Pasta and Sauce

Image via Wikipedia

Not difficult to make, this recipe will not take long to prepare. It is tasty, and good for you. Wheat, multi grain or vegetable pasta can be used for a healthier meal.

Ingredients:

pasta, any type

tomato sauce

diced or crushed tomato, canned

tomato paste

water or vegetable stock/broth

1. In a large skillet, combine all tomato products.
2. If the sauce seems too thick, add some liquid.
3. bring to a boil, then simmer until pasta is ready.
4. Bring water to boil in a pot.
5. Cook pasta until done; strain.
6. Dish up the pasta, and top with sauce.

Tips:

• Use fresh tomatoes from the garden to make this a more frugal recipe.
• Make homemade pasta for even more savings.
• Learn to can tomatoes, tomato past and tomato sauce for even more overall savings.
• Search out coupons for the pastas that you purchase.

Serving Suggestions:

• Add browned or leftover meats to the sauce, such as ground beef, or turkey.
• Top with a sprinkling of cheese.
• Serve with bread and butter.

Do you have any frugal sauce ideas. Let us know about them by leaving a comment for this post.

Shannon

Related Articles

• Weekend Menu Planning: No-Cook Pasta Sauce for Nights When It’s Too Hot to Cook (blogher.com)
• Recipe for Penne Pasta with Tomato, Herb, and Feta No-Cook Pasta Sauce (kalynskitchen.blogspot.com)
• Homemade pasta sauce This is my specialty pasta sauce…. (caterpillarcowboy.com)
• Fresh Tomato Sauce for Pasta (simplycooking.wordpress.com)

Grilled Ham and Cheese Sandwiches

These sandwiches are quick and easy to prepare, even for teens. They make a great addition to your lunch menu.

Ingredients:

2 slices bread or tortillas

ham sandwich meat

sliced or shredded cheese

butter or cooking spray

1. Butter one side of each slice of bread, or each tortilla. Or spray the pan with cooking spray.
2. Place one slice, butter side down, into a skillet.
3. Place cheese and sandwich meat on top of this slice.
4. Place the other slice on top of the meat buttered side up.
5. Flip when cheese melts slightly.

Tips:

• Bake these, instead of frying, for a healthier meal. No butter or cooking spray needed.
• Purchase ingredients on sale for a more frugal sandwich.
• To make the sandwich even more frugal, use leftover ham.

Serving Suggestions:

• Salad
• Vegetable sticks
• Fruit slices, especially pineapple
• Tomato soup with corn and peas, carrots and peas or carrots and corn.

Do you have any other suggestions for serving this meal? Let us know by commenting on this post.

Shannon

Note:

As I am creating the eCookBooks, I will be deleting posts from this blog. There will seem to be large gaps in dates that were not there before. Do not fear, more will be added

Shannon

Grilled Chicken and Cheese Sandwiches

A great lunch sandwich that can be prepared quickly, these are simple to make. Children and adults will love them, and they are easy for teens to prepare.

Ingredients:

2 slices bread or tortillas

chicken sandwich meat

sliced or shredded cheese

butter or cooking spray

1. Butter one side of each slice of bread, or each tortilla. Or spray the pan with cooking spray.
2. Place one slice, butter side down, into a skillet.
3. Place cheese and sandwich meat on top of this slice.
4. Place the other slice on top of the meat buttered side up.
5. Flip when cheese melts slightly.

Tips:

• Bake these, instead of frying, for a healthier meal. No butter or cooking spray needed.
• Purchase ingredients on sale for a more frugal sandwich.
• To make the sandwich even more frugal, use leftover chicken.

Serving Suggestions:

• Salad
• Vegetable sticks
• Fruit slices
• Tomato soup with corn and peas, carrots and peas or carrots and corn.

Do you have any other suggestions for serving this meal? Let us know by commenting on this post.

Shannon

Grilled Turkey and Cheese Sandwiches

These are great for lunches. They can be served with fruits or vegetables to make a complete meal, making an easily put together meal for anyone. This makes a simple meal for a busy person.

