Penny Pinching Peach

For the semi crunchy, homeschool friendly and totally frugal!

Tag Archives: vegetarian


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Warm Salad

Warm salad

Warm salad

My kiddos and I love our veggies.

Sometimes you don’t really need a recipe to have a quick and healthy meal, and this is one of those times. When I was a little one, I loved veggies, but absolutely hated salads. I think it may’ve been because they were just so much lettuce and so little flavor, so it kinda felt like I was literally eating rabbit food.

My munchkins love Mommy style salads, because there are lots of veggies, but lettuce is never the only star of the show. I have mixed greens growing in my little backyard garden, and prefer spinach or green leaf lettuce to iceberg, for both taste and nutrition. I make sure to use a variety of ingredients like a variety of veggies, shredded or cubed cheese, crushed pecans or croutons, fruit, and at times even proteins like chicken or egg.

Sometimes I even make a warm salad, which is what I want to share with y’all now. For supper the other night I threw together a warm broccoli, carrot and egg salad, which the kiddos and I gobbled right up. Wanna try it?

You’ll need to steamed or boiled  broccoli florets and julienned or thinly sliced carrots. (If you’re in a huge hurry, you can microwave them on high for 4 minutes in a microwave safe container with a moist paper towel over them.) Add chopped boiled eggs, shredded cheese and a small amount of salad dressing. You want enough dressing to lightly coat your veggies, but not enough for them to swim in. 🙂 We used caesar salad dressing this time, because that’s what was in the fridge at the time. Ranch or Italian both work well, also. Stir until everything is well coated, and serve warm.

It’s as simple as that! I had my little ones digging into their vittles less than 10 minutes after I opened the fridge to gather my ingredients together. They thought it was yummy, and I knew it was healthy. That is what I call a win-win! 🙂

Good stuff!

Good stuff!

What is your favorite kind of salad?

We eat lots of different types of salads during the spring and summer. There are just too many delicious fresh fruits and veggies available this time of year for us not to take advantage of them! They make for many healthy, delectable meals, desserts and snacks for this penny pinching peach’s family. 🙂

For another great vegetarian dish, try my Easy Mexican Bean Salad!


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Tomato Cucumber Macaroni Salad

Tomato Cucumber Macaroni Salad

Tomato Cucumber Macaroni Salad

Want a quick & healthy dish for a summer lunch? Try my Tomato Cucumber Macaroni Salad!

It’s super simple, and a hit any time I make it. I made it the night before while I was making baked mac and cheese for supper, and let it chill overnight to marry the flavors better. It really did blend the tastes together even more strongly by morning.

Here’s how you make this easy pleasure macaroni salad:

Boil two cups of macaroni noodles to al dente.

While the noodles are boiling, chop up two medium cucumbers and two medium tomatoes. Toss in a medium sized bowl with a bit of salt and pepper.

When ready, drain the noodles and rinse with cold water until they are cooled off. Dump in the bowl with the chopped veggies.

Pour in ranch dressing to taste and stir well. You can eat it then or chill overnight.

This would be good with sweet onions, shredded carrots, broccoli, chopped olives, tuna or shredded chicken stirred in, as well. It’s a versatile sort of “dump salad”, and oodles of fun for the palate to play with a variety of ingredients. I love to use fresh veggies from my garden for light and refreshing lunches in the summer time, so it varies what I make according to what produce is on hand.

This is great for packing in something like these World Kitchen Pyrex 6-Piece Food Plus Storage Set for lunches, if you have a cooler to carry or refrigeration available wherever you’re headed for work, school or play. Just pop one open on your lunch break and dig in! 🙂

What are some of your favorite lunches? What splendid summer veggies do you have an abundance of to gobble up? Also try my Weeknight Dinners!

Peace, smiles, and good vittles for all! 😉

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Easy Mexican Bean Salad

I love to cook, but don’t always have a lot of time to spend on making dinner. This super simple Easy Mexican Bean Salad is ready in a snap, healthy, delicious, kid friendly, and cheap enough for the penny pinching people among us! I mean, this is a meal I felt great about feeding to my family, but literally spent  less than 15 minutes int he kitchen preparing from the time I opened the fridge to get out things to start chopping! Who needs more meals like this? I know I do!!! 🙂 Keep reading for the how-to of this yummy meal!

