Fried Rice - The Tasty Way

 Luckily my kids like white rice with their meals. It's high in protein and filling. Always the tinkerer I experimented with Fried Rice. This is what I came up with;

Place 2 cups of water in a pot and add 1 beef bouillon cube or your choice. Put the heat on medium high.

In a medium frying pan add two tablespoons of olive oil and 1 cup of rice, not instant rice but regular long grained rice.

Bring the heat to medium and stir the rice until the oil is spread evenly with the rice. You should see translucent grains at this point.

Continue to stir until the rice darkens and some grains turn white like popcorn. Some will pop like that also. Bring the water to a boil and keep stirring the frying rice.

Once the water is ready remove it from the heat. This next part will surprise you so I want to forewarn you that when you dump the rice into the water there will be a violent burst of steam so go easy here.

Once all your rice is into the water, stir completely and return to the heat. When the boiling returns, turn the heat to the lowest setting and cover. Don't remove the cover for 20 minutes. This gives you time to prepare the main meal.

 When ready to serve, remove the cover and stir to mix. That's it and this rice has a nice texture and loaded with taste!

Enjoy!

Pictures to follow.

Make it Like the Picture on the Box!

   After all the savings it is time to splurge a little and give your family a dinner worth $20.00 a plate at a restaurant. We're talking about Stuffed Shells. Oh yes, Parmesan, Mozzarella, Basil, Parsley and Ricotta cheese stuffed into large pasta shells and covered in Pasta Sauce and baked until the neighbors smell the awesomeness.

  As the title suggests, we took this recipe from a box. A box of Mueller's large shells. Most producers put pictures and recipes on their boxes to entice you to buy their produce and make a nice meal. I sometimes try these and this one was worth the effort.

What you will need;

• 1 12oz Box Mueller's Jumbo Shells
• 2 eggs
• 2 containers (15 oz) each Ricotta cheese
• 2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 1-1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese divided
• 1/2 cup freshly chopped Parsley or 2 tbsp dried Parsley
• 1 tbsp dried Basil
• 1 tsp salt
• 8 cups Spaghetti sauce
• budget adjustment

  The final ingredient is necessary because we are on a budget remember? Parmesan is very expensive and we don't need that much, cut it in half. Also, the Mozzarella isn't free either. Dump it in as you prefer. Hey, I made this without Parmesan once, to stay in budget, and it was awesome, so don't be afraid to reduce.

 The Directions;

• Cook shells for 15 minutes, drain, rinse and allow to cool
• in a medium bowl, beat two eggs until they submit
• stir in Ricotta, Mozzarella,  3/4 of the Parmesan, Basil, Parsley and salt
• mix completely
• spray a 13X9 baking pan with Olive oil spray
• spoon into the shells the cheese mixture.
• once the pan is filled, drizzle the pasta sauce over the shells
• sprinkle the remaining Parmesan of the sauce
• Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until heated complete.

The Pictures;

Mix the Ricotta and eggs

Add the cheeses

Spoon into the shells

About to bake

The box picture, How did I do?

The mess, Not bad!

Cheapskate Meal Extrordinare (Under $12)

      This is about how to spruce up a cheapskate-of-the-month  meal. The meal is Macaroni Casserole with beef.

       
          Everyone makes Macaroni Casserole, but shouldn't it taste good? Here's how to spruce it up and stay way under $12.00!
      

          The Basics-

 Here's a basic Macaroni Casserole.

Boil your macaroni elbows, brown your ground beef, and rinse the elbows when done. Add to the browned ground beef. Add one jar of spaghetti sauce. Mix and serve, and watch TV with all your left over lazy time, and eat Bon-Bons.

          For All You People Who Are Not Lazy-

Prepare your pot for boiling the macaroni with plenty of water, and instead of adding salt, add Vegetable Bullion. Bring to a boil and add Elbows or your choice of macaroni.

Place 1& 1/2 lbs of Ground Beef in a skillet and brown. While browning, add Oregano, Basil, Pepper, and Dried Onions to taste. Add a 1/4 teaspoon of Celery Salt. Mix thoroughly while browning. Drain fat. Add 1 can of Green Beans, with juice and all. Also add one jar of Spaghetti Sauce of your choice. Add 1/2 cup of water to the mix. Raise temperature to reduce liquid. Stir until thickened.

Now that your Elbows are done, slot spoon them out of the pot. DO NOT RINSE. Pour the Elbows into the meat mixture. Simmer until the excess moisture is gone. Serve hot. Trust me, it's a lot better than the basics, and the increased cost is not even $2.00! How's that for cheap?

Honest Grocer, Honest Shopper.

      Today as I was buying groceries, a very strange thing happened. I carefully picked my items from my grocery log with cost in mind.
    
       I then proceeded to the register to checkout. There was a lady ahead of me with few items, generally this is why I chose the line. As I entered the line, she was practically finished, so it was easy for me to load my groceries on the belt. I moved quickly because I had a lot and didn't want to be a burden to anyone behind me. I felt like I picked up quite a lot of items not on my list. I was prepared for an over budget price, but certainly not what I saw. The checkout clerk moved quickly, and scanned my items. I glanced up to check the prices occasionally, and when he was done I checked the final tally. My eyes bugged out of my head as I read the total, $190. I was way over budget, and I beat myself up in my head. The next thing I know, the clerk says, "Press OK", to accept the total, and I was shocked. I hadn't even slid my card yet! I disbelieved myself, thinking I had done it out of second nature and not regarded it. I questioned the clerk, and said, "I don't think I slid my card yet." He was imperative, "Just press OK." The receipt spit out. I again questioned the clerk, and handed him my debit card. The numbers on my card and on the receipt did not match, as I suspected.
     
