This picture is from quite sometime ago but I love it. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen. I think it is where all things come to life. One of my goals as a parent is to make sure that when given the chance my children have the life skills needed to succeed. Cooking being one of them.
In our house it is imperative that we make our budget stretch. I was thinking that some of my cooking tips may help someone else. When cooking, make a bag of things that you would normally throw away (or compost if you are that good). Things like onion skin, celery ends, any veg item. You can put them in a stock pot, cover with water, add salt and pepper, and let simmer for 45 min. Cool and strain. Then freeze. This will make a great veg stock for future recipes. You can also do this with left over chicken bone and skin. This will eliminate the need to buy an item you would already have paid for and didn't know it. I realize that it seems like a lot of work but in the time that it takes to prepare a meal, you can also have homemade stock!
When I make out a menu for the week, or sometimes two if I am lucky (or smart enough). I try to dual purpose my proteins. Meat is so expensive and we just can't seem to give it up. For example:
Monday: Roasted Chicken with potatoes, onions and carrots.
You can cook this in a roasting bag or just buy a wire stand to make your own roasted chicken. Our family eats the breast and we save the rest of the chicken.
Tuesday: Pick the rest of the meat from the bone. Use the skin and bone to make your stock. Use the meat to make Sesame Chicken. I serve this with brown rice and broccoli. We usually have enough that my husband can take the leftovers for lunch. I put the pulled chicken in a skillet with onion, heat and add sauce.
The sauce is made from:
1cup of Soy sauce
2/3 cup brown sugar
1Tbs of minced garlic
1/3 cup ketchup
Place all of this in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Pour over chicken and simmer for 10-15 minutes. The sauce has extra so it can cover the rice.
Wednesday: I will buy 2 1/2 pounds of hamburger at a time. I have the time to make homemade meatballs since Greer goes to school on Wednesday. I use 1/2 # to feed my whole family. I brown them and add them to the crock pot with my sauce. Spaghetti with Meatballs, salad and bread tonight! Greg can take leftovers for lunch again!
Thursday: Since I have 2#'s of meat in the fridge waiting to be cooked I can either make Meatloaf or use the meat in two separate meals. I will stretch a bit further this week. We are having Shepherd's Pie. I like this because it is contained all in one. Pie crust(in a pan), pre bake, brown 1 # meat with onion, place in crust, cover with cheese, add either frozen peas(our favorite) or veg mix, and top with mashed potatoes. You can use the potatoes from the roasted chicken if you have any leftover! Bake for 30 minutes on 375. Serve like this or with cream gravy.
Friday: Vegetable Beef Soup. I like this recipe because it is mostly dump, pour and simmer. Brown the last # of hamburger with onion once again. Add two cups of frozen mixed vegetables and 1 bottle of V-8 juice(64 oz). Then add an all purpose seasoning and let cook for 45 min on med heat. Serve with cornbread.
Saturday: Usually by this point I am either all about it or not at all. Soup and sandwiches are my fallback. Since we happen to have a large pot of Veg/Beef soup left-we are having soup and grilled cheese.
Sunday: If there are leftovers that haven't been eaten to day is the day! If not, then well, frozen lasagna it is! Everyone deserves a day off!
I hope this gives you some new ideas to try over the weekend. I try to do as much cooking as possible on the weekend so I don't have to do it during the week. It saves time and usually money. When I don't have something prepared or at least thawed out -is when we go out and that is a budget buster! Have a good weekend!
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