Last time I posted, I was pretty fried and having a bad attitude about...well, a lot of things, really. Then the angels sent my mother-in-law (not a phrase many people would use, I'm sure!) to stay with us for three days, during which time she stocked our refrigerator, freezer, and pantry with food upon food. We didn't have to cook for a week, and after that we didn't have to shop, because we had almost everything we needed to eat like kings and queens.
My total grocery bill for the past couple of weeks has been $16: gallon bottles of Organic Valley whole milk for the milk-addicted Baby B, loaves of Open Nature whole wheat sandwich bread for Mr. B's and my packed lunch, and a couple of vegetables so we wouldn't get scurvy.
This week, we're going to ruin all our efforts not to go out to eat, because we're going on a trip for work. So not only do we have to pay babysitters, we also have to eat fast food and so on. So unwholesome, but the hotels we're staying in don't have kitchenettes for us to cook in. My stomach heaves a little bit at the thought of soybean oil-saturated foodstuffs, but we'll deal with it, because beggars can't be choosers, and as I am continually reminded, we are perpetual supplicants, singing for our supper.
What, me, a bad attitude?
Monday, October 28, 2013
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
What I did the week after the week we ran out of money.
Well, I didn't entirely run out of money. We got paid again, but had some moderately large expenses, including a bunch of babysitting (unavoidable, for two workaholics such as ourselves), car repairs, etc. So there wasn't a lot left over for food.
I decided to make our usual cheap breakfast of steel cut oats topped with frozen berries (one medium bag lasts us a week) and a scoop of plain unsweetened yogurt; our usual cheap lunch of peanut butter sandwiches on whole wheat bread with carrot and celery sticks, fruit, and cheese; and some dinners that were not only cheap to make, but make vast quantities and could be eaten for several nights. And I also used a few things from our cupboards and fridge, so I did pretty well.
Recipes to last all week:
1) Tuna noodle casserole from Skinnytaste.com
2) Chicken, mushroom and wild rice soup, also from Skinnytaste.com (the original specifies shiitake mushrooms, but I don't like shiitakes, so I used the cheaper cremini ones)
3) Crock pot Santa Fe chicken, also from...you guessed it, Skinnytaste.com!
Sides of broccoli with everything.
This week's groceries:
Dairy:
1 gallon Organic Valley milk: 6.68
Nancy's plain low-fat yogurt: 2.43
Cheese Heads reduced-fat string cheese: 2.98
Challenge butter: 2.79
12 eggs: 1.34
Vegetables and fruits:
Frozen berries: 1.88
Frozen corn (enormous bag; they were out of the regular-sized ones): 1.19
1 lb cremini mushrooms: 2.98
3.62 lbs Fuji apples: 3.19
0.92 lbs broccoli: 1.18
1 bunch green onions: 0.58
1 head celery: 0.88
2 lbs carrots: 0.98
5 lbs onions: 1.98
Bulk:
Wild/white rice mix: 2.40
6 oz whole wheat egg noodles: 0.36
1.13 lb steel cut oats: 0.71
1.22 lb white unbleached flour: 0.37
Cans:
S&W black beans: 0.68
Bumblebee albacore tuna, 2 x 5oz cans: 1.76
Meat:
Two large chicken breasts: 6.00
Misc:
Sara Lee multigrain sandwich bread: 2.28
Total: 45.62
Observations: I haven't ever much liked canned tuna. I actually thought it was kind of disgusting--so smelly and salty. But I'm a giant fan of the amazing website Skinnytaste.com, and I felt that if its brilliant author, Gina, recommends something this highly, I should try it out. Well, I'm converted, to this recipe if not to canned tuna in general. It tasted wholesome and good, and it was so, so cheap to make. Baby B enjoyed it too.
The soup we'd already made before, so I knew it would be filling and delicious. It seriously makes enough for about three meals as long as you have a piece of toast with it each time.
The Santa Fe chicken was the best surprise of all. I picked the recipe because Gina had said it was one of her most popular recipes. It looked a bit plain to me, but I had a can of tomatoes with green chiles in my pantry that had been there practically since the dawn of time, plus my homemade chicken broth in the freezer, and all the various seasonings, so it was cheap to get some chicken breast, black beans, and corn and make it. Well, it was heavenly. First of all, it took ten hours to cook on low, which is very convenient for those of us who leave the house at seven in the morning and don't get home until half past five or six. (It didn't seem overcooked even though we cooked it longer than ten hours.) It made our house smell wonderful--is there anything lovelier than coming home tired and hungry and smelling dinner already made?--and all we had to do was steam some white basmati rice (15 minutes) and steam some broccoli (5 minutes), and we had a brilliant dinner. Seriously, this recipe tastes like something I'd order at a restaurant. The shredded chicken was perfectly tender and juicy, and the seasonings were perfectly balanced. I'm going to make this recipe again, and often.
These three dishes made absolute truckloads of food, further proving my point that you can definitely eat cheaply as long as you don't mind having the same sort of thing over and over again. (Me, I don't mind. I know there are those who despise leftovers, but if I really like something, I'll eat it constantly.)
