No Oven April to October

July 21, 2017September 4, 2019 / Frugal Fish / Leave a comment

Tomorrow is a big family reunion. David’s mother had 9 brothers and sisters, who married and had a few kids, and those kids are now grandparents. It’s a pretty big reunion! One cousin always brings homemade berry pie. (I try to get a piece every year.)

Since he has the pie covered, I bring a different dessert. One of my favorites is “Cherry Delight.” The only problem is, you bake the crust in the oven and I don’t like to use the oven from April to October. The last time I made it, I experimented baking the crust in the microwave.

Normally, I cook it for 20 minutes in a 350° oven. This time I cooked it, on high, 30 seconds at a time in the microwave for a minute and a half. It didn’t get brown but the flavor was the same.

Cherry Delight

1 Cup Flour

1 Teaspoon Sugar

1 Stick Butter, cut up

1 – 8 Ounce Cream Cheese

1 Cup Powdered Sugar

2 Cups Frozen Whipped Topping, thawed

1 Can Cherry or Blueberry Pie Filling

Stir flour and sugar together. Cut butter into mixture using a pastry blender or 2 knives. Press firmly into 9 x 13 glass pan. (I used and 7 x 11 pan because my microwave is smaller.) Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or 30 seconds at a time in a microwave on high for a minute and a half.

Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, and whipped topping together. Spread over cooled crust. Spread pie filling on top of cheese mixture. Chill and serve later. It is best made a day ahead.

I may try lemon bars in the microwave next. Has anyone else used the microwave for their baking?

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Rename It

January 27, 2017January 26, 2017 / Frugal Fish / Leave a comment

Today I will do my favorite thing . . . tell on one of my kids!

I received a text from my son telling me he and his girlfriend would be there for dinner a few hours later. The only thing thawed out was one cooked chicken breast. How would that feed four people?

“Chicken à la King”

I shredded the chicken breast and made “Chicken A La King.” I have made this dish before and he didn’t like it. Once when I made it, I called it “Chicken and Gravy.” He still wouldn’t eat it.

This time, I said, “You like beef stroganoff, this is chicken stroganoff.” He had three helpings!

Renaming a dish does not always work. David’s grandmother tried to get his sister to eat rice by calling it “Shredded Pizza.” I guess you have to choose a name that is close to what you are serving. “Shredded Pizza” would have shredded pizza crust, not rice.

Anyway, my tip for the day is to rename a dish your child refuses to eat. I don’t have a picture because I finished it off for lunch. (Sorry.) But you can see what the first step looks like above.

Chicken à la King

1/2 Cup Butter
1/2 Cup Flour
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Pepper
1-1/2 Cup Milk
1-1/4 Cup Turkey or Chicken Broth
1 Can Mushrooms
1 Cooked Chicken Breast, Shredded
6 Cooked and Mashed Potatoes

Melt butter; blend in flour, salt, and pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until mixture is bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in milk, broth, and liquid from the can of mushrooms. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in mushrooms and chicken; heat through. Serve over mashed potatoes.

Rename it “Chicken Stroganoff!”

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Bacon Cheeseburger Macaroni

August 16, 2016July 14, 2017 / Frugal Fish / Leave a comment

This casserole has been a hit at my house. I use the Cheap Cheese Sauce recipe for the macaroni and cheese.

Bacon Cheeseburger Macaroni

1 lb. Ground Beef

1/2 lb. Bacon

1 Tablespoon Dry Diced Onion

Salt and Pepper

7 Ounces Macaroni Shells

Cheap Cheese Sauce

1 c. Sliced Pickles

Ketchup and Mustard

Cook bacon until crisp, dice. Cook ground beef with the onion, salt, and pepper. Cook the macaroni according to package directions. Make the cheese sauce. Combine the macaroni and cheese. Add the hamburger, bacon, and pickles. Drizzle with ketchup and mustard. Fold together. It’s best if you don’t combine them completely. Then you are surprised when you taste ketchup or mustard.

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Mini Biscuit Pizzas

June 23, 2016August 4, 2017 / Frugal Fish / Leave a comment

“What’s for dinner?”

The question many moms dread hearing! I make a weekly menu when I make my grocery list, but I don’t stick to it completely. I like to look in the refrigerator and see what items need using up.

One day, I had 1/2 a bag of mozzarella cheese, and 1 cup of homemade spaghetti sauce. I had frozen the extra spaghetti sauce to use on homemade pizza. I didn’t take into account the hamburger, mushrooms, and herbs that were in the sauce. When I tried using one on a pizza I found I had to use two. That left me with an extra bag. I decided to make…

Mini Biscuit Pizzas

Biscuits

Spaghetti Sauce, 1 cup

Mozzarella Cheese, shredded

Parmesan Cheese, shredded

I baked homemade biscuits and put the spaghetti sauce on top. After I used up the mozzarella cheese, I added Parmesan cheese.

Since it was a hot day, I put them in the refrigerator and we warmed up a few at a time in the microwave.

Look in your refrigerator before you decided what’s for dinner. Ask yourself, what needs using up?

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Green Bean Casserole Dinner

June 21, 2016August 4, 2017 / Frugal Fish / Leave a comment

I shared earlier how I added meat to my favorite corn casserole and made a dinner out of it. I did it again with Green Bean Casserole.

Green Bean Casserole Dinner

1 can of green beans

1 large can of Chunky Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 large can of milk

1 large can of French Fried Onions or 2 small cans

1 can mushrooms or fresh mushrooms

7 ounces of noodles

1 pound hamburger

1 Tablespoon minced onion

Cook noodles according to directions. Cook hamburger with salt, pepper, and minced onion. Mix green beans, mushroom soup, milk, and mushrooms. Add hamburger and noodles. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Top with French Fried Onions and bake for 5 minutes.

The casserole tasted great, but it made way too much for three people. Next time, instead of baking it in a 9″ X 13″ pan, I am going to make it in two smaller pans: 11″ X 17″ and 8″ X 8″. I will use only half of the large can of French Fried Onions, (or one small can), and freeze the second pan after it cools. I can top it with the onions when I warm it up.

Any ideas of what I can add to candied yams?

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Easy Enchilada Sauce

June 16, 2016August 4, 2017 / Frugal Fish / 1 Comment

I shared earlier about how I use up the small condiment packages that we get when we order out, see here and here. My family loves taco pizza and tacos. I ended up with a bunch of “hot sauce” packets.

I planned on making Enchiladas for dinner and I always make my sauce. I don’t know if I was being lazy or I just had a brainstorm. I decided to use up those packets. I poured an 8 ounce can of tomato sauce into a bowl and kept adding the packets until it was hot enough for me. Of course, my family dumped even more hot sauce on top!