I got my new dehydrator in this week and I am so excited. It is more than twice the size of my old one (15 sf of drying space) and actually much faster too. The first day I got it, I dried 6 chopped bell peppers (on sale for $1.78 for all 6) and 5 chopped onions ($1.99 for a 3 pound bag) and still had 2 trays left empty. The same amount of chopped dried onions retails for about $6. And since I use the peppers and onions all the time when I cook, it is a great deal for us. And also much better for cooking when I just don't feel like chopping up an onion.
I also picked up some really nice strawberries from a roadside vendor this week. I have bought from them in the past and they are some of the best strawberries you will ever eat. At $14 a gallon, they are a little bit expensive, but still cheaper than the grocery store, and the taste just can't be beat. We ate a few of them fresh and the rest (a little less than a gallon) I made into fruit leather and dried sliced. The finished product gave us about 10 fruit roll-ups and almost a quart jar of dried slices.
The sliced berries work out really well for us. I make scones with them, and we use butter and strawberry freezer jam on the hot scones. Really awesome and very easy. Take your favorite biscuit recipe (there is a good one on the back of the Bisquick box, just don't use the liquids), add 1/2 cup of sugar, 3/4 cup of sour cream, and a big handful of crumbled berry slices and enough water or milk to make a really, really stiff dough. It just needs to hold together and not be too "wet". Place the dough on a greased baking sheet and pat it out to about 3/4 inch thick and round. Slice it like a pizza and bake it in a moderately hot oven, I generally bake at 375, until it is nice and browned all over. Like I said, just awesome.
Drying food takes up a lot less space than canning, and the majority of the time, tastes just as good as fresh. 3 pounds of chopped, dried onions will fit into a half gallon jar and you don't have to worry about them getting soft or mildewed in the pantry. If you need "fresh" onions for things like potato salad or similar recipes, just soak them in a little warm water and they will plump back up. Same with the fruit. To make a fruit salad or compote, soak your mixed dried fruits in a little water or apple juice to plump them back up and chill.
Just about every vegetable can be dried and stored. Potatoes work out really well. Slice and parboil the spuds, surface dry with a paper towel and lay them out on the trays. After they are dry, they can be used for scalloped potatoes, re-hydrated and fried, or cooked in the microwave with a little milk and then mashed. Drop some in a stew or soup, run through the blender to make potato flour or instant mashed potatoes. Very very useful.
I would suggest this to just about anyone who wants to be able to preserve food without the mess and expense of canning. Buy produce when it is on sale or in season from a farmers market and dry it. And if the dried foods are kept sealed, they will keep just about indefinitely. It is a great way to save money. And eat healthier.
Showing posts with label Frugal cooking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Frugal cooking. Show all posts
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Saving Money on food
With the economy like it is, we are all trying to do more to save money. And there are as many ways to do that as there are grains of sand at the beach. Not every tip will work for all families but a few are just common sense. Don't buy it if you don't need it, shop around for the best deals, don't buy disposable anything if you don't have to, etc.
Since I have two teens, one of which will be headed for college in the fall, we have to save wherever we can. Our biggest way is to cook at home instead of eating out. In the last year or so, we have cut back on the number of times we eat out every month, and have started being more careful of what we buy at the grocery store. I have even found better ways to use up leftovers (so they don't look like leftovers).
My absolute favorite way is to cook big once or maybe twice a week, and eat leftovers the rest of the time. I use my smoker a lot that way. Smoke a pork roast or fresh picnic roast. The same time you are smoking the pork, you can smoke some whole chickens for later in the week. Chop up what meat isn't eaten and put that into meal sized freezer bags and throw it in the freezer. The leftover pork roast can be heated with BBQ sauce for sandwiches the next night, and the bones and meat tidbits left (not the BBQ ones) can be thrown into a pot of beans for yet another meal. And the leftover beans can be used to make bean burritos the next night or for lunch. The chicken can be sliced onto a salad, sauteed into a stir-fry, made onto sandwiches, chopped into soup or dumplings, or make chicken salad. Not only are you stretching your food costs by only cooking once or twice a week, you give yourself some very easy, super fast meals for hectic weeknight dinners.
Another way to save money on food is to do it yourself. Shredding your own cheese can save dollars per pound on the cost of cheese. And is will not have all of the anti-clumping additives that are just not really healthy for you. Buy a big chunk and shred it all at once. This is why Ziplock bags were invented. And as an added tip, use the finest shred you can. Your cheese will go farther. It is all in the psychology of it. It looks like you are using more, but by weight, it is actually less. And sharp cheddar will go farther than mild. More flavor, and all of that.
Not everyone has the time to make it all yourself, and sometimes it is just cheaper not to. Take bread for instance. It is cheaper for us to buy our sandwich bread from the bakery thrift store than it is for me to make it. That is partially because of the price of ingredients and the electricity to run the oven, but more because we can buy a loaf of 100% whole grain, Name Brand bread at the thrift store for 80 cents, and the store is only a couple of miles from the house. And we drive by it fairly often. I still make things like flat breads, baguettes and dinner rolls, but hamburger and hot dog buns and sandwich bread we get from the thrift store. This won't work for everyone, but there ya have it. Bread does freeze well, so if you stock up by buying a month's worth at a time, it could be worth a special trip to the store.
Use your freezer. It is more than a place to store ice cream sandwiches. Any time meat goes on sale, or veggies, or most fruits, you can stock up and freeze what you will not up fresh. Just remember to get as much air out of the freezer bags as possible to prevent freezer burn. And date everything so you will remember to use the oldest first. I have even frozen leftover veggie side-dishes (like corn or green beans) into 1 large bag and when the bag gets full, make soup. Soup is an excellent way to use up leftovers before they go bad.
We also have what we call a freezer night. Once a month or so, I go through the freezer and pull out partial bags of french fries, a few pizza rolls, whatever I can find in there that needs to be eaten. I usually will have several things that don't really match what you would consider a "normal" meal. A couple of burritos, some fish sticks, some mixed fries and tater tots, that bag of frozen brussel sprouts that you got on sale and never cooked, you know, that sort of thing. Cook it all. Everyone can get a bit of everything or one person can get all of the fish sticks while some one else gets the burritos. However you want to do it. This is a great way to not only clean out the freezer to make room, but also you are not wasting food that you would normally have to throw out because you forgot it is there. And my kids think it is a fun way to have dinner since it isn't so formal. I will usually bake everything that I can (like fries, fish sticks, and burritos) on the same baking sheet to avoid making a mess frying every thing. And it is just faster too. Microwaves are good for doing the veggies. So I can generally have dinner ready in less than 30 minutes without a lot of fuss or a lot of clean up.
But anyway, saving money is all in the mindset to think outside the box. Find ways that your family can live with. Look back at some of my other posts for other ideas on how WE save money.
Since I have two teens, one of which will be headed for college in the fall, we have to save wherever we can. Our biggest way is to cook at home instead of eating out. In the last year or so, we have cut back on the number of times we eat out every month, and have started being more careful of what we buy at the grocery store. I have even found better ways to use up leftovers (so they don't look like leftovers).
My absolute favorite way is to cook big once or maybe twice a week, and eat leftovers the rest of the time. I use my smoker a lot that way. Smoke a pork roast or fresh picnic roast. The same time you are smoking the pork, you can smoke some whole chickens for later in the week. Chop up what meat isn't eaten and put that into meal sized freezer bags and throw it in the freezer. The leftover pork roast can be heated with BBQ sauce for sandwiches the next night, and the bones and meat tidbits left (not the BBQ ones) can be thrown into a pot of beans for yet another meal. And the leftover beans can be used to make bean burritos the next night or for lunch. The chicken can be sliced onto a salad, sauteed into a stir-fry, made onto sandwiches, chopped into soup or dumplings, or make chicken salad. Not only are you stretching your food costs by only cooking once or twice a week, you give yourself some very easy, super fast meals for hectic weeknight dinners.
Another way to save money on food is to do it yourself. Shredding your own cheese can save dollars per pound on the cost of cheese. And is will not have all of the anti-clumping additives that are just not really healthy for you. Buy a big chunk and shred it all at once. This is why Ziplock bags were invented. And as an added tip, use the finest shred you can. Your cheese will go farther. It is all in the psychology of it. It looks like you are using more, but by weight, it is actually less. And sharp cheddar will go farther than mild. More flavor, and all of that.
Not everyone has the time to make it all yourself, and sometimes it is just cheaper not to. Take bread for instance. It is cheaper for us to buy our sandwich bread from the bakery thrift store than it is for me to make it. That is partially because of the price of ingredients and the electricity to run the oven, but more because we can buy a loaf of 100% whole grain, Name Brand bread at the thrift store for 80 cents, and the store is only a couple of miles from the house. And we drive by it fairly often. I still make things like flat breads, baguettes and dinner rolls, but hamburger and hot dog buns and sandwich bread we get from the thrift store. This won't work for everyone, but there ya have it. Bread does freeze well, so if you stock up by buying a month's worth at a time, it could be worth a special trip to the store.
Use your freezer. It is more than a place to store ice cream sandwiches. Any time meat goes on sale, or veggies, or most fruits, you can stock up and freeze what you will not up fresh. Just remember to get as much air out of the freezer bags as possible to prevent freezer burn. And date everything so you will remember to use the oldest first. I have even frozen leftover veggie side-dishes (like corn or green beans) into 1 large bag and when the bag gets full, make soup. Soup is an excellent way to use up leftovers before they go bad.
We also have what we call a freezer night. Once a month or so, I go through the freezer and pull out partial bags of french fries, a few pizza rolls, whatever I can find in there that needs to be eaten. I usually will have several things that don't really match what you would consider a "normal" meal. A couple of burritos, some fish sticks, some mixed fries and tater tots, that bag of frozen brussel sprouts that you got on sale and never cooked, you know, that sort of thing. Cook it all. Everyone can get a bit of everything or one person can get all of the fish sticks while some one else gets the burritos. However you want to do it. This is a great way to not only clean out the freezer to make room, but also you are not wasting food that you would normally have to throw out because you forgot it is there. And my kids think it is a fun way to have dinner since it isn't so formal. I will usually bake everything that I can (like fries, fish sticks, and burritos) on the same baking sheet to avoid making a mess frying every thing. And it is just faster too. Microwaves are good for doing the veggies. So I can generally have dinner ready in less than 30 minutes without a lot of fuss or a lot of clean up.