Other things I've figured out about eating cheaply include the realization that the ability to buy in bulk is really a privilege. I'd always thought of "bulk buying" as buying ten tons of something at a vast discount. Now I realize that part of what enables me to stick to a weekly budget is that I only need to buy as much as I need. So I get small bags of flour for mere pennies, and that's usually all the flour I need for that week's baking and cooking. Actually, a 1-lb bag that costs me $0.30 will probably last for several weeks because I don't really bake that much. The eccentric design of my kitchen means I have almost no storage space, so it's actually good to have a bunch of small bags of things, rather than large bags cluttering up the cupboards.
But you know what? This constant penny-pinching is really getting to me. Sometimes I just want to relax and go out to a restaurant, or even go to the supermarket and not care about money so I can throw all the delicious fresh pasta, wild salmon fillets, fancy cheeses, gourmet ice cream etc I want in the cart and not have to think about the cost. There's really no way around this right now unless we started to make a whole lot more money, which seems unlikely, because we're already working as hard as we possibly can within some pretty major constraints, such as living in a tiny, isolated town. I try not to think about all our credit card debt because it makes me feel slightly ill. All we can do is try to chip away at the debt until it's paid, and who knows when that will be? Sorry to end with such doom and gloom, but sometimes the normally indefatigable Mrs. B gets tired.
I decided to make our usual cheap breakfast of steel cut oats topped with frozen berries (one medium bag lasts us a week) and a scoop of plain unsweetened yogurt; our usual cheap lunch of peanut butter sandwiches on whole wheat bread with carrot and celery sticks, fruit, and cheese; and some dinners that were not only cheap to make, but make vast quantities and could be eaten for several nights. And I also used a few things from our cupboards and fridge, so I did pretty well.
Recipes to last all week:
1) Tuna noodle casserole from Skinnytaste.com
2) Chicken, mushroom and wild rice soup, also from Skinnytaste.com (the original specifies shiitake mushrooms, but I don't like shiitakes, so I used the cheaper cremini ones)
3) Crock pot Santa Fe chicken, also from...you guessed it, Skinnytaste.com!
Sides of broccoli with everything.
This week's groceries:
Dairy:
1 gallon Organic Valley milk: 6.68
Nancy's plain low-fat yogurt: 2.43
Cheese Heads reduced-fat string cheese: 2.98
Challenge butter: 2.79
12 eggs: 1.34
Vegetables and fruits:
Frozen berries: 1.88
Frozen corn (enormous bag; they were out of the regular-sized ones): 1.19
1 lb cremini mushrooms: 2.98
3.62 lbs Fuji apples: 3.19
0.92 lbs broccoli: 1.18
1 bunch green onions: 0.58
1 head celery: 0.88
2 lbs carrots: 0.98
5 lbs onions: 1.98
Bulk:
Wild/white rice mix: 2.40
6 oz whole wheat egg noodles: 0.36
1.13 lb steel cut oats: 0.71
1.22 lb white unbleached flour: 0.37
Cans:
S&W black beans: 0.68
Bumblebee albacore tuna, 2 x 5oz cans: 1.76
Meat:
Two large chicken breasts: 6.00
Misc:
Sara Lee multigrain sandwich bread: 2.28
Total: 45.62
Observations: I haven't ever much liked canned tuna. I actually thought it was kind of disgusting--so smelly and salty. But I'm a giant fan of the amazing website Skinnytaste.com, and I felt that if its brilliant author, Gina, recommends something this highly, I should try it out. Well, I'm converted, to this recipe if not to canned tuna in general. It tasted wholesome and good, and it was so, so cheap to make. Baby B enjoyed it too.
The soup we'd already made before, so I knew it would be filling and delicious. It seriously makes enough for about three meals as long as you have a piece of toast with it each time.
The Santa Fe chicken was the best surprise of all. I picked the recipe because Gina had said it was one of her most popular recipes. It looked a bit plain to me, but I had a can of tomatoes with green chiles in my pantry that had been there practically since the dawn of time, plus my homemade chicken broth in the freezer, and all the various seasonings, so it was cheap to get some chicken breast, black beans, and corn and make it. Well, it was heavenly. First of all, it took ten hours to cook on low, which is very convenient for those of us who leave the house at seven in the morning and don't get home until half past five or six. (It didn't seem overcooked even though we cooked it longer than ten hours.) It made our house smell wonderful--is there anything lovelier than coming home tired and hungry and smelling dinner already made?--and all we had to do was steam some white basmati rice (15 minutes) and steam some broccoli (5 minutes), and we had a brilliant dinner. Seriously, this recipe tastes like something I'd order at a restaurant. The shredded chicken was perfectly tender and juicy, and the seasonings were perfectly balanced. I'm going to make this recipe again, and often.
These three dishes made absolute truckloads of food, further proving my point that you can definitely eat cheaply as long as you don't mind having the same sort of thing over and over again. (Me, I don't mind. I know there are those who despise leftovers, but if I really like something, I'll eat it constantly.)
