Wicked Cheap Wednesday introduces a yummy beef stew!

My mom made this beef stew way back when...she has since moved onto a different recipe but I have stuck with a one similar to the one she used to make because I love the broth and how it flavors the vegetables.

You will need:

• 1-2 lbs of stew meat, cut into bite size pieces
  
• either 3 large white potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size pieces or a large can of potatoes, chopped, and drained
• l lb of baby carrots
• 1 white onion, cut up
  
• 12 oz of tomato juice
• 4 tbsp tapioca pudding mix - not made, just right from the box
• salt and pepper to season

Preheat oven to anywhere between 250-325, depending on how long you have to cook it.  If you have 5 hours to spare, preheat to 250.  Since I was making this in 3 hours, I preheated and cooked it at 325.

Place cut up stew meat into a 9x13 baking dish, like one used for brownies.  Add salt and pepper.

Add cut up potatoes, carrots, and onions.  On top of this pour the 12 oz of tomato juice and 4 tbsp of tapioca pudding mix.  Stir all of it together, cover with foil, and bake.  Like I said, I baked mine at 325 for 3 hours - of course, for something like this, you want to be able to check that the meat is cooked thru (which is the easy part) and that the veggies, especially the carrots, are tender enough that a fork goes easily thru them.

I love love love this - I am not a fan of leftovers, but I took this for lunch the next day, as did the husband, and enjoyed it even more than the night before:)

So how is it "wicked cheap?"

• stew meat - 1.25 lbs for $3.75!
• large can of diced potatoes - $1.67
• 1 lb bag of baby carrots - $1.50
• 1 white onion - about $1.00
• tomato juice - now I bought a 6 pack of 6 oz cans, so I will have these for 3 beef stew recipes (we don't drink it around here) - the price was $3.00, so consider the 2 cans I used for this one recipe $1.00
• tapioca pudding box - leftover from another recipe - about .50 cents

Grand total -  $9.92!  I served it with a salad and crescent rolls, which I already had (I stock up on Pillsbury crescent rolls when they are on sale and I have coupons) and was in heaven!  I love the tomato taste, without the thickness of a tomato sauce or even canned tomato chunks. 

I hope everyone will try and enjoy this on a nice winter weekend day/evening and let me know if you add anything to it to make it your own:)   Thanks mom for making this way back when!

I never thought I would like this, but I did!

Cheycancook doesn't like:

mayonnaise
"green things" like green spices in pasta
salad dressing!

I know, I'm sure you're thinking, how can someone hate these everyday items?  I just never acquired a taste...the green thing "thing" is getting better, and now it looks like I'm working on the salad dressing thing.  Just not on my lettuce;)

So on Monday's as I've mentioned I like to make easy meals, if I can, because I'm tired from the long day at work and just want to re-lax!  So the week before, when I was making up my menu, I went thru my Kraft magazine recipes and found Sweet and Spicy Chicken Stir Fry.  I had never tried this specific recipe before, so there was that hint of uh oh and then the I can do it and it will be great!  It was a decent amount of prep work, but the end result was well worth it - ask my husband, he had 3 helpings!

You will need:

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
1 tbsp oil
3 cups chopped mixed veggies of your choice - I used fresh pea pods, red and green pepper, and mushrooms, and a can (drained) of sliced water chestnuts. 
1 clove garlic, minced (I like to just buy the jarred minced garlic in the produce section)
1/4 cup Catalina salad dressing
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper - of course I used more - I'm sure you know why at this point:)

Cook the chicken in the hot oil in a large pan over high heat for 3 minutes

Add veggies and garlic, cooking for 5-6 minutes or until chicken is lightly browned, and stirring frequently. 

Stir in remaining ingredients and cook an additional 2 minutes or until chicken is cooked thru and veggies are to your liking.

I served this over white rice and enjoyed:)   Hope you do too!

***On another note, there's some crazy weather coming way tomorrow, including snow, sleet, and ice.  I know the rest of the U.S. has been experiencing this too, so be safe out there!***

Italiano!

