Eating on a Budget

Just got back from another mind blowing trip to the grocery store.  It’s pretty amazing to watch prices jump, not by a few cents, but by 75 cents to a dollar or more.  Cooking on a budget is still possible and can be fun and easy –  so it’s not as dire as it may seem.  Flavors can make simple ingredients taste gourmet.  Wash Day Beans and Rice is a simple, quick and affordable dinner (I’ll post the recipe later this week), full of flavor and nutrition.   Pasta sauces are easy and inexpensive to make (compared to jarred sauces). You can make double batches and freeze 1/2 for another quick meal.

Experiment with spices (like chilis or curries) to turn ground beef or turkey into taste treats, served with rice or pasta and a vegetable or salad.  When out of season fresh produce is too expensive, turn to frozen.  Because you only use the portion you need and the rest stays frozen, no chance of it spoiling.  Frozen fruits and vegetables are often picked when they are ripe and then frozen, while many out of season (thus out of state) produce is picked before it is ripe and shipped.

Take advantage of sales.  Check out grocery ads and plan your meals around what’s a good price.  Buy meats in bulk when they are on sale and freeze in dinner portions (use these tips to make tasty, quick and easy main courses with marinades and sauces). 

Planning and variety are key.  When there’s a sale on an item, if you have several recipes that can use that ingredient, the more you can save without serving your family the same meal 4 nights in a row.

And finally, keep it simple.  Great tasting dinners can happen with 5 or less ingredients.  Less is often more when it comes to great flavor.  Fresh spinach leaves with a touch of raspberry vinagrette makes a great side with marinated chicken and rice.

Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup

Our run of unseasonably warm weather has come to an end and once again, it’s time for comfort foods.  This soup is one of my favorites.  Quick, easy and full of goodness.

 

Chicken Tortilla Soup

• 4 boneless chicken breasts, cubed
• 8 cups of water
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp orange juice
• 1 tbsp limejuice
• ½ tsp ea. – sage, basil, rosemary
• ½ ea. chopped green, yellow, red pepper
• 1 to 4 jalapenos chopped
• ½ tsp red chili pepper flakes
• 8 oz frozen sliced carrots
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 16 oz sweet corn
• 1 cup fresh salsa
• 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 flour burrito size flour tortillas

large saucepan

 

To saucepan, add water, chicken, vinegar, orange juice, limejuice, sage, basil, rosemary, bell peppers, celery, red pepper flakes, carrots and 8 oz of corn. Puree 8 oz corn, jalapenos, salsa, and ½ of cilantro.  Add to soup.   Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes. Cut tortillas into strips and add to soup.  Simmer for 5 minutes; add remaining cilantro and cheddar cheese.

 

Serves: 4  Prep time: 10 minutes  Cook Time: 20-30 minutes

Writing a Cookbook Poses Questions

I’m in the editing phase of writing a cookbook to go along with the menus and recipes at What’s 4 Dinner Solutions.  It’s the most boring part of what up until now has been a very fun job.  Not complaining by any means, just adjusting.  Now menu testing, that’s always fun, even when it doesn’t work.

As I decide what to do with the cookbook, I’m looking for input.  It is set up in such a way that it would make a great cd-rom.  Users could search it, edit recipes to fit their family, and print out only the recipes and menus they need.  Save some trees, pages will never be coverered in sauces and fingerprint smudges.  

My question is, do people expect a cookbook to actually be a book?  Or would they rather use the computer.  Many of my friends already print recipes off the web.  I’m torn and could use some input.  If you have any thoughts, leave them in the contacts or head on over to the website and contact me there (use the Ask TaMara link).  I appreciate your opinions.

Can You Afford to Eat Healthy?

I just posted my newest Ask TaMara column.  In it Patti feels that home cooking is expensive and hard to do.  I break down the prices of two easy menus that take about 15 minutes to prepare, and about 10 to 20 minutes to cook (depending on the recipe).  Both meals came in under the cost of feeding 4 fast food.  If you’d like those menus and recipes, they availble with my free week of menus, all you need to do is ask.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Macaroni and cheese is a comfort food and not to be messed with, so this is a simple, straightforward recipe.  The chopped tomatoes and jalapenos are by far my favorite mix-ins.  There is no shame in using Velveeta…skip flour, butter and reduce milk to ½  cup.  I actually use the store brand.  Check the ingredients of your brands, my store brand lists cheddar and milk as the first two ingredients, it’s creamy and sharp and makes a great mac n’ cheese.

 Baked Macaroni & Cheese:    

• 12 oz elbow macaroni
• 2 cups milk
• 2 tbsp flour
• salt & pepper to taste
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 chopped onion
• 3 oz shredded cheddar cheese
• 3 oz shredded jack cheese
• 4 oz crushed potato chips

Cookware:  large sauce pan, small sauce pan, large casserole dish

 Bring water to boil in large sauce pan, add macaroni and cook according to package directions. In small sauce pan. melt butter, add flour, salt & pepper, and then add milk. Stir constantly over medium heat until bubbly, add cheese, stir until melted.  Drain macaroni, put into casserole dish, stir in cheese sauce, top with crushed chips and bake 20 minutes at 350°, until top is light brown and cheese is bubbly.

