Vegetable Lasagna

Meatless meals are a deliciously great way to save a little money in your grocery budget.  I probably prepare at least one a week.  This lasagna recipe is so hearty, not to mention downright tasty, you won't miss the meat at all.

Vegetable Lasagna

1 small onion, finely diced

2 carrots, peeled and finely diced

2 stalks celery, finely diced

1 red, yellow, or orange pepper, finely chopped

2 cups broccoli florets, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. dried oregano

3 Tbs. oil

2 15oz. cans Italian style diced tomatoes, undrained

16oz. tub small curd cottage cheese

2 eggs

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. dried basil

3 cups grated mozzarella, divided

1 recipe béchamel sauce

1 box lasagna noodles

1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan

Start by making the vegetable ragout.  In a large heavy pot heat oil and sauté the diced vegetables together with the garlic, oregano and 2 tsp. basil until tender.  Add diced tomatoes.  Combine well, lower heat, cover and allow to simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil for the noodles.  When water comes to boil, turn off the heat, add noodles and allow to soak and soften.  Make the béchamel and stir in 1/2 cup of cheese, set aside.  In a small mixing bowl combine cottage cheese with eggs, basil, salt and pepper.

Spray a 9" X 13" pan well with non-stick cooking spray.  Place an even layer of noodles in the bottom.

  

Spoon half the ragout on and sprinkle with one cup of cheese.  Add another layer of noodles.  

Top with half the cottage cheese mixture, half the béchamel sauce.  

Repeat another layer of noodles and ragout with one cup of cheese.  Repeat a layer of noodles with the cottage cheese mixture and béchamel.  Sprinkle with remaining half cup of cheese.

Cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated 400° oven for 30 minutes.  Remove foil and bake 15 minutes longer.  Remover from oven, sprinkle with parmesan.  Allow to cool 15 to 20 minutes, cut and serve.

This makes a very full and very heavy pan of lasagna.  I set my pan on a baking sheet to catch drips and avoid a mess in the bottom of the oven.  This one is definitely Sunday dinner or special occasion worthy.  You can truly feed a crowd with this and the leftovers reheat nicely too.

Embellished Sheet Set - Super Simple!

If you are looking for a great gift idea or just want to spruce up a set of sheets you already have this is a simple way to accomplish just that and it doesn't take much time either.  I happen to have a ton of lace trim in my sewing stash.  Some of it I bought in lots on eBay, some came from a big bag of goodies I bought at a thrift store and some was given to me.  Now I want to get busy and use this stuff.

I bought a full size set of white cotton sheets that were on sale at Fred Meyer last week.  I love that the more you wash a set of cotton sheets the softer they get.  I paid $34.99 for this set, but there are less expensive options like a cotton blend or microfiber if this is too much for you.  Just watch the sales.  I happened to have a gift card from Christmas to use for this purchase, which made it very nice.

First things first you have to wash the sheets.  Warm water a little soap and fabric softener and run them through the dryer.  If they are going to shrink at all you want them to do that before you add anything to them.  You also want to remove the sizing that is often on them when they are manufactured.

Next press them.  Yeah, I love to iron (not) so this was the highlight of this project for me.  But to be honest I have to say they sure look nice once they are pressed.

This set happened to have the perfect little flap along the hem of the flat sheet and both pillowcases.  So I took the lace, making sure to measure it first so I knew I had enough to complete the project, and just tucked the edge under that flap and pinned it into place.  I used lots of pins so nothing would slip.

On the flat sheet I removed a few stitches so I could finish the ends nicely.  Then I selected my favorite decorative stitch, a wandering vine, and sewed right across the top of that flap and the top edge of the lace.

Close up - kind of hard to see with all the white on white

When I was done I hand stitched the ends so everything was neatly finished and secure.  Then I pressed the pillowcases and the top of the flat sheet once again before I stood back and admired my handiwork.  I love it!

Simple little touches that add so much and make a plain set of sheet just a little bit nicer.

While I was at it I made this cute little throw pillow
using a piece of pink chenille I had in my stash.

Last Week's Thrifty Moves

I spent my Sunday watching NASCAR and cooking up a storm, one of my favorite pastimes ever!  I made a delicious veggie lasagna for our dinner (recipe coming) using a homemade vegetable ragout.  I cleaned out our crisper drawer and used up a nice pile of extra vegetables we had accumulated in the past two weeks.

Oh my gosh!  This was so good!

