Frugal Feeds | List of Recipes and Guides Posted So Far

Here is the complete list of recipes and ingredient guides posted so far. If you want to find a specific recipe type the name into the search field in the upper left-hand column. Many of them are also hyperlinked in the Recipes section.

Croutons
Stuffing
Bread Crumbs
Crispy Topping
Bread Pudding
French Toast Batter
French Toast
Custard Dip
Green Apple French Toast
Maple Banana Pecan French Toast
Berry French Toast
Cinnamon Raisin French Toast
Monte Cristo Sandwiches
Croque-Monsieur Sandwiches
Bread Crumbs
Meat Extenders
Mexican Style Meat Extender
Stroganoff Style Meat Extender
Italian Style Meat Extender
American Style Meat Extender
SOS Style Meat Extender
Casserole Style Meat Extender
Sloppy Joes Style Meat Extender
Lean Meat Solution
Meat Cakes
Pan Cakes
Fridge Pudding
Pie Crusts--Sweet Version
Pie Crusts--Savory Version
Crumb Topping for Desserts
Chilaquiles
Tortilla Strip Casserole
Biscuits and Gravy
SOS
Chicken and Biscuits
Biscuit Shortcake
Chicken and Dumplings, Biscuit Style
Personal Pizzas
Tortas
Sloppy Joes
Sauces
White Sauce #1
White Sauce #2
Thin White Sauce for Chicken
Cream of Something Soup
Cream of Veggie Soup
Cream of Broccoli Soup with Cheese
Cream of Mushroom Soup
Cream of Tomato Soup
Cream of Potato Soup
Creamy Wine Sauce
Creamy Bechamel Sauce
Brown Sauce
Mushroom Sauce 1
Mushroom Sauce 2
Cheese Sauce
Mock Hollandaise Sauce
Chowder
Creamed Dishes
Au Gratin Dishes
Cream Gravy
Foamy Egg Sauce
Veloute Sauce
Chaud-Froid Sauce
Poulette Sauce
Bechamel Sauce
Onion Sauce
Sauce Supreme
Amaranth Flour
Atole
Blue Corn Flour
Barley Flour
Brown Rice Flour
Buckwheat Flour
Cake Flour
Corn Flour
Gluten Flour
Graham Flour
Kamut Flour
Millet Flour
Oat Flour
Quinoa Flour
Rye Flour
Semolina Flour
Sorghum Flour
Spelt Flour
Teff Flour
White Whole Wheat Flour
Whole Wheat Flour
Bean Flour
Cassava Flour
Tapioca Flour
Yuca Flour
Manioc Flour
Chestnut Flour
Nut Flours
Pea Flour
Potato Flour
Chuno Flour
Seed Flour
Hummus
Almost Instant Pea Soup
Nut Butter Bean Spread
Quick and Easy Bean Soup
Pea Soup
Refried Beans
Budget Guacamole
Breakfast Parfait
Breakfast Pudding
Breakfast Burritos
Breakfast Burritos for a Crowd

Frugal Feeds | Breezy Breakfasts You Can Make Ahead and You'll Just Need A Few Minutes to Serve

These breakfasts look complicated but once you get the hang of them you will see that they are quick, easy and hearty--not to mention a healthy way to start your day!


Breakfast Parfait

Looks like you are serving a sundae and the kids love it.

You will need:
4 wine or parfait glasses ( I also use martini glasses or regular drink glasses)
1 cup rolled whole oats
1/2 cup nuts

2 cups low fat plain yogurt
1/2 cup raw honey
1 cup fruit
4 Tablespoons chocolate chips


In a small saute pan, over medium heat, add your oats. Toast them until they start to show lightly browned. Remove from pan immediately and place in a bowl.
Return pan to hot burner and add nuts. Toast them until they start to show lightly browned. Remove from pan and place in the bowl.
Return pan to hot burner and warm the fruit you are using.
In a separate bowl whisk the honey and yogurt. If you are using fully raw, creamed or solid honey you will want to warm it until it melts before whisking with the yogurt.
Remove pan from burner and turn off stovetop.
In each glass place 1/4 cup honey yogurt, 1/3 cup oat/nut mixture, 1/4 cup fruit and 1 tablespoon chocolate chips.
Serve.


