Whatever Wednesday

Zucchini Fritters

I made these when the kids where not home. I really didn’t think they would like them at all. However, when they came back, they scarfed these down. I was so surprised. It may have been how I described them as savory pancakes. They are all over them. Especially the little one, he kept saying “more fritters mommy, more fritters.” I got them to eat vegatables without complaining. This is a big accomplishment in my house. These are on the menu again.

I got the recipe from the App ALL RECIPES.

3 med Zucchinis shredded

1 small onion shredded

3 eggs beaten

½ Romano or Parm Cheese

1 cup Milk

2 Cups flour (I used Whole Wheat Pastry Flour)

Salt, Pepper, Garlic and other seasonings to taste

1. In a large bowl, mix together the zucchini, onion, eggs, cheese, milk and flour. Season with Salt, pepper, garlic and seasonings.

2. Pour a couple of table spoons vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Drop ¼ cupfuls of the batter in the skillet and flatten slightly. Turn the fritters over when the center appears dry. Cook other side until golden brown

Whatever Wednesday - Biscuit Empanadas

Now on to food. It is out of necessity we create or invent. I am not sure if that is a quote, but it is something I am saying now. I have been getting tired of eating the same thing. I really wanted empanadas, but I didn’t have any pie crust. And I was just too lazy to make some. So the mother of invention stepped in and I looked at my fridge. I had taco meat, cheese and biscuits bought on sale and BOOM! Biscuit empanadas were born. We have had this twice. It has gone over well both times. I have been telling my friends and they are willing to try it too.  You can get biscuit coupons here.

Biscuit Empanadas

Ingredients:

1 Can 8 count Biscuits
1 lb. Browned Ground Meat with taco seasoning
1 Cup Cheese
1 Cup Onion (Optional)

1. Open Biscuits and take a rolling pin and flatten out each of the 8 biscuits into about a 6-8 inch circle. Using flour for dusting so they won’t stick.

2. When all are rolled out, take about 1 ½ tablespoons of Browned Taco Meat and place in the center. Then top with Cheese. Fold the dough over and seal with a little water and a fork. 

3. Bake in the oven per instructions for the biscuit empanadas. Super simple and very delicious.

Do you have a recipe you would like to share? Please leave a link below.

Meals

Are you getting in the back to school mode yet? I am there and trying to figure out fun lunch ideas for my daughter. Sandwiches everyday is not going to cut it. I just thought of something today and tested it in my kitchen. I call it Cheesy Bread.

I normally buy the 9 grain or whole wheat fresh baked bread that is discounted in the back of the store. I freeze this and we take it out as we need it and warm it up in the toaster. This bread is smaller than the average size loaf I use a couple of more slices than I would the average loaf.

First place the bread in the toaster. You want it to be nice and dry and crunchy. Then I placed some shredded cheese and sprinkled some parmesan on top. I put it in the microwave for 1 minute or until the cheese is nice and bubbly. Then I take it out and let it cool. You can cut it up into bite size pieces or leave as is. Then I put some pasta sauce in a small dish to dunk the slices. This was delicious. It was just like pizza, but the bread doesn’t get soggy with the sauce. I am definitely doing this again.

A small variation could be adding some Italian spices to the top of the cheese or adding different cheeses.

I hope you enjoy.

Tips for Tuesday

I am reposting this article, since it was so popular a couple of months ago.

With many of us couponing or trying to save money we need to stretch those box meals a little further. For me a simple box meal just doesn’t feed all five of us.  I like to have leftovers for little face and me for lunch the next day. It is easier to decide what we will eat and I don’t have to make a big meal just for two people.

I would like to share with you a few ideas I have for adding flavor to boxed meals without adding sodium. The sodium content of these is amazingly high. I try not to feed these to my family very often, but they are better than buying fast food for five of us. I will do it in a pinch.

The best thing to add to any meal is an onion. I can purchase these for $0.49 lbs. So I am only adding $0.49 extra cost to my meal. I usually use ½ or 1 onion chopped and sautéed . This adds not only lots of flavor but around a ½ to 1 pound of food to the meal. The kids don’t even know it is in there, since most boxed meals have onion powder. Adding onion ramps up the flavor and increases the vegetables for the meal.

