Saturday Afternoon Comfort Food

It's raining and dreary outside.  I've had a bad day online watching the news stories and people bicker about things they have no control over.  In times like these, we should all take a break from the keyboard and head to the kitchen for...

COMFORT FOOD!!

It's been over three weeks since I've gone grocery shopping.  Fresh food is starting to get a little scarce in the fridge.  Out of tomatoes and mushrooms.  No bell peppers.  One bag of spinach left and certainly no other leafy greens.

Except cabbage.  Lots and lots of cabbage.  And I happen to LOVE cabbage.

Cabbage was on sale right before St. Patrick's Day for 29 cents a pound.  Knowing that it would keep well in the fridge for weeks, I bought three heads.  I used one up during St. Patrick's Day week and kept the rest for later.  Like now.

Be sure and thoroughly wash your produce according to the most current information available, especially if it is a recent purchase.  And if it's been in the back of a fridge for a few weeks, it's going to need another wash just in case.

I fried up two slices of chopped bacon--one for the dish now, and another to sprinkle on my Spinach Salad for dinner.

Once crispy, remove the bacon and drain on a paper towel.  Pour out most of the grease from the pan, but leave as much as you would if you were starting in a fresh pan and using oil.

I chopped up 1/4 of an onion and 1/4 of a head of cabbage.  Once the bacon was removed, I threw the onion in the pan, let it cook for a minute or two and then put in the cabbage.

Cook the mixture for as long as you like to get it to the texture you want.  I like crunchy and golden, so I let it sit, stirring minimally until everything is done.  If you like your cabbage softer, reduce the heat a little, add 2-3 tablespoons of water and cover with a lid for a few minutes.  Stir occasionally to make sure it doesn't brown too much.

When the cabbage is your desired texture, throw the bacon back in, mix, salt and pepper to taste and it's done!

This dish is traditionally made in my family using homemade egg noodles.  I'm not adding pasta to my meals at this time, but if things keep getting worse with the virus and stores aren't "safe" for me to shop in, I may have to start doing that again.  Only very chewy noodles will be able to stand up to the cabbage in this dish, so unless you are making your own, skip it and just love the dish for what it is.

Huge lunch for less than $1.  Yummy!

Hot Italian Sausage in a Garden Vegetable Tomato Sauce

It's going to be yucky weather all weekend.  Cold, rainy, and just...bleh.  Even if I could go outside, I doubt I would.

Only one thing can fix this gloom--Crock Pot to the rescue!!

I love crock pot cooking.  Meat, vegetables, some sort of liquid, and BAM!  Food for days.

Jewel-Osco had Hot Italian Sausage on sale Buy One Get One Free for $6.89 each pack of five.  I had them in the freezer just waiting for a period of gloomy days where I could get the crock pot out and make the house smell yummy all day.  I took a package out of the freezer last night and let it thaw overnight in the fridge.

The timing was also right to make Garden Vegetable Tomato Sauce.  I say this because I haven't been to the grocery store in a while, and there are bits of vegetables in my fridge that aren't going to last much longer and aren't in a large enough quantity to make a dish out of them.  Soooo....Garden Vegetable Tomato Sauce it is!

This is where crock pots are the best--throw everything in a pot, flavor it, and let it cook all day.

I chopped up all my veggies, which included zucchini, garlic, half an onion, the rest of the bell peppers that I've had for weeks, 2nd half of the jalapeno pepper I used last week, the remaining mushrooms that were just starting to turn, a carrot and some celery.  Sadly, I didn't have any fresh tomatoes left, as they don't last too long nor did I have any stewed or diced canned tomatoes.  Meh.  Whatever.  No one cares about the details that go in the crock pot as long as it all comes out tasting good.

So...chop it all up, throw it in the crock pot along with a bunch of dried herbs like basil, oregano, maybe some cumin, Bay Leaf, whatever you have.  Salt and pepper to your taste.  Put the sausage in and let it sink to the bottom.  Cook on low for...most of the day or high for 3 hours or so and there you go!

