Frugal Kitchens 101 - Back to School

The kids are back to school in our corner of beautiful Ontario, Canada.  Along with preparing the kids for their new academic year with school supplies and new clothes, parents everywhere are turning their attention to getting back into the school routine.  There's the hurry up and out the door breakfast, brown bag lunches, starvin' Marvin after school snacks and only 20 minutes to eat before soccer practice dinners.  Parents become busier themselves as organizations they are involved with resume activities after their summer hiatus.  For many families, Sunday is reserved for religious activities leaving only Saturday for a catch-up day which often ends up being a day to do something more enjoyable like a trip to the orchard.  Complicating the time restraints and heavy demands is the increasing number of parents who themselves are either starting or returning to their academic studies (been there, done that).  At any rate, September marks the beginning of an increasingly hectic time for many which in turn creates mealtime issues. 

September brings with it pack lunches, quick snacks and easy to prepare weekday meals.  The problem is as the days get busier many families resort to take-out or fast food because some days it is simply easier to eat en route in the car than to sit down and eat at home.  Unfortunately, this is the worst solution on many levels.  Here are a few ways to avoid the take-out or fast food rut in favour of delicious, healthy and lower cost meals during those busy time:

• be organized - Schedule in meal prep and perhaps one or two baking sessions for cookies or other baked goodies for lunches.  For best results, write it into your planner or put it on your kitchen reminder.
• plan ahead - I'm not a huge fan of menu planning but for busy families, menu planning can save a lot of headaches while keeping the cost of your grocery bill down.
• prepare ahead - Clean out your fridge before grocery shopping.  When you return from grocery shopping, set aside those items that can be easily prepared for the following week.  Wash fruits and put into a fruit bowl for easy self serve after school snacking.  Cut carrots and celery for lunch snacks.  This will only take a few minutes at the end of putting groceries away but save both time and money while encouraging healthy snacking habits.  Cooked beans, rice and pasta all keep well in the fridge.  Cook a larger batch of one or more depending on your family size then use as a basis for meals throughout the week. 
• bulk cooking - Once a month cooking or bulk cooking can easily put a month's worth of prepared meals in your freezer with only a day's worth of cooking AND only once a month.  I relied heavily on once a month cooking when the kids were at home and I was in university.  The method works well but should be modified to meet your family's needs.  Kids can help with the prep work and my husband has always been a huge help in the kitchen so helped with these sessions as well. 
• enlist help - Enlist the help of each member of the family.  Even a small child can help put together snack packets for the following week.  Kids as young as six can make a meal with guidance.  Older children can be given increasing more complex kitchen chores and are often able to make complete meals after school ready for a family sit down meal.  Make this easy by doing a bit of prep the night before so all they have to do is put the casserole in the oven, turn it to the correct temperature then set the table.
• the slow cooker -  The slow cooker can be a busy family's best friend.  It is truly amazing what can be cooked in a slow cooker including breads and cakes so think outside the box.  Using your menu plan, prep the ingredients for the next day's dinner the night before.  The next morning put the ingredients into the slow cooker, set to program or low and when you get home dinner is ready.  All you need is to add a side salad
• KISS - Keep it simple, silly!  You don't need to spend an elaborate amount of time in the kitchen to put good food on the table.  Many meals can be made in 30 minutes or less ; several 15 and 30 minutes meals are in this blog's archives.   Seriously, there is nothing wrong with having pancakes for dinner or an easy meal of soup and sandwich.

Two Quick and Easy Summer Sandwiches

When the summer temperature soar and the air is heavy with humidity we don't feel like eating heavy meals.  Sandwiches are perfect for this type of weather because they are quite portable and they don't heat up the kitchen.  They are also quite versatile using any bread and filling you want ranging from cold to hot, plain to fancy and everything in between.

Pita aka pocket bread are ideal for making quick sandwiches.  Pitas are are a bit lighter in calories coming in at 160 calories per pita compared to 2 slices of bread averaging 185 calories.  However, a half pita is sufficient for one large sandwich so that reduces the bread component of the sandwich to 80 calories.  Pitas are also a bit lower in carbohydrates coming in at 10% compared to 12% of sliced bread.  In short pitas are a bit healthier for you.

