Enchilada Soup

Winter storms are approaching. My rural, southeast Kansas location is to receive a wintery mix in addition to a large quantity of snow. When the weather outside is frightful, I turn to comfort food. I get tired of chili. I suppose I have yet to find a chili with enough flavor. Every chili I've encountered has left something to be desired. I still eat chili, but I prefer it atop a hot dog on a bun, covered with melted, shredded cheese.

A few years ago, a great friend of mine introduced me to a wonderful concept she read on a Kansas family's cattle blog. Beef Enchilada Soup. I love enchiladas and this intrigued me from the get-go. I read the originally posted recipe found here. I've since adapted it to my family's liking, after making it several times.

We're a hunting family. We rely on deer meat to get us through the winter months. We shoot our deer, process and package it ourselves. Saves loads on meat at the grocery store. I know what you're thinking, deer is "game-y" tasting. I agree, to an extent. Another one of those things that has to be prepared correctly. I don't want to bite into a deer cheeseburger and I don't like deer steak, but ground deer burger is able to be  substituted in most recipes calling for ground beef. It's lean and it's cheap! We don't buy ground beef when we have deer in the freezer. So this recipe is loaded with venison.

First things first, thaw your frozen venison, if not using ground beef.

I make my own enchilada sauce. The canned stuff is fine, but expensive. Here is my version of homemade enchilada sauce. In a small saucepan heated to medium-low, add 1/3 cup of vegetable oil, 3 tablespoons of flour, and homemade taco seasoning (recipe to follow). Wisk until smooth. Pour in 2 cups of tomato sauce.

Heat until bubbly. Add a slight amount of water to reach desired consistency. Turn off heat and let rest.

Brown ground meat until cooked through. Season with homemade taco seasoning (or use a packaged seasoning mix). Add cooked meat, 1 small can of sweet corn, 1 can of diced tomatoes with green chiles, 1-2 cans of beans and remaining tomato sauce to a large crockpot. I use kidney and black beans, use what you wish. Add enchilada sauce, stir to combine. Add enough water to reach desired consistency.

Let simmer in the crock pot until supper time. Serve with crushed tortilla chips, shredded cheese, sour cream, and any other thing you can think of. You can also make fresh tortilla chips, which are so much better than the store bought varieties. Take flour or corn tortillas (your choice), using a pizza cutter, slice into triangles. Pop them in a heated deep fat fryer until crispy. Dump onto paper towels and add desired salt. Super fresh, crunchy, and deliciously simple!

Homemade Taco Seasoning (for 1lb of meat):
1 Tbl chili powder
1/4 tsp each garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper, oregano, cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Double, triple or quadruple this recipe for bulk. Store airtight in a dry location.

Frugal Facts:
Ground venison $0.00
1-30 oz can Tomato Sauce $1.39
2 cans of beans $1.00
1 can of corn $0.69
1 can of diced tomatoes with green chiles $0.50
Tortilla Chips $2.00
Shredded Cheese $1.50
Sour Cream $0.99
Seasonings $1.00

Total--$9.07 

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Fish & Rolls

I'm what some refer to as a "procrastinator". I enjoy cooking and look forward to it, but sometimes I wait until the last minute to plan for the current day's meal. This is often due to my indecisiveness. This meal is the product of my delayed ability to decide.

Rolls. One of my favorite things on this planet. I adore homemade rolls. However, I do not enjoy spending half the day proofing yeast, kneading, and impatiently waiting for them to rise. My compromise is using store bought frozen dinner rolls, namely Rhodes. If you're used to buying the brown & serve rolls, you're in for a treat. Rhodes rolls are deliciously and wonderfully soft with an ever-so-slight crust. With the variety of rolls I prefer, you must let them thaw and rise. This is not ideal for a procrastinator like myself. These Rhodes White Dinner Rolls come in 12, 36, or 72 per bag. They're frozen in the form of a ball. Grab a handful to thaw and put the rest back in the freezer. No need to make 72 all at once, but you'll want to!

I did plan ahead on this portion of the meal and put six golf ball-sized balls in a greased loaf pan. Cover lightly with a plastic wrap and place on a counter top in a warm location.These require 3-5 long hours of thawing/rising time before baking... *thumb twiddling*

While thumb twiddling, I debated more and more on the main course and sides to go along with these rolls. I, personally, could just eat rolls for dinner, but my husband and kids wouldn't like me very much.

If you've ever been to that famous chain restaurant that allows you to throw peanut shells on the floor, then you've had Cinnamon Honey Butter. It is the epitome of amazing.

Sweetened, creamy butter slowly melting on a fresh, hot roll. Yum. Our family doesn't go out to dinner often because I'm a tight ass frugal, so I try to recreate some of our favorite restaurant items at home. This butter is something I had been craving for quite some time and finally bit the bullet in making it at home. So easy. I don't know why I had waited so long.

