31 July 2010, 4:49 pm
This is only the 2nd time I have made this but this time, I went on my own and tweaked it a little to make it my own version. I can honestly say it isn’t that much different than the first recipe that I made and I still like it but I think my hubby would prefer I used Velveeta cheese over any cheese at all…
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter – .15
3 tablespoons flour – .10
12 oz. can low fat Carnation Evaporated Milk – (got this for free when they were on sale at Kroger for .50 and there was a $1.00/2 coupon in the paper close to Christmas or Easter I believe so I needed to use it!!)
6 oz. Elbow Macaroni – .68 for 12oz at Kroger only used 1/2 the package so .34 cents!
7 oz. Kraft Shredded Cheddar Cheese – on sale for $1.88 last week at Kroger with the Mega sale
salt & pepper to taste
Boil macaroni in 6 cups of water until tender. Melt butter in skillet. Slowly add in flour, stirring well to form a paste consistency. Add milk and whisk to remove any lumps. Simmer on low heat, while stirring to thicken (about 2-3 minutes). Add cheese and mix well until melted. Rinse and drain cooked macaroni. Pour in to pan coated evenly with cooking spray. Pour cheese sauce over noodles and mix well. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and golden.
This reminds me a little of KFC Mac & Cheese when I used the Kraft Sharp Cheddar…
Total $2.47 (approximate)
Serves 6 to 8 generous portions
27 July 2010, 10:37 am
2 cans crushed tomatoes
2 cans tomato puree
1 small can tomato paste
2-3 tbsp. olive oil
4-5 cloves fresh garlic
1-2 fresh onions
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
2 tbsp. fresh parsley, minced
1/2 tsp. dried basil or 2 tbsp. fresh, minced
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste (add near end of cooking)
1/2 tsp. black pepper
In a large heated pot with olive oil, add finely chopped onions. When halfway done, add minced garlic. Cook until browned. Add tomato paste and mix well. Then add tomato puree and crushed tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, parsley, basil and Italian seasoning. Mix well. Cook for at least 6 hours on low heat.
At this point, I usually throw it the crock pot and let it go on low for a while. Come home, boil up some noodles and you have dinner. You can also add to it if you want. Italian sausage is fantastic with it. So are roasted peppers, black olives, chicken breasts, or just about anything else. You can even double it up and freeze some for later.
Thanks to my friend Jimi for sharing this yummy recipe with everyone!!
25 July 2010, 4:27 pm
With the Texas heat beating down on us this late in July, you would think the last place anyone would want to spend a Sunday afternoon would be in their Kitchen. Well, that is the only place I want to be these past few weekends. Being domestic and cooking for my family makes me feel good. I don’t often get to do special things like this for them so I say they should enjoy it while they can! I am looking for recipes that use only ingredients that we already have on hand so that I don’t need to spend money unnecessarily. This one in particular was simple and included everything we had except for the nuts which didn’t hurt to excluded so that is why I picked it. It’s certainly a frugal recipe as well…now, if it tastes good too, I’d have to give it 5 stars!!
Chocolate Chip Brownie Pie
2 eggs
1 c. sugar
1 stick butter, melted
1/2 c. flour
1/3 c. cocoa
1/2 c. chocolate chips
1/2 c. chopped nuts (optional)
1 tsp. vanilla
Beat eggs; add sugar and butter; mix well. Sift together flour and cocoa; add. Blend well. Add chocolate chips, nuts and vanilla. Pour into greased 8 inch pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until set (like brownies). Cool before cutting.
This would go great with Vanilla Ice Cream. We will be serving ours with a little whipped topping on top since I just happened to have a brand new container in the fridge just waiting to be opened!
Here is my finished “pie” which really wasn’t too much like a pie when it was cut. The top formed a crispy layer so when I cut in to it, the top cracked in to a lot of pieces and the inside was not quite “set” – in fact, it was still a little soft. We spooned ours on to a plate and topped it with the whipped cream but it was still wonderful! When I woke up this morning, there was only a small portion left in the pie plate so either we have mice or it was a pretty big hit!|
Happy baking =)
23 July 2010, 10:13 pm
This is about the time I should be planning my meals for next week but I am so far behind already! Tomorrow we will be attending a wedding so I figure the kids can fend for themselves but we really should get up early and get some shopping done because I believe our Sunday will be busy with church events and then we will be visiting some friends that just had a baby and their family from out of town. Time will be limited so I need some ideas from my readers!! I need some very frugal, quick & easy meals for a family of 4 – picky 4 that is…any ideas will be helpful – no need to leave recipes unless I can’t find them online. I just need basics.
If you read this, just comment me with a few ideas of easy dinners, desserts & snacks. No lunches or breakfasts are necessary. Your help will be tremendously appreciated!!!!
Thanks, Love & HUGS!!
21 July 2010, 11:20 am
I have been trying to avoid impulse shopping all week but yesterday I found myself at my local Kroger yet again out of necessity. I have been making so many casserole type meals this week that I actually ran out of baking pans. They just happen to have them on sale so…well, you know the rest. As a creature of habit, I can’t shoot straight for the baking isle – hubby and I go our normal route, directly to the produce isle – I head for the marked down Dole bagged salad mix so I could use my coupon from a little while back and hubby heads straight for the “clearance rack”, yes, I said “clearance rack” of produce. Right away, hubby spots a Styrofoam tray of Avocados. Avocados are his favorite but he is usually picky and won’t waste the .75 cents to a dollar that they may be marked down to if he thinks they may be bad. This time was different. There were 9 of them in the tray and he figured for the price of .90 that if he got at least 3 good ones out of the whole thing, it was a bargain. Well, would you believe this…..
All of them were edible!! Only one was just a little “off” and we mashed them all up in to a huge bowl of guacamole so it didn’t even make a difference. 9 avocados at .10 each – now that’s a deal!! Here is my husband’s easy recipe for guacamole if you want to try it:
4 medium ripe Avocados – mashed
1 medium tomato – chopped
1 small onion – chopped
salt & pepper to taste
Mix well & season to taste – voila, that’s it! It looks awful but it taste YUMMY!!! It’s even better chilled =) Enjoy!!
