Cost Cutting Christmas Gifts

Times are tough, I don't have to tell anyone that. But what makes it feel even worse is when its Christmas time, Christmas is the time of the year when people are always compelled to splurge and shop and give great gifts to their friends and family. While the idea is great most people end up going overboard and putting themselves in debt. Which I have been known to do myself in the past. Its hard to limit myself. I want to give the people that I love and care about lots of things, the things that they want and that I know would be a very special and extravagant gesture. However I just can't afford to do that anymore. And as much as it hurts me, I know it would hurt much worse if I went ahead and made those large purchases. And then in turn it would hurt those friends and family as well because the financial struggle would be evident in the coming months. So no this year I'm sticking to my game plan and my budget. Instead of going out and getting each of my bosses and coworkers and then there's the lil monster's daycare teachers, ah the list goes on, $20 gifts a piece I cut back drastically. I decided to make homemade gifts and take my chance at doing some home canning. A task I'll admit had seemed like too much work, a little hokey and well kind of gross. I mean I grew up on Smuckers! But instead of doing pickles or jam, I found this great chutney recipe. (Yes the recipe I made for Thanksgiving) It was such a hit and I've bought chutney for friends as gifts before, so why not try my hand at it.

Let me tell you, this was the easiest present I've made! Literally it took less than an hour from start to finish and cost less than $20 for 6 jars! That's 6 people for under $20! I just used a big pot I had to boil the jars (which I had purchased for $7) instead of using a canner. I followed the recipe like usual and when it was complete I pulled the hot jars out of the water and filled the jars up. Put the lids back on and then sat them all back into the pot of water. Made sure the water covered the tops and let it boil for about 15 to 20 minutes. I didn't have a rack to lift the jars out of the water so that was fun trying to use a pair of tongs, but it worked. I sat the hot jars on a towel and let them cool overnight.

Instead of spending any money on wrapping my gifts I went "green" and used brown paper lunch sacks as my bags and went without the waste of tissue paper. I printed some cute holiday labels and placed them on the front of the paper bags. Then I printed out the nutritional information and some sample uses along with a recipe to use the chutney with. A simple homemade heartfelt gift that I know my friends will enjoy. And instead of breaking the bank I stayed in my budget!

Of course you can use any chutney recipe you find but I used the Cranberry-Pear Chutney from CookingLight. And then I found some helpful tips on canning at BellaOnline. I hope you all have happy and fun holidays!

Menu Plan Monday - December 1st

Ok so we're still eating up the leftovers from Thanksgiving so we'll be good with those until this weekend. So I guess my menu planning actually won't start until the 8th. The weather's turned chilly so I'm feeling like lots of warm-you-up meals. Plus its the holiday season and you just have to splurge, of course the budget's super tight so we'll be trying to reign it all in. And since its a new month you'll see some of our repeats. And I know it's not complete but I've been sick so please forgive me :)

Monday, Dec 8th
Dinner: Sloppy Joe's with Corn and potato wedges

Tuesday, Dec 9th
Dinner: Stromboli and salad

This was a huge hit with both the hubby and my lil monster! I didn't really follow any recipe just threw a bunch of ingredients together. I used refrigerated pizza dough, rolled it out, threw some spaghetti sauce on it, chopped up some green onions and onions, opened a can of mushrooms, added some pepperoni and salami and covered it with mozzarella cheese. Then folded it over, brushed it with egg and sprinkled parmesan cheese on top. Bake for about 30 minutes at 400 degrees, or until the dough is crisp and golden.

Wednesday, Dec 10th
Dinner: The Duggar's Tator Tot Casserole

I've been meaning to try this ever since I first saw their show. It seems like a really yummy dish, of course not healthy though. I can't imagine my lil monster not liking it so that's whats important. I've seen some recipes adding peas or corn so I think I might try that, oh or maybe green beans?

Thursday, Dec 11th
Dinner: My lil monster's holiday show is this night so we'll prolly just grab something and go.

