So I've had a lot of zucchini to deal with. So I feel it's only fair to figure out what to do with it and then share!!!
I was hungry for cake Saturday. I was flipping through my ADPi cookbook (club and church cookbooks are the best) and saw a recipe for chocolate zucchini cake. I had to make it. Needless to say I didn't get a pic taken until after my hubby had ate most of it...
Ingredients:
One chocolate cake mix
One small package chocolate pudding mix
Four eggs
3/4 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups peeled and grated zucchini
Mix all ingredients and place in greased and floured bundt pan. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes. If desired frost with white or chocolate frosting or top with powdered sugar.
A very moist cake that freezes well (or so the recipe says). Thanks Lynn!
Monday, June 25, 2012
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Zucchini bake
Ok so I found a new recipe that I like! I had a large zucchini in the garden that I needed to do something with. I searched my recipe books and found this one:
Ingredients:
2 cups sliced zucchini
1 large onion
1 can green chilies or rotel
8 oz sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded parmesan cheese
1 cup bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Take sliced onion and zucchini and put in saucepan. Cover with water and bring to boil. Cook until tender. Drain. Spread into baking dish.
In a small bowl mix chilies, cheddar cheese, one cup Parmesan cheese, sour cream, salt, and pepper. Spread mixture over zucchini and onions.
Top with bread crumbs and remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly and cheese starts to brown on top. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
2 cups sliced zucchini
1 large onion
1 can green chilies or rotel
8 oz sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded parmesan cheese
1 cup bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Take sliced onion and zucchini and put in saucepan. Cover with water and bring to boil. Cook until tender. Drain. Spread into baking dish.
In a small bowl mix chilies, cheddar cheese, one cup Parmesan cheese, sour cream, salt, and pepper. Spread mixture over zucchini and onions.
Top with bread crumbs and remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly and cheese starts to brown on top. Enjoy!
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Cheap Marinade
Wanna a secret to cheap marinade? You can buy the marinades in a bottle for $2 plus dollars, but I've found a better solution. I took two strip steaks and added Italian dressing and Worcestershire sauce. Never pay more than 75 cents a bottle for salad dressing (I got the pictured small bottle for 16 cents. I also found the Worcestershire sauce for 17 cents. You could marinate steaks probably 6 times with what those two bottles woudl do!
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Bacon, Bacon, Bacon
Ok, who doesn't like bacon? Well maybe the people super health conscious, but there is something about it that almost everyone would agree the is so awesome. You use it in so many different ways...for breakfast, on a baked potato, in baked beans, in green beans, on a sandwich, in a salad. Some people use just the grease to flavor stuff--like they store it in a ceramic crock to add to certain dishes. One of my husbands friends won't eat green beans unless there is bacon in them for flavoring! I even met the wife of the man who organizes the BaconFest in Chicago...a whole event around how many ways you can use bacon (ice cream, bacon whiskey). That's a little much for my liking but just saying.
Well if you wanted to know more about the process of making bacon, my little brother works for an Oscar Meyer plant. He can tell you about slicing and the seasonings and yeah just lots. Sometimes he even gets a special deal on a big box, which for the Thrifty Chick in me, that's perfect. I got to take home some of the new "Naturals" line that is supposed to be better for you with sea salt. It does taste good for you, but I'm pretty sure it is still not on a list of healthy foods.
So how do you cook bacon? The traditional way is with a frying pan. I personally hate that method. Grease flys everywhere, there's a huge, hard to clean mess. I have used one of those George clamshell grills. Drains the grease off which is nice, but I tend to get distracted and then get it almost too crispy. My new favorite method is with the Pampered Chef ridged baker. You can simply put the bacon in the over and the grease goes down in the grooves and you have tender, juicy bacon. After it is cooked and cooled if you have leftovers, simply put in between sheets of paper towel and put in the fridge. Boom, easy protein for breakfast the next morning. Easy to crumble on a salad. Super versatile. Ok that's my Bacon ad for the day. LOL! Sorry if you gained a few pounds reading this!
Well if you wanted to know more about the process of making bacon, my little brother works for an Oscar Meyer plant. He can tell you about slicing and the seasonings and yeah just lots. Sometimes he even gets a special deal on a big box, which for the Thrifty Chick in me, that's perfect. I got to take home some of the new "Naturals" line that is supposed to be better for you with sea salt. It does taste good for you, but I'm pretty sure it is still not on a list of healthy foods.
