quote:Do you think it's better to buy chicken pieces with bone on the premise that it's cheaper overall, or boneless pieces on the premise that it's more meat by weight?
It's USUALLY cheapest to buy whole chicken on sale and cut it up yourself. But I'm far too lazy for that, and usually draw the line there. Because I get chicken only when it's on a deep discount, it's usually cheapest to buy bone-in thighs; even taking out the skin and bone weight, the prices I get them at they're darned cheap. Occasionally when there's a loss-leader price on boneless skinless breasts, I get them; sometimes I get a big bag of frozen breast halves at TJs or Costco, they can be pretty cheap. (Costco is also the absolute cheapest place to buy frozen lean ground beef.)
But really, bone-in thighs are my PREFERENCE to cook with, because I slow-cook a lot of my chicken, and it keeps them moister to keep them on the bone.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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I buy whole chickens almost exclusively, and roast them. Then the leftover dark meat goes into enchiladas or something similar, and the leftover white meat goes on sandwiches and salads for the rest of the week. And then I freeze the carcass and skin to make stock later. Not bad for a single chicken.
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It's too hot here most of the year to roast whole chickens.
I have heard of doing it in your crockpot, but I only do that when I want shredded chicken; I have yet to find a way to do that that leaves it firm, the way I like it.
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quote:When we get tired is when its really a problem, though. If I haven't planned the meals for the week, we're most likely to eat poorly or go out to eat.
::nods head::
I look forward to one day having a shorter commute and thus time to cook.
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Here's my standard seasing mix for pinto beans...
Paprika Chili powder Cayenne pepper Mexican oregano Ground cumin Chopped garlic Pat of butter
After the pinto beans are fully cooked, melt the butter in a small frying pan, toss in the garlic and sautee until soft, toss in the spices and cook for just a few seconds, pour mixture into pot of beans, spoon some of the liquid into the pan so that you get all the spices out.
The result is quite yummy.
With my pinto beans, I soak, pour off, cook, pour off and cook. I find that they're less gas-causing that way.
But the most important thing in that regard is to get fresh dried beans. Go to a health foods store -- don't by the packaged stuff from the supermarket (sorry if this advice has already been given -- I didn't read page 2 of the thread).
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No, it's not cumin. It's some leafy herb that there's no equivalent of, that apparently is traditional flavoring in Mexican black beans and lends a smoky, woodsy flavor.
I'll see if I can look it up.
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Ooh! Now I remember where I've heard that name before! I heard of it on the radio and it sounded really familiar.
Salvadorean places sometimes ask whether you want your pupusa with or without epazote. At least, I think that's what it is. If I'm right, I like it. Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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quote:Originally posted by ketchupqueen: It's too hot here most of the year to roast whole chickens.
Here, too. We received a small rotisserie for our wedding, and that's what I use most of the time. But in cooler locations where you can use an oven most of the year, roasting a whole chicken can be very economical.
quote:My big thing is to prepare things while you've got momentum, either that night or the next day. De-skin all the chicken. Freeze all the meat. Then scrub hands and cut up all the fruit. (If we cut up melon in this house, it's gone within a week or less-- even the huge honkin' 12-pound watermelon we got a couple of weeks back only lasted two weeks around our watermelon eater.)
That's a great way to do it, and we've really thought about cooking several big meals at once and freezing since its not that much harder to cook big once you've started.
Posts: 1777 | Registered: Jan 2003
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quote: It's USUALLY cheapest to buy whole chicken on sale and cut it up yourself
I've started doing this.
It's pretty cool - for around $5 (less if you get a good two-for one offer) you get two *big* breasts (enough for 2-3 generous meals for 2), thighs, wings, drumsticks, and lots of good stock making stuff (anough for 6 or so litres of stock).
Plus I get to feel all butchery as I wield my cleaver. Posts: 4393 | Registered: Aug 2003
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Yeah, my mom used to buy two whole chickens when she (very rarely) made fried chicken when we were little.
Nowadays, though, she just buys the pre-cut-up pieces most times. It's just her, so not worth it.
When I start cooking for 5 or 6 people, it will probably become worth it to me to save more money and do it the hard way.
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kq, is there any way I could get you to post a list of what groceries you bought and what meals you plan to make with them? It completely boggles my mind that you could buy groceries for 2-3 weeks for $40. If you don't have the time/inclination I understand. We've been trying to cut our grocery bill but we generally spend at least $250 for 2-3 weeks worth of food. We've got 2 kids, and they're older, but I'd be real interested to see if I could glean some ideas from your list. Thanks!
