simple supper-deep dish skillet pizza

Last night manthing wanted pizza or pancakes for dinner. After some  internet bantering it was decided that pizza  was going to be it. Since I was not going to fire up the oven for a single pizza and my regular cookie sheet was dirty, I had to figure out just how I was going to make said pizza. After a minute or two of thought, it hit me!  Why not make a deep dish  pizza pie in the cast iron skillet.  It came out quite splendid though it was more like a pizza pot pie than a pizza since I went a little bit crazy on the dough making. 

 I made it just as I would make any other pizza: dough, sauce, and toppings. The only difference was what it was cooked in and how it was cooked. After making the dough, I rolled it and put it in the skillet, just as one would make a pie with the edges hanging over the pan. Then I threw the sauce and toppings on ( a garlic sauce with oregano, onion, tomato, chicken, shrooms, broccoli n cheeses) and  rolled the edges of the crust down  around the edges.  

To cook, I simply set the pan on the stove top with a few chunks of broken brick under it. This is to keep the bottom from burning and to allow the  toppings to  heat  properly and cook. I then placed a lid over the top  of the pan to keep the heat in and do its job.  I do  flat pan pizzas in the same manner but  I cook  all the toppings(but the cheese) prior to adding them on the crust since it cooks much quicker. 

 It  took about 25-30 minutes of cooking time. The last 10 or so was ensuring the crust  was cooked through. Like I said, the crust was a bit too much turning it into a pot pie looking creation rather than a pizza but it was still quite good.  The bottom picture is what it turned into though it was not a greenish yellow. The lighting just made it look that way.

Total cost to make was approximately  3 dollars (though a rather expensive meal for us  it is way cheaper than going to a pizza place or buying all of the ingredients to make one) and would easily feed four people. Had I made it on cookie sheets it would have made two pizzas rather than a single. Most of the toppings were from our own produce and leftovers from other meals.  Total time to prepare and cook was under an hour and that was having to chop all the ingredients, make the dough and sauce, and cook.

simple supper- Mexican cornbread casserole

After running out of ideas for easy dinners using fresh veggies from the gardens I decided that I was going to make a meal using many different ones with a Mexican flair to it. Though there are many different mexican casserole dishes out on the web, none sounded all that appealing to me so I made my own recipe up. The dish cost a total of about 2 dollars to make and will easily serve 6. Chopping up the veggies is the hardest part of making the meal. Just remember to use a large enough casserole dish or pan so that it doesn't boil over everywhere like mine did.

1 lb ground beef or turkey
one large onion
3-4 cloves garlic
4 large tomatoes
1 cup corn/hominy
1 cup zucchini/summer squash
1 can kidney or pinto beans
1 cup winter squash
2 jalapenos
1 tsp cumin
4 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup corn meal
1 cup flour
1 egg
1 cup water
cheese

Brown the ground beef with the diced onion and garlic, drain. Chop all other veggies and spices and mix in with the burger mixture in a 9x13 pan. Mix together. Mix the corn meal, egg, and water in a bowl then spread over the top of the veggie/burger mix. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes. Garnish with shredded cheese of your choice and sour cream. Serve with a side salad and you have a meal.

Because I cook over wood I put the entire mess into a large deep cast iron pan and covered it while cooking. This would work well in a dutch oven in a fire pit too. The type and amount of veggies is entirely up to you and a boxed corn bread mix can be used instead of making your own. A polenta on the bottom in a regular oven would also taste yummy, but I would not recommend it if cooking over wood unless you are very good at controlling temperatures so that it doesn't burn.

monday's mountain musings

Busy, busy, busy is the word around the homestead. I cleaned the greenhouse today and 11 trays of fall seedlings were planted. Manthing worked some more on the goat shed and split some wood and Measa worked on the pathways and stairs to the terraces, did some weed eating, and then got the carport area cleaned up. The stairs to the terraces really show how steep of a hillside they are actually on. What were we thinking? At the rate he is working we will be building new beds before the end of summer just to have things to do. Ain't many people that can tire me out working consistently but he certainly can!
The gardens are coming along very well and I am still working on a big update for them. I am in my final week of yet another semester of classes and the internet here has been very wonky for the last several days so I am very flustered with things lately. Research and making videos is difficult to do when one has intermittent internet access.
Tonight I made a garlic scape carbonara for dinner. It was quite tasty, simple to make and very cheap too. Rather than post the recipe I will just give the link to where I found it. I added some summer squash and zucchini into ours and we had the last of our spring greens to go along with it.
http://sarahscucinabella.com/2009/06/29/garlic-scape-recipe-garlic-scape-carbonara/

simple supper- greens and pasta

It is the time of year that we seem to have a surplus of greens. I am always looking for recipes that are quick, easy, budget minded and use produce that we have coming from the gardens. This one takes 30 minutes from start to finish and that includes making your own pasta. Total cost for me to prepare the dinner for 4-6 people was the price of two cups of wheat berries. Even if all products were purchased from the store total cost would be under five dollars.

