Pantry Meal - No Spend Challenge - Copycat Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup

I spent last evening sorting through six pounds of pinto beans that were the last in a 12-pound bag. I sorted through the beans while sort of watching a movie. It was just background noise, but before I knew it, I had gone through six pounds of beans instead of just one pound. I soaked a pound overnight. Earlier in the day, I prepared tortilla dough, de-boned a rotisserie chicken and I made a green chili chicken filling for enchiladas. 

I was not hungry when dinner rolled around because I did a lot of taste testing while cooking, but Number One Husband was a happy camper after eating his dinner. I used mini cast iron pans to re-heat single serving sides in the oven while baking the enchiladas.

I hopped out of bed this morning, made a cup of tea and started making tortillas. I rinsed the soaked beans and prepared them for the electric pressure cooker. I waited until noon before I started the beans. I wanted full sun on our solar panels before I cooked the beans, so the electric pressure cooker wouldn't tax our solar system. Meanwhile, I started putting together the enchiladas. 

I turned the beans into refried beans. I used the blender to make smooth restaurant quality
refried beans using our homemade beef tallow. I forgot to take a picture. I had some rice and
 leftover salsa in the freezer, so I made Spanish rice.

I am getting better at making tortillas. These were my best ones so far. 
I think that I have finally figured out the dough and cooking process.

The sauce is made with chicken, sour cream, green chilies and
homemade cream of chicken soup.

I divided the recipe between two pans. One for the freezer 
and one for dinner. We have plenty of leftovers from dinner.

Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup

1 C cold milk

1/3 C Flour

1 Tsp chicken bouillon

Whisk cold milk and flour together while cooking over medium heat. Add chicken bouillon and continue whisking until smooth and thickened. 

I'm putting together some freezer meals, so I won't have to spend too much time in the kitchen while our guests are visiting. I'm not sure what the agenda will be, but I will be prepared for whatever pops up. No Spend = No Eating out!

Shalom,

Mrs. Smith

Copycat Wild Rice Blend Mix

I really like the flavor of wild rice blends, but they cost about $5 for a small package whereas wild rice alone cost about $10-$15 a pound. I discovered that I could purchase Fall River's wild rice in broken pieces for $5.54 a pound from Azure Standard, so I bought 5 pounds. Long grain white rice can still be purchased at Walmart for .59 a pound if purchased in the 20-pound bags. Now I just needed to learn how to make the yummy spice mix and figure out how to cook it in the Instant Pot Mini Lux. 

Purchasing the broken pieces saved about $23. This will last us a long time. 

I recently dried a bunch of parsley left over from our Passover Seder. I dry the leftover parsley every year. It is superior to storebought dried parsley and there aren't any bugs included. 

Here is the seasoning mix that I came up with. This spice mix can also be used to flavor plain rice, quinoa, vegetables or potatoes. It is very tasty!

Seasoning Mix

1 C Dried Parsley

1/3 C Garlic Powder

1/8 C Onion Powder

2 Tbs salt

1 Tbs Black Pepper

2 Tbs sugar

Place all ingredients in a jar with a lid. Shake jar until mixed well. Shake jar before every use. 

Wild Rice Blend

1 C Long grain Rice

1/2 C Wild Rice

1 Tsp Butter

3 C Water

3 Tbs Seasoning Mix

Add all the ingredients into the pressure cooker pot. Follow the cooking instructions for rice in your pressure cooker manual. If cooking on a stovetop, follow the cooking instructions on the back of the long grain rice bag.  

Following the pressure cooker instructions for cooking times is very important. I have learned that every pressure cooker is different. Also, the altitude affects the cooking times. I am still trying to figure out how to cook in my 3-Quart Instant Pot Mini Lux. It is different from my Wolfgang Puck pressure cookers. None of the recipes that I have tried have worked out as far as cooking times at my altitude. I keep having to adjust the cooking times by learning from trial and error. 

Next time, since this pressure cooker is new to me, I will try reducing the cooking time by 1-minute and reduce the liquid by 3 Tbs. Or I may use my other pressure cooker. The rice was delicious, but not quite perfect. 

