Friday, November 25, 2011

Eating thrifty and meeting my challenge

Since we did a Thanksgiving post on Thursday, I need to record my success or failure on eating well and eating from the freezer, pantry and root cellar.  I am a little embarrassed that some of these meals will be seen by others.  I was busy and just too tired to cook some nights.

I stated out the week by replenishing my Salad Dressing in the Refrig
Left to right:  Italian Dressing 1 1/4 c $.80, Thousand Island 1 C $.30, Blue Cheese 2 C  $1.50, Spicy French 2C 1.10

Got all of the $.99 1/2 gallons of milk in the freezer in different amounts for recipes.

Thursday Night we had Beef Burgundy over egg noodles  $4.00
Friday night was dinner for 4.  Roast pork left over from a party in September that was frozen, Bordalaise Sauce, Buttered Beets and fired canned potatoes.  Beets and carrots were from garden.  No real cost as meat had been accounted for before
Saturday night Garlic and Basil meat sauce over shells, green salad with Italian dressing and fresh made bread.  Meat was $.75, Shells $.50, salad $.60 and bread $.20.

Sunday Corned Beef with cabbage, carrots and potatoes.  Only cost was Corned Beef which was $6.50 but there are left overs.
Monday homemade TV dinners from previous left overs No cost
Tuesday and here is where it gets bad.  I actually bought a loaf of bread.  $1.99 ouch.  Homemade soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.  Soup was practically free and cheese was a manager special at $.99 for 12 oz. of sliced American Cheese.
Wednesday was a repeat of Tuesday.

All and all not a bad week.  There were no managers specials this week except milk again for $1.99 for a gallon which I passed on.  Did get a pound of bacon on sale for $3.50 which is great for here.

Chocolate Filled Cinnamon Pumpkin Cake Roll



Cinnamon Pumpkin Roll with Chocolate Filling

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
Prep Time:
15 min
Inactive Prep Time:
2 hr 45 min
Cook Time:
15 min
Level:
Easy
Serves:
8 to 10 servings

Ingredients

·      Butter, for greasing the baking sheet
·      1/3 cup powdered sugar
·       

Cake:

·      1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
·      1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
·      1 teaspoon baking powder
·      1 1/4 teaspoons fine sea salt
·      1 1/4 cups sugar
·      3 large eggs, at room temperature
·      1 cup canned pumpkin puree
·       

Filling:

·      1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, such as Ghirardelli
·      1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
·      1 cup (8 ounces) mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
·      Special equipment: a clean kitchen towel

Directions

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter an 11-by-17-inch rimmed, nonstick baking sheet. Line the pan with parchment paper and butter the parchment paper. Lay a clean kitchen towel on a work surface and dust with powdered sugar.
For the cake: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. In another medium bowl, using an electric hand mixer on high speed, beat the sugar and eggs together until thick, about 2 minutes. Beat in the pumpkin puree. Gradually beat in the flour mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake until the cake springs back when touched, about 12 minutes.
Run a thin metal spatula around the edges of the cake and immediately invert the pan onto the kitchen towel. Carefully peel off the parchment paper. Starting at the narrow end, roll up the cake and towel together into a log. Cool completely on a wire rack, about 45 minutes.
For the filling: Place the chocolate and butter in a medium bowl. Place the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is thick, about 2 minutes. Add the mascarpone cheese and, using an electric hand mixer, beat until smooth.
Carefully unroll the cake and remove the towel. Using a spatula, spread the filling over the cake. Roll up the cake and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. When ready to serve, cut the roll into 1/2-inch-thick slices and arrange on a platter.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard 11/24

Happy Thanksgiving to all those who celebrate.  I forgot it was Thursday.  Has been a hectic week for some reason and we have certainly been making my goal living out of the freezer and pantry.  Only good buy at the market this week was a pound of bacon at $3.50 which is cheap here as it is usually well over $5.