Breakfast Pudding
This is similar to an English pudding. It is a quick and easy way to use up your left over fruits. But you need to make it the night before.

You will need:

1/4 cup raw honey
4 c. bread crumbs
2 cups mashed or pureed fruit

1 cup low fat yogurt
4 Tablespoons raw honey

Warm raw honey over low heat. Stir 1/4 cup honey, bread crumbs and fruit in a large bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and top with an inverted (upside down) dinner plate. Refrigerate overnight. The next morning remove from refrigerator. Remove plastic wrap. Place plate back onto bowl and, holding the bowl and plate together turn the bowl upside down and let it sit this way on the counter for a few minutes. While the pudding is coming out of the bowl mold get a second bowl and whisk your warmed honey and yogurt. You can use maple syrup, agave syrup or stevia for sweetener, instead of honey, to taste. Remove bowl from pudding. It should have released from the bowl by now. If it hasn't turn it back to right-side-up and use a butter knife to loosen the edges. Place the plate back on it and invert it again. Let it sit for a few minutes. Slice into eight pieces. Top with sweetened plain low fat yogurt. Two slices are a serving.



Breakfast Burritos

You'll need:
2 cups water
1/2 cup Black Bean Flour
Garlic Powder
Chili Powder
Cumin
Salt
4 Whole Wheat Burrito Tortillas
4 ounces Low Fat Cheese, shredded
2 Tablespoons low sodium Broth
4 Eggs or egg alternative or tofu



2 cups shredded Lettuce
4 Tablespoons Salsa

In a small pot bring water to a boil and whisk in the black bean flour. Add about 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder, chili powder, cumin and salt to taste. Bring to a boil and then turn down heat to low, cover it, and let it simmer.


Warm your tortillas. If you have a microwave place them on a plate and cover with an inverted plate or plastic wrap or use a food safe plastic bag. Warm for 20 seconds and let it stay in the microwave until you are ready to use them. If you don't have a microwave you will want to remove them from their plastic bag and place in a stack on a cookie sheet. Cover the tortillas thoroughly with aluminum foil or a large oven safe pot or pan lid. Let it warm at 250 degrees until you are ready to use them.

Shred your cheese.

Whisk the eggs until they are foamy and fully mixed together. In a skillet, over medium heat, bring the broth to simmer. Add the whisked eggs. Using a silicon spatula, every 30 seconds or so, scrape the eggs from the bottom of the skillet into the center. Allow the runny, uncooked eggs to flow into the area that you have just scraped and then leave it alone for another 30 seconds. Repeat until the eggs are all cooked and not runny at all.

Shred your lettuce.

Assemble the burritos:

Remove tortillas from oven and place on a plate. Remove beans from stove top. Remove eggs from stove top. Arrange the plates/pans/bowls in this order:
Tortillas, Black Beans, Eggs, Shredded Cheese, Shredded Lettuce, Salsa.
Spread 3 Tablespoons black beans on each tortilla. Top with 1/4 cup of scrambled egg. Top with 2 Tablespoons Shredded Cheese. Top with 1/2 cup shredded lettuce. Top with 1 Tablespoon Salsa.

You want to do this quickly because you don't want your tortillas to begin to cool or they will not fold well.

How to fold the burrito. Fold bottom quarter of tortilla toward the center, over the filling. Fold top quarter of tortilla toward the center, over the filling. Pull left third of tortilla over the filling and tuck it or crease it where the edge of the filling is. Lastly roll the entire burrito over so that the left third is now wrapped into the right third and the seams are all on the bottom touching the plate. Let them sit for twenty seconds or so to have the tortilla cool and mold itself to the filling before picking it up.

If you make these burritos without the lettuce you can freeze them by wrapping in plastic wrap and placing in a freezer bag. When you have the time you can make 16 of them and freeze 12 for those days when you don't have time.

