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  • Menu Ideas...

    So to help save money and eat better my friends and I are combining food budgets and cooking together.

    among us (4 to 6 people) we only have a few food restrictions...
    • no dairy
    • no gluten
    • NO ginger
    • none of us eat much pork, but no reason NOT to have pork
    • bacon is the exception to that rule


    It is mostly dinners needing to be planned.
    It is by snark alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire 'tude, the lips acquire mouthiness, the glares become a warning.

  • #2
    Dinner salad- large salad with pretty much everything in it, I tend to use broccoli, cauliflower, one or two kinds of lettuce, fresh spinach, apple, sunflower seeds, carrot, bell pepper and tomato in mine. You can also use mandarin oranges, raisins, asparagus, pretty much anything you like. Cook one or two chicken breasts or other lean cuts of meat (try for about 3 or 4 ounces of meat per person) and slice into thin strips and toss in with the salad. Top with your preferred dressing and that's dinner.

    Stir fry is also a possibility. Sauces are pretty easy to make, to stay away from the ginger that's frequently used in oriental style cooking. There's an awesome teriyaki sauce recipe in the cooking thread here, just omit the ginger. Also check out other recipes in that thread.

    The way I do stir fry is to cut up my meat (which I have portioned out already for the two of us) and cook it with a bit of olive oil, covered, over medium heat. Should be a fair bit of liquid in the skillet with the meat when it's cooked. Add in whatever sauce you're using and mix well (I try for about one tablespoon of sauce per person), then toss in the veggies and kick the heat up to med-high. Cover and let it steam for 4 minutes or so (more if you like softer veggies, we like ours very lightly steamed). If the sauce is too thin, mix in half a teaspoon to a teaspoon of xanthan gum or cornstarch (the xanthan can be sprinkled directly in, cornstarch should be mixed with just enough cold water to dissolve it). I usually don't serve rice with stir fry (just use extra veggies to bulk it out), but rice is easy and inexpensive. Watch out for rice noodles, though, the ones I get are made with something called 'glutinous rice flour'.

    Soups and stews are easy and tasty ways to feed a lot of people economically. I love to make 'kitchen sink soup'. Toss whatever I've got on hand into the pot and simmer all day.

    How about red beans and rice? Not sure about cornbread with it, all of the cornbread recipes I've ever seen have either milk or buttermilk, and I have to assume the no dairy extends even to baked goods. If dairy is ok in baked items, though, find a cornbread recipe you like that doesn't use wheat flour and give it a go. Especially if you've got an old cast iron skillet you can bake it in.

    There's always the crock pot pot roast, too. Beef or pork roast with potatoes, carrots, onion, garlic and celery cooked on low all day. Use cornstarch or xanthan gum to thicken the juice into gravy (recommend corn starch for this one, the xanthan gum can give it a slightly weird texture if you use much of it), or use the juice as is.
    Last edited by Kittish; 04-16-2013, 10:58 PM. Reason: linkage
    You're only delaying the inevitable, you run at your own expense. The repo man gets paid to chase you. ~Argabarga

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    • #3
      Easy, delicious, cheap. Rice + Beans + Salsa. Dump it in a rice cooker, or a slow cooker, with enough liquid to cook the rice. Top with cheese, if desired by anyone in the group who can eat dairy. If you feel like it, you can add some sort of meat. I usually do ground beef cooked with whatever spices I feel like. It's unecessary, though, as rice + beans is a complete protein. If you like, toss in more veggies, though I would wait until it's nearly cooked.
      The High Priest is an Illusion!

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      • #4
        Salisbury steak: pan-fry some hamburger patties. Make mashed potatoes with a vegan margarine, such as Earth Balance. Make a beef stock gravy using cornstarch or arrowroot to thicken instead of flour. Serve with a side veggie and the margarine, if you want. Vegan chocolate cupcakes for dessert. There are some good recipes out there. This is definitely a comfort-food meal for me. Of course, I use Boca burgers.
        "Is it hot in here to you? It's very warm, isn't it?"--Nero, probably

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        • #5
          Having recently been rendered gluten/dairy free myself, the thing that's saved my sanity is tacos and corn tortilla wraps. Can thrown whatever the hell you want in either meat & veggie wise and they're easy on the prep/cook time.

