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Food Stamps Cooking Club: Leeky Soup Pot?

September 8th, 2010

What a pity you can't smell the delicious aroma of this Cauliflower-Leek soup. We're just grateful we have a leeky pot with no mess!

Food Stamps Cooking Club members often use recipes for their cost effective dishes.  There is no recipe for this one but Mother Connie cannot WAIT to share the How-To because it is sooo delish!

Here we are, right at the beginning of the month AND of soup weather!  At least in our part of the world it’s good weather for soup; and if it’s not conducive to soup wherever YOU are, it likely will be soon.

It’s a pretty good idea at the first of the month to stretch those food dollars as well as you can because you don’t want to feel desperate when the end of the month rolls around.  One way to make food dollars go farther is to create soup from scratch.

Opening a can of commercial soup is quicker, that’s true.  But the nutrition may or may not be there and you can almost be sure that MSG, inedible as it is, WILL be.  Yuck.

Here’s how this CAULIFLOWER-LEEK soup went together:

1  leek, cut into rings and soaked in salty water to get rid of the grit.  After they have soaked-while you prep the cauliflower-rinse thoroughly and spread out on a towel to get rid of the moisture.  You will saute these later.

1 head of cauliflower, cut, salted well,cooked and drained.

As the cauliflower cooks, saute the well salted leeks in vegetable oil and drain them.  I used a strainer.

Working in batches and using a blender or a food processor, puree the cauliflower, adding in some vegetable broth or chicken broth.

Puree the leeks the same way.

Pour the pureed goods into your soup kettle, add more broth and pour in some milk so it has the color you like.

Taste test the whole works and make sure there is adequate salt AND pepper to please your palate.

If you like, you can cube some bread-I used Foccacia-scatter it across a baking sheet.  Drizzle some oil over it, sprinkle some garlic powder over it all and brown it in your broiler.  Here’s what you’ll have when it comes out, all fragrant and delish:

IF ONLY you could smell these lovelies! And they are WARM, as well! YUM!

***Cheese makes a nice garnish for this and adds protein, if you have some.

It just might be that this Cauliflower-Leek Soup could be your family’s new favorite comfort food!

For people who depend on SNAP or WIC; those who lean on food commodities and/or food pantries; even those who get Angel Food or just want to save as much money on groceries as possible, this soup will tickle your fancy and your taste buds.

If you take a notion to look at ways of bringing in another stream of income or if you just like to window shop, you might like to visit the sponsors on this page.  The Club Members who have visited our sponsors give us glowing reports about them.  I’m just sayin’…One of the most popular sponsors of the Food Stamps Cooking Club is the Dinner Diva.  She’ll make you drool.

Do you have comments or ideas to share about soup or saving money?  We’d love to hear from you: foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com  and we just swoon over comments on this page.

Connie Baum

The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post.  Should they be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated.  Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline.  Always do business with those you trust implicitly.


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Food Stamps Cooking Club: Could Your Head EXPLODE?

August 31st, 2010

You won't BELIEVE what is happening to our healthy choices!

SOMETIMES Mother Connie is sure her head may explode!  Get a load of THIS:  There is an advertising campaign which takes baby carrots, packages them like junk foods-e.g. chips, cookies, etc-and trots them out to tempt children!

Oh, this is fraught with issues.  #1, it’s probably a clever concept and someone will likely be handsomely paid for thinking of it.

#2, I have serious issues with baby carrots.  Yes.  Baby carrots are NOT healthy, NOT nutritious and in some cases they are downright dangerous.

#3, is it kosher for people to appeal to kids in this way?  It makes me squeamish.

The reason why baby carrots are not good is that the clever food processing people take all the ugly, misshapen carrots and make them look perfect because after all, we eat with our eyes first.  Right?  Right.

The problem is that after they get them shaped just so, they dunk them in a vat of slush that purports to keep them sanitary.  That vat has CHLORINE in it in order to kill the bad guys that might be growing there.  Those carrots sit in that brine from the time they go in to the time you use the little critters.  Didn’t you ever notice how LONG those things keep and HOW SLIMY THEY ARE? Yuck!

The manufacturers can dress them up any way they like to sell more stuff.  But if you dress up a pig and put lipstick on it, IT IS STILL A PIG.

Does Mother Connie make herself clear, people?