Breakfast Burritos for a Crowd

Half a gallon (8 cups) water
2 cups Black Bean Flour
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Chili Powder
1 teaspoon Cumin
1/4 teaspoon Salt
16 Whole Wheat Burrito Tortillas
1 pound Low Fat Cheese, shredded
1/2 cups low sodium Broth

16 Eggs, egg alternatives  or crumbled tofu

16 Tablespoons Salsa
2 cups lettuce, shredded

Prepare as in standard recipe except do not add the lettuce to the ones you will freeze.

Reheat in the microwave in its plastic wrap. For reheating int the oven remove all of the plastic and place on a cookie sheet. Cover with aluminum foil. Reheat in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes-or until thoroughly heated.


Next time we will recap the immense number of recipes you can create from this blog so far.

Frugal Feeds | 15 Ways with Bread Crumbs

Continuing on the theme for the week, lets now talk about Bread Crumbs.

Bread crumbs are great extenders in so many dishes!

2 slices of whole grain bread will give you about 1 cup of dried bread crumbs. Because of weight differences in the type of bread you use and how dry your crumbs are, this number is an average from my experience--but modify as needed.

Going with the 2 slices=1 cup theory, you will want 1/2 cup of crumbs per person for a serving. That means that if you are doing a crumb topping for a casserole you would use 2 cups for 4 servings.

Meat Extenders. Any time that you have a little less meat than you need for a dish, add up to 1/2 cup crumbs per desired pound of meat plus 1/3 cup of liquid. For example, if you needed 4 servings (1 pound) of ground beef for a dish, but had about 3/4 pound of meat you can add that 1/2 cup of crumbs plus 1/3 cup of any of the following broth, wine, tomato sauce, 2% milk, vegetable juice, barbecue sauce or 1/2 cup of sauteed vegetables such as mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant or any other moist vegetable.

This works also to intentionally use less meat. Less meat consumed saves money, so if you are buying ground beef at $1.75 a pound and bread at $1.00 a pound, then you save over .17 cents per serving, or .68 cents per meal, or somewhere over $400.00 a year.


Lets take a basic list of ingredients and change it a few times over:

3/4 # 95% Lean Ground beef or turkey
1/2 c. Bread Crumbs
1/3-1/2 c. Liquid or vegetable

Method

Extended Meat Dishes--

Mexican Style Meat Extender: 95% Lean Ground beef, bread crumbs, salsa (or canned diced tomatoes and peppers)--add to tacos or burritos

Stroganoff Style Meat Extender: 95% Lean Ground beef, bread crumbs, mushrooms--add to whole grain egg noodles with a white sauce (add onions and parsley for Stroganoff)

Italian Style Meat Extender: 95% Lean Ground beef, bread crumbs, peppers and onions--add to whole grain pasta with a tomato sauce

American Style Meat Extender: 95% Lean Ground beef, bread crumbs, broth--add to brown rice with vegetables and/or cheese

SOS Style Meat Extender: 95% Lean Ground beef, bread crumbs, 2% milk, white sauce--add to lightly buttered toast for SOS

Casserole Style Meat Extender: 95% Lean Ground beef or lean ground turkey, bread crumbs, red or white wine--add to casserole, top with additional seasoned crumbs also

Sloppy Joes Style Meat Extender: 95% Lean Ground beef, bread crumbs, bbq sauce and ketchup--add to toasted buns for Sloppy Joes.

The combinations are endless already. But don't just think of ground beef here though, think of ground lean turkey, chicken, fish, lamb, buffalo, and even veggies and cheese.

Lean Meat Solution: Ground turkey breast is notorious for being very dry and tasteless but add seasoned breadcrumbs and some moisture and it suddenly becomes delicious. Same is true of lean ground buffalo or beef. Crumbs with some egg also help hold together lots of little bits of things into lumps of things that taste really great! They hold moisture, flavor and hold it together. But don't add too much or it will taste more like meatloaf.

