Filling My Freezer: Cooking Up the Meat

I went shopping earlier this week and scored on some meat. I found hamburger reduced to $1.21/lb and pork ribs for under $1.00/lb. I stocked up on the beef and some ribs and then came home to quickly cook it up before the expiration date.

I try to always cook up any hamburger or chicken before I freeze it. The simple reason is that when dinner time rolls around the last thing I want to do is defrost and cook up some meat to go in the meal. If I can just take out a bag of precooked chicken or beef then dinner progresses much more smoothly, and we eat a healthy, balanced meal.

Hamburger Meat

I bought 7.5 lbs of hamburger and expected to get 15 (1/2 lb) bags out of the dish. I simply dumped a package of meat in the pot, added onions and garlic and let it cook. I then drained the grease from the pan and set the meat aside to cool.

I repeated this twice more to cook all the meat. After I had all of the meat cooked, I decided to save the last two lbs for runzas.

After the meat had cooled I added taco seasoning to some of it. I divided the meat into ziplok sandwich bags and then put three sandwich bags every freezer bag. I ended up with seven small bags of taco meat and six small bags of plain meat. Somehow I had stretched the meat farther than I expected, as I still had two lbs for runzas, but I didn’t worry about it.

Crockpot Barbecue Pork

I also made barbecue pork by putting my pork ribs in the crockpot and adding garlic and barbecue sauce. I set it on low and let it cook all day. It came right off the bone and we served it in sandwiches and put the leftovers in the freezer. This turned out really yummy and next time I’ll have to be sure to buy more pork, as I only bought enough for two meals.

Homemade Crockpot Applesauce

Last week Aldi’s had a terrific sale on fruits. In the middle of January I got apples for $0.33/lb, and oranges for $0.38/lb. Needless to say that I stocked up so that we can enjoy the fruit for weeks (well maybe not the oranges, they’re a hot commodity for the men in my house). We will eat many of the fruit raw in lunches and for snacks but if some of the apples start to get spotty then I’ll make up some homemade crockpot applesauce

I had never thought about making applesauce in the crockpot until I read Allison’s recipe online. I loved how easy the concept was, since I love my crockpot and the thought of making applesauce seemed so daunting. But thanks to earlier preparation this recipe was a breeze.

This fall when apples were under $0.33/lb I stocked up on more than 20 lbs and took them to my mother-in-law’s. She graciously let me use her apple corer/slicer and and helped me prep all those apples for later baking. She added some cinnamon and sugar to half of the bags to use in pies or applesauce, and left the other half unsweetened. I then used these bags for muffins, apple crisp, or applesauce. Here’s what I did when I made applesauce last week.

I took a bag of sweetened, prepared, apples from the freezer.

I plopped it in the crockpot, and set it on low.

I waited until it smelled really yummy and the apples were mushy.

I enjoyed my yummy snack, and wished I had added another bag to the crockpot.

Baking Bread

One of the greatest joys in life is my mother’s homemade bread. I was so excited when she sent me the recipe a couple of weeks ago. But I have to admit that I didn’t get around to baking bread until this morning when we ran out of bread and my husband had the car.

I have only baked bread a handful of times since being married. Since we don’t have a wheat grinder, I rarely have fresh whole wheat flour to make bread with. On a side note, I really, really hope to buy a wheat grinder before the end of the year so that we can eat healthier bread and save a few bucks. I also only have one bread pan, so making only one loaf seemed like a waste of energy.

But this morning I decided to forgo my excuses and make some bread. I used some whole wheat flour I found on sale a few weeks back (I know it’s not as nutritious as freshly ground flour, but it’s what I had). Thanks to my mom’s suggestions I realized that I could just make french loaf style bread in addition to my one loaf in the pan. The bread was a different shape, but it still tasted yummy.

Here is my mother’s recipe. I’m sure you could substitute honey for the sugar for healthier bread. Also, I only used 1 1/2 Tablespoons of salt instead of 2 because 2 seemed a little large. Oh, and we used water instead of milk because of food allergies.

My Mother’s Homemade Bread Recipe  Makes 4 loaves

3 T yeast
1 c water
3 1/2 c warm milk ( you may just use water or use powdered milk..I just heat the water in the microwave and add 1 cup dry powdered milk)
1/4 c sugar
2 T salt
1/3 c oil
12 c flour  (about) (I use half white and half wheat.)

