Going for Not Broke

Homemade Frozen Dinners I go through spells when I look for new recipes to try, but for now, I'm out of new ones. I've decided to just do regular posts on Friday. I'll do homemade frozen dinner topics whenever I try another recipe or find one I'm interested in trying, or when I have another homemade frozen-dinner related topic. I still welcome recipes from readers who also make their own frozen dinners. Feel free to email the recipe here . Black Friday Sales I've never, never, never thought I'd get out of the house for a Black Friday sale. It's far too much crazy for me. This year, though, I have a couple of gift ideas that are out of reach unless I can get a darn good deal on them. (I can't say what they are because they're for my husband, and he reads this blog.) So, for the first time, this year, I'm going to scour websites and fliers to see if maybe one of them might be on sale this year. Extra Income Next month, I will attend a craft...

I buy frozen cooked veggies because they’re handy to toss into my homemade frozen dinners as a side dish for an entree. If I make chicken, I can just shake some frozen peas, carrots, green beans, corn, etc., into the food container with each individual serving. I’ve decided to quit buying prepackaged frozen veggies, though, because I can get more food for less money if I buy fresh vegetables instead. I’d like to be able to cut up and cook the veggies, then freeze them in a bag, so that just like with the store-bought packages, I can shake out what I need as I need it. The problem, though, is I don’t know how to keep them from freezing together, which they’ll do if I cook them in liquid. So, I decided to try a steamer. I thought that unlike with boiling them, they don’t get dunked in the water, so maybe they’ll remain loose when frozen. So, on my last trip to the grocery store, I bought some carrots, green beans and yellow squash, and I spent a chunk of Saturday cutting up veggies...

My husband and I are both trying to lose weight, and in looking over the foods I've made so far for frozen dinners, I see we're eating a little too high carb. Therefore, for future meals, I'd like to make relatively low-carb foods only. If I do make an entree that is high carb, I plan to pair it with veggies and fruit. I am open to any ideas for low-carb freezable meals, too, so if any readers have a favorite recipe they'd like to pass along, feel free. You can either use the comment field below or email it here , and I'll share it with others.

Here is another recipe I have not yet tried but will in the coming week. Like last week's recipe , this one comes from the Taste of Home Freezer Meals mini-magazine. I'll update with a photo and information on how well it reheats as a frozen dinner once I can. Pizza Noodle Bake 10 ounces uncooked egg noodles 1 1/2 pounds ground beef 1/2 cup finely chopped onion 1/4 cup chopped green pepper 1 jar (14 ounces) pizza sauce 4 ounces shredded cheddar cheese 4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese 1 package (3 1/2 ounces) sliced pepperoni 1. Cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the beef, onion and green pepper over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. 2. Add pizza sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 2-3 minutes or until heated through. Drain noodles. 3. In a greased 13-by-9-inch baking dish, layer half of the noodles, beef mixture, cheeses and pepperoni. Repeat layers. Cover and bake at 350 degr...

This dish is from the Taste of Home Freezer Meals mini-magazine I mentioned in last Friday's post. It was submitted by a reader named Dorothy Wiedeman. I haven't tried it yet, but it's chock-full of ingredients my husband and I both like, so it's on my menu for the upcoming week. I'll post a photo soon. Layered Beef Casserole 6 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced 1 can (15.25 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained 1/2 cup chopped green pepper 1 cup chopped onion 2 cups sliced fresh carrots 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef (90 percent lean) 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce Salt and pepper to taste 1 cup shredded processed cheese (like Velveeta) In a greased 13-by-9-inch baking dish, layer the potatoes, corn, green pepper, onion and carrots. Crumble beef over vegetables. Pour tomato sauce over the top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for two hours or until meat is no longer pink and the dish reaches 160 degrees on a cooking the...

