April Menu Plan

As usual, we're all about making use of what we have.  We'll continue to work down what we have in the pantry and freezer.  We're starting to get a few herbs in the garden, so these will bring some fresh flavor to some of our meals, where we're relying on pantry and freezer staples.  Making use of the ability to glean from the food pantry will also help us.  We've recently received a lot of bread and grapes from the food pantry, so some of our meals will revolve around these.

I am trying out a few new recipes this month, so I hope they work out well.

Breakfasts:

• Overnight crock pot oats with dried fruit and nuts
• French toast casserole with cream cheese and frozen berries
• Bagels and cream cheese
• Egg and cheese sandwiches
• Banana muffins

Lunches:

• Leftovers
• Yogurt with fruit and nuts

Dinners:

• Roasted turkey with potatoes, salad, and asparagus
• Turkey salad (using leftover turkey, nuts/seeds, and grapes) sandwiches with fresh fruit
• Asian salmon soup (we substitute ramen for the rice) with Asian slaw and egg rolls
• Mushroom tartines with salad or fruit
• Black bean chili with corn bread
• Tomato and greens soup with kidney beans and spicy sausage served with toast
• Sloppy joes with oven fries or roasted veggies
• Homemade pizza x 4
• Quiche with bacon, broccoli and mushrooms/onions served with fruit
• Winter squash waffles or pancakes with fruit and sausage
• Black bean, squash, and sweet potato enchiladas with fixin's
• Pesto pasta salad
• Asian chicken with rice
• Hot dogs with carrot and celery sticks and dip

Prep ahead:

I will be out of town for a few days this month, so I am going to try making a few freezer meals for Benny to make life easier for him.

• Make crock pot Asian chicken (put all ingredients in a freezer bag for Benny to thaw and cook)
• Sloppy joe filling for freezer
• Prepare and pre-bake pizza crust

March Menu Plan

This month will again be about using what we have.  We're still working on using up things we have in the pantry and freezer to make space for our CSA goodies when the shares start coming in late May.  Here's the plan:

Breakfasts: 

• egg and cheese sandwiches
• breakfast burritos with onions, peppers, and mushrooms (frozen)
• banana-pecan-chocolate chip muffins
• overnight steel cut oatmeal with raisins, flax, and pecans (crock pot meal)
• overnight french toast casserole with freezer blueberries, pomegranate seeds, cream cheese, and pecans
• smoothies and cinnamon toast
• bagels and cream cheese
• baked oatmeal

Lunches:

• leftovers
• egg salad sandwiches
• turkey salad wraps
• yogurt parfaits with freezer fruit

Dinners:  

• broccoli and cheddar quiche (with freezer pie crust and broccoli)
• crock pot Thai beef
• crock pot black bean chili with corn bread
• roasted turkey with herb butter (both in freezer), crock pot roasted veggies (sweet potato, onion, carrot, and beet)
• homemade pizza x 4 (pesto, cheese, freezer veggies, artichoke hearts, olives, turkey, pepperoni toppings, depending on night)
• winter squash waffles with smoothies and sausage or eggs
• crock pot loaded mac and cheese with broccoli and keilbasa
• crock pot tomato, bean, and green soup with sausage (using freezer greens, sausage, canned tomatoes, and dried beans)
• beans and rice with fixins (Greek yogurt, salsa, and frozen guacamole) and corn bread
• tacos with leftover turkey, black beans, and fixins on tortillas or hard shells (both in pantry/freezer)
• turkey salad sandwiches with fruit
• lentil sloppy joes with roasted broccoli or oven fries

Batch Cooking:

• homemade veggie stock using frozen veggie scraps
• homemade turkey stock using turkey carcass from roasting
• banana nut muffins or banana oatmeal bars

Snacks:

• smoothies with frozen fruit
• popcorn with garlic salt or cinnamon sugar
• fresh fruit
• homemade trail mix with raisins, nuts, and dry cereal 
• cheese and crackers
• yogurt

How are you living and saving green in the kitchen this month?  I'd love to hear from you!

5 Crock Pot Recipes to Save You Time and Energy in the Kitchen

If you've been reading for any length of time, you know how much I love my crock pot.  I made it a goal last year to try out some new recipes, and crock pot recipes were some of those.  I ended up purchasing Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook after I checked it out quite a few times from the library.  I also browsed several websites and found recipes that we love.

I'm a fan of prepping ingredients the night before so that its easy to throw things in the crock pot in the morning.  Even though my husband is a SAHD, its tough for him during the day with two small boys to prep ingredients and get a meal put together.  So, the two of us come up with a meal plan for each week that includes at least one crock pot meal that will provide several leftovers worth of meals.  When the boys go to bed, one or both of us is busy in the kitchen chopping ingredients, making a quick sauce, or measuring out spices for the crock pot meal for the next day.  This makes it easy to dump ingredients in the slow cooker before I head off to work, or before they boys get busy with their days.

Here are some of the recipes we've come to love that we can just about make with our eyes closed.

Basic Black Beans  This one is so easy, it's almost not worth posting.  But I get asked so much about how we cook our beans (because so many people rave about them), that I thought I'd post it here.  The night before, I measure out three cups of rinsed, dried black beans (sorted and picked through) into the bottom of the slow cooker.  I cover them with six cups of water.  Then we add about a tablespoon of cumin, tablespoon of salt, 1/4 cup dried onion, 3-4 cloves of crushed garlic, and sometimes a teaspoon of chili powder or tumeric, depending on what we're using them for.  In the morning, we leave them in their stock, cook on high for about two hours, and then low for the rest of the day.

There are many nights when we fix these for a simple meal of beans, rice, and cornbread with fixins (cheese, sour cream, salsa, etc.).  The next night we might use them for black bean tacos.  We usually just put the stoneware crock in the fridge, because we like to use the last of the beans and stock as the basis of our chili.

Black Bean Chili  As mentioned, we use the black beans and stock as the basis for this.  (You could certainly mix up the beans and do pintos, red beans, kidney beans, etc.)  We add about 1 1/2 cups of chopped bell pepper, one chopped onion, 1 cup corn kernels (canned or frozen), 28 oz can of diced tomatoes, and about 1/2 sliced jalapeno.  If we have it, we also like to add ground beef or ground sausage that is browned, but it doesn't always happen.  For spices, we add about 1 T chili powder, 1 T cumin, 2 tsp salt, and 3-4 cloves of garlic.  This cooks on low all day (7-8 hours).

To serve this, we like to have corn bread or tortilla chips.  We top each bowl of chili with shredded cheese, sour cream or plain Greek yogurt, and maybe some hot sauce.  If I have cilantro or avocado, I like that as well.  The boys both really like this, especially if we have fresh corn bread.  To stretch this even further, you can serve it over rice.

Roasted Veggies  We love roasted veggies, but in the summer, we hate to heat up the house by cranking up the oven.  The crock pot is the easy solution to this.  We have several methods, but the basic one is to chop a variety of root veggies (potatoes, onion, carrot, beets) into 1-2 inch pieces.  Then we drizzle them with olive oil, shake on salt and pepper, add some dried rosemary, and cook them on low for about 4-6 hours until they are fork tender.  They don't get the pretty golden color that they do in the oven, but they taste great.  Its also a nice way to prep a side if your oven is busy with a main course.

