Valentine's Day Blast the Frugal Way

We spent $102.00 at the supermarket on Friday, including $17.00 for two beautiful bouquets of red and white tulips.


Eating out on Valentine's Day is usually a horor show--crowded, with bad service and nervous, overdressed couples.  We find it's much more enjoyable to go out before or after the event, or like yesterday, sit at the bar in Chestnut Hill at Paparzzi, drinking good pino grigio and eating carpaccio and focaccia, and fine Italian soup. 

 

You can see what we ate with our $ 102.00 which includes groceries for the rest of the week, too.  If we had gone out for this meal at a nice restaurant, I calculated we would have spent $175.00 for two with tip, tax, wine and four courses. (A salad of lettuce, artichoke bottoms, cherry tomatoes and cucumber is not shone.  I made everything from scratch, a labor of love, but hey, it's Valentine's day.  The crepes were delicious.  

If you have eggs, milk, flour and fruit you can do scrumptious crepes and cafloutis.  I used an on sale package of frozen stawberries and made a sauce with cornstarch, a little sugar, orange juice, orange liquor and a dash of brandy.  The crepes are filled with cream cheese (on sale) and powdered sugar.  The recipe made 12 crepes, which means we have three luscious deserts for  Saturday, Sunday and Monday.  

The stuffed chicken breasts are from Rachel Ray and there is enough for tonight and extra stuffing for some stuffed shells later in the week.  

The shrimp bisque was made with on-sale shrimp and their shells, and I splurged and bought leeks and a fennel bulb.  Again, enough bisque for three days and was it ever good.  I use cheap white vermouth when a recipe calls for white wine. 

Yes, I spent a good portion of yesterday in the kitchen, but having (delicious) food for 2-3 days is a good tradeoff.  Living cheaply does not mean living poorly.  Give your creativity free rein.  

Happy Valentine's Day and President's Day from The Cheeseparer

Going Bananas

We're in the path of the current snow storm, one of those freaky nor'easters that dump snow and lash us with cold winds. 


We always keep some "winter stores" in the house from December - April.  Just canned goods mostly and maybe a box of Biquick or Hungry Jack--stuff to eat if we get snowed in for more than a day or two.  I usually have tuna, hash, and Spam, but since we are trying to reduce salt,  hash and SPAM are iffy.  We have a gas stove, so even if the power goes out, there's still an oven and burners.  


This morning I ran to the store for milk and eggs which were in short supply.  With milk and eggs you hve a wide variety of menus,  frugal menus, even.  Tonight we're having some prepared chicken, part of a BOGO I purchased in the fall.  The first bag of chicken (a good brand name) wasn't very good, but I'm hoping with a different flavor and the new oven things will come together.       


In case the chicken is still mediocre, there's still baked beans (I add bacon, cherry tomatoes and  onion) and a wonderful never fail dessert.  It says serves 2, but it really makes 4 servings unless you're VERY piggy.   A Clafouti can be made with almost any kind of fruit--cherries are classic.  But good old bananas, cheap and always available are dynamite. 


Here is the recipe: 


1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar (we like recipes that are not TOO sweet).
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
2/3 cup milke  (I use 2%) 
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large banana, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into bits


In a blender, blend together 1/3 cup of the sugar, the flour, eggs, milk, vanilla and the salt until the mixture is smooth.  Arrange the banana slices in one layer in a buttered 3-cup gratin dish or flameproof shallow baking dish, pour the pudding over them and bake the clafouti in the middle of a preheated 400 degree oven for 20 minutes, or until the top is puffed and springy to the touch.  Sprinkle the top with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar, dot it with the butter and broil the clafouti under a preheated broiler about 3 inches from the heat for 1 to 2 minutes or until it is browned. 


Serves 2-4.  


Gourmet Magazine, 1992


What could be simpler  than this?  So yummy.  And children will like it.  Nothing artificial.  Bon Appetit!

Bean Dip, Easy from Scratch

A friend on Facebook gave me this recipe when I was bemoaning the lack of bean dip among 16,000 jars of salsa.  Hey, beans are good for you, too.  I can buy a can of black beans for 99 cents.

Mash a drained can of black beans, add sour cream to the consistency you like, add 1 or 2 green onions chopped, cumin and salt...tada! very easy and very good!

You can be lazy and throw everything into the food processer, except the scallions (green onions).  I added some chili powder and a spoon of hot salsa.  Whatever floats your boat.  Get some minimally process all natural chips.  I know the super bowl is over, but enjoy.  

This is a recipe where low-fat (never non-fat) sour cream might be acceptable. 

