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> Hard Times - What Are You Cooking, World wide hard times- what is keeping
Shadows 
Posted: 31-Jan-2009, 02:43 PM
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ZodiacHolly

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Mea Culpa! This topic is getting off track, food not cookware is the question here....


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stoirmeil 
Posted: 31-Jan-2009, 03:01 PM
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QUOTE (Shadows @ 31-Jan-2009, 03:43 PM)
Mea Culpa!  This topic is getting off track, food not cookware is the question here....

Well, but it does count how you cook the food too, don't you think? Trying to reduce cooking time and yet tenderize cheaper cuts of meat, conserve energy AND stay healthy, is all part of the game too.

The crock pot is great for slow-cooking beans and lentils in large batches without burning them, and without having to be around while they cook. I am going to stimulate the ecomony this week and shop (!) for the biggest size crock pot they make, for doing bean and chicken recipes in large batches and then freezing portions.
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LadyOfAvalon 
Posted: 31-Jan-2009, 03:57 PM
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Hi Shadows,

Since in my household there is only husband and myself I cook simple healthy meals.But even though we are only two I buy family packages and freeze it in portions so that there is no waste of food. Since I have to watch what I eat for healthy reasons I don't have much choice to cook fresh food...some would say you can have good food in cans or frozen veggies....yes maybe but I prefer fresh by far. And I will pay the price for it.

I lost my job 3 months ago so for me it's a great opportunity since I'm home everyday to cook all kinds of new things. I cook all kinds of chicken and fish dishes which are very simple and quite excellent for one's health. I rarely cook red meat, one they are much harder to digest and much more expensive than chicken and fish.

I will cook italian pastas as well but I use whole wheat pastas only or multigrains ...rich in proteins and fibres and of course cook my own sauce and freeze it for other meals. My husband is a soup lover so I prepare at least one giant pot of fresh vegetables soup (minestrone) a week.

We haven't cut down on the grocery bill at all for as far as I'm concerned if there is one thing that should never be cut down is food.I much prefer to cut down on on material things and outings like going to the movies than cut on food needed on the table. Material things don't feed my brain...food does.
But then again to each his owns...it's a matter of personal choice I guess.

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flora 
Posted: 05-Mar-2009, 02:51 PM
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Does anyone have a recipe to make canned tuna fish not taste like cat food?

Flora


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stoirmeil 
Posted: 05-Mar-2009, 07:57 PM
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QUOTE (flora @ 05-Mar-2009, 03:51 PM)
Does anyone have a recipe to make canned tuna fish not taste like cat food?

Flora

There are two flavors I like with tuna -- tarragon with lime juice, and a good curry mix. Both are also very good with egg salad. I am guessing that you mean tuna salad, with a mayo dressing? Adding a little red pepper to a salad dressing always perks it up too.

I think the quality makes a difference -- If you are using the "light" instead of chunk or solid "white" tuna, it tastes stronger, and the texture is not as pleasant. It is cheaper, but I find the light meat tuna tastes stronger, more like "cat food."
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flora 
Posted: 06-Mar-2009, 04:13 PM
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Thanks Stoirmeil!

I am not too far away from you in that I use a Blackened Dry Mojo Seasoning. I have also use Mango Lime Seafood Seasoning and a product called Spike (which has tarragon in it). I try to stay away from mayo completely. You did bring out a good point about the light versus regular. I have always gone with the light because of the fat content.

I think I will try mixing it with a good salsa. We always have hot sauce but unlike the rest of my family I like my taste buds. biggrin.gif

Flora
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stoirmeil 
Posted: 09-Aug-2009, 07:41 PM
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Here is a nice crockpot recipe I found on the web for lentils and a cheaper cut of lamb -- the lentils stretch the protein value added to the amount of meat. This would also work fine with cheaper cuts of pork with most of the fat trimmed off first.

For a heavier stew-like meal, you could also add new potatoes -- or a half cup of barley and some sliced carrots (lamb, barley, carrots and lots of pepper makes it like a scotch broth). smile.gif


Crockpot Lamb and Lentil Soup
Ingredients:

1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups Swiss chard, spinach, or escarole, chopped
2 cups lentils
2 lamb shanks
1 1/2 teaspoons salt (less if broth is salted)
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
7 cups beef broth
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Preparation:
Saute onion and garlic in oil until tender. Combine in the slow cooker with greens, lentils, lamb shanks, salt, pepper, and broth. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours. Add lemon juice, adjust seasonings, and serve. Shanks may be served on the side or meat may be removed from bones, diced and returned to soup.
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Shadows 
Posted: 20-Apr-2010, 02:29 PM
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ZodiacHolly

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One thing I do not see being mentioned here is using vegetable and meat scraps for soups. Being frugal really helps... let us say you have peeled an onion cut up some celery, potato, and trimmed some meat...

