Wingin’ it in the kitchen - on a budget

Eating vegetarian is a great way to cut back on your grocery bill amongst rising food costs.  Swapping meat for dried beans, lentils and tofu is a strategy that will not only stretch your grocery budget, it will provide nutrition, can lead to weight loss, and if you are not used to eating vegetarian, experimenting with veggie cuisine will lead you to discover exciting new flavours in the kitchen.

But if you are going to eat meat, cheap cuts such bone-in chicken, like drumsticks and wings, are economical choices.

On Saturday, Josh and I hit up our local farmer’s market, this time remembering to bring our cloth bags and coffee mugs to fill with fair trade coffee. One thing I love about our new home is the proximity to the market - only a 5 minute walk. There we bought 10 large chicken wings.  While chicken wings are normally quite cheap, we paid more for ours because they were from a local organic farm, however the wings were deliciously meaty. 

Chicken wings are much less expensive that boneless, skinless breasts, but if you are concerned about consuming dark meat and skin, with a higher fat content than white meat, simply try to balance your meals with vegetables and whole grains.  If you are restricting your meat consumption, a little dark meat here and there won’t hurt you.

The recipe below for chicken wings is also a lot healthier, not to mention cheaper, than eating out at a pub or even home deep-frying.  We used Alton Brown’s no-deep-fry recipe.  Think that baked chicken wings inevitably sacrifice flavour and crispiness?  They do not!  Our wings came out perfectly - fully cooked, with nice crispy skin on the outside, and delicious, juicy, moist meat on the inside.  Far better in fact, than any deep fried wing I’ve ever eaten.

The wing process is pretty easy and all the prep work can be done in advance if you are looking to serve these for a party.  Essentially, you butcher your wings, steam them in a basket for 10 minutes and set them in the fridge for an hour. Then, you bake them in the oven for 40 minutes and coat. The steaming is a valuable technique that eliminates a great deal of the fat, and prevents smoking in the oven.

I recommend that in addition to following the recipe below, courtesy of the Food Network, you watch the show - Alton does a great job of showing how to easily butcher a chicken wing, and besides, he’s cool.

My only complaint was that we did not have any hot sauce, so we opted to create our own concoction using butter and barbeque sauce.  Our sauce turned out much runnier than it really should have been.  We put an extra dish of sauce on the table for dipping. 

Ingredients

• 12 whole chicken wings
• 3 ounces unsalted butter
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup hot sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

Place a 6-quart saucepan with a steamer basket and 1-inch of water in the bottom, over high heat, cover and bring to a boil.

Remove the tips of the wings and discard or save for making stock. Using kitchen shears, or a knife, separate the wings at the joint. Place the wings into the steamer basket, cover, reduce the heat to medium and steam for 10 minutes. Remove the wings from the basket and carefully pat dry. Lay the wings out on a cooling rack set in a half sheet pan lined with paper towels and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Replace the paper towels with parchment paper. Roast on the middle rack of the oven for 20 minutes. Turn the wings over and cook another 20 minutes or until meat is cooked through and the skin is golden brown.

While the chicken is roasting, melt the butter in a small bowl along with the garlic. Pour this along with hot sauce and salt into a bowl large enough to hold all of the chicken and stir to combine.

Remove the wings from the oven and transfer to the bowl and toss with the sauce. Serve warm.

A delicious, healthy meal for less than $1.50

Okay, so you’ve all heard me rant and rave over the popularity of so-called cheap convenience foods, arguing that meals can be made for the same price or less than the cost of a box of Kraft Dinner.

In order to prove my point  offer some helpful suggestions for those of you interested in cheap, healthy alternatives, I thought I would share with you a few meals I’ve made recently that have cost less than $1.50 a serving.

I love eating food that is frugal, simple, easy to make, but full of flavour.  I like taking short-cuts in the kitchen, and I especially love making use of what I already have.  If a recipe calls for something that requires a new trip to the store, forget it.  I prefer to make one trip a week, give or take, and just make the best of what I’ve already got.

Here is one meal I made this week, with a little mild experimentation on my part, as an attempt to use up foods in the cupboard and fridge, without sacrificing taste or nutrition.

The prices will vary depending on where you live. I have included the price I paid for the ingredients, divided by the quantity it yields.  Remember that cheap meals are made cheaper by creative shopping.  Stock up on the great deals, search the flyers, use coupons, buy in bulk when practical, and buy generic.  

1. Curried chickpeas & tomatoes

Ingredients:

1 can chickpeas - 69¢ (Cheap Tip: buy dried chickpeas and save.)

1 can diced tomatoes - 79¢

1 cup Basmati rice - 50¢ (approx.)