pasta recipe
3 cups white or whole wheat flour
3 eggs
pinch salt
3/4 cup water (bit more or less)

mix all ingredients and roll out into a rectangle. When rolled thin, roll it up into a tube then with a sharp knife slice into discs. Unroll and toss with flour and cook in boiling water until they float or about four minutes. When I slice ours I do not unroll them and simply cook in the disc shape.

the greens
large bunch of greens (collard, turnip, kale, chard
5 cloves garlic sliced
one large onion diced
tsp salt
2 tbsp butter or olive oil
1/2-1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2-3/4 cups fresh parmesan or asiago cheese
crumbled cooked bacon or crumbled cooked sausage (optional)
handful of cooked beans of your choosing (optional)

Wash and cut up greens. In the last minute of pasta cooking, throw the greens in to blanch. Drain. Brown garlic in butter, add seasonings and return pasta and greens to pot and mix in half the cheese. Serve and top with remaining cheese.

simple supper-mashed tater enchiladas

This is a very simple, budget friendly yet satisfying meal to make and even making everything from scratch, it can be completed in about an hours’ time. Enchilada sauce and tortillas can be purchased and left over mashed potatoes can be used for the filling which would cut preparation time in half. Spices, flour and oil are the only ingredients we have to buy which makes this a very cheap meal to make. For those purchasing all ingredients four to five dollars would more than cover the costs. This recipe will make approximately 8 filled tortillas and will more than feed a family.

filling

3 cups mashed potatoes

one medium onion-dices

2 cloves garlic-minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 to 2 jalapeño chili peppers-seeded, minced

1 tsp salt

Enchilada sauce

4 Tbsp chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon crushed oregano

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 cup flour

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 cups water

1 teaspoon salt

Flour tortillas (8 large)

First make the enchilada sauce. Mix chili powder, cumin, oregano, garlic powder, cinnamon, sugar, salt, and flour and oil in small pan. Cook for a minute or two, until fragrant. Slowly whisk in the water, until smooth. Let come to a simmer, cook for a minute, then remove from heat, cover and set aside.

To prepare the filling: Heat olive oil in a sauté pan on medium heat. Add the chopped onion and jalapeños and cook until the onions are translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook a minute more. Stir in mashed potatoes and mix well. Remove from heat.

To assemble: warm tortillas slightly so that they are pliable. Place 1/3 to 1/2 cup of filling in tortilla and roll. In a large baking dish put ½ cup of sauce on bottom of pan and spread evenly. Place rolled tortillas in pan then cover with remaining sauce. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

I typically top with cheese, lettuce or cabbage shreds, green onion and a dollop of sour cream. Guacamole can also be served as a condiment. I serve this with beans or a small salad

simple supper- chimichangas w/ white sauce

One of my favorite not so budget minded (but not too expensive) dishes is chicken chimichangas with a white sauce. I like it because you can make it as spicy or as plain as you like them, they can be served with whatever you have on hand, they can be made ahead and frozen and are very easy to make despite the lengthy recipe. Make some refried beans or Mexican rice to serve alongside and you have a restaurant quality meal without the cost or having to leave your home. These can also be made with shredded pork, turkey, beef or rabbit. Chicken just happens to be my favorite. There are many variations of chimichangas out there and many thoughts on how they should be served. The following recipe is just the one I use when I make them for us.

