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Crockpot Cowboy Stew recipe
Crock Pot Cowboy Stew Recipe
1-1/4 lbs beef stew meat
4 unpeeled potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (28.00 ounces) can baked beans
2 Tbsp. BBQ sauce
Mix stew meat, potatoes, onions, salt and pepper in crockpot. Spread beans over the meat mix and pour BBQ sauce over beans (work it in a bit with the flat of the spoon on the beans). Cover and cook on low heat 6-8 hours until the beef is tender. Or on high for 3-4 hours.
We love to serve cheddar chive biscuits with this! Also- I love using our enamelware bowls and cups and bandanas for napkins- gives us a cowboy feeling!
Cost breakdown: stew meat (a little over 1 lb)cost $3.31, potatoes- free (out of garden), onion- free (also out of garden) can baked beans $1.00 and BBQ sauce- well, we’ve had this sauce in the fridge for awhile- no price tag, I have no idea- let’s say 10 cents.
Total Cost: $4.41 or there abouts.
Add the biscuits (you can purchase a mix for 99 cents- just add water or milk depending on mix) and you have a delicious meal for under $6 for a family of 5.
Autumn Yum Cake Recipe
Autumn Yum Cake
1 box chocolate cake mix
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup water
3 eggs
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
Blend all ingredients together and pour into two 8 inch round pans (that you’ve greased and floured ahead of time). Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until toothpick poked in center comes out clean. Cool cakes and frost with cream cheese frosting (you can make two separate cakes and therefore share one or make a two layer cake). This cake took 1 ½ containers of frosting.
Cost Breakdown: boxed cake mix 79 cents (Aldi’s), cup of mayo- 50 cents (32 oz. jar @ Aldi’s for $1.99), 35 cents for 3 eggs, less than a penny for the cinnamon so it’s a wash. Containers of Icing- sale at local little store 99 cents each used 1.5 so that comes to $1.49.
Total Cost: $3.13 for a beautiful two layer cake.
Sprinkles were free- from my very own Mama.
Frosting done with love by me and Mr. C {who of course had to lick the frosting knife before we were done frosting and who repeatedly stuck his little gooey fingers into the icing making swirling patterns- however, this did not affect the yumminess of the cake in any way.}
Crockpotting not Crack potting- at least not yet
I am currently spending valuable online time looking for new crockpot recipes. I have found we are back to having Sunday Dinner if I can utilize my crockpot. Otherwise we don’t.We
Just
Don’t.
I have to admit it- I’m just not committed to making it the spectacular celebration meal that it should be without the crockpot.
Truth be told- I haven’t been altogether committed to making it anything close to spectacular. In the not so distant past it has been leftovers or a reinvention of leftovers.
Sigh.
Boring.
And we’ve been eating at the kitchen table instead of the dining table (what ever happened to that Sunday tradition).
Our Sundays are so squished between morning church services and evening church ministries. And with me having the job of church youth director- it’s a work day to boot.
So we relish the quiet and simplicity of Sunday afternoons.
And I love me my Nazarene Nap.
So what’s a gal to do?
Crockpot it.
The house smells so yummilicious when we get home from church.
This has been my first step.
I then took another step by setting out the stack of plates etc. for dinner on the table before leaving for church.
Now I am about ready to embark on my next step.
---- Having the dining table cleared off and moving the stack-o-plates to that table.
I know myself and if I had tried to do this all at once I would have fallen flat on my face, taken the rest from the Sabbath and not wanted to do it ever again.
Instead- taking small steps has my heart in step with continuing to make our Sunday’s special without making it stressful for the momma.
Recipe turns into a 2 dish meal
Slow-Cooker Chicken Cacciatore6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
28 oz. jar spaghetti sauce
2 green peppers, chopped
1 onion, minced
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
Place chicken in crockpot, top with all remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 7 to 9 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours.
Cost breakdown: $4.44 for chicken breast ( approx. 74 cents/breast), $1 for cheap jar of spaghetti sauce, peppers and onions from the garden. Garlic- do not have an approximation for this one.
Total cost: $5.44
The cacciatore could be served over spaghetti noodles but we prefer it as is for the first meal; served with a nice crisp salad and some homemade bread. The leftovers can be used to make chicken spaghetti- just shred the chicken in the sauce and reheat then pour over cooked noodles.
