Meatball Stroganoff Lives On!

This is easier than you think.

Crumbled bread crumbs help to stretch the ground beef plus make for a lighter, not so heavy, meatball.

Roll in onions, garlic powder, salt, pepper,  celery salt (optional).

Pan fry with more diced onions and chopped mushrooms. The cream of mushroom soup is on stand-by.

After stirring in the soup, add a little beef broth to thin it somewhat. Lastly, add a generous dollop of sour cream, stir in, just before serving.

Ready to be served with your favorite pasta or rice!

Tah dah!

How to Preserve Garlic, Ginger and Basil - up to a Year!

I ADORE Garlic. My husband swears that when we were dating - that's all he could smell - but he wasn't offended. He loved me that much.

Meatless Mondays

Foregoing meat, - of any kind -periodically, can be very healthy.  It's also cost effective.
Today's meatless Monday meal was outstanding.

• Cous Cous with Black Eyed Peas - better than I thought it would be!
• Roasted beet and fresh papaya salad, dressed with Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil.
• Spaghetti squash with Tomato Basil Pesto, with grape tomatoes and mozzarella.

There were splashes of broth, salt, pepper, paprika and I think I added some butter to the cous cous.

Yummy and then this bird sang to me: cheap, cheap, cheap!

I liked the alliteration of Meatless Monday but it also forced me to get a little more creative with meatless dishes... which are also generally inexpensive.

Please include beans, cheeses, nuts or other protein sources into the meal you plan. If you don't, you'll be cheating yourself out of very necessary proteins and you'll end up feeling hungry afterwards. Meatless does not have to mean you are depriving yourself or your body.

Interestingly, beans and rice together make a perfect protein. I learned this from a nutritionist turned teacher many years ago and I have never forgotten it.

Here are some other meatless, main dish ideas for you which are less common than say, cheese pizza or bean burritos - which are still good.

• Lentils with Farro or Orzo pasta
• Chili beans with corn chips
• Pasta with butter, garlic and spring vegetables like Asparagus, Snap Peas, Carrots (sliced super thin so that they cook evenly with the other veggies - or you can cook them separately).
• Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Tomato Soup
• Italian Bread Soup
• Stuffed Zucchini with Lentils and Onions

Bear in mind I never said all meatless food was super healthy (note the grilled cheese sandwich - very fatty). I also don't recommend you stuff yourself at any meal. So it's all about balance.

3 Recipes to Use Beef to Help You Make It Toward Payday

Although I am thankful that these days we are better off than we were, and we are certainly far better off than most of the planet, I am still very conscious of what it's like to be broke, so I keep on-hand a few food ideas to stretch our dollars.

If you are looking for more ideas of how to feed your family on a very low-budget basis, you've come to the right place.

Every Which Way But Chicken

I have a habit of buying in bulk, then so tired from shopping, freezing in bulk...which means.. defrosting in bulk... HONEY, I have got to discipline myself into making those neat little Suzie Homemaker packages. But I just. Can't.  

Chicken N' Dumplings - Quick and Easy

I have fallen in LOVE with Chicken and Dumplings. Just the dumplings, really. Such a cute name, such a easy way to stretch the pot and the dollars. Yummerz. Dumplings can go on anything but I think the most well-known version is over a pot of creamy chicken and vegetables. Yaassss....

 Brace yourself because it's super-easy. Seriously. I take chicken (I prefer thighs because they are usually cheaper than other cuts or packages),

Recycle Fruit and Opened Bottles of Wine into Sangria in time for the Fourth!

God Bless America!

I think the title says it all, right?

I consider Food Recycling - is that a thing? - one of my special talents.

We are so blessed to live in a country with access to so many different cultures. The more, the merrier, the food, the spices!

It grants me opportunities to recycle food in the most surprising ways!

Holiday Ham or Turkey & Potato Soup

Ham Soup (Photo credit: Live♥Laugh♥Love)

Use up the last bits of your holiday dinner by turning the leftovers into a great tasting soup.

Holiday Ham & Potato Soup or Holiday Turkey & Potato Soup

Uses for Leftover Holiday Food, Wine, Champagne

Roast turkey served with salad, sauces and sparkling juice. On the left is a log cake. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)



Everyone has left, and you have piles of dishes, and odd quantities of leftover foods and drinks. Don't throw anything away!

