Hello Frugal-Fraus,
Now is the time of year to stock up on your baking staples. The weeks leading up to the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are VERY competitive for grocers. The result is that a lot of items you will use now and throughout the year are deeply discounted. Below is a list you might find helpful:
Sugar (granulated, powdered, & light & dark brown)
Baking Soda, baking powder
Molasses
Karo syrup (shut up-no CS/HFCS debate here-ITS CHRISTMAS!!!)
Honey
Dried fruits
Spices (nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, etc.)
Vanilla and other extracts
Nuts
Yeast (yes, you can freeze it)
Corn Starch
Cocoa
Flours (but these are best not stored for long...3-6 mo tops)
Butter (freeze it..its fine)
Food coloring (if you like your food freaky colors)
If you think of others, add them in the comments section.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
Quinoa Salad-Last taste of summer
The temperature dipped into the 30s a few times this week, and while I am not exactly sad to see summer go, it does mean saying goodbye to a few of my favorite things. The good fruit is gone, replaced by the inedible, and the tomatoes are soon to follow. This was my favorite new concoction that made good use of the abundance of sweet summer cherry tomatoes. And if you've never tried quinoa, give it a whirl. It is really tasty and healthy in ways that most grains aren't.
Quinoa Salad
Prepare quinoa according to package directions, usually 2:1 H20:quinoa ratio. Using chicken or vegetable stock is nice in place of the H20. Cool.
Chop any or all of the following: scallions, cucumber, bell pepper, celery, cherry tomato (halved), and fresh cilantro. Mix well and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Letting this ‘rest’ for 10-15 minutes allows the juices of the vegetables to be drawn out of the flesh, which makes a nice base for the dressing. Drizzle with olive oil and your favorite vinegar; white wine or white balsamic is especially nice but any will do. Add a can of drained, rinsed chick peas. Combine with quinoa and add feta cheese prior to serving. A day in the fridge does a lot for the flavor of this dish.
If you need to feel fancy and pretentious (as if eating something called ‘quinoa’ wasn’t enough) adding olives or artichokes is also very good.
Quinoa Salad
Prepare quinoa according to package directions, usually 2:1 H20:quinoa ratio. Using chicken or vegetable stock is nice in place of the H20. Cool.
Chop any or all of the following: scallions, cucumber, bell pepper, celery, cherry tomato (halved), and fresh cilantro. Mix well and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Letting this ‘rest’ for 10-15 minutes allows the juices of the vegetables to be drawn out of the flesh, which makes a nice base for the dressing. Drizzle with olive oil and your favorite vinegar; white wine or white balsamic is especially nice but any will do. Add a can of drained, rinsed chick peas. Combine with quinoa and add feta cheese prior to serving. A day in the fridge does a lot for the flavor of this dish.
If you need to feel fancy and pretentious (as if eating something called ‘quinoa’ wasn’t enough) adding olives or artichokes is also very good.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
A recipe for those extra special occasions-Rated PG-18
I’m too crabby to write a real post. Don’t judge me; it will be your turn soon enough.
On My Period Pie
Pie crust- graham, chocolate, shortbread whatever…it’s your period; I don’t pretend to know what your needs are.
Softened, high-quality ice cream- by high-quality I mean not crap: milk/cream, sugar, maybe eggs, chocolate, or nuts. Don’t screw up a perfectly decent pie with cheap, nasty ice cream.
Jar of Nutella
Two bananas
Package of Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies
Toasted hazelnuts if you don’t live in a shitty town in the Midwest with NARY A SINGLE DECENT GROCERY STORE WITH HAZELNUTS WITHIN 150 FRICKIN’ MILES.
Whipped cream if you are into that
Spread layer of Nutella over the bottom and sides of pie crust. Slice and layer bananas over the Nutella. Smoosh ice cream over banana layer.
Smash Milano cookies and hazelnuts to pieces. Sprinkle on top. Drizzle melted Nutella, criss-crossing the pie…would it kill you make something pretty once in a while?
Put back in freezer for a few hours to solidify. Or eat it now. I don’t care.
Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium, Fiber, Vitamin E, Folate, Protein, and Iron and you get to smash something in the process. But let’s face it…that’s all irrelevant and pointless. Just make the damn thing.
And you thought you were getting some schmaltzy, romantic dinner recipe. Please. Try to touch me and you’ll pull back a stump.
