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Healthy Recipes for National Pie Day

Karen Weideman — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:20:26 +0000

Would you believe it? Tomorrow is National Pie Day! I still have some Thanksgiving pie in my refrigerator, but I would certainly feel less guilty if it were healthier.

Thanks to the culinary staff at Wellspring Academies for creating these delicious and healthy pie recipes to enjoy during the holidays and throughout the year. Each serving has less than 100 calories!!!! Be sure to bookmark these for Christmas!

Pumpkin Pudding Pie

Ingredients:

1 30 oz can of Libby’s Easy Pumpkin Pie Mix
1/2 cup of Egg Beaters or egg whites
1 cup evaporated skim milk
2 9-inch pie pans

Directions:

Mix pumpkin pie mix, evaporated milk, and egg substitute in large bowl. Pour into pie shells. Bake in preheated 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake another 50-60 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 2 hours or refrigerate. Serve plain or with fat free Cool Whip (15 calories for 2 tablespoons).

Yield: 12 3.5 oz servings

Nutritional information:
97 calories
.4 Fat grams
3.2 Protein grams
20 Carbohydrate grams

Sweet Potato Pie

Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato
3 cups cubed butternut squash
2/3 cup Egg Beaters
1/3 cup nonfat vanilla soymilk
1/3 cup sugar free maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup granulated Splenda
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp butter extract
1/2 tsp molasses
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup mini marshmallows
Pam spray

Directions:

Preheat over to 350 F. Wash and peel the sweet potato and the butternut squash. Dice each into 1/4″ cubes, and remove the seeds from the squash. Microwave in a small bowl for 6-10 minutes, then let sit in microwave for an additional 5 minutes. Place squash and sweet potato in a food processor and process until mostly smooth. Add all remaining ingredients except marshmallows and Pam to the food processor and process again until combined. Lightly spray a medium baking dish with Pam. Pour mixture into pan and evenly spread out. Bake for 3-50 minutes, or until very soft. Sprinkle marshmallows on top, then bake 3-5 more minutes, or until marshmallows are beginning to brown. Allow to cool slightly, and then serve!

Yield: 8 servings

Approximate Nutritional Information:
84 calories/0g fat per serving

Enjoy!

image Wellspring Academics

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Happy Turkey Day!

Jennifer Chait — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 23:15:15 +0000

Wishing all of our Thrifty Mommy readers a fun, safe, and of course budget-friendly Thanksgiving! Following are some excellent ideas to make that Thanksgiving fare stretch a little further…

Great ways to use leftover Thanksgiving food…

Karen, my resident co-blogger offers up some super ways to use up all that leftover Thanksgiving turkey.
Over at Blisstree Green, I’ve got some ideas about what to do with organic Thanksgiving leftovers.
Marye at Baking Delights serves up a plan for leftovers for the entire Thanksgiving meal plus some fab ideas for leftover coffee (which sadly I never have).
Lastly, just to keep you safe Peggy’s got leftover Thanksgiving food safety tips.

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Recipe Ideas for Leftover Turkey

Karen Weideman — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 03:03:49 +0000

Thanksgiving is only a few hours away. One of the things I hear weeks before Thanksgiving is people concerned about the amount of turkey they’ll have left over. They want to serve their family and guests turkey, but they’re hesitant because of the waste involved. Rather than letting good food go to waste, try some of these ideas.

Turkey sandwich - This one is a given, but it is one of my favorites. Some people like their sandwich with mayonnaise and onions. I like mine with mustard on white bread.

Turkey salad - This is another family favorite. I chop up some turkey, add some mayo, diced dill pickles, salt, and pepper, and it’s as good as chicken salad. I also like to make ham salad.

Turkey and rice - Cook rice according to package directions, add desired seasonings. Throw in some chopped turkey and some vegetables. You might also like to make a gravy.

Turkey wraps - Add some turkey, cheese, and fresh vegetables to a lettuce slice or tortilla.

Turkey soup - There are many varieties of turkey soup. You could make a cream based soup or a Mexican style soup. Use your favorite chicken soup recipe using turkey instead of chicken.

Other sources for recipes:

AllRecipes.com – Some ideas include Turkey a la King, turkey enchiladas, turkey pot pie, turkey tetrazzini, and more.
Recipe Goldmine
National Turkey Federation
Healthy Eating Made Easy

What are your favorite ways to use leftover turkey?

image sxc.hu

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

35 Plentiful Ideas for Thanksgiving

Karen Weideman — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:41:11 +0000

Thanksgiving is only a week away. I know, I can hardly believe it. To save you some time, I’ve been searching around for great resources for you. There’s a wide variety to choose from. Enjoy!

