Potatoes are filling and frugal. Plus, a potato salad can be pretty and spring-like! Potato salad can take you right on through summer, in fact. My basic recipe can be tweaked to your tastes. You could use a purple onion just because it looks great. Sour cream is also a simple substitute for the mayo and mustard. Make it yours - but make it often! Potato Salad An easy … [Read more...]
Ranch Chicken Dippers
Kids love chicken nuggets. (Most kids anyways.) I really don't know or understand the appeal of chicken nuggets, but I'm sure I loved them as a kid (mom?) and my kids love them too. We don't eat them at home often...when we do, they are homemade. These ranch flavored chicken nuggets, dipped in marinara sauce were a big hit! I decided to serve these with marinara sauce … [Read more...]
Black Beans with Mango & Cilantro
As promised, more cilantro recipes! We love love love these black beans. I've made them here and there over the years, and have "rediscovered" them...now that we live in the land of really inexpensive cilantro and super delicious mangoes. My oldest son isn't the biggest fan of beans, but he seemed to enjoy these. I'm not sure if it was the added flavor from the cilantro, or … [Read more...]
How to Bake Brown Rice in the Oven
Easy Way to Cook Brown Rice in the Oven Friends...I'm baking brown rice these days. For years, I'd made it on the stovetop, as that's how I learned how to cook rice when I lived in the Dominican Republic years ago. Then I discovered the rice cooker. I've only been using my rice cooker for a few months, but I love it. It cooks the rice so beautifully, and the clean up is … [Read more...]
Cheddar Chicken BLTs
Alrighty y'all...I've got another great sandwich idea and Kraft Fresh Take recipe idea to share this afternoon. I've had it on my list to make some kind of cheesy BLT for quite some time, so that's what I did. Slice. Dip. Bake. Accessorize. I'm using bolillo rolls again with this recipe...mainly because they are so inexpensive and easy. I can purchase them … [Read more...]
Roasted Maple Mustard Chicken
So here's the conundrum that I face with chicken breasts. 2 isn't enough for our growing brood (it used to be plenty!)...but 3 is too many. (Unless all 3 boys are in a growth spurt at the same time, and that doesn't happen often.) So 2 and 1/2 is perfect for our family right now, but they don't come in packed as 2.5 breasts in a package. (If I was really smart, I'd take the … [Read more...]
Mango Smoothie
It is a chilly 19 degree day here and the whole family is ready for spring! I pulled out my blender to make this tropical mango smoothie to help us beat the winter blues. It may not be a 80 degree day but it helped lift our spirits. Mango Smoothie I pulled out my blender to make this tropical mango smoothie to help us beat the winter blues. 1 1/2 cups … [Read more...]
Avocado Egg Breakfast Sandwich – How to Make Baked Eggs with Cilantro in Muffin Tin
My boys love eggs. (Both my 7 and 5 year olds are now quite proficient at making scrambled eggs for breakfast.) They also love avocado. And English muffins. And chips and salsa. I took a risk in putting all these things together for a "breakfast for dinner" meal, and it was a big success. (Minus the chips, but I suppose you could add those if you wanted a little crunch in your … [Read more...]
8 Homemade Mix Recipes – From Taco Seasoning to Cocoa Mix
Skip the pricey packets and bottles, and try these delicious homemade mix recipes instead! Some of the most popular recipes here on $5 Dinners are the homemade mixes. Their posts and pages get thousands of visits each week, so I thought I'd pull them all together into one place for you. … [Read more...]
Grocery Store Shortcuts for Homemade Meals
I really prefer to feed my family home cooked meals, but some days that just isn't as easy as others. For example, I like to prepare pizza dough ahead of time and keep it in the freezer for future meals, however there are days that the family wants pizza but I completely forget to take the dough out to thaw in time. Here are a few tips and tricks for using grocery store … [Read more...]