ThriftyFun Recipes - October 23, 2009

Thank you to Britt, thriftysavvy, cajun62234, wolfbytes, Deeli, dorty and Denise for today's tips and recipes. Please send in your favorite recipes or helpful kitchen tips and they may appear in a future newsletter.

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Recipe Requests:

• Sweet Chicken and Tuna Salad Recipes
• Tastefully Simple Recipes
• Christmas "Goodie" Recipes

Today's Food Tips:

• Use Canned Tomatoes Instead Of Spaghetti Sauce
• Egg Salad Snack Cracker

Today's Contest Recipes:

• Pineapple Pancakes
• Refrigerator Leftover Cake
• Toasted Bagel Ham Salad Sandwich
• Garlic Pickle
• Pumpkin Muffins

Robins's Recipe Corner:

• Make Ahead Spinach Casserole
• Easy Peanut Butter Cookies
• Vegetable Soup
• Bacon French Dressing
• German Potato Salad

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Sweet Chicken and Tuna Salad Recipes

How do I make sweet chicken salad and sweet tuna salad?

By Carmen R. from Houston

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Tastefully Simple Recipes

Does anyone know how to make "Onion Onion" from Tastefully Simple at home? I love it and go through it so quickly, it's pretty pricey to keep replacing. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

By Julie from IL

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Christmas "Goodie" Recipes

I am looking for some good Christmas recipes for me and my daughter to make this year. We both are really into cooking and this is something I never did with my mom as a child. I am looking for any cookie, candy, and bars recipes or anything you've got. Thank you for your time.

By Jaimie from Toledo, OH

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Use Canned Tomatoes Instead Of Spaghetti Sauce

Use diced or crushed tomatoes from a can in place of spaghetti or tomato sauce, and then add your own spices for an inexpensive, easy, and tasty sauce made to your liking. It's thicker than tomato sauce, which adds more volume and richness to your sauce. Often times, I can find a large can (28 oz) for less than a dollar. I add a little garlic, basil, onion, salt and pepper. It's done quickly and tastes delicious.

By Britt from Boston, MA

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Egg Salad Snack Cracker

Try this idea instead of chips. Mix chopped, hard boiled eggs with a little mayonnaise to make a simple egg salad, then spread a little on top of an ordinary saltine cracker. Simple, delicious, less expensive, and more nutritious than a bag of chips.

By thriftsavvy from West Dundee, IL

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Pineapple Pancakes

Spread crushed pineapple on paper towels to remove as much juice as possible. After pancake has been cooked on one side, sprinkle pineapple onto the pancake just before flipping it over.

By cajun62234 from Collinsville

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Refrigerator Leftover Cake

Recipe for cake made from all sorts of leftovers! If you don't think your family will eat leftovers then try this recipe, they'll never guess what's in it. lol. You will need at the very least a blender to make this cake.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups of any leftovers*
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. cloves
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cup raisins

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.

Place leftovers, eggs, oil and sugar in vitamix or blender, blend on high to puree for 60 seconds.

Stop machine and add the rest of the ingredients and process on LOW for about 10 seconds, until ingredients are just moistened. Pour into cake pan & bake for 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, enjoy leftovers like never before!

This spice cake doesn't really need a frosting but cream cheese frosting is great on it!

Source: The Versatile Vita-mix cookbook

By wolfbytez from Brownsville, Oregon

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Toasted Bagel Ham Salad Sandwich

A great way to use up leftover holiday ham.

Ingredients:

• 6 bagels split (if you like open face sandwiches then you only need three bagels)
• 1/2 pound baked cooked ham, cut in to small pieces
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 to 2 Tbsp. dry minced onions
• 1 to 2 Tbsp. dill pickle relish, you can substitute with sweet pickle relish if you prefer sweet
• 1 heaping Tbsp. Dijon mustard, you can substitute with honey mustard if you prefer sweet

Directions:

Process the ham in a food processor until just barely chopped (about 6 pulses) and remove to a small bowl.

Add the mayonnaise, onions, relish, and mustard and mix well. Add more mayonnaise if desired.

