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The Other Half of the American Spaghetti Pie with Cucumber Tomato Salad

2009-08-23T08:39:00.000-07:00

Spaghetti Pie

4 cups American Spaghetti ($1.75)

2 eggs, beaten ($0.25)

1 cup shredded low-fat mozzarella ($0.50)

1 box frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed of water ($1.00)

1/4 package sliced mushrooms ($0.35)

1/2 tomato sliced ($0.25)

2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese ($0.10)

1 tbsp. basil

1 tbsp. oregano

salt and pepper to taste

Cucumber Salad

1/2 cucumber, cubed in large chunks ($0.35)

1/2 tomato, cubed ($0.25)

Cream French Dressing (store bought, however I have a wonderful recipe I will post in the future) ($0.15)

1. Spray 2 quart casserole dish with cooking oil. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Place all ingredients for the pie, except the tomatoes and Parmesan in the casserole. Stir to combine.

3. Top with tomato and Parmesan.

4. Bake for 35 minutes, until warmed through and golden brown on top.

Salad

Mix salad ingredients together and chill until pie is done.

$4.95 for a family of four

Dinner is Served!

My Illegal In 48 States Mushroom Crepes and Dijon Mustard Basil Salad

2009-08-19T16:24:00.000-07:00

You have to love the versatile crepe. A wonderfully sweet breakfast, light snack, and a savory dinner. Since there has bee a lot of cheese and carbs the past fee days, I decided to prepare something a little lighter. They turned out a bit sloppier than I would have liked, but the taste makes up for it.

Crepes
I used this crepe recipe ($0.40)

Mushroom Filling
3/4 package mini portabello mushrooms, sliced ($1.75)
1/2 medium onion, chopped ($0.30)
2 garlic cloves, minced ($0.15)
1 tbsp oil ($0.02)
1/2 tbsp parsley
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup red wine vinegar ($0.08)
1/4 cup flour ($0.05)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup fat-free half and half ($0.10)
2 tbsp shredded Parmesan cheese ($0.10)

Salad
2 cups shredded green leaf lettuce ($0.50)
1/2 tomato, chopped ($0.20)
4 basil leaves, chopped (free from herb garden)

Salad Dressing
2 tbsp Dijon mustard ($0.10)
2 tbsp honey ($0.15)
2 tbsp malt vinegar ($0.02)

1. Preheat a medium saucepan to medium heat with oil in pan. Add onion, garlic, mushrooms, salt and pepper. Stir and cook until softened.

2. Once the mushrooms have softened, add vinegar. In a medium bowl, add water and flour. Whisk to get lumps out. Pour into mushroom mixture, and stir. Add remaining mushroom filling ingredients. Continue to stir until thicken. Reduce heat to low.

3. Heat a flat pan to a medium heat, spray pan lightly with oil. In a medium bowl, combine crepe ingredients. Whisk to get lumps out. Add some batter to pan to achieve the desired crepe size. Let cook for 2 minutes, flip over. Then add a few tablespoons of mushroom filling to crepes. Fold over to close. Place on plate. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.

4. In a small bowl, combine all dressing ingredients. Whisk. Prepare salads in bowls. Dress with a few tablespoons of mustard dressing.

$3.92 for a family of four

Dinner is Served!

French Toast Egg Sandwiches with Dill Potatoes and Sliced Peaches

2009-08-18T18:31:00.000-07:00

Not the lightest fare, but this is worth the calories. My inspiration was a McDonald's McGriddle Sandwich. As uncomfortable as I feel sharing that with you, I am glad to be truthful. I tried one two years back out of complete fascination. The taste was wonderful, but I am sure the ingredients were something out of a horror film. My homemade version is vegetarian (of course), whole, and lower calorie and fat.

Sandwiches (Makes 6)

12 slices of yesterdays french bread (left out to set stale, perhaps I should have mentioned that yesterday) ($0.35)

3 tbsp. organic milk ($0.02)

2 tbsp. maple syrup ($0.05)

dash of nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

3 slices of Land O Lakes Light Cheese ($0.45)

7 cage free eggs ($1.75)

2 tbsp. butter ($0.15)

1/2 package of smart "fake" bacon ($1.50) Cook the entire package of bacon for a future upcoming recipe!