Other things I've figured out about eating cheaply include the realization that the ability to buy in bulk is really a privilege. I'd always thought of "bulk buying" as buying ten tons of something at a vast discount. Now I realize that part of what enables me to stick to a weekly budget is that I only need to buy as much as I need. So I get small bags of flour for mere pennies, and that's usually all the flour I need for that week's baking and cooking. Actually, a 1-lb bag that costs me $0.30 will probably last for several weeks because I don't really bake that much. The eccentric design of my kitchen means I have almost no storage space, so it's actually good to have a bunch of small bags of things, rather than large bags cluttering up the cupboards.
But you know what? This constant penny-pinching is really getting to me. Sometimes I just want to relax and go out to a restaurant, or even go to the supermarket and not care about money so I can throw all the delicious fresh pasta, wild salmon fillets, fancy cheeses, gourmet ice cream etc I want in the cart and not have to think about the cost. There's really no way around this right now unless we started to make a whole lot more money, which seems unlikely, because we're already working as hard as we possibly can within some pretty major constraints, such as living in a tiny, isolated town. I try not to think about all our credit card debt because it makes me feel slightly ill. All we can do is try to chip away at the debt until it's paid, and who knows when that will be? Sorry to end with such doom and gloom, but sometimes the normally indefatigable Mrs. B gets tired.
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Crock pot "refried" beans
I know canned refried beans can be bought for fifty cents and taste just fine, but this is even cheaper and it tastes so much better that I am loath to buy the canned ones ever again. And besides, I try to avoid the BPA liners of most canned food.
Exceedingly complex instructions! Throw the following into your slow cooker:
1 onion, chopped medium
2 cups dried pinto beans (no need to soak; just rinse them)
4 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
1 to 1.5 teaspoons salt (start with the smaller measure, then adjust at the end to taste)
Lots of freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
6 cups water
Cook on high all day. It's fine to go out to work for nine hours, it won't boil dry! Next, simply strain the beans, reserving the liquid. Mash the beans with a fork, adding the cooking liquid little by little until you get the consistency you like. Taste and season. This makes loads--enough for several recipes (enchiladas, bean and cheese burritos, plain old beans and rice, etc).
Exceedingly complex instructions! Throw the following into your slow cooker:
1 onion, chopped medium
2 cups dried pinto beans (no need to soak; just rinse them)
4 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
1 to 1.5 teaspoons salt (start with the smaller measure, then adjust at the end to taste)
Lots of freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
6 cups water
Cook on high all day. It's fine to go out to work for nine hours, it won't boil dry! Next, simply strain the beans, reserving the liquid. Mash the beans with a fork, adding the cooking liquid little by little until you get the consistency you like. Taste and season. This makes loads--enough for several recipes (enchiladas, bean and cheese burritos, plain old beans and rice, etc).
Tea-infused apple-date loaf
I hadn't made this recipe for years, but discovered it in an old binder of recipes from when I was a student. I'm not a confident baker of anything but yeast bread, but this recipe is actually pretty hard to mess up. (A very pleasing quality in a cake, if you ask me.)
Soaking the fruit in tea seems eccentric, but it serves a dual purpose of softening it up before baking, and giving the finished loaf a delicate hint of tea flavor. The finished product is spicy and not too sweet. It was the perfect baking project for a fall Saturday morning. I took Baby B and Little Dog B for a short walk outside while it baked, and enjoyed the slight nip in the air and the spectacular orange and red leaves on the trees. When we got home, the house was filled with the delicious scent of the spices. Who needs a Starbucks pumpkin spice latte? (A thing I had never tried until someone bought me one recently. Very kind, but I didn't much like it--I prefer my coffee to taste like coffee, not sugary stuff.)
Ingredients:
2 cups diced apples (around 2 medium; no need to peel them first, unless you prefer them that way)
1 cup dates, chopped coarsely
3/4 cup freshly brewed strong black tea, boiling hot
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 oz unsalted butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup white flour
1/2 whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cloves
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius). Spray an 8x8 baking pan with cooking spray, or grease it with butter. If the pan isn't non-stick, line it with baking paper.
Place the apples and dates in a medium bowl, sprinkle with baking soda, and pour the boiling tea over the top. Stir briefly, and leave to soften while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Cream the butter and sugar together with a silicone spatula. Stir in the vanilla and the lightly beaten egg.
Sift in the flours and spices, and pour over the fruit and tea mixture. Mix together until just combined--don't overmix or the cake will be hard. Pour the mixture into the baking pan, and bake for 45 minutes.
Let it cool in the pan before serving. I recommend having it with a cup of rather milky tea. Baby B had hers with milk.
Soaking the fruit in tea seems eccentric, but it serves a dual purpose of softening it up before baking, and giving the finished loaf a delicate hint of tea flavor. The finished product is spicy and not too sweet. It was the perfect baking project for a fall Saturday morning. I took Baby B and Little Dog B for a short walk outside while it baked, and enjoyed the slight nip in the air and the spectacular orange and red leaves on the trees. When we got home, the house was filled with the delicious scent of the spices. Who needs a Starbucks pumpkin spice latte? (A thing I had never tried until someone bought me one recently. Very kind, but I didn't much like it--I prefer my coffee to taste like coffee, not sugary stuff.)
