Mom's Lasagna

Okay, consider yourself forewarned ... tonight's meal is not quick and easy, nor is it cheap and economical. Now that that's out of the way, here goes. I am making my mom's lasagna recipe tonight. This is my favorite meal in the entire world. I could live off of this lasagna for MONTHS without needing any variety. This recipe is why I refuse to eat restaurant lasagna or store-bought frozen lasagna. They just can't ever measure up. It is the one recipe that my mom made that I am able to truly duplicate and that people actually request when they are coming over for dinner. So, consider yourself honored ... I'm about to share the recipe. :-)


1 1/2-2 lbs hamburger (although, I am using ground turkey tonight)
1 can (28 oz) tomatoes (whole)
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
2 envelopes dry spaghetti sauce mix
2 cans (12 oz each) cocktail vegetable juice (or roughly 1/2 of one of the big V8 bottles)
1 pkg (16 oz) lasagna noodles
16 oz cottage cheese
8 oz grated mozzarella cheese
1 1/4 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese


Cook meat. Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce, dry mix, V-8 juice and mushrooms. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer 10 minutes.


Cover bottom of greased big baking dish (I use a 9x13 pyrex) with meat sauce, then uncooked noodles, cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese. Repeat until all ingredients are used up (3 layers).

Cover tightly with heavy foil and place dish on a baking sheet (catches anything that bubbles over & helps distribute heat evenly to entire dish). Bake for 1 hour at 350. Remove and let stand 15 minutes. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese & serve!


** Note: With this recipe, it is not necessary to cook your lasagna noodles ahead of time. I never even knew people pre-cooked their noodles when they made lasagna until I was well into adulthood. It's less messy, you don't have to dig the noodles out of the bottom of a pot of boiling water & hope they don't break, and it really doesn't take any longer. If you feel you must pre-cook your lasagna noodles, just cut the baking time roughly in half.


There you have it - my world famous lasagna recipe. I would imagine, if I went out and bought all these ingredients fresh, in one shopping trip, it would cost around $15-18. Which comes out to about $1.50 a serving. Still cheaper than eating out. Since I had all of the non-perishable items already on hand, I only had to pick up the meat, mushrooms and cottage cheese today, which took about $7 out of my food budget. Still more than last night's dinner, but it's all worth it for Mom's Lasagna!

Heaven on a plate!

Tuesday's $3 Dinner

Tonight's dinner was one of the easiest and cheapest of the meals on this week's menu. In fact, I don't even think it cost a full $3. And it cleared two more cans out of my pantry and cleared up some space in the freezer as well!


1 can of Nalley Beef Stew (the big can) - $1.99
1 cup frozen peas - let's say 25 cents worth
1 cup frozen corn - again, 25 cents worth
1 can diced tomatoes - 25 cents (bought when the store brand was 4/$1)
salt, pepper, cumin, oregano (to taste) - not worth figuring out :-)


Heated it all up and served it with bread and butter. Not fancy, but it was filling and everyone wanted seconds!


There is a new urgency to clean out our pantry this week. My hubby and I are starting a weight loss challenge next week, and most of the stuff I currently have in the cupboards is not going to be allowed! In fact, we will be sugar free for the next 30 days (or more). So we are cramming in all the goodies this week. Probably not a good plan ... but I refuse to let all that food go to waste! Tomorrow night is lasagna night - which should help get rid of at least half the pasta in the pantry, as well as all the cheese that probably won't be allowed either. 


If anyone has any good ideas for "lean and green" meals, I will gladly welcome them. Our dinners are going to consist of lean meats and non-starchy veggies. I'd love some new recipes to try out!

What shall we eat this week?

I am attempting to get back in the habit of planning my menu each week. When I have done this in the past, it saves both time and money. Not to mention I don't have to listen to my husband asking every morning and evening, "What's for dinner tonight?" :-) So, last week, I posted our menu for the week on my lovely new organization center that is hanging from the side of my fridge. And we managed to stick pretty closely to it. But, it is a new week, so it is time to start over again.