In our house this is a two dish meal (until the kids get a bit bigger and start eating more!). In order to make it stretch a bit more the 2nd meal, I have added about a ½ cup (or more if needed) of pizza sauce and sliced mushrooms. So for the 2nd meal calculations- add noodles (50 cents), 1 cup pizza sauce (50 cents) and sliced mushrooms (40 cents) for a total of $1.40.
And with prices creeping up and up and up this is a very good thing.
Um- Hmm I love these muffins
Since the oven AND kitchen were already flaming hot with supper baking, I decided to whip up tomorrow’s breakfast tonight rather than heat the oven up again tomorrow morning.
I love the following recipe but hardly ever make it due to the fact that I don’t keep maraschino cherries on hand. Also due to the fact that those cherries aren’t cheap. But I was doing a pantry inventory and found these shoved way back on a shelf with a price tag of 99 cents. Wha-hoo!
Cherry Chip Muffins
1.5 cup flour
½ cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 egg
½ cup milk
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 jar maraschino cherries (reserve juice- chop cherries)
¾ cup chocolate chips
1 cup powdered sugar
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt; set aside. In another bowl, whisk egg, milk and oil. Add dry and wet ingredients together. Drain cherries, reserve 2 Tbsp juice for glaze. Chop cherries and fold into batter with chocolate chips. Drop into muffin cups. Bake at 375 degrees for 13 minutes.
Glaze: combine powdered sugar and cherry juice to make glaze and drizzle over top of muffins.
Cost breakdown: 12 cents for flour, 8 cents for sugar, figuring 3 cents for baking powder and salt, 8 cents for egg, 9 cents for milk, 5 cents for oil, 99 cents for cherries (reg. $2.19), 37 cents for chocolate chips and I bought the powdered sugar so long ago I don’t have a clue- lets say 5 cents.
Total Cost: $1.86 for 1.5 dozen muffins [that's 10 cents/muffin]
Now- these would cost $3.06 purchasing the cherries for regular price. [I like to keep breakfast cost under $2.]
Also I probably could squeeze 2 doz. muffins out of this recipe if I didn’t fill the muffin cups up so high.
Perhaps I should try making these as mini muffins. Course, I don’t own a mini muffin tin . . . . . best to stick with what I’ve been doing.
Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Dip
Tonight I have a homeschool group moms’ meeting and we are all to bring a snack to share. I will be bringing Crockpot Buffalo Chicken dip- this is my adaptation of a recipe found online somewhere. As far as snacks and appetizers go I find it to be a bit expensive but it makes enough for a small crowd plus I have everything on hand to make this dip. In fact- that’s why I love to make this recipe- because I almost always have the ingredients on hand!Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Dip
1 can chunk chicken
½ cup hot sauce
2- 8 oz. pkg cream cheese
16 ox. Bottle Ranch Dressing
16 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
-- Combine all ingredients in a crockpot and cook on low until bubbly approx. 2.5 to 3 hours. Keep an eye on it!
Serve with crackers or tortilla chips.
Cost breakdown: can of chicken $1.69 (Aldi’s), hot sauce approx. 50 cents (bottle purchased for $1), cream cheese $1.78 (Aldi’s), Ranch Dressing 99 cents (Aldi’s) and cheese $3 (on sale at local grocer).
I’ll be serving it with wheat and butter crackers I purchased for $1/each at local dollar store.
Total Cost: $7.96 or $9.96 with crackers.
Sharing another recipe- cinnamon rolls in my bread machine
Update- I've decided to be lazy and make this post my Works For Me Wednesday post of the week. [I could have said, "I decided this post was so good I just had to share it for WFMW but I decided honesty would be the better course here! LOL]
Go here to see what tips and tricks others have to share.
Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls
1 cup water
2 Tbsp softened butter
1 egg
3 1/3 cups bread flour
¾ cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp yeast
Place all ingredients in bread machine in order listed. Run thru dough cycle in your bread machine. Grease a 9x9 pan. Combine 1/3 cup sugar & 1 tsp cinnamon. Roll dough into large rectangle (about 18x9 in.) Spread dough with 2 Tbsp softened butter and sprinkle with sugar mixture. Roll up tightly, beginning at 9” side. Cut roll into 1” slices and place in pan, cut sides up. Cover and let rise in warm place for about 1 hour. Bake @ 375* for about 25-30 minutes.
