Meal Plan Monday 8/23/10
School starts back this week and so I need to get back on track with some organization on meal planning. I certainly can’t walk in the door at 3:00 and wonder what’s for dinner. I’m sure the menu will get moved around some, but so long as I have the ingredients in the house and the meats are thawing in the refrigerator, everything will be fine.
Here what I have planned for this week:
Sunday – easy stuff (the youth are coming over)
Monday – barbeque chicken pizza and pepperoni pizza, broccoli salad
Tuesday – meat loaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls Indian food
Wednesday – spaghetti, salad, garlic bread leftovers
Thursday – hotdogs, baked tater tots, fruit meatloaf (menu from Tuesday)
Friday – tatertot casserole, broccoli
Saturday – breakfast casserole, hashbrowns, fruit
What are you having this week?
image sxc
August 22, 2010
Breakfast Casserole Recipe (from leftovers)
An inexpensive breakfast item that I enjoy is grits. They’re easy to make, very inexpensive, and filling. Since grits are so inexpensive, it is one of the breakfast items I occasionally make for the youth group. The problem is, sometimes they eat up all of the grits and sometimes there is half of a pot left over.
One day I had made a pot of grits for the youth and for some reason that day, half of the grits were left. I decided not to let the grits go to waste. I figured I should be able to do something with them. I came home and created a breakfast casserole using grits, scrambled eggs, and sausage gravy.
Last week, I had some grits, sausage, and scrambled eggs left over and decided to make another breakfast casserole. This time I had just a small amount left of each, so I made it in this small oven-safe Pyrex glass bowl.
By the way, my kids really like this dish! 
Since this is made with leftovers, there is no exact amount of ingredients.
Breakfast Casserole
- prepared grits
- scrambled eggs
- breakfast meat, optional (cooked and diced sausage, bacon, or ham)
- sausage gravy or white gravy
- shredded cheese, optional
Spray your dish with cooking spray. Layer the ingredients as shown above and bake at 350F until hot.
Here is a recipe for sausage gravy. I needed much less so I just used 1 cup of milk and 1-2 tablespoons of flour.
What is your favorite recipe to make with leftovers?
image (c) Karen Weideman
August 18, 2010
Back to School Lunch Packing Tips
As we all know, it’s back to school time. Many of you will be saving money by packing your children healthy lunches.
Here are some food safety tips, courtesy of NSF International, to help parents and children pack lunches safely:
- Consider packing foods that are nonperishable and won’t require refrigeration.
- If you do pack perishable foods such as luncheon meats or prepackaged cheese & crackers, include a frozen gel pack or a frozen juice carton with the food in an insulated lunch bag or box.
- Pack only the amount of perishable food that your child can eat at lunch.
- Preparing lunches the night before and storing it in the refrigerator until you pack your child’s lunchbox in the morning can help keep food cold longer the next day.
- Don’t reuse packaging materials such as paper or plastic bags, aluminum foil, etc. as they can contaminate other foods and cause foodborne illness. Have your child discard all used food packaging and paper bags after lunch.
- Before eating lunch or snacks at school, be sure your child knows to wash his or her hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds. Handwashing is one of the best ways kids and parents can protect health and stop the spread of germs.
Remember that perishable foods should not be left at room temperature for more than two hours. If left out too long, the temperature of the food can enter the danger zone where bacteria grow most rapidly, which is between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
As a teacher, I can tell you that I see many lunches without cold packs that contain lunch meat, mayonnaise, and other perishable items. Please don’t risk your child’s health. Follow these easy steps listed above.
August 15, 2010
Pasta Free Lasagna Recipe
From time to time, it may seem as though The Thrifty Mommy is crossing over into homemaking but honestly, I believe it all goes hand in hand. One of the ways I save the most money is on my grocery bill. Cooking delicious meals at home is just one of the things that contributes to a low food budget.
Believe it or not, my husband does not enjoy pasta dishes. Every now and then I need some pasta and so I will make spaghetti or something like that for the kids and myself. Finally, I decided to make a no pasta lasagna for my husband. There are many different ways to do this and many other ingredients that you can add, but here’s what I did:
pasta free lasagna (before cooking)
These are in order, with the bottom layer listed first.
pasta free lasagna (after cooking)
My husband does not like a traditional marinara sauce, so I bought the Bertolli Vodka sauce. You can find it in most grocery stores. I made a small lasagna for him and a regular lasagna for the kids and myself. lol I always make enough lasagna to freeze a little for lunches.
Feel free to change this recipe around. You can use ground turkey instead of ground beef, you can use low fat cheese, or you can add some ground sausage or pepperoni slices. There are so many ways to change this recipe to make it suitable for the Atkins diet, South Beach, etc.
I baked these on 350F until it was hot and bubbly (about 45 minutes). Let me know if you have any questions. Enjoy!
August 11, 2010
Bumble Bee Foods BlogHer Party
As I have mentioned before, I am a representative for Bumble Bee Foods. This year for BlogHer, Bumble Bee Foods threw a party for other bloggers.
Chef Scott Leibfried was at the party to fix up some of his super easy recipes using Bumble Bee products. At the party, he made three of his recipes. They were so delicious!
Here are some of the members of the Bee Squad at the party with Chef Scott. It looks as though there is also a party guest in the picture.
Chef Scott is preparing the Asian Tuna Wraps. These were sooo good! It reminded me of an old favorite Asian Bistro I used to frequent.
