Posts Tagged ‘comfort foods’

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Comforting Pasta/Bean Soup: Food Stamps Cooking Club

February 13th, 2013
Who wants to spend the lazy days of summer in a hot kitchen?

Can we agree that pasta contributes to comfort food?

It’s entirely possible Mother Connie was Italian in another lifetime.  Oh, what delight there is in a bowl of pasta noodles, a salad featuring macaroni or a soup full of any kind of pasta product ever made!  Pasta is inexpensive and easy to make into whatever strikes your fancy.  Soup is wonderful on the cold days mid-February gives us so here today is an idea we hope will hit you like a brick:

BEAN AND PASTA SOUP

 2  cans cannelini beans, drained and rinsed *If you use white Northern beans, the Kitchen Police will not arrest you but it won’t be as authentically Italian…

1  can whole tomatoes, juice and all

2  ribs celery, roughly chopped

1 or 2 cloves garlic, finely minced

2  cups chicken broth *water will work, if you have no broth but the flavor your soup will not be as rich and the Kitchen Police don’t really care which you use…

2  tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2  cup pasta of choice *macaroni is Mother Connie’s fave but even rice would work if you are in a pinch.  Pasta swells as it cooks…

salt and pepper to taste

basil leaves – fresh if you have them but dry basil will flavor it nicely

4  tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Place beans, tomatoes with their juice, celery, garlic into a good sized soup pot.  Add the broth + one cup of water.  Bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add the oil and the pasta, then boil UNCOVERED for about 8 minutes, or until the pasta is tender.

**Mother Connie places a wooden spoon over the pot of cooking pasta to prevent boil overs.

Add the basil, salt and pepper.  Be sure to taste so you know if it needs more seasoning.  When you are satisfied with the flavors it is ready to ladle into soup bowls or soup plates.

Put the cheese on the table to be passed so each diner can top his own soup to suit his taste.

Are you living on a dime?  Do you scrimp by every month using an EBT card from WIC or SNAP?  Do you used food commodities?  Food pantry food?  Food from a food bank?  Are you stretching your food budget to the max every month because you love the challenge of doing all you can with your food dollars?  This blog is meant to help YOU, no matter who you are or how you fit into this grocery budget business.  Ya gotta EAT, after all… 

It is such a delight to read your comments and we love getting your mail at foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com    Thanks so much, everybody!

The Club House is BURSTING with new members!  This is because you have been urging your peeps to join and get our little series of cooking tips.  We know you find it refreshing not to be bombarded with sales pitches and you feel as if you can come here and be whoever you are.  That makes Mother Connie’s heart sing.

~Connie Baum

The FTC wants you to know there are links on this page. 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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Oh, Nuts! and Food Stamps Cooking Club

January 22nd, 2013

Pretending that gremlins do not inhabit this blog-ugh-let’s discuss how to make it to the end of January and stay within the food budget.

We here at the Food Stamps Cooking Club understand how it is–January demands more of your household budget for fuel: gasoline and home heat. So your food budget may be more pinched than usual. February is more than a week away… Add to that your kids have been feverish, you are exhausted after working all day AND you have to COOK! We get it.

Here is a simple and satisfying dish that’s loaded with nutrition but not cost:

RICE NOODLES WITH PEANUT SAUCE

2 quarts water

1/2 cups peanut butter *creamy

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon ginger root, grated

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 cup chicken broth *The Kitchen Police will blink if you just use water

8 oz uncooked rice stick noodles

4 oz bean sprouts

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

2 green onions, sliced

2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped, for garnish *Optional

Heat the water to boiling. Mix peanut butter, soy sauce, ginger root and pepper flakes. Stir til smooth. Slowly add the 1/2 cup broth/water. Break noodles in half and pull apart as you add them to the boiling water. Cook ONE MINUTE then drain and rinse in cold water. Place noodles in very large bowl, add the peanut butter mixture, bell pepper, bean sprouts, and onions. Toss gently.

This makes 4 servings and could easily be doubled-or halved if there are only 2 diners.

This is comfort food, if ever there was comfort food!

A great big THANK YOU is going out to all you who have signed up as Members! Please know you are always welcome here and we hope you will share your ideas with the others. You may contact us at foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com

As you know, we cater to users of public assistance who depend on help to meet their food requirements and stretch their food budgets. People who used SNAP or WIC’s EBT cards or those who frequent food pantries food banks, or use food commodities seem to find help in this little corner of the internet. Maybe you are living on a dime or you have a passion for frugality. All are welcome here; we hope you get some help and a ray of hope.

