I'm back...

....in the kitchen. The past couple of months (sad, I know) have been really hard in the kitchen. I felt like I couldn't make a lot of the yummy recipes due to such a small food budget. After some discouraging searching, I decided just to go for it. I started off small:

 with apple chips! They actually burned because I cut them extremely thin like the lady on the blog said to, but I don't think she knew of my awesome cutting skills. ;)

Next: Something really easy premade caramel wrapped around washed apples: Caramel apples!!! Yum!

stickin' them in the oven...yum! They were a hit. Thanks to Melissa and Rachel for helping out.

Not only that, but while we were with family this past weekend, we had some amazingly yummy food. :) Thanks to Jennie for being willing to cook for so many!

Here is one of my proudest moments. Last night, I told Steven I would have dinner ready. So, I made up a casserole. I think casseroles are my favorite. They have a rap for being pieced together and nasty sometimes, but I think they're creative and can taste yummy if you know what you're doing! I didn't have milk, bread, or tortillas. My staples for cooking, so I used:

leftover noodles from lunch

1 can of pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Majority of a big can of tomato sauce

1 tsp of garlic, minced

Basil, Oregeno, and very little parsley

topped with some cheese. 

Bake for 20 minutes at 350*F. Tada! Anywho. I got compliments from the hubby. It smelled and tasted delicious! P.S. I would use more cheese next time. Probably with some other tweaks. Maybe like looking more appealing. :)

 Here is my project for today:

 Homemade re-fried beans. I used this recipe, but I didn't let the fact that I didn't have all the ingredients get me down. I replaced whole garlic cloves with that Chef brand of already-minced-garlic, chopped dried onions,  and left out the coriander. I have enough spices to use already, no need to go buy some more! Anywho, I'm pretty sure I'll be back for good now. I'm sure the hubby's tummy will thank me later. 

Lesson learned: don't get overwhelmed and improvise! :)