Thrifty Fun Recipes - September 15, 2009

We have some wonderful recipes and very helpful tips today. Thanks to Marlene, Deeli, av8rs3, Stephanie, Kathy, Carolyn and eveh for submitting today's recipes and tips. Be sure to give a thumbs up to the contest entries as our winners are chosen by you.

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Recipe Requests:

• Corn Dog Recipe
• Recipe for Homemade Taco Shells
• Quick and Easy Recipes
• Tomato Preserves Didn't Set Up
• Frugal School Lunch Ideas
• Recipe for Shredded Chicken Sandwiches

Today's Food Tips:

• Making Banana Pancakes
• 100 Calorie Snack Packs
• Use Soup Bases Instead of Bouillon

Today's Contest Recipes:

• Muscadine Wine Recipe
• Crunchy Chicken Legs
• Lettuce Bread
• White Pie
• Parmesan Crescents

Robins's Recipe Corner:

• Southern Fried Chicken
• Taco Salad
• Sweet Potato Crisps
• Fruit Cobbler
• Chicken and Rice

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Corn Dog Recipe

I am looking for a corn dogs recipe.

By corysnana2 from Duluth, MN

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Recipe for Homemade Taco Shells

How do you make taco shells?

By kcampbell from AR

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Quick and Easy Recipes

I am not looking for a specific recipe. I just really need some help in the cooking department. I am new to cooking and work full time so I need help finding quick, easy, but good recipes. I am on a limited budget. I look online a lot, but I would prefer ones that someone has made before and comes recommended. Thank you for your time.

By juliebmoo from MI

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Tomato Preserves Didn't Set Up

I made tomato preserves last week and it never set up. I made it exactly as the recipe stated. Please tell me what I did wrong and how I can correct it if I did it wrong. I used 4 cups tomato juice, 6 cups of sugar and a lemon wedge. Does it take awhile for it to set up? I even recooked it and added more pectin. That did not help either. Please help.

By mirage

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Frugal School Lunch Ideas

I need ideas for inexpensive, everyday, delicious ideas for school lunches.

By marlene67nyc

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Recipe for Shredded Chicken Sandwiches

Does anyone have a good shredded chicken sandwich recipe?

By stephpowers1 from OH

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Making Banana Pancakes

Don't know what do to with those leftover bananas? I mash up left over bananas that are starting to brown into pancake mix and add cinnamon and chocolate syrup. My grand kids love it. You have chocolate, cinnamon, banana pancakes. Yummy!

By Marlene from Seagrove, NC

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100 Calorie Snack Packs

When you are on a diet, you need something to grab in a hurry to eat. I make up these little snack bags in those small, snack, zip lock bags. I try to include some sweet, some salty in each one. I buy bags of anything that is small like:

• Miniature marshmallows, tiny boxes of raisins
• Ritz crackers, graham crackers (they have small versions of both of these)
• Animal crackers, those little goldfish crackers, nuts, tiny pretzels
• Cereals like s'mores, Captain Crunch, fruit loops
• Chocolate or peanut butter chips
• Dried fruit like pineapple and papaya
• Fritos, taco chips and Doritos work too. No potato chips though, they won't hold up.

The sweet and salty works so great together. It is a lot more satisfying than the ones you buy. My DH swears these are one of the reasons he has stayed on his diet.

Each week I make up 7 of these little bags. I put in one or two of each of the things above until I have about 100-200 calories. Once you do this a few times, you want need to count, you will learn how much each item is.

When I get a snack attack, I will grab one of these. I will usually only eat half but just knowing the whole bag is only 200 calories makes me feel good even if I eat the whole thing.

It only takes minutes to make up up and they will taste better than those you buy already made up. A whole lot cheaper too. These are great to grab on your way out the door.

Source:Eve H.