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SO, I threw out the reciept, but I can give you a general, broad list of what we got.
Fresh veggies: potatoes, carrots, and a big head of cabbage, half of which went in our corned beef and cabbage, and the other half of which will be cut in two to provide side dishes for two dinners.
Fresh fruits: canteloupe (chopped and stored in tupperware in the fridge; it'll be gone within a few days), apples (keep well in the fridge, so just got two weeks' worth, they were REALLY cheap and we all like Galas), bananas (decent price and Ems loves them; I slice and freeze half of them so they don't rot.)
Bread (FMV brand, two loaves, one for the counter, one for the freezer.)
Bulk chicken thighs, which were on sale-- I de-skin them, wrap them, freeze them, and will add them two at a time to a pot of lentils or beans that we'll be eating that night, or will cook them quickly on the stove top or slowly in the crockpot for dinner (to be served with rice and frozen veggies or cabbage; we have a ton of ways to eat chicken thighs.)
Canned veggies to go in egg foo yong.
Store-brand cream of mushroom soup for use in casseroles-- we were out and it was on sale. I use it in tuna casserole and several others that we'll be having in the next few weeks.
Yogurt for Emma.
Tortillas.
Two packages of turkey dogs, on sale, for Emma.
Sprite for my morning sickness (on sale.)
There were a few other things, but I don't remember them all. Oh, and Sour Cream and Cheddar Ruffles for me; will also top the tuna casserole.
We're good on milk at least until next week, and were already well-stocked on fresh onions, fresh garlic, dried beans and rice and lentils, cheese, peanut butter, jelly, canned tomatoes and corn, and frozen veggies-- the staples of our diet that we try never to run out of. So we had very little re-stocking to do.
I don't actually plan specific meals ahead of time, although I know we'll be having tuna casserole this week and beans and/or lentils several times; I just try to keep everything I need for our favorite dishes in stock. We also have salmon (sent to us by my aunt) and ground beef (bought in bulk, divided, and frozen) in the freezer to add to the variety available to us. Because we buy one kind of meat per trip and then break it up into one or two person portions and freeze it, we're guaranteed a variety of meat and meatless meals for the next couple of weeks; we usually try to rotate what we buy and buy what's most on sale, then it goes straight to the freezer. Because I made corned beef in the crockpot yesterday, we'll be eating that for a few days (I could live on the stuff, so I don't mind leftovers until it's gone.)
Almost everything we got was on sale with our Ralphs club card. Many of those items tend to be the advertised "loss leaders", so we stock up on the ones we'll use when they're deeply discounted. Our secret is really to buy in larger quantities when it's cheap and save it for later. We only get the fresh vegetables and fruits that are a good price that week, which tends to lend variety as things go on sale (at least in CA) and also guarantee that we're usually eating fresh, in-season produce at least once a day. We add that to store-brand frozen vegetables, a mainstay of our nutritional equation, and we're pretty well-set on fruits and veggies.
I hope that helped some!
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That's amazing, kq. We spend $80-$100 per week on groceries, for five people. Not really thrifty. I thrift on other stuff because I want to spend all my money on groceries.
SO-when are you due again?
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Mmm, see, I thrift on food so when I very occasionally get some extra money-- like this week with tutoring-- I can feel less guilty about doing things like getting a haircut and seeing a movie. Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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I'm impressed. Thanks for the info kq, they're good suggestions. Our need for gluten free food for the kids drives our costs up so every small savings helps.
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kq, thanks for posting that. I did get some ideas from your list and I think they'll be helpful. I have to plan meals before I go to the store, though. If I don't we end up wasting a lot of produce, etc. I'm still very impressed by your ability to shop for your family so cheaply!
Also, I know we spend a bit on prepared lunches although we try to keep the price down to the $1-2 range. We also have a fruit and yogurt with each lunch.
I've really been trying to be more effective at planning and using our food, though, so I've been really appreciative of your ideas, too! Thanks!
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I don't really understand what corned beef is. I tasted a corned beef sandwich once and it was disgusting. I assumed it was something you did to the beef while cooking it?
Posts: 1014 | Registered: Jul 2005
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IIRC, corned beef is beef that is pickled before it is cooked. The seasonings (other than the salt) can vary, so corned beef from different sources will have very different tastes.