Remove from pan and frost with cream cheese icing (you can make your own or buy pre-made icing at the store).
Side Note: I use unflavored dental floss to cut my rolls otherwise I tend to squish ‘em trying to cut with a knife.
Cost breakdown: butter 24 cents , egg 10 cents, flour 47 cents (I use Bread machine flour), sugar 36 cents, yeast 36 cents and add 5 cents to the figure for salt, plus sugar & cinnamon mixture. Add an additional 99 cents for the store bought cream cheese icing.
Total Cost: $2.57
That’s $2.57 for giant yummy homemade cinnamon rolls dripping with cream cheese icing. Oh. My. Stars.
Simple, yummy chicken
This recipe is so incredibly simple!Ranch Chicken
2 lbs. chicken pieces (your choice- I use chicken breast)
2 envelopes Ranch Dressing Mix
2-3 Tbsp. fine bread crumbs
Empty Ranch dressing packets into a bowl and mix well with a small fork (working out any clumps). Add bread crumbs and continue mixing until blended well. Rinse and dry chicken pieces then dredge pieces in the dressing mixture. Sprak a baking dish with non-stick spray and place coated chicken in it. Bake for 40 minutes in 350 degree oven or until done.
My family loves for me to serve baked potatoes and a greens salad or Bacon Ranch green beans with this recipe.
Cost Breakdown: I use 5 chicken breasts for this recipe for a total of $3.70 (I buy 4lb. bag of quick freeze chicken breasts when the pkgs. Are buy one get one free so it ends up costing me about 74 cents per chicken breast) but you could make it even cheaper by using bone-in cheaper pieces of chicken. I purchased a store brand box of 4 packets of Ranch Dressing mix for $2.50- using two packets for this recipe adds $1.25 to the recipe. Bread crumbs are “free” as I put the end and odd pieces of bread thru my food processor to make the crumbs.
Total cost: $4.95. That’s just under $5 for the main entrée. Not bad!
If we have leftover chicken I like to chunk it up and put it on top of my greens salad for lunch the next day. I’ve also shredded the chicken and made cheesy chicken quesadillas. Oh, the possibilities!
Recipe- Garden Veggie Scrambled Eggs
Garden Veggie Scrambled Eggs8 eggs
4 tbsp garden veggie cream cheese spread
Salt and pepper to taste
Bacon grease for skillet
--- Whisk together 8 eggs and set aside. Place 4 tbsp. of cream cheese spread in a microwavable bowl and cook in 15 sec. increments until super soft (but not soupy). Stir softened cream cheese into egg mixture with a fork. Melt bacon grease in skillet then add egg & cream cheese mixture. Cook until set- as you “normally” would cook your scrambled eggs.
Optional: add finely chopped fresh mushroom, a bit of diced onion and some shredded cheese. [Will serve four]
Cost Breakdown: The cream cheese was marked down to a 99 cent quick sale which is what led to me trying out this recipe (I’ve always heard you can substitute cream cheese for milk in scrambled eggs) so the cream cheese cost me 24 cents. Eggs were $1.19 a dozen, making the eggs for my recipe 79 cents. The onions were from our garden and the two almost shriveled mushrooms were in the crisper pan (where they must have been “dumped out” when I made salad late last week) so I’ve got no cost for both of those ingredients.
Total Cost: $1.03
So how did they taste? Delicious! Yumm-o!
And what am I doing with the rest of the flavored cream cheese? Well, today, I lightly spread it on two thick slices of whole wheat bread and topped it with a couple thin slices of turkey and a bit of lettuce for my picnic lunch (the kids had good ol’ bologna- sigh, no imagination there). Which was quite tasty too. There is still a bit left and I’m thinking of adding it in when I make Crescent Chicken Squares on Wednesday.