1 green pepper - 89¢

1 onion - 10¢

1 garlic clove - 3¢

spices - 1 tbsp curry, 1 tsp coriander, large pinch kosher salt, pepper, ginger - 10¢

Directions

Cook the rice according to package directions.  Drain about 90% of the liquid out of the can of tomatoes and rinse the chickpeas. Pour the tomatoes with liquid and chickpeas into a large saucepan; add spices. Cook on a medium-low temp and let simmer for about 15 minutes, allowing the mixture to reduce.  Meanwhile, sauté the onion and peppers until done - I like them slightly crunchy - and then add to the tomato/chickpea mixture.  Instead of green pepper, you could add broccoli, red pepper or whatever veggies you prefer. (I used green pepper because it was what I had.)  Add minced garlic and veggies and stir. Season with the above spices to taste - you may want to add more as you go.  After the mixture has reduced to the point where there is only a little liquid in the pan and chickpeas are a nice bright colour, you’re done - just add on top of the rice. Easy, huh? 

Makes 4 portions.

Total cost: $3.10, - or 78¢ a portion.

2. Cucumber salad

This side dish is a pleasant addition to the Curried Chickpeas & Tomatoes above.  

Ingredients

1 English cucumber - $1.79 

1/2 cup plain yogurt - 54¢

1 garlic clove - 3¢

Spices - large pinch s&p, 1/2 tsp coriander, pinch cumin - 9¢

Directions

Cut the cumber lengthwise and then widthwise in order to make thinly sliced triangles.  Mix with the yogurt, along with minced garlic and spices.  You will have to season to taste as my spices are just estimates (I taste as I go along).

Makes 4 portions.

Total cost: $2.45 - or 61¢ per serving.

Added with the Chickpea & Tomato dish above, the meal comes to $5.55 in total or $1.39 per person.

What is your favourite frugal meal? Have you priced out the serving cost? 

A delicious stew recipe from Mom

My mom is very health-conscious, and has become an ultimate soup master.  For Christmas, she prepared 9 scrumptious, super healthy, individually portioned frozen soups.  I’m still waiting to get the recipes from her, but in the meantime, I’ll share this tasty recipe with you.  She occasionally passes recipes my way, and this time even took a photos so I could share it on my blog!

Here is my Mom’s recipe for a frugal chicken stew straight from a recent email.

1 cup all purpose flour , 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley, 2 tbsp butter, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt znd 1/2 cup milk. In a food processor, or by hand combine everything but the milk..stir it in last and drop in stew by tablespoons.. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes until dumplings have risen. Don’t think I’ll do this, as it doesn’t add any nutrition, but it would be very stew like!

***

Tips from the author to frugalize this soup further:

- Make your own chicken or veggie stock. To learn how, see my earlier post, My Day in the Kitchen, or visit Fighting Forclosure to read How to Make Your Own Vegetable or Meat Stock.

- Pick and choose your veggies depending on what is on sale this week, or what you have the fridge.  Not all ingredients are required, and on the same token, lots of other veggies could be included.

- Freeze your kale when it’s about to turn.  It will come out nice and crispy, making it easy to just flake off into the soup

I hope you enjoy!

How to have your own pub night at home

On Friday, Josh and I decided to avoid the cold, stay inside and save money. But that that didn’t mean we didn’t feel like going to the pub.  So we re-created the scene at home!  Our menu:  veggies with blue cheese dip, chicken fingers, crispy bread chips with two dips - guacamole & hummus.  (And beer. but we didn’t make that ourselves.)

Here is a step-by-step guide to how to have your delicious pub-food that is far healthier, tastier, and cheaper than the real thing!

1. Veggies with Blue Cheese Dressing

Chop up a variety of veggies - we used the old pub standby, carrots & celery.  No further instruction required.  I used Martha’s dip recipe - it was unbelievably good!

Ingredients

An extra 5¢ makes peppermint hot chocolate

Are you craving the gourmet goodies that you used to indulge in at your favourite coffee shop?

If you’re giving up your Starbucks addiction, fret not.  You can make yummy drinks that will warm your soul right at home.

One of my favourites: Peppermint hot chocolate.

First, whip up a batch of instant hot chocolate powder (see the recipe I use here) and spoon a few heaping tablespoons into a mug.

Then add one peppermint teabag.  Remember to seek out the best deals here so you are not over-charged. Hint: don’t pay more than 99¢ for 20 bags.

Alternatively, if you have a grow mint in the summer, you can dry the leaves and then steep the water using a tea ball.  If you have an indoor greenhouse or a window sill that gets a lot of light (or if you live in a southern climate) you can do this right through the winter, enjoying fresh mint for an initial outlay of about $2.

Then add boiling hot water from your kettle to the mug and stir.  Let the tea bag steep a little as you normally would, and remove.  You can add a little milk if you desire.

