First Day of School - Chocolate Lava Cakes

Today is the first day back at school for children all over our city and my three younger kids were all up early in anticipation and excitement to see all their friends again, and in my son's case, to see if any new girls were in his class (ahem - that's my Jess).

I have to be honest, although I enjoy having some time to myself again and for our schedules to get back in tune, having my "babies" gone all day again is always an adjustment for me. I know - I am a suck, but I do miss them when they are gone - they are just so much fun to be with!

So tonight I am going to bbq an easy and nourishing supper with lots of meat and veggies and then surprise them with Chocolate Lava Cakes, which all the kids LOVE! These little cakes are rich and warm and when you cut into them chocolate pudding pours out. I serve them with a scoop of ice cream, whipping cream or they can stand all by themselves.

Chocolate Lav Cakes
* Recipe from Kraft magazine

4 squares of semi-sweet chocolate (about 2/3 of a cup chocolate chips or cut chocolate)
1/2 cup butter
1 cup icing sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
6 tbsp flour

Melt chocolate and butter together. Stir in sugar until well blended. Whisk in eggs and yolks. Stir in flour. Divide the batter between four greased custard cups (3/4 cup size).

Bake at 425 F for 12 - 14 minutes, until sides are firm but the center is still soft. Let stand a minute or so then loosen the sides with a small knife and invert cakes onto a small plate. Top with ice cream or whipping cream and eat warm.

Since they need to be served warm the picture will be up this evening - sorry :)

For more recipe ideas check out Tempt my Tummy Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday and At the Table!

Christine

Specialty Coffee

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I love drinking coffee. The smell of freshly brewing coffee reminds me of happy childhood memories, of waking up Saturday mornings the smell of fresh coffee, bacon and pancakes.

Today we have many choices for specialty coffees, some which are sure to break the bank! Since I do not like to spend those high prices I have come up with some easy and frugal recipes for my favorites.

Iced Cappuccino

1 cup ice
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp espresso powder
1 squeeze of chocolate syrup (or you can use cocoa powder and honey)

Blend together in your blender till well mixed and frothy. If it is too thick just add a splash of milk or cream.

Mexican Coffee

Sprinkle a teaspoon or so of cinnamon over your coffee grounds in your coffee maker and brew your coffee as normal. Serve with some honey and cream.

To make this extra special, whip some cream and dollop some fresh cream on the top and sprinkle with cinnamon.


French Vanilla

I know you can buy cream for this, but how healthy is a "dairy product" that has a shelf life of months? Here is a healthier versions...

Mix 1 tsp of vanilla into a half a cup of cream, use a bit of sugar or honey to sweeten your coffee to your preference.

For more frugal tips and recipes check out Recipe Swap, Food on Fridays, Foodie Fridays, The Finer Things and Frugal Fridays.

Christine

Mocha Freeze Mini-Cheesecakes

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My daughter has been hounding me for cheesecake and since it suppose to be summer (sure not feeling like summer lately here in Alberta - what is 12 Celsius in Fahrenheit? It is cold thats what it is!), I chose a cool frozen version of her favorite baked mocha cheesecake with a super easy crust!

Mocha Freeze Mini-Cheesecakes

24 Oreo cookies

2/3 cup chocolate chips
3 tbsp water

1 pkg (8 oz) of cream cheese
1 container (250 oz) of sweetened condensed milk
2 tsp espresso powder (or 1 tbsp instant coffee powder)

1/2 cup whipping cream, whipped till stiff peaks form

Place oreo cookies in muffin tins lined with paper or foil liners. Set aside.

Melt chocolate chips with the water in the microwave. Mix till smooth (be careful not to overcook). Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

Mix together cream cheese and condensed milk till fluffy and smooth, add coffee. Pour in melted chocolate and blend till smooth. Fold in whipping cream.

Divide cream cheese mixture over the cookies. Freeze for at least 4 hours.

For more great recipe ideas check out Foodie Fridays, Recipe Swap and Food on Fridays!

Blessings,
Christine

Homemade Jam

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Among home renovations this past few days I had some Saskatoon berries that I had picked off my parents tree that needed to be used.

I typically make 5 - 6 batches of jam over the summer, which lasts us throughout the year and even give us a couple to give away as gifts. Yesterday I got a good start with two batches of Saskatoon Rhubarb and one batch of Saskatoon Strawberry. I will likely still make some Raspberry Rhubarb, my raspberry bushes are not looking so good this year and we have had a really late season overall, but even if I get one batch I will be happy.

Saskatoon Rhubarb Jam

4 cups Saskatoon berries
2 cups Rhubarb, diced small

1 pkg Reduced sugar pectin powder
2 1/2 cups Sugar

Put the fruit, 1/4 cup of the sugar and the pectin powder into a large pot. Bring to a boil. Add the remaining amount of sugar and boil for 1 minute.


Pour into sterilized jars. If the lids to not snap within a few hours then refrigerate.


(*Note: I always put my jams into a hot water bath - Bring a large pot of water to a boil, place jars of jam in the hot water and let boil for 10 minutes.)


For more recipe ideas check out Tempt my Tummy, Tasty Tuesday and At the Table!


Christine

Spicy Asian Inspired BBQ Pork Burgers

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I LOVE hamburgers! I don't know what I love most about them - that you can eat them anywhere, that you can make them taste so different with spices and toppings, that they are pretty frugal meal for hungry boys, or that they are a crowd pleaser!

