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I have decided to do a cooking diary today, after seeing comment by shirlstars asking why I have not shared my cooking and recipes. |
What I would like to do today is to focus on low cost, money stretching ideas for cooking.
So my entry will be how to make many delicious, economical, sumptous meals from one chicken;
Many meals with one chicken
First you start with one whole chicken, can be cut up or whole, broiler or fryer.
Put chicken in a pot, covered with water, add 1 lg. chopped up onion, salt and bring to a boil and then turn down heat immediately and simmer for about 1 hour, till the chicken is falling off the bones.
Allow to cool and then separate the chicken from the broth, saving the broth and set aside.
Remove chicken from bones, return the bones to a new pot of water, with another onion chopped into it and repeat the above process, simmering for about an hour.
Dish 1:
Use the second broth and add to that vegetable such as broccoli, onions, garlic, zuchinni, italian spice mix, and 1 can of chopped tomatoes, any style..Cook this until vegs. are simmered and then add in small pieces of ground beef. Allow to cook for a few minutes until meat is cooked, it will be very quick about 5 min.
By now the soup will be thick and delicious, spoon into bowls, serve with salsa, and flour tortilla’s browned in a skillet, buttered and then rolled up.
Dish 2
Using the first pot of broth, add water to make it thinner, take half in a pot and heat to just a boil.
Now go back to your chicken and take half of the chicken, usually the legs and thighs, place the meat in a food processor and add to that green onions, salt, a little cornstarch, (maybe a tbs.) and 1 egg + any spices you like and grind up.
Shape this into small meatballs size and drop into the simmering broth and allow to cook for about 10 to 15 min. Vegs. can be added to broth as well for a delicious soup.
Dish 3
Take the remainder of the broth, heat to boil, add noodles of your choice, and veg. if desired and when noodles are cooked add dumplings as in the recipe on mix box. When those are done and just before serving add pieces of chicken and serve. Traditional chicken and dumplings.
Note: you could also reserve some chicken for wrapping in tortillas, or chicken salad or stir frys and stretch this even further.
It’s been awhile since I did my grand chicken experiment so I have forgotten all the dishes I made with the one chicken, but you get the idea don’t you?
Next time I will do something on oriental cooking, which can be very inexpensive not to mention tasty.
So, there you have my recipes, now tell us yours, and especially food and money stretching ideas.
Belt tightening is ahead for most of us and what better
start to prepare for it than to learn cheap nutrition.
We can do a lot with a small can of salmon, like
salmon/potato cakes
salmon on toast
salmon in vol au vent.
mmmmm…vol au vent…I grew up with them – usually filled with chicken, white sauce and veggies…they still make my mouth water.
Sybil, what is vol au vent, is that like a pot pie. How about directions.
Another thing my family always did with canned salmon is to make salmon cakes. A mixture of salmon, onion, bread crumbs, egg, and salt and pepper, then sauteed, browned lightly. We served that with a sauce of stewed tomatoes, that is cook tomatoes in a sauce pan until it is thick with a little sugar.
You can use fairly cheap salmon for this and lots of onions.
Little puff pastry pots, sometimes with the caps. They
are available in many supermarkets in the frozen food
section. They come flat and puff right up with cooking.
But hey, toast is just as good.
here’s another recipe for that chicken:
boil some of the stock with some celery tops & onion. Shred chicken and pour stock into baking dish. This should be the consistency of a good, thick soup.
Prepare bisquick the easiest way on the box. Put wet/cold biscuits on top of the chicken by the spoonful. Bake until biscuits are done.
Parsley! Damn it!
I forgot parsley. With the onion & celery.
and how appropriate. . .tables, cooking and all. It’s about time I influenced (unduly) you to put up a diary. . .heheheheh!
It all sounds nummy and includes a couple of my own favorites. Winter time I do chicken with vegetables and dumplings quite often. Such a good “I want my mommy” food. Very nurturing.
And yes, can’t wait for the Chinese food. . .I do those often with frozen or fresh stir fry veggies and a little chicken. . .getting hungry now.
Thanks Diane!!
