"Homemade" Brown Sugar

I was embarking on a baking project a couple weeks ago when I realized I was out of brown sugar, which happened to be an essential part of the recipe. I had plenty of white sugar, I always have molasses on hand for Dad's chewy ginger cookies, and somewhere in  my mind I knew that I could make my own brown sugar, so I looked it up and did it.  And guess what?  I haven't bought brown sugar since. This was too easy.

I followed these instructions from Noble Pig and it turned out wonderfully. 

For each cup of white sugar, add one tablespoon of molasses for light brown sugar and two tablespoons for darker brown sugar. I think I did four cups of sugar and added five or six Tb of molasses. Use the wire whip on your stand mixer or plan on standing for a long time with the hand mixer, start out on slow and then gradually increase the speed until all the little molasses balls are incorporated (5-8 minutes). Pat yourself on the back for saving yourself a trip to the grocery store and possibly, a few dollars.

Weekly Menu (times two!)

Over the past few weeks I have picked up grocery items that were on sale, and realized this week that we have a lot of stuff in the fridge and freezer to use up: chicken breasts and thighs, a turkey, pork chops, and five dozen eggs (they're so much cheaper in bulk). We also have potatoes, carrots, a pumpkin, and apples to use up, so I was able to plan two weeks of menus almost entirely of things we already have. Guess I'll use the money we save on groceries on stocking stuffers!

M: Chicken Taco Soup and Pumpkin Cornbread
T: Potato & Egg Skillet
W: Pumpkin Soup, Bread
Th: Shepherd's Pie
F: Baked Pumpkin and Banana Oatmeal
S: Eggs & Noodles
S: Turkey & Wild Rice Soup
M: Pork Chops and Rice
T: Quick Chili Mac
W: Turkey Shepherd's Pie
Th: Chicken Stir-Fry
F: Beans & Rice
S: Blueberry Coffee Cake & Scrambled Eggs

also make: apple pumpkin muffins, granola

That's what we'll be eating over here. What are you having for dinner this week?

Eggs and Noodles

How about a super simple, super quick, super cheap and satisfying meal for quick weeknight dinners or Sunday suppers?  Here you go. This meal is in the running with Spicy Pintos for the cheapest meal ever.  AND, my Lauren, who only eats eggs in the form of french toast or "germinal" pancakes, ate her entire serving and proclaimed, "Eggs are yummy for me!" WIN.  This is a good little recipe to have in your arsenal.

Recipe from More With Less cookbook

2 cups wide ribbon noodles
2 T butter
3 eggs
1/3 cup milk, cream or half-and-half
parsley and shredded parmesan, optional

Cook noodles according to package directions, then drain.  Melt butter in a large skillet, add noodles and stir fry for a couple minutes. Beat eggs with milk, then add to skillet, and scramble together until eggs are set. Top with parsley and parmesan cheese. Pair with a simple green salad and dinner is served.

Fiesta Rice

Have you noticed that I have a lot of rice recipes on this blog?  The reason is twofold: I really like rice - more than pasta and more than potatoes - and it is very inexpensive. In the past few years, I have come to love brown rice. I even eat it for breakfast sometimes.  If you haven't quite converted to brown rice, though, the recipe below is great because it has a lot of flavor going on, so the brown rice isn't as noticeable. This has become a family favorite.

Recipe from Kristin in Her Kitchen

Fiesta Rice

2 t olive oil
10 oz. frozen corn, thawed
1 T butter
1 c chopped green onions
1.5 c uncooked brown rice
1 t ground cumin
1 t fresh minced garlic
3 c reduced sodium chicken broth
1/2 t ground black pepper
dash salt
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
1 can black beans, rinsed & drained
1/2 c chopped fresh cilantro, optional
1-2 T fresh lime juice


Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add corn and cook 10 minutes or until corn starts to brown. Remove from pan and set aside. Melt butter in pan, add onions, and saute 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in uncooked rice, cumin and garlic. Cook 1 minute. Add broth, black pepper, salt and diced tomatoes and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer about 45 minutes or until rice is done. Remove from heat and stir in reserved corn and beans. Heat through and stir in cilantro and lime juice.

 I serve this as a main dish with sour cream and avocado on top.

