Faux Lasagna

It has been eons since I bought a boxed ground beef helper.  Why?  These types of convenience foods are expensive for what you get and the are laden with food additives.  I checked a box for the ingredients at the grocery store the other day.  Most contain maltodextrin (a corn sugar that is highly addictive creating cravings for it), monosodium glutamate (triggers headaches and allergic reactions), modified milk ingredients, natural flavour (could be anything!) and if the product has cheese, the cheese is dried.  A pasta based helper perhaps has a cup of dried pasta, the seasoning packet and you provide the meat and liquid at a cost of more than four times the cost of dried pasta bought on sale and adding your own fresh ingredients and cheese.  I have several versions of homemade ground meat helper, all fresh and easily prepared in about the same time it takes to prepare a boxed version AND they eliminate the cost of the boxed mix along with all the additives.

Even if you use a boxed ground beef helper you have to brown the ground beef.  I have found I can make the actual convenient dry mix for about a quarter of the price of store bought but I can also make the entire casserole from scratch in pretty much the same time at a quarter of the price as well.

The other day, I made a faux lasagna casserole using 2 lb of lean ground beef.  It had a lovely flavour, very much like lasagna without the work.  Quite frankly, I don't find lasagna a lot of work even making the sauce from scratch but I wanted a quick meal that night.

Faux Lasagna
source: Garden Gnome

2 lb lean ground beef
2 c broad egg noodles
2 c shredded mozarella cheese
½ c shredded cheddar cheese
¼ c cottage cheese
1 c shredded Parmesan cheese (divided)
1 L (4 c) roasted Italian garden sauce with mushrooms

Brown the ground beef and drain.  Cook and drain the pasta.  Pour ground beef into a large mixing bowl.  Pour the sauce over the meat. Mix well.  Stir in the pasta then all the cheese reserving ½ c of the Parmesan cheese.  Mix well.  Pour into oven proof baking dish.  Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese on top.  Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes or until warmed through and bubbly.

This homemade faux lasagna casserole took 5 minutes longer prep time and 3 minutes longer cooking time than the boxed version.   I didn't factor in the time it takes to bring the boxed version to a boil though so in terms of timing the homemade version was really quite close to the boxed version.  However, I ended up with a less expensive and tastier dish than the boxed version.  The homemade version not only eliminated all the food additives, it was lower in sodium as well.  Unlike the boxed version, I didn't have to take time to stir occasionally either freeing up that time to do other things.

The proof is in the taste and hands down this faux lasagna is a winner.   It is rich, creamy and cheesy sure to satisfy any lasagna craving in short order.  I usually use 7 to 9 cheeses in my homemade lasagna but this recipe only had 4 cheeses.  The mozzarella cheese could easily be reduced to 1 c then add in another cup of any desired cheese.  Over all though, this was a very nice casserole!

Stuffed Portabello Mushrooms

We indulge in appetizers sporadically at home.  Appetizers are usually reserved for entertaining or special occasions.  Every once in awhile I either am testing a new appetizer recipe or idea.  Such is the life of a food blogger but really I would be doing it whether I was blogging or not. 

A couple of nights ago we had pan fried cod, steamed potatoes, spaghetti squash and stuffed portabello mushrooms.  Portabello mushrooms are a wonderful meat replacement but because of their size they are ideal for stuffing, grilling and even browning.  I bought a package of portabello mushrooms because they were on sale.

Stuffing for portabello mushrooms can be just about anything from vegetable based to meat or seafood based.  We really like them stuffed with crab meat or pizza stuffing.  The deep, woodsy flavour of the portabello mushrooms really compliments savory flavours like sage and rosemary.

I decided to use a simple bread stuffing for the portabello mushrooms.  The stuffing was beyond simple yet it made for a very nice appetizer.  I just mixed soft broken bread with a bit of butter, poultry season, salt and pepper then rolled it into a ball to stuff the mushroom cap and topped with Parmesan cheese.  I served the stuffed portabello mushroom caps with pan fried cod, steamed potatoes and spaghetti squash.

Now, if you look at the plate you will notice everything is close to the same colour which is something I try to avoid for both nutrition and presentation.  I am craving spaghetti squash likely because we have not been getting enough beta carotene in our diet lately.  Cravings are always an indication of some type of nutrient missing in the diet.  At any rate, the meal was served with a tossed garden salad so at least we got a few greens into the meal!

Frugal Kitchens 101 - Green Appliances

Kitchen appliances have come a long way from those of our parents.  While I am sure they were concerned about energy usage especially if heating or cooking with wood because let me tell you, that is a lot of work, in today's world we are dealing with energy conservation concerns.  The modern kitchen is a mecca of both large and small kitchen appliances, all demanding their use of electricity or hydro.  That means the frugal homemaker has to decide between the best and lowest energy usage for any appliance he or she is purchasing.  Surprisingly, there is a trend among frugalistas to buy non-electric appliances, and that is certainly an option for small kitchen appliances.  However, with large kitchen appliances you are still left with wood, natural gas, hydro and propane.  We specifically chose to go with a natural gas range when we bought this house because here in our little corner of the world, natural gas is about a third of the price of hydro.  For the amount of cooking we do, buying a natural gas range has pretty much paid for itself and we haven't been here 2 years yet.

Manufactures like Kleenmaid based in Australia are rising to need of eco-friendly, green appliances.  Oh my gosh, I so want their pop-up oven!  That is about the slickest kitchen appliance I have ever seen.   They also have an induction cooktop that I would love to have.  The beauty is both of these appliances are eco-friendly aka green appliances in that they use less energy than similar appliances in their category. Other manufactures are also doing the same thing buy manufacturing eco-friendly appliances.