When I make this recipe it takes me a couple of hours because I make everything from scratch. This also allows me to make really large tortillas. It makes the folding of them easier and one chimi will be plenty for an adult. I make refried beans from dry beans rather than buy them as it is much cheaper and healthier to do so. We prefer using our own cheese as well. In fact, the only thing we do purchase to make this is the flour. To make it a much faster meal to put together all items can be store bought, prepared ahead of time and dinner can be had in about 30 minutes time.

filling

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crushed

Couple diced chiles

2 cups cooked chicken, chopped or shredded

One finely chopped onion or ¼ cup green onion

salsa blanco

Two green chiles, finely minced

¼ cup mayonnaise

½ cup sour cream

¼ cup milk

1 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper or to taste

To build the chimichangas lay a slightly warm tortilla on flat surface, add ¼ -1/2 cup of filling on tortilla and fold. Lay the filled tortilla on a lightly oiled cookie sheet, seam side down. When all are assembled, brush with a light coat of oil or butter and bake at 400 for 25 minutes. Traditionally they are deep fried rather than baked but I always had trouble with them falling apart. This method is healthier and makes it easy. I shallow fry them or half- bake on top of the wood stove. When serving I place a little puddle of white sauce on the plate, place the chimi on it and add the toppings with another good drizzle of sauce on top.

To make the sauce, mix all ingredients in small sauce pan, stir frequently over low heat until hot. Serve over chimi's.

When I make chimi’s, I use what I have on hand for the toppings. We prefer shredded cabbage over lettuce and then I top with a bit of green onion, diced tomatoes and top with a bit of queso blanco. Some folks like salsa, guacamole, lettuce, onion and olives or even green salsa on top of theirs. This recipe will make 4-6 servings.

Flour tortillas

Queso blanco

Mexican rice

refried beans

tortilla folding

(not my picture, my shutter didn't open when I took mine :( )

Simple supper-hillbilly haluski

This is one of my favorite dishes to make and one of the cheapest too. There are many variations of it out there and it is called many different things but the one I am most familiar with is haluski which is Eastern European /Polish in origin and it has tons and tons of butter. While it is lovely it is also not very healthy and not very economic in the modern world. Maybe back when we all owned a cow or two a pound of butter for a meal was budget minded. In today's world where I can only afford to keep a goat on the farm, it most certainly isn't. I am also a fan of one dish meals,while traditional haluski can be that, it is not all that balanced or healthy if made according to all the recipes I have found over the years.

I have taken it upon myself to adapt this recipe to my own taste buds and come up with something that still resembles haluski but is a bit healthier and is a much more nutritionally balanced one dish, simple, supper.

While the noodles can be store bought egg noodles, it tastes much better using your own noodles because the noodles for the recipe are actually more like a dumpling than a noodle. They are very simple to make and much cheaper too. There are egg noodles or potato noodles but I would be willing to say that squash could also be used in the potato noodle recipe and still taste good.

egg noodles
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp salt
2 cups flour
½ cup water

Mix all ingredients together and beat with a spoon. Drop batter by teaspoonful into boiling salted water. Cook about 5 minutes(they will float) drain; rinse in cold water and set aside. Drain well and set aside.

potato noodles
1 lb about 4 medium potatoes (cooked and smashed)
1/4 cup flour
2 egg yolks
Mix all ingredients and place dough on a floured board and form into a log. Cut into small pieces and drop in to boiling water until they float. Rinse with cool water, drain and set aside.

the cabbage
3 tbsp butter (olive oil can be substituted, adjust quantity as needed)
1 medium head cabbage - shredded
2 onions - diced
Melt butter in large skillet or pan. Coarsely shred cabbage with a knife. Dice the onions. Add salt and pepper to season. Stir well and cook covered over medium heat heat, stirring occasionally, for about a half hour. Add drained noodles and cook for 10 -15 minutes, stirring often.

For a plain haluski that is all that is added. I however like to add meat to the recipe. Chopped pork bits, bacon and breakfast or polish sausage are all good additions. I brown these in the same pan that I use for making the cabbage and then add the cabbage to it. I also like to add shredded carrots to the recipe. They add nutrition and add eye appeal to the dish. Add the carrot shreds when you add the cabbage. and increase the amount of butter by a tablespoon. I also like to add diced apple to the dish. I think it adds a nice flavor as well as the health benefits. I also like to add garlic at times or serve with green onions and sour cream as a garnish. Heck, I suppose one could also add in corn or other veggies too.

When made with a choice of meat, carrot and apple, this dish costs me approximately $1.50. If one had to buy all the ingredients it would cost 4-5 dollars depending on where you live and the time of year. This recipe will easily feed 6 adults as a main dish. When I do not add apple in to the dish itself I usually serve this meal along side applesauce.
(photo in post is not mine)

fall veggies and a simple supper

Yesterday afternoon I needed a break from school work so headed to the gardens to walk through and enjoy them in the cool fall drizzle. While down there I decided these four heads of broccoli were done growing so I harvested them, thinned out one of the carrot beds, plucked some green onions, pulled a few peas, and ripped out some salad greens. The old saying of not going to the grocery store hungry also holds true for heading to the gardens. The only difference is you spend no money in doing so and the guilt does not come into play as it may in a store.

