Super Cheap Chicken Vesuvio is a fun dish to make because when you add the wine into the pot it bubbles and steams furiously! If you can find frozen artichoke hearts use those, otherwise canned will work fine. But definitely opt for frozen lima beans here instead of canned (they get really mushy). When it comes to pantry meals, I consider anything in my pantry or ...
budget
Bratwurst and Potato Soup
Easy to make and delicious to eat, this Bratwurst and Potato Soup is the perfect stick-to-your-ribs fall or winter meal. What to do with bratwurst besides stick it in a bun and top it with peppers and onions, is a question that I have thought to myself on more than one occasion. I love using bratwurst as a delicious change of pace from Italian sausage. We love our ...
Cheddar Cheese Grits with Italian Sausage
Cheddar Cheese grits with Italian sausage is a stick-to-your-ribs meal that's not only delicious but quick and budget friendly as well. I see a lot of tourists at my day job. Many of them making their very first trip to the South. They ask me where to find all of the typical southern foods while they are in Nashville. Foods like the best BBQ (Peg Leg Porker), the best ...
Easy Asian Tuna Patties
This week is turning out to be one of those weeks when I am very thankful for the deep pantry shelves and my supply of budget meal makers. We are no strangers to lean weeks in this house, but I am happy to report that these shoestring weeks are because we are making the last payments on our credit card debt this month! I will eat canned tuna for that anytime. SO these Asian ...
Braised Chicken Thighs with Spinach and White Beans
Braised Chicken Thighs with Spinach and White Beans is a comforting autumn dish that is easy to pull together any day of the week. The first taste of Fall arrived this morning. 62 degrees with the highs only getting to the mid-70s sometime this afternoon. I am not complaining one little bit. After several weeks of 90 degree weather every day this is a much needed respite ...
Low Carb Keto Salmon Croquettes with Creamy Remoulade Sauce
This post contains affiliate links. So, since going keto a few months ago I have been dying to have salmon patties. Seriously, my Southern roots show everytime I mention my love of any kind of canned seafood in hockey puck form. It's just something we Southerners LOVE. Once the craving got too much for me to handle I set out to whip up these Low Carb Keto Salmon Croquettes ...
Southern Ham and White Beans
You can't get more southern than Southern Ham and White Beans. Traditionally made with a ham bone or ham hock, this budget friendly meal can feed a family just about all week long. Make a big pan of cornbread to go along with this and you will be in hog heaven! We, like many around here, make a ham for just about every major holiday. It's just what you do. Thanksgiving? ...
Sweet Potato Biscuits
Biscuits are a rite of passage for many Southern women. It’s a skill passed down from generation to generation, a vessel for learning many of life’s lessons. My mother imparted her own wisdom to me through the art of making biscuits. As a small child, Mom taught me to measure the flour, cut in the fat, stir in the milk, be gentle with the dough, and cut your biscuits. There is ...
Ham and Cabbage Soup
Ham and Cabbage Soup is a family favorite that has been passed down through the generations. Turn a leftover meaty hambone into a dish that will have you going back for another bowl. This post has been updated with new pictures and such. Whenever I see or smell ham and cabbage soup, I think about a brief moment in time (late 80’s perhaps?) when my parents dove head ...
Creamy Lentil Soup
I am a lentil-lover. It’s a hard confession to make, especially here in the South where lentils aren’t exactly one of the most popular legumes consumed. Creamy Lentil Soup isn’t a common dish on the Southern table. Some folks have no idea what a lentil is or maybe they have only read about them in the Bible or seen them in passing in the grocery store. Well, I am here to tell ...
Supper on a Loaf
This dish is always a crowd-pleaser. Make up a double batch, wrap in plastic wrap and store in a ziploc bag for your next busy day! I think this was about the third recipe I ever put up on this blog, and at that point I lived in a poorly lit house with two year old twins and a pretty healthy dose of near-insanity. Although things have changed a lot in the last 4 years there ...
EOTC goes Disney!!
Last week, my beautiful family and I took a week long vacation at Disneyworld in Orlando, FL. What's crazy is, we never once pulled out the credit card while we were there, and even came back with money left over. And we had a BLAST!!! Oh my goodness, Disney world is so much fun! You can nay-say it all you want but Disney is the ultimate place to take your kids ( or leave ...
Parmesan Popcorn
It's been forever since I have posted recipes but in that time I have successfully gotten my two five year olds started in kindergarten. My pocketbook took a final huge sigh of relief as they climbed on the bus and headed toward a free education (goodbye daycare!) Since then, lots of people have asked me if I cried their first day or if I am sad to see them growing up. I have ...
Gardening on the Cheap: Let’s get growing!
Here it is, the end of February, and the time to start seriously getting ready to garden is upon us. At least in the South. You folks up North may have another couple weeks. This year is going to be a challenging and, hopefully, exciting year in the garden. The biggest reason for that is that instead of just two cute 4x8 raised beds... I'll also be starting a much bigger ( ...
Alphabet Soup
There hasn't been much of a winter down here in Tennessee. Take yesterday for example. It was 64 degrees outside! In the middle of February! This weather is just crazy. We have had the odd day or two of really cold temperatures. We actually had some snow last week...briefly. I took that opportunity to make this recipe that I have been thinking about for a couple of weeks ...