Archive for Recipes

Rice Cooker Oatmeal

by: Frugal Michael February 9, 2010

Why did someone not tell me a long time ago that I could make oatmeal in my rice cooker while I was busy getting ready for my day?  This is one of the simplest ways to make oatmeal that tastes like the good old fashioned, stick to your ribs stuff that grandma used to make. [...]

Make Your Own Olive Garden Salad Dressing Clone

by: Frugal Michael February 8, 2010

When people first learn that I like to do clone recipes of well known foods from various restaurants and stores one of the most common requests I get is for help making a homemade Olive Garden Salad Dressing clone.  If I am to be entirely honest, the salad dressing is the only thing I truly [...]

Make Your Own Homemade Baking Mix

by: Frugal Michael February 6, 2010

People have been enjoying my homemade pancake recipe so much that I wanted to take it a step further during our Freedom from Convenience Foods Month and share with you a recipe for making your own baking mix that works every bit as well as Bisquick or Pioneer Baking Mix except you made it yourself. [...]

Make Your Own Old Bay Seasoning Clone

by: Frugal Michael February 6, 2010

Old Bay is a versatile,  delicious seasoning blend but if you are like me and have an overly stocked spice cabinet, why not make it yourself?  In my case I have an ulterior motive; I am allergic to ginger and when I make my homemade Old Bay Seasoning recipe from scratch I can adjust the [...]

Make Your Own McDonald’s Special Sauce Clone

by: Frugal Michael February 3, 2010

The McDonald’s Big Mac is an addiction for a lot of my friends so a few years ago I went digging around to find a way to make the special sauce since that was really the only variable ingredient in the now-famous recipe of "two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onion on a [...]

Gone Frugal Taco Seasoning Mix

by: Frugal Michael February 2, 2010

When you are doing your best to live a frugal way of life, so-called “convenience foods” can often be the bane of your existence.  Who can resist those quick fix mixes, pouches and powders that can make meal prep a snap?  You can! In the first of a series of recipes specifically designed to prove [...]

Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Casserole

by: Frugal Michael January 10, 2010

It is simple, good and will taste like it took you hours to put together, but this chicken enchilada casserole is made in the crock pot so you won’t have to spend the entire day in the kitchen to have a dinner that tastes like you did.  Though it is called a casserole, it is [...]

Homemade Dirty Rice

by: Frugal Michael January 4, 2010

If there’s one thing I love, it’s a challenge.  It had been a few years since the last time I made homemade dirty rice and to be honest I wasn’t even sure I remembered my old recipe.  There it was though, on my weekly menu plan, so I decided it had to be done.  After [...]

Michael’s Homemade BBQ Sauce

by: Frugal Michael January 3, 2010

Barbeque is a southern tradition that is more polarizing than politics and religion combined.  There are thousands of recipes and just as many schools of thought about the “right” way to do it. Even when I buy BBQ sauce at the store I end up doctoring it so much that it is a new creation [...]

Homemade Guacamole

by: Frugal Michael January 2, 2010

  Good guacamole is absolutely essential to Mexican dishes (just like salsa), and this is another recipe that is addictive and it will get you rave reviews every time. INGREDIENTS 2 ripe avocados, peeled, seeded 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1/2 Roma tomato, seeded & diced 1/4 cup sweet white onion, minced ½ jalapeno, seeded & [...]