Search Results for: blog thanksgiving meatloaf

Thanksgiving Recipes: Soda Pop Turkey

Coke is it when it comes to sweetening your bird this Thanksgiving. Sprite will work too, if you follow the recipe below. A week from today most of us will be gorging ourselves on turkey and all the fixings, but before we gather around the dining room table someone has to cook the Thanksgiving bird. If you are reading this blog, that “someone” is probably you. Of course, not everyone will be creating a Thanksgiving feast for dozens of extended family members. Some clans celebrate the holiday with an intimate gathering of just a few very close loved ones. In … Continue reading →

Thanksgiving Recipes: Cranberry Desserts

If your Thanksgiving Day feast is side dish heavy and you decide to pass on the traditional cranberry sauce, but you still want to get a healthy dose of Vitamin C, then consider the following recipes. Both feature fresh cranberries in mouthwatering desserts. The tartness of the plump cranberries perfectly complements the sweetness of these Thanksgiving-themed treats. If you decide to forgo these cranberry desserts on Turkey Day, save the recipes and make them on Christmas instead. The bright crimson berries bring a festive touch to any holiday buffet table. CHILLED CRANBERRY DESSSERT Ingredients: 3 cups fresh cranberries 1 1/2 … Continue reading →

Thanksgiving Recipes: Kicked Up Cranberry Dishes

What do you get when you combine fresh cranberries with persimmons, pecans and oranges? Not your grandma’s old-fashioned cranberry sauce. If you are looking for jazzed up versions of this Thanksgiving classic, you’ve come to the right place. You can’t have a Turkey Day feast without cranberries, so why not try something new this year? The following recipes pay homage to fresh cranberries in ways that will win over your pickiest holiday eaters. FRESH CRANBERRY AND PERSIMMON SAUCE Ingredients: 1 cup chopped onion (1 medium) 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tablespoon olive oil or cooking oil 1 12-oz. bag fresh … Continue reading →

Autumn Recipes: Apple and Cranberry Meatloaf

Meatloaf is my friend. If you parent a picky eater then you can surely relate. Meatloaf can disguise a multitude of ingredients that less than adventurous eaters wouldn’t typically touch with a 10-foot pole. Personally, I look at meatloaf like a sponge. It happily absorbs just about any ingredient and dulls its flavors enough so that you know you are eating something other than meat, but you can’t always identify exactly what that “other” item might be. Which makes it the ideal vehicle to sneak in fruits and vegetables your kids might not normally eat without bribes of chocolate chip … Continue reading →

Home Blog Month in Review: August

Did you have a good month? We seem to have packed an entire summer’s worth of activities in this past month. Now, it seems, it is back to school and time to get ready for autumn. Still, it is nice to look back toward warm sands and wearing shorts even as we will soon be crunching leaves and taking out the sweaters. August 1st Getting Out Grass Stains With summer in full swing, chances are that your family has been playing outdoors quite a bit. And with all of that outdoor play comes the grass stains, especially if you are … Continue reading →

Shopping List and Tidbits for the Food Blog: April 7 through April 13

The food blog has been busy, busy, busy this week thanks to the excellent ideas and recipes contributed by our very own frugal blogger, Mary Ann Romans. Keep reading for fabulous ideas in the kitchen, new food trends, and of course, you can always print out your shopping list full of ingredients! Tidbits March was National Pasta Month. However, as you may well know, March was also the month of the blogger hiatus. So National Pasta Month got celebrated with a quiz last week and this week I have posted the Answers to the Noodle Quiz. Are you familiar with … Continue reading →

Thanksgiving Meat Loaf

Want something yummy? You don’t have to wait until Thanksgiving for this great meatloaf recipe. Thanksgiving meat loaf is one of my family’s favorite meals. In fact, it is the favorite meal of my five-year-old. He always gets so excited when I make it. This is a very frugal meal, especially if you buy the ground turkey when it is on sale. The stuffing stretches out the meal and keeps the meat loaf moist, at the same time. Plus the ground turkey is much leaner than beef. Of course, adding the cheddar cheese may very well cancel that benefit right … Continue reading →

Eliminate Food Waste: You Can Eat These

Eliminate food waste by taking advantage of good food that is commonly thrown away. Get some valuable nutrition and save money on your food bill. Here is how. Almost-Expired Eggs Most eggs will last for at least a few days past their expiration date, but if you don’t want to take a chance, try this trick. Boil almost-expired eggs. The hard-boiled eggs can be used as snacks, turned into egg salad, or used to pump up the nutrients in a green salad. Broccoli Stems We buy a lot of fresh broccoli in this house because it is inexpensive, and the … Continue reading →

Forget the Fiscal Cliff; It is the Dairy Cliff that Will Get Me

We are all are more than a bit concerned about the approaching fiscal cliff, but what about the dairy cliff? That is the one that I think is going to get us. We go through about three gallons of milk each week, along with about 20 cups of yogurt and a pound of butter (sometimes more). I haven’t even mentioned cheese, yet. It has its own overflowing bin in the refrigerator. No, I’m not raising sumo wrestlers, just kids who are active and happen to take their own lunch and snacks to school each day. Lest you think that we … Continue reading →

Frugal Family Meal Ideas

Whether you are cooking from your pantry or just trying to knock down your food budget, it helps to have an arsenal of some great frugal family meal ideas. And while beans can certainly be part of your recipe book, it doesn’t have to be the main part. Here are my favorite ideas for frugal family meals that both the kids and your wallet will love. Kids love pasta. That is a given. So one of my favorite frugal family meals uses it, but with a twist. Everyone enjoys eating this slightly more sophisticated (notice I said slightly) and much … Continue reading →