Busy Bee in The Kitchen

One of the ways I save money is by grinding my own flour for baking.  When stores have their case lot sales, I'll buy a couple of 50 lb bags of whole wheat for under $20 each and then use them all year to grind into wholesome whole wheat and make homemade bread and other goodies with.  I do still buy white flour to use in things like cookies and other baked goods, but I buy that during the case lot sales too at about $8 for a big 20 lb bag.

Yesterday I spent the day baking.  I made a double batch of my 

Awesome Whole Wheat Bread and turned that into three loaves and 10 big cinnamon rolls.  

 I stuck one of the loaves of bread in the freezer to use next week and kept the other two out for this week's use.  The cinnamon rolls acted as an after school snack for my boys, dessert for my husband and breakfast for my boys this morning.  We still have two leftover that will be snacked on today as well.

To make the cinnamon rolls, I melted 1 Tablespoons of butter and spread that out onto the rolled out dough.  Then I sprinkled with brown sugar until it was covered lightly and then added a thin layer of cinnamon and a couple of handfuls of raisins.  I then rolled them up and cut them and let them rise in the pan.  They were then baked along with the bread for about 25 minutes.  Once they were out and had cooled for a few minutes I made a very simple glaze out of 2 Tablespoons melted butter, 1 cup powdered sugar, a dash of vanilla and a couple tablespoons of milk.  Easy, frugal and delicious!

Total cost for 3 loaves of bread and 10 big cinnamon rolls: 

About $2

While I was in the kitchen, I took out a dozen eggs and boiled them.  I like to keep boiled eggs in the fridge for quick breakfasts before the boys get on the bus in the morning.  My daughter also likes to snack on them during the day.  At under .11 cents each, they make for a thrifty handy snack to have on hand.

Total cost for 12 boiled eggs: $1.30

We had a busy night last night.  The kids wanted to head over to the library for a Planes Party at 6pm and I had a Church activity to be to at 7pm, so we quickly ate these Indian Tacos and Tostadas and were out the door.  

To make these, I found 6 rhodes rolls in my freezer, took them out and let them rise and then fried them right before serving, I also fried some corn tortillas for tostada shells.  Topped with some leftover homemade refried beans, ground venison from the freezer seasoned with taco seasoning, a little bit of shredded cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, guacamole, sour cream and hot sauce.  All that makes for a filling dinner on the cheap!

Total cost for Indian Tacos and Tostadas with leftovers for lunch: about $3

Thanks for stopping by!

Pico de Gallo

I love fresh salsa, it's so easy to make and it tastes so good!! Made with fresh from the garden tomatoes, it's even better! I love the already minced garlic in the jar, that is what I usually use in most of my recipes, it can be used in this recipe, but fresh garlic that you mince yourself will be 100 times better! It's worth the extra work for me to mince the garlic for this Pico de Gallo. This recipe is more of guide then an actual recipe also, you can adjust anything in the recipe to your family's likings. If your family doesn't like much onion, don't put as much in. If you really love cilantro, like me, add a whole bunch. If you don't like much spice, only add one jalapeño. Make it how your family will enjoy it!! Serve with homemade or store bought tortilla chips and your good to go!!

Pico de Gallo

6 roma tomatoes, chopped
1 small onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapeño peppers, minced
½ bunch cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt (or more to taste)
½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper (or more to taste)

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving. Stir once more before serving and enjoy with your favorite chips!

Homemade Tortilla Chips

desired quantity corn tortillas
oil for frying
salt

Heat oil on high heat in a large skillet. Make sure there is at least ½” of oil. Cut the corn tortillas into slices that resemble chips. Place cut tortillas into hot oil and cook 1 to 2 minutes per side, until they are a golden brown color. Take browned tortilla chip out of oil and place on a paper towel lined plate, season with salt and enjoy!

Mexican Rice

Mexican rice has always been something that isn't very easy for me to replicate at home. The rice in restaurants is sort of dry, not sticky at all and has such good flavor. I've been trying to make a good Mexican rice for a long time now and never could get it right. Until one day I just decided to ask the waitress at the local Mexican restaurant how they made the rice. She told me that they fry the rice in oil before adding any liquids. Who knew? So, I tried frying the rice in oil before adding liquid and guess, what? It worked! Here is my version of Mexican rice, give it a try and let me know what you think!