Friday, Dec 12th
Dinner: The Award Winning Chilifest Chili Recipe served with flour tortillas and gaucamole

Of which I have been sworn to secrecy for, ok well not really, but I'm not going to post it on the internet 'cause it a recipe that's been passed around just friends.
Saturday, Dec 13th
Breakfast: Sweet Potato Pancakes
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: Turkey Tetrazzini (to find recipe)

Sunday, Dec 14th
Breakfast: Cream Cheese Apple Muffins
I found this recipe on Kate's blog and it sounded super yummy, plus I love the idea of being able to make a bunch and then freeze them. And with apples being dirt cheap right now, I can grab a bag for next to nothing. Oh I'm I'm also going to make the Apple Cinnamon Pancakes and freeze them too.
Dinner: Mexican Lasagna (following the big recipe to freeze)

Monday, Dec 15th
Dinner: Crockpot Maple Dijon Chicken

I found this yummy recipe on Stephanie's crazy blog. Can you believe she's using her crockpot everyday for a whole year? I love my crockpot but not enough to continuosly clean it everyday by hand. Anyways this meal sounds super yummy so we're gonna try it.

Tuesday, Dec 16th
Dinner: Chicken Enchilladas

Wednesday, Dec 17th
Dinner: Spaghetti

Thursday, Dec 18th
Dinner: Venison Stew with biscuits ontop

Friday, Dec 19th
Dinner: Lasagna (x2 to freeze)

Saturday, Dec 20th
Breakfast:
Lunch: Soup & Sandwiches
Dinner:

Sunday, Dec 21st
Breakfast:
Dinner: White Chicken Chili

Monday, Dec 22nd
Dinner: Chicken Pot Pie

Tuesday, Dec 23rd
Dinner:
Wednesday, Dec 24th
Dinner: It's Christmas Eve so we're going to my parents' house and we'll have appetizers and open presents!

Thursday, Dec 25th
Breakfast: It's undecided if we'll be at my parents' still so we'll see
Dinner: At hubby's brother's house so I'll just bring a side dish if need be

Friday, Dec 26th
Breakfast: Cinnamon Rolls
Lunch: Soup & Sandwiches
Dinner: Pizza - I'm not cooking! Lets order a pizza!

Saturday, Dec 27th
Breakfast:
Lunch: Sandwiches
Dinner: Tyler's Ultimate Mac & Cheese

Sunday, Dec 28th
Breakfast:
Dinner:

Monday, Dec 29th
Dinner: Crockpot Pepper Steak (Venison) and mashed potatoes

Tuesday, Dec 30th
Dinner:

Wednesday, Dec 31st
Dinner: New Year's Eve and our plans are up in the air so I'm not planning on cooking

Thursday, Jan 1st
Dinner: New Years tradition to eat black eyed peas so I've got a bbq black eyed pea recipe that I love and it turns it into a yummy meal.

Leftovers Galore!

Thanksgiving was great this year! My family was all together, well at least my side was with us. I didn't feel too stressed out at all, and everything seemed to go pretty smoothly. I think it helped that my mother brought the dressing and another veggie side so I wasn't trying to cook everything all at once. As soon as I can I'll update my thanksgiving day menu and post pictures. I must admit I was pretty proud. My turkey came out looking perfect and was the best tasting one I've ever had! So after all the fuss and muss we had a ton of leftover so I decided to get creative. 'Cause honestly you can only eat the "turkey day" plate for some many meals afterwards. Here is what I made with my leftovers....

Emeril's Thanksgiving Leftovers Shepherd's Pie: This was a great recipe because it really changed the ingredients up and made a totally different style of meal. Super yummy and clever why to use up those leftovers. But of course we never have any mashed potatoes leftover so I just whipped up a new batch for this meal.

Robin Miller's Stuffing Frittata: We always have a ton of leftover stuffing and never know what to do with it all. We end up with leftovers for weeks simply because we make half with oysters and half w/o so then we have tons leftover w/o the oysters. I found this recipe and knew it'd be a great way to use up those leftovers, well at least some of them. Plus it made Sunday morning breakfast a piece of cake, or better yet, frittata!


"Leftover Creamed" Spinach and Mushroom Enchiladas: This originally is a favorite recipe from CookingLight that I like to make. I ended up not loving my creamed spinach recipe from Thanksgiving so there was a bunch leftover. I had a package of mushroom leftover from the shepherd's pie as well so in come a variation of my Mexican favorite.





"Ain't no Chicken Spaghetti" - a Pioneer Woman mix-up: Hubby loves Pioneer Woman's Chicken Spaghetti so its a staple in our menu now however with the plethora of turkey I figured why not give it a go with turkey, chicken's cousin. They're both poultry and I can't imagine it tasting anything but good. So for this yummy recipe all's the same except I substituted turkey for chicken!