Families who are managing their food dollars with the help of WIC or SNAP and an EBT,  need to have accurate information about the food they purchase.  For people who use Angel Food Ministries, for those who have items from a food pantry or use food commodities, these are important considerations.  If you have goods from a Farmer’s Market or are just plain frugal and you love food, especially comfort foods, you need to have good information about the food you and your loved ones consume!

Good food is good food.  It should be good FOR you, not just perfectly pretty.

If you have REAL carrots, with their imperfections and all, I want to share a prep tip with you.  And if you get your kids involved in shopping or growing or digging or cleaning the produce the chances of them EATING it are much, much greater.  Here’s what’s really good:

COOKED CARROTS

1 pound of real carrots, scrubbed, not peeled.  Do cut off the end pieces for your stock pot.

Cut the carrots the way you want them to look.  They can be grated, cut crosswise, chopped into chunks-however you like them.

Put them in a heavy saucepan and add some water and salt.  Bring them to a boil; reduce the heat to a simmer and allow them to cook till fork tender.

Drain them, add a spoonful of butter to them and let that melt.  Add 2 Tablespoons of brown sugar and a sprinkle of nutmeg.  These will smell divine, taste so elegant and those kids will beg for second helpings!

DON’T EAT THE BABY CARROTS, NO MATTER HOW THEY ARE PACKAGED!

Mother Connie

The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post.  Should they be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated.  Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline.  Always do business with those you trust implicitly.

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Food Stamps Cooking Club: End o Summer EZ Do?

August 28th, 2010

Who wants to spend the last, lazy days of summer in a hot kitchen?

We are experiencing the last dog days of summer.  The nights are cool enough for delicious sleep and rest but the days are humid, breezy and way warmer than we feel is comfy.

One of my guilty pleasures is listening to Lynne Rosetto Kasper’s radio show that’s designed for people who love to eat.  She talks about food and how to prepare ordinary things in interesting and creative ways and it strikes my fancy.  Her food ideas are always simple and easy to duplicate.  Best of all, her concoctions never send me out to buy something special that I won’t have on hand!

As I am wont to do, I reworked one of her summertime supper notions and it is uber divine! I think it falls under the umbrella of “comfort foods.”   Here’s what’s for dinner tonight at our house:

MOTHER CONNIE’S VERSION:

PASTA, TOMATOES AND CHICKPEAS

1 ripe tomato for each diner.  Peel them if you like, or not.  As you prefer

1 clove garlic, finely minced-I only had garlic powder on hand

Salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon balsamic vinega

1 tablespoon basil-I used dried sweet basil from my pantry shelf

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Combine the tomato pieces with the garlic, salt, pepper, basil and oil in a large bowl. Add the chickpeas. Stir and adjust the seasonings to suit your palate.   This can stand, macerating all those lovely tomato juices for a few hours before you cook the pasta.

I cooked regular old $.99 cent sale priced spaghetti.  If you want to use the whole wheat or other styles of pasta products it would work just as well but might not be as cost effective.

We had freshly baked Foccacia bread with this and it was a big hit with The Normanator.  It’s hard to impress that man, so I took that as a very positive sign!

If you are swiping an EBT card from WIC or SNAP, this is a dish that will be very easy on your food budget.  If you happen to have goods from a food pantry, it is very likely you could easily put this together.  Maybe you’ll even put your own spin on it.  If you use food commodities, this dish will help those commodities to stretch as far as your month. For users of Angel Food Ministries food or Farmers Markets food, this is a superb way to manage those resources.  And for all those frugal, thrifty types-this will be very kind to your food budgets!

Besides,  who wants to hang out in a hot kitchen at summer’s end?

Maybe you would like to learn more about healthy eating.  Mother Connie Sez has some big ideas about how to get and stay well.  Her rhetoric and rants can be found on the Mother Connie Sez blog

It might even be that YOU should like to rant and rave.  You can leave us your comment-we’d be pleased-or you can send an email to foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com.

You are most welcome to visit the sponsors of this blog: Saving Dinner, Rapid Cash Marketing and ToothSoap, too.  Each has interesting ideas and there may be possibilities for extra income for your family that you’d find appealing.

Connie Baum

The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post.  If you should click on them and sales result, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated.  Please do your due diligence when conducting business online or offline.  Do business only with those you trust implicitly.

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Food Stamps Cooking Club: Patty Came to Dinner?

August 21st, 2010

Guess who came to dinner? PATTY!