But anyway, saving money is all in the mindset to think outside the box. Find ways that your family can live with. Look back at some of my other posts for other ideas on how WE save money.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Making due
With more and more companies downsizing and prices on the rise, it is becoming more important than ever to watch where and how we spend.
There are so many ways to save money every day that it is almost intimidating. Most of us settle for just not buying things, but that can make you feel deprived and depressed about the whole situation. What my family and I have done is a little bit different. We haven't completely stopped spending money, but we are a lot pickier about what we spend it on.
For instance, instead of buying some of our Christmas gifts this year, we made them. We spent less money than if we purchased them, and they are actually a little more heartfelt. We found out at the last minute (actually about 10 days before Christmas) that our nephew was giving us a gift after the family decided last year to not buy for each other any more. So I rapidly made him an afghan in his favorite team colors. I wasn't really paying attention to what I was doing when I made the original chain for the length, so it wound up being HUGE. Almost 8 feet long. Well, at least he and his wife will have plenty to keep warm at the football games. But he loved it. Probably better than if we had bought something random from the store.
Since I cook, that saves us a lot of money too. We haven't stopped eating out completely, but we have cut down a lot. And when we do stop for a burger, we generally eat off of the Dollar Menu. Last night, for instance, we had to go grocery shopping after my husband got off work. It was 7pm by the time we were finished and we were both very hungry so we decided to go to McDonalds and just grab a bunch of double cheese burgers and take them home. We got into the drive thru and saw the new dollar menu and were shocked. There were only 6 items on the dollar menu now and none of them were meat. Just ice cream, fries, pies, parfaits, small sodas, and I think cookies or something. We were amazed that McDonalds would kill their dollar menu like that. So we went thru a couple of more drive thrus looking for dollar items. Finally wound up at Wendys. Jr Double Cheeseburgers for $.99. Sold! We got 8 of them( 2 for each of us) and 4 plain baked potatoes for $14 and change. While it is still somewhat expensive, it is better than it could have been. Had I cooked them myself, it would have been about 1/3 of that after buying buns and meat, but at least we got to eat quicker and didn't have a mess to clean up.
Anyway, I generally cook our meals. I haven't really found anything that I can't cook at home that we would normally eat if we went to a sit down restaurant. And sometimes, I can do a better job than the restaurants, since I can tailor it to my family's liking. Granted, it does make us have to have a wider variety of ingredients on-hand, but if I shop smart, and use coupons, I can almost always make it cheaper than retail.
An example of this is flatbread. I got online and looked up pita bread recipes and found that you can use just about any bread dough to make pitas. So yesterday I was making bread and decided that instead of 2 loaves of slicing bread, I would make 1 loaf and some flat bread. Pinch off a ball about the size of a pingpong ball, roll it out really thin, like 1/4-1/8 of an inch, pre-heat a pizza stone in the oven to about 475 degrees, and bake them on the stone 2 or 3 at a time. When they puff, flip them. It takes about 5 minutes each. And they are wonderful. Since I was making bread anyway, it saved me the $3 or $4 dollars that a pack of flatbread would have cost me, and I know they are fresh.
Prices have gone up so much lately that it is almost cheaper now to make our bread instead of even going to the thrift store. And if I can ever get a batch of sourdough going without killing it, I won't even have to buy yeast. Flour is going up, but that will affect commerical bakers as well as home cooks.
So as long as prices keep going up, I will continue to find ways to either make it myself or make due without.
There are so many ways to save money every day that it is almost intimidating. Most of us settle for just not buying things, but that can make you feel deprived and depressed about the whole situation. What my family and I have done is a little bit different. We haven't completely stopped spending money, but we are a lot pickier about what we spend it on.
For instance, instead of buying some of our Christmas gifts this year, we made them. We spent less money than if we purchased them, and they are actually a little more heartfelt. We found out at the last minute (actually about 10 days before Christmas) that our nephew was giving us a gift after the family decided last year to not buy for each other any more. So I rapidly made him an afghan in his favorite team colors. I wasn't really paying attention to what I was doing when I made the original chain for the length, so it wound up being HUGE. Almost 8 feet long. Well, at least he and his wife will have plenty to keep warm at the football games. But he loved it. Probably better than if we had bought something random from the store.
Since I cook, that saves us a lot of money too. We haven't stopped eating out completely, but we have cut down a lot. And when we do stop for a burger, we generally eat off of the Dollar Menu. Last night, for instance, we had to go grocery shopping after my husband got off work. It was 7pm by the time we were finished and we were both very hungry so we decided to go to McDonalds and just grab a bunch of double cheese burgers and take them home. We got into the drive thru and saw the new dollar menu and were shocked. There were only 6 items on the dollar menu now and none of them were meat. Just ice cream, fries, pies, parfaits, small sodas, and I think cookies or something. We were amazed that McDonalds would kill their dollar menu like that. So we went thru a couple of more drive thrus looking for dollar items. Finally wound up at Wendys. Jr Double Cheeseburgers for $.99. Sold! We got 8 of them( 2 for each of us) and 4 plain baked potatoes for $14 and change. While it is still somewhat expensive, it is better than it could have been. Had I cooked them myself, it would have been about 1/3 of that after buying buns and meat, but at least we got to eat quicker and didn't have a mess to clean up.
Anyway, I generally cook our meals. I haven't really found anything that I can't cook at home that we would normally eat if we went to a sit down restaurant. And sometimes, I can do a better job than the restaurants, since I can tailor it to my family's liking. Granted, it does make us have to have a wider variety of ingredients on-hand, but if I shop smart, and use coupons, I can almost always make it cheaper than retail.
An example of this is flatbread. I got online and looked up pita bread recipes and found that you can use just about any bread dough to make pitas. So yesterday I was making bread and decided that instead of 2 loaves of slicing bread, I would make 1 loaf and some flat bread. Pinch off a ball about the size of a pingpong ball, roll it out really thin, like 1/4-1/8 of an inch, pre-heat a pizza stone in the oven to about 475 degrees, and bake them on the stone 2 or 3 at a time. When they puff, flip them. It takes about 5 minutes each. And they are wonderful. Since I was making bread anyway, it saved me the $3 or $4 dollars that a pack of flatbread would have cost me, and I know they are fresh.
Prices have gone up so much lately that it is almost cheaper now to make our bread instead of even going to the thrift store. And if I can ever get a batch of sourdough going without killing it, I won't even have to buy yeast. Flour is going up, but that will affect commerical bakers as well as home cooks.
So as long as prices keep going up, I will continue to find ways to either make it myself or make due without.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Raising rabbits?
OK, so today I have been learning about raising meat rabbits. Apparently, rabbit meat has fewer calories per pound than any other meat, has very little cholesterol, and *surprise!* tastes like chicken.
From my research, I have learned that meat rabbits can dress out around 4-5 pounds in 8-11 weeks. That is a lot of meat in a very short time. And considering that the average litter is 5-8 kits, that is more than 20 pounds of meat every three months with only 1 breeding doe. I have also read that to start a family sized meat operation you would only need 1 buck and 3 does. So that would be 60 pounds of meat every quarter, that is 240 pounds a year! I am thinking that is a very cost effective feed to meat ratio.
And rabbits can be kept in 5 foot square elevated cages to keep predators out and make cleaning the cages easier. They are also very quiet so as to not disturb the neighbors. Another little tidbit I learned is that rabbit manure is the only manure that does not have to be aged before use as fertilizer. So straw from under the cages can go directly into the garden or flower bed. Cool, huh?
The pelts can be tanned for numerous uses as well. I can think of gloves and hats just for starters.
So just about anyone can raise rabbits for meat. They take up very little space, breed like, well, rabbits, and are a very healthy choice when it comes to meat.
I wonder if I can talk my husband in to building me some rabbit cages?
From my research, I have learned that meat rabbits can dress out around 4-5 pounds in 8-11 weeks. That is a lot of meat in a very short time. And considering that the average litter is 5-8 kits, that is more than 20 pounds of meat every three months with only 1 breeding doe. I have also read that to start a family sized meat operation you would only need 1 buck and 3 does. So that would be 60 pounds of meat every quarter, that is 240 pounds a year! I am thinking that is a very cost effective feed to meat ratio.
And rabbits can be kept in 5 foot square elevated cages to keep predators out and make cleaning the cages easier. They are also very quiet so as to not disturb the neighbors. Another little tidbit I learned is that rabbit manure is the only manure that does not have to be aged before use as fertilizer. So straw from under the cages can go directly into the garden or flower bed. Cool, huh?
The pelts can be tanned for numerous uses as well. I can think of gloves and hats just for starters.
So just about anyone can raise rabbits for meat. They take up very little space, breed like, well, rabbits, and are a very healthy choice when it comes to meat.
I wonder if I can talk my husband in to building me some rabbit cages?
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Eating Healthy on the Cheap
I read an article this morning about how eating beans and whole grains can help to reduce your cholesterol levels a significant amount. "According to a 2001 study from the Archives of Internal Medicine, people who eat beans four times a week reduce their heart disease risk by 20 percent." While I am not sure we could stand to eat beans that often, I think that eating beans a little more often will certainly help improve our health. And not only that, but beans are a very inexpensive way to get extra protein in our diet. And they are very versatile. We could easily have a vegetarian night once a week. And once a week will not cause too much disturbance in our house.
Bean burritos are probably the easiest way to serve them. Of course, we also like brown beans with bits of ham cooked in it. But like any true Southerner, you have to have fried potatoes and cornbread with it, and that will probably counteract the health benefits from the beans. Or a bean salad with lots of fresh veggies. When I was growing up, my mom made a really good bean salad that had kidney beans, chopped onion, chopped tomatoes, corn, (and something else, I don't remember) with a little bit of mayonnaise and salt and pepper. It was really good when we grilled out. I might actually try that tonight for dinner.
Garlic was also mentioned as a plus. We use a lot of garlic anyway so that shouldn't be a problem to just use it a little more.