I ate two sausages for dinner with a lot of sauce and some grated Parmesan cheese.  You can serve this with pasta or saute up a big plate of vegetables on the side.

I also have one sausage and sauce for lunch tomorrow, and the remaining two for dinner the next night.  I'm really not a person who likes leftovers and there is a LOT of sauce leftover.  So I divided the rest of it into four, 8 oz. containers and into the freezer it goes to be used at another time over chicken, grilled vegetables or pasta--whatever I'm in the mood for!

That's it.  For an investment of around $8, I have at least 3 meals and homemade sauce for four more meals.

And my house smells sooooooo gooooood!

Enjoy!

Second Breakfast

Eggs with mushrooms, asparagus, onion and cheese

And you thought Second Breakfast was just a Hobbit thing.  Not so!!

Breakfast is certainly the most important meal of the day, so why not have it twice?  And if you plan ahead and are flexible in your tastes, it can also be the most inexpensive meal of the day, too.

Yesterday I posted about my $1 Protein Shake. That gets me going most mornings, but what about lunch?  If I'm averaging $2-$3 dinners, how do I keep it under $5 a day?

EGGS!  Yup.  Eggs.

But you have to be creative, because eating an egg itself is just boring.

I don't like eggs.  Actually, I hate eggs.  Bring a hard boiled egg within my range of smell and my stomach flips.  Runny scrambled eggs make me shudder.

But when eggs are 99 cents a dozen or 18 eggs for $1.49, you learn to eat them.

How?  As long as I can hide the egg in a big pile of vegetables and throw some hot sauce on it, I can devour them quickly.  And with the added vegetables, it's a great way to get your nutrients.

Every day for my second breakfast (lunch), I eat one or two eggs, depending on how hungry I am.

I go through the fridge and figure out what I can throw in the frying pan that will change the smell, taste, and texture of the egg.  This includes:

• Onion (yellow, purple, green, whatever)
• Mushrooms
• Asparagus trimmings
• Spinach
• Peppers (bell or spicy)
• Turkey pepperoni
• Herbs such as oregano, basil, or dill
• Cheese
• Hot sauce
• Salsa
• Avocado (if you can find them cheap)

I pick 3 or 4 of the above ingredients and scramble away!

Eggs, mushrooms, red bell peppers, salsa and cheese

And there's your Second Breakfast for less than 50 cents.  This keeps me filled up until it's time for dinner.

Of course, you can pair toast or oatmeal with your eggs for very low cost, but I'm good with just eggs for now.

Coffee and a $1 Protein Shake for Breakfast

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right?  Yes!  And for someone like me who doesn't care for the huge amounts of food people eat at breakfast--especially high sugar/carb foods, what can be made quickly and easily without costing too much?

If it is one thing I have learned to budget over the years, it's my morning coffee.  I'm not giving it up, but I refuse to pay the $2-$5 it costs to purchase it at any of the coffee shops that are out there.  Nope.  Not when I can make it at home.  I invested $15 into an Electric Kettle about 10 years ago along with $12 or so on a single serving French Press.   If you don't have an Electric Kettle, then boil water on the stove.  I'm not particular about the brand of coffee I drink, so I buy whatever is on sale.  And I drink coffee black, so I don't spend money on sugar or milk/cream.  I once did a calculation...10 years of not buying coffee, 45 or so weeks a year making it myself (the others are a guestimate of when I was in a hotel that had it in the room), 5 days a week, average $4 a cup.

$9000!!!!!!  Nope!  I can think of plenty of wonderful things I've done with that money over the years.

I make a smoothie or protein shake to have with my coffee along with two strips of bacon.  I buy bacon when it's on sale for $3.99 a package, and each package has 16 strips.  For the shake, I try to use fresh fruit, but since that isn't likely in a quarantine, I either freeze my own or rely on bulk frozen.