You can freeze the wine and champagne - possibly with an ice cube tray for portion control (but who has an ice cube tray these days?) - and they can be used later to create sauces; meats and vegetables which haven't been touched can be frozen in clean containers for reinventions into a nice lunch or dinner or even breakfast.

Lucky Soup for the New Year

Tom chuet wun sen (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I have fallen in love with soup-making, and it’s partly due to its magical ability to extend, revive and reinvent food. It’s an invaluable way to maximize leftovers and the usually neglected tops and ends of vegetables.

In honor of the upcoming New Year, and as part of cleaning out the cabinets, I researched symbolic meanings of certain vegetables and realized that, altogether, they would make a very delicious soup. I've stretched a few associations but it's all in good fun.

Amazon/Kindle Pre-Order! - Cheap and Easy: Recipes for the Broke and Tired

Beautiful Baby

LAWD - finally! Book is out - Cheap and Easy: Recipes for the Broke and Tired. They say only write about what you know. So I did. 

Holiday leftovers

Stuffing the turkey ... and that's not just me talking about my husband... sorry love! Just kidding.

Holiday leftovers are great fodder (ha!) for inspiring new meals.

Here are some ideas to help you get started.

DIY Fruit Scrap Vinegar

I'm making apple & cactus pear vinegar

Vinegar is so cheap, why make it, right? True. But if you like flavored vinegars like apple or raspberry, it is less expensive to make it at home. You just need fruit scraps, water, sugar, and patience.

You can vary the amount you make by modifying my recipe, which will make about 1 gallon of fruit vinegar.

As with any food preparation, clean and sterilize all the equipment that you are going to use.

DIY Liquid Handsoap

It's soap-week at our house!

Just when I ran out of laundry detergent, I was running low on liquid hand soap. I've become a fan of liquid hand-soap; it's just so much more attractive than the slimy bars. But they're expensive! Boy!

Fortunately I'm a researcher and I found several recipes for making my own liquid hand soap. If it was expensive and/or time-intensive, I probably wouldn't do it. However, it's not expensive nor time-consuming. 

I'm sharing my own version. 

DIY Laundry Detergent: Update

Everyone should try making their own laundry detergent. DIY Natural is a great site for inspiration. They have an actual cost breakdown which promotes the benefit of making their own. This my version of a DIY Laundry Detergent, which does a very good and safe job on most garments.

Waste Not, Want Not: Scrap Chicken Soup in Crock-Pot

Roasted chicken bones

Sad veggies, just past their prime

Water to cover

Salt and Pepper

Put all in a Crockpot on low for at least 8 hours. Set it and forget it.

You'll have to spend time later straining the bones and the veggies out (I don't care for soft veggies in my soup but they do add a nice flavor to the broth) Tip: put a colander inside a larger pot and pour crockpot contents  into it. Remove colander. Later you can add diced potatoes, (better-looking) veggies, and/rice or pasta to make a soup or use as a base for another dish, like rice pilaf.

Suggestion: you can compost the cooked veggies. If you have a bokashi composter, you can compost the whole thing!

Turkey Tettrazini

Tettrazini (Photo credit: thy khuê)

A great use for that holiday turkey in your freezer... still.

You'll need:

·       2 cups cubed turkey (or chicken)

Turkey Enchiladas, Original or Creamy Style

Enchilada, rice, and beans. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Got turkey? Got vegetable leftovers? Got enchiladas, baby!

Original Turkey Enchiladas

·       About 2 ½ cups diced, cooked turkey

·       1 dozen corn or flour tortillas

·       1 (28 oz.) can red or green enchilada sauce

·       (1/2 cup to 1 cup fresh or cooked vegetables)

·       2 cups shredded cheese

Turkey with Red Wine Sauce

Coq au Vin & Tagliatelle (Photo credit: JaBB)

A turkey spin on a French classic, Coq au Vin.

Dinde (Turkey) au Vin

• 2-3  bacon slices
• 1 large yellow onion, sliced
• About 3-4 cups of chopped, cooked turkey
• About 1/2 lb mushrooms, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

(Hunter's) Turkey Chasseur-Style

Turkey Chasseur



Slow Turkey Crossing (Photo credits: www.roadtrafficsigns.com)

Technically, you should use the wine to deglaze the turkey pan and then use that as the basis for this sauce, so this isn’t a true Chasseur sauce. It’s designed to be thrown together with holiday leftovers.

·       2-3 cups chopped, cooked turkey

·       1 tablespoon butter