I stuffed a half of whole wheat pita with red leaf lettuce, sliced ham, red onions, and tomatoes.  I used  new beau monde vegetable dip in place of mayonnaise for a bit more flavour.  Dips aren't just for dipping.  I often use them in sandwiches.  Dips make a good mayonnaise replacement because they are thick and creamy but many have refreshing, light flavours to brighten up any sandwich.

A sandwich press is ideal for making hot sandwiches during the heat of the summer without heating up the kitchen.  The nice thing is there is very little clean-up using a sandwich press either.  Not only do you reduce the heat from cooking but also from the clean-up so it is a summer time win/win.  It's quick and easy as well so this is one small appliance that comes in quite handy during the summer months.

I made this delightful ham and provolone panini for lunch.  I spred the bread slices with new beau monde vegetable dip to add a bit more pizzaz then layered the cheese and meat.  I served the panini with dill pickle spears.  Just look at those lovely grill marks!

Cobb Salad Wrap

We eat a lot of salads so I always appreciate finding a new spin on salads. I really enjoyed the cobb salad from Magnolia's at the Four Queen's in Las Vegas so when I saw a recipe for Classic Cobb Wraps in the Fall '09 issue of Kraft Foods What's Cooking magazine I just had to try it. Now for those who don't know this magazine is free. It does of course strongly feature Kraft® products but what is nice is a week's worth of recipes is presented and the recipes can easily be modified to use other brands or homemade versions. The recipes are always presented with gorgeous colour pictures and are quite easily duplicated. Oh and did I mention this great magazine is free? Just head over to kraft.ca and sign up for your free copy sent out quarterly.

Cobb Salad Wrap

The cobb salad I enjoyed in Las Vegas was presented nicely on an oval plate. It consisted of iceburg lettuce, bacon pieces, blue cheese, tomatoes, chopped hard boiled eggs, chicken pieces, cucumber and red onion all laid neatly in rows. The salad dressing was the customer's choice. The classic cobb wrap in What's Cooking had romaine lettuce, deli turkey, bacon, tomato, avocado, shredded cheddar cheese and ranch dressing wrapped in a four tortilla. I decided to take a few liberaties with this wrap because after all I was the one who was going to eat it.

I added a thin layer of Miracle Whip® to the flour tortilla then topped with romaine lettuce, deli turkey, bacon, tomato, avocado, red onions, shredded cheddar cheese and low calorie Thousand Island dressing. The end result was a lovely tasting and very filling wrap not identical to the cobb salad I enjoyed but with hints of that flavour. The next time I make this wrap I will add chopped eggs and cucumber.

I should bring up one important consideration. This is called a cobb salad wrap if you go by my name or classic cobb wrap if you duplicate the recipe in What's Cooking. At best you are getting a similar flavour to a cobb salad but you aren't getting a cobb salad you are getting a wrap with a similar flavour. What happens is someone will invariably say this is supposed to taste like this particular food but it isn't identical or it has different flavours. This is most notable in things like the cheeseburger pasta, cheeseburger chowder, all dressed potato soup, mock smores and so many other recipes that are meant to mimic but not replace the food they are named after. So simply enjoy them as they are :)

A Taste of Summer

I don't know about you but I am more than wintered out! It's been a long, cold winter that started early and just doesn't want to go away. At the start of this week I decided to make a couple of dishes to give us a taste of summer. It was just the little change we needed!

Lunch Goodies

My husband takes a homemade lunch to the office. Sometimes it is left overs but quite often I make him something different. Lunches tend to be garbage free meaning no paper, no wrappings and anything compostable is brought home. I have a few plastic lunch containers used only for cold foods (more on the plastics issue later). Anything that needs reheating is sent on a regular dinner plate or in a covered glass dish. Monday's lunch was chicken caesar salad (1). I assembled the salad in a lunch kit (2) leaving the dressing separate to prevent the romaine lettuce from becoming soggy. This is a hard plastic lunch kit that came with a small container perfect for dressing or sauce and a fork in the outside compartments. This is a perfect container for salads and wraps but nothing that will be reheated. Despite the fact the container is labeled as being microwave safe, it will only be used for foods that do not need heating.

A couple of weeks ago I bought a 24 mini cup Wilton muffin pan. While I have a 12 mini cup muffin pan, it is used mainly for freezing small amounts of things like roasted garlic. I thought the larger Wilton pan would be perfect for making snack and grandbaby sized muffins. Tuesday I made bran muffins using the new pan. Half of them went to the office for my husband's snack. Tuesday night I made a lovely batch of tuna salad, a summer favourite.