The article also talked about how oats and oat fiber help you offset the negative effects of cholesterol by, essentially, soaking up the fats in the digestive tract. The good news is that oats are also inexpensive. And they are very versatile as well. Not only can you simply eat a bowl of hot oatmeal, you can run them through the blender to make oat flour for baking, make oatmeal cookies, use it as a binder for meatloaf or meatballs, the list goes on. I think I will be using a lot more oats in my daily cooking than I have in the past. Not only does it help with the cholesterol, it is an excellent source of fiber, and that is never a bad thing.
Purple grapes, either as juice or as wine, are rich in biflavinoids that will reduce the "stickiness" of platelets in the blood, reducing the probability of clots. It will also help repair damage caused by free radicals. So again, that is a good thing. 8 to 10 ounces a day is all that is needed. So go ahead and have that glass of red wine with dinner.
Eating cheaply doesn't mean you have to sacrifice your health. Between the beans, oats, garlic, cutting back on fried foods, and getting a little more exercise, we should be a lot healthier in the long run and still not be overspending on overpriced health food.
Bean burritos are probably the easiest way to serve them. Of course, we also like brown beans with bits of ham cooked in it. But like any true Southerner, you have to have fried potatoes and cornbread with it, and that will probably counteract the health benefits from the beans. Or a bean salad with lots of fresh veggies. When I was growing up, my mom made a really good bean salad that had kidney beans, chopped onion, chopped tomatoes, corn, (and something else, I don't remember) with a little bit of mayonnaise and salt and pepper. It was really good when we grilled out. I might actually try that tonight for dinner.
Garlic was also mentioned as a plus. We use a lot of garlic anyway so that shouldn't be a problem to just use it a little more.
The article also talked about how oats and oat fiber help you offset the negative effects of cholesterol by, essentially, soaking up the fats in the digestive tract. The good news is that oats are also inexpensive. And they are very versatile as well. Not only can you simply eat a bowl of hot oatmeal, you can run them through the blender to make oat flour for baking, make oatmeal cookies, use it as a binder for meatloaf or meatballs, the list goes on. I think I will be using a lot more oats in my daily cooking than I have in the past. Not only does it help with the cholesterol, it is an excellent source of fiber, and that is never a bad thing.
Purple grapes, either as juice or as wine, are rich in biflavinoids that will reduce the "stickiness" of platelets in the blood, reducing the probability of clots. It will also help repair damage caused by free radicals. So again, that is a good thing. 8 to 10 ounces a day is all that is needed. So go ahead and have that glass of red wine with dinner.
Eating cheaply doesn't mean you have to sacrifice your health. Between the beans, oats, garlic, cutting back on fried foods, and getting a little more exercise, we should be a lot healthier in the long run and still not be overspending on overpriced health food.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
I love a good sale
I guess, in a way, it was a good thing I had to go back out for school supplies...again...yesterday morning. I also noticed that we were out of milk after the kids ate breakfast, so I figured that while I was out, I would stop by the stop and pick up another gallon. I hit the produce department like I always do, and managed to get some broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, lettuce, green beans, raspberries, celery, bell peppers, and carrots all for half off.
The bakery was just wheeling out the cart of markdowns to it's appointed place and I grabbed some bakery cookies and a couple of loaves of Italian bread for half off too.
Then on to the dairy dept. And, lo and behold, they were marking down too. I picked up 8 1/2 gallons of lemonade for 60 cents each. 4 I put in the fridge and 4 in the freezer. I got my milk then proceeded to the meat department just to see what they had on sale. I got a package of hamburger, 2 packs of ground lamb, and a couple of top round steaks for almost 40% off.
I decided that while I was there, I should probably find the kids some lunch stuff. Pudding cups for 91 cents/4 pack, lunch meat wasn't on sale but I needed it anyway, Sara Lee bread for $1 a loaf, and a bottle of ginger ale.
Grand total was $77 and I have enough food for at least a week, plus school lunches.
Granted, I probably could have spent less if I only stuck to what I actually needed, but none of this will be wasted.
I pureed the berries and dripped it thru a jelly bag to get the juice. A teaspoon of the juice mixed with the lemonade is very very good, plus you get the extra nutrients from the berries. The pulp and seeds I put in the freezer. I am not sure really what I will do with it yet, but if all else fails, I can mix it with cranberries when I make cranberry sauce this Thanksgiving. Or I could make fruit leather with it I guess.
The peppers will be dried, the mushrooms canned, the broccoli and cauliflower are already in the freezer, the carrots we will eat fairly quickly just like they are. Several salads are on the menu for this week, and I will either freeze or can the green beans today.
We really don't care too much for lamb, but...we do like the gyro sandwiches. I did a web search and found a recipe (http://mideastfood.about.com/od/breadsrice/r/pitabreadrecipe.htm) and I also found one for pita bread (http://mideastfood.about.com/od/breadsrice/r/pitabreadrecipe.htm). They both look really easy. So I will probably try that at some point this week.
The bakery was just wheeling out the cart of markdowns to it's appointed place and I grabbed some bakery cookies and a couple of loaves of Italian bread for half off too.
Then on to the dairy dept. And, lo and behold, they were marking down too. I picked up 8 1/2 gallons of lemonade for 60 cents each. 4 I put in the fridge and 4 in the freezer. I got my milk then proceeded to the meat department just to see what they had on sale. I got a package of hamburger, 2 packs of ground lamb, and a couple of top round steaks for almost 40% off.
I decided that while I was there, I should probably find the kids some lunch stuff. Pudding cups for 91 cents/4 pack, lunch meat wasn't on sale but I needed it anyway, Sara Lee bread for $1 a loaf, and a bottle of ginger ale.
Grand total was $77 and I have enough food for at least a week, plus school lunches.
Granted, I probably could have spent less if I only stuck to what I actually needed, but none of this will be wasted.
I pureed the berries and dripped it thru a jelly bag to get the juice. A teaspoon of the juice mixed with the lemonade is very very good, plus you get the extra nutrients from the berries. The pulp and seeds I put in the freezer. I am not sure really what I will do with it yet, but if all else fails, I can mix it with cranberries when I make cranberry sauce this Thanksgiving. Or I could make fruit leather with it I guess.
The peppers will be dried, the mushrooms canned, the broccoli and cauliflower are already in the freezer, the carrots we will eat fairly quickly just like they are. Several salads are on the menu for this week, and I will either freeze or can the green beans today.
We really don't care too much for lamb, but...we do like the gyro sandwiches. I did a web search and found a recipe (http://mideastfood.about.com/od/breadsrice/r/pitabreadrecipe.htm) and I also found one for pita bread (http://mideastfood.about.com/od/breadsrice/r/pitabreadrecipe.htm). They both look really easy. So I will probably try that at some point this week.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Canning Meat
Well, today I am trying my hand at canning some beef. I know that it can be done because it has a list of recipes in my canning bible. I also know because when we were cleaning out my great-aunt's house, we found a bunch of jars of canned meat in the basement. They had shed snake skins wrapped all around them so there is no telling how old they were, but they still looked edible. But we didn't. dumped it all out in the fire pit we had dug to burn all of the other trash. Saved the jars though.
But anyway...
I am running out of freezer space so I thought I would try the whole canning thing. I figured stew meat was going to be the best option and the easiest to do. Pressure canning it should make it really tender. We will see.
If it works out, I may try to do some chicken next. That would be very convenient for those nights this winter when I really don't feel like cooking. That would almost be instant soup or chicken salad. I probably won't can up a lot of meat. Can't really afford to, but when I can find a really good sale, it is an extra option. And it will be nice to have a few quick meals ready for those nights when I will be chasing kids after school.
But anyway...
I am running out of freezer space so I thought I would try the whole canning thing. I figured stew meat was going to be the best option and the easiest to do. Pressure canning it should make it really tender. We will see.
If it works out, I may try to do some chicken next. That would be very convenient for those nights this winter when I really don't feel like cooking. That would almost be instant soup or chicken salad. I probably won't can up a lot of meat. Can't really afford to, but when I can find a really good sale, it is an extra option. And it will be nice to have a few quick meals ready for those nights when I will be chasing kids after school.
Monday, July 21, 2008
The way I have always done it...
I started thinking about the things that I do every day without any conscious though. Cooking, canning, sewing, all of the things that my mom and grandma did everyday. It was always fun for me to help Mom sew a new dress or even a swim suit. I had a lot of home made swim suits.
I can do all of this stuff and do it without thought. But I guess most people really don't have a clue how to do alot of it. Most people can cook, at least enough to keep from starving, but it involves meal kits, boxes of prepared seasonings, and frozen meals. I find that those foods really just don't appeal to me. I like the taste of unpackaged gravy, home made biscuits, fresh jams and jellies, home made burritos, fresh from the oven bread, and freshly churned butter. I think that most people do. They just don't realize that it isn't hard to make a loaf of bread or a pan of biscuits.
Canning is another thing that just about anyone can do. It isn't difficult, but it is time consuming. If you have a garden, or access to one, canning is the perfect way to save summer goodness for winter. All it takes is a pressure canner, some jars, and the time to do it. My mother in law worked full time as a teacher for 30 years and still managed to put up a big garden every year. Jams and jellies can be done in less than an hour and don't even require a canner. If you don't have a freezer but do have a canner, you can even store meat in jars safely when it goes on sale. And the meat is already cooked when you get ready to use it for a fast meal. Spend the $4-$6 dollars for a "Ball Blue Book of Preserving". It is the canning Bible and will tell you processing times and recipes for preserving just about anything edible. Canning, Freezing and Drying are all in there. Great book for any one wanting to save grocery money.
Sewing does take a little bit of skill and a lot of patience. If you are new to sewing, study up on the terminology before you start cutting. It really does make a difference. But you can keep your entire family well dressed for a fraction of the cost of buying from the department stores. And if you shop at The Global Mass Marketer, they often sell fabric for $1-$2 dollars a yard. The average short sleeved mens button up shirt takes about 2 yards. So for $4 worth of fabric, some buttons, thread, and a pattern, you can make a shirt for your favorite man. Some children's clothes take less than a yard. A basic, knee length straight skirt for yourself can take as little as 1 yard, depending on the style and your size. A pair of shorts, or a pull over top are about a yard.
So I guess what it boils down to is that I do things to save money without even thinking about it. That was just how I was raised.
