Having a good time with the ad and decided to record it.
Avocados 39 cents, Durk will get to have lots of bachidas (Brazilian avocado milkshake) but also we can have avocado-mango-tomato salsa on fish, simply chop all three and stir , together with a little olive oil and cilantro and Mexican seasonings. Put over baked fish. Serve with broccoli, baked sweet potato, whatever-
homemade guacamole on a fiesta dinner (oops, haven't ever finished that post, coming soon) basically it's onion, chicken, frozen corn, black beans, salsa, brown rice all cooked up together - or rice separate to put the chicken stuff on top of.
Multi-colored peppers 99 cents a package. Hmmm, good time for confetti spaghetti squash,
still have some sale asparagus from the other day and the canned black beans are only 59 cents, good week for black bean asparagus salad with red peppers and cilantro dressing.
Mexican style corn - good with cornbread mix and browned sausage from the freezer for a fast sausage-cornbread dinner, still have salad "kit" from big sale last week to go alongside.
That's four possible meals so far.
Cooked a ham today from last weeks amazing 59 cent a pound sale, so the rest of the week will be ham and angel hair pasta; ham-veggies-egg pie in potato crust ; and split pea soup with ham. Seven days planned, hurray! Looks heavy on the Mexican so one day might turn into oriental veg and noodle stir fry with some ham (see yaki soba post).
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Cheddar-Onion Bread
Chop a large onion and cook it slowly in a little butter while making bread dough until golden and sweet.
Make your usual or favorite whole wheat bread dough (here's my recipe) and after the first rising, save out a portion - a large loaf's worth.After shaping any other loaves, take the reserved piece and knead in the onion and about 1 1/2 cups finely grated sharp or extra sharp cheddar (or other favoirte cheese). Let it rest 10-15 minutes.
You can brush it with water before baking to help it get crusty.
Monday, October 14, 2013
Frugal blog
Save on food, household, etc, http://www.frugal-living-now.com/
What I've read of it was good advice and you can look up what you want help with by category.
What I've read of it was good advice and you can look up what you want help with by category.
Friday, September 6, 2013
Reduce Stress, Save Money, Be Healthy! Plan Meals Creatively
Creative and healthy cooking on a budget
No matter what happens in the world, no matter where you are, no matter your politics, one thing is sure: people are going to get hungry.
What’s for Dinner?
At 5:30 or 6:00 (or 7:00....) p.m., not knowing the answer can cause:
--high stress levels
--tossing the budget out the window
--healthy? Don’t have time for that
You can make a BIG difference
in the budget and your families’ health ( broccoli rice with baked fish and salad was only 350 calories and tasted very rich - and no one knew it was brown rice, very little cheese, and way more broccoli than most)
Through Planning, Learning, and Creativity, you can SAVE MONEY and TIME and BE HEALTHIER while cooking dinner. I've broken it down into four areas with four ideas in each - many have links to recipes or other information.
Four Ways To Plan Menus
1. Choose meals you like and plug them in on a calendar, use it to plan your shopping list.
*Name some dinners your family likes *what are ingredients you would have to buy
OK, this is the rich person method, but at least you can answer the question (what’s for dinner?). And the stress is way lowered because there is a plan. If you have trouble with this, get your family together and make a master list of all the dinners you can think of and post it on the fridge. Add to it as you think of others.
2. Plan around ads, sales, and in-season foods
Use grocery ads to plan around sales items and check what else is needed for your shopping list.
*Skim ads, plan meals based on good deals and in season foods
3. Consider ads, making sure sales are actually sales, but also take into consideration:
*What is in your freezer right now that needs to be used (or can be replaced from sale),
what your schedule will be like (easier meals on busier days)
*what ingredients in your food storage you can use with sale items - or need to be rotated,
make potential menu and note on shopping list what's on sale and what ingredients are not in your pantry or storage.
How many meals will you eat leftovers or what you can make using ingredients cooked for another meal? (crockpot roast broth for soup? leftover ham in casserole? etc.)
4. Informal method (this has become my method of choice over the years, I like something flexible so I can make what I feel like or have time for or fits the weather.....):
Make sure when you shop you have half a dozen ideas for dinners that you can have all ingredients on hand (Pantry, Freezer, as well as shopping sales) and note on whiteboard calendar along with perishables that need to be used so you can put together something to fit your daily schedule as it changes through the week.
