The frugal gourmet

Ursy · 05-18-2010, 06:43 PM

Most of us are in the same boat - don't have a lot of money to splash around these days. But that shouldn't stop us from eating well!

I've been cooking a lot from scratch these days, simply because I enjoy it, it's better for us (less preservatives, etc), better for the planet (less packaging and processing), it ends up cheaper, and I also know what's gone into it

Besides, cooking from scratch tastes way better.

Anyway, I've been looking for recipes that are good but don't cost a lot.
So I thought it would be a good idea to start a thread to share these recipes and tips.

I hope Bit will come in and share her home made noodles recipe 'cause they are so so good and so much easier on the pocket than a packet of store bought noodles. That's a great example of good food, and frugal!

Ok, to start - I'm posting a link. Thinking of making this one tonight - it's from the 5 dollar dinners website which is a really handy one to know about:
http://www.5dollardinners.com/2009/1...y-mac-sou.html

Ursy · 05-19-2010, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by urs

Ok, to start - I'm posting a link. Thinking of making this one tonight - it's from the 5 dollar dinners website which is a really handy one to know about:
http://www.5dollardinners.com/2009/1...y-mac-sou.html

I made the soup last night - with some modifications (just using what I had on hand). It was really really good! It's the kind of recipe you can rely on if you want to use up some left over vegetables.

Kris did kinda look at it and go "wtf? Mince soup?!" but after the first taste he was converted!

I omitted the peppers (and added beans, peas, baby spinach) and added some stock powder and a dash of worcestershire sauce. I really do think it needed the stock powder and worcestershire sauce, by the way - it might have been too bland otherwise.

K! That one's a keeper for me

Ursy · 05-19-2010, 05:38 PM

Thank you Juney! I will have to give Madras curry powder a go

I've also been surprised that cooking from scratch often actually doesn't take that much more time, once you're familiar with the process.

I bought this book recently >>[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Skills-Cooking-Time-Honored-Recipes/dp/1906868069/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274311735&sr=8-1"]Darina Allen - Forgotten skills of cooking[/ame]<< and I love it! It goes into a lot of the knowledge that used to get handed down in the kitchen from generation to generation, that many are missing out on these days with all the pre-packaged stuff and takeaways.

I might not go hunting my own game or smoking haddock, but it was really interesting to read about these things anyway. Am tempted to get some chickens though...

I'm also interested in this one: >>[ame="http://www.amazon.com/More-Less-Cookbook-World-Community/dp/083619263X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274311989&sr=1-2"]More with Less[/ame]<< I might get it next time I decide to buy myself a present.

Ursy · 05-19-2010, 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by June

Darina's book looks really interesting! And yes to the chickens! We have 3 hens and not only are they fun to watch, but they make great eggs. Mini Ursy would love them too.

Oh yes, the offspring would definitely love the chickens. One of her friends had some when she was younger, and she would spend most of the day carrying them about and offering them grass.

I wonder how they'd go with the dogs and the cat?

We're not supposed to have chooks in the area we're in, but I was thinking if I got some quiet variety without a rooster, we might be able to get away with it.

p.s. I noticed the "More with less" link I gave below went to Darina's book again, I've fixed it now

Ursy · 05-19-2010, 07:22 PM

Here's a recipe for butterscotch sauce that I discovered last night.
It's OH SO GOOD (and oh so bad for you) - but I never knew butterscotch was so easy to make!

It was quite by accident - I baked some spice cupcakes and Kris said that they would go perfectly with butterscotch sauce, so I googled up a recipe.

I am never buying store bought butterscotch sauce again - this stuff is so incredibly good that I'm still eating it *despite* the fact that I know just how much cream, sugar and butter is in it.

It's been a bit eye opening, cooking from scratch - it's much easier to *not* really think about just how much sugar/fat is in something when you buy it pre-packaged.