I can do all of this stuff and do it without thought. But I guess most people really don't have a clue how to do alot of it. Most people can cook, at least enough to keep from starving, but it involves meal kits, boxes of prepared seasonings, and frozen meals. I find that those foods really just don't appeal to me. I like the taste of unpackaged gravy, home made biscuits, fresh jams and jellies, home made burritos, fresh from the oven bread, and freshly churned butter. I think that most people do. They just don't realize that it isn't hard to make a loaf of bread or a pan of biscuits.
Canning is another thing that just about anyone can do. It isn't difficult, but it is time consuming. If you have a garden, or access to one, canning is the perfect way to save summer goodness for winter. All it takes is a pressure canner, some jars, and the time to do it. My mother in law worked full time as a teacher for 30 years and still managed to put up a big garden every year. Jams and jellies can be done in less than an hour and don't even require a canner. If you don't have a freezer but do have a canner, you can even store meat in jars safely when it goes on sale. And the meat is already cooked when you get ready to use it for a fast meal. Spend the $4-$6 dollars for a "Ball Blue Book of Preserving". It is the canning Bible and will tell you processing times and recipes for preserving just about anything edible. Canning, Freezing and Drying are all in there. Great book for any one wanting to save grocery money.
Sewing does take a little bit of skill and a lot of patience. If you are new to sewing, study up on the terminology before you start cutting. It really does make a difference. But you can keep your entire family well dressed for a fraction of the cost of buying from the department stores. And if you shop at The Global Mass Marketer, they often sell fabric for $1-$2 dollars a yard. The average short sleeved mens button up shirt takes about 2 yards. So for $4 worth of fabric, some buttons, thread, and a pattern, you can make a shirt for your favorite man. Some children's clothes take less than a yard. A basic, knee length straight skirt for yourself can take as little as 1 yard, depending on the style and your size. A pair of shorts, or a pull over top are about a yard.
So I guess what it boils down to is that I do things to save money without even thinking about it. That was just how I was raised.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Summer Canning
I am sorry that I haven't posted in a while but I have been busy canning. So far this week, I have put up:
55 ears of corn
17 jars of Purple Hull Peas
9 quarts of cranberry beans
3 pints of mango
3 pints of mushrooms
5 heads of cauliflower
4 quarts of cabbage
13 jars of apple butter
and
11 jars of plum jam
And I am not done yet. I still have to put up some more mangoes and make another batch of onion relish. I would like to get some more beans this weekend and get those canned.
A guy that my husband works with gave us the plums so I gave him some of the jam. I think he may give us some more plums so I will have to find something to do with them. We really don't need any more jam.
I still want to get some peaches and maybe some more peas.
I have discovered a problem though. I really don't have any place to put any of this stuff. My pantry is already full and I don't have a closet anywhere in the house with space enough for a single 1/2 pint jar. But if this plan works out, we will be eating good on the cheap this winter.
55 ears of corn
17 jars of Purple Hull Peas
9 quarts of cranberry beans
3 pints of mango
3 pints of mushrooms
5 heads of cauliflower
4 quarts of cabbage
13 jars of apple butter
and
11 jars of plum jam
And I am not done yet. I still have to put up some more mangoes and make another batch of onion relish. I would like to get some more beans this weekend and get those canned.
A guy that my husband works with gave us the plums so I gave him some of the jam. I think he may give us some more plums so I will have to find something to do with them. We really don't need any more jam.
I still want to get some peaches and maybe some more peas.
I have discovered a problem though. I really don't have any place to put any of this stuff. My pantry is already full and I don't have a closet anywhere in the house with space enough for a single 1/2 pint jar. But if this plan works out, we will be eating good on the cheap this winter.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Pasta, Rice, and Potatoes
A couple of days ago I mentioned how pasta, rice, and potatoes can really stretch your food dollars. I have found that those three items go a lot farther than most people would think.
Let's take pasta first. When most people think of pasta, they think of spaghetti or other Italian dishes with a tomato or cream sauce. But there is a lot more to it than that. You can use pastas of different shapes and sizes for just about any meal. Egg noodles are one of our favorites.
You can seriously cut down on the amount of meat you use for a meal with a simple meat gravy over egg noodles. The noodles are great because they don't take very long to cook, are very inexpensive, and exceedingly versatile. One of the easiest meals that I make with them is a ground beef gravy. Brown about 1/2 pound of hamburger meat and drain off the fat, add your favorite seasoning salt, chopped onion, chopped peppers, mushrooms, whatever you and your family likes. Pour in 2 1/2 cups of water or beef broth (if you use water, add a couple of beef bullion cubes to give it flavor) and bring it to a boil. In 1/2 cup of water, stir in 2 heaping tablespoons of cornstarch. If you have any Kitchen Bouquet, add that to the cornstarch mix (it enhances both the flavor and the color). When you have a good boil going in the meat, slowly add the cornstarch water to the pot, stirring constantly so you don't have lumps. Continue to boil until it is almost thick. It will continue to thicken as it cools so don't worry if it looks a little thin. The thing to remember is that the cornstarch has to boil to cook it or it will taste kinda gritty. Serve over egg noodles. This will make around 3 cups of meat gravy, so if you consider a serving to be 1/2 cup, then that is 6 servings out of 1/2 pound of ground beef. Just make sure you have plenty of noodles. If you don't have any hamburger, you can use round steak or chuck cut into thin strips and cook it the same way. Just remember that it doesn't take a lot of meat. The meat is for flavor, the pasta is the meal.
Another good thing about pasta is that it can be just as good cold as it is hot. Take a pasta salad. That is a wonderful meal for the summer months. You can make it up ahead of time and just chill it in the fridge until dinner. One that we like is almost an antipasto type. Boil a package of rotini (the spiral ones) until soft but not mushy. Drain. Mix in chopped onion, chopped pepper, a shredded carrot, mushrooms, sliced black and green olives, whatever you have handy. You can add leftover chicken (chopped) or pepperoni slices, or summer sausage, or whatever tidbits of meat you have hanging in the fridge. A crumbled hamburger patty is good too. Toss it all with Italian dressing and cover it. Stick it in the fridge until you are ready for dinner. Sprinkle it with Parmesan cheese. This is good with a salad and fresh fruit. Keep in mind that 1 pound of pasta will serve about 8, so if you don't need that much, don't cook the whole pound of pasta.
These are just a couple of our favorites, but they give you the idea. It lets you feed a family a good meal that is also inexpensive. This is also good when you have company coming and not a lot of cash to feed every one. Just make a double batch. Still cheap, but it doesn't look or taste that way.
Rice is another way to spread the meal around. Whether it is steamed, boiled, baked, in a stir fry, risotto, as a pilaf, in a pudding, whatever, rice will seriously stretch out your food dollar. When you consider that a pound of rice is about $1, and it will almost (but not quite, 1 cup of rice will make about 1 3/4 cup cooked) double in size when it is cooked, adding rice to a dish is a great way to bulk out a meal. Add a handful to a soup pot to add texture. Whip up a quick stir fry for lunch. Make a rice pudding for dessert. Drop a couple of bullion cubes to a pot of boiling rice for flavor. Use it as a base for meat gravy instead of pasta. Or just boil some up for breakfast, served with butter and sugar.
You can find a zillion recipes that use rice on the web. It isn't just for Chinese food. And because it is a grain, that is healthy for you. Using brown rice is even better since it is whole grain.
For a meal on the cheap, baked potatoes are probably one of the best. A little butter, some shredded cheese, a few bacon bits, add a salad and dinner is served. Roasted, boiled, baked, fried, steamed, grilled, in a casserole, hash browns, scalloped, au graten, potato salad, mashed, etc, there are enough ways to make potatoes that you can have them every day for a year and never have them the same way twice. They are low fat, high fiber, and best of all, generally cheap. Adding potatoes to a meal will allow you to serve less of everything else since potatoes will bulk out a meal. My general rule of thumb is 1 medium sized potato per adult, 1/2 for each child under the age of 10 or so. This doesn't always work, you have to take family preferences into account, but it is a good general idea. For instance, for fried potatoes, I usually peel 6 for my family of 4 because we really like them. But for mashed potatoes, I only use 4. The plan is to make enough, but not too much. Unless it is potato salad, potatoes don't really reheat well, so to save on waste, only cook what you actually need.
An easy way to roast potatoes is to wash them really well and cut them into about 1 inch chunks. In a large ziplock bag, add about 1/4 cup olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, and 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning. Add the potatoes to the bag and shake it up really well to cover all of the potatoes with the oil and seasoning. Pour it all out onto a cookie sheet and bake at 375 for about 30 minutes or until the potatoes start to brown. You may need to stir these around a couple of times to keep them from sticking to the pan, but I promise, they are wonderful.
Pasta, Rice and Potatoes...great ways to spread out your food dollars without your family thinking they are being cheated. Cheap, versatile, and really really good.
Let's take pasta first. When most people think of pasta, they think of spaghetti or other Italian dishes with a tomato or cream sauce. But there is a lot more to it than that. You can use pastas of different shapes and sizes for just about any meal. Egg noodles are one of our favorites.
You can seriously cut down on the amount of meat you use for a meal with a simple meat gravy over egg noodles. The noodles are great because they don't take very long to cook, are very inexpensive, and exceedingly versatile. One of the easiest meals that I make with them is a ground beef gravy. Brown about 1/2 pound of hamburger meat and drain off the fat, add your favorite seasoning salt, chopped onion, chopped peppers, mushrooms, whatever you and your family likes. Pour in 2 1/2 cups of water or beef broth (if you use water, add a couple of beef bullion cubes to give it flavor) and bring it to a boil. In 1/2 cup of water, stir in 2 heaping tablespoons of cornstarch. If you have any Kitchen Bouquet, add that to the cornstarch mix (it enhances both the flavor and the color). When you have a good boil going in the meat, slowly add the cornstarch water to the pot, stirring constantly so you don't have lumps. Continue to boil until it is almost thick. It will continue to thicken as it cools so don't worry if it looks a little thin. The thing to remember is that the cornstarch has to boil to cook it or it will taste kinda gritty. Serve over egg noodles. This will make around 3 cups of meat gravy, so if you consider a serving to be 1/2 cup, then that is 6 servings out of 1/2 pound of ground beef. Just make sure you have plenty of noodles. If you don't have any hamburger, you can use round steak or chuck cut into thin strips and cook it the same way. Just remember that it doesn't take a lot of meat. The meat is for flavor, the pasta is the meal.
