The Humble Meatloaf Always Pleases

This is slightly fancier than my mom's old recipe, but it calls for the topping of ketchup, mustard and brown sugar she always used.  I took this meatloaf, served cold, to a party last night and folks gobbled it up.  Nice and firm, it cut neatly and easily into small portions.  


I always buy ground beef at the butcher counter, because you can't be too picky.  85% lean yields a tasty meatloaf.  I used marjoram and thyme instead of the sage.  Pick the herb(s) you favor.  Used part scallions, part regular onion.  The cupboard yielded only panko bread crumbs, so I used that. 

Not only do you go to war with the army you have, you often cook with the ingredients on hand.  


This was the first dish I learned to make.  My dad learned to expect it when my mom couldn't cook.  BTW, I substituted cilantro for parsley, being too lazy to go out and cut parsley in the rain. 


Meatloaf tastes good with baked potatoes,  almost any veg. and a green salad.    Sauteed cherry or grape tomatoes (with garlic and herbs) are always a colorful side dish, should they be on sale.   Carrots, also give great color.  Remember, we eat first with our eyes. 


Here is where you'll find the recipe:  Better Homes and Gardens Meat Loaf
I think the recipe was around when God was a boy.   Enjoy.  


The Cheeseparer

Paring Cheese

I haven't been posting, alas, but I've been trying cheap new recipes, learning even better how to produce delicious meals from what's in the pantry, and cleaning out old emails, my desk, my file and trying to come into 2012 leaner if not meaner.

Tonight we're having a Mexican flavored chicken sausage (on sale and a coupon) with refried beans (in the pantry) and corn tortillas (in the freezer). I have some lettuce, and grated cheese to put on the bean tortillas. Only thing we bought was grape tomatoes which we needed anyhow. An orange salad (orange are cheap this time of year) will round out the meal. Tasty and cheap.

Repeat after me. Tasty and cheap.

Can Rotisserie Chicken Ever Be A Bargain?

You bet it can!  I bought one $6.99 for the breast meat to make sandwiches to eat on the ferry from New London to Orient Point.  Of course, two people would have never been able to buy a (decent) lunch for $6 .99.  I ate one lunch from the chicken (wings) before we left.  Two yummy sandwiches on whole grain bread with butter, lettuce and tomato.  Chips from the bag at home, a clementine and two slices of orange yogurt bread.  Water to drink  The best lunch!  3 meals so far. . . .


I had removed the remainder of the chicken from the bones and froze it.  After we returned, I thawed the chicken for. . .  ta da!!  Enchiladas verdes.  The supermarket had tomatillos!  They almost never, here in this part of New England, have tomatillos.  Made them from scratch, a labor of love, but all I had to buy was the tomatillos and a couple small (all they had) jalapenos.  Everything else was on hand, even the corn tortillas.  The recipe made two casseroles.  4 servings.  I ate another lunch from the thawed legs.   There were two enchiladas left and we ate them for lunch yesterday.  Add 'em up.  10 servings of good quality protein for $6.99.  How frugal is that?  And every meal yummy.  You can make some of the enchiladas just with the cheese for a vegetarian  child or guest.


Both the Globe and the Times have been emphasizing vegetarian selections in their food sections, but nothing sounds that great.  Maybe because I am not a huge fan of unrelieved starch.  Potato curry?  Not so intriguing.  Give me chicken, shrimp or even fish curry.  Curried chick peas are good.   I would eat curried potatoes as a side dish. 


Some days the supermarket has rotisserie chickens on sale for 5  bucks.  That would be 50 cents per serving.  Yowza! 

Here is a recipe similar to the one I used:  Food and Wine Mag Enchiladas Verdes  


We served them with avocado salad and refried beans (on sale for $1.00,) and extra cheese, sour cream, chopped tomatoes, scallions and cilantro on the side.  I had some Farmer's cheese in the freezer which I crumbled over the casserole.  Cheddar always works.  Did I mention the tomatoes and avocados were on sale?  Shop smart, shop well.  Experiment! 


Bon Appetit! 

Supermarket Sticker Shock

This morning's Boston Globe heralded the bad news that anyone who has shopped for produce already knew.  Prices are up!  Lettuce and tomatoes are outtasight!  