Once I get done sipping my first cup of coffee and enjoying this rare, quiet, beautiful Oregon morning, I am heading inside to peer into my freezer, rifle through my pantry, and see if I can manage to make a menu for the week that does not include shopping. I think I'm in pretty good shape this week. I still have plenty of meat in the freezer, and we bought fresh veggies at the Farmer's Market yesterday. My pantry is starting to look a little less crowded, thanks to doing the same thing last week. However, I still have about 18 cans of various stocks and soups, lots of canned tomatoes, a big ol' container of V8 (which means I MUST make lasagna this week!), and about 10 cans of sloppy joe mix. I even have a full thing of milk in the fridge. I think I really might stand a chance of (mostly) avoiding the stores this week ... which makes me very happy, since I hate to shop!


So, my challenge for you today is to see if you can make an entire week's meals from your pantry this time. What are some cheap and easy recipes you can make that include what you already have? Plan ahead for refrigerator goulash night - put it on the menu! If your household is like mine, the last week of the month is always a good time to save money, since that pesky mortgage or rent payment is coming up on the 1st! Try it, and let me know how it goes!

Lead Me (Acoustic - with lyrics) by Sanctus Real

Happy Sunday!

The great toy clean-out!

My munchkin doesn't know it yet, but when she goes down for her nap this afternoon ... a large number of her toys are going to disappear! I have decided that I can not stand tripping over 1500 baby toys anymore. She has outgrown some, some are broken, and others just need to take a break.

A teeny, TINY representation of the chaos that follows my wee one.

So, today is organization day. Which means I'm breaking out the boxes. One box for toys she has outgrown - these shall get stored in the attic, in the event that there is another munchkin in the house someday that might use them. One box will be for toys that I will store on the shelf in her closet, to be rotated out again in a month or so, when she needs some variety again. And last, but not least, I shall bust out a garbage bag ... because there are quite a number of things beyond saving. She likes to collect bits of paper, wet wipes, TP cardboard rolls, and the like. Then there are the toys that are just plain broken. All of these shall be going "bye-bye" today!

I realize that, within 15 minutes of her waking up from her nap, the house will be a total disaster again. But at least she will have a few less things to throw about!

Random food thoughts for the weekend

Thought y'all might like to see how my last experiment went, the pot pie I previously mentioned. It was a hit with the whole family, so I think this will be one to add to the recipe book!

My first substitution was to add some sliced mushrooms to the mix - about 3/4 cup. 3/4 cup cubed carrots & 2 cubed potatoes.

Fried up the cubed beef & the mushrooms while the carrots & potatoes were boiling away.

I actually found some Bisquick in my pantry, so I didn't do the cornbread topping I planned to - mixed with 1/2 cup milk & 1 egg.

Yet another substitution. Recipe called for 2 cans of beef gravy, which I was SURE I had. Alas, I did not ... so, 2 cans cream of mushroom soup it was!

Mixed together the cooked potatoes, carrots, beef, mushrooms & 2 cans of soup mix, along with 2 beef bullion cubes & salt/pepper.

Ready to go in the oven - 350 for about 30 minutes.

The aftermath.

On a completely unrelated note, a friend just gave me a very cool tip that I am going to try with my teething child. Frozen pancakes! I've had someone mention using frozen waffles to me before, but the pancakes is a new idea to me. I'll let you know how it turns out. But it's gotta taste better than a plastic teething ring, right?! And, I love to make large batches of pancakes and freeze them to pull out when we want a fun breakfast. Thanks to Rachelle for the teething tip and Sarah for the original idea to freeze pancakes!

And one more random thought to round out the day ... Now that the nice weather has finally arrived here in Oregon, I plan to transplant my veggies from my greenhouse to the actual garden. Hopefully, they'll survive the transfer and turn out well.  We already have a bumper crop of pears in our backyard, and it looks like we're going to have quite a lot of blueberries as well. A dear friend has promised to teach me to can this summer, so there will be canned pears, pear butter, and possibly pearsauce (as opposed to applesauce). However, I would LOVE some more ideas of what to do with both the pears and the blueberries. Any creative ideas for things that I can stash away in the freezer to pull out later and dazzle my family with? I welcome them all!

Thank heavens for leftovers!

