Money Saving Tips For Families Atlanta
Melt 2 tbs butter, add 2 tbs flour, stir over med heat until brown.
Add in 8 oz tomato sauce from a jar (or pureed tomatoes with extra salt and a dash of olive oil) or can.
Stir well over medium heat.
Add 2 cups of milk. Slowly.
Then add chicken broth (cup or two or three, depends how many you are feeding) slowly.
Throw in some italian seasoning. Bam you’re done.
Top with parmesan!
It’s no secret that most kids don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables. Children’s taste buds are more sensitive than adults’, so bitter tastes and dry textures are less appealing. They prefer processed, chemically flavored foods over healthier, “real” options.
But with childhood obesity on the rise, you know how important it is to introduce healthy eating habits at a young age. The good news is your child’s palate can adapt after just a few taste-tests. If you’re trying to sway your kids to eat more fruits and vegetables, little “green” lies can help you sneak them in without a struggle. Disguise good-for-you greens with these healthy cooking secrets and recipe ideas:
Purée-fy sweet treats. Puréed fruits and vegetables can be easily added to baked goods. This not only adds nutrients but it also creates a nice, creamy texture – great for cakes, muffins, breads, brownies and cookies. While some recipes actually require fruits and vegetables (think zucchini bread and carrot cake), you can add purées to other desserts and dishes for a nutritious boost.
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted
½ cup carrot puree
½ cup spinach puree
½ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbsp coconut oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
¾ cup oat flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
Directions: Preheat oven to 325˚F. In a large bowl, mix together melted chocolate, vegetable purees, sugar, cocoa powder, coconut oil and vanilla extract. Whisk in egg whites. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix well. Pour batter into a greased 8×8-inch baking pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely before serving.
Get saucy and spread the love. There are some comfort foods kids constantly request. Unfortunately, they rarely fall into the “healthy” category. To trick your kids’ taste buds, incorporate fruits or vegetables into their favorite dishes with sauces, spreads and other toppings. For example, drizzle fresh blueberry sauce over pancakes instead of syrup. Here’s an easy, “green” recipe you can use as a dip or sandwich spread:
3 medium avocados, peeled and pit removed
1 cup sweet pea purée
½ green bell pepper, diced
Fresh lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions: Scoop out avocado “meat” and add to a medium bowl. Mash the avocados and mix in sweet pea puree. Fold in diced bell pepper. Squeeze in fresh lime juice and add salt and pepper to taste.
Shape up. Sometimes, just the way food is arranged can increase its appeal factor. Sliced, diced or creatively cut fruits and veggies can be shaped into happy characters or kid-friendly items (boats, bugs, etc.) that transform basic lunch box meals into a fun (and healthy!) eating experience. Your little one will be pleasantly surprised – not to mention the talk of the table. They can pitch in, too! Letting kids play with food is OK when they’re being creative and learning that even healthy foods can be fun. This lady bug sandwich is totally buzz-worthy:
This is a real ladybug, not one you would eat. But you get the picture.
This article has been provided by the folks at Vitacost.com. Offering more than just vitamins and supplements, Vitacost.com has a wide selection of over 35,000 organic, natural products for your healthy lifestyle. From organic foods and bath & beauty items to sports nutrition favorites and pet essentials, Vitacost.com has your needs covered – for less! Take your shopping list to Vitacost.com and take the cost out of healthy living. Vitacost.com is not affiliated with this blog and isn’t responsible for content outside of this article.
By: +Elizabeth Lotts writer for Vitacost.com
I made this last night, it was dead easy.
I save the broken chips at the bottom of the bag just for this recipe. I throw them in my freezer. I had 4 bags with leftovers and it was just enough.
Yes!
| Meat Mondays-Easy Potato Chip Chicken |
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Here is a recipe from a vintage cookbook for Home Economic Teachers.
