My Wednesday Pantry-It's Not All About the Turkey

     

Last year's table setting when just a party of five. 

     The turkey might get top bill on a Thanksgiving menu followed by the pies, but tats not where my head goes. I'm all about the sides. My contributions tomorrow will be the roasted sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, and maple glazed (a change from ginger glazed) carrots, and now the dinner rolls. We lost five form our gathering at my sisters on Sunday with a great niece testing positive for Coid. She has  symptoms of a bad cold, so she her parents, and sisters will be home. Just today, my sister confirmed she is positive as well, and feeling quite lousy. I picked up the dinner rolls in her stead. She and her husband, as well as her son and daughter-in-law, and another son, all without transportation, are all not coming. 

     Quite frankly, I worry about my sister and her husband, both with a lot of underlying issues, though both have been boosted, so hoping he doesn't come down with it, and she has a fast recovery. Since she retired in the summer, she has been bored so started substitute teaching  2-3 days per week. Maybe my nephews and the spouse will coordinate a ride, but they all live significantly  far away for someone to make an extra round trip-twice, to get them. They were going to come with their parents. N DH's side, even though we werent' going for the meal. just one siblings family will be there, we will not see his brothers family as they have an isolated house with another positive kiddo. Same as my great niece, cold symptoms, but otherwise doing OK. They had a round of Covid in early October. I just hope all recover and no one else comes down with it hard. 

     Where was I? Oh, yes,the sides. I am pretty simple in my cooking and the sweet potatoes and carrots could not be easier. As for the green beans-I just follow the  universal  recipe.

Green Bean Casserole

     3 cans green beans, 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1/2 can milk, 2 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp pepper, mix in 1/2-2/3 cup  crispy fried onions, toss in a  sprayed baking dish, bake for 30 minutes, top with another 1/2 to 2/3rds more onions, and finish in th eoven for another 15 minutes. I use cut beans, not French style. I'm still tripling hte batch even with the number lower. College ki can take back any leftovers. For my  vegan eating daughter, I'm making a mock crema of mushroom sauce starting with a roux of plant based butter, flour, and plant based milk, then add more milk, onions and garlic. The beans and the crispy onions will be the same. 

 Roasted Sweet Potatoes

• Peel and  cut potatoes in 2 inch chunks
• Toss in light olive oil,  then in pepper, seasoning salt, a bit of onion powder, and garlic powder, and a light bit of brown sugar-not much-just enough to help caramelize. I don't  measure but  let's estimate 1/2 tsp of each  seasoning, 1 tsp brown sugar, and  1 1/2 tsp olive oil  per pound of potatoes. Some people might add cinnamon. 
• Roast in a 350 degree oven until soft.

Do not mash. Do not put marshmallows on top. Do not  drench in sugar or syrup. Let the sweetness of the vegetable itself shine through. 

Maple Glazed Carrots

Mine will look more like this
than the recipe link version.

     I'm essentially using this recipe from go Dairy free, but I'm roasting them in the oven rather than on the stove, so will modify a bit. I also cheated and bought three bags, one pound each, of baby carrots.  I'm staming my carrots, until partially cooked, but not yet  soft, then tossing them in the cinnamon and ginger, before finishing them off in the oven with the maple syrup and plant based butter spread. 

     Seriously, I could make a holiday feat out of these three side dishes. My daughters liley will. Of course, I need to make sure there is a slice of turkey, a spoonful of cranberry sauce, a scoop of mashed potatoes and gravy, and my brother-in-laws famous  dressing. What sides will be alongside your turkey this year?

My Wednesday Pantry-Quick Favorite Meal for My Daughter

     

     We did not do that much cooking last week, but I wanted to make sure she had a hearty lunch of her choice before hitting the road. Right before my kiddo packed up her car, I listed a few of the things we had on hand. When she heard I had mushrooms, she asked if we could make stroganoff. Perfect! I would have a portion left for DH to go with the  leftover ham but pretty small potato and veggies, plus I knew she would be sustained until back at school. She is not a big meat eater, so we packed the mushrooms in and went without ground beef. I used Greek yogurt instead of sour cream and that added a  bit of protein. Here's my simple and quick stroganoff.

• 1/2 onion
• 1/2 a punnet of   mushrooms, sliced
• 2 Tbls butter
• 1 can crema of mushroom soup
• 3/4 cup of Greek Yogurt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• Splash of milk to thin out to preference

     Chop onion and sauté in the butter. Add sliced mushrooms when the onions are translucent.  Add Pepper and garlic, and continue to cook until mushrooms are sot. Add the soup and yogurt, and more salt an pepper to taste if you prefer. I let this simmer for about 15 minutes while I made 1/2 box of rotini pasta. That was it. If you don't like using the cream soups, make a cup + of your own by making a roux and string that in, but I would probably use more mushrooms, onions, and seasoning. 

     Besides the cheesy potatoes and Swiss vegetable medley,  I made a new to me desert. It was a no bake  cheese cake, with strawberry toping. I used a premade graham cracker crust-all about ease this Easter.

