Posts Tagged ‘food budget’

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Roasted Garbanzo Beans and the Food Stamps Cooking Club

May 16th, 2012

Roasty, toasy flavor with oodles of protein and crunch! Mmm...

When I opened the food section of the Lincoln Journal Star today I was thrilled to see something different and  wonderful that I could share with the  Club Members!

We at the Food Stamps Cooking Club are all about helping you S T R E T C H your food dollars.  It does not matter whether you are simply a frugal shopper or you lean hard on that EBT  card from SNAP or WIC.  Whether you get food from a food pantry or accept food commodities; it makes no difference–we all  have to eat and it’s tough stuff,  this living on a dime!  It’s important to pack  as much nutrition into every meal as possible and it helps to be creative and clever at getting everyone at the table a meal they would actually enjoy!

One of my most favorite food editors is Lynne Ireland.  Today she wrote about roasting chickpeas.  I must have been living under a bushel for my whole life, because it had never occurred to me that chickpeas/garbanzos could be roasted. 

SIDEBAR:  Roll your eyes HERE.  END SIDEBAR.

That phase of Mother Connie’s life is history.  Just scope out this EZ do idea:

Roasted Chickpeas

*This appeared in May 16, 2012 Lincoln Journal Star and is taken from WeightWatchers.com

Olive oil cooking spray

2  cups canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1/4  teaspoon garlic powder

1/8  teaspoon red pepper flakes

OR

Any seasoning, such as chili powder, curry powder, garam masala, seasoning blend,  cumin, lemon pepper, Cajun spice mix or Tabasco sauce to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees – or 425 for more crunch in less time.  Lightly coat rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.

Spread chickpeas on baking sheet and sprinkle with garlic powder and red pepper; toss to coat. 

Roast on bottom rack of oven, shaking pan about every 15 minutes until browned and slightly crunchy, about 45 to 50 minutes.  25 to 30 minutes at higher temperature. 

The chickpeas still will be soft at lower temperature, more crispy if cooked at higher heat. 

Cook until desired texture is reached,  cool before serving. 

*Yields about 4   1/2 cup servings, equal to 3 Points Plus value for Weight Watchers.

Food Editor Lynne Ireland suggests using these as an alternative to cocktail nuts,  croutons for a salad or as a healthy snack when others might choose to open a bag of chips.  Mother Connie can imagine using them as topping for pasta, too.

There is plenty of room for variety with this because you can pick and choose the flavorings to suit your current fancy!  How can it get any better than this?   grin

Your comments on this blog mean the world to Mother Connie and judging by the mail we get, you are appreciative of them, too.  So click on the comments and let us know what you are doing with garbanzo beans or whatever else is making your kitchen smell like home and makes your heart sing!  Thanks, guys.  Please know that you are loved.

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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Celery Salad at the Food Stamps Cooking Club

May 11th, 2012

Celery is fresh, crisp, and is easily made into wonderful dishes your family will love!

We humans tend to get into ruts, particularly when it comes to the things we choose to eat.  Mom is likely to be working full time, managing a household with or without a partner.  Mom  is dog tired;the kids need to have clean clothes and help with their homework…you know the pitfalls of life all too well!

It’s perfectly natural to fall into a routine and then we tend to eat the same menu with little variety week after week–keeping in mind what folks are willing to eat and of course if what we prepare is AFFORDABLE. 

Those who use SNAP’s EBT card-or WIC’s-know how it is to juggle the grocery money. So do those who use food pantry food or food commodities.  And sometimes the variety-or lack thereof-gets tiresome and boring.  I’m sure many of our Club Members are living on a dime; others are just careful with their food budgets.

The larder at the Club House was getting pretty bare.  A mandatory road trip coming soon called for Culinary Creativity.  The result was this salad recipe.  The Normanator LOVED it; even invited me to make it again soon!  Now THAT is a rave review!

MOTHER CONNIE’S CELERY SALAD

4  ribs of celery, chopped

1/2  an onion, chopped  *I used a red onion and the color was glorious; ANY onion will do

2  tablespoons mayo

Bottled dressing…We love French but Catalina or Russian would be fine…use just enough to moisten the veggies.

I like to mix the dressing in the bottom of a bowl and pour the chopped veggies into it to mix well.