Here are the Asian Tuna Wraps that Chef Scott made. Sorry for the very poor picture quality. It was a spur-of-the-moment picture and I did not set my camera correctly. You can see a better picture by clicking on the actual recipe.
This is Chef Scott and me. He was very friendly and easy to talk to. He answered people’s questions and entertained us all with his delicious recipes.
Before leaving the party, I had Chef Scott sign my Lands’ End tote bag that we were given at the party. In case you are wondering what it says, it’s “Cook Well”.
You can find more recipes at the Bumble Bee Foods website.
Picture 1 is used by permission of Elizabeth at Table 4 Five. All other photos belong to me.
Disclaimer: Bumble Bee Foods sponsored my trip to BlogHer.
August 4, 2010
Classic Tuna Casserole Recipe
I have never made tuna casserole before but I have been wanting to. Thankfully, this time Chef Scott has given us the recipe.
Note: Bumble Bee is sending me to the Blogher conference this week. I’ll get to meet Chef Scott at the party and taste some of his yummy recipes! I’ll be sure to update you later on the event.
Enjoy the recipe!
July 17, 2010
Easy Do-It-Yourself Luau/Beach Cupcakes
We had a birthday party yesterday for my two youngest. Both of their birthdays are in July and because they are still young, we have a joint party for them. Now that we have a pool, it seemed like a good idea to have a swim party. With that came the luau theme.
You all know that I’m not about to go out and pay $50 for a cake, so each year I surf the internet looking for easy ideas that I can do myself. I found ideas for a beach theme, flipflops, palm trees, pineapples, and more. These teddy bear cupcakes drew my attention though. They looked kid friendly and fun.
For these cupcakes I cheated a bit. I didn’t make homemade icing. I simply bought the vanilla icing in a can and added a few drops of blue food coloring. I found the food coloring made the icing a little runny, so I put it in the freezer for a few minutes.
For these, I put icing on the cupcakes and used crushed graham crackers for the sand. Also used were miniature Teddy Graham crackers, fruit roll ups for beach towels and rafts, tiny paper umbrellas (found these at Hobby Lobby), sour gummy Lifesavers for tubes, and Lemon Heads for beach balls. You could use gum balls instead for the beach balls, but I already had the Lemon Heads.
Here are a few more pictures. Sorry for the poor quality. I was in a hurry because the party was starting.
Other luau cake ideas:
Luau Party Cupcake with umbrella
Shark and Beach Cupcakes from Martha Stewart
Palm Trees/Beach cupcakes from Cake Central
Palm Trees, Pineapples, and Flower cupcakes
Hawaiian Luau cupcakes/cake
Flip Flop Cake from Better Homes and Gardens
Flip Flop Cake from Better Crocker
Enjoy!
images (c) Karen Weideman
July 4, 2010
Tuna Wrap Sandwich Recipe
Here is another yummy recipe Bumble Bee Foods recipe from Chef Scott. I hope you enjoy it!
June 22, 2010
Cucumber Salad Recipe
One way to really cut on your food budget is to grow your own foods. I know many of you have gardens at home, so here is another summertime recipe for you.
Sunday a friend at church gave us three extra large cucumbers so hubby made up a batch of his cucumber salad. It is so delicious. He changed it a little bit this time by adding cilantro and it gave the salad a little something unexpected and yummy. Feel free to change this recipe. This salad is never made exactly the same. Hubby wanted to put bacon in the salad this time, but we didn’t have any.
Cucumber Salad Recipe
- 3 extra large cucumbers, diced
- diced tomatoes (we prefer Roma)
- diced onions (red or white)
- cilantro
- diced ham (We get a thick slice from the deli.)
- shredded cheese (We used Colby Jack this time.)
- mayonnaise
- ranch salad dressing
- garlic powder
- tomato boullion (We use this as a sprinkle seasoning.)
- Sriracha sauce, optional
Combine cucumber, tomato, onions, and cilantro. Add ranch, mayonnaise, and seasonings to taste. Stir in chopped ham and shredded cheese. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
image (c) Karen Weideman
June 22, 2010
Blackberry Cobbler Picture Tutorial
Last week I gave you the recipe for Ridiculously Easy Cobbler. Recently, I was able to pick some wild blackberries and I made another cobbler, so I decided to take some step by step pictures for you showing how to make the cobbler. It is so very simple.
This picture has absolutely nothing to do with making the cobbler, but I wanted to take a picture of my new source for fruit. Trust me, those thorns are fierce!
You need about two cups of berries or fruit for the cobbler. Since these berries are small, there is no need to cut them. Aren’t they pretty?
Put your stick of butter into your casserole dish and melt in a preheated oven. Add 1 cup of sugar and stir until mixed.
Then, mix in 1 cup of self-rising flour and stir until mixed.
Next, stir in 1 cup of milk.
After the milk is well mixed, add in 2 cups of fruit. Bake on 350F for 35-45 minutes, until browned.
Here it is; complete, warm, and ready to eat. This tastes great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
*I made the mistake of making the cobbler in a 9×13 pan. In the future, I will only do this is I am making a double batch, such as shown in the pictures with the strawberry cobbler.
Cost of this dessert:
.50 butter
.15 sugar
.12 flour
.18 milk
blackberries = FREE
Total cost: $.95
For further instructions, you can visit the recipe for the Ridiculously Easy Cobbler.
images (c) Karen Weideman