Another good thing about pasta is that it can be just as good cold as it is hot. Take a pasta salad. That is a wonderful meal for the summer months. You can make it up ahead of time and just chill it in the fridge until dinner. One that we like is almost an antipasto type. Boil a package of rotini (the spiral ones) until soft but not mushy. Drain. Mix in chopped onion, chopped pepper, a shredded carrot, mushrooms, sliced black and green olives, whatever you have handy. You can add leftover chicken (chopped) or pepperoni slices, or summer sausage, or whatever tidbits of meat you have hanging in the fridge. A crumbled hamburger patty is good too. Toss it all with Italian dressing and cover it. Stick it in the fridge until you are ready for dinner. Sprinkle it with Parmesan cheese. This is good with a salad and fresh fruit. Keep in mind that 1 pound of pasta will serve about 8, so if you don't need that much, don't cook the whole pound of pasta.
These are just a couple of our favorites, but they give you the idea. It lets you feed a family a good meal that is also inexpensive. This is also good when you have company coming and not a lot of cash to feed every one. Just make a double batch. Still cheap, but it doesn't look or taste that way.
Rice is another way to spread the meal around. Whether it is steamed, boiled, baked, in a stir fry, risotto, as a pilaf, in a pudding, whatever, rice will seriously stretch out your food dollar. When you consider that a pound of rice is about $1, and it will almost (but not quite, 1 cup of rice will make about 1 3/4 cup cooked) double in size when it is cooked, adding rice to a dish is a great way to bulk out a meal. Add a handful to a soup pot to add texture. Whip up a quick stir fry for lunch. Make a rice pudding for dessert. Drop a couple of bullion cubes to a pot of boiling rice for flavor. Use it as a base for meat gravy instead of pasta. Or just boil some up for breakfast, served with butter and sugar.
You can find a zillion recipes that use rice on the web. It isn't just for Chinese food. And because it is a grain, that is healthy for you. Using brown rice is even better since it is whole grain.
For a meal on the cheap, baked potatoes are probably one of the best. A little butter, some shredded cheese, a few bacon bits, add a salad and dinner is served. Roasted, boiled, baked, fried, steamed, grilled, in a casserole, hash browns, scalloped, au graten, potato salad, mashed, etc, there are enough ways to make potatoes that you can have them every day for a year and never have them the same way twice. They are low fat, high fiber, and best of all, generally cheap. Adding potatoes to a meal will allow you to serve less of everything else since potatoes will bulk out a meal. My general rule of thumb is 1 medium sized potato per adult, 1/2 for each child under the age of 10 or so. This doesn't always work, you have to take family preferences into account, but it is a good general idea. For instance, for fried potatoes, I usually peel 6 for my family of 4 because we really like them. But for mashed potatoes, I only use 4. The plan is to make enough, but not too much. Unless it is potato salad, potatoes don't really reheat well, so to save on waste, only cook what you actually need.
An easy way to roast potatoes is to wash them really well and cut them into about 1 inch chunks. In a large ziplock bag, add about 1/4 cup olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, and 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning. Add the potatoes to the bag and shake it up really well to cover all of the potatoes with the oil and seasoning. Pour it all out onto a cookie sheet and bake at 375 for about 30 minutes or until the potatoes start to brown. You may need to stir these around a couple of times to keep them from sticking to the pan, but I promise, they are wonderful.
Pasta, Rice and Potatoes...great ways to spread out your food dollars without your family thinking they are being cheated. Cheap, versatile, and really really good.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Farmer's Markets, Freezing corn
Growing your own food isn't the only way to save money on groceries. If you don't have enough space, or if you just don't have the patience or knowledge to grow your own veggies, find a farmer's market or produce stand. Not only will you get the freshest possible food, you will be helping local growers as well.
There are some things that I just suck at growing. Like tomatoes. If, for some reason the bugs don't get them, some other critter will. So I have given up on them. My dad always plants way more than he needs and gives me some. Last year, he gave me 2 5 gallon buckets full. That was something like 35-40 pounds of tomatoes. So I made salsa and spaghetti sauce.
I don't have the space to grow bush beans or corn, both of which my family eats a lot of. So I will be finding farmer's markets and folks selling from the back of a truck to purchase these things this year.
1 ear of corn will equal about 1 can of store bought. If I can find sweet corn on the back of a truck for 2 dollars a dozen, that is the equivalent of about 16 cents a can. And I can control the amount of salt in it. Personally I don't use salt in my corn. And it is very easy to put up.
All you need is a cookie sheet, quart freezer bags, and a very sharp knife. Shuck and silk the corn. Hold the corn by the small end and cut the corn kernels off of the corn cob. You want to cut the kernels about half way to the cob, maybe a little bigger. Any closer than that you will start to cut cob. The edges on the cookie sheet should keep the corn from flying all over everywhere. Turn the cob after every cut so you get all of the corn off. Don't throw the cob away yet, you will need it in a little bit.
When you get all of the corn cut, or your cookie sheet gets full, fill the freezer bags. I generally don't fill them packed tight, but a little over 3/4 full is good. I will explain in a bit.
When all of your corn is cut from the cob, now you use them to make cream corn. Hold the cob the same way, but turn your knife around so that the flat side is against the cob. You are not going to be cutting this time, you will be scraping. Firmly slide the back of the knife down the cob. This is getting the germ, liquid, and any remaining pulp from the cob. Be VERY careful with the sharp edge of the knife. After all of the cobs are scraped you can throw them away. You should now have a pile of very juice corn pulp. This is your cream corn. You can either put it in a bag just like it is, or if you have a partial bag of cut corn, you can add it to that. Either way, it is exceptionally good.
The reason you don't want to fill the bags all the way full is because if the corn is looser in the bag, it is easier to just take out what you need for each meal. You don't have to cook an entire quart every time make corn. If I am making vegetable soup, I may only need a handful. If I am making dinner for my family of 4, I might use half a bag. If I have company, I will probably use the entire bag. But if it is packed tight into the bags, the kernels will freeze together and make it hard to just get a little out at a time. You just have to make sure that you get as much air out of the bag as possible before you put it in (or back in) the freezer. You can do this by shaking the corn to the bottom of the bag, then rolling the bag up before you reseal it. Freezer burn is caused by air drying in the freezer. Less air, less freezer burn. This goes for everything you put in the freezer.
I would also suggest you use good quality bags. The generics are fine for short term freezer storage, but for long term, use the good bags. They will keep out more air and not be as likely to get torn or pop open in the freezer. That is important because it is a real pain to clean corn kernels out of the bottom of a chest freezer.
This corn should keep up to a year as long as it doesn't freezer burn.
There are some things that I just suck at growing. Like tomatoes. If, for some reason the bugs don't get them, some other critter will. So I have given up on them. My dad always plants way more than he needs and gives me some. Last year, he gave me 2 5 gallon buckets full. That was something like 35-40 pounds of tomatoes. So I made salsa and spaghetti sauce.
I don't have the space to grow bush beans or corn, both of which my family eats a lot of. So I will be finding farmer's markets and folks selling from the back of a truck to purchase these things this year.
1 ear of corn will equal about 1 can of store bought. If I can find sweet corn on the back of a truck for 2 dollars a dozen, that is the equivalent of about 16 cents a can. And I can control the amount of salt in it. Personally I don't use salt in my corn. And it is very easy to put up.
All you need is a cookie sheet, quart freezer bags, and a very sharp knife. Shuck and silk the corn. Hold the corn by the small end and cut the corn kernels off of the corn cob. You want to cut the kernels about half way to the cob, maybe a little bigger. Any closer than that you will start to cut cob. The edges on the cookie sheet should keep the corn from flying all over everywhere. Turn the cob after every cut so you get all of the corn off. Don't throw the cob away yet, you will need it in a little bit.
When you get all of the corn cut, or your cookie sheet gets full, fill the freezer bags. I generally don't fill them packed tight, but a little over 3/4 full is good. I will explain in a bit.
When all of your corn is cut from the cob, now you use them to make cream corn. Hold the cob the same way, but turn your knife around so that the flat side is against the cob. You are not going to be cutting this time, you will be scraping. Firmly slide the back of the knife down the cob. This is getting the germ, liquid, and any remaining pulp from the cob. Be VERY careful with the sharp edge of the knife. After all of the cobs are scraped you can throw them away. You should now have a pile of very juice corn pulp. This is your cream corn. You can either put it in a bag just like it is, or if you have a partial bag of cut corn, you can add it to that. Either way, it is exceptionally good.
The reason you don't want to fill the bags all the way full is because if the corn is looser in the bag, it is easier to just take out what you need for each meal. You don't have to cook an entire quart every time make corn. If I am making vegetable soup, I may only need a handful. If I am making dinner for my family of 4, I might use half a bag. If I have company, I will probably use the entire bag. But if it is packed tight into the bags, the kernels will freeze together and make it hard to just get a little out at a time. You just have to make sure that you get as much air out of the bag as possible before you put it in (or back in) the freezer. You can do this by shaking the corn to the bottom of the bag, then rolling the bag up before you reseal it. Freezer burn is caused by air drying in the freezer. Less air, less freezer burn. This goes for everything you put in the freezer.
I would also suggest you use good quality bags. The generics are fine for short term freezer storage, but for long term, use the good bags. They will keep out more air and not be as likely to get torn or pop open in the freezer. That is important because it is a real pain to clean corn kernels out of the bottom of a chest freezer.
This corn should keep up to a year as long as it doesn't freezer burn.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Get a Freezer, Meat Loaf, Meat balls
I have said it before and I will say it again. If you want to save money on your grocery bills, get a freezer. It doesn't have to be a big one, but get one. Either an upright or a chest freezer will do, just get one. They are only a couple of hundred dollars and the upfront costs are nothing compared to how much you will save. The freezer on the refrigerator just isn't big enough.
Any time your local grocery store runs a sale on something you use a lot of, like hamburger or frozen veggies, buy in bulk. You will save a bundle over the course of a year. It is also very useful for storing things like rice and sugar to keep out bugs until you need them. We even freeze bread we get from the thrift store.
I have mentioned this in previous posts, but you can make up meals and store them in the freezer until you get ready to use them. I make up meat loaf, meat balls, boiled chicken, and smoked pork and put them down into meal sized bags and take them out as needed. It makes it a lot easier on those nights when I either don't feel like cooking a big meal or we are in a hurry because of the kid's schedules.