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          • #6
            Another easy slow-cooker recipe:

            Place 1 chicken breast or thigh for each person in your crockpot. Personally, I prefer a bone-in thigh because it's juicier, but whatever works for you.

            Pour on enough salsa/picante sauce/Ro-Tel style tomatoes to cover the chicken. If the salsa is really chunky without much liquid, you'll want to add a little water. You don't want the chicken to dry out while it's cooking, but you don't want salsa soup, either.

            Cook on low heat for 5-7 hours. You can also use frozen chicken and cook on low for about 10 hours. I love doing this in the morning before work.

            Serve it up with some rice and corn tortillas.
            Thank you for calling Card Services, how may I take your abuse today? ~Headset Hellion

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            • #7
              A sorta "luxury" version of asparagus soup:

              Fry some thinly sliced bacon (or, even better, Pancetta) and put it on paper towel to soak off the excess fat.

              Boil a half pound of GREEN asparaguses chopped in inch-sized pieces in a pint of either chicken or veggie broth (as long as the broth is mild in taste) for approx. 5-7 minutes.

              Purée the asparaguses + broth, add some corn starch mixed with a little bit water for thickening, and let simmer for another minute. Season as you see fit.

              Tear the bacon up (or eventually smash it up with a blender or a rolling pin) to crumbles. Sprinkle the bacon crumbles over the soup, and serve!
              Last edited by NorthernZel; 04-18-2013, 09:08 PM.
              A theory states that if anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for, it will be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.

              Another theory states that this has already happened.

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              • #8
                Ok, I know you said not really pork, but still. Here's my super awesome trick for four days of food worth for stupid cheap:

                The First Day

                Get a large spiral sliced ham. They go on sale a LOT, I typically get mine at 0.99-1.49/lb.

                Cook it, I prefer to do a baste of brown sugar and mustard on mine, but do it however you prefer.

                SAVE THE WHOLE THING. Like, everything. You see the juices that have cooked off? Use a spoon, scoop em out, put them in a container. Cut away the "good ham" pieces that you want, and save those. Save the ham hock bone with the leftover meaty bits.

                The Next Day, 48 Hours Remaining

                Take the remainder, the ham hock bone, and put it in your crockpot with some mixed beans. You can have soaked them overnight, or do the boil them method, I prefer overnight soaking, it's the easiest. Those juices I mentioned to save? Toss those in there with the ham hock and beans. Add random veggies if you want, I typically add carrots, or mushrooms, or potato bits. Spice it up with onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and a little bit of olive oil if you have it. Add a little bit of water.

                Cook that for about eight hours on low, pull the bone out (you might have to fish a couple pieces out, no big deal), break up the ham that will now have literally fallen off the bone, and promptly enjoy some seriously amazing ham and beans. I like to serve it over rice, helps stretch it.


                The Third Day, There's a Giant Moon Now, Has Nobody Noticed This Thing?

                So take some of the leftover "good" ham, dice it up, and use your crockpot again to make ham and potato soup. I typically use a strange amalgamation I've concocted out of several online recipes, but it's up to you.

                The Fourth Day, Okay We're Doomed. Fine. Whatever.

                Ham sammiches. Seriously. Sounds weak, but toss some tomato, lettuce, bacon, a bit of turkey, and if you wanna splurge, a little slice of avocado, and you have AWESOME SAMMICHES OF AWESOME.



                Anyways. That's my Great Ham Secret. Seriously, I can make 4-7 days worth of food using a spiral ham as a base, for like....$35. Its awesome, and I always tend to grab 2-3 hams when they go on sale, because of this.
                By popular request....I am now officially the Enemy of Normalcy.

                "What is unobtainium? To Seraph, it's a normal client. :P" -- Observant Friend

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                • #9
                  Thanks Seraph,
                  I just saved your 4 day plan. We love ham and both work late so anything I can find to use the crockpot for I love.

