Today I decided to make meals meatless. I used to do this twice per week ages ago, and have since stopped for some unknown reason. So, today is meatless day. For fun, I figured I'd post the meals we had and their recipes (if necessary).
Breakfast -
old fashioned oatmeal cooked with berries, cinnamon, and honey.
toasted buns with pb and bananas
Lunch -
bean burritos
no sugar gluten free chocolate chip cookie dough dip
Snack -
fruit (apples, oranges, that sort of thing)
Supper -
Stir fry with rice, veggies, and freshly sprouted lentils.
chocolate avocado pudding
The no sugar gluten free cookie dough dip is amazing. Found the recipe on Pinterest. You can get it here. Never thought chickpeas and dates would make for such great stuff!
Sprouting lentils is new to me, too! I'll post more on that later. The stir fry is basically cooking all your veggies in a bit of oil for a bit with some soya sauce, making rice, and serving with soya sauce. Super simple. I learned how to do this back in seventh grade in home economics class.
Not only is it great to have a day without meat for digestive health, it also reduces costs a bit. Beans are way cheaper than ground beef, and the bean burrito meal cost us less than $1.50 for a family of 4! I cannot be certain how much exactly since I can only know that the tortillas cost $0.15 (and there are leftovers), the beans were less than $0.75, and the rest is unknown. And the beans made as much as one pound of beef! I only used about 1.5 cups dry... and we still have some left. Next time I make burritos we'll be throwing the leftovers in with the beef.
Showing posts with label tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tips. Show all posts
Friday, May 31, 2013
Thursday, May 30, 2013
How to Save in the Kitchen
A friend of mine asked me recently to post some tips for stretching a dollar in the kitchen. I'm still learning how to do many things myself, but my mom taught me a lot about stretching expensive foods like meat, and using every bit of what we cook in one way or another. Also, baking. Yes, baking. Even though I don't care to bake (unless it's new stuff, as I get tired of making the same old things all the time), it really saves a lot of money and gives you healthier fare that tastes SO much better than store bought. It just... takes more time.
Anyway, here are a few things I've learned from my mom, my grandma, and some awesome tips I've been using from Pinterest. Yes... I love Pinterest (I think I'm an addict! Oh boy!)
Meal Planning - I find that having a list of staples to keep on hand at all times greatly helps in this department as I plan the majority of my meals around those staple items. However, if I have some new recipes I'd like to try, or find something on a great sale in the flyer that I'd like to take advantage of, I will find and plan meals that may have ingredients I don't usually have around. I then only need to shop once for the week. Oh, and another great advantage to meal planning is that I love using the leftovers in soup, or cooking more than I need for that one meal and purposely saving some for another (I do this before serving often so that it doesn't all get eaten... the more you put on the table, the more you will eat... no joke). I do this often with steamed rice or root veggies.
Eggs - I like to have eggs for breakfast, but they can be pricey. To stretch them, I generally have steamed potatoes/carrots/celery/yams the night before, saving the leftovers to fry up with some sautéed onions/mushrooms, and then scrambling the eggs right in the mix. I also like to throw in some greens (spinach is my fave). I've heard of using chia seeds mixed with water for baking... never tried it myself, though, and don't know the price comparison.
Ground Beef - My mom did her best to stretch this staple by using oatmeal or bread crumbs (from dried bread crusts... see that tip here), and I still do that myself (to me, a burger doesn't taste right unless it has oatmeal in it). Another thing I learned rather early on was the wonderful power of kidney beans! I always mix one can of kidney or black beans (or even bean blends, there are so many out there) with one pound of ground beef when making sloppy joes, chili (it isn't right without beans anyway), or casseroles. To make one pound of beef last for more than one meal, make chili, and then use the leftovers to make a casserole with mashed potatoes, or noodles. Or, turn the leftovers into two meals of soup by dividing it in half. I make soup 3 times a week. Use a little beef stock, lots of water, your leftover chili, and add veggies, rice, pearled barley, or any other leftovers in your fridge. And celery. I always love to add a little celery. You can even add the greens of the celery to the soup, they work great!
Chicken - I stopped buying boneless and skinless chicken. Instead, I use the bones! Sound weird? Yeah, I thought so too. We get the cheapest chicken, legs back on, and we use it in the slow cooker and save the bones (debone them before putting them on our plate to eat) and boil them later on for bone broth. Alternatively, you can take your chicken and boil it to make chicken stock, removing the chicken meat to be used in another meal (mmm, casseroles), and saving the bones yet again for bone stock later. To make bone or chicken stock, put your meat in a LARGE pot of water and add one chopped onion, one peeled and chopped carrot, chopped celery, star anise seed, and one or two bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then let simmer for 4 hours or so. When done, strain everything out, and voila! Broth! I generally add noodles, leftover deboned chicken, freshly chopped carrots/celery, etc. Makes a great meal with homemade buns!
Cheese - Don't bother with the processed stuff. Just... save your money. It isn't worth it. I get the real stuff from the local plant! It is cheapest to buy it local rather than from the chain grocery store. We save at least 30cents per hundred grams for exactly the same cheese. And if you can find the stuff you want in the 'ends' bin (the cut-offs don't look or pack as nicely, but they taste just as great) you can get it for yet less! Oh, and a good rule of thumb... if you like to cook with cheese, old cheddar will give you much more flavor for less volume of cheese than mild cheddar. You can shred it and freeze it! And I never use as much as the recipes call for. I just add a little extra salt.
Salad - Buying salads at restaurants is super pricey. Make them at home, and have them with just about every meal that you can. They fill you up so you don't need as much of the more pricey meats or sides, and they are great for nutrition and digestion! And in summer you can grow your own greens!