---------------------------
BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE

Preparation Time
5 minutes

Cooking Time
15 minutes

Makes
330mls (1 1/3 cups)

Ingredients (serves 4)
160ml (2/3 cup) thin cream
155g (3/4 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
50g (2 1/2 tbs) butter, cubed
2 tsp vanilla essence

Method
Place the cream, sugar, butter and vanilla essence in a medium heavy-based saucepan, stir over medium heat for 5 minutes or until well combined.
Increase heat to high and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly. Remove the pan from the heat. Set aside for 2 hours or until cooled to room temperature. Serve at room temperature.
Notes

Variation:

Chocolate sauce
Replace the brown sugar with 200g good-quality dark cooking chocolate, chopped. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 6-8 minutes or until the chocolate melts and the sauce is smooth. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Storage: The butterscotch sauce (and variation) will keep in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Bit · 05-19-2010, 11:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by urs

It's been a bit eye opening, cooking from scratch - it's much easier to *not* really think about just how much sugar/fat is in something when you buy it pre-packaged.

OHHH ain't THAT the truth!

And yanno, I haven't yet figured out how to cut the fat from my recipes without also sacrificing the texture and taste. It doesn't bother me so much when it's something that's highly nutritious, like nuts or cheese or whole milk yogurt, but when it's butter, well, I do feel guilty.

By the same token, if a recipe calls for sour cream and I substitute yogurt or yogurt cheese, I feel all virtuous, lol...

I will find my Gram's noodle recipe if you like, Ursy, but truth to tell I haven't made them in so long that you probably know it better than I do... I remember one egg, and half a shell of milk, and what, two cups flour to start with? But what about salt? Surely it needs at least a quarter teaspoon...

I am sooo excited to tell you that I just ordered a pasta machine! It's a relatively cheap one but even cheap machines flatten that dough very nicely. It should save my wrists a LOT and then Gryph can have noodles often enough that I won't forget the recipe again.

So have you tried making seasoned noodles? I routinely make seasoned tortillas (and I leave the salt completely out of them), so I wonder if it would work well to add garlic, pepper, Italian seasoning to noodle dough.

Also, have you experiemented with making flavored noodles, especially chocolate? Someone was joking about fudge lasagna and .....................

....................oh my that Butterscotch Sauce would be soooo good with fudge lasagna! *big eyes*

..............anyhow, I want to experiment and see if I can come up with something good. I'm thinking ricotta and yogurt cheese, fudge sauce... maybe fruit...

If it worked, it'd be a GREAT potluck dish!

Bit · 07-23-2010, 10:32 PM

Hi brayanaustin, welcome to the Planet and to the frugal gourmet thread!

femmennoir · 07-30-2010, 05:02 AM

Aren't we being frugal these days? By the way I am looking for heirloom recipes for unusual pickles, chutneys and relishes! Any contributions? I have several dozens jars and I mean to fill them with summer delights to put some sun into my winter meals! I would like to find a great recipe for pear relish (used to have a fabulous one, still in storage with my stuff in California)...Summer is the perfect time to be frugal don't you think??

Elle*

JustJo · 10-14-2010, 03:06 PM

Day before yesterday I baked two big roasting chickens....we had them for dinner with mashed potatoes and corn.

That night, I made the leftover breast meat into chicken salad (that's about 4 or 5 sandwiches or late night snacks for Scoote)...and the rest of the carcasses went into the soup pot to turn into stock.

Late night....separate the meat from the stock. Both into the fridge.

Today (cuz I was busy yesterday), I'm making a huge dutch oven full of my son's favorite cream of chicken and rice soup. We'll have it with biscuits tonight.

So...two chickens (big ones, I admit)....we'll get dinner for 4, all that chicken salad for Scoote, and probably 10 or 12 good bowls of soup.

Not bad for $12 (they were on sale)

Bit · 10-14-2010, 10:50 PM

Oh, that's lovely Jo!

