Fat Frog Diary

BEEFY MACARONI SKILLET   Why pay for a certain hamburger pasta box when you can do it yourself for less money and less preservatives? This recipe doubles easily for more servings or is easily upcycled.  Notes: 1. This is an easy recipe to "upcycle" with a cup or two of vegetables of any kind, like mushrooms, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, corn, or any of the mixed vegetables available in bags and boxes. What are your favorite veggies to throw in?  2. Before serving, top with some more cheese.  Disclaimer: I am not a chef, nor a licensed food service professional of any kind. I'm a grandmother who loves to cook and loves efficient cooking. Anything I post has been checked out by me, but in no way do I guarantee that my suggestions will work for you. YMMV (Your mileage may vary.) Some links may give the original poster a small commission on products sold via the link. Lena Austin www.fatfrogdiary.blogspot.com  

UKRAINIAN BORSCHT This recipe is from my teenage years, cut out of a Better Homes and Garden or Family Circle magazine. Family Circle is no longer in publication.   I have a much-beloved Dutch oven, purchased less than a year ago, after fighting the expense and refusing to pay that much for a pot. Now I'm sorry I waited so long. It really does allow me to brown a meat on the stovetop, then pop the whole thing in the oven if required, but it has the versatility of simmering all day on the stove if that's what's needed as in this recipe.  Yes, this is a recipe using beets. I recommend serving it first at Halloween time because of the color. You can call it Vampire Stew and tell the diners it's red to attract vampires. Use the fancy baby potatoes and cut them into skulls by digging out eye holes and slicing the smaller end to have "teeth." The carrots can be cut into coins and then shaped into pumpkins to add a real Halloween flair.  Disclaimer: I am not a chef, ...

  Mexican (Style) Casserole Cultural Appropriation is not my thing, so I'm calling this recipe from the 1970's "Mexican STYLE Casserole."  Notes: 1. There's a Mexican style blend of cheese shreds available to use in place of the American Cheese Food slices. Get as cheesy as you like!  ************************ Disclaimer: I am not a chef, nor a licensed food service professional of any kind. I'm a grandmother who loves to cook and loves efficient cooking. Anything I post has been checked out by me, but in no way do I guarantee that my suggestions will work for you. YMMV (Your mileage may vary.) Some links may give the original poster a small commission on products sold via the link. I personally am not an affiliate, nor do I earn commissions on products. The links provided are examples of what's available online.  Lena Austin www.fatfrogdiary.blogspot.com    

  Ingredients 1 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef 1 large onion, chopped (1 cup) 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (4 oz) 1/2 cup Bisquick™ Original Pancake & Baking Mix 1 cup milk 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vegetable oil Optional: Cheese slices to make pumpkin faces.  Make With Bisquick Steps Hide Images 1 Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 9-inch glass pie plate with cooking spray. 2 In 10-inch skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain. Stir in salt. Spread in pie plate. Sprinkle with cheese. 3 In medium bowl, stir remaining ingredients with fork or wire whisk until blended. Pour into pie plate. Tip: To add Pumpkin faces, use a pumpkin cookie cutter on cheese slices. Put them on the pie about 10 minutes before serving.  4 Bake 29 to 33 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Tips from the Betty Crocker Kitchens tip 1 This recipe has been on the...

OGRE AND PUMPKIN SLIDERS   I'm more of a purist and would prefer ground beef on my sliders. However, this year we ended up being given a package of ground turkey. So, original ingredients it is, this year.  Notes: 1. Dave doesn't like green olives stuffed with pimento, so I'll be substituting black olives. I'll add a tiny dollop of mayonnaise to make the eyeball effect. If I have the time, I'll cut pointed ovals out of red peppers for a red "pupil".  2. I have a cookie cutter that just happens to be the right size to create the cheese jack-o-lantern, so this is an easy one for me.  3. I'll pop them in the air fryer for a quick sizzle. Here in Florida, October is still hot. We avoid the oven until it cools down. However, I remember living in Denver where I planned Halloween costumes to fit over snowsuits!  Disclaimer: I am not a chef, nor a licensed food service professional of any kind. I'm a grandmother who loves to cook and loves efficient ...

