Evaporated, Powdered, and Condensed Milk
You'll very seldomly find milk in our refrigerator anymore. We love granola and every once in a while we'll make some (recipe coming!) and spring for milk, but we discovered that oatmeal (yes, this recipe is coming, too!) is cheaper and just as good for us so we have switched to that or eggs and toast most mornings.
At first, even though I hated having milk sour before we went through it all, I couldn't let go and stop buying it. What if I wanted to bake something that called for milk? Or wanted to make cream-of-something soup? Or needed some for my coffee or tea?
Somewhere along the line I had an aha! moment and picked up a box of non-fat powdered milk to have on hand. So cheap and lasts for so long!!! You can control the consistency to match your recipe by adding more or less water. And the best thing about it in my opinion is that it can be added to other dry ingredients to add water to at a later date. Like for instance in my homade instant oatmeal or in the cafe mocha mix that I often gift for Christmas.
I just recently started experimenting with evaporated and condensed milk too. What's the difference, you ask? Well, the short and simple answer is that condensed milk is sweet - used almost exclusively for baked goods. Evaporated milk, however, is almost as versitile as powdered milk. The rule of thumb is 1/2 evap. milk, 1/2 water to substitute the canned stuff for the real stuff in recipes. As Carnation's website says, it's "the creamier milk" and "the slimmer cream."
While I have to admit I'm not a fan of drinking any of the above substitutes, they are invaluable assets to your pantry and your wallet. Do you have any milk tips? Send 'em my way!
Lentil Crescents
I don't know how many of you have crescent rolls in your pantry... so this might be a stretch, but it's simple and can be modified in a number of ways. In fact, the recipe below is modified from the Greek Lentil Crescents recipe from the October 2006 issue of Home Cooking Magazine. The original recipe had just lentils, dried onions, and feta cheese it.
Ingredients:
1 (8oz) package refridgerated crescent roll dough
1 (15oz) can lentils or about 1 1/2 cup fresh cooked dry lentils, drained
1 can spinach (or 1 box frozen spinach)
2 tsp dried minced onion
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp soy sauce or temari
1 (15oz) can lentils or about 1 1/2 cup fresh cooked dry lentils, drained
1 can spinach (or 1 box frozen spinach)
2 tsp dried minced onion
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp soy sauce or temari
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In bowl, combine all ingredients except dough and mix well.
Separate crescent roll dough into 4 rectangles.
Firmly press perferations to seal.
Cut each rectangle into 2 squares. 8 squares in all.
Place 1/4 cup lentil mixture in center of each square.
Bring 4 corners together over filling and twist.
Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake 14-18 minutes or until golden brown.
In bowl, combine all ingredients except dough and mix well.
Separate crescent roll dough into 4 rectangles.
Firmly press perferations to seal.
Cut each rectangle into 2 squares. 8 squares in all.
Place 1/4 cup lentil mixture in center of each square.
Bring 4 corners together over filling and twist.
Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake 14-18 minutes or until golden brown.
Pay Per Post
I have very much enjoyed running this blog for the short month it has been up. Blogging has been addictive, and blogging about food has turned out to be surprisingly fulfilling. I love to cook and I love that I get to stay home to devote time to doing it. Blogging about eating from our pantry has also saved us money as I've had to take my own advice! I've ended up blogging much more frequently than I anticipated just because I enjoy it so much!
Spending so much time at this has gotten me interested in getting some exposure for the site in hopes of helping a larger base of people and possibly earning a little bit of revenue for my time. I hate when blogs has unrelated/annoying advertising though so I am making an effort to make all of the advertising on this blog and the other sites I'm working on add to rather than take away from the usefulness of the content.
I was happy to come across PayPerPost the other day while searching for relevent ways to generate income. Rather than strictly posting banner ads and the like, I can get paid for doing what I'm already doing - writing! Pay Per Post will pay me when I accept writing assignments and post them here. I get to choose which assignments to accept so I can tailor the content of my blog. I'm looking at it as getting free writing prompts! I will of course continue to post my usual recipes and tips as well.
I'm excited to get paid to blog and I hope that it enriches the site overall. Let me know if you have used PPP and whether or not you've had a good experience with them!
Spending so much time at this has gotten me interested in getting some exposure for the site in hopes of helping a larger base of people and possibly earning a little bit of revenue for my time. I hate when blogs has unrelated/annoying advertising though so I am making an effort to make all of the advertising on this blog and the other sites I'm working on add to rather than take away from the usefulness of the content.