I am not cooking dinner this year.  It will be at my DD's but of course Mom has to do something.  I made brown and serve rolls yesterday.  I absolutely love this recipe and usually have them in the freezer for anytime we want fresh baked rolls for dinner.
Rolls after first bake

BROWN 'N SERVE ROLLS
Printed from COOKS.COM
2 pkgs. dry yeast
3/4 c. water
3/4 c. milk
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. Crisco
4 to 4 1/2 c. flour
Dissolve yeast in 105 to 115 degree water. Scald milk. Add sugar, salt and Crisco to
milk, stirring until Crisco melts. Let cool. Add yeast and water mixture. Add 2 1/2
cups flour and beat (with electric mixer) until smooth.
By hand, add rest of flour and knead about 5 minutes. Place in greased bowl, then
turn greased side of dough up. Cover, let rise in warm place until double (about 1
1/2 hours). Punch dough down, make into rolls and place in greased pans. Cover
and let rise until double (about 45 minutes). Heat oven to 275 degrees and bake 20
to 30 minutes. DO NOT allow rolls to brown. Remove from oven and let cool.
Place rolls in plastic bag and store in refrigerator or freezer. At serving time, brown
rolls in 400 degree oven for 7 to 10 minutes.
P.S. Rolls may be baked after second rising in 400 degree oven for 12 to 15
minutes.

I usually get a dozen and a half rolls at a cost of $1.25.
I am also cooking squash from the garden Butternut
Coleslaw with cabbage from the garden
Chocolate filled Cinnamon Pumpkin Cake Roll.  The pumpkin is home canned but from local market pumpkin.

Don't forget to visit
and seed what everyone else is cooking from their cupboards. 

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Winter has arrived

Welcome to my world this day before Thanksgiving 2011.  I do remember many a Thanksgiving with snow on the ground but I think it has been quite a few years since I have seen that.  We well we are seeing it today so think it might stick around for a while.  7" as of 5:30 this morning.
 Looking up my driveway
 Just a shot off the back deck
Off the front deck

Monday, November 21, 2011

Harvest Monday 11/21/11

Not much to harvest this week.  The outside garden is definitely done although haven't been out to check the brussels sprout this week but have a feeling they are ready for the compost pile.  Did pick enough fresh basil from the Aero Garden to make a garlic/basil meat sauce over shells one night for dinner.

Don't forget to visit our Host
And see what everyone else is harvesting this past week. 

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard 11/17

Thursday nights dinner was basically free.  Made beef hash from the leftover pot roast and potatoes from the root cellar.  Harvard beets were from a store bought can so $.70 with the sauce I made for them and had a sliced onion with Chive Blossom vinegar one onion $.30.  Not a bad meal for 2 for a $1.00

Friday was pizza night.  Dough was in the freezer from the last time I made it.  Sauce was made and canned from the garden.  Not sure of cost of pepperoni, olives and cheese as they were in the freezer or refrig purchased previously.  Green peppers came from the freezer (garden).

Company for Saturday.  Made a cloned version of a KFC dinner.  Chicken was in the freezer purchased some time ago on sale.  Made 8 pieces.  Mashed potatoes from garden potatoes, gravy from the chicken fat I had saved and canned chicken stock from  All but the Cluck and coleslaw from garden cabbage.  Also canned green beans from the pantry for those that don't eat coleslaw.


Excuse the plate but have a sewer problem and hadn't been able to use the kitchen since since Friday.

Had stale bread to use up so made Stove top Stuffing for later use.  Sunday morning and the house smells great the stuffing is in the oven drying so it can be packaged up.

I save stale bread and freeze it until I have enough to make this stuffing.  Since we don't eat a lot of bread we never seem to finish a loaf of homemade bread before it starts to get dry.  When I have enough in the freezer I make stuffing.

Cloned Stove top Stuffing
18 cups of bread cubes cut about 1/4"
6T dry parsley flakes
2 tsp crumbled sage,
1T poultry seasoning
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 T dried celery (I dry my own leaves and chopped stalks)
1 T dried onion flakes

Place all of the above except bread cubes in blender or processor until a powder.
Mix seasoning with bread cubes and dry completely before packaging.

