Easy Healthy Recipe For Ratatouille Soup

I  was searching for some quick healthy meals when I ran across an old family recipe for Easy Ratatouille Soup yesterday. Boy did the memories of my mom cooking in the kitchen come back to me.

We grew up poor and my mom prepared most of our meals using ingredients right from the garden. Even though I wasn’t a big fan of eggplant when I was little, most kids aren’t, the blend of eggplant and vegetables in this Ratatouille recipe made the meal more appealing.

 

I can’t recall the last time I prepare this, probably because the cost of eggplant is usually out of my cheap cooking budget. Unfortunately I wasn’t born with a green thumb so pulling these ingredients from the garden has never been an option in my house.

But regardless of cost if you are looking for healthy meal ideas, this is about as healthy as I can give. And to those of you that do grow fresh delicious veggies, this Ratatouille recipe will cost next to nothing to prepare.

It’s an easy recipe and with crockpot cooking it’s a simple healthy meal idea.

Easy Ratatouille Soup

Cheap Cooking Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 large onions, finely chopped
  • 1/2 tsp. garlic salt (optional)
  • 1 eggplant, diced in 1/2 in cubes
  • 6 small zucchini, sliced
  • 2 bell peppers, seeded and diced
  • 1 summer squash, sliced
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 cup minced parsley (optional)
  • 4 large tomatoes cut in wedges or 1 can stewed tomatoes, drained

Easy Dinner Directions:

  1. Heat 1/4 cup vegetable oil add onions and garlic and saute about 5 minutes.
  2. Stir in eggplant, zucchini, peppers, squash, salt and parsley.
  3. Add remaining vegetable oil to prevent sticking.
  4. Cover and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Add tomatoes and cook on med heat for 15 minutes.
  6. Garnish with more tomatoes and parsley if desired.

Yield: 8 generous servings

TIP: For crockpot cooking after step one is complete, add all ingredients into the crockpot and cook on low 4-6 hours.

TIP: Make more the needed for a simple healthy freezer meal recipe next week.

Tip: Hey Vegetarians, this is the perfect easy dinner idea! Check out Easy Vegetarian Meals for many more recipes and ideas.

Want another soup idea? Try this out: Easy 3 Can Soup

January 30th, 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , | Category: Dinner Recipes, Best Crockpot Recipes, Dream Dinners Made Cheap | One comment

Puffy Oven Apple Pancake Casserole

I tried this simple breakfast casserole recipe for a simple Sunday brunch a few weeks ago and it was so good.

It’s called Puffy Oven Apple Pancake Casserole and it’s one of those cheap cooking recipes every one has to try.

The ingredients are very basic (making it a cheap recipe), I had everything already in the pantry or refrigerator.

The only possible draw back was the 30 minutes you have to let the pancake mix sit before baking but an easy and even better solution was to prepare it the night before, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Have fun with the recipe, I hope you enjoy it and let me know if you get creative as I love taking a recipe and adding to it – so share, share, share!!

Puffy Oven Apple Pancake

Serves 4
Prep Time: 30 minutes (can mix the night before, cover and refrigerate.)
Bake Time: 15-20 minutes

Cheap Cooking Ingredients:
Pancake:

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 6 large eggs
  • 1 tbsp. sugar
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick butter)

Apple Filling:

  • 2 large Golden Delicious or Granny Smith Apples, peeled and sliced
  • 1 tbsp. butter
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • whipped cream (optional)

Easy Meal Directions:
Pancake:

  1. Mix flour, milk, eggs, sugar, salt and let stand for 30 minutes.
  2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees, place baking pan or casserole dish in oven and add butter.
  3. Remove once butter is melter, pour pancake mixture into heated pan and return to oven.
  4. Bake for 15- 20 minutes or until edges are puffed and golden.

Apple Filling:

  1. While pancake bakes, add apples and butter to a skillet and cook 5-10 minutes or until tender.
  2. Add brown sugar and stir until dissolved then transfer to a serving bowl.

To serve: Cut pancake into quarters and fill each serving with apples. Top with whipped cream if desired.

TIP: make sure the family / guests are at the table, ready to eat as the pancake will slump quickly.

