Skip to main content

Recipes - Inexpensive and Healthy

I made some really cool goodies this past Sunday and I wanted to share the recipes with you guys. These are very healthy and inexpensive options.

Granola

Ingredients:

9 oz rolled oats (old fashioned, half of small canister) = $.62 ($1.24 for an 18 oz container)

3 oz raisins (2 snack boxes) =
$.27 ($1.08 a pack/8 in a pack)

4 oz banana chips =
$1.10

4 oz dried fruit =
$1.64

4 tsp brown sugar


3 sprinkles of cinnamon


honey


Total = $3.63
(approximate)


Directions:
Mix all ingredients, minus the honey, in a bowl. Spread mixture on flat baking pan so that it is evenly spread out. Drizzle about 2 tbsp of honey on top of mix.


Place pan in 300 degree oven for 30 minutes. Halfway through the bake time mix the granola up so that all of it gets toasted. Final product:



Omg, this stuff is addictive. The batch I made should last me 1 to 2 weeks. I have mine stored in a tin canister. This stuff is great as a cereal, over ice cream, with yogurt, with fresh fruit, or just by itself. I took some to work and coworkers loved it. One even wants me to make some for her.............I gave her the recipe instead. :-)


Tortilla Chips

Ingredients:

6 corn tortillas = $.23 ($1.36 for a package of 36)

Fat free cooking spray

herbs (whatever combination you like) = I used, parsley, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, and onion powder.


Total = $.23 (approximate)




Directions: Layer all 6 tortillas on top of each other. Using a knife or pizza wheel cut the tortillas into 4 sections. Spray flat baking pan with cooking spray. Lay out tortillas pieces on baking sheet.

Spray cooking spray over tortillas. Dust tortillas with herbs. Put as much as you like (skip the salt if you can). Spray tortillas again. Place in 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until done.

Enjoy!!


And a closer look:



Man I am good. These chips are delicious. The tortillas I used are 50 calories and less than 1 gram of fat per tortilla. You can eat these with about anything you do with regular chips. I am going to have mine with some salsa I made tomorrow at work for lunch. I tried it with some roasted pepper hummus I had and it was GOOD.

Here are some cool cooking tips:


* Opt for the toaster oven or conventional oven with heating up frozen dinners. It only takes an extra 10 minutes than using the microwave and trust me when I say the food comes out a lot better and tastier. Frozen dinners can usually just pop out of the cardboard container. Just take it out and place it in an aluminum foil baking pan (cheap and reusable) or take some foil and place it into a regular baking pan and put the frozen dinner on top of the foil (easier clean up). Place the food into the toaster oven or oven at 350 for 10-20 minutes (depending on size and type of food). My daughter prefers hers cooked this way. She says it makes it taste like I cooked it myself. I took my microwave out of my kitchen and its in my storage closet at the moment. Haven't used it in about a month. Don't plan on using it again.


* Make your own marinades and rubs using natural herbs, vinegar (balsamic, red wine, or rice), brown sugar, or different times of mustard. There are so many combinations out there when it comes to marinades and rubs. Limit your salt.


* Fat-free "tarter sauce":
  • -Fat free or lite creamy salad dressing (I call it fake mayo. Yall know the one I am taking about. If you can't find it use fat free miracle whip. I may not be a smooth consistency as the salad dressing)

  • -Sweet relish
Use 1 part salad dressing to 1/2 part relish. Mix together. Enjoy. (This stuff was good on my crab cake.)


I swear I had more tips but I can't think of any more right now. I'll add them to my next recipe post.


Wanna see what I had for dinner tonight??


Oven-Fried Catfish with Sauteed Kale


Look good don't it?! (Psst......I used wheat flour to "fry" the catfish.)


*My bad on the semi-blurry pics. I whad to use the camera on my cell. I need to get batteries for digi-cam.

Comments

Anonymous said…
You are awesome, Dimples! I am definitely going to get at that granola one!
Anonymous said…
I am definitely going to make the granola! Trader Joe's always has great prices for their dried fruit. Thanxs!

Popular posts from this blog

Home Purchase Plan - How I faired

Back in January I developed my Home Purchase Plan (HPP for short). I listed exactly what I was looking for in my new home including my needs and wants. I printed up my HPP and carried it will me everywhere. I especially took it with me when I went house hunting with my agent. I had a momentary relapse (I'll explain more on that on another post) but got back on track and stuck to my guns. I ended up with a beautiful house that fits all my needs and wants. HOME PURCHASE PLAN The home I want: Price: $0 -> $190,000 $180,000 Ideal Monthly Mortgage (including taxes, PMI, HOA, & hazard) : $1200 (max $1300) $1310 Location: Surrounding Orlando Area Check Bedrooms: 3+ 4 Bathrooms: 2+ 2 Square footage: 1700 s.f. + 1810 sf Year Built: 2000+ 1998 HOA: $100/month max $150/yr NEEDS: * A-rated school district Check * Quick access to major highways Check * Good daycare Check * Nice

My $100 grocery budget and tips for saving on your grocery bill

I did a post back in October on how I kept my grocery budget under $120. In that post, I had pictures of the grocery shopping I had done earlier in the day for a total of $29.76. I also listed a number of ways I keep my grocery budget so low. Today I did some grocery shopping for meat and some other misc items. Here is what I bought: - 2 packages of chicken breasts - 2 packages of drumsticks - 2 whole hens - 2 packages of chicken wings - 1 bag of roma tomatoes - 1 bag of onions - 1 bag of organic baby carrots - 2 gallons of water (not shown) - 1 bottle of bbq sauce Total = $24.90 One big way to save on groceries each month is to package the food you buy into servings sizes. Your serving size depends on how many people are in your family. I separate out my sizes based on how much food my daughter and I consume in one meal. Take for instance drumsticks: My daughter will eat one drumstick while I will eat two. So I package those in threes. I know some folks are visual so here is wh