Quinoa Cookies

Mike always scoffs at me when I make "healthy" cookies. Afterall, he says, when somebody is reaching for a cookie they aren't exactly looking for a healthy choice, so why waste the ingredients? He has a point... but sometimes it's nice to just sneak some whole grain into these unsuspecting treat seekers (ie. my kids... and Mike). These cookies also have half the butter, half the chocolate, and half the sugar as your traditional chocolate chip recipe. I know what you're thinking... eew. Why would anybody do such a thing to a cookie?! But I promise they really do taste good. I even fed some to my sweet tooth friend and she couldn't tell they were half the sugar. There's not very much quinoa in this recipe- just enough to give the cookies a pleasant little crunch and a hint of nuttiness. I think it adds character, but you could easily leave it out if you don't have it.

Quinoa Chocolate Chip Cookies


1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup LF plain yogurt
3/4 cup NF dry milk
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oats
1/4 cup quinoa
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Cream butter, yogurt, sugar and dry milk in medium mixing bowl. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Add baking soda and salt. Mix well. Add flour and oats and mix/stir until combined. Stir in chocolate chips and quinoa. Drop by teaspoonful onto greased cookie sheets and bake 10 minutes. Allow to cool on cookie trays a couple minutes then transfer to a wire rack. When cool, transfer to freezer bags and freeze up to 3 months. Makes 4 dozen cookies.

Where does all the money go?

Surprisingly, it hasn’t cost me a whole lot to eat healthy. As it turns out, I had almost everything that I needed to eat right in my food storage already. And while I haven’t been the picture of perfect healthy cooking, so far this month I have managed to cut added fat and incorporate whole grains and vegetables into almost every meal. I admit, I have been using food storage this month to supplement our grocery budget, but I’ve also been able to stock up on a few things we’ll use down the road as well, so hopefully it will all even out.
Some of the things that I’ve been using or will use from food storage this month are: whole grains, pasta, cereal, chips, apple juice, hamburger, ground turkey, chicken, oil and spices. Some things that I’ve added to our storage include: tuna fish, canned beans, toilet paper, chips, ketchup, hot dogs, flour, and olive oil. I’ve also packaged and frozen several quarts of various fruits and vegetables from the surplus in our Bountiful Baskets.

This is a breakdown of where our money has gone so far this month in regard to groceries:

Bountiful Baskets x3 = $50
Bountiful Basket add-ons (including Italian pack and ½ case of peaches) = $20
Other Produce (including onions, celery, peppers, potatoes, corn, watermelon) = $25
Dairy (eggs, milk, butter, sour cream, cottage cheese, plain yogurt) = $36.50
Meat (Rib-eye Steaks, Deli-meat) = $19.50
Grains (25lb bag of bread flour) = $6
Other (Olive Oil, Orange Juice) = $20
Non-Consumables (diapers, toilet paper, deodorant) = $36
Sales = $23
(Tuna Fish $.28/can x 16 = $4.50; Pork & Beans $.28 x 10 = $2.80; Chips $.98/bag x10 = $9.80; Ketchup $.78/bottle x2 = $1.56; HotDogs $.28/package x8 = $2.24)

That leaves me with a whopping $14! But we've got a refrigerator full of food including 3 gallons of milk and 1 1/2 dozen eggs. I shouldn't have to go to the store again unless I want to.
And just a note about the "Non-cunsumables." This month I've only had to buy toilet paper, diapers and deordorant. I found the toilet paper on an amazing sale and used some coupons so I was able to buy enough for the next three months for only $10. This is for the good stuff.. not the fall apart, eew gross variety.
I try to space out my non-food items so that I only have to buy 1-2 things each month. This way I can stay within my budget. Diapers are my flex item. If I have a lot of other things to buy, I will use cloth diapers and wipes that month to stretch my grocery dollar. These are not my favorite months... but in the end it's worth it... to me anyway! I'm also extremely lucky that we don't use as many diapers anymore now that my almost-two-year-old is learning to go potty. This makes it a lot easier to sneak disposable diapers into my cart without a huge impact on my wallet.

"Happily Ever After" Potato Salad

I call this my "Happily Ever After" Potato Salad because when I was preparing this dish on Saturday, my 5-year-old helped me by tasting it to see if it was good. She loved it so much she asked for more. I told her "this is for dinner tomorrow, so we'll save it until then" to which she replied "If we have that for dinner tomorrow, our family will live happily ever after!"  This coming from my picky eater... lol!

Potato Salad

10 small potatoes, peeled & diced into 1 in. cubes
5 hard boiled eggs, roughly chopped
3/4 cup plain yogurt
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, or to taste
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, or to taste
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 teaspoon celery salt
salt and black pepper to taste
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh dill weed

Place the potatoes in a large pot, cover them with water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer until the potatoes are cooked through but still firm, about 15 minutes. Remove from the water, let cool. While potatoes are cooking, chop vegetables (onion, pepper, celery) and dill and add to a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, stir together the sour cream, mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, celery salt, and salt and pepper until well mixed. Place the cooled potatoes and eggs into the large salad bowl, and stir to combine. Pour the dressing over the potatoes and eggs, and mix lightly. Cover and refrigerate the salad for at least 30 minutes. For best taste prepare a day ahead of time to allow flavors to blend. Serve cold.

Minestrone Soup & Pesto Dip

Here's another one for the Crock-Pot on hot days. In my bountiful basket Saturday, I bought the Italian pack add-on which had a bag full of herbs. I used some to season my soup and the rest I used for a yummy pesto sauce to spread on my bread to go with dinner. Some of the herbs are growing in my garden also, so I had lots of oregano and rosemary to make a strong pesto instead of an all-basil version.

