Budget Bites

I know we are into the first weeks of November already and that it is technically “fall”, but in Texas that means we can fit in just a few more of our favorite summer time meals before we surrender to actual cold weather. Warm temperature meals in my house consist of being fast, easy and not heating up my kitchen… this meal fits the bill. This is one of my families’ most loved dishes and it can’t get any better than creating a filling meal in 10 minutes flat! Don’t let the idea of mangos mixed with meat scare you; the flavor combo is crisp and very refreshing, you won't regret trying it .

Budget Bites: Ham & Mango Wraps, Baby Carrots &Ranch

Serves: 4-5, 2 wraps each Cost: $7.00

What you need:

1 Package 12 ct Flour Tortillas (I use ones from the HEB bakery) $2.00

2 Cups/1 1 lb Package Fully Cooked Cubed Ham $3.00

2 Mangos, Cubed $1.00

¼ C Mayo (I use Lite)

¼ C Sour Cream (I use Lite, you could also substitute Greek yogurt)

What you do:

Combine mayo and sour cream in a large mixing bowl. Add mango and ham to mayo, and stir to combine. Place ¼ c of mixture down center of tortilla and roll into a wrap.

*At just around $6.00 you have enough left over to have baby carrots and ranch ($1.00) as a side dish and this for desert (pop it in the oven 30 minutes before you start the mango wraps and it will be ready to eat when your eager for dessert):

Budget Bites: Pineapple Dump Cake

Serves: 10-12 Cost: $4.50

If you have never heard of, or worst yet tasted, a dump cake are you in for a real surprise! This has to be one of the easiest “cakes” (really it turns out much more like a cobbler) you will ever make, basically you just “dump” in all the ingredients in the order listed and sit back and do nothing while the magic happens. You don’t even have to measure anything… no eggs, no mixing, no hard work. If you ask me, what more could you want?

What you need:

1 (20 ounces) can crushed pineapple, undrained ($1.50)

1 (21 ounces) can cherry pie filling ($1.50)

1 (18.25 ounces) box yellow cake mix ($1.50)

2 sticks margarine, each cut into 12 slices ($.50)

What you do:

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 by 13-inch baking pan. Dump undrained pineapple into baking dish, spread out evenly. Using a spoon, add and smooth out cherry pie filling evenly over top of pineapple. Sprinkle the cake mix evenly over the cherry and pineapple layers. Place butter slices evenly over cake mix. *DO NOT STIR ANYTHING, no matter how bad you want to, put it in the oven and step away from the pan, trust me!

Bake for one hour, let sit 5 min. Serve warm.