Frugal Menu Mamas

This past weekend we were in TN with my family, celebrating my grandmother’s 80th birthday!  It was a lot of fun.  Since there was a big group, my mom made a baked french toast recipe that was so yummy!!  (I helped.)  Come to find out, it is from Erin at $5 dinners and I directed Mom to her site.  Love it when I give my mom new recipes…she is a superb cook and I’ve learned so much from her, fun to share new things with her.  Anyway, this is a perfect fall recipe and it was delicious.  Try it when apples are on sale!

Enjoy!

Apple Cranberry French Toast Bake

Well, I have a confession to make…I have yet to try this granola recipe.  It sounds so easy and I still haven’t gotten to it.  And here is another crock pot granola recipe that I still haven’t tried.  I’m not sure why I haven’t.   I love using my crock pot…its so easy!  So, you’re probably wondering why this Tasty Tuesday I am telling you about all the recipes I haven’t tried.  Well, because I bought granola one time and it was so delicious!  I was scared to try these other recipes because they did not have the berries in them that we enjoyed from the Kashi granola I just mentioned.

Well, exciting news…the September edition of Family Fun magazine had a recipe in it for Berry Blast Granola.  So, we had to try it!  The kids and I made it last weekend and boy was it delicious.  The kids love it mixed with vanilla yogurt.  Hubby liked it, too.  I prefer just to munch on it plain.  It is a pretty frugal recipe, too.  The most expensive thing was the dried berries.  I bought this brand pictured below that already had a variety because it also had a $1 off coupon stuck to the bag. 

I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Berry Blast Granola

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup light brown sugar

6 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted

1/2 tsp.  salt

4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1/3 cup wheat germ (I could not find this…any tips?)

1 cup dried berries

-Heat oven to 300 F.  Line two cookie sheets with foil.

-In a large bowl, combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, and salt.  Add the oats and what germ, then stir the mixture until it’s evenly blended.

-Spread the granola onto the prepared cookie sheets and bake for 20 minutes, sirring once halfway through to keep it from burning and encourage even baking.

-Remove the pans from the oven and stir the granola again.  Return the pans to the oven to bake 10 minutes more.  Keep an eye on the granola during this time and stir it often so it doens’t burn.

-Remove granola from the oven and stire it one last time.  Allow it to cool completely on the pans, about 15 minutes.  When it has cooled, stir in the berries, then transfer to an airtight container.  Can be stored up to 4 weeks.

Don’t forget about my giveaway.

I don’t know about where you live, but blueberries are on sale and in season here…YUM!  I even saw a sign today for blueberry picking and will have to check that out.  I actually don’t like to eat blueberries plain, but my family does.  I love them in pancakes and muffins though.  So, I made two batches of muffins this week and they were delicious.  And beautiful, I might add.  Just look at this photo!

I especially love when the blueberries break a little bit and juice oozes, doesn’t that make your mouth water?  Ok, enough of making you drool, go make some for yourself!  :)  Enjoy!

Blueberry Muffins

makes 12 muffins

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 cups flour

1/3 cup sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 cup fresh or 3/4 cup frozen blueberries (thawed & drained)

-Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease muffin cups or line with paper baking cups.

-Beat egg in medium bowl stir in milk and oil. Stir in remaining ingredients all at once just until flour is moistened (batter will be lumpy).

-Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake until golden brown about 20 minutes. Immediately remove from pan.

Printable Version

Happy Friday!  I am off today for an anniversary trip (8 years…yippee!).  My mom has graciously agreed to watch the “grands” and she even brought me a freezer meal!  She is famous in our extended family for her fabulous lasagna and she agreed to share her secrets with you!  I hope you enjoy this guest post from the original Frugal Menu Mama.  Take it away, Mom!

I love to cook. I like to try new recipes, and I like the old favorites. I am always looking for ways to make it better and easier. The second recipe, Pizza Lasagna, (not pictured) is a no-fuss version of lasagna that is low-fat and uses a lot of fresh vegetables. You won’t miss the reduced amount of cheese. It is made with uncooked noodles that cook as the lasagna bakes. It was my inspiration for adapting our family favorite lasagna (first recipe).

