Mushroom Pork Chops and Rice

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I have a recipe that is inexpensive and can feed a lot of people easily. My mom made it for us for years (5 kids, plus her and my dad) and it's easy to increase or decrease the amount of people it feeds!

Mushroom Pork Chops and Rice

4 boneless, skinless pork chops
1 can cream of mushroom soup
4 servings minute rice

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook minute rice according to package directions.
Brown pork chops, reserving the juice.
Place rice in bottom of a casserole dish, drizzle the pork chop juice over top.
place pork chops over top of rice in a single layer
Spread mushroom soup over top.
Bake in oven, covered, for 30 minutes.
Remove lid, bake for 10 more minutes.

Makes 2-4 servings, as made above. Increase portions as needed.

Variations: I like to put a drained can of mushroom stems and pieces, as well as about 2 cups of frozen peas or french beans, making a full meal.

Submitted by Jennifer Spalton

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The soup in this recipe will keep the pork chops moist, and I love your additions Jennifer, especially the mushrooms! - Michelle

Veggie Pasta and Minestrone Soup

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Pasta La Vista

I learned the original recipe for this from a vegetarian cookbook I had in my vegetarian days; I've since edited it a lot, to suit my needs. The great thing about this recipe is that you can change out almost every ingredient for something you already have on hand, and it's super easy because you only need one pan.

You'll need:

1 large can diced tomatoes (I like the kind with green chilies)
1 bag of frozen mixed vegetables (just about anything works great -- I use whatever mix is on sale that week)
1 bag of pasta (macaroni and penne or ziti type noodles work best)
Approximately 1 cup shredded cheese
A dash of hot sauce

Directions:

In a tall-sided skillet, mix the tomatoes, vegetables, and pasta with just enough water to cover the pasta. While the pasta and veggies are cooking, add spices -- oregano, salt, pepper, garlic or garlic powder, whatever you have handy. Once the pasta's almost done, lower the heat to a simmer and stir in a dash of hot sauce or your favorite salsa, then sprinkle enough grated cheese over the top to cover it. Turn off the heat, let the cheese melt down on it, and you're done!


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Minestrone Soup

Another recipe I picked up during my vegetarian years, this one's really easy and can feed an ARMY. Whenever I make it I always end up with enough leftovers for 2-3 days of work lunch, and it's 100x better reheated anyway.

You will need:

1 large can whole stewed tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1-2 vegetable or chicken bouillon cubes
1/2 bag of pasta (macaroni or small shells are the best)
1 bag of frozen vegetables (whatever's on sale -- I like the frozen "stew" vegetables with the whole baby onions)
1 can of beans or chickpeas
Spices

Directions:

In a big soup pot, make the bouillon according to the package instructions (generally 1 cube to 1 cup water). Add the tomato sauce and tomatoes, cooking on medium heat until it begins to boil; mash up the whole tomatoes, then pour in the vegetables. Season to taste with oregano, rosemary, salt, pepper, and 1-2 whole bay leaves. Once vegetables start to cook, add the pasta and beans. Cook until the pasta's done.

Note: You may end up having to adjust the liquid, adding some water or more bouillon in order to get it "soupy" enough for your taste.


Submitted by Tiana Bodine

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Tiana, these recipes both sound delicious, thanks for sharing them with us! :o) - Michelle

Rich 'n Creamy Baked Oatmeal

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This is a great recipe. My sister-in-law shared it with me several years ago. It's very inexpensive to make and you can usually get 4-6 servings out if it!

Rich 'n Creamy Baked Oatmeal

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups 2% low-fat milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla
2-1/2 cups QUAKER® OATS (quick or old fashioned), uncooked
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)

Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray 1½-quart casserole with no-stick cooking spray. In medium bowl, combine milk, eggs, oil and vanilla; mix well. Set aside. In large bowl, combine oats, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add liquid ingredients; mix until well blended. Let stand about 15 minutes. Pour into prepared casserole. Bake, uncovered, 35 to 45 minutes or until center is dry and firm to the touch. Cool slightly before serving. I like to serve warm with milk over it.

Submitted by Anita

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Anita, this would be delicious with some raisins added in too, if you like raisins! :o)

Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce

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I just found your site yesterday, and what a resource it will be in the future! Being an 8–5 working mother, I often don't have time to make tough or complicated recipes (especially if we want to eat before 8 pm), and many times I am scrambling for ideas as well as ingredients. Anything quick, fast, cheap and with minimal prep time is enough to catch my eye!