Add yeast to 1 cup warm water and let sit for 2-3 minutes.
Add sugar, salt, oil to warm milk.
Add flour 2-3 cups at a time, stirring several times. Dough should be soft, but not too sticky.

Knead for 2-3 minutes. I just use a plastic grocery bag and knead it on the counter. You may need to add a little more flour. Place back in greased bowl.
Let rise in warm place until double. You may want to set bowl of dough in sink with warm water for 3-4 minutes to warm it up, then set it on sideboard to continue.

Punch down and let rise a second time.. Punch down again and form into loaves and place in greased pan. (If you don’t have enough loaf pans you can use a cookie sheet and shape it like french bread or make round loaves in 9″ round pans. My Aunt Marilyn always cooked hers in metal juice cans like tomato juice cans without tops that had been well greased. She set them straight up in the oven to cook. We loved her round bread)
Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes. Take out of pans while still hot and lightly butter tops if you want.
Enjoy

Making Orange Zest

Tim’s been coming down with a cold so we’ve been eating a lot of oranges over the past week to boost our vitamin C intake. Since I don’t like things going to waste, I put all of the orange peels in a large cup. When I have collected enough peels, I sit down and grate the peels to make orange zest to use in baking. I then store the zest in a jar in the fridge.

Making orange zest isn’t the only thing you can do with orange peels. You can thrown them in the disposal to freshen up the drain. Or you can put an orange peel with your brown sugar to keep it soft. Dried orange peels are often used in potpourri as well.

I waste more than I like to admit, but one easy thing I can do is save my orange peels for other uses.

Weekly Menu: Potato Soup and Bread Bowls

Here is our menu for the coming week. You can read here about how planning a menu saves us time and money.

Monday: Stirfry
Tuesday: Potato soup and bread bowls*
Wednesday: Lentil/Rice Casserole
Thursday: Homemade Hamburger Helper
Friday: Pizza
Saturday: Tim’s cooking Valentine’s Dinner with pork
Sunday: Roast, potatoes

We will splurge and go over our grocery budget a little bit this week to buy some ribs/roast/pork chops that Marsh has on sale for $0.99/lb. The pork comes in a 10-12 lb package and should give us many meals. We will use some of the pork for a fancy Valentine’s Dinner and then have some on Sunday when we are having some guests over. Even though we’ll go over a little on our groceries, we won’t be dining out on Valentine’s Day which will save us some money.

We may soon be raising our grocery budget by $20/month. Tim’s been burning a lot of calories at the gym lately and his appetite has grown. I also have a growing appetite as the baby gets larger and I want to make sure I’m eating as healthy as I can for the baby.

*Potato Soup
2-3 cups chicken broth
2 cups chopped potatoes
1  cup celery (opt)
1/4 cup onion
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup butter
2 1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cheese
1 can corn, drained (opt)
1/4 cup shredded carrots (opt)
1/4 cup crumbled, cooked bacon (opt)
salt & pepper to taste

Combine the broth, potatoes, celery, carrots and onion in large pot and boil 20-30 min or until veggies are tender. In separate pan combine flour and butter and mix together 2-3 minutes over med heat until mixture darkens. Stir frequently to make sure it doesn’t burn. Add milk and continue to mix for 3-5 minutes until mixture thickens. Add milk mixture to broth and vegetables. Add cheese, corn, bacon, salt and pepper and heat through. The soup will continue to thicken as it sits.

This soup is very forgiving and you can interchange many of the optional ingredients.

*Bread Bowls
6 cups flour (I use 1/2 wheat, 1/2 white)
2 cups water
2 Tablespoons yeast (or 2 pkgs)
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
1/3 cup oil

Mix yeast, sugar and water and let rise until bubbly (5-10 min). Mix with other ingredients (dough should be a little stiff). Divide dough into 6 balls. Let balls rise until twice in size, about 45 min. Bake at 400 for 12-15 min.

Weekly Menu: Sausage Stew

With a lot of unexpected expenses this month, we are eating out of our cupboards until next week. Here is a look at our menu. I’ll be making slightly bigger batches so Tim can take leftovers to work.

