Recipe Review: Tuna Casserole

I love tuna salad.

I do not love hot, cooked tuna.

Since we are trying to clean out the freezer and pantry, and I have cans of tuna and boxes of pasta in the pantry, it only made sense to make Tuna Casserole.  I looked over several recipes on Pinterest.  I liked the look of this one.  However, my picky-eater (my hubs), doesn't like green leafy veggies.  What's girl to do?  Work around it.  I've tried sneaking in the green veggies.  Pretty successfully, I might add.  But to blatantly add the spinach in this dish would be a no-go with him.

Then I spotted a box of stuffing mix in the top of my pantry.  I must've picked it up at back in the fall when they were on sale.  I thought this might be yummy to add to a Tuna Casserole, and found this recipe.  But I didn't like the look of making it a "dressing" over noodles.  So I decided to combine the two and came up with this recipe.  I would share a picture, but have you tried taking a picture of a casserole??  Unless you are Kraft foods or The Pioneer Woman (both of which make everything look delicious no matter what it is), don't even ask me to post it.  It looks the least bit appetizing.  :)

Tuna Noodle Casserole with Stove Top Stuffing Crumble
1 box multi colored rotini pasta
2 cans cream of celery soup (or you could make your own)
1 cup crushed french fried onions
4 cans (5 oz each) tuna fish, drained
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I used medium cheddar today)
1 box stuffing mix (I had savory herb flavor)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta for 8-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the celery soup, french fried onions and tuna fish together in 13x9 casserole dish.

Drain the pasta and add to the dish.  Sprinkle cheese over the top and stir everything together.  Add about 1/2-3/4 cup water to loosen up the mixture to the desired creaminess.

Sprinkle the stuffing mix evenly over the top and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

I served this with peas on the side, but you could easily just toss them right into the casserole for a one-pot wonder.  But alas, my picky-eater doesn't do peas either.

This was pretty tasty.  We had leftovers and the kids ate them for lunch on the weekend.

How do you eat tuna casserole? Or do you?

RECIPE: Pumpkin Oatmeal with Cardamom

I just love the Food Network.  And I love the show The Next Food Network Star.  Last season's winner was Aarti Sequeira.  She was my favorite from the very first episode.  She's different and has a unique point-of-view.  I just love her recipes too!  I'm most interested in using different spices to brighten up our everyday meals.  She shared a recipe a few weeks ago which used cardamom.  It's a floral scented spice and can be very strong and very expensive.  I went to Sevenanda and picked up a tiny bit for about $.45.  I figured I give it a try and see if I liked it.  Well, I love it.  Let me share my tweaked "pantry-friendly" version of the Aarti Party recipe.  It was so good!

Pumpkin Oatmeal with Cardamom (adapted from Aarti Party)

14 oz canned pumpkin puree (or about 2 cups)

2 cups water

2 cups vanilla almond milk, plus more for serving

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

chopped almonds

honey

In a large saucepan, whisk pumpkin puree, water, almond milk.  Bring to a boil.  Add cranberries, salt, pumpkin pie spices, cardamom and oatmeal.  Reduce heat and cook about 15 minutes.  Follow the directions on your oatmeal canister.  Stir frequently to avoid sticking on the bottom of the pot.

Serve with chopped almonds, a drizzle of honey and 1/4 cup almond milk.

This was so good!  I think she says there are 4 servings in the pot.  There is no way I could eat that much oatmeal!  I filled my bowl with about 1 cup of the oatmeal and couldn't even eat it all.  It's very filling.  I think it's pretty healthy.  I plugged this into sparkpeople and it came out to be 288.1 calories for 6 servings.  That's good in my book!  I divided the leftovers into 1 cup servings and stored them in the fridge.  I heated them up each morning in the microwave until warm and then drizzled with honey and milk.  Perfect make-ahead meal!  Super fast and healthy breakfast option.

Hope you try it and visit her blog, she seems like such a sweet girl. 

Enjoy!

