Cupcakes Mmmm!

My memories of elementary school consist mostly of world class dodge ball games at recess, playing the recorder like a rock star in music class, and getting the most gold stars next to my name on the dental hygiene bulletin board. But there were a few days each year that overshadowed all other memories. Birthdays. That was the day when the mothers would bring cupcakes to school. The birthday kid would glow with pride as they handed out cupcakes to all the other students as if they were passing out winning lottery tickets. And the teacher would look on in fear knowing that the sugar high would hit any minute. Even now as an adult when I pass the bakery case full of beautiful cupcakes piled high with whipped frosting they evoke all the same feelings of excitement and celebration that they used to. The good news is that cupcakes aren’t just for kids. They can be as simple or sophisticated as you want them to be. They can be used at birthdays, baby showers, and backyard barbecues or just as a special after school snack. If you want a quick way to bring a smile to someone’s face, a cupcake can usually do the trick. Here are a few delectable recipes to try. There are sure to make the people in your life happy.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
(Food Network)

• 3 cups flour
• 1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
• 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
• 1 ¼ teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 ½ cups vegetable oil
• 2 ¼ cups granulated sugar
• 1 ¼ cups buttermilk
• 3 eggs
• 2 tablespoons red food coloring
• 2 teaspoons red food coloring
• 1 ¼ teaspoons vinegar (white or apple cider can both work)
• 1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1⁄8; cup water

For the cream cheese frosting
• 1 ½ lb cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 lb butter, room temperature
• 2 lbs powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For the cupcakes: Preheat oven 350 degrees F. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder into a bowl and set aside. In a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix oil, sugar, and buttermilk until combined. Add eggs, food coloring, vinegar, vanilla and water and mix well. Add the dry ingredients a little bit at a time and mix on low, scraping down sides occasionally, and mix until just combined. Be sure not to over mix, or the batter will come out. tough. Line a 16-cup cupcake pan with paper liners, scoop the batter into the liners and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 to 30 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean. Let cool. For the cream cheese frosting: Whip the butter and cream cheese together in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until creamed. Gradually add powdered sugar to the mixture and scrape down the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and mix until combined. The frosting can be used right away, or stored in the refrigerator up to a week. Frost cooled cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting.

Lemonade Cupcakes 
(food.com)

• 1 (6 ounce) can frozen lemonade concentrate , thawed
• 1 (18 ¼ ounce) box white cake mix
• 1 (8 ounce) carton sour cream
• 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 3 eggs
• 1 (12 ounce) can whipped cream cheese frosting

Preheat oven to 350. Remove 2 tablespoons lemonade concentrate from can and discard or reserve for other use. Combine remaining concentrate, cake mix, sour cream, cream cheese and eggs in large bowl. Beat with mixer until well blended. Spoon batter into paper-lined muffin tins, filling 3/4 full. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until cooked through. Cool completely before frosting.

 For Frosting: Whip together canned frosting and reserved lemonade concentrate.

  
Coconut Cupcakes With White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting 
(Cuisine at Home)

For the Cupcakes

• 1 ¾ cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 large egg whites
• ¾ cup coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon almond extract
• ¾ cup sugar
• ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature (1 stick)
• 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut Frosting
• 8 ounce cream cheese, room temperature (do not use nonfat)
• ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature (1 stick)
• 2 ounce white chocolate, melted • ½ lime, juice of
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 ½ cups sweetened flaked coconut(for topping)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a regular sized muffin tin with cupcake papers. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. In a measuring cup combine egg whites, coconut milk and extracts. Cream together sugar and butter with an electric mixer on medium speed. Blend until butter lightens in color and texture, 4 minutes. Alternately add dry and wet ingredients, starting and ending with dry, in 3 additions. Fold in coconut using a rubber spatula. Scoop batter into prepared tin, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Cool in the pan 5 minutes; remove completely. For frosting, beat cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until smooth. Add melted white chocolate and lime juice; beat to blend. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth (it will be gooey). Spread 3 Tbsp frosting on each cupcake. Top cupcakes with coconut.

Getting The Most From Your Meat Purchase

Aside from my vegetarian daughter, we are a meat and potatoes family. I have four hungry guys in this house who don’t consider it a complete meal unless there is some kind of animal on their plate. They will tolerate my non-meat creations but to them, it’s more of a snack than an actual meal. But being a carnivore can get expensive. A large portion of my budget goes directly towards meat so I’ve learned a few tricks to get the most out of my purchase.

