UF2.0 Cook Book ~ Planning meals on a tight budget! Post your Recipe!

First topic message reminder :

Ive seen a lot of good recipes posted in the "whats for dinner" thread in both the old and new UFF.

I think this would be a great resource for those looking for new ideas for meals on the cheap.

Please try and limit the discussions to only recipes etc and use the "Whats for dinner" thread for more generalized food chat comments

Happy sharing!! And good eating!

bumped this up because mrmarti, our resident gourmet, is in the house. How was your week?

Father's Day Fritata

6 slices toasted bread, cubed
12 eggs, whipped
1/4 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup cubed potatoes (cooked, skins on)
1/4 cup shredded cheese (whatever your favorite)
1/4 cup chopped ham (can use bacon, sausage even pepperoni)

Whip eggs with 1/4 cup milk. I use the electric mixer. When frothy
pour mixture over greased baking dish lined with cubed bread. In a seperate bowl combine all other ingredients, add to bread and eggs, mix well. Salt and pepper to taste. Save a little cheese to sprinkle on top. Bake a 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until top is golden brown and mixture is cake like. Remove from oven and cut into squares. Great for a crowd at breakfast or brunch.

My daughter and I have become vegetarians. We like a product called Gardein...you can buy it in the supermarket and here in AZ it costs $4.99 for a package. Sometimes they are on sale for $2.99 or $3.99. It is "fake meat or chicken" but it is delicious. We love the Chipotle lime chicken. You can usually find them in the health food stores too. There is enough for two people and you can make rice or pair it up with french fries and it is delicious. I highly recommend this product. Very economical.

if you are a vegetarian...Why would you eat fake meat??? really!

Thanks laine.

MaryKay wrote:bumped this up because mrmarti, our resident gourmet, is in the house. How was your week?

Father's Day Fritata

6 slices toasted bread, cubed
12 eggs, whipped
1/4 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup cubed potatoes (cooked, skins on)
1/4 cup shredded cheese (whatever your favorite)
1/4 cup chopped ham (can use bacon, sausage even pepperoni)

Whip eggs with 1/4 cup milk. I use the electric mixer. When frothy
pour mixture over greased baking dish lined with cubed bread. In a seperate bowl combine all other ingredients, add to bread and eggs, mix well. Salt and pepper to taste. Save a little cheese to sprinkle on top. Bake a 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until top is golden brown and mixture is cake like. Remove from oven and cut into squares. Great for a crowd at breakfast or brunch.

this sounds delicious - since I'm making a baked ham this week, I think I'll try this with the leftover ham. Sounds super easy as well. Yum ----- my week went o,.k. but didn't get as many hours as I would have like because of product line going down. I actually had yesterday off - it should have been at 12 hour day. But I'm grateful for the hours I did get. Getting comfortable in the place which is good and the bosses seem to like me.

cablab wrote:if you are a vegetarian...Why would you eat fake meat??? really!

It's really good. Too many additives in real meat and hormones added. For health reasons I prefer it and a lot of people do.

laine25 wrote:

cablab wrote:if you are a vegetarian...Why would you eat fake meat??? really!

It's really good. Too many additives in real meat and hormones added. For health reasons I prefer it and a lot of people do.

I am also a vegetarian. There are a lot of good substitutes for meat that are really delicious.

Happy Father's Day to all you dads.

Today I have to go to my grandsons baseball game at 5 p.m. so I need to make an easy meal.

First I will take some salt pork and saute it til brown and remove. To that I will add some fresh shredded cabbage and shredded onion - saute til soft. Open a large can of sauerkraut, put in colander and rinse in cold water and then add to the sauted cabbage and onion and let simmer for about 40 minutes. Will add a small package of pork ribs that I got from food bank and simmer for another 40 minutes. Then I will add a link of kielbsa and some potatoes and simmer til potatoes are done. Will have some fresh Italian bread to go with it. Very easy, no watch meal, perfect for days like this. Tomorrow we will have hot dogs with the left over kraut. Delicious

DesperateInRI wrote:

laine25 wrote:

cablab wrote:if you are a vegetarian...Why would you eat fake meat??? really!

