Super delicious cocoa brownies

These brownies are amazing, thank you Alice Medrich!

 I ALWAYS double this recipe, because they go so fast in my house!

Ingredients

10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cold large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup walnut or pecan pieces (I never use these)


8 inch baking pan

 Directions

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Line the bottom and sides of the baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.

Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl and set the bowl in a wide skillet of barely simmering water. Stir from time to time until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth and hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test. Remove the bowl from the skillet and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot.

Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Stir in the nuts, if using. Spread evenly in the lined pan.

Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack.

Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 16 or 25 squares.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Best-Cocoa-Brownies-108346



Butter        $1.00
Sugar        $0.50

Cocoa       $0.50
Eggs         $0.50
                 $2.50

Pancakes

Pancakes!

Ingredients
3/4 cup milk (or buttermilk. If using buttermilk, don't use the vinegar)
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1tsp vanilla
2 tablespoons butter, melted
cooking spray

Directions
Mix the milk with the vinegar in a bowl and let set for about 5 minutes.
Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl.
Whisk the egg, vanilla, and butter into the milk, then add to the dry ingredients
Heat a skillet over medium heat and, spray with cooking spray
Pour batter into pancakes on the skillet!
When the bubbles start to form on the top, flip them over and cook untill browned on the other side.
Done, delicious.


Milk         $0.20
Flour       $0.50
Butter      $0.25
                $0.95

Biscuits and sausage gravy

Biscuits and sausage gravy!

1lb bulk breakfast sausage
2 cups of milk
1/4 cup of flour
salt and pepper to taste.

Crumble and cook sausage in large skillet over medium heat until browned.
Stir in flour until dissolved and slowly add the milk. Cook until it is all thick and bubbly and delicious
Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with fresh biscuits!

Biscuits
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/3 cup shortening
1 cup milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Gradually stir in milk until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.
Turn out onto a floured surface, and knead 15 to 20 times. Pat or roll dough out to 1 inch thick. Cut biscuits with a large cutter or juice glass dipped in flour. Repeat until all dough is used. Brush off the excess flour, and place biscuits onto an ungreased baking sheet.
Bake for 13 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges begin to brown.
(This biscuit recipe was found at the allrecipes website  http://allrecipes.com/recipe/jps-big-daddy-biscuits/detail.aspx )


Sausage  $2.50
Milk          $0.82
Flour        $0.50
                $3.82

Vegetable soup

Ingredients
1tbs oil
.5lb mushrooms (sliced)
.5 cup chopped onion
2.5 cups water
1 bay leaf
1tsp dried thyme
1tsp beef bouillon
3/4tsp garlic powder
.5tspsalt
1/4tsp black pepper
3 medium potatoes (cut into chunks)
3 large carrots (cut into chunks about the same size as the potatoes)
1.5 cups chopped celery


Directions
In a pot heat the oil and add the mushrooms and onion, cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add all other ingredients but the celery and cook for about 20 minutes.
Add celery, cook 10 more minutes or until the potatoes and carrots are tender.
Don't forget to remove the bay leaf.



Mushrooms        1.99
Onions                0.25
Potatoes             0.75
Carrots               0.75
Celery                 0.50
                          $4.24

Sweet clover rolls

Not really a meal, but crazy delicious, like puffy little clouds.

Ingredients

1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

1/2 cup warm milk

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

1/3 cup honey

1 egg

1/3 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 teaspoon salt

4 cups all-purpose flour*

Some sort of course salt (I use sea salt)

 

Directions

Mix water, honey, and milk together, add yeast and allow to proof until foamy, about 10-15 minutes.

Add 1/3 cup butter, beaten egg, 2 cups of flour, and salt. Mix together.

Add the rest of the flour about 1/2 a cup at a time.

Once it is all incorporated, lightly coat counter with oil (I use the kind in a spray can), roll dough out onto oiled surface, and then spray the top. The dough is pretty wet and sticky, that's why the oil, and not flour.

Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes. Then place in an oiled bowl, cover with a wet towel, and let rise in a warm place. What I do, is I put it in the oven, and then boil some water, and out the pot on the lower shelf of the oven and close it. Humid and warm.

Once it is doubled, punch it down. Spray (or wipe down) the inside of a muffin tin with oil. Using a table spoon worth of dough, roll it into a ball. Place three balls of dough in each muffin tin. Once all are full, brush them with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with course salt. Put in oven and let rise

Once they're about doubled in size, bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes, or until lightly browned on top.