For the kids:

Decorating and Entertaining:

Recipes and Food Ideas:

Other:

Which ideas do you think you’ll try?

image (c) Linette Gerlach

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Inexpensive homemade stock & broth

Jennifer Chait — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 03:58:01 +0000

Stock (meat or veggie) is a huge money saver because you can use fresh or frozen stock for so many things and make it out of items you already have laying around, including leftovers. Of course before you can do anything with stock, first you’ll need a good stock recipe. Here are some stock recipe ideas…

Now that you’ve found your favorite stock recipe, you can do all sorts of awesome things with it such as…

Use it in soup – yeah, you knew this one. Toss any leftovers meats, some noodles, some veggies and some herbs in and you’ve got quick and easy soup. However, you can also use a really nice and flavorful stock as a starter for a dinner party. Place clear stock (skim all the fat off then squeeze well through a cheesecloth) into a nice bowl and top with a sprig of herbs.
Use for basting meats or veggies.
Use for steaming veggies instead of water.
Use for cooking rice, other grains, or noodles.
Use a stir fry sauce base.
Use piping hot to cure the common cold – ok, not cure, but it will make your patient feel better and less congested.
Use to make homemade baby teething cookies – yup.
Use in stuffing.
Use in mashed potatoes for low cal flavor vs. butter.
Use for sauteing shrimp, veggies, or whatever you like.
Use Asian stock for an egg roll dipping sauce.

Some inexpensive recipes that use stock…

BONUS TIP: If you want to make stock even cheaper try making it in a pressure cooker, which save time, energy, and cash!

Stock is versatile, easy, healthy (if you make it less salty) and if you’ve got it on hand it’s a money and time saving cooking essential. What’s your favorite way to use stock?

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

What a great lasagna soup!

kellys — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 14:04:12 +0000

Last night I tried a great soup from Family Fun Magazine. It was a great lasagna soup. It took about an hour from start to finish but it was souper easy! No pun intended. Both Turkey Butt and Little Man loved it. Turkey Butt’s job was putting the cheese mixture on the bottom of the bowl and then putting the mozzarella on top. She loved it. I had never chopped herbs before. I had alwasy used dried herbs but I have a fantastic small processor and use it for everything. It made quick work of both the onions and the basil. Hope you enjoy it.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Traditional Rice Casserole for less than $3

kellys — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 12:31:16 +0000

I jsut went and bought the ingredients for my rice casserole this morning. When I totalled it up, I spent less around $2.70 for all the ingredients for my rice casserole, which will easily feed a family of 6. I thought I would share it with you in case you are tight on funds this year and need an idea or two to save money and yet eat well.

1 can Beef Consume – $.99
1 can French Onion – $.99
1/2 cup butter – $.40 (the original recipe called for 1 stick of butter but I try to cut it in half)
1 cup rice – $.30
1jar/can mushrooms ( I have to leave this out since my wonderful husband thinks they taste like dirt. I married him anyway:)

Here is the hard part … Dump it all in a bowl and bake it at 350 degrees for an hour.

Hope you like it. It is a family tradition at our house. I also hope you enjoy your family this Thanksgiving. Our family will be missing a very important member this year and I hope only to cry a few times.

Happy Thanksgiving from Karen and I. We are so very thankful for all of you.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes

Karen Weideman — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 04:52:11 +0000

If you’re looking to go light this Thanksgiving, or even if you want to justify that extra piece of pecan pie, then try these recipes courtesy of Cooking Light.

Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese, Bacon, and Balsamic-Fig Dressing

Roast Turkey with Onion and Cranberry Chutney

Wild Rice Pilaf with Sausage, Shiitake Mushrooms, and Celery

Brussels Sprouts with Currants and Pine Nuts

Gratin of Cauliflower with Gruyère

Bakery Dinner Rolls

Pear Pie with Streusel Topping and Caramel Sauce

photo by Becky Luigart-Stayner, courtesy of Cooking Light

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

What a quick and easy chicken recipe

kellys — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:39:19 +0000

I love cruising around recipes. Yesterday, I found a great Baked Chicken Amandine recipe. It was super easy and cheap. The almonds were probably the most expensive thing. Check back tomorrow to find a few quick tips on chicken. BTW, even my 15 month old Little Man asks for seconds. I just have to make sure he gets no almonds as he still doesn’t have but 2 teeth.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Mexican Shrimp Bisque adjustments

kellys — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 00:54:49 +0000

I had told you a while back that by making out a menu for the week and sticking to it, you can save a lot of money. Tonight we had Mexican Shrimp Bisque and it was wonderful. But I will say that there are a few adjustments that I would recommend for a family of 4.

You don’t even need the shrimp to make it great! Shrimp was on sale last week so we had it in the freezer.
You will have to double the recipe as it barely makes enough for 6 normal size bowls and chances are, someone is going to want seconds.
Decrease the amount of chili powder to 1 tsp for a regular batch and double it if you are going to double the recipe
I haven’t needed the cilantro but the avocado is the perfect texture and taste. Avocados were on sale this week as well.

I hope you enjoy a great meal. The soup would easily cost you $7 a bowl at a restaurant but you can make it for a fraction of the cost. Now that is thrifty living!

Post from: Thrifty Mommy