Potatoes

2 potatoes, cubed ($0.30)

1/4 onion , diced ($0.15)

1 tbsp oil ($0.02)

1/2 tbsp dried dill ($0.10)

1/2 tsp seasoning salt ($0.02)

salt and pepper to taste

2 organic peaches ($0.58)

1. Cook Smart Bacon according to package directions. I prefer the skillet method.

2. In a medium pan over medium/high heat add 1 tbsp butter and a dash of oil. Add onions, potatoes, dill, salt and pepper, and seasoning salt. Stir and cover. Check the potatoes and stir often until cooked through.

3. Whisk together 3 of the 7 eggs in a medium mixing bowl with 1 1/2 tbsp of milk, syrup, nutmeg, and salt and pepper.

4. Heat a large skillet over medium flame adding 1 tbsp butter. Dip both sides of bread, one by one, into egg batter and place on skillet. Cook until golden brown and then flip, and do the same.

5. Preheat another pan to medium heat after misting with oil. In a small bowl mix the last four eggs and 1 1/2 tbsp milk, and salt and pepper to taste. Add to pan. Scrap the bottom of the pan to allow eggs to cook through. Once the bottom part of the eggs are cooked, flip over and add cheese.

6. To assemble, place one piece of french toast on a plate, top with bacon, then egg with cheese on top, and finish with another piece of toast. Repeat with the rest. Serve with sliced peaches.

Total Cost: $5.44

Submitted to http://blessedwithgrace.blogspot.com/

Dinner is Served!

Half the Work American Spaghetti

2009-08-17T08:28:00.000-07:00

I love budgeting my time, energy, and money properly. I plan my family's meals so I can cook something once and use it in two meals. This saves time, cooking gas, and water from dishes. It just makes plan sense. For example, if I need fake bacon for a meal, I will choose to cook another meal that week that includes bacon, so that I only have to cook the bacon once.

Many of the meals that I share with you will use this time saving technique. Below is a recipe for American Spaghetti. It is a very large recipe because we will reserve half the pasta for a dinner that we will eat two evenings from now, Spaghetti Pie. With the American Spaghetti we will also serve 1/2 a loaf of french bread. The other 1/2 of the loaf will be used for tomorrow night's French Toast Breakfast Sandwiches with Sliced Peaches. So on, and so on.

American Spaghetti is one of my husband's childhood favorites recipes. It took some finagling to pry it from my mother-in-law, but I am so glad she gave in. Her recipe calls for one pound of ground beef. I chose to substitute the meat with kidney beans for a hearty classic meal.

1 tbsp. olive oil ($0.10)

2 15oz. cans of kidney beans, rinsed and drained ($1.78)

2 15oz. cans of diced stewed tomatoes ($1.30)

2 15oz. cans of tomato sauce ($0.66)

1 green pepper, chopped ($0.75)

2 garlic cloves, minced ($0.15)

1 medium onion, chopped ($0.30)

3 tbsp. cumin ($0.05)

salt and pepper to taste

1 1 lb. box whole wheat spaghetti ($1.00)

1/2 loaf of crusty french bread ($0.70)

After cooked, reserve half the recipe for my Spaghetti Pie Recipe. Coming Soon.

1. In a medium pan saute garlic, green pepper and onion in olive oil over medium heat. Place kidney beans in a small bowl, and mash with a fork. Cook for about 5 minutes, until vegetables have softened. Then add kidney beans to vegetable mixture. Meanwhile, start a large pot of water for the pasta. Cook the pasta according to package directions. I like to break the pasta in half for this recipe.

2. To the vegetable mixture add both cans of stewed tomatoes, both cans of tomato sauce, cumin, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer. Then bring heat down to low. Place a lid on sauce. Continue cooking until pasta is ready.

3. Drain pasta, return to pot, and add sauce.

Reserve the other 1/2 loaf a bread for tomorrow's dinner... french toast egg sandwiches and sliced peaches.

Serves four people for only $3.05 including bread.

Enjoy!

At A Loss for Resources

2009-08-16T19:01:00.000-07:00

I've done it. I said I wouldn't. I collapsed under pressure. A pressure far greater than 50 friends insisting you get on Facebook. I am blogging. I love to read informative blogs, blogs about crafting, sewing, cooking, and such, but I never dreamed of starting my own. Until, in my search for frugal vegetarian recipes that the whole family will love, did I realize there is a huge hole in the blog world. I hope sharing my recipes will help other fellow vegetarians get dinner on the table for an affordable price, or even help inspire meat eaters to have a meatless Monday. Anways, I sure hope you like what I have to offer. I would love to read your comments.