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.

My Weekend Free of Cooking

Friday night: The husband and I both fell asleep on the couches after work on Friday. It was too late to cook when we woke up, so I snacked all night and my husband ate hot dogs. We rented Forgetting Sarah Marshall. It was really funny. Overall, it was a good and relaxing night.

Saturday night: I went out with the girls to Cyclone Anaya's for dinner. Their margaritas are killer. NO...Really, they will kill you!! Anyway, I didn't have to cook that night either.

Sunday night: The husband cooked a pork roast with potatoes, onions, and mushrooms. Yum!! It really shows how much he loves me, because he HATES mushrooms with a passion.

Monday: Back to work. Blah!! I had leftover pork roast and potatoes for lunch and that was the highlight of my day. Then, I didn't get home till late because I had to go to the grocery store. Meanwhile, my husband shredded some of the leftover pork roast and added som BBQ sauce. So, we had BBQ pork sandwiches when I got home. Maybe I'll cook tomorrow night.....

Italian Beef Sandwiches

This sandwich sounded good when I read the recipe last weekend. One of my cooking goals right now is to find as many super easy recipes as possible before we have a family. Therefore, I sometimes choose recipes that are super simple, but just don't end up well in the end. As I got ready to make this dish the other night, I found myself wondering why I ever chose this recipe. It didn't even sound good anymore, but I got lucky. It turned out to be a good lunch menu item for the future.

Italian Beef Sandwiches

6 hoagie buns, split

1 - 14 1/2 oz. can beef broth

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/8 tsp. pepper

1 medium green pepper, sliced into rings

1/2 medium onion, sliced

1 lb. thinly sliced deli roast beef

6 slices provolone cheese

2 tbsp. miracle whip

In a large skillet, add the broth, garlic, oregano, and pepper; bring to a boil. Add the green pepper and onion. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes, or until veggies are tender. Remove green pepper and onion with a slotted spoon and keep warm. Return broth to a boil; add roast beef; cover and remove from heat. Let sit for 2 minutes, or until beef is heated through. Place roast beef, onion, and green peppers on the bottoms of the hoagie buns. Put one slice of provolone cheese on top of each. Place the bottom and top of each bun, side by side, on a baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for about 4 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Spread miracle whip on the top slice of each hoagie bun and place the top on the sandwich.

Notes: As I said, this one was a surprise. I normally don't like beef broth, but this came out well.

Left over Spaghetti Sauce?? Make Stromboli

My husband ate the leftover spaghetti until we ran out of noodles, but we still had leftover spaghetti sauce. I don't like to waste food, so I decided to come up with a dish to use the rest of it. I made Spaghetti/Pizza Stromboli.

Spaghetti/Pizza Stromboli

1 tube Pillsbury refrigerated French Loaf Bread
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded mexican cheese blend
1 cup leftover spaghetti sauce (with the meat already added)
25 slices pepperoni
Unroll french loaf on a greased baking sheet. Spread the spaghetti sauce evenly over the dough to within 1/2 inch of the edges. Place a layer of pepperoni over the sauce. Cover evenly with the shredded cheese. Roll up the loaf, jelly roll style, and lay seam side down on baking sheet. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until crust is just browned and cooked through.

Notes: I used mozzarella and mexican cheese because that's what I had on hand. Feel free to use what you like. Yummy!!!

So Simple,yet So Delicious: Spaghetti

My husband loves spaghetti so much, but I don't make it very often because I really like it also, and I tend to eat too much of it. I know there are so many fancy ways of making spaghetti, but my homemade sauces don't really taste any better than Ragu. I like to keep it simple and delicious, and serve it with a side of garlic bread.

I debated whether or not to blog our spaghetti dinner, but I decided that I should. Did you know that there are people out there who don't know how to make spaghetti? For example, when I moved into my first apartment with my husband, I didn't know how to cook ANYTHING. The first time my husband asked me to saute an onion, I didn't know that you had to peel it first. I sauted the onion, peel and all. Oh well, I have learned so much since then, but I still have a long way to go....which leads me to a question about spaghetti. My spaghetti often turns out very watery. It still tastes great, but there is just too much water. Do you ever have this problem??? If you do, how do you fix it??? I tried to make sure my noodles were extra dry this time, but it didn't help much. A tip I found in a magazine said to add bread crumbs to the sauce to soak up the extra water (apparently, according to the tip, it doesn't change the texture or taste). I'm going to try this next time, unless someone can give me advice that sounds better. So again, I'm asking for all advice to fix my watery spaghetti.