The only logical dinner I could think to make with the haul was pasta primavera in an alfredo sauce as it was nearly complete with my pickins. The only thing I needed to add to finish dinner was some pasta and a little bit of sauce to make it a meal. Veggies cost me nothing, pasta was about $.50, and the ingredients for the sauce were under a buck. It took me longer to chop the veggies than it did to cook and it made for a nice healthy meal. The recipe below is for 6 people as a main dish. While I used carrots, peas, and broccoli as my veggies, cauliflower, corn, mushrooms and summer squash also go nicely in the dish. Frozen veggies can be used in place of the fresh and the meal would still be a budget friendly option. Canned or fresh chicken or hams chunks also make a nice addition to the meal but are not needed to make it a more filling dinner for the meatosaurs among us.

pasta primavera alfredo
1 pound pasta (of your choosing)
5 cups of veggies sliced thin
1 onion (diced)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1/2 cup sour cream
2 oz cream cheese
2 oz butter
1 cup milk
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
2 tsp flour

cook pasta as directed adding the veggies for the last 3-5 minutes of cooking. While pasta is cooking, in a sauce pan add butter, onion and garlic and saute to bring out the flavors of the onion and garlic. Add the flour and mix well. Slowly add the milk sour cream and cream cheese and heat until cheese melts and sauce thickens a bit, then add the parmesan. Drain pasta and mix the sauce with pasta, stir and serve.Add salt and pepper to taste.

simple supper-butternut squash pasta

No, no, this is not plasticized processed cheese food over pasta! It is a butternut squash sauce and boy is it good. Well, I think it is quite good and  I am sure picky kids would find it quite tasty. The picky manthing's, well you can't please everyone all the time :) When I made this the other night and served him his plate, his eyes went dim and out of his darlin'  pie hole came the opening words of this post. I looked at him n said, "why yes  dear, I jogged all the way to town  today  just to get  you some plasticized, processed cheese food for dinner because I know how much you like it." Truth be told, he is not a pasta fan to begin with  and  he  only tolerates squash because he has no choice in the matter. Anyway, this is a very simple,  quick, and cheap dinner  that is  also nice and healthy. And  thankfully, it tastes better than it looks.

 When I make this I  puree the squash after roasting or use already pureed squash that I have frozen. You can  however,  dice the squash,  roast and serve with bits of squash if you prefer. Most any winter squash or pumpkin can replace the butternut in the recipe, so don't be scared of changing it up. Most folks like to use bow ties or penne for the pasta, I use whatever I have on hand, why pay more for fancy shapes when it all tastes the same. In the recipe you will notice I have included choices for the liquid, the choice is yours as to what  is used. For creamier sauce, use cream or milk for a cheaper, less fattening sauce use veg. stock or water.

    1 butternut squash weighing about 2 1/2 pounds

    8 ounces of pasta

    1 tablespoon butter or olive oil

    1/3 cup of chopped shallots or green onion

        1/2-1 cup of heavy cream /milk/water/ or chicken stock

    1/8 teaspoon of grated nutmeg

    2 teaspoons of lemon juice

     Salt and pepper to taste

     2 teaspoons  fresh chopped sage

1/2 cup pine nuts or 1/2 cup parmesan cheese or 1/2 cup bread crumbs

Cook the pasta to au dente, drain, and set aside. Roast the squash, scoop out and puree. In  frying pan,  place butter and shallots and cook till translucent, add remaining ingredients and toss with pasta. The amount of liquid added will vary  depending on how thin or thick you want the sauce.  Add nuts, cheese or bread crumbs to top and serve. 

Served with a side salad this really does make a nice meatless  meal, don't let the picture fool you.  There are several other variations of this recipe out there. If you are not a fan of this one,  search  butternut pasta recipes and  an entire library of recipes will show up. Give them a try, they are a nice change from traditional sauces.

simple supper-cabbage goulash

Until a few years ago, I would not touch anything that had cabbage in it other than a well made cole slaw. When  we made the switch to growing most of our own food, I had to learn to like it because it is such an easy crop to grow and if you have to purchase it, it is cheap in comparison to many other veggies.  It has become one of our staple foods and one of my favorite veggies of all to use in cooking because of its versatility.

