Frugal Menu Mamas

Though you haven’t seen much of me lately, I am still working on my quest.  Oh, why does the best potato soup recipe elude me?  I have tasted it at two restaurants…Garfields’ in WV and Crispers’ in FL.  It is creamy and thick, salty and starchy, with chunks of potato and carrot and the top is sprinkled with cheese and bacon.   Well, I never did propose that it was healthy okay?  If I could just find the perfect recipe, then potato soup would be a big winter comfort food for me.  Plus, potatoes are cheap, er I mean, frugal.   Anyone reading able to get me the recipe from Garfields’ or Crispers’? I would be forever indebted to you.

Moving right along…Remember I tried one recipe already that my sister loves.  It was tasty, but not what I was looking for.  So, today I will introduce you to the recipe we tried last week.  We tried Potato Bacon Chowder…and I forgot to take a photo….story of my life!  The soup was pretty good.  It wasn’t thick, so I mashed up some of the potatoes, but I still couldn’t get it thick.  I eliminated the celery since we really don’t like it and I must say, the bacon in this recipe really makes it great.  I did feel weird however, pouring bacon grease into the soup!

Here are our ratings:

Let’s put them on a scale of 1-10 (1 is yuck, 10 is I FOUND THE PERFECT RECIPE!)

NUMBER OF INGREDIENTS:  8

EASY TO MAKE:  8

TASTE:  8

# of family members (out of 4) who liked it:  2

I found the recipe on AllRecipes.com.  Surely, you have heard of All Recipes already, right?  If not, check it out!  It is a great site to search for recipes by ingredient or to submit your own.  Users rate the recipes and can leave comments on how they altered the recipe.  There are also email newsletters you can subscribe to, which I do and I enjoy them.  The lastest one I received was full of time saving recipe links like make ahead recipes and slow cooker recipes.  You can even create your own “recipe box” and save recipes to try.

Let me know what you think, if you have tried any of the potato soup recipes I mentioned! Here is the link to the Potato Bacon Chowder.

Have a great week!  See you soon!

Remember my quest?  Well, last week we tried our first in a long line of potato soup recipes.

This first recipe is from my sister.  She picked it up a long time ago from someone.  She loves it.

Here is our verdict:

Let’s put them on a scale of 1-10 (1 is yuck, 10 is I FOUND THE PERFECT RECIPE!)

NUMBER OF INGREDIENTS:  9

EASY TO MAKE:  9

TASTE:  7

# of family members (out of 4) who liked it:  2

The Verdict: This was easy to make!  The hardest part was peeling and dicing potatoes.  It tasted pretty good to me.  The kids did not like it (not surprised), but my husband did like it.  But this is not the recipe I am looking for.  The one I am looking for is saltier and a little heartier.  Thanks Robin for the recipe!  I would probably make it again, but it is not the perfect one for me. 

Robin’s Potato Soup

8 potatoes
1 medium onion
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cups milk
1 cup shredded Velveeta Cheese (4 oz of a block, but for cheese lovers I like to do 8 oz of a block or 2 cups shredded)
8 oz sour cream

Peel and dice potatoes and onion. Boil in water (covered) until done. Drain most of water. Add soup and milk. Stir in cheese and keep over low heat until cheese is melted. Add sour cream just before serving. Salt and pepper to taste.

Also, great toppers include: bacon crumbles, extra cheese, extra sour cream, chives…. or anything you might put on a baked potato.

Freezes ok but better fresh.

Do you ever have a food/meal that you LOVE to get when you eat out and wish you could duplicate it at home?  I do!  Or just a meal that you’ve had before but you know you could find a better recipe for it?  I do!  So, I would like to start a new bi-monthly series on my quest for some of these types of recipes.

The first quest…potato soup.  Now I have tried some good recipes like 3 Cheese Potato Soup and Easy Baked Potato Soup.  However, I still have not found a recipe for a potato soup that I crave!  I have tasted that soup that I crave in two locations…#1-Garfields Restaurant in WV and #2-last week at Crispers restaurant in FL.  I have to figure out how to make that soup!  I am craving some right now as I type this!