Here is a good recipe for fresh salmon.
Combine 1/2 cup soy sauce, sprinkel of ginger and garlic, 2 T. honey or brown sugar and use this for a marinade. I usually let is sit for 1 day in Fridge.
Then it is really great to sear in a cast iron pan, by the way the best skillets to cook in, no teflon, you get iron for your diet, no kidding, it’s non stick and cleans easily.
You can also cook the salmon on the barbecue, but personally I think it is best in the cast iron pan.
And please do not over cook this salmon, I like mine rare in the middle, after all I like sushi…
A similar marinade that I use for fresh Ahi is 2tb soy sause, 1 clove garlic mashed, dash of wasabi. put in ziplock shake well and add fish for only 15 minutes. Grill to perfection. This was my favorite wehn I lived on Kauai.
from Haida Guaii, it does not need any flavouring only a little lemon and dill when serving.
I have never been so lucky to have fresh caught salmon, but if I did I would probably eat it as sushi first and cook later as you suggested above.
BTW did you know that ‘raw’ marinated terayaki meat tastes delicious and very,,,,sooooo tender, just like eating steak tartare only better. The soy sauce both tenderizes and preserves the meat and makes it safe for eating raw.
And the marinade I gave above for salmon is the one I use for meat also.
So who here watches Food network and what are your favorite shows or cooks. I love the barfoot Contessa, and 30 min. meals…+ many others, used to be a big Emeril fan till I started blogging so much and now I seem to watch the news all day long.
I agree with Sybil.
Now that I can’t get fresh salmon from the Northwest… never knew one had to PAY for salmon when I was a little girl π
Sometimes I add orange with the lemon and some onion. Dill… the underused herb in America. I love dill.
Salmon… I grew up with it. We had family that could smoke it. We called it fish candy. Smoked Salmon in our lunchboxes…
Now it would seem like a luxury.
I love to cook and experiment with recipes. I grew up in complete awe of the cooks in our family who never really shared their craft. I grew up afraid of failing, of not having the perfect pie crust…
now I know that cooking is to be shared, enjoyed and is in some way an expression of how you love your family and friends.
I can not make stuffed mushrooms without making extra for my friend up the street who LOVES them. The recipes is in my head… it’s not exact (like all my best stuff LOL)
We had access to a friendly fisherman one summer and I smoked many pounds of fresh fish caught nearby in the Pacific. There is nothing better, oh maybe there is but I can’t think of anything right now.
My salmon recipe above always reminds me of smoked fish and if you add some liquid smoke even more so.
In BC, the natives called themselves ‘the salmon people.’
I started to think of myself that way.
Up in Haida Guaii, my son once caught a coho 17 lbs. and a
spring 33 lbs. He had them processed:
canned, hot smoked, cold smoked (lox), filletted, thick
steaks (for roasting). We feasted for a year. But have
never tasted anything so good since.
Right now we are about to buy some pink salmon from the
supermarket, what a come down.
Still, for cheap protein, I suggest canned wild red
sockeye salmon, @$5.00.
One of my favorite easy ways to make salmon:
Barbecue Roasted Salmon
1/4 cup pineapple juice
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets
2 tablespoons brown sugar
4 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cooking spray
Lemon slices (optional)
Combine first 3 ingredients in a zip-top plastic bag; seal and marinate in refrigerator 1 hour, turning occasionally.
Preheat oven to 400°.
Remove fish from bag; discard marinade. Combine sugar and next 5 ingredients (sugar through cinnamon) in a bowl. Rub over fish; place in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 12 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Serve with lemon slices, if desired.
What time’s dinner, Diane?!
(It all sounds SO good, and I’m hungry!)
You know I am starving myself right now, the only thing I have eaten today is 3 crackers with peanut butter. Now I think I will have to get cooking and it will be ready about 5 PDT. So I will be waiting for you Susan.
So we can collect these and many more recipes for a future FBC Cookbook!
Recommended!
(and damn! I am really hungry now. . .)
We buy several flats of strawberries from a roadstand in Calistoga. Then we get them home and I clean and cut them up. We then put a cup’s worth of them into freezer bags and use them for smoothies
and adult beverages.