I was happy to come across PayPerPost the other day while searching for relevent ways to generate income. Rather than strictly posting banner ads and the like, I can get paid for doing what I'm already doing - writing! Pay Per Post will pay me when I accept writing assignments and post them here. I get to choose which assignments to accept so I can tailor the content of my blog. I'm looking at it as getting free writing prompts! I will of course continue to post my usual recipes and tips as well.
I'm excited to get paid to blog and I hope that it enriches the site overall. Let me know if you have used PPP and whether or not you've had a good experience with them!
Pumpkin Raisin Muffins
It's never too warm for pumpkin!
You can imagine the sort of things that are most commonly donated to our food pantry - canned green beans, corn, and peas as well as mac 'n cheese and ramen noodles. The single most common item donated however, is canned cranberry sauce. My only guess is that people buy more than one can around Thanksgiving/Christmas and then remember that no one in their family enjoys it but them and they can't eat more than one can. I have yet to work up the bravery to try to make anything out of congealed cranberries, but this week I cracked open the other Thanksgiving/Christmas season donations and showed our residents how to use them.
We ended up this year with a whole shelf full of pureed pumpkin. Pumpkin is fantastic! It can be sweet or not. It can be used in baked goods or soups or stews or as a spread. I love pumpkin. So, even though it is June, we've been revelling in the Fall fruits this week.
The recipe came from this site and was delicious:
You can imagine the sort of things that are most commonly donated to our food pantry - canned green beans, corn, and peas as well as mac 'n cheese and ramen noodles. The single most common item donated however, is canned cranberry sauce. My only guess is that people buy more than one can around Thanksgiving/Christmas and then remember that no one in their family enjoys it but them and they can't eat more than one can. I have yet to work up the bravery to try to make anything out of congealed cranberries, but this week I cracked open the other Thanksgiving/Christmas season donations and showed our residents how to use them.
We ended up this year with a whole shelf full of pureed pumpkin. Pumpkin is fantastic! It can be sweet or not. It can be used in baked goods or soups or stews or as a spread. I love pumpkin. So, even though it is June, we've been revelling in the Fall fruits this week.
The recipe came from this site and was delicious:
Pumpkin Raisin Muffins
Number of Servings: Two dozen
Ingredients:
1 cup Fresh or Canned Pumpkin
3 1/2 cups Flour
1 cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1 1/4 cup 2% Milk
1/4 cup Soft Butter or margarine
1 cup Raisins
4 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon Salt
Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put muffin cups into muffin tins or grease the tins. Cream butter(or margarine) and sugar until fluffy. Beat in pumpkin and eggs. Dredge raisins in 1/2 cup of flour. Sift remaining flour and spices together. Pour milk into a mixing bowl. Mix in dry ingredients by hand until just mixed. Stir in raisins. Spoon mix into paper cups in muffin tin. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes. Serve pumpkin raisin muffins warm or cool. Spread on butter or margarine, if desired.
Notes: I mentioned in the last post that I am terrible at baking. This is what happens when you forget the baking powder:
They don't rise! Who knew! I salvaged the second half of the batch, but I guaruntee they would have been yummier if I would have followed the directions from the start.
I used canned evaporated milk instead of fresh milk and then used the leftover milk and pumpkin to make a Pumpkin Latte. Delicious!
Emergency Substitutions
I am a terrible baker. Really. You'll see soon - my next entry will be about muffins!
I am the girl who decided to bake cookies for my highschool crush and had to make 3 dozen to get 10 that were edible. Just. Barely. Edible. I promise.
So I was very thankful when a kind lady friend gave me a list of emergency substitutions on a 3 X 5 notecard. Part of the reason I'm bad at baking is the same as the reason I'm great at cooking other things - I generally don't think things through ahead of time and have a hard time following the rules. Rules are important in baking.
Hope this list helps you more than it helped me while making these cookies tonight. No eggs! ah ha! I can use mayo! No Mayo! I can use corn starch and water!! oh... um... no corn starch. Well...
They are edible. Just barely.
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I am the girl who decided to bake cookies for my highschool crush and had to make 3 dozen to get 10 that were edible. Just. Barely. Edible. I promise.
So I was very thankful when a kind lady friend gave me a list of emergency substitutions on a 3 X 5 notecard. Part of the reason I'm bad at baking is the same as the reason I'm great at cooking other things - I generally don't think things through ahead of time and have a hard time following the rules. Rules are important in baking.
Hope this list helps you more than it helped me while making these cookies tonight. No eggs! ah ha! I can use mayo! No Mayo! I can use corn starch and water!! oh... um... no corn starch. Well...