So, I have 2 new potato soup recipes lined up to try.  I will make them, taste them, photograph them (hopefully), and rate them for you.  But if you have a FANTASTIC recipe for potato soup, please send it to me at chadsjoy at gmail dot com.  I will then try it and credit you with the deliciousness!

So, I’m changing my menu plan for this week and on Saturday I will be trying one of the new potato soup recipes.  And then next week, you will get the verdict on the first recipe I try. 

Also, if you are looking for delicious restaurant knock-offs, try Top Secret Recipes (you do have to pay for some of them).

I love soup when it is cold out.  I am also a picky eater, so that makes it tricky.  I don’t actually enjoy too many soups with veggies in them, except taco soup.  Anyway, I thought I’d remind you that I have a “soup” tag over on the right hand side.  Also, I’m always look for new soups, so please send your recipes my way at chadsjoy at gmail dot com.  I’d love to feature you!

Here are some of the delicious soups on Frugal Menu Mamas:

Tortilla Soup (Green & White Lightening Chicken Chili)

Taco Soup

Easy Baked Potato Soup

Chicken & Dumplings (sorta soupy)

Chicken Corn Chowder

And here is the link to 3 Cheese Potato Soup that I have made before and my friend Liz LOVES!

I need more ideas…so please send me your yummy soup recipes at chadsjoy at gmail dot com!

Okay-have any of you ever made old-fashioned chicken and dumplings?  I don’t really remember my mom making it when I was a kid (Did you Mom?).  Last winter, my friend Rhonda made it for our freezer cooking co-op and I really enjoyed them.  So I asked her to send me the recipe.  I got it a few weeks ago (Thanks Rhonda!) and I made a double batch last weekend (sorry, no photo).  It was delicious and I can honestly say, I LOVE chicken & dumplings!  It does include two of my favorite foods:  chicken and “bread”.  It is almost a soup type recipe.  It does freeze well, but I have a few thoughts….

#1-Boiling two whole chickens is a tight fit in my largest pot.

#2-This is probably fairly frugal with the few ingredients in it.

#3-My pinched off drop dumplings crumbled a little, I’m wondering if rolled dumplings would hold together better.

#4-This was not easy to make for me this first time through, but now I know what to expect  and can plan better next time.

After all that, here is the delicious recipe:

OLD-FASHIONED CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS

1 (2 1/2 to 3 lb.) broiler-fryer

1 tsp. salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup buttermilk

2 quarts water

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. baking soda

3 Tbs. shortening

-Place chicken in a Dutch oven; add water and 1 tsp. salt.  Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour, or until tender.  Remove chicken and let it cool slightly.  Bone chicken, cutte meat into bite-size pieces (it was easier for me just to tear it); set aside.  Bring broth to a boil; add pepper.

-Combine flour, baking soda, and 1/2 tsp. salt; cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Add buttermilk, stirring with a fork until dry ingredients are moistened.  Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead lightly 4 or 5 times.

-For drop dumplings, pat dough to 1/4 inch thickness.  Pinch off dough in 1 1/2 inche pieces and drop into boiling broth.  Reduce heat to medium-low and cook 8 to 10 minutes, or to desired consistency, stirring occasionally.  Stir in chicken.

-For rolled dumplings, roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness.  Cut dough into 4 x 1/2 inch pieces.  Drop dough, one piece at a time, into boiling broth, gently stirring after each addition.

Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday!

One type of food that freezes real well is soup.  We have done several soup recipes in our co-op and they have always turned out well.  I have a friend who has been making one big pot of homemade soup each week this winter (she will be doing a guest post later) and I’m guessing leftover soup freezes well, too.  Soup can be frozen in gallon Ziploc bags laid flat.  When you defrost your soup though, make sure the bag is set in a bowl because sometimes the bags leak or sweat in the thawing process.  (By the way, I always try to thaw my freezer meals in the refrigerator overnight.)

