never had. My mom was a stickler for basic food. She was of British decent and most everything was pretty basic and plain.

I remember beef stroganoff, Mac and cheese, tuna casserole, an omelet that she finished off in the oven so it puffed, clam chowder, meat balls with rice in them. We had liver with a red sauce, and spaghetti and braised beef on rice and hamburgers.

Mom would Bake bread pm Thursday's and we would have pizza in the mid fifties.

Some of these, I cook now and everyone likes them. ( except my daughter has become a vegetarian)!

Let's talk about almost free pizza. Keep a couple of freezer zip locks in your freezer door. Whenever you are chopping or cooking anything that goes on a pizza, set some aside in the bag. Veggies in one, meat in another. When you get enough to make a pizza, make the dough( see earlier post for easy recipe) and make a pizza. If you really want to be frugal, set a little pasta sauce aside too. Add Italian seasonings.

Guess that's all for today, I have to get to work on some other things.

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Jane

Monday madness

OK, I decorated the house yesterday and I'm pooped! I thought I would talk about the Costco cookbook that I picked up last time I was shopping.

There wonderful pictures of all the recipes.

I can't copy the recipes, but here are a few. The cookbooks are free at Costco.

Nutella stuffed French toast
cinnamon pancakes with maple cream cheese glaze
spinach quiche
Egg stuffed tomatoes on an English muffin bed...don't know about that one!!
Muffins galore.

Mm. Can we say Christmas morning!!

My reader is out dead and I have to go in the other room to finish.

Black bean and corn salsa
Asparagus and Brie soup

Fresh tomato lemon pasta with walnuts ,olives and feta
Parmesan roasted steakhouse potatoes
Crunchy harvest salad with honey cider vinaigrette
Double blue spinach salad


Mac and cheese
gingered salmon
baked tilpa with tomato tRtar sauce
Tilpa with red pepper sauce
Ground beef and rots cassarole
Chilli Mac
Tex Mex chicken tort a


Peach and custard creme tart
French apple slices YUM!
Chocolate brownies with peppermint bark...sounds like Christmas to me"
Rice pitting with cherry sauce


And many many more. Remember if some ingredient is too expensive...substitute if you can, or splurge!

I'll be trying some of these recipes soon. Many are fairly low cost and healthy.

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Jane

Two hundred Posts!

I can't believe this is the two hundredth post!

I got frozen peaches from Grocery Outlet for a buck a pound. I need to use them so I thought I would share a peach pie recipe.

Pastry for a double crust pie

5 cups frozen peaches, thawed and drained.
1T lemon juice
1cup sugar
1/4 cup tapioca
Pinch of salt
Butter, cold

Place bottom crust in pie pan.
In bowl, combine peaches, lemon juice, sugar and tapioca and salt.
Place in pie pan.
Dot with butter.
Place top crust on pie and flute,

Egg wash crust and sprinkle with sugar and nutmeg.

Bake at 425 for 40-45 minutes or until crust is golden brown.


Twice baked Potatoes

4 baking potatoes
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
1cup grated cheese
4 slices bacon cooked and crumbled
1tsp Dijon mustard

1) bake potatoes , cut slice off top and scoop out the insides, leaving the shell.

2) In a bowl, mix the potato insides with butter, milk and mustard. Fold in the cheese and bacon. Sprinkle the top with green onion if desired. sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and potatoes are warm.

Time will depend on of you pre make the potatoes, or cook them write after you prepare them.


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Jane

The basics revisited

This blog is about groceries on the cheap. That doesn't mean cheap food, it means good food cheap. The USDA has stats in how much it should cost for a family to eat. It is based on ages and family size. I want to pay half. It is meals: better, cheaper, faster!


1/2 price groceries takes a three pronged approach at getting food on the table.
1) plan and organize 2) shop wisely 3) cook from scratch.

1) plan and organize
First, gather recipes that your family will eat that use low cost sources of protein.
Seven will do to start, but fourteen is better so you have variety. I want to average 5 bucks a dinner. I call it 4+1 = 5. Four people, one meal, five bucks.
Think pork, chicken, vegetarian and some beef. It getting harder because of rising food costs.

When you get home from the grocery shopping trip,plan 7 meals. It doesn't have to be a fancy meal plan-- just jot down 7 main dishes . Make a mental note of what was in the fridge before you went shopping and incorporate anything on the edge in your meals first. Store fresh food properly. There are a lot of storage solutions that keep your food fresh longer. They are well worth the investment.

About once mid week, take stock of the bread bin and fridge and do something with anything on the edge--incorporate it into the next meal,put it up, or as a last resort, throw it out. Bananas can become banana bread, stale bread can become bread crumbs or stuffing mix, vegetables can become stock.

