Southwestern Pizza

Something a little different, and yet familiar! A pizza reminiscent of tacos. This is very filling and is a great main dish to serve when you are having a family over for a meal.

Crust:
1-1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1/4 cup oil
1 egg

Spread over a greased cookie sheet. This will make a very thin layer. Make sure it is spread evenly and there are no holes. Bake at 350*F for 10-12 minutes. Watch it closely because it will cook quickly.
The crust can be made ahead of time, saving you time at dinner, or whenever you serve this dish. You could even make the crust the day before!

Topping:
1 lb. Taco Beef
1 cup salsa
cheddar cheese

Mix taco beef with salsa and spread over cooked crust. Top with cheese and bake until everything is warm and cheese is melted.

Variation: Instead of salsa, use fresh chopped onions, peppers, and tomatoes.

Serve with:
plain yogurt or sour cream, if desired
guacamole, if desired
fresh fruit platter

Refried Beans

This makes a huge amount of beans. Freeze portions in ziplock bags. 

5-1/2 cups (or 2 lbs.) dry pinto or black beans
3-1/2 quarts water, as needed
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp chili powder
4 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp salt, to taste

Cook dry beans. Melt butter in frying pan. Add oil and onion and garlic and saute. Placed cooked beans, reserving bean liquid, in mixing bowl; add onion, garlic and remaining ingredients. Blend beans with electric mixer or by hand with potato masher or ricer, adding amount of reserved bean liquid until beans are the consistency desired.

Serve with: Grated cheddar cheese, Broccoli, and Tossed Salad with Taco Chips OR
Sliced hard-boiled eggs, Rice, Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Use for: burritos, tostadas, Super Nachos, or as a side dish

Pasta Sauce

1-1/2lb. ground beef
1 large onion, finely chopped
12oz. tomato paste
28oz. can crushed tomatoes or 2 15oz. cans tomato sauce
2 cups water
4 cloves garlic, chopped
4 bay leaves
2 Tbsp sugar
4 tsp basil
2 tsp. oregano
4 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 tsp salt, or to taste

Brown the beef with the onion. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer, partly covered, for 2 hours. You can do this in your crockpot, if you wish. Freeze in ziplock bags, or use immediately.

I use this recipe for plain ol’ spaghetti and meat sauce, but I also use it in place of pizza sauce and pepperoni for pizza. Or, we make Pizza Bread by spreading this on a loaf of French Bread, sliced lengthwise, and sprinkling with mozzarella cheese. The possibilities for this sauce are quite limitless!

Pizza Bread

This is a very quick and easy main dish. If you have the Pasta Sauce on hand in your freezer, just take it out in time to be thawed by the time you want to eat. Assembling the rest is a breeze! Even your kids could make it!

1 loaf French bread
2 cups Pasta Sauce
mozzarella cheese

Slice the bread in half lengthwise. On each half, spread a layer of spaghetti sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Broil on a baking sheet until the mozzarella is melted. Slice into serving-size pieces.

Serve with:
Tossed salad and some fresh fruit

Pasta Tuna Marinara

Cook a 954g package of pasta. (I use Farfelle.)
While that’s cooking, saute in olive oil:
1/2 onion, finely diced
1 red pepper, finely diced
1/2 green pepper, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, finely diced
2 celery stalks, finely diced
Once that’s all nicely cooked and smelling delicious, dump a 28oz. can of diced tomatoes into your blender. Whir that up until it’s nice and smooth. Pour it into the pan with the veggies. Add some basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Then add two drained cans of tuna.
Pour your sauce onto your cooked, drained pasta. Voila! A quick and simple, delicious and nutritious meal! You can add a salad, if you want. And if you really must, serve something special for dessert (yogurt with granola and/or fruit would be good).

Mizu Taki

I have found ethnic foods to be a good source of frugal meals. I used leftover chicken for this dish. 

1 cup uncooked brown rice
2 – 3 cups cooked, chopped chicken
5 cups chicken broth
1 head napa or Chinese cabbage, sliced lengthwise
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup lemon juice

Cook rice according to package directions.