Dry Beans vs. Canned - To save even more, buy dry beans instead of canned, and cook them yourself in a slow cooker overnight. One pinner says to soak the beans in water overnight, and then put into a slow cooker with fresh water that covers the beans by one or two inches plus some salt (they say 1 tsp) Set to cook low for 8 hours (although it probably won't need that long) and after 4 put in another tsp of salt and stir. Here is a link. You can freeze what is left in baggies for later use.
Drink Water - One way our household has saved loads on our grocery bill is by getting rid of all beverages except for water. Before kids, we used to buy orange juice and iced tea... a lot. I noticed after awhile how much money we were spending on the stuff, and my husband was drinking it so fast that I would hardly get one glass per pitcher, so I said no more. We drink water. It saves us at least $30/month... if not more. And this is just the unhealthy beverages... and we never bought pop! (yes... I consider orange juice unhealthy... it is pretty much just sugar at that point). We still buy tea. And now more than ever (I never really drank tea, but now it is a daily thing. One cup of camomile tea before bed helps me and the baby sleep).
Make your own Breads - I don't do this as much as I should, but baking your own bread and buns saves you money. I generally get a 10kg bag of flour for $7 when on sale and I can make 10 batches of buns per bag (the estimation is 4.5 cups per pound of flour, so approximately 100 cups to a 10kg bag, and each batch uses 10 cups and makes 5 dozen buns)... I estimate one dozen buns for about 35 cents (my recipe calls for oil, eggs, and molasses... which ups the cost a bit). You cannot buy buns or bread for that cheap. Like tortillas? Making your own tortilla shells will save you LOTS since they are little more than flour, baking powder, salt, and water. Mix them yourself and you can make one batch for 20 cents... which will give you the same amount you buy in a store for $3. Quite the markup!
Bake your own Cookies - Buying bakery cookies isn't cheap. Again, you can make them yourself for a fraction of the cost and using healthier ingredients as well. Buying processed cookies may be cheaper than the bakery ones, but they are NOT good for you and I would not recommend them (I like them once in a while myself... but I still try hard to stay away as I can eat 1/2 a bag in no time). Oh, and the fact that they are eaten rather quickly is the other problem. They have addictive properties that will lead you to eat them quicker than the bakery cookies would, plus there is little to no fiber in them, so they won't help you feel full and again, lead to eating more. The bag will not last as long as a homemade batch of cookies would! And who doesn't like homemade chocolate chip cookies over store bought?
Take stock of your perishables - This seems like a no brainer, but I have to remember to do this so often. I hate when I look in the fridge to find an item I forgot I had that expired. So, every week I go through my fridge to take inventory of what I have in there that may go bad soon (this includes leftovers... I try to make use of them within three days of putting them in there). Make sure to include meals in your meal planning that can make good use of any leftovers or of produce/dairy that will go bad soon. Baking is great for using up things like bananas, bruised apples (just cut off the bruises), sour cream, and yogurt. Those are the things that tend to go bad quick in my house. And avocados. Why? Because I don't buy the singles, I get the packs of 5 and forget they are there. Oops. That's when I like to make chocolate avocado pudding! Mmmm, good stuff! ( I really should put that recipe on here! I can't believe I haven't done so yet!).
Wait for Sales - You can save so much by doing this. Most sales cycle every 2 months or so, and buying imperishable items to last you that length of time will save you lots! For example, I do not buy flour at full price. I wait for our local Superstore to get the $7 sale on the 10 kg bags (they always limit to one bag per customer). I'll get one, then if my husband goes to town at some point and is in the area, I get him to nab another. I will buy produce in the 50% off section as often as I can (but only if I think I'll actually use it up). I'll nab canned goods on sale as well. I have a list of staples in my house that I base most of my meal planning off of. I do not clip coupons... but I save on the sales. Oh, and this goes double for things like toilet paper, toothpaste, etc. And don't forget to get rain checks on something that the store is out of! It may seem like a waste of time, but if you were there for a sale item and they ran out, you aren't out of luck completely this way.
Well, that's all I can really think of right now! I've been trying more things like sprouting lentils instead of buying sprouts themselves for stir fry (never done this before, and the sprouts are looking oh-so-good right now! The kids loved watching them grow!), and using seeds from produce to grow my own (instead of paying $2-5 per seed packet in stores).
Anyway, here are a few things I've learned from my mom, my grandma, and some awesome tips I've been using from Pinterest. Yes... I love Pinterest (I think I'm an addict! Oh boy!)
Meal Planning - I find that having a list of staples to keep on hand at all times greatly helps in this department as I plan the majority of my meals around those staple items. However, if I have some new recipes I'd like to try, or find something on a great sale in the flyer that I'd like to take advantage of, I will find and plan meals that may have ingredients I don't usually have around. I then only need to shop once for the week. Oh, and another great advantage to meal planning is that I love using the leftovers in soup, or cooking more than I need for that one meal and purposely saving some for another (I do this before serving often so that it doesn't all get eaten... the more you put on the table, the more you will eat... no joke). I do this often with steamed rice or root veggies.
Eggs - I like to have eggs for breakfast, but they can be pricey. To stretch them, I generally have steamed potatoes/carrots/celery/yams the night before, saving the leftovers to fry up with some sautéed onions/mushrooms, and then scrambling the eggs right in the mix. I also like to throw in some greens (spinach is my fave). I've heard of using chia seeds mixed with water for baking... never tried it myself, though, and don't know the price comparison.
Ground Beef - My mom did her best to stretch this staple by using oatmeal or bread crumbs (from dried bread crusts... see that tip here), and I still do that myself (to me, a burger doesn't taste right unless it has oatmeal in it). Another thing I learned rather early on was the wonderful power of kidney beans! I always mix one can of kidney or black beans (or even bean blends, there are so many out there) with one pound of ground beef when making sloppy joes, chili (it isn't right without beans anyway), or casseroles. To make one pound of beef last for more than one meal, make chili, and then use the leftovers to make a casserole with mashed potatoes, or noodles. Or, turn the leftovers into two meals of soup by dividing it in half. I make soup 3 times a week. Use a little beef stock, lots of water, your leftover chili, and add veggies, rice, pearled barley, or any other leftovers in your fridge. And celery. I always love to add a little celery. You can even add the greens of the celery to the soup, they work great!
