Frugal Kitchens 101 - K-Cup Coffee Shops

Single-brew coffee systems have become quite popular because they are convenient and save money.  Like many, I saw the immediate benefits of the single-brew systems especially for entertaining.  We bought a Melitta One:One single brew system that use pods quite similar to round tea bags only coffee.  We were quite happy with it even though it was difficult to find the pods in town but since we were in the US on a fairly regular basis, that wasn't a concern.  Then in early 2011 the Melitta started leaking sporadically gradually getting worse.  Compounding the problem, the pods for the Melitta were getting hard to find in the US as well, or at least where we shopped.  Finally, I had enough and replaced the Melitta with a Keurig single-brew coffee system.  Unlike the propriety pods for the Melitta with no option for using your own coffee, the Keurig had the My K-cup reusable filter system which would allow us to brew coffee using any ground coffee we wanted not just their K-cups.  In the event K-cups were no longer available, the system would still work until the appliance itself died.

I immediately started the cost analysis of the K-cups.  Each K-cup makes one 5.25 oz, 7.25 oz or 9.25 oz cup of coffee, tea, hot chocolate or other speciality drinks.  Depending on where you buy them, K-cups range in price from 35¢ to 79¢ which is a savings on $1.25 for a small take-out coffee and a considerable savings on speciality or gourmet coffees at coffee shops.  There's less waste produced with a K-cup and a lower carbon footprint as you don't have to drive to the coffee shop.  It's an added bonus to grab a favourite gourmet coffee and have it brewed into a travel mug just in time for heading out the door.  By far at 8¢ per cup, the My K-Cup filter with regular ground coffee bought on sale is the cheapest but it doesn't hurt to enjoy a favourite gourmet brew either.  The problem with some of the flavoured and gourmet coffees is you might not like them which has led to K-cup coffee shops which are becoming very popular because you get to sample the flavour of choice before buying a full package.

I just discovered one close enough to stop in when in that community.  The premise is you can pick a K-cup of your choice then have it brewed while sitting and enjoying the coffee shop or you can buy 6 or 30 mix-and-match K-cups or you can buy full boxes of one flavour of K-cups.  The one I went to charges $1.50 for a brewed coffee of your choice, $5 for a mix-and-match 6 K-cups (73¢ each), $22 for 30 mix-and match (73¢ each) and $16 for single flavour K-cups (66 ¢).  Be warned that they don't carry all variety of K-cups as the one we went to did not have any Folger's K-cups but they did have Starbucks.  Of note, if it is important to you, there was one K-cup (pink blend) with proceeds going to breast cancer research and several varieties that were Fair Trade.

Now, clearly the K-cup coffee shops are not cheaper per cup of coffee than Country Style or Tim Hortons BUT they are offering you a chance to taste test before buying a full box of that K-cup and they are giving you an opportunity to buy a wide variety of K-cups to taste test at home at a slightly lower price than you would pay for a full box of K-cups, single flavour, regular price.  The one we went to had sample K-cups of three of the brands that Sam's Club sells.  Sam's Club K-cups range in price from 43¢ to 56¢ but you have to buy a 80 pk which would really be annoying if you found you didn't like the taste of the coffee.  So if you have a chance to test out the coffee first, pay the extra at a K-cup coffee shop then if you like it buy it by the package on sale or at Sam's Club.

Pork Loin Chops in Mushroom Sauce

Here it is the end of the first week of February and we are in the midst of a rather nasty winter storm with freezing rain, heavy snow fall, and high winds creating white out conditions.  These are the days meant for staying indoors, catching up with a few indoor activities and enjoying warm, comfort foods.  One of our long time favourite comfort foods has been pork paired with mushroom sauce.  While the sauce uses commercially condensed cream of mushroom soup, the rest is magic! The lactic acid in the milk tenderizes the meat while the soup adds a rich creamy and comforting sauce.

The beauty of pork loin chops in mushroom sauce is after the pork loin chops are browned, the dish can be cooked in the skillet, in the slow cooker or in the oven which makes this a rather versatile dish.  Each give slightly different results but all are very tasty!  In general, the skillet gives a bit richer sauce, the oven in mid-way and the slow cooker slightly less.

I use boneless pork loin cut into about half-inch slices.  Browning the pork chops adds extra flavour and colour.  Sometimes I add in browned sliced mushrooms.  I normally add either cubed or sliced potatoes to the mixture.  From there I only need add a side, a salad and bred for a complete meal.