Cabbage goulash  is one of my favorite meals that  uses cabbage as the main ingredient and it is a pretty cheap meal to make, especially when you grow all your own ingredients. In the recipe that follows,sausage and ground beef is used but you can use any variation of meat in it or none at all. My favorite meat in it is breakfast sausage but I have made it with chicken chunks, bacon even hot dogs so  be creative.  The recipe also calls for canned tomatoes but  it works well with fresh tomatoes too. I just whirl them around in the food processor for a minute and dump them in. Usually when I make it, I just serve it with a bread of some sort because a salad is not really needed.  If I need to stretch this meal or want a variation, I add a cup of rice and add the juice from the tomatoes then simmer. When I make it, this meal costs about 50 cents . If you  have to purchase all the ingredients, cost is about 5 bucks for 6-8  servings. (not my pic,  we ate it all before I thought about a picture )

 Cabbage goulash

8 ounces   sausage
8 ounces ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped, juice reserved

2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
8 cups shredded cabbage or one large cabbage

Brown meat and onion, drain. Add remaining ingredients and simmer 20 minutes. Top with your favorite cheese.

simple supper-pasta, bacon and tomato

One of my favorite meals in the world is this simple and quick dish of pasta. My gran  made this for us when we were young and it is something I eat at least once a month, to this day. The best thing about this dish is that it  can be made with any sort of pasta and you can add herbs  or other meat or meat type product and it still tastes delicious. This is my favorite sort of pasta to bake as the flavors once  melding for a day or two, are wonderful.

I also, like this made with  either breakfast or Italian sausage instead of the bacon. Serve it with a side of salad and garlic bread and you have a simple supper that does not break the wallet. It is quite tasty served barely warm and is a great summer time meal when made with all, fresh from the garden ingredients.

 one large onion or 3 leeks -chopped
 1/2 pound bacon, cut in 1 inch  pieces

3 cloves garlic, chopped 

1 28-ounce can  chopped tomatoes or 5-6  fresh tomatoes chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped or tbsp dry parsley

1 pound spaghetti
Parmesan cheese
A handful of fresh basil, chopped
Salt and pepper

 Brown bacon to a crisp in pan, add the onion for the last 3-5 minutes  and garlic when near done. Drain grease, reserving 2 tbsp to add to the tomato mixture. Boil pasta to au dente in salted water, then drain.  Mix all ingredients and serve topped with Parmesan.

simple supper-turbo burritos

 An internet friend posted one of her favorite easy dinners the other day and we eat something much the same  quite often. I never called them anything but food until  I saw them dubbed as turbo burritos. Since she is the one that posted the recipe I will direct you to her post rather than making one here.

 The only thing I do differently is that  I shred cabbage and place under the burritos  add green onions and  use paneer  or white cheese to top it with instead of cheddar.By adding a few more veggies it becomes a one dish meal. This is a very quick and easy meal to make and is pretty inexpensive  especially if you make all the ingredients from scratch rather than purchasing.

simple supper-pancakes and ham

We enjoy breakfast for supper on occasion and more often than not it is pancakes  with a bit of meat and some fruit either on top or  served to the side. Total cost for the two of us for our supper and another morning of pancakes is about a $1.25 a rather expensive  meal or two  for us in all actuality. From start to finish, prep and cooking  it takes about a half hour once we get the fire hot.

The other night when we  made them we had dandelion pancakes with dandelion syrup, a couple slices of ham  and we were going to have melon  but I never got around to fixing it.  To make the pancakes  I just use whatever recipe I  use for regular pancakes and substitute 1 cup of the flour with one cup corn meal  and add a cup of dandelion petals to the mix. I also replace the sugar in the recipe with  dandelion syrup.  This makes for a very healthy  pancake no matter what time of day.

simple supper-lentil stew

Since we are having a cool and rainy  day  here today I decided to make us some lentil stew and corn dumplins for dinner tonight.  A nice, easy, hot meal that isn't overly heavy  yet is nutritious, filling, cheap and versatile, my kind of fare for a lazy and  relaxing day.

There are many different lentil soup and/or stew recipes out there and  I don't exactly follow any recipe in particular  but I always begin with a base mix of the following and throw it all in a crock pot. Cook times depend on what veggies you throw in  but 3-4 hours on high usually  covers it. Serve with salad and bread as a meal or thicken  and serve as a stew over biscuits, dumpling, bread or noodles.  Be creative  lentils are very versatile.