We tend to stay away from them because it seems like more work, but the cheapest cuts of meats are usually the ones that require less handling by the butcher and have the bone and skin still attached. A family size pack of bone-in skin-on chicken pieces is usually around $1 a pound versus boneless skinless chicken breasts at around $2.50 per pound or more. Buying bone-in cuts of meat can not only save you money by yielding more than one meal but with the added bone and skin it can add flavor and nutrition that would otherwise be removed. And if time is at a premium like most busy people today, you can take your one package of meat and with a minimal active prep time create the first three meals of your week in a short amount of time, ready to be completed on a busy week night.

Here is what we do with a value pack size of chicken leg quarters when we get home from the grocery store.

1. Separate the thigh from the drumstick by bending at the joint until it dislocates and then cutting apart at the separated joint.

2. Put the drumsticks in a large freezer bag and pour marinade over the top. Let marinate for up to 24 hours. You now have the main course of one meal ready to go.

3. Put the thighs in a crock pot. . Add a quartered onion, chopped fresh garlic, a few stalks of celery and fill the rest of the space with water. You can add spices for a richer broth. I usually add 1 teaspoon salt, some pepper, basil, thyme, paprika or sage. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or until meat falls off the bone. Strain the broth from the meat and chill. Scrape off the fat that rises and solidifies on top and then freeze or store in the fridge for a few days. The meat can be cooled and separated from the bones and skin. Store this in freezer bags for future use. It should be between 1 and 2 cups of usable meat.

With these easy tips you will be able to put three economical week night dinners on the table and please the meat eaters in your family as well.

Marinade for Drumsticks
(The Bryant House)

¼ cup cider vinegar
3 tablespoons grainy mustard
4cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 lime, juiced
½ lemon, juiced
½ cup brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons salt
6 tablespoons olive oil
Ground black pepper to taste

Whisk together all ingredients and pour over chicken pieces. Let marinate 2-24 hours. Then grill or bake.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole
(food.com)

• 1 cup diced onion
• ½ cup diced green pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 cups cooked chicken
• 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies
• 3 tablespoons butter
• ½ cup flour
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 2 ½ cups chicken broth
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 ½ cups Monterey jack cheese
• 12 (8 inch) flour tortillas

In a large saucepan cook onion and green pepper in the 2 tablespoons of butter until tender. Combine onion mixture in a bowl with chopped chicken and green chili peppers. Set aside. For sauce, in the same pan melt 3 tablespoons butter. Stir in flour, coriander and salt. Stir in chicken broth all at once. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup of the cheese. Stir 1/2 cup of the sauce into the chicken mixture. Fill each tortilla with about 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture. Roll up and arrange in a 13x19x2 baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered in a 350 oven about 25 minutes or until bubbly. Can be made ahead of time and frozen. Place a large sheet of heavy duty foil in your baking dish with enough foil over the end to fold up and over the frozen casserole. Make the casserole up until you are ready to bake it. Freeze it solid. Remove frozen casserole from your dish and encase in the excess foil for storage. This frees up the dish for other meals. When you wish to heat it, remove foil from the still frozen casserole, and place back into the dish that you froze it in initially to thaw; bake as directed.

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup (our favorite)

(Adapted from the back of the Reames Homestyle Egg Noodles Package)

½ to 1 cup of cooked chicken meat
6 cups of homemade chicken stock
1 package Reames Homestyle Egg Noodles
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 bay leaf
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons butter
¼ cup flour
Salt to taste
Bring broth to a boil with the bay leaf. Add noodles and simmer for 20 minutes stirring often. Add parsley, thyme, pepper, onions, celery, and carrots. Simmer for 10 minutes or until done. Meanwhile melt butter in a skillet. Add flour and cook for 1 -2 minutes. Add cream to the noodle mixture. Bring back to a simmer. Add flour mixture and cook until thickened. About 2 minutes. Discard bay leaf, add chicken and salt to taste.