       What had happened? The previous customer, in their rush, had forgotten to press OK. Therefore, my groceries were added to her list, and the grand total was $190! Realize, had I said nothing, she would have been charged for my groceries, and I would have paid nothing. However, I'm not like that. The clerk was frustrated, so the manager got involved. The manager figured out the plight of the other customer, as the previous transaction was not closed. So, we deducted the previous customer's purchases from mine. The grand total now was $120.
       
        But that was not the end of the total changing, as the manager felt bad about the whole thing and wanted to do right. They rounded my total to $100 EVEN,  and I walked out saving $20, AND, in receipts, I got 29c off a gallon of gas for the whole ordeal.

         This is why I shop at Farm Fresh.

        

HoBo's Are A Good Meal! (Yes, Truly)

      This neat little dinner idea comes from my mom. She made these for us when we were kids and we loved them. I tried them out on my kids and they loved them too. I'll add a picture the next time I make them but for now I will describe The HoBo dinner for you.
       You will need 4 thick ground beef or ground sirloin burgers, if your serving four, frozen mixed veggies, olive oil, salt and pepper, a sweet onion and large foil. The large foil just makes things easier. First you pull off a piece of large foil and put a little dab or 1/4 tsp of olive oil in the middle. Place your patty right on top of that and fold the foil to form a tent. With the top of the ten open you will now add the mixed veggies and chopped sweet onion mixed together. Add a little salt and pepper as desired with one Table spoon of olive oil over that. Seal the tent and repeat. Place all the tents in a frying pan and put the heat on medium. Don't peak until you can smell the goodness. Only then do you open one tent and cut into the meat to check the color of the meat inside. Cooking time varies and is the only tricky part of this dinner. To get it just right, the meat needs to be crispy on the bottom and tender on the top. The steam from the mean adds flavor to the veggies and cooks them. Once satisfied with the color, pop them on a plate and serve.

For The Veggie Lovers!

Today's post is about Broccoli, Flash Boiled.


   We all want our kids to eat fresh and healthy vegetables right? But when they look at a bright green vegetable and wrinkle up their nose, we aren't going to have much success.  They look at that bright green vegetable, look out the window, see a bright green yard and associate the veggie with the yard. Of course we don't want the veggies to taste like the yard and that is what this post is all about. Now I don't know too many kids that hate bright yellow or white sweet corn in the summer months. Do you? The point I am trying to make is what if we made broccoli taste like corn? Maybe then they will overcome their disdain for the bright green.

  Broccoli is a very sensitive vegetable to heat. It is so very easy to over cook this tasty vitamin packed little tree. You can't blame kids for refusing to eat a mushy, pale-green, sad, limp bush. So with that in mind the goal is to create a flavorful, crunchy, green giant. Sorry for the pun.

  Here is how I do it,  I swear it tastes just like sweet buttered corn! For proof just ask my daughter, who is addicted to eating my Broccoli like popcorn.

Trim trees into bite-sized pieces

Sea Salt And Water

  Prep:  Cut your broccoli trees into small mouth sized pieces and set aside in a large bowl. Get your largest pot and fill it 3/4 full. Place it on the burner on high. Add Sea Salt until the water tastes salty. This part depends on how you feel about salt, but the buttery corn taste will come from this.  Too salty is not exactly healthy, so be careful here.  

Mad Boiling

   Bring the salt water to the most vigorous boil you can manage. Once steam is pouring from your boiling pot, dump your cut broccoli into the steaming blast of hot water.

Dump all in at once.

   You will notice that the vigor of the boil will quickly subside with the dousing of the broccoli, and that is your timing cue. Watch it closely. I know a watched pot never boils, but this one will. Just as soon as the boiling vigor returns, you must immediately remove the broccoli from the water and place in a bowl for serving.

Stir a bit to submerge them all

Already darkening

Boiling starting to return, stir a little

Get em out of there now!

Beautiful!

  You should see deep, dark-green steamy trees, so go ahead and pop one in your mouth. You will have your inspiration to convince the kids to TRY THIS!

 When Broccoli is in season, and the price is more acceptable, my daughter and I will have Broccoli nights where we cook a large batch of flash boiled Broccoli.  Putting it in a large bowl that we traditionally use for popcorn, we sit and watch Star Trek The Next Generation while snacking on delicious Broccoli. No silverware, just fingers and filling up on vitamins!  Besides, Jean Luke said, "Make it So".

Enjoy and Be Healthy!!

My daughter edited this! :)

Enchilada Meal - Under $12.00

Our first featured meal under $12.00, Enchilada's, Hot and cheddar filled goodness. This easy meal comes from McCormick's seasoning packet. With 1 pound of ground beef and a .59 cent can of tomato sauce, White corn tortillas and cheddar cheese, This tasty and easy meal comes in way under $12.00 excluding the oven cost of course. Here's how;

 With 1 tablespoon of peanut oil, brown the ground beef and drain the fat. Put 1 and 1/2 cup of water in a medium sauce pan with the tomato sauce and seasoning mix. Bring to boil and reduce heat to simmer and thicken. Add 1/2 cup of sauce to meat and stir to mix. The instructions on the tortillas say to wrap in a moist paper towel and microwave for 30 seconds to make pliable. Very handy there. Take a 9 X 13 greased baking pan and fill the tortillas with the meat and roll tight. Once all the meat is used cover the tortillas with the remainder of the sauce then cover with cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes and serve.

 Serves four easily and by the way, with a glass of milk this stays under $12.00