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Cooking With Herbs-Chives
This post should really be called what to do with a bumper crop of chives. I hate wasting anything, especially food, so when I saw that this year’s chive crop was more than I could handle in one afternoon of drying and freezing, I had to get creative. Here are some ideas I came up with- Think Holiday Gifts I used to make four or five different flavored vinegars each summer but haven’t done it in a long time. This year I decided to try it again. As you might have guessed first one, chive vinegar. It’s simple to do and you can use old bottles that once housed things…
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Save Time and Money with Desperation Dinners
Workwise it’s been a hectic week for me and sometimes we’re all entitled to days when cooking dinner is the last thing we want to do. I know it’s tempting to get in the car and head to restaurant but here are some meals I fall back on when things get crazy. I call them my desperation dinners. Cook From the Pantry Supply If you’ve never been motivated to keep the pantry well stocked, now’s a great time to do some planning. Make a list of things you’d like to keep on hand and buy one or two items each time you’re at the store. If you stock the right…
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More Budget Friendly Foods-Garbanzo Beans
Garbanzo beans, or as they’re otherwise known chickpeas, is another budget friendly food that I use a lot in cooking. You can buy them canned or dried. I always keep a couple of cans in the pantry. I also cook a one pound bag of the dried variety, using the slow cooker for making batches for various recipes. Just like other beans, they’re full of protein, fat free and give offer a good nutritional bang for your buck. Here are some of my favorite ways to use them- Hummus One of my favorite treats is hummus. I used to buy it ready-made at the supermarket but the price jumped up so I went looking…
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Another Budget Buy-Green Split Peas
Last month I featured black beans as a favorite budget find. This time it’s split green peas. Like beans, split peas are also a fat free, high in fiber food. And they’re inexpensive…this bag cost just 99 cents. Unlike beans, they need no presoaking. All they require is a wash and rinse to make sure they’re free of dust and the odd small stone that can sometimes creep into the mix. One of my favorite recipes is split pea soup. I had one I’d used for years but it took a long time to cook. Unless I continually monitored it, I was always faced with split peas and potatoes that got stuck to the bottom of the pan.…
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Soup, a Great Budget Meal
I can’t think of a better comfort food than a bowl of homemade soup. It also makes a great bargain meal for many reasons- Low Cost Ingredients Most items you use to make soup aren’t that expensive…vegetables and cheaper cuts of meat that usually tenderize during this slow cooking process. A Hearty Meal in a Bowl Thicker soups like split pea or chili contain lots of fiber that fill you up quickly. Soups containing dairy products add a satisfying richness that tricks us into thinking we’ve eaten an elaborate meal. Meal In Itself Serve a soup containing a protein and some vegetables, add some great crusty bread, and you’ve got yourself one…
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Fall Soups
One thing that recharges my energy after an afternoon of raking and bagging leaves is a bowl of soup. Fall’s the perfect time to make soup, not only for eating now, but enjoying in the dead of winter. And best of all, soup’s an economical meal. And if you pair it with a side salad and bread, you’ve got yourself a complete lunch or supper. Here are my tips for making the most out of fall soups. Buy In Season One way to make your food dollar stretch even further is to use ingredients that are in abundance now. Things like squash, parsnips, potatoes, and yes, even apples. They make…
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After School Snacks
One thing I remember about my school days is coming home so hungry that I’d grab the first thing I saw sitting in the pantry. And I’m afraid to say that it was usually a handful of cookies or a bag of chips. All kids get hungry and can’t always wait until dinnertime to refuel after a long day at school. But you don’t want them loading up on too many calories and then not eating dinner. A compromise is a small snack. Here are some ideas for keeping after school snacks both fun and healthful. Portion Control One of the biggest problems is letting your kids pick and choose…
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