After school on Monday my oldest invited a friend over to make chocolate chip cookies.  She informed her friend that we don't buy brown sugar, we make our own.  Her friend was quite excited to learn how to make brown sugar (1 cup granulated sugar + 1 Tbs molasses) and thought it was the neatest thing ever. J

Last week I shopped for fresh produce, milk and cream.  I stocked up on pasta that was on sale for 69¢ a package- linguine, farfalle and penne.  Last month I stocked up on spaghetti so we are quite well stocked on pasta and I didn’t use up the entire $5 I had allotted this week.

We enjoyed a musical week.  My oldest had her band's Pops concert Thursday evening and my youngest had an honor orchestra concert on Saturday evening.  Both concerts were fantastic.  Those kids, I tell you, such talent. J

On the way home from the orchestra concert dress rehearsal Saturday morning we stopped at Fred Meyer so I could buy a set of cotton sheets on sale for a project I had in mind.  While there we went ahead and grabbed another six boxes of pasta they had for 69¢ each.

After that I took the girls out for lunch at a nearby restaurant.  I had received a gift certificate at work Friday, which was so nice.  No money out of pocket for our lunch.  Nice!

I had an audience too.

I completed a couple of fun sewing projects using items I already had on hand.  I'll be posting more about them tomorrow.

I composted coffee grounds, tea bags, onion skins, garlic skins and egg shells.  We fed the chickens our kitchen scraps and leftover rice, salad and cornbread.  They ate very well and rewarded us with over a dozen beautiful eggs.

How thrifty was your week?

My Uber Thrifty Month In Review - February

I am super excited with how nicely things went for me in February.  For one thing my income tax refund arrived and I put it to really good use.

All of my regular monthly bills were paid early again this month and, as you all know, I thoroughly enjoy that feeling I get of being very well on top of things.  Nothing proves to be more stressful for me than to be up against a deadline, especially a financial one.  So to be financially on top of things has the opposite effect and makes me feel content and downright giddy.

The majority of my income tax refund went straight into my savings account which allowed me to make all of my financial savings goals for that account for the entire year!  Love that!  While I focus on other savings goals I still plan to add to this account as well.  From here on everything will be a bonus!  In fact, I had an extra $100 at the end of the month so I put it in there.

I earned two hours of overtime pay last month.  I took that extra money along with a small portion of my refund and added it to my other funds to make a double sized business debt payment.  This has allowed me to shave another month off of the end of my little payment plan.  Yippeeeee!

I kept personal spending fairly low and my various budgets in check.  I found some wonderful bargains on eBay and was able to replace some of the key pieces of my work wardrobe that were worn out.  I also added an extra sweater to my wardrobe so I will have more variety.  In the process I purged a few items for the thrift store box.  The items that are worn out I will not be donating, but I had some tops and a sweater I wasn’t wearing because I didn't really like them.  I replaced those things with items I like much better.

Last month I bought two tanks of gas for the car and one for the truck this month and used my rewards card each time to save an extra 10¢ a gallon.  We did a lot more driving last month than usual with all of the girl's extra -curricular school activities and my truck was on E, which is never good. J

Thankfully gas prices are quite low right now plus I took store surveys after each time I shopped at Fred Meyer to earn extra points on my card and get the fuel discounts.  I truly appreciate how they do that.

In January we didn't do anything for family entertainment that cost money and we didn’t dine out either.  Last month we jumped in the car to go for a leisurely drive and ended up in Idaho City.  We had lunch and walked around a bit before coming home.  It didn't cost much and we had a great time just hanging out.

That pretty much sums it up, no pun intended.  Okay March.  Let's just see what you have in store for me!

Goals For March

Last month I had great plans but unfortunately it didn’t quite work out the way I had pictured it.  In looking back at prior years lists for February I realized that we typically don't do well in the productivity department because, for some reason, this is the month we all seem to deal illness.  As a result we lose at least half the month.  This year was no exception.

In the future I will try to make my February list far less lofty or I may even forego it altogether.  No harm in that right?  For now I will try to make March turn out a little better.  J

This is what I have planned for this month:

1.          Make or purchase a gift for someone

2.         Send a card or letter to someone

3.         Family Nite Out or Outing

4.         Be creative - sew or craft something

5.         Do some investment cooking

6.         Complete another small home improvement project

7.         Spring clean our dining room

8.         Wash all the inside windows and windowsills

9.         Create a new menu plan for April

10.       Make or bake something delicious to share

11.        List something to sell on eBay, Etsy or Craigslist

12.        Enjoy a Family Movie Nite or Family Game Nite!

13.        Plan another mini road trip adventure

14.       Organize and update important paperwork 

15.        Invite guests over for a visit or dinner

Pathetic as it is this is how I did last month:

1.          Collect items for Easter baskets

2.         Send a card or letter to someone

3.         Family Nite Out or Outing

4.         Be creative - sew or craft something

5.         Do some investment cooking  shredded pork

6.         Complete another small home improvement project

7.         Spring clean our kitchen

8.         Wash all the doors and doorknobs

9.         Create a new menu plan for March

10.       Make or bake something to share

11.        Sell something on eBay, Etsy or Craigslist

12.        Enjoy Family Movie Nite or Family Game Nite!

13.        Plan a mini road trip adventure

14.       Organize and update important paperwork  Still a work in progress

15.        Invite guests over for a visit or dinner

If time allows I hope to tick a couple of the things off of the list I didn’t get done last month.  I would really like to spring clean my kitchen if nothing else.