So how do you cook bacon? The traditional way is with a frying pan. I personally hate that method. Grease flys everywhere, there's a huge, hard to clean mess. I have used one of those George clamshell grills. Drains the grease off which is nice, but I tend to get distracted and then get it almost too crispy. My new favorite method is with the Pampered Chef ridged baker. You can simply put the bacon in the over and the grease goes down in the grooves and you have tender, juicy bacon. After it is cooked and cooled if you have leftovers, simply put in between sheets of paper towel and put in the fridge. Boom, easy protein for breakfast the next morning. Easy to crumble on a salad. Super versatile. Ok that's my Bacon ad for the day. LOL! Sorry if you gained a few pounds reading this!
Monday, April 23, 2012
Yum Potato for Supper
Yum! Love my baked potato!
Giant potato-$0.58
Dollop of Sour Cream-$0.10
Dollop of butter-$0.08
Piece of Bacon-$0.15
Total=Cheap, Easy Supper
Giant potato-$0.58
Dollop of Sour Cream-$0.10
Dollop of butter-$0.08
Piece of Bacon-$0.15
Total=Cheap, Easy Supper
The Potato Bag
Ok, so I decided to make baked potatoes for supper. I went to find my baked potato bag and it took me 10 minutes to locate it! Sometimes the third bedroom turns into an oasis for unclaimed laundry. Sure enough I had laundered it and it never made it back to it's happy home under the microwave. Oh sorry, you are probably like what's a Baked Potato Bag??? well it is pretty cool actually. It is a fabric bag that you can use to do microwave baked potatoes in a flash. You know how if you just put them in there alone they can get wrinkly and dry? This bag is designed to stop that problem. Who has time to actually bake one in the oven anyway?
All you do is select two good baking potatoes (white potatoes are better to bake, red better for mashed), rinse them off, stab a few holes in them (to release pressure when cooking), sprinkle some salt on them, wrap them in paper towels (to keep the bag cleaner longer), stick into to the bag and microwave. Depending on the size and quantity calculates your cook time. If you have two larger potatoes, I would start at 6 minutes, squeeze to see how soft they are and add a minute at a time to finish. When done you should be able to lightly squeeze them or push down and feel it actually squish. Pretty cool eh? Now add all the wonderful topping choices (tonight will be bacon, cheese, and sour cream).
Where do you get one? I swapped a neighbor lady a small Pampered Chef item for it a few years back. Her sister in law made them. You should be able to find them at a craft fair for like 7 bucks. If you are crafty you can make one but I'm not good at describing fabric patterns. Lol.
All you do is select two good baking potatoes (white potatoes are better to bake, red better for mashed), rinse them off, stab a few holes in them (to release pressure when cooking), sprinkle some salt on them, wrap them in paper towels (to keep the bag cleaner longer), stick into to the bag and microwave. Depending on the size and quantity calculates your cook time. If you have two larger potatoes, I would start at 6 minutes, squeeze to see how soft they are and add a minute at a time to finish. When done you should be able to lightly squeeze them or push down and feel it actually squish. Pretty cool eh? Now add all the wonderful topping choices (tonight will be bacon, cheese, and sour cream).
Where do you get one? I swapped a neighbor lady a small Pampered Chef item for it a few years back. Her sister in law made them. You should be able to find them at a craft fair for like 7 bucks. If you are crafty you can make one but I'm not good at describing fabric patterns. Lol.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Taco Pie
Tonight a friend requested that I come over and show her how to make Taco Pie. So we split the ingredient list and I came over. Taco Pie is easy and fun recipe to make.
Ingredients/Supplies:
Round casserole dish
Flour Tortillas Large (5)
Hamburger, cooked & drained
1 Can Rotel Tomatoes
1 Can Refried Beans
1 Packet Taco seasoning
8 oz shredded Colby cheese
Sour Cream
Shredded Lettuce
Directions:
Cook the hamburger, drain. Add the can of rotel and packet of seasoning mix. Bring to a simmer.
Put a flour tortilla in the bottom of the casserole dish. Using a mix and scraper or spoon, spread a thick layer of reified beans onto tortilla. Then add a layer of meat mixture, top with cheese. Repeat layering until you reach the top of the pan or run out of ingredients. Top off with thick layer of cheese. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes. Serve with sour cream and shredded lettuce on top. Enjoy!
Ingredients/Supplies:
Round casserole dish
Flour Tortillas Large (5)
Hamburger, cooked & drained
1 Can Rotel Tomatoes
1 Can Refried Beans
1 Packet Taco seasoning
8 oz shredded Colby cheese
Sour Cream
Shredded Lettuce
Directions:
Cook the hamburger, drain. Add the can of rotel and packet of seasoning mix. Bring to a simmer.
