Frugal Healthy Broth

One thing that you will always find in my freezer is homemade broth or stock.  This was from the turkey we had at Christmas.  It is absolutely amazing.

Today, I bought a 4 pound family pack of lean hamburger for about $12.  I am pre-prepping it for multiple recipes.

I decided to start the cooking by boiling it.  The advantage of this is that it keeps the texture of the meat as the long "strings" rather than "clumps".  I prefer it this way, and that is the appeal of fast food taco meat for many of my clients.

I added a heaping spoon of Crab Boil to a 1/2 pot (1 gallon?) of water.  I used to live in Louisiana, so I always have a 4 pound container of this around.  I wonder what the statue of limitations is for secret recipes that you have sworn not to pass on.  I'm not willing to chance the bad Karma.  Let's just say it's an undisclosed amount of salt, black pepper, cayenne, garlic powder, chili powder and MSG.

After pulling the meat out with a strainer and let finish draining in a colander, I threw in some "Dutch Yellow" baby potatoes that we bought for Thanksgiving and never used.  And an onion and garlic.   Cooked all of that for 20 minute at a rolling boil.  Those will turn into a meal yet to be disclosed.

The liquid reduced by about 20%.  It's now cooling to be a spicy beef broth.

Home made broth has so much more flavor than store bought and is FREE from leftovers!  Make some.  Freeze it.  No matter how little space you have in your freezer, this is worth it.  Pitch the Hot Pockets to make room.

Breakfast Sandwich

Quick, easy, healthy. What could be better?

1 egg + 1 egg white
1 oz diced meat (ham, smoked turkey, spicy sausage)
1/2 oz shredded cheese
2 slices bread

 In a microwavable container that is approximately the size and shape of the bread you are using, whisk the egg.

 Add meat and cheese. Because these are both salty, don't add any salt, but do consider other spices like pepper or curry. You can also add up to 1/2 cup leftover cooked vegetables. Raw diced bell peppers are also nice if you like some crunch.

 Microwave on high heat for 1 minute. Check if done - bottom center solidifies last so a clear container is nice so you can see. Cook up to 1 minute more. If you are adding frozen ingredients or vegetables, it may take 2 mintues total. Let sit for 1 more minute to finish cooking.

Invert your egg patty onto your bread (plain or toasted) and enjoy.

Cost: Fall 2013    $0.60

 Nutrition: 330 calories, 30 carbs, 26g protein, 650 mg sodium, 18% DV calcium, 14% DV Iron. (Compared to a commercial egg muffin, this has similar calories, but equivalent of 1 ounce more protein, 120mg less sodium and 3 g more fiber.)

Convenience Tip: I bought some portion cups at a restaurant supply store. I pre-portion the meat and cheese and freeze them for later. These can be washed and re-used several times.

Nutrition Tip: 2 egg whites in place of 1 whole egg saves 32 calories from fat with 2g more of protein.

 Nutrition Tip: Another way to increase flavor while decreasing fat is to add your own sausage seasonings to lean ground chicken, turkey or pork. As a compromise, cook your favorite spicy sausage with an equal amount of lean meat to cut fat in half.

Crustless Quiche

One of my first nutrition blog post was the recipe for an appetizer called "Spinach Squares" which I now make all the time as a crustless quiche with endless variations.

 Non-stick vegetable spray
3 eggs or 6 egg whites or 3/4 c egg substitute
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup non-fat milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
2 packages (10 oz each) frozen spinach, thawed & drained*
1/3 cup minced onion.
 * can substitute 4 cups of any cooked, diced or minced vegetables for the spinach & onion

Heat oven to 350. Spray 9x13 inch baking dish with non-stick spray. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Mix in flour, milk, salt & baking powder. Add cheese, spinach and onion. Spoon into baking dish and bake 35 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Cut into 12 squares

 Nutrition information: 144 calories, 10g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 10g protein, 8g Fat, 480 mg sodium, 90% DV of vitamin A and 24% DV Calcium. (lower fat and calories with egg whites or subs)

 Cost: Fall 2013 pricing     $6.29/recipe, $0.52 per serving

Variations:
Lower Sodium:  Reduce or omit the salt.  Reduce the amount of cheese.  Buy lower sodium cheese.  Then increase the flavor by adding fresh herbs with the vegetables or try spices like curry powder.

Flavor:  Change the cheese:  by using strongly flavored cheeses you can use less, saving both sodium and calories.  Add herbs:  parsley, tarragon, thyme, sage are all great in this.  Vary the veg: onions, mushrooms, cooked greens, chopped broccoli, last night's leftovers.  Add some meat:  1/4-1/2 cup diced finely just to add flavor.  In addition to traditional "breakfast" meats, consider smoked salmon.

Healthy on a Budget Challenge

One of my greatest frustrations as a dietitian is when people tell that they can't eat healthy because "it costs too much."  Hogwash.  My daughter K has agreed to help me prove my point.  She is in her first apartment and now realizes that her lack of interest in mom's effort to teach her to cook has left her with a repertoire of 3 dishes.

