Monday, November 26, 2007
What's For Dinner?
| By Lynn Forgy I belong to several different Yahoo groups, ranging from frugal cooking to freecycling. I was sent a link today, CookingByNumbers.com, and wanted to share it. You check the ingredients that you have on hand, click submit, and possible menu items and recipes are given.  Another link, FruitFromWashington, allows you to enter in your ingredients, and converts the measurements for you. There are also some recipes on the bottom of the page that you may find useful. Other websites that I check frequently because of their frugal recipes are: Living on a Dime Hillbilly Housewife Miserly Moms There are many other websites out there that offer cheap recipe ideas, and many more that can slightly modified to be frugal. Use your imagination! Labels: cheap dinners, Frugal recipes |
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Leftover HALLOWEEN CANDY Recipes
| By Lynn Forgy Maybe you're one of the few people who have Halloween Candy left after all the little ones have been by, or maybe you're really frugal and bought your Halloween candy for next year the day after Halloween and went a little overboard. Whatever the reason, below are some recipes for using up all that candy: Homemade Fudge  Fudge squares make a great gift for coworkers and neighbors. Wrap up a few squares of each variety on a plate and it's a gift they're sure to enjoy. You'll need: 2 1/2 c. sugar 1/2 c. butter 2/3 c. evaporated milk 4 cups chopped candy (anything you want to use!) 1 tsp. vanilla Line a 9 inch square or 13x9 inch pan with foil so that foil extends over sides of pan, and butter the foil. In large saucepan, combine sugar, margarine and evaporated milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add candy and blend until smooth. Stir in walnuts and vanilla. Pour into buttered, foil-lined pan. Cool to room temperature. Score fudge into 36-48 squares. Refrigerate until firm. Remove fudge from pan by lifting foil; remove foil from sides of fudge. Using large knife, cut through scored lines. Store in refrigerator. Makes about 3 pounds: 36-48 squares. From: Squidoo Candy Bar Cookies  Some candy bars make GREAT cookies! Try this with Baby Ruth, Snickers, Milky Way, chocolate bars, or other misc. chocolate pieces. 3 c. sifted flour 1/2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. baking powder 1 1/2 c. sugar 1/2 c. softened butter 3/4 c. smooth peanut butter 2 eggs beaten 1 1/4 tsp. vanilla 2/3 c. milk 5 small candy bars, chopped up Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Cream the butter, peanut butter, and sugar until it is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs ad mix well, then add the vanilla. Sift the dry ingredients together and add alternately with the milk. Stir in the cut-up candy bar pieces. Spoon teaspon sized dropps on greased cookie sheets. Bake about 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Makes about 18 cookies. From: Squidoo Leftover Candy Cake 2 c. coarsely chopped leftover Easter (*or Halloween, Christmas, etc.) candy 2 3/4 c. sifted flour 1/2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. vanilla 8 oz. unsalted butter 1 1/2 c. sugar 3 lg. eggs 1/4 tsp. almond extract 1 c. sour cream Optional: Confectioners' sugar Such as: Chocolate eggs, marshmallow chicks, chocolate bunnies, candy eggs, jellies. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a tube or bundt pan (10 to 12 cup capacity) and dust with fine bread crumbs. Tap out excess crumbs. Set pan aside. Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda and set aside. In large bowl, cream butter until soft, add vanilla, almond extracts and sugar. Mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each one. On low speed, alternate adding dry ingredients with sour cream, scraping bowl as necessary. Place 1 1/2 cups mixture in prepared pan. Add candies to remaining batter, fold in gently. Pour this mixture into pan over plain batter. Bake 1 hour or until tests done. Cool 15 minutes. Cover pan with rack and invert. Remove pan. Let cake cool. Serve plain or with confectioners' sugar dusted on top. From: Cooks.com If for some reason you don't want to eat the leftover candy (Gasp!), here are a few other ideas on what to do with all that candy: 13 Things to Do with Leftover Halloween Candy 10 Things to do with All That Halloween Candy Labels: cake, candy, cookies, Frugal recipes, fudge, Halloween |
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Frugal Recipes
| There's a lot to be said for convenience, particularly in this day and age when everyone seems to be living in the fast lane. However, saving money (and at times a great deal of money) is oftentimes more of a motivator. I have found that although I may be tempted to buy a packet of pizza dough mix for $.78, I can make my own for around $.10 - $.15. This may not sound like a great deal of money, but if I can save that amount of money on many items I have found a way to substantially save on my grocery budget. Last week, I posted a 1 week menu with a total cost for 7 dinners of $26 and change. Below are some of those recipes: 1) Homemade Pizza Dough: 3/4 c. warm water 1 Tbsp. butter/oil (I use the "fake" butter - the Parkay spray/fat free and have NOT noticed a difference in taste) 1 1/2 tsp. salt 2 1/4 c. bread flour (when using all-purpose or self-rising, the taste is AWFUL) 1 tsp. sugar 1 tsp. yeast You can use a bread machine for this, setting it for dough only. Place the wet ingredients in the bowl, then the dry ingredients. Stir with a fork. Let the dough rise (anywhere from 10-30 minutes). I like to roll the dough out with a rolling pin; it seems to work better. The dough will be somewhat stretchy. There is enough for 2-3 medium pizzas, or several calzones. If you have enough left over, you can use it for the topping on the Chicken Pot Pie. 2) Chicken Pot Pie Crust - I use the same dough recipe (#1). 3) Homemade Condensed Soup Mix (this is used in the Tuna & Rice dish, as well as the Chicken Pot Pie): Non-fat dry milk (about 1 c.) Chicken powder or bouillon (about 2 tsp.) Spices (you can use basil, salt, pepper - I use whatever I have handy in the cupboard) Cornstarch (about 1/4 c.) Mix the above ingredients, then place in pan on stove with water. Start with about 1 1/2 c. water on medium heat. Mixture will thicken and if too thick you can add more water. It should be the consistency of store-bought condensed soup. If it is too runny, you can add more cornstarch (HINT: I've learned from experience that if you add cornstarch after adding water, you'll get clumps. You should put a little cornstarch in a separate cup, mix in about 1-2 tsp. of cold water, stir, then add this to your mixture). Labels: condensed soup, dough, Frugal recipes, homemade |