Ingredients:
2 cups diced apples (around 2 medium; no need to peel them first, unless you prefer them that way)
1 cup dates, chopped coarsely
3/4 cup freshly brewed strong black tea, boiling hot
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 oz unsalted butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup white flour
1/2 whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cloves
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius). Spray an 8x8 baking pan with cooking spray, or grease it with butter. If the pan isn't non-stick, line it with baking paper.
Place the apples and dates in a medium bowl, sprinkle with baking soda, and pour the boiling tea over the top. Stir briefly, and leave to soften while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Cream the butter and sugar together with a silicone spatula. Stir in the vanilla and the lightly beaten egg.
Sift in the flours and spices, and pour over the fruit and tea mixture. Mix together until just combined--don't overmix or the cake will be hard. Pour the mixture into the baking pan, and bake for 45 minutes.
Let it cool in the pan before serving. I recommend having it with a cup of rather milky tea. Baby B had hers with milk.
Friday, October 11, 2013
Whole wheat sandwich bread
What I really want to figure out is how to make a sandwich bread that's 100% whole wheat, but still binds together and doesn't fall apart. I haven't done this yet. I am, however, very fond of this recipe. I haven't priced the ingredients or the cost of the electricity for baking it, and I suspect it isn't significantly cheaper than buying a loaf of ordinary sandwich bread. It's vastly more delicious, however, and you don't need to worry about any unpleasant additives, preservatives, high fructose corn syrup, and so on. And what can be more heavenly than the smell of baking bread filling your house?
The yogurt is the key to great flavor, and the ground flaxseed both helps the dough bind well and adds lots of nutritional value.
Ingredients:
1 cup milk (any kind; whole milk is usually better for baking, but any kind will work)
1/3 cup plain unsweetened yogurt
2 oz butter
3 tablespoons maple syrup or honey (or just plain sugar if you don't have those)
1 3/4 cups white flour
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup freshly ground flaxseed
2 teaspoons yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon extra butter
In a medium pot, melt the butter. Add the milk, and stir until the mixture is lukewarm. (Baby's bath temperature, if you've ever bathed a baby.) Remove from heat, and whisk in the maple syrup or honey, the yogurt, and the salt.
In a large bowl, mix the flours, flaxseed, and yeast. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients and stir to mix with a large wooden spoon. Turn the dough out onto a floured board or counter and knead for around five minutes, adding more flour if it sticks, until the dough is smooth and satiny.
Place the kneaded dough into a large, floured bowl, cover with a clean towel, and leave it in a warm place until the dough is doubled in size. This will take anything from 45 minutes to two hours.
Butter a nine-inch loaf pan and line it with baking paper. Gently push the air out of the risen dough into a nine-inch square, then roll it into a nine-inch-long loaf. Put the loaf into the pan with the most attractive side up. Leave in a warm place until the dough rises again (45-120 minutes).
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Throw a few handfuls of ice cubes into the oven (this will keep the bread moist while it bakes). Bake the loaf for 45 minutes.
Take the loaf out of the pan immediately and place it on a rack with a board underneath it. Melt the extra tablespoon of butter, and "paint" it all over the baked loaf with a pastry brush. This will help keep the loaf soft enough for sandwiches.
Optional extras: you can customize this in a lot of ways. You could add a handful of sunflower seeds, or a few tablespoons of oat bran (although you may need to use less flour in this case). Alternatively, you could top the loaf with sesame seeds.
The loaf will keep pretty well in an airtight container for 3-4 days. I sometimes cut the loaf in slices, place it in a bread bag, and keep it in the freezer, so I can pull out individual slices to use for toast. It also makes great sandwiches.
The yogurt is the key to great flavor, and the ground flaxseed both helps the dough bind well and adds lots of nutritional value.
Ingredients:
1 cup milk (any kind; whole milk is usually better for baking, but any kind will work)
1/3 cup plain unsweetened yogurt
2 oz butter
3 tablespoons maple syrup or honey (or just plain sugar if you don't have those)
1 3/4 cups white flour
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup freshly ground flaxseed
2 teaspoons yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon extra butter
In a medium pot, melt the butter. Add the milk, and stir until the mixture is lukewarm. (Baby's bath temperature, if you've ever bathed a baby.) Remove from heat, and whisk in the maple syrup or honey, the yogurt, and the salt.
In a large bowl, mix the flours, flaxseed, and yeast. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients and stir to mix with a large wooden spoon. Turn the dough out onto a floured board or counter and knead for around five minutes, adding more flour if it sticks, until the dough is smooth and satiny.
Place the kneaded dough into a large, floured bowl, cover with a clean towel, and leave it in a warm place until the dough is doubled in size. This will take anything from 45 minutes to two hours.
Butter a nine-inch loaf pan and line it with baking paper. Gently push the air out of the risen dough into a nine-inch square, then roll it into a nine-inch-long loaf. Put the loaf into the pan with the most attractive side up. Leave in a warm place until the dough rises again (45-120 minutes).
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Throw a few handfuls of ice cubes into the oven (this will keep the bread moist while it bakes). Bake the loaf for 45 minutes.
Take the loaf out of the pan immediately and place it on a rack with a board underneath it. Melt the extra tablespoon of butter, and "paint" it all over the baked loaf with a pastry brush. This will help keep the loaf soft enough for sandwiches.
