So I did something I don't usually do- I got inspiration from the dried bean aisle!
I was at Big Y picking up the last of my pasta stash on the last day of the sale, and for some reason the tiny bags of beans and salt that claim to be "quick minestrone" caught my eye. I love minestrone. Heck, I love soup. But what I don't love is the salty mess that the little baggies call minestrone, with still hard beans and overcooked pasta. And they take over an hour to make...
I know that I can make a good minestrone in less time than that! So, I doubled back to the produce section, grabbed celery, carrots, and a bag of onions- none of which were on sale- and headed home. I had already picked out some bulk sausage (oops, I was supposed to make that into spaghetti sauce!) and as soon as I got home, into the stockpot it went.
In about 20 minutes, I had a delicious, homemade minestrone with sausage. I also had about 4 cups of already chopped onions. Hmm... what to do?
I had a 5lb log of ground beef that I'd been ignoring in my freezer- got it for $6.82 at Walmart- the big downside is it was 73/27- ugh. I had heard about boiling ground beef instead of frying, and I figured I'd give it a try. My tallest stockpot went onto the stove, and the giant log o meat went into it, along with some water and a good handful of grill seasoning.
I can't say it came out GREAT- but perhaps that is because I had high expectations. The meat itself was perfect- it was the broth I was disappointed with. Forget about the sheer amount of fat floating on the top- it was not nearly meaty-flavored enough for me. Sigh.
Ok, so I took the whole entire stockpot, dropped the collapsing-sides strainer thing in to keep the meat in the bottom of the pot, and stuck it out on the porch. 25 degree weather CAN be a good thing!
Once cooled, the fat rose to the top and formed a hardened disk that is easy to lift out. Fat went into a bowl for now- I'll need a bit of it later.
Then I cleaned out my two big stockpots and started the final part of my cooking day- chili and shephards' pie filling. Used up the rest of the onions, carrots, and celery, split up the meat, and made a batch of lentils for the shephards' pie.
All in all, I ended up with 6 batches of shephards' pie filling (I freeze them in foil-lined casseroles, then pop them out and store in gallon size bags), and an as-yet undetermined amount of chili. When I'm freezing chili, I don't add beans. They take up a lot of space in the bags, and I can just as easily start a batch of dried beans in the rice cooker when I plan to make a batch of chili with beans. I have more pantry space than freezer space!
Monday, January 5, 2009
It has been requested...
So I'm back! Been in hiding dealing with the insanity of the holidays- 7 Christmas parties, 14 hours of baking, and a mountain of laundry I've been ignoring. I'm going to run some catching up posts, then I'll post about the current deals at CVS and wherever else catches my eye.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Coupons for Procrastinators!
Ok, so we've been pretty much done with Christmas shopping. All I have left to buy at this point is a few things for Paul's stocking, jammies for the kids, and some more candy.
But I know that there are many out there that haven't gotten all their shopping done yet! Here's a quick wrap up of the deals out there!
Macy's- coupon for 20% off here good through December 15.
Bath and Body works:
Free item (up to $13.50) with any purchase of $10 or more
here
or $10 off any purchase of $30 or more here
But I know that there are many out there that haven't gotten all their shopping done yet! Here's a quick wrap up of the deals out there!
Macy's- coupon for 20% off here good through December 15.
Bath and Body works:
Free item (up to $13.50) with any purchase of $10 or more
here
or $10 off any purchase of $30 or more here
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Christmas shopping on a budget
Paul and I had to hit up a few more stores to pick out some more gifts- but we're nearly done now!
Today, I bring you the beauty of the off-price store. We went out to Christmas Tree Shoppes, and Building 19/Spags.
At Christmas Tree Shoppes, we found some of the REALLY nice, high end furry blankets for 6.99- 9.99. The kind that usually cost at least $20. We also found a two-piece set of 20oz thermal coffee mugs, $6.99. The best deal I found, though, was an 11oz container of sesame seeds for $2! These, along with some poppy seeds (same deal), will be used as a topper for some homemade bagels.
