Laura's Laws of Thrifty Cooking #7

THIS IS A PROCESS!

There is no way that you will be able to implement every thrifty practice into your life overnight.  If you try, you will get overwhelmed and stop.  There is absolutely no shame in taking things slow and incorporating things one at a time, as you feel comfortable.  I am still working on many of my own "laws" and it has taken me years to get this far.  Literally.  Years. Please keep in mind that it takes time to form new habits, and learn new techniques, but it does get easier.  Lots easier.  I hardly have to think about making bread anymore.  My little girls do most of the work now - for some reason they love bread dough, and I guess that motivates them.  :o)  When I first started cooking, I found that cookbooks had a lot of assumed knowledge, and so do most cooks.  We are trying here to help with that.  Please ask us questions about anything and keep in mind that this is a process!

Turkey Soup

So, I was faced with a dilemma this week. I had to find something that I could bring for supper for some friends. They live about 45 minutes away and have two small children, one of whom just had heart surgery (at 2!). Anyway, I needed something that would be quick, easy and kids would eat. Of course I called my MIL (mother in law). She is an awesome cook and always has great ideas. She suggested using up the last of our Christmas turkey for soup. Fantastic! I adapted a recipe of hers to the situation and made it the day before - fed 4 adults and two kids and then brought the remainder, fed 4 adults, two kids and still had a lot of leftovers. I forgot to take a picture until after we all ate, but you can still get the idea. (By the way - it was a hit!)



Turkey Soup

1 Turkey carcass (I always pick off pretty much all the meat that I see to use for other things, and still usually have plenty of meat in my soup - this time I added some extra meat because I wanted it plenty meaty)

Place in a stockpot and just cover with water. Add some vegetables - a carrot, a celery stick, an onion. Or, you can save vegetable peelings and use those to flavor your stock. That is what I do. When you peel vegetables for other things, stick them in a bag in the freezer for future use.  I have one bag for onions, one for carrots and one for celery.  Then, whenever I make a stock I just bring out the bags and dump them in. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. I usually cook at a simmer for about 4 hours or so. Then strain out the stock, let the carcass cool for a little while then pick the meat off. You may be surprised how much you get off! I always am.

Add the meat back to the stock. Add peeled carrots cut into about 1/2 to 1 inch pieces. Add sliced onions. I usually cut my onions into quarters and then slice them. Add cut up celery, cover and cook at a simmer for about an hour. Then add amish type noodles (you can buy these in the noodle section of your grocery store) or make homemade - recipe following. After noodles are cooked add dumplings.


Dumplings

1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup milk
flour

Mix beaten egg and milk together. Gradually add flour until the consistency of pancake batter, about 1 1/2 cups. Dip the spoon into the liquid before dropping dumplings to prevent dough from sticking Drop teaspoon into boiling broth to form small dumplings. Cook for about 5 minutes.


German Egg Noodles

1 beaten egg
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBL milk
1 cup flour (approx)

Combine egg, salt, and milk. Add enough flour to make stiff dough. Roll very thin on floured surface. Let stand 20 minutes. Roll up the dough and cut into 1/8 inch thick strips. Spread on paper to dry. Drop into boiling soup and cook 10 minutes.

This soup was really good. You can add some seasoning if you want. My MIL uses "Orrington farms chicken flavored ( as directed with water)". I am not really a bullion person, but hers is fantastic too. Sometimes, I taste the soup and then smell some of my spices. If they smell good, I might add some. Trust your senses. You can always take a cup of soup and just flavor that to try it out if you don't want to risk your whole pot of soup. Have fun!

PS - I often freeze my leftover soups and then pull them out for a quick meal when I am super busy.

Apple Crisp

My parents were here over the weekend, and I made apple crisp. This is one of my absolute favorite desserts. I got the recipe from a friend many years ago and have tweaked it just a bit. I meant to take a picture when it got out of the oven, but Jake and I were bringing supper to some friends, then I forgot, and now it is gone (inhaled would be more accurate). I needed to use up some apples anyway (they are starting to look a little wrinkly aren't they?) These are windfall apples, so they are great for baking, but they shouldn't be eaten raw because of E. coli concerns. Here is the recipe:

Fill a 9x9 pan with sliced apples almost to the top. Sprinkle with:

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

In a medium bowl cut 1 stick butter into:

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup whole wheat flour

with a pastry knife until it forms coarse crumbs. You could use a food processor too, it would probably be easier. Mix in 1 cup regular oatmeal. Sprinkle on top of apples. Bake at 325 for one hour.

Eat and Enjoy!

NOTE:  I messed up once and forgot to sprinkle the 1/2 cup of sugar over the apples, and it was still very tasty, so skip that 1/2 cup of sugar! 

Pancakes verses Waffles

Every weekend my five year old and my husband argue about what is better. Pancakes or waffles. Both contest that their favorite absorbs more syrup and is therefore superior. This weekend was Waffle Weekend, much to my husband's delight. This is a great way to make the weekend a little more special, without going out to eat. Every few weekends we eat half a pack of bacon from our pig. This bacon is fantastic and is still meaty and wonderful after it has been cooked. I like to put apple butter on mine - it is less expensive, tasty and something I can easily make myself.  This Apple butter recipe is close to what I make, but you really don't need Jonathon apples and you could just chop up the peeled and cored raw apples in your food processor before adding directly to the crock pot and enjoy a chunky apple butter or blend afterward to make it smooth.

