Quick and Easy!

Hello Everyone! Sorry I missed a post last week but school has kept me very busy, but that didn't keep me from cooking.  Continuing along with the budget meal planning, I have cooked about four-five recipes a week (depending on my schedule). Some of the recipes include a few of my favorite snacks and easy dinners.  This week before doing our weekly grocery trip my mom downloaded a free Wal-Mart app called "Wal-Mart's Savings Catcher".  Basically you link your receipts to the app and it will let you know if there is a lower price for the items you bought.  If there are lower prices elsewhere, it will give you the difference back.  It is worth a try!

 

One of the recipes I chose this week was for quesadillas.  They are simple and SO good.  My sister would consider this one of her favorite recipes.  Although my brother does not enjoy it because it has peppers in it.  So be careful with picky eaters ;)  I can not seem to find the link to the recipe, but all it takes is a few tortillas filled with sweet peppers, onion, Serrano pepper, and cheese. 

 

 

Along with the quesadillas, I made a Pico de Gallo salsa and homemade guacamole out of fresh avocados from the farmer's market.  My parents have always liked the Pico de Gallo and guacamole from Chipotle so I decided to try it myself!  It turned out delicious but you have to be careful when storing the guacamole because it will brown if left open.  Here is the recipe for the Pico de Gallo: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pico-de-gallo/ and here is the recipe for the guacamole: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/perfect_guacamole/.

 

The next quick and budget friendly recipe this week was for what I call "chicken melts".  It is basically chicken, cheese, and pasta sauce on frozen garlic bread.  The recipe also calls for fresh basil but my family does not enjoy that so I decided to leave it off. 

 

 

Here is the finished product of the chicken melts.  It is perfect with a side salad!

 

Chicken Pot Pie is probably my sister, Rebecca's, favorite recipe.  I have tried the mini pot pies but had never tried making a large chicken pot pie.  The recipe I found was from AllRecipes.com. Again very easy and very delicious.  My dad said it was "exceptional".  :)  Here is the recipe for the chicken pot pie: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicken-Pot-Pie-I/Detail.aspx?evt19=1.

 

 

The last dinner recipe I am highlighting this week is for a Chorizo and Potato Frittata.  If the name is that fun to say it must be good!  When looking for budget cooking recipes, this one appeared and my mom stopped and told me I had to cook it!  It is perfect for dinner or a breakfast casserole.  I am not a big egg person and even I liked it.  Here is the recipe for the frittata: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/chorizo-potato-frittata-10000001892143/. 

 

 

Another set of recipes I tried were for some of our favorite snack ideas.  For example, this recipe is perfect for an after school snack.  My mom found this recipe on Pinterest and it is as easy as it looks.  All you have to do is slice the apples - red or green, spread them with peanut butter, dip in granola, and drizzle with chocolate!  My siblings really enjoyed them and would definitely eat them again.

 

 

This next recipe is for cookies called swig cookies.  They are sugar cookies with a unique twist.  You have not experienced true happiness until you have tried this recipe.  Trust me you will want to try it.  The idea of this recipe is that the cookies are kept cold and the frosting is kept at room temperature. Do Not overcook!!  All I can say is try them...  Here is the recipe for the cookies: http://therecipecritic.com/2014/06/swig-sugar-cookies/.

 

Oh, and this is one of Izzy's favorite recipes too. :)

Last but not least, August 20th was national lemonade day.  How could we not celebrate it?  I chose a recipe from Paula Dean's website.  Here is the link to the lemonade: http://www.pauladeen.com/recipes/recipe_view/lemonade/.

 

 

That is it for this week.  I hope you enjoyed my recipes this week and try them for yourself! (especially the swig cookies...seriously though)  Come back next week to see what is cooking!

 

Don't forget to check out my Etsy at Izzabeles Creations! I just recently lowered the prices on some of my tutus as I prepare to unveil some new styles!  Just in time for the holidays! 