Suash has finally come down to 99 cents a pound, so I have two in the fridge... but I can't cut them open! Sheesh! I guess Gryph and I will have to enjoy them when he has a day off and can cut them in half. Next Tuesday is supposed to be cold and rainy. They'll be really nice then!

rlin · 10-15-2010, 05:40 PM

my garden went sort of crazy with the viney types of veggies this year... so i made lots of pickles...
i just made simple fridge or freezer pickles... a little vinegar a little sugar and whatever else you may want for flavor... i used some celery seed. variety peppercorns. sweet onion rings. and jalepeno... tossed some cilantro in some to see what would happen... it was pretty good... of course... a lot of garlic too...
anyway.. not only did i pickle cukes... i also had lots of summer squash and zucchini so i made pickles with them too... i have to say... i really enjoyed them... hell... i am still enjoying them... it doesnt take long for them to set and they have been holding up really well still..

maybe had 5bucks total in about 3 gallons of pickles...

05-18-2010, 06:43 PM	#1
Ursy Member How Do You Identify?: Femme Relationship Status: Engaged Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Australia Posts: 274 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 606 Thanked 661 Times in 206 Posts Rep Power: 2127933	The frugal gourmet Most of us are in the same boat - don't have a lot of money to splash around these days. But that shouldn't stop us from eating well! I've been cooking a lot from scratch these days, simply because I enjoy it, it's better for us (less preservatives, etc), better for the planet (less packaging and processing), it ends up cheaper, and I also know what's gone into it Besides, cooking from scratch tastes way better. Anyway, I've been looking for recipes that are good but don't cost a lot. So I thought it would be a good idea to start a thread to share these recipes and tips. I hope Bit will come in and share her home made noodles recipe 'cause they are so so good and so much easier on the pocket than a packet of store bought noodles. That's a great example of good food, and frugal! Ok, to start - I'm posting a link. Thinking of making this one tonight - it's from the 5 dollar dinners website which is a really handy one to know about: http://www.5dollardinners.com/2009/1...y-mac-sou.html

07-30-2010, 05:02 AM	#8
femmennoir Member How Do You Identify?: femme, naturellement Preferred Pronoun?: Elle Relationship Status: single Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: new york Posts: 686 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 76 Thanked 1,223 Times in 478 Posts Rep Power: 5661332	Aren't we being frugal these days? By the way I am looking for heirloom recipes for unusual pickles, chutneys and relishes! Any contributions? I have several dozens jars and I mean to fill them with summer delights to put some sun into my winter meals! I would like to find a great recipe for pear relish (used to have a fabulous one, still in storage with my stuff in California)...Summer is the perfect time to be frugal don't you think?? Elle* __________________ You will hear thunder and remember me, And think: she wanted storms. The rim Of the sky will be the colour of hard crimson, And your heart, as it was then, will be on fire. Anna Akhmatova "White nights"

10-14-2010, 03:06 PM	#9
JustJo Infamous Member How Do You Identify?: pushy broad Preferred Pronoun?: she Relationship Status: Follow your heart; it knows things your mind cannot explain. Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Southeast corner Posts: 5,633 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 24,417 Thanked 25,406 Times in 4,660 Posts Rep Power: 21474857	Day before yesterday I baked two big roasting chickens....we had them for dinner with mashed potatoes and corn. That night, I made the leftover breast meat into chicken salad (that's about 4 or 5 sandwiches or late night snacks for Scoote)...and the rest of the carcasses went into the soup pot to turn into stock. Late night....separate the meat from the stock. Both into the fridge. Today (cuz I was busy yesterday), I'm making a huge dutch oven full of my son's favorite cream of chicken and rice soup. We'll have it with biscuits tonight. So...two chickens (big ones, I admit)....we'll get dinner for 4, all that chicken salad for Scoote, and probably 10 or 12 good bowls of soup. Not bad for $12 (they were on sale) __________________ I'm not tall enough to ride emotional roller coasters