Mrs. Smith 

Copycat Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies - Copycat Recipe

Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies are my favorite Little Debbie snacks followed closely by Swiss Cake Rolls. It can be said that I like very sweet goodies on occasion, however, I do not like all the unrecognizable ingredients in them, so I stopped buying them a long time ago. This recipe is a great alternative to the store-bought treat without all the added gunk.

These are delicious!

Prepare all ingredients in advance. These come together fast.

Secret Ingredient - Sorghum Molasses

Cream butter and sugar together.

Add egg, molasses and vanilla.

Add flour mixture.

Add in the oats.

The cookie dough should look something like this.

Prepare pans for baking. I used re-usable parchment paper and a silicone pad. They both turned out the same. Regular parchment paper can be used also.

Drop cookie dough using a spoon or a scoop. Make sure that they are all uniform in size and shape.

Slightly flatten dough balls. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 8-10 minutes. 

I filled mine with butter cream, but I included the original filling in the recipe below.

Let cookies cool completely before filling. 

To store, individually wrap in plastic and place in a sealed container. This is an easy treat to pack in lunches. They can also be frozen when stored in this manner.

Oatmeal Cream Pies

Cookie Dough Ingredients:

3/4 C All-Purpose Flour

1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/4 tsp Salt

1 1/4 C Oats

1 Stick Butter

4 tbsp Brown Sugar

1/4 C Sugar

1 Egg

1 tsp Vanilla

1 tbsp Molasses

Mix flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in a small bowl until well combined. Set aside. Cream sugar and butter together. Add egg and mix. Add vanilla and molasses and mix. Add flour mixture and mix well. Add oats and mix until dough forms. 

Drop by spoonful or use a scoop on a parchment lined baking sheet. Make sure the dough balls are uniform and are the same size. Press dough balls down slightly. Bake in a 350* oven for 8-10 minutes. Do not overbake. Let cool completely before stuffing with cream filling.

Cream Filling Ingredients:

1 C Marshmallow Fluff

1 Stick Butter

1/4 C Powdered Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla

Cream powdered sugar and butter together. Add marshmallow fluff and vanilla. Whip until fluffy. Spoon cream filling on the bottom side of a cookie and place another cookie, bottom side down, on top of the cream filling. Press together until cream filling reaches the outer edge of the cookies. Wrap in plastic wrap and store in a container with a lid. This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled. This recipe made nine regular sized oatmeal cream pies. 

Enjoy,

Mrs. Smith

Copycat Cocoa Cream of Wheat

I love Cream of Wheat. As a child, it was my favorite breakfast. It is fast, easy and inexpensive to make compared to traditional breakfast cereals. You can buy the name brand for more money, or you can purchase a box of Farina for less. It only takes 3 tablespoons to make a healthy size serving. Farina goes a long way.

You get to control the ingredients by purchasing a plain box of Farina. Walmart sells a 5-pound bag of Farina for $12.99, a 36-ounce box of Malt-O-Meal for $4.98 or a 28-ounce box of Cream of Wheat for $4.52. You can also purchase a box of Instant Cocoa Cream of Wheat for $4.52 that weighs 12.3 ounces/10 servings, or you can make your own for a lot less.

Cocoa Cream of Wheat

1 Box Farina or Cream of Wheat 1/2 tsp. Salt 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon (optional) 1/2 C. Sugar 1/2 C. Cocoa Powder

Mix all ingredients together. Store in a jar.

Directions:

Bring 1 cup of water or milk to a boil. Add 3 Tablespoons of Cocoa wheat while stirring. Let simmer for 2 1/2 minutes while stirring constantly. Top with a pat of butter and a splash of milk. Serve hot. Use additional toppings like nuts and dried fruits if you like.