This post has also been linked to:

• Mouthwatering Monday at Southern Fairytale 
• Meatless Mondays at My Sweet and Savory 
• Midnight Maniac Meatless Mondays
• Hearth and Soul at Frugality and Crunchiness with Christy
• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace
• At the Well this week
• Delicious Dish at It's a Blog Party
• Tasty Tuesday at 33 Shades of Green
• $5 Dollar Dinner Challenge
  
• Tasty Tuesday at Beauty and Bedlam 
• Tuesday at the Table at All the Small Stuff 
• Pantry Recipe Swap at Home and Pantry
• What's Cooking Wednesday at  The King's Court 4
• Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap
• Tasty Traditions at Coupon Cookin
• Recipe Swap Thursday at Prairie Story
• Family Food Fridays at Get Healthy Cheap 

Pantry Meal: Shrimp Alfredo Pasta

This is one of those "pantry meals" I've been wanting to share forever!  We eat this when I can get the Shrimp Alfredo on sale at Publix.  They'll put it on BOGO and with a coupon it's only about $2.00.  Just my speed!  The other thing we try to keep in the pantry is pasta.  I ran out a few months ago.  Can you believe that?!  I couldn't either.  But I thought I had some pasta in there, but when I went to get it, it was gone.  The stores never let me down and shortly thereafter, pasta was on BOGO.  I bought some of the Healthy Harvest whole wheat pasta to give it a try.  Sometimes the whole wheat tastes funny when paired with tomato sauce, so I like to eat it with alfredo sauce.  That's when Shrimp Alfredo Pasta was born...

Shrimp Alfredo Pasta

whole wheat pasta $.25

packet McCormick Garlic Alfredo sauce $.25

12 oz can 2% evaporated milk $.19

3 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

Sea Pak Alfredo Shrimp $2.00

parsley

Cook pasta according to box directions.

Mix McCormick Garlic Alfredo sauce according to packet directions, but use evaporated milk and butter.  Once thickened, pour over prepared pasta. 

In a skillet over medium heat, warm oil and minced garlic for 2 minutes.  Add entire contents of Alfredo Shrimp to skillet, cover with lid and cook until shrimp are cooked through, about 8-10 minutes.  Combine everything together and serve with parsley.

It's pretty easy and quick.  And I used up some stockpiled ingredients!

Enjoy!

Pantry Challenge 2011 - Update Week 1

I thought I'd been doing good staying within our $75 budget.  

I thought wrong!

I've decided to keep up with my pantry goals and update each week to see how I did.  

Here's the breakdown:

Publix:  I spent $34.40 and saved $44.38, that's 56% savings

Kroger:  Spent $28.40, saved $23.96, saving 46%

Walgreens:  Spent $26.30, saved $48.33, saving 68% (did 4 orders at the beauty counter)

So my total out of pocket expense was $89.10 UGH!!!  overbudget $14.10

I'm hoping to catch up on the deficit this week.  There aren't many good deals to pick up on so that will help. 

Can I justify for a minute?  I did get lots of stuff for my money and I got two packs of diapers at Walgreens.  Okay, I feel better now.  

I checked the prices at Publix for free-range chicken.  They were charging about $4.99/lb for chicken breasts.  The grass-fed ground beef was $3.99/lb.  We don't eat a lot of ground beef, but we do eat quite a bit of chicken.  I was so tempted to run down to Food Lion to pick up 4 chickens at $.67/lb.  I might still do it, because it's killing me!  But I know those chickens were probably kept in the dark and trampled on each other and pumped full of antibiotics.  None of which is very good for them or us.  BUT THE PRICE IS SO GOOD!!!  I'm going to have to re-train my brain on meat and poultry.  It's going to take some time.  

I talked to my beef friend on Facebook. (Hi Melissa and Ed!)  He said he could sell me a steer for $1.30/lb but I'd need to get it processed which is additional fees.  He gave me the name of the processor they use and I'll be calling them this week.  My friend Carrie is interested in purchasing half of it so that will be good to share the cost.  We might run into a problem of freezer storage space.  Our freezer is FULL.  I cleaned it out recently and bought some meat last month along with frozen vegetables, so it's full again.  I also keep a good stash of bread on hand in the freezer.  So that takes up a whole shelf.  My husband suggested we purchase a chest freezer from Craigslist used solely for the beef.  I think that's a great idea, so he's going to be keeping an eye on Craigslist for any that might come available. 

As for eating from the pantry, I thawed some Lentil soup for lunches this week.  We also ate Tuna Fish Sandwiches for lunch over the weekend.  I'll be sharing another Pantry Meal on Saturday using up some frozen shrimp from the box.  I found a pumpkin pie in the freezer, so I baked it Sunday and we're eating on it for dessert this week. 

A friend shared how to create recipes through sparkpeople and it will calculate the number of calories per serving.  I'm planning to add this feature to the recipes I share.

Have a great week!