Mom always maintained that if you did not get to the grocery store you’d just have to make do in order to put a meal on the table.

Chef Shawn Bucher recommends that most meals consist of protein, sides and dessert.  He also puts a high priority on sauces.

Today I satisfied BOTH of those folks’ requirements and felt proud as punch in the process.

Mother Connie is not a fancy-schmancy cook; has no formal training and certainly is no high priced expert when it comes to the culinary world!

I made a meatless ‘meat’ patty!  Here’s how I did it:

MOTHER CONNIE’S PATTY

2 potatoes, scrubbed and quartered.  I had 1 white and 1 red tater.

1 small zucchini, peeled and cut to match the size of the cut potatoes.

I covered the potatoes and the zucchini with water, sprinkled them with salt.  I brought them to a boil and let them simmer til the vegetables were fork tender.

While those cooked, I chopped a small onion and set it aside.

I combined 3 small eggs, 2 slices of bread made into fine crumbs, the chopped onions and 1 teaspoon of curry powder.  I salted and peppered the mix, as well.

When the potatoes and zucchinis were cooked I drained and mashed them, skins and all, and added that combination to the eggs, crumbs, onions and seasonings.

I was eager to see if my combination would be fit to eat, so I took a page from Rachel Ray’s book and made a teeny sample sized patty to fry.  When it had browned on both sides I borrowed a hint from Anne Burrell, who is big on QC  or Quality Control-as in TASTE.

Well, let me tell you:  I thought it was MOREish, which means there may not be enough! grin

While the patties browned in hot olive oil I made a beshemel sauce.  That’s only a fancy word for white sauce.  I used 2 Tablespoons of melted butter, a slurry of 1 teaspoon of corn starch in water and stirred it all together.  Before it thickened I added about a cup or so of milk.  When it came together I salted and peppered it and added about a half a bag of frozen peas.  I flirted with the idea of adding spinach but the peas were more appealing to me.

You can see for yourself that it made for a pretty dish, spread all over a luncheon plate.  I had some beets-they had sat in a rice vinegar brine for most of the afternoon so I sliced them and used them as a garnish.

Next time I make these goodies, I’ll hope to have celery and corn on hand.  Oh, and beans.  Mashed beans could replace the potatoes and help to bind the vegetables together.  Carrots, cabbage-any combo of foods would work well with this method.  And the curry is just ONE of many ways to season things.  That’s where the creative cook can shine.

Fooey!  Even young children or picky husbands who don’t like anything but chicken nuggets will enjoy these yummies!

Oh.  About dessert.  I hate to admit it.  We had green gelatin.  Well, like Mom said, you have to use what you have in the house…I have no idea why we have gelatin in our house because it has no redeeming nutritive value.  It does LOOK cheery, though.

If you are users of Angel Food Ministries, visit a food pantry or use food commodities; if you have an EBT card for SNAP or WIC, we hope “Patty” will be YOUR new best friend forever!  This is also true if you have food from a Farmers Market or you are just thrifty and pinching your pennies to make your food budget last through the month.

Leave your comment on our doorstep or shoot us an email at foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com.  We ADORE hearing from you!

PS/We hope you have scoped out The Dinner Diva’s ideas, too! They are spectacular!

Connie Baum

The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post.  Should they be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated.  Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline.  Always do business with those you trust implicitly.


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Food Stamps Cooking Club: Is It Breakfast or Dinner?

August 20th, 2010

Does breakfast ALWAYS mean toast?

You are keenly aware that Food Stamps Cooking Club is all about saving you cash on your food costs and making sure you and your loved ones are healthy and happy.

Leanne Ely has that same goal in mind and one of her recent messages to me underscores that goal.  I want to share it with you all so you can have a new perspective on breakfast, especially now that fall is in the air, school is in session again-or soon will be.  Those of you who struggle with the EBT card covering the costs whether you use SNAP or WIC or if you depend on food commodities food pantries will appreciate the value in what The Dinner Diva has to offer:

“Breakfast for Dinner

by Leanne Ely, C.N.C.

My passion in life is that everyone would understand just how important the family dinner table is. That simple piece of furniture represents an intimate ministry in the home that will leave a legacy. To lose this focus and become driven by all kinds of extra curricular activities (both for the kids and the parents) is to lose your family vision. Those are some sharp words, but the consequence of skipping this ritual in favor of another activity is to invite chaos into your home and influence that you don’t want. Statistics have proven over and over again that the family that eats dinner together at least 4 times a week, at the family dinner table (not in front of the tube or in the car) will have children who are less likely to do drugs, drink, have premarital sex and do better in school. What parent doesn’t want that? And all because of a simple thing like dinner. Amazing how un-complex it all is, isn’t it?