I will buy pre-made burgers to cook in a pinch, but there is something special about a thick and juicy homemade burger, loaded high with fresh veggies on a crusty bun.

Asian Inspired BBQ Pork Burgers

3 - 4 lbs Ground pork
1 Egg
1/4 cup Soya sauce
1/2 cup Oatmeal (a healthier alternative to bread crumbs)
1/4 cup Natural bran (honest - you will never taste the bran and it gives a nutritional boost to your burgers!)

Spices:
*All spices are approximate - I don't measure, just pour or sprinkle, add to your own taste preferences :)

2 tsp dry mustard
2 tsp garlic granules
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 - 1 tsp hot pepper flakes
1 tsp ground pepper
1 tbsp parsley

Once you place everything in a large bowl, push up your sleeves and mix with your hands. Form patties that are a bit larger than your buns as they will shrink up a bit. This recipe will make 12 - 16 burgers, depending on what size you like your burger. We tend you make big, fat burgers, so this recipe will give us 12.

These make great sandwhiches for lunch the next day - a favorite for my husband and sons!

This post is linked up with Foodie Friday, The Recipe Swap and Food on Fridays!

Have a great weekend!

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Cream of Potato Soup

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I find soup calming to make and is a nutritious and frugal meal to serve hungry boys! Since I make my own stock, this dish cost me about $3.50 or so to make (that's in Canadian dollars - you will pay less in the States!) and gives us almost 6 L (or 6 quarts) of soup.

Cream of Potato Soup

4 slices bacon, diced small

2 large carrots, diced

1 large onion, diced

3 - 4 stalks of celery, diced

sprinkle of salt and pepper

6 - 8 potatoes, diced

3 cloves garlic

2 tbsp parsley

1 tsp salt (or to taste)

1 tsp pepper (or to taste)

3 L (aprox 3 quarts) stock (any stock or broth is find, I use chicken or turkey)

1 1/2 L of milk

1/2 cup cream (optional)

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Fry the bacon in the bottom of a large pot till crisp. Remove from heat and remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside.

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Saute carrots, onion and celery in the bacon fat till tender, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the potatoes, garlic, parsley and additional salt and pepper and stir. Pour over stock and simmer on low for 20 - 30 minutes, or until potatoes are soft. Remove from heat and add milk, cream (if using) and the bacon you set aside. Stir to mix.
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Taste for seasonings, you may need to add more salt or pepper. Serve with buns or biscuits.
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For more recipe ideas check out Tasty Tuesdays, Tempt my Tummy Tuesday and At the Table!

Enjoy,

Christine

Espresso Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

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Making cupcakes is a nice alternative to baking a cake in that there is not cutting or slicing needed and it takes a fraction of the time in the oven, so your house does not heat up as much. We love desserts and are trying new recipes this summer. Here is one I found in Cupcakes, by Ceri Hadda.

Espresso Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

1 1/3 cup Flour
½ tsp Baking powder
½ tsp Baking soda
¼ tsp Salt
1 cup Mini chocolate chips

6 tbsp Butter
1/3 cup Brown sugar
1/3 cup White sugar
1 Egg
3 tbsp Espresso powder
1 tsp Vanilla

½ cup Milk

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Cream butter and sugars till fluffy, add the egg, espresso powder and vanilla in mix well.

Combine the dry ingredients and milk alternately to the butter mixture, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.

Bake at 350 for 15 - 18 minutes. Makes 12 cupcakes.

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For more cupcake recipes see:

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Pumpkin Cupcakes

Vanilla Cupcakes

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For more great recpies check out Foodie Friday, The Recipe Swap and Food on Fridays!

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Christine

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Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes

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We eat alot of pancakes, I often will make a big batch that the kids can reheat for an easy and fast breakfast. If you are not a blueberry fan, then these pancakes are also nice with sliced banana's and syrup as well.

Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes

3 cups Whole wheat flour
2 tbsp Baking powder
2 tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt

3 cups Milk (or 2 cup milk and 1 cup yogurt)
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
1 tbsp Vegetable oil

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside. Mix milk, eggs, vanilla and oil with a whisk or hand mixer, pour over dry ingredients and mix well.

Let your batter sit for 3 - 5 minutes and then you are ready to go.

With a laddle, pour pancake mix onto medium-hot, non-stick frying pans, sprinkle over blueberries.


Small bubbles will start to appear, flip when the pancake is golden (you can tell by how many bubbles you can see - the pancake above still needs a minute or so).

Flip over and cook for another minute or so.

Pile your pancakes high! Enjoy with blueberry syrup or regular syrup!

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For more recipe ideas check out Mouthwatering Mondays, Temp my Tummy Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday and Tuesdays At the Table!

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For More Breakfast Ideas:

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Spicy Carrot Bran Muffins

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No-Roll Biscuits and Oatmeal Muffins

Christine

Lemony Meringue Cookies

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I am always playing around with new cookie recipes and in summer there is nothing quite like the refreshing taste of lemon. Meringue is light and fluffy and not as heavy as a regular cookie. These cookies are lemony with a hint of coconut sprinkled on top and are perfect on a hot summers afternoon, to pack for a picnic or to bring to a pot-luck!

Lemony Meringue Cookies

4 Egg whites, room temperature

1/2 tsp Cream of tartar

1 cup Sugar

1 tsp Lemon extract

Coconut for sprinkling

Beat egg whites and cream of tartar till soft peaks form. Slowly add sugar a bit at a time, while continuing to beat.

