Dinner in Less than 30 Minutes

Bratswurth with grilled onions, baked potato, and salad

Brown the bratswurth, and then add a can of beer and cook until the beer is just about gone on med heat.  Scrub up a couple of potatoes, and pierce them, and throw them in the microwave. And cook according to your microwave settings. Cut up some lettuce and cucumbers and green bell peppers, or what ever you like, and toss them together. 

Fabulous & Frugal Pantry

Fabulous & Frugal Pantry:


(this is one of my very first posts....  it is an oldie but a goodie, and totally worth re-posting)

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,

Have a Fabulous & Frugal Day!!!!!!

The Lost Art of Home Canning

I love to home can my own Jams and Jelly's, as well as Salsa. Occasionally I will make recipes in the pressure canner too. Canning is really not hard, it is a little time consuming, but the rewards are unbeatable. This info was taken off of the Ball Canning Website, I hope you find it useful. Oh and by the way.... I found an old Kerr Canning book (from 1947) just a small paper one at a yard sale last month for 25 cents. Have a Fabulous & Frugal day!!!

Why Should I Can?

Fresh Preserving provides a number of great benefits which are relevant to today’s lifestyles. While home canning has been around for generations, the reasons why people can today are different than the reasons why people canned products years ago.

Gardening and home canning can lower your grocery bill. Burpee Seed Company (www.burpee.com) estimates that for every $50 spent on seeds and fertilizer, a gardener can yield $1250 worth of produce. As it’s not feasible for a family to enjoy all of that fresh produce all at one time, home canning allows you to preserve that fresh, home grown flavor from your garden for use all year long, and saving on your grocery bill.

Home canning supports sustainable lifestyles. Canning locally-grown produce reduces the carbon footprint created by transporting vegetables around the world in off-seasons. A study by Carnegie Mellon found that 11% of the average American’s household food-related greenhouse gas emissions come from the transportation of foods. You can reduce that by growing your own produce or purchasing it locally, and then fresh preserving the harvest and re-using Ball® Jars year after year.

Fresh preserving allows you to manage your family’s nutrition. Many canning enthusiasts enjoy the versatility and control they have with fresh preserving recipes. When you fresh preserve foods, you can avoid additives and preservatives found in many commercial products, and you may even opt to use organic ingredients.

According to research from The National Gardening Association, 48% of consumers’ garden to ensure their food is safe. Canning is a perfect way to manage the ingredients in your recipes to ensure that your family not only gets the garden fresh flavor of fresh produce, but that they also avoid any undesired ingredients.

Express yourself through unique and creative recipes. For generations canners have used fresh preserving to showcase their own unique style with creative canning recipes. Impress your friends and family by creating unique jams, jellies and other culinary creations.

For tutorials, videos and other information on how to can visit our Intro to Canning section here.

Search our database of fresh preserving recipes and start your culinary adventure now!

BBQ Elk Steak Sandwiches

When I got home from work this morning I cooked 3 packages of elk steak in the crockpot. I seasoned it with garlic and mustard powder... I cooked it all day on low in the crockpot (while I slept)(I am on the graveyard shift). This afternoon I drained the juice out of the crockpot and flaked up the elk steak with 2 forks ... think chipped beef. I added a bottle and 1/2 of BBQ sauce and let it sit on "warm" for an hour. I toasted some sesame hamburger buns and put the elk steak mixture in the middle. These BBQ sandwiches are absolutely awesome. Guess what I am taking in my lunch today?

Creamed Eggs on Toast

This is one of my favorite breakfasts: So easy and quick to make, it is absolutely delish!!

3 tablespoons butter or margarine
3 tablespoonse all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 1/4 cups milk
6 hard cooked eggs, sliced

Heat margarine in 2 Qt, saucepan over low heat until melted. Stir in flour,salt and pepper. Cook over low heat stirring constantly, until smooth and bubbly: remove from heat. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling stirring constantly for 1 minute. Gently stir in eggs, and heat through. Spoon over toast or english muffins. Serve with fresh fruit.

Have a Fabulous & Frugal day!!!

Chicken Hindquarters

Buy 10 pound bags of chicken hindquarters on sale, heck buy 2. Separate hindquarter into gallon ziplock freezer bags, and add your favorite marinade sauce. Italian dressing, tequila lime, teriaki, honey mustard~ what ever you like. Seal em up and stick them in the freezer, good idea to label and date the bags. You can pull out a bag of chicken anytime and cook in the crockpot or bake it in the oven, this will be the best marinated chicken ever. Enjoy!!!
Have a Fabulous & Frugal day!!!

Pack your Lunch

Even if you are only spending $5.00 dollars a day to eat out for lunch, the average person will work 5 days a week, so... in a month's time you would work at least 20 days and up to 24 days. At 20 days of packing your lunch you have saved $100.00.

I don't buy soda pop or candy out of the vending machines. I drink the "free" coffee at work, I take a re-fillable water bottle, I either drink water or Crystal light (individual packets) or I make big jugs of iced tea. This is such a painless way to save money ~ add this $100.00 to your savings account.

What to Pack:: Invest in some type of Rubbermade containers of various sizes, think the Dollar store.

The ol' soup and sandwich:: lunchmeat, tuna, cheese, PB &J, Wraps, Bagels, be creative.

Home made Burritos:: Last night I made spanish rice, taco meat, refried beans, grated cheese , sour cream and salsa... When dinner was finished I made 5 burrito's with the left-overs. Individually wrapping them in plastic wrap. I will be using these already made burrito's for the next few days. You can also stick these in the freezer....much cheaper than Taco Bell.

Left Overs from the Night Before:: Chicken, Rice, Potatoes, ...... I actually make Rice-a-roni a lot and pack that to work. I love it.

Salads:: Greens, veggies, pack your cheese and salad dressing separate to avoid sogginess. Fruit salad, Pasta salad, potato salad.

Cottage Cheese / Fruit / Crackers/ :: canned or fresh fruit any type of crackers.

Cheese and Crackers.


This will get you started on the path of packing your own lunches. Enjoy!! Have a Fabulous and Frugal day!!!

Hamburger Soup

I cleaned out the fridge!!! I am using an onion, broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots left over from my lunch this week to add to the soup~

2lb any burger hamburger, elk burger, turkey burger (doesn't matter) brown this in a stock pot with onion and your favorite seasonings
2 tsp garlic powder
4 broccoli florets -chopped
4 cauliflower florets - chopped
10 baby carrots- chopped
4 baby red potatoes -chopped
simmer these ingredients with the burger for a few minutes
empty these ingredients into the stock pot juice and all
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can green beans
1 can corn
1 can of peas

simmer on low for one hour~ enjoy
this is a great way to get your 5 servings of veggies
I freeze left-overs and take them to work
serve with toasted english muffins