The family dinner table represents the connection we have with each other. Each person sitting at the table isn’t there by accident, but is (I believe) a God-given gift and a specific fit for your family.

If I had the opportunity to give every woman on the planet a gift, it would be a vase of flowers for the middle of their dinner tables to remind them that this is a sacred place where their families are not only fed, but nurtured and loved. Where heart strings are tied and relationships realigned.

I invite you this week to make that sacred place pretty. Even if you are facing a raging schedule, at least attempt one dinner there this week. Are you up to the challenge? I know you can do this! Splurge on some flowers, or just a big bowl of apples in a basket you love. You could EVEN do candles if you wanted! As a matter of fact, why not have Breakfast for Dinner this week? It’s quick, easy and your kids will love it.

My children have many fond memories of sipping orange juice from a stemmed glass and listening to Vivaldi by candlelight while diving into a stack of pancakes! It will take 5 minutes to set the table and will create a lifetime of memories–I promise. Sometimes those old fashioned breakfasts of pancakes, waffles and eggs are near impossible to pull off even on weekend mornings. Why not have it for dinner?

Here’s a recipe to get you started:

Crustless No Recipe Quiche
Serves about 6

  • 1 dozen eggs, beaten like for scrambled eggs
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 small package of frozen, chopped spinach; drained
  • 1/2 a small onion chopped and sauteed
  • 1 cup ground beef, cooked (I use just about anything from leftover spaghetti meat to leftover taco meat–use whatever you have)
  • 6 oz. shredded sharp cheddar (I use lowfat)

    • In a bowl, beat your eggs and add milk, salt and pepper. In a lightly greased 9 x 13 pan, put meat, spinach and cheese down then top with egg mixture. Bake @ 350 for 20-30 minutes, but check it often. I have noticed a great deal of difference in cooking times on this. Serve it with a great big salad and some whole grain bread and you have one wonderful supper.

    For the spinach, you can use broccoli instead if you like. I’ve substituted the meat for turkey ham or sausage even or left it out. You can do anything in the cheese dept. This (un)recipe has served me very well and guess what? It will work for you low carbers, too!

    That’s all there is to it. Simple, easy, cheap and quite good! Enjoy!

    ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

    Breakfast Mixes
    by Leanne Ely, C.N.C.

    To make the most of our days and to really start off right, it’s important to remember that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. This is when you break your fast from not eating all night. Your blood sugar is low–you need fuel. To start the day fuel-less is akin to taking a car on a long journey hoping the reserve tank will get you there and back–I promise you, it’s not gonna happen. Most likely you will end up eating something greasy from a drive-thru because your blood sugar has crashed or waiting till lunch and then eating out of control because you’re starving. Let’s not even talk about our foul moods due to our blood sugar being in the can. This is not how we’re meant to operate and we deserve better.

    The wonderful thing about breakfast is that it’s a cheap and easy meal. I’m not talking about the artificially colored, overly sugared breakfast cereals. That stuff is so over priced, you’ll need to take a second out on your house just to keep up with the expense! Not only that, but the only thing those cereals are good for is getting your kids hyper–there is NO nutritional redemption in that expensive stuff. Let me say this again: YOU are the parent and YOU can control what goes in your child’s cereal bowl every day.

    Pancakes and waffles are more “weekend” food. Who has time to make them during the week? YOU do if you can get these mixes together. Even better, you can make extra pancakes or waffles on the weekend, freeze them in big freezer zipper topped bags and use them instead of those expensive and less nutritious toaster waffles in the freezer section in the store.

    Here’s a terrific mix:

    8 cups flour (if you’d like an all whole wheat mix, use whole wheat pastry flour from health food stores)
    2 cups whole wheat flour
    1 1/2 cups buckwheat flour (at some markets, but for sure at health food stores. Optional; use more whole wheat flour if you can’t find it)
    1/2 cup cornmeal (stone ground)
    1 1/2 cups oatmeal (blend in your blender till powdered)
    2 cups buttermilk powder (this is in the baking section of your market)
    5 tablespoons baking powder
    2 tablespoons baking soda
    1 cup sugar (or sucanat–natural sugar at the health food store)
    2 tablespoons salt

    This will make four quarts. Mix all together in a very large bowl and divvy up into gallon sized freezer storage bags. I would mark the date with a Sharpie pen and keep it in the freezer although you can keep in your pantry.

