Good way to use leftovers

I love these, sort of like like a quiche in that you just put in whatever you have in the fridge, except you don't have to mess with pie crust.

I browned half an onion with some salt pork, added bell pepper and leftover hamburger, and a hefty spoonfull of curry paste (yellow).
After everything was nicely mixed and browned, in a separate bowl I mixed 2 cups flour, 3 eggs, a tablespoon of oil, and a cup and a half of water. Once that was mixed into a thin batter, I added the other ingredients and mixed it all up.

Fry in a hot skillet with a little oil til browned.
Good cold, too.

You could add all kinds of things....broccoli, cut-up squash, basil, green beans....

Cornbread

We've been buying fresh-ground cornmeal at the farmers market, trading for it actually....it makes the best cornbread!

Basic recipe:
1 & 1/4 cups flour ( I use 3/4 c fresh ground whole wheat and 1/2 c. regular flour)
3/4 c. cornmeal
1/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
pinch salt

Mix dry ingredients, add:
2 eggs
1 c. milk
1/4 c. oil

Pour into greased pan, bake at 375 until a toothpick comes clean.


If doubling recipe, use three eggs, not four----I added an extra to the original recipe.

where have I been

I saw an endcap of Kraft mac-n-cheese in the box yesterday, on SALE for 95 cents a box, normal price 1.39. Last time I looked at those you could get them four for a dollar on sale, maybe 35-45 cents regular price......

Zucchini lasagna

I used a whole zucchini, peeled and sliced thinly lengthways in place of noodles.....layered with thinly sliced tomatoes and green pepper from the garden, cheddar cheese ( I didn't have any white cheese on hand), and a can of spaghetti sauce poured over all. Baked at 350, I'll report back tomorrow...

Cheese cost: approx 2.00
Spaghetti sauce: 1.00

This made enough for three meals for the three of us. We added a chopped veggie salad from the garden, and I plan to add cornbread to tomorrows menu.

chili

We got 14 pints from that recipe.....plus two meals for three of us, not too bad.
Canned it up this afternoon, then opened a jar for dinner. I was afraid the pressure cooking would turn the beans to mush, but they were fine. It was a little bland, but there is virtually no salt cooked in, so I don't mind adding salt in the bowl.

chili recipe

ten cups of beans, washed---about 5 quarts of water to cook in


bring to boil, simmer til tender, I used a canner to cook in, then drained off most of the liquid---left just enough to cover the beans


two onions, cut up fine, and browned in a little olive oil


ten tomatoes---I got these five for a dollar, they were cracked---peeled and cut up


five pounds of hamburger, browned and drained--this is a lot of meat, but it was on the edge of freezerburning, so I just used it up



1 tablespoon cumin

2 tablespoons mild chili (we buy ours in Hatch on the way to Tucson every year)


2 tablespoons garlic powder


3 tablespoons Penzey's adobo--this doesn't have salt in it


3 tablespoons Penzey's southwest seasoning



Since there isn't any salt in the cooking, I add some commercial adobo at the end, just to taste



simmer all together, being careful not to let it burn


It was good, a bit bland, but the youngest member of the household does not like spicy food, so we can add to it in the bowl.

Since it was was fishing night, I had to put it in the fridge--we'll can it today and I'll post how many jars we got.

USDA food allowances

I am attempting to feed my family well on half the USDA food allowance.
One of the first things we did was to visit the local bean elevator and purchase beans, rice, barley, and lentils in bulk. Beans average fifty cents a pound purchased this way, the rice slightly higher. I'd never had fresh dried beans before, and there is a huge difference. They cook in a couple of hours, no overnight soak, and they're more tender. Makes me wonder just how old the ones in the store actually are...

The USDA allowance chart for June 08 would let us spend $464.30 on food monthly. This is the thrifty plan. The liberal plan would be $908.90. I'm not sure how realistic this actually is for most of us. My goal is to spend $250.00 or less for food each month. Summer is fairly easy, as the garden is producing and we eat a LOT of squash and tomatoes!

We don't buy a lot of canned soup, as the sodium content is so high, but I am working on canning soups myself, to drop the cans bought to zero. The current project is chili, with cheap beans and a five pound pack of hamburger that is threatening to freezerburn if I don't use it. I don't remember how much the meat cost, but it was on sale--I will average it at 1.99 a pound.

Did you know you can ask the meat dept to grind your purchase into hamburger and they will usually do it for free? Lean hamburger has been as high as 3.99 a pound for super lean at Safeway, but they had a sale on london broil last month, it was 1.99 a pound........so if you have that ground at the store, or do it at home, that's 2.00 saving per pound, and it's better for you!

it was good for lunch, too

I added three eggs, another tomato, and half a green bell pepper from the garden, and scrambled it all up. It was just enough for the three of us for our lunch.

Dinner

What I made for dinner:

I browned half an onion in a little olive oil, then added half a large zucchini, cut up in small pieces.
When that was nicely browned, I added one cup of Basmati rice and two cups of water. While that was simmering I cut up and added a small green pepper, two quartered and chopped brats, and two large tomatoes, then put in a dash of adobo and put the lid on. Ten minutes later, it was ready.