By eveh from Gulf Coast

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Use Soup Bases Instead of Bouillon

Bouillon cubes are basically flavored squares of salt, whereas the paste bases are not as high in salt, and impart a much better flavor. You only use one or two tablespoons and the bases come in beef, chicken, mushroom, lobster and endless other varieties. You can find them in the soup aisle, usually on the top shelf in small jars. You'll notice a big difference in flavor!

Source: Heather McPherson, Orlando Sentinel

By av8rs3 from Eustis, FL

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Muscadine Wine Recipe

This is a homemade wine recipe from Old Germany. I use muscadines from my neighbor's vineyard. It is easy to make but requires patience.

Ingredients:

• 1 gallon fruit of choice, put in blender to pulverize
• 1 gallon of distilled water for each gallon of fruit
• sugar
• 1 egg in shell

Directions:

Blend fruit in blender. Put in large crock or stainless steel container. Add one gallon distilled water for each gallon of fruit juice. Add one pound of sugar for each gallon of juice.

Nine days later: strain and add one pound of sugar per gallon of juice.

Eighteen days later: strain again. Add ONE egg in shell to juice. Slowly add sugar until egg floats to the top, then remove egg.

Nine days later: strain through fine cloth. Put in bottles and enjoy.

By Carolyn from Springville, AL

Editor's Note: Here is a wikipedia entry on Muscadine grapes, if you are unfamiliar with them

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscadine

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Crunchy Chicken Legs

These are so crunch and brown, you won't notice they are oven fried.

Ingredients:

• 6 chicken legs
• flour
• two egg whites
• mustard, about 1 Tbsp (your favorite)
• bread crumbs (fresh made, this is key)
• garlic, a couple of fresh cloves, mashed
• butter, about a Tbsp. melted

Directions:

Pat legs dry and dust lightly with flour. Dip in the two beaten egg whites, to which you have added, a little mustard and about a Tbsp. flour

Now, roll in your browned bread crumbs: Take four slices of bread and crumble in your food processor. You want these to be a little sturdy so pulse about 6 times.

Add a little garlic (fresh) now if you like it. Add a little melted butter and mix all together. Put on aluminum foil lined pan and spread out. Cook in 350 degree F. oven until very brown. Trust me on this one.

Once you have rolled your legs in crumbs, (the chicken, not yours, LOL) put them on a foil lined pan and bake in 350 degree F oven for about twenty minutes. It will of course, depend on how large your legs are.

You can use this same recipe for chops or chicken cutlets, too.

Source: American's test kitchen, I modified it.

By eveh from Gulf Coast

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Lettuce Bread

This bread has a lovely lemony-herbal flavor and is yet another way to use up that giant head of lettuce.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup quick oats
• 1/4 cup ground flaxmeal (or just put in another 1/4 cup of flour or oats)
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. ginger
• 1/8 tsp. mace or nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. cardamom or allspice
• 1/8 tsp. cloves
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar (1/2 cup is plenty sweet for me)
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup oil
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon zest
• 1 cup lettuce, finely chopped (I do it with a knife even though you're not supposed to cut lettuce with a knife, and it's always fine)
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (I put them on top so they get toasty)

Directions:

Grease a loaf pan. Mix all the dry stuff together (flour through sugar). In a separate bowl, mix the wet stuff and lemon zest (applesauce through lemon zest). Combine the two mixes and stir a little bit. Then, add lettuce and nuts. You can put the nuts on top of the batter after you dump it in the pan if you prefer. The batter will be stiff; smooth the top for even baking.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 50-55 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a rack for ten minutes. Remove from pan and continue cooling on rack. Spread soft cream cheese on slices. Give it to people and surprise them with what's in it!

Source: Basic recipe from http://www.astray.com/recipes/?show=Lettuce%20bread. Altered by me.

