Turkey soup is made by lots of folks, though, I , for one don’t care for it. Still, it is fairly easy to make and really stretches your turkey dollar. Throw the carcass, skin, and leftover gravy into a pot of water, add salt and pepper, and cook it until the broth has soaked up most of the taste, Then strain it, because small turkey bones can ruin a pleasant bowl of soup!
Now add carrots, celery, onion, turkey meat, and some noodles to the broth and cook till tender. If it tastes a bit weak, add some chicken broth. You now have a meal that costs almost nothing. But maybe you don’t want anything to do with turkey for a while. Well, the holidays are here, and you will be doing some kind of entertaining for Christmas and New Years. So I suggest you take the turkey bits and pieces that are left over, and freeze them.
Someone invites you over for a pre-Christmas party. You need to bring an hor d’oeurve…oh my! Pull that turkey out of the freezer and throw it into the food processer with some onion. When it is finely chopped (but not a paste), put it in a bowl, and add a roux. You know, 3 tablespoons of butter and 5 of flour, sauteed until just starting to turn and then add a cup of milk. Heat till it thickens, and then add it to the turkey. Add a handful of bread or cornflake crumbs and season it with salt, pepper and garlic to taste. Refrigerate till cool.
Once it has set a bit, roll small balls of it and then coat them with more of your crumbs. Refrigerate another fifteen minutes, and then dip them in egg and reroll them in crumbs. Now you have two choices. Either deep fry them…they only take a couple minutes…or put them on a greased cookie sheet spray them with Pam, and bake them at 375 until golden brown. All you have to add is a dipping sauce or two!
Perhaps the girls are coming over to play bridge. Make a wonderful spread that doesn’t have either sour cream or cheese, for a change of pace. Take that turkey out of the freezer and put it in the food processer, this time with both onion and celery to taste. Add a dollop of Miracle Whip, salt, and pepper to it and process until spreadable. Serve it with crackers, melba toast, or party rye. This snack is particularly delicious with green grapes, so why not garnish your tray with a few bunches?
Have a truly happy and loving holiday season this year. You don’t need oodles of money to enjoy family and friends!
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]]>Jon from Prague has honored us with his famous potato casserole recipe. It is another great way to use some of the things in your refrigerator that are beginning to grow, and it is tasty , too! I had them myself when I was in Prague last year!
Grab the three potatoes you have left in the [...]]]>
Jon from Prague has honored us with his famous potato casserole recipe. It is another great way to use some of the things in your refrigerator that are beginning to grow, and it is tasty , too! I had them myself when I was in Prague last year!
Grab the three potatoes you have left in the bag, one onion, an egg, and some not too ripe milk!
- wash the potatoes (don’t peel them) and remove any eyes!
- slice the potatoes and soak them in warmish water for about 30 mins
- while the potatoes are soaking, peel and slice the onion
- break the egg into a mug and add the milk, give it a quick stir to break the yolk.
- remov e the potatoes from the water and place them in a smallish (oven proof) ceramic dish, one layer of potatoes, one layer of onion add a dash of salt and pepper to each layer if you like… keep going till you run out of po tato! (I like to keep the ends of the potatoes for the top and they brown up nicely
Poor over the milk and egg mix (don’t worry if it doesn’t come all the way to the top, it will expand)
Pop it in the oven on 220c (that would be 425 F for you Americans) for about 25 mins, or until it smell so good you can’t wait any longer
Very cheap and easy to make (heck, I can do it!)
Thank you, Jon! Anyone else have a cheap recipe that uses leftovers or over the hill foods? We’d love to hear from you!
Sandi
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]]>You need to pick up a package of your favorite Italian sausage, some pepperoni, 2 large cans of diced tomatoes, a large onion, mushrooms (canned or fresh), and green, red or yellow bell pepper. As with most of my recipes, most ingredients are optional. That is because I am usually cleaning out the fridge, cabinets, etc. However, I do recommend that you should use whatever you would normally order on your pizza. Tell your finicky eaters to pick out what they don’t like.
For seasonings you need salt, pepper, garlic, basil, oregano, parmesan cheese and beef bouillon. Are you ready?
If you didn’t buy bulk Italian sausage, slice through the casing, mush it up and sauté it with chopped onion in some olive oil (or whatever oil you normally use). Add your garlic, salt, pepper, and basil at this point (hold off on the oregano). When it is cooked through, add your sliced mushrooms and chopped peppers. After that is slightly tender, toss in your tomatoes, pepperoni, some beef bouillon, and a can of water.
Stir it up and let it simmer, covered, until you are dying to taste it. Remember that the ingredients are all cooked at this point, so you are now attempting to fuse your flavors. Make any seasoning adjustments that are necessary. If you got it a bit too salty, add another can of water and/or tomatoes. They say throwing in a potato absorbs the salt but it never worked for me!
If you have it seasoned well, then it is time to add some parmesan (for thickening) and a shake or two of oregano. Don’t add parmesan if the soup is too salty…it is a salty cheese. If you are wondering why we wait to the end to add oregano (as I always did), it is because oregano tends to get a bit bitter tasting if cooked too long. But it is great on pizza!
Serve it plain, or drop a piece of provalone on top to melt in (this is not a salty cheese) and sprinkle with a bit of parmesan. I said it was lower on carbs than pizza…I never said it was low in calories. Enjoy!
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]]>Today I found half a head of cauliflower just beginning to show tinges of brown, two limp carrots, a still perky celery stalk, a couple of budding potatoes and a leek. Not one to ever toss out leftovers or foods that are borderline, I decided to create one of my dollar stretching and wildly creative soups.
I had some chicken bouillon cubes, about two cups of milk that was getting iffy, and a package of powdered Knorr leek soup that I got on sale for a dollar and figured I’d find a use for some day. The point is… I made enough soup for two full dinners for four people for under two dollars (considering that most of the ingredients would have been thrown away if I didn’t make the soup!).
The best part about this whole thing is that I could interchange or do without any one of the ingredients, or substitute another thing for it easily. For example, instead of raw cauliflower- try frozen, leftover from a previous dinner, or even substitute broccoli. Or:
- carrots and celery-totally optional
- leek- substitute onions, green onions, shallots, or chives
- potatoes- I add them for natural thickening, instead of using flour…but you can make a roux by frying equal parts of butter and flour, and use that instead
- bouillon cubes-you can use canned or cartoned chicken broth, homemade chicken broth, powdered bouillon, or vegetable broth/ bouillon if you are vegetarian
- dried leek soup mix-you can use any creamed soup or none. I used it because it helped to thicken the soup without having to add flour of my own, and it also seasons the soup nicely.
- Milk- you can use water or more chicken broth instead, soy milk, or rice milk
To make the soup, chop everything raw up small and just barely cover with water. Add salt and pepper to taste, a pat of butter and your bouillon cubes or substitute. If you are using chicken broth do not use the water at all. Cook covered until veggies are tender, then scoop out half (or all if you don’t like chunks in your soups), and blend in the blender. Add it back to the pot, add your leek soup mix and stir until it comes to a boil. Turn it off and let it sit for a while. If it is too thick, add a bit of milk or water and stir well.
With this simple soup, you have saved money for other necessities or toward a goal (like redecorating), given your family a healthful, easy to prepare meal (especially good if you are a working mom), and have also done something “green” by not wasting a resource. Let me know how you like it!
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