Four ways to shop for savings
1 Plan ahead to use what's actually on sale and in season
know your stores and prices, price match, farmer's market
(making your own price comparison chart between stores is educational)
2 Use sales to seriously stock up pantry/food storage (they aren't really separate things) including freezer.
Having a can opener and knife in glove compartment lets you taste things on sale and then buy more.
3 Use a list! Stick to the list, stick to the list, stick to the list, don’t go to the store hungry or bring kids (babysitter can save three times the cost)
4 Shop your pantry/storage/garden, stay home from the store!
If your garden is doing well, use money saved to stock up on storage items, fill freezer, etc.
***How many meals could you cook without going to the store at all?
USE WHAT YOU HAVE
Four ways to save through creativity
1 Use imagination, experience, or Internet (pinterest) or cookbook research to adjust recipes to skip or replace expensive/out of season ingredients. For instance, an asparagus-black bean salad can be made with fresh or frozen corn instead of asparagus. See "almost ratatouille" coming to blog soon
2 Knowing basic cooking skills and principles allows you to create dishes with what you have as well as adjust to your family's preferences. Having a well-stocked basic pantry is essential.
( sample basic pantry list)
3 Prevent waste -
list leftovers on whiteboard calendar on date (or label)
Freeze (label!) extra almost anything - half can of refried beans, broth from crockpot dish, etc. and use in soups or other dishes,
*list fragile produce and leftovers on your whiteboard to prevent throwing out spoiled food and check this list when planning or preparing meals.
Buy What You Will Use - You can ask the store to package just how many chops you need. Bulk is not always cheaper, and throwing out food doesn't save anything.
4 Make sure you have a couple of super fast options to save having fast food emergencies. (Taco salad truly in five minutes!) Even if its just opening a can of spaghetti sauce and cooking pasta and a frozen veg, its cheaper and healthier than a drive-through dinner. And possibly faster.
Four ways to eat healthier without too much murmuring
1 Read up on nutrition, don’t jump on everything in the news - basically anytime you replace something with fresh (or frozen) produce or whole grains the nutrition goes up. (try whole wheat pastry flour)
Find one or two books every now and then when you are at the library, or read articles online. You need to at least skim a variety of sources because any one may lead you way off into unproven territory.
2 Adjust favorite recipes instead of changing everything you cook- many family-pleasers can become healthier fairly easily by simple means such as:
parboiling brown rice 15 minutes to use as white,
replacing sour cream with Greek yogurt,
adding de-stemmed chopped spinach on a pizza with whole wheat crust (you can still top with pepperoni)
Avoid spending money, time and calories on “empty” foods
(learn from healthy cookbooks too - free at library)
3 Many healthier breakfasts are way cheaper and just as fast and more filling than cold cereal or pop tarts - oatmeal/fruit/yogurt in a small jar in fridge overnight is a grab-n-go example. Whole wheat or brown rice or whole or steel-cut oats in a thermos with boiling water overnight, ready to serve in the morning.
4 Learning to use food storage items like dried beans and whole grains not only helps you rotate your storage, but is healthier and saves money and trips to the store. Think Mexican Fiesta Dinner! (ooops, another coming soon to blog)
CHALLENGE:
Take just one idea that might help you, whatever you need most -- planning ahead, saving money, eating healthier, and set a goal to take a first step, you can always come back and reread for more. And feel free to comment and add suggestions and ideas if you like. Try pinterest too, for healthy recipes and ideas.
No matter what happens in the world, no matter where you are, no matter your politics, one thing is sure: people are going to get hungry.
What’s for Dinner?
At 5:30 or 6:00 (or 7:00....) p.m., not knowing the answer can cause:
--high stress levels
--tossing the budget out the window
--healthy? Don’t have time for that
You can make a BIG difference
in the budget and your families’ health ( broccoli rice with baked fish and salad was only 350 calories and tasted very rich - and no one knew it was brown rice, very little cheese, and way more broccoli than most)
Through Planning, Learning, and Creativity, you can SAVE MONEY and TIME and BE HEALTHIER while cooking dinner. I've broken it down into four areas with four ideas in each - many have links to recipes or other information.
Four Ways To Plan Menus
1. Choose meals you like and plug them in on a calendar, use it to plan your shopping list.
*Name some dinners your family likes *what are ingredients you would have to buy
OK, this is the rich person method, but at least you can answer the question (what’s for dinner?). And the stress is way lowered because there is a plan. If you have trouble with this, get your family together and make a master list of all the dinners you can think of and post it on the fridge. Add to it as you think of others.