Yummy Breakfast Recipe
Little Boy Blue Breakfast Cake2 cups flour
1 ½ cups sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2/3 cup butter
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 cup blueberries
¼ cup sugar
¾ tsp. cinnamon
Heat oven to 350*. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, butter, milk and eggs, blend with mixer on low speed until all dry ingredients are moist then beat batter for 3 minutes on med. speed. Pour batter into greased baking pan (9x13 or 9 inch round). Arrange blueberries on top of batter. Mix sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle on top of blueberries & batter.
Bake for 40-15 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm.
Cost breakdown: Flour 16 cents ($1.48/lb), Sugar 28 cents ($1.69/lb), baking powder & salt & cinnamon (I don’t have figures for these- lets say 5 cents), butter 64 cents, milk 18 cents, eggs 17 cents (99 cents/doz), blueberries (ack! I can’t find my figures- these were handpicked and frozen from last summer- lets say 75 cents).
Total Cost: $2.23
We love making this in a 9 inch round stoneware pan (Pampered Chef) and cutting it into thick wedges. This is Maiden’s recipe (from her cookbook Marmee’s Kitchen Primer by Martha Greene) since she is the one who makes it most often. It is one of her daddy’s favorites and so it has become family tradition to serve it on Father’s Day and his birthday for breakfast. We find the cake to be very filling on its own but to round out the meal you would add bowls of fresh cut fruit.
Recipe: Crescent Chicken squares
Crescent Chicken Squares8- oz pkg cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp butter, softened
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded (or 1 10.5 oz can chunk chicken)
1 Tbsp chopped chives
3 to 4 Tbsp milk
salt and pepper to taste
2 tubes refrigerated crescent roll dough
1 Tbsp butter, melted
½ cup bread crumbs
Heat oven to 350*. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese and softened butter (2 tbsp) until smooth. Add chicken, chives, milk, salt & pepper and mix well. Set aside.
Separate crescent rolls dough into 8 rectangles onto 2 cookie sheets (4 on each); firmly pressing perforations to make solid rectangle. Spoon chicken mixture onto the center of each rectangle. Pull 4 corners of dough to center of chicken mixture and twist- pinch edges to seal. [Note: you can also just pull 2 sides of the rectangle, overlapping slightly and press to seal.] Brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.
Cost breakdown: cream cheese 99 cents (Aldi’s), 3 Tbsp. butter 18 cents (1 pound butter purchased for $1.99), can chunk chicken $1.69 (Aldi’s), chives free from my garden, milk 5 cents (1 gal. for $2.79 @ Aldi’s), crescent rolls 2 pkgs for $2.78 (Aldi’s $1.39 each), bread crumbs free (made from ends of homemade bread put in blender and then frozen).
Total Cost: $5.69
Weekly Menu- Hooray!
Notes: Lots going on this week and the food costs add up. We’ve got our end-of-school-year celebration camp-out with our homeschool group followed by a wake (or party) in celebration of my Grandfather’s life and legacy. I padded the grocery budget with an extra $20 but don’t think I’ll need it all. The fruit I am bringing for the camp-out breakfast is in my freezer now and will be semi-thawed before serving. It is requested every year-end camp-out that I bring fruit so I gather and freeze over the year for this event- I’ve got blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and peaches frozen and I’ll add some pineapple and maybe some kiwi to the mix when I put it together on Friday. So though the cost is higher, I’ve spread it out over time.
We had hotdog buns given to us for free and I’m tired of eating hotdogs but want to remain frugal (w/o freezing the buns) so I’ll be making special French toast using the buns this week- it’s easy, economical and the kiddos think it is quite fun.
Monday
B: fruit cups, English muffins w/cream cheese
L: Chicken patty sandwiches, chips, pickle spears
D: @ the home of friends
Dessert: @ friends
Daily Cost: $3.62
Tuesday
B: French Toast (made from leftover hotdog buns)
L: Pizza grilled cheese
D: Chicken-n-noodles, bread & butter pickles, salad
Dessert: none
Daily Cost: $5.78
Wednesday
B: choice: cereal/yogurt and toast
L: chicken nuggets, cottage cheese, dill pickle spears
D: Meal in a packet
Dessert: strawberry shortcake
Daily Cost: $13.12
Thursday – Last Day of School
B: Yogurt parfaits
L: Diner Dinner (choose your leftovers)
D: Ranch baked chicken, baked potatoes, salad
Dessert: brownies
Daily Cost: $8.10
Friday Tonight is the Homeschool Group Camp-out!