Meat Cakes--
Basically, if you have 3/4 pound of cooked meat bits, you can add 1 1/2 cups of bread crumbs, 1/4 cup of liquid, 1/2 cup of vegetables and one beaten egg. Mix well. Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper. Using a #20 disher, dish out 8-12 patties. Flatten with the bottom of a cup. Cover and chill for at least one hour. Lightly butter a second cookie sheet, or use a non-stick cookie sheet. Invert and place on top of first sheet and then, holding pans together, invert and remove the parchment paper. Or, simply transfer meat cakes with a thin, flat spatula to the buttered cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes, or until golden brown and heated through. Serve immediately and allow unused servings to cool in refrigerator. Place four patties each into three freezer bags. Write the date and name of the patties on the freezer bag and freeze for up to three months.

This is the basic recipe behind crab cakes, fish cakes, meat loaf and seasoned sausage patties. You can add herbs, spices or low-fat cheeses to change the flavors. Play around with different vegetables, different types of crumbs, use bbq sauce, tartar sauce, citrus juices, tomato juice, vegetable juice, gravies, sauces, etc...
Its your dish. Play around with it and make it unique to you.

Cheese Straws

1 cup bread crumbs, Pinch of cayenne, 1/2 cup grated cheese, 1/4 cup milk, 2/3 cup flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Mix all together. Roll it out fairly thin, about a 1/4 inch thick. Cut into strips about 6 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. Place on cookie sheet. Bake 20 minutes in moderate oven. 


Crumbs don't need to just be a small component to a dish though. They can be the dish. Here are some super simple ways to use up a bunch of crumbs quickly, and sweetly--

Pancakes--To the traditional custard:

(2 Eggs, beaten, 1 cup 2% Milk, 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar, 1 Tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract)

add another 1/2 c. 2% milk
1 c. crumbs
1 c. whole grain flour
4 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt.

If crumbs are very dry you may want this to rest for 20 minutes before cooking. Pour by 1/4 cupfuls onto a moderately hot, lightly buttered, griddle. When edges of pancakes have dry bubbles, flip them and cook until they no longer send out any steam. Serve as usual pancakes.


Fridge pudding--This is not a blanc mange or a creamy pudding but more similar to a very moist bread pudding or English pudding. It is a super easy and breezy way to go through that bucket of fresh picked berries in the Fall.

Take 4 c. bread crumbs and mix with 2 cups pureed berries pureed and sweetened to taste with honey. Pour into a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Invert onto a plate. Slice. Serve with maple, honey or stevia sweetened plain yogurt. Simple and delicious!

Pie Crusts--

Pie Crusts Sweet Version--2 cups bread crumbs, 1/2 a cup of liquid coconut oil (warm briefly in a small pan on the stovetop or in a bowl in the microwave), 1/4 cup brown sugar or ground dates. Press into pie plate with the bottom of a glass. Use for fruit pies. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. To prepare for cream pies fill pie pan shield with dried beans then bake. Allow to cool thoroughly before putting the beans back into the pantry. Fill, chill and serve.

Pie Crusts Savory Version--2 cups bread crumbs, 1/2 c. nut butter (almond, cashew and pecan work well), 2 Tablespoons herbs. Press into pie plate with the bottom of a glass. Or, reduce the nut butter and add low fat cheese. Use for quiches, shepherds pie or top with unbaked biscuits for pot pies. Bake according to recipe or at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour.


Crumb Topping For Desserts--
Combine 2 Tablespoons ground nuts with 2 Tablespoons brown sugar, 1/3 c. crumbs, 2 Tablespoons whole grain flour, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Cream the butter and sugar. Mix in the remaining ingredients until all is the texture of crumbs. Top cakes, pies, bars and muffins with this before baking.

Frugal Feeds Begins

Lets start off with an oldie but goodie that really takes little effort and will give you a dish full of food at the end of the month.

Get two gallon sized zippered freezer bags. Label one Sweet Bread Ends, the other Savory Bread Ends. Put today's date on it--or just an indicator like First Monday of the Month. Put it in the freezer. Now, for the next 30 days every time you get to the end of a loaf of bread, add the ends to the bag. Have hot dog buns that didn't get used up? Add them to a bag. A bagel gone stale--Bag it. Italian bread from Spaghetti night? Just make sure that if it has any garlic that it goes into the Savory Bread Ends bag, not the Sweet Bread Ends bag. Any bread part, piece or more that is in danger of being thrown out for not being used--put it in the bag. Raisin bread to the sweet bag, Cheese bread to the savory, etc...