Meat balls are by far the easiest to do. When your local grocery has hamburger on sale, buy a lot. I generally make up about 3 pounds at a time. Here is my recipe.
3 or so pounds of ground beef
1 1/2 cups of bread crumbs or 1/2 cup per pound of meat
1/2 cup of dried onion or 1 cup of finely chopped fresh onion
1 tablespoon salt or to taste
1 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
Mix everything together very well. I use a stand mixer but you can do it by hand. Make balls of meat about the size of a walnut or about 1 inch balls. Place them on a cookie sheet with the sides just barely touching. When your cookie sheet is full, put them in the freezer overnight. The next day, you have solid little balls that you put in a gallon sized freezer bag.
These are great for a quick meal. Just take out what you need. They don't even have to be defrosted. You can either fry them or bake them and add your favorite pasta sauce, or you can use a brown gravy with onions. We like them both ways. Brown gravy with onions over rice or egg noodles is probably our favorite.
To make a meat loaf, use the same recipe but add about a 1/2 cup of chopped bell peppers to the mix. After everything is mixed together, line a loaf pan with waxed paper and fill it with the meat mix. Freeze it over night then remove it to a freezer bag. You now have a couple of no mess meat loafs for those days you are in a hurry. And since you formed them to fit your pan, you don't even have to thaw them out before sticking them in the oven. It does take a little longer to cook, just use a meat thermometer to check for doneness. A little work up front for a big payoff in the end.
Any time your local grocery store runs a sale on something you use a lot of, like hamburger or frozen veggies, buy in bulk. You will save a bundle over the course of a year. It is also very useful for storing things like rice and sugar to keep out bugs until you need them. We even freeze bread we get from the thrift store.
I have mentioned this in previous posts, but you can make up meals and store them in the freezer until you get ready to use them. I make up meat loaf, meat balls, boiled chicken, and smoked pork and put them down into meal sized bags and take them out as needed. It makes it a lot easier on those nights when I either don't feel like cooking a big meal or we are in a hurry because of the kid's schedules.
Meat balls are by far the easiest to do. When your local grocery has hamburger on sale, buy a lot. I generally make up about 3 pounds at a time. Here is my recipe.
3 or so pounds of ground beef
1 1/2 cups of bread crumbs or 1/2 cup per pound of meat
1/2 cup of dried onion or 1 cup of finely chopped fresh onion
1 tablespoon salt or to taste
1 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
Mix everything together very well. I use a stand mixer but you can do it by hand. Make balls of meat about the size of a walnut or about 1 inch balls. Place them on a cookie sheet with the sides just barely touching. When your cookie sheet is full, put them in the freezer overnight. The next day, you have solid little balls that you put in a gallon sized freezer bag.
These are great for a quick meal. Just take out what you need. They don't even have to be defrosted. You can either fry them or bake them and add your favorite pasta sauce, or you can use a brown gravy with onions. We like them both ways. Brown gravy with onions over rice or egg noodles is probably our favorite.
To make a meat loaf, use the same recipe but add about a 1/2 cup of chopped bell peppers to the mix. After everything is mixed together, line a loaf pan with waxed paper and fill it with the meat mix. Freeze it over night then remove it to a freezer bag. You now have a couple of no mess meat loafs for those days you are in a hurry. And since you formed them to fit your pan, you don't even have to thaw them out before sticking them in the oven. It does take a little longer to cook, just use a meat thermometer to check for doneness. A little work up front for a big payoff in the end.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
I can think of a lot of ways to be frugal, but most of them will actually involve food in some way. Yes, you can cut down on the energy you use and carpool to work, or sit in semi-darkness at home, but the easiest way to save money, for a family at least, is by cooking.
I know that it may seem odd, but even learning to make your own sandwich meats can make a large difference. My son heard the Mackenzie Brothers on the radio back in the fall and has been calling Canadian Bacon (a type of ham) "back bacon" ever since. About the same time, I purchased a large manual meat grinder intending to make sausages and bratwurst since they are so expensive to buy. I started gathering the necessary ingredients, one of which was a quick cure mixture found on the bottom shelf at the grocery near the salt. Morton makes a very nice one called "Quick Cure" that works like a charm. The package stated that the website has recipes. So I looked it up. Low and behold, Canadian Bacon was one of the recipes. Very easy to make, a pork loin, 5 days and a smoker. The smoker was no problem since my husband got me the smoker attachment for my grill as a Christmas gift. I cured my pork loin in a ziplock bag in the refrigerator for the 3 to 5 days the recipe called for, then I rinsed all of the remaining salt from the meat and took it to the smoker. I smoked it for about 4 hours, until a meat thermometer said it was done (180 degrees) and brought it in. I cut it in thin slices like for a sandwich and it was just incredible. About that time the kids came in from school and we wound up eating about 3/4 of a pound of the meat immediately. I bagged up the rest of it and froze all but one bag, to use for sandwiches. So, ham for sandwiches for less than $2.00 a pound.
The Morton site also has recipes for other cured meats like salami and pepperoni. Those are made from hamburger and can be cooked in the oven. Very easy to make. And they are about half the cost of store bought meats. My next project will be to try to make bacon.
I realize that most folks just don't have the time or inclination to do this sort of thing. But think about it for a minute. If you make your own sandwich meats, you know how fresh it is, you know what is in it, and you can feel good about serving it to your family. Can you say those things about the food you get from the deli? Or how about those little pressed plastic packages from the grocery store? Just how long has that stuff been sitting on the shelf? And the cost! I can find ground beef for around $1.89 a pound. Sliced hard salami is around $3.59 for a 12 oz package. I can seriously justify the savings when we eat as many sandwiches as we do. And it freezes well. I can make up 3 or 4 pounds at a time and split it into 1 pound bags and just take them out of the freezer one at a time.
Making your own food is very satisfying and oddly liberating. I don't have to run to the grocery store every time I need to pack the kid's lunches. I know what they are eating and when I find the meat on sale, I stock up. Freezers are wonderful things.
It may take a little bit of time, but int he long run, it is definitely worth the effort.
I know that it may seem odd, but even learning to make your own sandwich meats can make a large difference. My son heard the Mackenzie Brothers on the radio back in the fall and has been calling Canadian Bacon (a type of ham) "back bacon" ever since. About the same time, I purchased a large manual meat grinder intending to make sausages and bratwurst since they are so expensive to buy. I started gathering the necessary ingredients, one of which was a quick cure mixture found on the bottom shelf at the grocery near the salt. Morton makes a very nice one called "Quick Cure" that works like a charm. The package stated that the website has recipes. So I looked it up. Low and behold, Canadian Bacon was one of the recipes. Very easy to make, a pork loin, 5 days and a smoker. The smoker was no problem since my husband got me the smoker attachment for my grill as a Christmas gift. I cured my pork loin in a ziplock bag in the refrigerator for the 3 to 5 days the recipe called for, then I rinsed all of the remaining salt from the meat and took it to the smoker. I smoked it for about 4 hours, until a meat thermometer said it was done (180 degrees) and brought it in. I cut it in thin slices like for a sandwich and it was just incredible. About that time the kids came in from school and we wound up eating about 3/4 of a pound of the meat immediately. I bagged up the rest of it and froze all but one bag, to use for sandwiches. So, ham for sandwiches for less than $2.00 a pound.
The Morton site also has recipes for other cured meats like salami and pepperoni. Those are made from hamburger and can be cooked in the oven. Very easy to make. And they are about half the cost of store bought meats. My next project will be to try to make bacon.
I realize that most folks just don't have the time or inclination to do this sort of thing. But think about it for a minute. If you make your own sandwich meats, you know how fresh it is, you know what is in it, and you can feel good about serving it to your family. Can you say those things about the food you get from the deli? Or how about those little pressed plastic packages from the grocery store? Just how long has that stuff been sitting on the shelf? And the cost! I can find ground beef for around $1.89 a pound. Sliced hard salami is around $3.59 for a 12 oz package. I can seriously justify the savings when we eat as many sandwiches as we do. And it freezes well. I can make up 3 or 4 pounds at a time and split it into 1 pound bags and just take them out of the freezer one at a time.
Making your own food is very satisfying and oddly liberating. I don't have to run to the grocery store every time I need to pack the kid's lunches. I know what they are eating and when I find the meat on sale, I stock up. Freezers are wonderful things.
It may take a little bit of time, but int he long run, it is definitely worth the effort.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Frugal cooking
One of the best ways I have found to save money is on the cooking vs eating out mind set. Cooking doesn't have to be the chore that everyone thinks it is. Even if you have never cooked before, you can start making your own meals and save hundreds every month.
One of the very first things you should do if you have never seriously cooked before is invest in a good cookbook. I would suggest one of the big Betty Crocker ones with the red and white checked covers. It will cover every type of basic cooking from appetizers all the way thru snacks and desserts and it is also very easy to read and understand. Some of the more complicated dishes even have step by step pictures. Granted, these are generally just basic recipes, but for someone who hasn't cooked before, it is a great asset.
Another thing to do is always keep a supply of staples on hand. I always have a cabinet full of seasonings and spices, dried beans, different pastas, and grains (barley, rice, oatmeal, corn meal, plain and self rising flours, and grits). It is also a good idea to keep sugar or sweeteners on hand, including brown sugar and powdered sugar, and cocoa, corn starch, baking soda and baking powder. These are just a few of my pantry staples to get a general idea. Most of these things can be easily purchased in bulk since they all store well as long as they are kept dry and cool. Add vegetables and meats to these basic things and you can make just about any type of meal you want.
One of the things you really want to stay away from buying is mixes. Do you really need to spend $2.00 on a box of brownie mix when you have everything to make brownies at home already? Lets say you buy the mix on sale for $1.75. You still have to add eggs and oil or butter to the mix. So you buy a dozen eggs on sale for $1.19. You have butter or margarine at home already. So now these brownies are costing you $2.94. At home you already have the cocoa, sugar, self rising flour, and butter. So you spend $1.19 for the eggs instead. Now your decision to make brownies is only costing you a little over a buck. But since you will only be using 2 or 3 of the eggs, it is actually only costing about 20 to 30 cents. See the point?