1 8 ounce brick cream cheese

1 thawed  whipped topping tub

sliced strawberry's

2 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup sugar

     Blend softened cream cheese with vanilla and sugar with a mixer. Once whipped, fold in the whipped topping, then fold in sliced strawberry's. Pour the  cheese cake mix into the  pie crust, and chill at least three hours, or a day ahead as I did. For the topping, I just put a touch of sugar over strawberry's and let the natural juice make s thin syrup. You could cook and thicken if you prefer. It was delicious, but if I make again, I'd make the crust from graham crackers and do in a 9 by 13 pan and have smaller, less dense portions. A little goes along way! 

My Wednesday Pantry-Borrowing from Meal Kits

      It's been slim in the new recipe department this week. Chicken lo mein was new to us, but it really was chicken cooked in the General Tsao Asian sauce from Aldi and soy sauce, then stirred through with vegetables, and spaghetti noodles. (I read a hack that someone did not tell any difference between using  spaghetti  and expensive lo mein noodles-I liked it with the spaghetti as well).

For the picture; I didn't use chopsticks to eat. That skill has slipped.

     The verdict is still out as to whether I'll try a starter deal on meal kits for the week my daughter is home. I love the idea of more variety, simple direction, the right amounts all ready for a novice like DD2 in the kitchen to try out. having just the right amount of ingredients avoiding buying anything special is a bonus. The cost per meal and the amount of packaging though is a turn off. She told me, frugal college kid she is now, they are ridiculously expensive and she can learn to cook without them. But, I've gotten a few tips from people who have used the kits and often they make the sides at least, with ingredients they have in their house for future meals. 

On Saturday  Hawaii Plan mentioned an apple-carrot slaw, then shared in her comments it was a Hello Fresh recipe. 

The recipe for the slaw was really easy (it was a Hello Fresh recipe). The amount below served 2 generously:
-4 oz shredded carrots
-1 scallion/green onion, chopped
-1 small apple, thinly sliced
-2 tbsp mayo
-4 tsp white wine vinegar

You make a dressing out of the mayo & vinegar. Combine the carrots, apple & scallions, then add in the dressing. Season with salt & pepper.

Quick, easy & using pantry staples.

My version of apple-carrot slaw.

     I had neither green onions or scallions, nor white wine vinegar, so I gave it a try substituting yellow onion, and apple cider vinegar. We had this on Sunday with the tuna hotdish, and it was good but a bit off with the hotdish. I plan to make a bit tomorrow  to go with country style ribs and I think it will be terrific. The onion perhaps a bit stronger than the green onions might have been, but I love apple cider dressings anyway, so that was a winning substitute. Of course I don't know what the original was supposed to taste like. It's rare I wouldn't have each of these ingredients on hand, so having a side available on hand anytime is great. HP answered Anne's question on a Cherry Sauce too-take a look. She's so creative to reconfigure these recipes, and I love how her son is enjoying his cooking time-what life long skills he is learning.

     I Googled around, my favorite thing to do these days, for other meal kit hacks, using their recipes, but with ingredients you buy yourself. I found this article, My Brilliant and Slightly Ethically Questionable Way to Use Meal Kits . The comments, and I agree, not unethical as I think it is a marketing strategy to get people to buy. Its no different than picking up a recipe card in the grocery store from a brand, but then buying generic versions. Some people will buy the brand though that otherwise would the recipe promotion is banking on. I think that's likely the same for meal kits that share recipes on their sites. 

     I haven't been in a Super Target since  Stay at Home went into effect-the three nearest to me are  smallish stores, but the one by work was huge. They had an endcap with complete meals kits-$25 I think and advertised  they would feed four+ people. I don't see them on-line, so maybe was a trial. I see Aldi has added a simple menu planner on the front page of their ad too. I am sure these ideas are a great help to  families with so much on their plate that to have one less thing to think about, and not resort to take out, is appreciated. 

     Have you tried the kits and if so which ones? Do you have recipe favorites that you've switched to buying your own ingredients for?

My Wednesday Pantry-Trial and Error

      

     If necessity is the mother of invention, boredom must be the father, or at least an aunt or uncle. I'm in a rut on the meal front and am using the creativity of others in cook books or on-line to try some new things. Sometimes I follow the directions exactly, and other times I change things based on what I have on hand, or preferences. Most of the time I am satisfied with the result even if it does not become part of a rotation, but sometimes there's errors with the trials. 

     First, on the fail front was the cider beer bread. I did not change anything in the directions and yet, the kitchen smelt like a brewery, and the bread tasted heavy. The first warm piece was OK, but as the loaf cooled, less so. I mixed up a little of the maple butter and that helped, but it is not a recipe we will try again. Maybe it was the out of date cider. I've had good luck though with making a regular beer bread with old beer-maybe it was the sweet nature of this as it required  maple syrup in the recipe. DH had a piece on Sunday and said it was OK, but I won't be eating any more of it, and feel bad for the waste. 

     With the bread was a rice, broccoli, cheese and chicken hot dish, a favorite. I used leftover broccoli from the night before, and had  some in the freezer from a month or more ago. Mistake-we ended up picking out the freezer broccoli as the taste and texture was off. No sense ruining the meal, even if it meant waste. 

