Easy Frugal Beef Stroganoff

This simple meal is easy to put together and uses an inexpensive cut of meat.

Ingredients
1 pound of beef stew meat
1 onion chopped
1 cup of beef broth
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Montreal steak seasoning
1 package of egg noodles
8 oz. sour cream
oil

Add oil (just enough to coat bottom) to a pan and brown meat that has been sprinkled with Montreal Steak seasoning.  Remove meat, add more oil to pan and brown onions.  Return meat to pan and add beef broth.  Simmer on low, covered, for at least two hours.  Add in soup.  If it appears too thick add some more broth or water.  Continue to simmer while you cook the noodles.  A couple of minutes before serving stir in the sour cream and low simmer until heated through.  Serve stroganoff over cooked noodles.

This is a hearty dish and is best accompanied by a light salad.  Enjoy!

God bless,
Pam

The Frugal Kitchen: Easy Pot Roast

I love pot roast, but sometimes I am not in the mood for all of the prep work before it is put on to cook. I am talking about browning the meat and vegetables.  So I have come up with a simple way to get a tender, browned pot roast that is cooked in the crock pot.

Lightly oil your crock pot, then place in your roast.  Surround the roast with vegetables cut into uniform sizes, for even cooking.  Now sprinkle dry French onion soup mix over the top of the roast and vegetables.  Pour in water to about half way up the roast.  Steam from the cooking will keep the top of the roast moist.

I set my crock pot on high for six hours.  If you are going to cook it longer I would suggest the low setting.

After the roast is done I mixed two to three heaping tablespoons with water, then stirred this into the juices in the pot.  I let it cook covered, on low for another half an hour to thicken the juice into a gravy. The pot roast, vegetables and gravy were served over rice.  The roast was tender and tasty.

God bless,
Pam

Frugal Kitchen: Burrito Casserole

This is an easy casserole that uses foods that I usually have stored in my freezer and pantry.  It takes 15 minutes of prep time and 30 minutes of bake time.

Burrito Casserole

1 can pinto beans
1 can tomatoes with chilies
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 package shredded mexican cheeses (8oz.)
1 package flour tortillas

In each tortilla place a couple of spoonfuls of beans, tomatoes and cheese.  Roll into a burrito and place in a greased casserole pan.  Completely fill pan with burritos.  Some people use the inexpensive frozen burritos in order to skip this step, but it can get expensive.  Mix soup mix, juice from tomatoes and sour cream together in a bowl.  Pour over the burritos to cover.  Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top.  Cover with foil, bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and continue baking for 10 minutes.

Add meat in your burritos if you wish.  It would be a good way to use leftover meat from previous meals.  Garnish with sour creme and some salsa if serving to guests.

My daughter, the famously picky eater, looked at me and said that this was good.  Be still my heart.

God bless,
Pam

The Frugal Kitchen: Pancakes With Fresh Fruit

An easy summer supper was served here last night:  pancakes with fresh fruit.  Standing over a griddle is not fun in the heat, but pancakes for three people can be cooked quickly without overheating the kitchen.

We found some nice peaches the other day, so I peeled and sliced them and mixed them with a tablespoon of sugar.  These were left out in a bowl at room temperature to make some juices.

I used a basic pancake recipe from my handy dandy Joy Of Cooking (my copy is 31 years old).  The cooked pancakes were served topped with the sliced peaches and juice.  Maple syrup was served on the side for those that wanted extra sweetening.

Keep your left over pancakes in the refrigerator.  They heat up well in the microwave (15 seconds on high per pancake) and toaster.  An easy supper and next day breakfast.

God bless,
Pam

The Frugal Kitchen: Quinoa and Eggs

My great grandma was a farm wife.  She woke at 4:00 in the morning to fix breakfast for her family and the farm hands, cleaned up and immediately began cooking dinner for everyone.  These two meals were served outside on picnic tables, under the trees.  After cleaning up once again, she took a nap, then cleaned her house.

Farm wives were not responsible for feeding the hands supper.  Only family was served and it was done informally in the kitchen.  Needless to say, after a hard day of work, supper was not an elaborate meal.  Exhausted people don't feel like eating big meals.

Supper consisted of leftovers from the earlier meals.  Cornbread crumbled in a bowl with buttermilk.  Cold meat and bread.  Or everything thrown into a pot with water to make a soup.

In keeping with this tradition I am trying to serve my family simple, light meals during the summer.  This evening I served Tru Roots Sprouted Rice and Quinoa steamed with carrots, with a fried egg on top.  I put a dollop of an olive relish on top, but it would be good with just soy sauce.  We also enjoy just a fried egg on top of plain rice.

I am trying to get away from serving white rice.  My brother and sis in law serve quinoa on a regular basis.  After reading that it provides more protein than most grains and since it has a nice, nutty flavor I have decided to substitute quinoa for the rice.

Keep it simple, keep it plain.  It will be healthier and your family will be happy with supper as long as it is tasty and filling.

God bless,
Pam

The Frugal Kitchen: Chicken and Yellow Rice

I needed to make a quick meal last night with the ingredients I had on hand.  In the fridge I had a package of chicken thighs and in the cupboard a package of Vigo yellow rice.  Yep, time for chicken and yellow rice, one of DD's favorite meals.

CHICKEN AND YELLOW RICE

1 pkg. chicken thighs
1 pkg. yellow rice
1/4 piece of garlic clove
1 tablespoon lime juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
red pepper flakes to taste
salt to taste

Poach the chicken:  Place chicken in salted water and bring to a boil.  Then cover pot with lid, turn off heat and leave for an hour.  Remove chicken from pot and allow to cool.  When cool remove skin and tear chicken into pieces.  Dispose of skin and bones.  Reserve broth for another recipe.

