Dinner for Four Under $20.
Feeding a family of four with less than $20 is not impossible and for most these days it’s a necessity.
Here are some ideas to help stretch every dollar when cooking dinner at home.
Focus on purchasing generic store brands to cut grocery costs. These brands have virtually the same tastes and ingredients and can be a little as half the cost of generic brands.
Another tip, stock up on meats during sales and freeze until you need them, as frozen meat can last for months.
Butternut Squash Ravioli
This recipe can be made for about $10 and is sure to impress even discerning palates.
What you’ll need:
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (this often pricey item is a perfect candidate for a store brand purchase)
• 1 butternut squash, cubed
• 1 finely chopped onion
• Fresh sage leaves – about 10
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 package store brand frozen cheese ravioli
• 1 tablespoon margarine
• 1 can or cup vegetable broth
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions:
• Heat oven to 400°F.
• Mix together in a medium bowl olive oil, cubed squash, chopped onion and a couple of the sage until everything is equally coated in oil. Add a dash of salt and pepper.
• Roast for 20 to 25 minutes in medium roasting pan, only turning once. Squash should be tender.
• Boil ravioli following package directions exactly; drain with a colander and reserve.
• Over medium heat, sauté butter in a skillet; add sage leaves and fry for a couple of minutes until leaves are crisp. Remove leaves and set aside. Drain skillet but do not wipe.
• Adjust stove heat to low and add vegetable broth; heat broth to a simmer.
• Add reserved pasta and squash mix, and toss everything together with fried sage and parmesan cheese.
• Add more salt and pepper to taste.
Quick and Easy King Ranch Chicken
This recipe is a cheaper, simpler variation on the traditional southern favorite, King Ranch Chicken Casserole, and is great for a quick comfort food fix. Buy the boneless skinless chicken breasts in bulk and freeze anything you don’t need for extra savings.
What you’ll need:
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 3 to 4 flour tortillas
• 16 oz jar of hot or medium salsa (store brand or canned)
• 10 oz can cream of mushroom soup
• 10 oz can cream of chicken soup
• 1 bag Mexican blend shredded cheese
Instructions:
• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Pan fry chicken breasts in olive oil with preferred amounts of salt and pepper. Tear into small pieces. Set aside.
• In large bowl, mix together both cans of condensed soup and salsa. Reserve.
• Shred flour tortillas. Completely cover the bottom of a medium sized casserole dish with shredded tortillas.
• Cover tortillas with a layer of half the salsa and soup mixture.
• The next layer should consist of the reserved shredded chicken.
• Add another layer of the remaining salsa and soup mix.
• Sprinkle Mexican blend cheese over the top.
• Bake for 20 minutes.
Read More»Great Valentine’s Day Recipes For Two
Valentine’s Day Dishes
Even if you’re kind of clumsy in the kitchen, or you work around the clock, you can impress your sweetheart with a romantic dinner for two in the intimacy of your own dining room.
There is no better way to say i love you then over a nice home cooked meal. Create the perfect two course meal with these easy recipes.
Lamb is For Lovers
Serve this seven bone rack of lamb with rosemary and mint demi-glace dish with oven roasted red potatoes, green beans amandine and Cabernet Sauvignon. When you buy your rack of lamb, ask the butcher to trim the fat cap as well as between the bones so you can use the trimmings for cooking.
Ingredient list:
• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 2 racks of lamb
• 4 minced cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 diced medium onion
• 4 diced carrots
• 1 cup celery leaves
• 1 cup port wine
• 1 cup red wine
• 14.5 oz chicken broth (1 can)
• 5 sprigs fresh spearmint
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 1 cup mint apple jelly
• 4 sprigs fresh mint
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
Instructions:
Prepare the demi-glace the night before: After you’ve heated 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium sized skillet over medium heat, add in the trimmings from the rack of lamb and a little salt and pepper to taste. When the fat has been browned, add the garlic cloves, onion, carrots, celery, both wines, and the chicken broth. Transfer the sauce to your slow cooker to simmer overnight.
1. Remove the mixture from the slow cooker and add to a saucepan, heat over medium heat. Add the spearmint, rosemary, and jelly. Simmer until the concoction becomes syrup-like. Strain this, and keep it warm.
2. Roast your lamb: Put an oven-proof skillet in the oven, which has been preheated to 450 degrees F. Rub the racks of lamb with 2 tablespoons olive oil, garlic, and salt and pepper. Cover with bread crumbs.
3. Take the hot skillet from the oven, add 2 tablespoons to the skillet, and sear your lamb on each side; now place the skillet back inside the oven and cook between 5 and 10 minutes, reaching an internal temperature of 145 degrees F.