Emeril's Thanksgiving Leftovers Shepherd's Pie

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
4 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onions
2 carrots, peeled and chopped (about 1 cup)
1/4 teaspoon Essence or Creole Seasoning, recipe follows
1/4 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4 ounces mushrooms, stemmed, wiped clean, and sliced
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons tomato paste
2 to 2 1/2 cups chopped or shredded roast turkey (white and/or dark meat)
1 1/4 cups chicken stock or canned chicken broth
1/2 cup green peas
4 cups leftover mashed potatoes or Basic Mashed Potatoes
3/4 cup grated sharp or medium Cheddar
Chopped parsley leaves, for garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9-inch square or 2.2 quart baking dish with the butter and set aside.
   
2. In a large saute pan or skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots, Essence, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring, until the onions are soft, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 20 seconds. Add the mushrooms, thyme, and bay leaf and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are soft, 3 to 4 minutes.
   
3. Add the flour and cook, stirring, until thick, about 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the meat and stir well to combine.
   
4. Gradually add the stock and then the peas, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the mixture is thickened, 6 to 8 minutes.
5. Remove from the heat and discard the bay leaf. Carefully transfer to the prepared dish and spoon the potatoes over the meat mixture, spreading to the edges. Sprinkle with the cheese and bake until the cheese is bubbly and the potatoes are crisp around the edges, 22 to 25 minutes.
6. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve.

Stuffing Frittata

Cooking spray
2 to 3 cups leftover stuffing
1 cup shredded Cheddar (regular or reduced-fat)
6 large eggs
2 large egg whites
3/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves

1. Preheat broiler.
2. Coat an oven-proof nonstick skillet with cooking spray and place over medium heat. Put stuffing in the bottom of pan to warm and stir to break up a little.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, egg whites, milk, mustard powder, and nutmeg. Pour mixture over stuffing and cheese to cover stuffing. Sprinkle Parmesan over top. Cook on stovetop over low heat for 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to the broiler and broil for about 2 minutes, until egg is cooked through and cheese is golden and bubbly. Sprinkle cheese over top.
4. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and fresh parsley. Serve with sliced tomatoes.

"Leftover Creamed" Spinach and
Mushroom Enchilladas

Sauce:
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 (10-ounce) can condensed reduced-fat cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 (8-ounce carton) fat-free sour cream
1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles, undrained

Enchiladas:
Cooking spray
1 cup chopped onion (already in the spinach mixture)
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt (already in the spinach mixture)
2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained (we're using leftover creamed spinach instead)
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
10 (6-inch) corn tortillas

Garnish:
1/2 cup chopped seeded plum tomato
1/4 cup chopped green onion tops

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. To prepare sauce, combine first 4 ingredients; stir well.

3. To prepare enchiladas, (here's where the variations begin: heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add jalapeno and saute. Proceed to step 4) Add onion and jalapeño; sauté 5 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently.
   

4. Add mushrooms; sauté 3 minutes or until tender. Now add the creamed spinach and ...Stir in garlic powder, cumin, omitting the salt, and spinach; cook 5 minutes or until heated. Combine spinach mixture and another 4 oz of creamed cheese, leftover from original recipe, because I didn't think it was creamy enough...or 1/4 cup cheese in a large bowl; stir to combine.

5. Spoon 1/2 cup sauce into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Warm tortillas according to package directions. Spoon about 1/3 cup spinach mixture down center of each tortilla; roll up. Place filled tortillas seam sides down in the baking dish. Spread remaining sauce evenly over tortillas; top with 3/4 cup cheese.

6. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Top with tomato and green onion.

Now of course I've still got quite a few leftovers so I'm still scheming and scouring ideas for my leftovers so we'll see what else I can find and/or get creative with!

Recipe and photo courtesy of CookingLight.com

Turkey Day Madness

Ok I know it's a little late but better than never. I just have to brag about how well my turkey day went. It was absolutely amazing! We were expecting a large crowd this year, but who knew how many we'd actually end up with. Hubby's family is great however they can never seem to get their plans lined up even the day of an event. So just in case we bought the biggest turkey the store had, a great big 20 something pounder. And like always hubby's family bailed out and itwas just be my side but that's ok 'cause that meant more leftovers for me! Ok enough blabbing and on to the good stuff. The menu, I really wanted to do it up this year since it was the first year we would be hosting Thanksgiving and I had new place settings and serveware. I had to make my table look fabulous, well as much as I could on a Walmart budget, and I think I achomplished it. Anyways here's what was on the menu.....