1-1/2 cups lentils

1 cup carrots sliced
6 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tbsp butter
15 oz can tomatoes
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic

From this base I add other  spices, veggies, meat, rice or noodles even. Some of our favorites to add in are root veggies, although we tend to eat this in the winter months rather than now. A mild curry flavor is also nice as is adding Mexican flavors and veggies.  The Mexican  is especially  flavorful with corn  dumplins, almost like a pozole with corn tortillas  but not . Give it a Moroccan flare and throw some winter squash  or pumpkin cubes in. If your family needs to have meat with every meal, throw some diced bits of meat in, a little meat can go a long way in  dishes such as this.

Tonight our  stew is simply  the above  mentioned recipe with  some added spices and taters over corn dumplins. Total cost was the price  of the lentils (45cents),  flour(10 cents) and spices (10 cents). This will give us at least two meals  for the two of us and maybe even  three. It took me about 10 minutes to prepare everything   and get it cooking, now that is what I call simple.

For some very different lentil stews check these out.   For those that don't eat meat, simply omit it in the recipes, it is what  I do they are still very good. The only one that I have not made some sorts of variation of is the beer and bacon one. The rest are quite tasty and all are simple.

For corn dumplins just replace 1/2 of your flour in your favorite dumplin recipe with corn meal and cook as normal.  Here is the recipe I use for dumplins and they have not failed me yet. 

2 cups of white flour (not self rising, if using self rising omit baking powder and salt)

  (for corn dumplins use 1 cup flour and 1 cup corn meal)
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 cup of milk (or more)

 Mix all ingredients. Make sure your soup or stew is on a gentle simmer. Drop dumpling dough into the liquid by teaspoonfuls or for larger dumplings use a tablespoon. There's no need to worry about shaping perfect dumplings because they will puff up as they cook. Cover your pot with a lid so that the dumplings can steam. In crock pot this takes about 30 minutes on a stove 20.

simple supper- super salad and fry biscuits

During the warm months of the year we often  have very simple, quick suppers  and more often than not  they are  vegetarian . One of our favorite meals is a big old salad.  I forage what is in season and pick what is coming out of the gardens. If I have any left over meat bits or fruit and nuts I add them in and  then throw a few herbs, spices, cheese on there and some vinaigrette that I made and we have a great meal.

Generally we have either crackers or some sort of bread with the salad. Tonight I didn't have either so I made some fry biscuits to go along with and served them with  dandelion syrup. It made a nice  spring time meal that took about  a half hour to prepare and literally cost pennies.

To make the fry biscuits just make your favorite  drop biscuit recipe omitting any  fat or oil. Heat oil to 375 and drop biscuits in to oil. Cook until golden brown and turn once. Drain on paper towel. Serve warm

simple supper-vegetarian tacos-lentil/rice taco filling

One of our  favorite meals here on the homestead is tacos. They make a great garden veggie using meal that is quick and easy yet mostly nutritious. Of all the things we eat tacos is probably one of our most served meals all year round. Unfortunately meat prices are crazy insane and one never knows what they are buying. Making bunny, goat or chicken tacos require some  time in preparing the meat to make it taco worthy. In the  busy months of the year that is not always an option  being that we only cook on wood and that requires tending. When I am busy working, walking back and forth 27 times to check food and tend fires does not a productive day make so I had to find a suitable alternative.

A couple years ago I ran across this recipe on hillbilly housewife and decided to try it. It quickly became one of our favorite healthy dishes to  make as well as an over all  good base recipe   for a wide  variety of meatless meat dishes and could slow cook all day long while we were out working.  When I make this recipe for 4 people I double it and get three meals and a snack or two out of it. Normally we do tacos twice then at least one meatless dish and often times two. With just the two of us  here  a single recipe will give us 4-5 meals. Pretty good for the price of a few lentils, some brown rice and some spices.

 lentil/rice taco filling

• 3/4 cup dry lentils
• 3/4 cup brown rice (do not substitute white rice, it just isn NOT the same)
• 4 cups  water
• 4 beef bouillon cubes (I don't like the msg so I make my own "bouillon" replacement)
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• I like to dice up onion and  jalapenos

In a 2-quart saucepan bring the water to a boil. As the water is heating, add all ingredients. Bring the whole thing to a nice fat boil. Reduce the heat to low. Place a lid on the lentils and allow the mixture to simmer for about 45 to 50 minutes. The water should be mostly absorbed.

  This recipe does very well in the crock pot on low for 7 to 8 hours or on  high for 3-4 hours. A double recipe fits nicely in the crock pot too.

