Posts Tagged ‘food stamps cooking club’

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Food Stamps Cooking Club: Garlic Tips?

February 18th, 2010

If EVERYONE at the table eats garlic, kissing the cook will be a good thing!

I found a little item in a health food brochure that came my way and it got me thinking about garlic. This herb is so much more than a wonderful addition to bread or meat and vegetable offerings.  It truly is a health food.  Plus, it is inexpensive to buy or to grow.  It’s a terrific bargain and it is scrup-deedly-umptious!

There has been a wealth of research done about garlic over many years’ time.  It has been shown to significantly help fight free radicals, it can reduce cholesterol as well as improve heart problems and it helps with blood issues.  Not to mention its antibacterial properties, which help keep our immune systems strong and illness at bay.

Whether you choose to eat it with your foods and/or use it in a supplemental form, garlic will please your palate and keep you feeling fit as a fiddle!

A dear client once told me that her favorite way to use garlic was with roast chicken.  She used 30 buds of garlic in the cavity and around the bird as she slow roasted the chicken!  30 sounds like a lot to me but I tried it and it was delish.

When you roast garlic it gets sweeter, so that garlicky flavor married into the flavor of the poultry and was very, very good.  Of course, salt and pepper went with that.  Simple.  Simple.  Simple.  And not a costly meal at all.  Naturally, you could add any collection of veggies to that and do your entire meal in the oven.

Yum.  Makes me want to check the freezer to see if there is an old dead bird there, or parts of one just to roast with garlic!

Using garlic-infused oils are a nice way to make a garlic bread.  If you don’t have such a thing in your pantry, it’s easy to make.  Just pour some good salad oil-my fave is Olive Oil-into a pitcher, drop in some garlic buds and leave it, covered.  In a day or two, you will have garlic flavored oil that can be brushed onto slices of bread that can then be toasted in the oven.  Oh, how good that would be with a pasta dish!

If you saute` garlic, make sure the heat is moderate because garlic that has been cooked too hot and too quickly tends to burn and that is not the flavor you want to add to your dishes!

Do any of our Club Members grow garlic in their gardens?  We’d love to hear from you.  Just send an email to foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com.

As Club Members, you all have earned gold stars for sharing.  We note that more and more people are coming here and asking for the series of Cooking Tips we send, as well as the occasional email messages.  Our intention is not to bombard you but to help you.

We hope our cooking tips for today have hit your hot button and inspired you to create some great comfort food.  We make every effort to assist those who use Angel Food Ministries, food commodities, food pantry foods, and SNAP or WIC.  We also hope we are catering to those who simply stick to frugality and watch their food budgets closely.

Hearing from our Club Members is such a joy!  Please add your comments to this page, won’t you?  Or shoot us an email at the above address.  Thanks, kids.

If you like what you see here you may also appreciate The Healthy and Wealthy You or Mother Connie Sez. We are always jonesin’ for comments there, too.  See how we are?  grin

For those of you who may be interested in creating some much needed online income from a work at home business, you might be interested to see what’s available here or here.

Connie Baum

The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post.  Should those links be clicked and sales result, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated.  Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline.  Only do business with those you trust implicitly.



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Food Stamps Cooking Club: Comfort Food?

February 12th, 2010

Does weather that looks like this make you pine for comfort food?

Some of us feel as if we are bears, hibernating for the winter.   Maybe some of us have curled up, all cozy in our homes…others?  Not so much.  After all, hopefully, we have jobs and kids to get to school and sidewalks to clear.  Life goes on, in all kinds of weather.

Cold weather whets our appetites for soups, baked goods so the oven can warm the house; those comfort foods will warm our hearts; even hot chocolate might take the place of dessert on a cold winter’s evening.

Does your crock pot or  slow cooker get more of a workout during winter months?  One of the most favored breakfasts we can conjure up with our crock pot is the old oatmeal treat.  I toss in a few raisins, a few apple slices-I add the  skins, too-and about 4 times more water-with a dash of salt-than oatmeal just before I go to bed.  For extra yumminess, I will add a sprinkle of cinnamon.  When morning comes breakfast is ready and it smells so inviting that sleepyheads don’t dawdle!