  Beef and Cabbage Soup This recipe hails from the late1970's, approximately 1976. While you could make adjustments and cook this in the slow cooker, I think you'd be missing out on all those brown bits at the bottom of the Dutch oven.  Notes: 1. The missing words from that turned corner (Sorry!) are "tender" and "soy".  2. You can substitute any healthier oil for the shortening. I use vegetable oil most of the time, but feel free to experiment and let me know.  Sources While I'm no longer sure, this recipe probably came from either Better Homes and Gardens magazine or Family Circle magazine. I was a teenager and my mother happily let me cut up her magazines for recipes after she was done reading them. I was unconcerned with preserving sources as a teen.  ************************ Disclaimer: I am not a chef, nor a licensed food service professional of any kind. I'm a grandmother who loves to cook and loves efficient cooking. Anything I po...

  Beef and Bean Burritos Did I use steak for this? Nope! I used plain old ground beef. I'm cheap that way. Keep the napkins handy. This is a messy but fun recipe, and no one will know it's for diabetics.    Notes: 1. Instead of canned beans, I used dried beans and made them in the Instant Pot: 1 cup of beans to 2 cups of water, Pressure Cook 25 minutes and NPR (Natural Pressure Release.) This has never failed me, except for chickpeas. After cooking chickpeas this way, I slow cook them for another 8 hours. I like my chickpeas soft enough to make hummus.  Sources: Diabetic Cooking Magazine Disclaimer: I am not a chef, nor a licensed food service professional of any kind. I'm a grandmother who loves to cook and loves efficient cooking. Anything I post has been checked out by me, but in no way do I guarantee that my suggestions will work for you. YMMV (Your mileage may vary.) Some links may give the original poster a small commission on products sol...

I love marinades, especially for the grill. This marinade was originally published by Tupperware to go with a dish they sold specifically made for marinades. I own both sizes, but you don't need a special container. A good zipper-top bag (aka Ziploc) will do nicely. Just make the marinade, drop in the meat, pour in the marinade, seal it well, and put it in a container just in case of leaks in the fridge. Turn it over at least once or twice to ensure the marinade gets in all the way. 

 Oriental Marinade What can I say about this one? It's unconventional? Not really. Just not used much. If you happen to have rice wine vinegar, that really ups the ante on authenticity, but it's not a screaming necessity.  This again is from Tupperware to showcase their special marinade container, but it isn't necessary. A Ziploc bag is all you really need, but I would put the bag with the marinade in a container while in the refrigerator, just in case it leaks. 

Quick Beef Noodle Soup Simple and delicious. Yes, the top picture is my own electric skillet when I made this recipe.

Quick Italian Soup Another in my many recipes off the bottles, boxes, cans and jars. This has a lot of flexibility built right in. For instance, I’m not fond of canned whole tomatoes, so I automatically substitute diced. When Zucchini isn’t in season, a cup of mixed vegetables is always a good bet for color. We eat with our eyes first, so make it colorful and appetizing. No canned corn? No problem! How about a can of kidney beans?   Let me know how you switch it up!

Spicy Cheese Soup Serves 4, doubles easily 1 lb Velveeta, cubed 1 lb ground beef, cooked and drained 1 can (8 oz) whole kernel corn 1 can 15 oz kidney beans 1 can (4 oz) minced jalapeno 1 14oz diced tomatoes with chiles 1 14oz stewed tomatoes 1 envelope taco seasoning mix Throw them all in the slow cooker on Low for no more than 6 hours. After that, reduce to Warm. Serve with corn chips if desired. (Yeah, it's that easy.) Lena Austin http://www.LenaAustin.com http://depravedduchess.blogspot.com

Gravy helps it slide down...

This is great! I made it in the electric skillet.

YUMMMM!! Dn't knock this until you try it.

