HomeSpunHealers

All of us are very budget cautious these days.  I have particularly noticed how much money I spend at the grocery store.  I’ve had to tighten up and become more frugal than ever before.  So, when I was thinking about what to fix for dinner. I remembered a time many years ago when my first husband was in law school, and I was the sole breadwinner for our small family.  I didn’t make a lot of money, and it always seemed to give out before the next paycheck.  I remember wondering how we were even going to eat, and then a little check from my grandmother would show up in the mail with a welcome note:  “Thought you could put this to use.”  And when we’d go home to visit Granny, before we left to head back to school, she’d pull a dozen or so little frozen aluminum foil wrapped packages from her freezer.  She was a dietician at a hospital.  In the hospital cafeteria, there would always be leftover food that they were not allowed to serve again, so she and the other folks who worked in the cafeteria, would divy up the leftovers, and she would freeze food for us.  I remember taking those little packages out to thaw and being so pleasantly surprised to open them and find two nice slices of meatloaf, or two pork chops, or two pieces of barbequed chicken.  They were like gourmet meals to us!  But when we had to rely on our own grocery shopping efforts to feed us, I had to get creative with cheap ingredients.  One thing I’m really proud of was how I could make so many different meals out of the common hot dog.  And those meals were good.  Some of them became favorites of my sons when our family expanded.  So, I thought I’d share some of my favorite hotdog meals.

Sloppy Dogs

Slice enough hotdogs to feed everyone in your family into little rounds.  Dump them in a crockpot and stir in some barbeque sauce to coat well.  Just buy the cheapest hot dogs you can find and the cheapest barbeque sauce, too.  Slow cook the wieners for 4-8 hours.  Spoon the sloppy dogs onto hamburger buns (you can buy cheaper stale bread and toast them).  Add mustard and a little homemade cabbage slaw for a really delicious treat.  Frozen french fries round this meal out.

Stuffed Hotdogs

This is one of my sons’ favorites.  Make some mashed potatoes.  I used to use instant potato flakes for mine, prepared according to the package directions.  Slice some hotdogs lengthwise almost all the way through, but not quite, so they will lay open flat.  In other words, butterfly some hotdogs!  Pile the mashed potatoes on each hotdog, and top them off with a fourth slice of processed American cheese.  You can use one slice for four servings that way.  Bake the stuffed hotdogs in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes until the potatoes and cheese begin to get a golden brown.  Add a vegetable and you have a complete meal.

Beanie Weinies

Slice about four hot dogs in small rounds into a baking dish with the cheapest brand of pork and beans you can find.  Add a little diced onion, some mustard to taste, and a little brown sugar or honey or pancake syrup to make the dish tangy and sweet.  Bake the dish in a 350 degree oven for about 30-45 minutes.  If you want to make sure your onion cooks enough to be soft, you can precook the onions in the microwave for about a minute and then stir them into the casserole.  Serve piping hot with corn muffins made from a inexpensive mix.

Hotdog Spaghetti Sauce

Slice and then dice a few hotdogs into the cheapest brand of canned spaghetti sauce you can find.  Let simmer for about 30 minutes and serve over cooked spaghetti or any other kind of pasta you choose.  Look for the cheapest brand of pasta, too.  Serve with a salad or a green vegetable.  To make it a feast, smear a little margarine and some garlic salt on some of those leftover day old hamburger buns.  Toast them in the oven until they are golden brown.

I used to amaze my husband with how many ways I could make hotdogs.  He appreciated my culinary expertise with so little money to spend on groceries. 

I promise this is the last version of this recipe that I’m going to post here.  I wasn’t even going to post this one until my husband told me that it was his absolute favorite version I’ve made so far.  So, I started with a lemon version and then a black forest version (which was my favorite), and now I’m posting my husband’s favorite:

1 box of yellow or pineapple cake mix prepared according to package instructions. I bake my cake in a large sheet cake pan, so the cake is not too thick.

When the cake is baked, poke holes in it with the end of a small wooden spoon.  Make sugar free pineapple Jello according to package directions, and pour that slowly over the cake.  Pat gently to distribute the Jello evenly.  Top the cake with a large can of crushed pineapple.  Don’t drain the pineapple; just let the juice soak into the cake. 

Make a package of Jello sugar free vanilla pudding according to the package directions.  Blend into the pudding a container of sugar free Cool Whip.  Spread the pudding mixture over the crushed pineapple.

Refrigerate the cake for at least three hours or over night.  Moist.  Delicious.  And lower in calories than an equivalent recipe made with sugary products.

In this fudge recipe, cream cheese is combined with unsweetened chocolate, sugar substitute, vanilla and pecans then chilled and cut into squares.

Ingredients:

• 16 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 2 (1 oz.) squares unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
• 1/2 C. sugar substitute (Splenda)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 C. chopped pecans

Directions:

In a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, chocolate, sweetener and vanilla extract until smooth. Stir in pecans. Pour into 8-inch square baking pan lined with foil. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Cut into 16 squares. Serve chilled.

Number of Servings: 16

I was trying to use things I had on hand in my pantry and my freezer without having to buy anything extra, and I put this delicious concoction together.

2 pounds ground chuck

1/2 cup sweet onion, diced

1 Tbsp. grated garlic

1/2 tsp. oregano

salt and pepper to taste

1 box penne regate pasta (Dreamlands low carb)

2 jars Alfredo sauce

1 can Leseur baby green peas

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

In a large pan or pot, brown ground chuck, diced onions, and garlic; drain the fat off.  Stir in oregano, salt and pepper, and Alfredo sauce.  Keep simmering on very low heat while you cook the pasta.  Drain the pasta and add to the ground beef sauce.  Drain the baby green peas and add to the pasta and sauce.  Simmer for a few minutes until heated through.  Turn pasta and sauce out into a pretty casserole dish.  Top with grated parmesan cheese.  Serve with toasted garlic bread and salad.

Black soybeans are a real plus for low carbers who miss their beans.  I made this chili this weekend, and it’s delicious.

2 cups dried black soybeans (soak in water overnight)

1/2 large sweet onion, diced

1 Tbsp. grated garlic

1 lbs. lean ground beef

1 large can diced tomatoes with green chiles

1 can condensed tomato soup (do not add water)

2 Tbsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cayenne pepper flakes

salt and pepper to taste

Brown the ground beef in a large skillet with the diced onion and garlic.  Add the chili powder, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper.  Transfer to a crockpot.  Add dice tomatoes and tomato soup and stir to mix.  Cook in crockpot for about 8 hours. 

Top with grated cheddar cheese if you like.