Posts Tagged ‘cooking with beef’

Let Them Eat BEEF at Food Stamps Cooking Club!

September 12th, 2012

We know from the mail and past comments, there are a great many of you Club Members who take advantage of every meat sale to get the protein for your family meals in large quantities and stash your goods in your freezer.  It’s a great strategy for saving money and it’s convenient to have a good supply where you can easily access it.

Two Club Members in the same batch of emails wrote to say that they had gangs of family coming but were at a loss as to how to doll up the beef roast they wanted to use.  Well, ALSO IN THE SAME BATCH OF EMAILS, dear April came to the rescue!  Here is April’s way of preparing roast.  BE WARNED:  Your mouth is sure to water when you see what April does with roast beef!

APRIL’S ROAST BEEF  

INGREDIENTS:


  2 tablespoons olive oil

  1 pound beef, cut into cubes

  1 small onion, minced 

  2 garlic cloves, minced

  1 tbsp steak seasoning

  3 cups water

  3 cups apple cider

  1 bag frozen mixed veggies

  4 potatoes, peeled and cubed

  1 tsp cinnamon

  1 tsp ginger

METHOD:

Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over high heat with the oil. Add beef and onions and garlic.

Once browned, add water and cider. Next, add steak seasonings. Stir and add potatoes. Bring to a boil reduce heat.  

When potatoes are about 10 minutes from being done, add mixed veggies, cinnamon and ginger.

Thanks a bunch, April.  That apple cider is going to make the kitchen smell like autumn and the spices will give your whole meal a fall flavor.  How would it be to bake some apples with that, just for a nice dessert?  Yummy, I’m thinkin’!

Are you living on a dime?  Do you use public assistance to put food on your table?  Are you an EBT card holder for WIC or SNAP?  I wonder if you get goods from food commodities or a food bank or food pantry?  Maybe you are like many of the Club Members and just enjoy the fun of bargain shopping, coupon clipping and sharing recipes or ideas that have helped you in your kitchens.  If you fall into any of these categories, the Food Stamps Cooking Club salutes you.  We GET how hard it is.

I also wonder if you have contacted the Public Insight Network to tell them about your experiences with public assistance.  They would love to hear from you.  There is nothing to buy.  Just click here:  Public Insight Network.

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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Sharing Recipes at Food Stamps Cooking Club

August 10th, 2012

Sharing recipes and ideas for saving money is what this Club is all about!

Our mailbag has been BULGING!  Our members are sharing their lives, their favorite recipes and their ideas like never before!  It feels like a party!

Let me tell you a smidgeon about April.  April is so excited about learning and sharing that she sends her messages to us via her phone!  This is true dedication; I am so grateful to sit in April’s circle.  She wants us to have her go-to recipe for Fajitas.  She says they throw caution to the wind and splurge on these about once a month!

April’s Splurge for Fajitas

1  cup lime juice

2  teaspoons oregano

2  teaspoons cilantro

1 – 2  teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

1  teaspoon cumin

1  teaspoon garlic powder

2  #  beef, cut into strips.  This could be a cheap roast, flat skirt steak, or whatever is on sale.  Can also use chicken.

3  to  4 bell peppers, cut into strips

tortillas

In a large bowl combine lime juice, oregano, cilantro, red pepper flakes, cumin, garlic.  Place beef into this marinade.  Cover and refrigerate from 2 to 24 hours. 

You can cook the meat and peppers in a pan over medium heat.  I love to grill these by placing foil over the grill grate and poking small holes in the foil.

~April

*Aprilalso sent along a muffin recipe that will be better suited for cooler fall weather.  I have set that one aside for later but it will be hard to wait to taste those!  Thank you so much, April!

April’s Fajitas remind me about the money saving ideas MikeMax sent in awhile back.  She talked in detail about how to watch for meat sales so we’ll have things like skirt steak or other cuts of meat on hand for easy, low cost meals.  The cost of food in general and meat in particular is really an issue all over the country right now. Carol is another member who is genius at finding grocery bargains and thinking ahead.  Lili also is gifted that way and they are all eager to share their wisdom.  It behooves us all to see all that they offer on their blogs and we would do well to look in on Pam, too!

Are YOU living on a dime?  Do you s t r e t c h your food dollars til they snap?  Are you a holder of an EBT card for SNAP or WIC?  Maybe you have goods from a food pantry or food commodities.  It could be that you are a frugal shopper or gardener or lucky recipient from a generous person with a green thumb.  In any case, this little blog is offered for YOUR benefit.  We dearly hope it helps.

