Sloppy Joe Bake

Kids will love this. I say that a lot, but I try to post recipes that are relatively inexpensive yet tasty. I also like meals that are quick to fix and not too complicated, although those will appear on this blog from time to time.

You need:

A large frying pan. 

2 1/2-3 pounds of ground beef.

8-12 ounces shredded cheese.

Two cans of sloppy Joe sauce, or your home made sauce.

Two boxes of Jiffy Mix corn  muffin mix. (8.5 ounce)

A 9 x 13 casserole dish.

Cook the ground beef until browned. Add the sloppy Joe sauce and heat until hot. Pour the sloppy Joe beef and sauce into the casserole dish:

Add the shredded cheese:

Prepare the two boxes of muffin mix according to the box directions and then spread over top of the cheese.  Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven on the center rack for 15-20 minutes.

Remove from oven, plate it up, top it with some sour cream perhaps..................and eat up!

Total cost is around $13.00 and feeds 4, so, about $3.25 a serving. YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Smoked Sausage, Eggs and Cheese

Kids love this and it's fairly inexpensive. You need:

Two 14-16 ounce packages of smoked sausage. (Eckrich works well for this and they make a variety of flavors.) Slice the sausage.

No, I get no advertising money from Eckrich

8-10 eggs, beaten.

An 8 oz package of shredded cheddar cheese.

In a large skillet set to med./med high heat, add about two table spoons of butter. Bring to temperature and add the smoked sausage. The sausage will be cooked, so just brown it. (If you want to use fresh uncooked sausage, that's fine, just be sure to cook the sausage thoroughly.)

Then add your beaten eggs, stir until the eggs are cooked and then add the package of cheddar cheese. Serve when the cheese has melted.

This is another hearty meal, that feeds 3-4 people, which will cost around $10.00. So, at about $2.50 a serving, this is a delicious and inexpensive meal.

Seafood Alfredo

For a quick and relatively inexpensive seafood Alfredo you need:

One 14-16 oz box of Fettuccine noodles.

Two 14-16 oz jars of Alfredo sauce.

One pound of fake crab legs. (Louis Kemp or Kroger brand are good. )

One 14-16 ounce can of diced tomatoes, drained.

In a 6-8 quart pot boil the Fettuccine noodles until they are done to your liking. Drain and return to the pot. 

Add the diced tomatoes, Alfredo sauce and fake crab. Stir until heated through. Serve and enjoy.

If you buy the off brand of ingredients, you can make this meal, that feeds 4-5, for around $9.00.

Adding some ground ginger to this dish kicks it up a notch.

World's Best Apple Pie

Stock Photo

World's best, eh? Yup.

This recipe comes from my boss, it's his grandmother Effie's recipe. It was entered in the National Cherry Festival in the early 1960's. The judges were celebrities who included Carol Burnett. The pie won best at the festival and after that the requirements were changed so that ONLY a cherry pie could be best in festival at the National Cherry Festival. This is the first time this recipe has ever been made available to the general public.

What makes this pie great is the taste AND texture. For this recipe, it is very important that the apples be sliced very thin. A Mandolin (or Mandoline) slicer will work nicely for this.

You'll Need:

A 9 inch pie shell/crust.

4 cups of peeled and sliced Granny Smith apples.

1 egg.

1 cup of sugar.

1 cup of sour cream.

2 tablespoons of flour.

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla.

1/4 teaspoon of salt.

For the topping:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar.

1/3 cup of flour.

1/4 cup of room temperature BUTTER.

Mix pie filling ingredients and pour into pie shell. Bake in a pre-heated oven set at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle mixed topping over the pie. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 15 minutes or so. Refrigerate after baking. Serve and enjoy.

Bubba's Chicken Parmesan Casserole

This is a tasty meal that your kids should really love.

You'll need:

One  24-32 ounce bag of  popcorn chicken or chicken nuggets.

Four 14-16 ounce cans of diced tomatoes.

One 24 ounce jar of  spaghetti or pasta sauce.

One pound of mozzarella cheese.

Cook the bag of chicken according to the directions on the bag.

