Humble Food for Humble Times

I am very aware of how much I spend at the grocery store, and what I end up with at home to put in the fridge or on the shelves. $100 used to fill the shopping cart and my fridge and shelves as well. Not so anymore. I can spend $100 and get home and wonder what we are going to eat for the next week. Have you noticed the price of meat? Especially the "cheap" cuts? $4.99 and up for hamburger or chuck roast? Forget about buying fresh produce in winter or summer for that manner. The prices are about the same. And considering that most of our grocery story food is shipped from great distances  to our stores, they contain very little nutrition, as well as GMO's. Well, I have some very delicious and inexpensive meals that your family will love and will stretch that food budget.

Bean and Hamburger Casserole

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  

Saute in a large skillet:

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1/4 cup chopped vegetable of your choice

 1/4 to 1/2 lb. cooked hamburger (or ½ pint jar hamburger or other meat)
When the meat is brown, stir in:
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
2 1/2 cups cooked beans, or one 15 oz. can beans of your choice
1 1/4 cups (about 1 can) tomato soup, tomato sauce or diced  tomatoes
1 beef bouillon cube, dissolved in 1 cup hot water
2 cups cooked rice
Heat and simmer a few minutes.  Place in a greased casserole and bake 45 minutes.  Remove from oven and top with 1/2 cup grated or sliced cheese, if desired.  Return to the oven just until cheese melts. This is tasty and filling and you can add to it to your desire.

Lentil Soup

2 C. lentils

2-3 qts. water

2 slices uncooked bacon, cut into pieces

1/2 med. onion chopped or sliced

1/4 C chopped carrots

1/2 C chopped celery

3 TB chopped parsley, or 1 1/2 TB dried parsley

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tsp salt 

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp oregano

1- 15 oz. can chopped tomatoes, or whole tomates

2 TB wine vinegar

Wash lentils and place them in the pot with 2 qts. water, and the rest of the ingredients except the tomatoes and vinegar. Cover and simmer for 1 & 1/2 hours. Add tomatoes breaking up if whole, add vinegar and simmer 30 min. longer. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. If you prefer thinner soup, as I do, add up to another Qt. of water. 

Variation: to make this meal a complete protein, add 1/2 C of rice during the last 30 min. of cooking, adding more water if needed.

Shrimp Casserole Supreme

 - Salad shrimp are inexpensive where I live, about $4.99/lb., so you can even use 3/4 lb. or canned salad shrimp to help cut costs.

1 lb. cooked salad shrimp

1 TB lemon juice

3 TB salad oil

¾ C uncooked rice

¾ - 1 C  half and half (whole milk of non-fat will produce a watery casserole, so if using, use less)

1/3 C slivered almonds (or sliced), if desired

1/2 Tsp salt

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp pepper

Dash each cayenne and paprika

1 10 oz. can condensed tomato soup

1/3 C dry sherry or other white wine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook rice in about 1 1/3-1 ½  C water (add a pat of butter to the water) for about 18 min. or until water is absorbed. I like to keep the rice on the drier side since it will absorb some of the liquid while cooking in the oven. Meanwhile, place shrimp in a large (2 qt.) casserole dish and stir in lemon juice and oil and allow to rest for 10 min. Add the rest of the ingredients, along with the cooked rice, starting with about ¾ cup of the half and half. We like our casserole a little drier, so I use the lesser amount. If you want it a little soupier, use more of the half and half. I have used milk instead of half and half and it is just not the same. The original recipe calls for heavy cream, but we like it with half and half. I like to top off the casserole with a sprinkling of almonds and a dash or two of paprika before putting it in the oven. Bake for 50-55 min. This freezes very well and is easily doubled. With a salad and hot rolls or garlic bread, this makes a hearty meal.

 Serves 6.

Crock Pot Ranch Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (purchased on sale)
couple dashes paprika
2 tablespoons butter, melted 
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of chicken soup 
8 ounces cream cheese, cubed
1/4 C chicken broth or water  
 1 (1 ounce) package Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix, or 1/4 C your favorite homemade Ranch Mix (see mine below)
bacon, optional


Wash and dry chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks and place them in crock pot. Sprinkle with paprika, if desired. Drizzle melted butter of chicken. Add Cream of Chicken soup, cubed cream cheese, 1/4 C chicken broth or water, Ranch Dressing Mix, and gently fold to combine. Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Stir to blend ingredients. Serve over warm buttered noodles. Top with crumbled bacon, if desired. This recipe easily doubles and freezes well.