2. Plan around ads, sales, and in-season foods
Use grocery ads to plan around sales items and check what else is needed for your shopping list.
*Skim ads, plan meals based on good deals and in season foods
3. Consider ads, making sure sales are actually sales, but also take into consideration:
*What is in your freezer right now that needs to be used (or can be replaced from sale),
what your schedule will be like (easier meals on busier days)
*what ingredients in your food storage you can use with sale items - or need to be rotated,
make potential menu and note on shopping list what's on sale and what ingredients are not in your pantry or storage.
How many meals will you eat leftovers or what you can make using ingredients cooked for another meal? (crockpot roast broth for soup? leftover ham in casserole? etc.)
4. Informal method (this has become my method of choice over the years, I like something flexible so I can make what I feel like or have time for or fits the weather.....):
Make sure when you shop you have half a dozen ideas for dinners that you can have all ingredients on hand (Pantry, Freezer, as well as shopping sales) and note on whiteboard calendar along with perishables that need to be used so you can put together something to fit your daily schedule as it changes through the week.
Four ways to shop for savings
1 Plan ahead to use what's actually on sale and in season
know your stores and prices, price match, farmer's market
(making your own price comparison chart between stores is educational)
2 Use sales to seriously stock up pantry/food storage (they aren't really separate things) including freezer.
Having a can opener and knife in glove compartment lets you taste things on sale and then buy more.
3 Use a list! Stick to the list, stick to the list, stick to the list, don’t go to the store hungry or bring kids (babysitter can save three times the cost)
4 Shop your pantry/storage/garden, stay home from the store!
If your garden is doing well, use money saved to stock up on storage items, fill freezer, etc.
***How many meals could you cook without going to the store at all?
USE WHAT YOU HAVE
Four ways to save through creativity
1 Use imagination, experience, or Internet (pinterest) or cookbook research to adjust recipes to skip or replace expensive/out of season ingredients. For instance, an asparagus-black bean salad can be made with fresh or frozen corn instead of asparagus. See "almost ratatouille" coming to blog soon
2 Knowing basic cooking skills and principles allows you to create dishes with what you have as well as adjust to your family's preferences. Having a well-stocked basic pantry is essential.
( sample basic pantry list)
3 Prevent waste -
list leftovers on whiteboard calendar on date (or label)
Freeze (label!) extra almost anything - half can of refried beans, broth from crockpot dish, etc. and use in soups or other dishes,
*list fragile produce and leftovers on your whiteboard to prevent throwing out spoiled food and check this list when planning or preparing meals.
Buy What You Will Use - You can ask the store to package just how many chops you need. Bulk is not always cheaper, and throwing out food doesn't save anything.
4 Make sure you have a couple of super fast options to save having fast food emergencies. (Taco salad truly in five minutes!) Even if its just opening a can of spaghetti sauce and cooking pasta and a frozen veg, its cheaper and healthier than a drive-through dinner. And possibly faster.
Four ways to eat healthier without too much murmuring
1 Read up on nutrition, don’t jump on everything in the news - basically anytime you replace something with fresh (or frozen) produce or whole grains the nutrition goes up. (try whole wheat pastry flour)
Find one or two books every now and then when you are at the library, or read articles online. You need to at least skim a variety of sources because any one may lead you way off into unproven territory.
2 Adjust favorite recipes instead of changing everything you cook- many family-pleasers can become healthier fairly easily by simple means such as:
parboiling brown rice 15 minutes to use as white,
replacing sour cream with Greek yogurt,
adding de-stemmed chopped spinach on a pizza with whole wheat crust (you can still top with pepperoni)
Avoid spending money, time and calories on “empty” foods
(learn from healthy cookbooks too - free at library)
3 Many healthier breakfasts are way cheaper and just as fast and more filling than cold cereal or pop tarts - oatmeal/fruit/yogurt in a small jar in fridge overnight is a grab-n-go example. Whole wheat or brown rice or whole or steel-cut oats in a thermos with boiling water overnight, ready to serve in the morning.
