Frugal Fridays - Fourth of July!

Today was neat, since not only is it the Fourth of July, but it's also Friday, which means I got to plan a Frugal Fridays meal. This is pretty much what we would have eaten anyway, but it's fun to go through the ingredients and see exactly how much this meal cost us.

Once again (unplanned) we ended up making a meal with chicken, a salad, and a starch. Tonight we tried to keep the heat out of the kitchen, because today was HOT! Our meal featured: Grilled Lemon Chicken, a deliciously marinated main dish; Tangy Potato Salad, using microwaved potatoes and cheese instead of boiled eggs; and Dinner Rolls made from bread machine French bread dough, left over from lunch today (the heat the oven created when we made these this afternoon is the biggest reason we decided not to heat up the kitchen this evening).


Prices of ingredients, in order of appearance:
Lemon juice - 1/4 cup + 1 tsp. - $0.21
Chicken leg quarters - 1 lb. - $0.50
Potatoes - 3 - $0.40
Celery - 2 stalks - $0.20
Monterey jack - 2 oz. - $0.60
Mayonnaise - 1/2 cup - $0.22
Flour - 3 1/2 cups - $0.45
Yeast - 1 tbsp. - $0.20

Total Price - $2.78, but some of that shouldn't really count. We only ate four rolls tonight, but the recipe makes 12 and some were consumed earlier today for lunch. Even so, definitely under $10!

When you buy yeast in bulk (such as at WinCo), it is so very much cheaper than buying it in a jar, or (gag) in those dumb little packets. I don't recall the exact price per ounce that we got, but it was less than 20 cents. So I'm probably overestimating to say that our tablespoon of yeast (just over one ounce) cost that much.

Grilled Lemon Chicken

1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
1 tsp. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. onion salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
4 chicken pieces (we used 2 leg quarters, separated)

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients except chicken. Place chicken in quart-sized ziploc bag, pour marinade over the chicken. Refrigerate at least 3 hours, turning bag over every so often to make sure all the chicken gets marinated.

Grill chicken over medium coals for 45 minutes, turning and basting frequently.

Tangy Potato Salad

3 medium potatoes
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 oz. Monterey jack cheese, diced
1/3 to 1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp. mustard
1 tbsp. dill relish
Salt and pepper to taste

In order to keep from heating up the kitchen, I microwave-cooked the potatoes. I think this would have turned out with a better texture had I boiled them. So cut the potatoes into chunks and boil them until done. Drain and cool. Add celery and cheese.

In a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients, then fold gently into potato mixture. Chill until serving. Garnish with some paprika if desired.

French Bread Rolls

1 1/4 cups warm water

1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tbsp. active dry yeast

Place ingredients in bread pan of bread machine in order recommended by manufacturer. Set machine to dough cycle, or remove after first rise.

Place dough on lightly floured surface. Divide into 12 pieces. Shape each rolls. Place on greased baking sheet, cover and let rise in a warm place until double in size.

Bake at 400 degrees 15 to 20 minutes or until done.

Bread Machine French Bread Hot Dog Buns

Hot Dogs seem to go with Fourth of July like apples go with pie. We had hot dogs for lunch, and though we didn't break out the grill (we're saving that for tonight), they were a delicious treat with these homemade buns.

Bread Machine French Bread Hot Dog Buns
1 1/4 cups warm water
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tbsp. active dry yeast

Place ingredients in bread pan of bread machine in order recommended by manufacturer. Set machine to dough cycle, or remove after first rise.

Place dough on lightly floured surface. Divide into 12 pieces. Shape each piece into a hot dog shape (or whatever shape you want. We did some as regular dinner rolls). Place on greased baking sheet, cover and let rise in a warm place until double in size.

Bake at 400 degrees 15 to 20 minutes or until done.

Slice through horizontally almost all the way (just like packaged buns) and serve with hot dogs and condiments.

My Garden

A commenter requested a post about my vegetable garden. I'll accommodate, but I think it might be a bit of a disappointment. We do have a garden, and some of our plants look like they might survive the summer, but it's nothing like how I wish it was. Here are some pictures.

First are the bean plants. These appear to be doing pretty well. We discovered yesterday that we have a few beans growing, and they should be ready to harvest soon. Hopefully.

After the beans is the row of onions. What we didn't realize when we planted was that this row is right under the overhang, and when it rains it all drips right onto this row. Result: lots of weeds and tiny onions. Jeff just weeded this morning, and found a small handful of green onions. Here's the onion bed, and the only onions we've been able to find and harvest.









Next are the peas. The plants are doing well, and we have some flowers on them that should shortly become pea pods.

Here's our carrots and beets. They never ended up doing anything, and all that's left is two slightly raised beds enshrining the memory of what might have been. *moment of silence*

Next up are the tomatoes. We have six tomato plants. Five of them are scrawny and ugly, and not growing any tomatoes at all. Here's the one tomato plant that is producing anything - one green split little tomato.

The crowning jewel of our garden is the squash plant. We have high hopes for this baby. We've got a few little squashes growing, and one in particular is looking quite promising.


Here are my herbs. They all died.