There you have it.  Stupid simple, tasty, and oh, so CHEAP n easy!  If you wanted to stretch it, you could add some cooked macaroni or noodles; you could also shred some lettuce and sprinkle that into the mix. 

Warm weather invites salad meals.  I think YOU, dear Club Members, could create even better salads than Mother Connie.  Let us hear YOUR ideas.  Send them to foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com

Thanks to all the new members.  We are so happy you chose to join the fun!

And to all the mothers, we salute each and every one of you and bid you a fabulous Mothers Day!

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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Our Mailbox and Food Stamps Cooking Club

March 26th, 2012
Our readers have sent us some great bean recipes!

Oh, how we love mail!  Several of our faithful Club Members have contributed ideas and recipes and today we share one that will have you making plans to try this dish ASAP!  We owe a debt of gratitude to Carol    who thoughtfully sent her latest find:   (Incidentally, Carol lives in Northeastern USA)

“Campbell’s” style pork beans

1  lb dried pea/navy beans, rinsed, sorted

1  T cooking oil

3  cloves garlic, minced

1  medium onion, chopped fine

8  slices bacon, fried until crisp, drained and cut fine

2  tsp soy sauce (I used reduced sodium version)

1 and 1/2-2 cups water

1/2 cup ketchup

1/4 cup cooking oil

1 and 1/2 tsp salt

3 T sugar

2  T corn starch

1  T cold water

 

1. Soak beans overnight (or use the quick soak method), drain, rinse. Cover with fresh water and bring to a boil

2. Meanwhile, saute onions and garlic in 1 T cooking oil, until onions are translucent, set aside

3. Place beans into a crock pot and cover with 1 1/2-2 cups of the now hot cooking water. Add the soy sauce, onion/garlic mixture, bacon.

4. Cook on high for 2 hours, then set to low and continue cooking until beans are soft

5. Mix ketchup, oil, salt, sugar and add to softened beans in crock pot. Continue cooking on low, to allow flavors to blend.

6. Just before serving, mix a slurry out of the cornstarch and cold water. Carefully fold it into the beans. Let cook a bit more to allow the slurry to thicken the sauce.

Enjoy!

I ended up making a double batch, we had some for supper tonight, and I have 2 meals’s worth of “Campbells” beans in the freezer.   ~ Carol

Thank you again, Carol!  We really appreciate your input! 

Another Member, Charlene, has also sent us some great ideas; Mother Connie will save that for another post!

It is heartwarming to know that there are peeps ALL OVER THE GLOBE who are interested to help one another with managing food costs.  The USA is not the only place where folks struggle to feed their family on a shoestring budget.  If you are holding an EBT card for SNAP  or WIC; if you frequent food pantries or use food commodities you know full well what’s going on with food costs.  Our passion is to help people S T R E T C H food dollars and food budgets by offering nutritious, low cost menu ideas.

Oh, and speaking of ideas—I must tell you that it was our great pleasure to host Kay, a lovely woman from England recently.   I was concerned about offering her a breakfast she would truly like to eat.  I needn’t have worried…Kay told me she is accustomed to her “proper English breakfast” of beans on toast!  I was surprised to hear this because it is so simple.  But, just think–it provides complete protein and that is a great start for anyone’s day!  Carol’s bean recipe would fill the bill perfectly  but I am just as fond of refried beans on toast.  When we use The Normanator’s home made bread, that is a VERY satisfying meal, indeed!  And it would be a proper English breakfast, after  all.  grin

We’d love to hear from YOU.  Our address is 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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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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Big Box Stores and Food Stamps Cooking Club

February 24th, 2012

Do big box stores have little price tags on their merchandise?

We have some food for thought and a treat from our blogger pal, Tawra Kellam today!  Tawra graciously offered a Guest Post, written by Jill Cooper, about saving money, which is what she is all about.  She gives us some really sound advice.  See what hits YOU like a brick…

Before I share her thoughts with you I want to remind you that 40 million of us are using food stamps or SNAP.  Many more have not applied for that sort of help, even though they might qualify. There are children in our own country who are going to bed with empty tummies.  Others who are living on a dime-or less-lean on food pantries, food commodities and whatever other help is out there.  Our purpose here is to help you stretch those food dollars to get the very most you can from your food budgets and feed your family well to keep them healthy.