You can also do corn on the cob or baked potatoes in the slow cooker.  Just wrap in foil and let them go (no liquid in the bottom) for about 4 hours on high, again, until fork tender.

Asian Chicken with Ginger  We love this method for cooking chicken, and the yummy sauce it creates.  We have made some tweaks to the original recipe and double the carrots it calls for, add a sliced onion, and chunks of pineapple.  I think it would also be fabulous with broccoli thrown in.  Cook up some brown rice and it's an easy one pot meal!

We also like to make my aunt's recipe for Asian coleslaw (similar to this) if we have time.  It's a great side dish with this meal.  One of the best things about this is that the boys love everything in the meal, so its a crowd pleaser, and it provides enough leftovers for several nights.

Lentil Sweet Potato Stew  This is a really simple vegetarian and vegan friendly recipe.  Again, we tweak it some from this original source and add more carrots and sweet potatoes than it calls for.  (We tend to like things more of a stew consistency than broth-y soup)  But if you're on a tight budget, then make it as the recipe calls for.  Toss it together in the morning, and its done in the evening for you with only one dirty pot to wash!

Served with some crusty french bread, this is a great meal all in its own.  The boys both like this one as well, and the lentils are a great source of protein and folic acid (great for pregnant and nursing mamas too).

I'll be back soon with another crock pot series!  I hope you enjoy these and find that they fit your budget and help you live a little greener!

January Meal Plan

This month we're going to continue to work down what we have in our freezer.  We were also gifted several things over the holidays that will help round out meals, and we made a trip to Costco for a few things.  It is my hope to do very minimal grocery shopping for staples only (we already picked up corn meal, baking soda, and milk).  Hopefully next month will be our annual bulk spice/herb order, so next month's grocery budget will be less too.

We also plan to make use of the leftover items available to us through the food pantry.  This week I put up a quart of collard greens in the freezer, used two bags of fresh organic green beans, saved two gallons of milk, and we took several apples and cut up fruit that would have gone bad before the pantry reopened for clients.  This gleaning really does save our grocery budget and help cut down on their food waste.

My grandmother gave us a new crock pot for Christmas, which we're super excited about.  We're planning to use it a lot, as we have come to rely on it with the boys keeping us so busy.

Breakfasts

• Cranberry bread (gifted over holidays)
• Egg and cheese sandwiches (using croissants or rosemary bread from Costco)
• Leftover holiday egg and cheese casserole
• Overnight oatmeal in the crock pot
• Muffins:  lemon poppyseed, cranberry orange, molasses muffins, marmalade muffins, and winter squash muffins with nuts or pumpkin seeds
• Smoothies
• Yogurt parfaits with frozen berries and pumpkin seeds, nuts, or dry cereal crumbs

Lunches

• Leftovers rounded out with fruit (citrus, bananas, or gleaned from the pantry)
• Smoothies with frozen fruit and smoothie powder from Costco

Dinners

• Crock pot Asian chicken with carrots, pineapple, onion, and candied ginger over rice
• Baked sausage, apples, and sweet potatoes over rice with greens
• Tomato basil soup in the crock pot with grilled cheeses
• Pasta with tomato basil soup as marinara
• Black beans (crock pot) and rice with fixins
• Black bean tacos with winter squash or enchiladas
• Homemade pizza x 2-3 with homemade pesto
• Homemade mac and cheese with steamed/roasted veggies
• Veggie stir fry over rice with egg rolls
• Breakfast for dinner:  French toast or French toast casserole with fruit and yogurt parfaits
• Tuna casserole with roasted veggie sides

Snacks

• Chex mis (gifted)
• Hot cocoa (gifted)
• Gingerbread house pieces
• Holiday cookies
• Fresh fruit
• Dried fruit (apricots, prunes)
• Dried fruit and nut trail mix
• Cashews (gifted)
• Almonds (gifted)
• Pistachios (gifted)
• Popcorn (gifted)

December Menu

This month, as usual, is all about making use of what we have.  We're grateful to have the opportunity for several community meals this month through church, community, and family to stretch things further.  Our largest expense this month will be on baking items for Christmas goodies and gifting, but we're trying to simplify there too, so we'll try to keep things totally in check at our $100/month budget for groceries.

Breakfasts:  breakfast casserole with eggs and veggies, baked oatmeal with raisins and shredded carrots, winter squash muffins, lemon poppyseed muffins, cranberry oatmeal muffins, steel cut overnight oats with raisins, bagels and smoothies made with frozen fruit, hard boiled eggs and toast with jam or cinnamon sugar, banana oatmeal bars

Lunches:  leftovers, fresh fruit, peanut butter and banana/jelly sandwiches, smoothies

Dinners:  turkey enchiladas with shredded summer squash, salmon hash with leftover Thanksgiving dressing and fried eggs, lentil and sweet potato soup, gifted corn and salmon chowder, veggie stir fry with egg rolls, black bean chili with tomatoes, peppers, and onions from the freezer, crockpot lasagna soup, homemade pizza with sausage, pepperoni, and/or veggies and homemade sauce x 3, pesto pasta with tomato salad, mac and cheese with roasted veggies, tuna casserole with salad or roasted veggies

Holiday baking/gifting:  homemade winter spiced cocoa mix, candied chocolate popcorn with pecans, gingerbread house building, rosemary olive oil french bread

What are you up to in the kitchen this month?  I'd love to hear from you!

November Menu Plan

We're kind of shedding tears around here now that our CSA season is over for the year, but it also simplifies things a bit in the weekly schedule and meal planning area since we know for sure what produce we'll have each week (mostly freezer).  Once again, we're going to make the most of our freezer and pantry stash, and graciously accept overflow from the food pantry where my mom volunteers (they're only open for clients two days a week, so some produce that's donated needs to be used before then).

We'll take advantage of the sales this month on baking staples to stock up on butter, brown sugar, white sugar, Pam, nuts, sweet potatoes, and cranberries.  We love to freeze cranberries for use in smoothies, muffins, and fruit crisps.  The sweet potatoes will keep for a while and are wonderful in soups, enchiladas, and casseroles, as well as just baked and topped with black beans and sour cream or yogurt.

Without further ado, here's the menu plan for the month, with some adjustments to be made depending on what we glean from the food pantry.

Breakfasts:  strawberry coffee cake (with gleaned strawberries and marscapone cheese), winter squash baked oatmeal with raisins, figs, and pecans, egg and cheese sandwiches, egg breakfast casserole with peppers and onions, fruit smoothies, yogurt and fruit, winter squash muffins, lemon poppy seed muffins, cranberry oatmeal muffins

Lunches:  leftovers rounded out with gleaned fruit, salad, or yogurt

Dinners:  tacos with winter squash, turkey, and greens, open faced lentil sloppy joes with salad or roasted veggies, pasta with homemade pesto and salad, winter squash black bean chili, enchiladas with turkey, beans, peppers, onions, sweet potato and frozen shredded summer squash, dinner salads with hard boiled eggs and cranberry vinaigrette, loaded mac and cheese with cauliflower and sausage, homemade pizza with pesto/tomato sauce and veggies x 3, turkey pot pie, winter squash and chick pea salad with tahini dressing and sage from the garden, crock pot pasta with ricotta, corn chowder, veggie stir fry with egg rolls, black bean chili with corn bread

Putting up:  This month we'll focus on processing and freezing winter squash and dehydrating any appropriate fruits from the food pantry.  We'd love to dry some apples and pineapple for snacking, and have already dried some cantaloupe (great with oatmeal) and frozen some winter squash.

