Frugal Feeding of the Family Reader Response

Sounds like everyone is looking for ways to save money on food!  Workers at home everywhere want to serve delicious, inexpensive meals to their families.  Here's what some of my dear readers had to say.....

Geneva at nevas-life.blogspot.com/ shared her recipe for Potato Soup.

Ingredients:
About 15 potatoes, peeled and cut into small, but not too small, pieces.
Salt
Chopped parsley
Pepper
4 cans of cream of something (potato, celery, chicken, mushroom.  All work!)
The How to's:
1.  Put peeled and chopped potatoes in pot, cover with water and boil 'til soft.
2.  Pour in cream of whatever.  Add salt, pepper, and parsley.
3.  Let simmer on low for a few minutes, 'til it is to your liking.
Ok, see?  Easy!  So, go try it!  It is wonderful!:)   12-15 servings. 

Jennifer shared her recipe for Tuna Melts.

One can of tuna made up into tuna salad with mayo makes 3 or 4 melts, depending on how thick you like your tuna.  You'll need 3 or 4 English Muffins, can of tuna, mayo to mix in your tuna, and American cheese.  Mix up your tuna with mayo, splitting your English muffin in half, spread tuna on halved muffins, place a slice or half slice of cheese, place in a 350 degree oven.  Bake until cheese is melted and a bit brown.  Serve warm.

Leila from All meant to shine suggests eating flavorful rice and beans.  See her comment on my original post, Frugal Feeding of the Family.  While you are there check out Stacie's comments and make sure to visit her at A Firefighter's Wife .  Stacie says she is serving soup once a week and replacing the noodles in her soup recipes and casserole recipes with rice.  She is also making homemade bread in her bread machine to save money and recommends gardening.

You can find April at countrymomto4.blogspot.com .  She recommends serving soup once a week and also rice and beans once a week.  She also says she cooks whole chickens often and gets at least 2 meals out of that.  Check out her posts on these ideas,  Here and Here and here .

Here's a frugal recipe you might want to try......

Southern Beans  (I love being a southern cook!) 

1-1/2 lbs. dry pinto beans
salt to taste
1 lb ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced
1 to 2 c. salsa, optional

Place beans in a stockpot and cover well with water.  Boil beans over medium-high heat for 30 minutes.  Drain and cover with fresh water.  Simmer, stirring occasionally and adding water if necessary.  Cook slowly for 4 to 6 hours.  Add salt to taste as beans become tender.  In a separate skillet, brown ground beef, onion and garlic.  Add to beans and continue cooking until beans are tender.  Add salsa if desired.  Good stuff!

 I'm posting this again since my dear friend Amy M. asked me to.......

 Macaroni and Cheese

Put in crock pot:

• 2 cups evaporated milk
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tablespoons minced onion
• 1 egg beaten
• 2 cups cubed cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons butter

Stir well.  Cover and cook on high for one hour (or less).  Add 3 or 4 cups cooked macaroni, drained.  Cover and cook on low for 3-5 hours (or less).  Delicious!
My crock pot is NOT a "slow cooker".  It cooks things faster than I would like actually, so I have to watch it when I make this so that it does not burn and stick to the sides.  Also, I double this for our family and triple it when I bring it to church.

And one more......

Sloppy Joes

Brown 3 lbs ground beef in skillet.  Pour into colander and rinse well.  Put into crock pot and add 2 onions finely chopped, 1 green pepper seeded and chopped, 2 8oz cans tomato sauce, 1 8oz can water, 2 pkgs sloppy joe seasoning mix.  Cover and cook on low 4 to 6 hours. 
Note:  If too liquid, remove cover and set on high for 30 minutes.
Our family loves these and all you need to add to this are some hamburger buns and carrot sticks!  Yum!