Calling in Back Up...Freezer Food

I'm spending the day filling the freezer with goodies. I've got dough for rolls in the bread machine, found some blueberries in the back of the freezer for some muffins, and I'm making a batch of homemade chicken noodle soup to stock up the freezer. The thing that saves me every week is knowing that I have back-up in my freezer. Sometimes I don't have time to put something in the crockpot before I leave in the afternoon for work and other times I am so tired when I get home I don't want to make dinner. Having muffins in the freezer for snacks or a quick breakfast streamlines my morning and soup and rolls can be a quick heat up dinner on a crazy night. There is no need to buy pre-packaged freezer meals as long as you plan ahead. If you don't have all day to spend stocking your freezer then it's easy to just double a recipe during the week and store half of it in the freezer. Before you know it your freezer will be full and you'll always have a back up plan on a crazy day without any extra work.

For The Love of Butter

I used to be a die hard margarine fan. It was what I grew up with, I was comfortable using it and it was cheap. Why mess with a good thing? But my culinary friends would all tell rapturous stories of their experiences with butter. They would have a dreamy look in their eyes as they told me about their flakier pie crusts, lighter breads and richer gravies. The retelling of their experience with butter resembled their stories of first loves and I started to think maybe I was missing out on something really big. So I went to get my first package to see for myself. From that day on I understood what the cult of butter was all about.

Butter is one of the most highly concentrated forms of fluid milk. Even though it is made up of the fat of cow’s milk only 80% is fat and the other 20% is water and milk solids. It comes in salted or unsalted forms but the salt is there purely as a preservative and as long as you use your butter within about a month’s time it won’t go bad. When baking you should always choose unsalted or “sweet” because the salt reacts to the gluten in the flour and toughens up your final product. But really, the use of butter is all about the taste. The reason why it creates such a noticeable difference in our food is because most flavors dissolve better in fats. Butter is a delivery system for anything you decide to cook in it. For instance, if you sauté on onion in butter before adding all the other ingredients, all the flavor from the onion will be carried by the butter throughout the whole dish. It’s creamy taste and ability to enhance flavors is what sends us culinary folk into such euphoria. So if you haven’t converted to butter yet, here are a few recipes that just might give you the push you need.

Pan Seared Tilapia with Chili Lime Butter
(food.com)

For chile lime butter
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
• 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lime zest
• 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh Serrano chili, including seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

For fish
• 6 (5 ounce) skinless tilapia fillets
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, to taste
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Stir together butter, shallot, zest, lime juice, chile and salt in a bowl and set aside. Pat fish dry and sprinkle with salt. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until just smoking. Sauté 3 pieces of fish, using a spatula to turn once, until golden and just cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate and sauté remaining fish in same manner. Serve each piece of fish with a dollop of chile lime butter.

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Butter
(“San Francisco Flavors” San Francisco Jr. League Cookbook)

• 1 (1 1/2 lb.) butternut squash, halved and seeded
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 large leek, white part only, halved length wise and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
• Wonton wrappers (square)
• 12 sage leaves

Preheat the oven to 400°F Brush the olive oil over the cut sides of the squash. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and place, cut-side down, in a glass baking dish. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until soft. Let cool. Scoop the squash out of the skin and puree in a blender or food processor until smooth. In a large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium-high heat and sauté the leek until browned, about 7 minutes. Add the squash, cheese, and parsley and stir until just heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Place 1 tablespoon filling on a wonton wrapper. Brush the edges of the wrapper with water, fold, and seal shut around the filling. Repeat until all the filling is used. In a large pot of salted slowly boiling water, cook the ravioli until they float to the top, about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to serving bowls. While the ravioli are cooking, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Brown the sage leaves in the butter for 3 to 4 minutes. Pour over the ravioli and serve at once.


Pear Cake
(food.com)

For Cake:
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 4 cups raw diced pears

For Topping:
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 lb. butter

Mix all cake ingredients by hand in order given. Pour in a greased 9 x 13 inch pan or spring form pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes and remove. In saucepan mix all topping ingredients and bring to a slow boil for 3 minutes. Pour over cake and return to oven for 4 minutes.

Soups On!

I wish that my parents had written a hand book for my husband when we first got married. It would have made life so much easier. There were just some things he needed to know about living with me that I couldn’t explain to him all by myself. For instance, there were certain times that he needed to have a bag of peanut butter cups ready for me with no questions asked. He also needed to know that on long car rides I wasn’t going to be much good at entertaining him. The white noise of the road would make me sleep from the moment we hit the freeway to the moment we pulled off. But most of all he needed to know what to do for me when I was sick. I can still remember 6 months into our marriage when I got the stomach flu. What a shock to realize that I wasn’t going to get the princess treatment from my husband like I did from my mother. It was the first awakening to the fact that I was a full-fledged adult. As my husband left for work I managed to shuffle to the kitchen in my bathrobe and make my own chicken noodle soup. It wasn’t as magically healing as mom’s but it was sufficient to make me feel stronger by the next day.