Connie Baum

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We Can Stop Cleaning the Kitchen at Food Stamps Cooking Club!

October 9th, 2012

 Nothing, but NOTHING, motivates one to clean the kitchen like having a French pastry chef come to your home for a Cooking Class!  Everything shone to a fare-thee-well and when the magic show had ended there was no trace that anyone had entered the kitchen…was it a dream?  Well, it was dreamy, all right!
Angels helped to bring this about.  You may recall that there were computer issues awhile back.  During that time, the August 29th issue of the Lincoln Journal Star carried the story of how Chef totes his pastries to the Farmers Market.  His story touched my heart and soul, so I ‘hired’ the heavens to help  bring him to the Club House for a Cooking Class.  Having a real, live chef has been a dream of mine for awhile.

When the computer was up and running again, I contacted Chef Lawrence through his website.  He responded instantly and shared with me that the news item had produced so much interest and new customers for him that he felt the need to give back.  He would be delighted to come and share with us.  Had we connected a week earlier the answer would have been ‘no’ because he was just too busy.  Angels have such great timing.

His philosophy is simple:  “Get 9, give 1.”  In other words, he ‘pays it forward.’  What’s not to love about that?

Chef Lawrence De Villiers, a French Pastry Chef from Lincoln, NE, relaxed in the Club House before he taught us about crepes!

 

Prior to his arrival, we made nice for him:

 

We learned at the outset that all cooking is meant to be simple.  Use simple ingredients.  Be sparing with herbs and fixings.  When making crepes, it’s best to whirl the ingredients in a blender or food processor and let the batter rest for at least one hour before preparing the finished product!  This allows the bubbles to dissipate so there are not holes in the crepes.

 

Chef discusses his work in a homeless shelter in the Bronx, after arriving in the USA from Normandy, France.

After Chef Lawrence had given us an overview of our lesson and had shared some of his story with us, he proceeded to the kitchen.  WOW, were we impressed!

These videos were made possible because of Food Stamps Cooking Club supporters:
Judy Coe, Videographer
Dustin and Wendi Buggi, Technical Advisors Extrordinaire
Pastor Kathy Rahorst, Chief Cheerleader
Loretta Pope,  Charleen Scott, Velda Koehler, Ruby Meister, Annie Wickett,Jan Neal- all consummate cooks
Jeff and Lorraine Wellman and Renita Farrall, long distance  Club Fans
Anita Brown, Prime Promoter
Kim, Janet and others who could not attend because of last minute snafus
and
of course,
THE NORMANATOR, who supports Mother Connie no matter what.
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
PS:  We live for comments!  Chef Lawrence will appreciate your comments, also!  Thanks for your patience as this blog post was being prepared FOR YOU, dear members!

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Potato Pancakes at Food Stamps Cooking Club

September 10th, 2012

Potatoes make wonderful “planned overs”

One of things we do in the Club House is to cook once and eat again and again, morphing left over food into fresh offerings AND saving lots of food dollars in the process.

We had a house guest over the weekend and she and I loved being in the kitchen together, cooking our hearts out.  One of the items on the menu was mashed potatoes.  Cooking in the same pot was a zucchini; the two veggies were whipped together, along with a bit of milk and a pat of butter.  We ate to our hearts’ content–we also had a ginormous vegetable salad, sauteed kale with onions and braised pork chops.

Our guest inquired what would happen to all those leftover taters…Her face lit up when I told her that one thing would be potato pancakes.

Mother Connie is not high on recipes; I like to cook with whatever I have on hand.  SO…I used about a cup or so of the mashed potatoes and I tossed in a medium egg, combining the two until they were rather thin and well mixed.  Then I dribbled a bit of milk and incorporated that.  I sprinkled in a big spoonful of flour and stirred until I thought that would pour well into a skillet.  Then I tossed in a half tablespoon of baking powder.  The trusty iron skillet was heating with a thin coat of oil over the bottom.  As I poured the first big spoon full of mixture into the skillet it sizzled!  Another spoonful and the bowl was empty.   They fried quickly to golden brown goodness!

