Posted on 06/12/2007 4:07:45 AM PDT by Kaslin
Growing up in a family of seven posed all sorts of culinary challenges. It was impossible, for instance, to divide a 12-pack of Popsicles evenly, or a cherry pie, without angering somebody. Bruised feelings were also inevitable whenever my mom pulled out the cookie sheets or a Duncan Hines cake mix. After she finished making the batter, the kids fought for the beater, spatula and bowl.
To end these kitchen free-for-alls, I decided to become the cook so I could claim ownership over any leftover cookie dough or icing. I started cooking in grade school and never stopped. In journalism school, my goal was to one day replace Craig Claiborne, the longtime food critic of The New York Times. I abandoned that idea after concluding that if I wrote about cooking for a living, I'd probably stop enjoying it.
What does this have to do with personal finance? Well it's a stretch, but since this is the third anniversary of my column, I thought I'd mix my love of cooking with my love of saving money. With gasoline prices rising, budgets are even tighter, but I see little evidence of people saving money by cooking. Look at any grocery store today and you'll find the expanded freezer sections stuffed with foods like pot roast, french toast, fried chicken and vegetable soup that people used to prepare themselves.
This willingness to spend more and get less is just as evident in the produce section where you can buy fruits and vegetables already sliced. When I was at the grocery store last week, I was amazed to find red potatoes that were already chopped. Who knew people couldn't cut up potatoes themselves?
The potatoes were near other unnecessary items like diced bell peppers and snack-sized packages of celery for lunches. The little package of celery costs $2.29, or about 33 cents an ounce. That might not sound so horrible unless you realize that buying a stalk of celery at that price would cost you more than $5 a pound.
While I was at the store, I paid $1 for a cantaloupe that weighed two pounds, but steps away from the pile of fat cantaloupes, I found precut cantaloupe that would have cost me $6.99 for 20 ounces. I can't help but wonder who buys precut fruit at these prices.
All this convenience comes with a higher price tag - and in the case of frozen entrees - less taste. I found lots of expensive food in the freezer case too, including a two-pound package of frozen pork ribs for $13.59. A few aisles away, the store was having a great sale on fresh pork ribs for just $1 a pound.
Some people assume that clipping coupons is all you need to do to save money at the grocery store, but that's not true. It's often the processed foods that offer coupons, which is why I rarely find any worth clipping. Instead, you can save money by buying healthful foods and cooking them yourself. If people tried cooking good wholesome meals from scratch, even just once or twice a week, they could probably shrink their grocery bill.
To get you started, I'm sharing my recipe for roasted chicken and mashed potatoes, which I've been making for my family for many years. It not only tastes good, but it's pretty easy to make and it costs much less than a frozen chicken dinner.
ROASTED CHICKEN
Most people dry chickens out by roasting them on low heat. Unless you enjoy chicken shoe leather, broil the chicken first to trap the juices.1 chicken (I buy mine at whatever grocery store is selling them for 99 cents a pound or less.)
Set oven for broil. Sprinkle chicken with salt and broil in roasting pan for 10 or 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 425 degrees. Bake until the chicken's drumstick is easily pulled out. For a 4.5-pound chicken, the bird should be done within 90 minutes.
MASHED POTATOES
3 pounds potatoes - Idaho or Yukon Gold
1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup cream, half & half or milk
Peel potatoes, cut in large chunks and simmer in pot of water until barely soft. Drain thoroughly. Beat potatoes and butter together with a mixer or use a potato masher. Add liquid and combine. Salt and pepper to taste.
GRAVY
Most people would require hypnosis before they'd believe they can make gravy, but it's not hard. And making your own is far better than the jarred gravy glop that stores sell.1 cup drippings from roasted chicken1/3 cup flour1 can chicken broth
Heat chicken drippings in a pot on medium heat and then stir in flour. Continue stirring over medium heat for about a minute. The mixture should become a paste. Gradually add the broth. Continue stirring until the gravy combines and gets thicker. Season with salt and pepper.
If you don't have a cup of drippings, I generally use a ratio of three parts drippings to one part flour. If the gravy seems too thick, add a little water.
Love the photos on your page!
Good looking kiddos. Bet they’re more fun than a barrel of monkeys.
I’m a grandma too — have 9. Lots and lots of fun
One word: crockpot.
It’s better to realize that you don’t want a lot of kids before they are conceived, rather then later.
My hat is off to anyone who can raise a large family these days. The key is a two parent family that works as a team. The parents that is. I had 4. They probably need psychiatrists. Being an only child, I originally wanted 6, until the reality bit me in my rear end.
Ironically, I met a good man who loves his kids(ex has custody). Unfortunately, age prevented us from having one together. I wish I hadn’t bought those baby afghan patterns :(
You made the correct choice, Jack.
I was the coupon queen when everyone was living together, getting back on topic. Unfortunately, I could only get 2 meals out of a chicken, but that was feeding 7 people(if whole chickens were on sale, I would buy 2 and cook them at the same time). My adult son lives with us most of the time, and fortunately he loves Top Ramen and nachos. We can’t eat it because of the sodium content. We are trying to grow vegetables, but it’s turned into a constant battle between my bf and the birds, etc. I think we’ve laid out more money varmint proofing our patch, then if we used the gas money and went to town and just bought the darn stuff.