In the last month, I have managed to cut our food spending by half, just by not eating out. I took a day to cook and freeze several different meats for those days when I just don't feel like cooking or when we would need a quick dinner because of the kid's schedules. Those would be the days that we would normally eat out. I have even made up some hamburger patties and froze them so that hamburgers would be quick and painless.(secret--put small squares of waxed paper between them so they don't stick together.)
Learning to cook is well worth the time and effort if you are serious about saving money and eating healthier. You will be able to control the amount of fat and sodium in your foods, you can make sure that the freshest possible ingredient are being used, and you will not have some minimum wage person that you don't know handling your food. It is also very satisfying to be able to make it yourself. Your friends and family will be in awe of your new skills in the kitchen and will want your recipes.
And the best part is that you will be saving a ton of cash in the process.
One of the very first things you should do if you have never seriously cooked before is invest in a good cookbook. I would suggest one of the big Betty Crocker ones with the red and white checked covers. It will cover every type of basic cooking from appetizers all the way thru snacks and desserts and it is also very easy to read and understand. Some of the more complicated dishes even have step by step pictures. Granted, these are generally just basic recipes, but for someone who hasn't cooked before, it is a great asset.
Another thing to do is always keep a supply of staples on hand. I always have a cabinet full of seasonings and spices, dried beans, different pastas, and grains (barley, rice, oatmeal, corn meal, plain and self rising flours, and grits). It is also a good idea to keep sugar or sweeteners on hand, including brown sugar and powdered sugar, and cocoa, corn starch, baking soda and baking powder. These are just a few of my pantry staples to get a general idea. Most of these things can be easily purchased in bulk since they all store well as long as they are kept dry and cool. Add vegetables and meats to these basic things and you can make just about any type of meal you want.
One of the things you really want to stay away from buying is mixes. Do you really need to spend $2.00 on a box of brownie mix when you have everything to make brownies at home already? Lets say you buy the mix on sale for $1.75. You still have to add eggs and oil or butter to the mix. So you buy a dozen eggs on sale for $1.19. You have butter or margarine at home already. So now these brownies are costing you $2.94. At home you already have the cocoa, sugar, self rising flour, and butter. So you spend $1.19 for the eggs instead. Now your decision to make brownies is only costing you a little over a buck. But since you will only be using 2 or 3 of the eggs, it is actually only costing about 20 to 30 cents. See the point?
In the last month, I have managed to cut our food spending by half, just by not eating out. I took a day to cook and freeze several different meats for those days when I just don't feel like cooking or when we would need a quick dinner because of the kid's schedules. Those would be the days that we would normally eat out. I have even made up some hamburger patties and froze them so that hamburgers would be quick and painless.(secret--put small squares of waxed paper between them so they don't stick together.)
Learning to cook is well worth the time and effort if you are serious about saving money and eating healthier. You will be able to control the amount of fat and sodium in your foods, you can make sure that the freshest possible ingredient are being used, and you will not have some minimum wage person that you don't know handling your food. It is also very satisfying to be able to make it yourself. Your friends and family will be in awe of your new skills in the kitchen and will want your recipes.
And the best part is that you will be saving a ton of cash in the process.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Healthy meals on a budget
Low fat doesn't have to mean low taste. I have taken the extra fats out of lots of common everyday meals without any noticeable loss of taste. When you saute meats or vegetables, use broths instead of fats. You are actually adding flavor without adding any fat. I have done this with meats, stir fry, and even vegetables. That is where the ice cube tray comes in handy for freezing broth. Any time you cook meat and there is juice in the pan when you are finished, save it. It is amazing the amount of beef flavor you can get from a pot roast to add later to your soups or rice.
A few tips to follow when you are getting ready to start cooking frugally is to keep in mind the things you have on your shelf. What are you most likely to eat first? Can you make it yourself? Even if you can make it yourself, is it cheaper to make it or buy it? Will everyone in your household like it or just you or your spouse? Is your favorite recipe going to make enough of that meal to feed an army or just the two of you? Can you freeze it?
These are some of the things that ask myself every time I have to go shopping. The things we are most likely to eat first are snack foods. I have two teens in the house and my son will eat the pantry bare if I let him. My husband is also a big snacker. I try to keep things for everyone to nibble on between meals that doesn't involve chips and candy. Brownies seem to work out fairly well as does popcorn.
Since I cook a lot, there aren't really many things that I can't cook myself that aren't as good or better than purchased. This is a major plus on the frugal side. I have learned how to adapt a recipe to use less expensive ingredients and to make it healthier than most of the frozen convenience foods available. Recipes are available all over the internet or just flip thru a cook book to get some basic ideas. Soup is by far the healthiest choice. And soup can be just about anything you want to make it. Have left over mashed potatoes? Make potato soup for lunch the next day. Just add milk, black pepper, and a little shredded cheese. Add a piece of unbuttered toast and a salad and you are good to go. Have some bacon left from breakfast? Make a bacon and cheese sandwich for lunch. Left over breakfast sausage is perfect for adding to fried potatoes or use it to make cream gravy with biscuits the next day( I am Southern, can you tell?) Never let anything go to waste. Have a spoonful of corn and half a spoon of beans or peas left from dinner? Put them together in a freezer bag. Keep adding to it until the bag is full then thaw it all out together and make soup.
I have discovered that while I can make my own bread, it is actually cheaper for me to go to the thrift store to buy it. I can get a big loaf of brand name whole wheat sandwich bread for 69 cents. If I figure the cost of the yeast and flour, plus the energy used in baking it, it cost me way over that. I can still cost effectively make dinner rolls and specialty breads like cinnamon swirl, but for sandwich bread, it just doesn't justify.
Will everyone eat it is a tough one at our house. My husband isn't fond of pork, my son doesn't like sauces or eggs, my daughter will eat just about anything except corn ("corn is evil" she says) and I am not likely to cook something that I won't eat. It makes for some interesting meal times, but we have found ways around it.
Making a pan of lasagna is expensive, but by splitting it into two pans, bake one and freeze one, makes it almost cost effective. Soup can be done the same way. Soup is a very inexpensive way to serve up left overs and you can split it up and freeze part of it for a meal another day. If your family just can't give up an expensive meal, save it for a special time like for a birthday or anniversary. Or if you only make it once every couple of months, cut costs on other meals that month to make up for it. The secret here is to don't stop making it altogether, just cut back on when you make it. You don't want to feel deprived of your favorites, just make them more special.
Another thing we do at our house is freezer night. Evey couple of weeks, we go through the freezer and find the 10 chicken nuggets, 3 fish sticks, a hand full of frozen peas, the few french fries left in the bag, leftovers in the fridge, anything that isn't enough to make a meal by itself and cook it all for one meal. Everyone can take a little of everything or if they don't like it they can skip that food completely. This has a dual purpose. You can clean out the fridge of anything that might get overlooked or buried on grocery day and it will help insure that no food will get wasted. I usually do this the night before a planned shopping trip. The kids like it because it gives them another shot at leftovers they had forgotten about and it is kinda fun to just go digging thru the freezer. It also helps you get creative with ways to recycle veggies into a meal.
With a little planning, the weekly grocery trip will stretch a lot farther.
A few tips to follow when you are getting ready to start cooking frugally is to keep in mind the things you have on your shelf. What are you most likely to eat first? Can you make it yourself? Even if you can make it yourself, is it cheaper to make it or buy it? Will everyone in your household like it or just you or your spouse? Is your favorite recipe going to make enough of that meal to feed an army or just the two of you? Can you freeze it?
These are some of the things that ask myself every time I have to go shopping. The things we are most likely to eat first are snack foods. I have two teens in the house and my son will eat the pantry bare if I let him. My husband is also a big snacker. I try to keep things for everyone to nibble on between meals that doesn't involve chips and candy. Brownies seem to work out fairly well as does popcorn.
Since I cook a lot, there aren't really many things that I can't cook myself that aren't as good or better than purchased. This is a major plus on the frugal side. I have learned how to adapt a recipe to use less expensive ingredients and to make it healthier than most of the frozen convenience foods available. Recipes are available all over the internet or just flip thru a cook book to get some basic ideas. Soup is by far the healthiest choice. And soup can be just about anything you want to make it. Have left over mashed potatoes? Make potato soup for lunch the next day. Just add milk, black pepper, and a little shredded cheese. Add a piece of unbuttered toast and a salad and you are good to go. Have some bacon left from breakfast? Make a bacon and cheese sandwich for lunch. Left over breakfast sausage is perfect for adding to fried potatoes or use it to make cream gravy with biscuits the next day( I am Southern, can you tell?) Never let anything go to waste. Have a spoonful of corn and half a spoon of beans or peas left from dinner? Put them together in a freezer bag. Keep adding to it until the bag is full then thaw it all out together and make soup.
I have discovered that while I can make my own bread, it is actually cheaper for me to go to the thrift store to buy it. I can get a big loaf of brand name whole wheat sandwich bread for 69 cents. If I figure the cost of the yeast and flour, plus the energy used in baking it, it cost me way over that. I can still cost effectively make dinner rolls and specialty breads like cinnamon swirl, but for sandwich bread, it just doesn't justify.
Will everyone eat it is a tough one at our house. My husband isn't fond of pork, my son doesn't like sauces or eggs, my daughter will eat just about anything except corn ("corn is evil" she says) and I am not likely to cook something that I won't eat. It makes for some interesting meal times, but we have found ways around it.
Making a pan of lasagna is expensive, but by splitting it into two pans, bake one and freeze one, makes it almost cost effective. Soup can be done the same way. Soup is a very inexpensive way to serve up left overs and you can split it up and freeze part of it for a meal another day. If your family just can't give up an expensive meal, save it for a special time like for a birthday or anniversary. Or if you only make it once every couple of months, cut costs on other meals that month to make up for it. The secret here is to don't stop making it altogether, just cut back on when you make it. You don't want to feel deprived of your favorites, just make them more special.
Another thing we do at our house is freezer night. Evey couple of weeks, we go through the freezer and find the 10 chicken nuggets, 3 fish sticks, a hand full of frozen peas, the few french fries left in the bag, leftovers in the fridge, anything that isn't enough to make a meal by itself and cook it all for one meal. Everyone can take a little of everything or if they don't like it they can skip that food completely. This has a dual purpose. You can clean out the fridge of anything that might get overlooked or buried on grocery day and it will help insure that no food will get wasted. I usually do this the night before a planned shopping trip. The kids like it because it gives them another shot at leftovers they had forgotten about and it is kinda fun to just go digging thru the freezer. It also helps you get creative with ways to recycle veggies into a meal.
