Mini Pesto Pizzas

Using that pesto I just made & froze I made these little pizzas for opening Monday Night Football. It's our month to host the weekly party with friends. This was a really quick appetizer that is definitely on my make it again list.

MINI PESTO PIZZA RECIPE:
1 can GRANDS type FLAKY biscuits
3/4 c Pesto
1 1/2 c Chicken, cooked and shredded
1 c Parmesan cheese, shredded
3 T Pine nuts, toasted

1. Toast pine nuts by heating in a medium heated skillet, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Set aside.
2. While oven preheats (350 degrees), line sheet pans with parchment paper (prevents burning, easy clean up). Take each biscuit and pull apart layers into thirds. The flaky style makes this very easy to just pull. If they are regular biscuits, you can use a serrated knife to carefully cut into thirds.
3. On top of each biscuit round place about 1-2 t of pesto and spread around the top. Top pesto with shredded turkey, pine nuts, and parmesan cheese.
4. Bake at 350 for 10-13 minutes until golden brown.
Makes 2 dozen.

TOTAL COSTS: $5.70
Pesto $1 (homemade)
Chicken $1 (Meijer) or your leftovers
Pine nuts $1 (D & W)
Parm cheese $.50 (Aldi's)
Biscuits $1.20 (Aldi's)

VARIATIONS:
Substitute turkey for chicken
Remove meat for a vegetarian pizza or side dish
Add mozzarella cheese for a gooey/cheesy pizza
Cresent rolls could be used to roll them up

Pesto

Love the fresh taste of pesto over cavatappi pasta with shredded chicken. Yum. Throw a few pine nuts on top and I'm a happy woman. Here's my pesto recipe. More recipes about what to do with the pesto coming soon.

1 - 2 cup fresh basil
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (can use grated)
1/3 cup + 1 T olive oil
4 T pine nuts, toasted
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 t garlic, minced

If raw pine nuts are purchased, toast them by placing in a skillet over medium-low heat - stirring or tossing frequently until lightly browned.
Be careful, they will burn. Set aside to cool.

In the same skillet heat up 1 T of olive oil until hot. Add garlic and remove from heat, set aside to cool.

After all ingredients have cooled, combine all the ingredients in a food processor or blender; cover and process until finely chopped.

NOTE: If you chop the basil on it's own it has a tendency to brown or blacken. Make sure to process with the olive oil.

Use sparingly. A little goes a long way.

FREEZING:
A little goes a long way. I make a double batch and freeze it in individual portions. Makes a great homemade gift at the holidays as well.
Place in a freezer container (1/2 - 1 cup) and top with a bit of olive oil to prevent browning/oxidation. Cover and freeze for up to 3 months.

COSTS: $2.75
Basil - from the garden = almost free
Pinenuts $2.00 (D&W - hear it's cheaper at Costco)
Cheese $.75 (Aldi's)
Rest from pantry stock

VARIATIONS:
Can use other nuts: walnuts or sunflower seeds (never tried either)
Serve over pasta, with chicken or turkey
Top biscuits or crossiants with pesto & Parmesan cheese
Can use as a condiment on sandwiches
Make mini pizzas with pesto and mozzarella and Parmesan cheese

Pumpkin Toffee Triffle

So it feels like fall here with temperatures dipping, long sleeves coming out, and frost advisories are coming out for northern counties. Unreal. It's August.

But I do love fall and I love fall flavors. Apples, peaches, zucchini, pumpkin, etc. SO I'm pulling out one of my new favorite recipes. A neighbor brought this to a block party. It was so good I ate around the walnuts to get at the rest of it (I'm mildly allergic). The sores in my mouth were worth it. I made it for a church potluck and got to listen "anonymously" to people's rave reviews of the dessert.

Put it together at least a couple hours, if not a day before you need it so the flavors meld together. Perfect for the fall potluck, football party, Thanksgiving, etc.

