Recipes for Week of October 19-25

I have three inspirations for my recipes this week. Here they are:
Soups, because it is starting to get colder here in Indiana
South Beach Recipes, because I decided I need to be eating less carbs
Mexican Food, because I am in the mood for a little fiesta, doggone it!
Come and party with me!

This week at a glance

Sunday: Tomato- Cheese Ravioli Soup
Monday: Beef Enchiladas
Tuesday: Spinach Cheesy Bake
Wednesday: Creamy-Chicken Spinach Soup
Thursday: Mexican Chicken Soup
Friday: Chicken and Mushroom Soup
Saturday: Mexican Casserole

Shopping List

Tomato-Cheese Ravioli Soup
1 (14.5 oz.) can stewed tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz.) can chicken broth or vege broth
1/2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning (I always use it from an Italian seasoning packet, but I think the recipe intends that you just use regular seasoning)
3 cups frozen cheese ravioli (about 12 ounces)
1 small zucchini, sliced
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Beef Enchiladas
1 lb. Ground Beef
1 can (10 ounce) enchilada sauce or red sauce
1 can condensed Cream of chicken soup
1 can condensed Tomato soup
10 flour tortillas
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Italian Spinach Bake
1 container (16 oz.) Cottage Cheese
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained
1 cup shredded Mozzarella Cheese
4 eggs, beaten
1 jar (7 oz.) roasted red peppers, well drained, chopped
1/3 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1 tsp. dried Oregano leaves

Creamy Chicken-Spinach Soup
1 (9-ounce) package refrig. cheese tortellini
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
1 (10 ounce) cans cream of chicken soup
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 (9 ounce) package frozen cooked diced chicken breast
1 cups fat-free milk
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. pepper

Mexican Chicken Soup
1 Tbs. canola oil
1 small onion
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. ground cumin
5 cups lower-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch strips
2 cups mild refrigerated fresh salsa
Salt and pepper to taste.

Chicken and Mushroom Soup
1 medium leek, light green and white parts only, outer layer removed
4 cups lower-sodium chicken broth
1 cup water
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
6 ounces white mushrooms, sliced
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
8 ounces brussel sprouts, halved
Salt and pepper to taste.

Mexican Casserole (Slow cooker recipe)
1 lb. ground beef
1 can (15.25 oz) corn, drained
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 jar (11 oz.) salsa
5 cups uncooked egg noodles
1 can diced tomatoes (29 oz), undrained
1 cup water
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Saturday: Marinated Pork, Roasted Poatoes, Green Beans and Homeade Applesauce

I absolutely LOVE this meal. 1. The apples make your house smell SOO fallish. 2. The pork marinade is so Easy and very tasty. 3. It is a crowd pleaser This is a Rachael Ray recipe that I saw her do on the show and tried myself. Trust me, it is EASY! I will do this in three steps: potatoes, applesauce and then pork. When cooking, this is the best way to do this meal so that everything gets done at around the same time!


ROASTED POTATOES

Here is what you need for the potatoes:

5 potatoes (I would say use 1 per person eating w/ you. 5 potatoes for me fed 4 adults and 3 toddlers), 2 tbsp. olive oil, salt and pepper.

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
Step 2: Dice up your potatoes into bite size pieces. I love to use red-skinned potatoes b/c you don't have to skin them.

Step 3: Place them on a pan and drizzle w/ olive oil

Step 4: Sprinkle w/ salt and pepper. Toss to coat and place in oven for 20-25 minutes

*Note fresh green beans also roast REALLY well this way. If you want to add some fresh green beans- wash them, break of the ends and after the potatoes have been cooking for 10 minutes, take the pan out that has the potatoes - add your green beans to the same pan (toss in olive oil, salt and pepper) and cook for another 10 minutes w/ your potatoes.


APPLESAUCE

Here is what you need for the applesauce:

4-5 apples (I love Macintosh, but I went ahead and used GALA b/c I had those on hand. I would recommend using 1 apple per person), 1 cup apple juice, apple cider OR water., 3-4 tbs. brown sugar.