To use bring 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock and 1/2 stick of butter to boil, stir in 6 C of stuffing mix, turn off heat and let sit for 5 - 10 minutes.  Fluff and serve.

Couple of variations.  You can add granulated chicken boullion to the spice mix and us water when making.  Use enough to make 4 1/2 cups of broth.

Omit the dried onion and celery and when ready to make saute 1/2 cup of chopped fresh celery and 1/4 cup of chopped fresh onion before adding liquid and bringing to a boil.

Sunday felt like a nice slow cooked meal so make Beef Burgundy over egg noodles.  Had everything in the freezer or pantry but not really anything from the garden except the thyme that went in it.  Noodles and meat were purchased on sale so estimate the  entire cost to be around $4.00
Monday was another free meal.  Had leftover fried chicken, coleslaw green beans and made potato pancakes from leftover mash potatoes.
From here the week of cooking sort of went down hill.  I did manage to get some of the small potatoes from the garden sliced and into the dehydrator to be used in homemade hamburger helper and more stuffing mix made before I decided to come down with a cold.
Potatoes in the dehydrator
  Poor DB got a can of soup from the pantry for dinner and I went to bed for 36 hours.  Just today getting up and functioning again.  He wasn't home for dinner last night so I skated by.
Be sure to go to our host's blog
and see what it in other Cupboards this week.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Harvest Monday 11/14/11

Who would have thought in this cold north country I would be posting a harvest for this past week.  Was out cleaning up the garden yesterday and had left a couple of cabbages that didn't look too healthy.  Well low and behold one was doing just fine so picked another cabbage that weighed in at 2 lbs 1 oz.

Don't forget to visit our host
and see what others harvested this past week. 

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Got a good deal

Was in the store yesterday buying drain and pipe declogger.  Wasn't a good day since I now have no kitchen sink or dishwasher until I get someone here to fix my mess.  Anyway I digress.  As I walked by the dairy isle where they have the managers specials they were putting prices on 1/2 gallons of milk.  The were getting outdated.  The price was $.99 so I grabbed 2 of them.  A gallon of milk is normally $3.29.  I will make low fat sugar free ice cream for DB.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Just for laughs had to share

I got out a cookbook today as I have some stale bread that I wanted to make into stove top stuffing and couldn't remember the proportions to add to the bread.  In the cookbook was a chart I had done on the cost of food probably in the early to mid 80s.  Thought I would share a few with you.

Flour 5# $.89
Sugar 5# $1.89
Butter 1# $.49
Crisco 3# $1.98
Tuna Solid White 7oz. $.69

Guess what I was making more than I am now.  Boy would love to see those prices again.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard 11/10

It is time to assess my first week of my meal challenge.  I hope I don't bore you with it but I think my meal planning and cost analysis fits into the weekly post.

The first step to eating well, using all your hoarded food and seeing if you are being cost efficient it to prepare at least a weekly menu.  I try to do a month so I don't get caught in a rut of eating the same thing every week.  I only do this for our main meal at night.  I know another list that hangs of the refrigerator.

So here goes nothing.

Thursday night was Dried Beef with Milk Gravy in Patty Shells and canned green beans from the garden.  This was a bit extravagant in price but we do love it.  This meal fed 2 for dinner plus one 1 lunch.  Dried Beef was around $4 I think, Gravy was $.06 and I estimate the puff pastry to be about a $1 for 4 patty shells since I don't know the cost of cake flour.  The regular flour and margarine (which I used in place of butter) came to $.36 so total estimated $5.42.

Friday night was company night so fed 3 adults and on toddler.  Dinner fare was pot roast with gravy, dilled carrots fresh from the garden and boiled potatoes from the root cellar.  Cost of meat $6.00 and you will see this reappear a couple of times.

