Vegetarian Goulash

Summer offers so many yummy, fresh veggies that are begging to be put into delicious recipes. In my efforts to eat healthy, while being frugal, I threw together a vegetarian goulash.  It could also be called a summer vegetarian stew, if you prefer. The recipe is crazy simple to make and tastes like summer in a bowl. Pure yummy for the tummy -- and nice for your waistline since it's low cal and low sodium! Green and yellow summer squash, peppers and onion make for a colorful, vitamin-rich dish. What makes this dish different from traditional goulashes is the use of  pinto beans as the protein of the meal, instead of meat. Whole-wheat macaroni noodles add the whole grains and round out the meal.

I cook with different beans often since they're so much cheaper than meats and pack a nutritional punch in each tiny bean. I stock up on the big bags of beans when they're a good price, since the canned ones tend to have more sodium and don't taste quite as good to me. Cooking the bagged beans may seem intimidating, but when you get down to it, all that's involved is some soaking and boiling. Pinto beans don't even need to be soaked, throw them in a pot and boil away until they're soft. Mixed with the other ingredients, the vegetarian goulash yields 8 generous, low-cal servings for under $1 a serving.

If you want to lower the calories even more, skip the macaroni. It's still as tasty without them and is how I ate mine. The noddles are more for the benefit of M2, B and A, since the kids love their pasta and A isn't watching calories as closely as I am.

Finish off the meal with a nice slice of my signature amazing lemon cake. Another great summer recipe filled with veggies (that's perfect in a slow cooker) is summer Mexican chicken soup.

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I make sure to keep a stock pot on hand for recipes like this. The goulash could also be made in a slow cooker if you'd like. The slow cooker below is the one I use and LOVE. It has plenty of settings to adjust temperature and cook time, is digital and has a warm setting it clicks over too once it's done. (Affiliate links)

Vegetarian Goulash

by The Stay-at-Home Life

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours with dry beans, 1 hour

Keywords: boil slow-cooker entree low-sodium low calorie vegetarian vegan noodles peppers squash pinto beans American spring summer

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Ingredients (8 servings)

• 1 lb. dry pinto beans or 2 cans of pinto beans
• 1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes, no salt added
• 1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes, no salt added
• 2 large green peppers, diced
• 3 green summer squashes, peeled and sliced
• 3 yellow summer squashes, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 bag of frozen diced onions or 1 medium sweet onion, diced
• Chopped fresh chives, to taste
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 16 oz package of whole-wheat macaroni noodles
• Salt to taste (I use no-sodium salt)

Instructions

Boil pinto beans until firm but not soft, about 2 hours

Add in all other ingredients

Boil until veggies are soft, about 1 hour

Prepare noodles

Drain any excess liquid from goulash

Serve over the noodles

Can also be made using a slow cooker

Perfect Gooey Rice Krispie Treats

Best-Ever Rice Krispie Treats are an easy, quick treat that's perfect for picnics, to make a typical day special and as a dessert for any of the summer holidays. These aren't your usual treats -- they are extra gooey with the perfect amount of marshmallow. Plus, I add two secret ingredients that are so simple, yet make them the best you've ever tasted. One of the secret ingredients adds the fun color, which you can change up depending on the holiday or what color the kids pick that day.

Rice Krispie Treats always remind me of being a kid. As a mom, it's an easy special snack I can throw together in a few minutes that also doesn't cost very much. Best of all, what kid turns these down? Even my kids don't!

