Dollar Stretching Dinners

Feeding a family in these economic times can be tough. Always on the hunt for money saving menus and dollar stretching dinner ideas, I seem to find the best values to be casseroles and other one dish wonders. A loaf of homemade bread (see recipe here) costs less than one dollar to make and can round out the meal.

Casseroles and one dish meals can help to stretch the expensive ingredients by bulking up the dish with less expensive items. Many times the bulk item is a starch, such as pasta or rice.

The recipes below cost roughly $2 per serving. They also freeze well, so consider doubling the recipes and putting the extra pan in the freezer for a future meal.


Skillet Spaghetti & Simple Meatballs
Serves 4

Simple Meatballs

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 egg
2 Tbsp. water
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup minced onion
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl combine egg, water, bread crumbs, onion, salt and pepper and combine. Add ground beef and mix together using a spoon or your hands. Form into meatballs about 1" in diameter and place on a broiler pan (I use a portion scoop for this so all meatballs are uniform in size). Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until meatballs are no longer pink in center. While meatballs are baking, prepare the Skillet Spaghetti.


Skillet Spaghetti

28-oz. pasta sauce – homemade or your favorite jar pasta sauce
1-1/2 cups water
12 oz. spaghetti pasta, broken in half
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a large (12") skillet, combine spaghetti sauce and water. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add spaghetti and stir well, making sure spaghetti is submerged in the sauce. If necessary, you may add another 1/4 cup or so of water.

Bring to a boil again. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring frequently. You may add more water or tomato sauce if the mixture appears to be too dry. Cook until spaghetti is al dente. Top with cheese and serve immediately.



Mediterranean Chicken & Brown Rice Casserole
Serves 14

2-3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
1.25 cups feta cheese, crumbled
6 cups cooked brown rice
1 10 oz package frozen spinach thawed and squeezed of excess liquid
1 28 oz can tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, chopped fine
1.5 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
salt, pepper, basil, and oregano to taste

Add olive oil and garlic to a COLD skillet. Turn heat on to medium. When the garlic has started to soften, add chicken and par cook, about 5 minutes. Add can of tomatoes, turn heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove chicken breasts and set aside to cool slightly, then chop into bite sized pieces. Return chopped chicken to pan. Add sun dried tomatoes and herbs. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the Romano cheese and combine thoroughly. Place in a large baking dish and sprinkle with grated Romano. Bake for 25 minutes; until cheese is brown on top.

Stocking a Healthy Pantry

Whether watching your weight or just trying to provide the family with healthier fare, the first step should be to stock the pantry with healthy items. With a well-stocked pantry, dinners can be made in a flash, which helps resist the urge to eat high-calorie, fat-filled, and sodium-laden restaurant meals or fast food. A partial pantry list is below.*

BROTH. Either canned or dry, fat free & low sodium broth is a must. I buy this stuff by the case and use it almost daily. Use it instead of water to add flavor to rice, without adding fat or calories. Broth is also a good substitute for alcohol or oil to save calories in a recipe.

BEANS. Dried beans and canned beans are a great source of both protein and fiber. Beans are also terrific for bulking up a recipe and adding texture and "meatiness" to meatless dishes.

COOKING SPRAY. Using cooking spray instead of oil or butter makes dishes healthier and far lighter. A couple of quick sprays is all it takes.

HERBS & SPICES. One of the best ways to reduce the use of salt is by using herbs and spices. Bold flavors, without salt, are key in a low sodium diet.

WHOLE GRAINS. Try brown rice instead of the white. It is healthier and has a more pleasing texture. Experiment with grains such as quinoa, bulgur, and kamut. Whole grains are filling and a great source of fiber.

HEALTHY OILS. Such as olive, canola, and grapeseed. A small amount of healthy oil is a necessary part of a healthy diet. The body needs it for healthy skin and hair.

CANNED TOMATOES. Diced, chopped, pureed, and whole. Tomatoes are low in sugar and high in fiber and potassium. Eating tomato based sauces instead of those made with cream is great for the waistline.

BALSAMIC VINEGAR. Aged until syrupy and intensely flavored, a little bit goes a long way as a salad dressing, needing very little oil.

PASTA. Preferably whole wheat and in lots of different shapes (including couscous). Add a few simple ingredients to pasta and lunch or dinner is a snap. Pasta is delicious at any temperature, which makes it great to pack for lunches as well.

Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins - 2 WW Points

So, I am back on the Weight Watchers wagon and currently in my 5th week. It's going pretty well and there hasn't been much temptation - until today. I turned on the television this morning and it is "Chocolate Weekend" on Food Network. Now I've got a chocolate monkey on my back. Luckily, I had the few simple ingredients on hand to make 2-point Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins. My snack tonight was one of these muffins and a cup of skim milk. It hit the spot and took care of that chocolate monkey, too! Here's the recipe - if you could even call it that.


Chocolate Pumpkin 2-Point Muffins
makes 24

1 box Devil's Food cake mix
1 (15oz) can of pumpkin
1 cup of water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Either place paper cupcake liners into muffin tins or spray them with cooking spray.

Blend together all three ingredients, using either a whisk or an electric mixer. Evenly distribute batter in muffin tins.

Bake for 18-20 minutes. Muffins will be extremely moist.

*Can be made with any flavor of cake mix, so experiment to see what you like the best. My family likes spice, chocolate, and strawberry the best.

Summer Vacation - Kids In The Kitchen

School is out! Many teens and tweens will be home during the day and rooting through the fridge and cupboards for food. You can either keep your kitchen stocked with quick (but unhealthy) commercially prepared items, have a personal chef stock your fridge and freezer with healthy and ready to heat and eat fare, or you can start your kids on the road to kitchen self-confidence and self-sufficiency by encouraging them to prepare some meals. Having healthy ingredients in the house will help your kids create salads, tortilla roll-ups, and other creations that are good for them. Who knows, they may even offer to make you a meal to show off their skills.

Recently, I was lucky enough to give a cooking class for a group of Girl Scout Cadets (ages 12 – 17). The group was fairly large (15 or 16 girls), and wanted to learn how to make something that could be individualized (especially the vegetarians in the bunch), as well as made by themselves at home. We decided on calzones with homemade pizza sauce for dipping. These recipes are simple and quick, and the girls were thrilled with their creations.

In keeping with the simple and quick theme, I had the girls use Rhodes frozen dough balls for their calzones. While pizza dough from scratch is very easy, it can be a bit time consuming. I also had the girls create their calzones without sauce, and then made sauce in which to dip their delicious pizza pastries.

The calzone and sauce recipes we used are below.

Homemade Pizza Sauce

Serves: 8

1/2 cup(s) onion, chopped

2 tablespoon(s) garlic, minced

2 tablespoon(s) olive oil

1 15 oz. tomato sauce

1 6 oz. tomato paste

1 teaspoon(s) salt

2 teaspoon(s) oregano

2 teaspoon(s) basil

1/8 teaspoon(s) pepper

Sauté onion & garlic in olive oil until tender.

Stir in remaining ingredients.

Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Easy Calzones Using Frozen Roll Dough

Serves 8

8 Rhodes Texas™ rolls (or 16 Rhodes Dinner Rolls), thawed but still cold
1/2 cup diced pepperoni
1, 2 1/4-ounce can sliced olives
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
1/4 cup chopped green peppers
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 cup heated pizza sauce

Flatten each roll into an 8-inch circle. Combine ham, olives, mushrooms, green peppers, and cheese. Place 1/4 cup ham mixture on each circle. Fold dough over (like a turnover) and seal edges with a fork. Place on a sprayed baking sheet. Bake at 350°F 20-25 minutes. Serve with pizza sauce for dipping. **Recipe courtesy of Rhodes Frozen Dough.

Homemade Calzone/Pizza Dough (Bread Machine)

Makes 8 calzones or personal pizzas

1 1/3 cup warm water

2 teaspoons sugar

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cups all purpose flour (can substitute up to 50% with whole wheat flour)

1 1/4 teaspoons kosher or sea salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons yeast

Place ingredients into the bread machine pan in the order specified by its manufacturer.

Set to dough cycle

When dough is complete (my machine’s dough cycle is a little over an hour), dump out of bread machine pan onto lightly floured board.

Knead a couple of times with floured hands until dough is not too sticky to work with.

Use with your favorite pizza or calzone recipe.

Personal Chef for Pups?

With the recent news of contaminated pet food and treats, I have received a few requests to make all-natural pet products - ie: offering pet personal chef service. Currently, I am recipe testing several items (my three pups are the lucky tasters!) and hopefully should have something to offer my pet clients within the next couple of weeks. I'm working on kibble (dry) dog food as well as fresh/frozen moist dog food, doggie biscuits and cookies, as well as doggie birthday pup-cakes!

Stay tuned to this blog and to Your Place Gourmet for updates.