All you need is Love & a waffle Iron

This post is dedicated to the loyal reader,

 who is not my Dad. 

Thank you both for the support & encouragement <3. 

I would also like to thank the waffle iron industry for coming so very far.

For Christmas, I bought myself a new waffle iron.

(Farberware, Walmart, $20)

 I can generally produce an edible waffle, & have been known to get pretty creative with them- & lucky for me thanks to a waffle iron & baking mix, it's pretty fool proof......which is why I am so darn good at it! 

But, I digress.

I had an epiphany. Which is a coincidence, because it's also nearly THE epiphany.

We roll quick, cheap & easy around here,

 & try to work smarter, not harder.

Waffles can be easier??

umm.....ya. even fancy. Ney, gourmet even.

For this to make sense, we have to remember back 20 years 

to when I first learned this particular cheat.

Cobbler, topped with white bread! 

& lots of butter & sugar which makes everything better.

= turns out as a beautiful bubbly mess after baking.

To make any delicious stuffed waffle it's as easy as sliced bread.

1.Give your hot waffle iron a good spritz of your 

preferred non-stick spray.

2. Assemble your creation between 2 slices

3.Smash it! 

4. & cook until the done light comes on!

This is easy enough that even small children could do it 

(with close supervision, of course) 

we've been eating lots of egg sammie waffles, which works out because the gangster garage hens have been busy.

which brings me to point 2......

GET THIS EGG COOKER

it's on amazon, which tells you it's revolutionary.

Its' quick, cheap & easy.

Make any kind of little fried egg or baby omelette, & waffle it.

It's literally that easy.

hot roast beef? Yep

Cheese Toasty? Easy

Budget Hot Pocket? Go for it

Creative cooking at its finest.

Dollar Tree Cooking Challenge

So, I recently saw a video (<------- that one) by the

VEGAN ZOMBIE, about shopping the groceries at 

DOLLAR TREE. 

& I know there are several budget meal plans on Pinterest, based products available at Dollar Tree. 

I'll just assume that this is one of the new Facebook challenges, 

& I'm getting ahead of the curve,

 because I'm a fun killer & won't dance outside my car.

For the excitement of it, & because we roll quick, cheap & easy

 I wanted to check it out. 

I was amazed at the selection of things available (coconut oil?!?!), & was surprised at some of the things they didn't have. 

Of course selection will vary by location.

DOLLAR TREE NOT TUNA CASSEROLE

10.5 oz can cream of chicken soup

1/2 C Mayo

1 bag egg noodles (boiled & drained)

1 C Cheddar Cheese 

1 C Milk 

Sprinkle 'O bread crumbs 

In all fairness we already had milk, so I didn't buy theirs, though they have milk available in the refrigerator section. 

Or the bread crumbs. That's just a pantry staple.

Mix it up it your 9x13 & bake at 350 for about 45 minutes, until brown & bubbly  

by all means, drain a can of tuna to add, if you like tuna. I thought I had a better chance of getting the troops to eat it sans tuna. 

I also picked up a frozen steamer bag of peas, because that's what you eat with tuna casserole. 

These are the very same, name brand bags available at any grocery store, & just as tasty!

We also tried the veggie burgers mentioned in the video, with tater tots (last night)- I thought it was ok, but the visible veg chunks in the patties were a flop with the kids.

It's good to have this shopping option available, but buying smaller packages in the long run is usually more expensive. 

If you are just feeding a single person, I can see where this might be a good budget plan, especially if you have access to reasonably priced fresh produce,

 so you aren't living on processed foods 100%

Let's face it, it's just hard to beat Aldi. 

 But I'd make this again in a pinch.

Commodity Cooking with DT

So, if you can remember back to winter-ish, when it was cold........It was suggested that in lieu of the transfer payments, currently known as SNAP benefits or EBT, half of the benefits would be substituted with a box of shelf stable commodities . (Reminder Here)

I'm not sure what the scandal of the week was they were trying to distract us from, but the economics 

of it would cause a giant mess! 

