this n that (and recipes!)

I recently found the Happy Foody blog and I have to say it's really inspiring. Sara is a vegan and eats a mainly raw food diet. I was a vegetarian for seven years, and while I don't have the desire to be totally meat free, I do tend to prepare primarily vegetarian meals when it's my turn to cook.

We eat lots of produce already, but I'm trying to get more (and more varied) into our diet. It's kind of hard on a limited budget, but definitely doable. I've written about this before, but here's how I do it:

1. Watch the ads for the loss leader organic produce
2. Shop Whole Foods - again, primarily buying what's in season and on sale
3. Stalk the Kroger markdown area - I end up with great deals on organic bananas, spinach, and salad mixes.
4. Use the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists for deciding on organic vs. non-organic

Our lunch today was so good, I wanted to share a couple of recipes. I saw this post over at Happy Foody and the sweet potatoes sounded awesome! I love sweet potatoes, but only ever eat them around the holidays and then, only when someone else has prepared them. I didn't realize how easy and fast they are - so forgive me if you've been making them forever. I kind of adapted a recipe from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything.

Easy Sweet Potatoes
about 2 lbs of sweet potatoes (I used one huge one) - cubed
about 2 Tbs of butter
about 2 Tbs of maple syrup (Ours is a mix of maple syrup and agave nectar - both from the bulk aisle at WF)
a little bit of salt, and pepper if you like

I threw all of the above in the pot with about a 1/2 cup of water. Heat it all up on medium until the water boils - then cover it and turn it down to a simmer. Stir it every five minutes or so until the potatoes are soft (or whatever level of tenderness you like) - takes about 20 minutes all together.

It made enough for everyone to have huge servings and I have some leftover that I'll be snacking on in a bit.

Last week I made up a big batch of beans in the slow cooker. Sort of recipe:

4 Bean Mess o' mess
1/2 cup pinto beans
1/2 cup black beans
1/2 cup kidney beans
1/2 cup adzuki beans (these are packed with protein, but we've discovered that we don't really care for them by themselves - they were great mixed in with the others, though.)
about a cup of chopped onion
about a cup of chopped red bell pepper
four strips of bacon (you could leave this out of course)
salt and pepper to taste

I rinsed all of the beans and picked them over, but I don't soak them before slow cooking. Throw all of the above in the slow cooker and then add enough water so that the water is about 2 inches over the beans. Cook on high for 6-8 hours (until the beans are soft). Keep an eye on the water level - you may need to add more. You could also add stock if you wanted, but I figured with the bacon it would be overkill.

We had beans and rice the other night, leftovers the next day, and I froze three 2-cup servings for later.

So, for lunch today the kids had cheese quesadillas, beans, and sweet potatoes. Derek and I had cheese, bean, and lettuce soft tacos with sweet potatoes on the side. It was so good!

I also wanted to share a link that Tara sent me. It's really the way we shop/cook/eat - I think she sums it up perfectly: Saving Money on Food (the No Compromise Way) - I've added her blog over in my blogroll, too. Check it out, if you get a chance!

Kettle Corn

I just made this recipe for the kids and I (me? myself?). You should too, but remember:

1. Let it cool - you will burn the %*&#* out of your mouth.
2. You will eat it all and not have a pretty picture for your blog.

Also of note, I went to Target and their only option for non-microwave popcorn was the ALMOST FIVE DOLLAR container of Orville Redenbacher's. Pinto beans were twice the price they are at Kroger. I about passed out in the store. So, we stopped at Kroger on the way home and bought popcorn, a cantaloupe, a bag of black beans, and a bag of pinto beans for what the popcorn and pintos alone would have cost at Target. Crazy.

homemade mustard

Recipe for the homemade mustard over on my other blog. Woo-hoo - two blog posts in one!

$500 challenge - update

Busy day today! I'm still getting over a cold, so I'm actually amazed at what we've accomplished.

The kids and I went to our local rec center for their play time. $1 per kid for an hour and a half of running around in the gym, getting completely worn out, and practically guaranteeing nap synchronicity later. Totally worth it. Spent: $2

Then we went to the library and checked out a whole stack of books, kits, and cds. Free

Stopped at Tom Thumb. I cannot find my receipt to save my life. I can recreate the prices, but have no idea on my savings. Dang it.

Purchased:
1 cantaloupe .88
1 onion @ .88/lb - so about $1
1 gallon organic milk marked down - $2 (expire date of 5/31 - we can kill a gallon of milk in 4 days easy)
1 rotisserie chicken - $4.99 (more on this in a moment)
1 7 oz package of Kraft shredded cheese - $1.99 and used .50/1 (doubled) tearpad coupon that was hanging right in front of it - so .99
1 organic herb salad mix
1 organic spinach salad - these were BOGO, so $3.99 for both

Spent $14 (rounding up, it was just under $14. I'll change if I find the receipt.)
Saved: $1 with the coupon and $3 off of the milk for sure - so $4 savings, again I'll update if I find that @#%%$# receipt!