Energy Star is a rating system that tells you how that appliance performs in relation to other appliances on the market.  A high Energy Star rating really means that is the unit you should buy because it uses less energy than one similar to it.  Essentially, if you are comparing 2 refrigerators - one has no Energy Star rating and the other has an Energy Star rating then the wiser choice is the Energy Star rated appliance and if you have a choice between ratings, choose the higher ranked appliance.

When it comes to large appliances, choose the appliance based on the fuel choice for your area.  If natural gas is less expensive, it may be wise to choose a large kitchen appliance that operates on natural gas.  You have more leeway with smaller kitchen appliances.  They are seldom on long enough to make much of a difference in cost of operation still, manual is more cost effective over electric.  Avoid single use small kitchen appliances.  This will help you in the goal of running an eco-friendly, green kitchen while saving money!

Revisiting Benders Sports Pub in West Bend, Wisconsin

By definition, pub grub foods are not gourmet.  Most can be recreated at home which is one reason to stop in for a few new ideas.  They tend to be on the inexpensive side.  In general, pub grub foods involve greasier types of food as well as snacks but that all depends on the pub.   Some pubs give you complimentary popcorn or peanuts and while this makes you feel good, the pubs know these salty freebies will get you drinking more (usually beer) where they actually make their money.  Most pubs offer daily specials, weekly entertainment and other incentives to get you in the door.  They even encourage this with low priced or two for one drinks during happy hour.  For the most part, pubs are just pleasant places to spend a bit of time.  With that in mind, pubs are still one of the best values for your eating out dollars. Oh and many pubs are kid friendly as well.

I shared our experience vising Benders Sports Pub in West Bend, Wisconsin in 2011.  On that visit the focus was on their famous jumbo garlic wings as it was lunchtime but I had a feeling this pub had a bit more to offer.  We had the opportunity to stop there again with the kids a couple of weeks ago.  So, we stopped in for dinner on the Sunday of our visit for dinner.

We ordered the deep fried cheese curds ($7.99) with ranch dressing and 20 boneless wings ($14.99) with three different sauces, ranch dressing and celery.  The deep fried cheese curds were amazing!  Their wings are rather good too.   Chicken wings tend vary in size considerably.  One place we frequent has good wings one week but the next week they are over cooked and quite small.   We certainly were not disappointed in flavour or quality at Benders.

Quesadillas have become typical pub grub fare that are easily duplicated at home.  The nice thing about quesadillas aside of being easy and inexpensive to make, is they are very versatile.  You can use any meat, go meatless, with or without cheese, and the dipping sauce possibilities are endless. 

My husband ordered the quesadillas with steak ($9.99).  It was made with a blend of cheeses and steak sandwiched between two large flour tortillas.  It came served with fresh lettuce, chopped tomatoes, sour cream and salsa.   It was declared good and really when you are eating out that's all that matters. 

Sunday is taco night at Bender's!  One of our kids ordered the chicken tacos at $2 each.  The soft tacos consisted of chicken, lettuce, chopped tomato, topped with cheddar jack served on a soft taco.  Sour cream and salsa were included.  The filling was quite generous making this a very inexpensive yet tasty meal. 

This is another easy and inexpensive dish to recreate at home that can even use left over shredded or sliced meats.  Tacos make for a quick meal as well so if you are rushed, they are something to consider.  I like keeping cooked meat, shredded cheese and other toppings on hand just for this very purpose.

One of our kids ordered the Swiss mushroom burger ($8.99).  Strips of marinated portabello mushrooms topped the burger pattie that was smothered with Swiss cheese sandwiched between a toasted bun. It was served with lettuce, tomato and Benders homemade chips.  The burger quite looked delicious!  You really can't go wrong with that combination.

Homemade chips are very easy to make with thinly sliced fresh potatoes and a deep fryer.  If you want a healthier version, you can bake them in the oven.  This lowers the fat content but still gives crispy results.  You can easily control the sodium content by making homemade chips either way.

Spaghetti with homemade marinara sauce served with a side garden salad and soft garlic bread stick is a odd offering for pub grub food so I ordered that.  I was in the mood for pasta and besides how bad could it be?  The salad was the average iceberg lettuce with a couple of cucumber slices, tomato wedges and onion slice served with choice of dressing.  The pasta itself was just a bit over cooked for my liking but the sauce had a nice flavour.  Overall it was a rather decent meal for $8.99.

We really enjoyed our second visit to Benders Sports Pub.  Most of their dishes do make use of that gorgeous Wisconsin cheese.  The atmosphere was nice, the food good and the company stellar.  I know I'm a bit biased but any time I get to spend with my kids is always going to be a good time!  We don't get to see the kids in Wisconsin as much as we would like.  Facebook, texting, Facetiming and calling are all great but in person is better.

Our one kid immigrated to Wisconsin when married so there are some things missed about Canada, especially certain Canadian foods.  I taught them how to cure a pork loin for pea meal bacon and even brought the Morton's Tender Quick which was rather amusing at airport security - white substances even in their original packaging do draw attention.   We brought three large canisters of Tim Horton's coffee with us something that customs usually checks.  I also brought home canned salsa for a taste of home.  We brought back some lovely Wisconsin cheese.  It was a wonderful visit filled with lots of great food.  I can't wait until our next visit!