4 Learning to use food storage items like dried beans and whole grains not only helps you rotate your storage, but is healthier and saves money and trips to the store. Think Mexican Fiesta Dinner! (ooops, another coming soon to blog)
CHALLENGE:
Take just one idea that might help you, whatever you need most -- planning ahead, saving money, eating healthier, and set a goal to take a first step, you can always come back and reread for more. And feel free to comment and add suggestions and ideas if you like. Try pinterest too, for healthy recipes and ideas.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Broccoli Rice Casserole
I was reminded of a recipe for "Mac-n-Cheese-like" cauliflower, and butternut squash "mac-n-cheese" and decided to put the two concepts together and use up some broccoli that I'd had a while. It turned out really well, even the boys ate it up. I basically added the rice so I could call it something besides "veggie cheese-like stuff" and to make sure it was filling enough.
Butternut Sauced Broccoli Casserole
Sauce:
Steam about two-three cups of butternut squash chunks for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile saute a chopped onion until starting to brown.
Mash the squash in a large mixing bowl, add one 6-oz container of plain Greek yogurt (make sure it is the real, strained kind, no ingredients other than skim milk and culture), the onion, favorite spices (I used Penzey's Foxpoint mix and fresh ground pepper), a handful of grated sharp cheddar and a Tb Parmesan, and enough milk or chicken broth to make it "saucy"
Vegetables:
Pre-cook in your steamer a couple of yukon gold or other potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks, adding broccoli and cauliflower after the first two minutes of steaming and cook 5-7 minutes more. I only had a little cauliflower left and used two+ broccoli "crowns".
Stir into the sauce.
I added about cup of cooked brown rice, you could add twice that easily, or use white rice, or skip it. The potatoes add "satiety" factor - you could use more potatoes if no rice. If you like vegetables "al dente" don't cook them as long, but they won't get much more cooking later, you will mostly be heating it all up.
Top with panko or wholewheat bread crumbs with a little butter and Parmesan stirred in.
Cover and cook at 325 about 30 minutes, take the top off the last 8 minutes, broil a minute or two if the top hasn't browned a bit.
It went fast.
The yogurt gives it a nice flavor - you might be able to skip the cheddar altogether - -but then you can't say it's a "cheese" sauce if asked by squash-hating children!
Butternut Sauced Broccoli Casserole
Sauce:
Steam about two-three cups of butternut squash chunks for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile saute a chopped onion until starting to brown.
Mash the squash in a large mixing bowl, add one 6-oz container of plain Greek yogurt (make sure it is the real, strained kind, no ingredients other than skim milk and culture), the onion, favorite spices (I used Penzey's Foxpoint mix and fresh ground pepper), a handful of grated sharp cheddar and a Tb Parmesan, and enough milk or chicken broth to make it "saucy"
 |
| "cheese" sauce, mostly butternut squash |
Pre-cook in your steamer a couple of yukon gold or other potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks, adding broccoli and cauliflower after the first two minutes of steaming and cook 5-7 minutes more. I only had a little cauliflower left and used two+ broccoli "crowns".
Stir into the sauce.
I added about cup of cooked brown rice, you could add twice that easily, or use white rice, or skip it. The potatoes add "satiety" factor - you could use more potatoes if no rice. If you like vegetables "al dente" don't cook them as long, but they won't get much more cooking later, you will mostly be heating it all up.
Top with panko or wholewheat bread crumbs with a little butter and Parmesan stirred in.
Cover and cook at 325 about 30 minutes, take the top off the last 8 minutes, broil a minute or two if the top hasn't browned a bit.
 |
| broccoli-rice casserole - or squash-sauced vegetables if you don't have to attract kids |
The yogurt gives it a nice flavor - you might be able to skip the cheddar altogether - -but then you can't say it's a "cheese" sauce if asked by squash-hating children!
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Make $18 an hour cooking dinner; cheaper and healthier soups
I was asked to help teach a class in budgeting about the same time I got a recipe I had requested that looked rather more expensive than my usual thing. So I did a lot of research and pricing (even found a site with how many teaspoons in an ounce of various spices so I could estimate costs using my spice shelf) then used three versions as an example of how we can adjust our spending in more ways than we might think. Each recipe includes actual prices I have gotten, either this week or things in my storage.