1 10oz package of frozen strawberries or 1 pint of fresh hulled
1 20oz can crushed pineapple (Aldi sells this)
1/4 cup of water
1 box Sure Jell
3 1/2 cup sugar
Directions:
Today I had a really simple dish. It is inspired by some beef tacos I get from the 100% authentic taco tent at the Mexican soccer league. It’s not really a tent more like a grill with a gazebo pop up over it. People line up to get these DELICIOUS little numbers. It is probably more authentic not to use to much seasoning but hey.
Fresh Corn Tortillas (homemade or from a real tortilla maker)
Ground Beef (or skirt steak cut up really well, like in “I just blew a tire on my semi” treads)
Onions
Oil
Salt Pepper, a little cumin, a little paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, oregano
Fresh Cilantro
Ground your beef in some oil. Add your seasonings. Add 1/4 cup of water, add onion let it simmer a little while longer. The onion is good if it still a little crunchy ya know?
Serve on warmed corn tortillas, top with chopped cilantro. If ya got some lime juice, go for it!
Delicious. I ate four. Really. With a side of carrots. This would be good with some beans and rice too if you wanted to round it out.
You could add hot sauce, salsa, sour cream whatever. But really these are good just the way they are.
Dried beans are a great meatless protein. They are filling, frugal and flexible! There are two types of beans I cook the most of in this house.
Pinto and Black.
The reason I cook them the most is because they are the most plentiful here in the South and therefore the cheapest. My lowest price I shoot for dried Pinto beans is .59 cents a pound. You can find this price when you buy them in bulk at Sam’s (10lb) and Aldi (3lb). Honestly though, I do keep black beans in the can because they are great for quick dinners when you forgot to defrost meat.
Today’s recipe is going to be for Pinto Beans.
How to cook dried beans.
1)Some say cook them long and no soaking is required, which might work for a smaller bean. However, I find for a pinto you need a good overnight soak. Now I will tell you pinto beans in bulk require a good washing. The Sam’s ones from Arkansas actually did have tiny rocks last time and I used them so you do have to perform a good clean and sort.
2) After you have rinsed them several times, put the 1lb beans in a pot and cover generously with water. Bring to a boil and then cook on low for 2-3 hours or more until tender. I cook them this way without seasonings or olive/garlic for greater range since I will be saving some when I am done. You can also cook them in the slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours.
MEXICAN-Pinto Beans can be turned into Mexican style easily with just some taco seasoning (homemade of couse!) and olive oil. You can also smash them and turn them into refried beans with a splash of olive oil, cumin and salt.
ITALIAN-I also like cooked pinto beans instead of cannelli beans in my Italian Spinach Sausage Summer Soup. Can’t wait to share that one with you!
SOUTHERN And finally pinto beans can be turned into baked beans when you add barbecue sauce and some bacon (don’t forget the brown sugar and mustard).
I then serve them and freeze the leftovers in one or two cup containers.
If you have any bean questions leave me a comment and I will get back to ya!
This is a recipe from my friend Jamie Lilly Mullis. She adapted it from Allrecipes. She wanted ZombieMommySaves readers to know that it is a pretty flexible recipe. I think this is definitely a frugal money saving tips for families! Pair this with some homemade bread or cheese toast and a salad and you got yourself a meal!
I had some random vegetables in my fridge so I was looking for a way to use them.
I had halves of red/green/yellow bell peppers, carrot shreds, chopped tomatoes, chopped green onions. So I did a random little search and came up with this recipe. I don’t think the variety of veggies really matters. It’s a really good base. It had a little bit of a bisque or grit type texture to it after putting it through the blender, but it was really, tasty. It has a nice kick with the cayenne and crushed red pepper. We like hot. Now, it wasn’t overly hot, but if you have to be conscious of your kids, I would use these sparingly. Mike and I both agreed that it would be really good with either some pulled chicken (and maybe some tortilla chip pieces from the end of the bag) or some shrimp (which I normally keep in the freezer for random meals).
Adapted From Allrecipes.