My original recipe for lasagna came from the Mueller’s Lasagna box. Over 35 years of making lasagna I have added, subtracted, substituted, and adjusted this recipe. The only part that is the same as the original is the lasagna noodles—and I even change that! I no longer pre-cook the noodles.

Lasagna

12 servings

1 lb. ground beef

¾ C. chopped onion

1 16-oz. can petite diced tomatoes

1 6-oz. can tomato paste

1 28-oz. can tomato puree

1½ C. water

1 Tbsp. dried parsley

1¾ tsp. salt

1 tsp. garlic powder

½ tsp. black pepper

½ tsp. oregano

9 lasagna noodles, uncooked

16-oz. cottage cheese

8-oz. mozzarella cheese

1 C. parmesan cheese

½ lb. ground beef, browned & drained

2 15-oz. cans petite diced tomatoes,
undrained

1 can tomato soup*

1 6-oz. can tomato paste

1 C. water*

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tsp. oregano

1tsp. garlic powder

½ tsp. salt

9 lasagna noodles, uncooked

4 oz. sliced turkey pepperoni

1 ½ C. shredded mozzarella, divided

½ lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 medium sweet red pepper, diced

6 green onions, chopped

1 small can sliced ripe olives, drained

For sauce, in a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, soup, tomato paste, water, onion, oregano, garlic powder, and salt.

Spread ½ C. sauce in a 9×13-inch baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Top with three noodles and 1/3 of the sauce, then pepperoni. Sprinkle with 1 C. cheese. Top with three noodles and 1/3 of the sauce. Top with mushrooms, red pepper, green onions, and ground beef. Top with remaining noodles, sauce, and cheese. Sprinkle with olives.

Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 70-80 minutes or until noodles are tender. Uncover and bake 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Let stand for 10 minutes.

*The original recipe called for 1 can ready-to-serve creamy tomato soup and ½ C. water. I had difficulty finding the soup and made the substitution above.

Printable Version

I know we were done with breakfasts…but if it is okay with you, I will post new easy, frugal breakfast recipes when I come across them.  :)  My mom gave me a page torn out of an old Southern Living magazine with some make ahead breakfast recipes.  As I try them, you will get to see them.  I am so excited about this one…carrot zucchini muffins.  I got my kids to eat carrots and the zucchini were free from a relative’s garden!  I used the grating attachment on my Kitchen Aide mixer to grate up at bunch of both veggies and I’ll freeze the extra.  So easy!  Oh, the muffins freeze well too, so enjoy!

Carrot-Zucchini Muffins
(makes 1 dozen)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 medium carrots, shredded
1 medium zucchini, shredded

-Combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture.
-Stir together egg, orange juice, and butter; add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened.  Fold in carrot and zucchini.  Spoon into greased muffin pans, filling two-thirds full.
-Bake at 400 F for 20 minutes.  Remove from pans immediately, and cool on wire racks.
-Freeze in an airtight container up to 3 months.  To reheat, wrap each muffin in a damp paper towel; microwave on HIGH 40 seconds or until warm.

Printable Version

Well, I still haven’t tried the granola recipe yet, but I will do it now because my kids seem to LOVE granola.  I am thrilled.  They will not eat oatmeal, but if they eat granola, that’s pretty close.  So, this week I got 2 boxes of Kashi granola for $3.  I have been wanting to try granola, but not sure how/what to do.  I was looking through a kids’ cookbook we got at the library and they mixed granola with yogurt.  I did that yesterday at lunch and my kids scarfed it down.  So, this morning I gave them a choice….cereal or the granola/yogurt.  They both voted for granola/yogurt.  My 2 1/2 year old son kept saying, “I want the really crunchy stuff!”  :)  Its a hit!  It was inexpensive and its pretty healthy.  I think we are hooked.  Have you ever combined yogurt with granola?  What are your favorite flavors to combine? We did Kashi’s Summer Berry granola with vanilla & french vanilla yogurts.

Later today we will post photos of the new snack we are going to try….check back!

