Cass Cooks, Too!

posted by Cass on Dec 30

So at lunch time today, we had extra kids from the neighborhood here. I’d planned on packaged broccoli cheddar soup, but I was afraid it would not make enough for everyone to have enough, so I set about figuring out how to extend it. Here’s what we started with:

We made the soup according to the package directions, then added the Normandy Blend veggies, the Cream of Mushroom soup, an extra soup can of water and half a hunk of not-Velveeta. We heated it through and served it with saltines, and it was so. stinkin’. good!

The best news is that the neighborhood kids bailed, so we have plenty of leftovers

posted by Cass on Dec 11

Yeah, I know I didn’t list this in the upcoming recipe list. However, it really is the best roast ever, so I felt like I just had to share! So I am.

I used about a ten pound Boston Butt to make this. And actually, it was so easy that I just called out the directions to my 15 year old as I walked out the door.

Start a bit of oil heating in a large skillet. Combine some lemon pepper seasoning with some flour. Use a proportion like you were breading something to fry it. Roll the roast in that mixture until it is coated well. Then sear it in your hot oil. Put the roast in a covered pan and cook it in the oven at 250 degrees for several hours. Like 3 or 4. But if you have to go a bit longer you can. Or you can put it in the crock pot. See, I’m easy.

Serve the roast with a starch and a veggie the first night. For the lunch the next day, serve the chopped leftovers on hamburger or hot dog buns with a slice of cheese. Yummilicious.

If you were lucky enough to find the pork on sale for 89 cents a pound like I did, then you have 2 meals there for around $10. Less, if you aren’t feeding an army of 9.

posted by Cass on Sep 10

Here’s a little trick I use to save money on ribs. We love ribs, but I don’t like paying for so much bone, especially since I like mine falling-off-the-bone tender. To stretch the actual ribs, I buy boneless pork neckbone trimmings. I don’t know if they are available everywhere, but if they are, check them out. You can pay a bit more per pound for them that you do for the ribs, because it’s all meat.

Yesterday, the kids had pizza for lunch. I decided to try making it at home to see if I could make a good tasting pizza that was cheaper than the box stuff in the freezer section. Turns out I can, and here’s what we used:

2 packets of Great Value pizza crust mix at .44 each
1 can of mushrooms at .94
About a buck worth of grated mozzarella
leftover spaghetti sauce from the night before, original cost $6 because I added sausage to it

The kids all said it was fantastic, and the one bit I had left me drooling for more, and glaring at my soup balefully. Total cost, assuming $1 for the sauce: less than $4 for two good pizzas. As a comparison, 2 crappy Tony’s pizzas were $5 total.

Did I take a picture? Noooooooooooooo. Sorry.

Also, I am leaving tomorrow for a little fun. I’ll be in Orlando hanging with friends and learning some stuff. I’ll be posting more foodie goodness on the 18th.

posted by Cass on Aug 15

Ok, I hope you are ready. I told you you would need:

2 pounds of pinto and/or black eyed peas for around $4
A hunk of salt pork (or bacon ends) for around $3
Rice, 5 pound bag for around $3
Tortillas for around $2
A bag of precooked sausage patties for around $4
A chub or roll of sausage for around $2
Shredded cheese, 2 cups for around $2
Sour cream for around $2

I’m estimating prices, and I am estimating high. Like, Rachel Ray, spices are freebies, but you’ll need salt, pepper, garlic powder, basil, and thyme. So, we are coming in under $25 and I can feed my family of 9 at least three times, and there will be some sausage patties and rice left, along with sour cream.

So, the first day, around noon, wash your beans and put them in a pot with the salt pork. Cover them in fresh cool water and bring them to a hard boil. Let them boil maybe five minutes and then turn them down to medium. Let them simmer for several hours. Check the water now and again so they don’t cook dry. When it is time to eat, cook enough rice to serve with the beans, and also one sausage patty per person. Just before you serve, season the beans to taste with the spices listed above. You can discard the salt pork as well, unless you can afford the fat and calories. This is meal one.

For the second meal, fry up the chub sausage, and make sure it’s in small pieces. Heat up the beans and mix them together. Heat your tortillas and spoon the mixture into them, about 1/3 cup for the small tortillas and top with a little sour cream and a bit more of the bean and sausage mixture. That is meal two.

Meal three (and possibly four) are repeats of those two meals. We love the Mexican food around here, so we chose the tortilla option for lunch on the third day. Yum, yum!

To get the absolute most use out of the $25 you spent, add some eggs and a loaf of bread to your shopping list. Then you can serve scrambled eggs and toast along with the remaining sausage patties for breakfast one day.

I think that would bring us up to 4 meals for 9 people for $30 or less.