Chicken - I stopped buying boneless and skinless chicken. Instead, I use the bones! Sound weird? Yeah, I thought so too. We get the cheapest chicken, legs back on, and we use it in the slow cooker and save the bones (debone them before putting them on our plate to eat) and boil them later on for bone broth. Alternatively, you can take your chicken and boil it to make chicken stock, removing the chicken meat to be used in another meal (mmm, casseroles), and saving the bones yet again for bone stock later. To make bone or chicken stock, put your meat in a LARGE pot of water and add one chopped onion, one peeled and chopped carrot, chopped celery, star anise seed, and one or two bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then let simmer for 4 hours or so. When done, strain everything out, and voila! Broth! I generally add noodles, leftover deboned chicken, freshly chopped carrots/celery, etc. Makes a great meal with homemade buns!
Cheese - Don't bother with the processed stuff. Just... save your money. It isn't worth it. I get the real stuff from the local plant! It is cheapest to buy it local rather than from the chain grocery store. We save at least 30cents per hundred grams for exactly the same cheese. And if you can find the stuff you want in the 'ends' bin (the cut-offs don't look or pack as nicely, but they taste just as great) you can get it for yet less! Oh, and a good rule of thumb... if you like to cook with cheese, old cheddar will give you much more flavor for less volume of cheese than mild cheddar. You can shred it and freeze it! And I never use as much as the recipes call for. I just add a little extra salt.
Salad - Buying salads at restaurants is super pricey. Make them at home, and have them with just about every meal that you can. They fill you up so you don't need as much of the more pricey meats or sides, and they are great for nutrition and digestion! And in summer you can grow your own greens!
Dry Beans vs. Canned - To save even more, buy dry beans instead of canned, and cook them yourself in a slow cooker overnight. One pinner says to soak the beans in water overnight, and then put into a slow cooker with fresh water that covers the beans by one or two inches plus some salt (they say 1 tsp) Set to cook low for 8 hours (although it probably won't need that long) and after 4 put in another tsp of salt and stir. Here is a link. You can freeze what is left in baggies for later use.
Drink Water - One way our household has saved loads on our grocery bill is by getting rid of all beverages except for water. Before kids, we used to buy orange juice and iced tea... a lot. I noticed after awhile how much money we were spending on the stuff, and my husband was drinking it so fast that I would hardly get one glass per pitcher, so I said no more. We drink water. It saves us at least $30/month... if not more. And this is just the unhealthy beverages... and we never bought pop! (yes... I consider orange juice unhealthy... it is pretty much just sugar at that point). We still buy tea. And now more than ever (I never really drank tea, but now it is a daily thing. One cup of camomile tea before bed helps me and the baby sleep).
Make your own Breads - I don't do this as much as I should, but baking your own bread and buns saves you money. I generally get a 10kg bag of flour for $7 when on sale and I can make 10 batches of buns per bag (the estimation is 4.5 cups per pound of flour, so approximately 100 cups to a 10kg bag, and each batch uses 10 cups and makes 5 dozen buns)... I estimate one dozen buns for about 35 cents (my recipe calls for oil, eggs, and molasses... which ups the cost a bit). You cannot buy buns or bread for that cheap. Like tortillas? Making your own tortilla shells will save you LOTS since they are little more than flour, baking powder, salt, and water. Mix them yourself and you can make one batch for 20 cents... which will give you the same amount you buy in a store for $3. Quite the markup!
Bake your own Cookies - Buying bakery cookies isn't cheap. Again, you can make them yourself for a fraction of the cost and using healthier ingredients as well. Buying processed cookies may be cheaper than the bakery ones, but they are NOT good for you and I would not recommend them (I like them once in a while myself... but I still try hard to stay away as I can eat 1/2 a bag in no time). Oh, and the fact that they are eaten rather quickly is the other problem. They have addictive properties that will lead you to eat them quicker than the bakery cookies would, plus there is little to no fiber in them, so they won't help you feel full and again, lead to eating more. The bag will not last as long as a homemade batch of cookies would! And who doesn't like homemade chocolate chip cookies over store bought?
Take stock of your perishables - This seems like a no brainer, but I have to remember to do this so often. I hate when I look in the fridge to find an item I forgot I had that expired. So, every week I go through my fridge to take inventory of what I have in there that may go bad soon (this includes leftovers... I try to make use of them within three days of putting them in there). Make sure to include meals in your meal planning that can make good use of any leftovers or of produce/dairy that will go bad soon. Baking is great for using up things like bananas, bruised apples (just cut off the bruises), sour cream, and yogurt. Those are the things that tend to go bad quick in my house. And avocados. Why? Because I don't buy the singles, I get the packs of 5 and forget they are there. Oops. That's when I like to make chocolate avocado pudding! Mmmm, good stuff! ( I really should put that recipe on here! I can't believe I haven't done so yet!).
Wait for Sales - You can save so much by doing this. Most sales cycle every 2 months or so, and buying imperishable items to last you that length of time will save you lots! For example, I do not buy flour at full price. I wait for our local Superstore to get the $7 sale on the 10 kg bags (they always limit to one bag per customer). I'll get one, then if my husband goes to town at some point and is in the area, I get him to nab another. I will buy produce in the 50% off section as often as I can (but only if I think I'll actually use it up). I'll nab canned goods on sale as well. I have a list of staples in my house that I base most of my meal planning off of. I do not clip coupons... but I save on the sales. Oh, and this goes double for things like toilet paper, toothpaste, etc. And don't forget to get rain checks on something that the store is out of! It may seem like a waste of time, but if you were there for a sale item and they ran out, you aren't out of luck completely this way.