2) shop wisely

The mantra here is not to get stuck paying full price. Make a list of staples you use frequently. In our house, that would be beans, cheese, re-fried beans, diced tomatoes,
Pasta sauce, some canned veggies,some tuna and pasta.

Keep track of how much you pay, where you bought it, and when you bought it. This can be in a small spiral notebook that you can carry with you, or on a spreadsheet. Mark the top of the page with the food and the size of the package. Then take a line to mark the date, the store, and the price you paid. Soon you will will see the lowest price for that product. You need then to buy 1) as many as you can afford 2) as many as the store allows, or as many as you need to maintain your stock, which ever comes first. If I use something once a week, I keep 24. If I use something once a month, I keep six.

When the ads come out, take a piece of paper draw limes to quarter it and top each quarter with the name of the store. Now go through the ads and write down the items and prices of anything on a good sale that you use and the price. Record the fruits and veggies you may need, and the meat prices that are low. Now, cross off anything
That is a higher price elsewhere,and anything that you already have an adequate supply of.

Now pick the two stores that have the best prices. Go there with your ads and list.
Get in, get your list, and get out. The longer you spend on a store, the more money you will spend. The grocery stores have spent a lot of research money to get you to impulse buy. Not all stores are created equal. There is a huge difference in prices, and no one store has low prices on everything. I used to work for a food wholesaler.
on
One grocery store has a 42 percent mark up. That is huge!

Don't overlook the stores that don't sell food for their main focus. Sometimes, they have the best prices. Always check pull dates. For example, I got diced tomatoes at Big Lots for .48. The same brand at QFC this week was 1.00 ON SALE. I think the regular price is 1.59. You can see that it would not take long to realize a big savings.

I am not advocating running across town to save .15. I plan my trips to the two stores to incorporate our other errands and maintain a tight circle so we don't waste gas. Going to the closest store for dinner foods every day or two is the worst thing you can do for your budget.

I have guidelines for meat and veggie purchases. I try for less than 2.50 a pound for meat, and a buck for veggies and fruit. It is not working lately with rising food prices. Balancing good nutrition goes along with this too.




3) Cook from scratch. :

One of the fastest ways to derail your budget is to buy ready-made or packaged mixes.

My daughter and I dissected a cheeseburger macaroni meal box. It had .20.8 cents worth of macaroni, and 1.57 ounces of a sauce mix. We paid 2.08 for the box. At that rate, the Cheese burger sauce mix cost 13.28 a pound. They have to list ingredients in order of volume. The first ingredient was cornstarch and the last was cheese whey and preservatives. I never met a cheese I didn't like, and I never met a cheese that had no cholesterol. If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. You can buy REALLY good cheese for 13.28 a pound.

In most cases, there is a way to cook the same things just as fast and a whole lot cheaper. With few exceptions, scratch is better and less expensive without the preservatives. I don't think that re-fried beans and tortillas are worth making from scratch. The few times I make cake or brownies doesn't warrant scratch. I can get the mixes for a buck frequently.

Depending on the time of year, instant mashed potatoes are cheaper than scratch. I can sometimes get them for .50. Pasta sauce ( hunts) is as low as .75. You can't buy the tomato product that cheap!

There are styles of cooking that make scratch cooking fast cooking. The slow cooker is really your friend as is a pressure cooker. The new electronic ones have safety valves. Any food you can prep in a few minutes and put in the oven is fast food. You can be doing other things while dinner cooks.

If you spend time to precook meat when you have a less stressed time, you save a lot of time when things are busier. I cook and defat ground meat when I get home from the store, or the next day. You can roast a chicken, cut off the leg portion, and cut the breast in half. Serve half the breast for one meal, cut the rest of the breast meat in cubes for a pot pie or pasta, and freeze the leg portions to make another meal. Save the breast bones and the neck, etc for stock. Roast off a roast. Have a roast dinner, and then slice the rest of it thin for sandwiches-- either roast beef a jus or BBQ pork.

Making your own seasoning mixes, salad dressing and croutons and bread crumbs is a real money saver.

Basically, if you spend more time on the front end of the "get the meal on the table" train and less time on the back end, you will be better off. No one is paying you to cook, but you are being paid well to shop. The average family spends 150.00 a week on food. If you spend 75.00 and you spend an extra hour shopping, you are making 75.00 an hour. This is a concept nots everyone can grasp. If they don't have the money in their little hot hand, they can't see it! LOL. Another abstract is that you would have to earn 90.00 to spend that 75.00. Food for thought.

Thanks for stopping by.
Please share. The object of me writing this blog is to help people eat better for less. I know the unemployment rate is still high and there are people who have had to resort to getting food stamps. We have all had times when we have had to economize.
I hope you enjoy this blog and get what you can use out of it. Some people enjoy seeing a new recipe, or being reminded of an old one, some enjoy the time saving tips. But, whatever it is, I hope I am helping someone.

Jane