B: French Toast Part Duex (topped w/any leftover strawberries)
L: Loaded baked potatoes (from Thurs. nite)
D: Cook-out @ Camp-out: Bringing: Macaroni Salad
Dessert: @ camp-out
Daily Cost: $11.90
Saturday
B: Homeschool Group Camp-out bring: fruit
L: Leftover Smorgasbord @ camp-out
D: Wake for my Grandfather bring: Maiden’s Mac-n-cheese
Daily Cost: $9.31
Sunday
B: Cocoa Wheats, toast
L: Leftover Smorgasbord
D: @ my parents
Daily Cost: $1.15
Weekly Total: $52.98
~~ Don’t forget to check out the yummy menu ideas every Monday over at The Organizing Junkie’s blog. You just might find your next favorite family recipe!
Another recipe: Taco Crescent Bake
Wow. Two recipes posted in one week! The following is a new recipe we tried on Wednesday evening.Taco Crescent Bake
1 tube refrigerated crescent rolls
2 cups crushed tortilla chips, divided
1 lb. taco seasoned ground beef (I use turkey)
1 8 oz. container sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Cook ground beef and add taco seasoning as directed. Unroll cresent dough into a rectangle; press into bottom and about an inch up the sides of a 9x13 pan. Press seams and perferations together. Sprinkle with 1 cup of crushed chips and spoon taco beef over chips. Top with sour cream, cheese and remaining 1 cup of chips.
Bake uncovered at 350* for 25-30 minutes or until crust is lightly browned.
Serve topped with salsa if desired.
Cost breakdown: 1 tube of crescent rolls $1.39 (Aldi’s), tortilla chips 75 cents (the bag costs $1.50 and I estimate I used just under half the bag), ground turkey 99 cents (Aldi’s) and taco seasoning 20 cents, sour cream 25 cents (purchased a 16 oz. container for 50 cents at Wal-mart), shredded cheese 87 cents (purchased 4 cup bag at Aldi’s for $3.49).
Total cost: $4.45
This was a new recipe for us this week. We ended up adding lettuce and tomato on top. It was good but we all agreed that it’s just as good and cheaper to make messy tacos (using tortilla chips- our cross between tacos and nachos). We did like the crust on the bottom (from the crescent rolls) but again- tacos are cheaper. Mr. Steady figured this would be a good potluck recipe though and so we’ll keep it for such an occasion.
Ah, menus- don't have one but I do have Recipe!
Once again I thought I was back on track with sharing my menus and here it is Wednesday without a meal post- plus I didn’t share a new recipe last week (mostly because I ended up not making it due to a change in plans).
So we’ll be trying the new recipe tonight- Taco Crescent Bake and then off to my Grandmother’s for dessert- strawberry shortcake to celebrate her 82nd birthday.
We’ll be making homemade cards later and I’ve got a loaf of homemade bread to take to her. Pumpkin bread with golden raisins and a small jar of honey butter.
Last Friday we spent the evening with friends and I brought dessert. I made a strawberry shortcake—with a little something extra. Chocolate chip shortcake.
Chocolate Chip Shortcake
2 cups biscuit baking mix
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
½ cup milk
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Heat oven to 375*. Grease an 8-inch round baking pan. In a bowl, stir together baking mix and sugar. Set aside. In another bowl, slightly beat egg and blend in milk and oil. Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients and stir just ‘til moist (batter will be lumpy). Fold in chocolate chips and spoon batter into prepared pan.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes. Cool 10 minutes then remove from pan. Cut into wedges to serve. [Top with berries of your choice and sweet whip cream.] Serves 8.
Note: This is rich- so have the coffee ready!
Cost Breakdown: I really don’t have a cost breakdown for this as a friend made a large batch of homemade biscuit baking mix and shared with me- so the cost was very small- just the sugar, egg, milk, oil and chips- and that all comes in under $2.
Crockpot Dessert- Chocolate!
Triple Chocolate Surprise1 pkg. chocolate cake mix
8 oz. sour cream
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup water
4 eggs
¾ cup vegetable oil
1 pkg. instant chocolate pudding mix
----- Spray/lightly grease crockpot. Mix all ingredients by hand and pour into crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
Serve hot or warm with ice cream or whipped cream topping.
