The Frugal Gourmom

If you’ve never tried orzo, you must! It’s little noodles that are shaped like rice I’m a big fan of the “roni” part of Rice-a-roni so it’s just perfect for me. I love broccoli and cheese together and I love bacon and cheese together…and I love mac ‘n’ cheese and I love broccoli cheese rice – so of course the next logical step would be all of those things that I adore all put together, right? Yes. Exactly. Here it is. We couldn’t get enough last night and it’s even better leftover.

First, get the  water on to boil in a large pot. Salt it liberally so the orzo has some flavor when it cooks.

Next, get a smaller saucepan out to make the cheese sauce. Put it on medium heat and add the butter. Once it starts to melt, add the diced onion and cook for a few minutes until it becomes translucent and fragrant.

Use a small whisk and whisk in the flour to the butter/onion mixture. It will be pasty (like glue paste) and let that cook for about 30-45 seconds. SLOWLY whisk in the milk a little at a time while you whisk until it’s all incorporated. Bring to a boil stirring often – it will thicken. Taste it and add salt/pepper so it has a lot of flavor – remember, you want it very flavorful  because you are adding it to a blank slate of pasta. Once it’s thick (after about 5-10 minutes) turn off the heat. Let it sit for a few minutes.

Add your orzo AND your fresh broccoli florets to the boiling salted water and set the timer for 10 minutes.

Back to the sauce – use your whisk and mix in the grated cheese until it’s melted in. Taste it again. Is it bland? Add salt (or more cheese if you want).  Now crumble up your bacon and add it to the cheese sauce. Let that sit (NO HEAT) until the orzo and broccoli are ready.

NOTE: the reason we don’t want heat on the sauce once the cheese is in there is that if it’s overcooked and over worked…the cheese will separate and become gritty and curdy and not very appetizing. We want smooth velvety sauce.

Once the 10 minutes is up, drain the orzo/broccoli mixture. Don’t rinse it!  Add it back to the pot and pour all of the cheezy bacony sauce over the broccoli and  orzo. Mix it very well. The broccoli will fall apart and thoroughly mix in with the orzo and cheese giving it the authentic look of those boxed mixes (haha) – taste it.  If it needs salt, add more. Best after it sets up for 5-10 minutes.

I’m telling you…man, oh, man. It’s gooooooooood.   My picky husband loves it, my 4 year old loves it and so do I!

These were a BIG hit at the pool party. Not spicy!!!! Just full of jalapeno flavor and creamy, bacony goodness.

Ingredients
10-15 jalapeno peppers

1 tub of whipped cream cheese – I also added a good spoonful of chive cream cheese since I happened to have it on hand. Aldi sells tubs of whipped cream cheese for $1.79, which is about $1 less than Philly at Jewel or Joseph’s.

about 1 cup of finely shredded colby-jack cheese (or other good melting cheese)

10-15 slices of pre-cooked bacon – I get it at Sam’s Club for about $9 for 4 lbs worth of cooked bacon. So convenient and really a great deal.

20-30 wooden toothpicks

1 large ziplock bag

This is a really easy dish to prepare and super duper healthful and deeeelicious. Lots of veggies and just a teeny tiny bit of bacon. You could of course substitute turkey bacon or veggie bacon (or if you are vegan, just eliminate the cheese and add a few dashes of liquid smoke to add the smokey flavor) – You will love it!

Ingredients
1 package of pasta (I used Dreamfields which is 13.25 oz because I had a $1 off coupon)

3 slices of thick sliced bacon (or pancetta) – diced finely

1/2 cup sweet onion

5 cloves garlic

about 1/2 of a roasted red pepper – I make my own: http://thefrugalgourmom.blogspot.com/2010/02/cheap-roasted-red-peppers.html

1 can of diced tomatoes (I get them in bulk at Sam’s Club)

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1-2 tsp salt

1/2 cup of grated Parmagianno Regianno or Grana Padano Cheese

Get a large pot of water on to boil and add about 1 tbsp salt to the water (to season the pasta while it cooks).   In the mean time, dice your bacon and get it in a deep, hot skillet to crisp up.

I brought this to my hubby’s family party ONE time (to a bunch of sneers about green bean casserole) and I am now designated to bring it to every family function. I won them over, and they are difficult eaters to please. I swear you will never sneer at green bean casserole again.

