Frugal Garlic Bread

Frugal Garlic Toast

Instead of buying expensive, preservative laden garlic bread that comes in a frozen box at the store, make your own.  It is very quick and easy, I promise!

• Preheat (if you are a preheater, many frugal people aren't) to 425 F. 
• Lay out your bread pieces on a cookie sheet, stone or pizza pan. 
• Tip:  Start looking at Kroger for the Manager Special bread.  Often you can get a loaf of white bread for $.59 or even organic bread for $1.59 a loaf.  I will pick up a couple of loaves when I see it clearanced and put them in the freezer.
• Next, I combine some olive oil, vegetable oil, melted butter or melted margarine with any spices that you think would taste good on garlic bread.
• I usually use garlic, a little salt and Italian seasoning.  You can choose anything you like.
• Spread the oil mixture on the bread.  This can be done with a cooking brush or just a spoon. 
• If you like, sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese or shredded mozzarella on the top.
• Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes.  The length of time is really dependent on how thick the bread is and how crisp you want your bread.  Keep an eye on it and pull it out when it looks good to you. 
• Another frugal tip:  If I have just baked something else in the oven, I will just put the bread in after turning off the oven and let it sit in there until it is crispy enough. 



Frugal Apple Chips

Here's how you can make your own frugal baked apple chips.  Something to keep in mind with all of the apple sales that will be coming up during the next few months!

Thinly slice your washed apples.  Any variety will work.  I found that about 4-5 apples (of the smaller variety) would fit on a cookie sheet.  After you have sliced your apples, spread them on the cookie sheet.

Next, sprinkle the slices with cinnamon and/or nutmeg.  Finally, pop them in the oven for about 2 hours on 275.  You will want to watch them closely near the end.  There is fine line between done and burnt.  It is that easy!

I stored my finished product in a reusable zip lock bag to keep moisture out.  These really taste great and my picky 2 and 4 year olds love them!  Great way to get your apple a day.

October is National Egg Month: Frugal Coffee Cup Scramble Recipe

The egg is an extremely frugal source of protein.  Considering you can usually get one dozen eggs for about a dollar, each egg only costs about 9 cents a piece.  Combine that great price with the protein and nutrient power off the egg and you have a go-to source for frugal nutrition.

Here's a great recipe to get your egg fix quickly, any time of the day!

2 Eggs
2 Tbsp. milk
2 Tbsp. shredded cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

• Coat a microwave-safe coffee mug with cooking spray and add eggs and milk; beat until blended
• Microwave on high for 45 seconds; stir
• Microwave eggs until almost set, 30 to 45 seconds longer
• Top with cheese, season with salt and pepper

Enjoy!  

Frugal Meal Idea: Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

This is not the best picture, sorry.  It was taken with my ancient cell phone.  In an effort to use the pasta that has recently been on special at Kroger, I have been making many a pasta dish.  This is my frugal (reasonably healthy) take on homemade macaroni and cheese. 

Ingredients

• 1 box pasta
• 1/4 cup cream cheese
• 1 T flour
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 tsp. ground mustard or 1 T dijon mustard
• any veggies that you would like to add, I used chopped red peppers and a bit of spinach for this, it's whatever you have on hand that you think sounds good in pasta

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.  Cook pasta according to package directions and drain. 
2.  Meanwhile, melt cream cheese and then add flour.  Add milk.  Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens. 
3.  Add mustard to sauce and stir.
4.  Stir pasta, veggies and sauce together and put into casserole dish. 
5.  Sprinkle shredded cheese on top of mixture. 
6.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Enjoy!  I am certainly not a chef, cook, or anything close, but this is just another frugal idea to try.  You can tweak it however you want.  I think many people use butter, but I happened to have cream cheese, so I tried it and it worked out.  I think that the concept of being a "frugal" cook is to adapt what you have available to meet your needs.  You never know, you  might end up with something really yummy.  If not, it is only one night's dinner and everyone will survive it. 

Frugal Homemade Jelly

Even though jelly or jam is not much more than cooked sugar-fruit, we consume a lot of it along with peanut butter.  Any kind of jelly above and beyond grape is usually pretty expensive.  Mix up your lunch routine by enjoying some Strawberry-Rhubarb Jelly.  This recipe (and the rhubarb) comes courtesy of Grandma Rosswurm. 

You will need:
6 cups chopped rhubarb
3 cups sugar
1 3oz box of Jello (strawberry or similar flavor works the best)
3 clean glass jars with lids

Cut the big leaves off the top of the rhubarb, throw them back in the garden as compost.

Chop rhubarb up into 6 cups of small pieces.

Start cooking your rhubarb in a large pot over medium-high heat.  Stir often.  After a couple minutes, add 3 cups of sugar.

Stir quite often.  The sugar and rhubarb will cook down to a chunky liquid consistency.  Try to smash out any large lumps.  Add your 3 ounce package of Jello.  Stir well.

Allow jelly to cool before putting lids on.  Freeze jars of jelly not in use.

Frugal Pita Chips

Have to take a dish somewhere this weekend?  Need a frugal idea?  I am taking homemade pita chips.  They are very inexpensive, and very easy to make.  Here's how:

Preheat the oven to 405 degrees.  Take pita bread and cut it into small triangles as seen here.  This pita bread was purchased from the Aunt Millie's bread outlet store downtown for $.59. 

Next, spread the triangles of bread on cookie sheets.  Then, spray the triangles with cooking spray and sprinkle with your desired spices.  I used dill, garlic powder, salt, pepper and dried basil for these.  Sugar and cinnamon is also a fun treat. 

