Recipe Dump!

So often, I find it difficult to keep up with updates because I cook many of the same 20 dishes in different combos so often.  Not this week!  After the jump find a slew of recipe sources and interesting things to make this Fall...

Once-a-Month Cooking

 One way to be frugal is to cook an awful lot of food at one time.  You buy in bulk, cook in bulk, freeze in bulk, and then eat it slowly over the next few weeks.  This is called "once-a-month cooking" or sometimes, "freezer cooking" and it is something that both intrigues and frightens me.  My freezer is constantly being used with best intentions and then stuff just sits.

After the jump find some resources for how to plan such an endeavor and a treasure trove of recipes to use when you decide to take the plunge.

 

Government Cheese

There's been a lot of kerfuffle on the Internet about this new redesign of the Food Pyramid.  A lot of people have their knickers in a twist over the dumbing down of the American People by switching from a triangle to a circle.  I have to disagree.  Follow me after the break for some fun and nifty government resources (read: free!) and a little free opinion thrown in on the side.

Amaranth: Everything Old is New Again

I keep running into people talking about Amaranth like it is some sort of alien grain sent from the heavens to confound the kitchen-bound.  It isn't.  It's awesome!  This grain was cultivated 8,000 years ago and just keeps coming back.  It's gluten-free and incredibly versatile.  Join me after the break for a selection of delightful recipes to get you started using this grain.  It's the next quinoa*, I'm convinced.

What to do with Whey?

Making a recent yogurt recipe left me with a few cups of whey and whey is one of those things that people talk about but never seem to get around to actually using.  I really didn't want to waste perfectly good (and nutritious!) whey...so off to Google it was.  There were a few REALLY GREAT ideas I've culled with some basic google-fu; follow me after the break for that adventure because I'm sold: whey is where it's at.

Cooking with Children

The more I've thought about this, the more I am I convinced.  The world would be a better place if children were taught to cook from an early age.

I was a late-comer to cooking.  In some ways, that was a good thing -- I had the chance to learn to be fearless.  In some ways, not so good -- I felt pretty nervous and lacking in the kitchen until most of the way through college.

In my family, I was not the cook.  This comes as a great surprise to my friends now, I'm sure, but until this past year, my family barely let me into the kitchen.  My mother liked control in the kitchen and she and my father split the cooking duties.  In a small space, this meant children were more of a nuisance than helpers (too many cooks and all that).  Since you are not my therapist, dear reader, I won't go any further into the past...but just recently I had a phenomenal experience with kids I do want to share.  Join me after the break for that and the best pancake recipe EVER.

Reckoning #5

So...how did the menu plan work out this week?  Let's take a look...

	Breakfast	Lunch (Snacks)	Dinner
Monday	coffee, leftover lasagna	caramel rice cakes, potato chips, apple, banana, peanut butter, carrots, snow peas, tea	Butternut Squash and Pasta w/Sage (Milk to drink)
Tuesday	coffee, leftover Squash/pasta	caramel rice cakes, potato chips, apple, banana, peanut butter, carrots, snow peas, tea	leftover butternut squash pasta, milk
Wednesday	coffee, perfect oatmeal, banana and PB	apple and PB, carrots, peas, leftover lasagna, tea	leftover butternut squash pasta, milk
Thursday	coffee, perfect oatmeal	Leftover Lasagna, apple and PB, carrots, tea	Bacon Chicken, Banana "ice cream" with caramel/PB sauce
Friday	coffee, perfect oatmeal	Leftover Bacon Chicken (+freebie meeting food, took the rest of lunch home)	Dinner out w/a friend!

Recipes and notes for this week after the jump...

Reckoning #4

So...how did the menu plan work out this week?  Let's take a look...

	Breakfast	Lunch (Snacks)	Dinner
Monday	coffee, leftover rice	rich tea biscuits, carrots, peas, apple, cheese stick	Treated by a friend!
Tuesday	coffee/lemon pound cake *	Ratatouille and leftover kimchee fried rice	chicken breast with mirepoix and wine gravy
Wednesday	coffee/tea/pumpkin scone *	leftover chicken with peas and carrots	split chicken finger app. w/a friend post-concert*
Thursday	Focaccia and Coffee	rich tea biscuits & cheese, sliced zucchini & squash	Fried Rice w/peppers and carrots
Friday	Hot rice cereal, coffee	Rice and Mango, Cheese Sticks and biscuits, apple, tea	Rice and Mango and then a Party!

*Another fail this week -- I had a singing gig 1-hour north of where I live.  Sadness, I stopped at Starbucks a few times this week...

Recipes and notes for this week after the jump...