 

 

Egg         $0.10

Honey     $0.25

Butter     $0.50

Milk         $0.14

               $0.99

 

* I also make this using 2 cups all purpose flour, and 2 cup whole wheat. Turns out delicious. The dough is dryer and not sticky this way. If using only half all purpose, then use flour on your kneading board. The pictures below are made with only half all purpose.

Meatball soup

Sounds odd to some, but it's tasty.

Ingredients
8 cups of water
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
2 cubes beef bouillon (or equal amount of granulated for 2 cups)
1lb frozen meatballs (thawed)
2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup elbow macaroni

Directions
Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add spices, bouillon, meatballs, tomato sauce, carrots, celery, and garlic, and simmer for 30 minutes.
Add macaroni and cook until pasta is done! Great with home made bread.



Meatballs           $1.99
Tomato sauce   $1.38
Celery                $0.25
Carrots              $0.30
Garlic                 $0.10
Macaroni            $0.25
                           $4.27

Creamy Turkey mac

Nothing from scratch about this one.

Ingredients
1lb Macaroni
2 10.75oz cans of cream of mushroom soup
1 and a half cans of milk
1lb ground turkey
2tbs oil

Directions
Set a pot of water on to boil with some salt. When it comes to a boil, add pasta and cook to desired doneness.
Add oil to a skillet and heat it, then brown the turkey. Drain when done.
Add the cream of mushroom soup and milk to the skillet and whisk together, bring to a light boil and add turkey back to the skillet.
When the macaroni is done, add the turkey mixture to it.


Macaroni              $1.09
2 cans of soup     $1.38
Milk                       $0.75
Ground Turkey     $1.25 (At Walmart, 1.49 at Aldi)
                             $4.47

Beanie weanies

From scratch! Well.. the beans are.

Ingredients

1 lbs dried navy beans
3 cups water (replace half with chicken stock if desired)
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/4 cup molasses
1tbs dried mustard
1/4tbs garlic powder
1tbs onion powder
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 of a 6oz can tomato paste
1/2 cup ketchup


Directions
Soak navy beans at least 12 hours (I usually put them in to soak a full day before I plan to make them)
Drain and rinse the beans, add all ingredients to the crock pot
Cook 7-8 hours on high. Crock pots vary, so it might take more or less time based on yours.
Cook until the beans are finished. Adding water to crock pot if needed.
During the last 30 minutes, add a pound of sliced hot dogs.

Navy beans       $1.12
Tomato paste    $0.69
Molasses           $0.50
Hot dogs            $2.50
                          $4.81

Spaghetti and home made sauce

I recently found a great little fruit and veggie stand near my with tomatoes for $0.89 a pound. Which is just fantastic considering they are usually over $2.00 a pound! To commemorate this, fresh tomato sauce!

Ingredients
1lb tomatoes
3tbs olive oil (NOT extra virgin)
1tbs minced garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
.5tsp dried oregano
.5tsp dried basil


Directions
Chop tomatoes into small pieces.
Heat oil in a pan and add in minced garlic and cook on a medium heat for a minute or so until just barely getting brown.
Add in tomatoes and basil and oregano, cook just until the tomatoes are nice and warm. Mix in salt and pepper to taste. Usually I take a potato masher and squish it all down, but if you prefer it chunky leave it chunky.

 While cooking the sauce, cook the spaghetti to desired doneness.

Spaghetti   $0.89
Tomatoes  $0.89*
Garlic         $0.05
                  $1.83


*Tomatoes vary by price, I usually only make home made sauce when they are on sale.

Meatball 'subs' with Cajun potatoes

Meatball 'subs'

1lb frozen meatballs**
1 can (or jar) spaghetti sauce***
1 eight pack of hot dog buns
5 potatoes
3tbs oil
1tbs Cajun seasoning (more of less, to taste)

Directions

 Add 3tbs of oil, and 1tbs of Cajun seasoning to a bowl and mix.

 Preheat oven to 350(f). Dice the potatoes into desired size. Add potatoes the bowl, mix well to coat. Add to a glass baking pan and pop it unto the oven. Cook until desired doneness (for us, it is usually 20-25 minutes)

While those are cooking, add the sauce and meatballs to a pot, cover and cook until done.

 Serve meatballs in the hot dog buns, and enjoy.