Add lemon extract and beat till stiff.

Drop by the spoonful onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake at 225 F for 1 hour. Turn off the oven and let the cookies sit for an additional hour.

For more great recipes check out Tuesdays at the Table, Tasty Tuesdays and Tempt my Tummy Tuesdays!

Related Posts:

Mocha Meringues

Rainy Day Cookies

Squares for Summer

Enjoy!

Christine

Cool and Refreshing Bean Salad

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Beans are an easy, frugal and nutritious addition to any meal. I have been experimenting in new recipes for beans, as one of my goals is to add more beans and lentils into my families diet. Everyone in my family really enjoys beans, so this should be a pretty easy challenge, but in the past I always used canned beans, not dried. I have no idea why it took me so long to make the switch, dried beans are way less expensive and by making the entire dish myself, I control the ingredients that go in. I guess I was just put off from the time it would take, but with just a bit of planning and a slow cooker it is way easier than I thought it would be.
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I have serious cravings for food that is spicy, like make you cry spicy, so I will be serving up some fiery hot chicken drumsticks (which is adapted from a chicken wing recipe I found), but to cool down our palates, I decided to make a refreshing bean salad and will also be serving fresh carrot and celery sticks with homemade ranch salad dressing for those who just love to dip. This is a fun meal that everyone will be happy with!
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Bean Salad

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2 cups dried beans (any combination you like)

1/4 cup olive oil

3 tbsp lemon juice (about 1 good sized lemon)

1 - 2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 purple onion, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

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The day before:

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Rinse off your beans and check them over for any stones or beans that do not look good.

Place your dried beans in a bowl and cover with cold water, let sit and soak for 8 - 24 hours (This step is not necessary, but helps the beans become more digestible and decreases the over all cooking time). Transfer to your slow cooker, add three cups of water for every cup of beans. Cook them on low over night - about 8 - 10 hours.
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Mix up the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper in a small glass container. Shake to mix. By mixing the dressing the night before the garlic will infuse the oil and have a more mellow taste, not such a sharp taste.
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The next day:
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Drain and rinse and transfer to a bowl. Let cool in the fridge for 4 - 6 hours.
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Once your beans have cooled, add your chopped vegetables and pour over enough dressing just to coat, toss to mix (if you have extra dressing, save it for a salad the next day). Place back in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

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Easy peasy right?

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This post is linked to Food on Fridays, Foodie Friday, Recipe Swap, Pennywise Platter and Slow Cooking Thursday

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Related Posts:

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Simplifying Your Life

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Food for Thought: Nutritional Benefits of Beans and Legumes (By Kitchen Stewardship)

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Christine

Baking with Seasonal Ingredients

Summer gives us an abundance of healthy and frugal fruits and vegetables. Depending on where you live, you may get more or less, here in Alberta we tend to have more vegetables than fruits (we get a lot of fruit from British Columbia next door). We do have some homegrown fruit and overall fruit is very inexpensive at our local grocery stores. The Farmers Market does offer a large variety of fruits as well, that are also sold at very reasonable prices.

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To keep my cooking and baking frugal (and delicious), I try to use ingredients that are in season. I continue baking all through summer, it is just not as hot here as down south; plus, it cools down a lot once the sun goes down, so your house cools down and you can bake in the late evening or early morning without your house feeling too hot. There is really only 2 - 3 weeks (over the entire course of summer) that it is just too hot to turn on the oven.

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Here are a couple of recipes that are inexpensive to make and will please the whole family!

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Fruit Custard Pie:

* I suggest blueberries, cherries, apple and rhubarb (the picture of mine above is rhubarb - as it is free!)

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3 - 4 cups of fruit, cleaned and diced

1 tbsp flour

3/4 - 1 cup sugar (depending on on how sweet or tart you like things)

3 eggs

1/2 cup cream (you can use milk if you want a lower fat option)

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Mix the fruit and flour and put in an uncooked, prepared pie crust. Mix the sugar and eggs together till frothy, mix in the cream and blend till smooth. Pour over the fruit.

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Topping:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1/3 cup flour

With a fork, mix untill crumbly. Sprinkle over the pie.

Bake at 400 F for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 350 F and bake for an additional 30 - 40 minutes, or until set.

Serve warm.

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Fruit Crisp

* Any fruit combination is fine - my favorites are apple, rhubarb and apple-rhubarb.

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4 - 6 cups of fruit, clean and diced

1 cup margarine

1 cup flour

1 1/2 cups oatmeal

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

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Place fruit in a large cassarole dish. If you would like you could sprinkle sugar or cinnamon over the fruit.

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Mix together topping with a fork until crumbly and sprinkle over prepared fruit. Bake at 350 F for 40 - 50 minutes or until the fruit is soft and bubbly and the topping is lightly toasted. Let cool on the counter for 15 minutes before serving.

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Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

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For more Frugal Tips and Recipes see Tempt my Tummy Tuesday, Life As Mom, Friday Recipe Swap, and Foodie Friday!

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Related Posts:

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Summer Express - Fresh and Easy Meal Ideas

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Managing our Money - Spending Habits

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Have a great weekend,

Christine

Homemade Yogurt with Berries and Granola

I have recently started making homemade yogurt and have LOVED IT! My kids are loving it too - my husband and I have yogurt, fresh fruit and granola most mornings, and the kids are enjoying lots of breakfast smoothies with hot oatmeal or fresh muffins. I make lots of yogurt pops too, so that when they ask for ice cream, I can offer a yogurt pop instead. My friend Tyler even posted a great real fruit pop recipe yesterday that I am going to try for the kids.

