Cheap and Easy

It's been awhile since I've blogged. I've been really busy with work. We are also in the process of looking for a house to buy. Needless to say, blogging has been on the back burner. We spent all day Sunday with a realtor looking at acreage homes in the Lake Conroe area near Houston. We found a couple of prospects, but we are just going to keep our eyes on those properties and keep looking for more. Anyway, since I've been so busy, I thought I'd devote this post to the cheap and easy meals I've been cooking lately. If you are looking to be economical during these times, then these are the meals for you!!

Ground Beef Stroganoff

1 lb ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 cup sour cream

3 cups cooked egg noodles

In a large skillet, cook the beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Stir in the soup and pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until heated through. Reduce heat; Stir in the noodles and sour cream. Cook until heated through.

Notes: This recipe originally called for ground turkey, so feel free to use it. I used turkey the first time I made it, but to minimize costs, I decided to go with ground beef. You can add so much to this recipe or just make simple like this. We always have a lot of leftovers too. Super budget friendly!!

Smothered Steaks and Bell Peppers

This recipe came to me from my sister in law, Meredith, via my mother in law. It is really tasty and easy. Cube steaks are usually more budget friendly than other cuts of meat, and I usually just buy some when they are on sale. I freeze the meat until bell peppers go on sale and then I can make this dish for a really great price.

4 beef cube steaks (~5oz each)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

1/2 cup green bell peppers, sliced

1/2 cup red bell pepper, sliced

1 small onion, sliced

2 tbsp. flour

1/3 cup soy sauce

Sprinkle steaks with salt and pepper. Brown steaks in hot oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat 3 minutes on each side; remove to 9x13 inch dish and put in oven to finish cooking at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. In the same skillet, saute onions and peppers. Blend together flour, soy sauce, and 1 cup water; pour over sauteed onions and bell peppers. Cook and stir unitl sauce boils and thickens. Spoon sauce mixture over steaks. Serve with rice or noodles.

Notes: I like to serve this with rice. Be careful not to overcook the steaks or they will become dry. If the steaks do turn out too dry, just cut them into slices before you pour the sauce over them.