     Sunday's dinner was my tried and true lasagna I've been making since I was 14, nothing fancy, but DH has been wanting it for a while. I was a bit leery after Saturdays bread fail to try this no knead French bread recipe, but overall, it was good. I froze the second loaf for later in the week, and the leftovers of loaf one were part of my lunch Monday. I think if I make again, I will dissolve the yeast with warm water, and add to the dry ingredients, similar to how I did the  artisanal bread recipe. I would have liked a bit more rise and think that will help. 

     I will be making the Apple Cheddar sausage balls this week, but I didn't have anymore cheddar until I went to the store, and by then, I wanted a quick meal. I forgot about a couple crowns of broccoli in the refrigerator, and earlier I had taken one of the large chicken breasts from the freezer. Stir fry! I cooked the chicken after cutting in smaller pieces in  garlic, onion, and soy sauce. I added two cups of water, then the broccoli to steam it through, along with more seasoning, I made a packet of ramen noodles with 12 the packet, and mixed that in with the stir fry, for sort of a stir fry noodle bowl. The end result was not 1/2 bad, though could have benefitted from more pepper during the cooking or some of the  General Tsao sauce, but I didn't want to open the bottle. There's enough leftover for my lunch today. While not a roaring hit, it was different, and I enjoyed trying something new. I have a LA Cookbook inspired recipe for later in the week. 

     I'm thinking about adding a separate blog for my Pantry posts-nothing but food, and a whole lot of trials-likely a lot of errors. I know there are a gazillion of these and I might not have enough content, but it would be a new project for me for Covid stay at home and empty nester life. I'd be honest an post all the fails as well, maybe  a few product reviews. kitchen hacks, and other kitchen miscellanea. I'll do what I have lots of time for, think on it. 

My Wednesday Pantry-Repeat Recipe for My Heath Goals

      I've shared my turkey meatloaf/turkey meatball recipe, or the way I make them before. My twist this week is I portioned to have easy numbers to do a calorie check with. I also used a combination pepper jelly and ketchup glaze for the sauce and I am hooked-especially served with steamed carrots as the sauce was delicious touching them as well. Bargain wise, you can't find a nice dinner much less than this. Had I jut made plain rice it would have been a bit lower in calorie and cost, but I had room to spare-plus the lingering rice mix in the pantry to use. Here's my dinner plate.

     I peeled and cut five medium sized carrots and steamed them without anything added. The rice dish was 240 calories a serving-2.5 servings per container,  so I had exactly 1 cup. The meatballs worked out to 87 calories a piece. I had three, and rounded up to 300 calories to cover the sauce. The whole meal was 600 calories-my second meal of the day, plus a mid afternoon snack. Earlier I had  leftover cottage pie (332 calorie portion, 1/2 c soup I was trying-ugh at 100 calories for so little, for snack, a small apple, and a hard boiled egg, totaling 592-under 1200 calories for the day and I felt I had eaten well. While I had room in my 1500 target, I wasn't hungry so any further eating would have been out of bad habit, not hunger. I did get 5 portions of fruit and veg in, but I'll try and boost that over the coming days, weeks, and months. 

Turkey meatballs

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup 1% milk
• 1/2 cup oatmeal
• salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder (about a tsp each)

     Combine all ingredients well, Form into 12 equal shaped balls (this is a loose mixture but because of so little fat, they hold their form and do not shrink much at all). I made earlier, so later I reheated with  the remains of a jar of pepper jelly, probably 1/4-1/3 cup, and a good squirt of ketchup, again about the same. DH had the same meal, but five meatballs and the rest of the rice dish, so 1 1/2 portions. 

• Carrots  $ .50
• Turkey $1.99
• Egg $ .10
• milk $ .13
• Oatmeal $ .40
• Rice side dish  $ .79

     Total for the meal $3.81 with four meatballs leftover. All ingredients were Aldi, but not in the same shop so prices may vary. Let me know if my tedious calorie and price calculations is  worth the time to share or if  quite frankly, duller than dishwater. I'll still do it for my own interest, so just want to know if you all want to know too. I may double or triple recipe next round and have a supply in the freezer as these would be easy to just pull out enough for dinners or lunches. Thank you for reading. 

My Wednesday Pantry-New To Me Recipe

 

     I've been wanting to make enchiladas for a long time-not sure why I've never made them before as they would have been an economical dish when I had a houseful of kids. I used. I used both these recipes form Allrecipes.com for the Enchilada Sauce and the Bean and Cheese Enchiladas .The verdict-lukewarm-OK. For what they were, they had a really good taste, but were very beany-maybe next time I'll decrease the bean ratio by 1/3, add a full onion (I used the other half from my tuna salad). I might also mix only half (1/4 of the recipe) the cheese in with the beans. and layer the other 1/4 cheese on top of the beans to have more definition. I really liked the enchilada sauce and and using a $ .29 cent can of Aldi tomato sauce for the base, and chili powder, pepper, and cummin I had in my pantry, so cheap. The corn tortillas were 30 for I think $1.39 an dI only used 12. I'll admit, I just used a packet of taco  seasoning in he bean and cheese mix, which tasted good. As I said, the main complaint is the  amount of beans to cheese and tortilla ratio. Cost?