Ideas for cooking Frugal Food

I recently read a nice resource post on the Moneyning blog: 12 Super Cheap, Super Nutritious Foods You Should Be Eating

And yes, for people who like eating cheaply but also well, these are great foods.  But too often, we read lists like these and wonder how we should incorporate these dishes.  Wonder no more!  I am posting the 12 super cheap healthy foods and recipes you can use with each in a lovely recipe dump after the fold...


Also -- a challenge to myself.  The next time I go grocery shopping, I will endeavor to find these ingredients and meal plan around them. Updates forthcoming.

Reckoning Week 3

So...how did the menu plan work out this week?  Let's take a look...

	Breakfast	Lunch (Snacks)	Dinner
Monday	6 Leibniz biscuits, an apple, a string cheese, and coffee	Grandma's 15-Minute Soup (peas/carrots/grapes, tea)	Baked Brie, (serve w/chocolate, an apple, crackers, & some wine)*
Tuesday	Slice of Poppyseed Cake, Coffee**	Avocado w/S&P, peas, carrots, grapes (6 biscuits w/tea)	Edamame and Pad Thai**
Wednesday	Scone and Coffee	Treated by a friend!	Sweet/Savory Squash (dessert: a slice of fudge)
Thursday	Hot Rice Cereal and Coffee	15-min. soup, crackers (6 biscuits + tea)	carrots, peas, grapes (not eaten at lunch) + the last of the Leibniz
Friday	I'm stuck in New York this weekend, so today was kind of off...Hot Rice Cereal and Coffee	Plane food + half a turkey/avocado sandwich split w/a friend.	Dinner out in Midtown: Sushiya, not bad.

*This was pretty awesome.  My neighbor, who reads the blog, made the baked brie recipe posted earlier last week.  This became (a rather unhealthy if frugal...read: free!) dinner.  I'm kind of touched...and one step closer to an early death via heart disease.  Yum.

**Drove through a Caribou Coffee while taking care of DMV stuff with my car. :(  Should have woken up earlier...and then went out to dinner w/a friend before going to a (free!) author reading/signing. :(( this was not the most food-budget conscious of days.

Recipes and notes for this week after the jump...

Reckoning Week 2

So...how did the menu plan work out this week?  Let's take a look...

	Breakfast	Lunch (Snacks)	Dinner
Monday	2 slices of Friendship Bread and Coffee	Almonds/roast soy bean mix, sugar snap peas, baby carrots, 2 string cheese (4 rich tea biscuits w/tea)	Pelmeni w/ sour cream, sauteed kale, cream cheese stuffed sweet peppers
Tuesday	Scone and Coffee	Sauteed kale, black beans and rice, carrots (string cheese, tea)	Chicken Picadillo, black beans and rice
Wednesday	Apple and Coffee	Chicken and Barley Soup / Sugar Cookie *	Chicken Picadillo, black beans and rice
Thursday	Mango slices, baby bell cheese and Coffee	Almonds/roast soy bean mix, sliced red and yellow bell pepper, baby carrots (3 string cheese w/tea)	Vegetable Stuffed Crepes
Friday	Scone and Coffee	Pizza Party at work! Freebie meal!	Heavy hor d'oeuvres and wine at a church function! Freebie meal!

* I admit, I didn't leave time to pack lunch that day.  I had to rely on the coffee shop downstairs.  Fail.  And crazy expensive.  Seriously, $4 for a cup of soup and a cookie.  Gah!

This was a performance week for me (meaning I had rehearsals or concerts every night except Friday).  Because of that, dinners had to be particularly quick and light.  Each recipe this week had to take under 30 min. to prep and cook..leftovers featured prominently.

Recipes and notes for this week after the jump...

French Appetizer done American-style

Baked Brie
This is a recipe I inherited from an old family friend.  She was originally from Aix-en-Provence and pooh-poohed any compliments to her cooking.  Now that I make this, I know why.  It is one of the easiest appetizers to throw together and it is very difficult to screw up.  The trick that makes this better than other baked brie recipes is the chutney...savory with the sweet ends up being much better than just using jam (if slightly more expensive).



I call it "American-style" because that's what I call a dish made up of pre-made ingredients.  Sure, you could make puff pastry from scratch or throw together a chutney; but this is so much easier!  Ok, ok, it's not very healthy.  It's also not the most economical dish.  But darn if it isn't tasty.

Acorn Squash as a meal

Fall is here (finally!) and with the season I am reminded how much I like fall vegetables. One of my favorites is acorn squash.  So versatile!  Puree into a soup, cube and saute as a side, stuff, bake, and serve as a main dish...the sky is the limit.

One of my favorite ways of prepping this comes from the kitchn; a cooking blog that I always forget to check but often has good recipes. It is such a simple idea...cut a squash in half and prep one side sweet and one side savory.  Brilliant.  Also, the seeds can be roasted, just like a pumpkin's! This a great quick, cheap, and easy meal on a chilly Fall evening.