The Cheese Parer

Refried Rice

Of all the cheap, tasty meals you can prepare, re-fried rice is one of the best.  My recipe, from the Chicago Tribune, is umpteen years old.  I use it for the basics and then I get creative. 


The basics:  
Early in the day, heat some regular oil in a small skillet.  Beat 1-2 eggs, depending on how many you are serving.  Pour the eggs into the hot oil and let them cook until done.  Remove from skillet, cool on a plate and then shred with a fork.  


Cook however much rice you think you'll need.  I use basmati rice for everything, but that's just me.  Brown rice is also a good choice.  For the two of us, I usually cook 3/4 cup rice in 1 1/2 cups water.  Add a bit of salt. 


Next cook 1-2 slices of bacon until crisp. 

Get out the remaining ingredients and slice and chop as time permits:  you will need 
1-3 cups of leftover meat, depending on number of eaters.  I've used leftover pork roast, pork tenderloin, pork chops, shrimp, steak, roast beef, roast chicken.  Coarsely chop.  Set aside. 

Chop some onion and scallion.  Now you have the basics.   Good stuff to add:  nuts, broccoli (precook) bean sprouts, spinach, water chestnuts, green beans, frozen peas, mushrooms (great!)  You want something for crunch and some greenery for nourishment and to make it look pretty.  Use your imagination.  Get out the sesame oil, hot oil and/or red pepper flakes, Sechuan peppercorns, garlic, and soy sauce.  You will also need a bit of salt and a teaspoon of sugar. 

Final preparation.  Add some oil to a very large skillet, and add the onion(s) bacon, leftover meat and saute until the onion is mostly cooked.  Add the rice and stir/fry like crazy until all the rice grains are coated with the oil.  Add the veggies and cook until they're how you like them, from crisp to well-done.  Add the egg and the soy sauce, sugar and the rest of the seasonings in proportions you like.  Add the nuts and some fresh chopped chives if you have them.  Taste for proper seasoning.  Stir and fry.  

Serve.  I like to serve this with a salad of lettuce (your fave) topped with a sliced orange and some sort-of-sweet vinaigrette.  

It really tastes good.  The 2 people recipe will provide 2 dinners.  Any bits of veggies are good, but I am particularly fond of mushrooms, broccoli, spinach and peas.  Peanuts or almonds are dynamite.   

You will not leave the table hungry, and you'll leave the table happy.   Vegans or vegetarians could eat this if you substtute firm tofu for the meat.   

We didn't even half to pare any cheese to produce this dinner. 

Cheers!                   

Bean Soup and other Comestibles

We're been paring cheese like crazy.  Earlier in the week it was Chicken Tortellini Soup with spinach and mushrooms, and today I made bean soup from scratch.  So good, so cheap. 


I had planned to cook the beans with some turkey kielbasa which  I always get as a two-fer, but when the "kielbasa" thawed, it was a Chorico.  Thanks heavens it wasn't a banana.  I do freeze overripe bananas, and when I get three, I make banana bread.  Amazing the difference that extra banana makes.  It takes the bread to a whole new level.



The chorico made the soup even more delicious than usual.  Recipe was 3/4 lb. of navy beans, one large onion, chopped, 3 cloves garlic, 4 slices chopped thick-cut bacon, the chorico (about 12 oz) and 1 can low-fat low-salt  (14 oz) chicken broth and 1 14 oz. can garden vegetable broth.  I usually add carrot, chopped, but I forgot.  I added 1 t. dried thyme for more flavor. 


  I serve this with homemade southern-style cornbread.  This is a recipe, at least 200 years old, that calls for only corn meal (stone ground is best), buttermilk, egg, salt, shortening (your choice), baking soda and baking powder.  NO SUGAR.  It tastes so good and so wholesome and a little whipped butter on it just hits the spot.  Sugar in cornbread is a yucky New England tradition like flour tortillas that must be cast out.



We had a salad with the rest of the spinach bought for the soup, grape tomatoes and a good Caesar store-bought on sale dressing.  I've been saving between 20-30 percent every week at the grocery store and am psyched! 


It really helps to plan menus around the specials, especially the meat and the produce.  


Slowly, but surely, I'm getting caught up after the holiday.  How about you?  We ate the last of the frozen cheese twists on Monday.  So nice to have hors d'oeuvres in the freezer, and cookies, too.  I froze some of each recipe of the cookies I baked, and we had them well into January.  