I thought I would pass along this recipe, as it can be put into the slow-cooker slot as well as under Italian. Though I never "measure" any of my ingredients when cooking, I did my best to accommodate. Thanks so much for the site!


Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce

No one will ever know that you made from "jarred" sauces. Almost everyone I know thinks I slaved all day making it from scratch using fresh tomatoes! This recipe is also the staple to most of my Italian meals, Lasagna, Baked Ziti or any other meal calling for a tomato based sauce.

1 (28 ounce) jar spag. sauce
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 (10 ounce) can condensed tomato soup
1/2 pound sausage, chopped into fine pieces (sometimes I use the links, and slice giving it more "gusto" in it's appearance, as well as making it look "more homemade")
1/2 pound ground turkey
2 onions, chopped
1 small green bell pepper, minced
3 cloves garlic, pressed
basil
oregano
Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
2 packet's of Sweet-n-Low OR 4 teaspoons of sugar or sweeten to your individual taste

(If you need more sauce, or need more liquid, add another jar of store bought spag. sauce, or can of tomato sauce … NEVER add water!!!)

1. In a slow cooker, combine diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and tomato sauce. Set slow cooker to High.
2. Place ground turkey and ground turkey sausage in a large, deep skillet. No need to add oil, just start it over low heat, and you should not have to drain! (If you use beef, you will need to drain.) Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Crumble browned meat finely, add onions, green pepper, and garlic until onions are translucent. Transfer to the slow cooker.
3. Season with spices.
4. Cover, and cook on low for no less than 7 hours. Should you need it quicker, cook on High for minimum of 3 hours. Remember, the longer it cooks, the better it will taste!

Submitted by Leona Ruslavage

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Your spaghetti sauce sounds fantastic, Leona! I make my own as well but just cook it slow on the stove top the old fashioned way. You can also substitute a large can or two of tomato sauce and up your spices in place of the jar sauce. Then your "homemade" sauce will be even more homemade, and a little cheaper! :o) - Michelle

Chopped Beef Soup

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Here is a good cheap soup that you can make with chopped beef.

Chopped Beef Soup

1 lb ground beef (cheap stuff works fine)
4 stalks celery
4 carrots
2 baseball size yellow onions
4 baseball size potatoes
1 large can (32oz) of Whole peeled tomatoes
2 Tbsp. salt
8 cups of water
1 handful of rice or barley
1 Tbsp. black pepper
1/2 stick butter or marg.

Peel and chop carrots, peel and cube potatoes, set aside. Brown beef on medium high, add salt and pepper when it has turned brown if you have lean beef you may need to add 1/2 cup water to deglaze the pan, set aside when cooked.

Chop celery and onions into small pieces and saute in butter, in 8-quart pot. When onions are clear, add water rice or barley. Chop tomatoes in the can with a spatula and add to pot. Add beef. Cook on low heat for 3 hours and add potatoes and carrots
and cook for another 30 minutes. Serves 6

Grate cheddar cheese on and enjoy.

Best Regards

Submitted by Tom

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This sounds great, Tom, good for large crowds too if you just increase the recipe! Thanks for sharing it with us! :o) - Michelle

Frosty Breakfast Smoothies

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Frosty Breakfast Smoothies

When fruit is on sale (or better yet, on the reduced rack), buy as much as your budget will allow. Wash well and run through a juicer or blender (I prefer a juicer because you don't have to peel or core anything). Pour into ice cube trays and freeze. Remove from trays and store cubes in freezer bags. When needed, throw a handful of cubes into a blender with a little milk, yogurt or protein powder (or all three!) and whizz away. The result is a fabulous thick smoothie that will stay cold for a long time... perfect for a long morning commute. Kids especially love this as they think they're getting ice cream for breakfast!

Submitted by Marilyn A.

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Sounds delightful, Marilyn, and great for the coming summer months too! :o) - Michelle

Mock Goose - WWII Recipe

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This is a recipe that comes from the lean years of the Second World War when the rations for items like sugar, fat, meat, eggs and such were very small. I cook it regularly and serve it with other vegetables. At the moment that is carrots and cabbage which are in season here.