Saturday night back to our usual 2 for dinner and it was comfort night.  We had chili.  Dried beans, home canned tomatoes, and tomato sauce came from the pantry.  Green peppers and ground beef from the freezer, and onions and rotele tomatoes from the store.  To round out the meal we had Johnny Cake.  Cost of Chili was $3.00 and Johnny cake $3.47.  Total $6.47.

Sunday was Baked Pork chops with Stove Top Stuffing (didn't have any of my own on hand) and cream of Mushroom Soup and cole slaw made with fresh cabbage.  Don't have exact cost on this as chops were in the freezer from a former purchase of a whole boneless loin but estimated at about $2.00, soup and stuffing $1.69.  Cole Slaw was $.15 for the Mayonnaise.  Total $3.84

Monday leftover Chili and Johnny Cake.

Tuesday Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches, fried potatoes and dilled carrots.  All left from Friday's dinner.  Made bread for the sandwiches and that cost was $.42

Wednesday I eat alone.  Had stuffed green peppers from the freezer that were made last year and french fries (potato from the root cellar)

Total for a week $15.68  DB also ate Johnny Cake for breakfast 3 mornings.
Other things made this week

 Buckwheat Pancakes
Recipe makes 12  pancakes using 2 oz. laddle
Cost $1.20

English Muffins
11 muffins $.64
Breakfast egg, cheese and muffin sandwich
cost $.22
Puff Pastry

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp/4 1/4 oz/120g all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 1 cup/4 1/4 oz/120g cake flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3/8 stick/1 1/2 oz/40g butter, chilled and cubed
  • generous 1/2 cup/4 1/2 fl oz/130ml cold water
  • 3 tbsp/7 1/2 oz/210g butter, softened (see intro)

Directions

Put the flour, salt, and chilled butter into a large bowl and rub them together with your fingertips until they resemble fine bread crumbs. Make a well in the center of the mixture and pour in the water. Mix with a knife, then bring the dough together with your hands.

Squidge into a ball, then wrap in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for 25 minutes.

Unwrap the dough ball and use a knife to score a large cross in the middle of it, cutting no more than halfway through. Lift all four corners from the middle of the cross, then pull them up and out to make the cross big enough to put the softened butter into.

Add the butter, then fold the corners of the cross back to the center, covering the butter so it is completely enclosed. The corners should overlap in the center so no butter is showing. It is important that the butter is not too hard or too soft, otherwise it will escape through the dough when you roll it out and the resulting pastry will not rise as well. If it's too hard, let the ball of pastry stand at room temperature until the butter inside has softened; if it is getting too soft, pop it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to firm up a little before rolling.

This next process is called "rolling and folding" (or "turns") and it creates the characteristic flaky layers of puff pastry. Begin by rolling the pastry out away from you on a well-floured counter to a rectangle roughly 3 times as long as it is wide (don't turn the pastry when rolling). Keep the corners square and edges straight by pressing a spatula or rule against them. Lift the dough occasionally to make sure it isn't sticking; flour the counter again if necessary and sprinkle with more flour as you go, dusting away any excess with a pastry brush. Take the short edge of the pastry nearest to you and fold it up a third, then fold the top edge down a third to give a rectangular block. Turn the dough 90 degree and then repeat the rolling and folding.

You have now given the dough two "rolls and folds." Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator. Chill for 20 minutes.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator, then unwrap and give it two more "rolls and folds." Wrap and rest in the refrigerator for at least another 20 minutes. The block of puff pastry can at this point be kept in the refrigerator for a day or two, or frozen.

Remove from the refrigerator, then unwrap and give the dough a final couple of rolls and folds. Roll it out to the size desired for your chosen recipe. Place on a baking sheet, then cover with oiled plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before using.
Also no baking temp or time.  I baked at 425 for 20 minutes.  I could have gone 25 I think.  I also brushed the patties with egg wash before baking.  They came out great.  I am going to make croissants with the remaining dough.












All prices were calculated using Pound-to-cup-conversion-chart found on this blog.

Be sure to visit our host
and see how others are using their cupboards this week. 

Pound to Cup Conversion Chart

In order to work on my challenge I need to figure out the price of the food I am cooking.  I find this chart very useful.  You have to understand I am a math freak so this is fun to me.

