Friday, September 21, 2007

Minestrone, anyone?

Yesterday was a beautiful, crisp autumn day...I was in heaven. This is my favorite time of year. I love the weather...I love Halloween and Thanksgiving...this time of year just makes me happy. I always feel so refreshed. Yesterday was the kind of day that called for a big pot of soup. So I scoured the pantry shelves and the fridge and found that I had the ingredients to make minestrone soup...or at least MY version, anyway!

Since I was making it up as I went along...using as my inspiration the ingredients used by one of the locally owned italian restaurants here in town...I made some changes after the fact. For example, last night in my experiment recipe I used a whole package of frozen spinach. It was WAY too much. I actually removed some of it because it was so overbearing. So in the recipe below I changed it to either HALF of a package of frozen or 1-2 cups fresh spinach. I also only added one can of beans. I happen to love beans so next time I make it I'll add two cans...one can of white beans and one can of kidney beans for color and texture.

After some changes this is what I came up with. (It even got a good review from my husband who's "not a soup kinda guy"!)















Mimi's Minestrone


2 tblsp. olive oil
1 yellow onion - chopped
2 garlic cloves - minced
2 carrots - peeled and cut into half moons
2 ribs celery - sliced
1 can beef broth
1 can chopped italian stewed tomatoes
1 can white beans - rinsed
1 can kidney beans - rinsed
2 cups water
1 tblsp italian seasoning
1 -2 cups fresh spinach (your preference)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

In a large soup pot heat olive oil on medium high heat. Add onion, garlic, carrots and celery and saute until vegetables are tender and onion is translucent. Add beef broth, stewed tomatoes, beans, water and italian seasoning and stir to combine. Raise heat to high and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, add spinach, salt and pepper and let simmer for 30-40 minutes. 10 minutes before serving, add the parmesan cheese and stir well. This gives the soup a thicker consistency and tastes wonderful! Serve with french bread.

Makes 6 servings





Oldies but goodies...

This is a stack of pot holders that my great-grandmother, my mother's grandmother, crocheted years ago. She made a TON of them, gave them to my grandmother and then my grandmother passed them out to each of us grandaughters. They aren't the prettiest things in the world...but I LOVE them and I use them ALL the time. I've got newer ones...and prettier ones...but none of them work as well as these. Old faithfuls...

Monday, September 10, 2007

"Mom, are you trying to kill us?"

My youngest son came into my room, holding our jar of peanut butter high in the air, hollering, "Mom, are you trying to kill us? Read the label!"

Yes. It contains partially hydrogenated oil.

"Good job, son."

Dangit. Why didn't I ever think to check THIS label? Maybe because I've been buying the same brand for years...and because it was the brand my mom bought...and because I pretty much just grab it out of habit? Hmmm..what else do I "just grab out of habit"?

I think this would be worth looking into a bit more...

And now...the hunt for a natural, good tasting peanut butter. These two requirements don't naturally go hand in hand. At least I've never found a natural peanut butter that tasted good, too.

I'll let you know what I find!

Saturday, September 8, 2007

Additives I stay away from...

I have only recently, say in the past year or so, become aware of the dangers of some of the additives that are added to many of our favorite, popular foods. These are the few things I stay away from when choosing foods for my family: partially hydrogenated oils, MSG or monosodium glutamate, aspartame and high-fructose corn syrup.

  • The first one that was brought to my attention by my dear friend, Elaine, was partially hydogenated oil. This is found in almost every snack cracker, cookie, chip...you name it. It is quite a challenge to find good, tasty items that do not contain these dangerous trans fats. Two good snacks that I found today are Triscuit and Fiddle Faddle.
  • The second additive that was brought to my attention was MSG or monosodium glutamate. This is another dangerous additive that is in SO many of our popular convenience foods. What really got me going about MSG was a piece done about it on CBN's The 700 Club a few months back. They called it "the cancer fertilizer". And with cancer in my family, I just wasn't going to take any MORE risks that I already unknowingly do. You can click the link above to read an interesting article about MSG. It also contains a helpful list of other names MSG is listed as...in disguise, if you will...in cognito. Not good. You will be surprised at the amount of foods that contain some form of MSG.
  • Aspartame, found in diet drinks and fat free foods, among other things, is another additive I avoid. I figured this one out on my own when I was able to taste it every time I ate or drank something diet or fat-free. Yogurt, for example, would leave the worst taste in my mouth...all I could taste was chemicals. I was never able to get accustomed to diet sodas or drinks...again, all I could taste was, what I eventually figured out was, aspartame. So I stopped buying anything that contained aspartame. Luckily for my husband, who loves his diet soda, Coke and Pepsi both came out with a diet cola containing Splenda rather than aspartame. It's taken him some time to get used to it...but he's doing it without much complaining. You can read a list of symptoms and diseases linked, or possibly linked, to the ingestion of aspartame. Some people say that aspartame has to be consumed in large doses to do damage...but I figure if my body can't break it down, eventually it WILL be a large amount. So why take chances?
  • This last ingredient was only brought to my attention over this past summer. I was lecturing my brother-in-law on the dangers of Aspartame when he came right back at me with the dangers of high-fructose corn syrup, telling me that it tells the brain it's not full. This is especially dangerous for children...and unfortunately, it is in SO many, TOO many foods we've all fed our children: cereals, juices, juice boxes, granola bars, fruit snacks, candy, I even saw it listed in the ingredients of a popular snack cracker just this morning while trying to find bargains at Big Lots (which I did, thank you!). It's everywhere...and in way more than we realize...and many times, unknowingly, we are pumping our children full of sugar...then sending them off to school without a proper, healthy meal and THEN wondering why they're having trouble staying focused. (Not to mention the awful school meals they are now feeding our kids...my kids won't even eat them) I know my kids would LOVE a big, fat bowl of Cap'n Crunch each morning...but I just can't do that to them. I may as well just send them off with a kiss and say, "Bye honey...love you...hope you fail today!" I know this may sound dramatic to some of you...but I can see the difference in my own children. Especially my younger son who seems to be more affected by what I allow him to put in his body. Sugar really affects him. Really. I can literally watch him be unable to focus, to remember, to stay on task, to sit still, he can't fall asleep if he's had a sugar-y snack too close to bedtime...it's sad, really. Not my older son so much...in that it doesn't necessarily make him hyper or unable to focus...he gets more lethargic and listless, which is just as detremental as the other.