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                  • #10
                    I'll throw this dessert in case one of your friends might be interested. It's an ice cream brand replacement called Arctic Zero and it's a Fat free, lactose free and gluten free product. I've only seen five flavors of it in at my local kroger. Vanilla Maple, Chocolate, Mint Chocolate, Strawberry and Cookies n Cream. The one I have with me atm is the Vanilla Maple and here are the ingredients listed so your friends know.

                    Purified water, whey protein concentrate (milk), organic cane sugar, chicory root, sugarcane fiber, guar gum, xanthan gum, natural flavors, sea salt and monk fruit concentrate.

                    Not many listed really, it's the whey that I'm wondering about since you said no dairy. I haven't tried the other flavors yet but the vanilla maple isn't bad. However it is on the pricey side for a pint sized container. So yea, a luxury item >>

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                    • #11
                      Stewp.

                      It's stew or soup depending on how much liquid you put in it.


                      The Stock:

                      For several days, collect vegetable bits and store in the fridge. You can also have meat bones. Onion skins, peelings, celery or leek or shallot tops, capsicum (green pepper?) innards. Don't include anything that'll make a bad flavour, just the stuff that makes good stock.

                      Once - and only once - buy a bit of cheesecloth from a kitchen store. If any of you can sew, make a bag with it. If not, also buy cooking-safe twine.

                      The day before you want to make the stewp, put the scraps in the cheesecloth. If you didn't make a bag, dump the lot in the middle, bring the corners up together, tie around with twine to make a temporary bag.
                      You can add any herbs or spices you want, too.

                      Put the bag in a big pot with lots of water. Simmer (as in, not-quite-boiling) for a few hours - maybe while someone is studying, they can study in the room next to the kitchen and just make sure it doesn't boil dry or anything.

                      Take the pot off the heat. Pull the bag out, holding it over the top of the pot so the yummy juices drain into the pot. Put a colander or strainer under the bag and over the pot, sit the bag in it. Let it drain.

                      You now have stock.

                      Use this for any recipe which calls for stock. This one is vegetable stock - if a recipe calls for meat stock, just put a bunch of meat bones and scraps of the appropriate type into the bag instead of the veggies.


                      (To clean the bag, just tip out the contents - they can go into compost, but do pick out any bones and bin those. They just take FOREVER to compost. The cheesecloth can be washed in the sink with dishwashing liquid, or in the top shelf of a dishwasher. It can be tossed in the washing machine, but preferably on its own and NO FABRIC SOFTENER. Rinse well. It's a cooking implement, after all!)

                      Stock - fresh stock - can be saved for up to a week in the fridge. Please store it in glass, rather than plastic, if you can - it stays tastier. Old jam jars are fine.




                      The Stewp Itself:

                      The day before:
                      Soak any dried foods you want to use, such as pearl barley, dried lentils, dried peas or beans, etc.
                      The day of:
                      Strain the soaked foods, rinse.

                      Put a tiny bit of oil in the bottom of a big saucepan, or stew pot, or soup pot, or whatever big cooktop-pot you have. Heat it, then put in any spices you want to use. Lightly brown the spices. This brings out their flavour better than just dumping them in later, I'm told. It seems to work.

                      Four hours till eating time:
                      If you're using dried, soaked foods, or cheap meats (not mince), put these and enough stock to generously cover them, plus about a third of that again, into the pot. Start it simmering. Periodically check that there's enough liquid to keep the food well covered with stock - if not, taste the broth. If it's more strongly flavoured than you like, add water. Otherwise, add stock.
                      (If you're not using either, move to 'two hours to eating time'.)


                      Two hours till eating time:
                      If you're using mince or better meats, put these in now. Make sure the stock covers it well. Start it simmering.

                      Peel and chop any vegetables such as potatos, yams, turnips, parsnips, swedes and carrots. Anything that absorbs flavours, and takes a while to break down into something which can be easily eaten with a spoon.
                      Add these to the stewp when they're chopped.

                      You can also add durable vegetables if you like - anywhere between here and eating time. Tinned or fresh beans, most mushrooms, onions, garlic, celery. Stuff like that.

                      Periodically check that there's enough liquid to keep the food well covered with stock - if not, taste the broth. If it's more strongly flavoured than you like, add water. Otherwise, add stock. (yes, I cut-and-pasted.)