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Perfect Gooey Rice Krispie Treats

by The Stay-at-Home Life

Prep Time: None

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Keywords: boil dessert low-sodium nut-free vegetarian butter vanilla Christmas Easter Halloween Hanukkah July 4th birthday American fall spring summer winter

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Ingredients (9x13 pan)

• 5 Tbsp butter, salted
• 7 cups mini marshmallows
• 6 cups crispy rice cereal
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup any color sugar sprinkles (more for deeper color)

Instructions

Melt butter over low heat, then slowly add marshmallows until they are completely melted

Pour in crispy rice cereal, vanilla and sprinkles, stirring until it's combined with the marshmallow mix

Press mixture into a 9x13 pan

Let cool then cut into squares

Summer Mexican Chicken Soup

Light, summery soups are a staple of my summer menu. Combining broth, herbs, chicken and fresh veggies creates a delightful dish that is isn't too heavy for the hot days. My current favorite is Mexican chicken soup. I throw everything together in the slow cooker in about 20 minutes (depending how fast I chop and peel the veggies), then let is simmer in there all day. It keeps the house cooler since I don't have to get the oven or stove heated up. I stay cooler, too, since I'm not standing over that stove roasting myself. Any leftovers I send with A for his lunches or freeze for even quicker meals.

This light, fresh soup has green and yellow squash, cilantro, chicken, green beans, potatoes and carrots. The cilantro is what really brings out that Mexican-inspired flavor. It's not a heavily flavored soup, the cilantro and veggies are really the star.

If you're looking for an awesome slow cooker, I totally recommend the CrockPot 6-quart programmable cook and carry. I love mine. It is big enough to fit a big batch of soup, chili, a large piece of meat or a whole chicken. Even if you don't plan on travelling with it (I don't) it's a great gadget to have in the kitchen. I've found it cooks things quickly and evenly. The controls are all programmable, you can select high or low heat and for what time, then it'll switch over to warm once it's done. It's easy to clean, too. I went through so many options when searching for a new slow cooker and am thrilled I got this one. The price is great, too. Many others cost much, much more for the same or similar features. My last CrockPot slow cooker is still working great, the only problem was it's too small now that I have more people to cook for. It was a pre-kid purchase. I look forward to using this new one for many years, too. You can check it out via the affiliate link below.


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Summer Mexican Chicken Soup

by The Stay-at-Home Life

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 4 hours on high

Keywords: slow-cooker entree soup/stew low calorie low-carb low-sodium chicken squash cilantro American Mexican fall spring summer winter

Ingredients (8 generous servings)

• 8 cups chicken broth, unsalted
• 2 green squash
• 1 yellow squash
• 4 medium potatoes
• 8 large carrots
• 4 large chicken breasts
• 1 bag green beans (I prefer Italian cut)
• 8 sprigs of cilantro or to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Peel and cut carrots and squash

Cut potatoes

Pull leaves off cilantro sprigs and chop into small pieces

Add all ingredients to slow cooker

Cook on low for 5 hours

Tear apart chicken and cook for 1 hour longer

Double Chocolate Banana Mini Muffins

When the craving for chocolate hits, it's hard to stay healthy and still satisfy the craving. These double chocolate banana mini muffins give you the chocolate you want without all the calories (each muffin clocks in at about 60 calories). The bananas and lower amount of sugar keep them healthy, too, and give you a bit of energy to keep chasing the kids.

They go fast once baked, so you may want to freeze some to eat when the kids aren't looking to they don't eat them all before you get any. Since they're bite-sized, it's easy to pop one in your mouth before the kids start clamoring for one of their own. Or so you can actually eat something before they start screaming and getting into everything. Since all the ingredients can be dumped together then mixed, it's a quick recipe to whip up when you have brown bananas that need to be used.

If you prefer a little less chocolate, try my chocolate banana mini muffins. For just a hint of chocolate, my banana chocolate chip muffins hit the spot.

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Double Chocolate Banana Mini Muffins

by The Stay-at-Home Life

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Ingredients (72 mini muffins)

• 4 cups baking mix
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1.5 tsp vanilla
• 5 brown bananas
• 1.5 cups sugar
• 1 cup baking cocoa
• 4 Tbsp milk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350

Combine all ingredients

Mix with a hand or stand mixer until smooth

Spray mini muffin tins liberally

Fill each cup 3/4 full

Bake for 12 minutes

Remove muffins from pans immediately and cool on cooling rack

Spray muffin tins well between each use

Chocolate Banana Mini Muffins

Chocolate and bananas. A delicious combination. This recipe makes a delicious half-and-half blend of chocolate and banana flavor. If you prefer a stronger banana flavor with a hint of chocolate goodness, you'll prefer the banana chocolate chip muffins I shared before. For an extra decedent recipe with double chocolate, check back tomorrow for my double chocolate banana mini muffin recipe.