I have to say that it does take more time at the store to do my shopping since I take the time to read the labels. But I find it to be worth every extra minute knowing that I am feeding my family as healthily as I possibly know how. This is not to say that we don't have the occasional treat that contains something that is less than good for us...we do. I have to admit, I haven't conquered my love of coffee creamer. But for the most part, we are careful. And my sons are even reading labels now, too! (And my husband, too!) My boys and I were at Big Lots earlier today and they were wanting a snack...they saw me reading labels and followed suit. After some complaining, "How come everything that tastes good is bad for you?!", they were finally able to agree on a sweet snack that didn't contain anything unsafe...that we know of anyway!

Sometimes it seems like I can't find anything that doesn't contain something that is bad for our health. And it seems like the only thing I could do to ensure total safety would be to move to some remote mountain region...build a cabin...grow my own food...water it with purified water...can it...freeze it...raise my own beef...and fowl...and do everything like they did back in the day.

But, since I don't see that happening anytime soon, I'll continue as I have been...something is better than nothing. Right? We can make a difference...one small change at a time.

Be a Smart Shopper

A few ways to be a...
Smart Shopper
  1. Watch the Sale Ads - Every week your local grocers send out their sale ads for the week. Often times there will even be Coupons for EXTRA savings. Check the sales...compare the prices...plan your weekly menu based on what's on sale...you can't go wrong! Check the drug store ads as well...my local Rite Aid had cans of chopped clams on sale a few weeks back for $.99 each! I bought 4. These usually run around $3 at the grocery store...
  2. Shop at the 99 Cent Stores and the Dollar Sores in your area. Many times they've got GREAT deals on canned food items. My 99 Cent Store even has produce! You've got to be real careful...but if you choose wisely you can get great deals. A while back they had a bag of fresh ginger for $.99. I took it home....peeled it...cut it into 1 inch pieces and popped it in the freezer. Now, whenever I need fresh ginger I just grab a small piece and grate it right in to my recipe. I have found many great, name brand (I'm a stickler about this at the discount stores...it's GOT to be name brand or I won't buy it) products at my local 99 Cent Store...frozen goods, Hillshire Farms kielbasa, Farmer John sausage, to name a few. A few weeks back I got a pack of 10 pitas for 99 cents. I made roasted chicken salad sandwiches with them and they were delicious! (I'll share that recipe soon...it was a keeper!)
  3. Buy One Get One Free - this always makes me happy. It's generally better than the 2/$5 (or $3, or $4, etc.) deals. And I know...we don't always need TWO of everything...but if it's free...and it can be stored...why not?
  4. Clearance Bin in the meat department!? Why, yes. Of course! I think this might be a new thing to my local Safeway. Either that or I haven't been paying close enough attention. Either way...there is a small section of the meat department labeled "clearance". I am able to get great deals there...and that is often how I plan my meals. OFten times, too, you'll see stickers on meat packages, "Reduced for Quick Sale" or "50% Off at Register". Take advantage of this! I got two pork roasts for $3 each a while back...and one of them was big enough that it fed us THREE MEALS! (Another recipe I'll share soon!) Three HEARTY meals. We're not skimping around my kitchen!

I hope these ideas are helpful. Many of them you already know...and I bet many of you already have these money-saving tricks up your own sleeves. I hope so! If not...I hope you find this helpful. If so...it's nice to meet a like-minded woman doing her best to be a good steward of what she's been given. Enjoy!

Soups On for Under $7!