05-19-2010, 05:38 PM	#3
Ursy Member How Do You Identify?: Femme Relationship Status: Engaged Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Australia Posts: 274 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 606 Thanked 661 Times in 206 Posts Rep Power: 2127933	Thank you Juney! I will have to give Madras curry powder a go I've also been surprised that cooking from scratch often actually doesn't take that much more time, once you're familiar with the process. I bought this book recently >>[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Skills-Cooking-Time-Honored-Recipes/dp/1906868069/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274311735&sr=8-1"]Darina Allen - Forgotten skills of cooking[/ame]<< and I love it! It goes into a lot of the knowledge that used to get handed down in the kitchen from generation to generation, that many are missing out on these days with all the pre-packaged stuff and takeaways. I might not go hunting my own game or smoking haddock, but it was really interesting to read about these things anyway. Am tempted to get some chickens though... I'm also interested in this one: >>[ame="http://www.amazon.com/More-Less-Cookbook-World-Community/dp/083619263X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274311989&sr=1-2"]More with Less[/ame]<< I might get it next time I decide to buy myself a present.

05-19-2010, 07:22 PM	#5
Ursy Member How Do You Identify?: Femme Relationship Status: Engaged Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Australia Posts: 274 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 606 Thanked 661 Times in 206 Posts Rep Power: 2127933	Here's a recipe for butterscotch sauce that I discovered last night. It's OH SO GOOD (and oh so bad for you) - but I never knew butterscotch was so easy to make! It was quite by accident - I baked some spice cupcakes and Kris said that they would go perfectly with butterscotch sauce, so I googled up a recipe. I am never buying store bought butterscotch sauce again - this stuff is so incredibly good that I'm still eating it despite the fact that I know just how much cream, sugar and butter is in it. It's been a bit eye opening, cooking from scratch - it's much easier to not really think about just how much sugar/fat is in something when you buy it pre-packaged. --------------------------- BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE Preparation Time 5 minutes Cooking Time 15 minutes Makes 330mls (1 1/3 cups) Ingredients (serves 4) 160ml (2/3 cup) thin cream 155g (3/4 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar 50g (2 1/2 tbs) butter, cubed 2 tsp vanilla essence Method Place the cream, sugar, butter and vanilla essence in a medium heavy-based saucepan, stir over medium heat for 5 minutes or until well combined. Increase heat to high and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly. Remove the pan from the heat. Set aside for 2 hours or until cooled to room temperature. Serve at room temperature. Notes Variation: Chocolate sauce Replace the brown sugar with 200g good-quality dark cooking chocolate, chopped. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 6-8 minutes or until the chocolate melts and the sauce is smooth. Serve warm or at room temperature. Storage: The butterscotch sauce (and variation) will keep in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Bring to room temperature before serving.

07-23-2010, 10:32 PM	#7
Bit Senior Member How Do You Identify?: Stonefemme Relationship Status: married to Gryph Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Wichita, KS Posts: 2,177 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 1,126 Thanked 3,770 Times in 1,264 Posts Rep Power: 10778870	Hi brayanaustin, welcome to the Planet and to the frugal gourmet thread!

10-14-2010, 10:50 PM	#10
Bit Senior Member How Do You Identify?: Stonefemme Relationship Status: married to Gryph Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Wichita, KS Posts: 2,177 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 1,126 Thanked 3,770 Times in 1,264 Posts Rep Power: 10778870	Oh, that's lovely Jo! Suash has finally come down to 99 cents a pound, so I have two in the fridge... but I can't cut them open! Sheesh! I guess Gryph and I will have to enjoy them when he has a day off and can cut them in half. Next Tuesday is supposed to be cold and rainy. They'll be really nice then!

10-15-2010, 05:40 PM	#11
rlin Member How Do You Identify?: human Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: nomad Posts: 712 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 1,450 Thanked 1,189 Times in 451 Posts Rep Power: 1004849	my garden went sort of crazy with the viney types of veggies this year... so i made lots of pickles... i just made simple fridge or freezer pickles... a little vinegar a little sugar and whatever else you may want for flavor... i used some celery seed. variety peppercorns. sweet onion rings. and jalepeno... tossed some cilantro in some to see what would happen... it was pretty good... of course... a lot of garlic too... anyway.. not only did i pickle cukes... i also had lots of summer squash and zucchini so i made pickles with them too... i have to say... i really enjoyed them... hell... i am still enjoying them... it doesnt take long for them to set and they have been holding up really well still.. maybe had 5bucks total in about 3 gallons of pickles...