Saturday Ramblings

There were 10 votes for the poll I had up this past week, here are the results to the questions "What prompts your grocery buying decisions?"

Answers Votes Percent 1. Price of the food 4 40% 2. Brand name of the food 0 0% 3. Health value of the food 1 10% 4. Sales or special offers 1 10% 5. Other (Please specify in a comment) 4 40%

It looks like most of you are concerned about price (as am I!). I am having to watch our health a lot more closely since I was diagnosed with high cholesterol and hubby has reflux problems but really, all in all, we do have to keep our eye on our costs overall. I'm planning to get some more articles about cost cutting in the days to come so stay tuned! The new poll is up now so please vote.

We were having some fun with the new sandwich maker this morning and came up with a new invention we call "Pouf Cakes". Aren't these cute? This is what you get when you bake pancake batter in the sandwich maker. The girls loved these.


I have been making a lot of pancakes and waffles since I found that new Heart Healthy Bisquickk but we got down to the bottom of the box a couple of days ago. I read the ingredient list and thought there must be a copy cat recipe on-line somewhere. I found a recipe on a message board that I modified and I LOVE it! It made about twice as much as the box of Bisquick and it much healthier! Here's the recipe. You can also make a mix like this using shortening, here's that recipe.

This afternoon we're going to make chocolate chip cookies.

Homemade Bisquick (Heart Healthy)

8 c. all-purpose flour (or 4 c. all-purpose flour and 4 c. whole wheat pastry flour)
5 Tbsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. salt
1 1/2 c. dry non-fat milk powder
1 c. canola oil

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or a large bowl. If using a food processor pulse the ingredients until well combined. If using a bowl, use a fork or pastry blender to mash the ingredients into crumbs then mix well with fingers to break up any lumps. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Use in any recipe calling for Bisquick. Here are some recipe ideas.

Homemade Bisquick

When I was growing up we always made pancakes on Saturday mornings. My mom used Bisquick to make them and they were always so good! I've been trying to use up some odds and ends from my cabinets that I rarely use like shortning , lemon curd and packets of unflavored gelatin. I figured that a homemade version Bisquick would be great for the shortning since my kids love pancakes just as much as I do. I have recipes in mind for the lemon curd and gelatin too so keep checking back, I'll be posting those soon.

Homemade Bisquick

4 c. flour
1/2 c. + 2 Tbsp. Non-fat dry milk powder
2 tbsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. Crisco trans-fat free shortning
(you can use any shortning you'd like but this is the kind I prefer)

Combine flour, milk, baking powder, and salt in a very large bowl. Cut in shortening until it resembles coarse cornmeal. Store in tightly closed covered container in a cool place. Makes about 5 cups.

Spice it up!

In my kitchen spices are not just an necessity, they are more of an obsession. I stock the basics of course, but I can never resist a new and exotic sounding spice blend. Some of my recent additions are Sate Seasoning and Florida Seasoned Pepper (all from Penzey's). Although it is fun to buy all these goodies, it can get quite costly. So, in an effort to spice things up, I have taken to mixing some of my own blends.

One of the first homemade mixes I ever learned to make is not really a spice mix, but a soup base. I was using a lot of cream of chicken type soups to make casseroles at the time and those little tiny cans can get quite costly. Making a sort of "white sauce" can often duplicate a cream soup, but they can sometimes be time consuming. A mix was just what I needed to help out on those nights when time was an issue.

Cream of Anything Soup

4 c. dry milk
1 1/2 c. corn starch
1/2 c. chicken bullion powder
4 tsp dried minced onion
2 tsp. thyme
2 tsp. basil
1 Tbsp. dried parsley
1/4 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. pepper

Mix all together and store in an airtight container. To use the mix add 1/3 c. mix to 1 c. cold water. Whisk and heat in a saucepan whisking until thickened. You can customize this soup mix with cooked chopped broccoli or asparagus, small shrimp, diced cooked potatos, chopped celery, chopped mushrooms, minced cooked chicken, etc.

I have more mix and seasoning recipes listed under Mixes, Seasonings, Sauces and Condiments. It's a coincidence that as I was preparing this post I stumbled upon a post about spices at Always In The Kitchen. Dawna has a great sounding recipe for Garam Masala, take a look! She has a beautiful spice rack as well. I really need to get one of those... (adding spice rack to mental note of things to buy for the kitchen).

Homemade Rice-A-Roni Mix

It was a very long weekend and I am very tired, so tonight we had a very simple meal.  Hot dogs, baked beans and homemade Rice-A-Roni.  I found the recipe for Rice-A-Roni mix in The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyzen.  It is very good and so much less expensive than the boxed mixes.  Be creative!  You can certainly adapt the recipe to any flavor you’d like, although I went with the book’s traditional chicken version.  Here is the recipe.

Homemade Rice-A-Roni Mix (form The Complete Tightwad Gazette)

2 c. rice
1 c. angel hair, vermicelli or spaghettini pasta, broken into very small pieces
¼ c. parsley
6 Tbsp. chicken bullion powder
2 tsp. onion powder
½ tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. thyme

Combine all ingredients and mix well.  

To prepare:  Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a skillet.  Add 1 c. of the mix and stir.  Add 2 ¼ c. water.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Tips For A Frugal Kitchen

Keeping the kitchen well stocked and organized can be a huge time and money saver. But there are a few additional things I do as well to make each grocery dollar count.

* I save the ziploc bags that tortillas come in, in my freezer. Why you may ask. Because when I have leftover pancakes, muffins, french toast or other items I want to pop in the freezer, I have nice cold bags all ready to go.

* I save the ends of my bread in a freezer bag. When I have a few in there I simply drop them in the food processor and grind bread crumbs. I store them in the freezer, they last for months.

* When bananas get to dark to eat, instead of making banana bread like a lot of people do, I put the bananas in the freezer, skin and all. Then when I need a banana for a smoothie they are already nice and icy cold. They can also be thawed for bread, muffins or other banana recipes.

* I make my own cream soup mix. Those small cans of cream soup that so many recipes call for can become costly. With a simple homemade mix you can save quite a lot!

Cream Soup Mix (from www.therecipelink.com)

2 cups powdered nonfat milk
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup (or less) instant chicken bouillon
2 tbsp. dried onion flakes
1-tsp. basil leaves
1-tsp. thyme leaves
1/2 tsp. pepper

Combine all ingredients, mixing well. Store in an airtight container until ready to use.

To substitute for one can of condensed soup:

Combine 1/3 cup of dry mix with 1 1/4 cups of cold water in saucepan. Cook and stir until thickened. Add to casserole as you would the canned product. Makes equivalent of 9 cans of soup.

Vary the spices to suit your own taste or the type of casserole you were making. Yield 9 servings with less than 1-gram fat per serving.

Variations:

Mushroom Soup: Add 1/2 C finely chopped mushrooms
Celery Soup: Add 1/2 C minced celery
Potato Soup: Add 1 C diced potatoes, cooked
Vegetable Soup: Add 3/4 C mixed vegetables, cooked
Broccoli Soup: Add 1 C chopped broccoli, cooked
Asparagus Soup: Add 1 C chopped asparagus, cooked