Meatballs   $1.99
Potatoes     $0.50
Sauce         $1.00
Buns           $0.89
                   $4.39

**If Ground beef is cheaper than buying frozen meatballs where you live, then by all means make them home made instead. Currently where I am ground beef runs over $3.50 a pound, making buying them frozen a better deal.
*** Same as above. If you can buy the ingredients to make a sauce for cheaper than buying it premade, do so! It is better for you, and cheaper. For me though? Right now a dollar can is cheaper than buying tomatoes, or buying a can of crushed tomatoes.

Sausage 'fried rice'.

This is NOT meat to actually be a fried rice. Not by any means... but it does resemble one.

Ingredients

1lb hot sausage (if links, remove from casing)
2 cups of uncooked rice (Or left over cooked rice)
4 cups of water (or some sort of broth)
1lb frozen peas and carrots (or preferred veggie)
1/4 Soy sauce
1tbs+2tsp brown sugar
.5tsp red pepper flake

Directions

I use a rice cooker, so I just plop the water and the rice in the rice cooker. Place veggies into a colander and run water over them until thawed.

 While the rice is cooking add oil to a pot and remove skin from the sausage. Once the oil is not, crumble the sausage and add it to the pot. When almost done, add the pepper flake and veggies. Meanwhile, mix the brown sugar with the soy sauce and set aside.

 Once the rice is done, add the whole mess to the pot, with out draining the sausage. Mix well. Done, delicious.

Sausage    $2.59
Veggies     $1.29
                 $3.88*

 *All other ingredients are at a negligible cost.

Black beans and rice

    Black bean and rice! It's recently become a huge hit at my house. Which is great, because it's super cheap.

Ingredients
2 teaspoons oil
1 onion (diced)
1.5 cup uncooked white rice
3 cups or water or chicken broth (I use water and chicken bouillon)
2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 cans black beans, drained (or 2lb prepared dry beans)**

Directions
 In a medium pan heat oil and add in onion, stir until onions are soft, about 4 minutes. Then add the rice, and saute for a bit longer, about 2 minutes.
Add the broth to the rice and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat until it is simmering and cover. Cook 15-20 minutes until the rice is done. Once it is done, add the spices to the beans and mix, then add to the rice. Viola! Done!



Black beans  $2.52
Onion            $0.25
                      $2.77*


 * I did not add in the cost of rice, oil, spices or chicken bouillon because the cost is negligible.
** To prepare dried beans soak them in water over night, drain and rinse, then add 4 cups of water. Boil until they reach the desired doneness. This brings the over all price down to $2.03.

Shopping.

Shopping! Most girls love it. I hate it.  I'd rather keep the money in my pocket, but you gotta eat. Until recently, I did most of my shopping at Wal~mart. Not so much any more. I've taken to shopping at Aldi and Save-A-Lot, and my weekly food bill has dropped quite a bit actually. Going to just one, or the other, I wasn't able to get every thing I needed, now, typically I can get every thing between the two.  Some times, like with deli goods, you need to go to another store. On nights when we have grilled cheese, I usually go to Publix since it is in the same shopping center as Aldi. When I do have to go, I get only what I need. Typically, it is 12 slices of cheese, for 3 grilled cheese each. If you do not know about Aldi or Save-a-lot, I suggest looking into it. Most things tend to run a LOT cheaper than Wally-world, or other supermarkets. A pound of sausage links runs $2.50-$2.80 a pound, where as it is usually over $4 at Wal~mart.  Bratwurst runs around the same price, and ground turkey is $1.49! I replace ground beef with it fairly frequently. Both of them have weekly circulars on their websites, and store locators. I also found out that Save-a-lot accepts coupons. I haven't been able to find any coupons for any thing at Aldi though. But it helps at Save-a-lot!

Staples

Staples are pretty straightforward in my house. Potatoes, pasta, rice, spices, yeast, and onions are our big staples.  A ten pound bag of potato and a 5 pound bag of onions can last us 2 weeks, a 20lb bag of rice lasts us months. Spices? Typically last 3-6 months at least.  These are things that we always keep in the house, and as of late, grits and eggs have joined the list.

It isn't too uncommon for me to ignore the price of some of these things when calculating about how much the recipe costs. Mostly rice. A cup of rice out of 20lbs is pretty negligible I think, and of course spices don't get counted either.

 Some other things that make great staples are dried beans.  Black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans.. just dried beans. These will probably be added to our staples list.