Well, that's all I can really think of right now! I've been trying more things like sprouting lentils instead of buying sprouts themselves for stir fry (never done this before, and the sprouts are looking oh-so-good right now! The kids loved watching them grow!), and using seeds from produce to grow my own (instead of paying $2-5 per seed packet in stores).
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Bright Beet Pancakes
Since Thursday was Valentine's day, and we can't all have breakfast together on Thursdays due to preschool, I decided that we'd have our 'Valentine's Breakfast' on Friday instead... and we made these bright pancakes together. They turned out rather well, and although more work than my usual pancake recipe, the kids loved them and I would probably make them again... as long as I already had beet puree prepared before hand. This recipe was once again adapted from Parenting magazine... see page 54 on the Feb 2013 issue for more fun things to do with beets.
Bright Beet Pancakes
Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3 Tbsp brown sugar (I omitted this and used a bit less than 1/4 cup date paste*)
1 Tbsp baking powder
dash salt
3/4 cup beet puree** (enough from one beet)
1 1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup plain Greek Yogurt
1 large egg
3 Tbsp melted butter (if salted, omit the salt from the recipe)
1 tsp vanilla.
Sift together flours, sugar (if using this. If using date paste, put that in with the wet ingredients), baking powder and salt into a medium bowl
Whisk together the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl. Once blended, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Drop about 2 Tbsp of batter onto a greased pan (or pancake griddle) over medium heat. Cook 3 minutes per side. Serve with raspberry sauce, honey, or syrup.
We just buttered ours and added fruit to the top. We also added thawed strawberries and raspberries to the batter to stretch it a bit, and that fruit tasted great in there!
* To make date paste, take as many dates as you can manage and pack them tightly into a large measuring cup. Add water just to fill in the spaces to let them soak and soften (if they are soft enough already, I believe you can skip this step). Soak for 1-4 hours, depending (some say 1hr, some say overnight... I just do whatever until they feel soft enough to process alright). Drain and reserve liquid, and put the dates into the food processor. Process until smooth. If very thick, add some of the reserved liquid. Put in the fridge for up to 3 months. It probably won't last that long though, if you are like me. :) Use as a substitute for sugar in recipes!
**Basic roasted beets: Preheat oven to 375F. Wrap the beets in tinfoil and bake 45-60 minutes, until fork tender. Remove from the foil and set aside until cool to touch. Wear disposable plastic food gloves (or use Ziploc baggies over your hands) to avoid staining your skin, and rub the skins off the beets. Puree in food processor until smooth.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Chocolate Velvet Beet Cupcakes
Adapted this recipe from Parenting Magazine. Made it a sugar free recipe!
This is a nice alternative to red velvet chocolate cupcakes. The flavor is chocolaty, the color is a deep red/brown, and the frosting a lovely deep pink color. My kids loved these, and while I wasn't sure how well these would turn out, they were surprisingly good! I am not a fan of beets, and while you can taste them in this recipe slightly, the cream cheese and the cocoa balance things out nicely so that the beets do not take center stage. At all. In fact, if I didn't still smell them in the air from baking them, I don't think I would have noticed them at all!
Chocolate Velvet Beet Cupcakes
Ingredients
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups flour (I used half whole wheat, half unbleached white)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup sugar (I omitted this and added 3/4 cup date paste* to the wet ingredients)
1/2 tsp salt (I omitted this completely)
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil (I melted coconut oil in its place)
1 large beet, roasted and pureed** (about 3/4 cup puree)
2 tsp vanilla
NOTE: I found this very thick as there was no milk listed originally, so I added about 1/2 cup milk to the batter. I found out on the website that apparently they forgot to add the 1 cup milk to the recipe in the magazine. They turned out OK though, either way.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Sift together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, then add the rest of the ingredients. Slowly stir in the flour mixture into the wet ingredients mixture. Pour into 12 paper-lined muffin cups. Bake 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Frosting:
Place into a mixer and beat on medium high until blended:
1 8oz package cream cheese
1/2 cup unsalted butter (I used coconut oil)
1/4 cup powdered sugar (I used honey instead)
1/2 cup beat puree
1 tsp vanilla
* To make date paste, take as many dates as you can manage and pack them tightly into a large measuring cup. Add water just to fill in the spaces to let them soak and soften (if they are soft enough already, I believe you can skip this step). Soak for 1-4 hours, depending (some say 1hr, some say overnight... I just do whatever until they feel soft enough to process alright). Drain and reserve liquid, and put the dates into the food processor. Process until smooth. If very thick, add some of the reserved liquid. Put in the fridge for up to 3 months. It probably won't last that long though, if you are like me. :) Use as a substitute for sugar in recipes!
**Basic roasted beets: Preheat oven to 375F. Wrap the beets in tinfoil and bake 45-60 minutes, until fork tender. Remove from the foil and set aside until cool to touch. Wear disposable plastic food gloves (or use Ziploc baggies over your hands) to avoid staining your skin, and rub the skins off the beets. Puree in food processor until smooth.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Cookies and Salt
Something I have never understood was the 1/2 tsp salt that was required for a batch of cookies.
They always tasted salty to me.
I've added less salt than asked for, and still, for some recipes, it's too salty.
Recently I looked up the reason salt is required in many cookie recipes. I found this - salt merely is used to enhance certain flavors in the recipe.
Makes sense. Growing up, we would add salt to watermelon and it would taste sweeter and juicier. My dad would add salt to his coffee and it would remove any bitter flavour that may have been there.
But still... salt in cookies?
I've started cutting way back on the salt in my baking, especially since learning it is just a flavour enhancer. Obviously, if it tastes like there is too much, there is too much. Instead of measuring out any salt, I just shake a little in. I haven't had a problem yet.
