During the month of October, I will be participating in the Write 31 Days hosted by Crystal Stine. My category is Food, Health & Wellness and my theme is "Into The Kitchen".
 |
| Image Source: Wikipedia |
We all had to learn to cook somewhere, from our mothers, grandmothers or on our own. While I didn't spend a lot of time trying to learn from my mom (I think my words were "I'll learn to cook when I need to") I picked up a lot more than I realized. Kids are sponges you know, they soak up a lot of stuff.
So fast forward to being married and needing to put meals on the table. Yes, I did, and no, we didn't starve or die from them. Were they good? Yeah, I thought so, but was I really cooking? Eh... If you call boxed mac & cheese, sausages and the occasional vegetable cooking, then yes. I put hot food on the table. Now don't think this was all bad, hubby loved the mac & cheese!
Then everything changed. I discovered the Food Network (the way it was back then, not now), back in the day of Emeril Lagasse (Bam!), Alton Brown (Good Eats), Jamie Oliver (The Naked Chef) and Rachel Ray (30 Minute Meals). I really learned something from these people. I learned about sauces and seasoning, and the reasons behind what works and what doesn't. I learned how to chop, slice and dice, how to hold a knife, about yeast and EVOO. I learned you can put good food on the table fast, without picking up fast food.
I don't watch the Food Network much anymore, as it seemed to change from educating to entertaining. While it was entertaining back then, too, it was way more instructional and informative.
 |
| Mac & Cheese |
My take-away from this is that now I can make a cheese sauce for my homemade mac & cheese that doesn't break, I can create my own recipes, and of course, make my own pizza.
Who are, or were, your favorite TV chefs?
If you enjoyed this post, please leave a comment. I would love to hear your thoughts.
During the month of October, I will be participating in the Write 31 Days hosted by Crystal Stine. My category is Food, Health & Wellness and my theme is "Into The Kitchen".
I don't think there is anyone among us who doesn't like to save money, especially when we see prices going up and the size of the container shrinking. I remember going shopping with my mom and regularly being able to get ground chuck on sale for 99¢ per pound and today the sale price is usually at least three times that.
So how do you save money and still put meals on the table every day? The short answer is know where, when and how to shop, but with our busy lives today that isn't always easy and sometimes impossible.
There are thousands of articles and numerous blogs devoted to practical money saving tips, deals and coupon match-ups and I will link to some of those at the end. But first I will outline some of my favorite money saving strategies.
Loyalty Cards
Many grocery and drug stores have their own loyalty cards and related programs. Each store runs a weekly sales ad in either the Sunday or Wednesday newspapers, at least in my area. There are multiple ways to save money here. You can plan your meal to take advantage of what is on sale, then simply present your card and save.
Some stores will offer special savings in the form of store cash. This usually prints out on your receipt for use in your next transaction. At CVS, these are known as Extra Bucks and you find these deals listed in their sales flier. Pair these deals with coupons for additional savings.
Store Programs
Large department stores such as Target and Walmart have their own savings programs. Walmart has the Savings Catcher Program and participation is easy. Download the Walmart app to your phone or sign up online and that's all you need to get started. The way this program works is simple, Savings Catcher compares your purchases to the advertised prices of their competitors. If Walmart's price is higher, you get the difference back. Your cash back is saved with your account and you can request an e-gift card at any time (to be spent at Walmart, of course). Just scan your receipt after checkout and give it about three days to see if you're getting money back.
Target also has some unique ways to save money. First is their cartwheel app, which has now been combined with your Target account login. To save, just log into Target, open the cartwheel app and add products to your list. You will have a bar code with your items encoded. Just show the cashier your phone and she can scan the code. For example, you may add soda to your list at 25% off. Your $4 soda is now $3 all because you took a moment to use the cartwheel.
Another way to save at Target is to take advantage of their gift card promotions which are listed in their sales flier. You purchase certain items for a specific dollar amount or number of items, such as any three bags of cat food or buckets of cat litter of brand X (mix or match) and you get a $5 gift card. I have done a number of these promos, and again, the gift card is for Target only.
Use Coupons
As always, if you use coupons with these programs and promotions, you increase your savings. Coupons can be found in your newspaper most Sundays, and on several internet sites as well. Great savings can be yours if you combine a high-value coupon with a sale such as buy one get one free. Example: I bought name brand chicken tenders on sale at buy one get one free and used a 75¢ coupon which the store doubled (did I mention there are stores that will double coupons?) and so each bag was about $2.75, which was less than half-price. Now that's my kind of savings!
