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Broccoli and Cheese Bake

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  This recipe is a riff on the spinach and cheese recipe that I posted several years ago. It has the flavor of a broccoli and cheese soup without the heavy cream.  Ingredients: 8oz fat free cottage cheese 2 Laughing Cow soft cheese wedges 2 eggs 16oz uncooked broccoli florets 1/4 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs Onion powder Garlic powder Black pepper or red pepper flakes Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top Directions: Steam broccoli on stovetop or in microwave I weighed 16oz of broccoli into a glass Pyrex container, added a cup of water, and cooked in microwave for 12 minutes Blend Laughing Cow cheese, eggs, and cottage cheese in small blender or food processor, then add to a mixing bowl Chop up or use potato masher to break the broccoli into small pieces. Add to the mixing bowl. Add the breadcrumbs and seasonings to the bowl and mix all ingredients together Pour into greased pie plate and top with parmesan if desired Bake at 375 Fahrenheit for 45 minutes or until well browned Serve ho
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Frugal Recipe: Tuna Patties

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Tuna patties on hamburger buns with cheese,  ready  for lunch. These tuna patties are easy to make with ingredients that you likely already have on hand. These are perfect for eating from the pantry. You can enjoy them on a sandwich, with a salad, or with any other sides. You can cook up your tuna patties in a skillet with just a little cooking spray, no need to fire up the grill. Ingredients (makes 2 patties): 1 5oz can of tuna, drained 1 egg, beaten 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs Instructions: Combine all ingredients together and form into two patties of equal size. Heat skillet to medium-high and spray with cooking spray. Cook for about 5 minutes on each side or until well-browned. Serve on a fresh salad, on a bun like a burger, or with any sides that you like! I prefer to eat mine like it is a tuna burger, with ketchup, cheese, and sliced onion. Close up of a tuna patty in the pan. Tips: You have many options for your fish patties! I have used chunk light, solid white albacore, and canned
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What to Do with Stale Bread

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Sometimes you find yourself with an abundance of stale bread. For me, this happens when I've baked a loaf or two, or after going to the bakery, then life gets in the way and we haven't been able to eat it all. This is also common after setting out a bread basket for a family or holiday dinner. There are some thrifty dishes you can make to use up that stale bread without letting it go to waste. Waste not, want not! Some leftover bread from Christmas Dinner. Panzanella Salad This Italian salad uses chunks of stale bread almost like croutons. The delicious ripe tomatoes and dressing rehydrate the bread. Since it is a style of salad, I would say you likely don't need a set recipe to put it together, but here are some suggested ingredients: Tomatoes (cut cherry or grape tomatoes in half to release juices) Cucumbers Stale bread (recommend French, Italian, or Portuguese bread) Pepperoncini Basil leaves Dressing of your choice (I would use extra-virgin olive
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Meatless Meals: Greek Spinach Pie

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This spinach pie recipe has been passed down through my husband's family. My husband's Greek family is from Ioannina, a city in northwestern Greece. The Jewish community in Ioannina prepared a number of unique dishes, mostly focused on vegetarian foods containing dairy products in keeping with Kosher dietary rules.  Other Jewish families in Ioannina add feta cheese to this recipe, which I think sounds delicious, as well. The original version, which uses plain unseasoned matzo meal, get most of its flavor from the spinach and grated cheese topping. Personally, I use seasoned breadcrumbs and add garlic and onion powder to taste to bump up the flavor. This pie has no crust, which saves you the trouble of buying or rolling out a pie crust! Ingredients: 2 packages (10 oz each) of frozen chopped spinach, drained 2 eggs, beaten 8 oz farmer cheese (or cottage cheese) 4 oz cream cheese 1 tsp salt Handful of matzo meal (I always use Italian seasoned breadcrumbs) Grated cheese
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Save Money and the Planet with an Energy Audit

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A professional energy audit is a great way to reduce your consumption of heating fuel, water, and electricity. Lowering your usage allows you to save money and lower your  carbon footprint.  Audits are often made available through your local public or private utility company, or potentially through your state or county government. While private companies do offer energy audits, I encourage you to consider publicly funded programs first as they are often subsidized. What is an Energy Audit? An energy audit is an assessment of your home's energy use. This includes your use of heating fuel, electricity (including appliances and lighting), and how well your home is insulated or sealed. Energy audits can be performed on apartments and multi-unit buildings as well as on single-family houses. What Happens During an Energy Audit? The process can vary based on the company administering the audit, but there are some common processes that you can expect.  The audit crew
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How to Re-Upholster Dining Room Chairs

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Re-upholstering chairs be a great way to change the look of your whole dining room just by changing the color or pattern of your seats. Once you are confident in how to re-cover chairs, you can buy a dining room set secondhand or re-vamp an inherited set rather than paying retail for new furniture. While you could certainly take the chairs to an upholsterer, it is much more economical to complete this project on your own. A professional upholsterer will likely charge about $40 to re-cover a dining room chair, which you will see is quite a simple task. Your kitchen set of 4 chairs would cost you $160 in that case, and a dining room set of 6 would cost $240 to re-finish. You will also have to go through the hassle of finding the right professional, and possibly transporting the chairs to and from their establishment. The finished products Re-Upholstering Made Easy You'll need just a few materials to get started: A staple gun (with staples, of course) Several yards of u
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Staying Within Your Christmas Budget

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The most wonderful time of the year is often the most expensive  time or the year. While shopping for the perfect gifts for your loved ones, you may find yourself picking up more presents for office gift swaps and buying festive foods for your holiday feasts. While some extra spending this time of year is inevitable, you can stay within your means with a few tricks. Set a Budget I set a budget for each of my gift recipients each year, plus a grocery shopping budget. You can set aside money each paycheck or each month all year long to pay for gifts and your holiday food budget alike. You can do this the old fashioned way by saving cash in envelopes, earmarking some savings, or creating a separate bank account. Some banks may still offer Christmas Club accounts, which allow you to create a dedicated fund to save weekly or monthly for the holidays. If you participate in online banking, you can create a separate account yourself and schedule automatic transfers to fund it at whatever
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