Biscuits and Gravy with Scrambled Eggs

I had errands to run after homeschooling yesterday so I needed a quick and easy dinner to make when we got back home. I used to make breakfast for dinner all the time but since I've been married I have stuck to more traditional dinners. I was really worried about how my family would feel about having breakfast for dinner. I shouldn't have worried at all because my husband was overjoyed when he got over the shock. It's something I will be doing again in the future because it was SO easy not to mention frugal. I'm thinking pancakes in a couple of weeks.

Biscuits and Gravy

Biscuits

2 C. flour

4 tsp. baking powder

3 tsp. sugar

½ tsp. salt

½ C. shortening

1 egg, beaten

2/3 C. milk

Heat oven to 450 degrees. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Cut in shortening until mix looks like crumbs. Add egg and milk, stir until combined but do not over stir it will make your biscuits tough. Turn mix out onto a floured surface and knead 20 times. Roll out to ¾ inch thickness and cut with a biscuit cutter or a glass. Place biscuits on a baking sheet that has been lightly greased. Bake for about 10 minutes or until golden brown at 450 degrees

Sausage Gravy

1 lb. pork sausage

8 Tbsp. margarine

8 Tbsp. flour

Pepper to taste

3 C. milk – 4 C. milk

Cook sausage in a skillet until done. Add margarine and cook until melted. Add flour and pepper, stir until well blended. Gradually add the milk; using only as much as you need to make a nice gravy, stirring constantly. Bring to a slight boil and cook and stir until thickened to your preference. Serve over biscuits.

Scrambled Eggs

My husband made these while I did the biscuits and gravy. I love it when he helps out in the kitchen.

For more wonderful recipes check out Frugal Food Thursday and Cooking Thursday

Chicken and Rice Soup

This was another simple meal. My daughter had dance and my husband had bowling so time was short to get dinner on the table.

Chicken and Rice Soup

4 chicken leg quarters or 8 chicken thighs, skin removed

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 medium onions, diced

4 stalks celery, sliced

3 carrots, sliced

Salt and pepper to taste

Cilantro to taste

2 C. rice, cooked

In a large pot cover the chicken and all the vegetables with water to cover (do not add rice yet), season to taste. Cook over medium high heat for about 1 hour or until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender. Remove the chicken, set aside and let cool, remove meat and return to the pot, add rice and heat through.

For some more great ideas on how to use chicken thighs check out $5 Dinner Mom

Marinated Steak, Peas and Carrots, Rice Mix

Last night was so busy. My daughter had dance class for 2 hours and afterwards we had to go sign her up for softball. They held the sign ups at a local pizza parlor.....it was torture smelling all the pizzas being made but we made it through it. This dinner only about took 20 minutes to cook. It was more about getting food on the table because it was getting late.

I don't have any recipes.....sorry.

Marinated Steak
 I hate tough meat. I made a marinade and it wasn't very good....it didn't "stick" to the meat. We were going to grill but it seemed like too much of a bother so I broiled them...I over did them. Thank heavens for steak sauce or I wouldn't have been able to choke mine down. I also had a discussion with my husband about maybe spending a little bit more money on steaks next time because although I want to save money I want to be able to enjoy my food. The next time we go shopping he is going to pick out the steaks. I have noticed that when we shop we look at different things. For me it is all about the money sometimes. How much is it? Is there a better deal? My husband on the other hand will look at quality a little bit more. How will this meat grill? How much fat does it have on it?

Peas and Carrots
from the freezer

Rice Mix
from the pantry

Twice Baked Double Stuffed Potatoes and Cheesy Vegetable Medley

This is another meal from the past. I love these potatoes, sometime I make them as the main dish and sometimes I make them as a side dish.