Then there is the issue of butter.
Now, I like salted butter. Always have. But I've noticed that the recipes usually do not specify salted or unsalted butter. If so, and there is salt in the recipe, I don't bother adding it. Why? The salt in the butter is MORE than enough.
There you have it. A little random food for thought.
They always tasted salty to me.
I've added less salt than asked for, and still, for some recipes, it's too salty.
Recently I looked up the reason salt is required in many cookie recipes. I found this - salt merely is used to enhance certain flavors in the recipe.
Makes sense. Growing up, we would add salt to watermelon and it would taste sweeter and juicier. My dad would add salt to his coffee and it would remove any bitter flavour that may have been there.
But still... salt in cookies?
I've started cutting way back on the salt in my baking, especially since learning it is just a flavour enhancer. Obviously, if it tastes like there is too much, there is too much. Instead of measuring out any salt, I just shake a little in. I haven't had a problem yet.
Then there is the issue of butter.
Now, I like salted butter. Always have. But I've noticed that the recipes usually do not specify salted or unsalted butter. If so, and there is salt in the recipe, I don't bother adding it. Why? The salt in the butter is MORE than enough.
There you have it. A little random food for thought.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
BBQ Season! BBQ'd Potatoes
So, it's been awhile since I've posted anything new! How sad is that! I never stopped cooking, so exactly what happened?
Anyway, it's BBQ SEASON! YIPPEE! That means all I need to do is prep food and clean up food, and hubby can do the 'cooking', hahaha.
We got a brand new BBQ on monday. I got it for my hubby as a late anniversary and early father's day gift. Yeah... real early... Anyway, it's stainless steel, has 3 burners (countem, 3, woah!), and it cooks evenly! Posted is the picture of our first meal cooked on the grill...
Anyway, it's BBQ SEASON! YIPPEE! That means all I need to do is prep food and clean up food, and hubby can do the 'cooking', hahaha.
We got a brand new BBQ on monday. I got it for my hubby as a late anniversary and early father's day gift. Yeah... real early... Anyway, it's stainless steel, has 3 burners (countem, 3, woah!), and it cooks evenly! Posted is the picture of our first meal cooked on the grill...
BBQ Potatoes
You can BBQ just about anything. A friend of mine showed me how to do potatoes on the grill a few summers ago and we've been doing this ever since.
First, chop your potatoes (and other veggies). I like to stick them in the microwave for about 5 minutes to partially cook them so that they don't take quite so long on the grill. 
Get a large piece of tinfoil, spray it with cooking spray, and place the veggies in a row down the middle (works best if you do only 1-2 people's veggies per piece of foil and just have multiple foil pouches on the grill). Add your spices, whatever tickles your fancy, and a bit of butter (again, however much you want). Make a pouch from the foil by grabbing the long ends and wrapping them over the mixture, pinching and 'rolling' them together somewhat... (I wish I took pics, but this diagram should help... I hope...). You should have a tube of foil with veggies inside. Roll each of the ends tightly to close them. Place on the grill, seam side up, preferably over really low heat or on the 'warmer' section (unless you want charcoal potatoes). Voila! "Baked" potatoes and veggies on the grill!
Of course you could probably grill them seperately with tinfoil, but what's the fun in that?
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Tips in the Kitchen
The kitchen is the busiest room in the house. Here are a few tips to help out with your cooking.
Reduce Potato Foam - Cooking potatoes? Spray a bit of Pam (or add a little oil) on the water to keep the foam at bay.
Rinsing Dishes - Use cold water to rinse egg, potato starches, dairy, and other difficult foods from dishes instead of hot, as hot water will set them. Hot water is best used for greasy foods.
Glassware - When using glass cookwear in your oven, decrease the oven temperature by 25F.
Clean your Counters - I hate cooking in a messy kitchen, so while things are going and I have little to do, I clean up the counter tops. Means less work after supper when I don't feel like doing anything. Another great thing to try to do is make sure the kitchen is cleaned up before bed... do the dishes, start the dishwasher, wipe out your sink and your counters/table... this will make cooking and doing anything in your kitchen a lot less stressful.
Soften Brown Sugar - Brown sugar tends to harden if it's not in a properly sealed container (Tupperware, oh how I love thee...). To soften it again, take a bun and place it into the container. Voila!
There you have it! Five tips for the kitchen!
Reduce Potato Foam - Cooking potatoes? Spray a bit of Pam (or add a little oil) on the water to keep the foam at bay.
Rinsing Dishes - Use cold water to rinse egg, potato starches, dairy, and other difficult foods from dishes instead of hot, as hot water will set them. Hot water is best used for greasy foods.
Glassware - When using glass cookwear in your oven, decrease the oven temperature by 25F.
Clean your Counters - I hate cooking in a messy kitchen, so while things are going and I have little to do, I clean up the counter tops. Means less work after supper when I don't feel like doing anything. Another great thing to try to do is make sure the kitchen is cleaned up before bed... do the dishes, start the dishwasher, wipe out your sink and your counters/table... this will make cooking and doing anything in your kitchen a lot less stressful.
Soften Brown Sugar - Brown sugar tends to harden if it's not in a properly sealed container (Tupperware, oh how I love thee...). To soften it again, take a bun and place it into the container. Voila!
There you have it! Five tips for the kitchen!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Food Saving Tips
I don't know about you, but there are various things that I often find we tend to throw out of our kitchens when they aren't necessarily bad and can still be salvaged in some way. So, here I have some tips that will hopefully save our food... and our money! (wink wink)
Homemade Shake n bake
So, I recently found something to do with those crumbs that always appear at the bottom of my cracker bags. I LOVE crackers, so they are a staple in our house. Now, they quite often have lots of crumbs at the bottom... not loving those so much, until now. I recently made some popcorn shrimp and wanted to make my own breading instead of using that shake n bake stuff. So... out come the bottom-of-the-bag crumbs. Just save them all (chips, crackers, you name it)! Put them in a ziplock and use the rolling pin on it. Then add spices as you like for your own homemade shake n bake!
