When you can’t have pizza on a regular basis, you have to get creative when you get those pizza cravings! I’ve got some dairy free and soy free mozzarella cheese and I figured there would be no way that I could cover an entire pizza with it, and keep it under $5!

I recalled a Sausage bread that I made years ago…it’s basically homemade pizza crust dough with sausage and jalapenos rolled up with some cheese.  (I’m hoping to make it again this summer with jalapenos from the garden…I’m already dreaming about it!)

I thought it would be the perfect way to do pizza with little cheese…and it totally worked!

I used the extra tomato sauce for dipping and the boys couldn’t get enough!!!

I love that we can have pizza again…

Load up the bread machine. Water, olive oil, milk, salt, wheat flour, white flour, yeast, sugar and Italian seasonings.

Set to dough cycle.

(Not the bake cycle…I’ve done that before…it’s not pretty!)

Beautiful puffy dough.

While the dough is in the bread machine, make the sauce.

Prep the pepperoni and the green peppers.  And any other “toppings” you’d like to include.

Fillings, really.

Run a knife through the pepperoni.

Then the green peppers.

When the dough is finished, drop it onto a lightly floured surface.

Divide into 2 dough balls and knead lightly.

Toss out a little yellow cornmeal.

Roll her out!

But not too thin…you’ll see why in a sec.

Load with the sauce, pepperoni and green peppers.

Add the cheese.

This is the part where yours will have shredded cheese on it! Unless you are using a dairy-free cheese too!

Roll her up.

Carefully add to a lightly greased loaf pan.

Repeat for the second dough ball!

Bake at 350. For 30 minutes.

See why I said to not to roll it too thin. This loaf broke open on the top because I rolled it too thin.

Slice.

Dip.

Dip the next bite.

And the next.

(K, you get the picture!)

We ate one of the loaves, and I sliced and froze the other!  An easy grab from the freezer…for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

(Wow, that just took me straight back to my cold pizza for breakfast in college days!)

Enjoy!

Super Simple Supper!

This is a one dish dinner.

(That brings up an important question…when you hear one dish dinner, do you think of it being a dinner that is SERVED in one dish, or COOKED in one dish?!)

So this is technically a one dish served dinner…as the whole meal is in one bowl.  But it was cooked in 2 pots…a pot for the pasta, and a skillet for the sausage, then the veggies.

Would love to know you thoughts!

Now for the recipe…but be warned…it’s a $6 dinner! The key to this meal…it uses an expensive lean all natural sausage that costs nearly $5…but when paired with inexpensive pasta and veggies all from the garden, it’s not as terribly priced as it could be! It’s all about the balance!

Ingredients

1 lb. Italian sausage ($4.85) WHAT?!? I know…this is the 100% all natural, grass fed sausage from the farmer’s market.
1 lb. Rigatoni pasta ($.79) Manager’s special
1/2 yellow onion ($.15)
1 red pepper, from the garden
1 green pepper, from the garden
1 banana pepper, from the garden
2 medium tomatoes, from the garden
3 garlic cloves, crushed ($.15)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese ($.25) Optional
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Brown the sausage in a skillet. Once browned, place onto a plate with paper towels to drain/absorb the grease. Pour off any excess grease, leaving just a little to saute the veggies.

2. While browning, start the pasta. Cook the rigatoni according to package directions. Set aside 1/3 cup pasta cooking water and drain.

3. Chop all the veggies and crush the garlic. In the same skillet that you browned the sausage, saute the veggies for 5 to 7 minutes, or until peppers begin to soften.

4. Toss the cooked rigatoni, the 1/3 cup pasta cooking water, browned sausage and the sauteed veggies in the saucepan or in a large mixing bowl. (Optional…sprinkle in some parmesan cheese.)

5. Serve Rigatoni with Italian Sausage and Red Peppers.

Cost $6.19

Simple.

Take your basic chili…and add 2 green peppers. Diced, of course!

(I made this on the Dayton Fox News morning show this week!  So if you’ve been looking for the recipe, here it is!)

Remember those crazy wicked cheap green peppers I scored!?!  That’s what inspired the green pepper addition.  I think I’ll be adding green peppers to everything from now until Thanksgiving!

Loved the flavor the green peppers added to this chili.

Ingredients

About 3/4 lb. ground beef ($1.12)
1/2 red onion, diced ($.50)
2 green peppers, diced ($.66)
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes ($.16)
1 6 oz. can tomato paste ($.19)
2 cups cooked black beans ($.40)
2 cups cooked red beans ($.40)
2 garlic cloves, crushed ($.10)
1 Tbsp chili powder ($.10)
Salt and pepper to taste
Tabasco or hot sauce, optional

1/2 cantaloupe ($.67)

*Substitute 1 can black beans and 1 can red beans to save on time!

Directions

1. Brown the ground beef. Drain and return to saucepan.

2. Add diced red onion (or yellow, or white), diced green peppers, diced tomatoes (undrained), tomato paste (plus 1-2 cans worth of water), black beans, red beans, garlic cloves, chili powder and salt and pepper to taste.  Add some Tabasco or hot sauce if you need a lil kick.