What do you do with the scrap?

I place it all ( even onion skins ) in a pot, add water, some salt, pepper, and a favorite herb depending on the meat scrap if used ( can be just veggie ) and simmer it low and slow for a broth.
Strain and put in fridge for up to 2 weeks to use for cooking liquid where ever broth, wine or water is called for...

We have been doing this for years thanks to Jeff Smith , the Frugal Gourmet!
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stoirmeil 
Posted: 24-Apr-2010, 07:12 PM
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QUOTE (Shadows @ 20-Apr-2010, 04:29 PM)
One thing I do not see being mentioned here is using vegetable and meat scraps for soups. Being frugal really helps... let us say you have peeled an onion cut up some celery, potato, and trimmed some meat...

What do you do with the scrap?

I place it all ( even onion skins ) in a pot, add water, some salt, pepper, and a favorite herb depending on the meat scrap if used ( can be just veggie ) and simmer it low and slow for a broth.
Strain and put in fridge for up to 2 weeks to use for cooking liquid where ever broth, wine or water is called for...

We have been doing this for years thanks to Jeff Smith , the Frugal Gourmet!

Interesting about the onion skins -- I always thought that they were bitter, and I know they would make the broth a deeper color, since I have used them for natural dyeing of muslin cloth. Do they add any flavor at all? Or nutrient value?
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Antwn 
Posted: 27-Jun-2010, 03:20 PM
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When I was a kid my mother used to make gulash. I don't know how authentic it was but it was easy and cheap. She'd take hamburger in a frying pan, add quartered tomatoes and onions and cook that until done, then add cooked elbow macaroni. It was very good, easy to make and cheap. Spice it as you like it.



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Patch 
Posted: 27-Jun-2010, 03:52 PM
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My wife grew up in a large Irish Catholic family. She used to joke that her family invented "hamburger helper." Gulash was something that she learned to fix from her mother. I think it may be Hungarian fare but she was adamant that anything cheap to fix was "poor" Irish Catholic food. It would easily accommodate guests by adding more macaroni and seasoning. I always liked it though I preferred it light on the macaroni.

She would add green peppers, sometimes hot peppers and on occasion cheese to vary the taste.

Slàinte,    

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stoirmeil 
Posted: 27-Jun-2010, 04:44 PM
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QUOTE (Antwn @ 27-Jun-2010, 05:20 PM)
When I was a kid my mother used to make gulash. I don't know how authentic it was but it was easy and cheap. She'd take hamburger in a frying pan, add quartered tomatoes and onions and cook that until done, then add cooked elbow macaroni. It was very good, easy to make and cheap. Spice it as you like it.

smile.gif
Up in the Providence/Boston area we used to call this American Chop Suey. We had it very very often, at home and at school. Other regions call it Goulash, or American Goulash. If you put it on long spaghetti instead of elbows, the British call it spaghetti bolognaise. Some people use tomato paste or sauce from a jar, some just use the fresh or canned tomatoes. It doesn't matter -- you can't get sick of it, it keeps well after being cooked and reheats fine, it feeds multitudes, and it doesn't break the bank. If you threw in a little ground squirrel or skunk to stretch the beef and upped the onion some, nobody would be any wiser.
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Patch 
Posted: 27-Jun-2010, 05:07 PM
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Many who did not like the taste of game meat used onions, tomatoes, peppers and such along with spices to hide the wild taste. That could be how some of the dishes we now fix with "conventional" protein came about.

Our taste in foods is totally related to what we were exposed to as children. Many of the things we learned to eat evolved out of necessity.

Slàinte,    

Patch    
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Shadows 
Posted: 11-Jul-2010, 08:52 AM
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ZodiacHolly

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Actually spices were used to hide the flavors of meat going bad wayback when.
There was no refrigeration and meat started to spoil quickly, spices and other things were added to make it more palatable.
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