Crafty, Couponing Momma's: What's For Supper?

Cucumber Salad: at least 2 lg cucumbers, 1 onion sliced, 1/4 cup white vinegar & 1 cup water ratio until covered. Salt & Pepper to taste. Chill for at least one hour before serving.

Birthday Supper: Steak fillets, grilled baked potato, grilled corn on the cob, cucumber salad & sliced, marinated tomatoes. TOMATOES: slice several lg tomatoes, salt & pepper to taste, chili powder to taste. Cover bowl & shake well. Chill for an hour before serving. HOME MADE MARINADE: 1/2 cup oil, 1/2 cup white vinegar, 2 T of your favorite seasoning. I use either Weber Chicago grill seasoning or Montreal Steak seasoning. Place steaks in lg bowl with lid or ziploc. Pour marinade over steaks. Keep in fridge over night. Turn over at least once. I marinade mine for 24 hours and turn over my marinade bowl 3 times.

Cornflake chicken strips, hot ranch dip, german style potato salad. CORNFLAKE CHICKEN STRIPS: 4 lg chicken breasts, cut into stips; 7 cups of cornflakes, crushed; 1 slightly beaten egg; 1 cup milk;1 cup flour; dash of salt & pepper; oil or butter. Place corn flakes in bowl or lg ziploc. In a sm bowl, lightly beat egg & milk, add flour, salt and pepper, mix until smooth. Dip chicken strips in batter, roll/coat with corn flakes (in ziploc place a few strips in at a time and shake well). Fry in oil or 3T of butter. Place on cooling rack & cookie sheet so it can drain fully. The key to low fat frying is proper oil, proper temperature & allowing the grease to drain. RANCH DIP: 1 cup ranch dressing, several shakes of Lousiana Hot Sauce, stir well & enjoy! GERMAN STYLE POTATO SALAD: 4 red or new potatoes, diced, peeled (optional), & boiled; 1 sm onion, diced; sweet or dill pickles diced (amount: to taste); 4 boiled eggs, chopped; 8 slices of bacon, crumbled; bacon drippings (save about 1/2); miracle whip; salt & pepper to taste; pickle juice (optional). Cook bacon until crisp, drain bacon on cooling rack/cookie sheet. reserve 1/2 of the drippings from cooking. In lg bowl, combine potatoes, onions, pickles, eggs, miracle whip (amount: to taste), salt & pepper.Mix well. Add bacon, bacon drppings(must be warm/melted). Toss gently. Add more miracle whip or pickle juice to reach desired consistancy. Refridgerate & keep chilled until ready to serve!

Hamburger steak, buttered new potatoes, pinto beans, steamed broccoli & asparagus with cheese sauce. HAMBURGER STEAK: patty out large hamburger patties (steak) place in skillet, cover & cook on medium high heat. Flip once, check to see if its done, add 1 lg sliced onion, and brown gravy. Simmer until well cooked. BROWN GRAVY: 1 beef bullion cube dissolved in 1 cup of boiling water, 1/3 cup of flour. Mix well until smooth. CHEESE SAUCE: (I know how to make it from scratch but this way is sooo much easier.) 1/3 block of processed cheese, melted. 1/2 cup milk, add milk a little at a time, stir until smooth.

Turkey & beef meatloaf, buttered new potatoes, steamed asparagus & broccoli with cheese sauce (see hamburger steak above for recipe), cucumber salad (see recipe above), sliced/marinated tomatoes (see bday supper for recipe). TURKEY & BEEF MEATLOAF: 5 slices of bread; 1 egg; 1 cup milk; 1 1/2 lbs of ground turkey & beef, mixed; 1 t salt; 1/4 t each of: pepper, dry mustard, sage, celery salt & garlic salt; 1 T worcestershire sauce. Preheat oven to 350. Tear bread into lg bowl; add milk & egg. Add meat & seasoning; mix thoroughly. Spread into a 9x9 baking pan or shape into a loaf & place in a shallow baking pan. Bake for 1 hr. Frosted: Spread ketchup or chili sauce over top before baking.

Refrigerator Pickles: 12 med. cucumbers, sliced; 1 green pepper, minced; 1 red pepper, minced; 1 onion, minced; 1/4 cup salt; 1 T celery salt; 1 t mustard seed; 2 cups sugar; 2 cups white vinegar. Place cucumbers in large bowl. Mix remaining ingredients in sauce pan and bring to a boil. Pour mixture over cucumbers and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes. Spoon cucumbers into jars, pour mixture to cover. Cover jars with lids and allow to cool to room temperature. Date the jars, in 2 weeks they will be ready to eat! Last for 3 months. Keep in fridge or pantry. Serve cold.

Salsa: 3 gal peeled fresh tomatoes; 1/2 cup salt; 4 small can of tomato puree; 1 c sugar; 3 lg onions; 2 bunches of green onions; 1 can tomato paste; 1 can tomato sauce; 7 oz of diced green chiles; 1 bunch cilantro (optional); 2 cloves of garlic, minced; 1 t black pepper; 1/4 c garlic powder; 1 pt jalapeno peppers or to taste; 1 c white vinegar; 2 lg sweet peppers. Chop tomatoes in blender ( or cut up for thicker salsa). Chop onions, peppers, garlic and cilantro in food processor. Mix everything together and bring to a boil. Simmer 40 minutes. Have jars and lids hot and ready to fill. Fill with salsa and let jars seal. Makes over 10 quarts. Use fresh veggies instead of canned for a better flavor!!

