Grocery Shrink

This quick bread rounds out a meal and is an inexpensive way to fill up growing children :). Start the bread before preparing the rest of your meal and everything should get done about the same time.

3 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teasoon salt
1 egg
1 1/2 cups skim milk
3 Tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl mix flour, oats, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl beat egg. Add milk and canola oil, mix well. Pour milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir just until combined. Pour batter into a greased 8-9″ round cake pan or pie pan. Sprinkle with 2 Tablesspons of additional oats. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool 5 mins, remove from pan and cut into wedges to serve with butter and jam.

This recipe comes from my church friends, the Lades.  They make this bread daily at home and bring a loaf to every new baby and sick family in the church. 

1 2/3 cup water

3 Tablespoons powdered mlk

3 Tablespoons shortening (coconut oil or butter)

3 Tablespoons sugar

1 tsp salt

3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

3/4 cups unbleached white flour

2 1/2 tsp yeast

5 tsp gluten flour

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup craisins

Place in bread machine on wheat cycle (2 lb loaf).

Or mix together and knead, let rise until double.  Punch dough and form a loaf.  Place in greased pan.  Let rise until double.  Bake at 325 for 40 minutes or until golden brown.

This recipe comes from my cousin Janet.  When I first tasted it, I thought it was Knorr Vegetable Spinach Dip.  That is one of my favorite things but expensive to make–and requires a mix–boo.  This recipe is purely from the garden–no mix required.  My favorite way to eat it is in a hallowed out bread bolle with the torn bread pieces to dip with.

8 oz brick of cream cheese (or neufchatel cheese)

1/3 cup milk

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp  cayenne pepper

2 medium tomatoes seeded and chopped

10 oz of frozen spinch, thawed and squeezed dry (I’d use my lovely lamb’s quarter–it’s free!)

1 small sweet onion, finely chopped

Mix all ingredients until well blended and refrigerate until serving.

You have such good ideas!  I’m really struggling right now to get everything done and your idea to share recipes from my beloved pile is perfect!I feel badly because I won’t be able to photograph each one, but I can give you my frugal tips on how I change things to fit into my budget.

This recipe comes from my Sister in Law–Gena.  It’s a much loved potluck recipe.  Note:  This salad is best made the night before to give the dressing enough time to cool.  Here’s the original just the way she makes it:

1 head nappa cabbage, sliced fine

2 bunches of green onions, chopped

2 pkgs ramen noodles, crushed

1 cup sliced almonds

2 T sesame seeds

1/2 cup butter

In a bowl combine chopped cabbage and onion, refrigerate until serving time.  In a large skillet, melt butter.  Toss in ramen, almonds, and sesame seeds. Stir and cook until toasted and golden, remove to wax paper to cool. 

Meanwhile make dressing: 

3/4 Cup peanut oil

1/2 Cup sugar

1/4 Cup rice vinegar

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and stir with a wisk over medium high heat until boiling.  Boil for 1 minute then cool.

Just before serving, toss salad with ramen crunchies and dressing.  It is best eaten right away as it tends to get soggy as leftovers.

Nappa Cabbage Salad–Angela Style .  I save calories and money by cutting out 3/4 a cup of butter and oil combined, plus reducing the sugar by half.  I save time and money by replacing the nappa cabbage with prepared cole slaw mix (on sale) and trading out sunflower seeds (no need to chop and less $ per pound) for the almonds.   I add the green onion if I have it, or a sweet chopped onion is just as nice.  The salad is just as yummy without if neither are on hand.

1-16oz package cole slaw mix–these go on sale for $.75 each!

2 pkgs ramen noodles, crushed

1 cup hulled sunflower seeds

2 T sesame seeds

1/4 cup butter

In a large skillet melt butter, toss in ramen, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds.  Cook and stir until toasted and golden, remove to wax paper to cool.

Meanwhile, make dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup vinegar (rice is nice, but I’ve successfully used red wine, balsamic or cider vinegar)

1/4 cup sugar plus 2 packets of stevia

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

Cook and stir over medium high heat until boiling. Boil for one minute. Cool in the fridge overnight.

Just before serving toss cole slaw mix, crunchies and dressing.  It’s best eaten right away.

The original recipe came from here:  http://www.mykitchensnippets.com/2008/04/blueberry-cheesecake-bars.html I had to search awhile to find a recipe that called for real blueberries and not blueberry jam.  Once I did, I used my pantry items to substitute for the original recipe items. The results were delicious.  Here were my list of things I needed to use up:

3 gallon bags full of sugar cookies leftover from camp

1 lemon left from my last month of pregnancy (And it still looked fresh!)

1 tub of homemade creamcheese frosting

1 bag of frozen wild blueberries

I doubled the recipe to fit in a 9 x 13 pan.  Substituted crushed sugar cookies for the graham cracker and butter crust.  I used the entire lemon zest and juice from the lemon.  Reduced the amount of sugar slightly and topped the entire thing with cream cheese frosting.  I only had 1-80z brick of low fat cream cheese, so I substituted thick plain yogurt for the blanace of the volume.  And I used frozen wild blueberries for the fresh cultivated ones.

Here’s the new recipe:

3 cups crushed sugar cookies, pressed into a gresed 9 x 13 pan–set aside

Mix in an electric mixer until smooth:

1 8 0z brick of low fat cream cheese, plus 2 cups of strained plain yogurt

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup milk

juice and zest from 1 lemon

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup skim milk

3 eggs

When mixture is smooth, fold in 3 cups of frozen wild blueberries (if they are frozen in blocks with ice, rinse in a strainer just long enough to separate them.)

Pour mixture over the cookie crust and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.  Remove from heat and place on a cooling rack.  Immediately pour warmed cream cheese frosting over the top (about 1.5 cups.)  Allow to cool and cut into 20 bars.