Sour Cream
There are lots of recipes out there that use sour cream, and when you bake it into something it really doesn't matter if it's a bit past the expiry date. So, when getting a bit close to the expiration on the label, try baking it into something... like sour cream coffee cake!
Bananas
I find bananas quickly get overripe for me to eat... so I like to bake them into things. Well, you can freeze them easily for that purpose... I prefer to peel them first and put them into a bag so all I need to do is dump them right into the batter! And to keep the bananas from ripening too quickly, separate them. I don't know why, but it seems that when they aren't in as close contact to each other, they ripen a bit slower.
Bacon
Sometimes we have some bacon that isn't eaten after we've made it... so, turn it into bacon bits! Ready for the next salad... mmmm.
Bread Ends
How many of us really care for those bread crust end pieces (ok, besides me)? Dry them out and use them in recipes that ask for bread crumbs! You can also use them in making shake n bake. I like using them to make meatballs or hamburgers.
Old veggies/fruit
I haven't yet started doing this myself, but it IS in my 101 list. Compost it! Yup, all those veggies and fruits that don't look too edible in your fridge would make some great compost for your garden! Nothing like turning veggies into veggies... or flowers... haha.
Yogurt toppings
I love Shreddies, and they often have crumblies at the bottom that don't go so well with my milk (can you say soggy and gross?). Blech. So, I started saving these and putting them on my yogurt. Great to add a bit of crunch... and fiber.
So, I hope these little tidbits help!
Homemade Shake n bake
So, I recently found something to do with those crumbs that always appear at the bottom of my cracker bags. I LOVE crackers, so they are a staple in our house. Now, they quite often have lots of crumbs at the bottom... not loving those so much, until now. I recently made some popcorn shrimp and wanted to make my own breading instead of using that shake n bake stuff. So... out come the bottom-of-the-bag crumbs. Just save them all (chips, crackers, you name it)! Put them in a ziplock and use the rolling pin on it. Then add spices as you like for your own homemade shake n bake!
Sour Cream
There are lots of recipes out there that use sour cream, and when you bake it into something it really doesn't matter if it's a bit past the expiry date. So, when getting a bit close to the expiration on the label, try baking it into something... like sour cream coffee cake!
Bananas
I find bananas quickly get overripe for me to eat... so I like to bake them into things. Well, you can freeze them easily for that purpose... I prefer to peel them first and put them into a bag so all I need to do is dump them right into the batter! And to keep the bananas from ripening too quickly, separate them. I don't know why, but it seems that when they aren't in as close contact to each other, they ripen a bit slower.
Bacon
Sometimes we have some bacon that isn't eaten after we've made it... so, turn it into bacon bits! Ready for the next salad... mmmm.
Bread Ends
How many of us really care for those bread crust end pieces (ok, besides me)? Dry them out and use them in recipes that ask for bread crumbs! You can also use them in making shake n bake. I like using them to make meatballs or hamburgers.
Old veggies/fruit
I haven't yet started doing this myself, but it IS in my 101 list. Compost it! Yup, all those veggies and fruits that don't look too edible in your fridge would make some great compost for your garden! Nothing like turning veggies into veggies... or flowers... haha.
Yogurt toppings
I love Shreddies, and they often have crumblies at the bottom that don't go so well with my milk (can you say soggy and gross?). Blech. So, I started saving these and putting them on my yogurt. Great to add a bit of crunch... and fiber.
So, I hope these little tidbits help!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Mega Meal
So, today we are having people over to eat, and I'm in charge of meat. I recently made slow cooker spaghetti and meatballs, and loved them, so decided to make them again. I thought, why not try to triple the batch? See how it works?
It worked great!
So, now I have 68 meatballs (yup... I counted them... not often I make something in such large supply) in my brand new 7L crockpot (my old one was far too small for something of this size... you could make a meal for 4 in there, but not for more than that)! I'm one proud mama! And I don't have to do anything more with them! Isn't that awesome?
Oh, and I have to say I noticed I have 50+ recipes on my blog now! How awesome is that!
It worked great!
So, now I have 68 meatballs (yup... I counted them... not often I make something in such large supply) in my brand new 7L crockpot (my old one was far too small for something of this size... you could make a meal for 4 in there, but not for more than that)! I'm one proud mama! And I don't have to do anything more with them! Isn't that awesome?
Oh, and I have to say I noticed I have 50+ recipes on my blog now! How awesome is that!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Week 4 of Meal Plan
Now it’s time for the fourth and final week of my meal plan. It’s been interesting, and I’ve already started on next month (however, I just wrote out the meals we will have, numbered them, and as we eat them we’ll cross them off as I don’t know what we’ll want when and when baby arrives we receive a few meals from the church and family as well… so planning won’t work as easily). Anyway, here’s the last week.
Monday: This was the day I made meatballs to have with spegghetti and pasta sauce. We got canned pasta sauce on sale for $1 at dollar days last weekend, which was perfect. I froze a little more than ½ the meatballs for a later meal… I’ll probably do the speggetti squash with the meatballs next time.
Tuesday: Time for chicken. We had some packaged teriyaki chicken from Costco that we cooked up, and I made enough rice for 2 or 3 meals which is perfect for later. We made salad with this.
Wednesday: Now we’re having fish. Again, bought from the store as breaded… yeah, I didn’t feel I’d be ambitious this week. The rice was great, as we took a can of mushroom soup, added ½ a can of milk to it and a cup or two of frozen peas (cooked the peas first) on the stove to mix with our rice. Mmm. I also made bran muffins and froze them for later.