Soups have been a source of comfort for centuries as well as a mainstay in the frugal diet. It’s a versatile way to take what little you have and turn it into a hearty meal that feeds many. But soup isn’t just a belly-filler, it creates an atmosphere of coziness, healing and contentment. We eat warm soup on those damp rainy nights when we feel cold to the bone, when we are feeling under the weather, or when it’s been a hard day and we just want to curl up with a warm mug in our hands.

Soup takes us back to a simpler way of nourishing ourselves. We’ve made it so easy to just grab a can off the supermarket shelf but to make your own is much easier than you think. So pull out a stock pot and give these recipes a try.

Classic Homemade Chicken Stock
(Betty Crocker’s Picture Cookbook, 1950)

• 5 lbs chicken pieces (meat, skin and bone)
• 4 quarts cold water
• 1/3 cup carrot sliced into large chunks
• 1/3 cup chopped celery
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley
• 2 teaspoons salt

Place in a kettle the chicken and cold water; cover and bring it slowly to boil. Remove scum (the foamy stuffy that rises to the top) and add the remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer gently for 3 hours, removing the scum occasionally. Strain and separate meat from the broth. Chill broth, remove fat, and strain again. Store in covered jars in refrigerator; the layer of fat on top will help preserve the stock, but it must be skimmed off before heating stock for use in soups and sauces. (Personally I like to freeze it in containers and pull out as recipes call for it.) Leftover meat can be pulled from the bone and saved for other dishes.


Thai Shrimp Soup
(Weight Watchers)

• 14 ounces light coconut milk
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
• 2 -3 teaspoons chili paste with garlic
• 1 1/2-2 lbs uncooked shrimp, peeled (medium-size)
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
• 14 1/2 ounces diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
• 1/2 cup sliced green onion
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups fresh sliced mushrooms
• chopped cilantro for garnish

Combine coconut milk, ginger and chili paste in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add shrimp, reduce heat, and simmer for 3 minutes, or until shrimp is cooked through. Remove shrimp with a slotted spoon. Combine flour and soy sauce in a small bowl, and stir with a whisk, then add to coconut milk in saucepan. Add tomatoes, green onion, lime juice and sugar, then bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes until mixture thickens slightly, stirring occasionally. Stir in mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes. Return the shrimp to the pan and cook until thoroughly heated. Serve sprinkled with cilantro, if desired.


Broccoli Cheddar Soup
(food.com)

• 1/4 cup onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper (or to taste)
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cups chopped broccoli, cooked crisp-tender
• 1 -2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped celery

Saute onion and celery in butter in saucepan over medium heat until tender. Add flour, and salt and pepper, cooking and stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Add broth and milk (all at once), stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil and begins to thicken. Add cooked stirring until all is heated through. Remove from heat and stir in cheese until melted and smooth.

Food as Comfort

This holiday season was a bit different for our family as it was the first Christmas without my dad. After a long illness, my father passed away in September. We spent months setting aside our everyday lives to focus on our remaining time with him. And just as everyone who has lost a loved one knows, the business of dying isn’t as simple as just passing on. There are preparations and decisions and plans to be made; financial matters and documents to handle; grief to process; all while handling our own busy lives. It’s a stressful time and most things fall by the wayside as we get a bit of perspective on what’s truly important during the process. The last thing on my mind was figuring out what to feed my family.

But the great thing about community is that people gather around us when we go through tragedy. People inherently know that if comforting words fail them, comforting food won’t. And so the home baked dishes come rolling in. It’s a way of saying, “I’m so sorry for your loss. I care about you. You’re not alone.” All those sentiments can be conveyed through one 9 x 13 casserole dish filled with a home cooked meal. And for the people that are grieving, it’s one less task to worry about. So here are some things to keep in mind if you decide to take a meal to a grieving family.

• It’s best to use dishes that you don’t need back. Disposable is always a great option or you can purchase a dish especially for your food and include it in the gift. If you have to use a dish that you need back, make sure to put a label on the bottom with your name and address on it. Chances are they will have received lots of meals and it will be easier for them to remember who it belongs to.

