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I tried a $5 dinner but got a $15 dinner

Last night I tried a recipe I found on the blog $5 Dinners, I believe that is the name, I modified it a little bit but under any circumstances was it a $5 meal. We really only have one true grocery store which is H.E.B. so there is a grocery monopoly so we do not have double, triple or any offers such as $5 dinners does but I still wanted to make the Roast. I also made a couple of sides.

Pork Roast
3 pound pork roast Braise first
3 slices of bacon
2 table spoons Strawberry jelly
2 cups beef stock
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup red wine

I put all ingredients in a crock pot. Pork, bacon on top, jelly then wet ingredients then salt.
Cooked it on High about 6 hours.

"Rice Roni" Home style

2 table spoon butter
1 cup rice
1/2 cup broken (1 inch Pieces) spaghetti or linguine
liquid from roast skim off fat
add water to roast liquid to make 2 1/2 cup liquid
pinch of salt

In a sauce pan brown rice and pasta in butter
add liquid and salt. Cover and simmer 20 minutes.

Black Eyed Pea Style "Squash Casserole"

1 medium size bag squash approximately 1 pound thawed
1 egg
1 cup bread crumbs, day old bread, sandwich bread, plain stuffing bread whatever you have
2 table spoons sugar
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 pinches of salt

Mix all ingredints together mash up squash a little if you can in the mixing bowl if not don't bother to get more stuff dirty.
Pour all of it into a greased casserole dish and bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes.

Almond Cookies

Sugar cookie mix
1 egg
1 stick butter
1 table spoon almond extract
1 small package sliced almonds

Make cookie mix according to directions except I don't melt the butter fist, cold butter makes fatter cookies, add extract. roll in to 1 inch balls dot tops with almonds and bake according to directions. I always end up with 2 dozen cookies.

This was a good meal, I would have preferred to serve a green veggie with it maybe a salad but I did not have it so, it did not happen. But my husband said "That Meal was worth blogging about" so I take it as an endorsement. The meal cost around $15

Craving Jason's Deli paying for Oscar Myer

New Orleans Style Muffalatta, modified

I love muffalatas, which is a large round sandwich, but you can not find the bread or the olive mix in Bulverde, Texas or even in our neck of the woods in San Antonio, so I made my own version.

First to make the olive mix

One cup chopped green olives not diced
One cup chopped black olives not diced
1/2 cup chopped Gardina Mix(pickled veggies in pickle Ilse)
3 medium garlic cloves pushed through garlic press
1/3 cup olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

For the sandwich
2 loaves frozen garlic bread split in half (other french breads work as well)
2 pounds shaved ham you can also use turkey or combo of both
8 slices Swiss cheese sliced regular

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

To assemble
Place both bottom halves of french bread on cookie sheet
ad 2 slices cheese to each loaf. break up pieces to evenly distribute
add 1/4 meat to each loaf
add approximately 1 cup olive mix to each loaf (a lot is always best)
add the rest of meat to each loaf
then cheese
put top of loaf on then place a cookie sheet on top with a cast iron pan on top
to weight it down.

Bake for 20-30 minutes

Serve with Potato chips

Very good I made 2 loaves for four people and wish I had made more.

With the left over olive mix you can add a pack of cream cheese to it and use as spread for your bagels. Also a fave.

The meal cost approximately $15

Hu Hot Restaurant Taste, Top Ramen Budget

Hu hot is one of our favorite Mongolian BBQ/stir fry restaurants in San Antonio. We all (6 of us) love to go and the meal will usually run us about $80, for noodles and salad. So I say "let's have Hu Hot at home!". They have a great Asian salad and a stir fry of rice noodles which is our favorite' so here it is:

Asian Salad

One head of lettuce
one can Mandarin oranges drained
one can stir fry vegetables drained
handful grape tomatoes sliced in half
Asian vinaigrette
chow main noodles

Combine, oranges, vegetables, tomatoes and 1/4 cup approximately salad dressing(to marinade)
in a large bowl toss to coat. Add chopped head of lettuce, add to bowl do not mix put in refrigerator until time to serve.

When time to serve toss add more dressing to your taste add chow main noodles, we always finish the entire salad the kids enjoy it too.

Stir fry Noodles

1 pound meat raw and chopped I used Pork tonight
1 medium bag frozen veggies of what ever you like tonight Snow pea medley
1 package rice noodles (cooked and drained) set aside
cilantro as much as you want I used 1/3 cup sorta
and sauces
any Asian flare will work
tonight I used
some of the Asian salad dressing
soy sauce, hoisen sauce, fish sauce, red chili sauce

Use about 1/4 cup for each of your sauces and then add water to make up 1 1/2 cup liquid.
Spicy sauces and salty sauces use less according to your taste.

Other sauces you could try are
lemon or lime juice, sherry, jalapeno juice really what ever you think would be good.

In a wok or large pot brown the meat in oil and a splash of salad dressing, when almost done add
veggies stir lightly with meat until heated thru. pour in half of the liquid bring it up to a boil. Add cooked noodles and cilantro stir until coated. Add the rest of the liquid cook until noodles are re heated. By this time most of the liquid should be absorbed. That is it, the vegetables and meat will not be totally incorporated in to the noodles, to serve put noodles on the plate and add meat and veggies on the top. The meal was great and I planned on leftovers when I bought these quantities but everyone had seconds even the 6 and 3 year old. Try it out it only cost about $20 and took 20 minutes.

Johnny Corinos Taste, Chef Boy Ardee Budget

I had a girlfriend , her sister and new baby over for lunch with me and my daughter. I needed to make something quick and "going out to lunch Esq" since that was the original plan. So I made a Johnny Corino's favorite of our whole family. I served the wedge salad, modified, French bread with olive oil for dipping, pomegranate tea and almond flavored sugar cookies. So here is how to do it.

Wedge salad, modified
iceberg lettuce, chopped and arranged on individual plates
add to plates:
grape tomatoes sliced in half
green apple diced
buttermilk ranch
smoked bacon bits (already made in salad dressing isle)
candied walnuts crushed any candied nut would work

That is it the salad is very delicious I make it for my entire family at least once a week.

French bread served served with individual plates with
olive oil I add a little dry salad mix, this time garlic and Romano, to give it a
punch.

Pomegranate Iced tea
boiled two cups water
with four Pomegranate Celestrial Tea bags
1/2 container, designed for 2 liter, crystal lite Berry drink mix
filled drink pitcher with ice added above and then water to top
serve in a tall glass over ice
...fancy yet simple.

Almond Sugar cookies
Sugar cookie mix make according to directions
add a teaspoon almond extract
make one inch balls and roll in sugar
bake according to directions

That is it took less than 30 minutes and $10 dollars simple yet not.