It's really good. Too many additives in real meat and hormones added. For health reasons I prefer it and a lot of people do.

I am also a vegetarian. There are a lot of good substitutes for meat that are really delicious.

Yes, however, some people don't understand that if you say you are a vegetarian and they are "meat eaters". To each his own I say. More people are becoming vegetarians these days. I do know my health has improved as a result and that's what I care about.

One of the items i got from the food bank was a big bottle of apple butter - never had it before and was trying to come up with a recipe using it. Found it and will be trying it this week - probably Monday.

• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup apple butter
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 3/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1 sprig rosemary, chopped
• 1 sprig thyme, chopped
• 1 whole chicken breast, cleaned

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Mix together the apple cider vinegar, apple butter, salt and unsalted butter in a small bowl.
• Pour the mixture into a pot on the stove and bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat to medium low and let it simmer.
• Place the chicken in a large roasting pan and season with pepper, garlic powder and herbs, such as rosemary and thyme.
• Spread the apple butter mixture all over the chicken, including inside the cavity of the chicken.
• Bake the chicken for 30 to 45 minutes, basting the chicken at least every 10 minutes.
• Bake the chicken until the chicken has an internal temperature of 165 degrees F and the skin is golden brown.
• Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before serving.

I like my chicken well browned and falling-off the bone done.
Will probably cook it for over an hour. Will let ya know how it comes out.

Yum. Good to see you mrmarti. Hope it's going well.

We need some good ideas for 4th of July cookouts. Any good ideas??

Please post.

Okay, let's kick it off!

Nana's Potatoe Salad

You will need:

5 lb bag red skin potatoes
1 block of cream cheese
1 cup hellmans mayo
5 ribs of celery
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 stick of butter
1 medium onion (red, white, bermuda)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon dry or prepared mustard
1 tablespoon miracle whip

Cut potatoes in quarters, leave skins on
Salt water to taste, (I use season salt), bring to boil and cook until soft but firm. Remove from boiling water and add cold water and let sit to cool.

Chop onion, parsley and celery. Sautee all in 1 stick of butter until soft.

When potatoes are cool, add in sauteed onion, parsley and celery. Mix throughly.

In a seperate bowl, blend mayo and cream cheese with 1 teaspoon dry or regular mustard and 1 tablespoon miracle whip.

Add to potatoe mixture, mix through. It will be really creamy. Cover and refrigerate. When ready to serve, you may want to add just a little more mayo if you like it really creamy. If you prefer it on the dry side, don't add anymore. It's according to taste.

Also, occasionally, I add some crumbled bacon if I had some left from breakfast, just for a little different taste.

As a matter of fact, I am making it right now.

Note: This recipe can be used for pasta or macaroni salad as well, just cook macaroni per package and then follow the balance of instructions.

We need mrmarti to give us some of the delish recipes that always come out fabulous.

For one of our new members rushjackson and family. Here are some of our ideas for meals on a budget and some laughs as well!! Please look over the 10 pages, we have some executive chefs on the forum it appears. I have tried almost all of these. And, if you can, share one with us. Happy eating!

Hi Friends. I am returning to this topic to lighten up the load, so to speak. Earthquakes, Hurricanes and no help from DC yet is getting to all of us.

Please share a recipe or two, we enjoyed this topic and need some lightness. With this being a three day holiday for many, let's have some fun.

I know it's not quite fall yet....BUT I have been making these and eating them w/ vanilla Ice cream when I have extra EBT card $.

I LOVE PECAN PIE!!! Whoo-Hooo! But they are messy and take a lot of time to bake. These are Pecan Pie muffins. OMG!!! Just don't overbake em...they are best a little under done, warm & w/ some coffee or vanilla icecream.

PECAN PIE MUFFINS

Ingredients
1 cup Packed Light Brown Sugar
½ cups All-purpose Flour
1 cup Chopped Pecans
⅔ cups Softened Butter
2 whole Eggs Beaten

Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven 350 F.
Grease your muffin pan (whatever size) or use the silicone cups. I grease my silicone muffin cups with Crisco or lard.

