Easy, Great and Cheap Spaghetti Sauce

Forget about buying those jars of spaghetti sauce!! This recipe is cheap and easy and just as good, if not better!

Ingredients
1 6oz can of tomato paste (you can buy that at any grocery store for $0.25-0.75)
Water
Garlic
Basil
Oregano
Garlic salt
Pepper

Directions
In a saucepan, scrape out tomato paste.. Fill the can up with water twice and dump into pan with paste. Stir so that the paste disperses. I love garlic so I use a lot of fresh garlic. Add all seasonings and stir. Add as much seasonings as you wish. I absolutely love this recipe and I will never buy jarred spaghetti sauce again.

This recipe yields for about 1/2 lb. of spaghetti noodles, so roughly 2-4 servings. Just double recipe for more servings.

Chicken Pillows

Easy and good!

Ingredients

1 can of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

Cream Cheese

Shredded Chicken

1 can Cream of Chicken

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350*

Lay out your unrolled crescents

Spread a spoon full of cream cheese

Sprinkle desired seasonings (garlic salt, pepper, seasoning salt, etc.) 

Add shredded chicken onto cream cheese

Roll crescent and place on baking sheet

Cook crescents for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown

Heat up can of Cream of Chicken

Spread a desire amount over chicken pillows

And enjoy!! 

Texas Fries

We loved this recipe!!!! Sometimes I crave them at night :)

Ingredients

4-6 garlic cloves, minced

6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil


3 russet potatoes (about 8oz each), each cut into 12 wedges


3 tbsp cornstarch


1 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt


1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

½ tsp garlic powder


1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 440° F.

2. Combine the garlic and oil in a large bowl, warming it until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.

3. Transfer 5 tablespoons of the oil (leaving the garlic in the bowl) to the baking sheet, coating it well.

4. Add the potatoes to the bowl with the garlic mixture and toss to coat. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and microwave on high power until the potatoes are translucent around the edges, 3 to 6 minutes, shaking the bowl to redistribute the potatoes halfway through cooking.

5. Combine the cornstarch, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the hot potatoes and toss well to coat.

6. Arrange the potatoes in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet and bake, turning once, until deep golden brown and crisp, 30 to 40 minutes.

Serve with ketchup, mayo or sour cream, bacon, cheese, etc. 

Baked Ziti

I loved loved loved this recipe SO much!! 

One, because it's simple. 

Two, you can add more or less of what you love.

Three, it just tastes so darn good!

Ingredients

1 lb. Ziti noodles

1 jar Spaghetti Sauce

Mozzarella Cheese

Parmesan Cheese

Sour Cream (or Ricotta Cheese)

Optional: Garlic, Basil, Oregano, Parsley, Garlic Salt

Directions

Preheat the oven at 350*. Boil ziti in water for 8-10 minutes. 

While noodles cook, chop 2-3 garlic cloves and mix in with spaghetti sauce. Set aside. 

Spray Pam or butter on a baking dish. (I used a 13x9) Spread a spoonful or two of spaghetti sauce on the bottom of the dish to keep from sticking.

When noodles are cooked and drained, spread half of the noodles on the top of dish. 

Spread half of the spaghetti sauce on top of noodles. 

I like sour cream so I used a HUGE scoop... or two of sour cream, spread it on top on the sauce. 

Sprinkle your seasonings, if any. 

Spread mozzarella cheese on top. Add the second half of the noodles. 

Spread the rest of the spaghetti sauce. Add mozzarella. Add Parmesan cheese. 

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes uncovered. Bake another 10 minutes covered with foil. Bake another 5 minutes uncovered. (to keep from cheese burning)

SOOOOO GOOD!! Like I said, add more or less of whatever. Make it your own. 

Stuffing Casserole

This was really good!!!

Ingredients

1pkg. (6oz) stuffing mix 

approx. 4 cups chopped, cooked chicken 

bunch of broccoli or asparagus (chopped) or peas or green beans

can of cream of chicken soup

milk

cheddar cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350*.

Add 1 2/3 cup of hot water and stuffing into bowl. Mix until moistened. Set aside.

Place cooked chicken and chopped asparagus (or broccoli) in 13x9 baking dish.

In separate bowl, mix together soup, 2/3 cup milk and handful of cheese. 

Pour over chicken and vegetable. Mix together and spread evenly. 

Spread stuffing on top of dish. 

Cook for 30 mins. 

Tomato Paste Soup

I'm actually eating this one right now! I really like it!! 