The peppermint flavour really comes through and is not at all smothered by the chocolate.  

Enjoy this delicious winter treat by only adding an extra 5¢ to the cost of your hot chocolate.

Easy bread crumbs for meat or fish

Cross bread crumbs off your grocery list for good.  Tasty bread crumbs are easy to make with leftover ingredients around your kitchen, and they take mere moments to prepare.

If you have stale white bread lying around, don’t pitch it. Just cut off the crusts, throw it in the food processor along with some fresh herbs (I used parsley here) and parmesan cheese, and you have yourself a delicious breading for fish, pork or chicken.

The inspiration comes from Gordon Ramsey’s Fast Food - a great recipe book that encourages you to cook at home, using simple but delicious ingredients.

Bread crumbs might not cost a lot to begin with, but this recipe provides yet another example of how we can waste less, spend less, and all the while eat food that is fresh and flavourful. 

The high cost of “low-brow” foods

On Monday, the Globe and Mail published an article titled, “Really cheap eats: how low will we go? Sorry foodies, canned meat, condensed soup and Jell-O are making a comeback.”

Sigh.

Apparently the economic recession has led Kraft foods and other makers of cheap crap pre-packaged processed convenience foods, to score massive profits as consumers mistake their products for affordable, nutritious foods.

The spokeswoman for Kraft said that, “we certainly are benefiting as consumers eat at home. We feel that in this challenging environment we’re well positioned to win.”

I wrote the following as a letter to the editor in the Globe and Mail:

Why are shoppers purchasing processed foods when they can boost their budgets by going back to basics? Relying on convenience food is the single biggest mistake you can make when attempting to cut costs. Baking supplies, legumes and root vegetables may appear more expensive because they are sold in larger quantities than single-serving convenience snacks. But compare the cost-per-serving and you will see the difference. To get more for your money, I recommend keeping things simple. Survival foods like carrots, cabbage and chickpeas will stretch your meals and stave off hunger. Dried lentils and beans provide protein for pennies, and homemade stews will go much further than single-meal soups from Campbell’s. The added bonus? These nutritious foods will cut, not contribute to, your health care costs.

It bothers me to think that people who are trying to get by on less are automatically fueling up on goods that can be, depending on how frugal and creative you are in the kitchen, more expensive that home-cooked meals. But the problem doesn’t stop there. As was pointed out in the Globe article, empty carbohydrates that come from, say, Kraft Dinner, leave you hungry and sluggish, leading your productivity at work to wane, and providing you with cravings for more food a few hours (or minutes!) later.

But what really bothers me about this is the idea that being frugal means self-deprivation.  Cheap eats can come in the form of delicious, warm and satisfying meals, shared with your family, and lovingly made. It doesn’t have to come in a box or a can that leaves you starved for flavour and texture.  A lot of our daily pleasure comes from food. By relying on powdered cheese for flavour, you are ignoring other delicious culinary delights that can spice to your life. Deprivation will leave you desperate for a boost and you won’t come out ahead.

Comparing Campbell’s to the real thing

Price Chopper had a sale on this week - Campbell’s soups were 2/$1. Great deal, right?  Well, let’s compare the price to a delicious homemade soup - one of my favourites - Coarse carrot and ginger soup.  Ironically, I found this recipe in a magazine - it was in a Cambell’s soup advertisement for Carrot Ginger Soup.

Let’s compare the costs of our soups.

Coarse Carrot and Ginger Soup - courtesy of Campbell’s

2 cups coarsely chopped carrots

Price Chopper had a sale on this week - 5lb bags of carrots, onions or beets were $1 each. Purchased 5lb bag at Price Chopper and used 3 carrots - each carrot approx. 7¢ - 21 cents

3/4 each, coarsely chopped onion and potato

Purchased 5lb bag of onions at PC and used 2 onions, or 1/5th of the bag - 20 cents

Purchased 5lb bag of potatoes for $2.99 - use 1 potato, or 1/25th of the bag - 12 cents

1 tbsp butter

Purchased butter for $4.19 after coupon - use 1 tbsp - approx. 8 cents

1 carton Campbell’s Ready to Use Organic Chicken Broth

Make your own from chicken bones and vegetables that have already turned (free) plus one onion - 10 cents

1 1/2 tbsp minced fresh ginger root

Bought .055 kg of ginger for 12 cents - use 1/3rd for 4 cents

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

Purchase in bulk - one cent

1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Could easily omit this since a lot of people hate this herb, but I love it and think it’s worth the money - assume a price of $1.69 a bunch in the winter, use 1/10th - 17 cents

Your total price: 93¢ - But this recipe serves FIVE - where as the Cambell’s soup serves two, at best.