30 days have passed and you have 4 cups or more of bread and no idea what to do with it.

(You can scale this easily--if you have one cup just use 1/4 of the recipe quantities. If you have 2 cups, use 1/2. 3 cups, 3/4ths.)

Here are some starters:

Take it out of the freezer in the morning and let it sit on the counter, in the bag, until it defrosts. Usually about an hour. Once it is defrosted cut it all up into cubes. Big or small is up to you and how you want to proceed with it.

I am going to give you two recipes. Very simple recipes that you can build on.

Recipe #1 Croutons

The first is for croutons--now, don't go running off just yet. The croutons are made so that you can make other recipes with them too, not just for crunchy salad stuff.

Place your oven rack squarely in the center row of your oven. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Take two cups of the savory bread cubes (or half), place in large bowl and toss with salt, pepper and a bit of dried herbs to your taste. You can also add 2 Tablespoons of oil for crispier croutons, but it isn't necessary. Spread one layer thick on a walled cookie sheet. Straight edged cookie sheets will cause them to slide off after baking. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes. If they are small croutons 15 minutes may do the trick. Larger ones may take 30 minutes or more. Check that they are crispy all the way through. You want them to be thoroughly dried because you want to be able to keep them on hand in the cupboard for an easy dish without thawing.

Now, they are ready to be used for your salad--but they are also ready to made into stuffing, bread crumbs and crispy toppings for casseroles.

To make into Stuffing take 1/4 cup celery, 1/4 cup onions and a teaspoon of dried sage and saute in 3 Tablespoons low sodium broth in a medium sized pot until the celery and onions are glossy and a bit soft. Add 2 cups of Savory croutons and 1/4 cup low sodium broth, stir well, put a lid on it and remove from heat. It is ready to be served in five minutes.

OR

To make into Bread Crumbs, pulse the croutons in a food processor.
To make the bread crumbs into Crispy Topping, just before use, add 1 Tablespoon dried Parsley and 2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle on top of the casserole 15 minutes before casserole is to be finished baking in the oven.

Recipe #2 Bread Pudding

Place rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a small casserole with cooking oil or grease with butter or coconut oil.

Add 2 cups of sweet or plain bread cubes to the casserole. In a large bowl make a custard slurry. 

Combine: 
1 1/2 cups 2% Milk
2 beaten Eggs or 3 beaten Egg whites
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla
Pinch of ground Nutmeg
1/2 cup of leftover fruit. 

Mix together thoroughly. Pour slurry over the bread cubes. Make certain that the cubes have all been doused with the slurry and press down top edges slightly so that the surface of the bread is fairly even.
Bake for 45 minutes. Tips should be browned, center set.
 
The fruit can be over ripe bananas, frozen berries, raisins (soak raisins in hot water or hot juice or hot brandy for 10 minutes), peaches, pineapple or a mix of leftover fruit. Melons need to be seeded, cubed and pureed and then cooked until half of the liquid is evaporated and it is more like a jam that you swirl into the slurry after you have added the slurry to the cubes. If no fresh, frozen or canned fruit is available, a few Tablespoons of preserves works too, but I recommend swirling that over the top after you have added the custard slurry as well. (You can add it to the slurry but the fruit flavor is constant that way, while if you add a swirl it is a nice contrast from bite to bite).

The slurry above, minus the fruit, also makes a decent French Toast Batter. Although adding over ripe Bananas is yummy also. Just make sure they are pureed before hand.

Here is the best thing about these recipes. They are plain Jane, simple. Easy to remember but also easy to modify. Too sweet? Change the sugar. Too little fruit? Add more. Want more spices, you know what to do... It really is difficult to make these not turn out right because they taste pretty good just by themselves, so if you add to them it helps. And, it makes them yours. Just don't add too many things too fast or you might increase your cost of the item and make it taste too mixed up.