Here's how to do this dish using each method:

You will need: browned boneless pork loin chops, 3 - 4 tins of condensed mushroom soup, 1 to tins of milk, 1 c browned sliced mushrooms (optional), 4 medium sized potatoes (chopped or sliced)

Methods:

• skillet - Brown the meat then drain.  Return meat to skillet.  Prepare the potatoes as desired and add to the skillet.  Mix the mushroom soup with the milk and pour over the pork chop and potato mixture.  Cover the skillet with tented foil then cook on medium heat, stirring often until sauce caramelizes and the meat is tender.  Remove from skillet and ladle extra sauce over the pork chops and potatoes for serving.
• oven - Brown the meat and drain.  Prepare the potatoes as desired.  Pour the potato and pork  chop into an oven proof baking dish.  Mix the mushroom soup with the milk and pour over the pork chop and potato mixture.  Tent the baking dish with aluminium foil.  Bake at 350°F until meat is cooked through, potatoes are tender and sauce is bubbly.  Remove the foil tent.  Continue baking 15 minutes to develop a bit of caramelization.  Remove from oven.  Plate using the extra sauce as a gravy.
• slow cooker - Brown the meat and drain.  Place the meat and soup mixture into the slow cooker.  Set on low and cook for about 4 hours.  Prepare the potatoes as desired and mix into the meat and sauce.  Turn the temperature setting to high.  Continue cooking until potato are tender.  Plate using the extra sauce as gravy.

Kitchen Quick Tips - Egg Freshness

If you are unsure if your eggs are fresh, place an egg in a cup of cold water.  If it floats, it's old.  If is sinks it's fresh.

Concession Stand Style Nachos

We hosted a Superbowl party last Sunday and while I would love to tell you everything offered was healthy, it wasn't.  The bottom line is we eat healthy 95% of the time so we can not feel guilty eating unhealthy 5% of the time.  Now hosting an event is very much different than eating in that you want to offer your guests some of the things they enjoy, especially for special events like the Superbowl.  These are the popular pub grub and concession stand foods.  Don't worry though, as there were plenty of healthy choices offered and this year instead of chili I baked a ham for ham buns complete with lettuce and the fixings along with baked beans, and a friend brought a lovely hot potato salad.  I also had vegetable, fruit and pickle trays.  Anyway, we had a lot of fun!

Every single football stadium, hockey arena, ball park and sports event has nacho chips with cheese.  And trust me, we have been to a lot of these venues since my husband is a bit of a sports fanatic.  Concession stand nachos are famous for their thick, round tortilla chips topped with a heavy dose of orange cheese product with jalapeño peppers.  That's it.

The best price I have found for the ingredients for concession style nachos is Sam's Club.  Medellion original round 2-3 lb bags ($7.92).  They used to always be just under $5 but that's inflation.  The Baker's & Chefs nacho cheese sauce, 6 lb at $5.82 is the best tasting nacho cheese sauce we have found.  This is a commercial grade sauce that is what a lot of concession stands use.  It can be diluted with 2 cups of water or 3 cups of whole milk to increase the yield.  I don't dilute it.  The clear plastic nacho trays are for presentation.  A 125 ct bag costs $4.98 and while I know they are not eco-friendly they are a huge crowd pleaser and for home use can be re-used.  I use home canned jalapeño peppers but Sam's Club sells them for $3.24 for 64 oz.  I also add home canned salsa which you may or may not want to do.

Self-serve works well for several applications when entertaining.  I set up the self-serve nacho station on the snack cart under one of the televisions in the games room.  Of note is how I present it.  I use the small squatty mason jars as serving bowls for the salsa, sour cream and peppers.  That means at any given time I only have at max a cup of each out.  When a refill is needed the jar is replaced with a fresh jar along with the refill.  It does make for a bit more dishes to wash but it is a lot safer than adding fresh to a serving bowl that has been sitting out for a over an hour or more.  I also only use half the can of cheese and about a quarter of a bag of the tortilla chips at a time, replenishing as necessary.  Once I notice the interest in the nacho bar is waning, I just simply clear it out replacing it with the next snack.

Concession stand nachos are usually served in plastic, two compartment trays.  Usually they are simple round tortilla chips laden with warm, spicy, gooey nacho cheese sauce .  Extra cheese sauce or peppers is placed in the smaller compartment.  I've never seen sour cream or salsa at concession stands for the nachos.  Not that some don't offer it just I've never run across it.  I added sour cream and salsa just to kick the snack up a notch.  These nachos get rave reviews!

If you want to make authentic concession stand style  style nachos, get your food supplies at Sam's Club or a restaurant supply.  Presentation adds to the snack so be sure to use nacho trays.  The nacho trays will be available at either or you can find them at party stores.  The most important thing is have fun with this type of dish. There really isn't any way you can mess it up so enjoy!