Frugal Foodie Friday - Big Batch Buttermilk Pancake Mix

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I wish I could tell you that tonight's recipe was developed for a school or church breakfast, but, truth be told, I use one of those huge, just add water, mixes when I'm responsible for a pancake breakfast of that size. However, tucked between breakfast for 2 and breakfast for 200, is family territory, and a tradition that demands that pancakes be made from scratch. Saturday pancakes were a breakfast feature when my children were young, and as soon as they could safely balance on their chairs, they "made" our weekend pancakes. It began as an exercise in measurement, but it grew into much more, and to this day, I swear their love of food and considerable talents in the kitchen where honed when they were two and three years old. The holidays will soon be here, and that means there will again be extra bodies in the house and at the table. Large batch recipes, such as this one for pancakes, come in really handy at this time of year. Pancakes are a great way to feed and fill the breakfast brunch and they cost pennies to make. Tonight's recipe is an adaption of one that first appeared in Better Homes and Garden magazine. Using the quantities suggested below, you can count on 20 to 24 5-inch pancakes per batch, and should you need more, the recipe can again be doubled. I've included some suggestions for fruits and berries that can be added to the batter if you want to dress the pancakes up. With or without fruit, the pancakes are fast and easy to make and they make a great inexpensive addition to your breakfast table. Here is how they are made.

Frugal Foodie Friday - Mlinci (Croation Baked Noodles)

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...While this Croatian side dish is a great addition to any cook's repertoire, it will be especially helpful to those who need budget dishes to round out family meals. Made with nothing more than eggs, flour and water, this simple dough can can be made more substantial with the addition of aromatics, vegetables and cheese, but in Croatia, this noodle-like flatbread, is dressed with meat or poultry drippings and served in the same way as we serve mashed potatoes here. The dish is an important part of Croatian Christmas dinner, and the noodles, coated with turkey drippings, are given a place of honor alongside the bird. While mlinci are served throughout the Balkans, the dish originated in Croatia. The noodles are actually made from a very thin, dried flatbread that is torn, re-hydrated and then baked for serving. Similar dishes can be found throughout the Middle-East where flatbread has long been known as a practical way to store perishable flour. Unlike pasta. which is made from hard wheat flour and can be stored for long periods of time without losing nutritional content, the soft wheat flour from which mlinci are made, is more likely to degrade, however, once it is baked it, too, can be stored for long periods of time as long as it is kept dry. While the noodles were once considered to be special food and, as such, they became associated with holidays and special occasions, that is no longer the case and they have become an everyday dish.They are actually quite easy to make and while I approached making them as a novelty, they are definitely worth making again. As I didn't have a turkey or the requisite drippings lying around, I dressed my noodles with a light roux based gravy. I could also have used a butter and parsley combination, but I thought the gravy would be a bit more figure friendly. If you are looking for an economical side dish that is a bit different, I hope you'll give these noodles a try. Here is how they are made.

Frugal Foodie Friday - Game Day Snack Crackers

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I live in a sports crazed community where boosters can be found on every corner and adults have special outfits to wear on game days. Needless to say, the love of team sports trickles down, and in some of our smaller communities it's not unusual to see the same boys playing on the football, basketball and baseball teams. It makes for some very interesting varsity jackets and a civic spirit that takes great pride in the success of college and high school teams. Tickets to home games at the University of Oregon are pricey, but large screen televisions make it possible for groups to gather in basements or church halls to enjoy the game in the company of other like-minded souls. Snacks are always available, but they are, by necessity, low key and inexpensive. This past week one of our local grocers had oyster crackers on sale for a dollar a bag and I immediately thought of the cracker treat I made when my children were in scout troops. These seasoned crackers are simple to make and surprisingly good to eat. Once you are familiar with their taste, you can modify the seasonings to your own liking. If you are in the market for an inexpensive game day snack, I hope you'll give these crackers a try. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Here is how they are made.