Fried Squash: 3 med/lg squash, sliced thick not thin; 1 C milk; 1 C flour; 1 egg; salt & pepper to taste; 1/2 t sugar. In medium bowl, beat eggs and milk, slowly stir in flour. Beat unitl smooth. dip squash in batter, making sure both sides are coated. In an iron skillet, melt shortening or oil (not too much or it will take longer to heat up when you add your squash). Make sure the grease is hot before adding squash. Flip once to ensure browning on both sides. Drain on cooling rack/cookie sheet. Enjoy!

Chicken Fajita Burrito smothered in White Queso/Rotel Chesse! Recipe to follow...(see below).

Chicken Fajitas, made in the Wok! 3 lg chicken breast cut into 1-2" strips. 1/4 cup oil; 3 sm or 1 lg bellpepper, cut into strips; 1 med red onion, cut into strips; 6 sm or 1 lg tomato, diced; chili powder; taco or burrito seasoning packet. Heat wok and oil till hot. Add a couple of shakes of chili powder; Cook chicken, stirring often. Drain. Add veggies and stir often until the peppers and onions start to get soft. Heat flour tortilia, spread mixture on, put shredded cheese and sour cream on (all optional) and roll up like a burrito. Pour cheese dip on top. I used 1/2 a block of Velveeta's white queso cheese and 1 can of Rotel (drained).

MY RED BEANS AND RICE:

1lb lean hamburger; 1 m/lg onion, diced; 1 m/lg bellpepper, diced; 2 cups of cooked rice; 1 can of red beans, drained; cajun seasoning to taste; salt & pepper to taste; 1/4 C water.
Brown hamburger, add onions and peppers. Cook until veggies are tender. Drain grease. Add beans, rice, seasonings and water. Stir well. Turn heat down to medium/med. low. Allow to simmer 20 minutes. Be sure to check it often and stir well to keep from sticking.

SHISH-KA-BOBS

1 package of wooden skewers
1 lg steak, cubed
1 smoked sausage, sliced thick
41-50 count shrimp, peeled and de-veined
1 lg. colored bell pepper (red, yellow, orange), halved and sliced thick (curved)
1 lg. sweet onion, halved and sliced thick (curved); pearl onions would work great as well
1 lg. tomato cubed (or cherry tomatoes, whole)
(All types of meat and vegetables can be used; we often add cubed chicken breasts. We’ve also put squash, zucchini, and mushrooms).

Soak skewers in water. Prepare meat and vegetables. You can prepare your skewers anyway you like, we’ve mixed them up (meat, veggie, repeat) and we’ve done individual (1 type of meat on 1 stick, 1 veggie per stick). We prefer the individual so we can cook each meat until done without making the shrimp rubbery, the steak tough and the chicken underdone. Tomatoes are tricky, whole are easier but large diced pieces are ok but cook quickly. Onions, peppers, squash tend to take longer than a tomato or a mushroom (if using mushrooms, cut in half first or use the little button ones). After you’ve prepared your skewers, place in the refrigerator while you prepare the marinade

CHICKEN AND BROCCOLI FETTUCCINI ALFREDO

8 oz fettuccini noodles, cooked and drained
2 lg chicken breasts, chunked, cooked
1 T oil
Salt, pepper
1 lg broccoli crown, cut and steamed
1 8oz cream cheese, cubed
¾ C parmesan cheese
½ C butter or margarine
½ C milk

In large skillet, heat oil, till it sizzles when you flick water on it turn down heat to medium-medium high. Add chicken, salt and pepper (lightly). Turn once to ensure even cooking. Drain. Steam broccoli in micro steamer (get one, it really saves time!), drain water. Sauce: In large saucepan, combine cream cheese, parmesan cheese, butter/margarine and milk; stir over low heat until smooth. Add fettuccini, pepper & salt (to taste), broccoli and chicken; toss lightly until everything is coated

MEXICAN DIRTY RICE CASSEROLE

2lbs lean ground beef
1md/lg onion, diced
1 orange bell pepper, diced (red or yellow is fine, green isn’t sweet enough)
1 (10.5oz) can cream of chicken soup
1 jar of Ragu cheese sauce
1 T red pepper flakes
1 T Cajun seasoning
1 box Zataran’s dirty rice mix, cooked according to package directions
½ bag Nacho cheese chips, crushed
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In large skillet, brown hamburger. Add onions and peppers, cook until vegetables are soft. Drain. In medium bowl combine soup, cheese sauce, pepper flakes, and seasoning, mix well. While the hamburger is browning, prepare the dirty rice mix according to package directions (I used my microwave rice steamer; 4 minutes on high, stir, 5 minutes on high, stir & allow to sit 5 minutes, do not drain). Add dirty rice mix to hamburger and veggies. Stir well. Add sauce mixture to skillet, stir well. Allow to simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Pour into a 9”x13” baking dish. Spread even. Top with crushed chips. Sprinkle cheese on top. Cover with foil. (Spray foil on the inside to prevent cheese from sticking to it) Bake for 10 minutes, uncover and cook until cheese is lightly browned (about 5-10 minutes, keep checking or it will burn).

Grilled Veggies (before)
1 stick butter, cut into pats
1 T (roughly) Cajun Seasoning
2 Squash (sliced and quartered)
1 lg tomato, cunked (lg diced pieces)
1 lg red onion, chunked (c shape)
1 lg bell pepper, chunked (c shape)
Place in shallow metal baking pan (9x13 cake pan), top with butter and seasoning. Wrap top with aluminum foil. Place on center of grill and cover. Stir occasionally. Cook until onions and peppers are tender.