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I Heart Cooking and I Heart Food Stamps Cooking Club!

July 18th, 2011
My, but it’s been a long time since we were all in the Club House! You all have been sorely missed!

Oh, my!  It feels SO GOOD to be back as your humble blogger.  Technology is wonderful when it works and when it doesn’t–well, let’s just say it can interrupt the flow of life! 

Things have been happening at breakneck speed while the blog was quiet...we have so many new members to welcome and thank!  We are working feverishly on an offline cooking class and recipes have been pouring in!  WE LOVE IT ALL!

That we have so many fresh new faces around the Club House tells me that a need is being met.  People who use EBT cards from WIC or SNAP are getting some valuable assistance; those who have food from commodities or a food pantry are looking for help in creating interesting, low cost dishes for their families and those who are frugal by nature are coming to share ideas and offer their wisdom.  It is so wonderful to have all these souls coming together for a common cause!  Thanks, EVERYONE.

The Normanator and I are extremely grateful for Angel Food Ministries.  We feel that we are doubling our food budget dollars by using this valuable service that is open to EVERYONE, regardless of your situation.  They also welcome those EBT cards from SNAP and you can order online.  Point, click, save!

Before we were so rudely interrupted by electronic glitches we were on a rant about BEANS.  While we were down a wonderful recipe arrived at the Club House door by one of our most faithful charter members and I want to share it here.  I am warning you:  IT IS DELISH!

Pork and Bean Cake

Yes, pork and beans; that is not a misprint!  ~Mother Connie

1  15 oz can pork and beans

1  8 oz can crushed pineapple, juice and all

Beat well until beans are pureed.

Add 2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat well for 2 minutes

Add 2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Beat well.  Pour into large UNGREASED jelly roll pan.  Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes.

When cool frost with this mixture:

1  6 oz pkge cream cheese

1/2 cup butter

4 cups powdered sugar

The finished product will remind you of spice cake and you will be delighted!

Thanks to KIM for this offering.

Do you have something “beany” to share?  Shoot us an email:  foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com   We appreciate you and your ideas.

We will be keeping you all in the loop about the upcoming offline cooking class, so do keep your eyes open for that.  Those of you who do not live in SE Nebraska will have access to some of that information because we plan to video a portion of the presentation.  EACH OF YOU IS CRITICAL TO THE SUCCESS OF THIS GATHERING OF LIKE MINDS! 

Gardens around town are bountiful now; there are some tremendous ideas to share about TOMATOES so if the computer behaves itself, those ideas will be forthcoming.  grin

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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Posted in Baking, cooking class, Message from Mother Connie, Recipes

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Food Stamps Cooking Club: Breakfast is Served?

March 29th, 2011

 

Breakfast, with a bit of planning, can be a great day starter, even on a frugal budget!

Food Stamps Cooking Club has a brand new page!  Stop by there and leave YOUR morning menu there for us to see, won’t you, please?

It was Mikemax’s idea to start this  new page. She, like many of us, has come through a long and expensive month.  Having a good breakfast is important and even when you are squeezing your nickels until the buffaloes bellow, you can eat well and wisely.

Users of Angel Food Ministries, those who watch every penny of their food budget to s t r e t c h their food dollars, holders of EBT cards for SNAP or WIC, consumers of food commodities and food pantry food, lovers of comfort food and foodies in general can get good help from the new page.  Everyone will be welcome to GIVE good ideas, as well.  You may leave your comment on the new page, on this post, or you could send an email to foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com  and make our day!

You have been spreading the word, it seems, about this little blog.  For one thing, we have been nominated for Babble’s Top 100 Food Bloggers for 2011 and currently sit at #41-THANK YOU-and you have sent your pals to submit their names and email addresses in order to receive our series of cooking tips and infrequent email messages.  THANK YOU AGAIN!  And WELCOME to all the new Club Members!  It is great to have you as part of our foodie family!

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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Posted in Baking, Breakfast, Cooking, Message from Mother Connie

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Food Stamps Cooking Club: Is YOUR Breadbox Full?

