Fresh veggies and fruit

I find it most difficult to purchase enough fresh veggies and fruit without ending up wasting and having to throw away produce.

Planning ahead and deciding what veggies to eat each week, then rotating so you have a variety over a period of a month is a big help. One week I buy carrots, turnips, cauliflower along with the onions, green peppers, celery and salad fixings. The next week I buy broccoli, squash and continue to use up the carrots and turnips that have kept from the week before.

With fruit it's much the same. I buy a few apples, an orange, a grapefruit and maybe 2 banana's one week. The following week I buy apples, another orange and a cantalope.

This way I have something different throughout the week but there is not much waste going on.

Using Tofu

Many people don't use tofu and that's a shame. I buy a $2. package of extra firm tofu and use it with all my cooking. Tofu is so healthy, prevents cholesterol and is recommended in most healthy diets.

I open the package and slice the tofu in 1/8 to 1/4 in thick slices.........then chop into 1/4 inch squares and use them in soups, spaghetti sauces and salads. Don't taste the tofu right out of the package. It has a very bland nothing taste at that stage but as you prepare it in your food it takes on the flavour of whatever it is being cook in and will seem like small squares of cream cheese in your food.

I also take the 1/4 inch slices and add them, along with kraft cheese slices, turkey slices, or salmon and quartered dill pickles to roll in a tortillia. After the tortillia is rolled I cool it in the fridge for a few minutes and slice into rounds for serving. Again the tofu tastes like everything else in the tortillia........only the lovely cool texture is left to increase the enjoyment of your lunch.

Any tofu left over I place in a small bowl, cover with water, seal with saran wrap and store in the fridge for up to 3 or 4 days. Soft tofu can be used in desserts and although I don't have as much experience with using it I know it does make a lovely texture.

Cooking with Chicken

Chicken with Rice

1 chicken breast, halved, skinned and boned (or use boneless)
1 cup chicken broth
2 T chopped onion
flour for dredging
1.5 T oil (I use olive oil)
1/2 cup uncooked white long grain rice
salt and pepper
2 T butter
mushrooms, halved

Salt and pepper chicken and dredge in flour. Sauté in hot oil for a minute or two on each side.

In another pan sauté onions in the butter; add rice and mushrooms and stir until rice is completely coated with the butter. Add the broth and the chicken breasts. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes.

If you purchase a whole chicken and remove the breasts yourself you can use the legs and thighs for other meals and use the bones and remaining meat to make a broth. Remove the meat from the bones, discard the bones and add the meat to the broth before using for soups or freezing for future use. In this way one chicken can provide two people with up to 5 meals.

Using cheaper cuts of meat

Pork Neckbones are extremely cheap and can be used in many recipes. Everytime we see them on the meat counter we buy almost every package there. Some we feed to the fox who has adopted us and the rest I use to make soup broths and also with the recipes below.


PORK NECKBONES with RICE

Use a large Dutch oven.

Feeds 6 to 8 people. Costs about $2

It don't get any cheaper or more authentic than pork neckbones ‘n' rice.

Cooking for a large crowd of 40 to 50 people this recipe can easily be doubled. On the side easy servings of cornbread and a large tossed salad will complete your day.

Here's what you'll need:

about 2½ pounds of fresh pork neckbones If your supermarket doesn't carry fresh pork neckbones don't shop there. Change supermarkets or move to a better neighborhood.

½ cup cooking oil
2 cups rice
1 Tbsp garlic powder
2 tsps salt
1 tsp black pepper
6 cups of water
1 onion, sliced
½ bunch of chopped green onions, about 4

Directions:
Use the ½ cup of cooking oil and brown the neckbones, turning them frequently.
When the neckbones are browned, add the chopped green onion, the sliced onion and the spices.
Add water and bring to boil.
Cover pot with tight-fitting lid and simmer on low for 1½ hours. Stir once or twice.
After 1½ hours of simmering, add rice. Skim fat if desired.
Simmer 15 more minutes and turn off fire. Stir once.
Wait 15 more minutes and eat.