Well, I’m at a standstill for Frugal Breakfasts.  I did ask for banana bread recipes last week and got only one.  But it is a good one.  I made it yesterday and ate some today…delicious.  The host of “A Recipe a Day” pointed me to it and here is the recipe.  Doesn’t mine look delicious, too?

I think we’ll move on to frugal (and easy and somewhat healthy) snacks.  Some simple ideas are:

-fruit

-pretzels

-crackers

Those get old (as in I get tired of the same stuff) though.  I really like trail mixes and snack mixes.  They can get expensive though.  I grew up on GORP (Good Ol’ Raisins & Peanuts) and it is still a favorite around here.  It is much cheaper per ounce or pound to make your own.  Here’s what I do:

GORP

one large bag M & Ms

one large container salted peanuts

one large container raisins

-Mix all together in a BIG bowl.  Store in Tupperware or Ziploc bags for a loooooooooooooooong time. 

So, calling all trail and snack mix recipes…please leave a comment with your’s!

Don’t forget the giveaway that ends tonight!

Here is the banana bread recipe I like to use:

Banana Bread

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs, well beaten
2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. soda
3 tsp. sour cream or milk
2 bananas, crushed
1 cup chopped nuts

-Preheat oven to 350 F.  Cream sugar and shortening.  Add eggs.
-Sift flour with salt, baking powder and soda.  Add to first mixture.
-Add remaining ingredients.  Pour into greased loaf pan.  Bake for 30-40 minutes.

Printable Version

I will admit it…I am running out of good, frugal breakfast ideas.  BUT before I move on to frugal snack ideas I want to give you one more chance to tell us your frugal breakfast ideas.  If you would please leave a comment on this post with those ideas, I will email you to get recipes from you that I can post.  Please help us out!

OK-well one reader did send me a recipe that I can’t wait to try hopefully next week.  It is for granola you make in the crock pot!  Sounds pretty simple!  Thanks Sharon!

Crock Pot Granola

5 cups of oats
1/2 cup of oil
1/2 cup of honey
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup of coconut

1/8 tsp. salt

Mix all ingredients together and place in crock-pot sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
Cook on low for 5 hours or until brown, stirring occasionally. Make sure you keep the cover cracked on the crock-pot.
Add raisins, dried fruit, nuts, whatever you desire, after taking out of crock-pot.

Also, do you remember the website I mentioned a little while ago…Once A Month Mom?  Well, I am fascinated with their monthly menus, grocery lists, etc… so I have been exploring their site.  And for each monthly menu, there are usually about 3 breakfast recipes that go in the freezer!  Fabulous!  I plan to try those soon too!  If you want to check them out, go to their site and look under “menus” or May Menu or any other month and you’ll see the breakfast recipes in the list.  I am thinking about putting some of these together on my next baking day.

So, continuing our discussing from past Thursdays about Frugal Breakfasts…

I really like muffins and quick breads.  So does my family.  I have a limited selection of healthy recipes for those so I am trying some from various cookbooks.  My mom gave me the recipe I’ll post today.  I didn’t really like it, but my husband and daughter did.  The plus of this recipe is that you make one HUGE batch and the batter lasts for up to 6 weeks in the refrigerator!  I bought the cereal for this on sale plus a coupon for $1 a box.  :)  Hope you enjoy…I have a photo but its at home and I’m still on vacation…sorry!  Oh and by the way, I found a cool trick for recipes that need buttermilk.  If you don’t have any, for 1 cup buttermilk, substitute 1 cup milk + 1 Tbs. vinegar or lemon juice.

***use a VERY large bowl***

15 oz. box raisin bran
5 cups flour
3 cups sugar
5 tsp. soda
2 tsp. salt

-Mix well and make a well in the center.

4 beaten eggs
1 quart buttermilk
1 cup oil

-Pour in the well of dry ingredients.  Stir only enough to mix.

-Grease muffin tins or use cupcake papers.  Bake at 400 F for 13-15 minutes.
-If batter is stiff, thin out with a small amount of milk.
-Keeps for 6 weeks in fridge.

Printable Version

I need more healthy & yummy muffin and quick bread recipes.  Please leave a comment or link for me with your favorites!