Category Archives: In my kitchen

recipes, tips,and knowledge gleaned over years of preparing thousands of meals

Banana pudding recipe

Posted on 07/24/2013 | 7 comments

This recipe is very simple to make, it is a favorite in our family.

You will need:

2–5 oz pkgs of instant vanilla pudding mix
4 cups of cold milk
1-14oz can of sweetened condensed milk
1-12 oz container of frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 pkg of vanilla wafers
4-5 large bananas

First add your pudding mix to a large mixing bowl
Next, add your milk You can whisk or use your beater to mix it well. Add your can of sweetened condensed milk Mix again Add your whipped topping and mix Slice up all those bananas In your serving bowl add a layer of cookies Then a layer of bananas Cover with about 1/2 of your pudding mixture Layer again………cookies bananas…… and then the rest of your pudding. Add vanilla wafers to the top of it.

My husbands favorite dessert!!!

7 Comments

Posted in desserts, In my kitchen

Tagged desserts, kitchen, recipes

A meal for $.50 a serving that tastes great!!! sausage, beans and rice recipe

Posted on 07/09/2013 | 9 comments

This meal is super easy to make and tastes delicious. At about $.50 a serving not bad for a quick meal.

You will need the following to make sausage, beans, and rice

pkg smoked sausage
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans chilli beans
2 -8oz cans of tomato sauce
2 lb package of rice

these spices are extra if you cannot afford them leave them out but if you have them, they enhance the flavor immensely.

1/2 chopped onion
2 stalks celery diced
a teaspoon of each basil and oregano

First take your smoked sausage.

Cut it into chunks and then place it in your skillet over medium heat.

Time for flavoring. You can cut up half an onion and add to skillet.
Dice up 2 stalks of celery and add to your skillet.

Continue cooking over medium heat until your vegetables are soften.

While that is simmering, you can make your rice. We usually eat brown rice, we have 5 gallon buckets full in the basement. But we were given this rice and decided to use it, was very good with the meal. We mixed up the whole bag according to package directions. The secret to non sticky rice is to not stir it once it is boiling. Do a quick stir when first mixing it with water and then after that just put the lid on to simmer and leave it alone until serving time. After the meat and veges are cooked, add your 2 cans of diced tomatoes, 2 cans of chilli beans, and 2-8oz cans of tomato sauce.

I like to add a teaspoon of oregano and basil, but skip this step if you do not have it.
Stir until combined and continue cooking over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Serve over rice–delicious.

This recipe is enough for two meals for our family. You can freeze the sausage, beans and tomatoes mixture if you were not able to eat all of it at a time.

bag of rice $1

sausage $4

2 cans diced tomatoes $2

2 cans chilli beans $2

2 cans tomato sauce $1

total cost about $10

total servings 20

cost per serving $.50

9 Comments

Posted in casseroles, In my kitchen

Tagged frugal, kitchen

Beef stroganoff in the crockpot recipe

Posted on 07/05/2013 | 8 comments

This is a quick and easy recipe that uses up leftover roast. We make it in the crockpot to avoid “heating up the house” in the warm summer.

In crockpot, add about 1 lb shredded chopped leftover roast. Cover meat with water, add beef bouillon to taste– about 1-2 T,one chopped onion, and 2 cans cream of mushroom soup.

Mix together, then add 1-16 oz container of sour cream.

Cook 2 pkg wide curly ribbon noodles till almost but not quite done. Add to crockpot, then turn on low for 2 hours.

Very simple easy summer meal.

8 Comments

Posted in casseroles, In my kitchen

Tagged crockpot, easy, kitchen, recipes

Club sandwiches

Posted on 07/05/2013 | 1 comment

This has become one of our families favorite sandwiches to make and take on the go. Simple and easy to make.

You will need the following ingredients: (amounts depend on how many you want to make)

* Bread, toasted
* Miracle whip
* Turkey or chicken lunch meat
* Cheese slices or we use shredded cheese
* Pickles
* Turkey bacon, cooked
* Tomatoes if in season

My daughter, who is the club sandwich maker in our household makes them as follows:

First start with layer of toasted bread, spread with miracle whip and topped with lunch meat.

Next add cheese

Top with another layer of toasted bread and miracle whip

Cut a slice of bacon into 3 sections and place on next

Top with lettuce

Sliced pickles

Lastly top with another slice of bread, toasted, with miracle whip.

Yummy. We pack these for an easy lunch after church.

1 Comment

Posted in In my kitchen, sandwiches

Tagged kitchen, sandwiches

Easy strawberry freezer jam lower sugar recipe

Posted on 07/04/2013 | 7 comments

I love to can and freeze foods. Some see it as more work to be done, I see it as a challenge I am willing to do. It gives me a sense of accomplishment to see all of the rows of jars on the countertop. Also knowing that I am preparing nutritious foods that do not contain high fructrose corn syrup or any other perservative for my children.

We eat many peanut butter and jam sandwiches around here. Most everyday for lunch that is what we have. We make a very simple, low sugar, homemade freezer jam that my children love.

We had a good time picking strawberries yesterday. Every year I think to myself, “Why am I doing this?” because it can get a little frazzled at times, but I know that we are creating memories that my children will always remember.

Our adventure included these little facts:

we were there for 3 hours
took 3 potty breaks to the van
2 snack breaks
the 3 and 4 year old grew tired of picking and decided to pick the newly planted strawberry plants
the 3 year old boy, decided to use the bathroom right out in the open field.
the 2 year old, stumbled twice on the box of picked berries, resulting in smashed ones
the baby was stained red as he was enjoying eating out of the boxes we had already picked.
We picked 4 flats of berries, not bad considering we had a 1,2,3,4,6,8,12, and 15 year old

We had a good time, and had a nice fellowship day with another family. We came home and threw in a dvd and watched a show while we hulled the strawberries.

Easy strawberry freezer jam recipe

measure 5 cups of berries into your food processor or blender.

Add 3 cups of raw sugar—that is all we use and find that the taste is sufficient for our family. pulse until mixed

Pour into a large container.

In small saucepan boil 3/4 cups of water and a package of pectin. we use the bulk package so we measure out 1/3 cup of pectin. Boil this for 2 minutes, whisking quite rapidly.

Mix into your pureed strawberry mixture.

pour into plastic containers and cover. Let sit for 24 hours on countertop.

Set in freezer and you have a nice supply for the next coming year. We did 47 pints of jam this year.

This is also good over yogurt, on homemade waffles or on popovers.

7 Comments

Posted in In my kitchen, preserving

Tagged kitchen, low sugar, preserving, strawberry