2 hours later: ready to eat!

Pork 'n' gravy:

cook pork neckbones same as in Pork'n'gravy above.

Cook rice separately and completely (20 minutes for white rice, 45 minutes for brown rice)

Thicken liquid in pot with flour.

Add a "dash" of Kitchen Bouquet® Browning & Seasoning Sauce to "give the gravy a dark color."

Serve over rice.

Pork neckbones ‘n' rice is cheap:

To feed 6 to 8 people for $2.50 cannot be beat and it's good besides!


Pork neckbones for soup

Add two or three neckbones to a stock pot with 10 cups of water, 2 carrots, 1 lge onion, 5 or 6 cloves of garlic, 1 med potato, 2 stocks celery.........all just cut in very large chunks. Bring to boil and then simmer for 2 or 3 hours to let the flavours blend and develop.

Strain and removed meat from bones separating the fat as you go. Add meat pieces back to the strained broth and either commence to make a Barley Soup or freeze the broth in a zip lock bag for using later.

Shopping tips

Watching prices and shopping carefully is an art. I find there are many ways to obtain information helpful to my plans.

Testing on dishwasher soap was reported on 'The Shopping Bags' and they found there is not much difference among the many soaps and you are as well off to buy the cheapest no name product. They also report that you should not buy the giant economy sized because moisture and sitting after being opened reduces the cleaning components in the soaps.

I have therefore started to save money and buy the cheapest soap whether it's a no name product or the sale of the week.

Learning to Shop and Cut Expenses

I never had to worry about a grocery budget. We enjoyed food and I always cooked from scratch but I could buy anything that caught my fancy and never think twice about it. Now with retirement and wanting to spend more on doing things and less on eating I find myself needing to learn new techniques to cut costs.

I've enjoyed the challenge and it's become a second hobby in my life. I haven't moved into coupons yet and I don't know if I will because I hesitate to hold up the people behind me in line in order to put through coupons but that may change depending on the deals I find. :)

There are many interesting and fun ways to cut your expenses. Of course being there for the sales and buying a little extra of what is on sale is one obvious way. Testing the 'No Name' products to see which are of high enough quality that you might substitute them for the more expensive Brand Name products.

Another very good trick is to plan a menu for the week and make a list of your grocery needs from that menu. If you make a list and stick to it you will throw away far less food from spoilage. I take the flyer from the Super Market and plan my menu around the sales for the week so what I'm putting on my list I know is already on sale.

We have moved away from the Giant Economy sized purchases in most cases but if they have canned tomatoes on sale I will buy as much as a case of them at the sale price. The same is true of other products that you use in many recipes. I keep extra bags of navy beans, red lentils, green and yellow beans in the cubboard so I can always whip up a soup in an hour or so.

There are many ways to cut expenses and for me it's a challenge I enjoy. I find satisfaction from not spending more than I need to and still having interesting, healthy and varied meals which include all points of the Canada Food plan.

Flour Tortillas wraps for lunch

often with a cup of homemade soup we will have a tortilla wrap.

I mix salmon or boiled eggs or even sardines with low fat mayo, onions, celery and lettuce.

I use a couple tablespoons of the mix of choice above set onto the centre of the tortilla and spread thinly. I top the mix with thin slices of low fat cheese and roll the tortilla.

The tortilla roll is then cut in 2 inch almost bite sized peaces and placed on a dish in the center of the table for sharing.

To this dish we often have slivers of carrot, cauliflower and/or broccoli flowerettes with a dip of low fat mayo mixed with either ketchup or 'A Taste if Thai' which is a tangy red chili sauce sold in a jar.

Lasagna with your Spaghetti Sauce

Posted below are recipies for a variety of spaghetti sauces and once you have made a batch and frozen the extra in 2 cup portions in zip lock bags you can easily grab a bag and try one of these lasagnas. The lasagna can be cut into 3 and while you eat one section you can freeze the other two in meal sized portions for easy meals in the next couple weeks or a month.