$500 Challenge Totals:
food & eating out (includes HBA): $80.06 ($85.03 savings)
gas: 35.01
clothing
coffee & beer making supplies: $52.05
household necessities (like air filters, etc)
entertainment:
- Derek allowance: $15.46
- Wendy allowance: $18.85
- Kids' allowance: $5
crafting supplies: $45.38
gifts: $12.88

Total spent: $264.69
Remaining: $235.31

Now, about the chicken. I love to get rotisserie chickens when I know I need a quick meal. I frequently get them at Whole Foods, as well - usually $8.99 there.

We usually eat chicken with whatever quick veggies/fruits/grains I have. So, today's lunch was nosh plates of chicken, cheddar cheese cubes, raw carrots, and fresh cherries (Thanks Kam and Teri for the cherries!)

The next day I pull more chicken off and usually make a casserole-esque thing with it - chicken, cheese, veggie, pasta/rice. Finally, I pull off whatever chicken remains and boil the bones. I strain it and freeze a couple of bags of broth and add the remaining chicken to one more bag of broth and freeze it. That way I have broth for rice, a quick soup, or mashed potatoes and a broth/chicken ready to mix with frozen veggies and egg noodles for a quick chicken noodle soup.

So, 3-5 meals out of the $4.99-$8.99 chicken. We do the same thing when I buy fresh whole chickens, too. It seems like kind of a pain, with the boiling, straining and everything. But really, it's a minimal amount of work for several quick easy meals that keep us from going out.

This really illustrates how most of our meals come together - they're usually made up of fresh produce, what needs to be eaten, and stockpiled freezer items.

Another example (if you're not bored to tears, yet!): We had yummy grilled pork loin at my in-laws this weekend. Derek made it with whole garlic cloves pushed into the pork - it was so good! We had a couple of slices that we brought home. The kids were with the in-laws yesterday (God bless them) and I needed a quick dinner for Derek's dinner break. So I sliced up the leftover pork, chopped up the garlic that it was cooked with and added it to frozen broccoli and rice from the pantry for a quick stir-fry. Easy, delicious, and healthy! I just wish I had stockpiled lo mein noodles.

Prior to couponing/budgeting, I guarantee you I would have found that bag of leftovers pushed to the back of the fridge sometime in mid-July.

My goal with this blog is to show that you really can eat well and have fun on a budget. Hopefully, I'm illustrating that. I'd love to hear your tips, too!

Bread Machine Recipe - update

I've made this recipe three times now using 1/2 cup of whole wheat and 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose. Just wanted to update, since I hadn't figured out how much whole wheat flour it could take when I posted it the first time.

ExpressBake Traditional-Style White Bread(makes a 1.5 lb loaf)
1 cup + 2 Tbsp hot water
2 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tsp salt
3 cups of bread flour - I use 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose and 1/2 cup whole wheat
5 tsp bread machine yeast (I use 2 packets of Fleishmann's Active Dry Yeast.)

Place the ingredients in the pan in the order listed. Make a little well in the flour and pour the yeast into it - making sure that the yeast doesn't touch any of the wet ingredients.

Select expressbake and press start.

I love my bread machine

Jocelyn asked: ...will you post some of your more common bread machine recipes? I'm considering using our machine more and buying less bread. Thanks!

Jocelyn - I couldn't post on your blog - but I wanted to tell you that your son is gorgeous!

Now for the bread machine. I love, love, love my bread machine. My mother bought it for me for Christmas a couple of years ago. It sat in its box for a year before we ever tried it. Now I use it 2-3 times a week.

If you've never used a bread machine before, here's how it works: You put the ingredients in the machine - wet ingredients first, dry ingredients second, yeast last. You turn it on. You enjoy hot, fresh bread. Seriously, it's that easy.

I have two recipes that I use frequently. Both are from the recipe book that came with the machine. One is a quick loaf that is ready in an hour, from start to finish. It takes quite a bit of yeast and so far, I've only been successful using white flour for it. The other takes 3 hours and I usually make it with a mix of white and wheat flour.

ExpressBake Traditional-Style White Bread
(makes a 1.5 lb loaf)

1 cup + 2 Tbsp hot water
2 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tsp salt
3 cups of bread flour (I just use unbleached all-purpose flour.)
5 tsp bread machine yeast (I use 2 packets of Fleishmann's Active Dry Yeast.)

Place the ingredients in the pan in the order listed. Make a little well in the flour and pour the yeast into it - making sure that the yeast doesn't touch any of the wet ingredients.

Select expressbake and press start.

I've only used this machine, but I'm sure others have an "expressbake" type option.


