Posts Tagged ‘The Healthy and Wealthy You’

Food Stamps Cooking Club: Quick Meals and Slow Cookers?

March 22nd, 2010

 

When you see these beauties popping up in your grocer's produce case, you can be sure Spring has arrived!

 

Asparagus is a favorite around our table.  It’s not the cheapest thing to buy but for a special Easter meal it might be worth the extra shekels.  You have to make those choices on your own, particularly if you, like us,  are watching your food dollars like hawks.

Time is always at a premium, too.  Some of you have let us know the various ways you Club members manage your food, your food costs, and your time-bless your dear and generous hearts-and today is no exception.  We have a lovely meal idea from one of our faithful and it will help you provide a family favorite while you save some time.  THAT is a winning combination!

Here is the straight skinny for an easy-do meal from Max and the Slow Cooker:

“Well, it’s not so quick, in fact it’s kind of slow, but it will do ALL the work for you during the day while you’re at work!  It’s a slow-cooker :) .

You can even start with frozen food (if it’s frozen into a shape that will fit into the cooking vessel of your slow-cooker, that is.  And if it’s a whole chicken, like for the recipe I’ve included, it should already be cleaned.)

Here’s one of my kids’ most requested recipes:

* Don’t worry, the name is not really the description!

Sticky Chicken

1 whole chicken, cavity emptied, rinsed and patted dry (a damp chicken is okay, but no puddles)
1/2 tsp. each: black pepper, garlic powder
1 tsp. each: white pepper, dried thyme, onion powder, cayenne
2 tsp paprika
UP to 4 tsp salt

Mix all the dry ingredients together.  Then rub the seasoning mixture all over the chicken, inside and out, in between the skin and the chicken meat (unless you’ve skinned your chicken), everywhere.  That’s it.  Put the chicken into the cooking vessel of the slow-cooker, and cover.

Cook on low up to 8 hours, or high for 4.  Or any combination like that — if I’m at home, I like to do an hour on high, then 6 on low.

This recipe is very forgiving.  If you don’t have a whole chicken, you can use chicken parts.  (But don’t use skinless, boneless breasts, they will be dry!  Use split breasts on-the-bone.  Cheaper, too.)  If you don’t like cayenne because it’s too spicy for kids, omit it.  If you love dill weed on your chicken like we do, add some in.  If you want to decrease the amount of salt or pepper, feel free to do so.

The chicken will be falling-off-the-bone tender.  It is delicious served over rice.

P.S. I have no idea why it’s called “sticky” because it isn’t!
Thanks, Max!  We appreciate the information and the idea. You personify the beauty of the Food Stamps Cooking Club!
YOU are welcome to send YOUR great ideas to foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com , too!  We love to hear from all of you.  You’ve been sharing us with those in your circle, too…we know this because we are sending out our occasional messages to more and more Club members!  YAY!

If you are happy with what you read here, you might also enjoy looking over The Healthy and Wealthy You or Mother Connie Sez. Those blogs have to do with health, mostly.  Sometimes Mother Connie rants and raves…If you are even remotely interested in adding another stream of income to your household you might appreciate Rapid Cash Review or Rapid Cash Marketing.

The primary function of this Food Stamps Cooking Club blog is to help those of you who are navigating the deep waters of managing food prep; especially those of you who are doing so with the help of SNAP or WIC; Angel Food Ministries or Farmers Markets Coupons.  You may be using Food Pantry Food or food commodities.  We all need all the help we can get and it helps us all when we help one another.  We surely hope we are making things better for you and yours by offering our recipes, tips, ideas and encouragement.
The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post.  Should these be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated.  Always do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline.  Do business only with those you trust implicitly.

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Posted in Club Member Comment, Cooking

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Food Stamps Cooking Club: Number of Members is Climbing

February 6th, 2010

USA: Food Stamps Users Numbers are Climbing!

More peeps on food assistance?  More users of SNAP, WIC, and food commodities as well as food pantry foods?

THAT’S NOT NEWS!  THAT’S REALITY!

Our question is:  Who ya gonna CALL?  HINT: Food Stamps Cooking Club! Angel Food Ministries!

People are hurting.  Parents are worried and hungry.  Children deserve to know there will be food on their family’s table!

That’s where THIS little band of merry makers comes in.  The Food Stamps Cooking Club is, as our faithful followers are keenly aware, is a soft place to fall.  It is a place where frugal foodies and people who need to know how to become more frugal in order for their food dollars to do the most good can hang out and share.

We are not alone in our effort to help people live within their means, regardless of what those means are!  There is a cute little newsletter that’s been coming our way called “Living On a Dime” and a recent issue included an entire menu designed to celebrate Valentine’s Day with flair.  Here’s what Tawra Kellam had to share with her readers:

“CHEESY RICE AND TOMATOES

3 cups cooked rice
3 Tbsp. oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 cups cooked or stewed tomatoes
2 cups cheese, shredded
1 tsp. salt
dash of pepper

Cook rice if uncooked. Sauté in a pan with oil, onion, celery and green pepper. Add tomatoes, rice, cheese, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer until cheese is melted. Serves 8.”

This budget friendly and healthy foods recipe came from Living On a Dime. We appreciate all Tawra does for so many.

We deeply appreciate all the mail you send our way, too: foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com   All our Club Members have so many good, thrifty, creative ideas and are so generous to share.

Comments fuel our fire, too.  You can leave yours at the end of this post, if you please.