SWEDISH GRAVY
* 2 tablespoons Worstershire
* 2 tsp of bouillon (chicken or beef) OPTIONAL
* 2 tablespoons flour
* 1 cup of milk
* 1/2 cup of sour cream (if you don’t have cream, just use more milk)
* Lots of pepper
DIRECTIONS
1. Cook egg noodles and put aside.
Delicious!
I read a description of Robert Medina’s cookbook and just fell in love. This is my kinda cookbook. Real food with descriptive recipes written by somebody with a dry sense of humor. I couldn’t ask for more (okay well maybe someone actually paying for my groceries and doing the cleanup). I emailed Robert Medina and begged him please please let me review this. I think ZombieMommy readers would love to hear about this.
“This is one of the most versatile things you can make. It is used in many dishes where a stuffing is required. I swear that if you stuffed this into an old tennis shoe it would make that shoe taste great” -Crabmeat Dressing pg.50
I was so excited when I got it! Just listen to the recipes, they roll off the tongue like butter! Cilantro Dressing, Shrimp Etoufee, Fried Meatballs with Gravy, Cajun Cordon Bleu, Fish Beignets and Remoulade Tartar Sauce, Smothered Chicken and Onions and Red Beans the Right Way. Are you drooling yet?
Softshell Fried Crab with Crawfish Cream Sauce
Okay hands down, the best part of this cookbook is the details. Every recipe is at least 2 to 3 paragraphs long. In my opinion, what makes a good recipe is the ability to alter it slightly, IF YOU KNOW WHY YOU DO WHAT YOU DO. Don’t tell my sister, but once she ran out of chili powder and substituted curry powder instead in the chili one evening at a potluck. It didn’t go well. I remember the first bite I took and my tastebuds and brains were at each other saying, “What, what, what was that?” From that day on, every time she makes food for our family gatherings, I tell her “don’t put curry powder in it”, with a elbow to her ribcage and a hyuck hyuck. Honestly though, I think she is kinda of tired of me bringing it up.
So why do you add the butter first with the flour? Because a good roux starts many flavor intensive dishes. Can you substitute a different white fleshed fish? There are reasons behind the explicit directions. Because if you know the WHY, THEN you can substitute when your pantry list doesn’t match your recipe list. Cookbooks like this are great for the homemaker on a budget. When I write recipes for the internet I also tend to note what parts of the recipe are optional without bringing down the house.
Speaking of bringing down the house, Robert was a firefighter for 24 years.
I am sure he brought down the house many a time and when he wasn’t, he was cooking back at the station. And everyone there loved his cooking. In fact, people wouldn’t stop bugging him for the recipes. He finally gave in and just wrote a cookbook, “If You Can’t Stand the Heat, A New Orleans Firefighters Cookbook”.
It truly is Big Easy cooking made easy.
“As you can tell from this recipe, this dish is not for the faint at heart. I mean that literally. There is enough butter and cheese in here to sink a ship. For those of you who normally eat two percent cheese and spray butter, you might need to eat this once in a while just remind your arteries what the good stuff is like” -Baked Italian Shrimp Au Jus pg. 293
Find Robert Medina on Twitter, he loves to chat it up there. Or find Robert Medina’s book on Amazon here.
Want to win a copy? You can’t have mine, it already has buttery fingerprints!
This is a recipe from an old cookbook which I have adapted. Every time I make it someone asks me for the recipe. So here ya go!
Credit: Keith McDuffee
3/4 cup butter (not too hard, soften it a touch, don’t want to break your fancy mixer do you?)
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2-1 teaspoon teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups of rolled oats (doesn’t matter which kind)
Preheat oven to 375. Beat butter on medium speed for 30 seconds until creamy. Add half of the flour. Then add the brown sugar, the sugar, the egg, the baking powder, the baking soda, vanilla, and cinnamon. Beat/stir till thoroughly combined, beat in remaining flour. Add oats. Drop by teaspoon onto ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart, takes 2 cookie sheets usually.
Bake at 375 for 10 to 12 minutes. Makes about 3 dozen, enough to share.
These are delicious. And remember oats are good for nursing moms, increases your milk!
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