Optional extras: you can customize this in a lot of ways. You could add a handful of sunflower seeds, or a few tablespoons of oat bran (although you may need to use less flour in this case). Alternatively, you could top the loaf with sesame seeds.
The loaf will keep pretty well in an airtight container for 3-4 days. I sometimes cut the loaf in slices, place it in a bread bag, and keep it in the freezer, so I can pull out individual slices to use for toast. It also makes great sandwiches.
The weekend we ran out of money
The old Mr. and Mrs. B would have shrugged and gone to the grocery store anyway, thrown whatever they liked into the cart, and slapped the whole thing on a credit card.
Not any more.
These days, we only pay money into credit cards. Purchases may only be made with cash or debit cards. So that meant I couldn't do my usual Friday meal plan and supermarket trip.
This new state of brokeness coincided neatly with Mr. B's having to go out of town for work, taking our one and only car. So I couldn't have gone to the budget supermarket even if I'd wanted to. There's another supermarket within walking distance, but it's much more expensive, and I'd have to walk down some busy streets without sidewalks, which I'd rather not attempt with my precious Baby B in the stroller. Ah, America. The car is king; no sidewalks for you!
So if you're finding yourself without money or vehicle, what do you do for food? You scrounge about in your refrigerator, freezer, and cupboards, of course! (Yet another sign of our privilege, since we have food left over at the end of every week.)
In the refrigerator, I had:
- 1 broccoli crown, wilted
- 1 very ancient bunch of parsley with only a few edible bits
- 1 smallish carrot, wilted and rubbery
- 1 stick celery in a similar condition
- odds and ends of dairy products: a little bit of milk, half a stick of butter, some grated cheddar, a little bit of a Parmesan wedge, half a tub of yogurt
- 6 eggs
- 3 apples of questionable crunchiness
- various condiments
In the freezer, I had:
- frozen corn kernels (lots)
- frozen peas
- half a bag of frozen cherries
In the cupboards, I had:
- the makings of bread: white flour, whole wheat flour, yeast, salt, sugar, oil, etc
- various bags of rice, both brown and white
- various types of dried beans: cannellini, pinto, black
- various odds and ends of pasta shapes
- a can of diced tomatoes
- my handy spice-rack full of interesting spices
- 2 large onions
- half a head of garlic
- steel cut oats, enough for several days
- peanut butter
- quick oats (can't stand these for porridge, but I had them for some recipe or other, and they're bound to be useful for something)
If I'm to be strictly honest, we could survive for an entire week on this stuff, even if it meant we didn't get enough protein and greens. Luckily, I don't need to survive for this long, only three days or so. But this is what we're going to eat.
Breakfasts:
Steel cut oats with frozen cherries and a scoop of plain unsweetened yogurt
Snacks: apples, OR, if they're gross and inedible by themselves, I'll probably improvise an apple crisp or apple muffins.
Lunches: peanut butter sandwiches with homemade whole wheat sandwich bread. Or maybe a cannellini bean dip, if I can stir myself to cook some beans and onions and garlic and blend them with some spices. I don't really have a recipe for this, but if I figure out a really good one, I'll post it.
Dinners:
1) this savory corn pudding recipe, side of steamed broccoli
2) mixed pastas and tomato sauce with grated Parmesan, side of peas
3) pinto beans cooked in the crock pot all day, then sauteed with some onion and spices (probably cumin, or chipotle chile pepper) and served on top of steamed brown basmati rice, side of peas
Then I'll have money, and a car, and I can make a new meal plan. I sometimes think it's a very fine thing that I like eating the same things over and over all the time.
Observations: frozen corn kernels are so, so cheap. Since I probably can't do anything about America's glut of corn and the massive, illogical subsidies given to corn producers, I can at least enjoy the enormous bags of kernels we can get for 78 cents at the budget supermarket. Corn isn't my favorite vegetable, but it's certainly a versatile one. Corn fritters! Corn chowder! The aforementioned corn pudding, of which I have high hopes!
What's more, I'm super excited that our supermarket's store brand canned tomatoes don't have BPA liners. For years, I didn't buy a single can of tomatoes (or many cans of anything else) for fear of health risks associated with BPA. Mostly, only the pricey organic brands do BPA-free cans, but I guess our budget supermarket is so budget that they didn't want to shell out for the liners. Big win!
Tomato pasta sauce
This is an adaptation from various recipes I've used over the years. I'm a big fan of pasta and tomatoes with a sprinkling of Parmesan on top--it's simple, it's easy, and it's satisfying when it's cold and you're feeling hungry and in need of comfort food.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
1 carrot, peeled and finely diced
1 stalk of celery, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed, peeled, and finely chopped
1 large (28-oz) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup chicken broth
sugar
salt and pepper
(optional) dried herbs to taste: I like basil or oregano, though thyme and marjoram would also be good
In a large, heavy pot, heat oil over medium heat and add the onion, carrot, and celery, along with a good pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. (Even if you don't care for cooked carrot and celery--I don't, not much--they add flavor to the sauce, so don't skip them. I only recently learned the term mirepoix, and it is a beautiful thing as well as a beautiful word.) Cook the vegetables for around 5 minutes until somewhat softened, but not browned. Add the garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes until fragrant.
