Simple Cheesy Chicken

Cheesy Chicken
Originally uploaded by Simply Frugal

Flour	2 Tbsp
Butter	2 Tbsp
Milk	1 C
Cheese	4 oz
Worcestershire sauce	1/2 tsp
Dry mustard	1/2 tsp
Red pepper flakes	1/8 tsp

Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute.
Stir in milk a few tablespoons at a time, incorporating into flour mixture well.
Add cheese, Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, and red pepper flakes.
Cook until cheese melts and sauce thickens, about 5-7 minutes.
Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Stir in leftover chicken and serve over rice or noodles.

Simple Banana Bread

Banana Bread
Originally uploaded by Simply Frugal

Shortening	1/2 C
Sugar	1 C
Eggs	2
Bananas	1 1/2 C
Lemon juice	1 Tbsp
Flour	2 C
Baking powder	1 Tbsp
Salt	1/2 tsp
Walnuts, chopped	3/4 C

Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition.
Stir in mashed bananas and lemon juice.
Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to banana mixture stirring quickly.
Add nuts.

Bake in a greased loaf pan for about 1 hour at 350° F.

Extremely Frugal Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joes
Originally uploaded by Simply Frugal

Ground beef	1 lb
Onions	1/2 C
Catsup	1 C
Sugar	3 Tbsp
Mustard	3 Tbsp
Vinegar	3 Tbsp
Worcestershire sauce	3 tsp
Water	1/2 C

Brown beef and onions in large frying pan.
Add catsup, sugar, mustard, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce and mix well.
Add water and simmer for 15 minutes.
Server hot on toasted buns.

Extremely Frugal Northern Chili

Chili
Originally uploaded by Simply Frugal

Ground beef	1/2 lb
Pinto beans,cooked	2 C
Tomatoes	4 C
Chili powder	1/3 C
Cumin	1 tsp
Onions	1 C

Cook pintos in pressure cooker, using this recipe.
Saute onions and beef until onions are translucent. Add chili powder and cumin and cook for 2 minutes longer.
Stir in beans and tomatoes. Simmer for at least 25 minutes.

This is a great crock-pot recipe. Just dump everthing in and stir well. Simmer on low for at least 6 hours.
It also tastes better if refrigerated overnight and reheated the next day.

Simple BBQ Chicken Sandwich

BBQ Chicken Sandwich
Originally uploaded by Simply Frugal

Chicken	1 lb
BBQ sauce	2 C

Make 2 cups of Texas BBQ sauce. ( Recipe here) Reserve 1 cup.
Grill or broil chicken, basting with remaining sauce.
When cooked through, cool enough to handle and pull meat from bones.
Reheat reserved sauce, and mix in chicken pieces.
Serve on toasted buns.

Simple Deviled Eggs

Deviled Eggs
Originally uploaded by Simply Frugal

Eggs	12
Salt	1/4 tsp
Pepper	1/4 tsp
Celery seed	1/2 tsp
Wocestershire sauce	1/2 tsp
Basil	1/8 tsp
Marjoram	1/8 tsp
Thyme	pinch
Dry mustard	1/8 tsp
Mayonnaise	2 Tbsp

Place eggs in pan of cold water. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Turn down heat to just simmer the eggs, timing them for exactly 10 minutes. Remove from heat and chill quickly in cold water.

Remove the shell, halve eggs lengthwise, and carefully remove yolks. Rinse whites and set aside to drain.
Place yolks in a bowl. Add salt, pepper, celery seed, Worcestershire, basil, marjoram, thyme, and dry mustard.
Gently mix in mayonnaise, adding more until yolks are a smooth spreadable consistency.
Fill cavities in whites with yolk mixture.

Hints:
I get the best results when the eggs have been in the refrigerator at least a week after I purchased them. The shell peels much more smoothly.
See this post for Perfect Hard-boiled Eggs

Storing deviled eggs is messy. I get around this by filling them from a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4 inch round tip. The bag of yolk mixture is sealed by putting a bit of plastic wrap over the tip. Store in the refrigerator. Then fill the whites when you are ready to serve. It's also the easiest way to carry them to a picnic or a party. Faster too.

Simple Dill Slaw

Dill Slaw
Originally uploaded by Simply Frugal

Cabbage	4 C
Carrot	1/2 C
Onion	1/4 C
Oil	2 Tbsp
Vinegar	1/4 C
Dill	2 Tbsp

Shred cabbage and carrot. Mince onion very fine.
Toss in serving bowl, then sprinkle with oil, vinegar and dill. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Toss again and chill 1 hour or until serving time.

Simple Primordial Chicken

Primordial Chicken Ready To Cook
Originally uploaded by Simply Frugal

Chicken	1 lb
Oil	2 Tbsp
Garlic	4 cloves
Tarragon	2 Tbsp
Salt	2 tsp

Rub chicken pieces with oil. Crush garlic and rub it over the chicken.
Sprinkle tarragon generously over the chicken. Sprinkle with salt.

Grill or broil chicken for 30-40 minutes, until well done.

The amounts in this recipe are totally made up. It's one of the simplest recipes I know of, and works well with rosemary instead of tarragon. Lemon peel is good too. The idea is to take some pieces of chicken, grease them, use the grease to hold the spices onto the skin, and then broil or grill them until the skin is crisp.

The Price is Right

The Price is Right
Originally uploaded by darthdowney

Here's this week's best buys in southeast Michigan. Ingredients in italics are more expensive than the rule of thumb I use for truly frugal cooking, 45¢ per serving.

Meat
Cost for a cooked 3 oz serving
26¢ Ham, bone in .99 per pound (Meijer)
38¢ Ground chuck 4.49 for 3 pounds (Meijer)
51¢ Ground Chuck, 1.99 per pound (Meijer)
51¢ Chicken breast, boneless 1.99 per pound (Meijer)

Meat Alternatives
Cost for equivalent to 3 oz serving of meat
22¢ Eggs .88 per dozen (Meijer)
30¢ Milk 1.59 per gallon (Meijer, Kroger)
52¢ Cheese 2.77 per pound (Kroger)

Fruits and Vegetables
Cost for 1/2 cup serving
16¢ Plums .88 per pound (Meijer)
16¢ Apricots .99 per pound (Meijer)
17¢ Blueberries 2.00 per pound (Meijer)
26¢ Peaches .99 per pound (Meijer)

12¢ Potatoes 2.88 for 10 pounds (Meijer)
14¢ Green beans .77 per pound (Meijer)
16¢ Celery .99 a bunch (Kroger)
20¢ Green peppers .99 per pound (Meijer)
23¢ Eggplant .77 per pound (Meijer)
26¢ Roma tomatoes .99 per pound (Meijer, Kroger)


Stock The Pantry
Parmesan cheese 8 oz $2.50 (Meijer)
Mustard 16 oz $1.00 (Meijer)

Other good buys
none this week