Check this out! Honey, this is like eating pizza or lasagna! It's gooood! Who says we can't have casseroles? Party-Pleasing Beef Dish 1 lb ground beef 1 medium onion, chopped ¾ cup beef broth 1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste ## 2 tsp sugar 1 garlic clove, minced 1 tsp chili powder 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp dried oregano 1 cup cooked rice Optional (but recommended) toppers Tortilla chips Shredded cheddar cheese Chopped green onions Sliced ripe olives Sour cream Chopped fresh tomatoes Taco sauce Hot sauce In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Line your crock pot. Dump the meat and onion mix in a 3-qt slow cooker. Add the next eight ingredients; mix well. Cover and cook on low 4 hours or until heated through. Add rice; cover and cook at least 10 minutes longer. Serve over the tortilla chips with the toppings of your choice. I had to double the recipe to feed four hungry adults....

OMG!! I despise onions. Really hate them. I cook with them normally only when I can whirl them to oblivion in the food processor. This recipe made me change my mind. I'd serve this ANYTIME. I made one major recipe change. At my favorite grocery, the sweet onions were available by the bag. Knowing I'd have to make this recipe, I wrinkled my nose and bought the bag of sweet onions. Do try the sweets for this. Vidalia is the best known.They're only available late April through mid-June and only from a certain area of Georgia. However, other sweet onions are available at different times of year. Mine this time came from Peru. Ingredients: 3 small onions, thinly sliced 1/2 T butter, melted 1 T. Splenda 1 dried bay leaf 3/4 lb. beef stew meat. Note to bandsters-- I whirled my beef in the food processor to get them small enough to pass my band. You may have to decide if you can cut up the chunks finer, or if you need the processor. 16 oz condensed beef consomme 2 T. dry s...

Jan 31 Sunday-- Today I learned an important lesson about trying to eat things a bandster shouldn't. This morning I ate bread. In my defense, it was a Scottish 9-grain oatmeal bread and deliciously hard to resist. However, I knew from previous experience I shouldn't. Yep, I threw it up in less than half an hour. Did I learn a lesson? Not really. I worked very hard on a new low-carb recipe from one of my favorite websites, SavingDinner.com. I did my best to cut up the round steak into thin strips, but it wasn't enough to pass my band and I knew it. So, I tried to whirl the cooked steak strips in my mini-food processor, hoping to grind them into bits about like ground beef. The recipe smelled so good, my mouth watered. Fail!! Despite my best attempts, I made a mad dash for the bathroom, gasping in pain. Dammit!! Next, I ground up a boiled egg with some of the juice from the meat. Yuk! My stomach may be altered, but my taste buds aren't. Take it from me, don't bothe...

We just had this last night, and everyone raved!   Ladies and gents, this is much easier than it looks. The most difficult part is using the meat mallet to pound on it. It's noisy, but gets out your frustrations! I do recommend setting the spinach to drain first. Lay out all your ingredients and pre-measure to save time and trouble. I baked my bacon at 375F that morning and let them drain and cool all day. By the time I waltzed into the kitchen to cook dinner, most of the hard work was done. Assembly was nearly effortless.  However, my flank steak was a fairly large one. Using the broiler only meant it was still rare in the center, and my DH prefers well done. If your family doesn't like rare to very rare, I suggest a half an hour in the oven before popping your pinwheels under the broiler.  For a bandster, these things are two meals, so go ahead and cut yours in half before serving the family. If you're smart, you'll be wise to hide that half you're saving. My ...

Just last week I went to the doc and he gleefully reported I'd lost TEN pounds! Yes!!! With all three of my darlings DH, DD, and Dante all at work, I'm not tempted anymore. With an official 215 lbs logged, I felt I was well on my way. (My scale at home reads about 7 lbs lighter, so I just add 7 to what I see at home.) After two days of being ill, I stepped on the scale this morning. My heart stopped. Did my scale read 203?? Really? Okay, add the 7...210!! Another five pounds gone. Yes!! (Dancing in a weak, falling up against the wall sort of way) I can see One-der-land now. (For those that don't know, One-der-land is when you weigh under 200 lbs, as in one-hundred-and--anything) I haven't seen One-der-land in twenty years. Can I have an Un-birthday party when I make it there? I'll tell you what has worked--my food diary. Keeping it throughout the day makes sure I budget those precious carbs so I'm not chewing on bacon and cheese while everyone else enjoys ...