If you are a working family and want to come home to a ready made meal it doesn’t take much in the way of planning to pop some meat and veggies into the slow cooker, along with some broth.  What a welcoming way to come home when you are dog tired and ready for some good old fashioned comfort food!  If you use enough ingredients, you have the makings of a great soup for the next meal!

Some people find it helpful to use this method:  As you are unpacking your groceries you can take some time to wash and cut some veggies and fruit to be kept in air-tight storage containers or bags.  This makes for sensible snacks and helps with meal prep, too.

Having a batch of rice cooked and at the ready in the fridge will help speed up meal making.  So will having hard cooked eggs on hand.  Kids will snack on healthy things like these if it’s easy and quick.

My kids used to love finding cupcake papers with a few chocolate chips and raisins or nuts and raisins waiting for them after school.  Sometimes there would be tarts filled with warm pudding.  What do you do for YOUR kids that our club members would enjoy knowing about?  Maybe you’ll post a comment and share some of your ideas with us.  We’d love that just as much as comfort food.

We love email messages, too:  foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com

Thanks, guys.  Be sure to leave your name and email in the box in the upper right hand corner of this blog.  That way you will receive the series of cooking tips and the few broadcasts we send your way.  We love keeping in touch.

As you know, the Food Stamps Cooking Club is devoted to the care and feeding of those who use Angel Food Ministries, SNAP or WIC.  We cater to people who depend on food pantries and food commodities and Farmers Markets Coupons.  We also give a nod to those who are doing all in their power to keep to their food budgets.

Connie Baum

The FTC wants you to know that there are links in this post.  Should those links be clicked, resulting in a sale, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated.  Always do your due diligence when conducting affairs online.  Do business only with those you trust implicitly.


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Food Stamps Cooking Club: Number of Members is Climbing

February 6th, 2010

USA: Food Stamps Users Numbers are Climbing!

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

THAT’S NOT NEWS!  THAT’S REALITY!

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

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

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

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

“CHEESY RICE AND TOMATOES

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Connie Baum

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Food Stamps Cooking Club and the SuperBowl?

February 3rd, 2010

SuperBowl Sunday Approaches! WHO DAT?

Most every household has Super Bowl Sunday on their radar.  All us foodies are thinking about what we’ll eat.  The media is full of ideas.  The thing is, if you are using SNAP or WIC or any of the other food assistance program, you may have more limited choices than those who are living off their ginormous Trust Funds.  Still, we crave our comfort foods…Oh, what to DO?

I have some ideas about potatoes, which we’d love to share below.  Before we do that, however, let’s mention that Super Bowl Sunday is no reason to go all out for high calorie, low nutrition foods.    You can do very well with pickles and olives; people will be happy to eat raw veggies and fruit pieces as well as popcorn before the main event of a soup or pasta entree!  Please don’t feel obligated to put out expensive chips and dips or have pizzas delivered when all that may mean you eat more oatmeal or cheap weenies to keep a handle on the rest of your month’s budget.  I’m just sayin’…

HOW ABOUT A SOUPER BOWL POTATO BAR?

  1. Chili over baked potatoes can be divine!  With toppings of chili, cheese, sour cream these are filling, nourishing and comforting!  Even bean soups or lentils over baked taters is delish!  Have you ever tasted cauliflower soup over potatoes?  OH, be still my heart!
  2. Twice baked potatoes, stuffed with cheese can be a crowd pleaser without busting the budget!
  3. Potato skins make great appetizers; save the stuffing for baked potato soup!  Add in a few chunks of wieners or ham for added protein.  YUM.
  4. Baked potatoes topped off with cottage cheese, chives, onions, sweet peppers; even corn make pretty plates of hearty eating.
  5. A pot of potato soup with sandwich fixings nearby can facilitate the fans filling their own plates.  No need for anyone to miss any football action playing Host.

Being users of assistance programs,  such as food commodities, food pantries, Farmers Markets, or even Angel Food Ministries foods need not dampen our enthusiasm for a rockin’ good Super Bowl Party.

