Rice Casserole

Inspired by my Great Grandma Davis's Rice Casserole

Serves 4

1/2 package Morningstar Farms (R) Crumbles
1 Cup Grated Carrots
1/2 Grated Celery
1/2 Small Onion - Grated
1 Cube Vegetable Bouillon
1/4 Cup Milk
2 Cup Cooked Rice
1 Can Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
Salt and Pepper to taste.

In a large skillet, sauté veggies in a little olive oil until soft. Add Crumbles and heat through. Add milk and bouillon. Stir in cooked rice and soup. Heat through. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Here is your list:

Item	Have it	Need it	Budget
1 small onion			$0.38
1 bunch celery			$1.23
1 bag carrots			$1.49
2 lb rice			$2.49
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup - Condensed			$1.19
1 box veg bouillon			$1.29
1 gallon milk			$2.50
1 bag Crumbles			$4.19
Total			$14.76

Even though the total for the shopping list is $14.76, the meal only costs $5.15 total, which translates to $1.29 per person!

Veggie Loaf

Serves 4

1/2 bag Morningstar Farms(R) Crumbles
1 Egg
1/4 Cup Seasoned Dry Bread Crumbs
1/2 Small Onion, minced
1/2 Cup Mushrooms, minced
1/2 Cup Finely Chopped Fresh Spinach

Topping:
1/4 Cup Ketchup
3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon of Soy Sauce

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a skillet, sauté onion and mushrooms until soft and translucent. Add spinach and frozen Crumbles and heat through. Take off heat and allow to cool. Mix in egg and bread crumbs. On a foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray, mound the veggie mixture into a loaf shape. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. While baking, mix ketchup, brown sugar, and soy sauce in a small bowl. Take loaf out of the oven and spread on topping. Continue to bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes or until set.

Here is your list:

Item	Have it	Need it	Budget
1 small onion			$0.38
8oz.Mushrooms			$2.49
1 bag baby spinach			$2.49
1 Can of Bread Crumbs			$1.99
1 dozen eggs			$1.29
20oz. bottle ketchup			$1.99
2 lb bag brown sugar			$1.99
5oz bottle soy sauce			$1.29
1 bag Crumbles			$4.19
Total			$18.10

Even though the total shopping list budget is $18.10, the meal only costs $5.81 to make. That is $1.45 per person!

Vegetarian Cheeseburger Pie

Serves 4

1/2 Bag Morningstar Farms (R) Crumbles
1/2 Small Onion - minced
1 Carrot - minced
2 Stalks Celery - minced
1/8 teaspoon Salt
Pepper to taste
1 Cup Grated Cheese

Batter:
2 Eggs
2/3 Cup Flour
1 Cup Milk
1-1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees

In a skillet, sauté onion, carrot, celery, salt, and pepper in a little olive oil until soft and translucent. In a greased 8x8-inch pan, spread Crumbles mixture and sprinkle grated cheese on top. In a separate bowl, mix eggs, flour, milk, baking powder, and salt. Pour batter over Crumbles and cheese. Bake at 400 degrees until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean -- approximately 25 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Here is your list:

Item	Have it	Need it	Budget
1 small onion			$0.38
1 bunch celery			$1.23
1 bag carrots			$1.49
8oz block cheese			$2.99
1 dozen eggs			$1.29
1 5lb sack of flour			$1.99
1 can baking powder			$2.29
1 gallon milk			$2.50
1 bag Crumbles			$4.19
Total			$18.35

Even though the total shopping list is $18.35, the total cost for the meal is only $4.63 which calculates to be $1.16 per person!

Vegetarian Rotini Bolognese

Serves 4

1/2 Lb Rotini Pasta
1/2 Small Onion, minced
1 Carrot, minced
2 Stalks Celery, minced
2 Cans Stewed Tomatoes
2 Tablespoons of Italian Seasoning
1/2 package Morningstar Farms(R) Crumbles
Salt and Pepper to taste

Fill large pot with approximately 2 quarts of water. Bring to boil. Add pasta and boil until tender. In a saucepan, sauté onion, celery, and carrot in a little olive oil until soft and translucent. In the blender, puree stewed tomatoes until smooth. Add pureed tomatoes to sautéed vegetables. Sprinkle in seasoning and Crumbles and stir. Bring to a simmer and salt and pepper to taste. Once pasta is tender, drain and add to sauce; stir to coat. Serve immediately.