Thursday: Today was a more ambitious meal… homemade mac n cheese. Quite tasty! I split the whole thing in half and froze one portion. We made it with pork chops which hubby bbq’d and some veggies. I’ll have to make this one again sometime.
Friday: The weekly tradition continues… this time we brought steak for ourselves, and a cucumber salad for the group (cucumbers mixed with sour cream and lemon juice, with salt and pepper and some tomato).
Saturday: It’s a date! Hubby took me out for supper at the Old Spaghetti Factory…
Sunday: Another day I don’t plan the meals for. We ended up having leftovers…
Monday: This day I made hamburger biscuit bake. I made a double batch of biscuit dough and used half to bake and freeze some cinnamon biscuit rolls. We loved those last time I made them!
Yes, I added in an extra day, as I had a plan for up till Monday the 15th as that is my due date. The rest of this month is “planned out” as well.
I have 3 new chicken recipes I’d like to try, along with the following that are in my freezer:
2 lasagnas
2 meatless lasagnas
1 alfredo sauce for shrimp alfredo
1 potato hamburger casserole
1 shepherds pie casserole
2 meals of tuna patties
1 meal of meatballs (will make spaghetti squash with it)
1 mac n cheese
Lots of pigs in blankets
Lots of buns (will make pizza buns)
Lots of muffins (fruit, bran, chocolate for gatherings)
Biscuit cinnamon rolls
Pumpkin waffles
2 pizzas
3 meals of teriyaki chicken
2 meals of fish sticks
Other easy meals include a roast in the crock-pot with roast beef sandwiches later for lunch, perogies and farmer sausage with farmer sausage burgers as a later meal, and there’s always burritos which hubby is great at making…
Monday: This was the day I made meatballs to have with spegghetti and pasta sauce. We got canned pasta sauce on sale for $1 at dollar days last weekend, which was perfect. I froze a little more than ½ the meatballs for a later meal… I’ll probably do the speggetti squash with the meatballs next time.
Tuesday: Time for chicken. We had some packaged teriyaki chicken from Costco that we cooked up, and I made enough rice for 2 or 3 meals which is perfect for later. We made salad with this.
Wednesday: Now we’re having fish. Again, bought from the store as breaded… yeah, I didn’t feel I’d be ambitious this week. The rice was great, as we took a can of mushroom soup, added ½ a can of milk to it and a cup or two of frozen peas (cooked the peas first) on the stove to mix with our rice. Mmm. I also made bran muffins and froze them for later.
Thursday: Today was a more ambitious meal… homemade mac n cheese. Quite tasty! I split the whole thing in half and froze one portion. We made it with pork chops which hubby bbq’d and some veggies. I’ll have to make this one again sometime.
Friday: The weekly tradition continues… this time we brought steak for ourselves, and a cucumber salad for the group (cucumbers mixed with sour cream and lemon juice, with salt and pepper and some tomato).
Saturday: It’s a date! Hubby took me out for supper at the Old Spaghetti Factory…
Sunday: Another day I don’t plan the meals for. We ended up having leftovers…
Monday: This day I made hamburger biscuit bake. I made a double batch of biscuit dough and used half to bake and freeze some cinnamon biscuit rolls. We loved those last time I made them!
Yes, I added in an extra day, as I had a plan for up till Monday the 15th as that is my due date. The rest of this month is “planned out” as well.
I have 3 new chicken recipes I’d like to try, along with the following that are in my freezer:
2 lasagnas
2 meatless lasagnas
1 alfredo sauce for shrimp alfredo
1 potato hamburger casserole
1 shepherds pie casserole
2 meals of tuna patties
1 meal of meatballs (will make spaghetti squash with it)
1 mac n cheese
Lots of pigs in blankets
Lots of buns (will make pizza buns)
Lots of muffins (fruit, bran, chocolate for gatherings)
Biscuit cinnamon rolls
Pumpkin waffles
2 pizzas
3 meals of teriyaki chicken
2 meals of fish sticks
Other easy meals include a roast in the crock-pot with roast beef sandwiches later for lunch, perogies and farmer sausage with farmer sausage burgers as a later meal, and there’s always burritos which hubby is great at making…
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Third Week of Meal Plan
I'm feeling pretty good about having accomplished this meal plan now for 3 weeks! I've figured out that when I make a plan I have a tendancy to stick with it, and since I've been posting it on my blog that makes me even more accountable to my plan.
So, this week was about making easy meals again, with some freezing as well.
Monday: For supper I made lasagnas, freezing 2/3 of them like I did the first week with the meatless ones. I love lasagna and it's been almost 2 years since I last made them... because I don't like making them, haha. Chuck was thrilled however.
Tuesday: I decided to make chicken and roasted potatoes. We grilled extra chicken for a meal later on. As always, I made this with salad.
Wednesday: Time for a quick easy leftover meal using the rice and chicken... leftover burritoes. These were nice and quick. So, I baked some coffee cupcakes to freeze. My dad made coffee at the party on saturday and there was 8 cups left over, so I made "Cake 1", a double batch, 1 dozen with coconut and 1 dozen without, and froze them (there was still about 6 cups of coffee left, and so I added water and poured on my outdoor plants... they apparently do well with coffee for some reason). I specifically wanted to make these cupcakes for an upcoming gathering I need to bring a dessert for.
Thursday: Now it was time for grilled salmon. Hubby made this meal. We had baked fries and salad with the salmon he grilled (he made a marinade to brush over of balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, and some spices). I love my fish.
Friday: This was burgers at a friends house... a weekly meal. Lots of fun.
Saturday: I didn't plan supper for today, instead I planned a breakfast... Pumpkin waffles! These are very tasty and high in fiber. I made 1.5 batches and am freezing a bunch of them for later. They make good meals and desserts... serve with ice cream for dessert, or with a white sauce for supper (very mennonite meal). I'm thinking supper today will probably be pasta... or fish... ;)
So there you have it... third week posted.