Frugal Foodie Friday - Curried Tomato and Peanut Soup

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Summer refuses to let go. The Silver Fox and I are in a 10,000 step program and we were out the door shortly after first light this morning. The thermometer outside the door read 47 degrees F, and I mean to tell you it was chilly. The Fox is not a morning talker, so as we walk I usually ward off boredom with thoughts of meal planning or the mental creation of recipes that I hope will wow my immediate world. Under the circumstances, soup seemed like a pretty good bet for lunch or dinner today. I'm still no where near ready for the heavy soups and stews of winter, but I am entertaining thoughts about their lighter cousins and decided to make a pantry soup for our lunch. The original version of this soup comes from Epicurious.com, and while I've made changes to it over the years, it still remains their soup and it's one worth sharing. While it is inexpensive to make and easy to prepare, the best thing about the recipe is that it makes a delicious soup in a quantity that's perfect for a small family. One spoonful of this lovely curried soup will forever spoil you and you'll never look at canned soup in the same way again. I've cut back on the amount of liquid used in its preparation, so it is thicker than the original version. If you prefer a thinner broth use more chicken or vegetable stock to get the consistency you want. The recipe calls for Madras curry powder which usually is quite hot and spicy. If the curry powder you use is a milder variety, you might want to add a pinch of cayenne pepper or some pepper flakes to pep up the flavor of your soup. If you want to use the soup as a main course, add a can of rinsed and drained chickpeas to the pot and just heat them through. I do hope you'll give this Frugal Friday feature a try. It takes 15 minutes to prepare and costs less than $5 to make. Chances are you have all the ingredients you need to make the soup in your pantry and that saves you a trip to the store. It is perfect for these cusp days of early fall. By the time we were ready for lunch, the thermostat had climbed to 88 degrees and I was really grateful for the satisfying lightness of this very special tomato soup. Here is how it is made.

Frugal Foodie Friday - Poutine

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I suspect that many of you have never heard of poutine. It's the French Canadian equivalent of comfort food and it's a favorite of our neighbors to the north, where some refer to it as the "National Dish of Canada." Poutine, by the way, is from a Quebecois slang word that means "mess". While it sounds dreadful, and doesn't look much better, poutine, a dish which consists of French fries that are topped with cheese curds and gravy, has crossed the border and has developed a committed following here in the United States. The exact origin of poutine is unknown, but as best as anyone can tell, it started in Quebec in the 1950’s, when cheese curds and gravy were added to orders of carry-out fries. A version of the dish known as "disco fries" was made in New Jersey soon after that,  but it used shredded mozzarella cheese rather than the cheddar curds that identify the classic dish. The curds are finger-tipped sized chunks of cheddar that have a briny taste similar to that of cottage cheese. They are usually sold in a bags, and if you are fortunate enough to get them freshly packed, they will actually squeak when you bite into them. Your grocery store may carry them and they can also be ordered online. Poutine was once an embarrassment to the French-Canadian populations of Montreal and Quebec, where great value was placed on their reputations for high-end cuisine. They considered it to be a low-end rural food, but as homely cooking gained international recognition it became more acceptable, not unlike our mac n' cheese to which lobster and crab can now be added. While the correct "gravy" used to top the fries can be debated, it is most often shown as being dark and rich. I decided to use Emeril LaGasse's recipe because he used a roux to make his sauce and I suspected it would be delicious. It is, but it took much longer to develop color and thicken than his recipe suggested. I've included my times along with his in the recipe that appears below. He also blanched the potatoes before frying, which gave them a wonderful crust while allowing their interiors to remain soft as they cooked. I LOVE THIS DISH and were it not so high in calories I'd have it once a week. DO TRY THIS RECIPE. It makes a poutine that will have your socks going up and down. It is not expensive to make and it can be served as an appetizer or main course, depending on your sensibilities and the state of your waistline. Here is the recipe for this week's Frugal Foodie Friday feature.