Serves 4 generously

Prep time: 15 minutes  Cooking Time: 35 minutes (though 15 of those are simultanously with 15 minutes of prep time).

Finicky Eaters, Chapter One

A friend and I were running errands today, one of which was at the local Asian market.  This prompted, as it always does, a great discussion on different types of food.  I’m forever picking things up and wishing there were directions on how to cook it or what it is good for.  There’s this big, prickly fruit, bigger than a pineapple that I always want to know what to do with it.  My friend can tell me somethings, but others she’s at as much of a loss as I am.  We talk about regional foods, like, oh, SPAM…or fish flakes and dried squid. 

This leads us to talking about finicky eaters.  Today she shared a great idea that her kid just loves.   When she makes mac ‘n cheese, she boils cauliflower with the macaroni adds her cheese sauce and finishes up by baking it in the oven.  It’s now a family favorite.

There are lots of ways to get creative with familiar recipes to help the finicky eater.   Adding a variety of vegetables to meatloaf, making a hearty vegetable broth to add to soups or stews.  Up the nutrition and introduce subtle new flavors.

There’ll be more tips for finicky eaters as we go along.  And later this week I’ll dig out my favorite mac ‘ n cheese recipe and post it.  Cauliflower optional.

Can’t Make It To The Inauguration?

The Joint Congressional Committee On Inaugural Ceremonies (what a title) has released the menu and recipes for the Inaugural Luncheon.  Sounds fancy.

Seafood Stew will start the afternoon and they will finish up with Cinnamon Apple Sponge Cake.  In between there will be wild game and winter vegetables.

Spicy Lime Cilantro Chicken w/Mexican Rice

Spicy Lime Cilantro Chicken:

• 4 boneless chicken breasts
• ½ cup limejuice
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro
• ¼ cup sliced pickled jalapenos and juice

 Place ingredients in a zip-lock bag and marinate 1 hour or overnight.  Broil or grill for 15 minutes, turning every 5 minutes, until breasts are cooked.

 

Mexican Rice Medley:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ½ small yellow onion, chopped
• 6 oz can chopped green chilies
• ½ tsp crushed garlic
• 1 small tomato, chopped
• 1 cup Jasmine rice
• 1 ¼ cup water
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1 tsp chili powder
• salt & pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

large saucepan and bowl

 

While chicken is broiling, in saucepan, heat oil, add onion, chilies, garlic and tomatoes, sauté until onions are golden.  Remove to bowl.  In pan add rice, water, tomato sauce and chili powder, bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and let simmer 20 minutes until all liquid is absorbed.  Add onion mixture, salt and pepper to taste and cilantro, then fluff with a fork. 

Serves 4 

Cooking Tips:  If a recipe has meat or poultry that are marinated, a great timesaver is to make the marinades when you purchase the meats.  Mix meat and marinades together into a freezer bag and freeze.  All that’s left to do is thaw and cook.  10-minute meals are easy with a variety of marinades and meats or poultry, then stir-fry, grill or broil and serve.

“I Hate Cooking”

A friend called today, wanted to know what to add to her stew to ‘liven’ it up.  I had to work hard to convince her that simpler was better.  Then she tells me she hates cooking.  I hear that a lot.  I suppose that’s one of the reasons I started my service.  My thought was if I took the guess work out of cooking, more people would enjoy it.

I get thank you notes that validate that for me, but I’m not sure it’s enough.  I enjoy cooking so much and I am passionate about family dinners, I want to convince everyone.  Study after study shows that sitting down to a healthy dinner as a family benefits parents and children.  But now with that we’ve added guilt to people who already dislike cooking.

I love to cook.  For me, it’s creative and satisfying.  Most importantly though, is its ablity to relax me.  I find the time in the kitchen, chopping, measuring, mixing and sauteing peaceful.  My time, almost Zen like.  I can have a house full of people and once I step into the kitchen, it’s just me…even if they all follow me in there. 

I know I can’t make cooking that way for everyone, but if I can at least reduce the stress around cooking, then maybe dinner won’t be about have to, it can become about wanting to.  Simple, tasty recipes that are almost foolproof to prepare.

I’ll dive into my recipes this weekend and see what I can find to brighten up another January week.  Until then….

Blood Orange Salad

Here’s a sunny treat for a cloudy winter day:

 Blood Orange Salad:

• 2 blood oranges**
• 2 large navel oranges
• 6 green onions, thinly sliced
• ½ small jicama, peeled & cubed
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ½ tsp oregano, crushed
• ¼ tsp ground cumin
• Bibb lettuce leaves
• shallow serving bowl

Peel oranges, and slice them into thin circles (don’t section).  Place oranges, onions & jicama in a bowl.  Sprinkle with vinegar, oil, oregano & cumin, and toss gently.  Let marinate 30 minutes at room temperature, serve on lettuce leaves.

 **If you can’t find Blood Oranges, substitute pink grapefruit for some tang.

More recipes and tips.