Looking for something different? Try this: Breakfast Casserole

January 27th, 2009 | Tags: , , , , | Category: Casserole Cooking, cheap breakfast ideas | Leave a comment

A Cheap Family Menu For Less Than $40.00

As I prepared my family meal menu for the week I quickly realized, the freezer is empty and I’m broke. I grocery shop for a month of family meals at a time but with the holidays last month I skimmed from the food budget and now I’m paying for it.

So I have to tap into the $5 dinner meals for a weeks worth of cheap food recipes to get me by until payday.

This is one great tool I have learned to use and love over the years. I can go to the grocery store with a shopping list, purchase just what I need.

Now I can prepare cheap meals for the family without having to borrow money, take a payday loan or eat hot dogs and mac-n-cheese for the week (yes I have done all 3 before)!

After a good look in the pantry I have come up with some great family meals for less than $27.00 for the week.

Yes that’s all! It can be done, I have done it with even less before.

Here’s what it looks like:

Cheap Quick Easy Dinner Recipes For A Week

Monday – Good ‘Ole Spaghetti with garlic bread and a dinner salad. I had the spaghetti noodles and sauce already in the pantry so the only thing I had to purchase is a head of lettuce($.97), french bread($.25 after coupon) and 1 lb of sausage($.97)
TOTAL MEAL COST = $2.19

Tuesday – Chicken and Rice Bake with a can of green beans. I had the canned items as I always purchase canned goods by the case. I also had the rice and seasons so the only thing I had to purchase was the chicken. I usually prepare this with chicken breast but that’s too expensive this week but I found a big family pack of chicken leg’s for $2.99.
TOTAL MEAL COST = $2.99

Wednesday – Bacon Lettuce and Tomato Sandwiches with a can of peaches and pears. I already had the bread and I need to use the rest of the lettuce from Monday. I also had the can’s of peaches and pears so the only thing I had to purchase was a small tomato($.78) and 1 lb of bacon($1.50 on sale)
TOTAL MEAL COST = $2.28

Thursday - Tater Tot Casserole with french bread and applesauce. I already had the canned goods and the cheese, I only needed to purchase 1 lb. hamburger ($2.39), loaf of french bread ($1.00 – no more coupons) and a bag of tater tots ($1.50)
TOTAL MEAL COST = $4.89

Friday – Pizza Please – we try to make Friday night Pizza night at our house. We like to purchase the take-n-bakes but this week we have to make our own. I had the cheese, sauce and a few of the favorite toppings already. I had to buy 2 can’s of the jumbo biscuits ($1.94) and a bag of pepperoni ($1.50) I also bought a bag of chips($2.00) and a 2 liter of pop ($.69) not to healthy but fun for the kids and easy for mom and dad.
TOTAL MEAL COST = $6.13

Saturday – Crockpot Lemon Chicken with rice and canned fruit – I had everything for this meal but the chicken and lemonade. I found that great deal on the big family pack of chicken legs($2.99) and the can of lemonade ($.33 on sale)
TOTAL MEAL COST = $3.32

Sunday – Easy Cheesy Broccoli Soup with canned fruit – this was the perfect choice for a cold winter day. I had the canned fruit and all the ingredients for the soup except the broccoli, cheese whiz and bread bowls. I decided to substitute the cheese whiz for shredded cheese I already had in the fridge. So the only thing I had to purchase was the broccoli bunch ($2.97 ouch – no sales) and 2 pkgs. of bread bowls for ($1.98)
TOTAL MEAL COST = $4.95

Cooking cheap meals for a big family like mine can be done. These $5 dinner meals are simple and healthy to prepare. My grocery list also included 2 gallons of milk for the week ($4.00), 3 loafs of bread ($3.00), 1 case of top ramen ($2.40 on sale) and 1 lb of cooked ham from the deli ($2.99 on sale), this covered breakfast and lunch for the week. For less than $40.00 I am able to feed my family of 6 complete cheap meals that are healthy, simple and quick!

For more easy recipes like these, here is a great blog to see: Easy Recipes Index

January 11th, 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Category: Dinner Recipes, Best Crockpot Recipes, Casserole Cooking, Dream Dinners Made Cheap, easy ground beef meals, freezer meals recipes | 24 comments
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