3. Bring to bubbling, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  If you simmer longer, cover it so you don’t lose too much moisture. Ladle into bowls and serve warm.

4. Cut cantaloupe into wedges or bite size pieces.  I love the sweet, coolness of cantaloupe paired with a thick, hearty chili.

5. Serve Green Pepper Chili with Cantaloupe.

Cost $4.30

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Gardening helps offset my grocery bill, especially since I grow items that can be expensive at the grocery store such as peppers and tomatoes. The one downside to gardening is that supply sometimes exceeds demand, particularly when I grow things like yellow squash and zucchini.

My children are now examining all baked goods with a suspicious eye, so I have to step up my game and hide the squash where they will least expect it: in plain sight! The peppers provide a flavorful cover, even if they do not entirely camouflage the squash.

Ingredients for Vegetable Confetti

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups mixed color mild peppers, cut into thin strips
2 cups zucchini, julienned (If you are not sure how to julienne squash, here you go!)
2 cups yellow squash, julienned
1 cup onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh basil, shredded

Directions for Vegetable Confetti

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or wok. Add the peppers, squash, zucchini, onion, and garlic.

2. Sauté for 3 minutes over a medium high heat.

3. Reduce heat to low and add basil. Cook on low for 7 – 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Ingredients for Herbed Chicken

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts  
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander (optional)
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions for Herbed Chicken

1. Preheat broiler.

2. Combine the spices in a small bowl.

3. Pour spices onto a dinner size plate. Dredge each chicken breast through the spices, then flip and coat the other side. Place chicken on broiler pan.

4. Broil for 4 minutes. Flip the chicken over and broil for 4 more minutes or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear. Cut each breast into thin slices and serve on Vegetable Confetti.

How are you hiding your excess zucchini?

Alea shares her tips for saving money and time while reducing waste in her home at Premeditated Leftovers. She is committed to providing her family with homegrown, organic produce despite living in an inhospitable climate. Alea chronicles her gardening efforts at One Determined Gardener. She can also be found on Twitter. Check out all of her $5 Dinners Recipes too.

Thought I’d replace the traditional beef in Stuffed Green Peppers with some black and red kidney beans instead.  And I’m glad I did!  The “filling” is so delicious and fresh…and it be great rolled up in a tortilla for lunch.

(That’s what I’ll be having for lunch tomorrow.)

Ingredients

1 cup brown rice ($.40)
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped ($.30)
2 large tomatoes, diced ($1.20)
1 4 oz. can diced green chilies ($.59) Substitute the fresh tomatoes and green chilies with 1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes with green chilies
2 cups cooked black beans ($.40)
2 cups cooked red kidney beans ($.40)
1 tsp ground cumin ($.05)
Salt and pepper to taste
4 green peppers ($1.20)
Few pinchfuls of Shredded cheddar cheese ($.50)

1 bag frozen corn ($.88)

Directions

1. Cook the brown rice as directed on the package. (Takes about 45 minutes.) Substitute white rice if desired.

2. To the cooked brown rice, add the chopped onions, diced tomatoes, green chilies, cooked black beans, cooked red kidney beans, ground cumin and salt and pepper (to taste).

3. Slice the stem out of the top of the green pepper and place in a pot with boiling salt water for 5 minutes. Remove from water, then stuffed with the filling. Top with a pinchful of shredded cheese.

4. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and is bubbly.

5. Cook the corn as directed on package.

6. Serve Double Bean Stuffed Green Peppers with Corn.

(Note: I had a few extra smaller green peppers in the fridge…so I made Stuffed Bite Size Peppers for Steve to take to work for lunch!)

Top with some shredded cheese, then freeze.  Thaw in the fridge overnight, then reheat  in the oven long enough to melt the cheese before taking to work.

Cost $5.92 – With lots of leftovers for lunch!!!

I made these the other night…I made an extra trip to the store to get the ingredients needed for this morning’s news segment…and spotted some $.99 whole mushrooms.  I see them often for $.99 in the mark down basket in the produce section. I found more this morning…sliced this time. I don’t typically buy extra food when I’m getting food for news segments, but I couldn’t pass these up!

(Gonna have to change the menu plan to incorporate some of the marked down goodies I found this morning!)

This is simple.

• Stew beef.
• Whole mushrooms.
• Green peppers.
• Steak seasoning.

That’s it!

Simple…but oh, so yummy!

Ingredients

About 1 lb. stew beef ($2.48) Manager’s Special
1 box whole mushrooms ($.99) Manager’s Special
2 green peppers, seeded and cut into 1 inch pieces ($.60) Part of the loot from the farmer’s market
Steak seasoning (free) Used $1 coupon with $1 sale price
1 large yellow squash ($.50) From the farmer’s market the other week
1 cup rice ($.20)

Directions

1. Wash and dry the mushrooms.

2. Cut the green peppers.

3. Skewer the meat, mushrooms and peppers. Sprinkle with steak seasoning. (Or marinate with a favorite beef marinade.) Grill for a few minutes on each side, or until beef is cooked to your liking.