Pineapple was on sale for $1.99 each a while back.  I love pineapple, but to have an entire one to eat by myself is difficult.  So I chopped it all up.  Some went into salsa, some I grilled with chicken for dinner, some I ate fresh, and the rest I froze.  Bananas were 29 cents a pound for "Just 4 U" members of Jewel, so I grabbed four of them.  To be honest, I don't like bananas.  I have to be really hungry or desperate to eat one.  They make me gag if I think about it while eating one--it's the texture.  But, they are incredibly healthy for you, and a great source of potassium.



So what to do with so much fruit!  Freeze it for smoothies!  Chop up the pineapple in small enough pieces to be able to just reach in the freezer and grab out of a container.  Bananas take a little bit of prep.  Peel them and break into pieces.  Bananas will oxidize and get brown, so here's the solution--a literal solution of a cup of water and one tablespoon lemon juice!  Mix the juice and water in a bowl and plunge the bananas briefly into it.  Remove, shake off the excess water and put the bananas on a flat surface to go into the freezer.  Shown here is the lid for a container that I will be storing them in along with the pineapple.  Pop into the freezer for a few hours, then bag up and back into the freezer it goes!  Fresh fruit for weeks!

For my protein shake I use Orgain protein powder.  I really like this brand as it comes in unsweetened, which I prefer (and is also organic and vegan).  I can usually find it on sale at race expos for $20 a tub, which when working out the serving size using one scoop is about 50 cents.  I'm almost out, and since there aren't any race expos for a while, I'll probably have to eliminate this part when my jug is empty as the online price isn't within my budget right now.  Unless they want to send me some and I'll continue to promote them...nudge nudge.. ;-)

The yogurt is around $2 a tub and I can get 5 servings out of it.  I like this brand as most unsweetened yogurt on the market is all runny.  Sometimes I'll put some frozen berries in the shake for variety, sometimes not.  I like the option of not having the same flavored shake every day.

I throw everything into my Now Sports Personal Blender with some cold water and blend!  I love my blender and take it with me when I travel to have my shakes on the go--but it has to be checked because of the blade.  You can find them online for around $25 if you look and this one is on Year 3, so it's a good investment.

The entire shake ends up costing $1.

Shake: $1
Two pieces of bacon: 50 cents
Coffee:  5 cents

 Try to find THAT anywhere outside the home.

Pork Tenderloin Roast and Garlic Brussel Sprouts

The French do not "eat," they "dine."  And so can you, for less than $5 a day...

(I am unemployed for months due to work cancellations because of COVID-19.  I have asthma and have decided to self-quarantine until it is over.  Before I closed my door for a bit, I planned out an extensive grocery list of healthy and inexpensive foods for at least a month.  So most of these food items were on sale and I purchased weeks ago.  Today is Day 23 at home.  If I start running out of fresh food, hopefully there will be options to have it delivered.)

Three weeks ago, Jewel had a "Buy One Get One Free" sale on Smithfield Pork Loin Filet, about $8 for each 1.7 pound package.  So I bought four and put them in the freezer.  I love that they are already seasoned as it makes cooking super easy and quick!  Take one out of the freezer the night before to thaw in the fridge.

Brussel sprouts were also on sale for 99 cents a pound, and since they last a long time in the fridge, I snagged a big bag of those, too.  Garlic is around 50 cents for each bulb.

Preheat the oven to 375.  Wrap the pork in an aluminum foil packet and put in a small baking pan.  Cook the pork 30-35 minutes per pound or as directed on the package.


I play the Monopoly game at Jewel and usually win a few rolls of aluminum foil, so that's free for me!!  I also wrap it in foil to make sure it stays juicy in case I get distracted and leave it cooking too long.

When there are 30-40 minutes to go for the pork, start on the Brussel sprouts.  Make sure to WASH them thoroughly, especially if they have been in the back of the fridge for weeks like mine have.  I use a colander from IKEA that expands over my sink to clean all my produce as it lets the produce sit for a while and drain until ready to use.