What will YOU be eating while you root for your team?

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 your affairs online or offline.  Do business only with those you trust implicitly.





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Food Stamps Cooking Club: Sandra Cooks With Beans

February 1st, 2010

Beans provide great protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals and team up well with many other foods to create variety and visual interest!

 

In case you didn’t already know it, the Food Stamps Cooking Club has THE BEST members in the Universe!  I know this because they are so generous to share.  To wit:
Sandra sent us three recipes about beans, just as she promised she would, and here is the first.  We promise to follow up with two more very soon:


SANDRA’S BEAN DISH

**Refried Beans

Place 2 pounds of beans or 6 cups of dried beans in a large bowl.  Cover with cold water and stir.  Let them sit overnight or for several hours. Drain the beans and rinse with cold water.

Put beans in large crock pot and cover with water.  Cook on high for 5 hours or low for 8-10.  Drain beans, reserving some of the bean “juice.”

Place desired amount of beans with some “juice” in a food processor and blend until very smooth, adding more water or “juice” as necessary.

Place a skillet on the stove burner.  Add cooking spray or oil.  Pour beans into pan and cook until desired consistency is achieved.  You can season with salt, chopped onion, onion powder/salt, garlic, garlic powder/salt, chili powder, cumin, green chilies, whatever you like.

Serve refried beans any way you wish: tacos, taco salad, with Mexican rice, next to fried eggs, or in Refried bean casserole.

**Refried bean chili or Refried bean dip

You can add a can or two of diced tomatoes, a can of green chilies, and a half a block of cream cheese that has been cubed.  Depending on what consistency you want, you can make this into a dip or a chili.  It is far too rich to be served by itself.  So you really need something to eat with it like baked potatoes, Fritos, salad, something to dilute the richness a bit.  :)

You can use them to make bean burritos.  Add some rice and you have a complete protein.

WAIT!  THERE’S MORE!
**REFRIED BEAN CASSEROLE

Tortilla chips or corn tortillas
4 cups refried beans
2 cups salsa or enchilada sauce
½ cup grated cheese (we like Colby/jack)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line the bottom of pan with the chips or tortillas.  Spread beans over chips/tortillas, then salsa or enchilada sauce.  Sprinkle with cheese.  (You can also stir it up together and dump it in which is what I do.  J)

I love, love, LOVE beans.  They are cheap.  They are healthy.  They are easy to store – requiring no electricity for storage.  And they are very versatile.  By the way you can use just about any kind of bean to make refried beans.  I like pintos and black beans best.  But this would also work with white beans and kidney beans.

-Sandra

Sandra, we love, love LOVE YOU!  It was so great when our mail is fun!  THANK YOU Again!

For people who use SNAP, WIC, Angel Food Ministries foods, or things that came from food commodities or a food pantry, these are pragmatic ideas.  If you are making every effort to s-t-r-e-t-c-h your food money, this is the place for good information.  We’re glad you’re here.  We hope you leave a comment for us and we hope to hear from you at foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com

If you enjoy this blog the chances are good you will like what you find on Mother Connie Sez and The Healthy and Wealthy You. There is a place for comments there, too, she said to hint broadly and shamelessly…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.  Do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline.  Only do business with those you trust implicitly.

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January 27th, 2010

 

WIC offers good news for mommies and babies!

 

You may be aware of the recently implemented program for Women Infants and Children-WIC-last fall.  They have amended their food package to include fresh fruits and vegetables.

This is tremendously good news for families!  Fresh fruits and vegetables are the fuels needed to propel growing little bodies into becoming healthy, productive, happy people!

There is an educational program to go with this in order to help people wring every advantage from the new program.  Mother Connie, with the Food Stamps Cooking Club and all the dear members who are so generous with their time and ideas, hope we are contributing to the educational process in our own small way.

If you receive WIC benefits, you are likely to know about these changes.  If you would like more information about all the good things they are doing, just inquire at your local level and some very nice people will answer all your questions.

Someone who sits in my circle is a real FAN of WIC.  She raves about how wonderful it has been to have enough milk for her little one.  Now since vegetables and fruits are available to this little family there is a sense of security in place that satisfies Mommy in ways food cannot.