Ingredients
2 bags of frozen green beans – I prefer the “fancy” ones or the French cut ones for this.  You can also use the equivalent amount of fresh green beans. 

3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
1 hefty tbsp of kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 small sweet onion – diced finely
1 clove garlic – minced
3 cups of 2% milk – you can use 1% or whole…but skim doesn’t work so well.

1 lb of crispy bacon, cooked & drained – I made bacon for my hubby today & had nearly the entire pound leftover…so I was inspired to make this. I always buy the 3 lb pack at Sam’s Club and divide it up into smaller portions and freeze it. It’s only about $7.50 for 3 lbs of the lean, thick sliced bacon.

1 bag/container of French Fried Onions

2 cups of shredded cheese – I used 1 cup of mozzarella and 1 cup of colby/jack

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

First get the green beans in a colandar and defrost with some warm water. Let them drain REALLY WELL.

On to the white sauce. Just say NO to condensed soup! Yuck!  Get a saucepan on medium heat and add the 3 tbsp of butter, diced onion & garlic. Season with salt & pepper. Let the onions soften for a minute or two.

What has bacon, eggs, cheese and is something you eat for dinner? It’s not fritatta….it’s CARBONARA!  My pal Jen has a blog called Momma J Cooks! (here is the link to it: http://mommajcooks.wordpress.com/) and last Saturday she made some pasta carbonara. She inspired tonight’s meal…and guess what? It’s S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y Night! …are you singing the song yet? haha!  This pasta doesn’t really need chicken, but my boys like chicken and I had some on hand. So I figured, why not? Chicken, bacon, cheese, pasta…yeah, sounds good.

I whipped up a quick marinade for a couple of sliced up chicken breasts.

Marinade Ingredients
4 cloves garlic – minced
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp wine vinegar (mine was garlic wine vinegar that I got for FREE when Jewel had them on sale for $1 and I had a bunch of $1 off coupons…I won’t need to buy vinegar for years to come)
about 1/2 cup olive oil
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Combine all ingredients and whisk together. Pour over the sliced up chicken in a ziplock baggie and stick it in the fridge for a few hours. I usually do this around lunchtime. If you don’t have that much time…you can just let it marinate for 1/2 hour.

Now on to the pasta.

Ingredients
1 lb of spaghetti – I’m using the Ronzoni Smart Taste. It’s really good. High fiber and it tastes like “normal” pasta.

6 slices of bacon, diced (I a whole package just because my husband is a HUGE fan of bacon and I figured a little extra cooked bacon around the house is good)

1/3 cup white wine

3 eggs, beaten
2/3 c. grated parmesan or romano cheese – I’m using Grana Padano because it’s what I have on hand.
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

Get a large pot of water on to boil for the spaghetti.  Take a skillet and add the diced/chopped bacon.  Cook until crisp. Remove crispy bacon from pan and drain on paper towels. Pour off all excess grease and set aside.

The water should be boiling by now, so get the spaghetti into the hot tub!

Use the same skillet you cooked the bacon in & get it hot again, add the chicken & all of the marinade and sautee until just about cooked through – add the wine and let it cook a minute more until it’s thoroughly cooked and the wine reduces a bit.

There will be liquid in it….this is going to add to the sauce and flavor of the pasta. The pasta will absorb it up!

As the pasta is cooking, beat your eggs, grate the cheese and mince the garlic. Combine & whisk them together.

When the pasta is cooked al dente, drain it well and put it back in the hot pan. Toss with the egg/cheese/garlic mixture.   Make sure you toss it quickly so you don’t have scrambled eggs in your noodles! You may want to temper the eggs with a dash of the hot liquid from the chicken in case you are worried about it.

The hot pasta will cook the eggs and melt the cheese making a silky delicious sauce for the pasta. Once the egg mixture is incorporated go ahead and add in the cooked chicken/wine/marinade and crispy bacon…season with salt & pepper.

Dinner is served!   This makes A LOT of food. We will have leftovers for days. My hubby & I both went back for seconds and my toddler ate his whole plate. His exact words were “mama, I loooove bacon & noodles!”  Me too, son. Me too.

This is one of my go-to’s to use leftovers, besides casserole. I made the boys breakfast this morning using some sausage & bacon…so I had leftovers. This is really more of a method than a recipe. You can use all veggies, all meat or a combo of both. I used my leftover breakfast meats + some breakfast potatoes, red bell pepper, red onion & some colby-jack cheese.

