Pantry Meal #4

Quiche with cottage cheese and strawberries

As you can see we did a good job clearing out our frig this week. We even changed out our water filter and I wiped the frig down since it is pretty empty.

Tomorrow night is date night with hubby.....yay! And grocery shopping this weekend, we are out of everything! Pantry week saved us about $80.00 since I did not go out and find deals this week. I took a week off from shopping except for totally free items.

Pantry Meal #3

Chili and Cornbread


Since I had school today and church tonight I put it in the slow cooker at 10am and it was ready for us at 5pm. I used a mix for the cornbread and added corn to the mixture.

Pantry Meal #2

Tuna Casserole


Yeap, I made a casserole. The only casserole my husband will eat is tuna casserole and I won't touch it with a 10 foot pole. I had school last night so I made this for the famly. Little man ate a couple of bites and said he did not like the cheese (as of yesterday he told me he does not like cheddar cheese). Little missie did not eat it. I had an apple and cereal for dinner and he kids ate fruit and carrots for the most part.

This morning we had smoothies, yummy!

Pantry Meal #1

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes with Turkey Bacon

Meal Plan Saturday

I am going to try to save some money this week by using up what is in my frig. If we have hot dogs and pancakes, that is what we are going to have. I do have a bunch of chicken in the freezer and ground beef. Maybe I will make a small batch of chili for chili dogs and or frito boats. This gives me an excuse to take it easy this week. The one thing that I do want to make is homemade chocolate chip cinnamon rolls. I will post if I actually make them. I think I will make them Saturday night and stick them in the frig and bake them on Sunday morning.

Have a good week cooking and eating, my 2 favorite things to do!

Today's Makes and Bakes

Zucchini Snack Cake
My friend made this for me and the kids once and I asked her for the recipe. It is really good!

Zucchini Snack Cake
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar (I used 3/4 cup brown sugar and 1 cup white sugar)
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
2 T cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves (I'm not a big clove fan so I omit)
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 cups shredded zucchini
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter & sugar. Beat in oil, eggs and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients; add to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk. Stir in zucchini. Pour into greased 9x13" baking pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Bake at 350F for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool and enjoy!

Zucchini Bread

Recipe:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup shredded zucchini
1/4 cup canola oil or applesauce
1 egg
1/4 cup buttermilk

In a mixing bowl combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, slat and baking powder. In another bowl combine sugars, zucchini, oil and egg until well combined. Stir in buttermilk and use only what I need to make the batter moist.
Pour batter into a loaf pan and bake 350 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

Homemade Strawberry Fruit Snacks

I made 4 jars of no sugar added strawberry preserves last month and have been meaning to make these. If you have homemade jam or fruit preserves all you do is lightly grease parchment paper and add 1 tsp of cornstarch for 1/3 cup of jam. Spread evenly onto the parchment paper and set the oven at 225 degrees for 45 minutes. If you make more, like I did, it will take longer. I just kept an eye on it and when it started to look sticky and not mushy I knew it was close to being done. I had a piece in the center and placed it bake in the oven for about 10 minutes longer and came out perfectly.

Cut up the parchment paper and roll and keep in a ziploc bag for low-sugar fruit snacks.

I am seeing more butternut squashes out lately!

Yay, it's just about squash season. I do have a love for butternut squash. I recently discovered this a few years past and I have lots of recipes to try. I just wish my family loved it as much as I do. I am going to perfect my butternut squash, bacon and rosemary stuffing for Thanksgiving this year. I made it last year, but it little a little something. If you never have tried it here is a simple side dish:

Cut the butternut squash into cubes and roast it for 40 minutes or so until it is golden and soft. In a skillet cut up 4 slices of bacon and brown and drain. Add the butternut squash to the pan with the bacon and some fresh rosemary, season with salt and pepper. I love it so much I turned it into a stuffing. You can also add cream and cheese and fold into pasta and bake...mouth drooling!