March 25th, 2011

If your breadbox is full to overflowing, Rainy has some suggestions for you!

One of the best things about this Club are the generous, creative members who pop up with wonderful ideas for food prep!  Rainy has offered bits of wisdom, for which we are grateful:

“Got Bread Coming Out Of Your Ears?

At one time or another, we’ve all had bread piling up on the counter or in the bread box.  “What to do with it?” you may wonder.  Depending on your family composition…whether you have kids in the house, are a single person household…your bread needs may wax and wane day by day.  Still, most households have bread sitting around waiting to be used.

In my house, the heels of bread are rejected…left alone sitting in the bottom of the bread wrapper.  Now at certain times of the year, when it is more common for me to think of making stuffing; I will save them up in freezer bags to save up until I get enough to put together a nice sized dish of stuffing.

Those very same crusts of bread make great croutons for the tops of our salads when they are drizzled with a little bit of olive oil and dusted with some of my favorite spices and seasonings.  I love homemade croutons because I can flavor them the way that I want, without all of those preservatives that purchased croutons have in them.

There have been moments when I confess to having gotten overzealous in purchasing loaves of bread, when they were perhaps on sale, or I over-estimated how much my family would use for lunches and for toast to go along with their quick morning breakfasts.  This seems highly wasteful to have loaves of bread sitting in their wrappers going all stale and risking getting moldy.

Because of this…I have gotten very creative at saving loaves of forgotten bread.  I have to confess, when I first got married my mother in law tried to convince me of the wonders of bread pudding.  Can I just tell you that the way she described it to me turned me off right from the start? She said, “I just take all of the dried up OLD bread and the milk that is starting to turn bad and dump it into the bowl with some cinnamon, sugar and raisins.  It tastes great!”  That might be but, she needed to be a bit more creative in her descriptive skills.  lol

I had never had it.  She made it for me but I still wasn’t impressed.  Over the years I have come to love bread pudding…but I had to experiment with it.  For one thing, I love her dearly…but, her recipe seemed undone to me; it could have cooked a bit longer for my liking.  Another thing, I have discovered that bread pudding can be made with whatever fruits that you love that make your mouth water.   Bread pudding doesn’t HAVE to be made with raisins.  Just this morning I made two batches with varying fruits.  One of the dishes was made with blueberries and apples; the other was made with some left over canned peaches & pears.  Yummy.

Ok, so you may not have whole loaves of bread sitting there staring you in the face.  Maybe you only have a few slices.  Why can’t you just whip up some egg, milk & vanilla or cinnamon and fry up some french toast.  If you have extra…fry it up too and put it into freezer bags for those mornings when you don’t have time to cook.  Just heat it up for a quick breakfast on the run.

Still not feeling the love for that lonely loaf of bread?  How about a cheese strata?  In a large greased cake pan lay down a layer of bread across the width of the pan.  In a separate mixing bowl, whip eggs and milk.  Pour egg mixture over the bread, sprinkle some shredded cheese (either whatever flavor you prefer) and sprinkle some garlic powder, salt, onion powder and some tumeric.  Maybe you like some Italian spices or possibly some parsley…whatever seasonings you love sprinkle them over the egg mixture.  Then, layer another layer of bread over the egg, milk and cheese…pour the leftover egg mixture and pop it into the oven.  Bake until the Stratta is done when a knife is inserted in the bread and comes out clean…and the top of the strata is golden brown.

Always try to find veggies and/or fruits to have as a side dish when you are using bread as a main ingredient for one of your meals.  The bread is great because it can be a wonderful filler for hungry tummies…but, the body needs its fruits and veggies too.

I hope I have given you some useful ideas.  Maybe you have a few ideas of your own to share with the readers…please do.  I love learning new ideas for dishes made with left over bread.  Just because a family is limited on funds, it doesn’t mean that meals have to be stuck in a rut or boring, right?  It is great learning from one another!”

