Frugal Friday!

Here is my entry for this week.

I made a Black Bean soup with mini Corn bread muffins. This time of year is great to throw a pot of soup on. The recipe for the soup is from Pampered Chef. I have enjoyed many of their recipes. I went through a phase where I kept getting invited to parties, then coerced to throw a party, then people would buy stuff from you and book a party... and of course I felt obligated to go there and buy something. So anyway, I have plenty of their gear and recipes. The Corn Bread recipe, I got right off the can of cornmeal. I've tried several and this was the best one by far. And very quick to make also.

Quick Black Bean Chili

1 c chopped onion

1 c coarsely chopped red bell pepper

1 tbsp finely chopped jalapeno

2 tbsp snipped cilantro

1 tsp vegetable oil

2 garlic cloves, pressed

2 cans (15.5 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can (16oz) fat-free refried beans

1 can (14-14.5 oz) vegetable broth

1 tbsp lime juice

1 tsp ground cumin

1. Chop onion, bell pepper and jalapeno pepper.

2. Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, ell pepper, jalapeno pepper and pressed garlic; cook & stir 3 minutes. Add black beans, refried beans, broth, lime juice, and cumin; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes.

3. Remove from heat; stir cilantro into chili. Sprinkle with cheese, if desired.

Easy Corn Bread

1 - 1/4 c all purpose flour

3/4 c Corn Meal

1/4 c sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 c skim milk

1/4 c vegetable oil

2 egg whites, or 1 egg, beaten

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Grease your pan.

3. Combine all dry ingredients. Stir in milk, oil and egg, mixing just until dry ingredients are moistened.

4. Pour batter into prepared pan.

5. Bake 20-25 minutes or until light golden brown and wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. (For the mini muffins, I cooked them 18-20 minutes.)

My first entry to Frugal Friday.

Frugal Friday was established to showcase meals for a family that cost less than $10.00. My meal is very simple. Perhaps with more experience I can get more creative.

I had some Cauliflower leftover from my trip to the Farmer's Market Last week. (I need to start posting my visits again.). I also had broke down and bought a head of Orange Cauliflower at the grocery store because I thought my son would be more inclined to eat it, if it was a neat color.

I made some Cauliflower Soup. It was super easy and tasted wonderful!! I can't remember where I got the recipe from because I searched so many places for one. My husband likes to sprinkle cheese on his soups, but I had mine plain. I think this meal was so inexpensive that the cheese still keeps me under $10.

I also made some bread sticks to go with it. I got this recipe from Gourmet Mom on the Go. They were fantastic. My husband had great compliments for them. It took a small amount of time to do them, but they were made from scratch and tasted perfect. We both had an apple for desert that I got when I went apple picking with Zach a couple of weeks ago.

Simple Cauliflower Soup

1 lb Cauliflower, separated into florets
1 small white onion, thinly sliced
2 tsp of salt (I used 1)
3 cups hot water
2 Tbsp unsalted butter

1. In a heavy pan that has a lid, melt butter over low heat.
2. Add onion and cook gently until softened, not brown, 15 minutes.
3. Add Cauliflower, salt and 1/2 c of water.
4. Raise the heat to medium-low, cover tightly with a lid and cook for 20 minutes.
5. Remove lid, add remaining water and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes more.
6. Leave to cool slightly before blending until super-smooth.
7. Return to the pan to heat before serving, thinning with a little more water if the soup is too tick for your taste.

Ruth's Family Favorite Bread sticks

1.5 c hot water
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c non fat dry milk
1 Tbsp yeast
~3 c flour
1/3 c melted butter

1. Dissolve sugar, salt and dry milk in hot water. Add enough flour ~1c to make a soupy mixture. When the mixture is no longer hot but still warm, add the yeast and stir well.
2. Then add the rest of the flour, enough to form a moderately stiff dough. Knead the dough until smooth.
3. Roll dough into a rectangular shape the size of your baking pan. Spread half of the butter onto the baking pan, then place your dough into the pan and spread the remaining butter on top of the dough.
4. Top the bread sticks with garlic salt, Parmesan cheese, cinnamon sugar, or whatever you want.
5. Cut the dough into bread sticks with a pizza cutter and let raise for 10-15 mins.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 mins. Yum!