Make Mojo sauce:  In a food processor add garlic, lime juice, olive oil, salt and red pepper.  Process until you get a smooth consistency.

Rice:  Follow package directions.  Add a small can of peas for the last five minutes of cooking.

Mix the Mojo sauce with the chicken, toss to coat.  Serve rice with chicken on top or mixed in.  I like to buy some frozen fried plantains and refry them to serve with this dish.

Enjoy!  I be having the leftovers for lunch today.

God bless,
Pam

The Frugal Kitchen: Black Olive Pesto Pasta

Yesterday was a lazy day for DD and I, but I still needed to get supper on the table.  I looked through my cabinets and decided to make a black olive pesto/tapenade to serve on pasta.

Black Olive Pesto

1 large can black olives, drained
1 small can sliced mushrooms
2 garlic cloves
1 handful of fresh parsley or 1 tablespoon dried
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, to taste
olive oil, enough to get right consistency

Add all ingredients, except oil, to the food processor bowl.  Pulse until you reach a fine consistency.  Add olive oil until it reaches a paste consistency.  Heat in a large pan until hot, then add your al dente pasta.  Mix well and serve.

This was a hit with my family and super easy to put together.  Enjoy!

God bless,
Pam

The Frugal Kitchen: Pork Tenderloin With Gravy

Pork tenderloin is such an easy meat to cook and so versatile, it was always a staple in our home as I was growing up.  It is lean so it must either be cooked quickly or very slowly to keep it tender and moist.  Only 122 calories for 3 ounces.

For this recipe I am cooking my tenderloins low and slow.  I seldom take meat out the night before to defrost.  My tried and true method of defrosting meat is to float it in a sink of cold water; it should defrost in about an hour for smaller cuts of meat.

Tenderloin In The Pool

Add some olive oil to the cast iron pan, heat to medium high, then brown all sides of the meat.  If the meat sticks when you try to turn it the meat is not completely browned.  Wait until the meat is free of the pan before you turn it.  Season meat well with salt and pepper.

Brown On Medium High

Now add large diced vegetables of your choice.  I added potatoes, onions and whole garlic cloves.  Almost completely cover with broth.  Sprinkle in any herbs that your family enjoys.  Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer and cover.

I let this cook for two hours, then checked the meat.  It was fully cooked, but still moist.  Remove the meat and vegetables to a platter.  Cover and keep warm.

Make gravy by bringing broth in pan to a boil.  Mix two or three tablespoons of cornstarch with water.  Stir into boiling broth; it should thicken quickly.  Taste and adjust seasoning.

Add Cornstarch

It's Gravy

Serve the tenderloin and vegetables with the gravy on the side.  The next day you can use the leftovers to make a pork open face sandwich.  Enjoy!

Enough Food For Two Or Three Meals

God bless,
Pam

The Frugal Kitchen: Easy Bean Soup

Here is an easy, but fulfilling soup that can be made in a flash and kept on the stove until you feel like eating.  I like to make skillet corn bread to accompany it.

A Frugal Convenience Food

Easy Bean Soup


2 cans pinto, navy or great northern beans
3/4 of a can of water
1 onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
Left over ham, bacon or 1 tablespoon ham soup base
1/2 - 1 teaspoon of salt
pepper to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil

Heat the olive oil in a heavy pot over medium heat.  Saute the onions and pepper until softened, then add garlic for a minute.  Pour in drained beans and water.  Add vinegar, 1/2 tsp. of salt and pepper.  Stir well, then put in meat or soup base.  Simmer for at least an hour covered.  Taste for salt, add more if necessary.

This is a hearty meal that is inexpensive and simple.  It feeds four and can be doubled.  This is one of those dishes that actually tastes better when reheated for a later meal!

God bless,
Pam

The Frugal Kitchen: It's Pesto Night

The extreme heat we are having now in Florida is starting to slow the garden down.  My basil is at the point where it's harvest or waste it.  So, what is a good way to used my extra basil?  Pesto!

Right Out Of The Garden

Pesto is super easy to make in the blender or food processor.  Just combine several cups of herbs/leafy greens, then to taste add cheese, nuts, garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil.  Whiz it to finely puree and you are done.

Soak In Water To Remove Grit

I used basil, parmesan, walnuts, garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil today.  I also used my trusty food processor that was given to me thirty years ago as a wedding present.  I have quite a few small appliances that are considered vintage and they are running strong.

Puree In "Old Bessie"

Tonight we will have penne with pesto and a salad.  Such an easy meal.  The kitchen doesn't get hot and I don't get frazzled.  Plus, I will have plenty of pesto to store in a 1/2 pint jar in the freezer for the next time I need a quick meal.

Some To Freeze

God bless,
Pam

The Frugal Kitchen: Kielbasa and Sauerkraut

This is one of those super simple and quick recipes for crazy days.  It takes little time and is inexpensive.

If your family thinks that sauerkraut is too sour try one of the half sour or "new" krauts.  One brand is sold in the refrigerated section and it is very mild.  Or you can try rinsing the kraut with water before cooking.

Pam's Quick & Simple Kielbasa With Sauerkraut


2 Tbls. bacon fat
1 apple, thinly sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
fennel or caraway seeds to taste
1 jar sauerkraut
1 pkg. kielbasa

I like to use a cast iron skillet when cooking.  Fry onion in bacon fat until lightly browned.  Then add all of the other ingredients.  Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer.  Cook for a couple of hours, covered.  Add a little water if it starts to get too dry.

The bacon fat is important to this recipe; it just doesn't taste right without it.  This recipe can be doubled, tripled or quadrupled to feed a crowd.

God bless,
Pam