• 12 Corn Tortillas  $.58
• 2 Can beans $1.38
• 2 cups cheese $1.65
• Taco seasoning $.39
• Tomato sauce  $ .29
• 1/2 an onion $ .14
• chili powder, cumin, flour, pepper-negligible, but let's say cumulative $ .50

     Total $4.83. I made the remains of a bag of rice with 1/3 stick of margarine, so another $ .40 for rice, with leftovers for the rice crust quiche I'm making tonight. $5.33 for two people, with enough leftovers for a second meal, so $2.67. I ate two and DH had four, but I think he had very little rice. I'll eat the leftovers for lunch today=Friday, along with the rice I don't need for the quiche crust. Now that I've made them, I can see it would be easy to mix up any filings inside-ground beef and bean, chicken and cheese etc. or add other vegetables.

     My daughter did her shopping while I did mine-keeping the high recommendation of one cart/one person in stores though we saved gas and had time together by going together. New readers may not know my daughter eats vegan, no animal products at all, and mostly does whole food cooking with little use of pre-made vegan products. She found a great deal on veggie meat patties, and ground mock beef, $2 off per package so she will have a bit less labor the next few weeks. Hummus was $2 a tub and hard to make for that price. This was a large haul for her, spending $55. She overall averages $30 per week for her H&G with occasional restocks that might  increase her yearly spending overall, but even then she is very efficient. I asked her to take a picture of her haul when she unpacked. She was planning on doing a meal prep day Sunday after I dropped her off. If she had any new recipes, I'll ask her to share them with pictures. I'll keep looking for new things to try this winter as I have been in a rut. I've got a spare 18 corn tortillas in my freezer so if you have ideas or recipes to use them up, please share. Edit: I've corrected both my daughters shop and average spending. Dang, that girl is  even thriftier than I first typed and healthy!

My daughter's Aldi haul.

Menu for Maybe Real First Fall

 

     It's the last days of September and a new month starts before the week is out. I am not sure if we are going to get more of the warm weather, or if first fall will come back, so not really moving full on soup mode yet. I'm very pleased with how I managed meals in September. AND, as you will see on Wednesday, I even tackled the mound of spaghetti.  

     I still worked from the massive list of meal possibilities I made two weeks ago, but through in a few twists. Here's what we ended up having.

• Sunday: My daughter and I had veggie burgers and DH a couple grilled cheese with a massive amount of sweet potato fries for lunch. Supper was a simple chicken broccoli, rice and cheese hotdish, and I reheated the last of the stuffed pepper halves, so leftovers for my lunch for a couple days. 
• Monday: Frozen lasagna and garlic cheese bread.
• Tuesday: Burritos/Bowls with spicy brown rice, ground beef, cheese, and refried beans. 
• Wednesday: Pork loin, scalloped potatoes, and steamed vegetables
• Thursday: Chicken alfredo over spaghetti
• Friday: White pizza (usng some of the leftover alfredo, with pepperoni, olives, and onions, I large baking potatoe made into fries in the air 
• Saturday: DH last of Alfredo and spaghetti, me apple and PB, and later had a bowl of soup at my sisters

     The pizza was a twist-thought I would give the Bisquick pizza crust recipe a try and it made a nice crust, but small, but right for us. I've made white curst pizzas before and since we were underwhelmed with the sauce as alfredo, thought why not. With the other toppings it was pretty good. I always par bake about 8-10 minutes, then do the pizza with toppings for another 12-15 so the crust gets nice and crisp how we like it. And here is what may still be in play for the rest of the month. As a reminder, while we do have leftover nights occasionally, I tend to cook about the right amount, or use leftovers for my lunches. The first two on the list will be tonight and tomorrow, but not sure which for what night yet. 

• Tuna Tetrazzini-made with the spaghetti noodles
• Pulled Pork sandwiches using leftover pork loin, baked potatoes or fries or wedges
• Pork Roast, bought pre-seasoned for Carnitas ( and likely will freeze 1/2 as it is quite large), with tortillas, rice, black beans, and tomatoes
• Chicken and country gravy over biscuits with steamed carrots and roasted red potatoes
• Goulash with mixed vegetables (Oh, and a 2 # box of elbow macaroni)
• Fried rice with pork or chicken, mixed veg and egg and egg rolls
• Apple Cheddar sausage meatballs, scalloped potatoes and steamed carrots
• Chicken Cordon Bleu over wild rice with broccoli
• Chili and corn bread ( may make the chili today but to eat a few days later as it is always better after the spices cool into the tomato base, IMHO)
• Turkey meatloaf, cheesy mashed potatoes and green beans
• Sweet and sour meatballs, rice pilaf (maybe a risotto) and mixed vegetable

     I think I'll make cinnamon rolls, scramble eggs and sausage patties for brunch after church instead of lunch and then make a 1/2 recipe of the apple sausage cheddar balls, but may then put them in the freezer for a later meal. If the day stays nice, it will be something easy, though really all my meals are pretty basic. What is on your menu today? Anything new on your menu on the past week?