The strawberry smoothies have changed my kids ideas what breakfast is all about. π
Basic Smoothie Recipe
2 cups if ice
a cup of yogurt (any flavor – try strawberry cheesecake or key lime pie… or just plain old PLAIN)
a squeeze of honey – optional
one banana
cup of frozen strawberries (I usually let them thaw out in the fridge the night before)
enough orange juice to slush it all together about a cup.
Voila – breakfast π
Saves on time cause the kids can run around or even drink them at the bus stop and husband can drive to work drinking it… saves time of fighting with them over breakfast.
Tonight we’re having chicken. Grilling two whole outside with some lemon juice and zest, and some butter (inside) and this stuff called Montreal Chicken Seasoning.
Normally I like to rub it and stuff it with some chilies but mine aren’t grown up yet.
Have a seedless watermelon and some tomatoes and cucumbers to go with it. Only dirty dishes will be the plates we eat off of π
Bread pudding that tastes just like Homemade cinnamon rolls:
Take a 9 x 12 baking pan slip in oven and melt 1/2 to 1 cup butter, add to that 1/2 or so cup of brown sugar. Toast 1 c. walnuts(or any nut) in the oven or a pan till they are toasted and then put half in the bottom of the pan and save half.
Now cut or tear bread, anykind is ok, but the best is french bread and it is best old.
Add to this:
3 or 4 cups of milk, mixed with 3 eggs, dash vanilla, and 1/4 to 1/2 cup sweetner of any kind, ( you can always add more milk later if you like.
Allow the bread to absorb the milk and then pour into the 9 x 12 pan.
Melt another 1/2 c. butter, add set aside nuts to that and drizzel over the mixture.
Bake at 350 until browned and bubbly on top. Let cool a bit and then flip out onto a tray, cut into squares and enjoy. Lots of calories, but you can adjust what you add to compensate for that.
Second day if you like, cut into even smaller squares or strips, arrange on baking sheet and bake till they are brown and cripsy all over, cool and these can be used for handy camping,traveling snack, lunches, etc.
I don’t use recipes per se, mine are always evolving, if you are shy about cooking, I say, trust /yourself and your sense of smell/taste which goes a long way to making a good cook.
Diane – now you’ve gone too far! Chicken and salmon receipes are one thing – bread pudding
that tastes like cinnamon rolls – that’s pure and simple torture! Forget this blogging thing and get into that
kitchen girl! How much do you want for the bread pudding?
Please include overnight shipping and handling!!!
Curly, I swear that you won’t know they are not real cinnamon rolls. I figured out that recipe when I received an over abundance of free bread during one time period and I must have invented 50 things to do with bread, including and I kid you not here, softening old bread to a pliable constincency with water, and remolding and shaping to make what ever bread items you wish.
Such as rolls, new bread, bread covered and baked giant sandwiches with meats, etc. inside and designed breads out of french bread..Just a matter of reconstituting and then baking again. I always thought of how many we could feed just by using 1 chicken and old bread, much of which gets thrown away. UN do you hear this.
I even rolled it out and made pizza and also actual cinnamon shaped rolls.
That little obsessive experiement led to me gaining 20 pounds in a very short time.
I got more and will post down thread.
hey, thanks for this! This is so friendly and useful. I’ll try to come up with a good recipe and add it on.
There was a time, when I was very stressed, I started
losing weight. Being a single parent, working at a hospital,
& trying to be an artist was taking its toll.
I went once a week to a rural area to visit my Danish
friend and her mom who had their own garden. They were
both great cooks and dinner was laboured over and
served with a flourish. I always ate well there.
My friend’s mother was a serene, quiet woman, very much
loved and very loving. She took me aside telling me
that I looked thin.
She said, “You must have an egg every morning for
breakfast to start your day.”
“Ugh, eggs I can’t eat them, can’t even look at them.”
She then leaned closer and said,
“Scramble them and grate a little cheese on them,
you’ll see, it tastes good.”
