Veggie Bake

My refrigerator is not operating corrrectly. I have been shopping for a new one, but our snowy weather has kept me from finalizing my purchase. In the mean time, we are doing our best to eat up what is in the fridge and freezer. Last night we had this Veggie Bake. It is a great cold weather, comfort food recipe. 

Hopefully, we are able to keep most of our food from going to waste in the transfer from the old refrigerator to the new one. In the mean time, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the old one will hold out until I can have a new one delivered.

Veggie Bake

16oz. pkg. frozen vegetable mix, steamed (we like broccoli, cauliflower, and carrot mix)
4 oz. cream cheese
½ cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
Salt and pepper to taste
15 crushed crackers 

Stir together steamed veggies, cream cheese, and half of the parmesan cheese. Spread mixture into an 8x8 pan. Salt and pepper to taste. Top with crushed crackers and remaining parmesan cheese. Bake at 350º for 30-35 minutes. 

Aunt Shirley's Macaroni and Cheese

We drove to Delaware for Thanksgiving to visit my Aunt Shirley and Uncle Bill. Aunt Shirley is an excellent cook and we enjoy talking about recipes and sharing cookbooks. One of Aunt Shirley's signature recipes is Macaroni and Cheese. She makes it for every holiday meal and takes it to church suppers. It is not only good hot from the oven, it is also still delicious warmed up the next day.

When the food was served on Thanksgiving, Aunt Shirley made sure to place the Macaroni and Cheese in front of me at the table. She knows that it is one of my favorite dishes and she wanted to make sure that I had easy access to it. I definitely ate way more of it than I should have over the Thanksgiving weekend, but I'm not complaining!

Macaroni and Cheese

2 cups elbow macaroni
12 oz. can evaporated milk
2-3 cups grated cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook and drain macaroni according to package directions. Spread half of the macaroni into a 9X9 casserole dish. Sprinkle with half of the cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. Repeat. Pour evaporated milk of the macaroni. Bake at 350º for 25-35 minutes or until golden and bubbly.

Creamy Ranch Pasta

Recently I told you that I was getting tired of our dinner menus. And, I dusted off an old recipe for Kielbasa and Rice that my kids really liked. This is another recipe that I have dug out that I had not made in years. My kids are pleased with it and it is super simple to make. Sometimes I will add some steamed broccoli, but my kids definitely prefer it without.

 

The seasonings in this recipe are the same as the dry mix for Homemade Ranch Dressing. However, I feel like the salt is a bit much, so I typically cut the salt down a bit. The recipe below has been adjusted to reflect the reduced amount of salt.

Creamy Ranch Pasta

8oz. cooked pasta
2 Tbsp. butter
3oz. cream cheese
½ cup milk
1 tsp. dried parsley

½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
½ tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. onion powder

Cook pasta according to directions, drain and set aside. In the same pot, melt butter. Add cream cheese and whisk until melted. Add milk and seasonings. Wisk until thoroughly combined. Return pasta to the pot and stir together. Serve immediately.

Perishing Potatoes

A couple of weeks ago I came across a great sale on potatoes at the grocery store. They were buy one get one free, so I gladly purchased them. Sadly to say though, the potatoes were not a good investment. Close to half of them have perished before we could eat them. Normally potatoes have a long shelf life, but these must have been at then end of their life before I even brought them home. After making such a great effort to reduce food waste this year, I hate to see any more rot, so we have been working diligently to eat them up.

Tonight we are having Parmesan Potatoes along with some "Reduced for Quick Sale" steak.

The other day we had Fried Potatoes along with Meatloaf. The last few potatoes I may use to make a potato salad.

Has anything gone to waste in your kitchen lately?

Potato Wedges

Our vacation to New Mexico was with a group of 19 friends. We stayed in condos with full kitchens and we cooked all of our own meals. Each night for dinner, we took turns cooking for the entire group. Our final night, instead cooking a fresh meal, we heated up the left overs from the week and did our best to eat them up. We had some left over baked potatoes that weren't that appealing. So, I made Potato Wedges with them. We also had left over cheese, bacon, green onions, and sour cream. All of this was perfect for the Potato Wedges. Although we did have a bit of food waste on our trip, we certainly made a huge effort to avoid as much waste as possible. 