~Rainy

Yes, of course those ideas are GRAND, me love.  Thanks again!  I do hope others will chime in with their great ideas, too.

Mother Connie Sez:

Here’s my two cents’ worth.  I throw the leftovers-although we ‘fight’ over the crusts around here-into the food processor and crumble them til they look the way I want them to look.  They go into a freezer bag and are laid flat.  Whenever I need bread crumbs for a particular dish they are at the ready!

I can remember my mother slicing home made bread and lining it up on cake racks to sit overnight on the counter, draped with a fresh dish towel.  She wanted it to be dried out so she could make French Toast the next morning!  Some chefs advocate letting the bread soak overnight in the refrigerator in an egg/milk mixture.  So go figure!

I have fabulous news to share!  We have received more new club members this month than any month since we “opened for business” and it is thrilling to see the list of names growing!  We are grateful to each one who has come by.  We are excited to get comments and email messages: foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com.  Thanks, boys n girls!

If you hold an EBT card for SNAP or WIC; if you use food commodities or a food pantry; if you utilize Farmers Market Coupons, Angel Food Ministries foods or you simply watch your food budget like a hawk, this site was created for you.  We sincerely hope it is assisting you to S T R E T C H your food dollars!


Today’s post is sponsored by ToothSoap. Please cruise on over to their site and mention Mother Connie, won’t you?  Thanks!

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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Foood Stamps Cooking Club: Erin Go Braugh?

March 17th, 2011

 

Soda bread is as Irish as it comes and it is o so delicious!

Everybody’s Irish on St. Paddy’s Day!

Users of WIC or SNAP’s EBT cards are Irish, just as holders of coupons for Farmers Markets and users of food pantries, food commodities and Angel Food Ministries.  Everyone who is frugal is Irish today so we offer a traditional Irish goody: “Irish Soda Bread.”  We must have had the wind to our backs, for we spied a great find on All Recipes. com from Taste of  Home and June DeWeese, whom we thank profusely!

Irish Soda Bread
from June DeWeese  and Taste of Home

4  cups  all-purpose flour
3  tablespoons sugar
3  teaspoons baking powder
1  teaspoon salt
3/4  teaspoon baking soda
6  tablespoons cold butter
1  1/2 cups raisins
1  tablespoon caraway seeds
2  eggs, beaten
1  1/2 cups buttermilk

Method:
1.   In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the raisins and caraway seeds. Set aside 1 tablespoon beaten egg. In a bowl, combine buttermilk and remaining eggs; stir into crumb mixture just until flour is moistened (dough will be sticky). Turn onto a well-floured surface; knead about 10 times. Shape into a ball.

2. Place in a greased 9-in. round baking pan. Cut a 4-in. X, 1/4-in. deep, in the center of the ball. Brush the top with reserved egg. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cover loosely with foil during the last 20 minutes if top browns too quickly. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to a wire rack to cool completely.

***Please note that the Kitchen Police will not be on duty today if you have no caraway seeds or if your gang picks out every raisin.

**If you have no buttermilk, just measure out the 1  1/2 cups of sweet milk and add a tablespoon of vinegar to it.  Stir. Now you have fake buttermilk.  The Food Police will not notice, nor will they care.

Another item for our consideration is that we heard from one of our sponsors, Living On a Dime, this morning.  She suggests we look into this if we are interested in saving  $$$ on our groceries.

Dear Friends,

With the current economic conditions many of us are having more difficulty making the money we have cover all of our expenses. The good news is that there are hundreds of ways that you can reduce the strain on your budget and save money so you can keep more of that money for the things that are really important to you.

With the rise in the price of groceries, we have decided to offer a
“Savin’ O’ The Green” special, a helpful series of e-books
including the Grocery Shopping on a Budget e-book set and the Menus On A Dime e-book set along with 5 great bonus items to help you stretch your grocery budget. Even better, this week you can get this Savin’ O The Green 15 e-book package for $17, a 73% discount off of the regular price of $63.70 for these e-books!