 

 

 

 

Pasta Night!

This week will be my first full week in school, so I decided to pick a few weeks worth of recipes that would be easy to make and wouldn't require a lot of ingredients.  I am also on a mission to help the family grocery bill and learn for future reference when I am on my own, to save as much money as possible through couponing and deal searching.  It is still being perfected but when I have mastered it I will definitely share.  This week we shaved off about 1/3 of our weekly grocery amount for two weeks worth of meals with mostly add comparison and store card advantages and some coupons. It is a process, but I think its worth it in the end!
 

 My family LOVES pasta, bread, etc., so this week I chose a few Italian pasta recipes.  The first recipe I made was Homemade Tomato Basil spaghetti that I found at the Phoenix Farmers Market. (Ironically it was also National Farmers Market Week! I hope you have a chance now and then to get out and support your local growers and vendors. Fresh/handmade is best!!) The lady that sold it to me, gave me multiple recipes that I could use to make the spaghetti, but I chose to just boil the spaghetti and top it with some brown butter and parmesan for the sake of time, and try those recipes later.  It was delicious!!  I am someday hoping to get the spaghetti attachment for my "can't live without" Kitchen Aid Mixer so that I, too, can make homemade spaghetti! Here is the end result for the spaghetti.

 

Another item I found at the Phoenix Farmers Market was this homemade garlic bread. It was from the Jewish bakery.  It was a perfect side dish for our pasta!

 

The next recipe I made was a Baked Ziti.  It was made like a lasagna with multiple different layers.  It is very easy to make and takes very little time.  I found this recipe on allrecipes.com under their list of budget cooking.  Of course it is perfect for my week of budget recipes!  Leftovers are also perfect for lunches the next day.  Here is the link to the Baked Ziti: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Baked-Ziti-I/Detail.aspx?evt19=1.

 

 Here is the final product!  I dished it out and topped it with shredded cheese.

The next recipe would definitely be my brother's favorite! Chili Mac.  I would say that it is probably not as good as Steak and Shake's (one of our Midwest favorite restaurants) chili mac but it is a close second!  The reason my brother loves this recipe is because it has no beans. Of course if your family prefers beans, you can add them in.  Here is the recipe for the Chili Mac: http://www.bunsinmyoven.com/2014/05/12/chili-mac/.

The last recipe for this week is for Hand pies!  My mom had heard about a local place that made hand pies and wanted to try them.  The place is called AZ Food Crafters located in Chandler and it has a variety of different sweet and savory hand pies and they are delicious!  We bought an assortment of the sweet hand pies to try.  Here is the link the AZ Food Crafters website: http://www.bakedhandpies.com/about.html.

After tasting the hand pies we bought I decided to try making my own.  I made Caramel-Pecan hand pies.  The recipe I found was on thecafesucrefarine.com.  The recipe made quite a few too many pies for my family, so make your own judgment on how many to make for your family.  They are very good and I would definitely recommended them if you aren't lucky enough to have a local bakery like we have!  Here is the recipe for the hand pies: http://thecafesucrefarine.com/2011/10/caramel-pecan-hand-pies/.

 

Here is the final product!  My family compared them also, to store bought hand pies and agreed that mine were the best.  They were definitely more healthier!

 

 

That is it for this week!  I hope you enjoyed my recipes and plan on trying some of them yourself. Next week I will be posting some more budget friendly recipes and farmers market finds!  Thanks for reading and check out my blog next week!

 

Don't forget to check out my Etsy and look for new items!  I will be posting some new headbands hopefully in the next few weeks!  Here is the link to my Etsy business: https://www.etsy.com/shop/IzzabelesCreations.  This dog tutu is perfect for the upcoming holidays including Halloween!  Check it out!

 

Home Sweet Home

I'm back!  You may have read last weeks blog post where I mentioned that I would be going on vacation and that this post may be a little late.  I took a trip with my family back to my hometown in Illinois last week where I visited my friends and family! It was a long flight but it was well worth it! 