Check out the ingredients on the Instant Cocoa Cream of Wheat

Enjoy,

Mrs. Smith

Sausage Balls - Copycat Bisquick Baking Mix - Copycat Jimmy Dean Breakfast Sausage - Recipes

 

Sausage Balls

Ingredients:

1 lb. Hot Breakfast Sausage   Copycat Jimmy Dean Beef Breakfast Sausage

8 oz Extra Sharp Cheddar, grated

3 C Baking Mix   Copycat Bisquick Baking Mix

In a large bowl, mix together the sausage and grated cheese. Add one cup of baking mix and mix until well incorporated. Repeat until all three cups are incorporated. I use my hands. I find it is the easiest method to mix this very stiff mixture.

Pinch off small pieces and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Place baking sheet in the freezer. Freeze until solid. Place balls in a baggie and store in the freezer until ready to use.

Baking Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place frozen balls on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 15-18 minutes until browned and slightly crisp.

I used homemade Jimmy Dean copycat chicken sausage in this recipe. The link for a beef version is below. The meat type is interchangeable in this recipe.

I re-ground the sausage into a smaller grind. 

 The ununiformed edges make a nice crunchy outside. Walnut sized balls are the best size to bake.

Things To Be Happy About

Sausage balls

Bookmarks made out of anything I can find. 

Crunchy bites of food

Silicone spatulas

Reading bumper stickers while stuck in traffic

Kitchen gadgets

Telescopes

Kale green

A full freezer

The glow of a lantern on the walls of a tent

A river rock chimney with contrasting logs on a log cabin

Blessings,

Mrs. Smith

Instant Oatmeal Packets (Revised) Copycat Recipe

$19.49 On Amazon, $ Wal-Mart Sold Out, Sam's (Shrinkflation 40 count)

There are many ways to save money and still enjoy the convenience of convenience foods without giving up healthy food choices. When you make your own homemade mixes, you control what goes into them. Your wallet and your health will thank you. A friend of mine turned me onto some older recipe books (70's) that promotes making your own mixes. These are easy recipes and a lot less expensive than the store-bought alternatives.

 

Instant Oatmeal Packets

Blend in blender
2 Cup regular oats until powdery.
You will need 10 Zip-lock bags: Each Bag will make 1 serving.

Combine
1/4 cup regular oats
2 Tablespoons Powdered oats (you just made those in the blender)
1/3 tsp salt

To Use:
Empty packet into bowl and add 1/2 cup boiling water and stir until thick.

Variations to each packet add:

Apple-Cinnamon: 1 Tablespoon Sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 2 Tablespoon chopped dried apples

Cinnamon-Spice:  1 Tablespoon Sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Raisins & Brown Sugar: 1 Tablespoon packed brown sugar, 1 Tablespoon raisins

Wheat Germ: 2 Tablespoons of any kind wheat germ

Enjoy!

Mrs. Smith

Lawry's Seasoned Salt Copycat Recipe...

 

 The spices have a beautiful array colors.

The recipe that I typed out years ago is missing the word "Salt" next to 1/2 cup. Sorry! 

Round up all of the ingredients.

Add all the ingredients into one bowl.

Mix well with a fork to get out any small lumps.

Pour the seasoned salt mixture into a jar or shaker bottle. I use a funnel to fill my bottle to keep from making a mess.

I use an old Lawry's Seasoned Salt bottle to store my copycat recipe in. I think that this is the only bottle that I have ever purchased. I'm not sure how old this bottle is. It could be 20 or 30 years old.

A doubled recipe fits wonderfully in this 16 Oz bottle. 

My favorite way to use the season salt is on poultry.

The seasoned salt can be used as a dry rub or it can be used as a marinade. I used it as a marinade on a couple pieces of chicken with a little bit of oil. I placed the seasoned chicken in a baggie and put it in the refrigerator. This seasoned salt is also a wonderful seasoning to use on your Thanksgiving turkey.  

Things To Be Happy About:

Someone else's birthday

Footstools

Rubik's Cubes

Reading glasses

Magnets

Hair clips

The glow of a double sided fireplace

Four Square

Lassos

Suspenders

Buttons

Bowties

Calculators

Dog coats and sweaters

Shabbat Shalom,

Mrs. Smith