You’ll be amazed how easy it is to trim your grocery bill! To go
take advantage of this special offer right now, go to Living On a Dime.

The e-books that are included in this offer are:

Grocery Shopping On A Budget e-book
Money Saving Meats e-book
Saving On Cleaning Supplies e-book
Eating Healthy On A Budget e-booklet
Is Eating Out Eating You Up? e-book
224 Meals In A Hurry e-book
Grocery Savings e-book
Menus That Make Cents e-book
Plan Ahead Leftovers e-book
Quick Dinners e-book
Menus On A Dime e-book
Kids Recipes e-book
Crock pot Recipes e-book
Quick And Easy Cooking e-book
Blue Ribbon Recipes e-book

Get your grocery budget under control today! For more information on this exciting offer, visit Living On a Dime.

Boys n girls, I own some of these e-books.  They are super and you’ll enjoy them if they are within your reach. ~Mother Connie

Dance a jig and enjoy your day, all you Irish people!  grin

*When you visit our esteemed sponsors, be sure to let them know that Mother Connie sent you!  And by the way, there are some exciting things in the works with some of our sponsors so be on the lookout for announcements from them!

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: Kitchen Oopsie?

March 9th, 2011

 

Rainy had an 'Oopsie' in her kitchen but came out a real WINNER!

Rainy, faithful Club Member

“Cooking Mistakes in the Kitchen

I know; you read the title of this post and immediately an experience, or two, came into your mind that you’d probably not want anyone to know about, right?  I had a mistake take place in the kitchen yesterday; and still, I am going to spill the beans -  Others just might benefit from my sharing what happened.

It was a milestone birthday for one of my children.  He is no longer a teen.  Kind of a big, special day for him.  So I asked him DAYS ago what kind of a cake he wanted to have.  I always let my kids pick what they want regarding meals & cake on their special day.

Well, he likes what he likes, and he requested what he usually does, which is a chocolate/chocolate cake.  Ahhhh, well, that was great because you see, that happens to be my favorite as well.  I make it from scratch and it happens to be one of my most often requested cakes.  So, I made sure that I had enough flour, sugar, Hershey’s dark cocoa powder, and baking soda, as well as, eggs & shortening.  I often run out of the shortening because in the old days when there was money to spare, I kept an extra can or two in the cupboard.  It isn’t so easy to stay stocked up these days with the economy as it is.  Anyhow, I was prepared.  I bought my favorite frosting (I know I can make it…but, I got it on sale).   I did not stress.  I was prepared; or so I thought.

See in the middle of making my very special cake for my very special son’s birthday… I discovered that one of my children had drained the MILK jug without telling anyone.  Sooo, what to do?  We had already gone to town to take children to school, so another run to town wasn’t the most financially responsible thing to do with gasoline at $3.50 a gallon.  I put on my thinking cap and reasoned…I’ve made muffins by doing this, but how will it taste; I substituted orange juice for the milk.  Now I knew that the moisture level of the cake would be fine…but, I wasn’t so sure how everyone would react to the flavor mixture.

Can I just tell you it was great without sounding like I am tooting my own horn?  Cause it was.  I loved it and more importantly everyone else did too.  Note to self: Orange/dark chocolate cake is just as good as those fancy orange chocolate chocolates that you buy in those premium candy boxes!

It got me to thinking, some of my best dishes have come about because I have substituted ingredients when I didn’t have what a recipe called for.  I tweaked it and made it my own.   The lesson here is…not only to try to keep your pantry stocked with staples by buying them when they are on sale and can be tucked away; but, to also make sure that any ingredients you may need that are perishable, are there in stock in the house.  Another lesson is, don’t freak out.  See what you can substitute in a pinch.

Now, I consider this a successful mistake in my kitchen.  I didn’t double check on the perishable milk supply, but it didn’t derail the cake baking, so all is good.  However, I won’t tell you about the time I forgot that I was boiling eggs and left the house; only to find out that boiling eggs dry on a cooking stove makes a great science project, when said eggs become projectiles that can fly so high that they can actually leave dents in your kitchen ceiling!  Oooops, did I just type that out LOUD? hahaha

What mistakes have YOU made in the kitchen that are memorable?  Care to share?”