Step 1: Slice and peel your apples. Then dice!

Step 2: Place diced apples in sauce pan w/ water (apple juice and cider) and brown sugar on top!

Step 3: Cook on medium- high heat until apples become nice and soft (about 12 minutes). Your house will really smell yummy now!

Step 6: Once your apples are mushy, use a potato masher to make your applesauce! If you prefer your applesauce less chunky, you can use a food processor instead of a potato masher.

Step 7: Serve warm or cold.

MARINATED PORK

Here is what you need:

Boneless pork loins (1 for every person), 1 cup orange juice (or juice of 1 orange plus the zest), 1/2 cup soy sauce

Step 1: Preheat a skillet w/ 2 tbsp.olive oil on medium heat

Step 2: Mix 1 cup orange juice and 1/2 cup soy sauce in a dish. I also like to add a bit of pepper. Dip each of your pork loins (after you have cut them in half) in the marinade mixture and place in preheated pan. (I usually let mine sit in the marinade for a minute or two)

Step 2: Let your pork loins sit for about 4 minutes on each side (or until no longer pink)


Step 5: Serve your roasted potatoes, pork and applesauce and enjoy!

Our veggie of choice was Green beans- this mom had a lot going on so we just zapped them in the microwave. Yummy!

Cost per family of 5: $7.00
Cost per person: $1.40

I know this is a bit pricey and we don't typically do such an expensive meal, but sometimes you have a little extra in your grocery budget and it's worth it to splurge on a great meal!

I hope you enjoy! Thanks to Rachael Ray for the great recipe!

Friday: Vegetable Cheese Soup w/ Homeade Bread

This is one of my absolute comfort, yummy fall meals that is SO QUICK AND EASY! Enjoy!

Here is what you need for the cheese soup:

1 package of mixed veggies (I like California blend), 3/4 lb velveeta cheese, 2 cans chicken broth and 1-2 cans cream of chicken soup (note this is optional, the cream of chicken soup makes the soup itself creamy and thicker)

Step 1: Place the frozen veggies and 2 cans of chicken broth in a large pot on medium-high heat.

Step 2: Cook until boiling and until veggies are tender. (about 10 minutes)

step 3: cut up your 3/4 block of velveeta cheese into cubes

Step 4: Once your veggies are nice and soft, mash them a bit w/ a potato masher.

Step 5: Add your cheese to the soup mixture, turn heat DOWN to medium low heat and CONTINUE STIRRING until all the cheese is melted and you take it off the burner. If you stop stirring or cook it too high, you will notice it will start burning on the bottom and your soup will have a burnt taste to it. It's very important that you cook it (once the cheese is added) at a low temperature and continue stirring!

Step 6: Once the cheese is melted, add your cream of chicken soup (1 or 2 cans depending on how thick you like your soup). Keep stirring! Once everything is warm and melted, it is ready to serve!

Step 7: We paired our soup w/ a Ceasar Salad and Store bought French bread. I know, I know I said it would be homeade bread ( I still posted the recipe for this below). Here's the deal- Sometimes when you meal plan, things come up and the meal doesn't always go as planned. My mom celebrated her birthday this week and she requested this meal. Since I already had all the ingredients, I decided to make it for her! No time to make the homeade bread, but store bought french bread is cheap and great to dip in the soup!

Happy Birthday , Mom!

Cost of Cheese Soup and bread: $8.00

Cost for a family (feeds 8): $1.00 per person


Homeade french bread:

Here is what you need: 1 cup + 2 Tbsp. water, 2 tsp butter or maragarine, softened, 3 1/3 cups flour, 1 Tbsp. sugar, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 2 1/2 tsp. yeast

Step 1:
Place ingredients into bread pan in the following order: water, butter, bread flour, sugar and salt.

Step 2:
With your finger, make a small indentation on one side of the flour and add yeast (make sure yeast does not come into contact w/ the liquid ingredients.

Step 3: insert bread pan into breadmaker and close lid.

Step 4: Press Start and enjoy!