The good folks at the Public Insight Network are hoping you’ll share your story of using any type of public assistance with them.  They are interested in people who use Social Security benefits or Social Security Supplemental money.  You could help them greatly by sharing.  Just click on this link:  Public Insight Network.   If you have questions about this, you are welcome to email Meg Cramer at cramer.meg@gmail.com

Everyone has a system of sorts for keeping recipes…it would be fun to know how YOU manage your collection.  Here’s hoping you’ll share your ideas.  We always hope for COMMENTS, too.  Mother Connie is as subtle as a Mack truck…

 

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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Beef Satay, Peanut Sauce and Food Stamps Cooking Club

July 2nd, 2012

Beef Satay with Peanut Sauce…looks yummy…and high end, doesn’t it?

It’s July.  The weather is brutal.  You are looking for things to grill; you want cold meals.  You wish you had someone to just take over the kitchen for you AND YOU ARE SQUEEZING YOUR FOOD BUDGET AS HARD AS YOU CAN.

So why does Mother Connie offer a high end dish?  FOR THE SAUCE! 

Peanut sauce is delicious; it has good protein, is readily available, not too spendy, and kids love it.   Big kids like it, too!  And since Mother Connie thinks food should be fun, here is a tasty summertime food that won’t bust your food budget and it is ADAPTABLE.  Beef is not a MUST HAVE…chicken  or turkey will work.  Even toasted cubes of bread on skewers make it interesting and just nibbling on cubes of bread dipped in peanut sauce can satisfy youngsters’ appetites.  Just see for yourself:

PEANUT SAUCE

2  tablespoons coconut cream  *this comes from the top of canned coconut milk

1/4  cup peanut butter

1  teaspoon curry powder   *No curry?  Combine what you like-pinches of turmeric, paprika, cumin, pepper, ginger, cloves-you only need 1 teaspoon so play with it until you like the flavor combination you create.  Remember, it’s supposed to be FUN.

2   tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar

1  tablespoon soy sauce

 1  tablespoon lemon juice

METHOD:

Cook the coconut cream in a saucepan over medium heat until it looks shiny and sizzles.  This will take a couple of minutes.  Add the curry and cook, stirring until it smells yummy.  This will take a minute or so.  Whisk in the coconut milk, peanut better, sugar, soy sauce, and juice.  Bring it all to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer til it’s thick.  This will take 10 minutes.   Pour the mixture into a serving bowl and cool to room temp.

If you will be using wooden skewers, soak them in water as you prepare the sauce.  When your sauce is ready and the bread  is toasted and cut into cubes or meat is cooked–thread the selected items onto the skewers and dip your bread or meat OR VEGGIES and dip into this delicious peanut sauce!

Here’s a thought:  You could form little meatballs with ground beef, turkey or chicken and cook or grill them for use on your skewers.  By adding bread crumbs, egg, onion and some seasoning you will s t r e t c h your food dollars further than you ever hoped! 

Here’s another idea:  No skewers?  Use toothpicks! 

Are you living on a dime?  Do you have goods from a food bank, food pantry or do you have food commodities?  Are you using an EBT card for SNAP or WIC?  Or do you just enjoy the challenge of making your food budget go as far as you dare to take it?  The recipes and ideas we share here-the very reason for this blog-is to help people help themselves.  We GET what a struggle it is to manage families, jobs, if you are fortunate to have a job, and meal making.  So we do what we can to make your life easier.

You have made our days delightful by joining us in the Club House and getting our series of cooking tips.  We do appreciate that you are sharing us with your sphere of influence. 

As many of you do, Mother Connie has signed up for email messages from other bloggers.  Today one came in from  Chef Wannabe.  His ideas for sweet potatoes, which are LOADED TO THE GILLS with nutrition hit me like a brick.  It might be something you will like, as well.  Cruise over to his site, give him some love in the comments section and let him know that Mother Connie sent you.  Go here:  Chef Wannabe’s Smart Kitchen

Since this is a week with a holiday smack in the middle, Mother Connie is going to have some R & R so until the next post pops up you enjoy your week.  Be safe, be happy, and be back when all the hubbub dies down!  Above all, please remember that each one of you is loved and appreciated!

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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