So back home, I started to take her suggestion,
My appetite came back and everything started to look
better to me. It wasn’t the eggs or the cheese, it was
her loving words that turned things around for me.
Years when I’ve had access to lots of fresh organic veggies, I saved the outside lettuce leaves, carrot tops, beet greens (the ones I don’t saute and stir fry), garlic peelings, all the veggie detritus. Cook in a deep pot with a lot of water, cook down to make broth. Add seasonings–powdered mustard, pinch of turmeric, a bit of sea salt perhaps). Freeze the broth, use for winter soups.
Not a lot of love in this recipe, but there is a lot of hope….that you don’t get bit, or et, whichever it ends up:
Knock a gator in da head…and do it GOOD cause they got a way of com’n back to frisky, sort of like an ex…and if you ever had one, you’ll know what I’m a talk’n bout (an ex that is) I had one once that kept com’n….back…oh well, that’s another recipe, for disaster, and some other tale…(pun intended)
Skin that sucker, and make sure you gots both ends tied,(to a tree on both ends, or a least one tree and your 4×4) the bite’n end, and the slapp’n end, cause one breaks ya, and the utter, et’s ya.
Now, whilest you still gots it tied, at both ends, take a sharp axe, and just behind the hind legs, WHACK it into…. step back, cus it will jump around a lot, then skin it,(when it quits a flopp’n round) and cut between each joint down to where the double row of back spikes end. (If you don’t know where that is, please wait till you got it tied real good, and seperated from the front end, to find out ; )
Rub those sections down with Luu-Ze-anna Swamp Boil, and put them in da smoker, for about 12-14 hrs, and while your wait’n, make sure the end that you seperated the back end from is still tied, and better yet, GONE
When done, serve with your favorite vegs, and cold beer, (brand does’nt matter, but COLD does ; )
ENJOY
Next weeks recipe: Possum on da half Shell….mmmmmm mmmmmmm
All in fun, but thanks all for the great recipe’s above, and I’m gonna try a few of them, dayum, y’all got me hungry enough to try that damned fool gator thing ; )
Infidel, you write better in the venacular than anyone I have read. Did you pick this ability up from living in florida or……
So, if’n I ever run into any old gator, I will surely know what to do with it so, thanks Mr. Infidel!!!
I especially like dayum!!!!
it’a an aqwiired suuth’n drawl, and it’s befitt’n a tarue suuth’n gentleman, and a fine laady, of couse in her propuh suun bonnet, with hand fan and mint jewlup, uf couse ; )
It’s too much to type in here, but I have a three day recipe blitz that sorta builds on itself from a lentils and rice night through a potatoes and sausage night and ending with a soup night. Soup is the ultimate money saver. It is CHEAP, and nutritious.
Cheap and easy dessert – peach cobbler from canned peaches and refrigerator biscuits. Separate the biscuits from one of those roll things, put them in a 9×12 pan. Drain the liquid from the peaches and spread them over the biscuits. Sprinkle with cinammon, nutmeg, nuts, whatever. Bake according to the biscuit directions. This is good with ice cream or whipped cream. If you can get real peaches you’re lucky – it’s been years since I’ve had one.
Sorry I’m not very precise, my husband does the cooking.
I would love to see some vegetarian recipes as I’ve been struggling to give up chicken, I don’t know if I can manage the fish. Tuna is easy – canned Alaska salmon is always the wild.
We’re lucky that we get delicious southern peaches this time of year!
An easy variation of your peach cobbler above is to dump peach slices in a buttered 9×13 baking dish, then sprinkle a dry white or yellow cake mix on top, pour about 1/4 cup of melted butter over it and bake at 375 until brown and bubbly.
Or you can use bisquick, biscuits recipe on the top…that’s what we used to do…
It’s best when you pull it fresh out of the creek or lake. I was lucky enough to get to visit Alaska every summer through part of my childhood, and some of my favorite memories from those times are camping and fishing with my dad. We’d catch fresh silver salmon by the boatload, filet them on the shore, wrap them up in some tin foil with some lemon, dill, pepper and butter and throw ’em on the campfire. YUM. Always followed by s’mores.