As the benefits circulate they add to the economy- without the added spending, sales would go down, demand would go down, interest rates would have to increase to make up the difference & we'd be in recession city.......not to mention the logistics of delivering these boxes to homes via subscription service.

I digress.

As a quasi unemployed person of late, with babies to feed, I was gifted with 25lbs (had to be! I carried it both ways, uphill in the snow) of food stuff from a lovely organization.  

98% of which was shelf stable(dried beans, rice, cans), then several dozen eggs, a packet of thick sliced USDA turkey, & a 2lb bag of frozen blueberries. 

I didn't not ask, but am under the impression that this commodities box is supposed to make up for the 4th week in the month, where the SNAP/EBT benefits usually can't stretch. 

Either way, we are grateful, which brings us to tonight's dinner.......

Beef Shepard's Pot Pie Family  MRE 

(The Meal, Ready-to-Eat – commonly known as the 

MRE – is a self-contained,

 individual field ration in lightweight packaging bought 

by the United States military for 

its service members for use in combat or other field conditions where organized food 

facilities are not available.)

After emptying the envelope into a large baking dish, I added a can of drained, mixed veg, & topped with a can of instant biscuits (the fluffy kind, peeled apart to double the amount)

Baking at 350 for about 25 minutes until the biscuits were brown & the stuff was heated through

It, surprisingly, received thumbs up from the picky eater.

& as we have a stock of the stuff, this will probably be repeated....

or it would also be delicious as a gravy over mash- 'stew' is used very lightly in this instance.

Delicious Turkey Balls

From www.reference.com

Do Turkeys Have Testicles?

QUICK ANSWER

Male turkeys have testicles located within the body, just above the kidneys. The testicles are bean-shaped and produce testosterone, which contributes to the development of the male reproductive tract, courting behavior and aggressiveness.

continue reading

Just in case you wondering.......but that really has 

nothing to do with this recipe.

These little nuggets are whole 30-ish, paleo-ish, 

but mostly: allergen free, or what is also known as, 

won't poison me. Which I guess is important. 

& as always- they are Quick, Cheap & Easy! 

Because who has time for anything else???

I've recently fallen of the AIP wagon (autoimmune 

protocol diet), & literally spent all of yesterday 

exorcist spewing. So Yuck!

& then because I believe fortune cookies & words of 

wisdom are clearly a sign from G-d, my 

delicious GT'S Gingerade Kombucha spoke to me.

Friends, I love food. I really do, all of it. 

But like a toxic relationship, not all of it loves me.

I also really, really hate cooking in the traditional 

sense of the word.

Delicious Turkey Balls

1lb Ground Meat (that is safe for you)

Sm. Sweet Pot (ato) grated 

2 TBLSP Flour (that is safe for you)

1tsp oil + oil to grease pan

Tonight, I used ground turkey sausage, because 

that's what I had, & coconut flour, because that is 

what I had, & coconut oil, because guess what? 

that's what I had.

1lb of any meat would work, 2 scoops of any flour 

would work & whatever oil you have 

will be excellent choices. 

If you aren't using a safe sausage, then season to 

your taste- salt, pepper, garlic, onion, paprika, chili 

powder - use what you have that is safe 

& delicious for you!

To Do

Combine all ingredients in a bowl & smoosh- a very 

technical term for getting in there with your hand, 

to get everything good & incorporated. 

Lightly grease either a baking sheet, or your new 

Pampered Chef Mini Muffin tin.

Pat mixture into little patty nuggets, or

 fill muffin cups.

I ended up with 24.

Bake at 350 for approximately 45 min (utes)

but keep an eye on them as ovens vary. 

Enjoy! 

I do not receive anything but joy for shamelessly plugging pampered chef. 

But if you are interested in quality cook & baking ware & supporting a 

work-at-home Mama, feel free to check out my dealer:

Pampered Chef Karisma

Cowboy Casserole- Delicious under $5

So we all know that things are better Quick, Cheap & Easy!