Rising Food Prices  


You may want to consider making slaw or carrot salad for a while.  Vitamin C is in cabbage and potatoes and orange juice is still a good buy.  I always loved the carrot salad with raisins and canned pineapple.  Root vegetables are still reasonable, i.e. carrots, rutabagas, turnips (yech!)  potatoes and parsnips (yum!).  Carrot soup is delicious, so think outside the box.  Lettuce is a quick crop and should be back in the stores at a reasonable price in a few weeks. 


Oh!  Did I say "cool weather crop"?  Now is the time to think GARDEN!  You can do lettuce, peas, and spinach while the temperatures are still cool.  Of course February is waaayy to early in New England.  We had more snow last night.  But consider. 


Soup and stews are an excellent way to cook cheaper.  Chicken and dumplings anyone?  Our supermarket had whole chickens for 99 cents a pound.  Consider eggs and the main dishes of frittata, omelet and strata.  Some wonderful soups use cabbage as an ingredient.  Look up the Yakisoba recipe on prior posts.  Onions, Carrots and Cabbage, all cheap.  And use one pork chop instead of two.  


There are always ways to economize, and with oil and food prices rising and the instability (understatement) in the Middle East, it may be time to hunker down.  Again.  


Read your supermarket flyer and plan a week's menus around the sales.  But you already do this, don't you?  Make  your own muffins.  So easy.  Spend the weekend cooking and baking and week nights won't be such a madhouse.  Get the kids involved.  Make Mexican or Indian.  Try some vegetarian dishes, like curried chick peas.  So good, so cheap.  Instead of a salad serve slice carrots and cucumbers.  Be creative.  Be cheap.  

Make your own pizza and save!

Oatmeal Pancakes with Ham and Two Syrups

Pancakes in various stages of grilling

Tonight between the football games, we tried the healthy oatmeal pancakes from the New York Times.  They were easy to make (tended to fall apart a bit) and I cut up a ham steak and served it along with the pancakes and apricot and maple syrups instead of honey.  Quite tasty and filling and there's enough left for tomorrow morning, always a bonus.  Here is how they looked on the table, and they kinda sorta matched the tablecloth.  Who knew?

Ready, Set, Eat!

Oatmeal Pancakes Deluxe  

For delicious apricot syrup and dried apricots and other goodies, order at 

The Apricot King

Nita's Banana Bread, The World's Best Banana Bread

Here, as promised, is the banana bread recipe.  I've had it since my neighbor Nita gave it to me when I was still a bride. 

Nita’s Banana Bread

1 cup sugar

½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened

pinch salt

2 eggs, beaten

3 ripe mashed bananas

3 Tablespoons sour milk, buttermilk or sour cream

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups white flour

Cream butter, add sugar, mix well and add bananas.  Mix salt, flour and baking soda and add to banana mixture alternating with sour milk.  Mix together lightly.  Pour into a 9 x 5  inch greased loaf pan.  (Non stick is great!)

Bake in slowish (325 degrees Farenheit) for 45-60 minutes, until tested inserted in middle comes out clean.   Cool on rack and remove bread from pan.  Eat and enjoy.

A handful of blueberries or raisins may be added after dry ingredients. 

Oatmeal Pancakes, the epitome of cheap eats

I like oatmeal, not the instant flavored variety, but Old Fashioned Quaker Oats.  I also like Silver Palate Oatmeal, which can sometimes be found on sale or at Ocean State Job Lot here in the Boston/Providence area.  Ocean State Job Lot

Silver Palate Oatmeal takes even longer to cook than Quaker Oats.  Of course the Irish steel cut oats are totally delicious, but pricey, and this blog is about pinching pennies.


So imagine how pleased I was to find this recipe in the New York Times Wednesday food section.
Oatmeal Pancakes