4. Time for demi-glace! Pour a small amount on a serving platter and set lamb on top, in a criss cross formation. Drizzle with remaining demi-glace, and garnish with remaining mint.
Sweets for the Sweet
Valentine’s Day demands an appropriately decadent dessert. Chocolate strawberries are easy but delectable fare, and can even be made after the dinner together for a fun post-meal activity.
Ingredient list:
• 16 oz milk chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 lb strawberries, fresh, into which you have inserted toothpicks
• A Styrofoam block
Instructions:
1. Use a double boiler to melt the chocolate and butter together, remembering to stir occasionally.
2. When the melted chocolate is smooth, dip the toothpicked strawberries inside.
3. Plant the end of the toothpick into the Styrofoam block; the chocolate covered strawberry should be upside-down.
4. Allow to cool completely. Arrange on a decorative platter and serve.
For more great tips for healthy diets and much more please visit the Food and Drink section on GKLife.
Read More»Over Sized Food – The Most Outrageous Food Ideas
The Most Outrageous Over Sized Food Ideas
We are a world of people who are always on the go, and ready to grab a quick meal along the way. We love to run through the drive though to grab a quick burger, but what would you do if your burger was over 10 pounds? Some of the most outrageous over sized food ideas have spawned from our love of fast food. You might even recognize some of the most outrageous foods from the famous book of World Records. Take a look and see for yourself. Some of these foods even come along with equally outrageous challenges for the brave.
Largest Omelet
In 1994, the largest omelet was cooked up by workers in Yokohama, Japan. The omelet used up about 160,000 eggs! There are no real measurements for the omelet, but the fact that it used that many eggs was enough for it to remain in the Guinness Book of World Records for years. Makes you wonder who exactly sat down and ate all of those eggs!
Biggest Fish Taco
Now an omelet is simple, but a taco created with 560 pounds of ground up taco meat is a whole other story! Not only were 560 pounds of taco meat used, but 46 pounds of tomatoes, 37 pounds of onions and even 18 pounds of cilantro! The entire taco was 15 feet in length and weighed nearly 800 pounds (747 to be exact). The width was even measured at a whopping 29 inches! This outrageous food idea was created about 10 years ago in May of 1999.
Giant Lollipops
Lollipops can easily be made at home, and some people have taken that to the extreme. Now people are constantly trying to get a hold on the record for the largest lollipop in the world. As absurd as it sounds, the lollipop that is currently on record weighs 1.5 tons. The lollipop was made in 1994, and has a nice peppermint taste added to it just for fun! This creation has definitely broken the record books, and now we just have to wait and see who can come up with the next one!
Gigantic Cookies
Of course the world’s largest cookie never seems to go out of style. Currently the world’s largest cookies has an area of about 5200 sqft. The diameter of the entire cookie is over 81 feet! This cookie creation was made in Christchurch, New Zealand. As of right now there does not seem to be another contender!
Record Breaking Pancakes
Everyone loves a hot pile of pancakes but how long would it take you to get through a pancake that was almost 50 feet in diameter? This large pancake was created in Manchester, England and weighs almost double what the giant lollipop weighs; 2.95 tons! Now, that is one super charged pancake!
People are still trying to create large and outrageous foods along with food eating contests to match. Find a food contest at your local fair, or restaurant to see if you can stand up against any of these outrageous foods!
For more great tips for healthy diets and much more please visit the Food and Drink section on GKLife.
Read More»Women Opt For Natural Look Rather Than Tons of Make Up
Saks: A Good Diet Allows Women to Wear Less Make Up
Women looking to adopt a more natural look this year by using fewer cosmetics could benefit from a healthy eating regime and a good skincare routine, according to experts.
Kirsty Jewson, a beauty guru at leading British high street salon Saks, said: “You are what you eat so as well as a good skincare routine you should look at what foods you are eating.”
Ms Jewson explained that foods rich in essential fatty acids, like oily fish and flax seed, and antioxidants found in spinach, goji berries and greens, have “excellent skin benefiting properties.”
Eating such foods can have an anti-aging and anti-inflammatory effect, she advised.
“[This] is extremely beneficial for acne prone skin and don’t forget to drink plenty of water too,” she added.
The guidance follows the publication of a recent survey which revealed that 15 per cent of women wouldn’t dream of leaving the house without their make up on.
A further 39 per cent said they even dread being seen by their partner without it on.
For more great tips for healthy diets and much more please visit the Food and Drink section on GKLife.
Read More»Tasty Holiday Appetizers
It can be tricky trying to plan a holiday meal for more than just your immediate family. When you have friends and family coming to visit, then you can look forward to long hours planning, and a lot of work making sure everything is just right. It can be easy to get behind on your timeline for dinner, so have some appetizers planned in case you’ve forgotten a key ingredient and need to run to the store. No one wants to have Christmas dinner at ten o’clock because you forgot to turn the oven on!