Pantry Meal: Super Easy Turkey Pie

We love Shepherd's Pie.  It's one of my husband's favorite meals.  Last year, we made a Turkey Shepherd's Pie with leftover turkey.  It was really good.  Since we're trying to challenge ourselves to eat from the pantry and I had all this stuff on hand along with about 12 cups of leftover roasted turkey in the freezer, I thought it was time to revisit the turkey pie, but made super easy.  

If you don't have any of these same items, be creative.  Do you have any McCormick Turkey Gravy packets in the pantry?  Use that instead of the jarred gravy.  Or do you prefer to cook from scratch and like making your own gravy?  Do that instead, it will still be so yummy.  Do you have real potatoes that need to be used?  Mash them and use them instead of the instant potatoes.  Does your family love sweet peas and corn?  Stir them in too!  

It's all about being creative with what you have on hand.  So this is what I came up with.  This makes a 9x5 casserole dish, so double it if you have a larger family. 

Super Easy Turkey Pie

2 cups chopped roasted turkey

1 carrot, chopped

1 cup jarred turkey gravy

1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 can green beans

1 pouch instant potatoes (I used the Idahoan variety with Butter and Herbs)

In a large mixing bowl, add roasted turkey and carrots.

Stir in turkey gravy, poultry seasoning and Worcestershire sauce.

Pour and spread into a 9x5 casserole dish.

Layer green beans over the turkey.

Prepare the instant potatoes according to the pouch directions.  (I used the microwave method since it was faster.)  Spoon the mashed potatoes over the green beans and then spread around to cover the top completely.  Use the back of a fork to add swirls to the mashed potatoes.  

Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.  Broil for for a few minutes to brown the top.

Enjoy with a fresh salad.

So good!

I calculated the calories for this version and it's right at 273 calories for 1/4 of the pie. 

Are you challenging yourself to use up your pantry items?  What creative concoctions have you come up with?

Enjoy!

Pantry Challenge 2011

Have you been stockpiling over the past year?  I've been picking up freebies as I can get them.  I had cut back to purchasing only two Sunday newspapers until October when I went back to buying four.  I continue to "purchase" the free items at the grocery store if we're going to eat them.  I also try to stockpile grocery items when they are less than a dollar.  

I'm not really interested in using up our stockpile without replenishing it.  We have a workable budget and I think we do pretty good with what we have.  I don't have any plans of decreasing our grocery budget.  I would like to purchase more healthy proteins.  After watching Food Inc., I would really like to add grass-fed beef and free-range chicken to our meals.  In my opinion, these seem to be a healthier option.  I'm still researching cost and soon will make our way to the Whole Foods market and Dekalb Farmers Market to do some price comparisons.  I'm looking into to purchasing fresh eggs from some local people so that will be a little more convenient than driving 30 miles to the Whole Foods.

So here's our pantry and freezer goals this year:

• stay within our $75 weekly budget (this includes toiletries, diapers and wipes)
• continue to purchase seasonal fruit and produce
• continue to "purchase" free grocery items 
• begin purchasing fresh eggs locally ($2-3 a dozen)
• begin purchasing free-range chicken (price is unknown at this point)
• begin purchasing grass-fed beef (hoping to spend no more than $3.50/lb)
• buy hormone-free milk (Walmart started carrying this recently)
• pick our own fruit and berries (last year we picked apples, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries; this year I'm hoping to add peaches to our list)
• continue baking from scratch (cookies, cakes, pies - but in moderation, we really are trying to eat better and lose some weight)
• make some Pantry Meals based on freezer inventory

Recently, I started sharing Pantry Meals using up some of those store freebies you might not like "as-is".  I made Yakisoba Chicken Noodle Soup a few weeks ago and I'll share a Super Easy Turkey Pie on Saturday. 

This post has been linked to:

• Life as Mom 
• Frugal Follies

Pantry Meal: Yakisoba Chicken Noodle Soup $2.93

When I stockpile free and cheap ingredients, I like to rework the product into something different.  I'm hoping to share some of these with you.  