Buy in Bulk
If you use a certain food or ingredient frequently, you may find that it is more cost effective to purchase it in larger quantities. For example, if you bake a lot you are probably buying a lot of flour, sugar, etc. If you have room in your pantry, consider purchasing these items in 25 or 50 pound bags.
Share a meal
Not every meal is eaten in the kitchen, and going out is expensive. Hubby and I frequently share a meal and it not only saves money, it saves calories, too. We get to enjoy satisfying meals that we wouldn't order because of the cost. Many entrees in your nicer restaurants carry a $20+ price tag, then you add drinks, appetizers and/or dessert. We don't eat like that and still pay upwards of $50-60 (after tax and tip) on a splurge. It's crazy! Needless to say, we do not do it very often.
Also, many restaurants offer such large portions that we can't possibly eat it all, and even if we could, we shouldn't. We usually share an appetizer and entree and skip dessert, and no one bats an eye. I think everyone is cost conscious these days, and sometimes our server will even offer a better way to order that is even cheaper. 😇
If you are overwhelmed and stressed out over finances and want to jump start your savings, here are some links that really helped me learn how to get the most out of my dollar.
Hip2Save
Southern Savers
Free Printable Coupons
If you enjoyed this post, please leave a comment. I would love to hear your thoughts.
During the month of October, I will be participating in the Write 31 Days hosted by Crystal Stine. My category is Food, Health & Wellness and my theme is "Into The Kitchen".
Sundays can either be busy with church, social or sports activities or lazy afternoons to be whiled away with a book or taking a leisurely walk with mother nature as your companion. Whatever your day holds, you will likely still be putting dinner on the table.
For me, Sunday dinners usually mean either leftovers from the week or something simple I can whip up in a jiffy. Wow, I haven't used that word in a while. It reminds me of my mom telling me something or other would be 'ready in a jiffy'.
One of the things she would whip up to go with dinner was what she called lazy bread, which is something akin to drop biscuits, I think, only with a softer dough. Anyway, maybe one day I will run across her recipe. In the meantime, I found this recipe for mayonnaise rolls. These are so easy and quick to make and bake. Hot bread is on your table...you guessed it–in a jiffy.
What you need:
1 cup self-rising flour
1/2 cup milk (I use skim)
3 tablespoons regular mayonnaise (light or non-fat will NOT work)
3/4 teaspoon sugar (optional)
I say the sugar is optional because I have never added it, and we love these rolls as is. Also, please heed the mayonnaise warning. I gave this recipe to a co-worker once, and she reported back to me that it didn't work which was because she unfortunately had used light or non-fat mayo.
Mix all ingredients together, and spoon into a greased 6-cup muffin pan. Bake at 425° for about 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. The recipe may easily be doubled.
Whether you are putting a simple dinner together on a Sunday evening or want some hot bread to go with that soup that has been simmering all afternoon, these rolls are the answer.
If you enjoyed this post, please leave a comment. I would love to hear your thoughts.
During the month of October, I will be participating in the Write 31 Days hosted by Crystal Stine. My category is Food, Health & Wellness and my theme is "Into The Kitchen".
We are half-way through the month and well into Fall. What is more comforting on a chilly evening than a nice, hot, one-pot meal that is as easy to make as it is delicious? Grab your knife and follow me into the kitchen.
Tonight we are making a quick and easy, one-pot version of the famous Creole Red Beans and Rice. Red beans and rice were typically made on Mondays years ago. Monday was wash day and the women would set the beans to cooking and go about the business of washing the clothes while the beans simmered away.
Now before you go getting your knickers in a twist, I know that this isn't authentic, okay. Now that that's out of the way, we can get on with it.
What you need:
One can red beans, drained and rinsed (if you can't find them, you can use kidney beans)
1/2 cup of long-grain rice
2-4 ounces Cajun or other spicy sausage, sliced or diced
12 ounces chicken stock
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1-2 cloves of minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
Salt & Pepper to taste
Olive oil
Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy, lidded sauce pan over medium heat. Cook the onions until they soften, then add the sausage. Continue cooking until the sausage is lightly browned. Add the remaining ingredients, except for the rice. Bring to a boil, then add the rice, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.