Great Granola

When I get tired of regular hot oatmeal for breakfast or it's too hot to eat hot cereal , I like to bake up a batch of granola. I've tried lots of recipes and none has been bad, but our all-time favorite is below. It may not be the healthiest (thank you, butter), but it is definitely the best (thank you, butter).

Homemade Granola

Recipe from EricaLea on TastyKitchen

4 cups Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
1 cup Shredded Or Chipped Coconut
1 cup Nuts Of Choice, Chopped Coarse
¼ teaspoons Sea Salt
½ cups Butter Or Coconut Oil
¼ cups Honey
¼ cups Maple Syrup
½ teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
1 cup Dried Fruits (cranberries, Cherries, Apricots, Raisins, Etc.), Optional


1. Preheat oven to 300° F and place the rack in the center of the oven. Either grease or line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine the rolled oats, coconut, nuts, and salt.
3. In a small saucepan set over medium low heat, melt the butter. Remove from heat. Stir in the honey, maple syrup, and vanilla. Pour this mixture over the dry ingredients and toss together, making sure all the dry ingredients are coated with the butter mixture.
4. Spread onto the prepared baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown, stirring every five minutes. Do not over bake.
5. Place on a wire rack to cool. You will notice that the granola is still sticky when you remove it from the oven, but it will become crisp and dry as it cools. Once the granola has completely cooled, stir in your choice of dried fruits if desired. Store in an airtight container or plastic bag. It will keep for several weeks.

"Homemade" Baby Food

Kids don't come cheap, but there are plenty of ways to lessen the financial hit of having children. One of the easiest is to make your own baby food.  You don't have to be a good cook to make your own baby food, you really don't even need a recipe. It doesn't take any longer than you would spend sorting coupons and standing in the baby food aisle of the grocery store.  And adding in a couple extra sweet potatoes, avocadoes, or bananas to your weekly shopping trip has a minimal impact on your budget.  So let's get started.

Most pediatricians recommend babies start solids around six months of age. Rice cereal is the traditional first food, but it doesn't have to be, especially if baby is already six months old.  I think rice cereal is good to practice on, but after the first few feedings, I prefer mixing it with fruits or vegetables. Other good first foods that are simple to prepare include sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, apples, pears, bananas, green beans, avocadoes....and the list goes on. I don't make baby food from produce that is expensive or out of season - like peaches in January.  You can also use frozen fruits or vegetables to make your purees. Remember to wait 4-5 days in between new foods to check for any reactions.

Preparation is simple. If it has a peel, take it off, cut into small pieces, and steam with a little bit of water - a steamer basket is perfect for this. Once the food is soft, puree it in the blender, adding as much of the cook water as necessary to reach your desired consistency. Avocadoes and bananas don't need to be cooked; just peel and mash, adding liquid if you need to.

Storage is also simple. I have these baby food containers from One Step Ahead, and they are nice, but you don't need anything special. The simplest thing to do is to pour your puree into clean ice cube trays and stick them in the freezer. Once they are frozen, pop them out and store them in a large ziploc bag. Then you can pull out as many as you need at a time.

Once your baby is used to single food purees, you can start combining foods. I really like this website - it has a lot of ideas on food combinations and recipes. The recipe posted below was one of Lauren's favorites.

Please, please don't feed your baby bananas from a jar. Have you ever tasted those? They taste weird. Save yourself some money and your baby that weird jarred banana taste, grab a banana from the bunch and mash it up.


Hearty Chicken Mash

2 oz (1/4 c) cooked, boneless skinless chicken, diced
1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 oz (1/4 c) grated cheddar
1/2 t chopped chives

Boil or steam the sweet potato and carrot until tender. Drain, add the cheese and mix until cheese has melted. Add the chicken, then mash or puree as necessary. Top with the chives.

Leftover Oatmeal Muffins

Oatmeal is standard breakfast fare around here, but I can't seem to figure out how much we need every day, so we sometimes end up with leftovers.  I am fine with hot oatmeal for breakfast, but leftover oatmeal kind of makes me want to gag.  So I was happy to find this recipe for leftover oatmeal muffins and everyone was happy with the result. They are perfect for tossing in lunches or for snacks.


1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (I generally use all white whole wheat flour)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 cup canola oil (I sometimes use 1/4 oil and 1/4 applesauce)
2 eggs
1 c leftover oatmeal
2/3 cup raisins
1 t vanilla

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. In another bowl, stir oil, eggs, oatmeal, raisins and vanilla together. Add to dry ingredients and mix until just moistened. Spoon into 12 greased muffin tins. Bake at 350 for about 18 minutes. These freeze well.