There are some nights that there just isn't time to create something new. On those nights, I am always glad when I can find something leftover from a previous night's meal! This afternoon, I have to get the house cleaned before my kiddo's nap is over. I should get some weeding done in my yard, but that's just not going to happen. At some point, I need to get cleaned up and make myself pretty before I leave the house. The grandparents are going to be here in about 3 hours to watch said kiddo while I go to a wedding tonight and my hubby is still at work. It's just one of those crazy days where everyone's schedules overlap and nothing really gets done. So, that lovely dish I made for last night? Pulling it out to heat up. Should be plenty left for baby, grandparents and hubby to chow on. 


Lesson here? It pays to make extra! I always try to plan a large meal at least once or twice a week. That gives me an "out" on those days where nothing goes right or when I just don't feel like cooking. Plus it makes for something nice instead of sandwiches to stick in the hubby's lunch occasionally. I love leftovers!

Substitutions are okay!

I am planning on making beef pot pie for tonight's dinner. I had the menu card in my organizer box, so that must mean I have a recipe card for it, right? 


Wrong.


So, I headed over to one of my favorite websites, http://allrecipes.com, and searched for "beef pot pie". It returned some promising selections, one of which was this one: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Beef-Pot-Pie-II/Detail.aspx. However, I am missing onions, Beau Monde seasoning and buttermilk baking mix. But, I have all the other basic ingredients, so I will just make a few substitutions. 


My hubby doesn't really like onions in his food anyway, so he'll be happy that it didn't turn out quite the same. I have onion powder, so I'll just add that to the meat as I cook it. I actually had to "bing" Beau Monde seasoning, because I had no clue what it was. I have a steak seasoning packet that has been in my spice cupboard for a while now and needs to be used up anyway. It will make a fine substitute. And buttermilk baking mix? I don't know if that's a specific mix, or if the original chef meant the equivalent of Bisquick ... neither of which I have on hand. However, I have some cornbread mix that really needs to get used up (and which I am tired of taking up space in my pantry). Hubby loves cornbread, so again, he won't mind the substitution.


Substitutions really are pretty easy. I used to be scared of using an ingredient other than what the recipe called for. I have learned, though, that it really is not that scary. Do it one ingredient at a time. As a whole, if I looked at a recipe and saw I was missing half the ingredients, it's a little daunting. But, if I break it down, one ingredient at a time, it's not as difficult as it seemed at first glance. It gets those creative juices flowing, it gets rid of random things in your pantry that you weren't using anyway ... and sometimes, you end up with the best recipes you've ever tried!

Essentials

There are a few items that I try to always keep on hand in my pantry. Because some things just go with everything and will fill in a gap when a recipe emergency arises. If you keep a few basics around at all times, I am of the opinion that you can create just about anything. It might take a little creativity, but a challenge is always fun! My "must have" items include:

• Canned tomatoes
• Cream of mushroom/chicken soup
• Frozen corn and/or peas
• Canned veggies
• Rice
• Stock (chicken or vegetable)

I also usually keep ground beef or ground turkey in the freezer, which can be mixed into just about anything. It is really amazing how easily some of these items mix together and can change any dish. 

One of our family's favorite recipes involves pork chops, stewed tomatoes and frozen corn, which is not a combination I would have ever thought of on my own. Someone else gave me the idea, and I ran with it. That one recipe helped me to figure out what kinds of things might taste good together. Now, when I stand at the pantry door, I can look at that weird collection of cans and think, "Oh! Those two will taste good together. I'll just add that to the chicken I have thawed out." An added bonus is that cooking this way usually means that dinner costs between $3-5 total, and we often have leftovers for another night!

So, what do you keep in your pantry? What are your must have's - things you can't live without? I encourage you to go look in your fridge or your pantry and make a meal from scratch. Experiment, mix something together you never would have thought of before ... and see what your family thinks. I'd love to hear any good ideas your come up with (or the bad ones, so I can avoid making the same mistakes!).

Walgreens Shopping Trip

These savings don't relate to my pantry so much as they do my storage closet. If you're looking to stock up on bathroom & supply closet items, Walgreens has some great deals this week. I am only listing the deals that I took advantage of, so be sure to check your local ads to get in on all of them!

