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Berry Cheesecake Parfaits

March 28, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

This dessert is perfect for anyone and will make a gorgeous addition to our summer picnics. Skip the pre-made desserts at the grocery store and whip this dessert together in no time. We (my sister and I) absolutely loved it and couldn’t stop eating it! HERE is the recipe we used.   We made a few little changes, like doubling it, but other than that it was great the way it was and is perfect for even a non-baker.

Berry Cheesecake Parfaits

1 package (8 oz.) softened cream cheese
1 package (3.4 oz.) instant vanilla pudding., prepared per the box instructions
1 1/2 cup thawed cool whip
Nilla wafers
Sliced fresh strawberries

We mixed the pudding and cream cheese until well incorporated. Then folded in the cool whip.

Next we layered crushed Nilla wafers, then berries, then pudding and repeated another layer.

We garnished each serving with a dollop of cool whip and a strawberry slice.

We served them in the short Chinet clear plastic cups for super easy clean up.

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Garbage Day repurposing food-Ham!

March 20, 2012 by · 2 Comments

Today is garbage day, that day when I clean out the fridge and hopefully don’t waste too much food. Many consumer agencies report that Americans waste anywhere from 10%-40% of what we purchase! That’s unreal! If we use it instead, just think, instant savings on your grocery bill.

Although none of us probably has any ham to toss just yet, thought I’d find some ideas now so that we’re not throwing it away after Easter. Plus, if you take a look at some of these recipes now, you can pick up the needed items at the supermarket, in anticipation of your leftover ham.

Potatoes au Gratin or Scalloped Potatoes with Ham (that one is from the Food Network and we’ve made it, it’s good!)

Ham and Cheese Bake

Ham & White Bean Soup

Cubano Sandwiches

Rachael Ray’s Ham & Cheese Mac

Click to see recipe. This is one of my family's favorite dishes, a staple in our recipe repetoire.

Check out the Simply Potatoes in the refrigerated section of your supermarket. I’ve made these,and they were yummy! They’d be a nice side dish to ham, if you want to just eat the ham as a main course meat again. And click on the photo for one more recipe.

If you don’t want to be bothered with a recipe–maybe a quiche or a frittatta is what you need. My simple recipe for that is 6 eggs, half a cup of milk, and I use my electric beaters to beat for about 30 seconds. From there, you can add anything into it. A quiche has a crust, a frittatta does not. Good time to use up pie crusts if you have any. But I toss in cheese, meat, veggies, whatever I have as leftovers and will go together. Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes.

Omelettes, hot ham & cheese sandwiches, cold ham sandwiches, dice it up with some cheddar and top a baked potato. There are lots of things to do with ham, don’t let it go to waste. The only thing that I don’t think works is freezing cooked ham. It gets a weird texture.

Good Luck. And now I’m hungry!

Filed Under: Food & Recipes, Reusing and Repurposing Ideas~eliminating wasteful purchasing Tagged With: , , , ,

Dinner on a Budget: Stirfry

March 19, 2012 by · 1 Comment

You know it is a busy week ahead of you and whether you are a career woman/wife/mom or a stay at home mom, your days go a little crazy sometimes. Make life easy on yourself with these easy tips.

Buy your meat on sale and re-package it in ziplock bags with your favorite marinades and stick them in the freezer. Pull it and put it in the refrigerator 1-2 nights before you need it and dinner is that much easier. Yesterday morning I pulled a package of chicken breast (approximately 1#) that I had cut into stir fry pieces and froze in 1/2 bottle of Wegman’s Teriyaki marinade.

Keep rice, rice noodles and/or ramen noodles on hand. Another thing I like to do is stock Easy Rice. 

Steam a bag of vegetables from the produce department. My favorite is Eat Smart’s Stir fry veggies and at $1 this week I had a very affordable meal.

I sautéed half an onion in a little bit of oil and added the meat and marinade. Once the chicken was almost cooked through I added the steamed (in the microwave) veggies and my rice noodles, which I had cooked in boiling water for about 10 minutes.

Dinner was ready in 30 minutes and we had a well-balanced meal with veggies, protein and the debatable starch. 

Plus clean up isn’t too bad since one pan is non stick, the veggies came in a steamer bag, and the rice noodle pan is super easy to clean up.

How much did dinner for 5 cost?

Chicken – sale 1.49#
Wegman’s marinade – FREE with a coupon
Veggies – $1
Rice noodles – $0.45

One child is still hungry – have an apple or some baby carrots.

There are so many variations to this meal. You can use beef, pork, vegetarian. Use whatever vegetables you have on hand. In the past we have had stir fry made with frozen corn and peas.  Authentic stir fry? No, but it is thrifty and tastes good.  The best part is it doesn’t need a lot of meat – you just cut up a pound or less and it works. You could also go a little pricier and throw a handful of shrimp in. I just make sure whichever ingredient is my main ingredient – the vegetable, meat or starch – is the amount my family usually eats in a meal. 

 

Filed Under: Food & Recipes, Reusing and Repurposing Ideas~eliminating wasteful purchasing Tagged With: , ,

Scrumptious Pineapple Carrot Muffins

March 3, 2012 by · 3 Comments

In the next few days I will be doing a review and giveaway of Tropical Traditions Organic Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil. For now, I am going to tempt you with a recipe for delicious muffins that I used the coconut oil in.

I used a recipe I found in a church fundraiser cookbook I picked up somewhere.  The recipe I “used” is, well, not the recipe I ended up making since I changed so many ingredients so I gave it a new yummier name. Believe me, the other name was lackluster.

1 1/2 cups stone ground whole wheat (you can use white)
1 cup rolled oats (quick would be fine)
1/2 cup raw sugar + 1 Tablespoon molasses (go ahead, 1/2 cup brown sugar is fine but not quite as moist)
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup raisins
1 – 20 oz. diced or crushed pineapple, UNDRAINED
1 large carrot, grated ( approximately 1 cup)
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted (more on this in a day or 2)
2 eggs, slightly beaten

Preheat oven to 400.

Mix dry ingredients in one bowl.

Mix wet ingredients in a separate bowl.

Mix the dry and wet ingredients until just incorporated.

Put in muffin tins and bake – approximately 20 minutes.

Let set 10-15 minutes before eating.

Makes 18.

Be careful. They are incredibly addicting. My kids and I all love them and will definitely make them exactly the same way next time.  Stayed tuned for my review of Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil.

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