Groceries to purchase:  tortillas, eggs, brown sugar, pie crust, tahini, dried chick peas, dried lentils, canned corn, sweet potatoes, cranberries

I'd love to hear your meal plans for this month!

March Menu Plan

This last week was another snow-filled week for us, with me and little man venturing out only to take the dog out.  So, I've had lots of time to dream about gardening, catch up on reading during nap times, and come up with some other creative uses for our kitchen scraps besides composting (which I'll share in a later post).  But I also had some time to think about our menu for March.

March is, for most areas, the beginnings of spring.  Around here, that's a hotly debated topic, as the old timers don't ever set anything in the ground for spring planting until Mother's Day.  But grocery stores can give us the illusion of spring time, with all the berries and spring greens that show up (who am I kidding, they're there year round!).  But we still try to eat seasonally around here, which means mostly winter foods and what we have in the freezer and pantry.  So, here's our menu for the month:

Breakfasts:
zucchini, banana, and flaxseed muffins (using frozen shredded zucchini and frozen bananas)
cranberry oatmeal muffins from Muffins A to Z
"pumpkin" chocolate chip or pumpkin seed muffins (we use frozen pureed winter squash)
egg (using fresh, free eggs from dear friends) and cheese sandwiches on homemade french bread or rosemary olive oil bread
cranberry coconut breakfast cookies
marmalade muffins from Muffins A to Z (See link above)
baked oatmeal from Simply in Season

Lunches:
leftovers filled in with homemade yogurt, homemade applesauce (frozen or canned from the fall apple gleaning), or homemade cookies

Dinners:
crockpot soups including vegetable barley soup, potato soup, vegetarian chili (I finally came up with a recipe I like), black bean squash chili, rosemary white bean soup (I haven't tried this one yet, but I like all her other recipes) * We try to have soup at least once a week because it makes the budget stretch and makes great leftovers for lunches.

quiche with mushrooms (bought on the clearance produce rack, sauteed, and frozen), asparagus (we trim the ends off and chop them to use in other dishes), onion, and ham (frozen from Christmas)

chicken/turkey pot pie with green beans (frozen from summer CSA), mushrooms, onion, asparagus, and corn)

winter squash pancakes (from Start Fresh) with fruit (either citrus or we still have some peaches in the freezer from the summer) and bacon (little man loves these pancakes and it's a good way to sneak in more nutrients)

fried rice with homemade egg rolls (we skip the pork and just use more veggies in them to cut costs)

spicy noodle veggie stir fry with homemade egg rolls

homemade pizza with pesto or white sauce (just discovered this white sauce and love it!)

lentil sloppy joes with steamed or roasted veggies and oven fries

whole wheat pasta with pesto, salad, and garlic toast

black bean burgers with steamed veggies or oven fries

enchiladas with orange and lime rice (just zest and orange and sprinkle lime juice after preparing rice)

Beans and rice with fixins and corn bread

loaded mac and cheese with broccoli and sausage or ham

Snacks:
popcorn (made with air popper #2--little man pulled the other one off the counter, broke it, and felt horrible for it!) with garlic salt, cheddar powder, or taco seasoning

homemade cookies of the week

homemade bread with butter or jam

homemade yogurt with fruit

homemade cocoa (we buy our cocoa and powdered milk in bulk to make this more affordable)


I tried to provide more links here so that those of you looking for recipes to fit a $100 a month grocery budget know where to start.  Some of these are made more affordable by getting the produce in season and freezing it, or by purchasing ingredients in bulk (flour, cheese, corn meal, cocoa powder, spices, etc.).  We also can quite a bit of summer produce in the form of salsa, jams, pesto, sauces, etc. to make our winter plentiful.

If you have any questions about our recipes or how we manage to feed our family on $100/month, feel free to ask!  (And I promise we do... we've only spent about $160 total for 2015 so far on groceries.  We spent more than that for just our last month's electric bill!)  I'd love to hear from you!

When to DIY and when not to

Cooking has become a passion for me.  Art and crafting always have been one.  Now that we're homeowners, it's so much fun to DIY something, especially when we know it will save us some cash.

But where do you draw the line?  When does DIY go from passion and fun to not-worth-it drudgery?

For everyone, that answer is a little different.  For us, it generally boils down to time and money constraints.

Here's an example:  I love homemade flour tortillas.  They're warm, and yummy and fresh.  But for weeknight cooking with a little one, they're not very practical right now, even though I know it's far cheaper to make them from scratch than to pick up a pack of 8 or 10 for a buck at the store.  The homemade ones don't keep very well, I've found, and don't work as well for things like enchiladas because they're not quite as flexible.  So, I'm willing to give up my love of the homemade ones for the convenience and time on a weeknight.  (But I love going to a friend's for taco night and whipping some homemade ones up when there are extra hands to help with the little Wubba.)

I love reinventing furniture, which often entails painting it.  But I've learned that it's not Benny's favorite thing to do, especially when there are lots of spindles involved.  So, I'll save up some cash and save Benny's sanity by not bringing home one more project for him, and we'll pay a painter friend to use his sprayer to spray the furniture.  I still get a deal by getting the chairs I want (most recently we found $7 all wood chairs, so we snagged six for the basement craft room), and it still costs less than buying new.

When something veers out of our expertise, we hire it out.  Plumbing and electric work fall into this category, though we've rewired table lamps ourselves no problem.  Our dishwasher seal needs replacing?  We find the seal online for $30 and do it ourselves and save the repair guy fee of $75 or more.

When I find a recipe that looks intriguing and like something we'll love (hello these soft pretzels and rolls), then we find time to make them.  It might mean a little time in the kitchen, but it's fun for us, and it means we might have a new favorite snack that costs a fraction of the grocery store variety without all the preservatives.

What about you?  Where do you draw the line with DIY?  Are you an expert plumber or do you love sewing (that's my summer project)?  I'd love to hear from you!

Frugal Accomplishments this week, and a recipe

This week, I feel like we've done really well with living frugally.  Here's how it's played out:

Grocery shopping on Sunday was only sale, coupon, and need items.  (Well, ok, I did splurge on a $1.99 box of clearance junk cereal for me.  I'd been craving some for about two months.)  We stocked up on cabbage, which is on sale around St. Paddy's Day, and keeps in the fridge for several weeks.  I also found some bell peppers on the discount produce rack at 3/$2.50, which is really good for grocery store prices around here.  It's hard to find them for less than $1.00/pepper.

We were also given some eggs and cheese by my mom, which was a nice treat.  Now I probably won't have to buy either until the end of the month.  When I got to school on Monday, I found the conference table covered with leftover concessions items, including a whole box of bananas.  The items were available to anyone for a donation of their choice, so I took a whole bag of bananas and a few other snack/breakfast items for the week for a small donation that fit our budget.  The bananas were mostly frozen for later use in bread and muffins.  Of course we used our reusable shopping bags, which we got a five cent credit for at one store.