Easy Mexican Bean Salad

Easy Mexican Bean Salad

Ingredients? You can choose your own! This time I use canned black beans (two cans seasoned with cumin, garlic powder and chili powder to taste should be about right for a family of four), avocado, tomato, cilantro, onion, cheese and sour cream. You can also use ground beef, venison, turkey, pork and chicken, shredded chicken or beef, pre-cooked dried beans of any kind you like, other types of canned beans, lettuce, green pepper, jalapenos, olives, fresh spinach, green onion, corn, sprouts and a variety of other things that sound appealing and reside in your kitchen at any given moment. The beauty of this meal is that it is so flexible to your individual tastes, pantry, dietary needs, and budget without being a hassle to throw together something different for everyone.

Give everyone a bowl, spoon in a healthy helping of your protein(s) of choice, then let them pile on their own choices from the rest of your ingredients you have set out for your family! My kids absolutely adore getting to pick all of their own toppings for their bowls of beans! It makes the battle of the belly filling non-existent, because most kiddos love to eat things they help prepare. Even my five year old, who is currently waging battle over half of her meals even when she likes them, didn’t give me a bit of trouble when she realized she was in control of all of her ingredients other than the beans she was piling them all onto! Since she chose it, she worked to make it herself and she is doggone proud of her own work in pretty much every instance…no arguments for the prissier side of my table. Bambam loves making his own selections, but he has a lifelong love affair with food, so if he ever protests a meal….well, the child is sick. 😉

If you pack lunches a lot, like I do for my hubby, this container is amazing for being able to carry leftovers to work or school for a healthy lunch without making a big soggy mess. Stay Fit Deluxe Salad Kit, EZ Freeze

Are there any toppings I didn’t think of that you think would be the bomb diggety on this easy Mexican bean salad? What do you think you’d like on yours? Are you hungry yet?? 🙂

“Penny Pinching Peach is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com”

Little Boy Approved!

Little Boy Approved!

Little Girl Approved!


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Cheesy Spinach Enchiladas

When I Became a Spinach Addict

When I Became a Spinach Addict

As someone who is addicted to both cheese and spinach, and loves Mexican food, this is a fantastic recipe! I’ve been a lifelong lover of cheese, but spinach has become a consistent craving for me ever since I got pregnant with my now one year old son. Weird, random, but true, especially since I was barely a mediocre fan of all things green and leafy until then. I’m drooling right now just thinking about these Cheesy Spinach Enchiladas! I want these right now, seriously! This is an awesome meal for a vegetarian or someone like me who can do without meat easily…or the guy whose wife can sneak in a meat-free meal when there’s enough cheese and sauce involved. 😉 It’s also very inexpensive, so who can complain about this one? If you’ve got someone who can’t do without meat at even one meal, just add a sprinkling of shredded chicken to each enchilada (or just his), so everyone will be happy. If you want to double the recipe and freeze one before you finish cooking, usually enchiladas freeze well, although I can’t guarantee them, of course. There are also coupons available to go with this delicious dish, which makes an inexpensive dish even cheaper. Can we say woohoo here?? 🙂

~*~Cheesy Spinach Enchiladas~*~

1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup sliced green onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach , thawed, drained and squeezed dry
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
10 (6 inch) corn tortillas
1 (19 ounce) can enchilada sauce

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt butter in a pan over medium heat. Add garlic and onion; cook for a few minutes until fragrant, but not brown. Stir in spinach, and cook about 5 more minutes. Remove from heat, and mix in ricotta cheese, sour cream, and 1 cup of Monterey Jack cheese.

In a skillet over medium heat, warm tortillas one at a time until flexible, about 15 seconds. Spoon about 1/4 cup of the spinach mixture onto the center of each tortilla. Roll up, and place seam side down in a 9×13 inch baking dish. Pour enchilada sauce over the top, and sprinkle with the remaining cup of Monterey Jack.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until sauce is bubbling and cheese is lightly browned at the edges.

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Print these coupons: $1.00 off 2 Las Palmas Products and 50 cents off one Sargento cheese

I’m in love with this recipe, but I have a meat addict for a hubby, so I’d probably have to add some shredded chicken to mine, or at least make some beans with it. Does anyone else have a meat junkie in their household? Did anyone else crave something during pregnancy, and never lose the newfound love for a food which wasn’t a favorite before? My weakness is cheese. I could live as a vegetarian, if necessary, but being vegan would probably send me into withdrawals. 🙂

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