• When delivering the meal, don’t linger. In the midst of grief we don’t really want to have to relive all the painful details. Privacy is precious as we process all that we are going through. Make it a quick and pleasant drop off with a minimum of chit chat.

• Give selflessly. Don’t expect a thank you card in the mail and then be disappointed if you don’t’ get one. Don’t expect a lot of fanfare for your thoughtfulness. Don’t expect the favor to be returned. Just give. Sometimes after the tragedy has passed we forgot some of the details of what happened and who helped. Just know that it was appreciated more than you can realize.

Classic Baked Macaroni and Cheese

From Fannie Farmer’s Boston Cooking School Cookbook, 1946

• 8 ounces elbow macaroni
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup cream
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs , buttered

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cook and drain macaroni according to package directions; set aside. In a large saucepan melt butter. Add flour mixed with salt and pepper, using a whisk to stir until well blended. Pour milk and cream in gradually; stirring constantly. Bring to boiling point and boil 2 minutes (stirring constantly). Reduce heat and cook (stirring constantly) 10 minutes. Add shredded cheddar little by little and simmer an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese melts. Turn off flame. Add macaroni to the saucepan and toss to coat with the cheese sauce. Transfer macaroni to a buttered baking dish. Sprinkle with buttered breadcrumbs. Bake 20 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Italian Chicken Casserole

From Food.com

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cup chicken, cooked and chopped
• 2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with garlic, basil and oregano
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1 (8 ounce) package angel hair pasta, cooked and kept warm

Preheat oven to 350 degrees; lightly spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray. In large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; cook 3 minutes, or until tender. Stir in chicken, tomatoes and cream. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Add cream cheese and 1 cup mozzarella cheese; cook, stirring constantly until cheeses are melted. Add pasta, tossing gently to coat. Spoon into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with remaining cheese. Bake 30 minutes.

California Style Chicken

From the American Diabetes Association

• 3 lb. (about 8 pieces) of chicken (thighs, breasts, drumsticks)
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 40 garlic cloves, separated, peeled
• 4 celery ribs, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 375°F. Prepare a medium baking dish with olive oil flavored nonstick pan spray. Place chicken in dish and brush with oil. Sprinkle basil, oregano, salt & pepper over the chicken. Spread the garlic, celery, onion & parsley over and around the chicken. Pour the wine and lemon juice into the baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 30 minutes.

The Answer To The End Of The Month Crunch

At the end of the month we sometimes find ourselves squeaking by. With a budget as tight as we have, even little surprises can leave us scrambling to make ends meet. One of the biggest ways I have to offset a zero-balance-end-of-the-month budget is a full freezer.

To some, a full freezer means intentionally stocking it with extra groceries. But my version is a little different. I mean, if I had extra money, of course I'd try to fill it with surplus groceries. What I normally find myself having extra of... is leftovers.

Almost every home cooked meal in this house has leftovers. Spaghetti, casseroles, soups and stews usually get returned to the kitchen after a meal with a little bit left in the dish. While the kids are doing the dinner dishes (because in our house the cook NEVER has to clean up) I make sure that the leftovers get placed in containers, labeled, and dated and packed into the freezer. No more shoving it in the fridge only to be found later after it's started growing a beard. And we can build up quite a smorgasbord of meals in there after a while.

Then at the end of the month, when inevitably money is tight, I don't need to buy near as many groceries. At the end of last month we had sloppy joes from the freezer for lunch a few days, I even had some leftover pulled pork, chicken barley stew and several other things in there that got pulled out, warmed up and given a new life. Not only did it offset any lack in our budget but it saved me tons of time in the kitchen.

It's a simple thing to do if you just incorporate it into the after meal clean-up and requires no extra time or money on your part.

So if you find yourself with leftovers after dinner tonight, pack them away into your freezer for a night when funds are low and appetites are high. You will be glad that you did.

Frugally Frozen Treats

When the hot summer days hit, my kids live on popsicles. It’s staggering how many of those things they can consume in one day. The only time they’ll eat real food is when the sun goes down and they finally come dragging into the house after a long day of running and playing. So I have to make sure that the frozen treats they are getting are not only chock full of some sort of nutrition but are easy on my budget.

Homemade summer treats are a breeze to make and require very little equipment. A few dollar store popsicle molds and some fresh fruit and you’re in business. You can be as creative as you want by layering colors to make striped treats or by mixing different fruits and juices together to create custom flavors. And the best part is that you know you’re giving your children healthy snacks where you can include the freshest ingredients and control the sugar content as well.