Toast bagels, evenly spread each with ham salad and serve.

By Deeli from Richland, WA

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Garlic Pickle

Ingredients:

• 500 grams garlic, peeled and sliced
• 1 Tbsp. chilli powder
• 1 Tbsp. crushed red chiies
• 2 Tbsp. crushed methi (fenugreek) seeds
• 2 Tbsp. crushed dhania (coriander) seeds
• 2 Tbsp. crushed jeera (cumin) seeds
• 12 gram tamerind
• 3 Tbsp. salt
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds
• 2 cups vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. oil

Directions:

Source: Family recipe

By Dorty from SA

Editor's Note: Here is a Wikipedia entry on cooking weights and measures, with some conversion charts that may be helpful. There are also several other conversion websites online:

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

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Pumpkin Muffins

This recipe was shared with me by a parent while I was teaching . She told me this was the way she had gotten her children to not only eat pumpkin but to also eat breakfast. The next day she showed up with the muffins for our family. It worked for my son. Now he makes them at least once each fall and eats other pumpkin dishes. The ingredients stay in our pantry. I have put them in Christmas gift baskets and taken them to parties. Every time, without fail, I am ask to share this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups plain flour (this can be half whole wheat flour that has been sifted)
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ginger
• 1 (3 1/2 oz.) box instant vanilla pudding

• 1 can pumpkin
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 2 eggs

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients and set aside. Mix wet ingredients. Make a well in the dry flour mixture, add wet ingredients and stir until mixed. Add 2/3 cup of mini chocolate chips. You can also use raisins and or nuts.

Bake 20 minutes at 375 degrees F.

Source: Janet, a very special parent whose children I worked with.

By Denise from NC

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Make Ahead Spinach Casserole

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs, well beaten
• 1 pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained (10oz.)
• 1 1/2 cup cottage cheese
• 1/4 lb. process cheese, cubed (Velveeta style)
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 2 Tbsp. flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.. Grease 8x8 baking pan. Combine all ingredients. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour or until set. Serves 6.

By Robin from Washington, IA

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Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 can sweetened condensed milk (14oz.)
• 3/4 - 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 cup biscuit baking mix (like Bisquick)
• granulated sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In large mixer bowl, beat milk, peanut butter, egg and vanilla until smooth. Add biscuit mix; mix well. Chill at least 1 hour. Shape into 1 inch balls. Roll in sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten with fork.

Bake 6-8 minutes or until lightly browned (do not overbake). Cool. Store tightly covered at room temperature.

For Peanut Blossoms, shape as above; do not flatten. Bake as above. Press solid milk chocolate candy drop in center of each cookie immediately after baking. Makes about 5 dozen.

By Robin from Washington, IA

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Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. shortening
• 1 1/2 cup onion, diced
• 1 1/2 cup carrots, diced
• 1 1/2 cup potato, diced
• 1 1/2 cup celery, diced
• 1 can tomatoes (2 1/2 cups)
• 4 cups water
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. sugar

Directions:

Melt shortening; add 3/4 lb. ground beef. Cook until meat is done. Add other ingredients and simmer 45 minutes. Can add other veggies if you desire.

By Robin from Washington, IA

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Bacon French Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• dash pepper
• 1/4 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. ketchup
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, cut into halves
• 6 slices bacon, fried crisp and crumbled

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except bacon in a bottle of jar. Cover tightly and shake well. Chill several hours. Remove garlic. Add bacon just before combining with shredded cabbage.

By Robin from Washington, IA

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German Potato Salad

Great potato salad recipe

Ingredients:

• 6 large potatoes
• 6 slices bacon
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 3-4 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. celery seed
• dash pepper
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 3/4 cup water

Directions:

Cook potatoes, cool and slice; fry bacon, drain. Brown onion in bacon fat until lightly browned. Blend in flour, sugar, salt, celery seed and pepper. Cook over low heat until smooth and bubbly, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir in vinegar and water. Heat to boiling, boil 1 minute. Stir in potatoes and crumbled bacon.

By Robin from Washington, IA

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