Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Menu Plan for this Week




Monday - sliced turkey with gravy, mashed potatoes
Tuesday - homemade chicken noodle soup, baked potatoes, leftover bbq pork
Wednesday - sloppy joes, macaroni and cheese (yes, the stuff that comes in a box)
Thursday - hamburgers on the grill, macaroni salad
Friday - dinner out
Saturday - lasagna
Sunday - leftovers

I will post and link-up my lasagna and macaroni salad recipes later this week. I am looking for a good chicken noodle soup recipe, too.

To check out more than 300 other menu plans for this week, visit orgjunkie.com

Have a great week. God bless!
Becky

Friday, September 25, 2009

Homemade Laundry Soap

For a long time I have been wanting to try my hand at making my own laundry soap. I finally tried it and I love it! Very easy, very cheap, and it works great!

1 bar Fels Naptha soap, grated
2 cups washing soda
Lots of hot water
A clean 5 gallon bucket with a lid
An empty liquid laundry soap bottle

Put the grated soap into a saucepan. Add enough hot water to cover the soap plus 1-2 inches. Heat the soap and water on medium-low heat, stirring frequently. Keep heating until the mixture is smooth. When the mixture is smooth, pour the mixture into your bucket. Add hot water until the bucket is about 3/4 full. I used a pitcher to add the water so I didn't have too many suds from the soap. Add washing soda to bucket and stir well. Add more water to fill up the bucket and stir again. Put the lid on your bucket and let it sit overnight. After cooling the mixture will thicken into kind of a globby mess - that's fine. Fill up an empty laundry soap bottle (I use a funnel with a large opening and the globs pass thru fine). To get rid of the globs I shake the soap after it's been put into the bottle and it seems to help. I use 2 capfuls from my laundry soap bottle per load.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Menu Plan for this Week



Monday - Polish sausage links on the grill, french fries, fresh vegetables
Tuesday - Spaghetti and meatballs
Wednesday - Tacos, tortilla chips with chese
Thursday - Ham Steak Country Style
Friday - Pizza with homemade pizza crust
Saturday - Turkey Crescent Bake
Sunday - Leftovers

To find even more great menu plans, visit Menu Plan Monday on OrgJunkie.com

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Great Quiche recipe

While I was browsing some of my favorite blogs and websites, I came across this recipe. I made it for dinner last night and it came out great. Thanks to the Frugal Upstate website!

Quiche with Rice Crust

Quiche is classy, tasty and economical. It can be eaten warm or at room temp, and it freezes very well either as an entire quiche or in individual serving sizes. And you can make it with pretty much whatever you have in your fridge. So what are you waiting for? Let’s Quiche!
I use the universal quiche recipe from “The Complete Tightwad Gazette” (borrow it from the library and read it-it is totally worth it).
Rice Crust1 ½ ounces of a grated hard cheese (like cheddar, Swiss or Monterey Jack)1 egg or 2 whites2 cups of rice.
To Assemble:Mix all together, pat into a 9-inch pie, and bake at 425 for 15 minutes.
The QuicheEggs3 whole eggs or an equivalent mixture of yolks and whites.
CheeseUse from ½ to 1 cup of hard grated cheeses. You can also use ¼ cup of Parmesean cheese.
MilkFor this recipe you need 1 cup of milk like substance. You can use any combination of milk, evaporated milk, watered down plain yogurt (ie half yogurt half milk or evap milk), a mix of cottage cheese and milk, or powdered milk with half the water.
FillingsApprox 2 cups of a combination of veggies and cooked meats. If you only have 1 cup of “stuff” go ahead and make it anyway. It will be fine!
Note: This is a good time to clean out the fridge. The last quiche I made had cut up leftover chicken, cut up leftover Italian sausage that I rinsed the tomato sauce off of, and half a bag of baby spinach that was starting to look past it’s prime (I didn’t cook it, just chopped it up small and threw it in). Get creative with what you have on hand. Amy D in The Tightwad Gazette gives the example of a sauerkraut quiche that she made with leftovers once. I don’t think I’m quite that brave. . .
SeasoningsUsually everything benefits from some Seasoned Salt and a grind or two of pepper. Don’t add additional salt if you are using something already salty like bacon or ham. Do add a dash of nutmeg-that is what gives the classic “Quiche” flavor. Otherwise, just use what sounds good to you.
To Assemble:
Preheat oven to 425.
Prepare the crust in a 9-inch plate. (It is always a good idea to put the quiche on a cookie sheet, just in case it flows over)
Beat eggs, milk and seasonings together.
Spread filling ingredients on the crust, top with grated cheese, and cover with egg/milk mixture.
Bake for 10 minutes at 425 then turn down the oven to 350 and bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown. Actually mine usually looks VERY brown before the center is cooked.
Some notes on the recipe:
#1-You can use any type of crust that you want. I like the rice crust because I don’t feel that my regular pie crust comes out well. Also, pie crust is pretty high in fat, rice crust is not. You can even make a “crustless” quiche by adding 1/4 cup of flour, or simply cooking the regular recipe without a crust.
#2-You can make “individual” quiches in either a regular muffin pan, or in one of those bigger “Texas” sized muffin pans. Just pat a layer of the rice crust mixture in the bottom, prebake it as directed, pour the mixture in, and bake for about 30 min, then start checking to see if it is done. The great thing about the Texas muffins is that they are large enough to be a single adult serving.
#3-Quiche can be eaten hot or at room temperature, and it freezes very well. I’ve also seen recipes for “Quiche in a bag”. Basically you make up the egg mixture and pour that plus the filling stuff into a gallon freezer bag. Label and freeze. Then when you need a quick dinner defrost, pour on top of the crust and bake. I don’t really see where that is much of a time saver, but if you have a bunch of eggs that you need to use up, or find eggs on some sort of incredible sale then it may be helpful. For an actual “freezer recipe” that makes it’s own crust check here.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Microwave Baked Apple