Now let’s give Jill the floor: 

 Are Warehouse Stores Wearing Out Your Wallet?

 *Do they save you money or just create more work?

by Jill Cooper from Living On a Dime

It’s Saturday morning. With grocery list in hand, you drag a very unwilling family out to the car where you proceed to take them on a mega shopping spree at Sam’s or Costco.

Marching down each isle you tell your family members “We need 3 cases of corn, 4 cases of green beans and — Oh! That’s a good deal on peanut butter so let’s get 3 gallons. Of course Susie, your can get a bag of cookies. They are so cheap! …and Billy you can have a few bags of your favorite chips! Yum! Oh look — samples! These taste great. Let’s get some! What a great buy on chicken – we need 20…”

At the dog food aisle the excitement mounts as each member of the family grabs a corner of the 50 lb. bag of dog food to stack on top of the basket. (We won’t mention you only have 1 toy poodle at home.) After waiting in line and waiting in line and waiting in line you push your agonizingly heavy and overloaded baskets out to the car. Getting everything into the trunk of the car makes putting together a 1,000 piece puzzle seem like a breeze but, finally, home you go.

After you lug everything into the house, it’s time to spend the next few hours repackaging things for the freezer. You double wrap your 20 chickens (they could be in that freezer for quite a while) and frantically try to find places for everything else in your cupboards and pantry. By the time you are done, you are so exhausted that you couldn’t begin to lift a finger to cook, so you all go out to eat.

A few weeks later you gingerly sniff the gallon of half used peanut butter as you try to decide if that strange taste is because it has gone rancid or simply because you are sick of peanut butter. You threw out that partially used gallon of maple syrup yesterday because it had sugared and was looking really strange. You still have ten of your chickens left but if you bathe them in some spicy sauce you are pretty sure your family won’t notice the freezer burned taste. In spite of having to throw out most of the 50 lbs. of dog food (after a growing family of mice had invaded it), you’re sure you saved money because “they” said you would.

People constantly ask me, “Can you really save more money at warehouse stores?” I usually answer, “Not any more so than at other stores.” I have checked prices at various stores on many different occasions and factoring everything in, I haven’t found any exceptional savings at warehouse stores.

Here are some tips to help you decide if a warehouse store is for you:


  1. Do your homework and compare prices. Buying in bulk is not always cheaper. You can really save by checking and comparing prices. I was at Costco one day where there was a display of two Clorox one gallon bottles for $1.98 AFTER rebate. I stood there amazed as people frantically grabbed this “great deal.” I knew I could get that same Clorox for $.98 a gallon at my regular discount store and I didn’t have to mess with a rebate, pay postage or lug two gallons of Clorox shrink wrapped together to my car.
  2. Don’t buy impulsively just because it sounds like a good deal. Say you can get 12 bottles of sunscreen for a great price. Think it through before you buy. If your family only uses one bottle of sunscreen a year, that means you will be storing sunscreen for 12 years, not to mention that most of the sunscreen will expire long before then.
  3. In most homes, one quarter of the food people buy gets thrown away. If your family of four eats pancakes once a week, that gallon of syrup is going to last you a VERY long time. You might also consider that unless dry goods and freezer items are very carefully stored, they will go bad or get bugs in them. Remember to buy the size that is appropriate for you.
  4. You need to be very well organized to buy in bulk. Finding places to store everything and then carefully keeping track of what you have is critical if you want to use it all before it spoils.
  5. Most people usually spend more than they originally planned on things they don’t need. This never saves money. We taste samples and so often end up buying. If this is you, be careful. Maybe sampling is a bad idea (unless you’re making lunch of it)!

If you have ten kids, run a day care or are buying for an organization then you almost have to buy in bulk. If you have a small or average sized family, you will probably save as much shopping for sales at your regular grocery store or discount store. The key is to do the math and evaluate your practical needs. You have to decide for yourself if buying at warehouse stores actually saves you money or just creates more work.