Add the tomatoes, the chicken broth, and a pinch of sugar, cover, and simmer for 50 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. About 5 minutes before the time is up, add your dried herbs. Check seasoning, and serve.
This recipe keeps well in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. It's even better if you let it cool and then warm it up again. I think it would probably freeze well too, though I've not tried this.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
1 carrot, peeled and finely diced
1 stalk of celery, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed, peeled, and finely chopped
1 large (28-oz) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup chicken broth
sugar
salt and pepper
(optional) dried herbs to taste: I like basil or oregano, though thyme and marjoram would also be good
In a large, heavy pot, heat oil over medium heat and add the onion, carrot, and celery, along with a good pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. (Even if you don't care for cooked carrot and celery--I don't, not much--they add flavor to the sauce, so don't skip them. I only recently learned the term mirepoix, and it is a beautiful thing as well as a beautiful word.) Cook the vegetables for around 5 minutes until somewhat softened, but not browned. Add the garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes until fragrant.
Add the tomatoes, the chicken broth, and a pinch of sugar, cover, and simmer for 50 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. About 5 minutes before the time is up, add your dried herbs. Check seasoning, and serve.
This recipe keeps well in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. It's even better if you let it cool and then warm it up again. I think it would probably freeze well too, though I've not tried this.
Friday, October 4, 2013
Week's meal plan, October 4, 2013
Last week's meal plan went smoothly, and resulted in absolutely truckloads of leftovers, meaning that we didn't have to have peanut butter sandwiches for lunch every day.
The red cabbage/feta linguine was a big hit with all of us, probably because I put in around twice the feta it suggested. Next time I'll halve the recipe, however, because it made a gargantuan quantity, enough for three meals for the three of us. It didn't reheat particularly well, so I think I'll only make as much as we need.
The veggie burgers were a semi-flop. They tasted good, but the texture was too soft and they fell apart, even though I followed the recipe to the letter. Madly disappointed. I still have two leftover burgers in the freezer awaiting cooking. I'll probably make them some day when there's absolutely no other food in the house.
The salmon cakes were the week's best discovery, and I've made up an adaptation of the recipe I used. We liked them so much that we're having them again this week.
This week's meal plan:
Breakfasts: steel cut oats (had lots of those left over from last week) with plain unsweetened yogurt and frozen mixed berries, OR eggs on toast.
Lunches: good old peanut butter sandwiches, string cheese, fruit, raw vegetables.
Dinners:
1) Butternut squash and spinach lasagna rolls from Skinnytaste.com
2) Turkey, white bean, and pumpkin chili from Skinnytaste.com, with sides of brown rice and steamed broccoli
3) Chicken, rice, and mushroom soup from Skinnytaste.com (do you see something of a theme happening here?!)
4) Salmon cakes with sides of polenta and steamed broccoli
5) Hamburgers (Mr. B is going to make these, so I don't have a recipe) with homemade whole wheat buns and a side of steamed asparagus
6) Pan-seared cod fillets (also made by Mr. B) with a side of zucchini fritters from SmittenKitchen.com
7) Leftovers
The groceries:
Fruits and vegetables:
2lbs yellow onions: 0.95
2 heads garlic: 0.76
bunch scallions: 0.58
2.45 lbs butternut squash: 2.40
1 red pepper: 0.98
2 broccoli crowns: 0.86
1 .08 lbs asparagus: 3.22
0.4 lbs mushrooms: 1.19
1 bunch cilantro:0.48
1 head celery: 1.29
3 medium zucchini: 1.44
2.45 lbs nectarines: 3.14
1.88 Gala apples: 1.84
Dairy:
1 gallon Organic Valley whole milk: 6.68
Nancy's low-fat plain unsweetened yogurt: 2.43
Frigo part-skim ricotta, 15oz: 2.77
Tillamook Italian blend shredded cheese, 8oz: 1.98
Cheese Heads light string cheese: 2.48
Frozen:
10 oz spinach, supermarket brand 0.97
1 lb corn kernels, supermarket brand 0.78
8 oz frozen mixed berries, supermarket brand: 1.88
Bulk:
5 oz white/wild rice mix: 1.24
1.1 lbs whole wheat flour: 0.70
Meat:
20 oz free range chicken thighs: 4.28
1.5 lbs ground turkey: 3.98
2 fillets wild Alaskan cod: 4.15
1 lb lean ground grass-fed beef: 4.69 (bought it on the day of its expiration at half price! Yay!)
1 large can Alaska wild salmon: 3.08
Misc.
Hodgson whole wheat lasagna noodles: 1.48
Sara Lee multigrain bread: 1.98
1 large can pumpkin puree: 1.87
Total: $66.55.
Observations: I spent more than I usually do this week, but that's ok, it's still under my goal budget of $70. (I was rather enjoying keeping it under $60, but I'll allow myself this little slip-up.) This week, I was just so tired of roast chicken and then thinking up ways to use leftover chicken that my stomach heaved at the very thought. I do like my animal protein, so I splurged and got a few things we normally don't get. I was pretty pleased with getting some non-factory-farmed beef so cheaply--I regularly buy things that have reached their expiration dates, because I figure the dates are arbitrary and meaningless anyway. They probably put some date on it so that a fragile, 103-year-old person with a compromised immune system won't get sick from it (the same ancient person that the maximum daily dosage on bottles of ibuprofen is designed for, in fact).