The muffins are soft and fluffy, a yummy blend that totals around 55 calories each. I end up eating about four for a filling breakfast, which would be the size of one of those large breakfast muffins. These are about half the calories, though, and not nearly as full of salt, sugar and other unhealthy ingredients. Since all the ingredients can be dumped together then mixed, it's a quick recipe to whip up when you have brown bananas about to go to waste.

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Chocolate Banana Mini Muffins

by The Stay-at-Home Life

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Ingredients (72 mini muffins)

• 4 cups baking mix
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1.5 tsp vanilla
• 5 brown bananas
• 1.5 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup baking cocoa
• 2 Tbsp milk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350

Combine all ingredients

Mix with a hand or stand mixer until smooth

Spray mini muffin tins liberally

Fill each cup 3/4 full

Bake for 12 minutes

Remove muffins from pans immediately and cool on cooling rack

Spray muffin tins well between each use

Banana Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

Around here, I always stock up on bananas. Baby B eats them daily. Sadly, sometimes they go brown way too quickly, leaving me with a pile of bananas I either have to toss or use for baking. M2 and I are usually not fans of banana muffins or bread, so the recipe has to be exceptional for use to eat them. My banana chocolate chip mini muffin recipe hits the spot. Even making 72 at a time, these little suckers don't last long.

This recipe creates light, fluffy moist muffins with the right amount of banana flavor and a dash of chocolate to top them off. No dense, dry, overly sweet or overly banana tasting muffins here!

Simple and quick to make, it's essentially a "dump muffin" as all the ingredients but the chocolate chips can be added in any order then mixed together.

The bite-size muffins are a great breakfast, snack or dessert. Each clocks in at about 50 calories, so they aren't too high in calories or unhealthy, either.

Stop by tomorrow for my chocolate banana mini muffin recipe and on Thursday to find out how to make double chocolate banana mini muffins.

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Banana Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

by The Stay-at-Home Life

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Keywords: bake bread breakfast dessert snack low-sodium nut-free vegetarian banana chocolate chips fall spring summer winter

Ingredients (72 mini muffins)

• 4 cups baking mix
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1.5 tsp vanilla
• 5 brown bananas
• 1.5 cups sugar
• 1 bag milk chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350

Combine all ingredients except chocolate chips

Mix with a hand or stand mixer until smooth

Stir in chocolate chips

Spray mini muffin tins liberally

Fill each cup 3/4 full

Bake for 15 minutes

Remove muffins from pans immediately and cool on cooling rack

Spray muffin tins well between each use

Ultimate Macaroni and Cheese

It's no secret around here that I am a sucker for a good, homemade comfort food recipe. When you've also got one kid who is picky and one who has food issues due to autism, finding foods everyone loves can be a challenge. With my ultimate macaroni and cheese recipe, everyone ends up happy. I'll warn you up front, this isn't one of my healthy recipes. It fits squarely in the typical comfort food category, boasting cheese, butter and pasta noodles along with plenty of calories.

If you're like me and watch what you eat, a small portion is in order. It is super filling though, so you won't be left hungry even if you don't serve up a giant bowl (though you'll be tempted to, it's so good). Even with the extra calories, this mac and cheese is still healthier than the processed, box kinds you'll find in the store.

As tasty as this dish is, it's also incredibly easy to make. Really, it doesn't take too much more effort than making the box kind. All you need is a few bricks of cheese, shredded (or you can buy pre-shredded cheese if you're ok with spending a bit more), a dab of butter, milk and noodles.

Prepare the noodles. For a twist, I skip the typical macaroni noodles and use something else. While the water comes to a boil and the noodles boil away, shred your cheese. Once the noodles are done, add the milk and butter, stirring well, then stir in the cheese a handful at a time while the noodles are still hot.