So, this week was about making easy meals again, with some freezing as well.
Monday: For supper I made lasagnas, freezing 2/3 of them like I did the first week with the meatless ones. I love lasagna and it's been almost 2 years since I last made them... because I don't like making them, haha. Chuck was thrilled however.
Tuesday: I decided to make chicken and roasted potatoes. We grilled extra chicken for a meal later on. As always, I made this with salad.
Wednesday: Time for a quick easy leftover meal using the rice and chicken... leftover burritoes. These were nice and quick. So, I baked some coffee cupcakes to freeze. My dad made coffee at the party on saturday and there was 8 cups left over, so I made "Cake 1", a double batch, 1 dozen with coconut and 1 dozen without, and froze them (there was still about 6 cups of coffee left, and so I added water and poured on my outdoor plants... they apparently do well with coffee for some reason). I specifically wanted to make these cupcakes for an upcoming gathering I need to bring a dessert for.
Thursday: Now it was time for grilled salmon. Hubby made this meal. We had baked fries and salad with the salmon he grilled (he made a marinade to brush over of balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, and some spices). I love my fish.
Friday: This was burgers at a friends house... a weekly meal. Lots of fun.
Saturday: I didn't plan supper for today, instead I planned a breakfast... Pumpkin waffles! These are very tasty and high in fiber. I made 1.5 batches and am freezing a bunch of them for later. They make good meals and desserts... serve with ice cream for dessert, or with a white sauce for supper (very mennonite meal). I'm thinking supper today will probably be pasta... or fish... ;)
So there you have it... third week posted.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
One Week Cooking Schedule: Freezer Foods
As I've been getting closer to my due date, I've been trying to come up with a few meals I can make that can go into the freezer for the first few weeks after the baby is born... to make things easier on us. I decided to do a one month meal plan, starting a month before my due date, and in the process hope to make meals that I can do "double" of, and freeze the second portion. It means a lot less cooking in the long run. Plus, since it's just the two of us, it makes things easier since most recipes are for 4-8 people.
This was the schedule for this last week, including links to the recipes which are already posted on the site.
Monday: Using the versatile biscuit dough, I made pigs in a blanket and cinnamon rolls. I froze only a few to see how it would take to the freezer. It worked out just fine, as we had the remaining bits for lunch a few days later. Much better than keeping biscuits on the counter anyway.
Tuesday: I made a quick supper here, just mac n cheese. What I did freeze for later was the banana blueberry muffins.
Wednesday: I made whole wheat buns, and we had a few of them for a faspa-like supper. For those who don't know, faspa is a mennonite name for a meal that consists of buns, preserves, pickles, cheese, and now we usually include peanutbutter, cookies and such. I made 1 1/2 batch of buns and turned some of them into pigs in a blanket as well for freezing. I know already that those will work just fine.
Thursday: Here I made the hamburger potato casserole from the mix n match potato casserole recipe. As always, I cooked the one and froze the other, making sure to mark the temperature and time for cooking right on the container to make things easier when we pull it out of the deep freeze.
Friday: Here I made a batch of tangy tuna patties, freezing 2/3 of it and making only two of the patties, which I made a larger size to work well on buns as a burger of sorts. These are easy to cook, and without needing a recipe, it'll make a quick easy fish meal later.
Saturday: Today I made meatless lasagna, seperating it into thirds and freezing 2 of them while baking the one. I bought reusable aluminum pans with lids for the job, and they work really well. I will use the remaining 3 for the lasagnas I plan on making in another week or two. Again, on the lids I marked the date made plus the cooking time and temperature.
Sunday I leave free, and lunches as well.
Another freezing tip: It's always nice to seperate meals into each of their own bags or containers. I like making sauces, make double, and freeze half in it's own bag (it freezes better this way as you can make it flat, and thaw it in a bowl in the bag in lukewarm water). I always mark the date made, what is in the bag/container, and if needed, the cooking time and temperature.
This was the schedule for this last week, including links to the recipes which are already posted on the site.
Monday: Using the versatile biscuit dough, I made pigs in a blanket and cinnamon rolls. I froze only a few to see how it would take to the freezer. It worked out just fine, as we had the remaining bits for lunch a few days later. Much better than keeping biscuits on the counter anyway.
Tuesday: I made a quick supper here, just mac n cheese. What I did freeze for later was the banana blueberry muffins.
Wednesday: I made whole wheat buns, and we had a few of them for a faspa-like supper. For those who don't know, faspa is a mennonite name for a meal that consists of buns, preserves, pickles, cheese, and now we usually include peanutbutter, cookies and such. I made 1 1/2 batch of buns and turned some of them into pigs in a blanket as well for freezing. I know already that those will work just fine.
Thursday: Here I made the hamburger potato casserole from the mix n match potato casserole recipe. As always, I cooked the one and froze the other, making sure to mark the temperature and time for cooking right on the container to make things easier when we pull it out of the deep freeze.
Friday: Here I made a batch of tangy tuna patties, freezing 2/3 of it and making only two of the patties, which I made a larger size to work well on buns as a burger of sorts. These are easy to cook, and without needing a recipe, it'll make a quick easy fish meal later.
Saturday: Today I made meatless lasagna, seperating it into thirds and freezing 2 of them while baking the one. I bought reusable aluminum pans with lids for the job, and they work really well. I will use the remaining 3 for the lasagnas I plan on making in another week or two. Again, on the lids I marked the date made plus the cooking time and temperature.
Sunday I leave free, and lunches as well.
Another freezing tip: It's always nice to seperate meals into each of their own bags or containers. I like making sauces, make double, and freeze half in it's own bag (it freezes better this way as you can make it flat, and thaw it in a bowl in the bag in lukewarm water). I always mark the date made, what is in the bag/container, and if needed, the cooking time and temperature.
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