For tacos, make some home made flour tortillas, add veggies, sour creme and home made salsa  and YUM!

pierogi

Pierogi are one of my favorite frugal recipes that I make. Not only are they delicious but they are very versatile. They can be boiled , deep fried or sauteed and can be filled with everything from sauerkraut , to meat or potatoes.They can be served as a main dish or side dish and in a myriad of ways from plain to extravagant. I have served pierogi with butter and cheese, tomatoes sauces, salsas and gravies. The worst part about making them is it is a bit time consuming to roll, fill and close allof them up. It makes a good afternoon family project and they freeze very well

Tonight I made mashed potato pierogi's with garlic and cheese as a one dish meal. I took a few pieces of bacon browned them up and crumbled. I then sauteed 2 large onions and two cups of chopped cabbage.When onions and cabbage were near tender I sliced two apples up and added that to the cabbage mixture and crumbled the bacon in. Heat through and serve over the pierogis.

recipe

2½ cups of flour

1 tsp salt

1 egg

2 tbs. sour cream

½ cup lukewarm water

Mix all ingredients together, and knead a bit. The dough should not be very smooth, and it should be quite sticky. Let stand covered for 1/2 hour before using. Take either all, or a portion of the dough, and roll it out until it is 1/16" thick. You will have to use plenty of flour to keep the dough from sticking to the rolling pin and rolling surface . Cut in to circles or squares and fill . Seal pocket completely and cook as desired.

Here is the site I get my dough recipe from. They have several recipes on different fillers for the pierogi and goes into much more detailed instruction. http://home.comcast.net/~dyrgcmn/Pierogi/pierogi.html

monday's mountain musings

Things are always interesting no matter how dull or sedate life seems to be. Just when ya think you may perhaps lead the most unexciting life in the world something comes along and entirely screws that up. After a highly uneventful most of the week we were lucky enough to have two days of near monumental excitement for at least 5 minutes each day.

Saturday morning we went to feed the animals when I noticed the fence to the chickens and bunnies was ripped open and one of my hens was missing. The bunnies and remaining hens we very upset and we were disappointed that the only fur on the fence belonged to one of our dogs.He is great with the goats but for some reason every now and again he has a horrible lapse of judgment, common sense or something and decides he needs to have a chicken dinner. Thankfully he only does this about once a year and we normally catch him before he commits his crime.

Yesterday morning we went to feed the animals when captain bravo(aka ohno, f***tard or black rat bassturd) found him self a juvenile coon in the feed shed and he was going to kill it. The captain doesn't have this name for nothing, for a twenty pound dog he has absolutely no fear. For this reason I am glad he is as small as he is as I have felt the damage he can do first hand. Manthing grabbed a stick and pinned him down while I went in and held the dog and snuffed him out with my foot. Felt bad having to do it but unfortunately sometimes the wildlife forgets they are wild and come invade our boring life and unfortunately the two just don't mix well. I really wanted to skin the bugger but manthing was there apologizing to it for what we had done as he dug the hole for his little body so I dropped my idea of skinning him up.

Now for the good accomplishments of the week. We think we almost got the pack rat issue cleared up. Now the chewing is at a level where we can atleast sleep with only minor interruptions. It only took two weeks of sealing up every dang nook and cranny we could, a couple of which were done at 10 pm. There is still something up in the loft where the garden is becuase it continues mowing my plants down up there. Yesterdays mow victim was on of my tomato plants. It was nice of him to leave the bottom couple of inches of the plant though as it has a couple leaves already forming just below the chop line. I also lost a few bean plants this week to it as well as a few other small plants. This is all being done with four traps set in the plants them selves. Sneaky little devils. I am persistent though and just keep reseeding and plotting against the tiny vermin, I will win this battle.

I so enjoy winter cooking ,it seems to be much more laid back than cooking at other times of the year. Maybe it is because we already have the wood cut and ready and the fire is already made so there is no extra work involved. Maybe it is because I can start meals early in the day and allow them to cook all day, do what I have to do , relax and dinner is ready. I made some really good meals this week, the best of which was a dang good veggie beef stew with dumplings with some almost baked or almost fried apple pies.

stew
1 pound stew meat (cut tiny)
one large onion diced
one bulb garlic (chopped)
4 cups assorted veggies(carrots, taters,parsnips, peas, and corn)
10 cups water
1/4 cup vegemite
1 cup coffee
2 tsp cocoa
1 tbsp salt
pepper to taste

coat chopped meat with flour and brown. Add onions , garlic,all other veggies seasonings an water. Bring to boil then simmer for an hour or there about. Thicken as needed and bring back to boil. Put dumplings in and cook 20 minutes. Serve

dumplins
3 cups flour
1/4 cups baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
dash of salt
1 cup (there about)water or milk

