Frugal Food Fast: Chi-candy

Every once in a blue, you find a recipe that is easy and tasty to whip up and allows you to have versatility as well.

Chi-candy is one of these recipes.  It's fast, adheres to the Frugal Writer Project Management Criteria, which also applies for recipes.  The original recipe can be traced to Hellman's Mayonnaise, but I've modified it to suit our family's taste.

My friends from a former playgroup called this Chi-candy because our kids would eat up this chicken like it was candy.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup Ranch Dressing
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1-1/4 lbs.)
• 4 tsp. Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs

(The Puerto Rican in me may add Adobo/Sazon to the chicken beforehand, but it's not really necessary.  The chicken comes out that good.)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Combine Ranch Dressing with cheese in medium bowl. 
3. Arrange chicken in baking dish. Evenly top with ranch mixture, then sprinkle with bread crumbs.
4. Bake 20 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.  (If you use more chicken, it may take longer).

For a lower calorie version, you can skip the bread crumbs or use low-fat ranch dressing.  I've also stretched the dressing for 2-3 lbs of chicken.  You cannot burn this thing and the chicken comes out moist and tasty.  This recipe definitely gets two thumbs up because you can cook a lot of chicken fast and dice it up for use in other recipes. 

!Buen provecho!

Making Homemade Goo (or Slime)

Between the recent earthquake and the hurricane, the thought of entertaining kids with no electricity may seem daunting.  However, here's an activity that is easy on the wallet, adheres to the Frugal Writer Project Criteria, and will keep the kids entertained for a good while.

I gratefully acknowledge Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D. for her great post on this subject and the accompanying recipe:


Homemade Goo (or slime)

Ingredients:
1 c water
1 tsp borax
1/2 c Elmer's or school glue (one 4oz bottle)
1/2 c water

Instructions:

1. Mix the first two ingredients in a bowl
2. Mix the next two ingredients in another container, preferably one with a lid, so it can be used as a storage container.  Stir well.
3. Dump the borax-water solution into the glue solution.  You'll be amazed, the stuff starts glooping immediately.
4. Add food coloring if desired. 

Part of the fun is actually having the kids stick their hands in there and mix up the goo.  If the solution is too watery, you can pour off some of the water.  The more the kids play with it, the more goopy it gets!  Store it in an airtight container or ziplock bag so that it does not dry out.

As far as food coloring goes, you can add it to the goo anytime.  We attempted to make a rainbow tie dye version, but eventually, the colors just run together anyway.

This goo will keep for two weeks in a sealed container.  My kids, including my rambunctious boy and his high energy best friend will play with this stuff for at least an hour and making it is part of the fun.  The goo will get into clothes and may not come off right away, but since everything is made of water soluble ingredients it comes out in the wash just fine.    Great for indoor days, when you have no power or when you just need the boys to stop jumping off the couches for a spell.

Frugal Food: English Muffin Pizza and Protein Packed Tuna Melts

You may have read my previous post about doing battle with your kid’s school lunchbox. Here are two great recipes that make great, healthy, filling snacks when your crew comes home hungry:

English Muffin Pizza

Ingredients:
1 Whole Wheat English Muffin, split in half (two pizzas)
1½ T Marinara sauce
½ mozzarella stick

Directions:
Spread the marinara sauce on each muffin half. Grate the mozzarella stick over the pizzas. Note, you can double the recipe (2 English muffins to make 4 pizzas) in order to use the whole stick. (You could grate any mozzarella, but I always have mozzarella sticks on hand to pack in lunches…) Now, place it in your toaster oven or convection oven or broiler and heat through until the cheese is melted.

I started doing this with bagels, but when I realized that I could buy English muffins for cheaper and that the muffins had less calories, I made the switch. My son devours these! DO NOT microwave these. It is faster, but the bread will get rubbery.


Protein Packed Tuna Melts (4 sandwiches)

1 can Tuna packed in water, drained
1 can Sardines, drained
1 T Ranch Dressing (or Mayo)
1 t Season All Spice (or our family favorite, Adobo, a traditional Spanish spice)
8 slices Whole Grain Bread
4 Cheddar Cheese slices (the real stuff, not the processed cheese food)

Combine the first four ingredients together in a bowl and mix well. Be sure to break up the sardines to disguise them! Spread the mix on a slice of bread and top with cheese slice. Top with another slice of bread and place in your sandwich maker or Panini grill. I actually use my George Foreman grill. If you don’t have any of these, you can go old school and just grill it in a pan spritzed with cooking spray. Use a plate to press the sandwich and repeat after flipping the sandwich with a spatula.
Many thanks to Missy Chase Lapine, The Sneaky Chef, for the idea of adding the sardines. Mixed in with the tuna, it is a great way to boost protein intake and Omega 3 fatty acids and it only subtly affects the taste.

If you are watching calories, you can use less filling or half a slice of cheese for each sandwich.

I enjoy eating these quick meals just as much as my kids do after a long day at school!

This post originally appeared in Maribel's Frugal Families blog for Chesapeake Family in October 2010.

Make Your Own Microwave Popcorn

I love a good deal and it’s even better when it involves healthier eating and improving the environment. But when my hubby suggested popping popcorn in a regular paper lunch bag, I was skeptical. He’d read a tip online and decided to give it a try.

