RECIPE ROUNDUP
Have a Plan Before You Go to the Store
By Kevin Hargis
Stretching your food budget takes time, planning and work, but if your goal is saving money, the effort will be well spent. Even if you are not concerned about saving a bunch, you can shave a buck or five off your grocery bill by following a few simple tips.
Advice abounds on the subject of supermarket savings, including a library full of books containing tips, recipes and advice.
Buying the cheapest ingredients just because they are cheap might not always serve you or your family in the best way. The biggest factor to consider in putting your food money to work in the most efficient way is nutrition per dollar.
Think fresh fruits and vegetables in season. Think foodstuffs you can buy in large quantities—volume results in more savings per serving—and store without spoilage. Think loss leaders, those advertised items that grocery stores discount heavily to get you in the door—but stick only to those things on sale.
Consider banding together with friends and neighbors and join a warehouse club or food cooperative. That way, you can buy in bulk and split up the food.
One of the most recent in a large crop of meal savings books comes from author Jennifer Maughan, a mother of three whose book 100 Meals for $5 or Less (Gibbs Smith, 2009) shares her strategies for shopping, cooking and efficient use of every morsel of food.
The first move you should make in your grocery-store battle plan, she advises, is to think. Before you go to the store, plan a week’s worth of meals. Then make a list of everything you will need. You can plan meals at that time based on the best sale prices.
If you get a newspaper, the grocery store circulars inside are a valuable source of intelligence. In addition, Sunday papers can pay for themselves in coupon savings alone. But you have to be careful with coupons. What might look like a great deal on paper doesn’t always translate into real savings at the dinner table.
Many coupons are for prepackaged foods. Although these can seem cheap, remember that premade foods include the price of the labor and energy it took to make them. Plus, many prepared foods are loaded with sodium, fat and calories. That can negate your savings at the store with money spent later at the doctor’s office.
Maughan’s book advocates doing even more homework, which could be a pain at first, but practices such as keeping a price list will net you the best savings whenever you go grocery shopping. She advises keeping track of what the different stores in your area charge for different grocery items, because sometimes stores run “sales” that seem good, but are not really values if you crunch the numbers.
Take a spiral notebook and pen along whenever you go shopping. Put column headings for date, store, item, price, unit price and sale price. The date is important, because it will help you keep track of price cycles at different stores. You should be specific about brand names, sizes and price per ounce. Whenever a store has a sale on an item, write that down. That way, if its sale improves later in the year, you’ll know that it’s really a great bargain.
Maughan also provides strategies for preparing food, storing leftovers and using them in creative ways and not allowing food to go to waste.
One intriguing dish from the book is a cool delight that can be made most cheaply in the late summer when melons abound.
MELON BOATS
In late summer, when the stores and farmers markets are overflowing with melons, try different combinations of melon, fruit and gelatin.
1 large melon (such as cantaloupe or honeydew)
2 (3-ounce) packages flavored gelatin
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup sliced fresh fruit
Cut melon in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Cut a thin slice off the bottom of the melon so the half will sit firm and level. In a bowl, dissolve gelatin in boiling water, then stir in applesauce and fresh fruit. Pour gelatin mixture into the scooped-out center of the melon halves. Cover melons with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Just before serving, slice each melon half into three wedges.
Serving size: 1 wedge. Per serving: 217 calories, 3.6 g protein, 0.3 g fat, 53.8 g carbohydrates, 171 mg sodium, trace mg cholesterol
SIDEBAR: More Strategies for Winning the Budget Battle
Play Freeze Tag: Your freezer is one of your most important appliances in the battle against waste. If fruits or veggies appear on their way out, chop them up, put them in the freezer and use for cooking later. Squeeze the juice from citrus fruits, or purée berries and freeze them in ice trays. Before squeezing, be sure to save the zest in a bag in the freezer for later use.
Think Locally: If your town has a farmers market, visit it. In many rural neighborhoods, you can also find small-scale farmers who keep bees, grow extra fruits and vegetables for sale or keep chickens. Local honey has allergy-fighting benefits, and locally grown produce and eggs will often be fresher and cheaper than the ones you’ll find in the grocery store. You’ll also be decreasing your carbon footprint by not buying produce shipped in from far-away farms.
Grow Your Own: If you have the space, plant a vegetable garden. A packet of seeds often costs less than buying even just 1 pound of fresh veggies. You might have to invest in water, soil or fertilizer, but a carefully planned and tended garden can more than pay for itself in one growing season. Even apartment dwellers who have a balcony can grow peppers, tomatoes or herbs in pots and save.
Let It Rot: If you have the space, start a compost pile and squeeze every bit of value out of your food. The most successful piles have a mixture of leaves, grass clippings and kitchen scraps. But you can add anything organic—fireplace ashes, yard trimmings and even old meat (although many people avoid this because of the smell and problems with scavenging animals). Keep a covered bucket on your kitchen counter and save fruit rinds and vegetable peels, plate scrapings, eggshells, coffee grounds and other organic material and add to the pile. Cut the pieces small and keep the pile stirred up and moist, and before you know it, you’ll have made your own rich dirt to add to your garden beds.
—Kevin Hargis
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HOME COOKING
Recipe Contest Winner: Mollie Hejl, Pedernales Electric Cooperative
Prize-Winning Recipe: Tasty Tuna Tacos (Tacos Viernes)
Texas cooks are pretty talented at stretching their food budgets with creative and yummy recipes. Contest entries made good use of common pantry staples and leftovers, and many included a Mexican flair. On paper, the winning recipe raised a few eyebrows among the judges, but the crunchy and unique Tasty Tuna Tacos reigned supreme in the voting.