Slice the bottoms off the sprouts and toss.  Heat oil in a large frying pan on medium high.  Peel a few cloves of garlic, and if large, slit them in half lengthwise.  Cut the sprouts in half lengthwise and place cut side down in the pan along with the garlic.  Add salt and pepper to your tastes.  Let cook until the sprouts get golden brown, wiggling them in the pan a bit if your pan tends to stick.  I tossed them at the end to show what it looks like, but they are best left alone to brown.












If you have a frying pan that can go into the oven, pop it into the oven with the pork.  I don't have that kind of frying pan, so I have to transfer the sprouts to another lightly oiled baking pan, again, cut side down, and into the toaster oven on 375 for 20 minutes.












The pork and the sprouts should be done relatively at the same time.  If you have a meat thermometer to test the pork, it should read 145-160.  If you don't have a thermometer, cook on the side of caution at 35 minutes per pound.  Take it out of the oven and let it sit for a few minutes.

Take the sprouts out of the oven and (optional) drizzle a little bit with reduced balsamic vinegar.  I keep balsamic on hand in my pantry for salads and such.  It's usually $5-10 a bottle, and I reduce it at home in a small pan and store it in my cupboard. 

This dish will make 3 servings of pork and two servings of sprouts for me.  You can also add boiled red or golden finger potatoes (or cut up and cooked baking potatoes if you're really budgeting) if you want to add a starch, and pour the pork juice over it for flavor. 

Another way to make the sprouts is to slice up two strips of bacon into 1/4 inch pieces and cook in a large pan.  When bacon is cooked, remove to a paper towel to drain off fat.  Pour most of the grease out of the pan, but leave enough to cook the sprouts and garlic in.  Prepare the same as above, and when the sprouts come out of the oven, toss in the bacon.  Leave out the balsamic.  OMG, heaven!!

Cheap and Easy Chicken Fajitas

I heard somewhere that the French do not "eat," they "dine."  I always liked that saying...  There's no reason why you can't "dine" on less than $5 a day.

I'm going to assume that most of you know your way around the kitchen an have at least two frying pans and two kettles with lids.  I'll start with some easy dishes that anyone can do, even if you don't have all the "basics" in the kitchen like I do.  I've been cooking for myself for years and have all the standard herbs, spices, oils, etc. that someone who cooks regularly has.  If you don't--that's OK!  I'll tell you how to build your pantry on a budget as well.


Chicken breasts were on sale a few weeks ago at Jewel (my local store) for $1.99 a pound.  I bought three and sliced each breast up thin for a total of 9 servings, bagged them, and put them in the freezer.  Each serving came out to be around 83 cents.  In the morning or the night before, I take a serving out of the freezer and let it thaw in the fridge to be cooked later.




The salsa:  One tomato ($1.99 a pound, so 50 cents), cilantro (50 cents a bunch, 5 cents), red onion (the whole onion was 70 cents, and this is 1/8 of it for the salsa and fajitas), lime juice (the bottle was $1.99, this uses about 2 T.), and salt.  Optional are jalapeno (14 cents each, used half) and cumin (can't remember how much it was, used about 1/2 tsp.).  Chop and mix.

The trick to chopping a jalapeno is to use a small, separate cutting board and a disposable glove.  That way the juice doesn't get everywhere and inevitably, in your eyes.  Because it will.  Slit the pepper 4 times lengthwise about half way up (see pictures).  Then, slice the pepper up to where the slits end and there you have it!  Easy chopping.  As you remove the disposable glove, grab it from the wrist and turn it inside out so it (and all those hot juices) stays safely contained on what is now the inside of the glove.  Toss in the fridge to be used in the next 2-3 days.  Rinse off the knife well.  If you don't have a separate cutting board, WASH the one you used for the pepper.  Scrub it well to get all the oils off or they will get in your eyes.  Trust me.

