3 dinners for under $10 total

Okay, so I didn't add up the amounts, but I think I made all three of these dinners for under $10 total. My family does not eat leftovers, so I do not save leftovers. They just go moldy, so I would rather throw them away when they smell good, than when they smell horrible. (I know, not very frugal of me---but that's the way it is.) But, if I can make it into something else, then it works. I haven't done the following plan before, but it worked out quite nicely.

10-12 medium potatoes

Toppings for baked potatoes

1 tube jimmy dean hot sausage

1 yellow onion

1/2 bottle BBQ sauce

9 eggs

S & P

Beef boullion cubes

Biscuits or biscuit ingredients

The first night we had baked potatoes. Mine were red potatoes, but it doesn't matter. Make extra for the following meals... (I think I made 10-12 medium sized potatoes for my family of 5 eaters).

Then a night or two later we had Rancho's Juevos. (My Dad always said it meant "Ranch Eggs" in spanish, but who knows?) Here is how to do it...

After the baked potatoes cool (you can just leave them in the foil and put them in the fridge) or let them cool on the counter for a few hours. Remove the foil and cube. Put them in the fridge in a ziploc until ready to use. In a large non-stick skillet put the potatoes in and brown edges and heat through. Salt and Pepper. In a separate pan cook 1 chopped yellow onion and 1 tube of jimmy dean hot sausage (by the ham and hot dogs at the grocery store). Add cooked sausage to potatoes. In a separate bowl beat some eggs. (I did 9, but it just depends on how many potatoes you have and how much egg you like). Add eggs to potatoes and cook through. Add half a bottle of any brand/flavor BBQ sauce and serve. You can also top with cheese if desired.

For the third meal I made a beef broth with water and beef boullion cubes. I did 5 bouillion cubes to half a big pan of water. (The normal recipe is 1 cube to 1 C. water...and I estimated that it was about 5 cups of water). Then I added the left over Rancho's Juevos to make a sausage and potato soup. The egg looked a little weird, but it didn't taste bad at all. In fact the soup was really really good. (I figured there is egg in egg drop soup). I also made biscuits to go with the soup. I am still looking for the perfect biscuit recipe so I will not post the recipe I used. (Anyone have any suggestions.)

And there you have it...3 cheap, easy, fast, yummy meals!

Simple and yummy California Chicken!

This recipe is from Tammy Stapp but I love it because it's so simple yet a little gourmet like. Take as many chicken breasts as you need and put it in a 9x13 dish. Cover each breast with your favorite cheese. She recommended colby jack but I love Swiss and think of it as more California like. Then add tomatoes to each breast. Bake in the oven at 350 for 30 min or until your chicken breast is cooked through. Add sliced avocado over the top of each breast and enjoy. So YUMMY!!

What to make?!?!?!

What to make...What to make?!?!?! (For dinner)

Chicken Fajitas

This is the way I always make chicken fajitas.  It sounds weird having italian dressing in a mexican dish but it's not.  It's really yummy.

Abt. 2-4 Chicken Breasts, diced or cut in strips
1 pkg. dry Italian seasoning mix (like you would make italian salad dressing out of)

Whatever toppings you like:

sour cream
cheese
lettuce
salsa

tomatoes, chopped
Tortilla 

Green Peppers and onion, sauteed

Mushrooms, sauteed

Cook chicken in frying pan sprayed with pam. Once cooked through (do not overcook), add seasoning pkt and some water (like you're making taco meat). Once liquid has evaporated, make your fajitas with whatever toppings you want.

Maddox rolls

If you live in Northern Utah and haven't been to Maddox Ranch House in Brigham, you are missing out.  I would honestly make the drive JUST for their rolls.  Since that's not always an option (especially in the winter!), I found a recipe online for copycat Maddox rolls.  I made them for the first time last night.  :)

Maddox Ranch Rolls

2 TBSP yeast dissolved in 1/2 C warm water

Scald 2 C milk

To scald milk: pour the milk in a saucepan and heat over medium-high heat.  When it gets frothy and the bubbles stick to the sides of the pan, it's done!

 When that is done, pour it over 1/2 C softened butter and 1 tsp salt.  Mix it up and let cool until warm.

When it's warm, combine it with your yeast mixture, 1/2 C sugar, 3 eggs, and 5 1/2 C flour.

Bonus points to you if you can pour and take a picture at the same time.  ;)

Stir thoroughly.  

(I used a beater-made it way easier and no one told me not to.)

GOOPY!

 At this point in the recipe, it said, "Dough will be sticky.  Very goopy."  They weren't kidding!!!  I tried to take a pic, but it's hard to tell just how goopy it was.  It was a big bowl of goop!  Don't panic and DON'T try to knead it.

Let rise for 90 minutes.