I’m not a gourmet cook. I only play one for my out-of-Ohio family, by employing verbs other than “boil.” I’m expanding my horizons, got a few web recipes and a couple of seafood books and I’ve always loved fresh seafood. So that caveat aside:
Believe it or not, a great fish for seafood stew type recipes, anything from bouillabaisse to seafood curry or stroganoff, even in place of ground meat for spaghetti sauce, is bulk canned sardines.
I’m seeing tins of 12oz to a pound or so of sardines in supermarkets, bigger than the more common little tins. Here they’re often packed in tomato sauce. They run around $1 to $1.50 a pound. I use them to make up 1/3 to 1/2 of the seafood in such dishes in place of expensive but milder fish that get lost in the flavor anyways.
In these kinds of dishes I find several of the Pacific salmons actually have a stronger taste than sardines, which basically just blend into the mix.
Another good cheap option is monkfish or poor man’s lobster, which I see sold precooked at around $2/ pound–but you need to check the packaging very carefully if the intended eater has a shellfish allergy because some of this is a blended product that includes shellfish.
Great diary idea diane and after reading all the cool recipes here I’m definitely hungry and want to make all of them right now, including the ‘gator’ recipe(infidel pigs contribution).
And because I’m feeling braindead I can’t think of any particular recipe of mine to add here…but think the idea for Oriental diary is terrific. Candy would be a good one also(I have a good peanut brittle recipe for the microwave that’s easy-somewhere..yes I do deign to eat candy other than chocolate at times).
I am hungry to Chocolate, and recipes aside, I am a now reluctant cook and cannot find the time to tear myself off the internet long enough to do much of that, let alone my every mounting pile of dishes that have to be gone through before I can even think of cooking.
Hey put your recipes for candy here too. Any kind are welcome.
I would love a peanut brittle one, I tried to make it once without a recipe and it didn’t work out. Wonder why. I didn’t think you ever ate non chocolate, so I am surprise.
BTW hello Choc o lat, I haven’t caught up much with you lately and I miss you. You don’t seem to have posted much but then there is so much more to keep up with these days. <<<<special hugs to you today>>>>>
Oh Yeah…HOT LIST this one. I’d offer up a recipe but gotta run, maybe later or on a future diary<nudge, nudge, wink,wink>.
Love to cook, specialty is grilling, year-round, rarely ever cook indoors. It’s so bad my neighbors give me grief @ grillin’ in the snow…’round here I’m known as the “WEBer Master”…Ha! Do the whole meal over the coals…Black & Red fish a favorite, just put the cast-iron skillet on the grill, anything you can cook in or on a range can be easily done on a good grill…no gas, charcoal only and a big “Weber Kettle”…Yummmmmmmm!
Peace
diane: how’d that ‘coon repellant work out…keepin’ em at bay?
When I answered you below, I was thinking you were talking about ‘gators’ (i.e. ypthread with infidel), instead of ‘coons’, and then i remembered you were the one who gave me the ‘racoon’ advice last week. Correct!
So here is what I have done, I took one of those mesh bags that store bought tomatos come in and wrapped and tired around the one and only large tom. I have. I don’t know what I will do when I get more, but I still haven’t tried the cayenne pepper spray yet….
Thanks for asking. Oh, I think it might be possums tho as we have them here on the property, my dog caught several…recently.
Oh come on dada, you can at least give us some hints or tips on ye old bar be cue.
And I decided to embrace the whole “gator” thing, if one comes my way I shall rush to this diary and find Infidel’s comment and know just what to do….
Grilled Shrimp w/ pepperoni, mushrooms and asparagus, fresh spinach salad w/ tangerines, pecans, bacon and a warm balsamic vinegar and oil dressing…follow along if you will:
CAVEAT: cooking times are relative and based on cooking at altitude (6000+ ft. elev. @ casa dada).