Today I'm sharing a thrown-together-real-quick-for-supper soup utilizing Yakisoba noodles.  Frequently these are on sale for $1 at Kroger and $.79 at Publix.  There are also coupons for $.50 off 1 package in the newspaper.  When these coupons double, you end up with FREE Yakisoba.  When eaten alone, this stuff can be super high in sodium.  So I opted to make a soup.  Here's what I did:

Yakisoba Chicken Noodle Soup

1 onion, finely chopped $.88

1 Tbsp vegetable oil $.05

4 cups water $.00

1 package Yakisoba Noodles, Chicken Flavored  $.00

1 celery stalk, cut on the bias $.25

1 carrot, cut into coins $.25

1 precooked chicken breast, cubed $1.00

frozen sweet peas $.50

In a Dutch oven, saute onions in oil for 5-8 minutes.  Add water, the seasoning pack from the Yakisoba noodle package (set aside the noodles), celery, carrots and chicken.  Bring to boil, crumble the noodles into the boiling water, reduce to simmer for 5-10 minutes.  Adjust seasonings if you need to.  Sprinkle some frozen peas into each bowl and serve the soup.  I do this a lot to cool down the soup for my kids.  And my Picky Hubby doesn't eat peas, so I don't add them to the entire soup, but individual bowls. 

I served these with Homemade Biscuits.  The kids and I loved this.  Picky Hubby didn't like it because of the vegetables, even without the peas!  Oh well! He did eat the chicken and noodles out of it.  

I fed our whole family for $2.93.  We ate it for supper and had leftovers for lunch the next day.  Not too shabby!

Enjoy!

RECIPE: Sweet Potato Rolls

During the Pantry Challenge, I found some sweet potatoes I had already baked, mashed and put into freezer storage baggies.  My husband doesn't like sweet potatoes so it's really just me and the kids that eat them.  But I thought I might be able to sneak some sweet potato into this roll recipe, think he'll notice???

Sweet Potato Rolls

1 package active dry yeast (or 2-1/4 teaspoons if you have bulk yeast)

4 Tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup pureed sweet potatoes

1/2 cup very warm water (110-115 degrees F)

3 Tablespoons butter, softened

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, lightly beaten

3-1/2 cup all purpose flour (I used 1-1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour and 2 cups all purpose flour)

1. Dissolve yeast and 1 Tablespoon sugar in warm water in a measuring cup.  Let stand for 5 minutes.
2. In large mixing bowl, add remaining 3 Tablespoons sugar, sweet potatoes, butter, salt and egg, mix well.  Pour the yeast mixture into the sweet potato mixture and stir well.  Add 3 cups of flour (I added 2 cups all purpose flour and 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour), mixing lightly with a fork until all moisture has been absorbed.  Turn out onto a lightly floured surface (I used the pastry flour).  Knead lightly for 2-3 minutes, adding just enough flour to prevent sticking.  When it's smooth, shape into a ball and place into an bowl that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Cover and let rise for 2 hours.
3. Punch down and allow dough to rest for 2 minutes.  Divide into 16-20 balls (the dough is VERY sticky at this point, so I used an ice cream scooper or very large cookie scooper to scoop out even-sized balls) and drop them into a 13x9 pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Allow the balls to rise for an hour or until they have doubled in size. 
   
4. Bake at 375 degrees F for 12-20 minutes.  Serve warm. 

I melted some extra butter and brushed the tops of the risen dough prior to baking them.

OH MY GOODNESS these are a winner!  I've made these 3 times in the last 3 weeks.  The first time, I followed the above directions.  The 2nd time I added too much sugar to the warm water & yeast and they were little round balls, but the 3rd time they turned out like this.  DELICIOUS! And the best part?  Picky hubby didn't even know they had sweet potato in them until I told him AFTER he'd eaten 4 rolls!

I changed up the rising time on the 3rd attempt thanks to Crystal at Money Saving Mom.  Instead of letting them rise twice, I divided the dough in the beginning and pinched out and shaped 16 balls.  Then let them rise in a really warm place for 2 hours and then baked them off.  I buttered them after they came out of the oven to add a little shine.

We split the leftovers in half like a hamburger bun and toasted them off in the oven for a minute then topped them with BBQ Chicken.  For BBQ Chicken Sliders on Sweet Potato "Buns".  I got this idea from Erin at $5 Dinners.  She and her family ate BBQ Chicken Sliders and I thought, Hey, I've got those rolls leftover, let's make them into sliders.  Thanks for the inspiration Erin!

Enjoy!

This post has been linked to:

• Tasty Tuesday at Beauty and Bedlam

RECIPE: Breakfast Burritos

So you know we are eating from our pantry all month long.  One of our goals was not to eat out for any meals (with the exception of when we go to visit family in Savannah in a few weeks).