-Jill

Good info, Jill and Tawra!  Food Stamps Cooking Club Members, if you liked this article, you can find more of the same on their website Living On a Dime.  Cruise on over and scope out “Dig Out of Debt“.  There is a plethora of good ideas there and Dig Out of Debt is one of their best offerings yet!

You  are all welcome to offer YOUR best ideas by contacting us at foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com.  WE LOVE MAIL.

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: Cheap Comfort Food?

February 22nd, 2012
Dumplings!

 

When our kids were little tykes they introduced us to a whole new vocabulary; a new language, really.  We called it “Kidnese.”   One of the words they gave us was “dumps” –this was their gleeful acknowledgement that their grandma was making her famous dumplings!

One of our most faithful Club Members loves dumplings as much as we do.  They are oh, so easy to whip up; they cook quickly and they fill tummies even if you are living on a dime- or less!

Here is Rainy’s offering.  We present it here with our sincere thanks:

 

CHEAP COMFORT FOOD:  CHICKEN DUMPLINGS

During this time of year, money is tighter than normal for many folks…it is tax season, after all, and the cost of gas and groceries seems to climb higher with each shopping trip.  Knowing how to stretch what you already have in your pantry and fridge is a great way to help keep those higher costs at bay just a little while longer.  One of the best ways I know to fill up empty tummies with great tasting food is to make chicken and dumplings.

What if you don’t have chicken or it is a bit too pricey for your pocket book on any given day?  Do you skip this great tasting nutritious dish for some other option?  You don’t have to, IF you happen to have the fore-thought of freezing left over chicken bits from meals gone by…or you have some chicken stock on hand.  If that happens to be a stretch too, you can use canned chicken…or on those really lean times…use chicken bouillon to build the base of your broth.  The flavor will still be strong and wonderful.

Depending on the number of your dinner companions…pick a pan that will give you room to simmer your dumplings and goodies with room to spare.   Fill your pan will water and chicken bullion or chicken stock if you have it; add chicken if you happen to have some on hand.  Add to the pot some onions or onion flakes, some garlic, a little parsley and some salt and pepper. Bring this to a boil while you mix your batter for the dumplings.

Your batter will consist of flour, eggs water and salt if you desire it.   In a large bowl whip your eggs (the number is up to you).  Add a cup of water to this and your salt if you want it.   Blend it well…then start adding flour until your batter gets stiff and holds a shape.    Once that happens, drop it into your boiling broth by the fork or spoonful.   The dumplings will sink to the bottom and you will want to use a long slotted spoon to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pot.  The dumplings will need to simmer for 20 minutes or so once you have dropped them into the broth.

If you have it on hand, you might like to add veggies to the pot to add extra nutrients.  I often add carrots, celery and sometimes corn…but you can add what you like and what you happen to have.  If you have fresh, add fresh…or  canned.   Frozen works just as well.

Spices add layers of flavor…you can add bay leaf, garlic, sun dried tomato flakes, basil, Italian blends…etc.  This dish is really about bringing flavor and comfort to your family meal.  Make it your own…but be prepared for the compliments.  This is a big family favorite. 

Add a side salad or crusty bread rolls and you have a complete meal.   Enjoy!

~Rainy

Mother Connie here:  That inspires me for tonight’s dinner, Rainy.  I have a bowl full of veggies I roasted and set aside to be morphed into another meal.  I love “dumps” as much as my children did when they were tiny and you said it all when you called it COMFORT FOOD!

People who depend on SNAP are doing all in their power to make those EBT cards work hard; WIC users are doing the same thing.   Many of our club members depend on food pantries and food commodities.  This idea will no doubt appeal to them and for cooks who are just plain old fashioned frugal–this is a true winner! 

We trust our mission to help the 40 million Food Stamp users is a real assistance.

Do YOU have a tasty, money saving menu item to share?  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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Beans, Rice and Food Stamps Cooking Club?

February 10th, 2012

Beans + Rice = Perfect Protein

You’ve heard it a million times:  “If you want to save money on your food bill, make beans and rice.”  And you have done that for a million times…now you are sick of eating this combo.  What’s a cook to DO?

The Normanator and I have been enjoying beans and rice this week with NO COMPLAINTS from either of us!  I’m not much for recipes in our kitchen; my modus operandi is to poke around to see what’s there and start creating.