Once all the cheese is blended in, stick it all in a 9x13 baking dish, sprinkle another handful or two of cheese on top, then bake until the cheese on the top is all melted in. The extra baking adds a bit of crispness to the noodles and cheese, rather than having them be mushy. Voila! Ultimate macaroni and cheese everyone will be clambering to eat.

My recipe is part of the Ultimate Recipe Challenge, a bi-monthly challenge around a specific ingredient with recipes by your favorite bloggers. Check out all the other yummy recipes at the end of my post. You're going to love them!

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Ultimate Macaroni and Cheese

by The Stay-at-Home Life

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients (Makes 8 generous servings)

• 16 oz box of noodles
• 16 oz block of colby jack cheese
• 8 oz block of monterey jack cheese
• 2 8 oz block of cheddar cheese
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 4 Tbsp milk
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Shred cheese

Prepare noodles according to directions on the box, strain when finished

Combine hot noodles, salt, pepper, milk and butter until butter is melted in noodle pot with the burner on low

Add cheese a small handful at at time, stirring continuously until it is melted and smooth
Stir mixture until all but 1 1/2 cups of cheese is melted and everything is well blended

Spray 9x13 pan with nonstick spray
Dump noodle mixture into the pan then smooth out evenly
Top with the remainining cheese
Bake until top cheese is melted and golden

Enjoy!

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Amazing Lemon Cake with Lemon Buttercream Frosting

Lemonade: the perfect blend of sweet, sour and lemon in a cold drink perfect for warmer weather. When that tall glass of lemonade gets turned into a cake, it's heaven on a plate. One of my signature cakes is amazing lemon cake that does just that. An amazing, light, fluffy lemon buttercream frosting tops it off, taking the cake to absolute bliss.

The recipe takes all the wonderful aspects of lemonade and cake, balancing them just so, leaving with you with a dessert that is simply amazing. Seriously, imagine the absolute BEST lemonade you're ever had as cake and this is it.

Fresh lemon juice, lemon zest and a dash of vanilla are the secrets to this lemon cake. While you could use concentrated juice, or skip the zest, it wouldn't have the same "zing" or fresh, lemony taste that make it great. The vanilla -- an unexpected ingredient when it comes to lemon -- kicks the cake and frosting up a notch to amazing.

I always like adding vanilla to recipes so figure I'd try it on this one, no matter how odd it sounded. While the batter and frosting were both good without it, I couldn't believe how that little bit of vanilla changed the flavors just enough to make it absolutely delicious. I had a hard time not eating up all the batter and frosting! I'll share a little secret with you -- I add eggs into recipes last, that way I can taste as I go and adjust as needed without fear of salmonella.

Even people who aren't usually big into lemon tend to love my lemon cake. It's not too sweet and not too sour. Any of the lemon cakes I've tried before don't meat those criteria. Even more cakes resemble a pound cake more than a bakery cake. I'm not really a fan of those types, so created this recipe to solve the problem.

When it is left out of the fridge, the cake has a bakery-cake type soft, moist crumb. Stick it in the fridge (like I did) to turn it into a lemon-bar/cake hybrid. It would go great with a glass of iced black tea (no sugar, there's already enough sweet here).

The easy-to-make amazing lemon buttercream frosting tops the cake. I've contemplated using vanilla or cream cheese, or even adding lemon curd as the filling, but nothing compares to the lemon buttercream on this cake. It makes it perfection.

The amazing lemon cake recipe is getting added to my repertoire of awesome cakes, which includes my signature spiced apple cake with cinnamon sugar buttercream frosting, hummingbird cake and vanilla butter cake with vanilla buttercream frosting.

Check out the affiliate links below for some neat baking gadgets.