Slice up the rest of the veggies (red, orange, and green peppers were 88 cents each, using 1/4 of each) and put some oil in the pan.  Or spray it.  Whatever you have.  While that heats, grab the little cutting board that you sliced the pepper on and cut up the chicken.  If you don't have a separate board, that's OK.  I just like to keep meat (especially chicken) separate from what I cut veggies on.  Just make sure your cutting board that touches meat is WELL washed and raw chicken doesn't splash anywhere.


Cook the chicken strips on medium to medium high heat until golden brown.  Should take a few minutes depending on the thickness.  Remove them from the pan onto a serving plate.  Leave the juices and oil.  Throw in the onions and mushrooms.  Stir occasionally.  While those are cooking...

BUDGET TIP:  If you don't have herbs and spices, don't worry!  These instant seasoning packets are amazing!  Grab one or two when they are on sale for around $1.00 each and keep them in your spice rack or drawer.  Mix about 1/2 teaspoon or so with 3-4 Tablespoons cold water in a small water glass or measuring cup.  Set it aside.  The rest of the pack will get you through 3-4 more meals and last forever or until you use it.

Toss in the peppers or whatever other veggies you like and mix.  Let cook for 2 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.  Add in the cooked chicken.  

Pour on the spice mix liquid.  Stir constantly until well coated.  The mix will thicken instantly.  You can remove from heat now if you like your veggies crisp or keep cooking to soften them a little more.  

Scoop onto a plate, add salsa and whatever toppings you like and you're done!  

I picked up some free cheddar cheese at Jewel because of my earned rewards (more on that at a later time) so I sprinkled some on the dish.  You can add sour cream, guacamole, or whatever else you have.

This mixture is big enough to make two servings if you add tortillas and/or rice.  I am trying to keep carbs out of my diet unless they are in fruits and vegetables, but you can easily make burritos or other wraps or serve with beans.  All three of these foods are very inexpensive and enable you to stretch this dish out over 2-3 servings.  

The leftovers keep for 2 days or so, but I never have leftovers of this longer than the next day's lunch.

Enjoy!

I'm Dining on a Budget

I heard somewhere that the French do not "eat," they "dine."  I always liked that saying...


Well, here I am, smack dab in the middle of the COVID-19 outbreak here in the US.  Thankfully, I have shown no signs of being infected, as when I saw the virus start to creep across the country I made preparations to keep myself at home and away from people as much as possible.  I have asthma, so I'm very concerned about compounding the breathing challenges that I have with a severe illness.

A little about me for new friends.  I work in the Trade Show and Events Industry, which means now that there is a pandemic spreading across the world, all of my work is cancelled at least through May.  My last day of work was 28 February and I have since been home, looking at how the next three months (at least) of no income will affect me.  I have money in the bank, but I don't want to get myself deeper into debt than I have to.

So, since I have nothing but time on my hands, I decided to explore how I can make healthy and delicious meals while trying to keep the food budget under $5 a day.

I try to keep unnecessary fillers out of my diet such as sugars and processed foods, along with most high carbohydrate foods like rice, pasta, potatoes and breads.  Since these foods seem to be the least expensive foods at the store, there is a definite challenge in budgeting.  I prefer to get my carbs from fruits and vegetables, which can add up financially very quickly.  While my diet might not be right for everyone, it's something my body responds best with, so that's what I have chosen to focus on to get me through this period.  And, if things change and my budget tightens even more, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

The other challenge with keeping within a tight budget is that I'm only cooking for one.  Sure, we all love to shop at the warehouse stores where we can get 10 pounds of chicken super cheap and broccoli to feed the entire neighborhood for just pennies on the dollar, but when you live alone, eating these foods day after day after day gets boring, and if you keep them too long, they spoil.  And there goes the value of buying in bulk.

Thus, I'm Dining on a Budget is meant for the single, health conscious, picky eater who likes variety and wants to save money wherever possible.

Let's get started...