Ingredients

1 can of tomato paste

water or milk

salt

pepper

sugar

chili powder (optional)

bacon (optional)

garlic salt (optional)

cream cheese (optional)

cheese(optional)

pretty much whatever you want in your soup

Directions

In soup pan, dump can of paste with four can fulls of milk or water.

Bring to boil and turn down pan to medium or low. 

Add 1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. sugar. Add pepper, garlic salt and chili powder to taste. 

Add a large scoop of cream cheese (however much you want)

Sprinkle bacon and cheese on top of soup. 

I'm eating mine with garlic bread. So good!!!

5 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe

It's crazy that you only need 5 ingredients!!! 

Ingredients

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350*F

Mix all ingredients together, excluding chocolate chips

When blended, mix in chocolate chips

Roll 1 1/2 inch balls of dough, dough will be sticky

Place on a non-stick/greased cooking sheet, be sure the cookies aren't too big, they will spread when cooking

Cook for 9 minutes. Let the cookies sit on cookie sheet for an additional 45 seconds after removing from oven before placing them on a cooling rack

Recipe from Tablespoon.com

Cereal Coated Chicken Recipe

I had an old roommate who used Captain Crunch. We used Honey Nut Chex. Pretty Good!!

Ingredients

3 cups cereal

1 egg

1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

pinch of pepper

2/3 chicken pieces, rinsed

1 1/5 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350*F.

Place cereal crushed into a shallow dish/bowl.

In a medium mixing bowl, mix egg and milk together. Add flour, salt and pepper. Mix until no lumps.

Dip chicken into batter, then roll into cereal. Place chicken in a shallow cooking pan covered in cooking spray or foil. 

Drizzle melted butter over chicken. 

Place chicken in preheated oven at 350*F for 30-45 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink. 

Do not turn chicken over while cooking. 

Ice Cream In A Bag Recipe

This is great for a fun date night or a fun sleepover with the girls!!

Ingredients

2 small ziploc bags

1 large ziploc bag

1/2 cup milk

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

4 cups cubed or crushed ice

6 tbsp salt

Serving size: 1 scoop

Directions

Take a small sized sealable (zip-loc type) bag and add 1/2 cup of milk, and 1 tbsp of sugar. For added flavor, use 1/2 tsp of vanilla. Seal it up, getting rid of as much air as you can. Now double bag it inside a similar-sized bag.

Throw 4 cups of crushed or cubed ice with 6 tbsp of salt in a large freezer bag. You can use any kind of salt, as you won't actually be eating it. The salt is there to lower the freezing point of water, if you want to get technical. Put in your little double bag, and seal the large bag around it, getting rid of as much air as possible.

Now for the fun part—get shaking baby! Wrap the bag in a tea towel, or use gloves if you aren't feeling hardcore, but otherwise just shake the bag for at least five minutes before checking on its progress.

You’ll start to notice it getting thicker by simply feeling through the bag. In eight minutes max, you should have some seriously delicious ice-cream; it will take longer if you are mixing a large batch.

When you remove the smaller bag, wipe it down carefully to get rid of all the salt on the outside.

Recipe from tablespoon.com

Flautas

 Ingredients

2 cups shredded, boiled chicken breast or chicken tenders
1/2 cup salsa (try it with Dana's Salsa)
10 large flour tortillas
2 cups cooking oilIf you want more chicken, use more chicken.If you want more than salsa, use more salsa.
:)

Directions
Heat oil in frying pan (about 1/2 in. deep). 

Mix salsa(prefferably blended completely) with shredded chicken. 

Roll about 2-3 Tbsp chicken/salsa mix in a tortilla. 

Fry the rolled tortilla one side at a time. 

Remove from oil, let cool. 

Repeat 9 more times.

Best served with guacamole and sour cream.


Recipe from Nate Bonham. 

Curry

Ingredients

4 tbsp. butter

1 onion

2 garlic cloves

1 quart chicken broth

1 bay leaf

nutmeg

1 1/2 teaspoon curry

2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 16 oz can pumpkin

3 chicken breasts

1 pint half and half

Directions

Saute butter, diced onion, garlic cloves minced. 

Add chicken broth, bay leaf, a pinch of nutmeg, curry (I use a more to taste), salt, ground pepper, pumpkin.
Cook chicken breasts under liquid, remove, shred, and return to broth
Add half and half (I have subsituted whole milk, it is not as good, but fine if you don't have half and half on hand)
Heat through, do not boil. 

Eat!

Recipe from Trachelle Tanner

Dana's Pico De Gallo Recipe

This recipe is to die for!!! 