  FOOD WEIGHT YIELD
Almonds, blanched…………………………..1 pound………………1 1/2 cups
Apples………………………………………..1 1/2 pounds…………4 c. sliced
Apples, diced…………………………………1 pound……………..4 cups
Apples, canned pie pack……………………..1 1/2 pounds…………4 cups
Apple sauce………………………………….1 pound………………2 cups
Apricots, diced, cooked………………………1 pound……………..5 cups
Apricots, fresh……………………………….1 pound………………8 Apricots
Asparagus, fresh……………………………..1 pound………………20 stalks
Asparagus, canned……………………………1 pound……………..2 1/2 cups
Bacon, cooked, diced …………………..1 lb………………..1 ½ cups
Bacon, raw, diced……………………….1 lb…………….2 cups or 20 slices
Baking powder…………………………1 oz…………….2 ½ Tbsp.
Baking powder………………………..1 lb………………2 ½ cups
Bananas………………………….1 lb…………………..3 medium
mashed………………………… 1 lb………………….1 ¼ cups
diced…………………………….1 lb………………….2 ¼ cups
sliced…………………………… 1 lb………………….2 cups
Beans, baked……………………..1 lb………………..2 cups
Beans, kidney…………………….1 lb………………2 2/3 cups
Beans, lima, fresh…………………1 ½ lb……………4 cups
Beans, navy……………………….1 lb………………2 1/3 cups
Beans, navy, 1 lb. Soaked and cooked weights…….2 1/8 lb…….6 cups
Beans, string………………………..l lb…………….3 ½ cups
Beef, dried……………………….1 pound………….4 cups
Beef, ground raw…………………1 pound…………2 cups
Beef, cooked, diced………………1 pound…………3 cups
Beets, cooked, diced……………..1 pound………….2 1/4 cups
Beets,  "    sliced………………….1 1/2 pounds…….4 cups
Bran, all bran……………………..1/2 pound ……….4 cups
Bran flakes ……………………….1 pound…………………12 cups
Bread, loaf ……………………….1 pound…………………18 slices
Bread, sandwich ………………….2 pounds……………….38 slices
Bread, soft broken or stale…………1 pound………………..9 cups
Bread crumbs, dry ………………..1 pound…………………5 cups
Bread crumbs, fresh………………1 pound…………………8 cups
 
Brussels sprouts…………………..1 pound…………………4 cups
Butter…………………………….1 pound………………….2 cups
Butter…………………………….1 ounce………………….2 tbsp.
Butter, portion sliced ………………1 pound……………….48 pats
 