Israeli Couscous Salad-Another Cheat Recipe

I'm going to my sisters for a late Independence Day party. She's got Walking Tacos and hot dogs for the grill and has asked folks to bring sides to share. We made a batch of Peanut Butter cookies and I'm about to start a crock pot past dish. I also made my version of an Israeli couscous salad. Last year at a work conference, a similar salad was on the buffet and I just loved it. I found an easy way to make a cheater version of it. 

Make one box of Pearl or Israeli Couscous according to directions. Mine was garlic and olive oil. I slightly under cook as it will soak up some of the dressing and vegetable juices. Set aside to cool
Dice one large cucumber and either 1 large or a couple small tomatoes and stir together in a large bowl. I cheated here too as I didn't have a tomato so drained a can of petite diced tomato's, saving the juice for the  pasta dish, and added 1/2 the can, about three quarters of a cup worth.
Add pepper and garlic to taste.
Once the couscous is coolish, or even slightly warm still, stir in with the cucumbers and tomato's
For the dressing, I made a simple balsamic vinaigrette dissolving a tablespoon of sugar in 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. I then shook with two more tablespoons of olive oil.
Pour over the couscous, tomato's, and cucumbers. Sit, and chill. 

This is light and refreshing and so simple. Even if only DD2 and I eat it, as my family is not always the most adventurous, it will not go to waste as I could eat the whole bowl. 

Eggs, Fabulous Eggs

Sorry, vegans. As much as I have incorporated a few vegan recipes into my repertoire, some animal based proteins remain a constant, eggs being one of them. I had a fabulous buy of 18 cage free (and I know cage free is not same as free range), and have been thinking through how to best use them in dishes to stretch the grocery budget over the next week. From my last post, I need simple uses that do not require me to be on my feet for long, and better yet, that I can have DD2 whip up. While egg's can be high in cholesterol, 18 eggs works out to only 6 each, and stretched out over a week, some used in baking, I think it will be just fine.

There's the basic egg quiche, or egg bake if I do not want to bother with a crust. Egg bakes work really well when feeding a crowd as you can double or triple and use a cake pan or larger baking dish. They also work terrifically in crock pots, so summer brunches can be pulled off without heating your kitchen. If I do have a crust, they are usually the rice based ones because I am not good at making pie crusts and the leftover rice works really well. I wrote about this in my Creative Cookery post.

We eat a lot of sandwiches as I almost always bring a packed lunch, DD2 does sometimes, and DH comes home for lunch. Egg salad makes a nice change from PB & J or deli meat. While I sometimes forget my eggs and overcook them, the shame is hid in a good egg salad. The fool proof (if I remember to set the timer) for perfectly hard boiled egg's is to put the desired number of eggs in a pan of cold water, making sure eggs are completely submerged. I turn on the heat and once they come to a boil, I turn down to a light boil/high consistent simmer, and cook for 8 minutes. I usually turn off the pan and let them sit another couple minutes, then cool them off in cold water and maybe an ice cube or two to speed it up. Chill eggs thoroughly before making the egg salad. My egg salad is very basic. For every three-four eggs, I stir in into the mashed up eggs two healthy squirts of plain yellow mustard, a sprinkle of salt, a healthy sprinkle of black pepper, and just enough mayonnaise to make the salad spreadable, but with egg pieces still visible. I hate egg salad when it has been made so creamy you can't see egg pieces, and I also do not like it dry. The beauty is you can always add  more, so start with only a couple teaspoons of mayo at a time. I did say mayonnaise, not Miracle Whip, but that is my preference, as I find Miracle Whip sickeningly sweet and fake tasting.

A variation of my egg salad includes deviled eggs, when I use just the yolk, but basically the same as my salad, then scoop the yolk mixture into the hollowed out egg area. DD2 loves deviled eggs, though harder to pack in a lunch. I like to use egg salad on celery sticks, crackers, or twist pretzels instead of bread-great when we've run out or are short slices.

We stumbled upon making French Toast bake a few years ago when I first took on the Palm Sunday breakfast. My co-coordinator had visions to do this, but then sort of bailed on me, after we had advertised French Toast bake. I learned the hard way it does not work well for a group of 150+, but for a Sunday brunch, with leftovers for Monday morning, it is a perfect way to use up egg and bread that might otherwise go stale. Tear a 1 pound loaf of bread in squares (any bread will do), and place in a greased, sprayed, or buttered cake pan. Sprinkle 1/2 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons cinnamon over the bread. In a large bowl, scramble 8 eggs with 2 cups milk, 2 more tablespoons of cinnamon, and another 1/2 cup of sugar. Pour this over the bread, soaking the bread completely, cover and refrigerate overnight.. Bake the next morning in a 350 degree oven for about 45-55 minutes (depending on thickness of layers and size of pan. It can be served with butter on top or for those that really like it sweet, syrup. It makes 8 healthy sized servings. I played around with the ratios of sugar to cinnamon, and have added nutmeg and cloves to have more of a fall flavor. This will be tomorrows brunch. I've never done this, but because it makes so much,I bet half could be carefully wrapped in plastic wrap, and stored for later use. It warms up well in the microwave. 