I put a warm, damp towel over the top (like I always do with breads) and at the end of 90 minutes, the towel was COVERED in goop and hard to pull off the top.  SO, I would suggest covering it with saran wrap that is HEAVILY sprayed with Pam (or Great Value).  ;)

Spoon into well greased muffin tins.  Allow to rise until slightly rounded.  

(I only waited about 10-15 minutes and it was fine.)

Bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

ALL DONE!

Maddox's rolls are perfectly shaped, and mine were kinda funky looking:

 

 But they tasted great!!!
It was seriously the easiest roll recipe I have EVER made.  This is going to be my "go-to" roll recipe from now on.

It's been a while since I've been to Maddox, so I can't remember exactly what their rolls taste like, but I don't think these are a perfect copycat, y'know?  However, they were delicious and no one was complaining.  :)

And you can't have Maddox rolls without...

RASPBERRY BUTTER!!

WOO!

Raspberry butter

1/2 C butter-softened

1/3 C fresh or frozen raspberries (I used frozen)

2 TBSP confectioner's sugar

Dash lemon juice

Combine all ingredients.  Serve immediately.  Refrigerate leftovers.

The roll recipe made 36 rolls (it says it only makes 24, but maybe if they were all HUGE that would be right), so I doubled the butter recipe.

 

 I thought it looked weird, but was brave enough to try it anyway.

OH. MY. GOSH. it was DELICIOUS!!!!

And I'm SO glad I doubled it.  With that many rolls, this was perfect!

Serve with turkey steaks, mashed potatoes, and you're all set!  Enjoy!

P.S. If you buy Maddox Turkey Steaks at the store, the package will say that it takes 25 minutes to cook them.  IT LIES!!  Ours took about 45 minutes (and, yes, I followed the directions correctly).  Just a head's up.  :)

P.P.P.P.P.S.S. If you're NOT going to make the raspberry butter with these, then add another 1/2 C sugar to the recipe.  The rolls will taste better plain that way.

Laundry Soap (not edible) lol

I have been thinking about posting this for a long time, I keep forgetting!
I make homemade laundry soap and I think it works like a charm!

Homemade Laundry Soap

1 bar Fels Naptha soap

1 cup washing soda

1 cup borax powder 

~You will also need a 5 gallon size bucket~

Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan.  Add 9 cups water and heat it until the soap melts.  Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved.  Remove from heat.  Pour 6 cups hot water into the bucket.   Now add your soap mixture and stir.  Now add 2 gallons plus 1 cup of water and stir.  Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel.  You use ½ - 1 cup per load.

(You’ll want to stir the soap before each use)

Optional:  If you want your soap to have some sort of scent you can scent this with  1½ to 2 oz. of essential oil or fragrance oil of your choice. (You should put the scented oil in after it is completely cooled.)

~The finished soap may or may not be a solid gel.  If it is solid, stir it up really well.  It will be more of a watery gel that has been accurately described as an "egg noodle soup" look.

~The soap is a low sudsing soap.  So if you don’t see suds, that is ok.  Suds are not what does the cleaning, it is the ingredients in the soap.

(Recipe taken from www.thefamilyhomestead.com and modified by me!)

Cookie Bowls

Derrick had this great idea of using the bottom of a muffin tin to make cookie bowls for our ice cream. I know it looks like a mess but they worked perfect. I did put a little more cookie batter on the pan then I should have, but I still think the idea was AWESOME! Ok and I might have cooked them a few minutes too long! 

Post

Please post something...as you can see...my recipes are just normal recipes...nothing chef-worthy!  We want your recipes.  No-one wants All Mikael Recipes All The Time.   Please please please share.  You don't have to put pictures...just put something!!!!

Bean and Bacon on Toast

This is one of those "I usually have all of the ingredients on hand that is good, cheap and filling...but I really wouldn't serve it to company".  You can have the whole dinner on the table in less than 5 minutes.

Toast your bread.  Top with Campbell's Bean with Bacon soup.  On top of that add grated cheese, sour cream salsa and lettuce (I didn't have any lettuce last night for the picture).

Notes:  I like Campbells a lot better than generic bean n bacon.

I only add 1/2 can of water to the soup instead of a full can.

I add a T or 2 of brown sugar to the bean and bacon

It is also really good wrapped in a tortilla.

Store-bought Lasagna

My MIL brought us a store-bought lasagna tonight. It was a crazy day and I was so grateful for the help. I am not normally a big fan of store-bought lasagna's (stouffers and what-not). This one was really good. I would even serve it to company. It was a bit spicy, which I liked! But if your kids don't like spicy they might not be a fan. It was Kirkland All Natural Italian Sausage and Beef Lasagna. We cooked it in the oven, but it says that it is microwavable. Kirkland is the Costco brand (if I remember right). This was a smaller one. It said it had 6 servings and I would say that's about right. Try it! You'll like it!