Hello Everyone!

This article has recipes in it! Nobody has enough frugal recipes! Most people should have all these ingredients in their pantries/cupboards already, but if you don’t they are inexpensive to buy at your local grocery store. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Shepherd’s Pie

1 pound ground beef or turkey

1 sm or med. onion, chopped or diced

1 can mixed vegetables

1 can mushrooms ( you can use any vegetables here or with the mixed veggies that you and your family prefers)

mashed potatoes (enough to cover the top of the meat/veggie mixture in your size casserole dish)

spices to taste

shredded cheese (whatever cheese your household prefers)

Brown the hamburger and onion and add seasonings to taste. Drain. Layer in bottom of an appropriate size casserole/baking dish.  Layer your cooked and warm veggies on top of hamber mixture. Spread warm mashed potatoes over veggies. Bake in a 350 degree oven until mashed potatoes are a golden brown ( about 20 - 30 minutes, this depends on your oven so keep an eye on it the first time you make it). Top with shredded cheese and put back in  oven just until cheese melts (about 5 - 10 minutes). Serve and enjoy! This recipe is courtesy of my roommate, Danica.

Homemade Chili/Cheese Nachos

1 brick velveeta cheese ( generic brand works well also, just tastes slightly different)

2 cans chili ( we use with beans, but without is fine. You can also use vegetarian or any other chili or HOMEMADE)

Nacho toppings: sour cream, raw onion, salsa ( whatever your household prefers)

Cut velveeta into small squares and put into large microwavable bowl. Pour chili on top of velveeta and microwave for 2 minutes. Stir with rubber spatula or spoon. Repeat this process until cheese is completely melted. I put these ingredients in my crockpot and cook on low or “keep warm” all day. Use any desired chips, the scoop chips work best or the large, triangle tortilla chips are just as yummy. You can dip the chips in the chili/cheese dip or pour over all the chips on your plate and then add your desired toppings. My friend made this at her Makeover party last sunday. I have made this recipe frequently for potlucks. Very Yummy!

Pulled Pork sandwiches

1 pork roast (size according to how many people you are serving, you can use beef roast also)

1 - 2 bottles of your favorite BBQ sauce

1 small or medium onion, skin removed and quartered

You will be cooking the roast in your crockpot, so you can get a cheaper cut of roast. The slow cooking process will make your roast very tender. Add desired seasonings and quartered onion to roast with about 2 inches of water. Remember to make sure your spices jive with your BBQ sauce. Slow cook your roast about 8 hours in your crockpot. Remove your roast and set aside. Drain the liquid out of the crockpot into a strainer. Pick out any meat put with roast, throw away cooked onions (all the flavor is gone). Return roast to the crockpot. Using forks or whatever utensil you have that will work, shred your roast into small pieces. This will be easy because your roast in extremely tender. Add desired amount of BBQ sauce and stir to mix. We like a lot of sauce. You can put the BBQ pork or beef on bread, homemade rolls, hamburger buns, or store bought rolls; whatever you prefer. Baked beans, potato chips, homemade or store bought french fries, salads are great side dishes to use. This is my favorite recipe and I make it at least once a month, when the roasts go on sale at the grocery store.

I hope you enjoy these recipes. If you would like a recipe for something, just comment and let me know! I will do my best to provide you with  whatever you are looking for.

Thanks to all!

The Domestic Goddess

Imagine your sitting in your backyard or on the porch, it’s warm outside, the flowers and trees are blooming. The kids are playing and laughing in the yard. Maybe your working on a craft or reading a book. Suddenly, your throat feels dry. Nothing sounds better than an ice cold beverage. Here is the  dilemma: do you reach for an expensive soda, energy drink, or juice? Do you drink water, or could you make your own satisfying beverages for much less money than soda, energy drinks, etc? The answer is Yes.. you can! For years now I have been making homemade lemonade, sun tea, or drinking other inexpensive drinks.