My husband stops nearly everyday on this way home from work to grab something through a fast food restaurant or gas station.  He spends anywhere from $3 to $7 a day.  That can add up rather quickly, $90 - $210 a month!  To help reach our goal, I had been planning to make some Breakfast Burritos.  First you have to remember my husband is the "picky one" in our family.  I think these would be so good with a little salsa or chopped bell peppers tucked inside, but that is completely out of the question for him!  With that said, I concocted these from our pantry:

Breakfast Burritos

3 pounds breakfast sausage (3 rolls) $1.44 each

2 dozen eggs $1.28 per dozen

60 flour tortillas $1.70 per 10

4 cups shredded cheddar cheese $1.17 each pkg (used 2)

= $19.42 or about $.32 each burrito

Brown the sausage, drain fat, and set aside.  Make scrambled eggs.  Mix the sausage and eggs together in a large bowl.  Set up an assembly line:  put about 1/4 cup eggs and sausage on one edge of flour tortilla, sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of shredded cheese and roll up, folding in the sides to create a burrito.

My daughter and her friend were "helping" assemble the burritos, aren't they so cute?

Wrap each burrito in waxed paper and set aside.  Continue to wrap and roll the burritos until you have all 60 completed.

Since I figured on my husband eating 2 each day for breakfast, we put 15 burritos into 4 separate one-gallon freezer food storage baggies.  Now when he's ready for work, he can grab two and nuke them in the microwave and save us a ton of money!  Did you know the breakfast burritos at a popular fast food restaurant run about $2.39?  We saved about $2.00 just by making our own!

Enjoy and hope you are having fun eating from your pantry!

This post has been linked to:

• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace
  

Shopping Trip 1/5/10: Pantry Challenge Shopping

Our goals this month are not only to eat from our pantry and freezer, but also to reduce our grocery bill from $75 week to $30 a week.  To do that, I decided to only buy new pantry items that would be FREE or less than $1 and to buy fresh produce and vegetables and milk at Aldi, where the prices are lower than anywhere else in town.

Here's how I did today:

Kroger:

(4) Betty Crocker Pouch Potatoes FREE

(4) Oikos Greek Yogurts FREE

(2) Kraft Cheese Singles $1.49 each (used [2] $.50/1 Kraft Single coupons)

(2) Kraft Cheese Singles $1.79 each (used [2] $.50/1 Kraft Single coupons)

= $6.56 OOP, saving $16.32 (71%)

Aldi:

Baby Carrots $.99

Garlic Bulbs $.69

Iceburg Lettuce $.99

Sweet Onions $1.69

Avocado $.95

Bananas $.68 & $.88

Cheese Puffs $.99

Tortilla Chips $.99

(2) Loaves White Bread $.79 each

All Purpose Flour $1.49

32 oz Plain Yogurt $1.59

Gallon Milk $1.69

Salsa $1.69

= $16.89 OOP

Walmart:

(4) Schick Disposable Razors FREE

= $.00 OOP, saved $7.88 (100%)

Walgreens:

1st order:

(2) Special K Bars $2.50 each

Electrasol $3.49

(2) Neosporin Lip Care $4.00 each

(2) Walgreens Chap Stick $.99 each

- $1/2 Special K coupon

- $2.50/1 Electrasol coupon

- (2) $3.00/1 Neosporin coupons

- $3.50 RR from last week

- $3.00 RR from last week

= 7 items at $2.47 OOP, saved $22.48 (90%) received $3, $2, 1 RR ($.36 each item)

2nd order:

Electrasol $3.49

(2) Reach Toothbrushes $3.99 each

- $2.50/1 Electrasol coupon

- $3.99 (Reach BOGO coupon)

- $1.00/1 Reach coupon

- $2.00/1 Walgreens Reach coupon

= 3 items at $1.98 OOP, saved $11.99 (86%) received $1 RR ($.66 each item)

CVS:

1st order:

GE Light Bulb $2.99

Glade Fabric Refreher $3.99

(3) Oust $3.99

(2) Hershey Snoman $.38 (clearance filler)

Foam kit $.25 (clearance filler)

- $2 off $10 Purchase

- $2.00/2 Oust Coupon

- $1.00/1 GE Light Bulb coupon

- $3.99 (Oust BOGO coupon)

- $2 ECB

- $3 ECB

- $4 ECB

= 8 items at $1.97 OOP, saved $23.98 (92%) received $9, $3, $2 ECB ($.25 each item)

2nd order:

(3) Boxes of Soy Joy $6.00 each

- $9 ECB

- $3 ECB

- $2 ECB

= $4.00 OOP, saved $18.47 (82%) received $18 ECB ($1.34 each item)

For the shopping week I spent $33.87 (but I got $134.99 worth of product). My average weekly savings is 75%.  Because I purchase some food items at the drug stores, I'm going to start breaking down the out of pocket cost per item.  This will stop inflating my food budget for the month.