So Saturday night, if we don't go out to dinner, is my "I'm going to make a fun easy meal and you're going to like it" night:)  This Saturday was no different - I was just coming off of the stomach bug, it was snowing out, and well, I just wanted to try this recipe!  The husband loved it, I loved it, and now I know what I'm bringing to my parents' house on Christmas Eve! 

Easy Stromboli from Pillsbury.com!

1/2 lb lean ground beef ***note, I don't like "green things" in my sauce, so I made 2 different stromboli's, one with the husband's sauce, one with mine, so I had to double everything in the recipe to make 2***
1 13.8 oz can refrigerated classic pizza crust by Pillsbury
1/4 cup pizza sauce or more if you like more
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup chopped veggies - I used red and green peppers, and alittle more than 1/4 cup
1/4 teaspoon dried italian seasoning or oregano (none in mine please!)
crushed red pepper, as much as you'd like, of course

Heat oven to 400.  Spray cookie sheet with Pam.  Brown ground beef in a pan over medium high heat until cooked thru.  Drain this and set aside.

Unroll dough and place on the cookie sheet.  Starting at the center, press out the dough to form a rectangle.
Spread sauce over the dough, going to within 2 inches on the long sides and about a 1/2 inch on the short sides.  Place cooked ground beef lengthwise over the sauce, about 3 inches wide. 

Top with cheese, veggies, and any seasoning you would like to use. 

Fold the long sides of the dough over the filling and press the end edges and long sides until sealed.

Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes or until crust is golden brown - my oven baked each one in 15 minutes to our liking.

It's pretty much a calzone with hamburg = I'm sold!

The same night, I also tested a recipe I'm going to use for our upcoming holiday party - Tomato-basil appetizers.  They are quick and easy, but too much bread, so I think for the party, to make them more bite size, I'm going to use crackers instead of rolls. 

The original recipe called for:

2 Pillsbury Grands Frozen Flaky Layers Biscuits (from a 22.1 oz bag)
2 tbsp herb or garden flavored cream cheese spread and/or fresh mozzarella balls cut into thin slices
1/4 cup diced tomato
chopped basil leaves

Heat oven to 350 and spray the cookie sheet with Pam.  Place the desired # of biscuits on a microwavable plate and microwave at 50% power for 25-30 seconds.  Slice each biscuit horizontally, carefully separating into 2 layers. 

Place biscuit halves cut side down on the cook sheet and bake 10-14 minutes, or until golden brown **for my oven, it was about 9 minutes.  Remove from cookie sheet and cool.

Spread cream cheese or place mozzarella slices on top of the biscuits, then top with tomato and basil.

They were yummy, but again too big to be bite-sized at a party.  I could slice the biscuits into 4 rather than 2 slices, but I'd like to keep my fingers = I'll be using crackers and I'm sure they'll be just as yummy:)

Enjoy these recipes and come back for more tomorrow!! :)  Oh, and I only have, I think, 7 Christmas cards left to make and all the made ones are addressed and ready to go - go me!!

A little Christmas card lovin'

I got on a 5 hour roll and accomplished 25 out of about 75...not bad, right?  Just alittle distracted by the holiday movies on TV, making beef stew for dinner, and my handsome husband...but if I can address these tonight and mail them tomorrow, then get the rest done after work this week and mailed, I will be quite happy - all mailed out by 12/12 is my goal!!  That is also the day I hope to have all of my Christmas shopping done...eek!

As I explained in a previous post, my first attempts at my giftbox card(s) were very disastrous, to tears disastrous.  So the husband helped me come up with a new idea, the bff helped me find the stamp I needed, and I waited.  All parts finally arrived and here is what I have so far.  No cards exactly the same, you'll see why alittle bit farther down, but I love them all and can't wait to send them out!!  First batch tomorrow hopefully!!

clever wording, right;)

the work space

 Why each card is different - I just happened to buy this at Joann.com online during a great sale and knew I would use it for Christmas pages, journaling, etc...who would've thought it would match our card idea/stamp so well!?!

 

 

Just some examples...wish me luck with the last 50 or so!  Happy Holidays!

Winter Wonderland pic for Melissa :)