Making your own yogurt is very frugal and you can use the ingredients that YOU want to use. You control the milk, the starter, the sweetener (if you even want any), and you can add fresh fruit instead of having those little pieces of something that is suppose to be fruit (very questionable).

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Every week or two I make some more granola to add to my yogurt. I love that I can add whatever I want to to it, that I control the sweetener and fats, and that it saves me tons of money for very little work!

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Homemade Granola:

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4 cups Large oats

1 cup Coconut

2 cups Nuts (any nut or seed you like will do- I use almonds or pecans, which are our favorites)

2 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Nutmeg

1/4 cup Coconut oil or Vegetable oil

1/2 cup Honey

2 cups Dried fruit (optional, sometimes I will add, but not always)

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Combine oil and honey and pour over dry ingredients. Mix well, making sure that the oil and honey is well distributed.

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Bake on a large baking tray at 350 F for 10 minutes, stir gently. Bake for an additional 10 - 15 minutes (cooking time will depend on your baking tray), checking every 5 minutes to stir, remove when I light brown. You will want to watch it closely for the last 10 - 15 as dark brown granola does not taste as good.

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Let it sit on the counter to cool for 20 minutes then put in an airtight container.

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Even if you are not totally health conscious all of the time (me), it is nice to have some options for food that is healthy, nourishing, easy and frugal. For more tips and recipe ideas see The Nourishing Gourmet and Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.

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Related posts:

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50 Money Saving Tips!
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Healthy and Nutritious Eggs

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Blessings,

Christine

Happy 142nd Birthday Canada!!

Here in Canada we are celebrating Canada Day! My family and I celebrated by going to local celebration where there are lots of different performances - dancing, singers, storytelling, bands and at the end of the night there are fireworks.

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Since we did not leave till late afternoon (the fireworks start at 11:15 at night), I had time to whip up some Canada Day Cupcakes!

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Canada Day Cupcakes with Butter cream Icing:

* Recipe found in "Cupcakes", by Ceri Hadda

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1/2 cup butter or margarine

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 egg yoke

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

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Mix dry ingredients and set aside. Cream together margarine and sugar till fluffy, add eggs one at a time and add vanilla. Add flour alternatively with the milk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.

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Bake at 350 F for 14 - 16 minutes (I think Americans need to bake for 20 - 22 minutes...I don't get that!?). Makes 12 cupcakes.

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Frost with your favorite butter cream icing.

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Related Sites:

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My Trip to the Alberta Legislative Assembly in Edmonton

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Welcome to Alberta in Spring!

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Happy Canada Day Everyone!

Christine

Summer Express - Fresh and Easy Meal Ideas

We LOVE salads – well I love salads, my husband has grown to appreciate salads, and my kids have never known anything different. Everyone in my family has their favorite and I try and make a variety of different salads all year long, but especially in summer. I love making really big salads that have every type of vegetable imaginable in it – I want to see lots of green, orange, red, purple – you name it! The more colorful it is the better it is going to taste! Although I do not always make my own salad dressing, the freshness of summer seems to call for a fresh, homemade dressing.

Homemade Ranch Dressing or Dip

1 cup sour cream or yogurt (I use yogurt, I make my own, therefore, a more frugal option)
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp fresh chives
1 clove garlic, minced (optional, but it adds a definite bite and spice to the dressing)
1 tsp dill
1 tsp parsley
¼ tsp cracked pepper (or to taste)

Combine ingredients into a glass jar and shake it up. If it is a bit thick, just add a bit of milk. Let sit for 20 minutes for the spices to combine. It will last for as long as your yogurt or sour cream would last (check the expiration dates), which is typically a couple of weeks.


I love to have easy dinners, with little preparation and cooking involved, after a long day at the beach or the pool. But after a long day out, we are all hungry and need something to fill us up! I love serving grilled steak in the summer as it takes less than 10 minutes on the grill. I often will serve baked potatoes (to fill hungry teenagers!), but I also like to offer lots of variety in side dishes.

Spinach Dip

1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
1 pkg dried vegetable soup mix
2 – 4 green onions, diced
1 pkg frozen spinach, thawed with the extra water squeezed out

I often combine the sour cream, mayonnaise and soup mix the night before I want to serve and take the spinach out of the freezer to thaw in the fridge, and then add the green onions and spinach 30 minutes before I want to serve. Although this is not necessary, you can also just combine all the ingredients at once and let sit for 30 minutes before serving.

Keep cold until you are ready to serve and serve with sour dough bread (or crackers) and lots of cut vegetables.

Baked Beans

2 cans brown beans in tomato sauce
1 can kidney beans, drained
½ cup bbq sauce (your favorite)
¼ cup brown sugar
1 tbsp either ground mustard or Dijon mustard
Big squirt of hot sauce (optional)

Combine all the ingredients in a medium sized pot and simmer on low to medium heat until heated through.

All the dumping, mixing and heating takes around 5 minutes! This is a super fast, frugal and high fiber side dish!

All my kids love this side dish – even fussy Tia!

These work for me!!

Related Sites:

Squares for Summer

Bringing Some Life Into Your Pasta Sauce (super quick, super easy!)

Need More Fibre?