Take out a casserole dish and put the cooked chicken in it up to the point where the dish is a max of 3/4 full.

Drain/strain the cans of diced tomatoes and spread them over the top of the chicken. Then evenly pour the jar of sauce over the diced tomatoes. Add the cheese and cook on the second oven rack from the top at 325 degrees for about 30 minutes. (You can put a spill pan on the rack below the casserole if you wish.)

You can serve this with pasta if you want.

Total cost is around $12-$14. Serves 6-8 and feeds 4.

Be a hero to your kids.

Crock Pot Salisbury Steak

You will need:

2 to 2 and 1/2 pounds ground beef. (We do not mind using 70/30 or 80/20 (The first number is the percentage of beef and the second number is the percentage of fat. It will be on the label.), but if you want less grease in the crock pot, go with 85/15.)

1 package of dry onion soup mix.

1/2 cup of Italian seasoned bread crumbs.

1/4 cup milk.

1/4 cup all purpose (white) flour.

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 10-12 ounce cans of condensed cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup.

A couple of dissolved (in a half cup of hot water) beef bullion cubes or a tablespoon of beef base.

3/4 cup of water.

Directions:

In a big bowl, mix, by hand, the ground beef, onion soup mix, bread crumbs and milk. Shape into about 8 patties.

Next, heat the oil in a large skillet, ( use medium high heat), spread the flour out on a large plate and place the patty on the flour. Flour both sides of the patty and quickly brown the patties--say a minute on each side. Then, place the browned patties in the crock pot. (You will have to stack them.)

In a medium sized bowl--something a bit larger than a cereal bowl--mix the soup, beef base and water. If you dissolved the bullion cubes just add another 1/4 of water to equal the 3/4 cup the recipe calls for.

Pour the soup mixture over the beef patties in the crock pot and cook on low setting for 4-5 hours.

Serve over instant rice or egg noodles.

This is an absolutely delicious meal. Your kids should love it and will have fond memories of the fact that you put yourself out a bit to give them some delicious food.

Bacon Wrapped Fake Crab Legs Topped With Smoked Gouda

 

 

 

OK, so food photography isn't my strong suit, but this recipe makes for a fairly cheap and tasty appetizer or meal. It may not be something a basic cook wants to tackle, however, it's worth a try if you're up to it.

 

 

 

You'll need:

 

 

A one pound package of fake crab legs. Kroger had these on sale for $3.99.

 

 

A one pound package of regular sliced bacon. (You can get this on sale for $3.50 at many stores.)

(You'll have some bacon left over. A 12 oz. package would probably be sufficient, come to think of it.)

 

A 3"-4" diameter wheel of smoked Gouda. (remove the wax rind) Slice it about as thick as a slice of process American cheese food.

 

 

A deep fryer, about 8 skewers cut to fit into the fryer basket, scissors to cut the bacon and a sharp knife, plus a couple of plates to put the crab nuggets on.

 

 

You may have seen the bacon wrapped faux crab legs at your favorite Chinese buffet. Those are generally baked. This version is deep fried.

 

 

First, cut the fake crab legs into thirds. Then take your scissors and cut your bacon strips just long enough to wrap around the crab leg piece once. Skewer the bacon wrapped crab piece so that they are close together but not touching--you'll want the oil to circulate. (They will puff up a bit when fried)

 

 



 

Pre heat your deep fryer to at least 350 degrees, but not over 360 degrees. Take two completed skewers and place them in the fry basket, then place the basket into the oil. Fry them for two minutes, turn them over and cook for an additional 30 seconds or so. Remove from fryer and place on paper towel lined plate to drain.

 

 

Keeping the nuggets of love on the skewers, pre heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet/baking pan with aluminium foil. Place skewers on the baking pan and top with a slice of smoked Gouda that's just large enough to cover each delicious nugget of bacon wrapped fake crab.

 

 



 

Place in the oven on the second rack from the top and cook for 4-5 minutes. Turn oven off and allow the cheese to melt thoroughly. Remove and enjoy. Total cost is about ten bucks. It will make appetizers for around ten people or feed three if used as a meal. If you want a more filling meal, serve on top of a pillow of buttered rice.