Anyway, here is my go-to waffle recipe from the Joy of Cooking:

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl:

1 3/4 cup flour (I use 1 cup wheat and 3/4 cup white)
1 TBL baking powder
1 TBL sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Mix in another bowl:

3 large eggs, well beaten
4-16 TBL butter, melted
1 1/2 cups milk

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix only until just blended (should look like muffin batter - pebbled). Pour into the center of a heated waffle iron (yours may need to be greased or sprayed with cooking spray. You will need to pour in less than you think - the batter rises quite a bit while cooking. It usually takes about 4-5 minutes to cook. If your iron does not open easily after this amount of time - give the waffle more time to cook. If you force it the waffle will come apart and you will have a big mess on your hands.

Waffles. Thrifty and fun!

Love Those Two-fors!!!!

Love Those Two-fors!!!
I love my grocer’s specials and coupons. You can easily save 25% and more on your monthly grocery bill by taking advantage of two-for-ones, buying staples in bulk and using coupons. Realistically, most manufacturers’ coupons are for toiletries and junk food. A better find are your local grocers ‘deals of the week’ on dairy, meat, vegetables and staples. Many grocers now offer items labeled organic, although these are less often ‘on sale’ (as opposed to ‘for sale’). Spend 5 minutes at the beginning of the week checking out the advertisements in your local newspaper. Find where the specials are, then plan your menu for the week accordingly. Be a little smart about ‘the math’ as ‘sale items’ are not always a good deal. Make a list or circle the items on your flyer; this helps you to stick to your budget when you are in the store. It’s a smart idea not to grocery shop when you or your kids are hungry. Sometimes a trip to more than one store is an advantage, but this may not be feasible if the transportation costs outstrip your savings. If your finances and space allow, take advantage of the specials of the week and purchase a bit more to freeze or store in your pantry. Remember the lemons? I bought those at the end of the summer 5/$1.00. Two are still in my freezer waiting to be enjoyed.

TIP: Defrost lemons whole in the micro wave (careful they get really hot!) or on your countertop in a small dish. Use the juice in place of bottled…it’s much better tasting. One lemon has approx 2 Tbsp juice. The zest or peel is easiest to grate frozen and is delicious in baked goods.

The Tacos and What Became of Them

Well, you might remember that I had to mix up some venison with about 20% pork for hamburgers. Of course that gave me much more meat than I needed, so I froze half (in 1 1/4 pound packages), used 1/4 for burgers, and used 1/4 for tacos. I made my own seasoning this time, because I ran out, and it was really tasty. It needed a little salt, and I think that after this taco seasoning runs out I am going to make this taco seasoning instead, since I like a little more zip. This gave us more taco meat than we needed, so after serving tacos a couple of times, I knew I needed to come up with something different (remember, my husband "can't" eat the same meal three times in a row). A quick internet search and: Taco Eggs! I used toasted english muffins instead of pita pockets and I cooked my eggs ( in a bit of butter) before adding the meat. Then I sliced some cheese. My husband loved these, I think he ate three. After this, I had a bit left over, but I felt that I had reheated this particular meat enough and it wasn't safe to eat anymore, so, much to my dismay, into the trash it went. Oh well, I won't overestimate the number of eggs my family can eat next time.

The funny thing is, that my parents were visiting us this weekend and they agreed to watch the kids for us one night while we brought supper to some friends. I knew that the kids like tacos and that the folks like tacos (sometimes they are not so crazy about some of my more creative dishes), so I made them tacos to eat while we were gone. Of course they couldn't eat all of that meat either, so now I have leftover taco meat. Again. What to do? What to do? Another search for leftover taco meat and I came up with: Chili, mixing it with tomato sauce for a spaghetti bolognese kind of thing, chili mac or all kinds of other ideas. I am thinking about either the spaghetti or chili mac. I will post pictures, along with a recipe if any of these come to fruition.

Love Your Freezer

I love that I live in an age where I can freeze stuff....all kinds of stuff. Did you know that you can freeze lemons? (and then have fresh lemon juice or zest in winter....in Wisconsin..... without paying exorbitant prices!?!) Yep, I freeze lemons, extra chopped onions, all kinds of herbs, vegetable peelings for vegetable stock, ham bones, bread, cookies (!) as well as the more usual things that normal people freeze....like meats that go on sale, vegetables and an occasional pizza. Judicious use of your freezer is unbelievably convenient. You can take advantage of sale items and freeze some for later use, thus saving cash and your time. You can make extra black or pinto beans for chili, an extra pot of soup, an extra lasagne (if you are making one, why not two?) or a sauce base like a curry or a creole to freeze now and pull out later for a fast dinner. If you have a garden, you can preserve home grown vegetables (you know if chemicals have been put on it and how fresh it was when you froze it). There ARE a few items that do not freeze well....noodles being one but for the most part, anything you freeze can be an ingredient to a cooked dish. You may want to keep an inventory of sorts so you don't find interesting food-like substances in bags lurking in the far recesses of your freezer. I still find an occasional surprise, but......... I love my freezer!!!!!