Again, I seldom measure, so amounts are approximate and customizable.
Options
If you want a creamier dish, you may take about 1/4 cup of the beans and 1/4 cup of the stock and puree them before adding them to the pan.
To make it a vegetarian/vegan dish, use vegetable broth or water and omit the sausage.
For a less spicy dish, use smoked sausage instead of the Cajun style.
Stay tuned for more great one-pot dishes.
If you enjoyed this post, please leave a comment. I would love to hear your thoughts.
During the month of October, I will be participating in the Write 31 Days hosted by Crystal Stine. My category is Food, Health & Wellness and my theme is "Into The Kitchen".
A little pizza history
Pizza is one of the most popular foods in the U.S., but where did it originate? It could have been as the flatbread of ancient times in the Middle East. It could have come from the Greeks and Romans, who baked flatbread topped with olive oil and seasonings now known as Focaccia.
However, most historians agree that pizza as we know it today did, indeed, originate in Italy. In Naples to be exact. A baker named Raffaele Esposito was asked to make a pizza for the Italian King Umberto I and Queen Margherita in 1889. His creation, made with mozzarella, fresh tomatoes and basil, is still made today and known as Pizza Margherita .
Pizza migrated to the U.S. by way of Spain, England and France but did not become popular until after World War II. Our Americanized version of pizza has made it's way back to Italy and is popular there as well.
Making a Great Pizza Dough
Many chefs and home cooks will argue that the secret is in the flour, so let's explore some different types of flour you might use. All purpose flour is a blend of hard and soft wheat and is so named because it is suitable for most baking needs. Bread flour, on the other hand, is high in gluten and therefore excellent for bread and pizza dough. And lastly, there is an Italian 00 flour, which is lower in protein and highly praised for making great pizza crust. However, availability and price may preclude this for many of us. I just use a good-quality bread flour, and here in my kitchen that is good enough.
 |
| Ready for the oven. |
Topping It Off
While I love a good crust, the adornments are pretty important, too. After experimenting with different commercially-prepared sauces, and one homemade sauce, I settled on a canned sauce from Dei Fratelli which we really like. Since I divide and freeze the remaining sauce, I can get four pizzas from one can. Having just admitted to using canned sauce, I don't grow my own onions or peppers or make my own cheese either. Does that make my pizza any less homemade? I don't think so. 🍕
My favorite cheese is Sargento's Off the Block mozzarella, but I'll use whatever I have a coupon for and/or is on sale. Some of our favorite toppings include pepperoni, Italian sausage, onions, green pepper, and green olives.
Bubble Crust or Not?
I have already posted my recipe, but there are a few things I omitted since they are not critical to a good pizza. I happen to dislike the large bubbles that often form in the crust. To avoid this, after I roll out the dough (yes, I use my rolling pin), and take a fork and dock the dough all over, in other words, I poke holes in it. This gives me a flat pizza, but if you don't mind the occasional bubble in your crust, just ignore this step.
 |
| Wood-fired pizza oven. |
The Finishing Touch
Another thing I do that I learned from Alton Brown, is to oil the edge of the dough with olive oil before baking. Does it make a lot of difference in the overall scheme of things? Probably not, but the crust is a nice golden brown.
Baking Your Pie
Not everyone has a wood-fired pizza oven (I don't, but I know someone who does). If you don't, then turn your oven to it's highest setting. Mine goes to about 550°-600° F. I use a pizza stone which I always keep in the oven on the bottom rack. Preheat for at least 30 minutes for the best results. My pizza cooks in 8 minutes.
Final Tip
If you are using a pizza stone and peel, roll out your pizza on parchment paper. It makes the transfer to the stone much easier. The pizza and the parchment paper go onto the stone. Our process is when the pizza is done, hubby takes it out stone and all. He then slides the pizza with the parchment onto a wooden cutting board where it slices it, after which he slides it back onto the hot stone. This way the pizza stays hot down to the last delicious slice.
 |
| Hot out of the oven. |
There are recipes out there with more complex instructions and more detailed ingredient lists, but this is definitely great for beginners or anyone who just wants a good homemade pizza.
What's your pizza? Delivery, take-out or make your own?
If you enjoyed this post, please leave a comment. I would love to hear your thoughts.
