Dinner In Less Than 30 Minutes

Here it is.....  the old trusty standby.  Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Tomato Soup. 
This is just another advantage of having the "Well Stocked Pantry". 
I have currently been working 10 hour days and the weather has been less than desirable, so my commute time has increased by nearly a half hour each day.  So when you figure I have been gone 12 to 12 1/2 hours a day, cooking is the last thing I want to do when I get home. 
There is just something warm and comforting eating a hot bowl of soup and a hot sandwich on a bitter cold night. It sure beats eating out and spending the money.

Have a Fabulous & Frugal Day!!!!

Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

This is a fabulous gourmet pasta salad, that is absolutely better than anything you can get at the deli, and not to mention much cheaper

2 chicken breasts ~ grilled (I grill mine on my George Foreman)
1 pkg Bow Tie Pasta~ cooked according to package directions
1 small bunch of Romaine Lettuce... (you can use pre-washed and bagged lettuce but I personally think it is a waste of money).  Wash the lettuce and tear it up into bite size pieces.
1 bottle of your favorite Caesar Salad dressing.
Grated Parmesan Cheese

Grill and season your chicken breasts to your liking, and let them cool. Cut them up into bite size pieces  Cook your pasta and drain, rinse in cool water, and add these ingredients in a fairly large bowl along with your bite size pieces of Romaine lettuce, mix in at least 1/2 the bottle of salad dressing, and toss all ingredients until just moist...  You can definitely use more dressing if it seems to dry.  Then sprinkle the grated Parmesan cheese on top.... and enjoy.  If the salad seems dry the next day add more dressing or a bit of mayonnaise.  You can also use french dressing if you would like another variation. 

Have a Fabulous & Frugal Day

Paula Deen's Zucchini Bread

Here is the recipe that I have been using.... It is super delicious. I have had to add a little more water. And forget the nuts, they are too expensive and this bread taste great without them. Have a Fabulous & Frugal day!!!!

Ingredients
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup water
2 cups grated zucchini
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine oil, eggs, water, zucchini and lemon juice. Mix wet ingredients into dry, add nuts and fold in. Bake in 2 standard loaf pans, sprayed with nonstick spray, for 1 hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Alternately, bake in 5 mini loaf pans for about 45 minutes.

Roast in the Crockpot

Yesterday morning when I got home I threw 2 Angus beef roasts --(that I bought in the reduced meat bin at the store, if you don't use the meat from the reduced bins right away, then throw them in the freezer)-- into the crockpot, seasoned them well, and turned the crockpot on low, and then I went to bed. I slept for 6 hours, and when I got up my house smelled delicious. I sliced up the roasts in sandwich thin slices, then sliced up pickles, tomatoes and cheese. We had home made roast beef sandwiches for dinner tonight and boy were they delicious. It is so nice to cook in the crockpot during the summer, no sense in heating up your kitchen. It is also so nice to cook a gourmet meal while you are sleeping. I love summer!!!
Have a Fabulous & Frugal Day!!!

Fabulous & Frugal Pantry

Fabulous & Frugal Pantry:

Cooking at home is less expensive than eating out or convenience food. By eating at home you will spend less and eat better. I work 40 to 50 hours per week outside of my home and spend roughly $350.00 per month on groceries. I feed 2 teenagers, 2 adults, 3 dogs and 1 cat. I live in a small town so I don’t have the choices for shopping that those in a metropolitan area would have. To make matters even more challenging, I only get paid once a month so for me to keep my pantry well stocked is an important part of keeping my sanity. I would tell you that I am organized but the truth of the matter is that I am not very organized, but I do try to plan ahead.

I don’t really have a meal plan or make menu’s but I do utilize what I have on hand in order to get dinner on the table every night. I stock up on items that are on sale. I make my own salsa, jelly, jam, asparagus and pears…I can them myself. I also have a small garden every summer. In the garden I grow my herbs. I love to cook and my family eats well. I take left-overs to work for my lunch because my food is better than jail food.

I make my own breakfast burritos, egg muffin sandwiches and freeze left overs for later use…especially the days where I am feeling lazy. I use my crock pot every week, and I also make home made soup when I clean out my refrigerator. I am going to show you how to eat and eat well for less.

I shop at the Dollar Store for spices, crackers, tea, spaghetti sauce, muffin mixes and cleaning supplies.

I shop at the Grocery Outlet for miscellaneous canned food and toiletries. I usually pick up canned fruit and vegetables, tomatoes, beans, rice, pasta, canned soups and lots of wine.

I shop the day old bread store for whole grain breads, bagels, English muffins, buns, and snack items for lunches.

I shop my local grocery store for the weekly advertised specials or loss leaders.

I buy the Sunday paper each week just for the coupons. Check out the website Couponmom.com. I match up coupons with the weekly advertized specials at Walgreens and Rite Aid and usually I can get out of the store with only spending between 20 and 50 dollars and will have anywhere from 80 to 160 dollars worth of products.

Lets go ahead and take a look at my pantry, freezer and refrigerator.

Canned Food (store bought)

Evaporated milk peaches pears pineapple
Mandarin oranges applesauce tuna chicken
Corn green beans peas mushrooms
Tomatoes- Rotel, diced, flavored garlic and Mexican style
Tomato sauce tomato paste Italian tomato paste
Kidney beans pinto beans black beans
Chili beans butter beans refried beans
Spaghetti sauce green chiles olives
Cream of mushroom soup cream of chicken soup
Tomato soup low calorie Progresso soup

Condiments

Honey mustard mayonnaise mustard ketchup
Bbq sauce salsa salad dressings
Pickles jelly

Dry Pantry Items

Dy beans Bisquick peanut butter almonds
Cashews instant potatoes Jasmine Rice
Long grain white rice brown rice rice-a-roni
Popcorn cereal (hot and cold) olive oil
Cooking spray sugar brown sugar powdered sugar
Powdered milk yeast bread crackers
Jiffy corn muffin mix cake mixes brownie mixes
Muffin mixes

Pasta

Spaghetti egg noodles whole wheat noodles macaroni
Bow tie ramen noodles

Freezer

Bread English muffins berries mixed vegetables
Broccoli green beans stir fry ice cream
Pizza lasagna egg beaters coffee beans
Chicken bacon Canadian bacon
Ground beef ground turkey elk burger
Elk steak venison salmon
Talipia

Refrigerator

Eggs milk cheese yogurt
Butter sour cream cottage cheese lunch meat
Tortillas fresh veggies salad fixens fresh fruit
Parmesan cheese lemon juice vinegar
Rice vinegar Worcestershire sauce soy sauce
Tobasco sauce

Spices

Salt pepper lemon pepper garlic
Cumin mustard powder ginger
Onion powder Johnny’s seasoning salt chicken bouillon
Chili powder


You can get recipes on the internet to make your own Bisquick baking mix, Rice-a-roni, taco seasoning, shake and bake, spaghetti seasoning as well as a variety of ingredients that you’ll use on a weekly basis. I personally don’t have time for this but I do understand that desperate times call for desperate measures. Now, you can get out those cookbooks and make dinner for your family tonight,