Place chicken and broth in a pot and simmer for 20 minutes. Add cabbage to broth mixture and cook for another 10-15 minutes.

Blend together the soy sauce and lemon juice in a separate bowl or measuring cup.

Serve rice with chicken mixture on top. Individuals can sprinkle their own dish with desired amount of soy sauce mixture.

Serve with:
Cucumber Onion Salad
Orange Slices
Fresh Bread, if desired

Macaroni and Cheese

2 cups uncooked macaroni
2 Tbsp melted butter
4-1/2 Tbsp flour
1-1/2 cups milk
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp salt, to taste
1/2 cup buttered bread crumbs
paprika

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, melt butter over very low heat; whisk in flour until smooth; cook, stirring constantly over medium heat, about 1 minute; remove from heat; gradually blend in milk with wire whisk; return to heat, stirring constantly until thickened; blend in salt and cheese until cheese is melted. Combine cooked macaroni and cheese sauce in lightly greased making dish. Bake uncovered at 350*F for 30 minutes topping during the last 10 minutes with buttered bread crumbs. Garnish with paprika.

Serve with:
Broccoli
Tossed Salad with Russian Dressing

Kid's Choice Meatballs

2 lbs. ground beef
1/3 cup dry bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 medium eggs
approx 30 oz. tomato sauce
4 tsp. Italian seasoning, or season to taste with salt, thyme, oregano, basil, etc.

Preheat oven to 425*F. In bowl, gently mix beef, bread crumbs, cheese, Worcestershire and eggs. Shape into 1-inch meatballs. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until cooked. In a large saucepan, combine tomato sauce, spices, and meatballs. Cook until heated through. Serve over cooked pasta.

You can also make the meatballs ahead of time, then put the sauce and meatballs in a crockpot and heat on low for approx. 3 hours. If you freeze the meatballs first, let them thaw before reheating.

This recipe makes enough to feed my family of 5 for two meals. I serve it with a tossed green salad with oil and vinegar/herb dressing or Caesar salad.

Pumpkin Spice Latte

This is an occasional indulgence. Nice when autumn weather comes around. Also a good excuse to try out a new bag of Starbucks Decaf!

2 cups milk (I used vanilla soy milk – also an indulgence for me)
2 T. canned pumpkin
2 T. sugar
2 T. vanilla
1/2 t. pumpkin pie spice OR 1/4 t. cinnamon, 1/8 t. cloves, 1/8 t. nutmeg, and a teeny tiny pinch of ground ginger
1/2 c. brewed espresso or 3/4 c. strong brewed coffee

Garnish with Whipped Cream (optional)

This will make enough for 2 people to have a big mug with a bit left over. If you are having friends over, adjust the recipe accordingly. You can make this in a crockpot as small as a 1.5qt. Or, you can just make it in a pot on the stove.

Add the coffee and milk to the pot. Whisk in the pumpkin, spices, sugar, and vanilla.

If using a crockpot, cover and cook on high for 2 hours if everything is cold. If doing it on the stove, just heat it up until it’s the temperature you want. I had mine heating on very low for a good half hour, then let it sit on low for a good long while during the evening. It was still great. Whisk again.

Ladle into mugs, and garnish with whipped cream and additional cinnamon. To fancy it up a bit, add a cinnamon stick when serving.

Honey Lentils

8 cups water
1-1/4 cups uncooked lentils, washed
1 cup chopped onions
1 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 cup honey

Bring water to a boil, add lentils; cook at low boil until tender (30-60 minutes). Drain lentils and combine the rest of the ingredients in a casserole dish. Cover and bake for 1 hour at 350*F.

Serve with: Rice and Mandarin Broccoli.

Indian Rice

This is an absolutely fabulous rice recipe from my mom’s dear neighbor. I fell in love with it the first time I had it. It does require a lot of spices, so in that sense, it might not look like a frugal meal.  However, if you can find the spices in bulk, or at an ethnic food market, you can probably get a small stash for fairly cheap and be able to make this many times for very little extra expense. 