They are edible. Just barely.
| 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch | = 1 tbsp flour |
| 1 cup whole milk | = 1/2 cup evaporated milk + 1/2 cup water or 1 cup reconstituted dry milk + 2 tsp butter |
| 1 oz unsweetened choc. | = 3tbsp cocoa + 1 tbsp fat |
| 1 cup honey | = 1 1/4 cup sugar + 1/4 cup liquid |
| 1 cup corn syrup | = 1 cup granulated sugar + 1/4 cup liquid |
| 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar | = 1 cup granulated sugar + 2 tbsp cornstarch |
| 1 cup brown sugar | = 1 cup granulated sugar + 2 tbsp molasses or dark corn starch |
| 1 cup butter | = 1 cup vegetable oil + 2 tsp salt or 7/8 cup soy oil |
| 1 cup oil | = 1 cup butter |
| 1 cup sour cream | = 3/4 cup milk + 3 tbsp mayo or 3/4 cup cream cheese + 1/4 cup water |
| 1 egg | = 2 tbsp mayo or 1 tsp cornstarch +3 tbsp water |
| If in baked goods use margerine or butter for up to 1/2 amt. shortening | |
How It All Adds Up
I will refer often to things I've learned from either the Dining on a Dime Cook Book or the authors' website Living on a Dime, so I thought I'd introduce you to them with a short article written by Tawra Kellem:
Simple Ways to Save $7,000
Many of us often feel overwhelmed by debt and don’t know how to start climbing out of it. For others it's a misconception that the more money you earn the easier it is to save. Tawra and Michael Kellam paid off $20,000 of credit card debt and medical bills in 5 years on an average income of $22,000 a year.
Here is how you can save over $7,000 in just one year cutting a few things from your grocery bill. They are painless, simple and add up over time. If you don't think that cutting out one bag of potato chips or one soda will make a difference, look at the numbers at the end of a year. If you’re trying to save so you can stay home with your kids, put a down payment on a house, pay off some credit card debt or just have some emergency money, here are 10 ways to do it without depriving yourself. The total annual savings (in parentheses) will amaze you! You can start with these tips from Living on a Dime.
By eliminating:
~One $2.00 bag of potato chips (You don’t have to cut out all chips, just 1 bag) from your grocery bill each week you can save $104.00 per year.
~Cut a weekly box of $4.00 cereal and it puts $208 in your pocket each year.
~If you eat out one less time each week at $30 a meal, you can save $1,560 annually
~Ordering one less delivered pizza at $20, can save you $1040 per year.
~Daily gourmet coffee at $2.50 per cup ($910)
~A daily liter of soda ($365)
~Snack cakes ($455)
~One less bottled water per day ($455)
~One cup less juice per person in a family of four ($546)
~3 lbs. less red meat a week ($390)
~Bringing your lunch instead of buying save $4.00 a day or $1040 a year.
By themselves, these efforts may seem small--but they add up to over $7,000 in savings in just one year.
Tawra Kellam is the publisher of the website Living on a Dime and the author of the cookbook Dining On A Dime: 1000 Money Saving Recipes and Tips.
Simple Ways to Save $7,000
Many of us often feel overwhelmed by debt and don’t know how to start climbing out of it. For others it's a misconception that the more money you earn the easier it is to save. Tawra and Michael Kellam paid off $20,000 of credit card debt and medical bills in 5 years on an average income of $22,000 a year.
Here is how you can save over $7,000 in just one year cutting a few things from your grocery bill. They are painless, simple and add up over time. If you don't think that cutting out one bag of potato chips or one soda will make a difference, look at the numbers at the end of a year. If you’re trying to save so you can stay home with your kids, put a down payment on a house, pay off some credit card debt or just have some emergency money, here are 10 ways to do it without depriving yourself. The total annual savings (in parentheses) will amaze you! You can start with these tips from Living on a Dime.
By eliminating:
~One $2.00 bag of potato chips (You don’t have to cut out all chips, just 1 bag) from your grocery bill each week you can save $104.00 per year.
~Cut a weekly box of $4.00 cereal and it puts $208 in your pocket each year.
~If you eat out one less time each week at $30 a meal, you can save $1,560 annually
~Ordering one less delivered pizza at $20, can save you $1040 per year.
~Daily gourmet coffee at $2.50 per cup ($910)
~A daily liter of soda ($365)
~Snack cakes ($455)
~One less bottled water per day ($455)
~One cup less juice per person in a family of four ($546)
~3 lbs. less red meat a week ($390)
~Bringing your lunch instead of buying save $4.00 a day or $1040 a year.