Monday: Spinach rice casserole
Tuesday: Sausage Stew*
Wednesday: Spaghetti
Thursday: Chili
Friday: Pizza
Saturday: Potatoes and Noodles
Sunday: Tim’s cooking

*Sausage Stew
6-8 cut potatoes
1 chopped onion
1 sliced smoked sausage
2 cans green beans, undrained
1 can corn, undrained

In large pot combine all ingredients.  Cook about twenty minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Add salt and pepper as desired.

The Simple Life: Beans and Rice

I have read many frugal experts who tout the benefits of beans and rice. The dish is cheap, easy, and healthy, especially when using brown rice. The only problem was that Tim and I couldn’t find a recipe that tasted good. Then Tim struck gold.

He found this recipe online that was quick, cheap, yummy and we had all the ingredients on hand (with slight modifications). We served it to our friends who enjoyed it as well. We often put it in homemade tortillas with salsa, cheese, sour cream, lettuce and tomatoes or whatever we have on hand. But these aren’t necessary and invariably drive the cost per serving up.

To make this recipe even cheaper we don’t buy canned beans but instead soak and cook dry beans ahead of time then divide them into ziplock bags and freeze them until needed. I’ll even save some of the water I cooked them in with some beans to flavor the beans and rice. We also have used kidney beans in this recipe. We don’t purchase instant rice either so I’ll throw either white or brown rice in our rice cooker and add it to the recipe at the end.

Although this recipe is simple we enjoy how easy and versatile it is to make. Since it makes a lot we always have leftovers for lunch or another dinner. Now that we found a recipe we enjoy I too can tout the benefits of beans and rice.

Six Dishes To Use Up Potatoes

Since we accidentally overspent our grocery budget by $10 due to bad weather and the holidays (or my lack of planning for bad weather and the holidays), we haven’t been to the store in a few days and we won’t go until the end of the week.

To stretch our food and save money we plan on using up our 10 lb bag of potatoes until we go shopping again. This week we have already made hash browns and I plan on making some potato soup tonight. Tomorrow we will bring some twice baked potatoes to a New Year’s Eve party where our friends are serving chili.

Although the potatoes I have are fresh, most weeks I forget that I have potatoes in my cupboard and when I find them they only have a little time left and so I have to use them quickly. Since I have found lots of recipes that use up potatoes I thought I’d share six family favorites.

1. Twice Baked Potatoes
We will make our potatoes similar to this recipe but omit the bacon, use less sour cream and add ranch dressing. We usually make this as a side dish but we have used it as a main dish in the past.

2. Potato Soup
I will often double this recipe and use whatever vegetables I have on hand. This soup is also tasty with bread bowls.

2-3 c. chicken broth
2 c. chopped potatoes
1 c. celery
1/4 c. onion
1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. butter
2 1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. cheese
1 can corn, drained (opt.)
1/4 c. chopped bacon (opt.)
1/4 c. shredded carrot (opt)

Mix the broth, potatoes and vegetables in large pot and simmer 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. In a separate pan combine the flour and butter over medium heat and mix 1-2 minutes or until the mixture starts to brown. Add milk and constantly stir 3-5 minutes or until mixture thickens. Combine the milk mixture with the broth and vegetables. Stir in cheese, corn, bacon and carrot and heat through.

3. Potatoes and noodles
This is a Swedish recipe from my grandmother and is my dad’s favorite recipe. We make the mashed potatoes from scratch but to speed up the process we leave the peels on.

Mashed potatoes

Noodles:
1 c. flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2 Tablespoons milk
2 c. chicken broth
1-2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup cooked, shredded chicken breast (opt)

Mix egg, salt and milk. Add flour and mix well. Roll out thin and cut into noodles with a pizza  cutter*. Bring chicken broth to a boil over medium heat. Add separated noodles and let cook 5-10 min. Add chicken. Mix cornstarch with 1/4 cup cooled water and add to mixture. Let broth boil until thickened, adding more cornstarch if necessary. Pour over mashed potatoes.

*You can also just grab small chunks of dough with a spoon and drop in the broth instead of rolling the dough out. This speeds up the process but the noodles will turn out larger.

4. Rosemary potatoes
This is a simple recipe from the Betty Crocker Cookbook that we have frequently used as a side dish. This dish is a healthier alternative to fries if you use olive oil.

