Wednesday & Thursday Dinner

I took The Kid to see the new HarryPotter movie yesterday, so dinner was a quickly-put-together meal when we got home - hot dogs (grilled last Sunday) and canned baked beans.

Totals:

free - Oscar Mayer beef hot dogs (received coupon by mail for free package)
$1.97 - buns
$1.29 - baked beans

$3.26 for dinner for 3

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Today was my first harvest of pole beans from my garden. I slow-cooked them with a little bacon and chicken bullion and they were great. I also tried my hand at making zucchini fritters (also with produce from my garden). I did a search for recipes, then picked what I thought were the best elements from several in order to make my own. They were awesome - The Kid has been going back to eat the leftovers, one by one, since dinner ended. (I don't count on having any left by bedtime.) We also had another of those 50 cent smoked sausages (BOGO sale + double coupon) that I grilled on Sunday.

Totals:
free - green beans
free - zucchini
.50 - misc. ingredients
.50 - smoked sausage

$1 for dinner for 4 (us + my sister). I beat my own record for cheapest dinner yet! (But I'm mainly happy because my garden is finally starting to pay off.)

Zucchini Fritters

2 cups shredded zucchini (about 2 medium or 1 large)
1/2 t. salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup Bisquick
2 T. grated Parmesan cheese
Seasonings: garlic powder, Mrs. Dash, pepper
oil for frying

Grate zucchini using large holes of box grater. Add salt, toss, and let stand in colandar for 30 minutes to draw out liquid. Spoon grated zucchini into clean dishtowel and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. (Don't skip this step - you'll be amazed at how much comes out.) Return zucchini to bowl and stir in eggs, Bisquick, parmesan cheese, and seasonings to taste to form a smooth batter. Heat about 1/8" oil in skillet until hot. Drop in spoonfulls of zucchini batter (about 1 heaping tablespoon full), cook until browned on one side (about 3 minutes). Turn gently, and cook on the other side until browned (about 3 minutes more). Remove to paper towels to drain, and sprinkle with salt while hot. Can keep warm in 200 degree oven while cooking subsequent batches. This recipe yielded 14 fritters for me, each about 2 1/2" in diameter.

Recipes I found suggested sour cream or marinara sauce for dipping, but The Kid - who adores sour cream, by the way - said they were perfect plain and didn't need anything else.