Sunday, June 23, 2013

Easy corndog muffins & cornbread/chili muffins

Still on a roll cooking. I did not make these GF, but they are easily adaptable at a higher price.

I made both batches at once using a 5 lb box if Keusteaz cornbread mix that was less than $5.00. I followed the directions and make the whole box of mix & 6 1/4 cups water. Then I divided the batter in half into two bowls. They carry the 5lb box at Costco, but I got it at Cash & Carry for much cheaper.


In 1 bowl, I added 1 1/2 packages cheap hotdog ($.99 a pack) We diced the hotdogs. Then I added about a cup of regular yellow mustard. Stir, fill muffin tin (I used papers) and cook on 400 for 20 minutes. Can't get any easier than that. 

This yielded 34 muffins. My kids are older, so 2 a meal, to be served with a 1 oz cup ketchup. Cost per muffin was under $ .13 each. 

Next we set about making the chili cornbread muffins. All we needed for these was the cornbread dough & 1 can Nalley cheese chili ($.99) 

Use a tablespoon, scoop a little cornbread batter in the muffin tin, add 1 TBSP chili, and top with more cornbread. They do expand a lot, so don't overfill.   Here is my 13 year old, Nolan, showing you what to do:




These also bake at 400 for 20 minutes. This yielded 30 muffins. Cost for these muffins were under $ .12 each. 


We will divide & freeze these also.  If you missed my previous post, check out the pizza muffins I made yesterday 


This was about 2/3 the muffins we did today.





Friday, June 21, 2013

Easy freezer pizza muffins

These are not GF, but easily adaptable at a higher expense. Bob's Red Mill has GF biscuit mix, or you can make your own.

I have Celiac Disease, so I do wear a mask when working with wheat flour. 



I made a massive batch for my two sons. They are teenagers, so I am giving them 2 muffins per meal. If you have younger kids, you could easily get away with 1 muffin per meal.

Preheat oven to 375 º

Ingredients:

12 cups Bisquick
6 cups milk 
6 eggs
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese 
14 oz pepperoni diced small
1/3 cup dried Italian seasoning 
1/8 cup granulated garlic 

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Check with a toothpick for doneness.

This yielded 62 muffins. The cost per muffin was about $ .33 each, including muffin papers, cups, lids & pizza sauce. Not too shabby.


Add ingredients to a huge mixing bowl. I just used a whisk to blend. The dough will be sticky.  I used muffin papers to make production faster (no waiting for muffins to cool to fill the tin up again)


My kitchen assistant used a 1/3 cup measuring cup to fill the cups. They will rise. 


I wanted the boys to have pizza sauce to go with these.  I bought 1 oz plastic cups with lids. I used 1 tbsp of canned pizza sauce for each cup. If you have extra cups, they work well for Jell-O shots! ;-)


Muffins galore!


Seal in zip bags with sauce & freeze! That was pretty dang easy.  I can't eat them, but my 13 year old gobbled 2 up & said they were amazing.
Tomorrow we are doing corndog muffins!




Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Not so gluten free freezer burritos

Not all of my family is gluten free. I have a 21 year old & almost 14 year old at home. Today we made freezer breakfast burritos. You could do this GF at a higher expense. Lets break it down:

$4.99 40 tortillas Costco
$6.00 2 lbs hamburger seasoned (cheaper than pork) 
$3.60 2 dozen eggs Costco
$1.99 generic tater tots Safeway
-------
$15.58 approx
Optional 1 cup ketchup & cheese
So basically 40 burritos at $ .41 each! Suck that McDonalds!  

So I threw the tots in the oven for 20 minutes. Meanwhile I browned the hamburger. Pork would be good as would bacon, but I have a ton of elk burger in the freezer, so CHEAP! I threw 2 dozen eggs in the blender (12 at a time) and put them in a big electric skillet. 

Season the meat how you want. I added granulated garlic, italian seasoning, seasoning salt, cayenne pepper & red pepper flakes because the boys like spicy! 

Find a huge bowl. I do love my Tupperware "that's a bowl" 42oz bowl. Anyway, put the tots in first, chop them with a spatula to make them into potato bits. Add eggs & meat. Stir and chop with a big spoon. I added a cup of ketchup (optional) 

Lay out the tortilla, add a scoop of mixture, sprinkle cheese (optional) roll it up & wrap in plastic wrap. We stored them in gallon zip bags. 

I will let you know the cooking time after we practice. I told the boys to unwrap the plastic, wrap in a paper towel & microwave 45 sec, flip & another 45 sec. I will let you know exactly in the next couple of days. Really if you consider a box of cereal at $4 each hold just 4-5 bowls, this is cheaper and healthier than Capt Crunch!

Mixture
Laying in shell



Nolan, burrito master!




Monday, June 17, 2013

Father's Day dinner

Happy Father's Day too all the amazing Dads, step-dads & single moms!

I wanted to try something new, so I found a recipe for a roast from a great website www.Allergyfreealaska.com

I've never had a roast turn out moist, but Megan's looked so yummy, I gave it a try. I made both the roast and the gravy. The only things I did different was that I subbed fresh rosemary and used an oven bag. It was definitely the best roast I've made!
Here is the recipe

You can find a million recipes for twice backed potatoes, but it isn't that complicated, they just take time.  Bake potatoes as normal until there is a little give if you squeeze them.  You can use a microwave, but I like to do it in the oven.  I clean the potatoes, pat them dry, rub with olive oil & sprinkle with sea salt. 

Let potatoes cool to touch.  Cut each in half lengthwise.  Scoop the insides out with a spoon.  Here is a hint, leave a little potato edge in the shell.  Otherwise the shell ends up flimsy.  Mash insides of  potatoes with a masher.  The rest of the ingredients depend on your preference and how many potatoes you made.  I added these ingredients and blended with a hand mixer till smooth, but you can just use a masher.  You want them to still be pretty stiff, not too soft.
*dash milk
*sour cream
*shredded cheddar cheese
*bacon crumbles
*garlic
*salt
*pepper

Take the filling and carefully fill the shells. Sprinkle with cheese.  Place in oven for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

I also made one of my family's favorites.  Oven roasted cauliflower.  Again, pretty simple.  Even my son who doesn't like cauliflower likes this dish.  Cut up your organic cauliflower into florets.  Place in a large mixing bowl and toss together with olive oil, lots of garlic, sea salt & pepper.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  


This was the final product.  Turned out pretty well, and Daddy was happy, so that is all that matters.  My photo is a little blurry, sorry!


I hope everyone had a fantastic Father's Day!