    To make pancakes or waffles:

    1 cup pancake mix
    1 egg
    1/2 to 2/3 cup water (start with the lesser amount first and add if you need to)
    2 tablespoons vegetable oil

    In a medium bowl, stir mix with water, egg and vegetable oil. Heat your griddle and make your pancakes as usual! To make waffles, double the batter and follow the directions for your waffle iron.

    Basic Muffin Mix
    Makes 11 cups

    8 cups flour (again, if you prefer whole wheat, use whole wheat pastry flour)
    3 cups sugar (can use sucanat if you prefer, see note on pancake mix)
    3 tablespoons baking powder
    2 teaspoons salt
    2 teaspoons cinnamon
    2 teaspoons nutmeg

    Combine everything in a large bowl and divide into freezer zipper topped bags. Mark date with a Sharpie pen and store in the freezer or cool dry place.

    To make muffins:
    Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

    In a bowl, mix together 3 cups baking mix, 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, 2 eggs, 3/4 cup milk and 3/4 cup berries, raisins, chocolate chips or whatever else you’d like.

    Bake in a prepared muffin pan–that means lightly greased (I prefer the cupcake papers–easy clean up!), filling cups 2/3 full. Bake for 20 minutes or until nicely browned. Cool for five minutes in the pan then turn out on to a rack to cool. Makes about 12 muffins, depending on the size of your muffin tin.”

    Copyright (C) 2010 www.savingdinner.com Leanne Ely, CNC All rights reserved.

    Connie Baum

    The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post.  Should they be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated.  Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline.  Always do business with those you trust implicitly.


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    Food Stamps Cooking Club: Tomato or TomAHto?

    August 17th, 2010

    The Normanator's Handiwork...is he a KEEPER or is he a KEEPER?

    Whether you call them tomatoes or tomAHtoes; whether you eat them fresh or preserve them all luscious in jars that sparkle with their red goodness-it all means great eating year round.

    So many tomatoes!  So little time!  So how can we present them to our families so they do not groan and complain, “Oh, no!  Not tomatoes AGAIN!”

    Mom used to stuff tomatoes with tuna or chicken salad on little beds of lettuce.  We always thought that was the chi-chi poo-poo version and that must be what people ate who had servants.

    SIDEBAR:  Most who find their way to this blog do not have servants!  We are the uber thrifty; we use EBT cards from public assistance like SNAP or WIC.  We might have food from a food pantry or we might use food commodities.  Farmers Markets coupons could get us some tomatoes.  We might even use Angel Food Ministries.  Servants are not an option.  END SIDEBAR.

    My mom also made a brine for chopped tomatoes.  She would use vinegar, salt, pepper and a little sugar.  Sometimes there were cucumbers and/or onions swimming in a bowl of that.  She reused that brine, adding tomatoes as we ate them.  This was a summertime staple on the table for lunch and dinner.

    My dad taught me how to love tomato sammies for breakfast.  He would slice some of Mom’s home made bread, lather it with butter and pile on slices of tomatoes from the garden.  This was comfort food for me as I was growing up.  Sometimes when I’m hungry and don’t know what I want, I still settle on tomato sammies!

    Mom’s best friend, Helen, used to make a concoction using quartered tomatoes, garlic buds, onions and oil.  She would spread it out over a baking sheet, drizzle the oil over all of it and pop it into the oven.  When it came out, Helen would chop it up and pour it over cooked spaghetti noodles.  She toasted garlic bread for us, too.  We thought it was absolute luxury.  And so it was!

    Myra, our landlady, used to treat us to fried green tomatoes.  As I recall, she dredged quarters of the green fruit in corn meal and fried them in oil.  I can still remember sitting at her kitchen table, watching her work, and having her present me with a plate full of the beauties.  Such delicious memories…

    We eat breakfast at the ungodly hour of 1:30 AM.  One of our faves is to stir up a few eggs and add chopped tomatoes to the pan.  It makes for a flavorful and filling breakfast with lots of nourishment.  Better yet;  it is cost effective.

    Call them tomatoes or call them tomAHtoes. They are delicious and nutritious whether they are fresh, cooked, canned or pickled. Even better than that, they are easy on the food budget!

