yummy – Page 2 – Oh Lord Help Us

How to Cook for My Brother (and his family)

Eat, Stay SaneSeptember 6, 2014September 18, 2014

A few weeks ago my brother and sister-in-law and their three wonderful kiddos came to visit. It was an absolute blast! In preparing for their visit, I needed to come up with a big filling meal that would fit in a not-so-big budget. See, my brother has a bit of a reputation for how much he can eat. So I knew it needed to be filling. Also, I wanted it to be something that I could make ahead of time. That way I could spend the little bit of time we had with them, actually with them, and not in the kitchen. I decided to make my mother-in-law’s lasagna. Super yummy, super filling, super inexpensive!

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1/2 lb italian sausage

1 – 13oz tomato sauce

2 1/2 cup tomatoes

2 cloves minced garlic

1 Tb parsely

1 tsp basil

1 tsp oregano

1 – 16oz ricotta cheese

2 cups shredded mozzarella

oven ready lasagna noodles

Step 1:

Combine meats, brown in skillet, drain

Step 2:

Add next 6 ingredients, bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer 30-45 minutes

Step 3:

Layer in 9 x 13: noodles, ricotta cheese, meat sauce, mozzarella. Repeat until all ingredients are used

Step 4:

Bake 350 for 30 minutes

Now let’s talk about the ingredients. I doubled the recipe for our specific needs. I also skipped the sausage and increased the ground beef to make up for it. The garlic is minced from a jar. I used italian seasoning instead of the individual herbs. I bought everything but the lasagna noodles at Aldi. The noodles I bought at Walmart. Here’s the price breakdown:

Tomato sauce .75

Diced tomatoes 1.77

Garlic .08

Ground beef 9.22

Ricotta 3.58

Mozzarella 3.69

Noodles 1.68

Total: 20.77 for 24 servings, .87 per serving!

Please note that this is for 12 servings in each 9 x 13 pan. These servings were pretty small. Good for the kids, but the adults had at least 2 servings.

Gluten Free Granola Bars

RecipesAugust 22, 2014September 18, 2014

Dry Ingredients

1 cup unsalted roasted almonds

1/2 cup salted roasted shelled pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup unsalted sunflower seeds

1/4 cup flax seeds

1/8 cup chia seeds

2 cups rolled oats

1 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup coconut sugar

1 Tb ground cinnamon

Wet Ingredients

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 eggs

2 mashed bananas

2 tsp vanilla extract

Step 1: Grind first five ingredients. I use an old coffee grinder to grind each individually and then dump into a bowl.

Step 2: Add remaining dry ingredients.

Step 3: Mix wet ingredients.

Step 4: Add wet to dry and mix.

Step 5: Spread in a buttered 9 x 13 glass pan. Bake 350 for 25 minutes.

Yummy Yummy Granola Bars (with a gluten free option)

Eat, Stay SaneAugust 16, 2014May 23, 2016

I have tweaked this recipe so many times, and still adjust it on occasion. I’m super proud of it, because it is truly MY recipe that I developed on my own. There are many substititutions that can be made based on you and your family’s needs and likes.

I make a batch and have these for my breakfast pretty much every day. Super convenient and filling and healthy and cheap and yummy.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Dry Ingredients

1 cup unsalted roasted almonds
1/2 cup salted roasted shelled pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
1/4 cup flax seeds
1/8 cup chia seeds
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1 Tb ground cinnamon

Wet Ingredients

1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 eggs
2 mashed bananas
2 tsp vanilla extract

Step 1: Grind first five ingredients. I use an old coffee grinder to grind each individually and then dump into a bowl.

Step 2: Add remaining dry ingredients.

Step 3: Mix wet ingredients.

Step 4: Add wet to dry and mix.

Step 5: Spread in a buttered 9 x 13 glass pan. Bake 350 for 25 minutes.

Now let’s talk about the ingredients and do the price breakdown.

The almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, and chia seeds are all from Trader Joes. I just can’t seem to find any others that are that good for the price.

The rolled oats are generic old fashioned oats. If you want to make these gluten free, then pick up a bag of gluten free rolled oats while you are at Trader Joes.

The cranberries and cinnamon are generic.

The coconut sugar is from Trader Joes. I use to use brown sugar instead, but wanted to make them healthier. Your kids may like them better if you stick with the brown sugar, but I don’t share mine anyways (just kidding) (no I’m not).

The honey is local.

Applesauce and eggs are generic.

Pick up some bananas too, while you are at Trader Joes.

Price Breakdown

Almonds $1.60
Pumpkin seeds $.93
Sunflower seeds $.28
Flax seeds $.29
Oatmeal $.33
Cranberries $.86
Coconut sugar $.84
Eggs $.27
Honey $1.09
Applesauce $.18
Bananas $.38

Total $7.05 for 12 servings, $.59 a piece!!!!

Honey Wheat Bread

RecipesAugust 8, 2014September 18, 2014

3 cups warm water

4.5 tsp active yeast

1/2 cup honey

5 cups bread flour

3 Tb butter melted

2 Tb salt

3.5-4 cups whole wheat flour

In a large mixing bowl, combine yeast and water, add honey and stir. Add bread flour. Let rise.

Add melted butter and salt.

Add 2 cups of whole wheat flour, then knead in the remaining flour.

Place in buttered bowl, cover with towel and let sit until double. Punch down.

Divide into thirds, place in buttered 9 x 5 loaf pans, cover with towel until double.

Bake 350 for 25 minutes.

Saving a lot of dough. On your dough.

Eat, Save, Stay SaneAugust 8, 2014September 18, 2014

Here it is. Isn’t it beautiful! This is my go to bread recipe and what we use for sandwiches, toast, and when we need something to put honey on.

Ingredients. Six glorious ingredients (not counting the water), that is all. Check your bread package, how many do you see? Can you pronounce all of them?

3 cups warm water

4.5 tsp active yeast

1/2 cup honey

5 cups bread flour

3 Tb butter melted

2 Tb salt

3.5-4 cups whole wheat flour

In a large mixing bowl, combine yeast and water, add honey and stir.

Add bread flour.

Let rise. (I usually wait until it’s at the rim of the bowl)

Add melted butter and salt. (I use a spatula and make a hole to pour the butter, then mix)

Add 2 cups of whole wheat flour.

Knead in the remaining flour. (Here is where I was messing up. Knead it until it forms a ball and is completely mixed-no dry flour to be found)

Place in buttered bowl, cover with towel and let sit until double. Punch down.

Divide into thirds, place in buttered 9 x 5 loaf pans, cover with towel until double.

Bake 350 for 25 minutes.

Now, let’s talk about ingredients and costs.

The yeast is Fleischmann’s in the jar. It’s more economical than the packets.

The honey is local, and is oh so yummy. It’s not much more than what I was paying at the supermarket.

The bread flour is King Arthur. Gold Medal is a bit cheaper. Pillsbury is even cheaper.

The butter is generic. I would love to use local grass fed. Just haven’t gone there yet.

The salt is Morton’s.

The whole wheat flour I ordered off Amazon. A 25lb bag of organic whole wheat bread flour from a company called Great River.

Here’s the cost for this recipe:

Yeast .63

Honey 1.09

Bread flour 1.17

Butter .28

Salt .04

Whole wheat flour 1.30

Total: $4.51 for 3 loaves!!!

That’s $1.50 a loaf people!!! And you could make it even cheaper by using different brands. That’s up to you!