Made a crockpot of cabbage, tomato, and ground beef soup.  I usually make this with ground sausage, but all we had was the beef.  It was a great way to stretch a half pound of meat, and we love cabbage in soup.  We supplement the protein by adding beans, this time pintos.  But usually, I prefer red kidney beans.  (I'm listing the "recipe" below.)  This lasted us for lunches all week, and dinner on Tuesday night.  By cooking it in the crockpot, it means we used a fraction of the energy of the stove top.

Made enchiladas with more pintos, turkey from the freezer, half of a sale pepper, onion, and cheese and flour tortillas.  (Most of these were bought on sale or with a coupon.)  I used store bought enchilada sauce.  This made enough for dinners and lunches to fill out the week.

Benny made a loaf of whole wheat bread in the bread machine.  This was great with soup and for toast for breakfasts.  We also made muffins early in the week using raspberries we had in the freezer from the summer, which we picked for free from a friend.

We were a one car family this week, since the Jetta was in the shop again, and found it really worked for us, especially since I carpool to work  We're slowly thinking that perhaps we could do this full time.  We'll continue to evaluate and see.

We didn't eat out, buy anything extra, or splurge (aside from my cereal) this week.  We went ahead and scheduled all our bills for the rest of the month, so they're all set to be paid.

Made a birthday card instead of buying one.  Made a loaf of banana bread as a gift for a friend.  Found a coupon code for a photo book for a birthday gift, so it's much less expensive than we originally thought, but still a very thoughtful gift.

Found the code for our tablet and realized that we still have a week before the warranty runs out.  This is great since the touch screen junked out earlier this week.  Benny's taking care of the details; we're hoping to get a replacement.

We sold about $70 worth of stuff on eBay, so we're that much closer to cleaning out and having our CSA money. Yay!

What about you?  What were your frugal accomplishments this week?  How are you living and saving green?

Cabbage, Sausage, and Tomato Soup:

1/2 head cabbage, chopped into about 1 inch pieces
1/2 lb ground sausage or beef, browned
1 small onion, chopped
1 24 oz can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can kidney beans or 2 c homemade
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic salt or minced garlic
generous tsp of ground pepper
fennel seeds if not using sausage

Combine all ingredients except beans in crockpot.  Cook on low for 8 hours.  Add beans about 4 hours into cooking time.  Serve with homemade bread or saltine crackers.

Meals with Autumn Abundance

I know I've been absent for a while... I promise there will be a posting on the roof by the end of the week. Life has gotten crazy for us, to say the least, and the blog fell to the back burner.

Lately, we've been taking advantage of the local abundance of produce from a variety of sources. Much of it has come from our CSA, which ended a few weeks ago, but others have been scavenged and foraged. I love fresh, local produce, and getting it for free is just an added bonus.

We were able to forage several grocery bags full of apples from a friend who has a tree that was loaded this year, since ours didn't produce this year. We've used the apples to make homemade applesauce using our food mill. The applesauce has been a great side dish for lunches, an addition to homemade breakfast breads, and a substitute for oil in baking to make things lower fat. Some of the appelsauce was turned into apple butter using the crock pot and then I canned it for gifts and to spread on toast for breakfasts this winter. The rest of the apples were sliced and peeled for apple crisp, apple pie, and were chopped with sausage and butternut squash and served over rice for a yummy supper.

I also acquired over a dozen butternut and acorn squash with an activity my students did for science class (they only harvested the seeds). So, we've been eating our favorite squash chili, pureed squash and cream sauce for pasta, and steamed squash as a side dish. I also puree it and freeze it to spread on tacos and burritos throughout the winter or put it into bread recipes in place of canned pumpkin. This is about the third year we've done this with the students, so I was prepared to make the most of the squash this year, so we didn't get sick of it before we used it up!

We've also enjoyed some summer preserves friends put up for us, including hot pepper jelly with goat cheese on crackers and some blackberry jam on earl grey tea rolls.

What fall dishes have you shared lately? Have the made use of local produce or an abundance of an ingredient? I'd love to hear about it!

February Menu Plan

First, an update on our January quest to "rock whatcha got" and use our pantry and freezer goods to their best. We ended up spending around $50, instead of the estimated $30, for groceries for the month, due to some necessary dairy products (milk for the homemade yogurt and I gotta have my cheese) and produce being a bit more than anticipated. We did stick to the menu for the month, with a few extras thrown in, such as stir-fry and fried rice.

This month we're still trying to use as much from our stockpile as possible, and use coupons and gift cards to purchase the rest. Hopefully, we can stick to the $50 grocery budget this month as well. (We did splurge and go out to eat in downtown Raleigh with a friend this past weekend, but the visit was well worth--always so good to catch up with you, Paul-- it and the food was fabulous. If you're in the area and haven't checked out The Raleigh Times, it's a great bar with fantastic food. I had the Frech Country Salad, and it was to die for with roasted beats and slices of pear.) So, without further ado, here's the menu for the month...

Week 1:
spinach lasagna, supper club meal, acorn squash chili (leftover from what we made for the local campus ministry)
Groceries to purchase: peppers for chili, ricotta cheese, sour cream, acorn squash

Week 2:
chili cheese oven fries, shepherd's pie, stir fry with shrimp, Valentine's dinner
Groceries to purchase: baking potatoes, organic baby spinach, onions, heavy cream, wild caught seafood (whatever's on sale and looks good)

Week 3:
quiche/breakfast casserole (with eggs from my student), black bean burgers (using leftover beans that have been frozen), hot dogs with warm cabbage slaw/kraut, supper club meal
Groceries to purchase: organic milk, organic cabbage, bacon

Week 4:
breakfast for dinner (blueberry or pumpkin pancakes, eggs, grits), vegetable beef soup, pizza
Groceries to purchase: flavored tea for hot breakfast teas, coupon items focusing on dairy and frozen veggies, citrus fruit if available and reasonable

As usual, our breakfasts will consist of one of the following: cereal from the stockpile, muffins (the sunny morning ones were very good, btw), or homemade bread turned toast with homemade jam. Weekend breakfasts will be more along the lines of coffee, eggs, and grits/fresh muffins.

Here's what we'll be using from the pantry/freezer this month: frozen pasta sauce, frozen summer berries, frozen ground turkey, canned chili, canned veggies for soup and shepherd's pie, dried black beans, grits, pancake mix, basic baking supplies

The homemade breads this month will be: pumpkin spice bread, whole wheat hamburger/hotdog buns, sunny morning muffins/lemon poppy seed muffins, beer bread, pizza dough

And, if you're wondering what we'll have for Valentine's dinner (all ingredients will be purchased from EarthFare thanks to a certain Santa's giftcard we stashed away... thanks, Mom), here's that specific menu (maybe you'll like it so much you'll steal it... be my guest)

Valentine's Dinner:

Steamed/sauted seafood seasoned with lemon, sea salt, parsley, and pepper
Warm spinach salad with caramelized onions and a butter sauce
Baked potatoes with butter and sour cream
Homemade cream brulee (using the recipe from The Joy of Cooking served with a warm berry compote

I'm hoping you're finding your meal planning, budget cooking, and couponing as helpful as we are in these lean times. Let me know if you've got any fabulous budget cooking ideas or cookbooks to share. I'd love to hear from you, so leave some love in the comments for me!