At Building 19/Spags, we found tons of board books, perfect for our budding little reader. We also found a box set of toys and games for 2+ year olds that was originally $25, marked down to $7.99. Several other items rounded out our $22 trip- 3 legal pads for Abby to draw on, a bug kit for Anthony, crayons, and a baseball glove for Paul.
I'm hoping that I will get a chance to hit up Ocean State Job Lot tomorrow- I need to pick up some stocking stuffers for Paul (sorry babe, not putting up any hints here!) and pick out something for my sister's birthday.
Today, I bring you the beauty of the off-price store. We went out to Christmas Tree Shoppes, and Building 19/Spags.
At Christmas Tree Shoppes, we found some of the REALLY nice, high end furry blankets for 6.99- 9.99. The kind that usually cost at least $20. We also found a two-piece set of 20oz thermal coffee mugs, $6.99. The best deal I found, though, was an 11oz container of sesame seeds for $2! These, along with some poppy seeds (same deal), will be used as a topper for some homemade bagels.
At Building 19/Spags, we found tons of board books, perfect for our budding little reader. We also found a box set of toys and games for 2+ year olds that was originally $25, marked down to $7.99. Several other items rounded out our $22 trip- 3 legal pads for Abby to draw on, a bug kit for Anthony, crayons, and a baseball glove for Paul.
I'm hoping that I will get a chance to hit up Ocean State Job Lot tomorrow- I need to pick up some stocking stuffers for Paul (sorry babe, not putting up any hints here!) and pick out something for my sister's birthday.
Cooking Day, part 2!
So, what's that about the best laid plans? Yeah, mine fell apart after a night of grouchy babies. What did I get done?
Hmmm, let's see. First thing in the morning, the stockpot came out of the fridge and onto the burner. The crockpot and rice cooker had black beans and chickpeas, respectively, and they were both drained, rinsed, and refilled with water, then turned on.
The only thing I really got done was bagging everything up. The burritos haven't been made yet, nor the muffins, nor the biscuit mix. But honestly, that's the beauty of cooking ahead. I can jump in where I am, since I'm "banking" the food and sticking it in the freezer or pantry. Hopefully, I can get the biscuit mix made up tonight or tomorrow, since I have some quick dinners that call for biscuit mix!
Hmmm, let's see. First thing in the morning, the stockpot came out of the fridge and onto the burner. The crockpot and rice cooker had black beans and chickpeas, respectively, and they were both drained, rinsed, and refilled with water, then turned on.
The only thing I really got done was bagging everything up. The burritos haven't been made yet, nor the muffins, nor the biscuit mix. But honestly, that's the beauty of cooking ahead. I can jump in where I am, since I'm "banking" the food and sticking it in the freezer or pantry. Hopefully, I can get the biscuit mix made up tonight or tomorrow, since I have some quick dinners that call for biscuit mix!
Monday, December 1, 2008
Shopping/Cooking Day #1
With Christmas fast approaching, things tend to get crazier than usual. With 2 in diapers, we're run pretty ragged as it is, so something's got to give. One thing that we're simplifying this year is meal prep. By having quick and easy meals at our fingertips, we'll be able to fit in the rest of the insanity that is our schedule for the rest of the month!
Today is shopping and and prep day. We took a chunk of time out to get some shopping done.
Walmart- bought 10 bags of veggies (free after coupon), 10 boxes of high fiber/protein pasta (50¢ per box after coupon), 8 boxes of potatoes (33¢ per box after coupon), 5lbs of ground beef ($6.32- $1.26 per lb), 6 bags of dried beans and lentils (99¢ each), flour, shortening, bread, milk, and eggs.
At Shaw's- 20lbs of chicken leg quarters (.49¢ per lb), 1 bag of dried hominy (not carried at Walmart), and a bottled water. I used a $10 off catalina, which, for some reason, took off $11.50??? I ended up paying.... 32¢!
So, the next step is to get it all processed. When we got home, 10 chicken legs went immediately into the stockpot, covered with water, seasoned with salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning, and set to boil.