The price of the homemade soup: 17¢ per person

The price of the Campbell’s soup: 25¢ per person. We’re also assuming here that the soup you bought is mixed with water only. If it is a cream based, add more cost for the milk. We’re also assuming that no taxes apply.

Not only is the homemade soup cheaper, it is far more nutritious, hearty and packed with the delicious flavour of ginger and cilantro.

The bottom line: eat and enjoy yourself. It’s not just about eking out an existence, it’s about finding ways to experience great flavours - and all the other joys of life.  And you can do so without compromising your budget.

Take the high cost out of high tea

My post on how to host a cost-effective tea party was a big hit.  Ever since then, I’ve been meaning to follow-up with the scone recipe I used.  

I relied on good old Alton Brown, who is, by the way, a genius when it comes to cheap and cheerful cooking.  His recipe is as follows:

• 2 cups flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons shortening
• 3/4 cup cream
• 1 egg
• Handful dried currants or dried cranberries

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Mix well. Cut in butter and shortening. In a separate bowl, combine cream with beaten egg then add to dry ingredients. Stir in fruit. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Roll dough out and cut into biscuit size rounds. Bake for 15 minutes or until brown.

My grandmother's strawberry jam - the perfect compliment to the cream

To make the cream:

•  4 ounces mascarpone
• 1 cup (240 ml) heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 or 2 tablespoons granulated white sugar
• Zest of lemon or lime (optional) 

Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and beat until the mixture holds its shape and looks like softly whipped cream. Use right away or cover and refrigerate the cream until serving time. Makes about 1 1/2 cups. 

As you can see, the ingredients required to make the scones are simple and modest and not expensive.  The only expensive thing on the list is the mascarpone.  However it does last quite a while in the fridge, so you can use it when making other kinds of desserts too.  

Garlic: a poor man’s wonderfood

Hi everyone! Sorry about the few and far between number of blog posts. We moved this weekend and are just getting settled in. Although life is far from routine yet, I am back in the saddle and ready to start my daily blogging.

I have a cold coming on so I thought today I would blog about a cheap way to prevent and battle the common cold: raw garlic.

Garlic is a great natural remedy and be consumed in the most delicious ways.

A few weeks ago, I was sadly reading a blog where the women chatted about chewing on a raw garlic clove in order to ward off their cold viruses.  Eating plain, raw garlic cloves? I can think of few things more repulsive than that.  Especially when the opportunities are endless when it comes to eating this little wonderfood raw.

Try adding it to guacamole - it’s a very cheap little dish to make, especially when avocados are in season - or add it to homemade hummus.  Hummus is a great snack to make; it’s dirt cheap, it lasts for a long time in the fridge, it’s very healthy, and it’s delicious. 

You can also add raw garlic to pasta.  During the stretch where tried to eat up the food in my fridge, freezer and pantry, I found it convenient to make a little homemade pasta sauce out of just olive oil, garlic and salt.  Of course, using up the leftover goat cheese made it an extra tasty dish.  You don’t even need a can of tomatoes.

A tasty, simple salad

So I caved and went to the grocery store. However, I only spent $10.23. This got me a bunch of green onions (which looked beautiful) celery, two broccoli crowns, 1 litre of half/half cream, and a “Texas BBQ chicken” pizza. The green onions were on sale (I used up a bunch of them in the chicken salad and need more for the salmon cakes) for only 59¢ and the broccoli crowns were on sale too. I love it when the crowns are on sale (in this case, cheaper than whole broccoli) because that way, you don’t have to pay for the stalk if you’re not going to use it. The cream, which was the main purpose of going to the store (Josh didn’t like the idea of putting milk in his coffee for the next several weeks, and I don’t really blame him) was on sale for $1.99 for a whole litre - great deal! The pizza was regularly about $7.99 but on sale for $4.99 and I used a coupon for $1 off, so it came to $3.99. For some reason the checkout girl questioned the validity of the coupon; surprising, since it was from Save.ca. The expiry date wasn’t until December 21, but she looked at it and said, “what’s the date today?” When I told her, she didn’t believe me and then went and asked her supervisor. She told me that they would accept coupons up until the expiry date - even though it was still days away! I just nodded and she deducted the coupon.

Anyway, I am putting those items to good use. Today I made a simple salad using the broccoli and a recipe from my Mom. The great thing about this recipe is that it helped me to use up a lot of ingredients I had on hand. I finished up a container of yogurt, feta cheese (it’s expensive so I’m glad it didn’t go to waste) and it helped me deplete my existing supply of mayo, sunflower seeds, onions and raisins!

Dressing
1/2 cup low-fat yogurt
1/4 cup light mayo
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt, pepper

Combine first ingredients, pour over salad. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 2 days.