Blessings,
Christine

Healthy and Nutritious Eggs

In recent years, eggs have gotten a bad rap for increasing your cholesterol and that you should eat egg whites only, or limit the amount of whole eggs you eat. New research now shows that this belief is not necessarily true and eating eggs may actually improve your cholesterol levels.

Although too much of one thing is not necessarily as good for us as having a variety of nutritious and healthy foods, I do believe that eggs pack a nutritious punch that can not be ignored:


- Eggs are a high source of protein (5 - 6 g per egg)
- A good source of vitamins (iron, zinc, calcium, iodine, and selenium)
- Promote healthy hair and nail growth, and beautiful skin
- Boosts brain health
- Can help promote weight loss
- Protects your eyesight
- Strengthens your bones
- Helps prevent blood clots
- Prevents against age-related muscular degeneration
- Can increase your energy.

There are even more benefits to eggs:

- They are easy to prepare in a variety of dishes and meals
- They have a long refrigerator life
- They are very frugal
- They actually fill up hungry teenage boys!


Making perfect boiled eggs:

Making boiled eggs sounds so easy, but believe it or not, there is an art to having your boiled eggs come out perfect every time!

1. Place your eggs single layer in a pot and cover with an inch or so of cold water.

2. Put a lid on the pot and place it on the stove to boil over medium high heat.

3. Once the water in the pot comes to a boil, turn off the burner, if you have an electric stove, move the pot to a cool burner

4. For large soft boiled to medium boiled eggs, let sit in the hot water for 4 – 8 minutes, depending on your personal preference.

5. For large hard boiled eggs, let sit in the hot water for 15 minutes.

6. Once cooking time has been reached, rinse your eggs under cold water for a few minutes.

7. For soft-boiled eggs (or if you want to eat the hard-boiled eggs warm), cool them just long enough to handle them to serve.

8. For hard-boiled eggs cover with cold water and a few ice cubes to completely cooled. Place your eggs in the fridge.

9. To peel your egg, crack all over lightly. Take a teaspoon and run it between the egg, pulling the shell back.


Trouble-shooting:

Grayish tinge around the yoke – Your eggs has been overcooked, decrease the time you let the eggs sit in the hot water.

Eggs shells are cracked – This could happen if the egg has been boiled, but sometimes it happens even if they were not boiled. Remember to bring your eggs up to a boil gradually, over medium-high heat. If you find that this is a consistent problem, put one tablespoon of vinegar in the water to boil, that should help.

Eggs taste rubbery – Boiling eggs will make them taste rubbery, so you should never boil eggs. Make sure you remove the pot from the hot burner as soon as the water comes to a boil, the hot water will cook the egg.

Eggs do not peel nicely – There are two things you can do that will help this. First, don’t use super fresh eggs, the fresher they are the more difficult they are to peel. Second, make your eggs the day before you want to use them. Peeling them the next day will ensure much better results.

Our favorite egg recipes:

Lunch Time Egg Salad Sandwiches

12 Hard boiled eggs
½ cup mayonnaise (or to taste)
2 - 3 green onions, finely diced
¼ tsp ground pepper
dash of cayenne pepper (optional)

Sandwich toppings: lettuce/spinach, cucumber, pickles, hot pickles, hot sauce
The toppings added depends on the person, I add it all to my husbands and mine. Brandon will want extra lettuce and hot sauce, Jesse lettuce and cucumbers, Justin will want everything but hot pickles or hot sauce and Tia will only want lettuce.


Brandon’s Famous Super Easy Omelette

3 eggs
3 tbsp of water
¼ cup of vegetables (what ever is on hand and whatever your preference is – Brandon uses onions and peppers)
¼ cup of grated cheese

Mix eggs and water well in a medium sized bowl.

We have a microwavable omelette container, so you pour half of the egg mixture on each side. Cook for 2 – 3 minutes and then remove from microwave and stir. Sprinkle over vegetables and put back into the microwave for 2 – 3 minutes, or until eggs are set. Sprinkle over cheese, close the container and slide your omelette onto your plate.

The kids have a healthy and frugal meal, that they made all by themselves and can be cleaned up easily (by them!!).


Egg Strata

1 cup Small croutons
½ cup Onion
½ cup Peppers
½ cup Spinach, chopped
1 cup Cheese, grated
10 Eggs
1 cup Milk or low-fat cream
Salt and pepper to taste

Sauté the onion and peppers till soft, set aside and let cool.

Whisk together eggs and milk, stir in cheese and cooled vegetables.

Spray a casserole container with vegetable spray. Place croutons over the bottom of the casserole dish and pour egg mixture over top.

Let sit for 15 minutes on the counter.

Bake at 350 for 30 – 45 minutes or until eggs are set.

Note: All vegetables are optional, you can add or leave out whatever you like, you could also add cooked sausage, bacon or ham.

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For More Posts Like This:

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When Only Chocolate Will Do!!!

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You Are What You Eat???

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Enjoy,

Christine

Frugal Grocery Budget

I try hard to keep a frugal grocery budget - which is hard with so many growing kids! People who see my kids eat are always astonished, unless they too, have teenagers! So how do I fill up lots of growing boys without having to remortgage?

1. I buy healthy and frugal potatoes in bulk (and serve them lots!)

I buy potatoes in 20lb bags, we eat approximately 30 lbs - 40 lbs of potatoes a month. Potatoes are very versatile and I can serve them lots of ways. I almost never peel them, that reduces waste and also increases their nutrition, as most of a potatoes fibre is in the skin. Here is two of our favorite recipes (sorry I have no pictures today).