Homemade Yogurt, and Living to Tell about It

A few days ago, I took yet another one of our snow days to try my hand at making some homemade yogurt. I had done this several years ago at a microbiology workshop (yes, I'm that much of a nerd that I'd take a week of summer to learn about microbiology), so I knew it wasn't nearly as complicated or scary as many people make it out to be. Basically, you're trying to do the same thing you do with yeast bread... encourage the microbes you want to have to grow and crowd out the bad ones.

My rationale for trying this was twofold. I wanted to try it at home because I knew I'd be able to have more control over the ingredients; I could use organic milk, mix in local honey for sweetner, use jam and frozen fruit for toppings. In essence, I could make sure that it was quality, with no artificial flavors, sweeteners, or preservatives. I also wanted to try doing it because I knew it would be cheaper than purchasing store bought yogurt of the same quality, unless it was free with a coupon (which happens occasionally).

I primarily used the recipe in The Joy of Cooking, but I found a method for using the CrockPot in The Backyard Homestead, which is a fabulous book for those gardening enthusiasts. Basically, you use a milk of your choosing (I started with whole milk, just because that's what several recipes recommend, but skim will have the same protein content as whole, which is really what matters) -- 2 cups--and warm it to 180 degrees on the stove. I used a candy thermometer to measure the temp. Then, you allow it to cool to 106-110 degrees, add your yogurt culture (about three tablespoons of plain yogurt), stir well, and put into sterile jars. I just used small mason jars, the kind you would for jam. You place the filled, covered jars in the Crock Pot and set it to warm. (Not low, just warm) Cover the Crock Pot and allow it to set up for 5-6 hours, or overnight. Mine took about 7 hours, but I think I had a little less yogurt culture than the called for 3 T. The yogurt will keep in the fridge for about a week, but if you plan to make another batch, you should use your yogurt culture within 5 days.

I've enjoyed it for breakfast this week with blackberries from the freezer and some honey, but it would also be great with granola, sliced banana, or frozen for a dessert treat. You could easily add vanilla or orange extract if you like those flavors.

Let me know if you try it; I'd love to hear from you! Here's to living green, and saving green, in the kitchen.

Snow Day Kitchen Crafts and Reading

Today is yet another snow day and school's out, so per the 5:15 am phone call to let me know that, I've had a rather productive morning. Outside of the routine cleaning (a load of laundry using some homemade laundry detergent from my fabulous cousin, unloading/reloading the dishwasher and washing up some stuff by hand, and folding some clothes), I've had some time to explore something I've been interested in for a while... spice extracts.

I've been making my own vanilla extract for years now, but I've been curious about other spice extracts. I knew the process had to be similar, so I employed our friend Google to find out what I could about making orange, lemon, almond, and mint extracts. Here's what I found...

Orange and Lemon Extract: Basically, the process is the same as the vanilla extract. Peel the fruit, minus the white pithy stuff, and immerse it in vodka. Allow it to cure for a while, then use as you would any extract. You can leave the peel in, or strain it out, depending on your preferences.

Almond Extract: Again, similar process. Grind the almonds (the recipe notes using blanched, rather than roasted... I suppose roasted nuts might have lost some of the natural flavor oils in the roasting process), and put these in a jar with vodka. Allow to cure, then use. I would probably strain this one, just so you don't get almond bits in your baked goods, if that's not the desired result. Store in a cool dark place, as you would any spice or extract.

Mint Extract: Use 12-14 Tbs of fresh mint or 6 of dried with 3 cups of vodka. Store in an airtight glass container in a cool, dark place. I would chop or crush the mint for maximum extraction. I think this would be great with chocolate mint or peppermint, so I plan to try it in the spring when my mint comes back up. (This was compiled from several different sources, so there's no link here.)

I think any of these extracts would make a great gift, and a collection of all of them in small, pretty bottles would be so special for a friend who loves to bake. I especially love the homemade extracts, because you can control the quality of ingredients that goes into them. I recently learned that many commercial vanilla extracts contain corn syrup, especially the "imitation" ones, so that's even more of a reason for me to make my own, besides the fact that it's so much more cost effective than purchasing those tiny grocery store bottles.

** Note that I haven't personally tried any of these yet, so don't take this as gospel. Let me know if you do try it and how it works out!

Today, I'm also rereading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. It was one of my favorite summer reads and has been fun to reread on this snowy morning. It's got me itching to order some seeds and get some veggies started now so they'll have a jumpstart in the spring. I loved my heirloom tomatoes last summer (before the deer found them), so I'm wanting to try some heirloom beans, squash, and root veggies this year. Maybe I'll get a garden plan sketched out before the end of the day...

I'd love to hear from you! Have you tried any of these extracts, or others? Are you finding yourself already hoping for spring after all this cold and snow (especially in the High Country)? Or are you just loving sitting curled up with a book, a blanket, and a cup of your favorite hot tea with your wonderful fuzzy at your feet?

January Menu Plan and Recipes

The stretch between Christmas and the end of January is always a little long for a teacher, at least in NC. We get paid before school lets out for the holidays, which is nice for last minute shopping, but that check has to last until the end of January, meaning that sometimes it's more like 5-6 weeks between checks, rather than just four. Thankfully, this is usually not a problem for us, as we always have a well stocked freezer and pantry, and usually have some leftover Christmas food bounty to get us through. So, this post is all about making the most of the holiday leftovers and our pantry/freezer so that grocery trips are minimal, but the menu is varied and enjoyable. I'm also including a few recipes to share with you so that you have some new ways to use up those holiday leftovers, without getting bored.

Holiday leftovers on hand: sliced ham, ham bone, turkey carcass, smoked turkey breast (since we didn't do most of our holiday eating here, there is no stuffing/mashed potatoes or gravy for a turkey casserole--but we did manage to scavenge the ham bone and turkey carcass, as well as sweet-talking my grill master uncle into smoking a turkey breast for us)

Pantry/freezer staples on hand: tortillas, cheese, pasta, rice, dried beans/split peas, canned tomatoes, canned potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, newly stocked spices/herbs (thanks so Santa), frozen veggies, frozen meat (ground beef and sausage) sundried tomatoes, dried mushrooms, basic baking supplies, home canned veggies gifted by a coworker, eggs, canned salmon

Breads to bake (with aid of bread machine): whole wheat burger buns, pumpernickel bread, breakfast bread suitable for jam/peanut butter

Week 1: ham/turkey melts on pumpernickel bread, chickpea burgers with lemon aiole sauce (using dried chickpeas prepared in crock pot), split pea soup (using ham bone and pantry staples), supper club swap
items to purchase for week 1: whole wheat flour, 2 green peppers (chop all and freeze half for week 3)

Week 2: barbecue turkey burritos with beans and sour cream (shred the turkey and saute with cumin and onion, then mix in homemade or prepared barbecue sauce and the black beans to create the filling for the burritos), wild rice and mushroom pilaf, breakfast casserole with sun dried tomatoes, ham, and mushrooms
items to purchase for week 2: sour cream, can of black beans, organic milk

Week 3: ship wreck (everyone calls this something different--it's that casserole with potatoes, canned tomatoes, ground beef, onion, and pepper), salmon patties on a spinach salad with mandarin oranges, pecans, and homemade croutons, fill in w/ canned soup if needed, supper club swap
items to purchase for week 3: organic baby spinach

Week 4: vegetable soup using 1/2 lb. ground beef, freezer/canned veggies, and onion/garlic on hand, jambalaya, bread for sopping up soup broth
items to purchase for week 4: organic milk

Breakfasts will consist of cereal and milk, toast with jam/peanut butter, or yogurt with frozen berries. Snacks will be nuts from the pantry, Ches mix (gifted by Benny's mom), or trail mix from dried fruit and cereal. We are really trying to cut down on sweets, so we will limit desserts to a piece of chocolate from the stocking loot, or our small group gatherings. Lunches will be the usual leftovers from dinners during the week.