Thursday: Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

I love slow cooker meals, especially in the fall! My house smells so yummy all day. Stroganoff is one of my absolute favorite meals.

Here is what you need:
2 tbsp. flour, 1/2 tsp. garlic powder, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1 3/4 lb. boneless beef round steak (I used 3/4 lb and it was plenty for 6 people or mix it up and just use ground beef), 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1/2 cup water, 1 envelope dried onion soup mix, 1/2 cup sour cream, 9 oz jar (can or fresh) mushrooms (we opted to not put these in our stroganoff so they are not pictured).


Step 1: combine 2 tbsp. flour, 1/2 tsp. garlic powder and 1/2 tsp. pepper in slow cooker

Step 2: Cut meat into 1 1/2 x 1 inch strips (or cubed like mine) and toss in flour mixture until well coated.
Step 3: Add mushroom soup, 1/2 cup water, and soup mix. Stir until well blended.

Step 4: Cover, cook on High 3-3/12 hours or Low 6-7 hours

Step 5: Stir in mushrooms, 1/2 cup sour cream.

Let the sour cream cook in the stroganoff about 10-15 minutes or until heated through

Step 6: Cook your noodles. I chose to eat our stroganoff over noodles, but it would be just as good over rice, bread or potatoes.

Step 7: Don't forget your veggie for a side! We chose to cook some carrots

Step 8: Serve and enjoy! Yummy!


Cost of meal: $7.50 (for steak), $5.50 (for ground beef)
Cost per person for a family of 6- $1.25 (for steak) .91 cents (for ground beef)

I hope you enjoyed this meal. I would love to hear your comments on it!

Wednesday: Wafflewiches

Waffles are not just for breakfast anymore! If you have never tried a wafflewich, you are in for a great meal! A wafflewich is basically a sandwich- hot or cold served on a waffle. I made plain waffles using bisquick and then added shredded cheese and sauteed onions to 1/2 of the batter. Then you add your sandwich toppings- eat cold or heat to eat warm. We had our first waffle sandwich at a local restaurant in town and we have now recreated them to enjoy at home!

Here is what you need:

Bisquick (or frozen waffles), cheddar cheese, turkey, bacon, mayo and red onion (Note- these are the toppings we chose for our sandwiches, but you can choose other toppings as well). I also used peanut butter and jelly for my youngest.

Step 1: Mix up your waffles if you are making them homeade. Then, preheat the waffle iron.

Step 2: If you are using bacon, fry your bacon and then sautee your chopped red onion.

Step 3: If you are going to make all of your waffles w/ cheddar cheese and sauteed onion in the batter, go ahead and mix these two ingredients into your batter. Otherwise, make a few plain waffles and then make some with cheese and onions.

Step 4: Add your ingredients to your sandwich (Note- your sandwich toppings may be different than mine). We used turkey, bacon, cheddar cheese and mayo.


Step 5: Cut and serve! If you want to eat them cold, you are ready to go! I prefer mine warm, so after adding my ingredients to my sandwich, I put my sandwich back on my waffle maker (which was still warm) and it melted my cheese.

Step 6: My daughter loved her peanut butter and jelly wafflewich!


Cost per family of 6: $4.00

Cost per person: .66 cents

I really want to hear how you like the wafflewich!

Please post and let me know what great ideas you have for mix-ins for the waffle batter and toppings for your sandwiches!

Tuesday: Chicken Bruschetta with Green Beans

This is a yummy comfort food, I make it at least once a month. My husband is a pretty picky eater and he thinks it's pretty good also!

Here is what you need:


1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes (undrained), 1 pkg. Chicken stuffing, /12 cup water, 1/4 tsp. garlic powder (or 2 cloves garlic), 1 1/2 lb. Chicken, 1 tsp. dried basil leaves (optional), 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Then, add the diced tomatoes (undrained), stuffing mix and water in a bowl.