By themselves, these efforts may seem small--but they add up to over $7,000 in savings in just one year.
Tawra Kellam is the publisher of the website Living on a Dime and the author of the cookbook Dining On A Dime: 1000 Money Saving Recipes and Tips.
Soupy Shepherd's Pie
Well, not my favorite pantry recipe so far, but edible...
I used the idea from this website and tweaked it a bit. The "recipe" was written as follows:
Shepherd's Pie
Fry 1/2 pound hamburger and drain grease. Add 1 chopped onion, garlic, and 1-2 cans of vegetables, drained. Simmer 5 minutes. Stir in two tablespoons of flour, add 1 cup water with some beef bouillon dissolved in it, 1/2 cup milk, and 1 can of cream of mushroom soup. If you have some cheese, add it (or a packet of cheese powder from boxed macaroni and cheese. Creamed corn works well in this recipe. Put in a casserole dish and top with mashed potatoes. Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. If you don't have any hamburger, you can use chopped spam, or sliced wieners, or a can of chicken.
Adjustments:
*I used a whole pound of hamburger
*I used 1 cup flour
*I used a powdered "cream of mushroom" soup instead of a condensed soup - and left out the milk.
*I left out the cheese.
I tried to adjust the recipe to account for the soup - I didn't add as much water as the soup itself called for and left out all other liquid ingredients - but it still ended up pretty soupy. Tasted just fine, but wasn't the prettiest outcome I could imagine.
Next time I think I'll try this basic recipe and add veggies.
I used the idea from this website and tweaked it a bit. The "recipe" was written as follows:
Shepherd's Pie
Fry 1/2 pound hamburger and drain grease. Add 1 chopped onion, garlic, and 1-2 cans of vegetables, drained. Simmer 5 minutes. Stir in two tablespoons of flour, add 1 cup water with some beef bouillon dissolved in it, 1/2 cup milk, and 1 can of cream of mushroom soup. If you have some cheese, add it (or a packet of cheese powder from boxed macaroni and cheese. Creamed corn works well in this recipe. Put in a casserole dish and top with mashed potatoes. Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. If you don't have any hamburger, you can use chopped spam, or sliced wieners, or a can of chicken.
Adjustments:
*I used a whole pound of hamburger
*I used 1 cup flour
*I used a powdered "cream of mushroom" soup instead of a condensed soup - and left out the milk.
*I left out the cheese.
I tried to adjust the recipe to account for the soup - I didn't add as much water as the soup itself called for and left out all other liquid ingredients - but it still ended up pretty soupy. Tasted just fine, but wasn't the prettiest outcome I could imagine.
Next time I think I'll try this basic recipe and add veggies.
Food Blog Review
Stephanie's New Years Resolution this year was to use her crockpot. EVERY DAY.
The name of her blog is "A Year of CrockPotting." Can you imagine?
That's 365 days of crock-potting!
Today is day 158.
She has faithfully uploaded pictures every day this year and has documented every dish she used her crock pot for. She most often cooks part or all of her main dinner dish in her crockpot, but she has gotten very creative with side dishes and even desserts!
Some of her recipes are even pantry-friendly - hoorah! Check out her CrockPot Tamale Pie Recipe from April. And then sign up for her feed or bookmark the site and check it out every day for the rest of the year. This is a treasure trove for crockpot lovers. Enjoy!
The name of her blog is "A Year of CrockPotting." Can you imagine?
That's 365 days of crock-potting!
Today is day 158.
She has faithfully uploaded pictures every day this year and has documented every dish she used her crock pot for. She most often cooks part or all of her main dinner dish in her crockpot, but she has gotten very creative with side dishes and even desserts!
Some of her recipes are even pantry-friendly - hoorah! Check out her CrockPot Tamale Pie Recipe from April. And then sign up for her feed or bookmark the site and check it out every day for the rest of the year. This is a treasure trove for crockpot lovers. Enjoy!
Rachael Ray's Vegetarian Chickpea Burgers
From the November 2006 Everyday Menu Planner. Also online here.
Thank you Rachael for this delicious treat!!! I followed the recipe almost exactly and although mine didn't look quite as photo-perfect as the ones in the magazine, they tasted heavenly.
4 servings
prep time: 5 minutes
cook time: 8 minutes
Ingredients:
15oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
4oz can diced green chiles
2/3 cup packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
2/3 cup bread crumbs
salt and pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 thin slices cheddar cheese
4 hamburger buns
dijon mustard, ketchup, or mayo for serving
1. In a food processor, pulse the chickpeas, green chiles, and parsley until finely chopped. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and stir in the bread crumbs and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the egg and form the mixture into 4 patties, each about 2/3 inch thick.
