Sunday, September 25, 2011

Leftovers and Saving Dollars



In this day and age of recessions and folk trying to save money, I think it’s really important to do your best to save money by not wasting food.  I mean, we spend so much money each year on food, why not make the most of it?  I know for some, it’s really difficult to get through leftovers… by the end of the week… most people are tired of eating that same spaghetti, meatloaf, or grilled chicken breasts.  So what do you do?  You can’t stop cooking (cooking is one of the BEST ways to save money) and you HAVE to eat the food!  Well, here are a couple of tips.

1.  At the beginning of each week, try to make two or three different entrees, so that they can be alternated throughout the week.  You can bring these leftovers for lunch as well and not feel like you are eating the same things over and over again. 

2.  Trade up your side dishes with these entrées.  Sometimes switching your side from a salad to buttered noodles really makes a difference!

3.  Use EVERY part of the food you buy.  For example, when you roast a chicken, once all the meat is eaten, use the chicken carcass to make your own homemade chicken stock.  Save the tough ends of your asparagus, they can be the base for an asparagus soup.  There are TONS of ways to use every part of the food you buy.

AND…. MY FAVORITE TIP…

4. (In my P. Diddy Voice) THIS IS THE REMIX.  There are ways to take your leftovers and turn them into whole other meals.  Let’s say you have leftover steamed veggies and you have no idea what to do with them.  Use them on top of your favorite salad greens to bulk up your salad.  Or take them and add them to a frittata (Spanish omelet).  Do you have leftover grilled chicken?  With a cup of chicken stock and a cup of your favorite barbecue sauce, you can create a quick pulled chicken to be put in between your favorite Kaiser roll.  Leftover meatloaf?  Chop it up, add some tomato paste and a bit of water, and you have a sauce to go over spaghetti.  And let’s not forget, the sandwich.  Most entrees can be turned into a sandwich.

I write this to say, be creative with your food.  These are some great techniques that you can use to save money and to get through your leftovers!  Be on the lookout for my recipes for remixes!

Onward and upward,

-Vince

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Quinoa Pilaf


So, how many of you have ever heard of quinoa?  For my foodies, quinoa is what my health conscious aunt would call a “Super food”, not only containing carbohydrates but containing 14 grams of protein per 100 grams!


Kinda crazy right?  What’s great about it is, it cooks just like rice and can be used in the same ways rice would be used.  So, here’s my recipe for quinoa pilaf.

2 cups of quinoa
4 cups of chicken stock
1 packet of chicken base (Yeah… I ganked that out of a pack of ramen noodles, DON’T JUDGE ME! LOL)

1 celery rib, diced
1 cup of frozen peppers
1 cup of frozen spinach
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. onion powder
1 tbsp. dried parsley
1 tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste



Chicken base... hahahahahahaha!






Heat the olive oil in a pot and lightly toast your quinoa.  About 2 minutes.  Doing this helps to develop the flavor of the quinoa.  You can also do this with rice or any other grain you cook.



Then add in your celery and sauté it allow it to soften.  This will impart that light celery flavor that a lot of people love.  Takes about 2 minutes.

After you’ve toasted the quinoa and , add in your chicken stock.  Bring the liquid to a boil, and reduce to simmer, stirring it every so often.  Add in your seasonings.  Simmer for about 10 minutes covered, until the liquid starts to become absorbed by the quinoa.



At this point, drop in your frozen veggies, stir, and allow them to cook for another 10 minutes with the quinoa, or until ALL the liquid has been absorbed by the quinoa.

Turn off the heat and fluff with a fork.  This side dish goes great with grilled chicken and fish.  Try something new!



Onward and upward…

-Vince

Crockpot Beef Stroganoff


With the coming of cooler fall weather (and the donation of a beef roast to us by my mother… HI MOM!!!), I got inspired to make something in my trusty crockpot.  This is a rendition of a recipe that I saw on Food Network’s 5 Ingredient Fix .  I’ve never been the 5 ingredient kind of guy, but hey… it definitely got me inspired.  So… LEHGGO!


1 Beef Roast (Any size)
2 tbsp of olive oil
1 Cup of Onions
4 cloves of garlic
1 Shallot
1 can creamed soup (I used cream of chicken)
1 cup of mushrooms
1 cup of frozen peas
1/2 cup of white wine
2 cups of vegetable stock
1 tablespoon of dried parsley
1 tbsp. of cornstarch
1/2 cup of water
Salt and Pepper to taste

Season your beef roast with salt and pepper.  In a hard bottomed pan, sear off the roast on all sides in 1 tbsp of olive oil.  Takes 3-4 minutes on high heat.

Remove the roast from the pan and place into crock pot. 

In the same pan you've seared the roast in, saute your onions, garlic and shallots in the 2nd tbsp of olive oil.  Deglaze the pan with the white wine and vegetable stock, ensuring to scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan.  Add your can of creamed soup.  Bring to boil, the reduce to simmer for about 5 minutes.  Turn off the heat and add the liquids to the crock pot.

Place the crock pot  on low for 5-6 hours or until you can shred the meat.  Once cooked, remove the roast from the stock pot and shred the meat. 

Make a slurry out of the cornstarch and water, combining the two thoroughly so that there are no lumps.  Add this to the stock pot liquids to thicken the sauce.  Once thickened, add in your mushrooms and peas and return the meat back to the pot.  Turn off the crock pot and allow the meat, peas, and mushrooms to heat back through.

Crockpot Beef Stroganoff


Serve with buttered noodles.  Making the buttered noodles was SIMPLE.  

1 lb. bag of egg noodles
1 tbsp. of butter
1 tbsp. of dried parsley

Boil the noodles in salted water for about 8 minutes.  Drain the noodles.  In the same pan, use the residual heat from the pan to melt the butter.  Add the dried parsley  to the butter.  Return the noodles back to your butter and combine.  Voila!  Buttered Noodles!

Buttered Noodles

Pour your stroganoff over your buttered noodles and enjoy!

Yummo!


Onward and upward…

-Vince

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Coupons and What They’re Used For


 Hey everyone!

In an effort to save cash these days in this completely effed up economy, I have started couponing.  No where near the extreme stuff you see on TLC’s Extreme Couponing Extreme Couponing, but just attempting to save some money here and there.  It’s amazing the types of deals that one can get just by going through your Sunday circulars.  Just make sure they are things that you use.  In my case, as you’ve seen from my blog, I use a lot of bottled tomato sauces and pasta, so the coupons that I find in the Sunday advertisements really saves me a little bit of money.  And quite honestly, it’s kinda relaxing clipping coupons on Sundays…

Try it out… just make sure the coupons are for items you use… otherwise, you are just being wasteful.

Onward and upward,

-Vince