It was just perfect for the two of us but had I needed more it would only have been a matter of more potatoes and maybe another egg.  I’d have added flour and baking powder just so as to have a batter that poured easily onto the hot skillet.

Since the mashed potatoes were already seasoned, there was no need to add much.  I sprinkled some salt in for the egg but it would not be required.

Potato pancakes are great just ‘naked’ but sour cream is nice, if you happen to have some.  I have made them when I felt moved to sprinkle some parsley flakes over them as they went on to the plates.  You could certainly reheat any leftover gravy to dribble over them.

These potato pancakes went well with a big vegetable salad, covered with Thousand Island dressing, home made, of course.

It’s pretty certain that whatever choice you make about these yummies will not summon any Kitchen Police.

Switching gears and changing subjects quickly–have you heard about the Farm Bill and how that could impact the SNAP program?  It isn’t bad enough, it seems, that people need public assistance to provide meals for their families…our Congress wants to make us all jump through hoops and wait with bated breath for THEIR votes.

If you are one of those who are living on a dime or are dependent, for whatever reason, on SNAP or WIC or if you have food commodities or things from a food bank you can depend that this little blog is NOT beholding to the Big Wigs.  We just want to give people who are doing their best to keep their loved ones healthy on a budget.  We want to give you a hand UP by helping you to s t r e t c h your food dollars.

We do not do this alone.  Oh, my no.  We have PEEPS–Club Members who are loaded with great ideas and they share them with no reservation.  YOU are the fuel to this little engine.  You have POWER, whether you feel it or don’t!  And besides, Mother Connie loves YOU.  If Congress loved you they’d have voted long before now!

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

PS/Have you heard about our upcoming offline Cooking Class?  OBOY, are we excited!

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Posted in Cooking, How To, Message from Mother Connie

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Pie Central at Food Stamps Cooking Club

August 13th, 2012

The Club House will be transformed this week as “Pie Central” for the Johnson County Fair’s Food Stand!

It’s going to be a busy, busy week here!  Tomorrow some of the best pie bakers in Johnson County and our little church will gather to bake pies to be sold in  the Food Stand at the County Fair.  Since we live very close to the fairgrounds it is logical to stash all the pies here in the Club House.  The Normanator and I will cut them and put the slices into little take-out boxes and they’ll be shuttled to the Food Stand.  We are told this is a daunting assignment, because many pies per day will be brought in for “processing”!

Because of this extra assignment, there will be an absence of blog posts for the duration of the week.  You are reminded that we are also up all night, delivering newspapers!  We are hopeful we will not doze off while cutting pies! 

There is a recipe for you today-for a pie, of course.  Before we offer that we want to acknowledge all the great comments that have come in + the great replies you have made to one another in the Comments section of every post.  YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME.  There are emails coming in that warm our hearts, too.  It is so gratifying to hear from you that you are getting some concrete HELP from these posts!  Thank you so much!

If you are living on a dime, you could use a hand.  Those who have EBT cards for SNAP or WIC can use some helpful advice; so can those of you who get things from a food bank or a food pantry.  If you have food commodities you can benefit from some great ideas on their use.  If you are frugal by nature and get a hoot from s t r e t c h i n g your food budget you can garner all the great notions that are offered from any corner.  That’s what the Food Stamps Cooking Club is all about.  But we don’t do it alone; each of you is helping one another.  How can it get any better than THIS?

Harriet’s Peachy Summer Pie

INGREDIENTS:

10 – 12 fresh peaches, pitted and sliced

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup white sugar

1/4 cup butter

1 recipe pastry for 9 inch double crust pie 

METHOD:

Mix flour, sugar and butter into crumb stage.

Place one crust in the bottom of a 9 inch pie plate. Line the shell with some sliced peaches. Scatter some of the butter mixture on top of the peaches, then layer more peaches on top of the the crumb mixture. Continue layering until both the peaches and crumbs are gone.

Top with second  pie crust, or make lattice strips of crust.  *You might even top it off with a streusel topping, so you’ll have plenty of room for the ICE CREAM when you serve pie a la mode!  **If you use a full top crust, cut vents into the top so it won’t dribble.

Place pie on a cooky sheet-in case of drips-and  bake at 350* for 45 minutes or until you like the color of the crust.  When pie is done, turn off the oven; let it sit in the oven to cool with the oven. This allows the juices to boil away and the filling will set to perfection. 