Here is your shopping list:

Item	Have it	Need it	Budget
1 small onion			$0.38
1 bunch celery			$1.23
1 bag carrots			$1.49
2 cans stewed tomatoes			$1.49
Italian Seasoning			$4.59
1 box Rotini			$2.50
1 bag Crumbles			$4.19
Total			$14.38

Though the total for the shopping list is $14.38, the meal only costs $7.08 to make. That is only $1.77 per person!

Creamy Potato Soup

Serves 4

1 Small Onion - minced

2 Ribs of Celery - minced

2 Medium Carrots - minced

2 Tablespoons of Butter

2 Cubes Vegetable Bouillon

4 Cups of milk
4 Cups of water

3/4 Cups of Potato Pearls

Salt & Pepper to Taste

In a stock pot over medium heat, sauté onion, celery, and carrots in butter until soft and translucent. Smash bouillon cubes and stir them in with the veggies. Pour in water and milk and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and sprinkle in Potato Pearls. Once dissolved, add salt and pepper to taste. Soup will thicken upon standing. Add more liquid if necessary. Serve hot. 

I love to use Potato Pearls because they are super fast, you can buy them in bulk and they store perfectly, and they already have the buttery taste (yum!). One #10 can has 44 servings and you only need 3 for this soup. You can substitute real potatoes if you'd like, just cut them into 1/2 inch sized pieces and simmer the soup until the potatoes are fork tender, about 20 minutes. You can also add a little chicken or sausage to make it more hearty. 

Here is your shopping list:

Item	Have it	Need it	Budget
1 small onion			$0.38
1 bunch celery			$1.23
1 bag carrots			$1.49
1 gallon of milk			$2.50
1 box veg bouillon			$1.29
1 can potato pearls			$16.49
Total			$23.38

Even though the shopping budget is $23.38, the cost for the meal is only $2.95 for four! That is only $0.74 per person. 

Why No-Brainer Meals?

Just like everyone else, my family has been affected by the recession and we've had to change the way we live a bit. I've always tried to live by a food budget, but I've never been really good at it. It takes too much time so I never wanted to plan out my meals. Now, meal planning and budgeting have become a necessity. So, why no make it easy for myself. If I plan out some favorite recipes, list the ingredients, and calculate what each would cost, I can have a little database of my very own to refer to anytime I need to shop. Well, I decided I shouldn't keep it all to myself and a blog would be the perfect place to store and share the information at the same time! I hope you enjoy it!

Now, I need to disclose a couple things. First, this is not a "foodie" blog; it is a "cheapie" and "fastie" blog. If dinner takes more than 20 minutes to make, my kids go crazy. Second, I'm a vegetarian and we don't eat a lot of meat at my house. All of my recipes are vegetarian, so if you aren't and want to add meat, please feel free. You can substitute real meat for any of the fake meat in my recipes. Just cook it (obviously) and add it to the recipe already cooked. All of the fake meat I use is pre-cooked and just needs to be heated.

In my budgeting, I'll try to be as accurate as possible, but prices vary from store to store and from city to city. I'd love to hear your comments on how I do for you, so please comment. I'm excited about this new venture! Let's get started!

How to do it
Using the search function or the No-Brainer Topics listing, pick out as many meals you need to make for the week. I usually have some go-to items to pick from for breakfast and lunch, so I mostly plan for dinners. I'll include recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and dessert on the blog.

You'll want to open 2 documents on your computer. I recommend Word or WordPad for your recipe list, but I recommend Excel for your grocery list. It makes it easy to total up your budget using a couple simple formulas, which I can show you how to use if you need help.

Now, once you find your recipes, just copy and paste the recipe into your list. That way you can just print it out and stick it on your fridge so you know what you're cooking for the week. You can then copy and paste the grocery list and do the same thing for shopping. I know it is a little work, but it is way easier than figuring it all out on your own.