Mexican Rice

3 tablespoons oil
2 cups long grain white rice
½ onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon pepper (not fresh ground)
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
2 (15 ounce) cans chicken broth
3 tablespoons salsa

In a large pot heat oil over high heat. Add in the rice, onion and garlic and cook, stirring constantly until the rice starts to brown and the onions are soft. Add in the salt, pepper and chili powder and stir well. Pour in the tomato sauce, chicken broth and salsa and stir well. Let the mixture come up to a boil, stirring frequently. Once a boil is reached cover with a lid and reduce heat to low. Cook for about 25 minutes or until the rice is no longer crunchy. Enjoy with your favorite Mexican dishes!

Chile Verde

Chile Verde has to be my all time favorite thing to order at Mexican restaurants. Specifically at La Piñata in Hayward, California, where I grew up. You just can't get any better than La Piñata! But now that I live in Idaho, I have to make my own. I just haven't been able to find a restaurant out here that even comes close. Now all I need to do is learn how La Piñata makes their delectable corn tortillas. Yum!! So, I'm not saying that my Chile Verde is anywhere near as good as the one that I love so much, but it's pretty dang good. And it's super easy too!! With the help of bottled salsa verde, it makes it so much easier than dealing with tomatillos at home. Which I have done, and I prefer this recipe a million times over to the one I made completely from scratch. Just be sure to get mild or medium salsa verde so that your chile verde isn't too spicy. If you've been to La Piñata before, I'd love to know, leave me a comment about your favorite La Piñata dish!!

Chile Verde

5 lbs pork butt, cubed seasoned with garlic salt
Oil for browning meat
2 onions, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 Roma tomatoes,chunked
2 (16 ounce) jars La Victoria Salsa Verde
1 tablespoon Cumin
½ bunch Cilantro, chopped

Season pork with garlic salt and brown well in oil. Add onion, garlic and tomatoes; sauté for 2 minutes. Add salsa Verde and cumin bring to a boil. Cover and reduce to simmer, cook at least one hour or until meat is tender. Ten minutes before eating add cilantro, mix well. Serves 6-8.

White Chicken Chili

This is for sure a family pleaser!! We've been enjoying this recipe at our house for a few years now and every time I make it it gets gobbled up really quick! My young children love it and they don't mind the little bit of heat in it one bit. If your family doesn't like too much heat, just use one can of the green chilies instead of two. To make this recipe food storage friendly, you could replace the fresh chicken with 2 large cans of chicken breast meat, like the kind you might find at Costco, if you do this just be sure to take out the chicken broth and leave the juices with the chicken. And you could also use a can of evaporated milk instead of the sour cream. I hope your family loves this recipe as much as we do!

White Chicken Chili

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes {or 2 large cans chicken chunks}
1 medium onion, chopped {or you can use the equivalent in dried onions}
1 garlic clove, minced {or use the equivalent in dried garlic}
1 tablespoon oil
2 cans (15 1/2 ounces each) pinto beans, with juices
1 can white hominy, drained
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth {leave out if using canned chicken & just use the juice from the canned chicken instead}
2 cans (4 ounces each) chopped green chilies
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon cilantro dried or fresh
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups sour cream {or a can of evaporated milk for food storage version}

In a large saucepan, saute chicken, onion and garlic powder in oil until chicken is no longer pink. Add beans, hominy, broth, chilies and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in sour cream. Garnish with fresh cilantro, if desired. Serve immediately. This is really good with tortilla chips or cornbread. Serves 4-6.

Authentic Refried Beans

Here is another great food storage recipe! To make it completely food storage friendly, you could use dried onions and garlic, both of which I keep in my food storage. Just be sure to rehydrate them before you make the recipe. With these refried beans, now you can have the delicious restaurant style refried beans that you love, right in your own home!! Since moving to Idaho I've had to teach myself how to recreate some of my favorite restaurant meals that I grew up eating in California, a good authentic refried bean recipe being one of those. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!

Authentic Refried Beans

1 pound dry pinto beans
¼ cup finely chopped onion
1 Tbs. chopped garlic
3 tablespoons lard or vegetable oil
Salt to taste

Soak beans over night in water. In the morning rinse and put beans into a large pot. Cover beans with water. Cook on medium heat uncovered until boiling. Cover and reduce to a simmer, continue cooking until beans are soft, about 2 ½ hours. Drain beans, but reserve the water that they cooked in. In the same pot melt lard, cook onion and garlic until soft. Add beans and a small amount of the reserved water. With a hand held blender, blend the bean mixture until it is nice and smooth. If you need more liquid, add more of the reserved water. Add salt to taste and enjoy. Serves 6-8.