Here are a few ideas for some frugally frozen treats that are sure to please the kids and maybe a few adults too.

Peaches and Cream-sicles

• 1 (6 oz.) can peaches in light syrup or
• 2 fresh ripe peaches, sliced and pitted
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp. sugar or honey (optional)

Whip cream in a blender for 30-45 seconds. Add peaches and honey. Whir until smooth. Pour into molds, and freeze.

Fresh Fruit Pops

These are fun and can be as creative as you want. Mix complementary flavors to come up with your own gourmet popsicles.

• 2 cups of fresh fruit chunks (watermelon, berries, pitted cherries, mango….etc.)
• 2 cups of juice (white grape, orange, pineapple, etc…)

Combine all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Pour into molds and freeze.

Strawberry Banana Yogurt Pops

• 24 ounce container Vanilla Yogurt
• 4 bananas sliced small
• 1 ½ cups strawberries sliced small
• 1 cup mini marshmallows (optional)

Stir all ingredients together and freeze in popsicle molds.

Frozen Chocolate Bananas on a Stick.

• 6 firm bananas
• 2 cups chocolate chips
• Shredded coconut, chopped nuts, sprinkles, etc.

Cut each unpeeled banana in half, and gently insert a popsicle stick into each one. Then peel bananas. Place bananas onto a baking sheet and freeze until frozen. In a double boiler melt chocolate chips. Dip frozen bananas into melted chocolate, then roll in coconut, chopped nuts, sprinkles, or leave plain. Freeze until chocolate hardens and they are ready to eat. Enjoy!

Frozen Fruit Cups

• 16 ounces strawberries
• 12 ounces pineapple-orange juice concentrate, thawed
• 2 (20 ounce) cans crushed pineapple, undrained
• 2 (11 ounce) cans mandarin oranges, undrained
• 6 bananas, diced
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 16 ounces blueberries

Combine all ingredients in a very large bowl. Freeze in 1-cup increments. Thaw to a slushy consistency before serving.

5 Must Have Tools for the Frugal Kitchen

Let's face it, If you're committed to eating healthy and frugal then you're going to spend some time in that kitchen of yours. You'll be planning and cooking meals that are full of good old home cooking and for all the chopping and mixing and stirring you'll be doing, it's a good idea to have some tools that are going to make your life easier. We don't live in the days where all you need is a good rolling pin, a quality frying pan and an apron to make a good meal. We've got a vast and sometimes complicated array of tools at our disposal. So here are the five tools that I can't do without in my own kitchen. They are loyal friends that I use everyday of my life and if it weren't for them, we wouldn't be eating as good as we do.

A Food Processor: It's nothing fancy and probably to most people, the one I own is outdated. But that baby can cut onions without making me cry, grates cheese without any of my knuckles in the mix and grinds graham crackers into crust at the push of a button and with zero mess.

A Blender: We use it for smoothies, pourable pancake batter, quick quiche, pureeing fruit for syrups, and homemade salad dressings. It's not only fast and easy to mix things in but rather than cleaning out a mixing bowl and a whisk you've only got one thing to wash when it's all said and done.

A Garlic Peeler: I use fresh garlic everyday. I mean it....we use a lot of garlic! I used to hate trying to peel off those sticky paper thin layers of skin. But in our house, garlic powder is an abomination. It's fresh or nothing. With this little gadget I am frustrated no more.

No Slip Nestable Mixing Bowls: I have a two sets of 5 different sized, nesting, stainless mixing bowls that I use all the time. Yes, I said two sets. I get tons of use out of these and just one in each size wasn't enough. They have rubber bottoms so they don't slide off the counter and spill when I'm stirring and there is a size for every need from giant batches of potato salad to holding egg yolks for a special dessert. And the stainless set is even pretty and shiny enough that sometimes I serve right out of them.

Electric Skillet: With six of us in this house, there is no stove top skillet that can hold enough pancakes, fried eggs or sausage links where I'll actually be able to sit and eat with the rest of the family. It seems without this gadget I was doomed to the task of fry cook and never to be a diner at my own table. Now I can cook meals in one batch and actually get to eat it while it's hot. Hallelujah! Plus, I highly recommend one with a lid to keep any splatters under control.

What tools of the trade do you find yourself relying on the most?