Did you have a list you were working on last month?  How did you do?

Coconut Curry Soup

A family favorite, and certainly mine, is this spicy and flavorful soup with a nod to Thailand.  Guaranteed to warm you up on a chilly evening and especially wonderful if you happen to have a nasty little head cold.  You can adjust the spiciness to suit your taste and if spicy just isn't your thing leave out the curry altogether and it is still delicious.

Coconut Curry Soup

1 large chicken breast half, thinly sliced

2 Tbs. oil

3 cloves garlic, crushed

2 cups chicken broth

1 can coconut milk

1 heaping Tbs. Asian red curry

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 small onion, thinly sliced

1 can bean sprouts

1 can sliced water chestnuts (optional)

1 package shredded coleslaw mix

4 bundles of mung bean noodles (optional)

Chicken is sliced super thin

In a large soup pot heat oil and cook sliced chicken.  Add garlic and onions.  Continue to cook until onions are tender.  Pour in broth, coconut milk and a coconut milk can full of water.  Stir in curry and soy sauce.  Add sprouts and chestnuts, stir to combine.  Stir in coleslaw mix.  Bring to a simmer and cook until cabbage softens.  Serve plain or with noodles.

Asian red curry paste.  Wonderful flavor and spice.

To prepare noodles:  Soak noodles in cold water while you make the soup.  When the soup is finished add the noodles just before serving.  Stir them in to warm through and remove from heat.  Do not boil the noodles.

Four bundles of mung bean noodles soaking in cold water

Mung bean noodles are super easy to prepare and fun to eat.  Certainly different from traditional pasta, but quite enjoyable.  I make the soup both, with or without the noodles and it is fantastic either way.

Served with some crispy egg rolls and hot mustard or sweet and sour sauce to dip them in and you have a wonderful Asian meal to enjoy.

My March Meal Plan

March includes two culinary holidays - St. Patrick's Day and Easter.  So I planned two wonderful menus for both of them.  Yum!

The rest of the month is just as delicious!

This is what I plan to feed my family this month:

WeinerWwraps, Onions Rings, Veggies & Dip

Denver Egg Scramble, Toast, Orange Slices

Pepperoni Pizza, Spinach Salad

Chicken Noodle Soup, Biscuits, Tossed Green Salad

Beef Enchiladas, Spanish Rice, Tossed Green Salad

Chili Mac, Garden Salad

French Toast, Sausage Patties, Slice Peaches

Minestrone Soup, Breadsticks, Caesar Salad

Corned Beef, Cabbage & Carrots, Red Potatoes

Pork Chow Mein, Egg Rolls

Eggs Benedict, Fruit Salad

Buffalo Strips, French Fries, Cole Slaw

Chicken Corn Chowder, Breadsticks, Tossed Green Salad

Stuffed Peppers, Spinach Salad, Dinner Rolls

Bean & Cheese Burritos, Spanish Rice, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Cheese & Sour Cream

Ham & Cheese Omelets, Toast, Sliced Apples

Sliders, Steak Fries, Veggies & Dip

Beef Barley Soup, Biscuits, Garden Salad

Tuna Melts, Tossed Green Salad

Ham Potato Hash, Toast, Fresh Fruit

A special menu for Easter Sunday

Pork Roast or Ham

Cheesy Potatoes

Deviled Eggs

Garden Salad

Dinner Rolls

Coconut Cake

As usual, as the budget allows I will plan to purchase loss leader items and take advantage of any good sales to further add to our pantry and freezer.  I m hoping for a good sale on butter and ground pork.

My meal plan includes that I make pretty much everything from scratch.  Knowing what ingredients are in our food is important to me.  It also makes a huge difference in the cost of each meal.

I try to make all of our baked goods so I save money over buying them at the store.  Occasionally I may grab a loaf of bread if I am short on time, but I try not to do that very often.  We prefer our homemade bread over store bought.

Any new meal planners out there?  Whether you are or not, what are some of your favorites dinners to prepare for your family?