As you can see, there's not much to purchase this month, and if we stick to the plan, we shouldn't spend more than about $30 on groceries for this month, which will help us to stretch that paycheck as far as it can go. This will also hopefully help us to save a bit more this month, which will be a good boost for our emergency fund.

Below, you'll find my loose variation on my grandmother's split pea soup. It's not at all what you think of as that army green mush, so give it a shot if you've got a ham bone leftover from the holiday festivities.

Split Pea Soup (in the crock pot)

6 c homemade or store-bought veggie/chicken stock
1 15oz can diced tomatoes
3-4 carrots, chopped
3-4 stalks celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1/2 large bell pepper, chopped
1 package split peas, sorted and rinsed
1 ham bone, with some bits left on for flavor and added meat, add additional chopped ham if desired

Seasonings: salt, pepper, bay leaf, oregano (all to taste)

Combine all ingredients and cook on low in the crock pot for 6-8 hours, until peas are done and tender, but not mushy. Serve with quality bread or a sandwich (we like a ham melt with pumpernickel and brown mustard).

Let me know if you like the recipes, or if you have any other favorites to use up holiday leftovers! I'd love to hear from you!

Holiday Favorites for 2010

We finally got the tree totally up and decorated this weekend and tidied the house on Sunday, so it looks a little less like the evergreen explosion in our home, and more like Christmas. Since I've had a few snow days on my hands this week (it started snowing on Saturday and is still coming down in small flakes today), I've had some time to blog hop, along with the beginnings of some holiday baking and online window shopping. Here's a short list of favorites:

1. A good book and a cup of hot chocolate: Who doesn't love this on a snowy day? Or maybe you're more of a movie person... either way, here's my short list of holiday reading picks.

• The Chronicles of Narnia (we love it so much we have the whole series on CD)
• The Polar Express (it's our Christmas Eve tradition to snuggle under the covers and read this one together)
• Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (I loved it this summer and am going back to reread parts--I want to try my hand at making some homemade mozzarella on a snowy winter day)
• Any good cookbook, especially those by Cook's Illustrated, since they're full of good factoids and how-to's.

2. Snuggly hats and scarves: I love to crochet, so I have a thing for scarves. I have them in all colors and styles. But this year, I'm noticing some super cute hats out, including this super cute one wool beret from Target, among others. There were also some fun felted wool ones in other styles in the store. Hats are a really fun way to express a sense of style without sinking a ton of cash into something that you might want to change out next year.

3. Gorgeous holiday decorations: I've been inspired this year to add to our Christmas decorations by decorating the mantle. Ours is interesting to decorate, since the TV sits in a nook above the mantle, making adding some height from candles, etc. a little interesting. But I've found this inspiring one and want to try to whip up something similar with some antique candle sticks and the PB inspired sheet music candles I'm seeing all over the blogosphere. And, I'm still working on getting that clothespin wreath just the way I want before I take a pic of it for the blog. (Right now, I'm having trouble finding all of my holiday decorating stash... does that happen to anyone else?)

4. Homebaked goodies: Inevitably, our holiday gift giving list grows each year, which means I try to find a new recipe or two to introduce into the mix. This year, it's jam thumbprint cookies and homemade peppermint hot chocolate mix. I have also been known to put a few of the slice and bake varieties on a cookie platter if I'm in a pinch for time (shh... it'll be our little secret). However, usually, we try to get most of our baking done ahead of time, and we include some chocolate dipped things (pretzels, coconut, chow mein noodles) that last for a while, so we can make them well in advance. Homemade jam is also a nice thing to add to a goodie basket, or as a small gift for a coworker or acquaintance.

5. Christmas cards in the mail: I love getting holiday cards in the mail... it's just so much more exciting than the junk we usually get, and it's fun to hear what friends and family have been up to throughout the year. We're generally slackers and don't get many cards sent out, but I think we might do an e-card this year, just to continue the sentiment. I also like to use the old Christmas cards as gift tags, so it's always fun to see what the pictures are on the front, so that I can match them up with the wrapping (is that just me being a nerd... or do other people think about that too?). Plus, it gives the card one more "life" and you know I'm all about reusing.

So, what are your holiday favorites? Do you have some new ones to add to your list this year? I'd love to hear from you! Check it out later this week and there will be a guest post on saving a bundle on a phone.

Autumn Pantry and Freezer Meals

Lately, we've been making do with a good bit that's in our pantry and freezer. Not only does this mean that we're not spending as much at the grocery store, but it also means that we're not using that fuel to go to the store. (We're also trying really hard to stick to that $100-150 a month grocery budget so that we can add more to savings.) Since we're avid couponers and sale shoppers, and have never met a freebie we weren't willing to try, our pantry and freezer are stocked with homemade or rock bottom staples to make almost any meal happen.

Last week, I found myself coming home with about a dozen butternut and acorn squash. (The kids harvested the seeds for a lab, but no one wanted the squash. Who was I to turn down free food?) So, I brought them home and cooked and pureed them. (You can cook them in the microwave, after you've seeded them, for about 15 minutes, or leave them whole and cook them in the crockpot for 6-8 hours. Then, just scoop the meat out with a large spoon.) Some of the puree I made into a butternut squash soup (evaporated milk, chicken stock, nutmeg, salt and pepper--no measuring). I spread the puree onto tortillas and made burritos with black beans, rice, and chicken/barbecue... add some sour cream and hot sauce and it's a tasty meal in a jiffy. Some of the puree was frozen for later use in chili as a thickener. I think some of the rest of it might substitute for canned pumpkin in some recipes, since the flavor and texture is almost identical. Do you have any suggestions for using up the rest? We're thinking of experimenting with mixing it with sour cream for a pasta sauce with cheese and keilbasa.

I found this recipe for a quick cream soup mix in Miserly Moms, which turned out to be a great base for tuna casserole for our supper club. It made a large batch, so as long as it's in an airtight container, it's great for soups and casseroles later. (Plus, it doesn't have all the preservatives that are in regular canned soups.)

We're trying to use up some stuff in the freezer so that we have room for a turkey when they go on sale in a few weeks. So, we've made many meals with sausage, which always seems to be a staple in our freezer, and are trying to use more of the homemade stock that's in the freezer. The frozen pizzas are regulars on Friday nights, and I've been making more homemade breads and muffins with the berries we gathered this summer that are in the freezer.