Step 2: Add 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder or 2 minced cloves of garlic to mixture

Step 3: Stir until just moistened

Step 4: Dice up chicken into bite size pieces

Step 5: Place chicken in a 13 x 9 inch baking dish, sprinkle 1 tsp. dried basil leaves on top

Step 6: Sprinkle 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese on top of the chicken

Step 7: Spread stuffing mix on top of the cheese and then add the other 1/2 cup of cheese on top

Step 8: Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes

This will reheat great and is perfect for leftovers!

Cost for a family of 6: $6.00

Cost per person: $1.00

Recipe taken from "Kraft: Food and Family" magazine; Fall 2008- p. 26. If you haven't signed up for kraft's free recipe magazine, you absolutely should!

The Frugal Table Grocery List

This week we are having some warm, yummy comfort foods on a budget.


Frugal Table Meal Plan

Monday: Calzones

Tuesday: Chicken Bruschetta with green beans

Wednesday: Wafflewiches

Thursday: Beef Stroganoff

Friday: Vegetable Cheese soup w/ Homeade Bread

Saturday: Marinated Pork w/ homeade appleasauce, roasted potatoes and green beans

Sunday: Breakfast Bubble Pizza


Here is your Grocery List:

Calzones-
Makes 6 small calzones

1 Jar pizza sauce
1 cup mozzerella or pizza cheese
pepperoni or other pizza toppings
refrigerated pizza dough (or make your own cheap!) Click on our coupons.com link on the right and it you can print off a coupon for pillsbury pizza dough (mine ended up being free!) and Muir Glen tomatoes (to make your own sauce)


Tuesday: Chicken Bruschetta
Serves 6, 1 cup each

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained (using coupons.com-click on the link on our sidebar, you can print of a coupon for Muir Glenn tomatoes and get your tomatoes for VERY cheap!)
1 pkg. Stuffing mix for Chicken
2 cloves garlic (or 1/4 tsp. garlic powder)
1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 tsp. dried basil leave (This is optional, if you don't already have these or can't get a great deal on dried or fresh basil you can leave it out b/c they are semi-pricey)
1 cup Mozzarella Cheese

Wednesday: Wafflewiches
Serves 4

Bisquick or Frozen Buttermilk waffles

Turkey Deli Meat
Cheddar Cheese
Red Onion
Mayo.
Bacon
*All of the above were the sandwich toppings we chose. You can be creative and make your own sandwich up w/a different meat or whatever you have on hand!

Thursday: Beef Stroganoff
Serves:6

Garlic powder
paprika
1 3/4 lb boneless beef round steak (to save money, I only bought 3/4 of a lb of round steak)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 envelope dried onion soup mix
9 0z- jar sliced mushrooms (or fresh mushrooms if you can get a good deal)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tbs. minced fresh parsley (I opted to not buy this)

Friday: Vegetable cheese Soup
Serves 6, 1 cup each

1 pkg. frozen broccoli, cauliflower and carrot mix
2 cans chicken broth
3/4 lb Velveeta cheese

Homeade French Bread

2 tb. butter
3 1/4 cups flour
1 tb. sugar
1/ 1/2 tsp.salt
2 1/2 tsp fast rising yeast

Saturday: Marinated Pork w/ homeade Applesauce and roasted potatoes/beans
This is my favorite Rachel Ray recipe. Sooo yummy and easy!
Serves: 4

4 center cut boneless pork chops
1/4 cup soy sauce
orange juice

4 Macintosh apples
1 cup apple juice (or cider)
brown sugar

1 1/2 lb red skinned potatoes
olive oil
fresh green beans (or canned)

Sunday: Breakfast Bubble Pizza
Serves 6

2 tubes buttermilk biscuits (buy the small, cheap ones that come in a pack of 4)
Sausage gravy (Tennessee Pride on sale right now for $1.00)
(if you have some frozen from the last time we made sausage gravy, this is the time to get it out. If not, you can buy sausage gravy pretty cheap or just make your own w/ sausage, flour and milk)
Eggs
Cheddar Cheese


That's it folks. This week is so yummy and sure to provide lots of leftovers to freeze or for lunch the next day!

Be sure to use our sidebar link to coupons.com to make your dinner this week even more frugal!