Homemade Lemonade: 1 cup real lemon juice, 1 cup sugar or splenda, 2 quarts cold water. Stir to mix and enjoy! I can buy a 1 quart bottle of 100% lemon juice for between $1.00 and $1.50. A large bag of sugar sells for around $1.49.  This is by far cheaper than store bought juice, contains real lemon juice(which is good for you) and delicious.

Sun Tea: I use a re-used, clean milk jug. I fill this with water and put 5 to 7  Lipton orange-pekoe tea bags in through the top, leaving  the paper tags to hang outside the jug. Let sit in the sun for approximately 4 hours and remove tea bags. Refridgerate and enjoy. You can sweeten with sugar or artificial sweetener, add lemon if you wish or any other add ins. I drink this all summer long and it is very nutritious and delicious. You can use your favorite tea and adjust the amount of tea bags used for weaker or stronger tea.

Kool Aid:   I have been buying generic kool aid for years, usually on sale at 10 for $1.00. You can use real sugar or artificial sweetener, I have used both and recommend using slightly less artificial sweetener as it is stronger. You can’t beat this as it is extremely inexpensive. Obviously if you use sugar it is not “healthy”, however you can use this drink to make homemade popcicles, add gelatin and make homemade jello. It is far better than soda or other sugary drinks. A wide variety of flavors are available to please any tastebuds.

Juice from concentrate or ready made :  In my area a large bottle (around 25 - 32 oz.) sells for between $3.00 and $4.00. You can buy a container of frozen juice concentrate for less than $2.00 and it makes about 2 quarts. Do I need to say more?

I hope these ideas help make your summer most enjoyable and refreshing!

Thanks to all!

The Domestic Goddess

Your food bill is one of the easiest places to cut your expenses. Since nobody can have enough recipes, here are a few of my families favorites.

Create a Casserole:

This recipe is an all purpose guide. It allows you to use ingredients that you already have on hand. This is a great recipe to use when have a lot of leftovers you need to use up.

1 can cream soup- which kind is your choice (I usually use cream of chicken or mushroom, my mom uses cream of celery), 2 - 3 cups pasta or rice ( leftover noodles and rice works here also), 2 cups meat, 2 cups vegetables, 1/2 can water or milk (your preference). Put all your ingredients into a large mixing bowl and stir until soup and water is mixed together. Pour into a casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees until heated through, usually 20 to 30 minutes depending on your altitude and oven.

Scalloped Potatoes:

You can bake in this dish in the oven or put it in the crockpot in the morning. It’s yummy either way.

4-5 med to large potatoes- peeled and sliced, 1 sm - med onion- peeled and chopped,  2 T. flour, 1 t. salt, 1/4 t. pepper, 3 - 4 T. butter, 1 c. meat ( I usually use ham, but any leftover or on hand meat will work), 1 1/2 c. milk. Put potatoes and onions into an 8×8 baking dish or similar casserole dish. Sprinkle on flour, salt, and pepper. Dot with butter. Add meat and stir lightly. Pour milk over entire potato mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and stir lightly. Put back in oven and bake an additional 40 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.

Taco Bake:

1 lb hamburger, 1 packet taco seasoning, 1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar or mexican style cheese, 1 batch homemade biscuit dough or 1 can plain biscuits, any additional taco toppings your family likes. Prepare hamburger and taco seasoning according to packet directions. Pour meat into a large casserole dish or large baking pan. Sprinkle shredded cheese over meat. Add any taco toppings you choose that needs to be warm at this time. Either spread your homemade biscuit dough ( i use a homemade biscuik recipe) over entire surface OR place your canned biscuits over the entire surface with sides touching. Bake according to biscuit directions. If you have any taco toppings that have a lengthy cooking time, it would be best to fry them up first and then add them to your taco bake.  Remove from oven and serve. Each individual can add any additional toppings they like, like sour cream, lettuce, chopped tomato, jalapenos, etc.

I hope you like these recipes and try them in your own kitchen. Don’t be afraid to experiment!

Thanks to all!

The Domstic Goddess