I also like to add carrots, especially to higher sodium meals. This will help decrease the salty taste in a meal. I will add around 1 or 2 peeled and either shredded, pureed or chopped finely. This is around ¼ to a ½ cup of carrots. What a sneaky way to enter extra veggies into the kids meals and they don’t even know. I like to add carrots to Sloppy Joes too. We just need a little more to make it stretch to feed all of us.

Corn is the next best thing to add to a meal. I find it goes well especially with Mexican dishes. I try to buy frozen when I can. Otherwise just open a can and pour it in. I like the cream style corn with the Asian Rice a Roni. Use the water from the can for the water to add to the dish. This will add just a little more flavor than just regular water. I will also save the water from the corn and use this for soups later.

Try adding peas to a meal. If you or your kids don’t like the taste of peas try pureeing them and add that to the meal. You won’t see them or taste them either. I like to add peas to fried rice and canned soups.

Beans can be added for extra protein to any dish. I like black beans for Mexican dishes. Sometimes I will add both corn and black beans to stretch a meal.

Try adding a little of two or three of the above mentioned vegetables to each meal to see what you can come up with and not change the taste too much. This is a fun experiment to try with your family. Try other vegetables you like to see what other combinations you can come up with. Look at the box and see what dehydrated veggies are already in there and add the real thing. This is a great way to stretch a meal for just a few pennies per meal.

Do you normally add anything to a box meal? What are your favorite recipes to add veggies to? What Veggies do you add?

*Photos provided courtesy of Wikipedia

Tips for Tuesday

With many of us couponing or trying to save money we need to stretch those box meals a little further. For me a simple box meal just doesn’t feed all five of us.  I like to have leftovers for little face and me for lunch the next day. It is easier to decide what we will eat and I don’t have to make a big meal just for two people.

I would like to share with you a few ideas I have for adding flavor to boxed meals without adding sodium. The sodium content of these is amazingly high. I try not to feed these to my family very often, but they are better than buying fast food for five of us. I will do it in a pinch.

The best thing to add to any meal is an onion. I can purchase these for $0.49 lbs. So I am only adding $0.49 extra cost to my meal. I usually use ½ or 1 onion chopped and sautéed . This adds not only lots of flavor but around a ½ to 1 pound of food to the meal. The kids don’t even know it is in there, since most boxed meals have onion powder. Adding onion ramps up the flavor and increases the vegetables for the meal.

I also like to add carrots, especially to higher sodium meals. This will help decrease the salty taste in a meal. I will add around 1 or 2 peeled and either shredded, pureed or chopped finely. This is around ¼ to a ½ cup of carrots. What a sneaky way to enter extra veggies into the kids meals and they don’t even know. I like to add carrots to Sloppy Joes too. We just need a little more to make it stretch to feed all of us.

Corn is the next best thing to add to a meal. I find it goes well especially with Mexican dishes. I try to buy frozen when I can. Otherwise just open a can and pour it in. I like the cream style corn with the Asian Rice a Roni. Use the water from the can for the water to add to the dish. This will add just a little more flavor than just regular water. I will also save the water from the corn and use this for soups later.

Try adding peas to a meal. If you or your kids don’t like the taste of peas try pureeing them and add that to the meal. You won’t see them or taste them either. I like to add peas to fried rice and canned soups.

Beans can be added for extra protein to any dish. I like black beans for Mexican dishes. Sometimes I will add both corn and black beans to stretch a meal.

Try adding a little of two or three of the above mentioned vegetables to each meal to see what you can come up with and not change the taste too much. This is a fun experiment to try with your family. Try other vegetables you like to see what other combinations you can come up with. Look at the box and see what dehydrated veggies are already in there and add the real thing. This is a great way to stretch a meal for just a few pennies per meal.

Do you normally add anything to a box meal? What are your favorite recipes to add veggies to? What Veggies do you add?

*Photos provided courtesy of Wikipedia