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A Month of Frugal Recipes Day 3: Chocolate Banana Snack Cake

March 5, 2010 by

Being on a budget doesn’t mean you can’t have dessert, too!  I found this recipe on the Betty Crocker website one day when I was looking for ideas on how I could use up bananas that were past their prime so to speak.  It looked quick, easy, and kid friendly, so we decided to try it out and it became a hit with our family!  I love it because my kids can also help with preparation (one mashes the bananas while the other one mixes the batter and they both get to help put the chocolate chips on top).  Plus, we have all of the “base” ingredients on hand and it keeps that last banana or two from going to waste when they start to get mushy!

Ingredients:
2 very ripe medium bananas
1 1/4 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Place bananas in ungreased 8-inch square pan; mash with fork. Stir in remaining ingredients except chocolate chips. Sprinkle chocolate chips over batter.
2. Bake 35 to 37 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely, about 45 minutes.

1 Serving: Calories 270 (Calories from Fat 100); Total Fat 11g (Saturated Fat 2 1/2g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 210mg; Total Carbohydrate 41g (Dietary Fiber 2g, Sugars 23g); Protein 3g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 0%; Vitamin C 0%; Calcium 0%; Iron 8%

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A Month of Frugal Recipes Day 2: Chicken Tortilla Soup

March 4, 2010 by


This is one of my favorite “from the stockpile” recipes.  It’s a bit spicy on it’s own for my kids, but once we add some sour cream, cheese, and chips, they love it!

Ingredients:
3 cans chicken broth (100% FF)
3 cans cream of chicken soup (98% FF)
3-4 chicken breasts
1 can Rotel
Mrs. Dash original seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

Place chicken breasts in the bottom of the crock pot. Add Mrs. Dash’s seasoning to taste. Add broth and cream of chicken soup, and Rotel. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Shred chicken in crock pot.  You can freeze the leftovers, too!

To serve: (if frozen)

Defrost in refrigerator. Reheat on stove. Serve and top individual bowls with desired toppings (tomatoes, green onions, avocadoes/guacamole, cheese, tortilla chips, sour cream, etc.)

WW points =  3 per serving – this makes a TON of soup (at least 8 servings for my family), the 3 points, of course, does not include any “toppings” such as cheese, sour cream, and chips!

If you have a favorite frugal recipe or recipe from your stockpile that you’d like to share this month, e-mail me about being a guest blogger!

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A Month of Frugal Recipes Day 1: Creamy Corn Chowder

March 2, 2010 by

I promised a month’s worth of recipes from the stockpile and for your budget and this is my first recipe!  The recipe was Creamy Corn Chowder and I found it on Our Best Bites.  All of these ingredients were things that I already had “on hand”  I actually stockpiled Hormel bacon pieces (the ones that come in a jar) awhile ago because I had coupons that tripled and got an amazing deal on them plus they have a long shelf life.  It ends up being way cheaper than bacon and I have used it in many different recipes.  I almost always have a bag of potatoes on hand, too.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. butter (I used I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter)
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. water
2 1/2 c. milk (I used skim milk and it worked just fine)
2 regular-sized chicken bouillon cubes, 1 Knorr chicken bouillon cube, or 2 tsp. chicken base
1/2 lb. bacon (optional, I’m going to use crumbled bacon pieces)
1 onion, minced
2 red potatoes, diced into small cubes
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can corn, drained
Salt and pepper to taste
A few dashes of hot sauce (like Tabasco or Cholula)

Fry bacon until crisp (if you’re using the bacon pieces, you can obviously skip this step!). In the meantime, melt butter over low heat in a soup pot. When melted, add flour to make a roux and whisk until it comes together in a little ball. Add water and whisk until completely combined and there are no lumps. Add milk and chicken base or bouillon and bring to a simmer. Add potatoes, onions, and garlic, and simmer (but don’t boil!), stirring very frequently, for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add crumbled bacon and corn and heat through. Add a few drops of hot sauce and then salt to taste.

Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with extra bacon and/or cheese if you want.

WW points – On the Our Best Bites site, it lists this as being 3 points per serving, but when I put all of the ingredients into the Recipe Builder on WW.com, it came out to 8 points per serving (for 4 servings).   The bulk of that was from the bacon pieces, so you could cut down the points by cutting that.  You would need to add additional points if you add cheese.

This recipe was a hit with my family (even my two year old who has recently decided he doesn’t like anything before he even tries it!).

If you have a favorite frugal recipe or recipe from your stockpile that you’d like to share this month, e-mail me about being a guest blogger!

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