I was pleased to discover the Hodgson Mill lasagna, which not only costs less than the white kind, but is higher in fiber. I was also pleased that I could get a supermarket-brand can of pumpkin that's cheaper than a name-brand variety as well as being twice the size.
I handed over my debit card with a brave smile, but to be honest, I sometimes wish I didn't care about feeding my family fruits and vegetables every day. Then I could REALLY save some cash. In my insufferably middle-class way, I'm quite sniffy about things like Hamburger Helper and boxed macaroni and cheese, but there's no getting around it, they're cheaper than the meals I make. They probably taste pretty good too, even if they aren't healthy.
Back to ranting: this week I found myself engaging in a Facebook spat over what poor people "should" eat. The people I argued against thought the poor "should" eat rice and beans, and nostalgically reminisced about the good old days when everyone ate whole grain and worked in the fields and was ever so much healthier (oh great, because everyone lived to a ripe old age in the nineteenth century and never got anything like rickets, malnutrition, terrible dental problems, etc?). There was even a comment with the old cliche "When I was in college I ate nothing but beans and never went to McDonald's..." which is so annoying I could barely dignify it with a response. Everyone in the middle classes has ideas about what the poor "should" do (be grateful and humble and endlessly respectable, and never, ever eat anything that isn't rice and beans, etc).
This project--feeding my family for less while still eating well--has been a fun challenge, and we're all pretty well-nourished from the meals we've made, if a little over-carbed these past couple of weeks. But the fact is that I can only do this because I can afford to buy the staples that make food taste good. If I run out of extra virgin olive oil, for example, I can get another $8 bottle without sending myself into overdraft. I can afford to disdain Hamburger Helper. I'm broke, but not destitute. I have no right to say what anyone else should and shouldn't eat.
The red cabbage/feta linguine was a big hit with all of us, probably because I put in around twice the feta it suggested. Next time I'll halve the recipe, however, because it made a gargantuan quantity, enough for three meals for the three of us. It didn't reheat particularly well, so I think I'll only make as much as we need.
The veggie burgers were a semi-flop. They tasted good, but the texture was too soft and they fell apart, even though I followed the recipe to the letter. Madly disappointed. I still have two leftover burgers in the freezer awaiting cooking. I'll probably make them some day when there's absolutely no other food in the house.
The salmon cakes were the week's best discovery, and I've made up an adaptation of the recipe I used. We liked them so much that we're having them again this week.
This week's meal plan:
Breakfasts: steel cut oats (had lots of those left over from last week) with plain unsweetened yogurt and frozen mixed berries, OR eggs on toast.
Lunches: good old peanut butter sandwiches, string cheese, fruit, raw vegetables.
Dinners:
1) Butternut squash and spinach lasagna rolls from Skinnytaste.com
2) Turkey, white bean, and pumpkin chili from Skinnytaste.com, with sides of brown rice and steamed broccoli
3) Chicken, rice, and mushroom soup from Skinnytaste.com (do you see something of a theme happening here?!)
4) Salmon cakes with sides of polenta and steamed broccoli
5) Hamburgers (Mr. B is going to make these, so I don't have a recipe) with homemade whole wheat buns and a side of steamed asparagus
6) Pan-seared cod fillets (also made by Mr. B) with a side of zucchini fritters from SmittenKitchen.com
7) Leftovers
The groceries:
Fruits and vegetables:
2lbs yellow onions: 0.95
2 heads garlic: 0.76
bunch scallions: 0.58
2.45 lbs butternut squash: 2.40
1 red pepper: 0.98
2 broccoli crowns: 0.86
1 .08 lbs asparagus: 3.22
0.4 lbs mushrooms: 1.19
1 bunch cilantro:0.48
1 head celery: 1.29
3 medium zucchini: 1.44
2.45 lbs nectarines: 3.14
1.88 Gala apples: 1.84
Dairy:
1 gallon Organic Valley whole milk: 6.68
Nancy's low-fat plain unsweetened yogurt: 2.43
Frigo part-skim ricotta, 15oz: 2.77
Tillamook Italian blend shredded cheese, 8oz: 1.98
Cheese Heads light string cheese: 2.48
Frozen:
10 oz spinach, supermarket brand 0.97
1 lb corn kernels, supermarket brand 0.78
8 oz frozen mixed berries, supermarket brand: 1.88
Bulk:
5 oz white/wild rice mix: 1.24
1.1 lbs whole wheat flour: 0.70
Meat:
20 oz free range chicken thighs: 4.28
1.5 lbs ground turkey: 3.98
2 fillets wild Alaskan cod: 4.15
1 lb lean ground grass-fed beef: 4.69 (bought it on the day of its expiration at half price! Yay!)
1 large can Alaska wild salmon: 3.08
Misc.
Hodgson whole wheat lasagna noodles: 1.48
Sara Lee multigrain bread: 1.98
1 large can pumpkin puree: 1.87
Total: $66.55.