Here's the recipe I got with notes from the sender, (it's really tasty and very easy, a handy recipe)
Here's the recipe I got with notes from the sender, (it's really tasty and very easy, a handy recipe)
Southwest Chicken
Soup
1
Chicken (I used Costco rotisserie chicken) $5.99
64
oz. Chicken broth (any brand will do) $4.00
1
Package Near East Brand Rice Pilaf, Spanish Rice Flavor $2.19
(I have used other brands, but
this one is the best)
1
– 12 oz. container Salsa (I prefer fresh or refrigerated, but bottled will
work). I like mild. $3.45
1
– 16 oz. pkg. frozen sweet corn (white or yellow) $2.39
Debone
chicken, tear into chunks. Add broth, heat. Also use the juices from the
rotisserie container. Add Rice, flavoring packet, and salsa. Cook until rice is
done. Add corn, heat through. This soup can get quite thick, especially if you
make it the day before – you might want a little more broth.
Serve
with: sour cream, cilantro, cheese, tortilla chips. Could add chopped green
onions, or even avocado slices.
to make enchilada casserole-. Sometimes the broth just disappears.
Then I add black beans to the mixture. Layer it with corn tortillas and cheese.
Bake it at 350 for about 40 minutes. Then top it off with fresh tomato chunks,
green onions and olives.
The cheapest chewy artisan bread added $2.99. This makes a total of $21.89
(Optional additions - though of course you probably wouldn't use entire containers) could add up to $8.85, making it a casserole could add $8.15
Second is a version I would more likely make at my house: (Budget) Southwest Chicken Soup
also easy, delicious, could be just as fast if you use previously made & frozen stock
also easy, delicious, could be just as fast if you use previously made & frozen stock
Remains of a rotisserie chicken bought on sale and used for previous dinner (figure 1/4 meat left from $4.99 chicken, $1.25)
2 bouillon cubes ($.09)
onion, half chopped and half used in simmering broth $.37
1 jar sale salsa (got some yesterday for $1) or canned diced tomatoes with green chilis
rice (white - $.08 for amount equal to packaged, or half box of instant brown rice for healthier soup - $.80)
can corn or Mexicorn (got lucky, a 50 cent sale)
can black beans, rinsed and drained ($.69, more sales)
favorite spices (approx. 3 tsp. about $.30)
Cover the chicken carcass with water (include juices from package) and simmer with boullion and half onion, some leafy celery ends if you have them on hand. After about 30-40 minutes, strain. Brown the other half onion (chopped) and add broth, meat off chicken, salsa or diced tomatoes, rice, corn, beans. I like to use Penzey's Adobo seasoning, cumin, ancho powder. Simmer til rice is cooked.
serve sprinkled with saved tortilla chip crumbs (freeze) and a little bit of grated cheese. (.30)
Sale French bread saved in freezer $1.29
Total $6.62 with white rice, $7.34 with brown.
And if you want to really save and use food storage items and have twice as much soup and bread...............
(Economy) Southwest Black Bean Soup instructions at link
black beans bought in bulk - $.67 lb
turkey carcass free (well, you were going to toss it, weren't you?)
onion, carrot, celery leaves for broth total about $.52
chopped onion, minced garlic, $.20
spices $.30
can of chopped tomatoes with green chilis (sale) $.87
squirt of lime juice .05
carrots, sale can corn, about .50 each
three corn tortillas torn up (saved in freezer) about .20
Homemade French Bread .60 (two loaves)
total $4.18
Think of it this way, you can save about $18 cooking the cheaper way, and the total work time is only about an hour more so you earned $18 an hour and ate healthy food with plenty for another dinner.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
super-simple breakfast - cheap and healthy
| Hot and Ready Breakfast |  | |||||||||
| thermos-cooked grains |
We've gotten interested in steel-cut oats (I was pleased that local stores have generic ones so I don't have to go 45 minutes to bulk food stores). And my husband likes cracked and whole wheat. All of these are a bit of a pain to cook. Unless you take the easy way out -
In the evening:
put any combination of whole or cracked/cut grain (I used 1 cup steel-cut oats and 1/2 cup whole wheat this time) into a good-quality thermos container with a sprinkle of salt. Pour in twice as much water as grain, heated to boiling in the microwave, and put on the lid. In the morning it's hot and cooked.
I found that cracked wheat seems to need less water and steel-cut oats a little more, whole wheat was perfect 2/1 (twice the water as grain) You can experiment to find the consistency you like best. You can make as much as your thermos holds and refrigerate the excess to zap (microwave reheat) the next day. You can add a little honey or other additions at night or in the morning.Craisins are good!
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