On Wednesday I began with one cup of  dark kidney beans.  To that I added 3 cups of water and brought it to a full boil.  After it began to boil, I reduced the heat and let it simmer on low for a couple of hours.  While that cooked, I put a cup of rice  into another saucepan with two cups of water, a dash of salt and brought that to a boil.  I used what I had:  some white rice and some brown rice.

SIDEBAR:  It’s called using up what you have  on hand so you can open a fresh package of rice.  END SIDEBAR

I drained the beans, added a few cups of chicken  broth that was waiting in the fridge for this type of moment, and put in about half the rice.  It was beginning to smell divine.  I seasoned it with salt and pepper and when it was good and hot I added a couple of handfuls of chopped spinach for color.  We ate like royalty, oohing and aahing our way through lunch!  For dessert I found some canned pears.

On Thursday we had this soup again but this time we had a big vegetable salad with it.  There wasn’t much left, but I saved it in a refrigerator container for another time.  The rice that did not wind up in the bean pot became rice pudding, replete with cinnamon, sugar and whole milk.  YUM!

Today is Friday.  When it was time to prepare lunch, I pulled out the soup and thought I could add some sauteed onion.  That made the whole house smell delish!  I added those onions, along with frozen corn, more broth and brought it to a boil. We were so pleased with this hearty soup that we did not have salad OR a sammie to go along.  We did have some apricots and that made a great finale to a wonderful meal.

There is just a tad of this left.  It will go into the freezer for a quick meal on a day we are too busy to saute or create.

We all need to have quick meals at our fingertips from time to time.  Leanne Ely from Saving Dinner had a dynamite post on her website today about that very thing.  She has come up with Fast Food Drive Through food YOU MAKE AT HOME FOR PENNIES.  Check it out, won’t you?  I think you will be very pleased at what she has to offer.

If you are a user of food commodities or frequent food pantries, we make every effort to come up with assistance that makes your life better.  If you hold an EBT card for SNAP or WIC we hope we are meeting your needs.  Maybe you are just a frugal shopper and careful cook…we expect that our little corner of the world will enhance your life as well. Maybe you are living on a dime, barely scraping by.  We sincerely hope we are helpful to you.

We are thrilled to our toenails to see that our Club Roster has so many new members!  Thank you so much for coming by.  We encourage you to share YOUR money saving ideas and recipes.  You have a lot to offer those of us who have been here for awhile.

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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Dill Pickle Soup for Food Stamps Cooking Club?

January 19th, 2012

It sounds odd, but Dill Pickle Soup is really tasty and satisfying!

After parting company with a tooth recently, all my menu called for was soup.  No problem; soup is one of my comfort foods.  When I was offered Dill Pickle Soup I was intrigued.  Now it is my new favorite soup.  Best of all, it’s easy and quick to make and it is really inexpensive.

Here is the list of ingredients and how I tweaked them:

DILL PICKLE SOUP

2 tablespoons butter or oil

1/2 cup flour

7 cups chicken broth *Make your own broth to save the big bucks; use bouillon + water if you have no broth

1/2 cup very finely chopped dill pickles  *I used the food processor

2 tablespoons dill pickle juice  *add this as  you process the pickles

2 tablespoons + 1 pinch white sugar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce  *Remember, the Kitchen Police will not arrest you if you do not have this in your pantry!

2 teaspoons minced garlic  *I used garlic powder and nobody died

4 teaspoons onion powder  *I know; it sounds excessive.  It’s perfect.

1 teaspoon curry powder  *Raise your hand if you ever had curry powder on hand…grin…

1 teaspoon dill weed

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2  cups warm milk

Melt the butter in a large soup kettle over medium heat.  Whisk in flour and cook til it becomes pale and light brown.  May take a coupla minutes.  Whisk in chicken broth until thickened and smooth.  Crank the heat to medium high, add dill pickles, juice and all; add sugar, W. sauce, garlic, onion, dill, curry  and pepper.  Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium LOW and simmer for about 5-7 minutes.  Remove from heat and whisk in warm milk.  This will serve 4 people.

***Mother Connie prefers a soup that is a bit thicker than this recipe made.  To accommodate this, I used some of the liquid from the soup pot with a spoonful of cornstarch, stirred it well, and added that back into the soup.  I whisked the whole business until it was the soupy consistency we prefer.  I could also have added leftover mashed potatoes or instant potato flakes.