Observations: I spent more than I usually do this week, but that's ok, it's still under my goal budget of $70. (I was rather enjoying keeping it under $60, but I'll allow myself this little slip-up.) This week, I was just so tired of roast chicken and then thinking up ways to use leftover chicken that my stomach heaved at the very thought. I do like my animal protein, so I splurged and got a few things we normally don't get. I was pretty pleased with getting some non-factory-farmed beef so cheaply--I regularly buy things that have reached their expiration dates, because I figure the dates are arbitrary and meaningless anyway. They probably put some date on it so that a fragile, 103-year-old person with a compromised immune system won't get sick from it (the same ancient person that the maximum daily dosage on bottles of ibuprofen is designed for, in fact).
I was pleased to discover the Hodgson Mill lasagna, which not only costs less than the white kind, but is higher in fiber. I was also pleased that I could get a supermarket-brand can of pumpkin that's cheaper than a name-brand variety as well as being twice the size.
I handed over my debit card with a brave smile, but to be honest, I sometimes wish I didn't care about feeding my family fruits and vegetables every day. Then I could REALLY save some cash. In my insufferably middle-class way, I'm quite sniffy about things like Hamburger Helper and boxed macaroni and cheese, but there's no getting around it, they're cheaper than the meals I make. They probably taste pretty good too, even if they aren't healthy.
Back to ranting: this week I found myself engaging in a Facebook spat over what poor people "should" eat. The people I argued against thought the poor "should" eat rice and beans, and nostalgically reminisced about the good old days when everyone ate whole grain and worked in the fields and was ever so much healthier (oh great, because everyone lived to a ripe old age in the nineteenth century and never got anything like rickets, malnutrition, terrible dental problems, etc?). There was even a comment with the old cliche "When I was in college I ate nothing but beans and never went to McDonald's..." which is so annoying I could barely dignify it with a response. Everyone in the middle classes has ideas about what the poor "should" do (be grateful and humble and endlessly respectable, and never, ever eat anything that isn't rice and beans, etc).
This project--feeding my family for less while still eating well--has been a fun challenge, and we're all pretty well-nourished from the meals we've made, if a little over-carbed these past couple of weeks. But the fact is that I can only do this because I can afford to buy the staples that make food taste good. If I run out of extra virgin olive oil, for example, I can get another $8 bottle without sending myself into overdraft. I can afford to disdain Hamburger Helper. I'm broke, but not destitute. I have no right to say what anyone else should and shouldn't eat.
Salmon cakes
Adapted from a recipe in Cook's Illustrated Best 30-Minute Recipes for my budget, tastes, and a few things that didn't work. The original recipe calls for leftover cooked salmon, but I can't afford that right now. So I substitute a large can of salmon. Not the flaked, "tuna style" kind, but the kind with skin and bones in it and large chunks of fish.
Ingredients:
1 large can (15oz or larger) wild salmon, skin and bones removed
1/2 a red bell pepper, chopped into tiny pieces
3/4 cup frozen corn kernels, cooked
2 scallions, chopped tiny
2 tablespoons fresh minced cilantro
1 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs (pulse whole wheat bread in the food processor if you don't have or can't find these)
1/8 cup mayonnaise
1 large egg
salt and pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
Mix salmon (being careful not to break it into too-small pieces), red bell pepper, corn, scallions, and cilantro in a large bowl.
Mix together in a smaller bowl: 3/4 cups breadcrumbs, mayonnaise, egg, a pinch of salt and a grind of pepper in another bowl.
Gently combine the two mixtures in the larger bowl until just mixed.
Form the mixture into four equal-sized patties. Sprinkle breadcrumbs on the outsides. Refrigerate for half an hour or so to firm them up.
Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Gently place the salmon cakes in the oil, clap on a lid, and let cook for five minutes. Flip the cakes over gently with a spatula, being very careful not to break them, and cook for another five minutes on their other side.
Serve with a salad or steamed vegetables, and a side of polenta or brown rice.
Ingredients:
1 large can (15oz or larger) wild salmon, skin and bones removed
1/2 a red bell pepper, chopped into tiny pieces
3/4 cup frozen corn kernels, cooked
2 scallions, chopped tiny
2 tablespoons fresh minced cilantro
1 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs (pulse whole wheat bread in the food processor if you don't have or can't find these)
1/8 cup mayonnaise
1 large egg
salt and pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
Mix salmon (being careful not to break it into too-small pieces), red bell pepper, corn, scallions, and cilantro in a large bowl.
Mix together in a smaller bowl: 3/4 cups breadcrumbs, mayonnaise, egg, a pinch of salt and a grind of pepper in another bowl.
Gently combine the two mixtures in the larger bowl until just mixed.
Form the mixture into four equal-sized patties. Sprinkle breadcrumbs on the outsides. Refrigerate for half an hour or so to firm them up.
Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Gently place the salmon cakes in the oil, clap on a lid, and let cook for five minutes. Flip the cakes over gently with a spatula, being very careful not to break them, and cook for another five minutes on their other side.
Serve with a salad or steamed vegetables, and a side of polenta or brown rice.
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