Mock Goose

2 lbs potatoes. If the skins are good I scrub them - if not I peel them - and cut them into thin slices

2 large cooking apples, or 3 smaller eating (dessert) apples, I don't peel them but wash and take out the cores, I then chop them into small pieces

One pint of stock - vegetable or any other

1 good tablespoon of cornstarch (cornflour)

Chopped sage leaves - 2 or 3

4 oz grated cheese, I like a good strongly flavoured cheese, but it depends on taste

Directions:

Take half of the potatoes and mix them with the apples and sage in a flat dish. Make a nice layer of the rest of the apples on top and put three quarters of the stock over the top. Cover with foil and cook in a medium oven, 350 degrees, for three quarters of an hour. The potatoes should be soft.

Mix the rest of the stock with the cornstarch and pour onto the dish, move the dish to mix with the stock already in there. Sprinkle the cheese on the top and put back in the oven - uncovered - for 15 to 20 minutes.

This is a dish that can be changed and added to. I often use leftover gravy as the stock, I have put sliced carrots and onions with the apples and potatoes. I have put sliced tomatoes on top and these are all good, but my favourite is the basic straightforward recipe.

What I find interesting is that many American recipes are sweet for British tastes. I have the "More With Less" cookbook which I really like, but I often have to adjust the sugar.

Best Wishes

Submitted by Maureen Sinclair

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Thanks for sharing this recipe with us, Maureen, very frugal indeed! :o) - Michelle

Cheesy Tuna Casserole

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My boys love this recipe.

Cheesy Tuna Casserole

2 cups cooked macaroni
1/3 chunk of store brand cheese (like Velveeta but cheaper)
2 cans of tuna
1 10 oz. bag frozen peas
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
¾ soup can of milk
Small snack size bag of potato chips or ¼ cup of bread crumbs

Stir ingredients together and sprinkle with bread crumbs or crushed potato chips and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. It’s great.

Submitted by Beth Meadows

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Thank you Beth, my mom and I used to make Tuna Casserole often when I was growing up and I love it too. Have never tried it with potato chips or bread crumbs on top, sounds yummy! - Michelle

Where did the month go?!!!

I know, I know, I have to get our newest recipes posted on here soon! I will work on that this week, after I get the April issue finished! :o)

Sisterhood Award

Our first blog award, how cool!

Given by Susan Bell

Thank you Susan, this is so SWEET of you!!! Good luck with your writing! :o)

Southern Sweet Tea - How to Make It Great!

Southern Sweet Tea
Copyright by Michelle Jones
www.FrugalCookbook.com

Having lived throughout the south for my entire life, there's one thing I can tell you for sure... life is just a whole lot sweeter with a glass of iced Sweet Tea!

Now, it depends on how sweet you like it, but this is the way many southerners make their tea (and the way my grandmother used to make it--although she used an old fashioned metal ball to hold the tea leaves and we use regular tea bags that are thankfully more common now.)

Ingredients:

8-10 regular size tea bags, or 4-5 family size (use any kind of tea you like, although I highly recommend Luzianne® or Lipton Iced Tea Brew®, I buy extra when they go on sale because we use decaf and it's more expensive than regular--experiment with different flavored teas too, it's fun!)
Small or medium pot of water, with a lid that fits well
1 cup of sugar (you can also use Splenda® to make sugar-free ‘sweet’ tea, and it's wonderful--if you like Splenda)
1 gallon-sized pitcher (or a big pickle jar)

Directions:

Add the sugar to pot of water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. (If using Splenda® or other artificial sweetener, add later; just bring water to a boil by itself.)

It doesn't matter how much water you boil; just make sure it gets really hot and bubbly. If you remembered to put the sugar in already, you're doing great. Now get your tea bags ready so that when the water comes to a boil you can toss them in.

As soon as you add the tea bags to the boiling water, the water may act like it's about to boil over. I usually add the tea bags in with one hand, and then take the pot off the stove with the other. That way the hot bubbles have a chance to stir the tea up a bit, getting them off to a good brewing start.

Cover the pot and let the tea steep for as long as possible. It will be good in 20 minutes, but even better in a few hours. Then pour the tea syrup (that’s what it's called when made with sugar this way) into your gallon-sized pitcher and fill with water. (If you're using Splenda instead of sugar, this is when you'll stir that in; while the tea is still warm.) Now gently squeeze the tea bags to get as much tea as possible into the water. We don’t waste a drop!

Well that’s it, your Southern Sweet Tea is ready to serve!

Pour tea into a glass (pretty canning jars are a southern favorite), filled with ice, and serve with a slice of lemon if desired.

Additional Notes...

Sweet tea will keep in the fridge for about 2 days, after that it’s time to make a fresh batch, if there’s any left! HA

Sweet tea made with Splenda will stay fresh much longer, and I can get away with just using 3/4 cup.

