Tag Archives: dinner

Dinnertime as a Sacrament

I really enjoy cooking and trying new recipes. I have several cookbooks and I go through them regularly, looking for tasty tidbits I have overlooked. I feel a sense of satisfaction when I hit on something that is unique, tasty, and easy to prepare. Then I set it on the table, and receive a four-part chorus of groans. “What is this?” “I don’t know, but it looks like dog food.” “Yeah, it smells like it too.” “I’m not eating this.” My husband, thankfully, isn’t that picky and will clean up the leftovers, of which there are plenty, because the children … Continue reading →

Start A What’s for Dinner Club

Want to add a little life into your meals? Why not start a “What’s for Dinner Club?” You’ll gain new recipes, new friends and make meal planning a lot of fun. About a year ago, as I was e-mailing a small group of friends, I realized that one of the things we talked about almost daily was our dinner plans. “What’s for dinner?” someone would inevitably ask, and then the e-mail would be flying back and forth. We were all eager to share our plans, ask questions and get suggestions. So I thought it would be great for us to … Continue reading →

Pantry Challenge: What You Can Do with A Box of Potatoes

From the back of the pantry, hiding from the warm yellow light of the kitchen sits a lone box of instant mashed potatoes. How this box of potatoes got there is a bit of a mystery. I always make mashed potatoes from scratch, since real potatoes are so inexpensively frugal, especially when they are on sale for buy one bag and get one free. It is not unusual for me to have two 5- or 10- pound bags of potatoes available. So where did the…gasp…instant potatoes come from? My best conclusion is to blame it on my husband. No, no, … Continue reading →

Pantry Challenge: Campbell’s to The Rescue!

What do you do when you have a ton of canned soup? Visit the Campbell’s recipe site of course! Another day of my pantry challenge. We are still doing pretty well with using our stock. One of the things I forgot to mention is that we very rarely eat red meat in our house, so you will see a lot of chicken, bean, pasta and vegetables dishes. Although with not buying any produce, the vegetables are scarce. I may break down this week and get some fresh fruits and veggies, because of the health factor. For breakfast, we had some … Continue reading →

Pantry Challenge: Baking Day

Today is turning out to be a baking day. I normally feel more comfortable baking than actually cooking things on the stove. Put it in a dish and stick it in the oven is my philosophy. But today seems to be a real baking theme in my pantry challenge. (What is a pantry challenge? Click here to learn all about it.) For breakfast I made some baked oatmeal, using up rolled oats and raw sugar from the pantry, as well as some milk and eggs. This is a treat whether eaten hot from the oven or cold from the refrigerator. … Continue reading →

Pantry Challenge: Using Allrecipes.com

Brrr. It is absolutely freezing out today here in Pennsylvania. I am definitely not looking forward to taking the babies out for a walk to school to fetch Andrew. The theme of the day will have to be layers. Fortunately, since I am still in my pantry challenge, at least I won’t be going to the grocery store. If you are just starting to read the frugal blogs and want to know more about a pantry challenge, click here. Our cereal is running a bit low. I did stock up a couple of months ago when sales and coupons were … Continue reading →

Pantry Challenge: Making My Own Boxed Bake

Today is day three of my self-imposed pantry challenge. I must use up items in my pantry, refrigerator and freezer for meals and not shop at the store for anything but milk. I might add eggs to my allowable list, but I haven’t caved, yet. To learn more about what a pantry challenge is, click here. Yesterday’s lasagna meal turned out wonderfully. My picky two-year-old ate four helpings. Yup four. Plus she finished her salad and had a serving of ice cream from the freezer. I don’t know where she put it all. Andrew left a little bit on his … Continue reading →

Pantry Challenge: Italian!

It is day two of my personal pantry challenge. Last night, the helper enchiladas went over pretty well. In my pantry challenge, my goal is to use up items in my pantry and freezer for our family meals. To learn more about what I’m doing, see my earlier blog, What is a Pantry Challenge? Here is what we are using up today. Breakfast was english muffins thawed last night from the freezer. I toasted them and topped them with peanut butter, and we had some very ripe strawberries on the side. I’m glad of this challenge, because the strawberries might … Continue reading →

Pantry Challenge: Enchilada Helper

Well, we finally have a move date for our new home! It will be sometime in mid April. Buying and selling homes has really put a strain on our finances. Because of this strain and the fact that we will be moving, I decided that I really need to do a pantry challenge. A pantry challenge happens when you challenge yourself to use up items in your pantries for your meals. To learn more about having a pantry challenge, click here. For the start of my pantry challenge, I am going to be a little lenient. Honestly I have had … Continue reading →

Baked Spaghetti

When I was getting married, my matron of honor gave me some of her favorite recipes. One of her recipes was for making Baked Spaghetti. This dish was one of the first meals I made for my husband after we were settled in our small apartment, and we both thought it was a great dish. Baked Spaghetti is full of veggies! It also has plenty of cheese, mayo, and sour cream to make it yummy, but of course you can substitute yogurt for sour cream and make it a bit less fattening. I like to bring this dish to families … Continue reading →