Ingredients

3-6 tomatoes
1 onion
1 bunch of cilantro
1-2 limes 

1 tbsp. olive oil
chopped peppers (optional) salt and pepper


Directions 
Chop onion and put into bowl.

Chop tomatoes and put on top of onion, add some lime juice and olive oil.

Add chopped cilantro, starting with half the bunch and adding more based on taste. Add peppers (if desired).

Mix up all together, salt and pepper to taste 

(You can add more lime juice-don't add any more olive oil!) 

Cover bowl and let it marinate in the fridge for about an hour!

Microwave Carmel Popcorn

So much fun when you want a quick sugary fix!

Ingredients

4 quarts popped plain popcorn (no butter)

½ tsp. salt

1 C brown sugar 

1 tsp. vanilla

½ C margarine

½ tsp. baking soda

¼ C light corn syrup

Place the popped popcorn into a large paper bag. Set aside.

Directions

In a 2 qt. casserole dish, combine the brown sugar, margarine, corn syrup, salt, and vanilla.

Heat for 3 min. in microwave, stir until well blended. Cook an additional 1 and ½ min.

Remove and stir in baking soda. Pour syrup over popcorn in the bag, shake until evenly coated.

Place in the microwave and cook for 1 min and 10 sec.

Remove, shake, and flip the bag over and coo for another 1 min and 10 sec.

Dump the popcorn out onto waxed paper and let cool.

Store in air tight container. 

Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

Ingredients

1 Coffee Mug 

4 tablespoons flour(that's plain flour, not self-rising) 

4 tablespoons sugar 

2 tablespoons baking cocoa

¼ tsp. Baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

1 egg

3 tablespoons milk 

3 tablespoons oil

Small splash of vanilla

3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)

Some nuts (optional) 

Directions 

In a small bowl add dry ingredients and mix well .  Add the egg and mix thoroughly.  Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.  Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla, and mix again.

Spray “Pam” in your coffee cup (very large coffee or soup mug) and scrap the cake mixture into your cup.

Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes on high. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired (run a knife along the edge to help release). EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to share!)

Double Rainbow Pudding

Ingredients

1 5.1 oz box vanilla instant pudding, prepared per package directions

red, yellow, blue, green and purple liquid food coloring

whipped topping and rainbow sprinkles, for garnish

Directions

Separate the prepared pudding into 6 individual bowls.

Add 2 drops of food coloring to each bowl to make the rainbow colors. For orange, use one drop yellow and one drop red.


Layer the pudding by adding 2 tbsp of the first pudding color into four small, thin parfait glasses (about 8 oz volume works well). Tap the bottom of your parfait glass gently on the counter after each layer to make the layer flatten. Repeat with remaining pudding colors.

Refrigerate per the pudding package directions, until fully set.


Immediately before serving, top with whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles.

Recipe taken from tablespoon.com

Meatloaf

Ingredients

1 lb hamburger

1 sleeve saltine crackers

1 egg

½ cup of bbq sauce

1 can of golden mushroom soup

Salt and pepper.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350*F.

Place hamburger into mixing bowl.

Mash saltine crackers while inside sleeve. Add into bowl with hamburger.

Crack egg into bowl. Add BBQ sauce. Add salt and pepper.

Using hands, mix ingredients together until completely blended.

Place into an 8x8 pan. (Use larger pan if doubling recipe)

Spread soup evenly over hamburger mixture.

Bake at 350*F for approximately 45 minutes or until sides are bubbling. 

Tortilla Soup

Ingredients

1lb. ground beef 

1 can chili beans

1 can black beans

1 can white beans

1 can corn

1 can diced tomatoes

1 small can tomato paste 

2 packets taco seasonings

Directions

Cook ground beef with one packet of taco seasoning. Drain grease. 

While beef is cooking, add all remaining ingredients into large pot. 

Momma's Enchiladas

I grew up eating these enchiladas! And I still make them! 

Ingredients

Tortillas

2 cans Cream of Chicken and Mushroom Soup (or just 2 cans Cream of Chicken)

1 small can Green Chilis (or jalapenos if you want your enchiladas spicy)

2-4 cooked chicken breasts

8-10oz bag shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350*F.

Shred cooked chicken. 

Mix chilis (drained) and soup (do not add water) into a bowl. 

Spred enough soup onto a glass pan to prevent enchiladas from sticking. 

Spred a spoon-full of soup onto torilla, sprinkle chicken and cheese. Roll up.

Place rolled tortilla flap down. 

Spread the rest of the soup on top of rolled tortillas. 

Sprinkle remaining cheese (and chicken if there is any)

Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and golden.