Potato Wedges

4 left over baked potatoes
Grated cheese
Crumbled bacon
Sliced green onions
Sour cream

Cut potatoes in half the long way. Scoop out the center and either discard or reserve for another use. Cut potatoes in half again the long way. Lay out the potato wedges on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with the cheese, bacon, and green onions. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes. Serve with sour cream or ranch dip.

 

This post has been linked to the Grace at Home Party.

Spaghetti Salad

Summer is almost here! Just a few more days of school for my kids and I am looking forward to sleeping in and lounging around the pool. During the summer, I enjoy making lighter meals and fun salads. Pasta salads are some of my favorites. This Spaghetti Salad can be made up early in the day and refrigerated for later. And, leftover veggies like cucumbers or asparagus can be added to your salad along with cooked meats like grilled chicken, pepperoni, or salami. And, if you don't have any spaghetti on hand, you can use any other shaped pasta that you like.

The recipe below is just the beginning. The variations are endless. But, to me the best Spaghetti Salad is one made with homemade Italian Dressing. What do you like in your pasta salad?

Spaghetti Salad

13oz. pkg. spaghetti or angel hair pasta, cooked and drained
2 tomatoes, diced
2oz. can sliced black olives, drained
1 bunch green onions, sliced
1 cup Italian Dressing (my homemade recipe here)
salt and pepper to taste

When pasta is cool, add tomatoes, black olives, green onions, dressing, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Refrigerate for one hour and serve.

This post has been linked to Mop It Up Monday.

Rosemary

 

Last week, my neighbor called me on her way home from work saying that a friend had given her a huge bunch of fresh rosemary. I was thrilled to take some off of her hands. So, tonight I made roasted potatoes with fresh rosemary. Yumm!

And, when I did my grocery shopping this morning, I was thrilled to find a whole chicken that was reduced for quick sale. (Perfectly in keeping with my New Year's Frugal Kitchen Goal.) It is going to be so tasty roasted with my fresh rosemary! How do you like to use rosemary?

 

This post has been linked to Mop It Up Mondays.

Fried Potatoes

 

Sickness invaded my home this weekend and I spent the entire weekend on the couch. Not fun. Thankfully, my kids cooperated nicely. No fighting, no whining, no complaints of boredom. And, we ate comfort foods like grilled cheese, buttered pasta with parmesan cheese, and fried potatoes. Thankfully my kids were thrilled. 

I'm not sure that this is even a recipe. But, this is real life at my house, so why not share it? My kids say these taste like bite size french fries and sometimes gobble them up before they even make it to the table. I like to cook my potatoes in leftover bacon grease, if I have it, for the added flavor, and they are easy to jazz up with onions and additional seasonings if you choose. 

Fried Potatoes

4 medium potatoes
4 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Scrub potatoes and cut into ½ inch cubes. Heat a skillet with the olive oil on high. Add potatoes and cook 4-5 minutes. Stir and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until all of the potatoes are evenly browned. Remove from the pan, draining away any excess olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. 

 

This post has been linked to Mop It Up Monday.

Slow Cooker Sweet Potatoes

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

Over the Thanksgiving holiday I visited an aunt and uncle in Delaware. While we were there, my aunt gave me some sweet potatoes that she was afraid might go to waste at her house. And as I have told you before, I adore sweet potatoes. So, I was glad to take them home with me.

Obviously this recipe is meant to serve a crowd and is perfect for the holidays. But, even though I had no crowd to serve last week, I made them up any way knowing that I could freeze the leftovers for later. So we had them for dinner and I mashed up the rest to use in Sweet Potato Muffins and Sweet Potato Cake. I’ll tell you more about the cake tomorrow.

Slow Cooker Sweet Potatoes

6 medium sized sweet potatoes

1 ½ cups unsweetened apple sauce

2/3 cup raw sugar (or brown sugar)

3 Tbsp. melted butter

1 tsp. cinnamon

Peel and cube sweet potatoes and place in a slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients and stir. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or until tender.

Christmas Dinner Menu

We will be celebrating Christmas at home this year. My parents will be with us and we are all looking forward to our time together. I hate to have to spend my day in the kitchen though, so I like to have most of my food made ahead of time. Getting the bulk of the cooking done in advance allows me to enjoy the day with family opening gifts and having fun together. This year we will be eating spiral sliced ham and the following sides:

Green Beans

Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes

Quick Yeast Rolls

And, let's not forget dessert!

Chocolate Pecan Pie

What will you be serving this year? 