Step 1: Start the fire…Duh
Step 2: Peel and de-vein 18 medium shrimp. Place in bowl,
season generously w/ White Wine Worcestershire sauce,
cumin, fresh ground black pepper and oregano – set aside in
ref. (NOTE: Do Not drown the shrimp, they’re already moist
WWW sauce should coat them w/ minimal residue in the bowl)
Step 3: Wash fresh asparagus, snapping off bottom of stems ( the
white part), coat lightly w/ olive oil
Step 4: Clean button mushrooms, coat lightly w/ olive oil
Step 5: Prepare salad and dressing, keep salad refrig’d until ready
to serve, leave dressing out at room temp…more on that later
When fire is well lit, mostly grey – but still ‘hot’ spread coals in center of grill and prepare skewers (I prefer the long bamboo ones, and recommend you soak them in cold water for 15-20 minutes before use…keeps them from burning and ‘flavoring’ the food)…
Place shrimp, mushrooms and thinly sliced pepperoni on skewers alternating shrimp-pepperoni-mushroom-etc. NOTE: if you prefer mushrooms more throughly cooked they may be placed on a sep. skewer and cooked w/ the asparagus.
When fire is at medium…all grey-you should be able to hold your palm w/in 1″ of the cooking grate w/out having to jump back…
place asparagus on grill toward edges (mushrooms too if you’ve chosen that option) SET TIMER for 14 -18 min., place lid on grill w/ all vents open…
Place skewers on grill w/ approx 10 min remaining, replace lid, close 2/3 of bottom vents…turn asparagus and check in approx 4 min…turn and close all vents until done.
Warm salad dressing, do not boil…
Serve over thinly sliced provole cheese w/ balsamic vinegar and olive oil drizzle and fresh Batard.
Enjoy!
Recommended wine: Sauvignon Blanc
This ain’t cooking ‘cheap’, but it’s VERY TASTY and I got company
I’m tryin’ to impress…:{)
This one I make for me! with mushrooms served with wine!
When I was an undergraduate, my landlady shared this recipe with me. I signed my paychecks over to her to cover my rent, and lived on the $60 a month my parents sent me. I learned to eat VERY cheaply. One of my favorites was a recipe my landlady shared with me. It’s called Poor Student’s Dinner and is quite tasty (I still make it sometimes):
1 lb ground beef or turkey
8 or 16 oz sour french onion dip (more dip=creamier)
1 largish onion, finely chopped
dill (optional)
black pepper
1 pkg frozen peas
1 lb egg noodles
Serve beef mixture over hot noodles. Leftovers are tasty for a couple of days.
Could you clarify this a bit, I don’t understand the “dip” part….Ohterwise sounds good and I will make when I get some peas..
It’s the tubs of dip that you can get in the dairy aisle for a dollar or two.
I so need you!! My mom thought 5 bean chili really had only 5 beans in it. I am doing this as soon as Dennis goes some place else. Just the best damn recipe anybody has ever given me!!
I always limit my husband’s intake of beans to 5 or fewer. Any more than that and he has to sleep in the garage.
Just kidding: Here’s what my daughter and I made (and scarfed down) today:
red, yellow and green pepper finely chopped
small sweet onion finely chopped
1/2 cup frozen corn
1 can drained/rinsed black beans
couple of firm tomatoes finely chopped
1 jalapeno pepper very finely chopped
squeeze juice from 2 fresh limes
add cumin to taste
salt and pepper to taste
Serve with tortilla chips.
not tonight, and it’s more of a winter thing,
but in the same lines of the single chicken, we can usually get 3-4 meals out of a good roast.
On a Sat or Sun I’ll put the oven on at 200F, sear the roast in the dutch oven, add 2 cups of beef broth (or water & bullion) and crust the top with minced garlic and butcher ground pepper.
Several hours later, we’ll have a roast, with mashed potatoes & gravy, glazed carrots, a salad, whatever else.
Additional dinners –
extra mashed potatoes will be used for shepard’s pie
hot roast beef sandwiches with gravy
shredded beef bbq
sometimes there’s enough for a stew
and plain old leftovers
I love knowing good farmers.
today, I’m thinking of making gazpacho – switching clamato for the tomato juice, and adding a dash of chili powder. Had to buy the tomatoes, but couldn’t hold off until mine do more than flower.