Hard Times in the KItchen

Hello dear friends!  Today I got quite a jolt of reality; on my drive to get gasoline, I noticed a very long line of cars.  What on Earth?  They were queuing up to pick up free food just outside of our city limits.  Firstly, I didn't even realize we had that many locals, and second of all, it's only been a few weeks of  being shut in, can there possibly be that many people in dire straits already?

Are you feeling the pinch?  Here's some ideas that have gotten me through many a rough patch.

LEARN HOW TO MAKE A BASIC WHITE SAUCE

Here's a post I wrote about this very functional and basic culinary skill, that everyone that wants to be frugal, should know.  A basic white sauce can turn anything into a casserole.  Today I made an egg casserole with it by adding a bit (about 1/2 C) of cheese to this sauce, sautéing up some onions and my home-dried peppers in some bacon grease and scrambling up six eggs.  All was combined, poured into a greased 8-inch pan, topped with some cracker crumbs and baked for 25 minutes.  Made a nice lunch for the three of us.  Last week I wanted to make some lasagna, but didn't have any ricotta cheese and had no desire to go to the store, so again the basic white sauce came to the rescue.  I added some garlic powder and parmesan cheese (the kind that comes in the canister, not the expensive cheese aisle type) to it for flavor.  Although the lasagna was a little runnier than with the ricotta cheese, we actually preferred it.

GET OVER THE "NO CARBS" FAD

I know many prefer and some cannot eat carbs, but they are what fills you up.  Maybe you won't want to eat these meals, but when you are trying to feed children on a budget, there's no other way.  In this
post I write about potatoes and give two very basic recipes for potato pancakes and potato soup.  Two recipes that have gotten my family through some very dire straits of our own.  A baked potato with cheese sauce (again from the basic white sauce) and some broccoli makes a thrifty lunch. Hamburger or sausage gravy served over potatoes, rice,  or a slice of bread can stretch a pound of meat to feed several.  An egg by itself might not be very filling, but throw in a couple of slices of toast or a bagel and you've got something that will stick with you. Oatmeal has always been one of the most economical and healthy breakfasts known for centuries. Popcorn (the old-fashioned kind popped in pan with a dab of oil, not the microwave stuff) makes an inexpensive snack and is a good source of fiber.

LEARN TO LOVE BEANS

Beans are an inexpensive source of protein and are easy to store. Besides being eaten on their own, you can stretch your meat by adding more beans in your chili, sloppy joes, mashed ones to meatloaf, etc. Here's a post on how we prepare our basic refried beans.  They are delicious.  And another with basics how to use beans and more meal ideas.

USE IT ALL UP

We try not to waste anything.  When we finish with our chicken we scrape the bones into a pot and with the potato and carrot peels, the leftover vegetables, etc. we always make broth, which I can, but can be frozen.  You can do this with just vegetables or other meats also.  I never buy broth.  I already mentioned that I use the leftover bacon grease to sauté onions and peppers for omelets.  Stale bread is always turned into bread puddings, breadcrumbs, French toast or garlic bread.  You get the picture. At the very least, scraps should be made into beautiful compost for you garden.

Well, my computer has already messed up this post several times, so I better get it posted. Hope this helps!  We'll see how it goes, if you'd like more posts, let me know.

Hugs
Jane