Rose's Ranch Dressing Mix (adapted from The AntiHousewife) 

1/2 C dried parsley
2 Tb dried minced garlic
2 TB dried minced onion
1 TB dried dillweed
1/4 C onion powder
1/4 C garlic powder
1 TB salt or season salt (less to taste)
1 TB ground black pepper (or less to taste)
1/2 tsp red chili flakes

Combine all and keep in a tightly closed jar. 

To use:
Combine-
1 generous TB Ranch Dressing Mix 
1 & 1/2 C mayonaise
1/2- 3/4 C  buttermilk or regular milk (more or less to consistency you like)
Let sit in fridge for at least 30 min. for flavors to combine and to soften dried ingredients. 

We also have some favorite dried food recipes that are tasty and economical. You can find the freeze dried and dry ingredients on my Thrive Life website  Back Country Cook. Here are a couple.

Beefy Cheese Taco (adapted from Rainy Day Food Storage)

In a one quart wide mouth Jar layer,.

½ Cup Powder Cheese Blend

3-4 Tablespoon Taco Seasoning (depending on how strong a flavor you want)

1 C freeze dried hamburger

¼ Cup Dehydrated Onions

2 Tablespoon Powderd Milk

Fill the rest of the Jar with Egg Noodles.

To store: Add oxygen absorber  or vacuum seal.

To Cook, bring 3 C water to a boil. Add jar ingredients, and simmer, stirring occasionally for 20 min. Add water if necessary so ingredients don't' become too dry and rehydrate properly. Serves 4.

Ground Beef Stroganoff (jar meal)

In a baggie combine:
3 TB sour cream powder
1/2 c dry milk
3 TB cornstarch
1 TB chicken or beef bouillon
1 1/2 tsp dried minced onion
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp thyme
1/8 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tsp parsley
3/4 tsp garlic powder

In another baggie add:
1/2 C dried or freeze dried mushrooms

1 C freeze dried hamburger (or if making fresh-1/2 pint canned burger, or 1/2 lb. hamburger, cooked)
 1 1/3 C macaroni

To make jar meal: add macaroni to jar, layer ground beef on top, then add mushroom and seasoning baggie.

To make: soak mushrooms in hot water, cook macaroni and drain. Drain mushrooms, saving water and add enough water to equal 1 C. Put water and sauce mix in pot, simmer until thick, add water if too thick. Add meat, mushrooms and cooked macaroni, heat through. Garnish with parsley.

If you are interested in learning more about or purchasing Thrive Life foods, please let me know. You can save time, and yes, MONEY, with Thrive Life. See my blog here about freeze dried foods.  If you purchase through my website, I can save you money over the retail prices. Ask me about the unadvertised specials, and you'll save even more. 

Cherry Pickin' Time

It's cherry pickin' time in the Pacific Northwest and my DD has access to a cherry orchard and picked 2 very full grocery bags of bing cherries for me.

 They are so fresh you can see that the stems are still green. I estimate that each bag weighs about   10-12 lbs. I was dreading the process of pitting because I have 2 single pitters, and even with DH's help, it is a long and tedious process. I decided to run to town yesterday and see if I could find a more efficient tool for this task. Success! At Fred Meyer, I found this nifty pitter.  It is important not to stem the cherries before you are ready to use them because they will rot. You just load up the hopper with washed and stemmed cherries.You can see my washed cherries on the left, the hopper with cherries, and the bowl on the right that the pitted cherries pop into.  Then, just push the plunger and out comes your pitted cherry. The pits are disposed of in a little container of the other side of the unit. This little gadget saved me so much time and back ache! It was well worth the $20 and as my DH says, never pass up a tool you can use.

I processed one bag yesterday and was able to put up 14- 1/2 pint jars of cherry jam and 9 pints of cherry sauce. If you have never made cherry jam, try it. It is absolutley delicious and you may have a new favorite. For the cherry sauce, which is great over ice cream, cheesecake, or pancakes, I was using a Danish Cherry Sauce recipe from my Ball Blue book, when I realized that the almond extract that the recipe called for, had all evaporated out of the tiny bottle. So, no almond extract in the sauce and it is still delicious. I thickened the sauce with Clear Jel. I just used a lesser amount the the recipe called for in cherry pie on the Clear Jel label, plus I added some lemon juice.I doubled the recipe so used 6 lbs. of cherries just for the sauce.

The cherry sauce is on the left and the jam is on the right. I plan to share some of the cherries that are left with friends, and then can up some pints and put a bag or two in the freezer. All in all, summer harvest season is off to a good start in the orchards. As for our garden, we just got our transplants in the ground today. The potatoes have all come up, but it has been so darned windy, that we couldn't get anything in the ground until now. Hopefully, it is not too late in the season for our little transplants to get to growing.