Besides a little baking, there's three ways I'll be using up eggs this weekend and for the coming week. Does anyone else have some fool proof recipes they use when they have a glut of an ingredient on hand? How do you ensure  you use it while fresh and not get tired of the same thing?

Creative Cookery

I'm feeling quite smug with my grocery shopping success the last few months, and trying to decide how low I want my November challenge to be.  Knowing I will be buying baking supplies and extra Thanksgiving food, even though I'm a bringer and not the host, I am toying with a $250 target. November includes DD1 being home perhaps for an extra day or two and four school release days. That doesn't change the grocery bill that much, but it means better planning. I took a casual inventory on the weekend, and other than the items I need for my orchestra meal donation, all I added to our groceries was eggs, a red pepper, ground turkey, and sour cream when I popped into the grocery store on Saturday. I forgot bread, and didn't bother  making another stop. My October final grocery bill is  $298, give or take a buck.

I mixed up what I was planning to make, but for the most part cooked from my list of meals I drew up last weekend. Here was my executed meal game plan.

Saturday
Breakfast-DH and DD had instant oatmeal and were both out of the house shortly after.  I did some cleaning and made myself an egg, cheese, and ham burrito. 
Lunch-I ate cheese and saltines and an apple. 
Supper-Chicken fajitas with red pepper and, onion, fajita rice, and black beans, everything a Chipotle burrito would have for an estimated $5.76 for five burritos, granted about 1/3 smaller but we were stuffed.

Sunday
Brunch-Homemade apple and cinnamon muffins, rice crust ham and cheese quiche.
Supper-.Homemade Italian chicken nuggets, butter and herb mashed potatoes, and corn.

Here are a few recipes, or throw together as it were. 

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

2 C Flour

1 C Oatmeal (quick cooking)

 3/4 cup sugar

1tsp salt

1tsp baking powder

1 tbls cinnamon

Combine all dry ingredients, mix in the wet.

two eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup milk

I large apple sliced and diced

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. 

I can never cut neat slices.

Rice Crust Quiche

Crust-leftover rice, about 1 1/2 to 2 C

1 egg

salt and pepper

1 oz grated cheese-optional

Mix then pre-bake for 12 minutes in a 350 over

Filling-4 -5 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1 cups cheese, more or less to taste

1 cup diced ham, more or less to taste

1/3 cup sour cream

salt and peepr to taste

Pour in pre-baked crust, bake for 30 minutes until eggs are set.

This fed the three of us, plus two slices for my lunch. Rice was leftovers, ham was leftovers from DD's party last month, cheese was the rock bottom prices. I can't even break out this meal, truly frugal. If I had some broccoli or spinach that would have gone in as well. 

 While my mom wasn't a great cook, I sure appreciate that she taught me the basics. Anything can be tuned into something new and delicious with a little creativity. Who else dabbles in the kitchen and turns leftovers and bargain foods into creative indulgences?

Call it Risotto for $17.95 a Serving

I used to love D'Amico and Son's for a fresh lunch.  They have delicious salads and  light sandwiches in the summer, and hearty pasta, risotto, and panini's in the cold weather. It used to be a rare lunch treat to meet a colleague for lunch at the one on Grand Ave in St Paul, though now there are franchises in several locations.  It's lost it's appeal though now that their salads and wraps are in every Target deli counter, and in the airport pit stops. Still the tastes are nice, and better than a lot of deli fair.  And it should be.These are not inexpensive  meals, hence why it was a very rare treat. I had a work meeting at one near my office quite a ways back.  Two of us got a trio of salads, scoops of our choice of the many in the case. One ordered an asparagus,  mushroom and Asiago cheese risotto. It smelled delicious, and looked very appealing.  We all had ice tea as well.  While the sald trio and tea come to around $15, way more than my PB and J would cost, we all stopped when my colleague 's lunch was rang up. $22.61, for rice! 

I remembered that lunch tonight as I was thowing together dinner.  At the end of the week is our cabin weekend, so I am trying to take ocntrol of the budget, eat from the fridge,freezer, and pantry, and use up bits.  I pulled together a creamy  dish made with long grain rice cooked long and slow with a little chicken broth and diced carrots. I found an already cooked  package of hamburger in the freezer, knowing it would come in handy some meal. I used a can of cream of chicken soup and a can of skim milk, heavily seasoned with garlic and pepper, as a binder. After mixing it all together, it seemed to need something more.  I remembered a bag of spinach greens past their salad prime, and heated them up until wilted in a 1/4 cup of water.  The wilted greens along with the water went into the dish as well.  I sprayed a pan, put it all in there and topped with a light grating of the last of the cheddar cheese I had in the bin. When DD saw it she said, "Fancy!"

