Your local Gourmet market should have it!
I never paid more than $5. it is a blessing when ever you want to make soup it is there in frige
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.
Howya!
I like to buy the whole chicken or Varies Partes on markdown (.75 a pound or less) and have Anoreth cook it and dissect it. Then I make chicken salad - either lettuce wraps or sandwiches, depending on what I’m seeing on the scale!
Sometimes I save the broth, but when I can get a quart of fat-free, low-sodium Swanson broth for $1.00, it seems like a waste of effort to save it.
A post after my own heart! We rarely have convenience foods, with the exception of take-out Chinese once in a great while.
I fed a family of six (three teen boys, two adult males and me) for $175.00/month for a decade just by shopping Loss Leader sales, planning weekly meals, cooking from scratch and using coupons.
As I’ve said before, I’m ready for The Revolution. Got a clean well, plenty of land to grow food, we have laying hens for eggs, fruit trees, berries, and I can shoot a rabbit when I need to. I know how to butcher venison, and bake my own bread. I know where the wild Morel mushrooms live, and the wild asparagus and all the wild grapes and blackberries a body could want for jelly. ;)
Now I just need to mill my own flour and find a way to make sugar (sugar beets?) and I’ll be all set. Oh, and I want a milk cow, but DH will only go as far as getting a goat, which I can’t stand, having tended them in the past. Never again.
My Mom still gives me a hard time because I was, “never going to be the ‘Susie Homemaker Type’ when I I grow up!” LOL!
I’m still really not; I just know the value of a dollar and I prefer to keep as many of them in my own pocket as I can. :)
Knowing some background on Tyson a Clinton crook, and Homel Gay Parade Son in charge Yuck!
I could never buy their foods
We live on 7.5 acres that are zoned agricultural, and every other year I raise an Angus steer for meat, and every year (sometimes every other year) we raise a hog. The cattle are free ranging, the hogs are too, but we supplement them with table scraps. One of my best friends is a meat cutter with a local grocery chain, and has his own equipment. He comes to my place for a couple days every winter and butchers the livestock. He charges me in meat, so it benefits us both. I've had to buy another freezer though.
We also raise about a dozen laying hens for eggs, and after about two years (when their laying falls off) they become stewers. We raise a couple dozen fryers too. All of the birds are free range.
We also have two Nubian goats that we milk daily. Goat milk is better for you than cow's milk since goats are not succeptible to the diseases that can taint milk and cause it to go bad. We think it tastes better too. We also make our own butter, it takes alittle longer than with cow's milk, but it has a smoother texture and is sweeter.
I raise about a dozen rabbits every year too, they are self replacing and their droppings are about the best thing for the vegetable garden.
Speaking of the garden, I usually plant 1/4 acre of sweet corn, and large patches of beans, winter and summer squash, cantaloupes, peas, lettuce, cabbage, onions, garlic, carrots, turnips, radishes, and assorted herbs. I also take a deer or two from my garden every year (a side benefit), and also get an occasional wild turkey. Canada geese mob my fields and I get a few of them every year too.
My wife buys grain in bulk and mills her own flour for bread, cakes, etc... That is a LOT better for you than the stuff that passes for bread or flour in the stores (that has about 90% of the nutrients removed). I also use some of the grain to make my own beer. I put in some grapevines about three years ago, and should be able to start making our own wine next year.
There are only three of us at home; my wife, my 5yr old son, and me, and I have a day job as well. This is purely subsistence farming, and since the homeschool group that we are a part of has several kids involved in 4-H we have ample volunteers to care for the animals when we want to go somewhere. I guess you could say that we are pretty self sufficient. Granted not everyone can do this, but with a little planning and prioritizing it is very rewarding, but it is hard work. Something that is lost on a lot of Americans.
After all of this you might think that we live in a rural area, but we are only 15 minutes from downtown Richmond, VA.
Now if I could only strike oil on my property.....
I’ll tell you how we fixed this problem when we were kids. Our parents didn’t attend the games. It was OUR game, not their game. The parents who attended always seemed to be trouble.
I guess this is a new generation.
There must be another Richmond here in Virginia.
Never add cold milk or cream to the potatoes - it tends to make them gummy. Always heat the liquid first ( I nuke it for about 30 seconds) and the potatoes will be light and fluffy.
Another tip for keeping mashed potatoes as white as snow is to add a teaspoon of baking powder to the mixture.
Older dry mealy Idahos make the best mashed potatoes (as well as baked potatoes). Other varieties tend to be a bit on the gummy or pasty side.
You'd think so.
Howdy!
I generally buy leg quarters because they are always on sale somewhere around here for .49 a pound in 10 pound bags. I find them to be about the most versatile cut.
I’ll toss the carcass from a roasted chicken in a ziplock bag and stick in the freezer until I have enough to haul out the 30 quart stock pot, then I freeze the stock in quarts for when I want to make chicken and dumplings or soup. For all other purposes I buy canned broth as well!!!!
My understanding is they were bought out by Mount Aire about a year or so ago, and the name went with the sale. I don’t know all the details, just what I was told by people that work there.
With that said, I don’t buy their products either — because it’s too high-priced.
You and me both!
If I had a 30-qt pot, I might do the same! I’ll have to remember “leg quarters.” For regular use, we get skinless-boneless chicken breasts (only on clearance) and make a little meat with a lot of vegetables.
Great thread. It’s a keeper for anyone not wanting to be dependent on finding food in restaurants.
WOW........
Diana - here is a man after our own hearts!!!!
I’m so embarrassed that I think I’ll head outside and do some more planting....LOL!
It’s actually 33 quarts, but who’s counting whn it’s that big. LOL. And it was actually a mistake. Hubby bought it for me to replace my 20 quart el cheapo that had sprung a leak. He liked this one because it has a steamer basket in it and I have to admit that comes in VERY handy. It now doubles (or actually triples) as my canner!
Like you, I only buy the boneless, skinless breasts when they are on (deep) clearance sale!!!
Now if I could only find someone around here that slaughters chickens I would be in great shape. There are always a few that the catchers miss when they go out of the houses across the road. The house manager has repeatedly told me I am welcome to them.
Children are a BLESSING!! And I pray your kids NEVER read what you just wrote.
Your local Gourmet market should have it!
I never paid more than $5. it is a blessing when ever you want to make soup it is there in frige
I use that, too, when I’m cooking rice or beans.
You mean you’re not ready to wring their necks and pluck them yourself? My grandmother would be disappointed in you!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.