~Rainy

Mother Connie here: Thanks so much for letting us in on your “new found” recipe, Rainy.  I do hope our Club Members cruise over to your site and leave you some love…Your orange chocolate combo makes me think of the gift box of candy we received not so long ago.  Those orange chocolate drops were so delicious!  We think of those as “Vitamin C with dark chocolate” so they are naturally HEALTHY!  grin

Rainy makes a great point.  It might be that beginning cooks or users of public assistance such as WIC, SNAP, food commodities or food pantries are reticent to substitute one ingredient for another for fear of making a mistake.  We need not worry and we need not think about the Kitchen Police or the Food Police, either.  Preparing tasty, life giving foods for those we love and making wonderful memories in the process is what it’s all about!

On a completely different note, I wish to BABBLE about the nomination this blog received yesterday.  The outpouring of love by your votes has warmed Mother Connie’s heart.  Thank you so much.  Just being nominated made this blogger feel like a winner!

We hope you will share YOUR kitchen oopsies with us.  Send your stories and post your comments.  Email us at foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com – it’ll make our day!

Your sponsors for the Food Stamps Cooking Club are Saving Dinner and Living on a Dime; Angel Food Ministries and ToothSoap. We are also sponsored by Rapid Cash Marketing. These folks love it when you cruise over and leave THEM some love, too.

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: Making Memories?

March 3rd, 2011

 

A can of biscuits, some cinnamon and sugar, a child helper...this is the way to make family memories and good eats all in one fell swoop!

Those of you who have come by the Club House know how it makes Mother Connie’s heart go pitty pat to have comments and email messages.  Shylakay sent a message that made me grin because it embodies what this blog hopes to support:  making family memories while making food for the people we love!

Here is what our new Club Member had to say:

When I was young.. yes long ago…I did have a pet dinosaur named ” Spot”…my sisters and I would make a very simpleyet delicious breakfast on Saturday mornings. We made what we called ” Cinnamon Twists”.

All we needed was a can of biscuits, some sugar mixed with cinnamon and some melted butter.

We would set up an assembly line with the biscuits, the melted butter, the cinnamon mixture and then the pan.

Just set the oven to 400 degrees just like it says on the can of biscuits.   I have learned over time that the biscuits with butter bits make the BEST tasting twists.

You can let someone work each station or just make them all by yourself..tho’ it is more fun with a real assembly line..that way everyone feels like they had a part in creating this fun and tasty breakfast.

Dip the biscuits into the butter ..then into the sugar cinnamon mixture..flattening each side and stretching out a little bit while doing this..and then holding each end…twist them.

Press the twisted ends down onto the lightly sprayed pan and bake for 10-12 minutes …just like you would regular biscuits.

These are yummy and are best eaten right out of the oven..and of course BACK THEN…the BEST cartoons came on every Saturday, unlike today where there are few on a Saturday to watch.  We would eat our warm ” Cinnamon Twists” while watching Bugs Bunny or Mighty Mouse or The Flinstones.

Awww, what memories.. I still make them today..have taught all my kids and grandkids to make them. Everyone loves them!

~Shykayla

As a matter of fact, I used to make these very things but I would wrap the biscuit/butter/cinnamon/sugary dough around a marshmallow and place them in muffin tins to bake.  Oh, MY, but they were delish!

We had a ritual of inviting our children’s teachers to a coffee in the spring of the year and this “delicacy was always on the menu!

We cannot overstate the importance of making family memories with food. This is true whether you do not need to stretch your food budget dollars or if you use SNAP or WIC’s EBT cards.  It’s also true if your family uses food commodities or food pantry food. Are you living on a dime?  You may have to be uber creative, then… If you have Farmers Market Coupons or food from Angel Food Ministries or you have a garden or not–the most delicious memories will come from the foods you prepared and ate together.