Ingredients
8 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp of Mrs. Dash (if you have it)
Meat of your choice -  You can use leftover deli meat, ham, bacon, sausage, chicken…pretty much anything – about 2 cups worth of pre-cooked protein

Veggies of your choice – leftover veggies work great, otherwise you can use broccoli, spinach, peppers, onions, diced potatoes, asparagus…whatever you have around!

2 cups of finely cubed cheese – I used co-jack b/c it’s what I had on hand. I find that cubed works better than shredded. Shredded cheese gets “lost” in the mix…you get little pockets of gooey cheese when it’s cubed.

Garnish – fresh diced tomatoes & diced scallions are my favorite. Fresh herbs are fantastic, but they aren’t in season here in Chicagoland right now.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. You will need a skillet that can transfer to the oven for this recipe.

If you’re using potatoes (like I did tonight) start those first. Get the pan hot, drizzle a bit of oil and get them going first.

While they are cooking, crack your eggs and add the milk + salt/pepper & Mrs. Dash. Mix well.

Once the taters are nearly cooked & starting to brown, add in your veggies ( if you aren’t using potatoes, just skip this step and start with the veggies). I used peppers & onions tonight. Cook for a couple more minutes.

Once things start to soften, top that mixture with your protein/meat evenly.

 Next, spread out the cubed cheese evenly over the mixture. As soon as you put the cheese on, cover the entire pan evenly with the egg mixture.

Give it a shake to make sure that the eggs are evenly distributed throughout the pan.

Pop it in the oven for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.

When the timer goes off, take it out and LET IT SIT for about 10-20 minutes. Slice into wedges as you would a pizza. Garnish with green onions and tomato (or fresh herbs if you have them).

 This is great with a little side salad, but since my hubby doesn’t “do” salad…we just eat it alone. And it’s good enough to stand alone.

I got my eggs for free with a coupon…so this is really an economical meal. The leftovers are great for breakfast the next day. We had a guest over for dinner and he went back for seconds.  It’s a hit wherever I bring it. Perfect for Easter brunch! Like I said, it’s more of a method than a recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

Ingredients
1 pound of 90% lean ground beef (Sam’s Club will have for around $2.09/lb when it’s on sale)
1/2 cup of seasoned breadcrumbs
2 eggs
4-5 leaves of fresh sage ($.99 a tub at Joseph’s Marketplace)
1/2 sweet onion
1/2 sweet bell pepper
1 carrot
1 clove garlic
a few shakes of Worscheshire Sauce
a squirt of dijon mustard
a squirt of ketchup
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

5-6 slices of Lean/Center Cut Bacon (or Turkey Bacon if you are trying to watch your weight) – I always buy my bacon at Sam’s Club in bulk. I cut it open and separate into ziplock freezer bags & pop in them in the freezer. A 3lb package of center cut Hormel bacon is about $7 – which is VERY cheap for that quality of delicious pork product.

BBQ Sauce of your choice
Ketchup

3 pieces of String Cheese – I also buy at Sam’s Club. If you have kids, you probably have this in the fridge already.

Combine meat, breadcrumbs, eggs, ketchup, mustard, worscheshire sauce, salt/pepper in a large bowl.

In a food processor, mince (to a near soup) the sage, carrot, onion, bell pepper & garlic. Get a small sautee pan hot & cook on medium until the mixture is soft & not so “raw” anymore.  Set aside & let cool for a few minutes. Add it to the meat mixture & combine well. I ALWAYS make a “tester” patty in the veggie sautee pan for seasoning.  Just make a little “slider” sized patty & cook it. TASTE IT! Does it need more salt? ADD IT!

After you are satisfied with the seasoning, set the mixture aside. Use the same pan and start to cook your slices of bacon. You only want to cook it for a minute or two – just to start it a bit.

Take the string cheese and cut each piece in half.

It’s assembly time. You will make 6 mini loaves. Start to form them, stuff the cheese in the middle & make sure none of it is poking through. Wrap 1 piece of bacon around the loaf & place the loaf on a sprayed baking sheet. Repeat until all are done.

Combine 1/4 cup of ketchup with 1/4 cup of your favorite bbq sauce. We like “2 Fat Guys” Spicy sauce, personally. Baste each loaf liberally and bake in the oven uncovered for 45 minutes.

OMG. They are heaven. One of Jim’s favorites.  Actually, the whole family loves these.