VEGETARIAN LASAGNA

==================Ingredients:------------

2 cups your homemade pasta sauce
1 lb mushrooms, sliced
1 cup mix of cauliflower and broccoli cut in small flowerlets (optional)
12 lasagne noodles, half-cooked
1 cup cottage cheese
1 egg
1 T parsley flakes
1 cup mozarella cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated fine


Instructions:-------------
boil a very large pot of water, add salt to the water and when it comes to a full rolling boil add the lasagna noodles 2 or 3 at a time and cook until still firm but softened, 7 min?

Saute the mushrooms, cauliflower, broccoli for 2 or 3 minutes to soften a wee bit.
Mix cottage cheese, egg and parsley flakes together.

In a 9X13 glass baking dish, put a couple of tablespoons of the sauce onthe bottom, spreading it evenly. Put a layer of noodles in the pan. (You may have to trim one of thenoodles to fit along the bottom of the pan, like such: ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------

Cover this layer of noodles with 1/2 the cottage cheese & egg mixture, roughly 1/4 the pasta sauce, then about 1/2 the shredded or finely sliced mozarella.

Next, another layer of noodles, trimming as necessary.Repeat cottage cheese mix, sauce and mozarella, using up the two cheeses.

Layer on the final few noodles. Top with sauce, enough to cover liberally, add 1/4 c parmesan cheese, cover the dish with foil, and bake in a 375 degree oven for 1 hr, uncover for the last 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool for 5 to 10 minutes, to allow the cheese to set alittle before serving. This lasagne is wonderful with a good, crusty garlic bread and a tossed salad.

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VEGGIE LASAGNA==============

Sauce: 2 cups your homemade spaghetti sauce.

Ingredients:------------

1/2 red bell pepper
2 carrots
1 broccoli flowerette
1 medium zucchini
3-4 large mushrooms
8 oz ricotta cheese
12 oz mozzarella, shredded
1 lb lasagna noodles

Instructions:-------------

Chop vegetables and sautee in olive oil. Drop pasta in boiling salted water and simmer for 8-10 minutes, rinse and drain.

Spread a thin layer of sauce in a 9x13" baking dish.

Layer 1/3 of the noodles, 1/2 of the vegetables and ricotta, and a bit less than 1/2 of the mozzarella and sauce. Repeat for second layer. Top with remaining noodles, sauce, and cheese.

Cover tightly with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Uncover and sprinkle with parmesan, bake uncovered for 10 more minutes. Remover from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

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CHICKEN LASAGNA

Ingredients:------------

8 to 10 Lasagna noodles, cooked
2 cups cooked diced chicken (Perfect for your frozen leftovers)
2 cups your homemade meatless spaghetti sauce
1/3 tsp each salt and pepper
3 Tblsp butter or margarine
3 Tblsp all-purpose flour
1 can (10 oz) chicken broth (make your own chicken broth with the bones and freeze in 1 cup portions in zip lock bags)
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
parmesan cheese

Instructions:-------------

Cream Sauce:------------

Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in flour, cooking and stirring for 2 to 3 minutes.
Add broth, stirring until thickened. Stir in half & half over low heat.

Lasagna Layering:-----------------

Spoon small amount of cream sauce in baking pan. Place 3 cooked noodles in baking pan. Add 1/3 of spaghetti sauce with chicken added mixture and 1/3 of cream sauce. Sprinkle each layer with cheese. Repeat with remaining noodles and sauces. Sprinkle top with parmesan cheese.

Bake at 350 F for 25 to 30 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before slicing to serve.

Polenta

i pound yellow corn meal
1.5 quarts of water

Bring water to boil, add 1 tsp of salt, add yellow corn meal SLOWLY and stir continously until thinck. Simmer for 20 minutes stirring frequently ( think almost continuously!)