I combined 1/2 cup of softened butter in a bowl, added a 1/4 cup of honey, 1/4 cup of powdered sugar, and about 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. I stirred it until it became smooth throughout. It's wonderful. Adjust it for your own tastes, but I found this to be perfect for me. I look forward to eating it with a spoon putting it on waffles and pancakes and everything else under the sun. At this point, I still had no idea for a main course. Rolls with a super addictive butter weren't going to cut it, so the pantry raiding began.

While rummaging through the freezer I discovered a bag of frozen Tilapia. Score! These large frozen bags are packed with individually wrapped fillets of this flavorful fish. Take desired amount out of the freezer, return the rest. Thaw fish carefully, no one enjoys food poisoning. Being the procrastinator I am, I chose the fancy defrost feature my microwave possesses, being careful to not cook the tender fish. Watch closely. Once they're mostly thawed, remove their packaging and put them in a greased baking dish.

I've covered both sides of the fillets in a homemade seasoning mix: lemon peel, garlic salt, black pepper, and parsley along with 1/4 cup of melted butter and the juice of 1/2 a large lemon. Never get enough juice from your lemon? Pop the lemon in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds. Roll the lemon on a counter to loosen it up then slice it in quarters to squeeze. This trick drastically improves the quantity of juice you will receive, not to mention makes your microwave smell clean despite the appearance.

Preheat your oven to 350º and add the baking dish of lemon and butter covered fish.

Multi-task: Once the rolls have doubled in size, pop them into a 350º oven along with the fish and bake for 12-15 minutes. They will have acquired a magical golden brown hue when they're done.

Two common complaints to those to say they do not like fish. 1.) Too much "fishy" taste  2.) Too dry. First of all, I'm a firm believer in my own made up theory: If you don't like something, you haven't had it prepared correctly. Fish is no exception. Tilapia is an extremely versatile, white flesh fish. It does not have an overpowering "fishy" taste/smell like salmon or the like and can be prepared in numerous ways. Try it sometime if you haven't had the opportunity.

The fish will flake easily with a fork when fully cooked. Warning: Do not overcook or it will be dry. Notice the moisture in the fillet. Tender, yet it's fully cooked!

Fish and rolls were served with a "salad" and an easy to prepare prepackaged noodle mix.

The Cinnamon Honey Butter at work.

Frugal Facts:
Rolls- $0.90 (for 6)
Tilapia - $4.76 (for 6 fillets)
Salad - $1.50 (including dressing usage)
Noodles - $1.50 (for 2 pkgs)
Cinnamon Honey Butter - $1.00 (with lots leftover)

Total: $9.66

How do you enjoy fish? And rolls?

Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup

Classic comfort food. There is something so wonderfully, refreshing about such a simple meal. It doesn't have to be simple. It's gooey, melted cheese between crispy buttered bread submerged in a creamy, tangy concoction. Heaven on earth.

Here's my sensible approach to this classic meal.

Disclaimer: There are better, more "gourmet" ways to go about this, sure. I strive for ease and comfort with some added flair using easy to obtain ingredients.

Start with a few slices of bread, lightly buttered on both sides. A few slices of American Cheese, split in half. Not cheese "food". Not individually wrapped slices, gross. You can use fancy bread and cheeses, but I'm going to keep this one simple.

Preheat a skillet to medium heat. Spray with cooking spray. Add your bread slices to the skillet in a single layer. Let the magic begin.

When the bottoms begin to get beautifully brown, flip.

Once flipped, strategically place one half slice of cheese on each piece of toasted bread. Use a spatula to score the bread and persuade it to fold in half. Brown each side of the half sandwiches.

Beautiful. You may ask 'why make half sandwiches?'. After hours of extensive research I have decided this is the most functional way to prepare and consume grilled cheese. It's ergonomic, has the perfect crust to cheese ratio, and a great shape for scooping up tomato soup (as compared to a full sandwich or a triangle-shaped half sandwich).

On to the tomato soup. If you really want to research recipes and prepare tomato soup from scratch, go ahead, I will use the canned variety here. Yes, it's not the most healthy option, I agree. Yes, it's not the most flavorful option, I agree. {Read disclaimer above} So if you're like me and want a qualified tomato soup to enjoy with your grilled cheese, proceed with the canned tomato soup.

Dump the canned soup into a bowl, thin it slightly with milk or cream. Nuke it in the microwave until heated through. Don't hate on the microwave, we all use it.

For added flair, top your soup with a dollop of sour cream and sprinkle dried basil on top. Enjoy this simple and classic meal while it's hot!

Frugal Facts:
4 slices of bread $0.33
2 slices of cheese $0.32
1 can of soup $0.88
minimal amounts of milk, sour cream, basil ~ <$1

Total-- $1.53

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How do you make grilled cheese & tomato soup??