Speaking of eating together, you might be interested to know that when The Normanator went to college the guys in their Agmen fraternity house ate dinner together every single night!  They sat around a big table, said grace and shared dinner table conversation just as they had done in their own family units before they came to the University of Nebraska! 

I wonder how many frat boys and girls do that today?

We are gaining numbers, boys and girls!  People are coming here, submitting their name and email addresses so they can get our series of cooking tips and infrequent messages.  You may have noticed, as well, that we now have a PAGE specifically for cooking tips!  All the more reason to send your messages to foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com !

Our sponsors love it when you cruise by and take a look around, too!  If you want to learn more about saving dinner or if you want help because you are living on a dime, Leanne Ely or Jill Cooper and Tawra Kellam will be delighted you popped by their places!

 

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: Bridging the Gap?

February 10th, 2011

As if college life were not complicated enough...there is a plan afoot to make it even more complicated. And expensive!

If you live in or near Lansing, Michigan you may already know about this-dare I call it a ‘conspiracy’ but if you are not a Michigander you still should know about it.  This plan could make its way to a location near YOU.

As things stand now, college students have “bridge cards” to help them survive.  It seems there is a loophole in the current system, making it possible for college students to qualify to receive food assistance.  As I understand it, this resource will dry up on April First.  Happy April Fool’s Day.  NOT.

Not being a resident of Michigan much of what I know about this is speculation and conjecture but I must say that judging by the comments to the news story as it appeared online on the WZZM website, there is no warm welcome for this plan and no warm fuzzies are being bandied about.

I’m only a blogger who loves people and food.  What do I know?  But I think there should be simple answers to filling the needs of people who are hungry.

Realistically, what CAN be done about this?

This is the United States of America, kids!  People should not have to be hungry or in need of food here, of all places.

Can they form a coop to help fund grocery budgets for students?  Can they get together and do some window gardening?  Could they build some high towers or cold frame boxes for winter gardening? *Which reminds me, there is a related blog post about that very subject.  JUST CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE.

The people who happen by this blog are some of the smartest and most creative people on the planet.  They use EBT cards for WIC and SNAP; they use food commodities and they frequent food pantries as they are able.  They can stretch a food budget like nobody’s business.  I’ll bet a cookie that some one has an answer to this problem.  I challenge you all to come up with some kind of affordable, workable solution and send it to foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com OR, better yet, put your idea in a comment on this blog.  Thanks, guys.  You are the best.

Now.  Let’s talk food! Valentine’s Day food, in particular!

Delilah's kitchen smells like heaven as she prepares for Valentine's Day!

You just can’t beat sugar cookies for this holiday meant for love and sharing. And Delilah’s sugar cookies beat them ALL!  I found a recipe that uses POWDERED SUGAR for a tender cookie you will love to make and eat!  Oh, yes, and decorate!

Powdered Sugar Cookies

1  cup softened butter

1  1/2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

1  egg

1  teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract **The Kitchen Police will never know if you left this out cuz you had none! And I’ll never tell!

2  1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1  teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cream of tartar


Cream together the butter and confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and stir in the vanilla and almond extract. Combine the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar; blend into the creamed mixture. Cover and chill for at least two hours.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Divide the dough into two parts. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece of the dough out to 3/16 inch in thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 1/2 inches apart onto greased cookie sheets.

Bake for 8 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Pour glasses of milk and gather the troops!  They will LOVE these sweethearts!  Maybe you should make a double batch.

Here’s something that made tears in my eyes, kids.  There is an enterprising young man on FaceBook who invited people to list their website on his page.  Here is his response to this blog’s URL:

“@Connie I have never in my life expected to see a cooking site dedicated to people receiving food stamps. Me and my mother would have loved that from 1989 – 1999 we were …on welfare. Definitley got a smile on my face. Good stuff!

~Cheru Jackson “

Man, this is why I get up every morning.  To you faithful followers and you who are so generous with your contributions to this Club, we salute you.  Please consider yourselves hugged.