Armed with regular popping corn and paper bags, we did our first test run. The first time, he used 2 tablespoons of corn. Expecting the bag to be bigger, we kept letting it pop until we realized it went too long. Although the popcorn was approaching the “cooked too long” phase, there were not too many kernels left unpopped. For Round 2, we used half a cup of popping corn and it came out great. In our excitement, we just watched the microwave and added minutes as needed until the popping slowed down. We forgot to keep track, but it was probably 4 minutes and change.

Hubby salted the popcorn in a bowl to taste and we ate it without butter. It was pretty good. Unlike the prepackaged microwave popcorn, there are no extra ingredients. Even the light popcorn contains partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Not only is it healthier than the prepackaged popcorn, it’s a lot cheaper after the initial $3 investment of paper bags and popping corn. Additionally, all the packaging is biodegradable. There you have it, a triple win – cheaper, healthier and greener!

For safety, you may want to add butter to the bag or spray with cooking spray before microwaving, since overheated paper could otherwise catch on fire.

Now, you can enjoy healthy snacking convenience and save a buck and the planet too!

Feel free to try out this tip and post your comments here. If you have any other cheap and healthy snacking ideas, please share!

This article first appeared as a post in Maribel's Frugal Families Blog at Chesapeake Family in September 2010.

My Top 4 Christmas Cookie Recipes

Those of you who know me know that I can cook as long as the recipe doesn't involve too many steps or ingredients.  The following are my Frugal Writer tested recipes that are pleasing to the pocketbook, easy to make and yummy too.  If you are counting calories, well, uh, just eat less.

My oldest elf dusting the Easy Chocolate Truffles

The Fab Four criteria for making this list:

• 5 non-exotic ingredients or less
• easy to do in 5 steps or less
• awesome tasting
• can be done with or around kids

So here goes....  

1. Fake Thin Mints
2. Easy Chocolate Truffles (thank you Kraft!)
3. Saltine Cracker Brittle
4. Reindeer Chow - aka Chow Mein Cookies

Even with only two more days 'til Christmas, you can whip up a batch of these cookies and look like a champ in the kitchen.

For fun, let's have a virtual cookie exchange!  Post a recipe here or or add your link to a recipe that adheres to the Fab Four criteria.

Merry Christmas and Happy Baking!

Fake Thin Mints

This is the easiest Christmas cookie recipe that I know of.  Many thanks to my sister for sharing it with me.  One Christmas a few years ago, she had me close my eyes and open my mouth.  When I bit into this delightful confection, I thought she had placed an order with the Girl Scouts.  When she told me that she made these herself, I started to drool.  The recipe is so easy, it's a crime.  I'm pleased to share it here with you. 

This cookie has since become a staple in our house for spreading Christmas cheer at cookie swaps, gift giving and just noshing right out of the freezer.  If I can make these while carrying a baby and having two young assistants help me out, anyone can make them.

Ingredients:
2-3 sleeves of Ritz Crackers (or the off-brand of butter crackers)
1 bag of Andes Candy Mints (or the Baking Chips)

Directions:

1. If using the individually wrapped candies, unwrap and roughly chop them.
2. Using a double boiler (or a metal bowl over a saucepan with simmering water), melt the chocolate slowly, stirring occasionally.
3. Once the chocolate has melted, dip the cracker and shake off excess chocolate.
4. Place chocolate covered crackers on a baking sheet covered with wax paper to cool.
5. For faster cooling, place baking sheet in the refrigerator to set chocolate.

This will make about 6 dozen cookies.

These knock offs don't look exactly like Thin Mints, but they taste pretty close and are a cinch to make!  Store a bunch in the freezer and you have a delectable treat ready in a pinch.

This year is the first year I tried the cookies using the Andes Candies and they worked great.  Previously, I used the Wilton mint chocolate melting wafers.  While you can use a Michael's coupon and get a bag at a discount during the holidays, the Andes candies are more readily available and less expensive.  ALDI has a great knock-off of Ritz crackers and carries the Andes baking chips on seasonal clearance during Christmas.

Quick and Easy Snacks: Muddy Buddies

I may not be original, but I sure know how to find and use great ideas that are already out there.  If you are struggling with a neat snack idea for a potluck, the kids or a quick playdate, look no further.
 
Chex® Muddy Buddies® from Chex.com - Home of General Mills' Chex Cereals and the Original Chex Party Mix

9	cups Rice Chex®, Corn Chex® or Chocolate Chex® cereal (or combination)
1	cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2	cup peanut butter
1/4	cup butter or margarine
1	teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2	cups powdered sugar

1. Measure out cereal and put in a large bowl with lid or plastic bag
2. Melt chips, peanut butter and butter in microwave safe bowl for a minute or two.
3. Stir it smooth and add the vanilla.
4. Pour mixture in the large bowl with the cereal and shake it up until covered.
5. Add powdered sugar and shake well again.  Spread on waxed paper to cool and store in an airtight container.


OK, the recipe does have 6 ingredients, one more than my requisite 5, but it's so easy to make this and the kids can help and have fun with it.  Also, I get my rice/corn square cereal from ALDI, saving a tidy bundle in the process with no coupons.

If there are peanut allergy issues, use butterscotch chips instead.