I spent $28.67 OOP for food this week ($1.33 UNDER budget -- yeah for me!).

This shopping trip has been linked to the following sites:

• Grocery Cart Challenge (Tuesdays)
• Publix Super Savers at Fiddledeedee Mom (Mondays)
• Weekly Totals at I Heart Publix (Saturdays)
• Friday Finals at Southern Savers (Fridays)
• Shopping Superstars at The Thrifty Mama (Saturdays)
• The Cha-Ching Challenge at Cha-Ching on a Shoestring (Saturdays)
  

RECIPE: Easy Quesadillas

I love Tex-Mex food and could eat it everyday, but then I hear protests from the family ranks.  Since I began planning a monthly meal plan, I've instituted Tex-Mex Saturdays.  We have Tex-Mex inspired lunches and suppers.  Nothing extravagant, but it eases my craving.  Since we are eating from our pantry this month (and usually do this every month :) I wanted to share an easy, no-fuss quesadilla recipe.  It's really a method versus a recipe, seeing how you can tuck beans, chicken, shrimp, beef, pork or even grilled veggies inside with the cheese.  Here's how we do them:

Easy Quesadillas

10 flour tortillas $.99

non-stick cooking spray $.25

3 oz cream cheese, softened $.08

1 Tablespoon taco seasoning $.12

filling: beans, chicken, beef, etc...about 2 cups $.45-1.25 (depends on what you are using)

2 cups shredded cheese (your choice) $1.17

1. Heat skillet over medium low heat.  In a small bowl, mix the cream cheese and taco seasoning together until well combined; set aside.  
2. Remove two (2) flour tortillas from bag and spray one side of one tortilla with non-stick cooking spray (if you don't have this, use butter or olive oil, your choice), place the 2nd tortilla on top.  
3. Using the back of a spoon, spread about 1 Tablespoon of cream cheese mixture over the tortilla.  Spread thin layer of cooked beans or meat over the cream cheese layer.  Sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of shredded cheese over the bean/meat layer.  
4. Separate the tortilla from the oily one beneath it and place it into the heated skillet.  Place the oily tortilla over the cheese layer, oily side out.  After about 1-2 minutes, carefully flip the tortilla so the other side can brown.  Remove the quesadilla from the skillet to rest and so the cheese can finish melting.  
5. Continue making quesadillas.  Cut them into quarters or sixths.  Serve with guacamole, salsa and sour cream.

The whole meal will feed 4-6 people for $3.06.  The local restaurant we go to for dinner charges $5.25 for one Mushroom Quesadilla.  When we make it home, we know what ingredients we are using and how much fat we are adding to our meal.  And it's cheaper!  Who doesn't love that?

Please share any easy take-out meals you make at home utilizing items in your pantry or freezer.

Enjoy!

This post has been linked to:

• 5 Dollar Dinners
• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace
  
• Mouthwatering Mondays at A Southern Fairy Tale 
• (Red) Meatless Monday at These are the Days
• Tasty Tuesday at Beauty and Bedlam
• Tuesday at the Table at All the Small Stuff
• Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life at Mom (Super Bowl Food)
  

Eat From the Pantry Challenge: January 2010

Have you heard about the Eat From the Pantry Challenge?  If you are on Twitter, you can follow hashtag #pantry to see what everyone else is planning.   Crystal at Money Saving Mom and Jessica at Life As Mom (Good & Cheap Eats) are co-hosting this.  They are going to be listing the meals they've concocted from their pantry items and sharing for all of us to see.  I'm pretty excited about this.  We pretty much eat from our pantry anyway, and add freebies and cheap items from the store when they are on sale.

So my goals for the month of January are to:

1.  Buy pantry and freezer items that are only FREE or less than $1 at the grocery store each week.  Spending no more than $15 each week.
2.  Buy milk, eggs and fresh produce at Aldi since it's cheaper than Publix or Kroger.  Spending no more than $15 each week.
3.  Create a monthly meal plan based on my existing pantry items (I'll be posting this tomorrow).
4.  No eating out - lunches and breakfasts included! This will be harder for my husband than for me as we rarely eat out.  But I have some ideas for his breakfasts.

If it works out, and I hope it does, we'll spend about $120 for the entire month!  I'm going to speak to my husband about putting cash money in envelopes to see how it goes.  I wanted to do this last month and didn't get around to it.

Enjoy!