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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Posted in Baking, Food News, Recipes

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Food Stamps Cooking Club: What Do YOU Heart?

February 7th, 2011

Valentine Day is fast approaching...might the sweethearts around your table like this simple treat?

If you have popped by the Club House recently, you know we have been talking up cooking from “scratch.”  Today we depart from that theme.  The reason?  My dear, bawdy and bodacious aunt sent me the recipe for something my kids made when they were little.  I’d been thinking about that recipe in connection to Valentine’s day…

SIDEBAR:  Back in the day OUR kids called it “VALENTIZER’S”, for whatever reason, and that name has stuck to this day!  END SIDEBAR.

It’s true that ‘from scratch’ is far superior.  But we are talking dessert here and VALENTIZER’S is a good day to depart from the norm and splurge a little!  Even if you are a user of good from a food pantry or food commodities or have goods from SNAP or WIC via your EBT card, you most likely have a cake mix you picked up on sale awhile ago.  Even the most frugal amongst us who watches the food budget carefully or a user of Angel Food Ministries might have stashed one of those mixes when they were dirt cheap at the local market.  This dessert is worth pulling that out for a special VALENTIZER dessert.  grin

Please note that neither the Kitchen Police nor the Fun Police will come and break down your door if you substitute strawberries for cherries.  Use what you have, for heaven’s sake, and be grateful.  grin

AUNT SANDY’S DUMP CAKE


1  yellow cake mix  *Remember, the kitchen police don’t care what flavor you use, so long as it’s moist…

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 can cherry pie filling, 21 ounces  *Or whatever…

1 can pineapple  crushed,  8 ounces


Heat oven to 350.  Stir together cake mix and butter in large bowl until crumbly, set aside.

Spread pie filling and pineapple in ungreased pan,  13 x 9 x 2.

Sprinkle cake mix evenly over fruit.

Bake  at 350 degrees or until light brown.

Mother Connie has such delicious memories of our young children putting this together  for the family! We were living on a dime then, too! Here’s hoping YOU make some delicious memories with YOUR family for this love holiday that’s fast approaching!

We thank you so much for coming by the Club House, making your comments and emailing us:  foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com !  We are also happy to have new faces here!  All you need to do is submit your name and email address to receive our series of cooking tips and occasional, VERY infrequent email messages.  EACH of YOU is building community and that is a precious thing to have for each of us in these trying times!

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: More Magic in the Mix?

February 4th, 2011

Could Sponge Bob Square Pants be covering Velvet Crumb Cake?

Do you have an EBT card from WIC or SNAP?  Are you getting goods from a food pantry?  Do you baby your food budget from the first day of the month to the last?  How about food commodities; did you get yours yet?  How is your Angel Food Ministries bundle holding up?  You are gonna LOVE what our good friend and faithful Club member brought by the Club House!  Just looky:

With great joy we offer this Guest Post from Maxine. God Bless Maxine!

“Tired of magic mix recipes yet?  I thought not!

If you’ve used Bisquick in the past, you may recognize this recipe for Velvet Crumb Cake, which was on the box for decades. It’s one of the all-time favorite Bisquick recipes, and after you try it—substituting magic mix, of course—you’ll understand why.

Frost it, and it’s dessert. With berries, it’s a fabulous shortcake. It’s a delicious coffee cake with a cinnamon-streusel topping. My husband’s aunt, a good German cook, substituted this recipe for the cake in her kuchen.

Here’s the simple recipe:

VELVET CRUMB CAKE
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 8 inch square pan.
1-1/3 cups Bisquick (substitute magic mix)
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons shortening (room temperature)–or try butter
1 egg
¼ cup milk
additional ½ cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Except for the additional ½ cup milk and vanilla, beat all ingredients vigorously for one minute. Gradually add additional milk and vanilla and beat ½ minute longer. Pour into pan. Bake 35-40 minutes.

Double ingredients for a 13 x 9 pan.


