Fun Creative Recipes On A Budget

Cooking CAN Be Fun...Even If You Hate To Cook!

I can't cook. Ok, so I probably can...I just don't LIKE to. I don't know exactly when my aversion to cooking began. My mom didn't cook a whole lot when we were kids. She was a single mom of 2 - a daughter who was fairly picky, and a son who would pretty much each whatever got put on the table.

As a legal secretary, she did her best just to make sure we had a roof over our heads and food on the table. She was never a self-proclaimed chef either. I remember her saying quite often, "I never said I could cook. I just said I could keep us from starving."

And that she did. Maybe that's where I learned it. I remember many nites of boilin' bags, pot pies, and TV dinners. Probably the most creative (what I would have considered cooking) meals my mom would make regularly were meatloaf (which I still make to this day), macaroni & tuna casserole, beans and franks, and something called Chipped Beef on Toast (which if you read this and you know exactly how to make it, PLEASE let me know...I actually liked it...or at least I think I did!).

So, what makes me think that I can write a lens about cooking? The fact that the only recipes I will be including here are the ones that I have created myself along the way in the process of being a single mom of a VERY picky eater who I've kept from starving during the times in our lives when there was little or no money for groceries.

You may also be happy to know...I've managed to pass my culinary skills onto my son. When he was about 15 or so, he decided to make cookies for me while I was at work (how cool is that!?). Anyway, when I got home, there was a pile of cookie on a piece of foil in the kitchen (and no, I didn't forget the 's' on cookie%u2026it was one pile). I laughed and asked what had happened.

He proceeded to explain that he had read the recipe, followed the directions, and couldn't for the life of him understand what had gone wrong. He said when they weren't coming out right, he went back and re-read the recipe.

He then explained that the only thing he could think of, was that when the recipe called for "1 tsp soda", he had been unsure of which type of "soda" to use. Since we had both Sprite AND Coke in the house, he had decided on the Coke since it was dark and he was making chocolate cookies.

Wait...it WILL register. :) And don't worry...I explained it to him...and his cookies turn out just fine nowadays!

Bon Appetit!

Hobo Meals (a budget version of roast & potatoes)

Some of you may remember these from Scouting!

Ingredients (Serves 2-4, depending on appetite):

4 medium potatoes (peeled & diced)
One-half pound ground beef or ground turkey
6 slices Velveeta cheese
Seasoned pepper or Hot Pepper blend
2 pieces of Tin Foil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (or use grill at Medium heat)

For each "Hobo":

Roll ground meat into bite-size balls.
Place about 10-15 balls on each piece of foil.
Add 2 diced potatoes to each piece of foil.
Sprinkle potatoes with seasoned pepper.
Close foil over the top and at each end.

Place directly on grill, or place on cookie sheet and put into oven. If using a grill, cook for about 45 minutes. If using an oven, cook for about 60 minutes.

NOTE: Shorten cooking time by about 15 minutes if using ground turkey. It tends to cook faster and will also burn more easily.

Once cooking time is complete, open each Hobo and place Velveeta slices across the top. Place back in oven or onto grill until cheese is melted. Remove and add salt to taste.

Options: As I said from the start, my son and I are both picky eaters. When I was a kid, my grandma's Sunday Roast & Potatoes dinner included carrots and onions. If you or someone in your family LIKES cooked carrots and/or onions, certainly feel free to dice up a few and add them!

Also, even though I wasn't raised in a spicy-food household, I absolutely LOVE my food spicy. And while my son doesn't have quite what he refers to as my "dead" taste-buds, he appreciates a bit of spice in his food as well.

If you or your family members aren't good with spicy foods, feel free to use less seasoned pepper, or substitute regular pepper instead. I would NOT suggest the Lemon Pepper. We tried that once and it's an entirely different taste that neither of us cared for! Enjoy!!

Mexican Pizza

Fast and simple - Kids LOVE it!

Ingredients:

Medium-sized flour tortillas
Shredded cheese (cheddar, mexican)
Buddig ham (turkey works too) - diced
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Brush tortillas with olive oil.
Place on cookie sheet and put in oven until tortillas begin to brown.
Spread ham onto each tortilla
Cover with shredded cheese
Return to oven until cheese is melted & begins to brown

Add taco sauce and serve.

NOTE: You could use ground beef or other brands of lunchmeat in place of Buddig. You could probably change the flavor a bit by changing the type of lunchmeat as well.

You may also want to add black olives, lettuce, onions, etc. before serving. (We just kept the recipe simple because on a budget, you don't always have additional ingredients available!) :)

Chicken & Stove Top Casserole

Cooked for me by someone near & dear...