Oven fries:

4 - 10 Potatoes (whatever would feed your family)
Olive oil
Seasoning of choice (we like a Cajun seasoning mix and Greek seasoning mix)

Cut potatoes into chunky sized pieces and toss with just enough olive oil to coat. Toss with a liberal amount of seasoning. Spread on a cookie sheet or baking sheet in a single layer (use two baking sheets if necessary).

Bake in a very hot oven - 450F for 30 minutes or until browned. Cooking times will vary depending on the size you cut your potatoes.

Twiced Baked Potatoes

(Note: When making mashed potatoes make double - this dish will freeze well or can be stored in the fridge for a couple of days before baking)

6 cups of Leftover mashed potatoes (or whatever would feed your family)
¼ cup Cream (milk will do, but cream is nicer)
½ cup of Sour cream
½ cup Parmesan cheese (or any cheese of choice – cheddar is nice too)

Possible add ins: ½ cup crumbled bacon, ½ cup diced green onions, 3 – 4 cloves of crushed garlic, 3 tbsp steak spice, 3 tbsp parsley

While your mashed potatoes are still warm, mash in the cream, sour cream, cheese and possible add ins. Transfer potatoes to a medium greased casserole dish and cover with a lid or foil.

Bake at 375F for 45 - 60 minutes (for a smaller casserole, your cooking time may go down to 30 minutes).


2. I use what I have for free

I can not really garden - I have tried, but I am bad at it, plus I do not enjoy it and make those around me to help, which causes much grumbling. I have given up for the time being on having a large garden, but do enjoy some of the bounty my yard (and my parents yard) still provides.

Between my parents and I, we have an apple tree, a Saskatoon tree, choke cherry tree and a plum tree. I also have some raspberry and strawberry bushes, some chives and three large rhubarb plants.

A few years back I started making jams, jellies, and sauces with all the free food that we have in our yards. Mind you, there is a cost of pectin, sugars and so on, but really, it is still at a fraction of the cost.

Since rhubarb is the most plentiful and so easy, I tend to use it a lot. I typically make Saskatoon rhubarb jam, strawberry rhubarb jam and raspberry rhubarb jam, choke cherry jelly, choke cherry syrup (totally yummy over pancakes!!), apple sauce and rhubarb sauce. I will also cut and freeze rhubarb (and apples if enough) for the winter. Needless to say the end of August is a busy time for me!

I also love to make lots of deserts with rhubarb. I am always on the look out for new ideas and recipes and have found a couple that I am going to be trying over the next week or so. If you have any recipes that you want to share, please do!

3. I do a lot of baking

So I can't really garden, but boy can I bake! I don't do anything fancy, but one of the talents God graced me with was being able to bake really yummy treats. I love to bake, I will bake when happy, when sad, when stressed, when bored, whenever a craving strikes me - you name it!

Cookies are my standby when I am feeling stressed, there is really nothing like warm cookies that can make everything seem better; but to fill growing boys, and to feed one fussy girl, muffins are typically my standby. I make dozens at a time and freeze them so the kids can grab them on their way to school, or to add to their lunch kit, or have as an afternoon snack or bedtime snack (apparently Jesse can't sleep if he is in the least bit hungry - and he is always hungry!). Carrot, pumpkin, oatmeal and banana are their favorites, but really they are not all that picky. One of their favorite breakfasts is a smoothie and muffin. Nutritious and frugal!

For more frugal tips, check out Life As Mom.

For more posts like this check out:

Spicy Carrot Bran Muffins

Rhubarb - Love it!

Fruit Pudding Cake


Blessings,
Christine

Tomato Vegetable Pasta Sauce

I am always trying to get the most out of my grocery dollar. Many people are trying to stretch each dollar, but my challenge is compounded in that we have three teenage boys to feed (one that is ALWAYS hungry!!) and a very fussy daughter. All my boys are good eaters and are happy with almost anything I feed them, but Jesse (the one who is always hungry) and Justin are more mindful of what food they eat and they want healthy, filling food and always lots of it!

My daughter is soooo picky. She always has been, since she has been two. I honestly do not know where she gets it from, but she is picky and stuborn (well, I know where the stuborness comes from!), she will dig in her heels and starve before she will eat whatever she deems "uneatable", which is alot. For her I offer lots of eggs and dairy (smoothies are great as I can hid lots in them), plus alot of quick breads and muffins with fruits and vegetables "hidden" inside. If there is something "junkie" and something healthy to choose from, she will pick the unhealthy food every time. Luckily, along with my prayers, she is starting to get some peer pressure and has been starting to nibble on some raw fruits and veggies when she is with her frineds. With the Lord's grace, her eating preferences will change.

Anyone with teenagers know that keeping the fridge and pantry stocked with healthy snacks and providing healthy and filling food on buget is a huge challenge. That is why it is so important to me to buy the most nutritious, vitamin packed foods with my grocery dollars. For instance, I would buy spinach and rominian lettuce over iceburg lettuce, or I will buy a small roast beef and cook and slice it for lunch meat instead of buying over priced and processed meats at the deli.