& This, Cowboy Casserole, is just that.

I'm now feeding 2 growing boys, one of whom is taller than me (5'7"!) at the ripe old age of 12, it's like feeding an army........& we need enough leftovers for at least one lunch.

For Under $5 you say? Yes.

ALDI

Aldi is my secret for feeding a male heavy family of 5.

If your grocery budget does not run to the Gourmet-

If you want want quality, affordable food-

If you need to feed bottomless pits-

  

Aldi!!

This is warm, & filling 

& I find that it stimulates dinner table conversation

(Cowboys! Native Americans! Hardship! Gun Battles! Oh, my!)

Cowboy Casserole

56 oz canned baked beans, any flavor (2 big cans, or 4 small cans) 

1 box Jiffy corn bread mix

2 eggs

Honey

Spread undrained beans into a 11x13 casserole

Mix jiffy with eggs & good squeeze of honey. Add either the called for milk, or go dairy free & add same measure of water. Mix well.

Spread over beans.

Bake at 415 for about 45 minutes, or until corn bread is set.

That's it. Quick, Cheap & Easy!

ps- you can certainly make your own baked beans, & cornbread from scratch. Absolutely, & for possibly cheaper!

pps- I do not recommend going to any Grocery the weekend before thanksgiving without a big dose of patience & possibly a spiked coffee.  

Banana Breakfast Bundt

The Sun is shinning this morning, the birds are singing, & my windows are cracked!

It's the middle of February.

Nonetheless, it makes me feel just a little better about life, though I am curious to know when winter will actually happen & just how hot of a Mid-western summer we are going to have.

There is something about a sunny Sunday that makes you stop & slow down.

we spend so much of the week running hither & yon.......

Sunday morning, I try to put together a little something special, though it is rarely premeditated & often put together out of necessity, because these Children I live with demand to be feed on a semi-regular basis.

+ I had brown bananas.....

But a bundt? yes.

I shall now reference a movie, that if you have somehow missed, you should watch ASAP

My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Those that have seen it should at the very least be smiling right now,

if you are rolling around on the floor, even better.....

The confusion continues when Maria displays a lovely potted geranium in the bundt.

Which in my mind is the only way to serve a cake with a hole in it.

Banana Breakfast Bundt

1 stick salted butter, softened (salted saves a step, you pick)

1/2 c sugar

4 sm, or 3 med, or 2 lrg bananas

2 eggs

1 c oatmeal, quick or old fashioned

3/4 c ground flax meal

3/4 c fiber powder

1 t baking soda

1 t baking powder

2 t vanilla

3 T cinnamon

3-5 c flour

enough water to make a tacky dough

ps- add nuts if you must.....

   

In a single bowl.......

Cream softened butter with sugar. add mashed bananas (squeeze through clean fingers...). Crack in eggs and mix. keep dumping & mixing........

Grease your bundt well. Spread dough evenly & add to oven. 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.

Oven can be preheated, or not.

*A note on all the added fiber- as we well know dietary fiber helps balance the sugars, & keeps our toilets flushing nicely. *

Holy Moses, life isn't always fair

We've all heard the quip about making plans & G-d laughing.

Sometimes no matter how you plan, & no matter how hard you try, life doesn't always go the way you want it to, & you don't always make it to the promised land.

Take for example, Moses. The poor guy goes through so much, works as the hand of G-d,

gets it together, getting the people out of Egypt.

I mean parting the water, & schlepping all these ungrateful, whiners all over kingdom come.

Getting right up to deliverance, &........nada.

Maybe he didn't always give his best effort.

Maybe he would rather have just stayed in bed.

Maybe he waffled more than we know about confronting pharaoh, I know I would have.

He was promised relief. A reward of a lifetime.

& it just didn't happen.

& that frustrates me to no end.

Life isn't always fair. Sometimes it just doesn't turn out like we wanted, despite our best efforts.

Sometimes, that's the lesson.