Cooking on a Budget --or "making something out of nothing"

I have really enjoyed cooking (and eating) last night and today. While I'm not a great cook, I think I do pretty good.  And I do enjoy cooking and baking. Pies are my favorite thing to bake (and eat). Probably my forte in the kitchen though is putting together a tasty, somewhat balanced meal with what's on hand and doing it quickly.  I was doing 30 minute meals way before Rachael Ray was popular. Albeit, probably not as fancy as hers. Truthfully, I usually have a lot on hand that I've bought when it was "on sale".  We study the grocery store ads each week and often go to 3 different stores to stock up on the "sale items" that we use regularly.  Throw in a few coupons for further savings and we are able to eat well on a limited budget. I seldom buy items that are not on sale, unless it is staples we have run out of or something I need to make a particular dish.
I sometimes make planned-overs, also.  That is left-overs or extra food that is deliberately planned to make a different second meal.
Sometimes I tell hubby that a meal is "made from nothing".  His response is " I'm glad we had 'nothing' to make it out of."
Today I made Chicken Soup. This is one of my "something from nothing meals".  Truthfully,  I didn't intend to make Chicken Soup this week, but the Chicken Breast I got out of the freezer yesterday turned out to be the bones and skins that I had saved for soup stock. You see, when Chicken breasts are on sale for $1 per lb. I buy several packages.  I then cut the skin and bones off, leaving boneless skinless chicken breast which I put in appropriate sized packages  to freeze for use in various dishes calling for boneless skinless chicken breast.   I put the bones and skins in another package to use for soup stock. Or sometimes I cook it right then and make soup or put the stock in the freezer.

Anyway, I put the chicken on to boil after supper last night.  I put in sea salt, black  pepper, savory, some chopped bay leaf, a couple of stalks of celery, about 3/4 of an onion I had already peeled in the fridge, a small carrot chopped in large pieces and covered it all with water.  I brought it to a boil and simmered it covered for several hours. I was gone for short time and when I came back in, the house smelled so good.  Told Hubby we should start a cafe.  The smells would be so attractive.  The food might not be the best, but the aroma, ummmm!
This morning early, I removed all the bones and skin.  There was 3 to 4 cups of meat and veggies to put back in the stock.  Later, I added a can of mixed vegetables, a can of diced tomatoes, and a couple of packages of Ramen Noodles with the seasoning pack and voila! Chicken soup.  We like to crush the noodles into tiny pieces in the package before adding them to the boiling broth.  Sometimes I have fresh frozen tomatoes from a local garden, but since those are all gone, we had to revert to canned ones. Also sometimes I use frozen mixed veggies.  It just depends on what I have on hand.  In any case, the canned or frozen foods have been bought on sale and ramen noodles are cheap, cheap, so the whole big pot of soup costs very little.  This chicken soup turned out so, so yummy. I will definitely stick with the sea salt and the particular herbs I used. We ate some for lunch with whole wheat crackers and I took some to Mimi.  Then late afternoon Paul and  each had a second bowlful. UMMM Good. There is still enough for another meal.  I may freeze it to use sometime when I don't have time to cook or we may eat it tomorrow.

For supper, I pulled 2 Tombstone pizzas out of the freezer and into the oven. Added a green salad and we had a real treat for a Friday night meal and avoided the expense of going out.  I got the pizza recently on a special of 4 for $10.  We will have left over pizza for breakfast too.

We had ham for Christmas dinner.  Last week, I took the ham bone which still had a lot of ham on it and made 15 bean soup.  I buy the package of 15 bean soup mix for that. It includes a seasoning packet and has the instructions on the package.  We really enjoyed that also. I know it sounds like we do a lot of soup, but say hey, it is winter and a good bowl of hot soup is real comfort food. Of course, you could stretch the dollars a bit more by buying pinto beans or navy beans or whatever you like and seasoning them up yourself, but no more often than we have ham with the bone I sort of splurge and get the 15 bean soup package.
Happy Cooking Everyone---

This was actually written a week or so ago. I just now got the pictures put together, but hey that's okay.
Meantime I have enjoyed shopping,cooking and we have enjoyed eating a lot more good food.
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Warm Fuzzies To Make You Cozy on Cold Winter Days

Wow, this week we have had a sample of what we can expect this winter here in Southeast Texas. It doesn't usually get very cold here temperature-wise, but just like the humidity in the summer which causes the heat index to rise, the damp, dreary days have a coolness that is bone chilling. That's how the weather was yesterday: Cool and cloudy with a mist or drizzle all day long. By contrast, today the sun is shining and the north wind is blowing and the air is dry again. Hubby remarked this morning that the temperature was the same as yesterday, but it sure feels a lot warmer and nicer.

On cool days, I enjoy cooking hearty soups or stews, spaghetti with a robust sauce, or a big pot of pinto beans. Or course, you have to have rice and/or cornbread with the beans. In these parts, "Red Beans and Rice" is a favorite. Growing up in South Central Texas, we were not so big on rice and ate corn bread with our beans. I have found that you can speed up the cooking of the beans if you cover them with water--after washing and sorting them, of course--and bring them to a full rolling boil.  After this, you turn off the heat and let them sit--or is that set?--for one hour.  After the hour, you add your seasonings, spices, meat, sausage, whatever and more water.  You bring them to a boil again and then put on a lid, turn down the fire and let them simmer until the beans are done.  This usually isn't too long. Maybe 2 or 3 hours.  I like to put a bit of onion, some garlic powder, a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar, some chili powder, maybe some herbs like thyme and if it is plain beans a couple of slices of bacon.  I have been known to add a finely diced carrot to "sneak" in a bit of veggies and sometimes we have link sausage sliced or diced up in the beans.  Another good thing to add might be some browned and crumbled hamburger meat. Guess this is a "dash of this and a pinch of that" recipe.  Haven't cooked beans yet that weren't enjoyed by all, though.

I have enjoyed cooking this week and also doing the scavenger hunt for ESN to find warm, fuzzy, and cozy items. I have found some neat items among the photos at ESN and encourage you to take time to visit the Ecrater Networking Site to shop or to promote your own ecrater store.

First, I found a soft, warm, fuzzy faux fox fur stole.  I would so love to just feel this luxurious faux fur.  How warm and cozy can you get?  I don't think we really "need" this in our climate, but it would be so appealing on a cold winter day and I know some of you could really use it.

Regina Glenara Faux Fox Fur Capelet Stole

from Gigi's Consignment Closet

Here's something to keep  you snug all day long and how appropriate with Thanksgiving coming up. 

Attitude of  Gratitude Sweat Shirt

at

Embroidery Fashions Boutique

Hunting is a big thing in our area through the fall and winter. And Camo anything is all the rage.  We even have had camo guitars in our music store.  Of course, there are always the jokes about not being able to see them.  Don't know how warm, or fuzzy, or cozy this might be, but here is a sample of camo for "your little hunter" or would be hunter.  It should keep the cold north wind at bay.

Camo for the Hunter in your family at Eccentric Thrifter

And this beautiful scarf is one of the many in various colors you can find at Eccentric Thrifter.  Just perfect to keep you warm and cozy when wintry winds blow.



Handmade Double-sided Scarf Off White Cream Loom Knit at Eccentric Thrifter



And lastly,  a neat, collectible  soup mug for those delicious  soups, stews, and even  red beans that warm you from the inside out.



 

Campbell's Soup Mug available at

 Bargain Express

Happy Shopping to Everyone and may your winter be filled with warm, fuzzy, cozy things.