On My Period Pie
Pie crust- graham, chocolate, shortbread whatever…it’s your period; I don’t pretend to know what your needs are.
Softened, high-quality ice cream- by high-quality I mean not crap: milk/cream, sugar, maybe eggs, chocolate, or nuts. Don’t screw up a perfectly decent pie with cheap, nasty ice cream.
Jar of Nutella
Two bananas
Package of Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies
Toasted hazelnuts if you don’t live in a shitty town in the Midwest with NARY A SINGLE DECENT GROCERY STORE WITH HAZELNUTS WITHIN 150 FRICKIN’ MILES.
Whipped cream if you are into that
Spread layer of Nutella over the bottom and sides of pie crust. Slice and layer bananas over the Nutella. Smoosh ice cream over banana layer.
Smash Milano cookies and hazelnuts to pieces. Sprinkle on top. Drizzle melted Nutella, criss-crossing the pie…would it kill you make something pretty once in a while?
Put back in freezer for a few hours to solidify. Or eat it now. I don’t care.
Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium, Fiber, Vitamin E, Folate, Protein, and Iron and you get to smash something in the process. But let’s face it…that’s all irrelevant and pointless. Just make the damn thing.
And you thought you were getting some schmaltzy, romantic dinner recipe. Please. Try to touch me and you’ll pull back a stump.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Who's the 3rd FAIR-est Frau of them all?
So, last week marked the beginning of the DuQuoin State Fair, which is the down-state version of the Illinois State Fair. Since I am not such a fan of deep-fried anything, livestock, and the mouth-breathing masses of fair-goers, this event would normally hold little appeal for me. However, the fair does have one event that I find irresistible; the Mystery Sack Cooking Contest.
It is as it sounds. Each contestant shows up with an electric skillet, utensils, and three 'spices or condiments of their choice.' You are handed a bag o' groceries chosen by the hosts of the contest. You have one hour to cook, name, and present to the judges a dish using at least some of all of the ingredients in the bag. Using your own ingredients is optional. After waffling all day about what to bring, I decided on my three ingredients: cream, butter, and dijon mustard (thanks to all of the facebook friend Fraus for the suggestions.) The first year, I showed up having forgotten that you often need things like mixing bowls to prepare a meal. This year, I brought half of my kitchen, just to be sure. This Frau was prepared for anything...until I got my bag o groceries. This year the bag contained:
polish smoked sausage
one new potato
a cup of water
about 1/2 c of oil
salt & pepper
a baggie of shredded cheese
a baggie of tortilla chips (emcee kept pronouncing the hard-L...Tor-tiLL-a)
an orange
a red bell pepper
1/4 head of cabbage
a can of beenie weenies
and 5 oreos
I said an 'F' word and trust me, it wasn't 'Frau.' But with only an hour, you can't cry over dropped F-bombs. I set to work steaming lengthwise slices of new potato while I chopped and thought. Hard.
I hate oreos and beenie weenies. Gross. What the hell am I supposed to do with that?
But as it turned out, I am a pretty clever Frau, in the kitchen, anyway. After my potato was steamed I proceeded to:
Melt butter and scraped-out insides of oreos to create a sweet syrup-set aside.
Sauteed bell pepper and sausage. Smashed beenie weenies to a paste. Added potato and cream. Mixed in small amount of beenie-weenie paste (Asian chefs everywhere cringe) which helped to thicken. Topped with cheese and crushed Tor-tiLL-as, baked in the skillet until done. Meanwhile, I sliced the cabbage razor thin, tossed with a citrus vinaigrette of orange juice, oil, and dijon mustard. Remaining cream was whipped to stiff peaks, and oreo syrup and crushed cookies were mixed in. I presented 'Porky's Skillet Bake, Citrus Dijon Slaw, and Oreo Cookie Cloud' to the judges.
I won third place and 20 bucks. Not bad for haute cuisine on the fly, including beenie weenies. Gross.