Maybe your family does not need or does not use WIC.  You may be a SNAP user; you may visit food pantries or receive food commodities.  Perhaps you grow your own food or are a Senior Citizen using Farmers Markets or living on a tightly fixed income.  You might even be a penny pinching foodie.  In any case, the Food Stamps Cooking Club is the place to be for ideas about good eats!

If you are a fan of Angel Food Ministries, you know how their menus can stretch a food budget like rubber, too!  We’d love to hear from happy Angel Food users. 

Here’s something we found, courtesy of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension in Lancaster County, Nebraska:

VEGETABLE RICE SKILLET

One 15 oz can kidney, black or garbanzo beans, drained & rinsed

One  14.5 oz can stewed tomatoes

2  cups mixed veggies, frozen

One cup water

3/4  cup brown rice

1/2  teaspoon dried thyme or dried dill weed

One  10  3/4  oz can tomato soup

Hot sauce – optional

Cheese – optional

1. In a large skillet, stir together beans, tomatoes, veggies, water, rice and thyme or dill.

2. Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 – 25 minutes or til rice is tender.  Stir occasionally.  Add more water if mixture seems to be too dry.

3. Stir in tomato soup.  Bring to a boil.  Let simmer 2 or 3 minutes or more.

4. Serve with hot sauce and cheese, if you choose.

This makes me want to race to my pantry shelves to see if I have the fixings so I can make this recipe on this very day!  YUMMY!

The chances are very good that if you like what you read here, you would like what’s on Mother Connie Sez or The Healthy and Wealthy You.  Cruise on over, if you like.  She’d love to have your comments, there, as well as here.  (She has no shame, when it comes to asking for your comments.)

You are welcome to contact Mother Connie: foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com

You are welcome, also to visit our sponsors.  Be aware that we have a vested interest.  You can read our disclaimer below…before you post your comment.  grin

Thanks so much, kids, for coming by.  I hope you remembered to give us your name and email so you can begin to receive our infrequent messages.

Connie Baum

The FTC wants you to know that there are links in this post.  Should those links be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated.  Always do your due diligence when conducting commerce online or offline.  Do business only with those you trust implicitly.


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Food Stamps Cooking Club: Pot Luck, Anybody?

January 25th, 2010

"Let us break bread together..."

A very good reason, if you need one, to join our church would be the bounty of great cooks and all that fabulous food!  Yesterday we had our Annual Meeting, or as we have come to know it: An opportunity to eat some great comfort food!

There was a luscious spread of ham balls, deer bologna, kraut, meat loaves, sliced ham.  We had green bean casseroles, mashed potato dishes and salads of every description.  The dessert table had everything from cherry fluff and Moon Pie to Sweet Potato Crunch and sour cream raisin pie. Every cook in the congregation-man or woman-brought the signature dishes they are famous for making for church dinners.  Even Pastor’s husband brought his home made ham and bean soup, which was absolutely mouth watering!

Our tummies were so full we were tempted to nap before we conducted our business!

What is YOUR signature dish?  What are YOU “famous” for bringing to family dinners from YOUR oven?  What is created in YOUR kitchen that goes to pot luck meals where people line up to spoon YOUR goodies onto their plates?  We’d love to know.  Please share the wealth of your know-how and Yankee ingenuity at foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com!

Thanks, boys n girls.

If you are using WIC you are probably thrilled about their new vegetable program!  If you use SNAP you can stretch those food dollars by using Angel Food Ministries.  If you have food commodities or use foodstuffs from a food pantry or Farmers Market we would love to know all the ways YOU stretch those food dollars.  We all can learn so much from one another.  That’s what the Food Stamps Cooking Club is all about!

We are proud to report YOU are sharing the good news about this page-our membership is rising steadily!  People are submitting their name and email addresses in order to have our tips series.  Occasionally we send a broadcast but we make every effort not to load your in-box with fluff.

If you like what you read here and are interested in the concept of health and wealth, you might like to cruise over to The Healthy and Wealthy You for some ideas about making money at home and good ways of taking care of your family’s health.