Last night I made a popular favorite around my house...New England Clam Chowder. I was always somewhat intimidated to make this...for whatever reason...until I tried a recipe from Dave Lieberman of the Food Network. I really like his philosophy behind cooking and preparing food...basically that you can eat well AND on a budget. Last Christmas I got his cookbook, Dave's Dinners, from my sister-in-law and, after working up my nerve, decided to try his chowder recipe. It was amazingly simple...and amazingly GOOD. I made a few changes to suit my taste and my health choices...and this is what I came up with. Enjoy!

New England Clam Chowder
6-8 servings

3 tblsp. olive oil
1 tblsp. butter
1 medium onion - finely diced
3 celery stalks - finely diced
3 tblsp. flour
2 cups fat-free chicken broth
2 (6.5 oz.) cans minced clams in juice (chopped work too!)
1 cup milk (I used 1%)
1 bay leaf
1 lb. russet potatoes - peeled and diced into 1/2" pieces
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and celery and saute until softened, mixing often. Add the butter and stir until melted. Add the flour and stir to distribute evenly. Add the broth, clams and juice, milk, bay leaf and potatoes and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer, stirring often, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook 20-30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender, stirring often to prevent the sop from sticking to the bottom of your pot. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with crusty french bread and butter.

Or, to make it really fun, serve in sourdough bread bowls! My kids really enjoy it this way. It's like being on the wharf in San Francisco!

This recipe is so delicious...and really, truly simple. It originally called for cream, 2 bay leaves and didn't call for any butter. I added the butter and changed to 1% milk (I've also used fat-free and it was just as delicious). I also chose to only use 1 bay leaf as I thought 2 was way too strong, it was all I could taste.

The tally for this meal, with careful shopping, is as follows:

2 cans clams in juice 1.98
4 potatoes .50
celery and onion 1.00
chicken broth 1.00
milk .25

sub-total $4.73
(4) day-old mini sourdough loaves 1.99

Total $6.71

This fed my family of four a hearty dinner and left enough for a more than decent lunch for me the next day!

Friday, September 7, 2007

Frugal + Feast =

An abundant meal that entails little expense.


fru·gal /ˈfrugəl/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[froo-guhl] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective
1. economical in use or expenditure; prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful: a frugal manager.
2. entailing little expense; requiring few resources; meager; scanty: a frugal meal.
[Origin: 1590–1600; < L frūgālis economical, equiv. to frūg- (s. of frūx produce) + -ālis 1] —Related forms
fru·gal·i·ty, fru·gal·ness, noun


feast /fist/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[feest] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1. any rich or abundant meal: The steak dinner was a feast.
2. a sumptuous entertainment or meal for many guests: a wedding feast.
3. something highly agreeable: The Rembrandt exhibition was a feast for the eyes.
4. a periodical celebration or time of celebration, usually of a religious nature, commemorating an event, person, etc.: Every year, in September, the townspeople have a feast in honor of their patron saint. –verb (used without object)
5. to have or partake of a feast; eat sumptuously.
6. to dwell with gratification or delight, as on a picture or view. –verb (used with object)
7. to provide or entertain with a feast. —Idiom
8. feast one's eyes, to gaze with great joy, admiration, or relish: to feast one's eyes on the Grand Canyon.

Proverbs 31:15

15 She riseth also while it is yet night,
and giveth meat to her household,
and a portion to her maidens.

Lunch for $.95? You bet!

This recipe was inspired by Martha Stewarts recipe in her cookbook, Everyday Food, Great Food Fast. I love to use this cookbook as inspiration. As a matter of fact, I use ALL of my cookbooks as inspiration, rarely following a recipe to a tee. It's not because I think my recipes are better...it's more about having ADD and not being able to stay focused that long!

Needing to use what I had on hand due to budget constraints...and since I didn't have bacon, I substituted with Kielbasa. I was also limited on the amount of chicken broth I had...so I lowered the amount of broth and just added more water to equal the 4 cups of liquid the recipe called for. (I actually added more water as it cooked anyway because it got really thick...too thick...so you'll need to watch this as it's simmering.)

One of the really great things about this meal is that it is healthy and fresh. The thyme even came from my own backyard! All of the ingredients are free of additives such as partially hydrogenated oils and MSG...ingredients I try my BEST to steer clear of. I might miss a label here and there...but for the most part, I'm a big label reader.

The cost of the soup is about $3.75. I ladled it into (5) freezer safe plastic containers, each holding a perfect sized lunch serving, and popped them in the freezer after they'd cooled down. I had bought a loaf of day-old Asiago sourdough bread for $.99 that I sliced up, added a pat of butter to, and put into (5) baggies to go with each individual soup serving. Voila...5 days worth of lunch! All you have to do is grab it out of the freezer and go!

Lentil Soup
5 servings

2 Kielbasa, cut into small bite-size pieces
1 large onion, chopped
3 medium carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut into 1/4-inch half-moons
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups lentils, picked over and rinsed
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 cups organic chicken broth
2 cups water
1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:
In a large soup pot, cook Kielbasa in a small amount of olive oil over medium-low heat until warmed through and slightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes.
Add onion and carrots; cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add lentils, thyme, broth, vinegar and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer. Cover; cook until lentils are tender, 30 to 45 minutes.
Add 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Serve immediately.