So, today I am eating a meal I do not have to make.  I love it!  Our dinner is one of the freezer meals from my co-op.  This is the second time it has been done and I’ve even made it once at home.  Its delicious!  That said, it is a little bit of work to make this recipe, so if you try it, make a double batch so you only have to do all that work once.  And by the way, I am a picky eater, if I had seen this recipe before tasting it, I would not have picked it from the ingredient list.  And I like it, so just give it a try.  :)  I hope you enjoy!  I’ll try to post a photo of it tonight!

Rachael Ray’s Green and White Lightning Chunky Chicken Chili (Tortilla Soup):

2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil (2 turns of the pan)
6 (6-ounces each) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
2 tablespoons ground cumin (2 palmfuls)
1 tablespoon ground coriander (a palmful)
1 cup mild or hot tomatillo salsa (green salsa on Mexican Foods aisle)–I used Rotel
4 cups chicken stock or broth
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini or Great Northern beans
1 handful fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Juice of 1 lime
Shredded Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack cheese, for garnish
1 individual lunch-box-size bag of corn chips, optional and not that dangerous

Heat a medium soup pot over medium-high heat with the vegetable oil. Add the chicken to the hot oil and season liberally with salt and pepper. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the onion, garlic, jalapeño, cumin, and coriander and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, continuing to stir.

Add the tomatillo salsa and the chicken stock. Bring the chili up to a simmer. Add half of the beans. With a fork thoroughly mash the other half of the beans, then add to the chili. This method will help to thicken the chili. Simmer the chili for 10 minutes.

Remove the chili from the heat and add the cilantro, parsley, and lime juice.

Serve each bowl of chili with a little shredded Monterey Jack cheese on top. Oh, and go ahead, have a chip or two! I crush up a small bag and stir them right in!

If you are freezing this recipe, allow it to cool before spooning into Ziploc bag.  Freeze shredded cheese in a separate bag.

I come from a long line of great cooks who have learned which of their recipes freeze well.  I think my mother and grandmother were sort of freezer cooks before the idea was popular.  I learned to freeze last week’s recipe (Country Style Steak) from my mother.  I also learned to double some things and freeze them from her.  My grandmother would send me cookies in college that she had made and frozen.  She just pulled them out of the freezer and mailed them.  :)  I learned so much from these two ladies that I was already freezing meals before I learned the term “freezer cooking”.

I really enjoy making my life easy.  When I heard about cooking for a day and eating for a month, it sounded great!  However, when I started to research, I was scared to death of all the work that went into one day of cooking.  Then, I discovered a marvelous thing…a freezer cooking co-op.  I started asking around if anyone here would be interested and got a good response (we have anywhere from 5-8 people involved each swap).  So, the freezer cooking co-op was born.

You may be asking, what is a freezer cooking co-op?  It is a group of individuals who each make one recipe but they make that one recipe for each member of the co-op, then they all meet and exchange the meals.  I think this is much better than once-a-month cooking because you only have to do one recipe.  It saves money and time as well.  Then you receive 5 or so different freezer meals.

Here are some tips and resources to help you decide if you’d like to try one:

–One person should be the organizer and the one to make the ultimate decisions for the group if a decision cannot be reached.

–Ask folks to consider joining who have similar cooking styles, food tastes, and family sizes.  Folks with food allergies may need to start their own group.

–Decide on rules at the first meeting.  Research other groups’ rules to get ideas.  Here are my group’s rules, we are always tweaking them…  Here is another good resource that I used.  Mommysavers has a forum on freezer cooking.

–Decide how often you can manage to do this.  We do it every 4-6 weeks, but we took off the whole month of December.  We usually have enough freezer meals to eat one per week.

–Critique recipes periodically.  Find a nice way to do this so that your group knows if a recipe should be made again.

–Do not experiment on your group.  Use only recipes that are already proven to be good freezer meals OR try your recipe first, freeze it, and reheat to see if it works.