Easiest Mac and Cheese

Photo Credit - Kraft

Macaroni and Cheese is a staple at our house. But, my kids have never been too excited about the kind that comes in the little blue box. Instead, I have always made stove top macaroni and cheese by melting butter, adding flour, and finally stirring in milk and cheese. Nothing fancy. But this recipe is so much simpler, and my kids have asked that I switch to this recipe permanently. And, with only three ingredients (macaroni, cheddar cheese, and sour cream), you will hear no complaints from me!

I've made this recipe several times now and I have used cubed cheese as called for in the recipe and grated cheese. Both work great. I have also skipped the baking part and just stirred it up on top of the stove and it has also turned out beautifully. I have even used different shaped pasta, and all of it has been good. I would imagine that if you liked a cracker or bread crumb crust on top that you could add that too.

I found this recipe on Jessica's blog called Life As Mom. So, be sure to check out Life As Mom for all kinds of fun info on recipes, budgeting, child care, and family life.

Blog Link: Life As Mom

Recipe Link: Easiest Mac and Cheese

Roasted Potato Slices

This is a simple and frugal potato recipe that looks pretty enough to be served to company. The recipe can be doubled or tripled to serve a crowd, or it can be halved to serve two. And, you can vary the seasonings to your taste. My family gobbled this up last night, and was asking for more. A 5out of 5 recipe for sure!

               

Roasted Potato Slices

4 medium sized potatoes

4 Tbsp. melted butter

Rosemary

Salt and Pepper to taste

Thoroughly wash potatoes. Thinly slice and arrange, standing upright, in a baking dish. Drizzle with melted butter. Sprinkle with rosemary, salt and pepper. Bake at 375˚ for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

This post has been linked to Penny Pinching Party.

The Good Green Beans

This is a simple recipe that I like to make for Holiday dinners or when we have company. We like them so much that we now call them “The Good Green Beans.” They can be made up in advance, or be transferred to a slow cooker to keep warm when you need your stove top free for other things. I have even frozen the leftovers with good results. What I like best about these Green Beans is that they go together in just a few minutes and they are super frugal!

The Good Green Beans

1 onion, chopped

½ lb. bacon, chopped

2 lbs. green beans (fresh, frozen, or canned)

3 cups chicken broth

Salt and Pepper to taste

Sauté the onion and bacon in a large pot. When thoroughly cooked, add green beans and chicken broth. Simmer until green beans are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Frugal Tip: Stockpile frozen veggies when they go on sale. This way you will always have a healthy side dish on hand.

This post has been linked to Frugal Tuesday Tip.

Fascinating Find - Ranch Mashed Potatoes

I finally got around to testing out the Ranch Mashed Potato recipe that I mentioned a couple of weeks ago. I found the recipe on Amber’s blog called The Pless Press. They were simple to make with frugal ingredients and they tasted delicious! I didn’t bother to peel my potatoes, and I used my You Can Make That Homemade Ranch Dressing and Dip Mix. Otherwise, I followed the recipe and we gobbled them up. I would imagine that these could easily be made up ahead of time and reheated later just like my recipe for Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes. These will definitely be on my table again and again. Thank you for sharing your recipe Amber!

Be sure to check out Amber’s blog for more recipes, crafting ideas, and uplifting stories.

Website: The Pless Press

Recipe Link: Ranch Mashed Potatoes

Parmesan Potatoes

My husband discovered this recipe in our one and only cookbook when we were first married. He was going to school full time and I was the one working. So, he regularly found himself to be the one getting dinner started. We fell in love with the simplicity of this recipe and have been making these Parmesan Potatoes ever since.  I would imagine that you could substitute many other seasoning blends for the Parmesan cheese and they would be just as tasty.

Parmesan Potatoes

3 medium sized potatoes

3 Tbsp. melted butter

Salt & Pepper to taste

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Scrub potatoes and dry. Do not remove the skin. Thinly slice and lay out on a 10X15 cookie sheet, overlapping slightly. Brush with melted butter. Salt and pepper the potatoes. Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Bake at 450˚ for 25-30 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Serve immediately.

This recipe was adapted from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book.

Seasoned Brown Rice

Investment cooking is something that I have truly learned to love.  I even teach a monthly class on investment cooking. So, anything that allows me to get dinner on the table quickly, without sacrificing quality, is perfect for me. Brown rice is often avoided because of the long cooking time. But, here at You Can Make That, I will show you how you can serve Seasoned Brown Rice on a regular basis without spending too long in the kitchen.