Connie Baum

The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post.  If they should be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated.  Always do your due diligence when conducting business online or offline.  Do business only with those you trust implicitly.

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Food Stamps Cooking: Oats, Peas, Beans and BARLEY?

December 16th, 2009

Pearly grains of barley make for tasty good eating!

Pearly grains of barley make for tasty good eating!

Do you remember the childrens’ song, “Oats, peas, beans and BAR-ley grow…Oats, peas, beans and BAR-ley grow…Whether your mother will let you or no…Oats, peas, beans and BAR-ley grow…?”

The Normanator has always been proficient in the kitchen.  One of the reasons he took bragging rights on his chili soup was because he added barley to the broth to stretch the servings each pot yielded.  After all, three hungry boys can make short shrift of a pot of chili!

I’ve used barley through the years but I was ASTONISHED to learn recently why it has always been void of flavor.  I hate to admit this, but I’ve been preparing it incorrectly.  my bad…

Here’s the 411 on barley:  You need to TOAST it before you cook it!  Oh, my stars and garters!  WHO KNEW?

Toasted barley gets "tanned" and tasty as it warms...it needs to be carefully watched so as not to scorch!

Toasted barley gets "tanned" and tasty as it warms...it needs to be carefully watched so as not to scorch!

So, I toasted it.  I only wish you could smell the nutty aroma that wafted from the skillet.  It was marvy-poo.  I will keep it in a tightly covered container until I am ready to prepare it.  I think that cooking it and adding it to carrots would be delish.  I’ll keep you in the loop on that when it happens.

We tend to cook the way our mothers cooked.  Our mothers’ foods were comfort foods for us.   We tend to like the foods our mothers cooked and we want them to look the way our mothers’ foods looked.  I am guilty as charged.  Never mind that some of the food-barley-had little flavor.  Silly me.

There are a great many appliances and conveniences in our kitchen but it was only recently that we acquired a food processor.  You have no idea how much fun I have been having, playing with my food, running things through that food processor!  The garden yielded a bumper crop of green beans this summer, for which we were grateful, but they were pole beans as opposed to bush beans.  They tasted fine but they were no fun to eat because they were stringy.

SIDEBAR:  What did she EXPECT from string beans?  END SIDEBAR.

Running them through the food processor gave us a bright green goo that made dinner fun.  We decided it was baby food for Seniors.  But, of course, at 33, I’m much too young for the Senior Discount.

SIDEBAR:  She said, lying through her store-bought teeth!  END SIDEBAR.

So, boys and girls, if you are using SNAP or WIC; if you have food commodities or goods from a food pantry or if you avail yourselves of Angel Food Ministries, here is a grand way to stretch the food to match the appetites of your gang!

No doubt you have dollar stretching, food stretching ideas to share.  Please shoot them our way by sending them to foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com and we will be sure to share them with all the Club members!

If you have a moment, it might be fun to visit our partners.  We have new information about brushing your teeth that won’t break the bank and you might be interested to learn about it.  Check out the banners on this page.  All our partners want to help earn and save money.  You can’t beat that with a stick!

Christmas is coming ever so quickly!  We hope you are not frazzled by the preparation but are savoring each moment and making delicious memories with those you love best!

Connie Baum

*The FTC wants you to know that there are links in this post and on this page.  If those links are clicked and would result in a purchase your humble blogger would be compensated.  Any purchase made offline or online should be approached with due diligence.

***Please note that if you enjoy reading this page, you may also appreciate the content found on this blog:  The Healthy and Wealthy You!

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Food Stamp Cooking: Christmas Soup?

December 14th, 2009
Oh, if only you could smell and taste what's in this bowl: mmm, GOOD STUFF!

Oh, if only you could smell and taste what's in this bowl: mmm, GOOD STUFF!

I love to watch people cook on television, or in their own kitchen, for that matter.  It identifies me as a foodie, no doubt.  I saw Alton Brown make his mother’s Christmas Soup on TV the other day and there is a permanent drool stain on the carpet from my watching Alton’s demonstration of this comfort food.  I could ALMOST smell the soup as it simmered on Alton’s stove!

