vegetarian meatloaf muffins recipe image
Snow
Hi everybody,
I'm italian but I have many american friends who study in my city so I would like to organize an american dinner for them (they've been here for a while and sometimes they complain about how much they miss their food :)), and for my italian friends as well.
When I came to the US my boyfriend made me try a lot of american food (he's american), and I really likes grilled cheese sandwich, sweet potatoes with cinnamon butter, green beans with nuts, macaroni and cheese, corn, coleslaw, garlic bread, onion rings (no meat and no fish, I'm vegetarian), cupcakes, cheescake, muffins and donuts.
What do you guys think I should make? Do you have some more recipes? :)
I don't mind having meat, I just don't know how to cook it cause I've became a vegetarian before I learned how to cook, but maybe my roommates would help me with that :)
(By "having meat" I mean having it at the dinner, for my friends, not myself of course)
Answer
meatloaf
sloppy joes..
meatloaf
sloppy joes..
Does someone have some suggestions for shopping for grocerys when you are on a really tight budget?
The Wonder
Answer
The best thing is to try to make as many meals as possible yourself, from scratch. Convenience meals are too expensive, often loaded with salt, and chemicals, and you can make your own at a fraction of the price. If you don't know how... Then it's time to look on the internet for recipes, or pull that dusty cookbook off the shelf.
Don't waste food. Invest in a variety of freezer containers and a roll of something such as "Glad Press and Seal". When it comes to produce, plan to process your fresh produce the day or day after you buy it. Chop up, portion out and freeze things in amounts commonly called for in most recipes to have "recipe-ready".
Things like carrots, mushrooms, broccoli, bell peppers, onions etc, all freeze well, and having them like this, insures that you use them, instead of letting them rot. You will also save time on busy weeknights, since you'll have a fresh, homemade meal on the table in the time it takes to call and wait for pizza. (You can also make your own pizza at a fraction of the cost, fat, sodium, and with more nutrition).
Next, make doubles (or more) when you can. and again, portion out and freeze. Pasta dishes, such as lasagna, stuffed pasta shells, manicotti, all freeze beautifully. Meatloaf- Don't make a big one. Make mini meatloaves, in muffin cups (use two paper muffin liners to absorb grease) and take out however many you will need. Chili is great and economical beans make for a tasty vegetarian chili, you can serve it (and many other things) over rice as a budget-stretcher
A few things that also freeze well include butter and cheese. So if you find cheese on sale, buy it, and at home, slice or shred it yourself, portion it out and pop it into the freezer.
Make your own cookie doughs, shape it, then lay it on a cookie sheet and freeze the dough for about an hour, then put the frozen, formed dough, into a freezer container, layered between waxed paper. Baked goods such as poundcake, cheesecake, brownies, and cornbread also freeze well, already baked. Made from scratch is cheapest, but if you find your favourite mix on sale... It's also often cheaper and better tasting than ready-made.
Buy value packs of meat, poultry etc.. Divide the pack, of something such as chicken breasts, set aside four for grilling, cut up another four and make homemade nuggets to treat the kids,etc. A stir-fry is a good way to use very little meat, and healthful veggies, and again, serving it over/with rice, is budget-friendly.
If you eat pork, bacon and chub packs of breakfast sausage is often on sale. cook bacon all at once, and freeze some of it crumbled, for economical meal salads, such as Cobb.
If you're used to a fast-food breakfasts and can't cope with a bowl of cereal...Hard-Boil some budget-friendly eggs, peel them, then surround them with the raw sausage meat, dip those sausage covered eggs in a beaten egg mixed with 2 tablespoons of water, then roll in breadcrumbs, and bake at 400 for about 15mins, for easy, Scotch Eggs. They freeze well, and heat up in the microwave on a busy morning. You can also make/freeze your own waffles, pancakes, etc. Great ways to use those 18/24 pack eggs that are often on sale at nearly the same prices as the regular dozen. Waffles are very versatile, they are actually not really sweet until you top them, so they go well under things such as stews. Waffles are a great base for many creamed dishes such as Chicken in the mushroom soup sauce. Even spoon a green bean casserole over it, for a light meal.
As for shopping. I have a friend that works for a big chain. He says the best times to shop are on the day the new ad breaks, so you have the best selection. Also, for things like meat, and baked goods, late in the evening, when they reduce that days meat and baked goods prices to move it out while it's still fresh.
The best thing is to try to make as many meals as possible yourself, from scratch. Convenience meals are too expensive, often loaded with salt, and chemicals, and you can make your own at a fraction of the price. If you don't know how... Then it's time to look on the internet for recipes, or pull that dusty cookbook off the shelf.
Don't waste food. Invest in a variety of freezer containers and a roll of something such as "Glad Press and Seal". When it comes to produce, plan to process your fresh produce the day or day after you buy it. Chop up, portion out and freeze things in amounts commonly called for in most recipes to have "recipe-ready".
Things like carrots, mushrooms, broccoli, bell peppers, onions etc, all freeze well, and having them like this, insures that you use them, instead of letting them rot. You will also save time on busy weeknights, since you'll have a fresh, homemade meal on the table in the time it takes to call and wait for pizza. (You can also make your own pizza at a fraction of the cost, fat, sodium, and with more nutrition).
Next, make doubles (or more) when you can. and again, portion out and freeze. Pasta dishes, such as lasagna, stuffed pasta shells, manicotti, all freeze beautifully. Meatloaf- Don't make a big one. Make mini meatloaves, in muffin cups (use two paper muffin liners to absorb grease) and take out however many you will need. Chili is great and economical beans make for a tasty vegetarian chili, you can serve it (and many other things) over rice as a budget-stretcher
A few things that also freeze well include butter and cheese. So if you find cheese on sale, buy it, and at home, slice or shred it yourself, portion it out and pop it into the freezer.
Make your own cookie doughs, shape it, then lay it on a cookie sheet and freeze the dough for about an hour, then put the frozen, formed dough, into a freezer container, layered between waxed paper. Baked goods such as poundcake, cheesecake, brownies, and cornbread also freeze well, already baked. Made from scratch is cheapest, but if you find your favourite mix on sale... It's also often cheaper and better tasting than ready-made.
Buy value packs of meat, poultry etc.. Divide the pack, of something such as chicken breasts, set aside four for grilling, cut up another four and make homemade nuggets to treat the kids,etc. A stir-fry is a good way to use very little meat, and healthful veggies, and again, serving it over/with rice, is budget-friendly.
If you eat pork, bacon and chub packs of breakfast sausage is often on sale. cook bacon all at once, and freeze some of it crumbled, for economical meal salads, such as Cobb.
If you're used to a fast-food breakfasts and can't cope with a bowl of cereal...Hard-Boil some budget-friendly eggs, peel them, then surround them with the raw sausage meat, dip those sausage covered eggs in a beaten egg mixed with 2 tablespoons of water, then roll in breadcrumbs, and bake at 400 for about 15mins, for easy, Scotch Eggs. They freeze well, and heat up in the microwave on a busy morning. You can also make/freeze your own waffles, pancakes, etc. Great ways to use those 18/24 pack eggs that are often on sale at nearly the same prices as the regular dozen. Waffles are very versatile, they are actually not really sweet until you top them, so they go well under things such as stews. Waffles are a great base for many creamed dishes such as Chicken in the mushroom soup sauce. Even spoon a green bean casserole over it, for a light meal.
As for shopping. I have a friend that works for a big chain. He says the best times to shop are on the day the new ad breaks, so you have the best selection. Also, for things like meat, and baked goods, late in the evening, when they reduce that days meat and baked goods prices to move it out while it's still fresh.
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