I like it for several reasons:  1)  it's nutritious 2) I have all the ingredients 3) not high-cal 4) looks pretty tasty 5) can be served for dinner with some grilled ham and a fruit salad.    Oh, and did I mention EASY?  And Different? 
I'll let you know how edible the oatmeal pancakes are. 
I also have an Austrian recipe for noodles with bacon and cheese that looks pretty good.  At the end of the month when the money might be tight, you need cheap, filling food.  This is the time to go to those bought-on-sale frozen vegetables.  Or to pick up a 99 cent head of iceberg lettuce.
We keep dried fruit on hand:  cranberries, raisins (golden and dark) currants (sometimes) apricots (always) and sometimes dried cherries or whatever I found on sale.  With an apple, orange, banana or grapes and a handful of dried fruit, you have a delicious dessert.  These days, if not on sale, an apple or an orange costs over a dollar.  Bananas are still relatively cheap. 
Banana bread is a killer dessert/breakfast/snack dish. 
Find a recipe that calls for 3 bananas.  That's the whole secret.  Two won't do.  As you acquire overripe bananas, you can pop them into the freezer with skins on, and when you have the magic number, zowie, it's banana bread.  You can toss a handful of fresh or frozen blueberries in for extra taste and nutrition.  Or raisins.  A tad of grated orange rind.  Yummy!  Good for kid's school lunches. 
I'll report back on the pancakes.  With photos if I remember.   And dig up my banana bread recipe.   So easy, so delicious.  And in keeping with our commitment to frugality.
In the meantime, long live oatmeal. 


The Cheeseparer

2 Frosting recipes for Holiday or Other Baking

Neither of these will break the bank.  Easy enough for a beginning cook, both recipes are ancient.  


2-3-4 Frosting:
2 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons cream
4 Tablespoons sugar


Place ingredients in a double boiler and heat over hot water until near boiling and sugar is melted.  Remove from heat and add vanilla and powdered sugar to desired consistency.  


Lucille's cinnamon Butter Icing 

4 Tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups powdered sugar
hot water
chopped nuts (if desired)


Heat butter in top of double boiler over hot water.  Add cinnamon and sugar; add small about of hot water slowly until icing is the right consistency for spreading.  After spreading on cake, bars or bread, sprinkle with chopped nuts.  This would be yummy on banana, cranberry or blueberry breads.    


Holiday  baking can be expensive, so start looking for sales in mid-November.  Butter can be frozen.  Keep nut meats in the fridge or even the freezer.  Wal-Mart had Gold Medal Flour for an unbelievable price this week. Chocolate chips are frequently on sale.   Save up coupons for dairy products, baking products and even waxed paper and baking parchment.   You should be able to cut your baking costs by these simple but frugal acts.  


My most important kitchen tip is to prepare the right amounts of food so as not to waste.  If you need to freeze leftovers, make sure to label them well with contents and date  and to use in a timely manner.  


We have discovered Dr. Oetker's frozen pizzas which are absolutely delicious but rather costly.  We have also collected coupons for them and waited for store specials.  With a store sale and a coupon, you are golden. 


 Remember that normally, your home-baked goods will be tastier, cheaper and more nutritious than store-bought.
 That being said, we bought a wonderful open-faced apple-cranberry tart and Trader Joe's this week for $6 and change.  We did this rather than stop for dessert.  It made six servings and was really good.  Everything is relative. I could have cooked it for a little less, but when time is of the essence, learn to make good choices.

My Grandma, she of the 2-3- 4 frosting, and me in Kansas eons ago

The Cheeseparer

Dinner is served

We finally had a dinner party, and it was kinda, sorta frugal and totally delicious.  I found some fresh wild Atlantic salmon at Whole Foods for $10.99 a pound.  Cheap for what it was.  I made a lime butter sauce for the fish (limes were on special).  We grilled corn along with the fish (over oak) and I cooked up some green beans, likewise on sale now as was the corn.  I made a fab gazpacho with tomatoes from the garden, as was the garlic and the herbs.  So delicious.  For desert, we had homemade berry (raspberries and blackberries) ice cream.  Berries were on special, too, as was the wine. 

We had enough salmon left for lunch, beans for another meal, and the ice cream lasted for nine servings.  Being in diet mode, we didn't exactly heap it into our bowls.  Which was fine.  What I liked about the ice cream was that it wasn't so sweet that you couldn't taste the tartness of the berries and the creaminess of the cream.

The meal was not a lot of work, especially with my better half doing the corn and the salmon, and making the ice cream the day before and the gazpacho in the morning so it would be well chilled. How much would this meal have cost at a restaurant?  I don't even want to know! 

Now, the rains have come.  We had a chicken salad on spinach tonight, with heirloom tomatoes and feta.  As good as it gets.  Had to cook indoors due to the weather, but I have a grill pan, and it was no big deal.  We decided to make another ice cream over Labor Day.  Maybe a gelato or an ice milk. Something delicious.  As always.