5. Baked potatoes
Baked potatoes are extremely versatile. You can top them with leftover chili, broccoli and cheese, pizza toppings, sour cream and bacon and other variations. We will often have baked potatoes when we want a lighter supper.

6. Hash browns
We will often bake the potatoes the night before and stick them in the fridge to make breakfast easier in the morning.

5-6 large potatoes
1 1/2 Tablespoons oil

Bake the potatoes in the microwave or oven. Let cool and then grate onto large pan or skillet. Add oil and fry over medium-high heat until golden brown.

Since I rarely stick to a recipe and instead use what I have on hand these are an approximation of how I make certain dishes. To make them a little healthier you could cut back on the fat and add vegetables and proteins where you think it’s needed. Don’t be afraid to experiment with potatoes, they’re very forgiving.

Weekly Menu: Black Bean Chili

One of the greatest ways that I save money is by planning out weekly dinner menus. Here is our dinner menu for this week. I’ll admit that I’m working on making our breakfast and lunch menus more organized.

Dinners:
Monday: Black Bean Chili* with sour cream and cheese, cornbread muffins
Tuesday: Dinner out for Anniversary
Wednesday: Baked Potatoes with leftover chili, steamed veggies
Thursday: Thanksgiving with family, we’re bringing rolls and sweet potatoes
Friday: Barbeque Chicken Pizza, fruit
Saturday: Fajitas
Sunday: Chicken Enchiladas, side veggies, biscuits

*Black Bean Chili ($3.70/8 servings or $0.46/serving)
1/2 lb ground beef, cooked (can increase to 1 lb)
1 1/3 cup dry black beans, soaked and drained
2 8-oz cans tomato sauce
2 15-oz cans tomatoes
6 cloves garlic, crushed
2 t. lime juice (can substitute lemon juice)
1/2 t. ground cumin
4 t. chili powder (or to taste)
1 onion, diced
2 t. Italian seasoning
1 tsp salt
2 cup water
6 T chopped cilantro (opt)

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker. Stir, cover and cook on high for 2 hrs them low for 8.

*Note: Can garnish with cheese and sour cream which would bring cost up to $4.25-$4.50/8 servings or $0.53-$0.56/serving.

Homemade Baby Wipes

One day I would like to try using cloth diapers and baby wipes to save money. But since we live in an apartment without washer/dryer hookups–and have to pay for every load we wash–cloth diapers wouldn’t be economical at the moment. So until we move into an apartment with hookups I’ve had to find other ways to save on diapers and wipes.

One of the easiest ways I’ve found to cut diapering costs is to make your own baby wipes. I got sick of paying $7.00-$8.00 for wipes every month on top of what we paid for diapers. So I gave making our own wipes a try and have enjoyed the savings!

Below is the recipe for homemade baby wipes and the cost savings of homemade wipes compared to Wal-mart Generic Unscented wipes.

Recipe for Homemade Baby Wipes

Items needed:
1 durable paper towel roll
1 1/2-2 cups water
1 Tablespoon baby shampoo
1/2 Tablespoon baby or mineral oil
Round wipes container

Directions:
Cut the paper towel roll in two pieces that resemble toilet paper rolls. Pull the inner core out of both small rolls. Put one roll in the round container and the other away for future use. Mix the 2 cups water, shampoo and oil in separate container. Pour mixture over towels. Let sit 5-10 minutes. Pull out center sheet from roll to use.

Cost:

Wal-Mart generic wipes
480 Wal-Mart generic wipes=$7.50

Homemade Wipes:
1/2 Scott Paper Towels Roll 60 sheets= $0.27 (8 rolls/$4.29 on sale)
1/2 T Mineral Oil=$0.03 ($1.52/16 oz)
1 T Baby Wash=$0.04 ($1.18/15 oz)

Total cost for homemade wipes =$0.34
$0.34/60 sheets=$0.006/wipe

480 Wal-Mart baby wipes=$7.50
480 homemade baby wipes=$2.72
Savings=64%

As you can see there are substantial savings in investing a little extra time and making your own baby wipes. Of course the savings will depend on the prices of items in your area, but even if you can’t find the ingredients on sale you’ll still save at least 40%-70% by making your own wipes instead of buying generic.

Next Page »