budgetsmartgirl

Posts Tagged ‘pastry’

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Make It or Buy It?

In Budget Smart Cook on January 31, 2013 at 7:00 pm

If you’re on a budget there’s always the temptation to try and make everything from scratch. Many times I’ve been in the middle of making a homemade salad dressing and thought I wonder if it would be cheaper just to buy it. Part of the appeal of making my own has nothing to do with cost, and more to do with knowing what’s in the food I eat.

A few months ago while I was on one of the book trading sites I stumbled across this book. Make The Bread, Buy The Butter by Jennifer Reese. It’s all about what you should and shouldn’t cook from scratch, so I thought why not use one of my trade points and check it out.
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I’m really glad I need because the book, besides being brand new, is a fun read with lots of useful tips about how to decide on what to make and what to buy at the store. The author lost her job which set her on the course of food related experiments like making her own breads and peanut butter. It’s full of recipes and now definitely a keeper on my book shelf. After reading the book it got me thinking more about what’s worth making at home. Here are some things I make from scratch and how I decide-

Bread
I love bread and sometimes eat too much of it. It’s one of the things on my list that no matter how tight the budget, I try to squeeze in a gourmet loaf of bread now and then. In the past they’ve been around $5, but in the last year or good quality bread has become more expensive, but I don’t want to go without. I’ve been making my own and one thing that comes to my rescue each time is my bread machine. Without it I’d probably still make bread but not so often. Just the other day while I was doing a million other things I put flour, yeast, oatmeal, yogurt, salt and water into it and three hours later had the best wheat and oatmeal bread for lunch. The same thing at the store would probably be around $6.

Jams and Jellies
For me the biggest appeal isn’t the cost because jam always seems to be on sale, but the pleasure in making it and eating something in the dead of winter that I made in the summer. You can control the sugar content too which is big deciding factor for me.

Soup
I admit I do keep some canned soups in my pantry supply because they’re handy, always on sale, and if you get sick and don’t have homemade, they’re great to fall back on. Having said that, once you get into the habit of making and eating ones you’re made yourself, there’s no going back. Best thing about soup is depending on what ingredients you use you can turn it into a low cost meal. And they’re great for using up leftover ingredients too.

Pastry
Once upon a time I always kept a box of pastry in the freezer but now the only types in there are phyllo and puff. I’ve never tried to make phyllo and don’t think I ever will. And I have made puff pastry but it was too time consuming. However, short crust pastry is always homemade now. I make double the amount and freeze half of it so it’s always ready and waiting.

Salad Dressing
Most of the dressings I make have some mayonnaise in them and for awhile I thought if I have to keep buying it, wouldn’t it be cheaper to buy salad dressing? But once again, mayo always seems to be on sale so I stock up. And one type of dressing that I’ve never had second thoughts about making at home is vinaigrette. Easy and simple and oil, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper and some herbs don’t cost much.

Yogurt
While regular yogurt isn’t that expensive, the better qualities ones are so I usually end up buying one and then using some of it to make my own batch using my yogurt maker. Nicest thing is you can add just about anything to it, and even turn it into your own Greek style variety.

How to Decide
As well as your budget you have to look at the time factor. If something’s going to take you hours and then sometimes it’s worth going to the store. Also, if something is on sale or I have a coupon or both then the store bought variety wins hands down. Lastly, if it’s something that doesn’t have a load of strange sounding ingredients in it then I usually don’t mind buying it at the supermarket.

Recipes
And if you’ve ever thought about making your own version of things you find at the store or a restaurant, check out this site for some ideas- http://www.copykat.com/

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It’s Meatless Monday-Souper Pot Pie with Cheese and Chive Mashed Potatoes

In Meatless Mondays on October 22, 2012 at 4:49 pm

The idea for this recipe started last week while I was grocery shopping. The store had a special promoting Progresso soups for just 88 cents a can. While I usually make my own soups, I also keep some on hand in the pantry. And yes, you know me, I can’t ever say no to a buy this good. I bought a couple of cans of the vegetable and two of the classic lentil variety. There was me thinking they’d sit on the shelf until maybe I ran out of homemade soup and had to fall back on store bought. Then the weekend rolled around and I’d spent most of it raking and bagging leaves. As you all know I love cooking but this was one of those days when the sight of the kitchen made me want to run to the nearest deli. The soups came to the rescue and I thought how about making a pot pie combining the vegetable and lentil soups and serving it with some mashed potatoes.

I’ve called this one souper pot pie and the only thing you need to do besides open the cans of soup is either add some more leftover veggies or thicken the mixture with a little cornflour because it is on the runny side for a pie.

Just pour it into a baking dish and top with  pastry. The recipe I’ve been using is from The Pioneer Woman Cooks by Ree Drummond. Check it out because her recipe for pie crust  it’s the closet thing I’ve tasted to my great aunt Ruby’s recipe, and believe me when I say that lady made pies and cakes that melted in your mouth.

Bake the pie for about twenty minutes and while it’s cooking, make the potatoes.