Cooking up a full batch of polenta takes about 20 minutes. You can do it ahead, pour it into a large cake pan and place in the fridge to cool till needed.

After cooling the polenta it can be easily cut in 4 pieces. Wrap and freeze 3 of the pieces for quick easy use later.

The 1/4 we were using for our dinner last night was cut into about 1 inch slices.

Lay the slices on the bottom of a casserole dish and sprinkle Feta cheese over them. I used feta I'm sure most kinds of cheese would be wonderful.

Pop them into the microwave for 2 or 3 minutes on 7 and served them with a spaghetti sauce scooped over.

Very tasty and low fat. If the spaghetti sauce is homemade you can guarantee the salt content is low and healthy too.

Add a tossed salad and you have a nice light meal.

Beans for Protein

A meat free meal once or twice a week is recommended by many dietitians. We use beans, on those meat free days, to give us the protein we need to keep our bones and muscles developing properly.

One of my favourite recipes is so simple and so easy to have in the fridge for a day or two making meal preparation easier.

I use one can of Chick Peas (Garbonzo beans) or a can of mixed beans also works well. Wash beans well and add:

Any or all kinds of fruit (cantalope or apples or both are nice) cubed bean sized and to an equal volume to the beans.

OR

All kinds of veggies. (onions, peppers of all colours, celery, tomatos, stem of broccoli, stem of cauliflower, cucumber...anything you have in your fridge) to an equal volume as the beans.

Both of these recipes give you the crisp cool juicy texture of the fruit or veggis in contrast to the soft bean textures.

you can use anything you want for a dressing but we try to be very low fat here so we use fresh lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Leaving the salad to set in the fridge for a couple hours before serving allows the tastes to blend. If your going to add oil to the dressing Olive Oil or Canola Oil are the healthiest oils to use.

Spaghetti Sauce

Spaghetti sauces can be made quickly, cheaply and unused portions are easily frozen in zip lock bags for future meals. Use the sauce to cover polenta, all forms of pasta and pizza base and if you add a can of beans you have sloppy joes. If you want it meatless all the recipes below, but one, are meatless but with any one of them you can add hamburger, sliced/diced steak, wieners or sausages and it will be just as wonderful.

Spaghetti Sauce #1

It’s important that you use garlic, onion, oregano, salt, and oil. A sauce improves with the addition of basil, a bay leaf, mushrooms, a dash of pepper, thyme, and rosemary, too. A diced or grated potato will thicken it and add a depth to the flavour.
If you have the time, let it reduce to the right thickness by simmering. If you don't have time, strain some of the water when you open the can, or add tomato paste to thicken.

Remove from heat and add salt & pepper. Then add a dash of cream, milk, or sugar--any of those will sweeten the sauce ever-so-slightly...just enough to remove any bitterness. Lastly, sprinkle the sauce with a little chopped basil and/or oregano. Voila

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Spaghetti Sauce #2

1 can diced tomatoes, drained1/4 cup tomato paste1 medium onion2 cloves garlic1/4 cup red wineA dash of crushed red pepperThyme and/or oreganoSautee the onion until it just starts to turn brown. Crush the garlic and add. Stir for a minute. Add the diced tomatoes, the herbs (if they're dried, add fresh herbs at the very end before serving).

Stir until there's no pooling of liquids. Add the wine. Cook two minutes. Add the herbs if you're using fresh. Add a little bell pepper along the way if you like (about 1/2 of a large, roasted and peeled pepper should do it)A fast sauce. It's good and it's simple. Double the paste for a pizza sauce.
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Spaghetti sauce #3

Quarter an onion. Fry it in several tablespoons of olive oil on medium high heat. When onions turn clear add tomatoes. Lower heat. Simmer for 20 minutes or so. Now take out the onions. Add salt and pepper to taste, maybe a basil leaf or two (note: basil not traditional).