This was one of my favorite recipes when I was young(er).

Core apple and slit skin around the center.

For each apple:
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp butter, cut up a little
2 Tbsp water

Place apple(s) in a microwave-safe bowl. Fill center of apple with brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Pour water over top. Cover bowl and microwave on high: 1 apple = 2-4minutes; 2 apples = 4-5 minutes.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Aldi...My Favorite Grocery Store

My favorite grocery store is Aldi. I used to shop there when we lived in Lockport, NY and they just put a location in Knoxville. The concept is this: they mostly sell their own brands, which come in a limited variety of flavors (i.e. pudding comes in chocolate or vanilla; cake mixes come in yellow, white, or chocolate), you have to bring your own bags or buy them when you check out (or pick-up empty boxes as you shop), bag your own groceries, no-frills (the items are still in the boxes not on shelves), you "rent" your grocery cart by unlocking it with a quarter but you get your quarter back when you return the cart (this eliminates the need for a cart-person to gather carts out of the parking lot), and you may have to wait longer to check out because they don't have many cashiers checking you out. BUT, the benefits are: I was spending about $175 per week for groceries and the other items to keep our house functioning. Now, I go to Aldi once a month and spend about $225. This is usually 2 grocery carts full. This gives me a refrigerator full, freezer full, cupboard full, and we have a separate area we call "The Store" we fill up with the non-perishable items that won't fit in the cupboard. I then supplement during the month with milk, fresh produce, bread, and items they don't sell there. So, in addition to what I spend monthly at Aldi, I spend on average about $50/week on "other stuff". This has cut our grocery budget way down plus we always have a lot of items in "The Store" if the going gets tough money-wise. At some point I'll post a list of what I get for the month. Until then, have a blessed day!

Becky <><

My Chili Recipe

After trying a lot of recipes, I have come up with my own chili recipe. It seems like every time I make it I make it a little different depending on what I have on hand. My recipe can be made very cheaply with items purchased at Aldi's.

Becky's Chili

2 lb ground turkey, browned
1 15.5 oz can black beans, drained
2 15.5 oz cans Mexican style chili beans, not drained
1 15.5 oz can great northern beans
2 15.5 oz cans diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 15.5 oz can stewed tomatoes
1 26 oz can spaghetti sauce
1 Tbsp dried minced onion
1 Tbsp ground cumin
2 Tbsp chili powder

Dump everything in a large crockpot and cook on low for at least 3 hours. It gets better the longer you let it cook. I serve mine with corn chips, shredded cheddar cheese, and sour cream.