Put a flour tortilla in the bottom of the casserole dish. Using a mix and scraper or spoon, spread a thick layer of reified beans onto tortilla. Then add a layer of meat mixture, top with cheese. Repeat layering until you reach the top of the pan or run out of ingredients. Top off with thick layer of cheese. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes. Serve with sour cream and shredded lettuce on top. Enjoy!
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Why I Love Shredded Cheese
I love cheese! My hubby makes fun of me because I add cheese to everything I eat (not quite). A trick I learned from my mom years ago was that you can freeze packages of shredded cheese. For casseroles and various dishes you can add cheese easily. The bad part about cheese is it is expensive. Purchasing the block cheese and shredding yourself can sometimes be cheaper but to me it's not worth the elbow grease. So I wait for it to go on a crazy good sale and stock up! The best I've seen is $1 for 8oz package of Hy-Vee brand. Generally the price will be anywhere from $2.75 to $3. Now the thing I've learned about grocery stores is they run sales in seasons. Generally if you see something on an awesome sale it won't be that low again for 3 months. So stock up on 3 months worth. Today I'm going to check out the local Price Chopper as they have some for $1.49 a package and I'm nearly out of my stock. But I won't go too crazy because stores compete and I expect to see Hy-Vee roll out that dollar deal soon!!!
The Essentials for Every Kitchen
The Essentials For Every KitchenThere are just a few things I think you should always keep in your kitchen. These things make quick and easy cooking a breeze. Without them you might have to get creative and sometimes that will just end in frustration and ultimately calling the pizza delivery guy. (Which is ok every once in a while, just make sure to ask about their specials) ;)Food Items:MilkEggsBreadShredded Cheese*Pasta* of any typePasta Sauce*Flour*Sugar*Olive Oil*SaltGarlic (mensed or whole cloves)OnionSeason AllMayo or Miracle Whip*Salsa*Tortilla chips or Flour TortillasFrozen meat of some sort (hot dogs, chicken, fish, burger)*Canned or frozen veggies**Denotes items that you can find on sale seasonally and you should stock up on.Utensils:SkilletSauce PanChopper (PC Food Chopper, PC Manual Chopper)Slotted SpoonWooden SpoonMix N Scraper ToolCookie Sheet or StoneGood mixing bowl (I prefer the PC Batter Bowl)Timer (on stove or microwave will work)Hot PadsDish Clothes & TowelsColanderMeasuring Cups (love the PC clear readable ones)CrockpotThe Cheater Staples (These are things I keep for my hubby to fix because they include directions or when my brain is fried and I only have 15 minutes to whip something up)Boxed Complete Meals*Mac N Cheese in a Box*Frozen Pizza*Fish Sticks/Chicken Nuggets*Frozen French Fries*I try to limit my usage of Cheater Staple Meals to once a week at very most. These type of meals usually come packed with sodium and preservatives and fat. Even though they taste good and are fast, nutrition wise they are able the same as going out to fast food. They are cheaper per serving than fast food which is a plus. But let's be honest there are just some days when we need to cheat a little to get through the day! I'm going to share with you my ways of avoiding what I refer to as "cheating" through The Thrifty Chick Cooks blog. Stay tuned to see how I use these must haves in the kitchen to create super simple and fast meals!
Welcome Thrifty Chicks
For anyone that knows me, they know that I LOVE a good bargain. I started being a couponer about a year ago. I've gotten so great stuff for cheap, sometimes even FREE. I love to shop and I love to find good deals. Another thing that I have like to do is Cook. Ok, I know that most people will turn their noses up to that. "Cooking that's a ot of work and a lot of mess!" Well I will be honest I'm not afraid of hard work or a little messiness, but after a long day at the office I really don't want to have to work too hard at home. And weekends, well that's when I dream of tropical vacations during my afternoon naps. LOL if I don't have my days packed with activities.
I decided to start The Thrifty Chick Cooks blog for all of you people that need solutios for quick, easy, affordable, and tasty meals. I love to grocery shop, meal plan, and plan the death out of my cooking responsiblities. And yes it is a responsiblity because we do have to eat. But in my world it is fun. I even have a magnetic chart that hangs on my fridge to help me plan all my meals (photo to come). Ok, enough about me....how is this going to help you to read my blog? Well I'm going to share with you my secrets. Give away my weekly meal plans. Invite people to ask questions Basically I'm going to share my cooking adventures publically for you to laugh along and discover my world of cooking.
"It feels so good to ccook for people you care about. It's an undescribable feeling of satisfaction to watch someone smile with delight over something you prepared for them." The Thrifty Chick Cooks
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