"your choice" casseroles

I found this a few years back and shamelessly stole it.As you will see everything in the recipes are frozen or canned. I simply adjust it for our fresh, dehydrated or frozen veggies we have put back. Other than the cheese toppings , most of the casseroles can also be made entirely of prep foods or from your food storage

YOUR CHOICE CASSEROLE

Each casserole bakes for 1 hour and 20 minutes, which eliminates the need to precook the pasta or rice. Experiment with different flavors and invent your own casseroles. Using multiple Extras and Toppings, this basic recipe will make over 19,200 different combinations!

DIRECTIONS:

Combine 1 cup sour cream,1 cup milk, 1 cup water, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper with “your choice” of a Sauce Maker (omit sour cream and milk when using tomatoes). Stir in “your choice” of Frozen Vegetable. Stir in “your choice” of Pasta/Rice. Stir in “your choice” of Meat/Fish/Poultry. Stir in “your choice” of Extras, if desired. Spoon the mixture into a lightly greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with your choice of Toppings. Bake casserole, covered, at 350° for 1 hour and 10 minutes; uncover and bake 10 more minutes.

CHOOSE ONE SAUCE MAKER:

1 (10-3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 (10-3/4-ounce) can cream of celery soup, undiluted
1 (10-3/4-ounce) can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 (10-3/4-ounce) can Cheddar cheese soup, undiluted
2 (14-1/2-ounce) cans Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained

CHOOSE ONE FROZEN VEGETABLE:

1 (l0-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 (l0-ounce) package frozen cut broccoli
1 (l0-ounce) package frozen Italian green beans
1 (10-ounce) package frozen English peas
1 (l6-0unce) package frozen sliced yellow squash

CHOOSE ONE PASTA/RICE:

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
1 cup uncooked rice
4 cups uncooked wide egg noodles
3 cups uncooked medium shells

CHOOSE ONE MEAT/FISH/POULTRY:

2 (6-ounce) cans solid white tuna, drained and flaked
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
2 cups chopped cooked ham
2 cups chopped cooked turkey
1 pound ground beef, browned and drained

CHOOSE ONE OR MORE EXTRAS (OPTIONAL):

1 (3-ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained
1/4 cup sliced ripe olives
1/4 cup chopped bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chilies
1 (1-1/4-ounce) package taco seasoning mix

CHOOSE ONE OR MORE TOPPINGS:

1/2 Cup (2 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese
1/2 cup fine, dry breadcrumbs

"hamburger help yourself" meals

I am a fan of one dish meals. One dish meals that are cheap and easy are even better. One dish meals where you can fool the eaters into thinking they are having a meat loaded meal is better and meals made from food storage or "preps" is bestest. Keep in mind all these are made with ground beef but one could substitute ground chicken, turkey, venison , pork or bunny and they would still be good.

This base mix of seasons can be made ahead and kept in a sealed container and then measured out for each recipe.

base mix Ingredients:
2 cups nonfat dry milk
1 cup corn starch

1/4 cup beef bouillon powder

2 tablespoons onion flakes
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons dried parsley
1 tablespoon garlic powder

Chili Mac
1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
1 cup water
1/2 cup macaroni noodles (uncooked)
2 cans chopped tomatoes
1 Tb chili powder
1/2 cup mix

Stroganoff:
1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
2 cups water
1/2 cup mix
2 cups uncooked egg noodles
1/2 cup sour cream

Potato Beef Casserole
1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
3/4 cup water
6 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup frozen mixed veggies
1/2 cup mix

Quick Lasagna
1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
1/2 cup mix
1 onion, chopped
2 cups water
16 ounces tomato sauce
3 cups lasagna noodles, uncooked, broken in bits
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions

Chili Mac: Combine all and simmer 20 minutes or until macaroni is cooked

Stroganoff: Combine all except sour cream. Simmer 20 minutes or until noodles are tender. Stir in sour cream and serve.

Potato Beef Casserole Combine all and simmer, covered, until potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove cover and cook until excess water is evaporated.

Quick Lasagna: Combine all except mozzarella in large skillet. Bring to a boil, let simmer for 15 minutes or until noodles are cooked. Top with mozzarella. Turn off heat and let cheese melt.