Homestyle White Bread (My version is more like Homestyle Kind-of Wheat Bread)
(makes a 1.5 lb loaf)

1 cup warm water
1 Tbsp butter or margarine, softened (I've used spreadable butter and it works fine.)
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp milk (I warm it up a little before putting it in.)
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 cups of flour (I use half whole wheat flour and half all-purpose flour. I mix them together before putting them in the pan.)
2 1/2 tsp of bread machine yeast (I use one packet of Flieschmann's Active Dry Yeast.)

Add the ingredients to the pan in the order that they're listed above. Make a little well in the flour and pour the yeast into it - making sure that the yeast doesn't touch any of the wet ingredients.

Select 1 1/2 lb loaf. Select crust color. Use the Basic program. Press Start.

I've tried some other recipes as well. I usually just google whatever ingredients I have + bread machine (Like "sweet potato bread machine" or "vanilla yogurt raisin bread machine"). Be sure that the recipe is for a size of loaf that your machine can handle. I made a sweet potato bread the other day. The recipe was for a 2 lb loaf - I was thinking my machine could do that, but it's largest size is 1.5 lb. Luckily I used wheat flour in place of some of the white flour, so it didn't rise nearly as high as it could have. Crisis averted and the bread was delicious! Could have ended up really nasty and messy, though.

Here are some sources for recipes:

http://www.qis.net/~champion/bread/main.html
http://fp.enter.net/~rburk/breads/breadmachine/breadmachine.htm
http://busycooks.about.com/od/breadmachinerecipes/Bread_Machine_Recipes.htm


And some useful info:
http://www.breadmachinedigest.com/beginners/the-basic-bread-machine-ingredients.php


Saving $$$ with your bread machine
If you buy your various ingredients at regular price, the cost of making bread is around the same cost as store bought. However, you know that you aren't using HFCS or trans fats, or anything else funky in your bread.

I watched and waited for baking season sales to start up this year - usually happens in early November. I traded for yeast coupons and ended up getting paid to buy the yeast I'll use until next year. I stocked up on unbleached, all-purpose flour during the same sale. I buy whole wheat flour from Whole Foods as I need it. I'm planning on watching for it to go on sale next year during baking season and I'll buy whatever amount makes a case to save an additional 10%.

I have no idea what my cost per loaf is now. I have the money-maker yeast, the cheap flour. Sometimes I use free-after-coupon butter, sometimes I use marked-down milk. Sometimes I use marked-down yogurt. The sweet potato bread was made with canned organic sweet potatoes that I found for .33 a can. So, obviously, there's no way for me to say how much each loaf costs. I'm sure it's way less than what I would be paying in the store and I know it's healthier.

A word of warning: be prepared to gain a little weight when you start using your machine. It's hard to resist fresh bread. And it just smells so good.

Q&A - part 2

Linda asked: Would you ever consider posting recipes?

Sure, if you want to see them! Derek and I usually work with modified versions of things we find in cookbooks or online. We're also prone to just dumping a bunch of different stuff into the crockpot.

Lots of questions about the coffee roasting. Tara asked: I know you can buy a hot air popcorn thingy at Walgreens but would like to know what brand, what to look for, instructions, and where to go from there.Do you have to store them any certain way? Different ways to roast to get different types (we prefer DARK beer and coffee...espresso, french roast, you get the picture).

Derek started here. Tara - the popper we got from Walgreens was Kitchen Gourmet brand. The main thing on the popper is that the air vents are on the bottom inside part of where you put the popcorn - like this. We have also used a Chefmate that we bought at Target and a couple of different ones that we found at thrift stores. Again, the vents on the bottom is the key.

When he was roasting with the popper, he usually roasted every morning for that day's coffee. Now that we have the Behmor 1600 roaster, he roasts a pound at a time. We store the roasted beans in a jar with a sealed top. We store the green coffee beans in the bags that they're shipped in.

I'll have to get Derek to answer the actual roasting questions.

(and Lourdes - I loved the making labels for coffee gifts idea!)

Lourdes asked: I have a stockpile question: when do you stop stockpiling?

When I started couponing, it wasn't long before we were swimming in toothpaste and shampoo. I wasn't sure how often those deals came around, so I wanted to get while the getting was good. Now I know that those deals are ALWAYS around.

Any product that needs to be newer, better, faster, have more blades, get your teeth brighter, whiter, hair shinier, fuller, softer, etc, etc, etc will always be cheap or free several times a month. The highest dollar coupons are for those products and those are the things that are free after RR (Walgreens) and ECB (Cvs).

So, when do you stop? For me, I stop when the drawer/shelf/box is full. I then either send things with Derek for the ladies he works with, give to the Mission, or start planning my next garage sale.

I do try to take advantage of every free toothbrush or floss offer, though. Those don't seem to come around quite as often.

Our food stockpile is obviously a continuing work. Dang family keeps eating. Again, though, I'm limited by the spot where I store whatever it is.

I'm thinking about a stockpiling post - so let me know any stockpile questions you may have.



Keep the questions coming!