Stuffed Mushrooms
This recipe is so simple, and there are a ton of choices on what you can fill the mushrooms with! Once you have about 1-2 cups of fresh mushrooms, you are on your way! Take out some parmesan cheese, artichoke hearts, and a little bit of sour cream, and you have a delicious delight that no one will be able to forget. Make sure to bake these in the over at 350 degrees for just about 15 minutes or until the cheese gets brown and crispy. Let them cool and then serve them up!
Spinach and Artichoke Dip with Crackers
Spinach and artichoke dip can easily be bought from the store, but think about how much better it will taste when you find the perfect recipe. You can use fresh or frozen artichokes, but make sure that you try to keep them as fresh as possible. The fresher the vegetables and ingredients, the better the dip will taste. Add in your cheeses and heat them up, then serve with crackers and vegetables!
Cream Cheese and Onion Dip
All you need for this recipe is a package of chilled cream cheese, and a packet of onion dip. Mix the two together with a bit of sour cream, and serve with chips, crackers and vegetables. This is a holiday appetizer that will disappear quickly, so make sure that you buy a couple of packages, depending on the amount of people that you will be serving. Keep in mind there are may other things you can do with cream cheese, including pouring cranberry sauce over the block of cheese so people can scoop and enjoy!
Spicy Cajun Chicken Wings
The great thing about chicken wings is you can eat just a few, or you can eat as many as you like! They are also great for serving large amounts of people at one time. With Cajun wings, you simply need the right Cajun spice and you are all set to mix things up! Use a shaker bag to marinate the wings and cover them thoroughly with spices. From there, you can either fry them up, or bake them in the oven until crisp and golden.
Try out one of these great appetizers for the holidays, and see how much of a splash you can make at your family get-together. Plan ahead to make sure that you get as much grocery shopping as you can early, before the lines get too crazy!
Read More»Drink Ideas for New Years Eve Party
Drink Recipes for Your New Year’s Eve Party
This year is going to be full of wonderful surprises, friends and wild New Year’s Eve parties. If you are expecting to be the most talked about host of one of these parties, then you need to think about the drinks you’re going to serve! The type of drinks you plan to mix up all depends on the kind of party you’re having. Whether you’re throwing the traditional black and white tux New Year’s Eve party or just a simple get-together, everyone will enjoy these top 10 New Year’s eve party drinks!
1. Mojitos! Who doesn’t like that crisp minty jolt when the New Year is just approaching? This year you can use peppermint along with the rum. You can even throw in a splash of crushed peppermints so that you get a true holiday drink!
2. Eggnog The traditional egg and cream based drink is usually purchased at the store without any alcohol. However, if you want to do things the traditional way this New Year’s Eve, then just grab some of your favorite whiskey and get started!
3. Hot Toddy A hot toddy can be enjoyed any time of the year, but nothing beats the cold the taste of hot water, vodka and a few cinnamon sticks. If you are feeling adventurous, add a few cloves to the mix!
4. Cranberry Champagne This can even be cooked up as a cocktail and takes very little work when mixing it up for your guests Simply take a bottle of champagne, a bottle of cranberry juice and a little bit of sweet and sour. Shake it up and toast!
5. Peppermint Martinis You can give a martini some holiday flair with just a bit of peppermint extract and vodka! These days, you may even find peppermint vodka at the liquor store. Make sure you garnish with a lime for color, and have a ball!
6. Hot Cocoa This is much better than the Swiss Miss your mom used to make! You can heat up your chocolate, but make sure to add the chocolate liqueur in there as well. Top it off with some marshmallows and you have a great drink that will settle down the evening! An exotic Aztec twist on cocoa involves a spicy concoction of cocoa, crushed cayenne or serrano pepper, and some Kahlua!
7. Merry Cherry This is a milk based drink that require cherry vodka (your choice), Irish cream, chocolate liqueur and finally, half and half. Combine everything, shake it up and serve. Use coconut to garnish the rim of the glass.
8. Midnight Kiss Again you will be using flavored vodka, only this time you want passion fruit or tropical flavors. Toss in some Campari, mango and orange juice, and finally a little bit of fresh squeezed lemon juice. Shake and pour.
9. Frostbite The frostbite needs white tequila, which should not be hard to find at your local liquor store. From there you will just need some white crème de cacao, blue Curacao and some cream. Mix them up in a shaker with ice and garnish with a mint sprig.
10. Candy Cane The candy cane is usually taken as a shot, and it’s made of a mix of cinnamon schnapps with peppermint schnapps. Make sure that you use equal parts!
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