By cooking up a large of batch of rice and freezing it in small portions, you can cook once, and serve it multiple times. The most common question that I get about making rice ahead is, “Doesn’t it get hard and sticky?” But, that is not the case. The brown rice lends itself perfectly to freezing and reheating and never gets hard. And, typically, it will only get sticky if you have used too much liquid during the cooking process.  The following recipe works well for serving immediately or freezing.

Seasoned Brown Rice

9 cups chicken broth

2 lbs. brown rice

5 Tbsp. dried parsley

2 ½ tsp. onion powder

½ tsp. garlic powder

In a large stock pot, add all ingredients. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Cover, reduce heat to low and slowly boil for 40 minutes, or until fully cooked. Do not stir during the cooking process. (A good way to check to see if the rice is done is to insert a spoon into the rice all the way to the bottom of the pan. If the broth has completely cooked away, the rice is done. ) Remove from heat, and prop lid open to cool.

To freeze: Let rice cool for about an hour. Fill sandwich size zippy bags with two cups rice each. Remove air from bags and seal. Freeze flat for up to three months.

To serve frozen rice: Remove from freezer, open zippy bag, and place in the microwave. Cook on high for two minutes. Remove rice from microwave, pour into a bowl, return to microwave and cook on high at two minute intervals until thoroughly heated.

Frugal Tip: This recipe for Seasoned Brown Rice is a perfect substitution for boxed rice mixes. It is more economical and healthier for your family.

Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes

We have some family friends that we have spent many holidays with over the years; Thanksgiving, Christmas, July 4^th, and Birthdays, just to name a few. Both of our families have moved several times, and yet our paths keep crossing. This year is no exception. Although we will not be together on Thanksgiving, we will be spending Black Friday together visiting, eating, and laughing about old times. (No shopping for us!) These dear friends have been such a blessing to us and we are thankful for their friendship.

We have eaten this Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes recipe together multiple times. And, as the Holidays roll around each year, I am always so grateful to have it in my recipe box.  Standard mashed potatoes are yummy, but have to be made at the last minute. So, this make-ahead recipe frees you up to take care of other details just before serving time. Enjoy!

Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes

8-9 medium sized potatoes

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 cup sour cream

2 tbsp. butter

2 tsp. dried onion

1 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. butter

Peel, cube, and boil potatoes until fully cooked. Drain and return to stock pot. Mash the potatoes with a masher and add cream cheese, sour cream, 2 tbsp. butter, dried onion, and salt. Combine thoroughly. Spread into a casserole dish. Dot the potatoes with remaining 2 tbsp. of butter.  The potatoes can be baked immediately at 375˚ for 30 minutes or they can be covered and refrigerated for up to five days ahead of time.

Fall Fun

Last night, we took the kids to our church for a community Fall Fest. We ate hot dogs, chili, nachos, cotton candy, and snow cones. The kids played games of all kinds, bounced in a moon bounce, tried to plunge a freezing teenager in a dunk tank, and “fished” for prizes. We carried home a huge bag of candy and a dozen cupcakes that the kids won in a cake walk game.

When we got home, we emptied the loot onto the kitchen table and headed out for round two. We socialized with the neighbors, looked at all of the festive decorations, and collected more candy. When we got home, it was way past bed time. So, we allowed the kids to have one piece of candy and sent them off to brush their teeth and climb into bed.

Today, I feel like I to need pump everyone up with a more nutritious dinner than what we had yesterday; and compensate for all of the treats that we have received. On the menu today is slow cooker pot roast (thank you HEB for your roast beef sale this week!), roasted vegetables, and our favorite Mandarin Almond Salad.

Roasted Vegetables

3 potatoes

4 carrots

2-4 tbsp. olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Rosemary (fresh or dried)

Wash potatoes thoroughly. Cut up into one inch cubes. Peel the carrots and slice into one inch pieces. Place in a 9x13 pan. Drizzle with olive oil and stir to combine. Add salt, pepper, and rosemary to taste. Bake in a 475˚ oven for 35-45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until tender and browned.

Variation: Other vegetables can be added to or substituted in this recipe easily. Try using sweet potatoes, onions, and/or squash.

Frugal Tip: Pay close attention to your grocer’s sale flyers. When you find a good sale on meat, be sure to stock up! Then, plan your meals accordingly.