(Sorry, folks, no photo this week. I'll post one as soon as I can.) This is another of my husband's favorite dishes. I found the original recipe in an old issue of Cooking Light magazine a few months ago and modified it, eliminating ingredients my husband wouldn't like and bumping up the quantity of the ingredients he DOES like to keep the dish filling. (In short, I doubt that the recipe as I make it would qualify as "light.") Enchilada Casserole 1 pound ground beef 1 package of taco seasoning 2 (15 ounce) cans of black beans, rinsed and drained 2 cups of shredded reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend 4 (8 inch) flour tortillas Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brown the beef in a large skillet. Add taco seasoning according to package instructions. Stir in beans. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with no-stick spray. Arrange two tortillas on the bottom of the dish to cover the bottom as much as possible. Cover the tortillas with 1/2 of the ground b...

Unlike the other foods I've listed so far, this one takes a while to make and I've never actually frozen this. I make it one day, eat some, then have the rest over the course of my next lunches and/or dinners, so I've never had leftovers around long enough to make freezing necessary. I'll try freezing it in the future then update this post. Below is the crust recipe as I make it, but it's based on one from AllRecipes.com. To see the original recipe, click here . Ingredients 1 teaspoon of white sugar 2 1/4 teaspoon (or one small packet) active dry yeast 1 1/2 cups warm water 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 teaspoon salt 3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour Directions In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the top. Let stand until foamy (about 10 minutes). Stir in the olive oil and salt. Mix in 3 cups of the whole wheat flour until the dough starts to stick together. Tip dough out onto a surface coated with the remaining flour, and knead...

As the picture shows, I pair this with frozen veggies to make the overall meal a little healthier. This recipe came from allrecipes.com. (The direct link to it is here .) First I will list the recipe exactly, then I'll show how I altered it (only partly on purpose). Baked Macaroni & Cheese 2 1/2 cups elbow macaroni 1/4 cup butter 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 4 cups milk 1 pound shredded cheddar cheese 1/4 cup butter, melted 1 sleeve buttery round crackers, crushed Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fill a large pot with lightly salted water, and bring to a boil. Stir in the macaroni, and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally until the pasta has cooked through but is still firm (about 8 minutes.) Drain well. Combine 1/4 cup butter, flour, milk, salt and cheddar cheese in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir until the cheese is melted and the mixture thickens (7 to 10 minutes). Add the macaroni, and stir to coat. Pour the macaroni and cheese sauce mixture i...

Readers who stopped by this blog  Monday  know that I got a free rotisserie chicken at Sam's Club on Sunday (a very nice surprise.) Here's where the chicken is now: I took the meat off the bones,  tore it into chunks, boiled some veggies in chicken broth, then put chicken chunks, veggies and broth into some of my frozen dinner containers. I poured the broth over the entire dish because in the past when I've microwaved chicken to reheat it, it's been tough and dry. I've never tried adding broth to it before to keep it tender. Hopefully it works. If any readers have their own tips about how to keep chicken from getting too dry and tough during microwaving, please feel free to share them in the comments field.

It was a splurge, I know, but I decided to replace a few of my old frozen dinner entree trays with these. The old ones, made by Target's Up & Up brand, were OK but thin. The plastic seemed to have some minor bubbling in a few of them, so I decided to see if I could find something thicker. These, made by Rubbermaid, are sturdier but pricier. I don't know how well they'll hold up compared to the Up & Up ones, but just based on thickness, I think they're a good choice.

Another simple but hearty dish to turn into frozen dinners. (I hardly ever make anything that's complex. I have a lot of admiration for women who work full time, take care of their children, yet still find the time to spend an hour or so in the kitchen.) Hamburger Stew 2 pounds of lean ground beef (or ground turkey) 3 cups of chopped carrots* 2 pounds of potatoes, cubed* 4 cups of beef broth 1 tablespoon of tomato paste Salt and pepper to taste 1 small can of peas Brown the beef. Add the carrots, potatoes, broth, salt and pepper. Heat to a rolling boil, and allow to cook until the vegetables are tender and the broth has boiled down to below the top of the veggies and beef. (I like my stews thick.) Add the tomato paste and the peas. Let simmer for about 5 more minutes. This dish makes about 10 frozen dinners at 1.5 cups each. Reheating Microwave for 4 minutes on high. How is it as a frozen dinner? As expected from stews and soups, it reheats very well. Ot...