Frugal Foodie Friday - The World's Easiest and Probably Cheapest Mocha Pudding

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...While out for a picnic today, the Silver Fox and I passed an empty field that was being watered. Local grass farmers have just finished harvesting the first of their seed crops and we occasionally see this happening. It seems easier for some to continue watering than to reset timers on the equipment used to irrigate their fields. While it's wasteful and inefficient, I suspect you are wondering why the practice is even being mentioned on a food blog. Well, it started me thinking about kitchens, particularly my own, where waste of another sort can sap resources, which, by definition, should include the energy of the cook. When I first started my kitchen explorations, anything, no matter how difficult, was fair game. I've pressed ducks and, on one occasion, even cooked a suckling pig, but over time I've started to question why I thought it was necessary to do such things. Truth be told, I liken the practice to that of a climber who risks life and limb simply because the mountain is there and he is not. Over the years, I become more judicious in my choice of recipes and few tempt me as they did those first years in my kitchen. I still pull out all the stops for holidays and special meals, but I rarely spend an entire day in my kitchen. I've set a personal limit for the amount of time I'm willing to stand at the stove, and while I prefer "from scratch" cooking, I have started to move down the food ladder and am really attracted to meals that are quick and easy to prepare. It goes without saying, that flavor is still of paramount importance to me, but more and more, I find I'm drawn to what gets me in and out of the kitchen in the shortest amount of time. There is just so much more outside that I want to see and touch and feel and I can't resist the temptation to explore what lies beyond my door. The pudding I'm featuring tonight was the result of a search for a fast and cheap dessert. While I've made some fairly substantial changes to the original recipe, develop by Melissa d'Arabian for the Food Network, it came on my radar because it met my fast and cheap criteria. I think you will really enjoy this simple dessert. It takes ten minutes to prepare the pudding and its flavor more than pays for the cost of the ingredients you use to make it. While it lacks the refinement of a mousse, it is, nonetheless, smooth and silky and quite pleasant on the tongue. I do hope you will try it. Here is how this week's Frugal Friday selection is made. 

Frugal Foodie Friday - A Trio of Thrifty Chicken Recipes

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...To market to market to buy....an inexpensive protein for a Frugal Friday feature. I had planned to do a pork entree, but chicken was quite the bargain today and it brought to mind some recipes that had been posted on One Perfect Bite years ago. The recipes are as good today as they were then and I thought this would be a perfect time to share them with those of you who missed them first time around. All three are easy and inexpensive to prepare and you might like to include them in your collection of recipes for good cheap food. Here are three you can link to. All are terrific recipes for bargain conscious cooks.

Frugal Foodie Friday - Chili-Cheese Sandwich Rolls for a Crowd

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Those who work with, or entertain, teens will find this recipe helpful. It makes sandwiches that are different, delicious and easy on the pocketbook. The warm hoagies are easy to prepare but they do require advance planning, as they must be refrigerated for at least two hours before they are baked. The base recipe will make a sandwich with only moderate heat, so if you like your sandwiches spicy, add jalapenos to the filling before the sandwiches are baked. We had these last weekend at a large, multi age barbecue. The sandwiches were meant to be fillers or meal extenders, as our hostess was unsure of the number of people she would be entertaining. As it turned out, she had a crowd and needed them to stretch the chicken and sausage she had on the grill. It was the first time I had this sandwich and I liked it well enough to ask for the recipe. I thought those of you who work with youth groups or regularly have grandchildren at the table might work these sandwiches into your meal plans. Here is how they are made.