It is as it sounds. Each contestant shows up with an electric skillet, utensils, and three 'spices or condiments of their choice.' You are handed a bag o' groceries chosen by the hosts of the contest. You have one hour to cook, name, and present to the judges a dish using at least some of all of the ingredients in the bag. Using your own ingredients is optional. After waffling all day about what to bring, I decided on my three ingredients: cream, butter, and dijon mustard (thanks to all of the facebook friend Fraus for the suggestions.) The first year, I showed up having forgotten that you often need things like mixing bowls to prepare a meal. This year, I brought half of my kitchen, just to be sure. This Frau was prepared for anything...until I got my bag o groceries. This year the bag contained:
polish smoked sausage
one new potato
a cup of water
about 1/2 c of oil
salt & pepper
a baggie of shredded cheese
a baggie of tortilla chips (emcee kept pronouncing the hard-L...Tor-tiLL-a)
an orange
a red bell pepper
1/4 head of cabbage
a can of beenie weenies
and 5 oreos
I said an 'F' word and trust me, it wasn't 'Frau.' But with only an hour, you can't cry over dropped F-bombs. I set to work steaming lengthwise slices of new potato while I chopped and thought. Hard.
I hate oreos and beenie weenies. Gross. What the hell am I supposed to do with that?
But as it turned out, I am a pretty clever Frau, in the kitchen, anyway. After my potato was steamed I proceeded to:
Melt butter and scraped-out insides of oreos to create a sweet syrup-set aside.
Sauteed bell pepper and sausage. Smashed beenie weenies to a paste. Added potato and cream. Mixed in small amount of beenie-weenie paste (Asian chefs everywhere cringe) which helped to thicken. Topped with cheese and crushed Tor-tiLL-as, baked in the skillet until done. Meanwhile, I sliced the cabbage razor thin, tossed with a citrus vinaigrette of orange juice, oil, and dijon mustard. Remaining cream was whipped to stiff peaks, and oreo syrup and crushed cookies were mixed in. I presented 'Porky's Skillet Bake, Citrus Dijon Slaw, and Oreo Cookie Cloud' to the judges.
I won third place and 20 bucks. Not bad for haute cuisine on the fly, including beenie weenies. Gross.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Bandera Chicken
This dish is kind of a partially deconstructed enchilada for the lazy Frau. Also freezes well so why not double the recipe, make two, and freeze one for later. You can easily modify the ratios here to produce a dish to suit your tastes. More chicken, more beans, vegetarian, etc.
Ingredients:
1-2 C cooked, shredded/diced chicken(grill leftovers or deli rotisserie work great)
1 Can of evaporated milk 16 oz-ish
16-20 oz shredded cheese (cheddar, Colby, jack, etc)
2 cans diced green chilies
1 can of diced tomatoes with chilies (or Rotel) drained, with liquid reserved
1 can of beans, rinsed (we like black or red beans)-optional
8-12 corn tortillas
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp salt
Mix evaporated milk, 1 can chilies, and juice from the tomatoes in a bowl. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350. Coat the bottom & sides of a 9x13 casserole pan with your choice of cooking oil. Mix cumin, salt, and 1 can of green chilies into the chicken using fingers to ‘work it in.’ Tear corn tortillas into quarters. Layer tortillas, sprinkle 1/3 of meat mixture along with a smattering of tomatoes, cheese, and beans if desired. Work your way to the top of the casserole dish and top with your ‘sauce’ of evaporated milk, chilies, and tomato juice. Top with cheese and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until sauce/cheese is brown & bubbly.
Ingredients:
1-2 C cooked, shredded/diced chicken(grill leftovers or deli rotisserie work great)
1 Can of evaporated milk 16 oz-ish
16-20 oz shredded cheese (cheddar, Colby, jack, etc)
2 cans diced green chilies
1 can of diced tomatoes with chilies (or Rotel) drained, with liquid reserved
1 can of beans, rinsed (we like black or red beans)-optional
8-12 corn tortillas
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp salt
Mix evaporated milk, 1 can chilies, and juice from the tomatoes in a bowl. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350. Coat the bottom & sides of a 9x13 casserole pan with your choice of cooking oil. Mix cumin, salt, and 1 can of green chilies into the chicken using fingers to ‘work it in.’ Tear corn tortillas into quarters. Layer tortillas, sprinkle 1/3 of meat mixture along with a smattering of tomatoes, cheese, and beans if desired. Work your way to the top of the casserole dish and top with your ‘sauce’ of evaporated milk, chilies, and tomato juice. Top with cheese and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until sauce/cheese is brown & bubbly.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Tightwad Tuesdays: Saving Money By NOT Shopping at Walmart
Today’s post is inspired by my dear friend’s facebook status about her desire for change in her shopping habits. I quote " the hunter/gatherer is on the mission for new and better hunting grounds. The toxic swamp of WalMart will be avoided." Since she lives in rural Mississippi, this is no easy task. While we haven’t discussed it, I believe her motivation for this is to avoid WM for the same reasons so many of us have decided to avoid WM; poor customer service, low quality products, poor employee relations, etc. I am not going to get into the politics of the WM debate here because, let’s face it; WM isn’t the only entity guilty of the above. I will however, refute a widely held belief that the way to save big on groceries is to shop WM. Au contraire, Sister-Fraus…au contraire.