Served on cold salad plates: Pear, Walnut, and Blue Cheese Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette

Cranberry - Pear Chutney

Buttermilk Brined Turkey - now I used the Williams-Sonoma Turkey Brine, this stuff is amazing! I love just opening it up and smelling it. All the flavors are perfect, made the whole house smell absolutely wonderful while I was prepping my bird. I also am a huge follower of the buttermilk marinade for any type of poultry so I went ahead and did Williams-Sonoma's recipe.

Here's my beautiful turkey bird! (Oh I didn't fill it with stuffing)

You have to get this stuff for your turkey! I imagine you could prolly make some yourself but I don't really think it'd be cost effective unless you already have all the spices.

Oyster and Cornbread Dressing (old family recipe that mom brought)

Reisling Gravy

Creamed Spinach
I wasn't thrilled with this version of creamed spinach either. It was supposed to be a "copycat" of Boston Market's version but it still fell flat in my opinion. It just wasn't creamy enough. So this make year 2 that I've struck out with the creamed spinach. I believe I'm going to start going through recipes this year in order to find the perfect one for next year.

Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes
No real recipe to this one, just add butter, buttermilk, salt and
pepper and mix to your desired consistency.

Strueseled Sweet Potato Casserole

This is always a show stopper! And who would have guessed it was a CookingLight recipe? Now granted its still not great by any means but its a far cry from the overloaded candied yams we're all familiar with but tastes so much better!

Brussel Sprouts (mom's specialty, I think they're a mustard and parmeasan)

Dad's Deviled Eggs (dad's specialty)

Rolls (brother brought)

Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake

This was by far the best cheesecake I've ever made. And I mean really made, we're talking homemade and baking in the oven then chilling. I modified the directions a little by accident, added all the sugar in at once but you really couldn't tell the difference. And the crust was so different, everyone loved it. You must try this recipe.

So here are a couple pictures of our yummy table before we all sat down. Please note my brother's girlfriend was the first to sit down, very ready to digg in :) Oh and my lil monster in the back alreday scarfing down mashed potatoes!

I hope everyone had a happy and health Thanksgiving with friends, family, and those they love!

Menu Plan Monday - November 3rd

So I've been really busy and lazy at the same time. I hadn't been to the store really in over a month so we've been living off our pantry and freezer. But we're down to the bottom now and I've got to restock and prepare for Thanksgiving at our house. Since we've got such a tight budget I try to plan out at least 2 weeks to a month worth of meals at a time. So since that's what I do I'm going to go ahead and list our meals for the month starting with today. Of course the shopping list is much longer this time. Now since produce can't last a month I do pick up salads and a few parishables every so often. And since Thanksgiving is this month, I'll be picking up stuff for that closer to the week.

Wednesday, Nov 5th
Dinner: I'm having dinner with my younger brother for his birthday, so hubby is fending for himself.

Thursday, Nov 6th
Dinner: Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Coleslaw and Baked Apples
I'm going to do the double duty pork again, I'll be putting the pulled pork on sandwiches for this meal though. And as before I'm using the crockpot instead of a slow grill. A coworker went to her family farm last weekend and brought home bushels and bushels of apples so she brought a bag full to me. What a yummy treat!



Friday, Nov 7th
Dinner: Three Bean Chili and Cheddar Biscuits

I'm going to try this recipe as a variation of our tradition, Texas Style (NO BEAN) chili. Lil monster needs some veggies and I think he just might eat this. I'll be making a little blander version for him though.


Saturday, Nov 8th
Breakfast: Oatmeal and oranges
Lunch: Sandwiches and or leftovers
Dinner: Pulled Pork Fajitas and spanish rice (boxed)

This is the yummy 2nd meal from my double duty pork.

Sunday, Nov 9th
Breakfast: Kitchen Fridge Omelets
Dinner: Lasagna and ceasar salad (bagged)

This is leftover that I had frozen from when I originally made the recipe.

Monday, Nov 10th
Dinner: Meatloaf Stuffed Green Bell Peppers, garlic mashed potatoes and corn

This is a yummy yummy recipe that reminds me of my mom and family dinners. I've got to make it quick so I used boxed mashed potatoes and open a can of corn.