Frugal Foodie Friday - Stuffed Eggplant Creole

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This simple recipe is for a stuffed eggplant dish that is both inexpensive to make and delicious to eat. The ingredients needed to prepare it are readily available and I think you'll be able to find the Grapenuts in the cereal aisle of your grocery store. Just be sure to get the original cereal rather than the newer flaked variety. The nut-like morsels of the original give some texture to the soft filling while also helping to absorb excess moisture in the stuffing. This is a very old recipe that was published back in 1969 in The New McCall's Cook Book. I still have my dogeared copy of the book and while many of the recipes it contains have been eclipsed by time, this is one that those of you with gardens might want to try this summer. It is easy to follow and the minimal cost of its ingredients make it a perfect candidate for a Frugal Friday feature. I've pretty much kept with the original recipe, save for the omission of a 1/4 cup of butter that was used in the breadcrumb topping. Delicious, but verboten these days. I do hope you'll give it a try. Here is how this version of stuffed eggplant is made.

Frugal Foodie Friday - Cube Steak with Mustard Cream Sauce

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I  haven't been tracking the cost of beef lately. The Silver Fox and I don't eat a lot of it, so when I buy beef I generally go for the higher end cuts and don't pay too much attention to what they cost. I was, however, really set back on my heels last week when I went to purchase a pound of ground beef. Hamburger meat was a dinner staple in the early years of our marriage. Its cost was perfect for a pauper's purse and most women my age owned, or were familiar with, a little book called 101 Ways to Cook Ground Beef. We knew them all, but with its cost approaching $5 a pound I'm not sure our younger counterparts would find the book a terrific money saver. The irony was that some steaks cost less than ground meat and I was able to buy cube steaks for $2.99 a pound. I was looking for something I could share with you on Frugal Friday, so I picked up a package and decided that "cube steak something" would be my feature for the week. Fortunately, I found a terrific recipe for cube steaks on the Epicurious website and can report, that while these steaks are not filet mignon, the sauce makes this pedestrian cut of beef quite delicious. If you use red onion instead of shallots and beef stock or chicken stock instead of vermouth, the cost of this entree will fit within the confines of most food budgets. The steaks are simple to prepare, and if you don't overcook them, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by just how good they are. I served the steaks with a salad and rosemary roast potatoes. The rosemary in the potatoes was a great counterpoint to the mustard in the sauce and together the combination was a match made in heaven. I have one caution to share with you. The recipe calls for rubbed sage. Rubbed sage is feathery, so if you have to substitute the ground variety, cut way back on the quantity you use or your cube steaks will end up tasting like turkey dressing. Budget conscious or not, this is a nice family recipe that also happens to be easy on the cook. In my book, it's really hard to beat fast, easy and cheap. I hope you'll give this recipe a try. Here is how the cube steaks are made.

Frugal Foodie Friday - Slow Cooker Moo Shu Pork

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is another simple dish that is as easy on the pocketbook as it is on the cook. This recipe was developed for the slow cooker and while it takes six hours to cook, it requires only 15 minutes to prepare. In all fairness, and to avoid the ire of my Asian friends and readers, this dish really should be called Moo Shu-ish Pork. It is similar to the genuine article, but some real shortcuts have been taken in its assembly. The most prominent of them being the substitution of flour tortillas for the Mandarin pancakes with which the dish is usually served. Does it make a difference? Sure, but when you are hurried, harried and hungry, a lot can be forgiven. This is a nice family meal that's perfect for those days when you are on the run and cannot tend to pots simmering on the stove. If money is really tight, you can, of course, shred the carrots and other slaw components yourself, but the packaged varieties add only pennies to the cost of this dish, so the savings will not be significant. The pork can also be served over rice if you wish to completely eliminate the pancakes. I hope you'll keep this dish in mind for some of your busier days. It will neither make nor break your reputation as a cook, but you'll win points for your budget acumen and ability to deliver a timely meal on a dime. Here is how this version of Moo Shu-ish pork is made.

