Tuesday Tips in the Kitchen

Since I am a full time housewife as well as being a quilter, I am trying to make our food budget stretch a little farther and still be interesting.  I am trying to plan about two weeks into the future the meals that I will be making.  From there I make my grocery list and shop.  Nothing is set in cement and I don't beat myself  up if we go out to eat or order a pizza.  But with my husband's change in job schedule and the brutal weather we have been having, this is working out great.  My family can make requests off the menu, if they are hungry for something before I get around to it.

Last night we had roast, carrots and potatoes.  From the leftovers, I am making vegetable beef soup.

I have been trying to clean out the food in the cupboards, freezer and refrigerator.  So what I have in any of those food storage places also helps me decide what to cook.  For example, I have bananas, celery, apples, raisins and marshmallows (that are slightly dried out).  So our salad tonight will be a Waldorf salad fruit salad with the above mentioned items, also using up my leftover Cool Whip and Miracle Whip as the dressing.  If your raisins and marshmallows are a little dried out, they will rehydrate when added to salad.  Just make the salad ahead of time and refrigerate.  If the salad gets too stiff just stir in a little milk.

You can also put slightly dried out marshmallows on top of  Jello while still liquid and refrigerate overnight.  The marshmallows will be freshened up and the kids will love it.  This is something my Mom taught me years ago.  Its saved a lot of marshmallows from the garbage.

One of my favorite recipes is Spaghetti Pizza.

1 can - 24 oz Hunt's Pasta Sauce or your favorite sauce

1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained

7 oz. spaghetti

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

2 cups cheddar cheese

3 cups mozzarella cheese

 

Brown hamburger and drain fat, stir in pasta sauce.  Cook spaghetti and put in the bottom of a well greased 9"x13" pan.  Beat two eggs and milk together and pour over spaghetti.  Sprinkle a light layer of cheddar and mozzarella cheeses over spaghetti.  Now pour hamburger sauce mixture on top of spaghetti spreading to cover spaghetti.  Top with cheddar and mozzarella cheeses ( I usually add additional cheese).  Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes if baking right away.  If you freeze it or put it in the refrigerator, allow a longer baking time.

 

I like to serve this with cheesy garlic bread and a salad.  This dish reheats beautifully.  Just cut a serving size and reheat in the microwave.  I used to have this pre-made and we would heat up individual servings after a soccer game.  

Crunchy Chicken Cheese Bake

This is a Campbell Soup recipe with my modifications.

6-8 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (adjust number up or down for your needs)
4 slices Swiss or American cheese (optional)
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 can of milk
1/2 cup of seasoned stuffing mix  (like Stove Top) + 2 TBS. melted margarine or butter
Hot cooked rice.

Place chicken in a greased baking pan and top with cheese (optional).  Mix soup and milk together and pour over chicken breasts.  Melt margarine and mix with stuffing mix.  Sprinkle stuffing over the chicken breasts.  Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.  Serve over cooked rice.  This is one of my husband's favorite left-overs.

I hope these recipes and tips help save you some time and money.

Today I am linking up with Connie at Freemotion by the River and Fabric Tuesday-A Quilt Story  Have a terrific Tuesday!!

 

Yours in quilting,
Terry