So, here is what my group typically does.  We meet at Panera Bread on a Saturday morning for about an hour.  At the meeting, we decide on the next date, tell what we are planning on making the next time, critique recipes, and give last minute instructions.  Then we head out to our cars (we park them all in the same section) and exchange the already frozen meals.  We all bring coolers to do this.  About a week or so later, I email the group what I have written down that everyone is making and we confirm everything.  I usually make my meals the week of the exchange or the week before.  I buy all the ingredients and complete my recipe in one afternoon.

Does this help you??  Are you pumped to try it yourself?  Let me know how it goes!  Leave me a comment.

Here is a great freezer recipe.  For my family, one regular batch is too much, so we divide it into two and freeze half.  You could easily fit a double batch in a large stockpot though and freeze in small portions.  Enjoy!

Taco Soup

1 lb. hamburger

1 large can whole/diced tomatoes

1 can black beans w/juice

1 can kidney beans w/juice

1 can garbanzo beans (chick peas) w/juice

2 small cans tomato sauce

1 pkg. taco seasoning

1 can corn

Brown hamburger in large pot, then add all canned ingredients EXCEPT corn.  Cook until boiling, then add taco seasoning, return to boil, turn down and simmer for 10-15 minutes (or until beans are soft).  Add corn during the last 5 minutes of cooking.  Serve with grated cheese on top.  If freezing, cool completely before ladling into gallon Ziploc bags.  Freeze flat.  When ready to cook it, thaw overnight, dump in large pot and warm over medium heat.  Serve with corn muffins.

Happy Tuesday!
So, I hope you all have enjoyed the first week of Frugal Menu Mamas!  Yesterday was the highest number of views so far…yippee!  Keep telling people about this blog.  I love doing this blog and I am surprised to find so many people I know have not learned the tricks I have.  So, I’m glad to share them with you.  Tasty Tuesday includes a few recipes from my current week’s menu plan.

This recipe is technically a “meatless” meal.  That does not mean it is vegetarian.  It does mean that I did not purchase any meat for it, therefore it is a cheap recipe.

Chicken Corn Chowder (I usually double this recipe to make it large enough for a meal.)

1 envelope dry chicken noodle soup  ($.94)

2 1/4 cups milk ($.56)

1 can (14 oz.) creamed corn ($.50)

TOTAL= $2

MY TOTAL (for it doubled, plus frozen rolls)=$5.79

Put all ingredients in a saucepan.  Heat over medium-high heat (stirring constantly) until boiling.  Turn down heat and simmer 5 minutes (stirring constantly) or until noodles are tender.  Serve with bread or rolls.  Yummy!

I think you all will also love the “golf ball” bread I am making this week.  It is a hit every time I make it.  When this recipe was giving to my mother many years ago, it was titled “Garlic Bubble Bread”.  For some reason, my sister and I couldn’t catch on and starting called it “Golf Ball Bread”.  It does bubble up into almost golf ball size bubbles.  :)  Anyway, the name has stuck all these years.  So, has the recipe.  That has to say something for how delicious it is.  Enjoy!

“Golf Ball Bread”

1 loaf frozen white bread dough

1/4 cup margarine

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp. dried parsley flakes

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Thaw dough and bring to room temperature.  Mix together melted margarine, egg, parsley, salt, and garlic powder.  Cut bread dough into walnut size pieces.  Dip into egg/margaine mixture and place in well greased loaf pan.  Cover and let rise until doubled in size.  Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.  Cool in pan on wire rack for 10-15 minutes.  Remove from pan and continue to cool on rack.  (Though this tastes marvelous warm.)

The baked potato soup was yummy!  We had it last night.  To make it quick, we cooked the potatoes in the microwave (wash and poke with holes, cook on HIGH 5-10 minutes).  We also cooked the bacon in the toaster oven (if you don’t need the drippings, line a stone with parchment paper and cook at 400F for 15-20 minutes) and then dumped in the drippings.  I put the shredded cheese and chopped up bacon in bowls and let the kids garnich their own.  My eldest said it was good.  That is great since they are both soooooooooo picky!  I am guessing that this soup could freeze well too, I may try that with the leftovers.

Tonight I will be posting grocery shopping tips and deals I got this week.  Stay tuned!