Frugal Foodie Friday - Fresh Vegetable Subs

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...The gals in my Tai Chi group take turns bringing a lunch to share with the crew following class. These sandwiches were my contribution the last time I was responsible for providing lunch. Most of us have been dieting, so these subs were especially well received. I got the idea for them at a neighborhood sub shop where a vegetable sandwich has become popular. I enjoyed the sandwiches enough to search for a recipe that would allow me to standardize the base ingredients used to make them. I found one on the Better Homes and Garden website and their recipe is the basis for the one I'm sharing with you today. These subs are delicious, easy to prepare and inexpensive to make. They can also be made ahead of time and they are perfect for those watching  pennies or pounds. Obviously, the sandwiches can be made more substantial with the addition of cheese or thin sliced turkey breast, but I like the simplicity of the basic recipe. These sandwiches will never satisfy a hungry man, but they are perfect for smaller appetites. Their cost also makes them a great addition to a collection of Frugal Friday recipes. Here is how they are made.

Frugal Foodie Friday - Old-Fashioned Chicken with Rice

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...There are certain dishes that seem to withstand the tests of time and fashion. This homely, old-fashioned favorite is one of them. Every country that the Silver Fox and I have visited, has a version of chicken and rice. There is something about it that's restorative and it brings back memories of dinner at grandma's kitchen table. It is a simple dish that is easy to prepare. It is inexpensive to make, and if you have never had it, you owe it to yourself to try it at least once. The version I'm featuring tonight was created by Mark Bittman and his recipe makes easy work of its preparation. My only caution is to make sure that the skillet you use is deep enough to hold the chicken without it hitting the lid of your pan. You can change the type of rice, as well as the liquid you use, with no adverse affects. The saffron in the recipe is a completely optional ingredient but it makes an awfully nice addition to this dish. You will have to keep an eye on the rice and the times suggested in the recipe should be taken with a grain of salt. Mine took an additional 20 minutes to cook. This is one of those recipes that is easy to make your own, so don't be afraid to swap or add ingredients that you enjoy. Here is Mark Bittman's version of the dish.

Frugal Foodie Friday - Pulled Pork for a Crowd

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Well, we are halfway home. Yesterday, a moving crew at one end of town temporarily moved our furniture to storage, while an installation crew at the other end, finally pulled up the sub-floors in our new home. It was heavy work for both crews, the kind that builds hearty appetites as well as headaches. While I can't help with headaches, I can field hunger. I always try to feed the folks who help us with big jobs around the house. The meal I made for the crews yesterday was simple and transportable, and given the number of people being feed, surprisingly inexpensive. I made coleslaw and potato rolls to serve with the pork and had German chocolate brownies and lemon bars to finish off the meal. The pork is not inexpensive to make, but it feeds so many people that its per serving cost brings it into the realm of possibility for a Frugal Friday feast. I do hope you'll give this recipe a try the next time you have the equivalent of a crew sitting at your table. The apple lends a sweetness to the dish that is unexpected, but that sweetness is balanced by the heat from the chili flakes that are used in the marinade. The pork is simple to make, but it needs a day to marinate and because it cooks at such a low temperature, you'll need to roast it for at 7 hours before it can be shredded. While this is a two day commitment, very little of it is active, hands-on, time, so I do hope you'll give this recipe a try. The pork is different, tasty and worth every second it takes to prepare. Here is how it's made.

Frugal Foodie Friday - Chicken Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken)

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I don't often serve deep fried foods, but when I do no holds are barred. I was introduced to Karaage Chicken four decades ago, and it was a case of love at first bite. The salty marinade and crisp crust for which this dish is famous makes for an unforgettable taste treat. The chicken is inexpensive to make, easy to prepare and guaranteed to make your socks go up and down as long as you keep a couple of things in mind. Cornstarch is absolutely necessary to the success of this dish. Flour simply will not produce the crispy crust that has made this chicken famous. It is equally important to keep the temperature of your oil constant. Don't overcrowd your fryer and make sure to bring it back to temperature before frying the next batch. Quickly drain the chicken and get it to the table while it is hot. That constraint makes it next to impossible to serve this dish to guests, but friends and family are fair game and will love you for your effort and the introduction to this dish. You'll find that lemon adds enormous flavor to the chicken and helps to keep the saltiness of the soy sauce in check. These days I actually use a low-sodium sauce to make the marinade, but I urge those of you who have access to tamari to use it instead. Japanese tamari is thicker, richer, and less salty than most soy sauce and it is wonderful in this marinade. Because the dish is made with chicken thighs it is inexpensive to make and well within the reach of most budget conscious cooks. I love chicken prepared in this manner and I highly recommend it to all of you. Here is how it is made.