When I am in a pinch for something fast, easy and frugal I almost always make pasta. We have lots of veggies in our house right now and I am loving all the fresh ingredients we can get, so I totally loaded a basic tomato sauce with some of the extra vegetables in the house. This is a good way to use up any extra vegetable you have in your fridge that you do not want to go to waste. Don't worry about what vegetables you use, I always just use whatever I have on hand. This time I used onions, garlic, celery, carrots, jalapeno peppers, yellow peppers and spinach.


I always soften my vegetables first in a bit of olive oil, then add the garlic and spices, basil and oregano, and just warm them through.

Then I pour over 2 – 3 large cans of tomatoes, either diced or crushed works well.

While the sauce was simmering away, I decided to prepare spaghetti squash as well since it was on a really good sale (I also made some regular pasta for those who prefer it and so everyone could have a bit of both without breaking the bank!). If you have never tried it, you really should. You cut the squash in half, scoop out the insides, then season it with a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper. I cover them and put them in the microwave for 10 minutes. Once they are soft, all you do is run your fork through it and it comes out in strands that somewhat resemble spaghetti. I find that this works well for many types of sauces, but I prefer it with vegetable tomato sauces.

Once the sauce has simmered for 20 – 30 minutes and your pasta, or in my case, spaghetti squash, is done, toss in the diced spinach and give it a stir.

Fill your plate with the pasta and sauce and top with Parmesan cheese. Add a crusty whole grain bun on the side and you have a great meal that is not too heavy in our warmer weather.

It is hard to state how much a meal costs, as I have noticed that here in Canada we seem to pay more for our food, plus our dollar is different, but this meal cost me around $10 (as I made the crusty buns myself) and feed 5 adult size portions (two boys went back for seconds), one fussy dibbler, and we even had enough left over for my husband to have for lunch the next day.

For more great healthy and frugal tips check out the Nourishing Gourmet!

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For more posts like this see:

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Spice Up Your Life!

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Making Your Own Household Cleaners

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Enjoy!
Christine

Squares for Summer

I don’t know about you, but my kids do more snacking in the summer then they do during the school year and I need to have things that can be packed up in a pinch for a day at the beach or pool. I prefer not to put on my oven and do much baking in these few warm months, so I try and stick to thinks that can be made on the stove top or microwave.

These may not be the most healthy snacks that you can offer, but they are definitely favorites and still good for a treat. Here are a few of my kids favs:



Peanut Butter Drop Cookies

½ cup Corn syrup
½ cup Brown sugar

½ cup Peanut butter

½ cup Peanuts, chopped
2 ½ cups Cereal (bran buds, corn flakes, rice krispies, etc)

Combine corn syrup and sugar and bring to a boil. Stir in peanut butter and combine till melted. Add peanuts and cereal and mix well. Drop by the teaspoon onto waxed paper.

Let set for 20 – 30 minutes before storing.

Puffed Wheat Squares

½ cup Margarine
½ cup Corn Syrup
1 cup Brown sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
¼ cup Cocoa
6 cups Puffed wheat (aprox – I just pour and stir till well coated)

Melt margarine, corn syrup and brown sugar. Bring to a boil and boil for 3 – 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cocoa and vanilla. Add puffed wheat and stir till well coated. Press into a greased 9 x 13 pan.

Let set for 30 minutes before cutting into squares.

Oatmeal Coconut Drop Cookies

2 cups White sugar
½ cup Margarine
½ cup Milk
1 tsp Vanilla
½ cup Cocoa

2 cups Oats
2 cups Coconut

Combine sugar, margarine and mild in a large pot, melt and bring to a boil. Boil for 4 – 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cocoa and vanilla. Stir in oats and coconut. Drop by the teaspoon onto waxed paper.

Let set for 20 - 30 minutes before storing.

Rice Krispies Squares

1 bag Mini marshmallow
½ cup Margarine

4 – 6 cups Rice Krispies (I always just eyeball in, I never measure)

Melt marshmallows and margarine in the microwave. Stir in rice krispies slowly, mixing as you go. Press into a 9 x 13 pan that has been lightly sprayed with a vegetable spray. Let set for 30 minutes before cutting.

Tip: I find that the easiest way to press in the gooey mixture is to spray a back of a metal spoon with vegetable spray and press the mixture in with a spoon.

Peanut Rice Krispies Squares

1 bag Mini marshmallows
½ cup Peanut butter

1 cup Peanuts
4 – 6 cups Rice Krispies (Puffed wheat or Cherries also work well)

Melt marshmallows and peanut butter in the microwave. Stir in peanuts and rice krispies slowly, mixing as you go. Press into a 9 x 13 pan that has been lightly sprayed with a vegetable spray.

Melt chocolate chips in microwave and drizzle over the top of the squares. Let set for 30 minutes before cutting.

These work for me!

Enjoy,

Christine

My Adapted Yogurt Recipe

2 L of Homogenized milk
½ cup Skim milk powder (optional, but will help add extra thickness)
½ cup Natural plain yogurt (you only want to see three ingredients: milk, skim milk powder and bacterial cultures – that is it!!)

First things first, you really do need to use homogenized milk, I have had no luck with anything else. We drink 1% so that is what I used at first, I even tried a combination of 1% and cream (as I almost always have both of those ingredients in the house), but alas, that did not turn out as I had hoped either. So now, I just bite the bullet and run out and buy 2L of Homogenized milk every Sunday for yogurt making on Monday (and yes, we go through 2L of yogurt a week). For those of you that cringe at the thought of using such a full fat milk, relax, milk fat is a healthy fat and good for you - a very low fat diet may help you loose weight at first, but will not help you maintain a healthy body weight (I will post more about healthy and unhealthy fats on a later post).