    What do YOU do with these beauties?  I can’t wait to hear from you!

    We appreciate you!  Please consider yourselves hugged.  Now I’m going to enjoy a tomato the way you might enjoy an apple:  just with a shake of salt AND A NAPKIN TO CATCH THE JUICE DRIZZLES!

    PS/There is a link below that will transport you to a website offering a healthy, cost effective way to clean your teeth.  Please check it out.  It’s important to save money any way we can and if we eat well and wisely and can keep our medical care costs low we have won TWICE!

    Connie Baum

    The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post. Should they be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated. Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline. Always do business with those you trust implicitly.

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    Food Stamps Cooking Club: Does Sandra Have a License?

    August 13th, 2010

    Sandra bakes bread for a song...

    Sandra, who is a regular contributing Food Stamps Cooking Club Member, really resonated with the post that went up about the growing use of public assistance for getting food and making those food dollars stretch.  She sent such delightful offerings that I’m wondering if she should procure a Blogger’s License?

    Actually, I take that back.  Some Federal official will see it and think it is a wonderful idea for raising revenue.

    Suffice it to say that Sandra has either thought this through very carefully or she has lived through a time which taught her a great many good lessons.  See what she sent us:

    “Dear Mother Connie,

    There’s no doubt that that money will be put back but we all still have to worry about those rising food costs especially when it comes to things like produce.  There are a lot of things we do to save money on the grocery bill.

    1. Bake your own bread.  You can make bread for around 40 cents per loaf.  That’s much cheaper and healthier than store bought.

    2. Eat pancakes, oatmeal, eggs, muffins, or French toast instead of boxed cereal.

    3. Make your own pancake/waffle syrup.  There’s a great product called Mapleine on the market.  It comes in a blue and white box and is maple flavoring.  While the bottle costs around $3.50 per bottle, it takes only 1/2 tsp to make a pint of syrup.  It takes one cup water, 2 cups sugar, and 1/2 tsp Mapleine.  Much, much cheaper than store bought syrup.

    4. Buy chips, treats, and cookies only for special occassions.  You can make your own treats much cheaper and healthier and with less packaging.

    5. Don’t drink fruit juice.  While it seems economical, it really isn’t.  A serving of fruit is more satisfying to the appetite.

    6. Eat meat only in very small portions.  You really don’t need a lot – just a few ounces per day fills your protein requirements especially if you eat eggs and dairy.

    7. Eat more vegetarian meals.  Eggs, pasta, grains, etc can provide variety at a lower cost than can meat.

    8. Don’t buy storebought mixes.  You can make your own more cheaply.

    9. One of the biggest things we do is to follow the pantry principle.  We try to keep our pantries stocked with basic ingredients all the time so that we don’t run out of things and have to make extra trips to the store.

    10. Make your own salad dressings.  This really can be cheaper and healthier and once you have a few basic ingredients, you can make different kinds.

    11. Learn to like beans.  Seriously, beans are one of the most nutritious and frugal foods you can eat.  They store well too.

    Mother Connie, I have a lot more ideas, but this is a very good start.  I hope this can help others.  :)

    –Sandra

    We were thrilled with that list.  But Sandra, ever the thoughtful Food Stamps Cooking Club member that she is, sent a follow up message, too:

    Oh, a word about produce.  Learn to keep veggies and fruits that keep for a long time such as potatoes, carrots, cabbage, celery, and apples on hand for main use.  Then buy a few veggies or fruits that don’t keep as long.  Use those first and then rely on your staples.

    Keep in mind that if you have bananas going bad and you aren’t ready to bake with them, you can freeze them and save for the smoothies or baking later.

    If you are willing to go to farmer’s market or produce stands near closing time, you can often get reduced prices.”

    –Sandra

    Sandra, I baked some Foccacia bread this morning.  I eyed the pan of leftovers and pondered what great bread pudding that would make.  Now THAT will save us some moola…and I am known as the Bean Queen around here so you and I are pretty much on the same page! Why, we could be roommates.  Well, you know what I mean.  grin

    If people use Angel Food Ministries,  food pantry food or food commodities; if they have an EBT card for WIC or SNAP they will most assuredly appreciate the worth of your thoughtful ideas, offered most generously.  You are a very wise woman, and we appreciate you very much.