Twice Baked Double Stuffed Potatoes

6 potatoes

½ lb. bacon, fried and divided

½ C milk

Salt and pepper to taste

½ stick butter

½ tsp dry mustard

1 C cheddar cheese, shredded

1 C sour cream

Bake potatoes wrapped in foil at 300 degrees for 90 minutes. Allow to cool slightly and slice a top off of each of them. Carefully scoop out the centers into a bowl, leaving a shell. Mash the potatoes and add milk, salt, pepper, butter, dry mustard, and some of the bacon, reserving some for the top. Combine well and place mixture back into potato shells. Top with cheese and remaining bacon. Place on a baking sheet and heat in the oven at 350 degrees about 20 minutes or until the cheese melts.

Cheesy Vegetable Medley
1 (16 oz) bag California Blend frozen vegetables
1 (10 oz) can cream of mushroom soup
2 C cheddar cheese, shredded, divided
1/3 C sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
1 small can french fried onions

Combine vegetables with soup, sour cream, 1/2 the cheese, salt and pepper in a bowl. Pour into a casserole dish. Top with french fried onions and remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until cheese is melted and dish is heated through. 

For more recipes using bacon and potatoes check out Ingredient Spotlight 

Polish Sausage and Kraut with Seasoned Green Beans

I made this dinner all the way back in November for my husband and he loved it. Hubby is a big sauerkraut lover, I am not really that big of a fan. I will serve it and eat it because I know he LOVES it. The things we do for love.

Polish Sausage and Kraut
2 lbs. polish sausage links, cut into slices
1 (16 oz) jar sauerkraut, do not drain
2 tsp. caraway seeds
1 Tbsp brown sugar
8 potatoes, peeled and chopped
water as needed

Place sauerkraut in a large pot. Add caraway seeds and brown sugar,stir to mix. Add potatoes and sausage. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 25 minutes.

Seasoned Green Beans
2 (15 oz) cans green beans
2 tsp dry minced onion

Pour green beans and liquid into a saucepan and add minced onions. Bring to a boil and serve when heated through and minced onion has rehydrated.

For more frugal dinners check out $5 Dinner Mom

Coffee Stew and Cornbread

This was a perfect dinner for a cold night.

Coffee Stew
2 lbs beef, cut into bite size pieces
2 tsp meat tenderizer
1 tsp dry basil
3 C water, divided
2 C cold brewed coffee
1 lg. onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
6 carrots, chopped
6 potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 (10 oz) pkg, frozen peas
1 (15 oz) can corn, drained
2 C vegetable juice cocktail, divided
2 tsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp dry parsley

In a saucepan combine 1 C water, meat tenderizer and meat, bring to a boil then cover and let simmer for 40 minutes. In a soup pot combine 2 C water, onion, celery, carrots, potatoes, peas, corn, 1 C coffee, 1 C vegetable juice, basil and parsley. Bring to a boil and let simmer while meat is cooking. Add meat and cooking liquid to soup pot once it is done cooking. Dissolve cornstarch in vegetable juice and add to soup pot along with remaining coffee. If needed add water or more vegetable juice to cover pot contents. Cook over medium heat until everything is tender about 30 more minutes.

Corn Bread
1 C yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 C flour
3/4 C sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 C milk
2 eggs
1/4 C oil

Combine everything and mix well, pour into greased muffin tins or a greased loaf pan. Bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

For more great recipes check out Tuesdays at the Table and Tasty Tuesday

Menu Plan Monday

I did really well on following my menu last week. I only made a few changes:

I switched days on one dinner

I changed the Chicken Wraps/Pasta Salad to Southwestern Corn Chowder because it was cold and we needed a hot dinner.

They did not have any plain frozen broccoli at the grocery store so I switched a Broccoli Casserole into Broccoli with Cheese....they had that frozen at the store.

All dinner recipes will be posted as the week goes on. Breakfast and lunch recipes are from The $5 Dinner Mom Breakfast and Lunch Cookbook.