One money-spending habit I've been reluctant to give up is dine-out Fridays, which is basically just what it sounds like. Each Friday -- for years now -- my husband and I have dined out rather than sit in the breakroom and have sack lunches. Fridays can be rather hectic days, and getting out of the building just seems like more of a break to me than sitting in the breakroom. Over the past week, I've been thinking about cutting it back to just one Friday a month, because each time my husband and I go out to eat like that, it costs us roughly $25, or $100 a month that could be going toward bills. Add to that the fact that my husband and I both need to lose weight, and dining on a more nutritious meal that I can control the ingredients in just seems to make more sense. I've pretty much decided that tomorrow will be our last dine-out Friday until September. Hopefully we can stick to that, because an extra $75 in our pockets each month can go a long, long way.

Here's my first recipe offering. It's very simple, which is what I look for. I welcome suggestions from readers as well. It's loosely based on one of my favorite frozen dinners made by Smart Ones. Eggs and Taters (Make 6 frozen dinner) 2 pounds of potatoes* 2 cartons of egg substitute Salt and pepper to taste 1/2 cups shredded cheddar Cooking spray Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Peel potatoes, and cut into cubes. Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Arrange potato cubes in a single layer on cookie sheet. Put the potatoes in the oven and set a timer for 20 minutes. When the timer goes off, flip the potatoes with a spatula, but allow them to continue cooking while you cook the eggs. Pour both cartons of egg substitute in a bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir. Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and heat to medium temperature. Pour in egg mixture, and stir occasionally until all liquid is solid. Remove potatoes from oven. Divide eggs into...

Starting today, each Friday I'd like to talk about the homemade frozen dinners I've been making. Some weeks I'll give recipes and reviews of how they fared as a frozen entree and other weeks it might be on a related topic. This week, I'd like to showcase the storage containers I bought. They are made by Target (the chain's Up & Up brand). They came in multi-packs (I think there were four in each, maybe five) for less than $2. I love the price, and I  like their shape, because its similar to that of the dishes in store-bought frozen dinners. So far, they've worked out pretty well, although I've since read some reviews online that say that they don't hold up well in a dishwasher. (We have one, but it doesn't work well so I do all of my dishes by hand.) What I personally don't like about them is a problem I anticipated: Once you put something with tomato sauce in them, they are permanently stained red (as you can see in this photo). ...

The break room where I work is a dumping ground for unwanted magazines. Quite often, my co-workers will recycle the magazines they subscribe to by scattering them about the break room for people to either pick up and keep or just browse through while having lunch. Every now and then, a Cooking Light magazine will catch my eye. One day last week, I picked up an issue because it seemed to have quite a few healthy foods that could easily be cooked in large batches. Whether they'd freeze and reheat well are another story. The recipes I'm going to try are Cheesy Canadian Bacon & Potato Casserole, Enchilada Casser-Ole! and Light-But-Hearty Tuna Casserole from the February/March 2009 issue. I'll need to modify them a little for them to appeal to my picky-eater husband, but they all sound pretty interesting. In future posts, I'll give a recipe I've tried as a frozen dinner and review how well it did. I also welcome any suggestions from readers who also make thei...

I always keep boxes of forks and spoons in my desk at work so that I don't have to remember to take flatware back and forth to work for my lunch. I didn't trust myself not to lose them in transport. However, as I near the bottom of the fork box, it occurs to me that I've been taking my food storage containers back and forth with me for weeks now while I've been making my own frozen dinners. I've remembered my dishes every day; why wouldn't I remember a fork or spoon? Therefore, I've decided that once the boxes in my desk are empty, I won't buy any more. It won't be a big savings, because it takes me about six months to go through a box, but it's a savings nonetheless.