As a side note to all my Metro-Fraus who have a glorious Trader Joe’s at their disposal; suck it! We don’t have Trader Joe’s here and we hate you because you do…but I digress.
You see, WM is big enough to make up their own rules about pricing. When doing a side-by-side comparison of items at regular grocers vs WM, the ‘everyday’ price is nearly always 10-20% cheaper at WM. As the largest retailer in the country, they can buy product in large enough quantities to secure a better wholesale price, resulting in a lower price overall to pass on to the consumer. But as you may have noticed, WM doesn’t really have ‘sales.’ Sure, they put out a flyer every week and have their creepy, little yellow dot flying around the store lowering prices. But overall their prices stay about the same.
So what’s a Frau to do? If it’s cheaper there ALL the time, how can I save by shopping somewhere else? Three concepts: The Loss Leaders, the Sales Cycles, and the Pantry Padding (Amen). These three concepts will do more to save you money than almost any other penny-pinching activity. A perfect storm that, once you get the hang of it, will consistently save you an average of 50%. Some definitions are in order:
#1 Loss-leader
A loss-leader is an item with a sale price that is very, very low perhaps half price or less. These items are chosen by corporate marketing types with the sole purpose of bringing you into the store. They often price these items so low that they may even lose money on it. Why? Because they know that once you are in the store, you will likely buy other stuff that is not on sale. The regular priced (i.e. overpriced) stuff is where they make their money back. But if you are smart, as I know all of my Sister-Fraus are, you can use this system to your advantage. Hold that thought.
#2 Sale Cycles
Sale Cycles are the schedules that the corporate marketing types use to rotate sales. Let’s say you love Cheerios. If you watch your grocery store flyers, one week Cheerios will be on sale for about ½ price, maybe less. Approximately, 4-8 weeks later, Cheerios will once again be on sale for ½ price. It is as predictable as a hangover or a Diane Lane movie.
#3 Pantry Padding
I used to refer to this practice as stockpiling but then I met a weirdo, up all night, conspiracy theorist and it started to remind me of them, so I changed it. Pantry padding is just another word for having a very well-stocked pantry.
So here’s the really complicated part…watch out…I might just be about to blow your mind.
• View the weekly flyers in your Sunday paper or online and list the ‘loss leader’ items that you would normally buy at full price anyway
• Buy enough of them during the current sale cycle to ‘pad your pantry’ until the next sale cycle, 4-8 weeks later
• Resist buying anything that isn’t on sale and deeply discounted because chances are it will be on sale and deeply discounted within a few short weeks
That’s it. About 20 minutes of planning and a resolve to not buy anything that isn’t a loss-leader. When you do this and do it consistently you will always pay 30-50% less for those items. If you can do this with most of your grocery items, the result will be a much smaller grocery bill with nary a coupon in sight. If you add coupons into this mix, you start getting into free or even profit-generating shopping, which, admittedly, is not for everyone.
If you are still not convinced, think of it this way when it seems like too much trouble. If you averaged a 50% savings on most of what you buy, you could save $2400 a year. If invested in a mutual fund every month at a conservative 9% return it will equal nearly $40,000 after 10 years.
But I don’t care about the money. I just want to be sure I have enough Frank’s Hot Sauce in the basement to last me through the revolution…shudder the thought, it keeps me up at night. Weirdo.
As a side note to all my Metro-Fraus who have a glorious Trader Joe’s at their disposal; suck it! We don’t have Trader Joe’s here and we hate you because you do…but I digress.