So here is my tally of cost;
hamburger $2.25
Rice           $ .47
soup           $ .79
milk            $ .17
carrots        $ .25
Spinach      $1.79 *(and would have been tossed if not cooked)
broth           $ .16
butter          $  .13
Assorted seasoning let's just say included in my rounding up. Grand total $6.01, 6 large portions at $1.00 a serving. I even had ice tea at $.05 a glass, with sweetener. There's had asparagus, mushrooms, and Asiago while mine spinach, carrots, beef, and cheddar-pretty tasty as well. If not spending resulted in earning money, my meal would have earned me $129.36  in profit above cost.  How's that for competing with the big guys.  

So I could call it risotto and pretend it was served in a cute bistro by a handsome young man sporting a two day growth and man bun. Or, I could just stay true to my Minnesota roots and call it a rice hot dish.  You decide. 

Served on a salad, not dinner plate, but still very large portion. 

Last of Last Year's Rhubarb

Score! I thought I had used up all the rhubarb I had diced and frozen from last summer making DD#2's birthday cake request, Strawberry Dump cake, which I blogged about here. Moving things about, even after the inventory of my freezer, I discovered about two cups worth of rhubarb in two different freezer bags. This won't be enough for the cake or a batch of jam, so am having a good think over what to do with it. I remember once being in a diner and that had an assortment of syrups on the tables to go with pancakes and waffles. One was a rhubarb syrup, and I recall it being quite tasty. Surely there has to be a simple syrup recipe out there. Score again. At The Kitchen, waiting for me to find was a simple syrup recipe. 

As I only have half the rhubarb, I will half the recipe and end up with about a cup of cooked syrup. Before I can make it,I need to get a fine mesh strainer. Part of what I like about jams as opposed to jelly's is not needing to take the chunky bits out. When I make current jelly, I have a mill I use to squeeze all the juice out after I cook down the berries. I have so little rhubarb, and with the fibrous nature of it, I think it would end up getting stuck in the blades and mesh and not squeeze out properly. I have to make a stop at the Dollar Tree for a birthday card after church and will check there first to see what they might have before stopping in at Target or Walmart. I'm excited to try this, and if it works, I have plans first to try it out as an addition to lemonade, plain first, but won't ever rule out turning into a "fancy" cocktail. I'll give you an update once I track down the strainer. 

I held onto a vintage looking bottle-perfect to serve some homemade rhubarb lemonade.

 

I'm back after that intermission. The syrup was as easy to make as it sounded form the link. I didn't even have two full cups, but had some frozen strawberry's so I ended up with a strawberry rhubarb syrup, hence the darker color. I reused an 8 oz. salad dressing bottle, so you can see I didn't even get it half filled. I think it is thicker than the website shows-not sure if I used more sugar and that caused the thicker end result, perhaps? I didn't measure exact levels. I tasted just with my finger and got a hint of rhubarb, but I think the strawberry might come out more. I didn't have lemonade ingredients nor any bubbly water so tried it out just in some tap water. It had a nice little hint of flavor-sort of the hint you get when cucumbers are sliced in a pitcher of water-subtle. 

The syrup would make a nice addition to a homemade food gift basket. I could see a couple jars of jam, a bottle of syrup, some short bread cookies, a bottle of club soda, and maybe a loaf of homemade bread for a house warming, or to treat new parents. Dilemma though, as I do not pressure cooker can jams and jelly's, I am not sure there is enough acid in this to safely can that way. Because it was so easy, and can be done in small batches without much fuss, it could be just given for refrigerator storage I suppose. that's another days decision. This batch is mine. 

 

Pantry Cooking for a Cause

While hunger is a year long problem in communities, messages at Christmas time combined with increased charitable drives sheds more light on the needs of families and individuals.  For families already on the margin, add extra days home from Thanksgiving for school kids and potentially two weeks off from school in December, families not able to utilize the school lunch program will be making some meal stretching decisions. With another mouth to feed in the house in December (two more for a week), I can see that our groceries will rise pretty rapidly. 

DD#2 is a vegetarian, but she has also become a pretty creative, while being thrifty cook, blending cheap pantry staples, with a few fresh ingredients. She made a couple meals for us this week, that I feel no doubt could have been served in a hipster cafe, but for pennies on the dollar.  While the rest of us like a little meat, we can easily fill our tummies with her meals. With her home, we also have an extra cook in the house, so lessons the need, or want, for takeout or restaurant meals on the fly. I have this idea of tracking a few of her meals, and looking up comparable restaurant meals. After calculating out the difference, I want to add up the difference between the restaurant priced meals and our pantry staple home cooked meals, and add that difference to our end of year regular donation to the local family service and food shelf organization.  

I have some ideas to get into the act as well, drawing heavily upon recipes from a few recognized chefs such as Jack Monroe and assorted other talented folks, and of course will credit and link when anything is borrowed or referenced. Recommendations are greatly appreciated. I'll add recipes from myself or daughter as I can get them pulled together on the recipe page. I'll start with two this week, because one, we didn't succumb to the mid week mindset that we are too busy to cook, let's pick up take out instead, and two) we originally thought we were going to go out last night, but changed our minds when we looked at the abundance of activities ahead of us for the month.