Make sure the pie is cool before serving. 

Mmm…peach pie a la mode always reminds me of my Grandma Wagner, because peach pie was our comfort food when I was a little girl.    You guys bake up some summer goodness in your kitchens and think of us pie cutters this week.  See you next week!

Remember that you are dearly loved.  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.

PS/ Have you submitted your story to the Public Insight Network?  If not, they eagerly await hearing from you if you have ever used public assisstance, Social Security or Medicare/Medicaid.  Click here:  Public Insight Network.  Nothing to buy; they only want your story.

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Sufferin’ Succotash! Food Stamps Cooking Club

July 23rd, 2012

Sufferin’ Succotash is a wonderful side dish for any meal; it’s even pretty enough to serve to guests. It is amazingly low cost and a super easy do!

Kids my age can’t think of succotash without remembering the lispy cartoon character who declared “Sufferin’ Succotash” at every dramatic turn in the story!  When this popped up in my line of sight, any  ingredients  missing from the pantry shelves went immediately on to the shopping list because it sounded so good and so easy.  I hasten to add,  also, that this is easy on the food budget.  I suspect this will become a comfort food in the Club House!

Sufferin’ Succotash

4 tablespoons oil  *Olive oil is my #1 fave but use what YOU like.  It’s YOUR dish, after all!

1  small chopped onion

3  cloves garlic, chopped very fine

1/4  jalapeno chile, stemmed, seeded and very finely chopped  *Gringos are allowed to omit this! giggle

salt and pepper

2  cups corn  *fresh, frozen or canned and drained will all do nicely

1  teaspoon sugar *This is the secret ingredient!

2  cups lima beans, cooked  *canned and drained, frozen, or dry beans you have cooked and drained

1  tablespoon chopped fresh oregano  *The Kitchen Police had no objection to my using dried oregano …

1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, quartered  *OK, I used Romas.  So sue me.  grin

METHOD:

Heat the oil on medium.  Add the onion, garlic, jalapeno, salt and pepper.  Cover and cook, stirring occasionally until the onion softens.  Add more salt if needed.  Add the corn, sugar, and salt again.  It will take about 10 minutes for the corn to soften.  Add a teeny bit of water if this seems dry as it cooks.

Turn the heat to medium high.  Add the beans and oregano.  Cook this for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the tomatoes and parsley and a sprinkle of pepper.

Now, for what it’s worth, it should be noted that The Normanator approved this dish, EVEN FOR GUESTS!

Incidentally, I served this with a very inexpensive piece of minute steak and this filled our tummies nicely.  We even turned down dessert because it was such a filling and pleasurable meal.

As you know, this little blog was custom designed for users of SNAP or WIC as a way to strengthen their buying power with that little EBT card.  We also intend that it is helpful for those who have food commodities, food from a food pantry or food bank.  People who are frugal or living on a dime;  people who  have not, for whatever reason, never learned how to cook or shop or plan meals.  We have a little series of cooking tips we send out when people join our merry band of foodies.  We sincerely hope these have value for you and your families.

There is yet ANOTHER cute blog that found us!  It is  Poor to Rich A Day at at Time and it looks as if it will be good for Club Members, too.  I hope you are all taking a moment to visit CT on a Budget and Creative Savv, also.  These bloggers have been such faithful supporters of what we are doing here that it’s only fair we cruise by and leave them some love…

Tomorrow I hope to talk about one of my favorite subjects related to food—DISHES!  We’ll see how that shapes up.  If I find something good to eat, I’ll share that, too.  AND if you come by the Club House, I’ll fill your glass with pure icy water.  This heat is killin’ us all!

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.

PS/We love  mail.  We love your comments.  Your spam?  NOT SO MUCH, especially when your spam comments are rude.  We really love to hear about you and your lives.  Hint taken?  Good.  Thanks!   grin

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Speaking of Rice at Food Stamps Cooking Club

June 26th, 2012

Here is a fresh take on Beans n  Rice!

The end of any month can be trying, what with the struggle of everyday life compounded by the management of skimpy food supplies.  Especially if you have a food budget that is tapped out!  Today we offer you an idea that may help you minimize the struggle.  By the way, this tastes good during the FIRST of the month, too!  grin

Red Beans and Rice

*Gee, how imaginative is THIS title?  smile

2  tablespoons butter

1  large onion

3   cups hot cooked rice  *Basmati rice, if you have it.  Cooked in broth if it’s available  Not to worry; the Kitchen Police will never know.