The fun of cooking is the opportunity to be creative.   And devouring what you create!

I did not calculate the cost of this soup but I know it’s way less costly than most soups.  It will go really well with your favorite sandwich and a piece of fruit.

If you are a user of food stamps from the SNAP program; if you utilize food commodities; if you love dill pickles and enjoy being frugal, this will be ideal for you!  Those of you who depend on food pantries will find this recipe useful as well!

Drop us a line about your experience with this creation: foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com.  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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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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Bean Talk at Food Stamps Cooking Club

June 22nd, 2011

 

If you are talking BEANS, I am hearing BLACK BEANS!

The bean does not exist that Mother Connie does not love.  I recall with fondness the many kettles of White Northern or Navy beans my mother cooked every Monday she washed clothes as she used the old wringer washer!  Bits of bacon or ham went into the bean pot, as did shreds of carrot and pieces of onion.  They soaked on the counter top every Sunday night and when supper time rolled around they were paired up with crusty cornbread!  We could depend on eating beans and cornbread every wash day, which-of course-was traditionally Monday.

SIDEBAR:  Could you live YOUR life, knowing that Monday was always to be laundry day?  END SIDEBAR.

Through the years, Mom often cooked lima beans, even though my dad groaned his displeasure.  She also made baked beans with weiners, back in the bygone days of CHEAP NATURAL CASING HOT DOGS!  And of course, she was big on bean salads of every stripe and color.

Mom talked about a childhood that was-shall we say austere?  She and her sister both remembered being hungry at bedtime on a regular basis.  Wash day was not the only time they saw a plateful of beans!  Grandma did well to have enough dry beans to make meals with, especially because meat-and money and food-was mighty scarce.

Neither Mom nor my aunt were never ill as youngsters, so what little food they did have to eat nourished them well. Mom was 86 when she made her transition…she still had her own teeth!  Maybe mineral-rich beans were all right, after all!

Beans provide color and variety; fiber and texture.  They are a staple all around the world.

My Inbox held a wonderful recipe for chickpeas and grains this morning.  I was thrilled about it until I found out that recipe was not meant for sharing.

SIDEBAR:  HUH?  No sharing recipes?  What’s that about?  And if it is not for sharing, why was it in my Inbox?  NO FAIR! END SIDEBAR.

Let’s just say again that beans and grains make a complete low cost protein and let that stand.  If you and your family favor a certain type of bean and you have a favorite grain, I would strongly encourage you to mix and match and come up with your OWN recipe.

SIDEBAR:  If/When you DO that, feel free to put it into our Inbox for sharing.  The email address will appear below!  END SIDEBAR.

Beans lend themselves to salads, side dishes, entrees and snacks.

Chef Shawn Bucher reminds us that RE-FRIED beans are really “smashed” beans.  I found that comical.  When I read that, my mouth watered and I pined for little tortillas with a dab of re-fried beans, topped with a dollop of sour cream.

Any variety of cooked beans-canned or home cooked-adds interest to stir fry dishes, soups, salads, or even sandwiches.  Have you mashed any beans and used those “smooshed” beauties as a sandwich spread in lieu of mayo or butter?  They can be run through the food processor, along with sandwich meat or eggs and flavored with a dash of vinegar, some pickle relish and a bit of salad dressing, oil, or mayo.  Used this way, they can fill lettuce cups or be a sandwich spread.  This is ideal for lunchboxes!

People who have food commodities are likely to have beans on the shelf in their kitchens.  The same is true for users of a food pantry.  If you have an EBT card for WIC or SNAP; if you have Angel Food Ministries foodstuffs or you are a coupon clipper, you are very likely to have a stash of canned or dry beans around.

On the other hand, if you just like being very careful with your food dollars you are very likely to have a variety of beans to make your home cooked meals interesting and economical.

We are eager to hear from all of you about the way YOU use beans.  Just send your info to foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com !  WE LOVE MAIL!

We also l0ve having new Club Members!  We have a brand new batch, so treat ‘em all with love!  Please make all the new kids feel welcome here.

Connie Baum

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