My Cucumber Salad, Made from Leftovers

I had about 1/3 of a cucumber leftover from salads earlier in the week, so I decided to create a new salad with it.

I always leave the peel on the cucumber, cutting off the ends. I sliced what was left with it, and put it on my plate. Then I added some sweet pickles from the gallon size jar I had purchased a few months ago. I topped these with a sprinkling of mozzarella cheese.

While helping the neighbor pack last week, she gave me a balsamic vinaigrette spritzer bottle, so I decided to give the salad a few sprays. The result was very pleasing.

Hope you enjoy the salad. It was all made from leftovers, so it was essentially free.

Shannon

Freezer: Using up the Winter Stocks

Since it is the time of the year when we spring clean, I thought that it would be nice if we all considered our freezers for a few minutes. Do you have any leftover produce in the freezer? I know that I still have some eggs and grated zucchini in the freezer that needs to be used. Here are some pointers for using up your winter stores:

* The eggs that you purchased on sale and froze will need to be used up. Since the yolks had to be broken to freeze, you can not make boiled or fried eggs with them. You could make other things, though:

scrambled eggs

french toast

use them when baking

I tend to freeze mine in snack size baggies, which I later wash out and reuse to pinch pennies. I freeze them one egg to a baggie, then I put all of the baggies into a quart or gallon size freezer baggie until I want to bake something. The eggs I will need can be taken out the night before I need them, or the morning that I will spend the evening baking. (I wash and reuse the freezer bag when I am done with it.)

 

* Grated zucchini can be used to make:

muffins

breads

omelets

cookies

brownies

cakes

This site may be helpful: http://basic-recipes.com/veget/zucchini.htm

 

* Diced apples are great for breads and muffins, brownies, cookies and cakes.

* Sliced apples make great crisps, pies and cobblers.

* You can make a great soup from (saved) leftover vegetables, meats and liquids from cooking the veggies.

Happy eating!

Shannon

Trail Mix from Leftovers

What with feeling the money pinch here, I have had to make do with little food in the house on a number of occasions. One thing that I have learned to do is to create trail mixes for snacks.

The first thing I do is to get out a  mixing bowl. Then I get out the plastic snack size baggies that I wash and reuse.

I then go through the cupboards. I throw whatever leftovers I can into the bowl:

a snack size box or two of raisins

the sunflowers seeds that are at the bottom of the jar

the remainder of the nuts from their containers

whatever cereals are left in the boxes

any leftover dried fruit

leftover crackers

what few candies are lying around

 

Pretty much whatever I can find.  The trail mix is then mixed up by hand and spooned into the baggies to be used as snacks. Sometimes, I will air pop corn and divide it between bowls, pouring a bag of trail mix over the popped corn in each bowl.

Very yummy.

Shannon

An Apology, Been Gone too Long

I am sorry that I have been gone so long. We have been dealing with health issues concerning my daughter, and I have been working a lot lately. I have also just begun my spring cleaning and yard work.

I helped my neighbors to clean out and pack up their home so that they could move. They moved yesterday morning. Before moving, we went through her cupboards and refrigerator, and she sent me home with many different food items. They are a big help to us right now.

Unfortunately, we are going to be losing some of our food money. We already do not have enough, and money has to be taken from other areas to make up for the loss. Those other areas are generally bills, and we have lowered household cleaner and personal hygiene money as well. We are doing what we can.

I know that others are feeling the pinch as well. Food prices, and the prices of everything else, are going up. My income is not. I have to make do with what we have right now, and hope the way is clear for me to take in other children to care for. Until then, we will have to make do.

Today, I am writing a few posts for this blog. A few recipes that may be helpful to others. I will post one today, and then post the rest one at a time as I have a chance.

I hope you are all doing well.

Shannon

Quick, Easy Homemade Chicken Soup

If you can get a couple of cans of chicken broth and a package of egg noodles on sale, you can make this real cheap.

2 cans of chicken broth, add water if you need more liquid

1 package of wide egg noodles

leftover chicken, already cooked, shredded/cubed/chunked

preferred herbs/spices

(You can also add these if you have them on hand, but we do not: chopped carrots, celery and onions.)

Simply warm the broth/water and chicken, as well as any veggies, until heated through. Then add the herbs/spices and the noodles and cook until the noodles are done.

Fruit Salad

1 small jar of cherries, drained, cut into halves/fourths

2 apples, cored and chopped small

2 bananas, peeled and sliced

grapes, as many as you like, cut into halves/fourths

(optional) 1 or 2 cans of mandarin oranges

mini colored/white marshmallows, a handful or two

8 oz or less whipped topping

Mix them all up and serve 1/2 cup at a time. Will last in the refrigerator for a few days.

Purchase what you can on sale. Sometimes fruit can be found real cheap or even free at farmer’s markets if you go about an hour before closing time. If you can do this, it will be a truly frugal meal.

Serve as dessert, a snack or a side dish.

Banana Smoothie

 Blend:

1 small banana

1/2 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt

1 tsp wheat germ

milk, until the consistency you like.

Banana Peanut Butter Smoothie

1 small banana

1/2 cup low-fat vanilla or chocolate yogurt

1/4 to 1/2 cup peanut butter

milk, to the consistency you want

Spaghetti Meal

enough spaghetti for your family

1 can corn

1 can peas

1/4 to 1/2 pound ground beef, or the same amount of chicken/turkey (not ground)

1/4 cup each of shredded mozzarella and mild cheddar cheeses

1 tsp to 1 tbsp for each person: parmesan cheese

Split the pasta between each person.

Top with some corn, freezing the remainder to use in a recipe later on.

Top with some peas, freezing the remainder to use in a recipe later on.

Top with meat, freezing any leftovers to use in a recipe later on.

Top with cheeses.

Serve with a salad or garlic bread.

This can be a frugal recipe, depending on how much you have to spend on the ingredients. Purchase what you can on sale, store brands, etc. We usually use whole wheat pasta which is a but more expensive than white.

Ice Cream Float

This is simple.

Put 1 or 2 scoops of vanilla or another kind of ice cream of frozen yogurt into a glass. Tip the glass on its side a bit and add root bear or cream soda.

Children also like this with fruit punch. You could use sherbet instead.