CINNAMON STREUSEL TOPPING
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter or margarine (room temperature)
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Mix ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle over cake batter before baking. Double ingredients for a 13×9 pan.

People have asked me why push scratch cooking, when it’s nearly a lost art.  This is “almost-scratch,” LOL. The first is that everyone should know how to feed themselves—it is THE most basic need and skill. Second—and this is super important for food stamp/EBT users—it’s cheaper. A lot cheaper. Third—it can be fun. Really!

Cooking from scratch isn’t difficult or extremely time-consuming. If I can do it, anyone can.  You’ll learn lots of shortcuts along the way. An older basic cookbook, such as Betty Crocker or Better Homes and Gardens, will be your best friend.

I would venture to say that any scratch cook could feed his or her family well at the USDA Thrifty level. Someone who really works the supermarket deals could do even better. Paula, over at Monroe on a Budget, feeds her family well at 80% of the Thrifty level. If you are accustomed to running out of money before you run out of month, I really encourage you to give scratch cooking a try. Learning to cook better is something you won’t ever regret—especially at 6 p.m.!”

~Maxine

Maxine, you are a genius and an angel.  Thank you so much!!!!!

Things have been buzzing around the Club House!   We find more new faces around the table each day – boy, are we thrilled – and because the new kids submitted their names and email addresses they will find a series of cooking tips in their In Boxes.  YAY!  Good on you! We love your comments; we adore your mail.  Send stuff to us at 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: Professional Pancakes?

January 28th, 2011

You can perform like a professional chef with Magic Master Mix!

We have been concentrating on the Magic Master Mix and today we’ll share the method for PANCAKES!  These are so quick and easy and so very satisfying for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

PANCAKES

2  cups Magic Master Mix  *See our new Recipe Page for details

1   1/4  cups water or milk

1  egg, beaten

1  teaspoon vanilla

Combine all ingredients, stirring just enough to moisten dry ingredients.  Drop by spoon onto hot nonstick or greased griddle or frying pan.  When bubbles appear on the surface of the cakes, they are ready to be turned.  Cook to well browned.  This will give you about 12 to 16 pancakes.

Dress them up with syrup or honey, fruit and/or yogurt.  If they are a large enough, you can put some preserves or pieces of fruit in the center, along with – dare we say it? – whipped topping and roll them!   Lip smackin’ good!

When I was little, my dad used to sprinkle sugar over a pancake, shake a sprinkle of cinnamon on it, and roll it.  He would dunk one end into his coffee.   Now THAT is pancake heaven!

Here we are, smack dab at the end of the month.  The Angel Food bundles will arrive tomorrow but many of us are looking at bare cupboards and empty fridges this time of the month.

Pancakes are a wonderful, cheerful way to fill that gap.  Waffles are just right down luxurious.  Looky here:

WAFFLES

2  cups Magic Master Mix

1  1/4  cups water or milk

1  egg, beaten

1  tablespoon melted shortening or vegetable oil

1  teaspoon vanilla

Bake in a preheated waffle iron.  This will make 4 small waffles.  You might like to double or triple the recipe and keep the finished waffles warm in your oven as they all finish baking.

AHHHhhhh.  Comfort food!


Do you use SNAP or WIC, using their EBT cards?  If you do, you will see the value in the Magic Master Mix.  Maybe you have goods from a food pantry or you have procured a bundle of food commodities.  It may be that you are just frugal and watch every penny of your food budget.  If you have Angel Food you still may need to fill in the corners of your month…these are the reasons we are here.  We want to help you.

It is just delightful to have new faces around the Club House!  Can you hear us squealing and doing the Happy Dance as the names come in?  We love your comments and make every effort to reply to them in a timely fashion.

Our sponsors love having you around, too.  Even if you only window shop.  Just be sure to tell them, if you visit, that Mother Connie sent you!

Send us your ideas and messages to foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com.  WE LOVE YOUR MAIL!

Our Webmaster has added a new page just for recipes!  It’s a work in progress, so be patient.  Our webmaster is NOT very techy!  grin

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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