Fondue Cheese Recipe – Gruyere, Swiss… Oh My!

November 15, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Fondue Cheese Recipe

Fondue Cheese Recipe

1 tsp. minced garlic
1 C. dry white wine
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 C. Swiss cheese, shredded
2 C. Gruyere cheese, shredded
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
Pinch nutmeg

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, simmer the garlic, wine, and lemon juice. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the cheeses, and blend well until melted. Add mustard and nutmeg. Keep warm over Sterno with a fondue pot.

Dip assorted breads, meats, and veggies in the cheese. We diced French bread, salami, and fresh mushrooms to eat with our fondue.

Frugal Tips:  Gruyere isn’t exactly frugal.  I found it at Sam’s Club for $12/lb., and that was the best price I could find.  However, a splurge like this doubles as a Fun, Frugal Family Activity while providing a meal as well.  You can do the whole thing for less than $20, which is much less than an evening out.

Fondue Cheese Recipe Fondue Cheese Recipe

Thanks, Mommysavers!  Originally posted here: Melting Pot Cheese Fondue

Filed Under: 30 Minutes or Less, Appetizers Tagged With:

Tortellini Gorgonzola

April 8, 2013 by 1 Comment

tortellini gorgonzola recipe

This Tortellini Gorgonzola recipe was inspired by a local restaurant called The Neighbors Italian Bistro.  I order it almost every time I go there, so I wanted to figure out how to make it at home.  This semi-homemade version is quick and easy – ready in 30 minutes.   Plus, now that I feel I’ve got a good version of my own I may branch out and try something different the next time I’m there.

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Tortellini Gorgonzola
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
A quick, easy at-home meal that will satisfy your craving for Italian restaurant food
Ingredients
  • 2 chicken breasts (1/2 per serving)
  • 1 bag cheese tortellini noodles
  • 1½ C. fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
  • ½ jar Alfredo sauce
  • 1 C. half and half (to thin the sauce)
  • ½ container Gorzonzola cheese crumbles
  • ½ C. chopped walnuts
  • 1 red pepper, sliced (optional)
  • ¼ C. diced Roma tomatoes (optional)

Instructions
  1. Prepare tortellini noodles per bag instructions. Meanwhile, saute the spinach and red peppers in 1 Tbsp. of butter. Add the Alfredo sauce. Next, add the walnuts, gorgonzola crumbles, and diced tomatoes. I grilled my chicken breast on my George Foreman grill. I didn’t add the red peppers and tomatoes this time because I didn’t have them, but the original restaurant version includes them. Add the cooked tortellini noodles to the sauce. Slice ½ chicken breast and add to the top of the noodles and serve. Serves 4.
  2. Note: I really “eyeballed” the quantities on this recipe. You may want to adjust according to your taste – but it’s really yummy, quick, and easy too!

 

Frugal Tip:  Flash frozen chicken breasts that come in a bag are pretty cheap, but they often get dried out and don’t taste as flavorful as fresh chicken breasts.  One thing I’ve discovered is that if you par-boil them in chicken stock before grilling, they taste better and are more juicy.

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Filed Under: 30 Minutes or Less, Recipes Tagged With: , , , ,

Copycat Recipe: Carrabba’s Italian Grill Salad Dressing

March 11, 2013 by 1 Comment

Carraba's Italian Grill House Dressing Copycat Recipe

This copycat version of the creamy Parmesan dressing from Carrabba’s Italian Grill is my new favorite. Not only is it delicious, it’s incredibly easy to make.

Frugal Tips:  This recipe only calls for a little bit of buttermilk, so don’t let the leftovers go to waste.  Did you know you could freeze buttermilk?  Here are some great ideas to use up buttermilk after making this dressing.

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Copycat Recipe: Carrabba’s Italian Grill Salad Dressing
Serves: 4
 

Ingredients
  • ½ C. mayonnaise
  • ¼ C. grated Parmesan cheese
  • ¼ C. buttermilk
  • 1½ tsp. minced garlic
  • ½ tsp. minced fresh parsley
  • ½ tsp. lemon juice
Instructions
  1. Combine all ingredients and serve with romaine lettuce, croutons, fresh black pepper and any of your other favorite salad ingredients.

 

carrabbas-salad-dressing

See how simple the ingredient list is?  Much of this is in your refrigerator already.


 carrabbas-salad-dressing

 

Mix the dressing well.

carrabbas-salad-dressing

Serve with romaine and croutons.

 

Filed Under: 30 Minutes or Less, Copycat Recipes, Salads and Sides Tagged With: , ,

Classic French Steamed Mussels

January 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Classic French Steamed Mussels

 

Steamed mussels are one of our favorite “at-home date night” meals. They cost around $4 per pound, and are easy to make. I first posted our Mussels in Garlic Wine Sauce recipe on Frugal Bites a couple months ago. I recently found this recipe in the newspaper and gave it a try.  It’s based on a recipe in Cook’s Illustrated.  It was very similar to our other recipe, with just slight variations in the amounts of each ingredient.

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Classic French Steamed Mussels
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4-6
 
Mussels create an easy, elegant dish that is surprisingly frugal.
Ingredients
  • 2 C. white wine
  • ½ C. minced shallots
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • ½ C. chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 4 lb. mussels, cleaned and de-bearded
  • 4 Tbsp. butter
Instructions
  1. In a large saucepan, bring wine, shallots, garlic, parsley, and bay leaf to a simmer. Cook about 3 minutes. Add mussels and cover the pan. Cook until the mussels have opened, about 5-8 minutes. Discard any mussels that have not opened.
  2. Remove mussels from the sauce. Add butter and stir to emulsify. Pour the liquid over the mussels. Serve with linguine noodles and/or crusty bread.

 

Filed Under: 30 Minutes or Less, Fish and Seafood Tagged With:

Toffee Club Crackers

December 21, 2012 by 4 Comments

http://www.mommysavers.com/category/blog/deals-and-shopping/online-bargains/amazon-deals/

These Toffee Club Crackers were something I remember my Grandma making at Christmastime. I’m not sure I got the recipe quite right, but they were delicious (almost addictive!) nonetheless. There are many, many variations of these cracker cookies. I also have a recipe that uses graham crackers and pecans – also delicious. Really, the possibilities are endless.

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Toffee Club Crackers
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 40 pieces
 
Ingredients
  • ½ stick butter
  • ½ stick margarine
  • ⅓ cup sugar
  • ¼ cup slivered almonds
  • Chocolate drizzle (optional)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lay out one sleeve of Club crackers on a baking sheet. Meanwhile, heat butter, margarine and sugar in a medium saucepan until bubbly. Pour over the Club crackers. Press slivered almonds onto the tops of the crackers. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Once cool, add a drizzle of chocolate (optional) made from melted chocolate chips or chocolate almond bark.

 

Filed Under: 30 Minutes or Less, Cookies and Bars Tagged With: ,
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