I spend a lot more than kq on groceries, but while I clip coupons, shop loss leaders, etc. just as she does, I cannot do that on everything. Too many things are not kosher in all brands (especially store brands, at least outside the East Coast). And forget about kosher meat -- very rarely are there significant sales, and the prices are two to three times that of non-kosher, I believe.
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I have morning sickness. (I've never been a big breakfast eater anyway.) Emma usually eats yogurt and/or fruit and sometimes toast and jam. (Because she's so small, we don't worry about balanced meals for her; rather, we balance her diet over the course of the day or even a couple of days, especially when she's on a kick where she prefers to eat only one or two foods; we allow her to have a certain amount of those foods every day and sneak other things into her diet. She usually eats what we eat for dinner, though.) Jeff sometimes has cereal (usually FMV frosted corn flakes), but often prefers to sleep instead of eating. Sometimes I make pancakes on a weekend, wrap them two or three (depending on size) at a time, wrap them in waxed paper then aluminum foil or a baggie, and date and freeze them. Jeff can take them out when he wants a change and heat them in the microwave.
quote:Also, I know we spend a bit on prepared lunches although we try to keep the price down to the $1-2 range. We also have a fruit and yogurt with each lunch.
We tend to eat either leftovers, beans and tortillas, or sandwiches (from leftover meat, pb and j-- but Emma and I don't eat peanut butter, so that's just Jeff-- or very occasionally egg or tuna salad for a change) with fruit. We try to make peanut butter sandwiches ahead of time, bag or wrap them, and freeze them. If you take it out in the morning, it's ready to eat by lunch-- same concept as those "Uncrustables" Smucker's makes.
quote:I don't really understand what corned beef is. I tasted a corned beef sandwich once and it was disgusting. I assumed it was something you did to the beef while cooking it?
It's a piece of beef brisket that's been cured, mostly with salt and brine, then you rub spices on it and cook it. It's delicious as long as you don't buy pre-packaged corned beef lunchmeat. The name "corned" comes from the same place as the word "corn"-- the same root as "kernel", little round things. The beef is cured and seasoned with peppercorns, caraway seeds, salt kernels, and many other assorted small round things, hence the name.
Rivka, I feel for you. That must be rough.
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That's true. At least you're able to get meat you can eat, and once in a while eat out and/or get convenience foods. I suppose it could be much worse.
And I imagine there are many spiritual and personal benefits that far outweigh the nuisances it can cause most of the time. Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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I just got around to following the advice in this thread. I made 3 cups dry rice, which works out to about 12 cups cooked, in chicken broth. I only had one of those big cans of chicken broth, and I didn't know how to just use a little of it, so I used the whole thing. Right now I have black beans soaking and I'll cook them tomorrow when I get back from class.
KQ- when you say you slow cook them all day, about how long is that? If I put them on when I get home at 4:30 would they be done by midnight or so?
The rice came out really sticky. Is there any way to make it less sticky? I just cooked it in the chicken broth without oil or anything, would oil help?
Also, how should I store the rice and beans, can I just put it in tupperware or should I do something else to it?
Posts: 4655 | Registered: Jan 2002
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Oil or butter can help reduce stickiness; also, don't stir much, just one stir, and let it steam until it's as dry as you want it. If you stop it steaming before all the liquid is absorbed, it can make it sticky.
As to the beans, hmmm. I bring to a boil and put in the slow-cooker in the morning and cook about 8 to 10 hours, or reduce heat and cook on the back of the stove for at least 5 or 6 over very low heat.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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Also, stickiness will depend on what type of rice you use. Short or medium grain rice will be stickier than long grain. White rice will be stickier than brown.
Speaking from experience here, if you cook the beans on the stove be sure there is enough water. It's not cool to have dinner cooking away and when you come back it's burnt .
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Sometimes I make pancakes on a weekend, wrap them two or three (depending on size) at a time, wrap them in waxed paper then aluminum foil or a baggie, and date and freeze them. Jeff can take them out when he wants a change and heat them in the microwave.![[Wink]](wink.gif)
The name "corned" comes from the same place as the word "corn"-- the same root as "kernel", little round things. The beef is cured and seasoned with peppercorns, caraway seeds, salt kernels, and many other assorted small round things, hence the name.![[Frown]](frown.gif)
That must be rough.