Here are some of our favorites to use up pantry and freezer finds:

• Chili with beans (use dried beans for biggest savings and home-canned salsa or diced tomatoes)
• Vegetable and rice/pasta soup (great use up for canned veggies and homemade stock)
• Minestrone soup (use dried beans and ingredients above)
• Chicken/turkey soup with rice (cook the carcass in the crockpot with celery, onion, and carrot... then shred the meat from the bones and add quick cooking wild rice at the end for about 20 minutes or until rice is done)
  
• Baked potato night (add sauted veggies, leftover lunch meat or chicken, beans, cheese, or any combo)
• Jazzy mac and cheese (add sauted veggies or sausage/meat; make it from scratch for best flavor and use whole wheat pasta)
• Pasta with tomato sauce base (add any variety of veggies and/or meat to the can of tomato sauce for a quick meal)
• Pizza night (use homemade crust and add your own veggies/meat/cheese for a fun dinner)
• Stir fry (make your favorite stir fry sauce or buy a jar, then just saute the frozen veggies/meat and serve over cooked rice--we use brown rice for greater nutritional value)
  
• Berry bread/pancakes (add frozen berries to bread, muffins, or pancakes for added nutrition and flavor)
• Berry syrup (cook any mix of berries with some sugar and cinnamon for a quick pancake or icecream syrup)

What about you? How do you make meals out of your pantry and freezer to keep from having to go to the store or spend the cash? Does your family have any favorites? I'd love to hear from you!

Seasonal cooking

Fall has officially set in here in the High Country, with night time temps hovering around 40. The fall wreath has been put on the front door, and the debate about pulling out the down comforter has begun. We'll see if we can make it through the month without turning on the heat. (We're typically the last hold outs, so we ought to be able to hang in there until November 1.)

With fall comes acorn and butternut squash, the "nut man" set up down the road with all sorts of local wares (pecans, hazelnuts, walnuts, etc.), apples, pumpkin, and cabbage. We love fall, with comfort foods and hot cider. For us, this means lots of soups, apple crisp, and potato hash with sausage, cabbage, and apples. One of our new favorite soups is this acorn squash chili, though we've substituted butternut squash sometimes and it's just as good. We threw some together last night for us and made another batch to share in our supper club.

My grandmother's recipe for apple crisp has been a hit at small group, and it's fabulous with vanilla icecream. It's super easy and comes together in a flash, so I thought I'd share the recipe. We also love these pumpkin cheesecake cupcakes, although we'd use something less labor intensive for the frosting.

Apple Crisp (from the Betty Crocker cookbook)

4 c apples, peeled and sliced
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c water
3/4 c flour
1 c sugar
1/3 c butter or margarine

Place in buttered 10x6x2 baking dish 4 cups of sliced, peeled apples. (Usually 4-6 apples, depending on size.) Sprinkle with 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp sale, and 1/4 c water. Rub together (use your hands) in separate bowl 3/4 c sifted all purpose flour, 1 c sugar, and 1/3 c butter or margarine. Mixture should be a coarse sandy texture. Drop mixture over apples. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Topping should be crunchy. (We sometimes have to use the broiler to help it along.) Serve warm with cream, ice cream, or plain. Serves 6-10.

I'd love to hear about your seasonal culinary adventures, so please leave a comment or two!

Weekend Culinary Adventures

Although the snow has stopped, it's not quite warm enough for me to be doing much in the garden. So, I spent much of this weekend doing some batch cooking for the freezer and meals this week.

Friday night was date night, so instead of pizza, we made a quiche. If you have a lot of eggs, this is a great way to use them, as well as odds and ends of veggies. We added mushrooms, some ends of cheeses, onion, and bacon to ours. Instead of the traditional pastry crust, we opted for the hashbrown crust described in this recipe from Rachel Ray. It was more prep time, but we enjoyed it and it was a little healthier than the traditional buttery crust. With a glass of wine and some Ben and Jerry's for dessert, it was a great date night meal! (And, it made plenty of leftovers for lunches this week.) We made extra hashbrowns and cooked them while the quiche was baking so that we could reheat them for breakfast in the morning. (Doing it this way meant that we cooked once and only had to wash the pan once, rather than putting the leftover shredded potatoes in the fridge to be cooked the next morning. Did ya catch that water and time conservation? :))

Yesterday, I made meatballs to put into the freezer, as well as for meatball subs. The meatball recipe I use is from Cheap. Fast. Good., a cookbook I've mentioned several times before. (Can you tell it's one of my "go-to's"?!) This time, instead of using two pounds of ground beef, I used a pound of beef and a pound of ground chicken. The beef and chicken were on sale at Harris Teeter last week, and the chicken had the bonus of being natural, free-range, vs. the hormone laden stuff. One of the reasons I like this meatball recipe is that you bake them on the broiler pan, rather than frying them, so they're healthier. (Usually, I hate bringing out the broiler pan because it's a pain to clean up... umm, rather, it's a pain for Benny to clean up (that's the deal, he does dishes... I do laundry... it works for us). But, I found out that you can use dryer sheets to release gunk from a pan. So I tried it, and low and behold, it worked like magic! There was virtually no scrubbing, aside from the light wiping to get stuff out of the grooves. So, I"m sold on this method!)

When I was already in the middle of the recipe, I realized that I didn't have any bread crumbs, so I made my own using some week old bread we had in the fridge. I simply buzzed it in the food processor and baked the crumbs for about 20 min. on a baking sheet to dry them out. (I stored the leftovers in an airtight container for later use.) I also found this method in the same cookbook as the meatball recipe.

I also made a large bowl of chicken salad yesterday, using some leftover grapes, an apple, some celery Benny had picked up at Costco, and the chicken I cooked in the crockpot last week. (Don't worry, the chicken had been in the freezer up until yesterday. It hadn't been hanging around in the fridge too long!) I added some salt, pepper, Miracle Whip (Benny's spread of choice), and poppy seeds I had in the fridge (store these and sesame seeds in the fridge and they'll last longer because the oils won't go bad as quickly). We had that on some homemade bread for lunch... yummy!

Today, I tried my hand at making some homemade hamburger and hotdog buns. I don't like paying full price for these at the store, but can hardly ever find the whole wheat ones on sale. I know that baking from scratch is generally cheaper, and definitely better for you, but I've always been a bit intimidated by yeast dough recipes until I met my friend the bread machine. (Actually, ours was gifted to us as a hand-me-down; thanks Maggie!) I found a recipe for the burger and dog buns in the Bread Machine Magic cookbook Benny got for me for Valentine's Day (I'd only checked the book out at the library about 10 times... it's about time I had my own used copy from Amazon!). The beauty of this recipe is that the machine makes the dough, meaning that my "human error" of always killing the yeast in yeast bread recipes was not a factor. (I always manage to get the water too hot, even with a thermometer.) It also meant that I could work on finishing organizing the office while the dough was kneaded and rose the first time. When the machine beeped, I simply turned the wheat dough out onto my floured countertop, rolled it into a log, and separated it into 12 portions. These I rolled into 6-inch long rolls, or formed into balls, which I flattened to get the hamburger or hotdog buns. Then, I let them rise in the warm oven for 40 minutes, and baked for 12 min. at 400 degrees. (I know it sounds like a lot of steps, but it was really a nice, relaxing way to spend the afternoon. And I could get my other stuff done, like laundry, helping Benny with the closet organizer install (more on that soon) and cleaning.) This was the end result... wheat hotdog and hamburger buns, bakery quality, with no preservatives. They were fantastic with our meatball sandwiches tonight! We're both swearing that we'll never pay for storebought burger or dog buns again... the taste and texture were worth all the "work"!

