Another awesome kitchen!

I just love to look at this...the stove is my dream...but just one

Just an awesome kitchen!

Creating this kitchen wouldn't save you a dime, but it is great inspiration for a make-over! I just love it...if the room has enough natural light. I love this site...now on my "favorites".

http://interiordivine.blogspot.com/

Cool Blog - The Kitchn

This photo (from Google) has nothing to do with this blog other than it reminds me of the pathway to the beach at Melissa's beach house on the Washington coast, where Rob and I were last weekend (Holland was the weekend before. When you fly for free ya just gotta GO! ...right?)

I've been blog hopping lately and have found some interesting ones. I'm going to keep my eye on this one. I particularly like the post on homemade stock (scroll down on the site).

http://www.thekitchn.com/

I'm big on homemade chicken stock. The store bought stock is pricey and making your own is so easy, plus you control the sodium and fat. I use my ice cube trays to freeze stock and not ice. My favorite way to use a block of stock is for cooking asparagus:

- Melt a block of stock in a fry pan

- add asparagus and let steam for a couple of minutes

- when the stock has steamed out, add a little orange vinagrette and let the asparagus fry for another minute or two. C'est Magnifique!

Master Mixes

I have never purchased taco seasoning mix! I make my own...about ten at a time....sooo much cheaper than the dry mixes at the store! The recipe is from the old Make a Mix book, a classic and still for sale on Amazon, revamped and with a new cover. I highly recommend this book and its sequel.

Making master mixes are a great money saving strategy. Back when I was cooking for a big family, master cake mix, pancake mix and brownie mix and basic cookie mix were staples in my pantry. I stored the mixes in gallon glass jars (love those). Each mix was the basis for lots of recipes. Now that we're into brownies right now, I'll have to make the brownie mix again. BTW, the plain Betty Crocker brownie mix with MINT chips in that EDGE brownie pan is awesome!

Here's the recipe for the taco seasoning mix:

Lay out aluminum foil squares,  6 inches square. On each square put:

2 tsp instant minced onion

1 tsp salt

1 tsp chili pwd

1/2 tsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp crushed dried red pepper

1/2 tsp instant minced garlic

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp ground cumin

Fold to make airtight. Label and store

Taco filling:

1 lb lean ground beef (or gravel) 

1/2 cup water 

1 pkg TACO SEASONING MIX

Another... new favorite thing!

I'm really picky about my leftover containers! They must be crystal clear, not flimsy plastic that gets flipped all over the place in the dishwasher and they must be stackable in the fridge as well as the cupboard where they are stored.


I first saw the containers below on the "Chef at Home" TV show. I love them.


The lids sit on loosely, so they aren't good for transporting but they are perfect for the fridge and they stack nicely on each other. They are hard to find however, I've only seen them at restaurant supply stores.


FYI Your containers don't need to burp! Leftovers aren't meant to last forever; they don't need to hermetically seal!

Now if you really do want to lock in freshness, Rubbermaid Premier containers (below) are my new favorite. They meet my criteria perfectly: crystal clear, stackable, tough and...the lids on these stack on each other. They take up very little space in the cupboard. I bought mine for 60% off at Walmart last week.


Anybody out there have any good leftovers storage tips?

My new favorite thing!

THE BAKER'S EDGE PAN ! Google it.


We LOVE brownies at our house but we waste the middle which is usually undercooked. We just eat the edges...enter the pan that makes perfect brownies..all edges!

We'd always wondered about this pan when we saw it on those inflight marketplace magazines. Then our daughter bought one for an early Father's day present and now my husband will whip up the brownies HIMSELF because he loves how they turn out.


It's a nice heavy nonstick pan, comes with the perfect size spatula and costs about $40. Not cheap but really worth it if you love brownies. Our favorite way to make brownies is really cheap and the pan was a gift so I'm still obeying my self-imposed cheapness!


Boot Brownies


Betty Crocker plain brownie mix (about $1.20 at WalMart - ) I will be looking for coupons and sales to stock up!) I may even go back to making my own brownie Master Mix which would be seriously cheap.


Then we add our own fancy stuff : chopped walnuts that I have in my freezer that I bought fresh from an alternative food source (a later blog) or mint chips, chocolate chips , white chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, or a swirl of caramel inside the batter. Why pay for the expensive mixes (which are double the price) when you can add your own fancy stuff from what you have on hand!


As I write this my husband is making fiber one apple cinnamon muffins in the pan. Yum!

Slash your food budget - unit pricing

Food is the most flexible part of your budget. Learning how to spend less while eating well is a skill that saves a LOT of money!  

One basic tool to use are the UNIT PRICING tags. These tags are below each item of food in all grocery stores.  Using them is the only way to accurately compare the price of products of different sizes. To illustrate...

MUSHROOM SOUP 16oz 

ITEM PRICE
$1.39 
UNIT PRICE
$.09

MUSHROOM SOUP 19oz 
ITEM PRICE
$1.69 UNIT PRICE
$.09

Notice that the unit price for both cans of soup is the same, therefore the shopper is not saving by buying the larger size. Comparing the unit price of similar products will insure that you get the best deal available without having to do the math. The unit price is the cost of the item per ounce, quart, gallon, pound, or any other unit of measure. Knowing the unit pricing keeps you from being fooled by the downsizing that food manufacturers have been doing lately...same size box with less product inside! Now go forth and compare!