Well, I was sure I could recreate it.  Alas, I only had some of the ingredients he used so I improvised.  This is Mother Connie’s version of this hearty, festive soup:

MOTHER CONNIE’S VERSION OF CHRISTMAS SOUP

2 slices of bacon per dinner guest + 2 more for the pot, chopped

1 pound kidney beans, soaked and drained

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3 red potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled, and rough chopped

2 large cans chicken stock

1 small package chopped spinach

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Fry the bacon pieces, drain on paper toweling and set aside.

Saute` the onions, then add the garlic just before the onions are ready (if you cook garlic too long it can burn or ruin the flavor).  Drain the veggies on paper toweling.

Combine the kidney beans, onions and  garlic in a large soup pot and add the broth.  Bring to a boil and allow it to simmer.

Add the potatoes, then the spinach.

Before serving, add the vinegar.  Season to taste.

I made this on Saturday to serve to Sunday guests and those flavors married all night so that when it was served the Rave Factor went WAY UP.  People asked for seconds!

I like to serve soup with toasted French Bread.  The big debate in our house is whether to pour the soup over the bread or just use the bread for dunking!

The red and green of this soup lends itself well to  Christmas tradition, but honestly, this is a soup you could make year around and those who bring their appetites to your table will be DELIGHTED.

This recipe is ideal for users of SNAP, WIC or food commodities.  If you have food from a Food Pantry, this is something you can prepare without fear of running out of food or food ideas.  It could be made with beans and rice or beans and ham, as well.  Be creative and see what you can do with it.  When you have results that please you, give us a shout out at foodstampscookingclub@gmail.com!  Thanks a bunch!

If you are using Angel Food Ministries foods we would love to know how you are creating dishes with those items, too!

Today your humble blogger sent out a little token of her Christmas love.  In case you missed it, you can download it by clicking here:  Food Stamps Cooking Club.

We really appreciate your comments and emails!  Thank you so much, everyone!

Connie Baum

*The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post, which, if clicked, could lead to a purchase.  In the case of that happening, your humble blogger would be compensated.  Please use your due diligence when making purchases either offline or online.  And please don’t worry; any resulting earnings will be tithed and spent wisely.



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Food Stamps Cooking: Are You Crackers?

December 11th, 2009
Kids love animals! Kids love helping in the kitchen! Kids love to eat!

Kids love animals! Kids love helping in the kitchen! Kids love to eat!

Seeing this collection of animal shaped food reminded me of animal CRACKERS…how about getting into the kitchen this weekend and making these with the kids?

No kids in your household?  Borrow some from the neighbors and make some delicious memories with this recipe from the University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service!

ANIMAL CRACKERS

1/2 cup oatmeal

2  teaspoons honey  *Children under age 1 should not eat honey

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon soda

1/4 cup butter

4 tablespoons milk

Directions:

Grind oatmeal in blender until fine and transfer to large bowl.  Add honey, salt, flour, and baking soda.  Cut in butter.  Add milk.  Roll out thin; cut with animal shaped cookie cutters.  Bake at 400 degrees until brown,  about 10 – 12 minutes.  Makes 24  two inch cookies.

The beauty of this recipe is that the children can help measure the ingredients, push the button on the blender and cut the butter into the mixture with a fork.  They can pour in the milk and help roll out the dough.  Very young children can even cut the animal shapes with the cutters.

If you are using SNAP or WIC for your food; if you have food commodities or goods from a food pantry or you are using Angel Food Ministries foodstuffs this recipe will likely fit into your budget.  If you have kids home for snow days or you’ll have kids around during  the holidays this will be a great treat!

It’s a real treat for us at the Clubhouse when our mail is full of goodies from our members.  Just to tickle your memory the email is foodstampscookiingclub@gmail.com.

We also adore having comments on this page, so do not disappoint us!  Thank you so much.

It’s a busy time of year, but if you have the time to peek in on our partners, that would be keen.  Rapid Cash Marketing has such great ideas for bringing more money into your household and they would love to strut their stuff for you.

Connie Baum

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