Cost breakdown: cake mix 79 cents, sour cream 50 cents, chocolate chips 50 cents, 4 eggs 46 cents ($1.39 doz.), vegetable oil 19 cents, pudding mix 33 cents.
Total Cost: $2.77
This is a totally new recipe to me- I’ve never made it but the thought of a crockpot dessert is always enticing! I hope to give a glowing report later in the week!
Yum! Simple & Easy Chicken a la King
Chicken a la King½ cup diced green pepper and/or red pepper
1/3 cup chopped onion
¼ cup butter
1 can cream of chicken soup
¾ cup milk
2 cups chicken, cooked and cubed
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
---- In skillet, sauté pepper and onion in butter. Stir in soup & milk; blend well. Stir in chicken and cheese. Cook for 5 minutes or until heated through.
Serve over biscuits.
Cost breakdown: diced green pepper (I won’t be using any red) 30 cents, onion is free from our garden, butter (1.68/pound) 42 cents, soup 47 cents, milk 13 cents (2.79/gallon), chicken $1.28 (using approx. 2 chicken breasts), cheddar cheese 87 cents (purchased 4 cups for $3.49). Biscuits- flaky biscuits in a tube (no time to make from scratch) $1.32.
Total cost: $4.79
This dish looks very pretty using both green and red peppers but I wasn’t willing to pay the outrageous price for the red peppers at the grocery store. You could also make it cheaper using cheaper pieces of chicken.
Baked Spaghetti
Baked Spaghetti1 c. chopped onion
1 c. chopped green pepper
1 Tbsp. butter
1 can (28 oz) tomatoes w/liquid
1 can (4 oz) mushrooms, drained
2 tsp dried oregano
1 lb. hamburger, browned & drained
12 oz. spaghetti, cooked & drained
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup
¼ c. water
¼ c. grated Parmesan cheese
In large skillet, sauté onion and pepper in butter. Add tomatoes, mushrooms, oregano and beef. Simmer for 10 min. Place ½ of cooked spaghetti in greased 9x13 baking dish. Top with ½ of vegetable mixture. Sprinkle with 1 c. cheese. Repeat layers. Mix soup & water until smooth; pour over casserole. Sprinkle with parmesan. Bake uncovered @ 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until heated through.
Cost Breakdown: onion (from our garden), pepper (40 cents), butter (6 cents), tomatoes (33 cents), mushrooms (44 cents), ground turkey substituted for hamburger (99 cents), spaghetti noodles (50 cents), cheddar cheese ($1.98), cream of mushroom soup (47 cents), Parmesan cheese (10 cents).
Total Cost: $5.27.
Today we doubled the recipe. The kids and I took a break from school to prep everything early. We put the 2nd casserole in an aluminum pan, covered it with foil and wrote “350* for 30-35 min.” on foil with a marker and put it in the fridge. This is for homeschool group tomorrow. We’ll take it with us and bake it at group. Simple!
It’s also wonderful to know that supper prep is just about finished . . . . more time to enjoy some family time.
Scones today and Waffle sandwiches tomorrow
My brother and his children- ds3 and dd 9 mos, came over mid-morning for coffee, scones and a chat- well my brother came for that- the kidlets came to play.We had a nice visit.
I made this yumilicous scone recipe (of course I tweaked it a bit but not too much- used milk chocolate for white and salted butter instead of unsalted and no lemon peel- but other than that- just like it! LOL). I put too many blueberries in it- yep, I didn’t know there was such a thing as adding too many blueberries but the more I stirred to try and get them all in the more I crushed (instead of gentling folding) and the dough turned an interesting purple color and there was a lot more liquid than I thought necessary. Oh, well, I thought. Toss in a bit more chocolate and we’re good to go.
Turns out I was right. They turned out in all their perfectly lovely yumminess. More chocolate was a good thing. [In case you’re wondering- it cost just under $2 to make the scones- 16 yummy chocolaty plump scones.]
I’ve got food on the brain. Mr. Steady picked up some el-cheapo frozen waffles at the little mom and pop store for a buck . . . . . so we’re making waffle breakfast sandwiches tomorrow. Fried egg and sausage patty layered between two toasted waffles. Yum!