Tuesday, Nov 11th
Dinner: Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas and black beans


I loved this recipe from Kim, only this time I'm going to skip the step of mixing the leftover marinade in with the topping sauce. I thought it was a little too overpowered with the honey. So we'll see how this turns out.


Wednesday, Nov 12th
Dinner: Traditional Beans & Ham with cornbread and skillet fried potatoes

Nothing says country more than this meal. I used to pretend I was a pioneer girl back in the early days when my mom would make this. Yeah I know I'm silly. I could just see families eating this back then.


Thursday, Nov 13th
Dinner: Maple Glazed Salmon, Sweet Potatoes and Broccoli

Its salmon night and my favorite salmon meal!






Friday, Nov 14th
Dinner: La Bamba Casserole

I went ahead and pre-made this when I got home from the grocery store and then froze this so all I'd have to do was reheat it and top with tomatoes and onions! Super easy.




Saturday, Nov 15th
Breakfast: Rice and bananas
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: Crockpot Traditional Yankee Pot Roast

Now this calls for stove-top cooking but as always I use the crockpot and it's just so much easier!

Sunday, Nov 16th
Breakfast: Biscuits and Gravy with fried eggs
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: Chicken Spaghetti

A staple in our home now, hubby loves The Pioneer Woman!

Monday, Nov 17th
Dinner: Traditional Tuna Casserole and slices peaches

What's more to say?



Tuesday, Nov 18th
Dinner: Ham and Pineapple Sandwiches
Another mom's recipe from when I was a little girl. I think lil monster will really like these.

Wednesday, Nov 19th
Dinner: Make-Your-Own Baked Potatoes

I've got some big baked potatoes and we can fix them how we want, maybe add some broccoli cheese or bbq?

Thursday, Nov 20th
Dinner: Chicken Stir Fry and rice

Don't you just love frozen bagged dinners!

Friday, Nov 21st
Dinner: We've got tickets to the Nutcracker Ballet! So lil monster will be going to grandma's and we'll be eating out!

Saturday, Nov 22nd
Since lil monster's gone for the weekend hubby and I will prolly just scrounge around :)

Sunday, Nov 23rd
Since lil monster's gone for the weekend hubby and I will prolly just scrounge around :)

Monday, Nov 24th
Dinner: Sloppy Joe's with Corn and potato wedges

I just buy canned sauce and then spice it up a little, then proceed to finish the recipe as is.


Tuesday, Nov 25th
Dinner: Stromboli and salad

I remember mom making this and I loved it so I'm going to try it for my lil monster!

Wednesday, Nov 26th
Dinner: Texas Chili (NO BEANS)

Since the weather cooler and since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, I don't want to be cooking. I'm going to throw this together in the crockpot and then while our guests are in town they can have turkey leftovers or chili if they get tired of the turkey.

Thursday, Nov 27th
Breakfast: still undecided as to what I'll make, some easy and doesn't need to cook hopefully
Dinner: see Thanksgiving Menu

Friday, Nov 28th
Breakfast: still undecided as to what I'll make, some easy and doesn't need to cook hopefully
Dinner: Leftovers Turkey Shepherd's Pie

Ok so that brings us up to the weekend after Thanksgiving, I'm sure we'll still have lots of leftovers so we'll munch on those and then if we need anything else we'll prolly order out.

Stay turned for recipes and I'll have the shopping list up here by tonight!

Tis the season!

So I know its a little early but you've got to start early when you have an extremely tight budget for Christmas. So I've got my list of people and I've got my ideas and the bargain shopping has begun. But alas it seems that no one (specifically the hubby) knows what to get me. And quite honestly I'm tired of telling him, and then getting exactly that, nothing more nothing less. Where's the fun in that? So I'm going to have my running "wishlist" of items and things that I love and would love to have whether it be for Christmas, anniversary or birthday. Or oh god forbid maybe just a surprise! And who knows maybe you'll find a few things to add to yours, and of course if you have a favorite something you know I'd love let me know!

Back from the dead

Ok so I'm barely recovering from my bout with the porcelain god, of whom won. It was a defeat of which I ended up with an IV and meds because I couldn't stop praying to that porcelain throne. So needless to say last week's menu didn't survive as the hubby had to fend for himself as the lil monster was shipped off to grandma's. So thankful I have a close family! I'm still not up to par, I've had a bagel and tea today so we're gonna call it a "please be kind, and rewind" week. Hoping that I'll feel well enough by Wednesday to pick back up there with the lasagna rolls.