How about you? Did you have any fantastic culinary adventures this weekend? How do you work meals in around the edges, so that yous till have time to do what you want and need to do? Please share... I'd love to hear from you!

Sharin' the green love and savings!

Budget Friendly Eating--In and Out

Face it, food can get expensive, especially when you try to go organic as much as possible. Then add the now and then treats of eating out, and you might have totally blown your budget. So, today's post is all about stretching a buck and making the most of your freezer and pantry ingredients.

When I got the phone call that today was going to be yet another snow day, I decided to pull out the crock pot and make some chicken stock to freeze, as well as having the chicken already shredded for a casserole later on. So, I loaded the crock pot with three frozen chicken thighs I had on hand, two stalks of celery, some onion, and salt and pepper... oh, and a bay leaf. (Check out the picture.) Then I cranked that little workaholic (the crockpot) to low and let it cook all day (it makes the house smell great). This afternoon, I turned it off to allow the stock to cool a bit and pulled the chicken out, along with the celery stalks and onion pieces. I shredded the chicken using a fork and tongs and put it into freezer containers. The chicken stock will refrigerate overnight and I'll skim the fat off tomorrow afternoon. Now, I'm all set to go for a number of soup recipes (I got about 8 cups of stock) and a casserole or two, all for about $3, which is how much the chicken was when I bought it on sale. When you consider how much just the canned stock costs at the store, this is way cheaper, and I like knowing that my stock and casseroles aren't loaded with the preservatives and sodium that are in the canned stuff.

A few days ago, I made some veggie stock in a similar fashion, using the veggie scraps I had accumulated in a freezer bag. Then, I just strained the stock, allowed it to cool, and froze it for soups and sauces to be made later. I've included pictures of this also. You can use pretty much any veggie scraps, although cabbage, broccoli stems, and cauliflower pieces can make it bitter, so I wouldn't use those. It turns out a little different each time, based on the veggies I've used, but it's always a welcome addition to soups, and I can also use it to cook rice (when I remember) to add extra nutrients.

Soups and casseroles are a great way to stretch your grocery budget, as are pastas and sauces. We often add additional veggies to pasta sauce to create a one dish meal, which is great because it makes for easy clean up. You can also stretch meats by scattering them (cooked, of course) over salads or on a sandwich with some homemade bread and a slice of cheese. A while back, we discovered the heaven that is homemade mac and cheese, and will never go back. It's fantastic with smoked cheeses (we had a bunch of cheese cubes leftover from our wedding a few years ago and had some of the best mac and cheese with those cheeses that we had in the freezer!), and we love to throw veggies or sliced kielbasa into it at the end. We also use dried beans and legumes quite a bit, and with a little planning, they're great in the crock pot, as long as you soak them enough the night before. If I make a big batch, I'll freeze the beans in one or two cup portions with their liquid, and then pull them out when I want to add them to soup or make refried beans. (I generally just put them in the crock pot the night before after dinner with water to cover about an inch, no heat, and drain and recover them in the morning to cook on low all day.) If you're looking for good soup and casserole recipes, check out Cheap, Fast, Good or More with Less, two of my favorite cook books.

As for eating out, we rarely eat out, unless we have a coupon and/or gift certificate. When we can, we try to "stack" these so that we get more mileage out of our gift card by using the coupon. We order water, since drinks are outrageously priced, and we generally try to keep what we order to $7 or less. This is really easy in our favorite Mexican restaurant, but a little more difficult at chain restaurants, which is where the coupons come in. Ruby Tuesday's is currently sending out mailers with coupons, provided the first meal is a certain dollar amount. (One rule with coupons, always weigh your options... sometimes, we find that there's a cheaper way to eat without the coupon than to buy a meal that is more expensive to get the deal by using the coupon.) You can always check out Restaurants.com for inexpensive gift cards to restaurants. (We've found that this generally works for larger cities, but not as well for our small town.) For more tips on eating out, My Frugal Lifestyle has great ideas at this post.

One of the most important things for us is to treat ourselves every once in a while, so we don't become resentful of the budget we've imposed on ourselves. (Have I mentioned how much we LOVE to eat... and cook?!) This sometimes means buying specialty ingredients at the grocery store to try a new recipe, or deciding to have a date night at our favorite restaurant, even if we don't have a coupon or gift card (we do try to go in with a set amount in mind of what we'll spend). Ultimately, it's these special meals and treats that help us make memories and enjoy life, which is what it's all about, right?

So, how do you save a buck on food? What are the treats you allow yourself once in a while to make sticking to the budget manageable? I'd love to hear from you!

Sharin' the green love and savings!

Favorite Recipes

So, I promised last night that I would share our vegetable noodle stir fry recipe, which has become my new favorite make at home take-out. The recipe actually came from Everyday Rachel Ray, so I've given you the link above. Since we generally use recipes such as this merely as suggestions, we made a few variations based on what we had on hand. I would have loved to have tried it with the black bean paste and snow peas, but we didn't have either, so we either omitted or substituted. (Note that standard cabbage works well as a stand in for bok choy, as long as you keep it crisp, and we used regular onions in place of scallions.)

I also made this fantastic strawberry coffee cake that we love. I made it for my cousin's wedding breakfast at the beach a few years ago, and it was a total hit! I used strawberries I had frozen a while back, and it was good, but is much better with field fresh strawberries. So, I've included a picture here of our lovely, buttery, cream cheesy (no that's probably not a word, but go with it), HEAVENLY coffee cake. (Did I mention how good this stuff is?!) It's great slightly warm with a cup of coffee. So, here's the recipe from Coffee Cakes by Lou Seibert Pappas:

Strawberry Coffee Cake (warning, it's addictive, so pace yourself)

Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese at room temp. (I used low fat so I didn't feel quite as guilty)
1 stick butter at room temp. (the butter is a must, don't go with margarine)
3/4 c granulated sugar
1/4 c milk
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract (use homemade if you've got it--I add a splash more)
2 c all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3 c strawberries, sliced
1/4 c packed brown sugar
1/2 c chopped almonds or walnuts (I used pecans from our family's farm)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour 9x13 pan (I use Baker's Joy to make this easy).

In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, butter, and granulated sugar, and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Stir in the milk, eggs, and vanilla and beat thorougly. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir to blend. Add to cream cheese mixture and beat until smooth. Spread half the batter in the pan. Scatter the berries evenly over the batter. Dot the remaining batter over the berries. Mix the brown sugar and nuts together and sprinkle over the batter.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until cake is golden brown, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature, cut into squares. Serves 12-15.

Enjoy a slice for us!