Being a girl from the South, barbecue is in my blood. I think I was raised with a pulled pork sandwich in one hand and hush puppies in another. (If you don’t know what hush puppies are, you should hang your head in shame!) My husband is a genious when it comes to the crock pot! Yep, the crock pot. It’s one of the easiest dishes we make when we have a really busy day. This is his latest creation using a Charcrust Barbecue rub we were able to find, and it happens to be on of my favorite crock pot recipes!

Ingredients

A Corned Beef Brisket (leave out the corning spices)

Your favorite whiskey (Jack Daniels is a good choice)

Charcrust Dry Barbecue Rub

Garlic Powder

Pepper

Beef broth

Focaccia Bread

Garlic Powder

Butter

Directions

Open your beef brisket, rinse off and pat dry. Take the Charcrust Barbecue Dry Rub and coat the brisket before place it in the crock pot

Put your crock pot on low, and then place in your beef brisket.

Add 1-2 shots of your favorite whiskey to give it a little kick.

Cover the brisket with 16 oz of beef broth, then if still not covered add water until meat is covered.

Sprinkle in garlic powder and pepper to taste.

Put lid on crock pot, and cook on low for approximately 4-6 or under brisket pulls apart easily with fork.

When brisket is done, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Butter the focaccia bread, sprinkle with garlic powder and rosemary.

Put in the oven for about 5-10 minutes until golden brown.

Now it’s ready to serve. This meal takes about 5-15 minutes tops in bread time, and it’s absolutely delicious!

How do you like your barbecue?

Do you like yours coated in barbecue sauce or prefer a good barbecue dry rub? I would love to hear how you savor the BBQ flavor in your home!

Just because you want to make frugal recipes, doesn’t mean that you have to sacrifice taste. This is the best of the tuna noodle casserole recipes, and I have been having it since I was a little kid. It is one of my all time favorites. The best part is you can feed a family of 6-8 for around $5! I would definitely classify it as one of my all time favorite comfort foods!

Ingredients

1 cans tuna in water (drained) (75 cents)

1 cans sweet corn (drained) (65 cents)

1 cans cream of mushroom soup (70 cents)

8 oz cheddar cheese ($1.29 bought locally)

16 oz box of macaroni noodles (50 cents)

Total Cost $3.89 or 48 cents a serving

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Place a large pot full of water on stove to boil. Once boiling place noodles in, and boil them until tender (approximately 15 minutes)

Open all cans, drain (if applicable), and place in 13X9 baking dish.

Drain pasta and place in baking dish. Then use large spoon to mix all ingredients together until pasta is thoroughly coated.

Sprinkle the top with cheddar cheese.

Place in oven for approximately 25 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.

I love Mexican food. It is a vice I have, so in the effort of being frugal I have set out to learn how to make some of my favorite Mexican restaurant dishes. First up is enchiladas. I could literally eat my weight in enchiladas. (Ok, yes I would probably be sick, but it would be so worth it!)

Enchilada plates at a Mexican restaurant are usually $14 each! I can make a meal for my whole family for much less than that! Enjoy trying out this uber delicious enchiladas recipe!

Total Cost of this dish is approximately $10-$12, plus it feeds 6-8!

Ingredients

12 flour tortillas (I know it should be corn, but family doesn’t like those)

1 1/2 lb ground turkey or beef

Cumin

Chili Powder

1 8 oz jar tomatoes with chilis

8 oz cheddar cheese

2 4 oz cans mild enchilada sauce

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a large frying pan, brown the meat. Drain the tomatoes with chilis and add to the browned meat.

Add cumin and chili powder to taste. Drain and set aside

In a 13X9 baking dish, fill the flour tortillas with the browned meat. Roll and place opening on the bottom to make sure they remained closed.

Once done filling all the shells, cover all of the enchiladas with enchilada sauce.

Cover the entire pan with cheddar cheese.

Place in the oven until the cheese is melted and the sauce is slightly bubbly. Approximately 20-30 minutes.

Enjoy!

I have been cooking a lot more lately, so I thought I would give myself a challenge and try a new dish that I hadn’t made before. I found this fabulous seafood brochette recipe from Le Creuset. It looks absolutely divine!

Le Creuset specializes in a great line of quality cookware. What I loved about their site is that I could not only drool over all the cookware I wanted to add to my kitchen, but I could also find fantastic recipes. That is where I got this recipe from.

I am by no means an expert cook, but even I was able to tackle this recipe. The combination of seafood is so delicately accented by the Hollandaise sauce. This was my first experience with the creamy, succulence that is Hollandaise. It was so divine I think I could’ve drank the whole thing.

Even though the sauce was easier than I thought to make, I did wish the language of the recipe was a little bit more beginner cook friendly. There were a couple terms, like “on the hob”, that I had no clue what it meant. Even with the newbie language barrier, I was still impressed with my dish!