Guacomole

When the winter drags on who can resist the beautiful bright colours of fruits and vegetables to brighten the day? I just love the colours of the fruits and vegetables in guacomole almost as much as I like eating guacomole! I make guacomole using ripe avocados, ripe tomato, onion, lemon and lemon. Aren't they just simply gorgeous?

I simply chop half of the tomato and half of the onion fine. They I cut the avocados in half and remove the pits for growing. I scoop the avocado flesh into a small mixing bowl. I cut the lemon and lime in half and squeeze the juice over the avocado and mash to make a smooth, lightly chunked mixture. Then I stir in the chopped onions and tomatoes. That's it. It's nice and simple yet very tasty and always goes over well.

I usually serve guacomole with round corn tortilla chips (if I'm serving as a snack. However, two ways I really enjoy guacomole is using it as a filling for either soft tortilla shells or leaf lettuce. Both are very tasty appetizers sure to please!

Three of My Favourite Sandwiches

We are not big sandwiches eaters not that we don't like sandwiches. I'd have to say that the majority of sandwiches we eat are during the summer months when the garden is producing nicely. We use both store bought and homemade breads for making sandwiches. Sandwiches are perfect summer food because they don't heat up the kitchen. They are also easy to make under 15 minute meals that are sure to please. The beauty is in their simplicity. The only negative that can be said about sandwiches is they are a no no if you are restricting your carbs. Other than that they can be quite healthy for you especially if you use whole grain breads.

Fried Egg Sandwich

Fried egg sandwiches have long been a family favourite and not just for breakfast. There is just something comforting about them. They aren't fancy but they sure are good any time of the year.

Method: You will need one egg per sandwich. Heat a little vegetable oil* in a fry pan to medium. Fry eggs until the white is starting to turn opaque. Prick the yolk with a fork and spread a bit through the white. Cook until set enough that the egg can be turned. Turn the egg and lightly fry on the other side. Lightly butter** two pieces of toast. Place a fried egg on one piece of the toast. Sprinkle on a little sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Add a slice of cheddar cheese if desired. Top with the other slice of toast. Cut as desired.

* To reduce fat use a non-stick fry pan and healthy spray oil mister.
** The butter enhances the flavour not as a spread so only use a small amount on each slice of toast.

BLT

Tomatoes are one vegetable you really do need to grow even if only in containers on a balcony. Step away from those pale, tasteless tomatoes in the grocery store and discover the wonderful varieties of tomatoes out there. They fall into three categories (sauce, slicing, grape/cherry) and can be heirlooms or hybrids. Some hybrids taste wonderful but might be lacking in disease resistance whereas others pack a punch of taste. As a gardener there are reasons for growing both and for saving seeds from both although hybrids do not breed true but you can get some interesting outcomes.

By far our favourite summertime sandwich is plain toasted tomato made with a thick slice of beefsteak tomato plucked fresh from the garden moments before slicing. One tomato (eg. beefmaster) can easily give slices large enough to cover the bread yielding enough slices for five or six sandwiches. Never, ever refrigerate your tomatoes! It will turn them mealy and lessen their flavour.

A BLT (bacon, lettuce and tomato) is simply just that but made with home made sourdough toast, well it it excellent! Of course home grown tomatoes and romaine lettuce are a must but in a pinch you can use store bought local romaine lettuce. The real key is you want the ingredients as fresh as possible. Don't be shy on the slice of tomato either. Slice to almost ½ - inch thick. Bacon should be cooked to just under crispy.

Mom's Power Sandwich

Family must have recipes tend to be named Mom's meaning that's the way I do it and that's the way they want it. That becomes Mom's Lasagne, Mom's Chicken Soup and those dished the kids insist on making the same way. This is one of those sandwiches that made it into the Mom's must haves and yet there is no cooking involved other than the 12 grain bread.

Method: I really recommend using homemade 12 grain bread. I start with spreading a little Miracle Whip^® on each slice of bread. On one slice I layer romaine lettuce or mesclun mix picked just before making the sandwich. I top that with thin sliced ham and turkey along with by just a little Dijon mustard then add a thick slice of tomato also fresh picked. Thin red onion slices form the final layer before adding the top slice of bread. Serve with a couple of homemade dill pickle spears.