Where's the Beef? Another yummy 6 dollar meal!

Gone are the days when we used ground beef to stretch our food dollars...It's almost cheaper to buy steak!

 One of my favorite go-to meals for autumn is a big pot of homemade chili, but these days it's not very budget friendly, so I decided to make white chili using chicken instead. My local market had chicken breast on sale for .99 a lb. (one third the cost of ground beef). I got a 3 lb package for 3.21, and used 2 lbs. for the chili. They also had their canned beans on sale for .68 a can.

I asked my friend for her white chili recipe. It called for 2 cans of chicken broth, but I decided to use the stock from boiling the chicken with some bullion added instead. It tastes the same at a fraction of the cost. A jar of 25 bullion cubes costs 1.99, I used 4, so around .32 compared to 3.00 for 2 cans of chicken broth.  NOTE: I also used more than 28 oz. of liquid because I thought it was too thick, so another benefit of not using the canned broth.

Last, but not least, I bought a loaf of pre-sliced french bread that was marked down to .78, and used half of it and froze the other half to use for another meal.

 $2.14, for the chicken, 2.72 for the beans, .32 for the bullion, .33 for the onion, and .39 for the bread. Total for the meal $5.90, I fed my family of 3, plus my daughter had a friend for dinner, and I have half of it left over.  (I made a double batch)

Here is the recipe for a double batch:
2 Tbsp. Olive oil (more or less...I used a little more. I just eyeballed it.  You need enough to saute the onions)
2 small onions
6 Tbsp. flour
4 tsp. Cumin
I added a pinch of garlic powder, a pinch of cayenne, some salt and a sprinkle of ground oregano
2 - 14.5 oz. cans of chicken broth
3 c. chopped cooked chicken ( I didn't measure, I just used the meat off of 2 chicken breasts
4 cans Great Northern or Navy beans
Optional:
2 - 4 oz. cans chopped green chiles (I only say these are optional because I didn't have any, and the chili was delicious)
Garnishes - Monterey Jack Cheese, sour cream, salsa

Saute your onions in olive oil until they are transparent.  Add your flour and cumin to make a roux.  Slowly whisk the chicken broth into the roux.  Stir in your un-drained beans, chicken, and any other spices you like in your chili. Simmer on low for 15-20 minutes, but keep an eye on it and stir frequently.  Serve it with crackers, garlic bread, or anything else you may like.

The Great Panko Debate

I have a few friends (and a couple of daughters) who think that it's not the "real" thing unless you pay a lot of money for it.  That may hold true for designer handbags, but as far as things like breadcrumbs, well, breadcrumbs are just that...crumbs of bread.

Apparently there is a big debate about the increasingly popular Panko, or Japanese breadcrumbs.  And by the way, Panko ( パン粉 ) in Japanese means breadcrumbs, so to say "Panko Breadcrumbs" is like saying "Breadcrumbs Breadcrumbs".

Many people say that there is a special process of zapping each crumb with electrodes to give it the flaky consistency.  I am going to go out on a limb here and say that I don't think that Japanese women had these devices in their kitchens back in the day.  I will admit, there may be a particular type of bread they use, but for the most part, it seems to me that the coarse consistency and the fact that the crust is not used are the main differences between these, and traditional breadcrumbs.

After trying a dish prepared with Panko, I decided there must be a way to make it at home.  A few weeks ago, I tried my hand at bread-making.  It was a total flop.  It turns out I used the wrong type of flour.  Anyway, last week I tried again and it turned out beautifully!  The only problem was, I didn't have a big pot of homemade chicken noodle soup to go with it :(  Now I have this big loaf of beautiful crusty bread that nobody wants to eat...so today, I am making my Panko.

First, I cut the crust off.

Then I tried one of the methods I read about, which was grating it.  There was too much moisture still in the bread, so I cut it in cubes and went the food-processor route.

I only have a small one that I use to make, well breadcrumbs!  It worked perfectly!  Many methods I read about said to make sure you pulse it, but it was way too coarse.  Just experiment with whatever bread you decide to use.

I spread the breadcrumbs out on a cookie sheet, and they are drying in my oven right now.  I set the oven to "Warm" which is probably about 150 degrees.

I will let the crusts dry out and process them into traditional breadcrumbs.  Total spent - $1.00

Check back and I will post up whatever dish I decide to make with the Panko.  You can always subscribe or follow me!

Build a better mouse trap

Well, folks, it's that time of year again. It getting cold outside and the little mice are looking for refuge. Unfortunately, that means you may be hearing unwanted pitter-patter of tiny feet in your house.

Granted, mouse catching is not rocket science, but it can be tricky. If I thought in any way I could humanely capture a mouse and let it go without it turning around and coming right back in my house, I certainly would. I frequently catch spiders, grasshoppers, etc., that hitch-hike in on my family’s pants legs and let them live, but the mice like food & warmth, which I am not willing to provide. It's not that I don't like them; it's just that they make a mess and eat my food which I then have to throw away.

As a rule, mice like to come in around the pipes under the sinks. This is why I keep a mouse trap set at all times under all of my sinks. I like to get them before they can get any farther.