Serve with pecorino romano. Simple and old, from the Napoli area.Note: this is not a thick sauce (actually, you could use a tomato puree or run your tomatoes through a food mill). The dish relies on the way the olive oil picks up flavor and coats the pasta. Many Italian sauces are quite simple : they need only one or two ingredients to carry the dish.
Pecorino Romano
Description:Pecorino Romano is made from sheep's milk. It is straw-white in colour and has a sharper flavour than the other cheeses listed here. Although it is sometimes referred to as "Locatelli" Locatelli is a brand name of Pecorino Romano. Pecora in Italian means sheep and Pecorino Romano is one of Italy's oldest cheeses. Legend has it that a shepherd filled his flask with sheep's milk before a long trip and the motion during the trip caused the milk to naturally ferment. The idea for a new cheese was born. Today most Pecorino is made in Sardina Italy. With its fine flavor Pecorino's popularity as a grating cheese has grown significantly in the U.S. Since sheep only give milk for 6-7 months a year all production must satisfy the public's demand for the entire year. *********************************************************



Spaghetti Sauce #4

Recently I've been avoiding the garlic, now I normally only use 1 small clove and onions.

Chop onions, 2 cloves of garlic, some carrots, celery mushrooms and sweet green peppers. Sauté those before you add the tomatoes. Olives go great, especially with a spicier sauce. Pepper flakes are great for spicing things up but go easy just a wee little bit of pepper flakes.

Try throwing in some ricotta cheese. Spinach goes well with tomatoes. Also sometimes I throw in some chopped frozen stuff shortly before it’s done. They just need to defrost.
Fresh basil at the very end of every sauce is an excellent addition but add small amounts at first until you discover what intensity of basil taste you most enjoy. It doesn't have to cook. Just chop it not too finely and stir it into the sauce right before you ladle it over the pasta.

Don't forget the grated parmesan. If you really want good pasta and you have a little extra money to indulge yourself with buy a ‘little tiny’ block of real parmesan cheese and grate it over your pasta after it’s on your plate. It makes all the difference in the world....It's amazingly simple and fast to make an excellent red sauce. The recipes above should serve you nicely. You can have a sauce ready in about a half hour if you have everything chopped ahead of time. Remember, your pasta should never wait on the sauce, but it's alright if the sauce has to wait a bit for the pasta. Once the pasta is cooked, it should be served soon. When it's done, toss the pasta with a little olive oil to keep it from forming a sticky, congealed mass.
Hints for using fresh tomatoes
Don't used ‘chopped’ plum tomatoes. Simmer the tomatoes whole at first for around 10mins to let the sugar cook from the flesh of the tomatoes. If you use chopped tomatoes - or if you crush up whole tomatoes too early in the cooking process - you end up with a sauce made bitter by the tomato seeds.

Spaghetti sauce #5
If you want simple, you can leave out the wine. We don’t drink but I keep a bottle of a good red wine in the house just for using in my spaghetti sauces. I don’t think any other ingredient makes a sauces as tasty as the ¼ to ½ cup of wine does. The alcohol cooks off and your left with the incredible taste.

The basics have been covered in the above comments, but just to put it all together here is:Mama Gravy's Red Sauce3 Tb Olive oil1 large yellow onion, diced2 cloves of garlic minced or crushed1/4 red wine1 to 2 TB sugar2 cans whole roma tomatoes1 can crushed tomatoes1 Bay leafRed pepper flakes to tastepinch of fresh ThymeSalt and pepperSauté the onion in the oil on low heat for 10 minutes and then add garlic. Sauté another 2 minutes being careful not to burn the garlic. Add the rest of the ingredients, including a light salting. Cook slowly, smashing the whole tomatoes as you go. Simmer for an hour or so. Finish with salt to taste.Note: For extra rich, extra thick sauce:After simmering an hour pour into large baking dish, drizzle another 2 TB oil and bake at 325 for another hour or two. This is the best sauce for pizza.