Freeze Dried Foods

 I have never tried freeze dried foods with the exception of ice cream that my mom ordered from REI back in the 1970's. That is my only recollection of freeze dried foods, but I remember that my brother and I liked it, and mom bemoaned the cost. Any of the dried foods I use are invariably dehydrated. Most of my dried food supplies are items like pasta, rice, and beans, and dried soup mixes, with some dried apples, potatoes, and mushrooms on the shelf as well. When I have purchased dried foods  the foods were dehydrated because they are so much cheaper. When I have browsed websites that offer dehydrated or freeze dried meals in a can, I always looked past them because of the cost.

A while back I was visiting the Apartment Prepper's blog and entered a contest with suggestions of what people who live in an apartment can do to be prepared. You can read my entry here. I was very surprised when I got an email from Bernie saying I had won, and the prize contributed by Ready Made Resources was 6- #10 cans of freeze dried chicken and rice by Mountain House! I was so excited and happy to have actually won something. Especially something like freeze dried food that I never buy because it is so expensive, and something that I can add to my supplies. I eagerly awaited the arrival of my chicken and rice.

My package from Ready Made Resources finally arrived and I was eager to try my supply of chicken and rice. Much to my surprise, it was a variety pack. Yeah! There was chicken teriyaki with rice, lasagne with meat sauce, beef stroganoff, spaghetti with meat sauce, chicken stew, and chili mac with beef. How was I to decide which food to try. Well, I had it in my mind that I was going to be getting chicken and rice, so we tried the chicken teriyaki with rice.

I opened up the can and mixed up the ingredients. There were some pretty generous sized pieces of chicken in there, along with peas, red peppers, mushrooms, and bamboo shoots. I boiled up the water and mixed in the dry mix measured out at one cup per serving. I only had to wait 5- 10 minutes for it to be ready. It re-hydrated very quickly. It was very  flavorful and the chicken pieces tasted like real chicken and the texture was great!  I cooked up some zucchini and pineapple to go alongside. The combination was tasty, and best of all, it filled us up. I thought maybe 1 cup would be a small serving, but we were satisfied, and I will eat this meal again. 

I checked out the case price here at Ready Made Resources for the Chicken Teriyaki,  and it is currently on sale for $133.60 for 6 cans. At 9 servings per can, that is $1.48 per serving. That is a pretty good price for a satisfying meal that tastes good. If you buy cans individually, it is $29.70 at full price, which obviously costs much more per serving at $3.30. I must say that I am now convinced that freeze dried foods can be a good value. They also have a very long shelf life for years under favorable conditions.

I want to thank Bernie over at the Apartment Prepper blog for his contest, and Robert at Ready Made Resources for donating the case of freeze dried foods. Without those two people, I probably never would have bought freeze dried meals, but now I am happy to say that the meals are tasty, filling, and easy on the wallet.

Fewer Coupons, Redemptions Up

Have you noticed that there are fewer coupons being offered these days? Not only are there not as many coupons circulating around, the dollar value of the coupons has dropped as well. This includes coupons for groceries, clothes and health items. Supermarket News states that the grocery segment is offering 13% fewer coupons, and 27% of offers require you to purchase multiple items. So, for example, your $1.00 off coupon may not be such a great deal when you have to buy 3 or 4 of the item. Also, more coupons are being redeemed than ever before.

I noticed a couple of weeks ago that Fred Meyer (Kroger) now only has 6 coupons on the inside of their cover page when they used to have 8. Also, the deals aren't all that great. Tillamook  Ice Cream is 2 for $6 this week, but it is not even a full 1/2 gallon anymore, it's 56 oz.

At another grocery chain, they have one day sales, usually twice a month. There used to be a limit of, say 4, on an item. Now it is a limit of 1. One gallon of milk at $1.88 (used to go on sale for $1.68). One loaf of bread at .48 cents.  Unless you go in the store several times, or bring the whole family to make purchases, you can't stock up on anything at a great price, because you're limited to one item, which you will probably have used up before the end of the week.

With gas prices rising out of sight, it is no wonder that people are shopping with a list and coupons, and sticking to it. No more impulse shopping.  Our disposable income is dwindling, as is our standard of living. Our resources are disappearing . Have you noticed that when there is a  really good buy on basic food items, the shelves are empty? I have been asking for more Rain Checks these past few months than ever before. This decline in our ability to put food on our table,  gas in our cars, and pay our living expenses is crippling.

I have been really bad about using what is in our freezer to make space for fresh items. I think I am a closet grocery hoarder. When my freezer is full and my pantry shelves are lined, I feel more secure.  I don't like that food prices are up, good deals are down, and it looks like there is no end in sight. How is this going to affect everyone in the long haul? It is not looking good my friends. I have been using every coupon and deal I can lay my hands on. Hang in there and get those deals when you can.