Monday-
Marinated Steak
Rice Pilaf
Veggie from fridge

Tuesday-
B
Maple Pecan Oatmeal
L
Tuna Parmesan Sandwiches
Green Salad
D
Chicken and Rice Soup
Green Salad
Sourdough Bread

Wednesday-
B
Huevos Rancheros
Fruit
L
Thyme Chicken Noodle Soup
D
Biscuits and Gravy
Scrambled Eggs
Fruit

Thursday-
B
Buttermilk Waffles
Fruit
L
Minestrone Pasta Salad
D
Vegetable Soup
Cornbread

Friday-
B
Potato, Egg and Cheese Breakfast Tacos
Fruit
L
Grilled Cheese
Tomato Soup
D
Homemade Pizza
Green Salad

Saturday-
B
Banana Nut Oatmeal
Hard Boiled Eggs
L
Twice Baked Fully Loaded Baked Potato Soup
Fruit
D
Shake n Bake Pork Chops
Fried Potatoes
Vegetable from the Fridge

Sunday-
B
Dutch Baby with Blueberry Sauce
L
Cincinnati Style Chili
D
Hamburger Patties
Homemade Potato Wedges
Vegetable from the Fridge

For more wonderful menus join Laura at OrgJunkie for Menu Plan Monday

Happy Homemaker Monday

The weather in my neck of the woods:
It's a bright beautiful morning. 43 degrees right now, high of 65 today.

Things that make me happy:
My daughter

Book I'm reading:
Learn Crochet

What's on my TV today:
America: The Story of us


On the menu for dinner:
Marinated Steak
Rice Pilaf
Collard Greens

On my To Do List:
Work

New Recipe I tried or want to try soon:
I think the best recipe I made this week was Beef Scaloppini

In the craft basket:

Blue and White Scarf

Looking forward to this week:
Watching my dance tonight

No words needed (favorite photo or picture, yours or others you want to share):

 

On my mind:
Getting a lot of homeschooling done this week

Join Sandra at Happy Homemaker Monday
Homeschooling
Laundry

Ham Steaks, Baked Potatoes, and Broccoli with Cheese Sauce

Tonight's dinner was so simple there are basically no recipes....just wanted to get it on the table and go to bed.

Ham Steaks
I just heated these up in a skillet in a little bit of butter.

Baked Potatoes
I make my potatoes by baking them at 300 degrees for 90 minutes.

Broccoli with Cheese Sauce
from the freezer

Southwestern Corn Chowder

This was one of the easiest dinners I have made in a long time. I think it took all of 10 minutes from start to finish. It helped having cooked frozen chicken in the freezer I could just pull out to defrost and use.

Southwestern Corn Chowder

2 (10 oz) cans cheddar cheese soup

Milk as needed

1 ½ C diced cooked chicken

1 (15 oz) can corn

1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies

¼ C salsa

Prepare soup in a pot according to directions using milk. Add chicken, chilies and salsa. Heat and serve.

French Onion Soup and Grilled Cheese

This was a quick and easy dinner. We homeschooled rather late; until 4 and then we went to the 99 cent store to pick up some pantry items. By the time we got home we were all tired and starving. I wanted to stop for take out so bad on the way home...I tried not to look out the car window at all the restaurants we were passing and I kept telling myself I am just not going to give in and eat out.

This soup is loosely based on "real" French Onion Soup. I should really call it I have a lot of onions I need to use before they go bad soup but that just does not sound as good.

French Onion Soup
1 (32 oz) box beef broth
4 lg yellow onions, sliced thin
1/4 C butter
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 C cold water
Parmesan Cheese for garnish

In a large skillet melt butter over medium heat and cook onions until golden and soft. Transfer to a soup pot, add beef broth. Heat over medium heat until broth begins to boil. Dissolve cornstarch in cold water and add to boiling soup. Stir constantly until soup thickens to your preference. Serve.

Grilled Cheese

Just like mashed potatoes and BBQ, my husband is in charge of the grilled cheese in our house. He makes them perfect and it gives me a bit of a rest to have him help. I have no idea how he makes them but I love his grilled cheese.

For more wonderful recipes check out GCC Recipe Swap