 

 

If you don't already know Illinois is 90% farmland, which means a large portion of the people that live there are farmers! I look up to my grandpa, who loves to garden, and wish that my corn in my garden would be as good as his!  My grandpa shares a garden in his sister's backyard full of lots of fresh fruits and veggies.  While I was there I made sure to visit the garden multiple times.  The picture on the left is from the corn at the garden and the picture on the right is from great grandpas farm where my dad's cousin now lives with his family.

 

Another one of my grandpa's delicious vegetables are his tomatoes.  He always has so many tomatoes that he puts some out on the side of the road to share with others for free!  The best way to eat them are to slice them and add a little bit of salt.  Of course they also taste good on sandwiches, too!

 

He also grows acorn squash out at his garden! I have never really experimented with squash, but I am sure you can create lots of healthy and delicious recipes with them! My dad likes it with garlic salt and butter and grandpa likes it with butter and brown sugar.  Fresh cucumbers are my sister's favorite of grandpa's veggies.  My dad and I love when my grandma creates her special cucumbers!  For her special cucumbers she adds mayonnaise, sour cream, dill seasoning, and garlic salt.  They are delicious!

 

Here is my grandpa's fabulous sweet corn! He was not sure if he would have some when we came but he was able to put together a pile full of fresh corn!

 

 

While we were in Illinois we also decided to visit a few of our favorite restaurants and Lou's Drive-In was on the top of our list.  My mom used to go to Lou's when she was a kid so it is very special to us.  They are well known for their onion rings and hotdogs, so of course that is what we got: onion rings and hotdogs. I can't wait to go back again!

 

 

 

Since I did not get a lot of time to cook with my grandma, which we had hoped to do, I made it my goal to try and cook some of her recipes.  So as soon as I got home I cooked her noodle recipe, also known as "Nonni Noodles".  It is thin spaghetti boiled in chicken broth.  It was good, but not as good as hers!  

Another recipe I cooked of hers was her peach pie. She cooked it twice for us while we were there, but the first time I did not get a piece so she cooked it for me again and I made sure to get a piece.  This recipe called for 5 yellow peaches but I accidentally bought white peaches!  Lucky mistake though because it tasted just as good as the yellow peaches! My grandma's recipe for her peach pie is:

 

Ingredients: 1 cup of Sugar

1 cup of Water

3 T. Cornstarch

Baked Pie Shell 

1 package of Peach Jell-O

5 sliced (white or yellow) Peaches

1 package of Cool Whip or Whipped Cream

Directions: Cook water, sugar, and cornstarch till thick, stirring well.  Remove from heat and add Jell-O.  Cool.  Pour over sliced peaches.  Mix well and place into baked pie shell.  Refrigerate. Top with cream.

 

 Finally, the last recipe I will share this week is a National Day recipe.  August 6 was National Root Beer Float Day...how could we not celebrate?  We bought regular vanilla bean ice cream and Jones Soda Root beer and BABAM! A root beer Float. My family really enjoyed them!

 

 

That is it for this week!  I really enjoyed going back to Illinois to visit so many people, but eventually I had to come home!  I especially enjoyed the time I got to spend with my grandparents.  I always love to cook with my grandma and love seeing everything my grandpa has grown in his garden.  Hopefully, next time they will come visit me and we can cook up something else! ;) But now that I am home, I am back in school so I am hoping to feature some of my back to school recipes in the upcoming weeks!  So come back next week to see what is cooking! See you later!

 

Don't forget to check out my Etsy business for headbands and puppy tutus!  Here is the link: https://www.etsy.com/shop/IzzabelesCreations.  Also my Little Izzy is entered in a local contest called the "Dog Days of Summer".  I would love if you would vote for her in the Best Dressed Category.  Feel free to vote as many times as you want! ;) Here is the link to the contest: http://www.arizonafoothillsmagazine.com/dog-days-of-summer-2014/voting/176.