Minestrone Soup

1 large onion
1 lb cooked ground beef (optional- we didn't use it)
2 (15oz) cans diced tomatoes
3 cups water or vegetable broth (I used the vegetable broth I saved from blanching my veggies on Saturday)
2 c. beef broth (again, leftovers from the last roast I made- it's been int he freezer)
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (or 1 Tbsp. dried)
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil (or 1 tsp. dried)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano (or 1/2 tsp dried)
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 large cloves garlic
1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans
1/2 lb fresh green beans, cut (or 1 15 oz can)
1 (15oz) can kidney beans
1 cup. uncooked pasta
1 small zucchini, sliced
1 cup fresh spinach, optional

Chop and slice onions and carrots into bite-sized pieces. Add to slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients except pasta, zucchini, and spinach. Mix thoroughly. Cook on LOW 6 hours. Add pasta, zucchini and spinach if desired. Cover and cook 1 hour longer until pasta is tender. Serve with hard rolls and fresh pesto.

Strong Italian Pesto
1/4 cup roasted whole almonds*
2 large cloves garlic, peeled
2 oz. (about 2 cups packed) fresh Italian herbs
    (I used a combination of basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme and marjarom)
1 medium fresh tomato, quartered
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (or more if desired)

Process the almonds and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. Add the herbs, cheese, tomato and salt and process until thoroughly combined and the consistency you like. With the food processor running, drizzle in the olive oil through the chute. Add more salt to taste if necessary and more olive oil if desired. This will keep several days in the refrigerator or you can freeze it. Pour it into an ice cube tray to freeze, then transfer pesto cubes to a heavy-duty freezer bag.

*If using raw almonds, spread them on a baking sheet and place in a 350 F degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Use your toaster oven if possible.

The "GOOD" Brownies

This recipe qualifies neither as cheap nor healthy.. but it is dubbed (around my house anyway) the "good" brownies. They are super rich. It's almost a must to eat these with a glass of milk standing by. We don't have these very often, but a friend of mine gave me some caramels so I had to make these little devils since they are my boys (meaning my husband and son) absolute favorite treat!

Caramel Fudge Brownies

10.5 oz caramels (3/4 of a 14oz bag)
1 can sweetened condensed milk, divided
1 German Chocolate cake mix
1 stick butter, softened
1 cup chopped nuts
6 oz chocolate chips (half of a 12 oz bag)

Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Combine caramels with 1/2 can of condensed milk over very low heat until caramels are melted and smooth. Meanwhile, Mix cake mix with butter and other half of condensed milk until mixture is soft and holds together. Press half of this mixture into a 9x13 in. greased baking dish, reserving other half for later. Bake until slightly set- for 6 minutes; remove from oven. Pour caramel mixture over set cake mix. Sprinkle nuts and chocolate chips over caramel and top with remaining 1/2 of cake mixture. Don't worry if all the caramel is not covered, just get it as even as possible-the cake mixture will spread as it bakes. Bake 18 minutes at 350 F. Cool before cutting into bars.
*I had extra nuts and chocolate chips, so I sprinkled some on top of the bars before baking as well.

Chicken & Broccoli- Crock Pot Style

Italian Chicken with Broccoli

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 -inch pieces
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
2 cups sliced mushrooms (8oz package fresh or two 4-oz cans)
1 cup chopped onion
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 lb broccoli, chopped
1/4 cup dry sherry
1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese (optional)
hot cooked pasta or rice

Toss chicken with olive oil. Sprinkle with Italian Seasoning. Place in a 5-qt slow -cooker. Cover; Cook on LOW 3 hours. After 3 hours, Coat large skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Add mushrooms and onions, cook 5 minutes over medium heat or until onions are tender, stirring occasionally. Add soup, broccoli and sherry (and cream cheese, if using) to skillet, cook and stir until hot. Transfer to slow-cooker. Cover, cook LOW 1 hour. Serve chicken over pasta or rice.

Vegetable Lasagna for the Crock-pot

It's still much too hot to turn on the oven so I converted this lasagna recipe for the Crockpot. For this veggie lasagna you can use any kind of vegetable. I used about 1 cup broiled eggplant, 1 cup steamed Swiss Chard, and 1 cup zucchini- all chopped and mixed together before assembling. You can also use shredded carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, tomatoes or whatever you like best!

Veggie Lasagna (in the Crock-Pot)

28 ounce pasta sauce
8-12 ounces lasagna noodles
16 oz part skim cottage cheese
3 cups lightly steamed vegetables
8 ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese, grated
1/4 cup shredded parmesan

Spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of CrockPot. Cover with a layer of noodles (3 or 4 noodles should be enough). Spread 1/3 of the cottage cheese over the pasta (you can use a cake spatula). Spread 1/3 of the remaining pasta sauce over the cheese. Spread 1/3 of the vegetables over the sauce. Sprinkle 1/3 of the mozzarella over the veggies. Repeat twice starting with the noodles and ending with the mozzarella. Sprinkle parmesan on top. Cover and cook on Low 4 hours. Remove cover and allow to stand 5-15 minutes before serving.

To prepare eggplant:

Cut eggplant in half lengthwise then slice into 1/4 inch slices. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle 2 Tbsp lemon juice and dried basil (if desired)on top. Put under a hot broiler for 8-10 minutes until eggplant is golden brown. Chop into bite-sized pieces.
 
*You can use any lasagna recipe in the Crock-pot. Just don't pre-boil the noodles and assemble as usual. Cook on low for 4 hours.