My kids love to help me make the tea so they can add more (regular) sugar but 1 cup really is enough for a gallon. 1 and 1/3 cup is what they call perfect! :o)

Always make sure your pitcher is washed and clean, including the lid. A quick rinse is not enough!

Also, do NOT leave your tea syrup sitting on the stove overnight, that is a big no no. It's a breeding ground for bacteria. If you start to make your tea and forget to put it in the fridge you'll need to toss it down the drain in the morning and make a new batch, don't even think about using it.

Great SWEET TEA must be FRESH!!!

Source: "Frugal Family Recipes" by Michelle Jones, available at www.FrugalCookbook.com

Photos copyright by Michelle Jones and Blue Ridge Publishing, Inc.

(We just made this tea yesterday, and it's as delicious as it looks! :o)

How to Cook Browned Oatmeal

Featured Reader's Question...

I have a question with regards to cooking oatmeal. When I was a kid my grandmother cooked oatmeal for my sister and I when we would spend the night. She had the ability to cook it so as it would brown next to the pan and this browned (not burned) oatmeal was something that I have always remembered and have never been able to replicate. My dad remembers this browned oatmeal (the browning creates an excellent flavor), but he has not been able to cook it either. I have tried using less water, different temperatures, slower cooking times and I have still not been able to reproduce it.

So this leads me to this email to you, how do you brown oatmeal so as to provide some browning next to the pan but not so it burns and sticks to the pan? One thing I do remember is that my grandmother used copper bottom pots and used a gas stove. She passed away in 1986 and took her secret with her. Any information or help you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Submitted by Kim in Michigan

Editor's Note - Hi Kim! I am posting your request here on our blog so our members can help us answer your question. Our family loves cooked old fashioned oats too, but we do not brown them. Sounds like something to try, thanks for sending in your question! And by the way, breakfast foods like oatmeal make wonderfully frugal dinners!

Fix for Flat Cookies

Featured Recipe Tip...

Just a reminder to those who experience flat cookies. Just add a little extra flour to your batter. Especially when using good ole butter for that wonderful rich butter flavor that cookies scream for, smile. Not all recipes experience the flat cookie syndrome. That's why it is always advisable to cook a few test cookies with a new recipe.

Happy Baking,
Sally Trimble - Florida

Cheap, Easy, Healthy, Spring Rolls

Hi there! Thanks for your site and newsletter. I've been subscribed to "Living a Better Life" for several months now, and recently I created a great recipe to share... cheap, easy and healthy spring rolls. I'm sure someone thought of this before I did, but all the recipes I found were more complicated and most involved deep frying. These are only about 150 calories a piece.

Cheap, Easy, Healthy Spring Rolls

You"ll need:

1 bag of coleslaw shreds (or shred your own cabbage - 4 cups raw)
2 chicken bullion cubes, or 2 tsp bullion powder
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tbsp olive oil
Soy sauce
Egg roll wrappers (I found them in Safeway near the bagged salad for about $2. I hear some stores keep them in the freezer section.)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Saute the cabbage, bullion and ginger in olive oil on high heat, stirring frequently, for 3-4 minutes or until the cabbage is wilted but not mush. Add a couple splashes of soy sauce (remember both the bullion and soy sauce are salty, so you may want to taste.) Lay a wrapper on the counter with a corner facing you. Put a couple tablespoons of the cabbage mixture 2 inches from that corner and fold the corner over it. Fold the side corners in and roll down to the farthest corner. (I guess you could also roll them like a baby burrito, if that makes you happier.) Place seam side down on an ungreased cookie sheet, or pizza pan, etc. Repeat for all 12 wrappers. Spray the rolls with olive oil or Pam (for browning.) Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. They will be nuclear hot when they come out, so it's a good idea to let them rest a few minutes. This is a great reason to save those little sauce packets you get at the Chinese joint. My hub and I eat these for a meal, or as an appetizer for stir fry. The leftovers are not as crispy but still taste good. You can also add some cooked ground meat to these, but that does make them have more calories, of course. Hope you enjoy them!

Thanks again for helping "challenged" families - since my baby girl joined our family, we would be financially lost without the help of folks like you!

Submitted by Geni Mellott

Editor's Note - To make this recipe all vegetarian use veg. stock in place of chicken. I am pretty sure I've seen the veg. bullion in grocery stores, haven't used it but hopefully it's available if you'd like to try it! :o)