I purchased eggs for $1.39 last week and he picked up a tube of pork sausage for $1.19.
Saturday Breakfast for 5:
10 waffles- $1.00
6 eggs- 70 cents (Mr. Steady likes a double egg sandwich)
1 pkg. (1 lb.) pork sausage- $1.19
2 slices American Cheese- 14 cents (Maiden and I like to add a bit of cheesy goodness)
Total Cost: $3.03
We have some blueberries left from today’s scones so we’ll add a small dish of them to round out the meal.
Now doesn’t that sound absolutely delicious!?!
WFMW: Layered Meatball Bake- under $6
Monday’s supper was super delicious and so is a must share recipe.Layered Meatball Bake
[adapted from Kraft Foods]
1 pkg. stuffing mix for chicken (Aldi’s 79 cents)
1 can cream of mushroom soup (Aldi’s 47 cents)
¼ cup milk
1 pkg. (1 lb.) frozen meatballs (Aldi’s 1.89)
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
2 cups shredded cheddar or colby-jack cheese
Preheat over to 400*. Prepare stuffing mix as directed on box and set aside.
Combine soup and milk in 9x13 casserole dish. Stir in peas and corn. Stir in meatballs. Cover with cheese. Top with prepared stuffing.
Bake 25 minutes or until heated through.
I love to serve this with a salad for a quick and easy yet very filling meal.
Cost breakdown: Every item was purchased at Aldi’s- stuffing mix (79 cents), cream of mushroom soup (47 cents), milk (5 cents), meatballs (1.89), peas and corn (60 cents), cheese (1.80). Total cost: $5.60. (This recipe feeds our little family of 5 with enough leftovers to send to work with hubby).
You can make this cheaper by using less cheese. Kraft’s recipe says 1 cup cheese- I use 2 because the first time I made it I accidently put in 2 cups and of course, the family liked it that way!
This is also a very easy recipe to double. Make 2 and share or make 2 and freeze one!
This is also my Works For Me Wednesday post for today. I haven’t been posting WFMW for many weeks but decided today that this was worthy of a WFMW post. See more great tips over at Shannon’s.
Recipe for Corn Chowder
Upon looking on past posts I can’t find anywhere that I have shared the very easy recipe for corn chowder. I thought I had and I just may have--- but I can’t find it. So I’ll share again.
Corn Chowder
1 Can cream of potato soup
1 Can cream of chicken soup
1 Can creamed corn
3 soup cans milk *
¼ cup sour cream
2 tbsp Butter
chives to taste
Optional: add a meat (chicken, ham, crab, turkey)
Mix altogether—heat and serve. I like to simmer it for a few minutes while the biscuits are baking.
Today I am adding diced crab meat and a couple pieces of crumbled bacon (leftover in the fridge).
* could substitute 1 soup can of chicken broth for 1 can of milk.
I have a “from scratch” recipe for corn chowder but to be totally honest, I think I’ve only made it once. This is one of Maiden’s favorite dinners. Not only is it easy to make but it’s even easier to keep all the ingredients on hand for it! A great pantry recipe!
I serve it with biscuits or warm homemade bread. Scrumptious.
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The Wagner Clan
My Husband (DH)-Mr. Steady
My rock and biggest supporter. The glue that keeps the family sane. He is like deep, deep water- it takes a lot to see a ripple.
DD11- Our Maiden in Waiting- By the world's standard she's a 'tween'. By ours and the Lord's- this is the time of her years of preparation. She is eagerly learning what it means to keep a home and daily becomes more and more of a helper to her Mama.
DD8- Sassafras My Sassy middle child. She holds her own so sweetly and has such an empathetic heart. While real Sassafras is used for flavoring- She is that added spice of flavor to our family.
DS4- Mr. Conductor- The train aficionado in the family. He likes to think he's in charge and often is! He's also the biggest Oreo fiend in the family.
Recent Entries
Nuts!Getting it back on track
Frayed
Pulling into Frustration Station
WFMW: Freezer Tip
Friends Here on the Homestead
HSBPublisherjenig
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FaithfulAcres
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1Teakettlelavendar