2 large onions
salt to taste
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
1 cinnamon stick, or ground cinnamon to taste
2 large tomatoes, or tomato paste
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 clove cardamom
2 cloves
1 Tbsp fresh ginger
1/2 cup peas
1-1/2 cups rice (basmati is best)
4-1/2 cups water

Saute onion in olive oil in big pot. Add tomatoes and saute a few minutes. Add rest of spices. Make a smooth paste. Then add water and peas. Boil until rice is done. You might have to add a bit more water.

Serve with: Yogurt Onion Sauce

Honey Baked Squash

A lighter main dish, appropriate for vegetarians, and as economical as it can get!

2 lbs. squash
2 Tbsp melted butter, divided
2 Tbsp honey
Nutmeg

Wash and seed the squash. Cut into 3″-4″ pieces. Set skin side down in baking pan and drizzle 1 Tbsp of melted butter evenly over top of pieces. Cover. Bake at 350*F for 45-60 minutes until fork tender. Blend together the remaining 1 Tbsp butter and the honey. Pierce squash pieces in several places with a fork and drizzle honey-butter mixture evenly over them. Sprinkle with nutmeg to serve.

Serve with: Green Beans, Waldorf Salad, and fresh bread with jam

Fried Rice

A very economical and quick meal, particularly when you use cooked rice leftover from another meal. Get creative and use any veggies you have on hand rather than just sticking to the ones listed in the recipe. This is a very versatile dish. 

4 cups cooled cooked rice
2 Tbsp sesame oil (or vegetable oil)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 carrot, shredded
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup scrambled eggs (You can substitute the eggs for any other leftover meat or poultry.)
1/4 cup soy sauce

Heat oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat until hot. Add carrot and onion; cook, stirring frequently, until onion is soft and starting to get browned bits. Add garlic and eggs, stirring well and breaking up the eggs into very small pieces. Immediately add rice, stirring well to coat with oil. At this point, you can also add any other vegetables or leftover cooked meat that you’d like to use. Cook over medium-high heat without stirring about 3-4 minutes so that some of the rice gets browned bits. Drizzle soy sauce evenly over rice in pan; stir well. Cook for a few more minutes. Serve with additional soy sauce on the side, if desired.

Easy Lasagna

8 oz. package lasagna noodles
2 cups cottage cheese
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
approximately 3 cups pasta sauce

Cook pasta. Layer noodles, cheeses and sauces alternately in 9×13 pan, two layers of each, beginning with noodles and ending with sauce. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350*F to heat sauce and melt cheese. Alternatively, you can use whatever pasta you want, it just won’t be as neat and tidy as lasagna. Also, you can add chopped peppers, onions, sliced mushrooms, or chopped spinach, if you so desire.

Serve with: Broccoli or Green Beans, Tossed Salad

Curry Coconut Chickpeas

Olive Oil
2 cups napa cabbage, sliced
1 cup onion, diced
1 cup red bell pepper, diced
1 cup coconut milk (You can make this by using equal parts water and dry unsweetened shredded coconut. Simmer for several minutes, then place in a blender, puree, then strain in cheesecloth and squeeze out the liquid, which is your coconut milk.)
2 tsp garlic, minced
2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
2 tsp curry powder
1-1/2 cup chickpeas
1/2 tsp salt
Pinch black pepper (fresh ground is best)
2 Tbsp fresh basil, thinly sliced (optional, but really adds a lot!)

Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add cabbage and saute until cabbage shrinks down a bit. Add onion and pepper and saute for 2-4 minutes. Add 2 Tbsp coconut milk along with garlic, ginger, and curry powder. Saute for 2 minutes. Add remaining coconut milk, chickpeas, salt and pepper. Heat until warm. Add fresh basil and serve.

Serve with: Fresh fruit and granola bars
or
Fruit Gelatin and muffins, biscuits, or bread