While that was working, I took the last bag of chicken stock out of the freezer and dumped it into the rice cooker with 3 cups of brown rice.
Then, I took the pinto beans that were in the crockpot soaking and set them on the stove to boil. I added some chili powder, oregano, cayenne pepper, onions, and garlic.
All of this took about 15 minutes, and in the meantime I threw a lasagna into the oven.
When the chicken was cooked, I pulled it out of the pot and let it cool. The stock went into several Pyrex measuring cups (I hate the way that fat clings to plastic, so I used the glassware!) and I pulled the meat off the bones and stuck it in the stock. The whole container then goes into the fridge overnight. I do this because the chicken is still a bit fatty when it first comes out of the stock, but an overnight stint in the fridge is plenty of time for the fat to rise to the top, where it will solidify and can be pulled out easily in the morning. The bones went into a freezer bag for now- I'll have more to add tomorrow!
The rice got bagged up and frozen, as well as half of the beans. The other half went into the fridge to be finished tomorrow.
I also made up two bags of three uncooked legs each. They're sitting merrily in the freezer now.
That leaves a total of 10 more legs to be cooked tomorrow. They are already in the stockpot in the fridge, ready for me to pop onto the stove in the morning.
All told, I think I took about an hour so far. I was also cleaning up the kitchen, unpacking the groceries, and had dinner in the midst of all that work! It has been a long day, but I'm proud of what got done so far!
On the agenda for tomorrow: Boil last batch of chicken, cook black beans and chickpeas, make a batch of biscuit mix, bag and freeze the whole lot, bake up some muffins and biscuits, and bag and freeze the ground beef. More on that tomorrow!
Today is shopping and and prep day. We took a chunk of time out to get some shopping done.
Walmart- bought 10 bags of veggies (free after coupon), 10 boxes of high fiber/protein pasta (50¢ per box after coupon), 8 boxes of potatoes (33¢ per box after coupon), 5lbs of ground beef ($6.32- $1.26 per lb), 6 bags of dried beans and lentils (99¢ each), flour, shortening, bread, milk, and eggs.
At Shaw's- 20lbs of chicken leg quarters (.49¢ per lb), 1 bag of dried hominy (not carried at Walmart), and a bottled water. I used a $10 off catalina, which, for some reason, took off $11.50??? I ended up paying.... 32¢!
So, the next step is to get it all processed. When we got home, 10 chicken legs went immediately into the stockpot, covered with water, seasoned with salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning, and set to boil.
While that was working, I took the last bag of chicken stock out of the freezer and dumped it into the rice cooker with 3 cups of brown rice.
Then, I took the pinto beans that were in the crockpot soaking and set them on the stove to boil. I added some chili powder, oregano, cayenne pepper, onions, and garlic.
All of this took about 15 minutes, and in the meantime I threw a lasagna into the oven.
When the chicken was cooked, I pulled it out of the pot and let it cool. The stock went into several Pyrex measuring cups (I hate the way that fat clings to plastic, so I used the glassware!) and I pulled the meat off the bones and stuck it in the stock. The whole container then goes into the fridge overnight. I do this because the chicken is still a bit fatty when it first comes out of the stock, but an overnight stint in the fridge is plenty of time for the fat to rise to the top, where it will solidify and can be pulled out easily in the morning. The bones went into a freezer bag for now- I'll have more to add tomorrow!
The rice got bagged up and frozen, as well as half of the beans. The other half went into the fridge to be finished tomorrow.
I also made up two bags of three uncooked legs each. They're sitting merrily in the freezer now.
That leaves a total of 10 more legs to be cooked tomorrow. They are already in the stockpot in the fridge, ready for me to pop onto the stove in the morning.
All told, I think I took about an hour so far. I was also cleaning up the kitchen, unpacking the groceries, and had dinner in the midst of all that work! It has been a long day, but I'm proud of what got done so far!
On the agenda for tomorrow: Boil last batch of chicken, cook black beans and chickpeas, make a batch of biscuit mix, bag and freeze the whole lot, bake up some muffins and biscuits, and bag and freeze the ground beef. More on that tomorrow!
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