Recipes that will leave them asking for more, while not denting your pocketbook

Yesterday I decided to start blogging about ways to stretch your dollar. One place that we all have to make it stretch is meal time. How do you feed your family well, without spending a large amount? How can I provide quick & easy meals without serving take out? Those of you who know me, know how much I loathe cooking for meal time. Every now & then I will get a Donna Reed whim, but most of the time I really would rather pass.

So deciding on what's for dinner can be a challenge. It can not take too much time, can not be too difficult, use the ingredients I already have in the house & must be something that 3/4 of the ppl will like. Easy enough right?

This is where my cookbooks & the internet come into play. It is here I can find what I need to complete this task quickly & successfully.

One of my favorite places to get quick, delicious recipes is FOOD & FAMILY, it's a free seasonal publication put out by Kraft Foods. It offers lots of great quick meal ideas, easy to make recipes & budget stretching ideas. A large portion of the meals we have come from this magazine, just because they are easy & quick. Today for lunch we had:

Enchilada Casserole

Prep Time: Total Time: Makes:

5 min 30 min 4 servings

What You Need!

1 lb. ground beef

1/4 cup chopped onions

1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce

1/2 cup water

2 tsp. chili powder

4 corn tortillas

1 cup KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1/2 cup chopped tomatoes

1/4 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream

Make It!

MICROWAVE meat and onions in 2-qt. microwaveable dish on HIGH 4 to 6 min. or until meat is no longer pink, stirring every 2 min.; drain.

STIR in tomato sauce, water and chili powder. Microwave 5 to 9 min. or until slightly thickened, stirring every 4 min. Transfer to bowl.

PLACE 1 tortilla in same microwaveable dish; top with layers of 1/4 each meat sauce and cheese. Repeat layers 3 times. Microwave 2 to 5 min. or until heated through. Let stand 5 min. Top with tomatoes and sour cream.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

Healthy Living

Save 90 calories, 12 grams of fat and 6 grams of saturated fat per serving by preparing with extra lean ground beef, KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese and BREAKSTONE'S Reduced Fat or KNUDSEN Light Sour Cream.

Variation Beef and Bean

Reduce amount of meat to 1/2 lb.; Stir in 1 can (16 oz.) fat free refried beans with the tomato sauce.

Skillet Preparation

Cook meat and onions in large skillet on medium-high heat 3 to 5 min. or until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomato sauce, water and chili powder; cook until heated through. Transfer to bowl. Assemble in skillet as directed. Cover; heat 2 min. or until cheese is melted. Top with sour cream and tomatoes.

This was very good & easy enough my 11yo could have done it with out my help.

You will want to serve a side with this.. I suggest

Spanish Tomato Rice

Makes: Serves Four Total Time: 15 min

Ingredients:

• 1-10 3/4 oz. can of tomato soup
• 1-bag of instant spanish rice

Preparation

Prepare tomato soup using equal amounts of soup and water. Bring to boil. Add contents of spanish rice mix. Continue boiling until rice is tender.

And why spend money buying pudding pops when you & your kids can spend time together & make your own?

Double Chocolate Cookie Pudding Pops
PREP: 10 min. plus freezing MAKES: 9 servings

What You Need:

• 1 pkg. (3.9 oz.) Jell-O Chocolate Instant Pudding
• 2 cups cold milk
• 6 Oreo Cookies
• 1⁄2 cup thawed Cool Whip Whipped Topping

Make It:

1. BEAT pudding mix and milk in large bowl with whisk 2 min.
2. PLACE cookies in resealable plastic bag; seal bag. Use rolling pin to crush cookies.
3. ADD cookies and Cool Whip to pudding; stir just until blended.
4. SPOON into 9 small paper or plastic cups.
5. INSERT wooden pop stick or plastic spoon into each for handle. Freeze 5 hours or until firm.

There you have it a whole meal that's quick, easy & delicious.

More to come.. :)

Mama Jalapeno