With a little planning, the weekly grocery trip will stretch a lot farther.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Cooking on the Cheap
There are a lot of ways to save money on meals. One of the easiest ways is to buy meat in bulk. It is always more expensive to buy individual sized servings than to buy enough for several meals. I never buy less than 3 pound packages of hamburger meat. I also buy family packs of other cuts and break them down into meal sized freezer bags.
For chicken, the most economical way to buy it is whole. They are not hard to cut up and I can use 1 chicken for about 3 meals for my family of four. I will explain the process.
First things first. Wash the bird. You want to make sure that all of the bone meal and any possible contaminates from processing are washed off. Always use a sharp knife. You will be much more likely to cut yourself with dull knife than a sharp one. Cut off the wings at the shoulder joints. Pop the thighs out of socket at the backbone and cut it at the joint. Then bend the leg and the thigh. It will make a really thin spot at the "knee". Cut it straight through at that spot. You might get a little bit of the bone, but if your knife is sharp enough it should cut on through.
Cutting the breast at this point is very easy. the area between the ribs and the back is very easy to see. I generally use knives, but if you are less than confident with a knife, you can use kitchen shears to cut through the ribs to separate the breasts from the back.
Now that you have both halves of the breasts removed, turn them over, skin side down. You will be able to see the keel, or breastbone. Place your knife firmly in the center of the bone. Put your other hand flat on the back of the knife and push firmly down. It will be a little hard to break the bone but it will cut.
Now you have 2 wings, 2 legs, 2 thighs, 2 breasts and a backbone. Depending on what meals you have planned, and how many people you are feeding, you should be able to make at least 2 meals, maybe 3 if you are careful. I will give examples for a family of four.
Meal #1. Cheesy chicken pasta. Take the chicken breasts and cut(or tear) them from the bone. Take the bones and skin and place them into a stock pot. More on this later. Cut the breast meat into 1/2 inch cubes. Saute the chicken in about a tablespoon of oil with 1 teaspoon of poultry seasoning until it is no longer pink. Add 1 can(2 cups) of chicken broth and 1 can(2 cups) of water. Add a pound of egg noodles and salt and pepper to taste. When the noodles are done and most of the water is gone, remove from heat and add about a cup of shredded cheddar cheese or if you prefer, you can use Velveeta. Bacon bits are a good addition to this. (This is actually better than Chicken Helper and it doesn't have all of the preservatives added.)
Meal #2. Chicken stock. This is the way to really make a chicken go farther. The skin, bones, and wings, legs and thighs can all go into a stock pot. Add 6 to 8 cups of water, a couple of carrots cut into big chunks, celery cut the same way, half an onion, really anything you have hanging around in the crisper. Here is where you can salt or not, depending on your personal preference. As you boil the chicken, you will notice a brownish foam rising to the top. Skim this off, you won't need it. When your chicken is done remove it from the pot and let it cool off. Continue to boil the stock until it is reduced by about 1/4. Strain the broth and remove the veggies. Throw them away or compost them. Put the broth into the refrigerator over night. The next day, all of the fat will have solidified on the top. Simply scoop it off. You can use this to make soup or it can be reduced even further to make a richer stock for gravies and sauces. It freezes well in either a freezer bag or in ice cube trays for portion control.
Meal #3. The cooked meat needs to be removed from the bone, skinned and chopped. There is even a small amount of meat on the back so be sure to look for it. The chopped meat can be used to make soup, barbecue chicken sandwiches, used in stir fry or lo mein, or to make chicken salad.
Now that you have a general idea on how to portion up a chicken to make it go farther, keep in mind that you can do this with many different foods.
For chicken, the most economical way to buy it is whole. They are not hard to cut up and I can use 1 chicken for about 3 meals for my family of four. I will explain the process.
First things first. Wash the bird. You want to make sure that all of the bone meal and any possible contaminates from processing are washed off. Always use a sharp knife. You will be much more likely to cut yourself with dull knife than a sharp one. Cut off the wings at the shoulder joints. Pop the thighs out of socket at the backbone and cut it at the joint. Then bend the leg and the thigh. It will make a really thin spot at the "knee". Cut it straight through at that spot. You might get a little bit of the bone, but if your knife is sharp enough it should cut on through.
Cutting the breast at this point is very easy. the area between the ribs and the back is very easy to see. I generally use knives, but if you are less than confident with a knife, you can use kitchen shears to cut through the ribs to separate the breasts from the back.
Now that you have both halves of the breasts removed, turn them over, skin side down. You will be able to see the keel, or breastbone. Place your knife firmly in the center of the bone. Put your other hand flat on the back of the knife and push firmly down. It will be a little hard to break the bone but it will cut.
Now you have 2 wings, 2 legs, 2 thighs, 2 breasts and a backbone. Depending on what meals you have planned, and how many people you are feeding, you should be able to make at least 2 meals, maybe 3 if you are careful. I will give examples for a family of four.
Meal #1. Cheesy chicken pasta. Take the chicken breasts and cut(or tear) them from the bone. Take the bones and skin and place them into a stock pot. More on this later. Cut the breast meat into 1/2 inch cubes. Saute the chicken in about a tablespoon of oil with 1 teaspoon of poultry seasoning until it is no longer pink. Add 1 can(2 cups) of chicken broth and 1 can(2 cups) of water. Add a pound of egg noodles and salt and pepper to taste. When the noodles are done and most of the water is gone, remove from heat and add about a cup of shredded cheddar cheese or if you prefer, you can use Velveeta. Bacon bits are a good addition to this. (This is actually better than Chicken Helper and it doesn't have all of the preservatives added.)
Meal #2. Chicken stock. This is the way to really make a chicken go farther. The skin, bones, and wings, legs and thighs can all go into a stock pot. Add 6 to 8 cups of water, a couple of carrots cut into big chunks, celery cut the same way, half an onion, really anything you have hanging around in the crisper. Here is where you can salt or not, depending on your personal preference. As you boil the chicken, you will notice a brownish foam rising to the top. Skim this off, you won't need it. When your chicken is done remove it from the pot and let it cool off. Continue to boil the stock until it is reduced by about 1/4. Strain the broth and remove the veggies. Throw them away or compost them. Put the broth into the refrigerator over night. The next day, all of the fat will have solidified on the top. Simply scoop it off. You can use this to make soup or it can be reduced even further to make a richer stock for gravies and sauces. It freezes well in either a freezer bag or in ice cube trays for portion control.
Meal #3. The cooked meat needs to be removed from the bone, skinned and chopped. There is even a small amount of meat on the back so be sure to look for it. The chopped meat can be used to make soup, barbecue chicken sandwiches, used in stir fry or lo mein, or to make chicken salad.
Now that you have a general idea on how to portion up a chicken to make it go farther, keep in mind that you can do this with many different foods.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Frugal cooking.
Learning to live frugally can sometimes be a challenge. It takes a complete change in the way you think about things and the time you are willing to spend to do it right.
As a whole, we have gotten used to the idea that a meal that takes 10 minutes to make is just as good for us as one that takes an hour and a half. The only real problem with that is the price.
Lets say that I wanted to have Chinese for dinner. That is great because Chinese food has lots of fresh veggies and can use less expensive cuts of meat, if you use meat at all. Now, if you live in a city, you would probably just order take out or have it delivered. Here is where you run into your first problem. Cost. Restaurants are in the business to make money. So you over pay for any take out that you buy. You are paying for the convenience of not having to cook. They also use a lot of MSG so it isn't as healthy as you might think.
Making a simple stir fry isn't difficult if you keep a few things on hand. I always keep soy sauce in the cabinet. I use it in all types of sauces and marinades, and I also use it to baste over roasted chicken. So it is very handy to have around. I also keep rice. It is cheap, will store for a really long time, and it is very versatile. I also keep fresh carrots and frozen broccoli and cauliflower. Again, inexpensive, versatile, and easy to store. Add those things to any fresh or left over meats and you have a nice quick stir fry meal. And the best part is that you can add a few other things you might have laying around the kitchen, like fresh garlic or peanuts, that will add flavor and nutrients with out costing you a fortune. If anyone wants the basics of stir fry, leave me a comment and I will post the process.
I sometimes use Ramen noodles instead of rice. If you grab them when they are on sale you can generally pick up several packages for less than a dollar. I generally use 1 package for every two people when I add it to a stir fry.
Cooking at home has many advantages over take out. It costs a lot less, you can control the ingredients, and you always get that wonderful feeling of making it yourself. And it is really hard to screw up a stir fry.
As a whole, we have gotten used to the idea that a meal that takes 10 minutes to make is just as good for us as one that takes an hour and a half. The only real problem with that is the price.
Lets say that I wanted to have Chinese for dinner. That is great because Chinese food has lots of fresh veggies and can use less expensive cuts of meat, if you use meat at all. Now, if you live in a city, you would probably just order take out or have it delivered. Here is where you run into your first problem. Cost. Restaurants are in the business to make money. So you over pay for any take out that you buy. You are paying for the convenience of not having to cook. They also use a lot of MSG so it isn't as healthy as you might think.
Making a simple stir fry isn't difficult if you keep a few things on hand. I always keep soy sauce in the cabinet. I use it in all types of sauces and marinades, and I also use it to baste over roasted chicken. So it is very handy to have around. I also keep rice. It is cheap, will store for a really long time, and it is very versatile. I also keep fresh carrots and frozen broccoli and cauliflower. Again, inexpensive, versatile, and easy to store. Add those things to any fresh or left over meats and you have a nice quick stir fry meal. And the best part is that you can add a few other things you might have laying around the kitchen, like fresh garlic or peanuts, that will add flavor and nutrients with out costing you a fortune. If anyone wants the basics of stir fry, leave me a comment and I will post the process.
I sometimes use Ramen noodles instead of rice. If you grab them when they are on sale you can generally pick up several packages for less than a dollar. I generally use 1 package for every two people when I add it to a stir fry.
Cooking at home has many advantages over take out. It costs a lot less, you can control the ingredients, and you always get that wonderful feeling of making it yourself. And it is really hard to screw up a stir fry.
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