You might remember our winner, Mollie Hejl, from her creative and tasty Texas Today Cake published in the January 2009 issue. Mollie has certainly proved her recipe-writing prowess with this simple and inexpensive main dish.
TASTY TUNA TACOS
1 box taco shells, 12 count
2 cans (6 ounces each) chunk light tuna in water
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped yellow bell pepper
1 bunch fresh cilantro (rinsed, dried, stems removed)
1/2 cup finely grated carrots
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (half of 1 large lime)
2 cups thick and chunky mild salsa
8 ounces grated Monterey or pepper jack cheese
1 can (4 ounces) sliced ripe olives
Preheat oven (or toaster oven) to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with foil and arrange taco shells in single layer. Warm for 5 to 7 minutes.
For filling, drain and chop tuna and place in medium-sized bowl. Add onions, peppers, cilantro and carrot. Add lime juice to tuna mixture. Thoroughly mix all ingredients using large mixing spoon.
Remove taco shells from oven and add a quarter to a third of a cup of filling mixture to each taco shell. Follow with 2 tablespoons salsa and 2 tablespoons grated cheese. Garnish with 10 to 12 black olive slices. Serve immediately.
Serving size: 1 taco. Per serving: 256 calories, 14.5 g protein, 12.2 g fat, 20.5 g carbohydrates, 2.3 g fiber, 562 mg sodium, 28 mg cholesterol
SPICY MEXICAN CASSEROLE
1 1/2 pounds ground meat
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons seasoning salt
1 tablespoon dried minced garlic
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 can (10 ounces) cream of mushroom soup
1 can (10 ounces) diced tomatoes and green chilies
1/2 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
2 cups cooked rice
1 1/2 cups grated Mexican blend cheese
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Brown ground meat with onion and bell pepper. When done, add remaining ingredients except grated cheese and gently combine. Place in buttered 13x9-inch casserole dish and top with cheese. Bake until hot and bubbly.
We always eat this with tortilla chips while we watch a Cowboys game on television. It is a meal in itself. I came up with this recipe when my kids had friends over and I needed to feed a crowd.
Serving size: 1/12 of casserole. Per serving: 239 calories, 15.6 g protein, 12.1 g fat, 12.4 g carbohydrates, 1.3 g fiber, 635 mg sodium, 53 mg cholesterol
Debbie Green
Comanche Electric Cooperative
MEATY MEXICAN PIZZA
4 8-inch flour tortillas, any flavor
3 to 4 tablespoons picante sauce
1/4 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
Fajita meat, taco meat, chicken or pork (whatever you have left over)
Thinly sliced onions and jalapeños
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover a cookie sheet with foil and spray with nonstick spray. Place the tortillas on the foil and add a layer of picante sauce, cheese, meat, onions and jalapeños to each tortilla. Bake 15 to 20 minutes until heated through and cheese is melted.
You can add any vegetables your family likes. I sometimes make these with mushrooms, peppers and sausage.
Serving size: 1 pizza. Per serving: 193 calories, 7 g protein, 6.5 g fat, 25.2 g carbohydrates, 2.1 g fiber, 521 mg sodium, 12 mg cholesterol (Nutrition values will vary with kind and quantity of meat used.)
Gail Vogel
San Bernard Electric Cooperative
BACON AND EGGS SPAGHETTI
(aka Spaghetti Carbonara)
1 pound spaghetti
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
8 slices bacon, diced and chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup dry white wine (optional)
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Pinch salt
Black pepper, to taste
Cook spaghetti according to package directions until al dente. Drain.
Toss spaghetti with 1 tablespoon olive oil and set aside.
In large skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Remove and drain on paper towels. Don’t clean skillet. Discard all but 2 tablespoons of bacon grease. Add remaining olive oil. Add onion and cook until tender; add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Deglaze pan with wine (if desired) by adding wine to onion and garlic mixture and cooking for 1 additional minute. Pan may also be deglazed with water. Return bacon and spaghetti to pan. Toss to coat. (If it seems dry or sticky, add a little more olive oil.) Add beaten eggs and cook until set, tossing constantly. Add Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Toss to combine.
Serve with chopped parsley and extra Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.
Serving size: 1/6 of dish. Per serving: 474 calories, 21 g protein, 13.7 g fat, 60 g carbohydrates, 2.9 g fiber, 467 mg sodium, 157 mg cholesterol
Kelli Fest
Central Texas Electric Cooperative
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HOLIDAY RECIPE CONTEST
Attention, cooks: The 2009 Holiday Recipe Contest deadline is fast approaching. This year’s contest, sponsored by the Texas Peanut Producers Board, is for recipes featuring peanuts or a peanut product such as peanut butter. You must be a member of a Texas electric cooperative to be eligible. See the official rules at www.texascooppower.com.
Send recipes to Texas Co-op Power Holiday Recipe Contest, 1122 Colorado, 24th Floor, Austin, TX 78701. You may also fax them to (512) 763-3408 or e-mail them to recipes@texas-ec.org (you must include “Holiday Recipe Contest” in the subject line and the recipe must be in the body of the e-mail, no attachments). Please include your name, address and phone number, as well as the name of your electric co-op. The grand-prize winner will receive $3,000. Four runners-up will receive $500 each. Entry deadline is September 11.
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