Honey Baked Chicken and Baked Brown Rice

Chicken legs are one of the cheapest cuts of meat you can buy. I have found them for as low as 59 cents a pound.  If you usually shy away from dark meat because  you think it is less healthy, now is the time to change!  I even heard Dr. Oz say that this is a fallacy and white meat has no greater health benefits. In fact, dark meat may help lower your cholesterol. It also has more iron, plus I think it is tastier. This recipe takes minutes to prepare and is a perfectly warm dinner for a chilly evening. The original recipe is from the More with Less cookbook, but I found it on Whole Eat & Whole Treats.

Honey Baked Chicken

4 chicken leg quarters
1/3 cup honey
2 T melted butter
1 T prepared mustard
1.5 t curry powder
1 t salt

Place the chicken in a casserole dish. Mix the remaining ingredients and pour over the chicken. Bake at 350 for about an hour and a half, basting 3 or 4 times with the pan juices.

This chicken is delicious with brown rice. If you have a hard time cooking rice on the stovetop, try baking in the oven following the recipe below. It always turns out perfectly. The chicken would probably also be great with mashed potatoes, spooning some of the sauce over the top.


Baked Brown Rice

1.5 cups brown rice
2.5 cups water
2 t butter
1 t salt

Put everything in an 8 inch casserole dish and cover tightly with foil. Baked at 350 for an hour to an hour and a half.

Lentil Rice Casserole

I really like lentils. They're probably my favorite legume. They are versatile, quick cooking, and like most beans, they're inexpensive. One of my favorite lentil recipes is one I got from a dinner group member while I was at BYU. So thanks LaRisa, wherever you are now.

Here is the original recipe:

Lentil Rice Casserole

3 c water
3/4 c lentils
1/2 c brown rice
3/4 c chopped onion
1/2 t basil
1/4 t oregano
1/4 t thyme
1/4 t garlic powder
1 T chicken stock
Shredded cheese for garnish

Mix together and bake for 2 hours or cook in slow cooker for a few hours. Top with cheese.

That recipe is good, but I use the lentil/rice mix as a meat substitute for tacos, so here is my variation:

3 c water
3/4 c lentils
1/2 c brown rice
1/4 c chopped onion or 1/4 t onion powder
1 T chili powder
1 t cumin
1/2 t paprika
1/4 t oregano
1/4 t garlic
1 t salt
1 t pepper
optional: 1 can regular diced tomatoes or Rotel

Mix everything but salt and tomatoes in slow cooker and cook on high for 3 hours. Add salt and tomatoes and cook on low until ready to serve. Depending on your slow cooker, you may need to add water to keep it from burning.

I serve this in tortillas with shredded cheese and sour cream.

Best Budget Meals: Classic Black Beans & Rice

Now that my husband has graduated and has a "real" job, we are poorer than ever. True story.  So I am planning very economical meals and thought I would do a collection here. I'm always mystified when people talk about $10 dinners as if that is cheap. A $10 dinner every night is $300 for a month - that's more than our entire monthly food budget - and what about breakfast and lunch?  These meals are much less than $10 and they are some of our favorites.

We have this meal almost weekly and it never fails to satisfy. I don't even look at the recipe anymore - I just eyeball everything and it always turns out delicious. I haven't added up the cost, but I'm guessing it is about a $2 dinner.


Classic Black Beans and Rice

2 T olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 can of black beans (undrained, although I sometimes do drain and rinse them)
3/4 cup water
1 t oregano
1/4 t sugar
1 chicken bouillon cube
1/4 t ground cumin
several shakes of garlic salt
1 T apple cider vinegar


Heat oil in a medium saucepan and saute onion, green pepper and garlic until tender, 8-10 minutes. Add in remaining ingredients and stir until boiling. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce is reduced, about 20 minutes. You can mash some of the beans with the back of a spoon to flavor the sauce. Serve over white rice (I typically use brown rice, but this is one meal where I always use white rice). I like to serve this with thick slices of tomato on the side and probably another green or orange vegetable.


 I have also gone through some previous recipes and added a "budget" tag, so you can click on the tag at the bottom of this post to see more examples of inexpensive and easy dinners.