    We are delighted to hear from any of our Members. All emails can go to foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com  and please leave your comments here.  We love those, too.

    Our goal is to help you, because we care about your situation and we care about people-neighbors, people on the net-whoever we might assist.

    Pass the word.  The series of cooking tips are fun and we don’t hammer you to death with messages till who laid the chunk.

    Connie Baum

    The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post.  Should they be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated.  Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline.  Always do business with those you trust implicitly.

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    Food Stamps Cooking Club: Pizza Pie by Sandra?

    August 4th, 2010

    Mama mia! Sandra has shared her pizza recipe! Preheat the oven and let's get rolling!

    Food Stamps Cooking Club members are the most helpful bunch on the internet!  Sandra has graciously stepped up to share her pizza recipe; this was prompted by the post about tomatoes!  Thanks, Sandra!

    SANDRA’S HOME MADE PIZZA RECIPE

    Crust:
    1  1/4 c. hot water
    2  1/2 tsp yeast
    1  T. sugar

    Let yeast get foamy and then add 1  1/2 T. oil (I use olive), 1/2 tsp salt, and 3 cups flour (I use half wheat/half white).  Stir until it forms a ball.

    Brush pan with melted butter or oil or spray with nonstick spray.  Roll out dough with rolling pin and then press into pan.  Prick dough all over with fork.

    Bake at 400 for 10 minutes.  Take out of oven, add sauce, cheese and/or toppings.  Bake another 6-8 minutes.  Voila!  Tasty homemade pizza.

    For the sauce I just use a can of tomato sauce to which I add salt, garlic powder, and Italian seasonings.  You could use spaghetti sauce if you have leftovers.

    For toppings I usually do 1/2 pound of sausage or some pepperoni or pineapple.  But you could do anything you want!  :O)


    Regarding her preference for peeled or non-peeled tomatoes, Sandra had this comment:  “I’m a non-peeler except for when I cook raw tomatoes into veggie fajitas – then I peel because the peeling gets bitter.”

    Thanks so much, Sandra.  People who love pizza and use public assistance like SNAP or WIC or food pantry food; even food commodities or Angel Food Ministries food will appreciate this low cost make-at-home goodness!

    SIDEBAR:  Have you SEEN the price of pre-made pizza rounds or store bought pizza?  HOLEY SMOKES!  It’s higher than a kite and now we learn that wheat prices will be rising AGAIN soon!  This recipe is going to help EVERYBODY and it will be fun to make!  END SIDEBAR.

    Thank you so much to those who have directed their family and associates to the opt in box which gets you a series of cooking tips and occasional messages we think would be of interest to you.  We have a growing number of members and we are very pleased about that.

    One thing we want to mention is that there is good kitchen help available from The Dinner Diva.  You might want to cruise by and scope that out.

    If you are interested in adding another stream of income to your household you might find this link helpful: Automated Affiliate Formula.  It’s only an idea…just like window shopping, you don’t HAVE to make any purchases.  It’s just fun to know what’s out there that might help your family.

    Let us know when you make Sandra’s Home Made Pizza and all the luscious toppings to used, won’t you please?  You are welcome to leave a comment on this blog or send your message to foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com!  Thanks oodles!

    Connie Baum

    The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post.  Should they be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated.  Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline.  Always do business with those you trust implicitly.

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    Food Stamps Cooking Club: Benevolent Gardener?

    July 19th, 2010

     

    We're getting into that season where it's important to lock the car to make sure no one stuffs zucchini into the back seat while you're out of the car!

     

    A benevolent gardener left a neat row of organic cucumbers by the church door so anyone in need of the veggies could help themselves.  I was grateful to have a fresh, firm, good sized cuke to use in a salad I had in mind.

    This morning I assembled my ingredients and set about to chop that cucumber into delectable, bite sized pieces.  I planned to pair it with the fat red tomato The Normanator had brought in from the garden.  Our garden has been less than spectacular so he’s been nursing this tomato on the vine for days, waiting for it to ripen.

    You can only imagine my surprise when that cucumber “became” a zucchini!  So I did the most resourceful thing I knew to do:  I pretended it was a cuke and peeled and chopped it as if it WERE a cucumber.  Then I got the real cuke out of the fridge and did the very same thing with it.  These products were about the same size and shape, so they were well matched.  Then I chopped a small onion.