I designed a 2 week menu for 1-2 people.  In many cases, it reflects the preferences of the menu tester more than the nutrition goals of her mother.  It does require several hours of cooking on the day that you shop, but then the rest of the time it's mostly  assembly and reheating.  They can be eaten in any order desired.  However, anything not to be eaten within the first 3 days should get moved to the freezer.

Breakfasts: 
Toast
Bagels
Oatmeal with Spiced Apples*
Egg Sandwich*
Eggs Benedict*

Lunches (most need to be cold/non-reheat for work)
Ranch Chicken Wrap*
Chicken Sandwich, carrot sticks
BBQ Chicken Sandwich  with lettuce & carrot slaw *
Chicken Pasta Salad *

Suppers: 
Baked Chicken, Baked Potato, Green Beans *
Clam Chowder, Toast or Biscuits *
Chicken Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons *
White Chicken Chili, Toast *
Chicken Noodle Soup *
Bean & Rice Burritos *
Chicken Quesadilla *
Chicken a la King *
Chicken Rice Bowl *

*Recipes and Posts to follow

I assumed (and was mostly correct) that she had NOTHING to start with.  My first buy was about $110 which included $23 of staples and storage, $25 of foods of basics that would be covered by WIC vouchers for those who would qualify and the remaining being $48 Nutrition Bargain Foods, $8 special ingredients and $7 bakery outlet bread.

Our first round of cooking included:
roasted chicken
baked potatoes
clam chowder
pre-prep of cheese, ham, caramelized onions, cinnamon sugar, pumpkin  pie spice sugar
ranch flavored croutons

and once the chicken cools down: homemade chicken stock

Stay tuned for more.

Final Tic Tac Recipe

Just when you thought the foolishness was over, I decided to post one last Tic Tac Recipe.  Truth be told, I did all of the recipes on my day off but thought y'all might be too overwhelmed absorbing them all at once.

I've never had any luck doing a brine for chicken.  I tend to forget I was brining and when I remember it's a salt lick.  These were chicken thighs that I put in a brine solution that was 1 cup orange tic tac simple syrup, 1/4 cup salt and a quart of water.  After 5 hours in the brine, I patted them dry and added the dry rub that I put on the lamb.  They then were baked at 350 for about 25 minutes and served with mashed potatoes and a big salad.

The brine did keep the chicken very moist.  There was a very faint orange Kool-aid type of flavor which was neither offensive nor awe inspiring.  The cardamom was very subtle...which frankly is a hard thing to do with cardamom since it has such a strong flavor.

I lost interest before I made anything with the green apple or wintergreen Tic Tacs.
Would I ever make any of these again?  Well, I would put cardamom in a muffin again.  I would also use the ground tic tacs as a sugar sprinkle on top of muffins or to rim a glass for a fancy drink.   Pardon me while I toddle off to make an orange-tic-tac-rimmed pineapple juice spritzer.

Tic Tac Soup

Squash Soup

1 large onion, diced
1 med butternut squash, diced
2 med apples, diced
1 cup mint tic tac simple syrup
1 quart chicken broth
cream (optional)

Caramelize onions in a small amount of olive oil.  Add other ingredients.  Cover and simmer 30 minutes until tender.  Puree.  Serve topped with cream.

We tried adding a little more mint syrup or some crushed tic tacs at the end on a couple samples, but it didn't really make it taste and better and reduced the chances of leftovers being eaten.

Muffins

3 c whole grain pancake mix
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 c orange tic tac simple syrup
orange tic tac powder

Combine all but the tic tac powder.  Pour into greased jumbo muffin tins.  Sprinkle the batter with the tic tac powder.  Bake 15-20 min.  Makes 5 muffins.

Alternatively, use your favorite muffin recipe.  I just had some pancake mix that no one at my house was eating.  Because it had been in the cupboard for ages, I did add an extra tsp of baking powder to make sure they rose.  

The squash soup turned out alright - could have been thinned with some broth.  Family rating was an 8.  The mint flavor was undetectable.  The muffins were a 9.5.  We all liked them.  Only thing keeping it from a perfect 10 is that the orange flavor tastes just like Tang rather than like oranges.

TicTac Lamb

One of my first ideas for Tic Tacs was to somehow pair it with lamb since mint jelly is a traditional accompaniment to lamb.  I'm probably automatically disqualified from the challenge on this one since I didn't have lamb at home, but here it is anyway. 

I ground up some of the Freshmint (white) tic tacs and gathered some spices for a dry rub.

Lamb Dry Rub

1 tsp freshmints tic tac powder
1 tsp powdered cumin
1 tsp powdered garlic
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp powdered cardamom

Lamb is surprisingly hard to find around here and the only thing I could afford was a shoulder cut with bones.  I figured it would be similar to ribs, so I baked it at low heat (250 F) for about an hour and a half. 

I made a bbq sauce with equal parts of catsup and simple syrup made with freshmint tic tacs.  If you missed it, process for making the tic tac simple syrup is on this post. 

As for rating this recipe, the flavor was amazingly good and rated about a 9 from my family.  The spice rub was no surprise, but the fact we liked a mint bbq sauce was a shocker.   The cut of lamb I bought was all bones and made it impossible to eat dropping the overall rating to about a 7.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's installment:  Mint Butternut Squash Soup and Orange Tic Tac Muffins.