Amazing Lemon Cake

by The Stay-at-Home Life

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

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Ingredients (8 in, 2 layer cake, serves 12)

For the Cake

• 3 Tbsp lemon zest approx. 3 lemons
• 2/3 cup fresh lemon juice, approx. 3-4 lemons
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup whole milk mixed with 1 Tbsp lemon juice to create homemade buttermilk

For the Frosting

• 3 Tbsp lemon zest approx. 3-4 lemons
• 4 Tbsp fresh lemon juice approx. 2 lemons
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp whole milk
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• Splash of vanilla extract

Instructions

For the Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Zest lemons

Juice lemons by hand or with a juicer

Combine lemon juice, zest, vanilla, butter and sugar in a mixer, beating until smooth

Add salt, baking soda and baking powder, beating until well blended

Slowly add flour and homemade buttermilk, beating continuously until well mixed

Add eggs, one at a time, beating continuously until mixture is smooth and completely blended

Line two 8 in round cake pans with parchment paper, then spray generously with nonstick spray

Pour batter evenly into cake pans

Bake 25 minutes, or until cake is golden and toothpick comes out clean

Using parchment paper, remove cakes and place (on parchment paper) on cooling racks

Let cool completely before frosting

For the Frosting

Zest lemons
Juice lemons by hand or with a juicer
Combine juice, zest, butter and sugar in a mixer
Beat until smooth
Add 1 tsp milk, blend until smooth
Add a splash of vanilla, beating continuously until frosting is smooth and fluffy
Frost cake
Chill in the refrigerator 

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Delicious Potato Soup

Mashed, baked, fried, au gratin, twice baked, roasted -- there are so many ways to cook potatoes, including as the feature in soup. The flavor and texture of potatoes, mixed with spices and cream, make a delectable, yet easy to make, slow-cooker soup.

It's no secret that I love potatoes. 
As a child, there was always a fight over the leftover mashed potatoes each Thanksgiving or Christmas. Whoever sneaked into the fridge and ran off with them, without being caught, would gleefully eat the rest while taunting the losers. We'd eat them cold because if you put them in the microwave, you risked someone realizing it and nabbing them -- or at the very least having to share if the thief decided to be kind.

Now, I make sure to keep potatoes in the house as a staple. They're cheap, have tons of vitamins (did you know potatoes are full of vitamin C?), there are so many ways to cook them and so many varieties exist.

Seriously, what's not to love about potatoes?

Slow-cooker potato soup is a hearty dish that is easily thrown together. A big bowl leaves the whole family satisfied. The ingredients are cheap, making this a frugal  recipe so you can cook up big batch to last a few days without damaging your grocery budget.


I use russet potatoes in my version, though any type of potato works. I'd love to try it using purple potatoes, the color would be beautiful! Peels are optional, it depends whether or not you want to take the time to peel each potato.

You can sub real cooked bacon for the bacon bits if you prefer. To make a lighter version, swap out the heavy cream for half and half.

I created this recipe as part of the Ultimate Recipe Challenge. Every other month, 40+ bloggers and I are being challenged to create a recipe around a mystery ingredient. This month, the potato was our must-use ingredient. Scroll down to the end of the post to see all the other yummy recipes being shared. While you're at the end of the post -- Please vote for me at Top Mommy Blogs by clicking the pink banner, then clicking the big ORANGE button on the next page to cast the vote. 

Delicious Potato Soup

by The Stay-at-Home Life

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 8 hours

Keywords: slow-cooker soup/stew low-sodium potatoes cream American comfort food fall spring summer winter

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Ingredients (5 quarts)

• 8 medium potatoes, cubed
• 6 Tbsp bacon bits
• 3 Tbsp parsley
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• 2 tsp chives
• 6 scallions, sliced
• 1 Tbsp garlic powder
• 2 cups 1% milk
• 1 pint heavy cream
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/3 cup flour plus additional 1/3 cup flour
• Shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Instructions

Add dry ingredients to slow cooker, except for flour

Add wet ingredients to slow cooker

Add flour slowly, stirring as you go.

Set slow cooker for 6 hours on high or 8 hours on low

Part way through cooking, test to see if you need extra salt or pepper

Place immersion blender into slow cooker with one hour left to cook

Blend until approximately half of the ingredients are creamed

If soup is too thin, slowly stir in additional flour one tablespoon at a time

Let soup finish cooking

Serve with a parsley garnish

Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top (optional)

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