The oven thermostat crapped out early in January, and we cooked on the stovetop for a few weeks.  The stove was 22+ years, so it did need to be replaced.  I got a fancy Kenmore with a nice warming oven (where bread can be proofed) and a convection oven and a fancy burner in the middle that takes a griddle.  We'll be cooking up a storm to figure out how everything works.  


I did pork tenderloin two ways right off the bat.  We get them as two-fers, and I made cutlets out of one and served them with a red currant/wine sauce (mega-yum) and stuffed the other with a bread stuffing mix left over from Thanksgiving.   Made a rosehip jelly sauce for that.  These cheap Ocean State Job Lot jams make good sauces, too.    A bit of broth, a little wine, some seasonings, and maybe a tablespoon of jelly make a great sauce.    Don't be afraid to experiment. 


Yours in frugality, 


The Cheeseparer

Post Christmas Craziness

We live next door to two young men who have discretionary income. Once (just once) they had a dinner party and planted flowers in in the yard beforehand and pulled them all up afterward. Another year, they put a nice but wilted cherry tomato plant out in the trash. The trash collectors whipped the plant into their cab, not the back of the truck. I heard one of them say, "Just needs a little water."


Today is trash day, post New Year's. After beaucoup house guests and the big changing of the cat litter, we had a lot of garbage, in spite of recyling of plastic and bottles plus newspapers and using the cardboard as kindling for the fireplace.


The site of a discarded Christmas tree in the neighbor's waiting trash was not so remarkable, but what was crazy was that it was still decorated.  I walked the few yards along the street from our trash to theirs, and  found a lovely little Norfolk pine still adorned with beautiful sparkly red balls. Of course I removed them, because  some of ours are pushing old age, and felt sad that the tree was to be discarded.  The instructions said it could not tolerate cold under 45 degrees, and we are still in the thirties and were low twenties last night.  Then Significant Other  mentioned that their trash had been put out just this morning.  
 

I'm as tender-hearted with plants as with animals.  I mourn each houseplant that bites the dust and each annual that succumbs to frost in the fall.  
I rescued the Norfolk Pine.  They are devilishly difficult to grow, and need certain temperature, water and humidity requirements that are going to make this a major pain in the butt.  

Nevertheless.  It is mine, along with 15 or so nice new ornaments.   

Scrounging is what I do best.  My only bad luck was to acquire a table for the porch at the Wellesley Dump that apparently harbored a poltergeist.  It was returned months later with apologies to the spirit.  Never had that before.  Wouldn't have believed it.  Still don't, but it happened. 

 I'm posting  a link to the World's Best Macaroni and Cheese and it doesn't cost a fortune, using as it does ordinary grocery store ingredients. The Christmas bills and the economy are fearsome, so we all must cope.  It's a recipe that both kids and adults will love.  

Trust me.  This recipe rocks!

http://www.bigoven.com/124565-The-Best-Macaroni-And-Cheese-recipe.html

Yours in frugality.  Think good thoughts for the Norfolk Pine. 


The Cheeseparer

Saving at the Supermarket

The past month, using specials and coupons, I've been saving between 20 and 45 per cent at the supermarket. There's 3 pounds of butter in the freezer (yes, butter freezes, and no, I wouldn't even consider using margarine for holiday baking.) No how, no way.

We've been loading up on "winter stores," because here in the New England a blizzard may surprise us, and we want to have 4 days food in the house. I've got a plastic bin full of good stuff to eat, and in April, when all danger of storms are past, we eat it up.

We're been buying BOGOS (buy one get one) and specials like flour, sugar, and raisins for the holiday baking. I began it yesterday with some shortbread with cocktail nuts roasted, chopped and pressed into the dough. The sweet-salty combo is really good.

I splurged and got some phyllo dough on sale, to make some cheese twists to take to a party. Hoping the recipe will make many, as they can be frozen.

What I've been busy with mostly is upgrading my computer--transferring the data from a dying Dell to a sparkly new Mac Mini. And Christmas shopping on Craig's list. By the way, magazines, which can frequently be got quite reasonably. will be a yearlong gift.

Finding supermarket sales and using a coupon will save you big. And of course you recycle your grocery bags and take the reusable ones you buy for a dollar. And shop places like Building 19 and the Ocean State Job lot--these are Boston area stores that have Good Stuff Cheap.

If a few days, I'll scare up the shortbread and cheese twist recipes. It's always nice to take something homemade to a party if you're any kind of cook at all. If you aren't, pick up a bottle of wine. The newspapers always have articles about good buys in good wine. Clip the article.

Be frugal, but don't sacrifice good taste. If nobody eats it, then you haven't saved nuthin'.

Happy Holidays,

The Cheeseparer