You see, WM is big enough to make up their own rules about pricing. When doing a side-by-side comparison of items at regular grocers vs WM, the ‘everyday’ price is nearly always 10-20% cheaper at WM. As the largest retailer in the country, they can buy product in large enough quantities to secure a better wholesale price, resulting in a lower price overall to pass on to the consumer. But as you may have noticed, WM doesn’t really have ‘sales.’ Sure, they put out a flyer every week and have their creepy, little yellow dot flying around the store lowering prices. But overall their prices stay about the same.
So what’s a Frau to do? If it’s cheaper there ALL the time, how can I save by shopping somewhere else? Three concepts: The Loss Leaders, the Sales Cycles, and the Pantry Padding (Amen). These three concepts will do more to save you money than almost any other penny-pinching activity. A perfect storm that, once you get the hang of it, will consistently save you an average of 50%. Some definitions are in order:
#1 Loss-leader
A loss-leader is an item with a sale price that is very, very low perhaps half price or less. These items are chosen by corporate marketing types with the sole purpose of bringing you into the store. They often price these items so low that they may even lose money on it. Why? Because they know that once you are in the store, you will likely buy other stuff that is not on sale. The regular priced (i.e. overpriced) stuff is where they make their money back. But if you are smart, as I know all of my Sister-Fraus are, you can use this system to your advantage. Hold that thought.
#2 Sale Cycles
Sale Cycles are the schedules that the corporate marketing types use to rotate sales. Let’s say you love Cheerios. If you watch your grocery store flyers, one week Cheerios will be on sale for about ½ price, maybe less. Approximately, 4-8 weeks later, Cheerios will once again be on sale for ½ price. It is as predictable as a hangover or a Diane Lane movie.
#3 Pantry Padding
I used to refer to this practice as stockpiling but then I met a weirdo, up all night, conspiracy theorist and it started to remind me of them, so I changed it. Pantry padding is just another word for having a very well-stocked pantry.
So here’s the really complicated part…watch out…I might just be about to blow your mind.
• View the weekly flyers in your Sunday paper or online and list the ‘loss leader’ items that you would normally buy at full price anyway
• Buy enough of them during the current sale cycle to ‘pad your pantry’ until the next sale cycle, 4-8 weeks later
• Resist buying anything that isn’t on sale and deeply discounted because chances are it will be on sale and deeply discounted within a few short weeks
That’s it. About 20 minutes of planning and a resolve to not buy anything that isn’t a loss-leader. When you do this and do it consistently you will always pay 30-50% less for those items. If you can do this with most of your grocery items, the result will be a much smaller grocery bill with nary a coupon in sight. If you add coupons into this mix, you start getting into free or even profit-generating shopping, which, admittedly, is not for everyone.
If you are still not convinced, think of it this way when it seems like too much trouble. If you averaged a 50% savings on most of what you buy, you could save $2400 a year. If invested in a mutual fund every month at a conservative 9% return it will equal nearly $40,000 after 10 years.
But I don’t care about the money. I just want to be sure I have enough Frank’s Hot Sauce in the basement to last me through the revolution…shudder the thought, it keeps me up at night. Weirdo.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Moron-proof recipes
My last few recipe posts were a little ingredient/skills heavy so this week we will tackle an area near and dear to my heart-recipes that even the stupidest among us (kitchen-wise) can not destroy. Yes, Laura, that means you. Excellent for company and one of my mom's favorites.
Shrimp Victoria
1lb of uncooked shrimp from anywhere the water is not ruined for generations
1 onion (or several shallots if you are feeling uppity)
1 16 oz package of fresh mushrooms
bottle of dry white wine
16 oz sour cream
as much butter as your conscience will allow
Melt the butter, saute' the onions and mushrooms til tender. Deglaze pan with 1 C white wine, add shrimp and cook for 3-4 minutes until pink. Remove from heat, sir in sour cream. Serve over rice. Drink the rest of the wine.
Shrimp Victoria
1lb of uncooked shrimp from anywhere the water is not ruined for generations
1 onion (or several shallots if you are feeling uppity)
1 16 oz package of fresh mushrooms
bottle of dry white wine
16 oz sour cream
as much butter as your conscience will allow
Melt the butter, saute' the onions and mushrooms til tender. Deglaze pan with 1 C white wine, add shrimp and cook for 3-4 minutes until pink. Remove from heat, sir in sour cream. Serve over rice. Drink the rest of the wine.
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