It’s a zoo, but I can’t think of anything else that would be more interesting. My 5-year-old (the P.J. fan) is learning Greek!
I’m looking forward to grandchildren, after a reasonable interval :-).
Sure I've got a recipe to share - but once I share then I will have to kill you........Just kidding, I'm bookmarking to come back to this thread in the morning. I'm just whipped right now.
I saw your post about canning all the different tomato sauces - I don't bother. I just do one basic sauce and then when I want a particular type I pull the jars and make the adjustments, I findit a heck of a lot easier.
Thankfully I discovered it while cleaning it BEFORE I started using it. I hadn't used it in a while and so wanted to clean it out and found it had gotten a big ding in the bottom and that ding had a hole in it.
I learned my lesson and am much more careful of my storage of them, and more careful of the quality of them.
I hear ya lady, I hear ya.........I'm getting through this thread and then I'm calling it a night. All the garden work I had planned to space out all day tomorrow has to be done by noon. I forgot that academic awards ceremony is tomorrow afternoon and I'm being picked up at 1:00 to go over to school.
at least you’ll have a bit cooler morning for planting. :)
i’m looking forward to the 19th...i will be sane again then ;)
I got my plants in early spring and they produced that first summer. They are very hardy and tolerate varied weather and don’t need full sun either. They withstood the devastating late freeze we had here in SC that ruined all my plums, apples and pears. I’ll also add I have rather poor soil with alot of clay too.
lol yes, I had a brain lapse.
I buy a (mexican?) brand that seems to be the only one that doesn’t have anything in it but chicken and seasonings. It’s also way cheaper. Most others have started putting soy or other crap in them.
I’m sorry, I didn’t recall anything about meals, just the lunches.
The boiled chicken skin from the broth then goes into another pot with more water, brown rice & oata & cooked up for the doggies. The fat skimmed from the original broth gets saved to use as fire starter in the fire pit where yard rubbish & credit card offers get incinerated.
Who are you? MacGyver???!!!
Well, my main problem is my yard is mostly shaded by a big pecan and maple plus trees around the back and one side.
The few portions that get some sun I have my grapes and room for a few tomatoes and zucchini. The semi-shade part I have blueberries and raspberries. I’ve also got 4 small ponds of my wildlife habitat (they are all 150 gallons or less-hubby calls them puddles) and flower gardening since vegetables just didn’t do well. The side yard is the plum and pear, with the apple in front. I’ve got room in the front for maybe another small fruit tree or a few bushes, the rest of the front has a very big magnolia tree.
I will check them out though, thanks :)
“I would love you to share a good chicken broth recipe....mine usually taste a little too flat or too greasy....”
The best advice for good tasting broth is to start with browned meat or bones. See my post #130, and if you want just chicken broth save those bones seperately. I save the cooked bones and skin. Proceed as below...starting with the onion.
If you want to start with a fresh chicken, cut it up into pieces... cut the wings and legs into 1” pieces, and brown all of them well. Add an onion stuck with 3 cloves and a carrot and a celery stalk. Add a clove of garlic, several (6 or 7?) peppercorns, a bay leaf, some thyme, some parsley and cover all with water. Simmer for an hour or two. Strain out the bones and veggies. Chill to remove the fat.
I just use the breast meat in my soup. The legs and wings seem to be just too much effort for the amount of meat you get. Also, I love my pasta pot for soup making. The insert makes straining out the bones and stuff a snap... but then I make 2 and a half gallons at a time!
I used to try making stock but I was never very satisfied with the results. Got any tips?
Don’t get any giblets w/ the (store bought) chicken anymore. Not even necks. I’m not a picky eater but liver isn’t on my Top Ten list of yummy food. Really miss getting the necks but the liver gave the pups the runs...
That works, too. My freezer is always such a jumble that I never have a flat space to lay out the zip-locs. The square cartons work for me (staple the tops closed)...I usually get several uses out of them before they’re pooped & I can slide them in whereever I can find a hole in the jumble.
And I totally agree about the sodium. I don’t have to watch sodium but I don’t use much salt. Most all processed foods are way too salty for my taste.
True. Although I refuse to buy anything from Tyson. I wonder why that is.
No recipe. Just chicken etc. & water. My broth is always greasy...chill it to set the fat & then peel it off. Maybe you’re using too much water or not cooking it long enough for the excess to steam off? I usually let mine simmer with the lid on for a couple of hours & then remove the lid to condense it—continuing to simmer for another couple of hours or so.
Most all of my broth goes into chkn/ dumplings because that’s my sons’ & hubbie’s favorite dish. Use the broth to cook the chkn & add seasonings then. Also use in an occasional gumbo which is a mostly different seasonings approach. I.e., my broth is just a couple of cuts above using water to start out.
Sounds like you’re wanting more of a chicken stock? I’m not good at making stock, unfortunately.
Ney. Mac would use the chicken fat to power a diesel engine. [I’ve thought of trying that but, probably fortunately, I don’t own a diesel. Yet. :) ] I have a couple of small parrots & one of them likes cracking the chicken bones & picking out the marrow but I’m thinking I really ought to figure out a way to pulverize the bones to use in the garden...
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