    All this chopping gave me a fresh, aromatic pile of fresh veggies.  I splashed on the last of a bottle of white vinegar, added a splash of balsamic vinegar and sprinkled salt, pepper and a bit of sugar over the whole works.  I stirred.  I tasted.  I marveled.  O MY GOODNESS, talk about delishiousness!

    Our bodies need vinegar to help us with digestion and acid/alkaline balance.  I can hardly WAIT for lunchtime!

    If you are a user of food pantries, food commodities or if you depend on SNAP or WIC or Angel Food Ministries, I hope this experience will add value to your cooking and meal prep.  Even if you are frugal or new to culinary duties we hope to offer help and hope in dealing with meal making and being healthy.

    What experiences or “almost oopsies” have YOU had that you could share with us?  We’d love to hear from you.  Leave your comment here on the blog or send your stories to our email address:  foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com

    The offline Cooking Class will be held on Thursday so we are super excited to share that with all of you!  Do stay tuned!

    Connie Baum

    The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post.  Should those links be clicked and sales result, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated.  Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline.  Do business only with those you trust implicitly.

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    Food Stamps Cooking Club: Is It HOT Enough For Ya?

    July 19th, 2010


     

    This girl is so happy because she helped her mother clean out the refrigerator and discovered there was a box of popsicles in the freezer compartment!

     

    If you took the opportunity to opt in to the Food Stamps Cooking Club’s series of tips, you know about the “ritual” of clearing out the fridge on Wednesdays.  It’s become routine here that the big ole box gets emptied, wiped down-scrubbed thoroughly on some Wednesdays-and tidied.  That way no food will be wasted because it got shoved to the back of the unit and became a science project.

    Last Wednesday was no exception.  The fridge was all sparkly and even had a fresh box of baking soda, ostensibly to soak up unpleasant odors.  The only problem was that there WAS an unwanted, unidentified aroma that was not a good thing.

    When Renita and I were on the phone I happened to open the door and I complained loudly and bitterly into Renita’s ear.  She had the solution:  “Try folding some newspapers into fours and slip those onto the shelves.”

    Now, why hadn’t I thought of that? It worked like a charm right away, I might add. Thanks, Renita.

    This story is true and it is meant to reinforce to you how much all of us Club We members need one another.  Some of us are users of SNAP.  Others who come by here depend on WIC or Angel Food Ministries.  Some folks depend on food pantries, food commodities, even Farmers Markets.  We all crave comfort food and most everybody aims to be good stewards and shop wisely and frugally.  These are the reasons why this blog exists and since we are all in this together, we had just as well pitch in and SHARE ideas.  I know you all are filled with creative solutions to all sorts of household and kitchen dilemmas.

    Please, won’t you leave YOUR comments, hints and tips here?  You are also welcome to send your ideas to foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com.  Oh, how we love mail!  Almost as much as we love your comments!  Thanks, people!

    I bumbled onto a yummy salad combo I wanted to share with you:

    KIDNEY BEAN SALAD WITH RICE

    1   can kidney beans, drained or 2  cups home cooked kidney beans

    4  medium eggs, hard cooked; peeled and diced

    1   small onion, peeled and diced

    1  rib of celery, diced

    1  cup of cooked rice-any type you like best

    1/4  cup pickle relish

    2  tablespoons prepared mustard

    vinegar-enough to moisten *My fave is Rice Vinegar but use whatever you have on your shelf.

    mayo or salad dressing-enough to moisten

    salt and pepper to taste

    Combine ingredients in a good sized bowl and mix gently.  Serve over a bed of greens.

    This salad reads like a potato salad but has personality and packs a protein wallop.  The beans and the rice give a complete protein.  AND IT IS ECONOMICAL, quick to fix and delish!

    Experiment with the seasonings, if you feel adventurous.  Your bunch may appreciate a sprinkle of turmeric or a dash of ginger for a touch of heat.  If you want to add a little more color you could use some red pepper bits or pimiento. This is a good dish for kids to get involved in creating.

    You would be well advised to keep a container of cooked rice and/or cooked beans in your refrigerator for adding them to stir fry meals, casseroles, or for use as side dishes for any menu.  These items are wonderful meal stretchers and work as a team to provide complete protein at very low cost.

    Here’s hoping you are enjoying your summer with your family and that we’ll hear from you soon!

    Connie Baum

    The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post.  Should those links be clicked and sales result, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated.  Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline.  Do business only with those you trust implicitly.

     

     

     

     

     

     

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