Huggies Jumbo Packs - 2 @ $8.99 each + $1.50 (x2) manu. coupon = $14.98

Renu contact solution - $7.50 with $7.50 Register Rewards + $2/1 manu. coupon = ($2) (I made money!)

Aussie Conditioner & Style product - $2.99 each + $2/1 manu. coupon = $3.98

Herbal Essences Shampoo - $2.99 + $1/1 manu. coupon = $1.99

BandAids - 2/$3 + 50c/1 (x2) manu. coupon = $2

Gillette Fusion Power Razor - $9.89 + $5 Register Rewards + $4/1 manu. coupon = $.89

Old Spice Body Wash - $4.49 + $4.49 Register Rewards = FREE

Charmin 9-Count Big Rolls - $4.79 each + $1/1 (x2) manu. coupon (& earned 2x rewards pts) = $7.58

I spent $46.40 at the cash register and earned $16.99 in Register Rewards, making my true out-of-pocket cost $29.41. Not too shabby, when you consider that the diapers and contact solution alone cost that before all the deals!

If you find any other good deals while you're at Walgreens this week, make sure to post a comment so the rest of us can take advantage of it as well.

(If you are a "professional" coupon'er, please excuse the fact that I don't use all the abbreviations and lingo - a lot of people still know what they all stand for, so I just spell it out instead. One of these days I'll post a "glossary" of terms and abbreviations, but until then ... it's the old-fashioned terminology!)

Swimsuit deal

Quick deal to pass along to you today ... thanks to Kelly for the tip! If any of you in the Portland area are in the market for a swimsuit, the Sears Outlet on 82nd in Clackamas has Lands End swimsuits on sale for $8 apiece, normally $69!! 

Happy Father's Day to you all!

Italian Stir Fry

At least ... that's what I called what I made for dinner last night ... instead of refrigerator goulash, like I usually call it. I was trying to come up with something that was somewhat creative to do with the extra ground beef I had thawed out (as opposed to the normal spaghetti, tacos or sloppy joes). So, here's what I came up with. It was really quite yummy too!

1/2 lb ground beef, browned
3 carrots, peeled & sliced fairly thinly
2 tomatoes, diced
6-8 medium mushrooms, sliced
2 cups of rice, cooked separately
1 cup spaghetti sauce
Salt
Pepper
Italian seasoning
Garlic powder
Cumin
(all seasonings are to taste)

Brown the beef, adding in seasonings, per your taste. After you've browned the ground beef, remove it from the pan & set aside. Add some oil (I used olive oil) to the pan & stir fry the carrots (on about medium heat). After they have started to soften, add the mushrooms & tomatoes. Stir fry for another 3-5 minutes. Add beef back to pan & add spaghetti sauce. After everything is heated through, serve over rice. 

Makes approximately 4 servings
Cost per serving: about 80 cents

Welcome!

Welcome to my brand new blog! After much prompting from friends and family, I am finally making this a reality. This will be a space devoted to saving money and creating yummy meals ... with perhaps a few organizing, couponing or other household tips.


I am constantly trying to come up with new ways to motivate myself to be a better homemaker. After all, it is my full-time job these days. Since we are a single-income family, I also need to work around a budget. This sometimes means very creative meals, spending time clipping coupons, and taking advice from anyone that will help me! 


I also enjoy a good challenge, which carries over to my meals. Eating economically often means using the same ingredients over and over. I don't know about you, but I get tired of the same meals after a while. So I find myself coming up with some, uh, creative meals ... to say the least. In the past, I haven't been organized enough to write these recipes down after creating them, and they are rarely re-created. This blog, in addition to sharing my ideas with others, is going to be my own personal recipe book. Now I'll be able to find those yummy refrigerator goulash meals I've created in the past and trot them out again!


You'll probably hear the words "refrigerator goulash" a lot from me. It's my favorite term for the concoctions I come up with. 9 times out of 10, a new meal is created as I stand in front of an open fridge, pondering the weird array of foods that are left inside and wondering if they might taste good together. Amazingly, these are often some of the best meals I make. Go figure.


So, I hope you enjoy my new adventure. I welcome ideas and comments. If you have a recipe you've tried or a tip that someone else might enjoy ... pass it along! We can all stand to learn something new ... especially when it means making our home a better place to live.