By Stephanie from Anchorage, AK

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White Pie

This is an unusual pie recipe that was given to my Mother years ago and I still make it. It is always enjoyed and loved by everyone! It is easy to make because most of the items are readily available.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup cake flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tsp. oleo (butter or margarine)
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 2 egg whites
• whipped cream (we use cool whip)
• chopped nut or almonds to sprinkle on top of whipped cream

Directions:

Mix flour and 3/4 cup sugar. Add milk, oleo, 1/2 tsp. vanilla and salt. Cook until thick. Cool. Beat egg whites until stiff. Add 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 tsp. vanilla. Fold into cooled mixture. Pour into baked crust. Chill. Top with whipped topping and chopped nuts.

Make chocolate pie by adding 2 Tbsp. cocoa to sugar and flour.

Source: This recipe came from my minister's wife years ago when I was young. It was given to my mother and our whole family has went by the recipe for years. I made it for my children when they were young and still at home. Since that time, I have read online about the recipe originating from a small restaurant in southern Illinois called Burton's Cafe. I am not sure where it originates from, but it sure is good! For those of you who are not familiar or are too young for the term (haha),"oleo" is just butter or margarine. I hope many of you will try it. It's a great recipe and very cost cutting to make.

By Kathy from Mt. Vernon, IL

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Parmesan Crescents

Found this one on the Pillsbury recipe site and it is yum, yum!

Ingredients:

• 1 8 oz can refrigerated Crescent Rolls
• 3 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg, beaten

Directions:

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Separate dough into 8 triangles. Sprinkle each with 1 teaspoon Parmesan cheese. Roll up each, starting at shortest side of triangle and rolling to opposite point. Place rolls, point side down, on ungreased cookie sheets; curve each into crescent shape. Brush each with beaten egg; sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Source: Pillsbury

By Deeli from Richland, WA

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Southern Fried Chicken

Ingredients

• 3 lb. broiler-fryer chicken, cut up
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• salad oil

Directions

For Creamy Gravy: Place chicken on warm platter. Pour fat from pan into bowl, leaving brown particles in pan. Return 3 Tbsp. fat to pan. Blend in 3 Tbsp. whole wheat flour. Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in 3/4 cup cream and 3/4 cup water. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Add a few drops soy sauce. Season with salt and pepper.

By Robin from Washington, IA

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Taco Salad

This is a favorite in our home. We use it, as I think most do, as a main dish for our meal.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. hamburger
• 1/2 head chopped lettuce
• 1 lg. onion
• 1 can kidney beans
• 1 cup shredded cheese
• 1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
• taco sauce
• taco chips

Directions:

Cook hamburger; drain. Add taco seasoning, water (1 cup), and beans. Simmer 15 minutes. Just before serving, add lettuce, chips, onions and top with cheese.

By Robin from Washington, IA

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Sweet Potato Crisps

Ingredients:

• 3 med. or 2 lg. sweet potatoes or yams
• 3 Tbsp. oil
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2-1 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:

Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Peel sweet potatoes. Cut into slices 3/4 inch thick. Combine sugar, cinnamon and salt; set aside. Pour oil into 9x13 inch baking dish. Heat at 450 degrees F for 3 minutes. Remove pan from oven. Arrange sweet potato slices in single layer. Return pan to oven. Bake 10 minutes. Turn potatoes with slotted spatula. Sprinkle potatoes with sugar mixture. Bake 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are browned on top. Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately.

By Robin from Washington, IA

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Fruit Cobbler

Ingredients

• 2-3 cups cooked juice fruit
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 stick margarine or butter

Directions

Note: Any kind of cooked fruit is good for this cobbler. Your choice!

By Robin from Washington, IA

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Chicken and Rice

Ingredients:

• 1 chicken, cut in pieces
• 1 envelope dry onion soup mix
• 3/4 cup dry rice
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 4 oz. can mushrooms

Directions:

Sprinkle rice and onion soup on bottom of roaster. Cover with chicken pieces. Brown mushrooms, combine with chicken soup and 1 can of water. Pour over chicken, bake uncovered for 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees F.

By Robin from Washington, IA

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