Ingredients:

1 Box Chicken Flavored Stovetop Stuffing - uncooked
2 chicken breasts - skinned & diced
2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
1 1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Spray the bottom of a 9x13 pan with cooking spray
Spread a layer of stuffing mix over the bottom of the pan
Place raw chicken pieces throughout the pan
Mix soup, milk & rest of Stove Top in bowl
Pour over Stove Top and chicken
Put the rest of the stuffing mix over the top

Cover and bake for approximately 40-45 minutes
(Check chicken pieces...should NOT be pink)
Serves 6-8

Chicken & Potatoes Casserole

A variation of the recipe above...

Ingredients:

1 Box Chicken Flavored Stove Top Stuffing - cooked
2 chicken breasts - skinned & diced
2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
1 1/2 cups milk
3 medium potatoes - peeled, diced, partially boiled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Spray the bottom of a 9x13 pan with cooking spray
Mix the soup, milk and 2/3 of Stove Top in bowl
Mix in chicken & potatoes
Pour into pan

Bake covered for approximately 40-45 minutes until potatoes are soft & chicken NOT pink
Spread the stuffing over the top of the casserole
Cover and bake for another 15 minutes or until stuffing is browned

Serves 6-8

Barbecue with a twist...

Make your beef go farther!

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
2 cans pork & beans
1 12-oz bottle barbecue sauce
Bread or hamburger buns

Brown ground beef in skillet
Stir in pork & beans and barbecue sauce
Simmer over medium low heat for 15 minutes
Serve open-faced over toasted bread or hamburger buns

NOTE:
1. Can also be served on the hamburger buns like a sloppy joe, but they are VERY sloppy that way
2. Can serve it alone with dinner rolls and a veggie

Quick & Easy Donuts

Warm sugary treats straight to the table...

Ingredients:

One roll of refrigerated biscuits (non-flaky ones work best)
Sugar
Vegetable oil

Heat vegetable oil in frying pan or electric skillet to about medium-high
Cut each biscuit in half
Put biscuit dough into hot oil
Fry until brown on both sides (turn over as each side browns)
Remove biscuits from oil
Place into sugar and shake to cover
Put on plate and serve

NOTE: If you would like a different flavor, put some of them into a mixture of sugar & cinnamon.

Cinnamon Tortilla

Sort of a homeade elephant ear on a budget...

Ingredients:

Flour tortilla
Cinnamon & Sugar mix
Butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Spread a fairly thin layer of butter on each tortilla.
Place on a cookie sheet.
Sprinkle with the cinnamon/sugar mix.
Place in oven until butter begins to melt.
Remove and add enough cinnamon/sugar mix to absorb excess butter.
Place back into oven until edges begin to brown (about 10 minutes).
Remove from oven. Allow to cool a bit before serving.

Cinnamon Pineapple Rollouts

Biscuits as dessert - AND it's nutritious (just don't tell the kids)!

Ingredients:

1 roll of biscuit dough (pillsbury, generic, whatever)
1 can of pineapple rings (simplest, but diced/crushed will do in a pinch)
Cinnamon

Lightly grease a cookie sheet (unless it's already non-stick).
Place each biscuit on the sheet and press it to the size of a pineapple ring.
Place one pineapple ring onto each biscuit.
Put a spoonful of pineapple juice in the middle of each ring.
Sprinkle with cinnamon

Bake in an oven at 350 degrees as per the biscuit directions (usually 12-15 minutes) or until edges begin to brown.

Remove from oven. Let cool for 5 minutes. Serve.

NOTE:
For those of you with a bigger sweet tooth, you can use a cinnamon/sugar mix.
Add more pineapple juice prior to serving for a sweeter taste.
Add a maraschino cherry to the center of each one for a "pineapple upside down cake" look

Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

1 roll of biscuit dough (pillsbury, generic, whatever)
Tub Margarine
Cinnamon
Sugar

Lightly grease a 9-inch round baking pan (unless it's already non-stick).
Place each biscuit in the pan and press them together to fill the pan.
Spread margarine over the top of the biscuits (thicker than you would normally butter bread)
Mix cinnamon and sugar together
Cover biscuits with the cinnamon & sugar mixture (again, fairly thick layer)

Bake in an oven at 350 degrees as per the biscuit directions (usually 12-15 minutes) or until edges begin to brown.

Remove from oven. Let cool for 5 minutes. Serve.

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Evelyn_Saenz Evelyn_Saenz May 1, 2008 @ 9:19 pm

What a great lens!

5 stars, Favored and joined your Fan Club!

White Foot the Wood Mouse scurried over for a visit and left you some virtual maple syrup made by Garner Rix to pour on your waffles and pancakes.

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kathyrclark kathyrclark Apr 16, 2008 @ 2:52 am

Hi Debi,
Love what you have done here with your lens. Yummy recipes. I am all for quick and easy. Who has time to cook these days, but we do love to eat.
Kathy