Anniversary Sauce

Okay, now and then it’s time to blow the wad and dig into the wallet to celebrate a special occasion. This has been an interesting combination that, served with garlic bread makes a real treat.

A small carton of whipping cream, some uncooked shrimp, some sliced mushrooms, garlic, parsley, white wine and whatever miscellaneous spices you like (red pepper for instance).Sauté the tomatoes add the cream and all remaining ingredients except the shrimp. Prepare the shrimp and add them last, shrimp require very little time and are cooked when they turn pink. You're done! Instant delicious, quick and easy sauce!

Meat meals

We have started to purchase our meats only when they are on sale. Safeway's "buy one get one free" packages of meat offer a real cost saving if your willing to do a little organizing after you arrive home.

With Chicken thighs we separate them into packages of 4 and have only one each at a meal meaning each frozen package cover meals for two days. We find we can have chicken for $1. each per meal this way.

We also buy the roasts offered on this same sale and then slice into about 1 or 1.5""thick steak slices. We wrap each steak separately and use only one if we are having a stir fry. A stir fry meal will cost us $1. for the meat. If we b.q. the steaks, we marinate them for a few hours and we each have one steak........this meal will cost us $2. for the meat.

Watching the sales, cutting back our servings to healthier sizes and taking the time to divide or cut before freezing means we have been able to cut our meat expenses considerably.

Vegetable Chowder

Another soup we enjoy and have regularily costs us $1.65 for soup for two for lunches.

1 pound parsnips
1 large yam
1 small head broccoli
1 small onion, diced
3 cups water
salt to taste
8 oz ricotta cheese (low fat)
2 cups milk (I use 1 or 2% milk)
1/2 cup grated potato
black pepper
pinch of ground nutmeg
2 T grated parmesan cheese

Peel parsnips and yams and dice to 1/2 inch, Cut broccoli head into small flowerets peel the stem and dice to 1/2 inch cubes.

bring the water and salt to a boil, add parsnips, sweet potato, broccoli stem, grated potatoes and onions. Return to a boil and turn very low to simmer for 10 minutes. Add the broccoli flowerets and simmer 3 minutes or until all the vegetables are tender.

Combine ricotta cheese, milk, pepper and nutmeg in a blender. Whirl until pureed then stir into soup. Gently heat through before scooping into soup bowls and sprinkling with parmesan cheese.

If this gives you 4 servings (it gives us 6 servings)

per serving 300 calories, 7 g fat, 49 g carbs

Cutting expenses and eating well.

I've kept my grocery till tapes and broken down my expenses so I know exactly what different meals and recipes are costing us.

The soup recipe listed here costs 37 cents a meal (that's a meal, not each. Feeding two of us costs 18.5 cents each). I freeze, in zip lock bags, 2.5 cup measures from each batch of soup. Having a variety of soups in the freezer, ready to quickly thaw in the microwave, makes our lunches very easy and still delicious.

My Vegetarian Lentil Soup

canola or Olive oil
1 cup onions, diced small
4 medium carrots, diced/sliced to 1/2 inch
1/2 cup of red split lentils
1 1/2 cup veggie stock
pinch of ground mace
salt to taste
black pepper to taste
2 med or 1 large yam, diced to 1/2 inch
1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes (or dice a cup of fresh tomatoes with the seeds removed)
add water to thin to required consistancy as required

Saute the onions and carrots in the canola or Olive oil in a large heavy frying pan over medium heat for 5 minutes stirring occassionally.

Clean the lentils and rinse. Add the lentils, veggie stock and seasonings to the pan, stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to very low and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the tomatoes and yams, stir and cover. Bring back to a boil and reduce heat again to simmer another 20 minutes until the yams are soft and the soup has thickened stirring occassionally. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Serve immediately or freeze in med or small zip lock bags in meal sized batches.


I really enjoy this soup. I hope it's something you find filling and satisfying too. For 18.5 cents a bowl you can't do much better.

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