1 Pumpkin cake mix, prepared & cooled
1 pkg White chocolate pudding, prepared
2 c milk (for pudding)
2 - 12 oz Whipped topping
1 bag Toffee bits
1 c chopped walnuts or pecans, optional

1. Make your pumpkin cake and let it cool completely. cut it into 1 in cubes and set aside.
2. Mix pudding and let it chill according to directions. Carefully fold in 1 tub of whipped topping. You can substitute vanilla pudding but you don't want to. The chocolate flavor adds so much to it.
   
3. In your triffle dish or large glass bowl start layering.Place 1/3 of cake cubes, topped with 1/3 of pudding mixture, 1/3 of whipped topping, and 1/3 of toffee bits and nuts.
4. Repeat with 2 more layers, being sure to keep enough toffee bits and nuts to sprinkle on the top.
5. Refrigerate for 2 - 24 hours. Serve and enjoy, and enjoy, and enjoy.
   

TOTAL COSTS: $6.90
Cake Mix $1 (Aldi's)
Pudding $.60 (Meijer)
Milk $.20 (Aldi's)
Whipped Topping $1.60 (Aldi's)
Toffee Bits $2.50 (Meijer)
Nuts $1.00 (Aldi's)

VARIATIONS:
I love triffles. I love the texture and creaminess of it. If you can think of it, you can layer it. Imagine the flavors of your favorite candy bar or ice cream...
* make them in plastic cups for a kids party of school treat *
Mint Chocolate - Chocolate Cake, Andes mint chips, chocolate pudding
Brownie - 2 brownie mixes, chocolate or vanilla, & chocolate chips
Chocolate cake, butterscotch pudding, chocolate chips
Chocolate cake, pistachio pudding, chopped pistachios
Strawberry cake, white chocolate pudding & chips, strawberries

Cashew Chicken

SAUCE: mix in bowl and let sit until needed

1 c          Chicken broth

1 T          Corn starch

3 T          Soy sauce

½ t          Ginger

1 lb         Chicken, cubed

1 T          Oil

1 lg         Green pepper, chopped (or /Yellow/Red/Orange/Combo)

1 med    Onion, chopped

8 oz        Sliced water chestnuts

2/3 c       Roasted cashews or almonds

Brown chicken in oil at medium high heat in a large skillet. Add peppers, onion, and water chestnuts and fry for 3-4 additional minutes. Add cornstarch mixtures, cook and stirl 1 minute more or until sauce thickens and is bubbly. Stir in nuts and serve.

If the sauce is too thick, add a bit of broth or water. I do less onion and more multi-color peppers, and maybe splurge on a few extra cashews too).

TOTAL Cost: $6.00
Chicken $1.50 (Meijer)
Peppers $1.20 (Aldi's - for 2)
Onion $.30 (Meijer)
Chestnuts $1.00 (Meijer)
Cashews $1.00 (Aldi's)
Broth $.25 (Aldi's)
Rice $.75 (Aldi's)
Rest - from Stock/Pantry

VARIATIONS:
Can substitute/add bean sprouts, broccoli, bok choy, nappa cabbage, celery, etc
Exchange cashews for almonds

Egg Rolls

I've been on a quest to make better quality ethnic food at home. It's so expensive to eat out and not very healthy. One of my husbands favorite foods is egg rolls. I've tried some pretty bad recipes, so it was refreshing to find one that I could tweak and make it our own. It's worth it to double the recipe and freeze the extras. To reheat, 400 degree oven until crisp.


1/2 lb ground pork
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 T Black pepper
2-3 c Canola oil (for frying)
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp water
3 c Cabbage, shredded
2/3 c Carrots, shredded
8-12 (7 inch square) egg roll wrappers
1 Tbsp sesame oil (optional)

1. Season pork with ginger, pepper and garlic powder and mix thoroughly. Heat mixture in a medium skillet, stirring, until pork is finely chopped and cooked through and no longer pink. Set aside.


