Save money for your next trip by cooking cheap!

Save money for your next family vacation – No beans

Think there is no way to feed your picky eaters inexpensively? They won’t eat beans?

Thanks Kelly Wiggains for the  great recipes and tips here for either hiding beans or leaving them out altogether. 😉

Kelly has some amazing frugal ideas!

I have a kiddo who loves the little d’animals.

Now he is growing like a weed and slurping through those as fast as I can buy them. They really are just yogurt watered down with milk…… If you figure out how much it costs per gallon of danimal…..gasoline is cheaper – and so is gold!!! Seriously! I’m going to give this cheaper version a try! Wish me luck!

Make your own yogurt in the crock pot. No, I haven’t tried it buy why not? Martha Stewart and Rachel Ray aren’t the only ones who can find their way around the kitchen, right? We can find our way around new cities where they speak languages we don’t so…….Why can’t we make our own yogurt? Let’s try it!

Homemade Yogurt 

2 quarts of milk (8 cups) (whole or 2%)

1 cup dry milk (this thickens the yogurt quite a bit)

1/2 cup plain yogurt with live, active cultures

Pour milk into 4 quart crockpot. Whisk in the dry milk. Turn on low for 2.5 hours. After 2.5 hours, unplug the crockpot. After 3 hours, remove 2 cups of the warm milk and mix with the yogurt starter. Pour back into the crockpot. Cover with a thick towel (I also put an electric heating pad set on low over the towel). Let sit for eight hours. The yogurt should have a thick consistency after 8 hours. Put in fridge for another 8 hours. Serve with honey, jam, fruit toppings. Use it for smoothies or in any recipe calling for yogurt.

**Kelly Wiggains

Save money for your next family vacation – Eggs a cheap protein

Baked Egg Casserole

Barb, from A Life in Balance, has 5 hungry boys at her house to feed and this is a great recipe. There is even a video for the cooking impaired like me!

Ingredients

2 eggs
broccoli, cut up
unflavored coconut oil, butter, lard, or olive oil
salt and pepper

Optional: leftover cooked veggies or raw veggies like red pepper, onion, and spinach

Method

1. Grease a single serve ramekin with unflavored coconut oil, butter, lard, or olive oil.

2. Mix together 2 eggs in a small bowl. Add the vegetables and stir to coat the vegetables in the egg mixture.

3. Pour the egg and vegetable mixture into the ramekin and place on a small cookie sheet. Place the sheet in a 350 degree oven and bake for 20 minutes. I use my toaster oven for baking.

Dairy Option

Mix the eggs with milk or cream. Add grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese to the ramekin before pouring in the egg mixture.

Egg and Avocado

I’m not a fan of mayo or egg yolks so I can’t wait to try this one! It is so pretty and like chocolate…avocado makes everything better!! 🙂

Avocado Egg Salad
Yield: Serves 3-4Prep Time: 5 minutesTotal Time: 5 minutes
Avocados take this egg salad to a whole new level! We love this healthier version of the traditional egg salad!

ingredients:
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
2 hard boiled egg whites, chopped
2 small avocados, pitted and peeled
1 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt (we use Chobani)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

directions:
1. In a medium bowl, combine the hard boiled eggs and egg whites, avocado, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, green onion, and mustard. Mash with a fork. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Serving suggestions: Spread between two slices of bread for an Avocado Egg Salad Sandwich. Eat with crackers, cut up veggies, on toast, or in a wrap. This salad is best eaten the day it’s made.

Thank you Maria and Josh at Two Peas and Their Pod for the recipe. Isn’t that a pretty sandwich?

Here is another great  list of great frugal recipes from Shannon at Growing Slower.

Save money for your next family vacation – Beans can be delicious!

Beans are always a cheap source of protein and can be cooked a gazillion ways. I like soups and this one has a kick!

Spiced Red Lentil Soup with Kale

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 onion, chopped
1-2 sweet peppers (depending on size), seeded and chopped
2-3 carrots (depending on size), peeled and diced
1½ tsp ground cumin
2 tsp chili powder
½ tsp smoked paprika
14 oz can diced tomatoes (preferably fire-roasted)
5-6 cups vegetable stock
1 cup red lentils, rinsed and drained
salt and pepper, to taste
1 small bunch of kale, separated from tough stems and roughly chopped
Instructions
Heat the olive oil over medium high in a large pot, and sauté the onion and peppers until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and carrots and sauté for a few minutes more, until softened.
Stir in the spices (cumin, chili powder and smoked paprika). Once mixed, add in the can of tomatoes (including juice), the broth and the lentils.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 20-25 minutes, until the lentils are tender.
Stir in the kale or spinach and add salt and pepper to taste, and adjust the seasonings if desired.

Thanks Gournet Veggie Mama for the wonderful recipe. Great way to sneak in that healthy kale, too!

The Educational Tourist’s Black- eyed Pea Soup

Here in the south we eat black eyed peas on New Year’s Day. It is supposed to bring you good luck. I don’t know if that is true, but they are tasty, super easy to make, and cheap!! We love them and eat them year round. Here is my own personal recipe that is really more of a soup, but there are also zillions of recipes online, including more traditional ways of cooking black-eye peas.

Pound of dried black eye peas

Frozen Spinach

Frozen chopped onion

Garlic ( to taste – I’m italian so I’m heavy handed with the garlic. 🙂

tomato paste – small can with Italian seasonings

Ground turkey

beef bouillon

Mushrooms – any kind that are sliced

salt and pepper to taste

1 T Italian Seasonings

Soak beans overnight. (I swear by this. I have tried the boil, sit for an hour type and they are just rocks and never soften. I have also tried the ‘fresh’ ones you can buy shelled in the fresh veggie section of the grocery. Rocks. Always just as hard as rocks.) Rinse in the morning. Cover with water and start a low boil. Boil until soft.

Then, add everything else and salt and pepper to taste.

See? I told you it was easy! Serve with rice.

Save money for your next family vacation – The Lowly Potato

Snatch up some giant baking potatoes the next time they go on sale at the grocery. They keep well and make a very filling and inexpensive meal.

Twice baked….

is there anyone on the planet who doesn’t love the cheesy goodness of a twice baked potato?

End of the week Baked Potato Bar!

Add whatever toppings or leftovers you have around and have a baked potato bar! This is amazing on Friday – put out all the leftovers and some shredded cheese and let everyone help themselves. Easy, inexpensive, everyone has their favorite, and no food waste for the week! Just doesn’t get any better than that!! Jillian at She Knows has the blow by blow on the potato bar.

CLICK HERE – For Delicious, Good for you AND cheap recipes using Cabbage

What is your cheapy recipe? Please share with us!

Happy and tasty travels,

Natalie, The Educational Tourist