                      One hour till eating time:

                      Prepare vegetables which would have broken up into tasteless, crunchless bits if added sooner. Add them.

                      Taste it, and look at it. You might want it to have more colour, if so, adding coloured veg is good. You might decide it lacks some 'zing': if so, add spices that give zing. If it needs more depth of flavour, add herbs. Also note that I didn't anywhere mention salt - I'm a very low-salt cook by nature. If you're not, add some!

                      Decide if you want to have rice, pasta (gluten-free?), or other accompaniments. Get ready to prepare them when it's time.


                      Half an hour or less:

                      Add the most fragile vegetables you want to add.

                      Assess the stewp. Decide if you want stew or soup. If stew, consider adding 'thickening' (see below); and allow some of the liquid to boil off. If soup, make sure there's enough liquid to keep it qualified as 'soup' rather than 'stew'.



                      Eating time:

                      Serve.
                      If it's a stew, serve on a bed of rice or pasta or something yummy.
                      If a soup, it's tasty with crusty bread (or gluten-free bread? I'm not sure.)


                      Thickening recipe:

                      Flour, cornflour, gluten-free flour equivalent.
                      Water.

                      This is a recipe I tend to prepare by 'eye' and experience. If you haven't done it before, try a quarter of a cup of flour-or-equivalent. henceforth called 'flour' to save my fingers.

                      Put the flour into a bowl, add a drizzle of water. Stir with a fork. Keep adding a drizzle of water at a time, mixing. You're aiming for a lump-free mixture, about the consistency of gravy.

                      Add this to the stewp that you're turning into stew, mixing as you add it. The flour bits should absorb liquid as they cook (which is why you initially mix it cold!). Thus, the stewp stock/broth/liquid should become more gravy-like. If you didn't make enough, make more. You have time!

                      I'm not certain how well gluten-free flour does at absorbing liquid. You may need to look it up at a gluten-safe-cooking website. But the others work fine.
                      Seshat's self-help guide:
                      1. Would you rather be right, or get the result you want?
                      2. If you're consistently getting results you don't want, change what you do.
                      3. Deal with the situation you have now, however it occurred.
                      4. Accept the consequences of your decisions.

                      "All I want is a pretty girl, a decent meal, and the right to shoot lightning at fools." - Anders, Dragon Age.

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                      • #12
                        Cheap and easy chili

                        Night before: in a large pot, put 1/2 pound kidney beans, and cover with a few inches of water.

                        At time of preparation:
                        Drain the beans, cover with a few inches of fresh water, start them boiling, turn down the heat, and simmer until tender.
                        (optional) fry up one pound of bacon
                        Either brown and drain 2 pounds ground beef OR prepare 2 cups TVP (boil 2 cups water, dissolve 2 beef boullion cubes, and add 2 cups TVP, stirring to make sure it all gets exposed to the liquid (some varieties will soak it up too fast leaving you with dry spots unless stirred, others will leave some unabsorbed liquid behind).
                        Drain the beans, rinse in 2 changes of fresh water.
                        Add to the drained beans your ground beef or TVP (and unabsorbed liquid, if present), your bacon (or whatever portion of it you haven't snacked on), 2 28 ounce tins of diced tomatoes, 2 tins tomato paste (or 1 double-size tin), 1 bell pepper (chopped), and 1 medium onion (chopped, and fried until transparent in either bacon grease or a bit of cooking oil). Add chili powder to taste (3 tablespoons is a good start).
                        Simmer for 1/2 hour, stirring frequently to break up "steam paths".
                        Any fool can piss on the floor. It takes a talented SC to shit on the ceiling.

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                        • #13
                          Split pea soup in a crockpot? I don't eat meat, so I get "ham" bouillon cubes on the Mexican aisle. They are basically msg, which I have no allergy to, so that's fine with me. But they taste just like I had put a ham hock in the soup. I like that, sauteed onions, and a few bay leaves. Some people do garlic, and I may or may not, but if I do it is a tiny bit. I really like sps with cornbread muffins or biscuits. Oh, and here's the best biscuit recipe EVER: http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com/20...-biscuits.html
                          "Is it hot in here to you? It's very warm, isn't it?"--Nero, probably

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