Frugal Foodie Friday - Teriyaki Chicken

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I suspect that only in the Bible is the best saved for last. This week's Frugal Friday feature is a reprise of one I featured the first year I was blogging. Now, I can't speak for other bloggers, but I know for certain that some of my best recipes made their way to cyberspace in those early years. Back then, I had four faithful followers, and since two of them were my daughters, I have every reason to suspect that most of you have never seen them. I want to remedy that by giving some of those recipes a second life. This is one of them. I make Teriyaki Chicken ten to twelve times a year. It's a favorite of my family, and I love it because it is so easy to prepare. It has the added advantage of using readily available and inexpensive ingredients, so it fits perfectly into the collection of recipes I'm assembling to share with you on Frugal Friday. If you are looking for a dish that is quick, easy and cheap, do give this recipe a try. You'll love it. This is what I had to say about it six years ago.

Our first heavy rain came Saturday - a not-so-gentle reminder of winter in Oregon and the price we pay for an achingly beautiful spring. I enjoy the rain. I'm lulled by it's tattoo and the scent of damp earth and pine released into the air, but my inner romantic just couldn't overcome the damp, bone-chill of this first rain. My mind kept wandering to Hawaii and, of all things, the Hawaiian plate lunch. Why potato salad and rice on the same plate? I'd really like to know. Truly! As I puzzled, I began to fixate on Chicken Teriyaki, so, in case you're wondering how we got here - the rain did it. I really like this recipe. It meets all my requirements for a quick weeknight meal. It's simple, inexpensive, made in a single pan and on the table in about 40 minutes. What's not to like? It's cooked stove top so it's an energy saver as well. Without further ado, here's my recipe for ......

Teriyaki Chicken...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1 cup + 2 teaspoons water, divided use
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup tamari or soy sauce
1 cup mirin, sake or pineapple juice
2 to 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 piece (1-4-inch thick) fresh ginger, peeled and crushed
2 pounds well-trimmed boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Optional garnish: sesame seeds, chopped scallion, cilantro and lemon slices

Directions:
1) Combine 1 cup water, lemon juice, tamari, mirin, sugar, garlic and ginger in a large (3-quart) saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat; stir to dissolve sugar. Add chicken; return to the simmer. Cover pan and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate; cover to keep warm.
2) Skim off fat; remove garlic and ginger. Boil sauce until syrupy and reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Mix cornstarch with reserved 2 teaspoons water. Add to sauce, whisking until sauce thickens and is shiny. Return chicken to pan; turn to coat all surfaces. Simmer for 2 minutes, or until chicken is warm. Transfer to a serving platter. Garnish with sesame seeds, scallion, cilantro and lemon slices if desired. Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

                    

                                                    Older Posts

                 One Year Ago Today:                                                       Two Years Ago Today:

                   Bubble Top Brioche                                                     Broccoli and Sausage Frittata

               Three Years Ago Today:                                                   Four Years Ago Today: 

            House Special Mac n' Cheese                                      Yucatan-Style Soup with Lime and Orzo

Frugal Foodie Friday - A Fabulous Figure Friendly Orzo Soup

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...My New Year's resolution this year was to lose weight. I actually did it and hit my goal weight this morning. Whether it was the result of dieting or the worry that accompanies major life style changes I'll never know, but I've been walking on air for most of the day. Soups like the one I'm featuring tonight have been one of my secret weapons. A bowl of this fabulous creation is just over 200 calories and everyone of them is delicious. As it happens, except for the most restricted food budgets, the soup is also a perfect choice for a Frugal Friday feature. It is simple to make and can be on the table in less than 30 minutes. Do try this one. It made my socks go up and down and I think you'll love it. Here is how this fast, fabulous, frugal, figure friendly soup is made.