Keep in mind that this is our first time growing our own garden. Neither of us have much experience with being responsible for our own garden. My family has had gardens growing up, but I was never really responsible for much more than weeding. We have a lot to learn. As it is, I think this year our garden was more for learning experience than anything else. Any vegetables we may happen to harvest are sort of an added bonus. In the meantime, we just try to shop smart and purchase the cheapest produce we can.

Peach Sorbet

This is the easiest frozen dessert I've ever made. It was so refreshing and perfect for a hot evening. All you have to do is freeze a can of fruit and then process it in the food processor. So easy!

Peach Sorbet
1 large can peaches in heavy syrup
You could also try other fruits, like pineapple or fruit cocktail

Open the can of peaches. Pour into a large, flat freezer-safe container. Freeze until solid.

When you're ready to make your sorbet, take the fruit out of the freezer and let it sit out for 10 minutes to soften a little. Break up into chunks, and put chunks in food processor. Process until it is creamy and looks like this:


All done!

I think next time I might freeze some sugar and a pinch of salt in with the fruit, to enhance the flavors a bit, or maybe some lemon juice to make it more tart. And I definitely want to try this with pineapple!

Chili - A Good Cheap Meal

Dried beans are a valuable food to like when you're on a budget. They're one of the cheapest sources of protein there is, and they are highly nutritious. They work well in so many dishes, they're low-calorie, and they just plain taste good!



This chili is an example of the way we usually eat, when I'm not off trying fun new recipes. We use the foods we have readily available (usually leftovers in the fridge) and throw something together that is quick, healthy, nutritious, and inexpensive.


Tonight, Jeff did precisely that. He cooked up about 1/4 pound ground beef and 1/2 cup onion. When they were cooked and drained, he added a can of diced tomatoes, some canned carrots from the fridge (about 1/4 cup), some leftover pinto beans (about 3/4 cup), 1/4 cup water, and then seasoned it up. He used salt, pepper, minced garlic, chili powder, barbecue sauce, and the secret ingredient: apricot jam (about 2 tbsp, just enough to add a tiny touch of sweetness). He cooked all this on medium low for a good long time (about 25 minutes). We served it with some home-canned jalapenos from last summer. We added these on the side because the kids would definitely have not eaten this if they were mixed in!


This was a great way for us to use up some leftovers (carrots and beans), and enjoy a deliciously cheap meal at the same time. Hooray for a delicious budget food - dry beans!

About 4 servings
200 calories per serving

Maple Breakfast Cake

We were up kind of early (for me) this morning, so I decided we had time for one of those fancier breakfasts where you actually put more work into it than pulling out a box of cereal and a carton of milk. Enter the Internet, where there are millions of recipes at my fingertips, and I can just pick and choose. I googled "breakfast cake" and came up with a whole lot of ideas, ranging from the typical coffee cake with cinnamon crumb topping to fruit-and-cream-cheese masterpieces. One in particular caught my eye, because it looked like a loaf of bread, but was described as tasting like a pancake. So I chose to make Maple Breakfast Cake from everybody likes sandwiches.


Maple Breakfast Cake
2 1/2 c flour
1/2 t baking soda
2 t baking powder
1 t salt
2 T butter, melted (or vegetable oil)
3/4 c maple syrup
1 c milk
1/4 t vanilla
Recipe also calls for walnuts, but I don't have any. Frugal recipe tip: if you don't have an ingredient, pretend it's not in the recipe!

1. Mix together flour, soda, baking powder and salt and set aside.

2. In a smaller bowl combine and blend remaining ingredients. Stir liquid ingredients into dry.

3. Spread batter in a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-45 minutes.


As this was baking this morning, it smelled so heavenly! The maple really makes the cake.

As we were eating, Zaylee suddenly blurted out, "Mommy, it's my hand!" I wasn't sure what she meant until she carefully placed her hand on her piece of bread. Sure enough, it was her hand!

Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies

I have a fondness for lemon poppy seed pound cake. The delicate citrus flavor of the lemon and the tiny nutty crunch of the poppy seeds go really well together. But pound cake is a pretty big project, and I rarely have the motivation to make it. Not to mention all the calories (there's a reason it's called pound cake!). So when I found a recipe for lemon poppy seed cookies I decided to give them a try. I'm so glad I did! They have the same great lemon flavor and poppy seed crunch, but in a light and crispy cookie. These are quite good, and I'm sure I'll make them again sometime!

Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 egg, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp. lemon extract or zest (I'm not sure, but you might be able to substitute a tablespoon of lemon juice here, but you might not get the same lemony flavor)
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
Pinch salt
1 tbsp. poppy seeds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Add egg and lemon extract and beat an additional 30 seconds.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly sift into the butter mixture and stir just until combined. Fold in poppy seeds.

Drop dough by tablespoons onto well-greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Let sit a minute or two on the cookie sheet to solidify, then remove to wire rack to finish cooling.

After my first batch, I realized that the cookies weren't spreading as much as I thought they would, and were rather rounded. Nothing wrong with that - they still tasted great! However, I wanted them to be a bit flatter (they look more delicate and get crispier that way) so I pressed a fork onto the cookies in the same criss-cross pattern you typically use for peanut butter cookies. They turned out beautifully.


Makes 3 dozen cookies
53 calories per cookie