2. In a large skillet or grill pan (or George Foreman!!), heat the oil over medium-low heat. Cook the burgers for 4 minutes, then flip and cook for 3 minutes more. Top the patties with the cheese slices for the last minute of cooking. Serve the cheeseburgers on the hamburger buns with mustard, ketchup, or mayo.
My notes: I didn't have cheese, so we didn't use any. We also didn't have fresh parsley so we use about a tbsp of dried parsley instead. I used Panko for bread crumbs b/c it's my favorite, but you could use any kind you'd like - including a piece of stale bread! And we had ours with mayo on a toasted bun. I've gotta tell you, this is my favorite dish in a long time! Go Rachael!
Thank you Rachael for this delicious treat!!! I followed the recipe almost exactly and although mine didn't look quite as photo-perfect as the ones in the magazine, they tasted heavenly.
4 servings
prep time: 5 minutes
cook time: 8 minutes
Ingredients:
15oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
4oz can diced green chiles
2/3 cup packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
2/3 cup bread crumbs
salt and pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 thin slices cheddar cheese
4 hamburger buns
dijon mustard, ketchup, or mayo for serving
1. In a food processor, pulse the chickpeas, green chiles, and parsley until finely chopped. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and stir in the bread crumbs and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the egg and form the mixture into 4 patties, each about 2/3 inch thick.
2. In a large skillet or grill pan (or George Foreman!!), heat the oil over medium-low heat. Cook the burgers for 4 minutes, then flip and cook for 3 minutes more. Top the patties with the cheese slices for the last minute of cooking. Serve the cheeseburgers on the hamburger buns with mustard, ketchup, or mayo.
My notes: I didn't have cheese, so we didn't use any. We also didn't have fresh parsley so we use about a tbsp of dried parsley instead. I used Panko for bread crumbs b/c it's my favorite, but you could use any kind you'd like - including a piece of stale bread! And we had ours with mayo on a toasted bun. I've gotta tell you, this is my favorite dish in a long time! Go Rachael!
Pantry Tip # 2
Cook with Dry Beans
Cheaper and better for you and in some cases able to be purchased in bulk! Still, I know many many people who shy away from them simply because they've never used them and aren't sure where to start. Here are some pointers compiled from here and there:
*Soak dry beans over night to speed up cooking time. For each pound (2 cups) dry-packaged beans, add 10 cups cold water to soak.
*Quick soak by adding 10 cups hot water for each pound beans; heat to boiling and let boil 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and set aside for at least one hour before cooking.
*Discard the soaking water when preparing dry beans from scratch and rinse beans thoroughly before cooking them to prevent gas.
*Spice up beans while they cook. Seasonings such as garlic, onion, oregano, parsley orthyme can be added to the pot while beans are cooking. Add acidic ingredients, such as tomatoes, vinegar, wine or citrus juices, only at end of cooking, when the beans are tender.
*Add salt only after beans are cooked to tender. If added before, salt may cause bean skins to become impermeable, halting the tenderizing process.
*To test for doneness, bite-taste a few beans. They should be tender, but not overcooked. When cooling, keep beans in cooking liquid to prevent them from drying out.
***most of this info was taken from http://www.calorieking.com/recipes/recipe.php?recipeID=583***
Cheaper and better for you and in some cases able to be purchased in bulk! Still, I know many many people who shy away from them simply because they've never used them and aren't sure where to start. Here are some pointers compiled from here and there:
*Soak dry beans over night to speed up cooking time. For each pound (2 cups) dry-packaged beans, add 10 cups cold water to soak.
*Quick soak by adding 10 cups hot water for each pound beans; heat to boiling and let boil 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and set aside for at least one hour before cooking.
*Discard the soaking water when preparing dry beans from scratch and rinse beans thoroughly before cooking them to prevent gas.
*Spice up beans while they cook. Seasonings such as garlic, onion, oregano, parsley orthyme can be added to the pot while beans are cooking. Add acidic ingredients, such as tomatoes, vinegar, wine or citrus juices, only at end of cooking, when the beans are tender.
*Add salt only after beans are cooked to tender. If added before, salt may cause bean skins to become impermeable, halting the tenderizing process.
*To test for doneness, bite-taste a few beans. They should be tender, but not overcooked. When cooling, keep beans in cooking liquid to prevent them from drying out.
***most of this info was taken from http://www.calorieking.com/recipes/recipe.php?recipeID=583***
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