Frugal Foodie Friday - Asian-Style Braised Chicken with Bok Choy

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...If you enjoy food with an Asian flair, you are in for a treat. This week's Frugal Friday feature is for a simple, soy braised chicken that is light, absolutely delicious and as easy on the pocketbook as it is the waistline. The dish can be made with bone-in or boneless legs or thighs. If you use boneless chicken thighs, cooking time can be cut from 25 to 10 minutes and the dish can be on the table in near record time. You will want to avoid overcooking the bok choy. I think you will find it helpful to separate the stalks into piles of white and green. The crunchy portion of the stalks will need to simmer for two or three minutes, but the green and leafy portions need only a dunk and should cook just until they are wilted. I like to cook the rice I serve with this dish before I actually begin to cook the chicken. That way I can get the chicken to the table while the bok choy is still crisp and its leaves are a vibrant green. Do try this chicken. It is hard to argue with a dish that is cheap, easy and delicious. It is one of my favorite weeknight meals and I think your family will enjoy it as much as mine does. Here is how the chicken is made.

Frugal Foodie Friday - Chicken with Cranberry or Port Wine Glaze

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...If you are looking for a festive, inexpensive entree for a special family meal, I do hope you'll give this recipe a try. The chicken can be made with cranberry juice or port wine and you'll find it is delicious whichever option you choose. The dish takes less than an hour to prepare and I think you'll really enjoy the sweet and salty notes in the sauce that's used to glaze the chicken. The sauce also works well with sliced pork tenderloin or chicken cutlets. If you are watching pennies, the cranberry option will be best for you, but I hope that at some point you'll have the opportunity to make the dish with wine and dried cherries. I guarantee that cherries simmered in this sauce will make the angels sing, and barring that, at least bring a smile or two to the faces at your table. The recipe, which comes from Eating Well magazine, is straight forward and easy to follow, and the chicken is good enough to serve for an informal company meal. Rice or couscous are the usual accompaniments for this dish, but I like to break ranks and serve the chicken with rösti or potato pancakes. Do give this one a try. If you like gutsy flavors, this Frugal Friday feature is bound to please. Here is how the chicken is made.

Frugal Foodie Friday - Creamy Chicken-Rice Soup with Cheese

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Tonight's featured recipe is meant for those still caught in the throes of winter. It is a lovely creamy soup that's substantial enough to be considered as a main course. The soup is as easy to make as it is kind on the pocketbook, and I think those of you who try it will end up adding it to your pennywise recipe collection. This version of the soup was inspired by one that I found on the blog Iowa Girl Eats. The original recipe is wonderful, but I have a couple of suggestions that I think will make it even more enjoyable. I do not have great luck when adding uncooked rice or noodles to soup stock. I always, and I mean always, manage to overcook the rice or noodles and end up with a goopy mess that is less than appetizing to the palate or the eyes. I've learned I can avoid the problem by cooking the rice or noodles separately and adding when them to the soup near the end of cooking. I've been deliberately vague about the cheese that's used in the soup. I like to use Parmesan, but one of my church ladies, obviously on a very limited budget, uses Velvetta and raves about the results she achieves. All of which goes to say that this is a soup that does not need expensive ingredients to be successful, so feel free to use whatever cheese you like or have on hand. This is also a difficult soup to spoil. Do, however, be aware that as the soup sits the rice will act like a sponge and soak up the creamy stock, so keep enough milk or stock on hand to thin it if it becomes necessary. It is important to simmer the soup for at least 10 minutes after adding flour to it.  This "cooks"  the flour and assures there is no raw flour taste in the finished soup. This is a dish I know all of you will enjoy. Do try it! Here is how this inexpensive soup is made.