4. Steam-saute the yellow squash.

5. Cook the rice as directed while the kebabs are chilling on the grill.

6. Serve Beef and Mushroom Kebabs over Rice with Steam Sauteed Yellow Squash.

Cost $4.77

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Or perhaps the wrong way to cut a green pepper?!?

I am a total green pepper cutting rebel and do my own thing when it comes to dicing, slicing and cutting green peppers. I am not, however, a rebel without a cause.

I definitely cut with a cause.  In this case, freezing all these green peppers!  In the end, I wound up with the following meal size portions:

• 6 bags with diced green peppers, for soups, spaghetti sauce, slow cooking – Tomato, Black Bean and Barley Soup
• 5 bags with sliced green peppers, for fajitas – Black Bean Fajitas
• 5 bags with cubed green peppers, for stir-fries – Sweet and Sour Chicken
• 6 whole peppers, to be used this weekend for Beef Kebabs and Stuffed Bell Peppers from The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook

(And sorry for the funky lighting and for talking so softly…this was, after all, a $5 Dinners iPhone production!)

So how about you?!  How do you cut, slice or dice green?! Are you a rebel too?!

For a while now, I’ve been toying with the idea of putting myself on a Gluten Free diet. No real reason really. Just want to see if I feel any different when eliminating gluten.

And here is a recipe that will be on the menu when (if ever) I decide to make that leap.

Ingredients

1 cup red quinoa ($1)
1 cup frozen diced green pepper ($.29)
1 cup frozen corn ($.29)
2 cups cooked black beans ($.40)
1/4 cup lime juice ($.10)
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped (free from the garden)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 avocado, diced ($1)

Directions

In a large skillet, saute the green pepper, corn and black beans.

Once softened, add the lime juice and cilantro.

In a saucepan, cook the red quinoa as directed on the package.

Once cooked, mix the quinoa in with the sauteeing veggies.

Dice up an avocado.

Serve the avocado on top of the quinoa and veggies.

(I could have eaten 18 bowls. I really would have.)

Cost $3.08

I had every intention of serving this over brown rice. But I got a little distracted by the Balloon Boy story this afternoon (so glad he was found…but boy I wasted a bunch of “what if that was my kid” emotional energy because of the whole ordeal). By the time I realized that the dinner hour was fast approaching, it was too late to get the brown rice going! So white rice it is.

I also had good intentions of doubling it to freeze, but since we are still without a deep freezer, I opted to not double this meal up.

Tonight’s meal comes from Carrie over at Carrie’s Cooking.  I also made her Pumpkin Soft Pretzels this afternoon…perfect after school snack!

Ingredients
1.38 lb chicken breast, diced ($2.06) On sale this week at Dots for $1.49/lb!
2 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil ($.10)
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper (free from the garden…this was the last of my peppers from the garden!)
1 clove garlic, minced ($.05)
1 tablespoon corn starch ($.05)
1/4 cup soy sauce ($.25) (GF meal if soy sauce is GF!)
1 (8 ounce) can pineapple chunks, with juice ($.79)
1 Tbsp vinegar ($.05)
1 Tbsp brown sugar ($.05)
1/2 tsp ground ginger ($.05)
1 cup rice ($.20)
1 12 oz. bag frozen corn ($.49) On sale this week, plus promotion and used $1 coupon!

**Buy generic/store brand soy sauce since there are rarely soy sauce coupons!

Directions
1. In large skillet over medium high heat, brown the diced chicken pieces in oil.
2. Add diced green bell pepper and garlic and stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes.
3. In small bowl, whisk together corn starch and soy sauce, then pour the mixture into skillet along with the pineapple chunks, pineapple juice, vinegar, brown sugar, and ginger. Stir together and bring just to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5-10 minutes, or until sauce reaches desired consistency/thickness.
4. In medium saucepan, cook 1 cup of rice with 2 1/2 cups of water.  Bring water to a boil.  Add rice, stir and return to boil.  Cover and reduce heat to medium.  Cook for 20 minutes.  Fluff the rice with fork before serving.
5. Cook frozen corn as directed on package instructions.
6. Serve Sweet and Sour Chicken over Rice with Corn.

Cost $4.14

Ingredients
1 small yellow onion, chopped ($.20)
2 cloves garlic, crushed ($.10)
1/2 cup Italian salad dressing ($.20)
4 cups water
1 15 oz. can black beans, drained ($.80)
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained ($.65)
1/2 cup quick-cooking barley ($.40)
Handful fresh basil, chopped (from the garden) or use 1 tsp dried basil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 medium green pepper, chopped (from the garden!!!)
Dollops of sour cream (optional) Omit if dairy-free!
2 cups frozen corn ($1)
Homemade Wheat Rolls ($.50) I had some stashed in the freezer

Directions
1. In large saucepan, cook onion and garlic in dressing in large saucepan on medium heat 5 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring frequently.
2. Stir in all remaining ingredients except green peppers and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove from heat and stir in green peppers. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes.
5. Top each bowl with dollop of sour cream.
6. Cook frozen corn according to the directions on the package.
7. Make homemade wheat rolls, or serve with store bought bread.
7. Serve Tomato Black Bean Barley Soup with Corn and Wheat Rolls.

Cost $3.85