In a medium bowl, stir together brown sugar, flour and pecans. In a separate bowl, beat the butter and eggs together until smooth. Stir into the dry ingredients just until combined. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Cups should be about 2/3 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on wire racks when done.

DO NOT OVER MIX!!! & DO NOT OVERCOOK These are soooo easy & grubaliscious w a cup a hot coffee too.

If ya have ever been to Texas!!! I know...BUSH/PERRY land but if ya can get past that the food is great. Chuy's Mex. resturant is famous for their Creamy Jalepeno Dip & this is the closest recipe to It I have come across...Yum-O with corn chips for the BBQ on Labor day.

Chuy's Creamy Jalapeno Dip

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups mayonnaise
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup sourcream
1/3 cup chopped jalapeno
1/3 cup green chilies
1/3 cup cilantro
1 (1 ounce) packet dry ranch dressing mix

Directions:
Mix ingredients in blender or food processor, until smooth.
Serve with tortilla chips, or as a salad dressing.

I Love MK's Lemon Poppyseed cake...but if it's hot where you are and ya don't wanna bake, Give this one a try. Butterfinger Pie! Everytime I make it...People always ask for the recipe and act like its some big deal. It easy only 4 ingredients and tastes like a million dollars.

Butterfinger Pie

Ingredients:
6 butterfinger candy bars, crushed up pretty good
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 (12 ounce) carton Cool Whip
1 graham cracker crust

Directions:
Save 1/4 cup of crushed butterfiners to spinkle over top of pie when done.
Mix first 3 ingredients together (works best if cream cheese is room temp) in a bowl.
Then spoon into graham cracker curst & chill for at least an hour...better if longer. Before serving, spinkle top w/ reserved 1/4 cup of crushed butterfingers.

Thank you ss. And thank you for your nice note. We are getting there, slowly but surely. Dad is doing much better.

I will be trying a few of these out, Saturday is "Food" day for me, mine is on the 3rd. just in time for the Online BBQ.

Stay well and thanks for these recipes.

I made this recipe last week, it sounded a little weird but I am all about taking pain in the butt recipe & finding easy version of it.....Lasagna! Only this is Ravioli Lasagna

Ravioli Lasagna

Ingredients
2 packages (24 Oz. Of Frozen Ravioli, Square, Which ever one ya like)
1 32 Oz. jar Spaghetti Sauce, Your Favorite Brand & Flavor
1 pound Ground Beef
1-½ cup Shredded Mozzarella
¼ cups Grated Parmesan Cheese

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cook ravioli until soft but still a little firm to the bite (according to package instructions for al dente), drain.

Cook ground beef & Drain.

In a square 8×8 or 9×9 baking dish pour enough marinara sauce to cover bottom of pan. Lay enough raviolis down to cover the pan, it took 9 for me. Cover ravioli layer with 1/3 of the remaining marinara, half of the meat, and 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese.

Repeat process creating another layer of ravioli, marinara, cheese, and the remaining meat. Cover with 9 more raviolis and the last of the sauce and mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes in preheated oven.
Serve it up with hot crips garlic bread of course. I got this recipe from a food blog & I love it.

Delish!!

Collect your favorite dish and bring one to the OnLine BBQ on Monday. Share your recipe here.

The margarita's will be waiting for you!!!!!

Quick and easy shrimp dip:

Chop 1/2 cup celery and 1/2 cup onion
1 8oz. pkg cream cheese
1 tablespoon mayo
1 teaspoon relish (sweet)
1 can small deveined shrimp

Whip together (I leave the cream cheese out about an hour to soften)

Serve with crackers or dipping chips. Delish! (and cheap)

I am scouring Nana's recipe box for BBQ ideas for Monday, I will post some more when I find them.

I am particularly looking for the fried tomatoes with white gravy. She made them every friday in the summer and all the family came, I swear they smelled it cooking while they were at work, but they never missed a fried tomatoe friday, not once.

Trying superstevies ravioli lasagna tonight. Can't wait. Rich loves his ravioli, I am the lasagna lover.