Sweet and Spicy Squash
How to roast seeds

Credits
Image: acorn squash a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from shaferlens's photostream

Reckoning Week 1

So...how did the menu plan work out this week?  Let's take a look...

	Breakfast	Lunch (Snacks)	Dinner
Monday	1/2 of a left-over turkey sandwich w/cup of coffee	Almonds/roast soy bean mix, sugar snap peas, baby carrots, 2 string cheese (4 rich tea biscuits w/tea)	Pelmeni w/ sour cream
Tuesday	1 whole kiwi, a low-fat string cheese, and a cup of tea	Leftover pelmeni (4 rich tea biscuits w/tea)	Lamb ragout
Wednesday	1 Avocado w/s&p and a cup of tea	Almonds/roast soy bean mix, sugar snap peas, baby carrots, 2 string cheese (4 rich tea biscuits w/tea)	Roast Chicken and Gravy with Ratatouille
Thursday	2 slices of Friendship Bread and Coffee	Leftover Roast Chicken and Ratatouille	Thai Peanut Chicken and Noodles
Friday	2 slices of Friendship Bread and Coffee	Leftover Thai Peanut Chicken and Noodles (sugar snap peas, baby carrots, cup of tea)	Leftover Thai Peanut Chicken and Noodles

Recipes and notes for this week after the jump...

True Budgeting

So I was reading an article on CNN today which was absolute RUBBISH.  It purports to tell you how to save $500 by Christmas and then suggests things like "eat in at least once a week" ... ::cricket cricket:: what, that's not a mind-blowingly awesome suggestion? Oh, you mean you already do that and more? I think this comment speaks for pretty much everyone reading that article, "unkatharos: This was no help at all. *disappointed"




It's no secret, food is a big expense because you gotta eat.  How to save money?  One of the first sites I found that helped me learn menu planning and budgeting was:

Hillbilly Housewife

They are great.  Not only do they provide recipes and menu plans, they often provide step-by-step instructions for everything along the way....ex:

Sunday Night: Mix up the dough for Overnight Bread.  Set it aside to rise.  Mix up a gallon of milk and a gallon of Tea. Put both into the fridge to chill.  Clean the kitchen.  Go to bed.

It may seem silly, or a little outdated to some...but sometimes, when you are panicked and scared, straight-forward instructions like "clean the kitchen" "go to bed" are very handy.

If you are hungry and desperate, please check these links out:

$45 Emergency Menu (for 4-6)
$70 Low-Cost Menu (for 4-6)

They used to offer menus planned around the Angel Food Ministries Boxes.  Those menus are still archived there but are no longer updated (as of Feb. 2010) but please let me recommend them anyway as a great start to budget meal planning.

How to REALLY save for the holidays without increasing your revenue...
So, if you are currently spending more than $25/week for a singleton or $50/week for a couple or $100/week for a family of 4...use one of these menus for a few weeks and use the savings for Christmas (or a holiday of your choosing, or your looming debt).

Credits
Image: Empty Plate a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from Conway L.'s photostream

Starting with a Chicken

Roast chicken is one of the best ways to get a lot of food for a little.  But the more I've shopped this idea around the more I've come to learn that few people really know how to roast one.

I make this for my friends all the time and they are blown away.  I have people come up to me in the grocery store (abashed) asking how one prepares a whole chicken.  Even more impressively, I had my mother over and while she can cook a chicken, she never learned to carve one.  I have a secret: this is one of those things that I learned from the Internet.

  
Here are some of the best links to get you started:

How to Roast a Chicken
This page from about.com is spectacular.  A no-fail basic roast chicken recipe complete with links to making no-fail basic gravy and no-fail basic chicken stock AND teaches you fancy French words for things you already knew how to do.  Adding chopped veggies to the roasting pan? You've made mirepoix.  Gravy? You've probably made a roux and bechamel or veloute sauce.  Aren't we fancy?

How to Carve a Chicken
This video is great.  I love watching chefs do things because they make it seem so easy (and not scary).  The first time I watched this I actually went to Target and bought a fresh new carving knife just to try it out.  It wasn't expensive (about $3).

What to Do with the Leftovers
Cheap Healthy Good is one of my favorite food blogs.  They have helped me out a lot when I'm in a pinch for fast recipes.  "1 Chicken 17 Meals" is one of my all-time favorite posts. All recipe links are included and they are easy to manipulate with whatever ingredients you have on hand. The sesame noodle/peanut sauce recipe might have redeemed my cooking skills in the eyes of my mother.  Powerful stuff.



Credits
Image: Roast Chicken a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from kirybabe's photostream