2. In another large skillet heat oil to about 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) or medium high heat. While oil is heating, combine flour and water in a bowl until they form a paste. In a separate bowl combine the cabbage, carrots, sesame oil and reserved pork mixture. Mix all together.


3. Lay out one egg roll skin with a corner pointed toward you. Place about a 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the cabbage, carrot and pork mixture on egg roll paper and fold corner up over the mixture. Fold left and right corners toward the center and continue to roll. Brush a bit of the flour paste on the final corner to help seal the egg roll.


4. Place egg rolls into heated oil and fry, turning occasionally, until golden brown. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels or rack. Serve warm.

Total Costs: $5.00
Ground pork $1.50 (Meijer)
Canola oil $1.00 (Aldi's)
Cabbage $1.00 (Meijer)
Carrots $.50 (Aldi's)
Egg roll wrappers $1.00 (Meijer)
Spices - From Stock

Variations:
Add chopped shrimp
Ground Chicken
Vegetarian - add spices directly to cabbage mix

FRUGAL TIPS: Plant a Garden

Put a little effort and a little bit of money into planting a garden this spring and it's totally paying off. It would have paid off more if the deer and woodchuck would have left it alone. Next year I'll be investing in some fencing ;)

The yield of lettuce I got out of the garden more than paid for what I spent on the garden. My tomatoes are just about to ripen (if my 3-year-old will leave them on the plant long enough). The peppers are getting big, and I'll have more oregano than I'll know what to do with. My zucchini will keep me stock of my AMAZING ZUCCHINI BREAD for the rest of the year. I can't wait to taste the rest of the year's produce, fresh salsa, salads, and much more.

Next year will be even better with what I've learned. Now that I've seen how and when all the seasons play out for each, the amount of room they really need, etc. I can plant more efficiently and get more out of the space that I have.

I started several things from seeds to save money (green beans, lettuce, broccoli, yellow squash, zucchini, cilantro, nasturtium, carrots etc). Others are easier, and pretty innexpensive to start from plants (tomato, peppers, cucumbers, marigolds, watermelon, etc). A good weed barrier (old newspapers) helps as well as mulch (I like coco bean shells) to cut down on the amount of weeding and work. I'm building a compost pile from our kitchen scraps, use ash from our fires, and decaying leaves from the yard to enrich the soil. All easy and cheap ways to organically enrich the soil.

No room? When we rented while building our house, I did a container garden on the balcony. One container was salsa (cilantro, jalapenos, tomato) and the other was an Italian garden (peppers, rosemary, oregano, tomato).

Not sure what to do with herb. 1 tsp dried = 1 Tbsp Fresh. To dry fresh herbs to keep, hang them upside down in a paper bag until dried (3-5 days), throw them in a food processor or blender to chop them up. Keep them in the freezer to keep them fresh. This will save you TONS of money on herbs and they have far more flavor than store bought that have been sitting on a shelf for who knows how long.

Cheesy Potatoes

This is my sister-in-law's recipe that we enjoy at many family get togethers. Oh so healthy ;) but very yummy. Worth the calories.

1 1/2 bags Hasbrown potatoes (cubed not shredded)

2 cans Cream of Chicken soup

1 T Butter

16 oz Shredded cheddar cheese, reserve 1/2 to top hashbrowns

8 oz Sour cream

Distribute hash browns evenly in a 9x13 greased pan. Mix everything but the hash browns in a saucepan over med-high heat until all the ingredients melt together creating a sauce. Pour the sauce over the potatoes in the 9x13 pan and mix until potatoes are well coated with the cheese sauce.Pour the reserved cheese over the top of the potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees for an hour.

TOTAL COSTS: $6.50

(1/2 batch for 1/2 the cost - enough for a family of 4)

Hasbrowns $3 (Meijer)

Soup $1 (Aldi's)

Cheese $2 (Costco)

Sour Cream $.50 (Aldi's)

VARIATIONS:

Add chunks of ham or chicken to make it a meal

Use 1 can Cream of Celery & 1 can Cream of Chicken soup