1  can kidney beans, drained

1/2  cup sour cream

1/2  cup grated Asiago cheese  *I repeat:  the Kitchen Police will never know if you use another kind…

1/4  teaspoon black pepper

METHOD:

Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat.  Add onion; cook til it browns, about 8 minutes.  Add rice, beans, sour cream, cheese and pepper.  Stir well , blending and melting cheese.  Remove from heat and serve.  Makes 6 servings.

This will be kind to your food budget and might become one of your go-to comfort food recipes.

Are you living on a dime?  Do you use SNAP or WIC  EBT cards?  Do you frequent a food pantry?  Are you eligible for food commodities?  Maybe you are a person who squeezes the grocery nickels until those buffalo bellow…or you might be someone who just likes the challenge of saving food money by s t r e t c h i n g your food budget!  In any case, we sincerely hope this little blog is helpful to you.  Helping others is our passion and we love to cook. 

You are welcome to offer your thoughts and suggestions on our comments page.  WE LIVE FOR COMMENTS, don’t you know!  grin  Thanks for your contributions and opinions.

If you have a mind to do so, you could even cruise by our partners and let them know we are having fun here.  You can reach them through their websites  Living On A Dime and Saving Dinner.  They are all about helping people, too, and they will be delighted to hear from their fan club!

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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Microwaving & Soup at Food Stamps Cooking Club

March 4th, 2012

 

WARNING: Microwaves ARE dangerous!

Mother Connie has been taken to task for going overboard with respect to microwave ovens.  She was called out for being radical.  Mother Connie is one tough ole broad and can take criticism, but this is not about MC.  IT IS ABOUT YOU BEING SAFE AND HEALTHY.

Mother Connie, as you are well aware, is passionate about helping people.  People are not helped by microwaving their foods. This is not merely opinion; this is truth.  Please direct your attention to this article, which ‘splains the dangers more eloquently than your humble blogger: Microwave Ovens: The Proven Danger

‘Nuff said about THAT.  Let’s find something fun to discuss.  How about FOOD?

People who sit in my circle know how I love to cook so Santa brought by a daily calendar put out by The Food Network.  Each day there is a new delight to peruse and use.  Most of the dishes I find are a bit “high end” for those of us who fuss over our food budgets or use EBT cards from SNAP or WIC.  However, there is a doozee of a crock pot soup that is ab-so-toot-ly DELISH.

 

Slow Cookers are safe to use! They make life simpler, even!

 

SLOW COOKER BEAN AND BARLEY SOUP

1  cup dried multibean mix or great Northern beans, picked over and rinsed

1   14 oz can whole peeled tomatoes w/their juice

3  cloves garlic,smashed

2  ribs celery, chopped

2  medium carrots, peeled and chopped

1/2  medium onion, chopped

1/2  cup pearl barley *Mother Connie toasted hers before adding it to the soup but the recipe did not call for that step

1  bay leaf

2  teaspoons dried Italian herb blend

1/2  oz died porcini mushrooms *optional  Good thing; I don’t keep those on hand…do YOU? grin

Kosher salt and pepper  * The Kitchen Police did not object to my use of sea salt…

3  cups baby spinach *I used frozen, chopped

1  cup grated Parmesan cheese

1  tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Olive oil, for drizzling

METHOD: 

Put the beans, 6 cups of water, tomatoes and their juice, garlic, celery, carrots, onion, barley, bay leaf, Italian herb blend, mushrooms 1 1/2 tablespoons salt and some pepper in a slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low until the beans are quite tender and the soup is thick-about 8 hours. 

Stir in the spinach, cheese, and vinegar.  Cover and let the soup sit until the spinach wilts, about 5 minutes.  Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Ladle the soup into warmed bowls and drizzle each serving with a bit of olive oil.

Thank you, Food Network Calendar!

In the Club House, we like to spoon most any kind of soup over crusty bread.  The Normanator baked bread with a bit of almond flour and this made us a great lunch.  Since there are just the two of us there was plenty left over to freeze for a quick meal on a busy day.  We also had a green salad with our bean/barley soup.  We were well nourished and we both had happy tummies!