Heat milk in your slow cooker for approximately 3 – 4 hours, until it reaches a temperature of 185 F. How fast it heats will depend on how cold your milk was when you started, how much milk you are using (if you are doubling the recipe), how big your slow cooker is, etc. Mine takes approximately 4 hours as I have a super big slow cooker. The first time you make it, just time how long it takes and make a note, so you know for next time.

Once the milk has reached temperature, let it cool in the pot for approximately 2 hours, until it reaches a temperature of 90 – 120 F (shoot for 110 F). It is important to let it cool down because hot temperatures will kill the bacterial cultures, meaning your yogurt will not “culture”.

Once the milk has reached temperature, remove 1 – 2 cups of milk and add ½ cup of yogurt (do not just pour the yogurt into the entire milk mixture as you want to slowly bring the yogurt up to temperature – not shock it). Stir well and add the yogurt mixture back to the rest of the warm milk, again, stir well.

Pour into glass containers (not plastic) and seal with lids.

Heat water to 100 – 120 F and pour into a small cooler. Place your jars in the cooler, making sure that the warm water covers the majority of the jar, but not over the bottom of the lid. Let sit undisturbed (unopened) and in a warm place for no less than 4 hours, and up to 24 hours (if you let your yogurt incubate for several hours, you will need to remove some of the cool water and add some warm water).

When the time is up, remove jars, wipe down and put in the fridge. The yogurt will need 8 – 10 hours in the fridge to cool before it is ready to eat.

NOTE: To make a vannilla version to this add 2 tsp of vannila and sugar at the cooling milk stage.

So your yogurt did not turn out:

So you made the “yogurt” and it does not look like yogurt, but more like buttermilk. Do not despair and throw it away! I have made lots of batches that haven’t turned out, and although it is frustrating (especially for me!!) to not have things turn out in the kitchen, your runny yogurt still has lots of uses!

- Use your yogurt like buttermilk in any recipe; it is delicious and good for you! Don’t have many recipes? Just ask me, I have a ton!!
- Use your yogurt in smoothies, the nutritional content is still there, and it doesn’t matter how thick your yogurt is when you make a smoothie.
- Make yogurt pops (recipes below)

Most importantly – do not let a batch of runny yogurt stop you from trying again. My first batch turned out so-so, my second batch perfect, my third batch totally runny. Just remember to check your temperature - that seems to be the key!

Happy Yogurt making,
Christine



Recipes
(measurements are approximate – add as you see fit)

Brandon and Jesse’s Favorite Breakfast Smoothie Recipe:
(Note – this is Brandon’s recipe, not mine J )

2 cups Ice
2 cups Yogurt
1 Banana
½ cup Peanut Butter

Blend till smooth.


Tia’s Favorite After School Smoothie Recipe:

2 cups Ice
2 cups Yogurt
1 Banana
Big squirt of Strawberry Flavored Syrup

Blend till smooth.


Justin’s Favorite Yogurt Pops:

1 cup Ice
1 cup Yogurt
1 cup Blueberries (Fresh or Frozen)

Blend till smooth and pour into plastic popsicle containers and freeze.


Tia’s Favorite Yogurt Pops:

2 cups Yogurt
½ cup of Chocolate Flavored Syrup
2 tsp Espresso powder

Mix well and pour into plastic popsicle containers and freeze.

Rhubarb - Love it!!

I have the opposite of a green thumb, I am a bad gardener. I have tried many times in the past and each time it is a horrible chore that causes bickering between me and my middle boys (who are the only ones I can convince to help me) and sometimes the results are not quite as satisfying as we hoped - I not exactly sure if it was due to our short season or my bad gardening, but I guess we all have our talents and mine is not really in the garden!


There are some things that we have had good luck with, and one of them is rhubarb. Rhubarb actually takes NO EFFORT on my part - honest. It is like a weed, and nothing, not hail, snow, too much rain, not enough rain, even dogs running through it will kill the stuff - it is hearty stuff!

Even better, I LOVE rhubarb, my middle son Justin shares my love and you can find either of us watching our rhubarb plant in early spring, just waiting for it to be ready to pull to make our first cake or crisp. Regardless of the snow we just had two weeks ago, my rhubarb is just long enough to start picking. We did not get much, but we enjoyed our first rhubarb crisp this week.

I do a lot of different things with our rhubarb, but one of the things that I started doing a few years back was canning it as a sauce (similarly to apple sauce). It is so good, I can't even explain to you how much we love it. We eat it with yogurt all summer long and then have lots put away for our long (long!!!) winter. I normally make two types, plain and cinnamon, both are great!

I don't have any pictures of the canning process yet, but I will give you the recipe.

Rhubarb Sauce

4 cups Rhubarb, washed and cut in 1-inch pieces

1/2 cup - 1 cup Sugar, based on your preference

1 - 2 tsp Cinnamon (optional)

Place the rhubarb in a large saucepan, sprinkle sugar over top and stir to coat. Let stand in a cool place until juice appears, about 3 - 4 hours. Bring mixture to a boil and boil for about 30 seconds.

Pack hot rhubarb into hot canning jars, screw on lid and process in a hot water bath for 15 minutes. Confirm lids have "snapped" within 24 hours, then store in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year.

Note: Pictures were taken by my super great son Jesse :)

Enjoy,

Christine