I thought you’d like to have some of the recipes I am using, so each week I will post a few. As part of sticking to my $50 per week for dinners, I will be figuring the cost of each meal. I encourage you to do the same to see where your money is going. (Some things will be estimates.)

This is a great recipe for the crock pot that the kids will eat!

Cheesy Chicken & Rice

2-4 chicken breasts ($1.77/lb. @ Kroger, approx. $3.54 for 4)

2 cans cream of chicken soup ($.49 each @ Aldi)

1 can cheddar cheese soup ($1.67 @ Kroger, used a $.40 off 2 coupon that

doubled, so actually $1.27 each)

½ tsp. garlic powder (maybe $.05)

2 cups rice ($.76 –Kroger 2 lb. bag $1.89)

corn (depends on how you like it, 1 can @ Kroger $.79,

1 bag frozen corn @ Kroger $1)

TOTAL COST $7.39 (less for my family, we only use 2 chicken breasts)

Put chicken breasts in crock pot. Mix together the soups and garlic powder. Pour over chicken.

Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours (this depends on your crock pot, my cooks fast). At

meal time, cook rice according to package and serve the chicken with the soup goop over the

rice. Serve with frozen corn, canned corn, or corn on the cob.

Here is another from this week’s menu plan:

Crispy Parmesan Chicken Strips

(from Pampered Chef’s Stoneware Sensations cookbook)

1 ½ cups seasoned croutons, crushed ($.95 @Aldi)

1 ½ ounces (1/3 cup) Parmesan cheese ($.56 –Kroger brand is $2.92 for 8 oz.)

1 tsp. dried parsley (maybe $.05)

¼ tsp. garlic salt (maybe $.02)

2 egg whites ($.30—Kroger large eggs 18 ct. $2.67)

1 Tbs. Water (free)

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast ($1.77) cut into 1-inch pieces

¼ cup prepare lite ranch dressing (approx. $.50—Kroger, Hidden Valley Ranch

dressing $4.69 for 24 oz.)

Macaroni N Cheese (I am going to use Velveeta Shells N Cheese I got for $1.67 each @ Sams, to make it cheaper you could have a meal another night of homemade mac and then use leftovers for the side here)

Salad (I need cheap salad ideas! We just use a ½ head of iceberg lettuce $.47, 1/3 of a cucumber $.33, and 1/3 a bell pepper, $.66. We add cheese and croutons or eggs if we have them and they are cheap.)

TOTAL: $7.28

Preheat oven to 450 F. Crush coutons in researlable plastic bag. In cowl, combin crouton crumbs, cheese, parsely and garlic salt. Whisk egg whites and water. Dip chicken pieces into egg mixture, then into crumb mixture to coat evenly. Arrange on stone. Bake 14-16 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center. Serve with dressing.

THIS IS SO YUMMY!

Easy Baked Potato Soup (from an old Quick Cooking magazine—NEW to us)

3-4 medium baking potatoes, baked (approx. $.67—Kroger 5 lb. bag $1.99)

5 bacon strips, diced ($1—Kroger bacon $3)

2 can cream of potato soup, undiluted ($.99 each @ Kroger)

1 can cheddar cheese soup, undiluted ($1.27)

3 ½ cups milk ($.70 –Kroger gal. milk $3.19)

2 tsp. garlic powder (maybe $.05)

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce (maybe $.10)

½ tsp. onion powder (maybe $.02)

¼ tsp. pepper (maybe $.02)

1 cup sour cream (8 oz.) ($.50—Kroger 16 oz. $1)

shredded cheddar cheese (maybe $.50)

Serve with bread. (I got a manager’s special loaf of Italian for $.99)

TOTAL: $7.78

Peel and dice the baked potatoes; set aside. In a Dutch oven or soup kettle, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove to paper towels. Drain, reserving 1 ½ tsp. drippings. Add the soups, milk, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, pepper, and reserved potatoes to the drippings. Cook, uncovered for 10 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally. Stir in sour cream; cook for 1=2 minutes or until heated through (do not boil). Garnish with cheese and bacon.