DD's Tomato and Zucchini Risotto fed the four of us to stuffed, with a healthy leftover portion for a lunch the next day. She learned this recipe from her new found Italian brother M when they were all poor students in London.  They did not have the money for cafe or pub meals, but would pool their collective cooking resources together to make international family meals.  She has been wanting to make this for a while, but it make so much, and is best served fresh, she waited for a cold winter night with all of us home  Here is my estimate of what it cost:

 Rice $ .50

Tomato Sauce  $ .89

Canned Tomato $ .59

Two zucchini  $ .89

Medium yellow onion  $ .15

$3.03 not counting assorted garlic powder, olive oil, and Italian seasonings.  Let's put a  50 cent allowance for those, and call it $3.53 for four people (not counting leftovers), $ .86 plate. 

August Special at D'Amico and Sons was a tomato and garlic Risotto at $12,99, with bread.  I'll deduct $1, generously for the bread, and call it an even $12, for DD's coming in at a savings of $11.14. or $44.56 for the family.

My Spinach, Cheddar, and Mushroom Souffle, served with roasted Italian potatoes, and a pantry shelf box of Uncle Ben's broccoli cheddar, and our own bottle of Red Wine, made a very gourmet and chi chi Friday night meal.  

8 Eggs  $1.50

1/3 bag spinach  $ .60

Can Aldi's Cr of Mushroom $ .49

4 ounces shredded cheddar (what was left in a 1 # bag) $ .82

8 ounce sour cream  $ .50

5 small russet potatoes $ .50

Rice  $ .89

Wine from wine club, so just putting 1/3 our monthly membership fee (high estimate because we have tastings every month, with appetizers, plus other special events.) $17

Grand Total for four (no wine for DD#2-just so that is on record)  Meal only $5.30, meal per person $1.43, wine for two (DH passed) $8.50

As I couldn't find anything specifically comparable, which makes this more of a home run meal because it isn't same old, I'll use a modest Omelet plate as comparison.  I found low cost from $8,99 to up to $12.99, which included sides of potato and toast, so comparable sides. A low range bottle of red was at least $22.00 a bottle.  My savings, using $10.99, mid range for omelet comparison, was $9.56 per person, $38.24 for family plus $5.00 for wine, so $43.24.

While financially, I might not be able to do every meal, the entire family, as a donation, this will give me a nudge to forgo an extra meal out of the house, in exchange for giving more to people who need the basics so much more than I need a restaraunt meal. How about you?  I'm reading a lot of creative ways people are stretching their own means in efforts to be more generous to others, from donating the second buy one get one, to pledging donations for every pound lost between now and New Years. If you are on the receiving end, here's hoping your opportunities expand, and you feel the love and support of your community, friends, and families.  We are all in this thing called life together. 

Speaking of clever and creative shoppers, pop over to Sluggy's Site for her December Gift Box give away.  Read farther back in posts and you will see how she has mastered not just shopping for her family, but has been able to be generous to the needs of her community.  Hat's off to  you Sluggy!

Hodge Podge Fake Away

I never remember why or when I first started following certain blogs, but there is usually something that sticks and keeps me coming back or adding them to my favorites.  I've been reading the SkintDad UK blog for a while, and one of the features I like the most are the  budget recipes and "fake away" recipes.  Simmering on the stove right now is an inspired Masala dish from this post HERE.  If you scrolled around, you'll also see a Chicken Curry dish.  My recipe is a mix of the two, because I used what I had on hand; zucchini in place of broccoli for the vegetable masala and chicken instead of potatoes and carrots.  We don't have garam masala in our coop, so a healthy helping of curry powder had to do.  I've also got basmati rice and am giving naan bread a try.

This is a weekend kind of dish, but after a day driving to and from a meeting venue  90 minutes each way to do a 30 minute presentation, and nothing on the calendar tonight, I thought why not weekend up my Tuesday a bit.  I'd like to try the onion Bhaji's as well, but think I might save for a different day, and combine with  zucchini.  Dawn at Doing It For Ourselves posted a recipe making them with zucchini, or courgettes as the folks over the Atlantic call them.

There was a slight pause in my post as dinner is done, and the smell was just too good to  wait.  The masala was very good.  The naan had a good flavor, but now I know my baking powder has gone flat-I couldn't get the good puff to the bread. I have quite a mess to clean up, but will after DH gets home and has eaten.  Skint Dad had this recipe right.  I don't think I am near as cheap as he does it, but even with chicken, I think my costs for recipe, naan, and masala is under $6.00.  DD#2 and I are both stuffed, and I am sure we have a few leftover meals for lunches. Here are a few pictures. We've declared it a keeper, though may buy naan if I came across them already made-but it was my first try. How about you?  Have you tried any new dishes or created an alternative to take out?

Another edit: DH is home and just filled his plate with seconds,  DD came down for another piece of bread.  There are no leftovers.  It is a good thing it was frugal and all the ingredients on hand for another round soon.