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 Budget Family Menu Only $33.06 – Week 2

The popularity of my post last week on A Cheap Family Menu For Less Than $40.00 just proves what I already knew, we need cheap meal ideas put together in a simple weekly dinner planner.

Many of us are so financially stressed right now that preparing cheap meals is one important way we can try to cope during this recession. Having access to weekly dinner menus that are cheap and easy to prepare will lighten the burden.

I received more views for that 1 article in one week than my site as a whole in the last month. So of course the only thing to do is create yet another weekly dinner planner consisting of cheap meal ideas under $5 per meal. See what my readers want, my readers get!

Last week I created a weeks worth of recipes for cheap meal ideas with what I had on hand and a limited number of items and money to purchase from the grocery store.

For the weekly dinner menus this week, I am going to pretend that none of the items are on hand, even though most of my $5 dinner meals are created from simple ingredients normally sitting in the pantry. Watch as I create 7 days worth of cheap meal ideas for only $33.06. Yep, that’s cheap and it is easy to do.

Cheap Meal Ideas For A Week Only $33.06

Weekly Dinner Planner

  • Monday – Chicken Casserole Recipe – 1 lb of chicken, any type just get whats cheap ($2.50), 1 can of cream of mushroom soup ($0.79), 1 bag frozen broccoli ($.99), 1 can of pears ($.50)

Total Meal Cost – $4.78

  • Tuesday – Crockpot Chili – 1 1/2 lbs of ground beef ($3.00), 1 can stewed tomatoes ($.99), 1 can chili beans ($.50) 1 jiffy box of cornbread mix ($.33)

Total Meal Cost – $4.82

  • Wednesday – Quick Chicken Recipe With Pasta – 1 pkg fettuccine noodles ($.60), 1 Jar Alfredo Sauce ($1.50), 1 lb chicken ($2.00), 1 can green beans ($.50)

Total Meal Cost – $ 4.60

  • Thursday - Breakfast Waffles – 1 box pancake mix ($1.00), 1 lb fresh fruit ($2.00), 2 pkg sausage links ($1.94)

Total Meal Cost – $4.94

  • Friday – Soup and Sandwich - 1 loaf bread ($.88), 1 pkg cheese ($1.50), 4 cans of chicken noodle soup or tomato soup ($2.00)

Total Meal Cost – $4.38

  • Saturday – Fish Casserole – 1 can tuna fish ($.75), 1 pkg egg noodles ($1.00), 1 can cream mushroom soup ($0.79), 1 can peas ($0.50), 1 bag chips ($1.50)

Total Meal Cost – $4.54

  • Sunday – Soy Pork Roast – 1 lb pork roast ($4.00), 1 pkg rice ($1.00)

Total Meal Cost – $5.00

Your total cost for this weekly dinner menu is only $33.06, now that’s not bad at all. Creating a cheap family meal plan isn’t difficult, it’s just a habit you have to learn. All of the cheap menu ideas above are just a starting point, these recipes are so simple you can substitute one item for another, you can purchase a little bit extra and double the batch for a make ahead lunch meal or do an easy freezer dinner next week. The goal here is just do it! Take control of your family food budget now not later.

Here is last weeks cheap quick easy dinner recipes:  Cheap Family Menu For Less Than $40.00

Need to feed a “BIG FAMILY”? This will help: Creating Big Family Meals On A Budget

January 20th, 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Category: Dinner Recipes, Best Crockpot Recipes, Casserole Cooking, easy ground beef meals, freezer meals recipes | 39 comments