 
chopped cooked shredded…………1 pound…………………4 cups
Cabbage, cooked……………………1 pound………………..1 ½ cups
Cabbage, shredded………………….1 pound………………..7 cups
Carrots………………………………1 pound………………..6 small
Carrots, cooked, diced………………1 pound……………….3 cups
Carrots, raw, diced…………………..1 pound……………….3 cups
Carrots, raw, ground…………………1 pound………………3 ¼ cups
Celery, diced 1/2 in…………………..1 pound……………4 ½ cups
Celery, diced 1/4 in…………………..1 pound…………….4 cups
Celery, sliced, cooked………………..1 pound…………….1 ½ cups
Celery Cabbage………………………1 pound…………….6 cups
Cheese, cottage………………………1 pound…………….2 ¼ cups
Cheese, diced…………………………1 pound……………3 ½ cups
Cheese, Philadelphia cream…………..3 oz…………………1/3 cup
Cheese, 5 lb. Brick……………………1 pound…………….16 slices
Cottage cheese, No.10 dipper…………1 pound…………..8-9 portions
                           NO.16…………………1 pound………….12-13 portions
                           NO.30…………………1 pound…………..20 portions
Cherries, candied…………………..1 pound………….2 1/2 cups
Cherries, glace………………………1 pound…………96 cherries
Cherries, red pie pack…………….. 1 pound………….3 cups scant
Cherries, Royal Anne drained……..1 pound………….2 ¼ cups
Chicken, cooked……………………5 pounds………..4-5 cups
Chicken, cooked and meat removed from bones…..5 pounds……..1 ¼ pounds
Chocolate……………………….1 pound…………..16 squares (16 oz)
Chocolate, grated………………..1 pound…………..3 ½ cups
Chocolate, grated………………..1 ounce…………..4 Tbsp.
Chocolate, melted……………….1 pound…………..2 cups scant
Citron, dried chopped……………3 ounces…………..1 cup
Cocoa…………………………..1 pound……………4 cups
Coconut, shredded……………..1 pound……………7 cups
Coconut, moist canned…………1 pound…………….5 cups
Coffee, coarse grind…………….1 pound……………4 ¾ cups
Coffee, fine grind……………….1 pound……………5 cups
Corn, canned……………………1 pound……………1 ¾ cups
Cornflakes…………………………1 pound…………16 cups
Cornmeal………………………….1 pound……………3 cups
Corn syrup………………………..11 ounces…………..1 cup
Corn syrup………………………..1 pound…………….1 1/3 cups
Cornstarch……………………… 1 ounce………………3 tbsp.
Cornstarch……………………….1 pound………………3 cups
Crackers, broken…………………1 pound…………….2 1/2 cups
Crackers, Graham………………..1 pound…………….48 crackers
Crackers, Soda……………………1 pound…………..104 crackers
Cracker crumbs, fine…………….10 ounces………….4 cups
Cracker crumbs, fine…………….2 1/2 ounces……….1 cup
Cranberries, raw………………….1 pound…………4 cups
Cranberries, cooked………………1 pound………….4 cups
Cranberries, sauce, jellied…………1 pound…………..2 cups
Cream of Tartar……………………1 ounce…………..3 tbsp
Cucumbers, diced…………………1 pound…………..3 cups
Cream of wheat……………………1 pound………….2 2/3 cups
Dates……………………………1 pound………….2 1/2 cups
Dates, pitted…………………  1 pound………….3 cups or 50-60 medium
Eggs, 30 dozen case………………………41-43 pounds………360 eggs
Eggs, hard cooked………………………..1 pound…………….8 eggs
Eggs, hard cooked, chopped…………….8 eggs……………..2 cups
Eggs, dried………………………………..1 pound……………4 cups
Egg whites, dried…………………………1 pound……………8 cups
Egg yolks, dried………………………….1 pound……………. 4 3/4 cups
Flour, barley…………………………… 1 pound……………..4 cups
 rye……………………………1 pound……………. 4 cups
 white, all purpose…………..1 pound……………4 cups
 "                "       …………… 1 cup…………….. 4 ounces
 whole wheat…………………..1 cup…………….. 4 4/5 ounces
      "         "   ………………  1 pound……………. 4 cups
 soya ……………………………1 pound……………5 cups
 cake, sifted……………………1 pound……………4 1/4 cups
 
Noodles raw……………………....8 1/2 cups……………..1 lb.
1 lb., after cooking……………. ....3 qt……………………4 lb.
Macaroni,  l in.  pieces raw……………..4 cups………………..1 lb.
 1 lb. After cooking …………...........2 3/4 qt………………5 lb.
Spaghetti raw……………………….4 cups………………….1 lb.
 1 lb. After cooking…………..........2 1/3 qt……………3 lb. And 14 oz.
Rolled Oats uncooked………………… 4 3/4 cups……………….1 lb.
Rice raw…………………………………. 2 cups……………………2 lb. And 10 oz.
Salt……………………………………….1 1/2 Tbsp………………1 oz.
Sugar
 Granulated……………………2 1/4 cups………………..1 lb.
 cube sugar……………………..96 to 100……………….1 lb.
 Brown sugar (packed)……….2 3/4 cups………………1 lb.
 Sifted powdered………………3 1/2 cups………………1 lb.
Tea………………………………………….6 cups…………………..1 lb.