If you are looking to adventure outside of your comfort zone, you have to try this recipe. If seafood isn’t your thing, then head over to the recipe section at Le Creuset and find many other fabulous dishes to try! They are neatly organized by cuisine, meal time, and even category. It’s very user friendly.

For those that want to try this recipe, this is what you need to make this delicious dish. It yields about four servings.

Ingredients

White wine hollandaise

½ cup dry white wine ( I chose a nice Pinot Grigio)
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon peppercorns
3 egg yolks
1 ½ sticks butter
½ cup fish stock reduced to ¼ cup
Or ¼ cup double strength fish stock from a cube
Freshly squeezed lemon juice
Salt and pepper

Instructions:

To make the brochettes

Place the seafood onto a skewer adding one bay leaf per piece
Mix the olive oil, lemon juice and seasoning in a small bowl and brush onto the brochettes. Cover and let marinate in a cool place for 1 hour.

Hollandaise preparation

Pour the white wine, bay leaf and peppercorns into a small pan and reduce to about 2 tablespoons. Strain the liquid  and set aside.  Make sure to clean the pan.
Fill a medium saucepan to about a ¼ full with water, place it on a medium heat and bring to a gentle simmer. Place on a lid until and set aside until needed.
Heat the butter in the clean small pan until just melted. Set to one side.

To cook the brochettes

Turn the grill up to a medium heat. (You can place them directly on the grill or use a great grill pan too)
When the grill is ready, lightly brush with vegetable oil. Pat away any excess moisture from the brochettes using some paper towels and cook on the grill for 3-4 minutes without turning, once sealed and nicely bar marked, turn and cook the other side.
Place the cooked brochettes in a dish, cover and keep warm while making the hollandaise.

To make the Hollandaise

Whisk together the egg yolks and the white wine mixture in a large bowl.
Place the bowl over the just simmering water and whisk continuously and vigorously until thickened and the foam will make a trail.
Remove the bowl from the heated water and whisk in 2-3 tablespoons of the melted butter, return the bowl to the pan of hot water and whisk for 1 minute. Repeat this until all the butter has been incorporated. To prevent the outer edges cooking too quickly scrape the sides of the bowl as you whisk, this will keep all the sauce at the same temperature and prevent lumps. The end consistency should be like thick mayonnaise.
Add the reduced fish stock a little at a time whilst continually whisking over the water. Season to taste with a squeeze of lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Pour into a warmed well insulated sauce jug or warmed individual small dishes and serve immediately with the cooked brochettes.

Trust me, it sounds a lot more complicated than it is. Before trying this dish, make sure to read through all the instructions and have a good understanding of what you are supposed to do. Then enjoy! You can thank me later!

To check out more fabulous recipes from Le Creuset head to their Recipes sections!

I did receive free products to faciliate this review, but all opinions are my own.

I love Italian food! It is absolutely yummy! The rich flavors tickle your taste buds, and the pasta fills your tummy without breaking the bank. This recipe is super easy, and you can feed a family of five for less than $5!

Here are the ingredients you need

Penne Pasta Bake with Caesar Salad Serves 6-8

Supplies

13X9 ceramic baking dish

strainer

can opener

Cheese Grater

Large cooking spoon

Ingredients

1 box of Penne Pasta (.50 cents)

1 can Tomato Sauce 16 oz (.75 cents)

1 bag shredded mozzarella ($1.67)

1/2 block cheddar (84 cents)

1 prepackaged salad (67 cents)

half a bag of caesar coupons (20 cents)

caesar salad dressing (10 cents)

oregano (10 cents)

italian seasoning (10 cents)

Total Cost $4.93 that’s 83 cents a serving when feeding six!

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees

Put a large pot full of water on to boil. Once starts to have a rolling boil add penne pasta, and boil until done

While pasta is boiling, grate half a block of your favorite cheddar cheese. Set aside

On another burner, place tomato sauce in a sauce pan. Add Oregano and Italian seasoning to taste, leave on warm

After pasta is done boiling, strain and then place in 13X9 baking dish

Pour tomato sauce on top of pasta and mix until pasta is completely coated in sauce.

Sprinkle mozzarella and cheddar cheese on top of pasta until well coated. You can also add more seasoning on top if you like.

Place in the oven at 350 degrees for approximately 25-30 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.

For the salad simply mix the pre-made salad mix, croutons, and salad dressing in a large bowl.

When it’s all done, enjoy this deliciously easy dish. It makes more than enough for a family of five. We always have leftovers, and it’s even better heated up the next day!

All prices listed are ACTUAL prices I paid by working coupon deals. To find out how to score these kind of deals make sure to subscribe to the Crunchy emails!