They are then ready to go into the oven.  In my oven they are perfectly crispy after about 10 minutes.  This will vary from oven to oven, so watch your first batch closely.  It doesn't take long for them to go from golden brown to inedible.  Can you tell that has happened to me? 

Here is the finished product.  They always are eaten super quickly and garner lots of compliments.  I usually serve them with homemade hummus.  Tomorrow, I am trying a cucumber dill yogurt dip.  I'll post that recipe, if it turns out OK.  I usually make two packages of pita bread.  This amounts to about a large bag of the Stacy's pita chips.  When purchased at full price, Stacy's pita chips are around $6.00.  These are made for about $2.00, plus they taste better.  (I think so, at least.)
They are a little time consuming, but if you have little kiddos at home, let them do the cutting, arranging, spraying, or sprinkling (whatever is age appropriate). 

Frugal Bread Crumbs

I challenged myself to make my own bread crumbs a couple weeks ago.  I have only used bread crumbs once in my limited culinary life, and I have a vauge recollection of purchasing a SMALL bottle of McCormick bread crumbs for $4. $4!  My sis-in-law has made homemade chicken nuggets , and I wanted to give that recipe a whirl.  They were very yummy, but first I will share how to make homemade bread crumbs.

I used a loaf of marked-down wheat bread at Kroger.  Spread half of the loaf out on a cookie sheet to become stale.  We ate the other half, but you could use the whole loaf for bread crumbs if you go through them quickly.  I let the bread sit out for about a day.

After the bread is nice and stale, bake it in the oven to get crispy.  I made 'egg stuff' for dinner and after I turned the oven off, I put the bread in to toast in the remaining heat.  After the bread is crisp, break it up into small chunks.

Use your blender or food processor to blast the chunks of bread into a dirt-like consistency.

Manually break down any chunks that are still too big.  Store your homemade bread crumbs in an air-tight container for up to three months. 

It was sooo easy to make homemade bread crumbs.  When it comes time to use them, don't hesitate to add your own spices such as salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder.  You could even consider flavoring it with Italian spices (such as basil, oregano, parsley)  or Mexican spices (such as chili powder, paprika, cumin).  No matter what you put into it, it will taste amazing and be amazingly inexpensive.

Frugal (and Healthy) Chicken Nuggets

Chicken nuggets are a favorite of children everywhere, but kids don't need faux-chicken or fried foods in their diet.  Try making these familiar favorites at home with your frugal bread crumbs!

Grab 2 cups of your homemade bread crumbs, 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, desired amounts of ground flax seed (optional), wheat germ (optional), garlic cloves or powder and any spices you want such as onion powder, Italian seasonings, salt and pepper.  Mix all ingredients well.  In a separate bowl, combine two eggs and 1/2 cup of milk. 

Cut boneless/skinless chicken breasts into nugget-sized pieces.  First, dip chicken into egg/milk mixture.  Next, completely coat chicken with bread crumb mixture.  Place on cookie sheet.  After all chicken is coated, discard any remaining egg mixture and bread crumb mixture due to contact with raw chicken.

Bake at 350 degrees until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.  Enjoy!

 

Freeze Marked-Down Organic Milk

I love when organic milk is marked down, but I get frustrated when it expires in a few days (which is silly because that is why it is marked down to begin with).  If you are unable to drink it before it goes bad, consider freezing it for cooking or baking.  You could freeze it in a ziploc bag laid flat on a cookie sheet.  When it is solid, remove cookie sheet and stack bag in freezer.  Or, freeze in an ice cube tray for when recipes call for small quantities of milk.  When it is solid, take out of tray and put in a freezer safe bag/container.  Previously frozen milk is really best for cooking or baking, rather than drinking.

New Recipe Idea: Southwestern Pasta

The items pictured (plus some spices) were what made up our dinner last night.  First, I'll explain the recipe and then I'll tell you how much it cost to make! 

• Boil pasta, any pasta will do.  This is just what I had on hand.
• Strain pasta and add remainder of ingredients. 
• Add spices to taste.  I added about a tsp. of chili powder, a few shakes of garlic powder and some salt and pepper.  If you had fresh cilantro that you could chop, that would be nice addition.
• Obviously, fresh tomatoes would be better, but since it's only May... 

Wondering what is in the zippered freezer bag?  It's black beans that I cooked on the stove in bulk (from dried beans) and then froze in portions.   It is a cost saving measure.  Before you think I am too virtuous, this is considerably easier than you think, the hardest part is remember to do it before you need them!  I promise to post more about this the next time I do it, so I can have pictures!  Canned beans will work just fine. 

Cost: 

• Pasta and canned tomatoes:  FREE!  I got this free back in March from a Kroger Mega Event.  I posted pictures and coupon links here.  The pasta is actually on sale again through May 18 AND the coupon links still appear to be working.  So, if you missed out last time, you can still take part!  
• Cheese:  I purchased this when it was on sale for 3 for $5 and had a $1.00 of two coupon, making the cheese $1.17.   
• Beans:  I estimate the cost of the beans to be about $1.00.  This is the equivalent of about 2.5 cans.  This is the main source of protein in this dish, so a lot were used. 
• Frozen Corn:  $.75, I got it on sale with a coupon. 
• Grand Total of the Meal:  $2.92!!

You can do it too!  I know what I use a lot of and always try to stock up when things go on sale and I have coupons.  Shredded cheese freezes really well, so stock up if you find it below $1.67.  That is usually the lowest price it is sold for.  It can be less if you have a coupon. 

Also, I realize there is no meat in this dish.  I will sometimes add shredded chicken to this dish.  We don't eat a lot of meat here, but I know that some families really like it in every meal.  Meat is usually the cost limiting factor of a dish, so try to use it sparingly, if you really are trying to save.