Ingredients:

2 slices bread or tortillas

turkey sandwich meat

sliced or shredded cheese

butter or cooking spray

1. Butter one side of each slice of bread, or each tortilla. Or spray the pan with cooking spray.
2. Place one slice, butter side down, into a skillet.
3. Place cheese and sandwich meat on top of this slice.
4. Place the other slice on top of the meat buttered side up.
5. Flip when cheese melts slightly.

Tips:

• Bake these, instead of frying, for a healthier meal. No butter or cooking spray needed.
• Purchase ingredients on sale for a more frugal sandwich.
• To make the sandwich even more frugal, use leftover turkey.

Serving Suggestions:

• Salad
• Vegetable sticks
• Fruit slices
• Tomato soup with corn and peas, carrots and peas or carrots and corn.

Do you have any other suggestions for serving this meal? Let us know by commenting on this post.

Shannon

More Updates

I have been making some changes to the blog in preparation for the new look. I hope that everyone enjoys them. For starters, I have added:

• My bio in the left sidebar.
• The bio of our Feature Writer, Sheila Buck. Also in the left side bar. A list of the articles that she has contributed so far is below her bio. Please check them out.
• My Kitchen eBooks can also be found in the left sidebar. Soon there will also be eCookBooks that are written by me. I am very excited about this. Providing these for sale at reasonable cost will help to support the continuation of this blog.
• My Food and Kitchen Articles are free to read and are also found in the left sidebar. Enjoy!
• My Gardening Articles are also there, and free for your reading pleasure. I hope that they will give you great ideas for your own gardening ventures.

I have some other things that I plan to work on over the next few days:

• New Categories.
• Food Business Start-up Articles.
• Another eCookBook.

Fabulously Frugal Fruits is an eCookBook that I finished this summer. It will be up for sale this fall sometime. I need wireless to upload it to my LuLu.com store. Once the wireless is re-established, I will work on adding that here. It has been a long summer with no wireless, but I needed to save money due to a surgery and the need to be able to have enough money before I can work full-time again.

Warmest Wishes!

Shannon

Updates

I am updating the site, which regular readers will know by the theme change This is going to take a bit of time, but will be well worth the wait. I have some interesting things planned. For instance:

• Multiple eCookBooks for purchase.
• Free recipes and information.
• Gardening tips, as well as other ideas to help stretch the food budget and provide healthier meals.
• Cooking for one.
• Updated categories.
• And more!!!!

As an added benefit, Sheila Buck will be contributing to the blog. She has much information to share with us, as well as a few recipes that she and her boys enjoy.

I am having surgery in a couple of days, then I will begin to create eCookBooks and remove old content to make room for the new recipes and information that will be added.

Have a great few weeks, and I will be back soon!

Shannon Buck

Feature Article: Foods Available at Local Food Cupboards

By Sheila Buck

For many families, trips to the food cupboard are a necessity. By the middle to end of the month food stamps and cash are often running low, and it can be hard to purchase enough food to keep your family fed. A lot of areas have one or more food cupboards for their residents, as well as people from surrounding areas. Here is a helpful list of foods you may be able to find at your local food pantry:

1. Canned vegetables
2. Canned fruits
3. Canned tuna
4. Canned soups
5. Coffee
6. Sugar
7. Flour
8. Potatoes
9. Fresh vegetables
10. Fresh fruits
11. Boxed potatoes
12. Boxed noodle and rice side dishes
13. Hamburger Helper
14. Stuffing
15. Cereal
16. Bread
17. Frozen meats
18. Drink mix
19. Peanut butter
20. Jelly

Hash is a quick, easy meal that can be made from foods found at the food cupboard. To make hash, dice the meat, vegetables, and potatoes. Put the ingredients in a pan with butter, cooking spray, or oil. Cook until meat is done and vegetables and potatoes are tender. Spices can be added for extra flavor. Fresh or canned fruit would make a good side dish for this kind of meal.

************************************************************

Sheila Buck is the single mom of two teenage boys. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Clinical Psychology. Sheila is a freelance writer, and also writes books and short stories in her spare time. Sheila also writes for Living the Low-Income Life.