“Joining” the club is as easy as dropping your name and email addy in the box on the upper right hand corner of this page.  There are no meetings or dues, so there’s no pressure!  grin  We do send along messages-a series to begin with-followed by infrequent broadcasts.  We were happy to connect with members who may have missed seeing fresh posts when we encountered techy issues.  Doncha hate when that happens?

Please feel free to share us with those in your sphere of influence.  You may also like to know that we have other spots on the Web which deal with issues of health and making money at home.  If you like what you are reading here, you may like to drop by these blogs, too:  The Healthy and Wealthy You and Mother Connie Sez. If you are interested to add income to your household you might find these spots helpful: Rapid Cash Review and Work at Home Freelancing.

Connie Baum

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Posted in Food News, Recipes

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School Lunch Ideas?

August 19th, 2009

Are you in a funk where you can’t think of anything  to prepare for lunches or after school snacks? Maybe you are dealing with allergies.  Maybe you are caught in a tight spot because you lean hard on food pantries, food commodities, or SNAP funds.  You face the same lunchbox dilemma if you use Angel Food Ministries or have Farmers Markets Coupons.

Maybe I can help by sharing a few ideas.

When it comes to peanut butter it’s a can’t-miss hit with most kids.  It’s cheap, usually, and often found in the commodities bundles.  BUT, if there are allergy issues-some schools have even become  NO PEANUT BUTTER ZONES-there are ways around this sticky wicket.

Almond butter is a great substitute but can be spendy.  How about spreading inexpensive homemade hummus on bread slices to make a lunchbox sammy?  Dress it up with sweet pickle slices or chopped olives or even lettuce leaves.  Another way to make a pretty, tasty snack or lunchbox offering using hummus is to wrap the filling inside red cabbage leaves.

Stuffing ribs of celery with ricotta cheese is not cost prohibitive and very nutritious.  Peeling a tomato and slicing it, slipping it into a little plastic refrigerator dish or food bag will please the school lunch bunch and fill their tummies with quality food. SIDEBAR: Remember to tuck in a napkin or wet wipe!  Tomatoes are juicy! END SIDEBAR.   Making sammies with cheese and jelly gives little students good protein and helps to stabilize their blood sugar levels.

When the kids come home from school they are ready for an after school snack.  Instead of chips and soda, have some bean dip and tortillas at the ready.  Make up some salsa;or  offer them hard cooked egg slices. Toast some bread and let cheese slices melt with the warmth of the toast.  Popcorn is welcoming when kids arrive from school.  That will fill them with great fiber and hold their appetites until the evening meal is served.

Bear in mind that kids who eat real fruits and vegetables will not be sick as often as if they ate junky food or baked treats and they will not be prone to after school snacks that do not benefit their immune systems.

Time is always of the essence where school kids are concerned.  Packing lunches and keeping snacks on hand can be stress-free if you think ahead and make some plans.  By making up some chicken or tuna salad ahead of time, you can fill a lunchbox with sandwiches or lettuce cups for variety and nutrition.  Keep a supply of hard cooked eggs around for snacks and loading lunchboxes quickly.  When there is a tub in the fridge filled with cleaned celery and carrots and radishes, you will make it easy to establish good eating habits for your children without busting your food budget.

It’s important to stress that if you do not bring junky food into the house, making healthy choices for lunches and snacks is a cinch.

What are YOU making for school lunches?  Give us your best ideas by sending them to foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com and make our day.

Thanks so much for visiting our partners and for sending those in your circle to Food Stamps Cooking Club.  You have even been sharing our sister site, The Healthy and Wealthy You! The whole idea is to help one another; we all need to know we matter!

Connie Baum

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Posted in Tips, snacks

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Happy National Farmers Market Week!

August 6th, 2009

Well, the week is nearly over and I only learned about this auspicious occasion yesterday!  You know how the saying goes:  “The wife is always the last to know.”  Grin

If you are using Farmers Market Coupons you may already have the heads up on this. But for me, it’s just one more great reason to party!  After all, when you support your local Farmers Market you are directly supporting small family farmers and your local economy. You are “voting” for fresh, organic, healthy and WHOLE FOODS.  You know how I am about WHOLE FOODS.  Not only that, you support a family farming tradition that goes back for generations and a philosophy of land stewardship that is critical to a wholesome way of life.

Here’s what some folks had to say about THEIR Farmers Markets:

“I love that I can meet with and talk to the folks that grow the food I plan to share with my family and friends.  I learn quite a bit and feel more connected to my community.  -Tikki F.”

“I support my local farmers market because it is important to have fresh foods right from the farm to nourish our bodies.  Even more importantly, the foods and products are local, which means we are helping to sustain our local farmers and producers.”  -Rebecca K.

“I love wandering down on a Saturday morning and getting good, fresh products at good prices.  I always see several people I know, and enjoy visiting with friends.”  –Korrin J

Whether you are using Farmers Market Coupons, SNAP, food commodities-even food pantries or Angel Food Ministries to fund your grocery budget it behooves us all to step up and support our local farmers by shopping when we can at Farmers Markets.

As always, we invite your comments and emails.  The RSVPs for the Cooking Class are coming in, along with your precious, treasured remarks and recipes.  THANK YOU SO MUCH.  Just remember:  foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com

Thank you, too, for sending your contacts  to our Food Stamps Cooking Club to get in on the occasional messages that go out and for stopping by our partners, who are sincerely interested in helping you learn how to make money online in order to fund your food budget from a healthy stream of income!

Speaking of HEALTHY-you might be interested to read this blog, too: The Healthy And Wealthy YOU. Every effort is made to help all people be their very best selves and this is just one more avenue in that regard!

Connie Baum

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Posted in Farmers' Markets

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