Soup is a great comfort food on cold, blustery March days.  If you are struggling to S T R E T C H your food dollars it’s a good way to feed your family.  If you know anyone who is living on a dime-or less-you may want to share this link with them.  We are all about helping people here.  Maybe you use food commodities or know someone who does.  You might frequent a food pantry…this page is for YOU.

We love mail:  foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com

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 Cooking, Message from Mother Connie, Recipes

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Making Gravy at Food Stamps Cooking Club

February 27th, 2012

Gravy is one of my comfort foods…bread n gravy; taters and gravy;  gravy as a base for cream soups…I really love to make it and I really really love to eat it!  My mother used to talk about how her mom would make “flour and water gravy” and that would be their meal.  No meat, no veggies.  Just gravy.  Wow.  They did not have SNAP or WIC in those days.  What a shame.

Some folks pay good money for packets of gravy mix.  Well, they are free to spend those EBT cards as they see fit but I am way too tight fisted with my grocery money for packets.  This little video shows you how quick, easy and cheap it is to make your own gravy.  Incidentally this is a “re-run” from last fall, so if it seems familiar, that’s the reason.

Easy peasy, don’t you think?

The mail has been such fun!  You folks are talking amongst yourselves and passing the word that we here in the Club House are passionate about helping you s t r e t c h your food budgets while using whatever you have on hand and making meals that keep your gang in tip-top health.  You no doubt have ideas to share.  You are more than welcome to send them to foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com   Oh, how we love hearing from you members!

If you or someone in your sphere of influence uses food commodities, goods from food pantries or if you have anyone who wants to save as much as possible when buying food, we hope we are helpful to the cause.

You may have noticed that Mother Connie was using a cast iron skillet in this film…stay tuned for a piece about cookware. to be seen SOON at a computer near you.

Are we having FUN yet?

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 Cooking, Message from Mother Connie, Tips

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Dumplings Are Everywhere at Food Stamps Cooking Club!

February 23rd, 2012

Dumplings ARE everywhere...and they are comfort food on the cheap!

Our mailbox is always fun.  We never know what we might find there.  Today I found a cutie named Polysammo who has a most interesting blog that shares NOT just about dumplings but that dumplings appear in every culture.  Polysammo explores all manner of “dumps”-a reference from yesterday’s post-because she reads a variety of cookbooks from every corner of the earth!

Polysammo graciously offers this easy, low cost “no recipe” way to comfort.  I can’t wait to try this for The Normanator and me:

EGGS POACHED IN VEGGIES

This is another comfort food non recipe. It is also a really easy quick recipe when you are too tired to think about what to eat.
You could serve this with buttered bread, tortillas, rice or pasta.  I like buttered bread.
I have made this for people who thought it sounded odd and then Loved it. I am craving it now and will see if I can get into the kitchen this week (with some help) and make it.    
Bonus is that is is so healthy and adjustable for food allergies/preferences.

Ingredients:
Veggies  (as many or few as you want : onions, peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, carrots, celery, broccoli, beans, spinach )
Spices (depends on what style you want  Italian garlic, oregano, rosemary Mexican garlic, cumin, chili powder  )
1 Can diced tomatoes
Eggs
Cheese

In a large fry pan sauté the veggies & spices in a tiny bit of Oil.

When they are not quite soft, add the can of tomatoes and cook for 5 or so minutes on MEDIUM heat.  

When the tomato veggie mixture gets thick make little holes and break an egg into each hole (my pan holds 4 -6 eggs).

Cover & cook for a few minutes. Check the eggs when they are almost the way you want them sprinkle on the cheese and cover for another minute.

~Polysammo

Mother Connie here:  This sounds and looks to be so full of deliciousness that my mouth is watering and I’m tempted to cancel my dinner date with The Normanator just to try it!  Thank you so much, Polysammo.  We really appreciate it a lot.

Polysammo sent her message to us by using foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com.  YAY, Polysammo! And thank you once again!  Here’s hoping all our Club Members cruise by your cute site and scope out other great ideas!

We are also aware of a burgeoning list of Club Members.  There are a great many people using EBT cards from SNAP or WIC and many more depend on food pantries and food commodities for their daily sustenance.  It is our mission to help people, including those who are simply frugal, to s t r e t c h those food dollars and food budgets to the extreme while feeding your families good nutrition.  If you are living on a dime-or less-this is critical.  When our members offer helpful ideas to the whole community, everybody wins!

Connie Baum

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