Spaghetti

1-12 oz package spaghetti noodles

1 to 1 1/2 lbs of hamburger meat

1 large bottle/jar Ragu spaghetti sauce (oringal flavor for us)

Grated Parmesan (optional)

Cook spaghetti noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, brown hamburger meat in a large pan; drain. Add Ragu to hamburger meat in the same pan and turn heat to low. Simmer until sauce is warm. Drain noodles when done. Pour sauce over noodles and add as much grated Parmesan as you want.

Notes: We only eat Ragu, but I guess you could try Prego or any other brand of spaghetti sauce if you really want to.

Success!!: Sloppy Joe Casserole

Thank you Taste of Home Casserole Cookbook!!!! I know I can always come to you to make a good dish with leftovers.

Lately, I've had a series of bad experiences in the kitchen. Well, actually, they weren't bad experiences in the kitchen, so much as bad experiences after my husband tasted them. To make a long story (and many arguments) short, my husband has not been fond of the dishes I've made lately. Anyway, after this dish, I asked him how it was, and he said "It was ok," which for me, means SUCCESS!!!!! He even took leftovers for lunch the next day. I know it may seem odd to get excited about a simple "it was ok," but my husband is a picky eater, and anything that he doesn't have a bad opinion about means it was good. I also made a side dish for this recipe. It was very small, and not really worth it. It was called "In a Flash Beans", and while they were done pretty quickly, they weren't much different than if they had come straight from the can.

Sloppy Joe Casserole

(sorry, no picture)

1 lb ground beef

3 cups cooked rice

1-15 1/2 oz can sloppy joe sauce

1 can whole kernel corn, drained

1 tsp. seasoned salt

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the rice, sloppy joe sauce, corn, and seasoned salt. Transfer to a greased 2 qt. baking dish. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with cheese. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

Notes: I used 1 1/2 lbs of ground beef and a little more than 3 cups of rice, so I used a slightly larger casserole dish. That's how I got so much left over. Also, the original recipe also calls for 1-4oz can of mushroom stems and pieces, drained to be added along with the rice, sloppy joe sauce and corn. We left that out.

In a Flash Beans

1-15 3/4 oz can of pork and beans

1/2 cup barbecue sauce

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped green pepper, optional

In a large saucepan, combine the beans, bbq sauce, onion, and green pepper. Cook and stir over medium heat until heated through.

Pasta Carbonara

This meal was not my best. My husband found this recipe in one of my European cookbooks and wanted me to make it. I've always steered clear of carbonara recipes because I was afraid I would scramble the eggs in the sauce on accident. Well, thankfully, that didn't happen, but I did overcook the pancetta. Oh well, we still ate all of it, and I overcame my fear of all things carbonara.

Pasta Carbonara

400g (14oz) penne
1 tbsp. olive oil
200g (7oz) pancetta or bacon, cut into strips
6 egg yolks
185 ml (3/4 cup) heavy cream
75g (3/4 cup) grated Parmesan cheese
(as noted earlier, it was a european cookbook, gotta love the metric system!!)

Cook the pasta in a saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the pancetta over high heat for 6 minutes, or until crisp and golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Beat the egg yolks, cream, and the Parmesan together in a bowl and season generously. Return the freshly cooked and drained pasta to its saucepan and pour the egg mixture over the pasta, tossing gently. Add the pancetta, then return the pan to very low heat and cook for 30-60 seconds, or until the sauce thickens and coats the pasta. Season with pepper and serve immediately.
Be careful not to cook the pasta over high heat once you have added the egg mixture, or the sauce risks being scrambled by the heat.

Notes: I think I will look for a recipe that calls for less egg yolk next time. My pasta was a color that very much resembled mustard (which didn't look appetizing to me). Also, you may have noticed that the picture above has green onions in it. That is because I looked for a picture on the internet that looked most like my pasta and this was it. I didn't take any pics the night I cooked it. Also, I would advise against adding any salt to the boiling water or the dish itself. The pancetta or bacon is already salty enough.