We like to eat ours with refried beans. YUM. 

Ramen Recipes

Chinese Style Ramen 

Ingredients 

1 package oriental ramen noodles

2 cups water 

1 tablespoon soy sauce 

1 cup mixed veggies (fresh, frozen or canned)

Directions 

Cook noodles according to package directions and drain. Add seasoning package. 

Cook veggies and add to noodles. Add soy sauce to taste.

Spaghetti Ramen

Ingredients

1 package any flavor ramen noodles

2 cups water 

1/2 cup spaghetti sauce

Directions

Cook noodles according to package directions and drain. Heat sauceand pour over noodles.

Grilled Teriyaki Ramen 

Ingredients

1 pkg Ramen Noodles

1/4 c. Terriyaki Marinade 

1 c. Hot Water

Directions

Mix the Terriyaki marinade and hot water together and pour over an unbroken ramen noodle brick. Let set until tender, but still a bit firm (holding its shape). This takes about 10 minutes per side. Place on heated grill and cook 3 minutes per side, until golden brown. Be careful not to burn them!

Creamy Veggie Ramen

Ingredients

1 package any flavor ramen noodles

2 cups water 

1 can cream of celery soup 

1/2 cup milk 

1 cup broccoli, cut up 

1/2 cup carrots, sliced (Or you can use 1 cup frozen mixed or canned veggies)

Directions

Heat cream of celery soup and milk to boiling. Stir in veggies.

Heat to boiling; reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. 

Cook noodles according to pacakage directions and drain. 

Mix noodles withseasoning packet. Top noodles with soup mixture.

Ramen Alfredo

Ingredients

8 oz heavy cream

1 tbsp butter 

2 packs ramen 

salt and pepper to taster 

1/4 cup parmesan cheese 

1 tsp of garlic powder 

1 tsp onion powder

Directions

Start by boiling the ramen as bag says.

When done strain pasta use the same pot over a med heat and put the cream and start reducing it. 

Add all seasonings and continue to reduce. 

Let it reduce for 5 mins. 

Add cooked ramen and cheese and let cook for 1 min. Let cool, plate and enjoy. 

Chicken Parm Ramen

Ingredients

2 packages of ramen noodles

4 cups of water

2 chicken breast (boneless and skinless), pounded flat (1/4" thick)

2 eggs (beaten)

1/2 cup of milk

1 cup dried bread crumbs

1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup of Mozzarella cheese

2 cups of spaghetti sauce

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Salt and pepper

Directions

The noodles:

Put 2 cups of water in a cooking pot and bring to a boil.

Once the water is boiling add your ramen noodles.

Wait 2-3 minutes until the noodles are tender and separated.

Take off the water with the strainer.

Dip the chicken breasts in the milk and eggs mixture, then in bread crumbs.

With the olive oil, in a skillet, turn and brown on both sides. Make sure the meat is fully cooked

Remove the chicken and add the spaghetti sauce.

Heat it. When it's hot, add the chicken breasts.

Add the mozzarella cheese and parmesan on top of the chicken.

Cook until the cheese is melted, add salt and pepper.

Add the ramen in the skillet and cook for 1-2 minutes in the spaghetti sauce.

Breakfast Ramen

Ingredients

1 pkg Ramen Noodles, any flavor

1-2 eggs 

1/2 onion, thinly sliced 

1 small tomato, thinly sliced

Directions

Put the entire unbroken block of ramen in a pot with just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Once the water begins to boil, add seasoning & a layer of tomato slices, layer of onion slices. Pour the egg(s) on top, put on a lid, cook for 1 minute or so. Serve!

Brownie Balls

My Favorite Dessert!!

Ingredients

1 package of brownie mix (I love Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownie Mix)

1 can of frosting (if you love chocolate, use chocolate. I like to use vanilla or the confetti frosting) 

Melting Chocolate

      (If you don't have melting chocolate, 16 ounces chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons shortening, melt together on stove, constantly stirring to prevent burning)

Optional: Crystal Sprinkles

Directions

Bake the brownies as it directs on the box.

Let the brownies cool down until almost room temperature.

Dump brownies into a bowl and break them up into little pieces.

Add 3/4 of the can of frosting into the bowl and mix. Mixture will look doughy.

Roll brownies into small even balls. Place onto a cookie sheet and freeze for 20 minutes.

Melt chocolate until creamy, constantly stirring to prevent chocolate from burning. Pour 1/4 cup of crystal sprinkles into chocolate for crunchy coat.

Dip brownies into chocolate with fork and place on wax paper to harden.

Place in fridge until hard.