I used three large potatoes, peeled, and cut them into cubes. I’ve been steaming them because you don’t have to keep an eye on them like when you boil them. When they’re tender, tip them into a mixing bowl and add about four ounces of cream cheese, a good sprinking of salt and pepper, and about 2-3 tablespoons of dried chives…fresh ones probably are great too.

Mix everything together and if you want, add some milk.

This recipe serves 4-6 and I don’t have the exact amount but I’m guessing it’s under a dollar a serving. That’s what I call the ideal Meatless Monday meal.

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It’s Meatless Monday-Sausage and Mushroom Pie with Carmelized Onion Gravy

In Meatless Mondays on January 9, 2012 at 6:30 pm

I have to admit I have a weakness for some of the fake meat products. Not all of them, but a few are always stored in my freezer. On top of that list are the Veggie Sausage Links from Morningstar Farm. They taste as close to the real thing as you can get and are often on sale which is when I stock up. Over the holidays I’d bought some puff pastry that was on sale and thought about what I could make with these two items. After looking through my supplies I found a box of mushrooms and some onions. So I came up with this recipe. It’s really simple and looks a lot more fancy and expensive than it really is. Best thing is it’s ideal for Meatless Monday and there’s enough for two meals.

1 box Morningstar Farms Veggie Sausage Links

1 box ready made puff pastry ( I used Pepperridge Farm)

1 box of mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

2 onions, peeled and sliced

1 14 ounce can of stock…I used homemade veggie stock

2 tablespoon, flour, cornstarch or as I used seasoned flour

1 tablespoon butter

some salt, pepper, dried thyme

some oil

Heat some oil in a frying pan and cook the sausage until they’re golden brown. Chop them into bite size pieces and set aside.

Add some more oil and add the mushrooms and cook until golden brown. Add them to the sausages, mix together.

Roll out the pastry. I used two different shapes, one long rectangle and also two smaller round pies. Just fill the pastry with the mixture and bake for about 30 minutes at 375 degrees.

While the pies are baking-

Heat some more oil and the butter in a pan and add the onion slices, add salt, pepper and thyme and reduce heat to medium and let the onion saute until they’re carmelized…about twenty minutes. Add some flour, stir and heat through and then gradually add enough stock to make a gravy.

Remove pies form oven and serve with gravy and some mixed vegetables.

Serves 4.

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Easy Holiday Appetizers

In Budget Smart Cook on December 15, 2011 at 6:07 pm

WordPress whose site this blog appears on tells me this will be my 575th post! Thank you to everyone who’s been reading this since post number one. Here’s to the next 575.

Easy Appetizers

One thing I love about the holidays is the chance to make some appetizers or finger foods that can be made ahead of time and pulled out of the fridge or freezer when company stops by or you’re in need of a snack. Two things I always rely on are filo pastry and cream cheese.

First up is a cream cheese spread that I use on crackers or cucumber slices. Leftovers, if there are any, make the perfect spread for sandwiches…great with leftover turkey. I’ve even spread it on toast for breakfast.

Mediterranean Herbal Cream Cheese Spread

(Makes ½ cup)

 4 oz. cream cheese, regular or low-fat

2 tablespoons chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil

1 tablespoon chopped oregano

1 tablespoon chopped thyme

 Remove the cream cheese from the refrigerator about 15 minutes before you plan to make this spread.

 Place the cream cheese in a bowl and stir in sun-dried tomatoes, then mix in the oregano and thyme. You can also add some of the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes to thin it out and boost the flavor.

 Put the spread back into the refrigerator, but take it out again about 5-10 minutes before you eat it so it spreads more easily.

Filo Cups

One thing that goes on sale at this time of year are the packages of filo pastry shells. The box in the photo cost around $2.50 for 15 shells. Best thing is the neutral taste that can be combined with both sweet and savory fillings. If you can find them making your own is easy too-

4 sheets frozen filo dough, thawed

2 tablespoons unsalted butter or low-fat spread, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place one sheet of the filo dough on the countertop or cutting board and brush with some of the melted spread/butter. Top with another sheet, brush with spread/butter and continue with the other two sheets, making sure you brush the top sheet with the butter/spread.

Cut the sheets into 12 squares. Take a muffin pan and mold each stack into each of the cups…you’ll get some overlap at the top, but don’t worry because it makes them look more decorative. Bake for about five minutes or until lightly golden brown. Let them cool on a wire rack before you fill them.

They can be made a couple of days in advance too.

Filling suggestions

One of the fillings that always seem to get people coming back for more is curried chicken salad. (This is also a good filling for sandwiches and stuffed tomatoes too).

  • 2 cups chopped cooked chicken
  • ¾ cup mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon curry powder, your choice of mild or hot
  • ¼ cup chopped celery,
  • ¼ cup chopped toasted cashews
  • ½ cup chopped seedless red grapes.

Simply mix everything together and let it sit in the fridge for about an hour, more if you have time. The combination also works well with tuna too, just leave out the grapes.

I’ve also had success with using the filo cups for mini quiches. And another quick idea is to take a flavored cream cheese, like onion or salmon, whip it until it’s light and airy and put the mixture into a pastry bag and pipe the mixture into the cups. Maybe top with a pitted olive or a toasted nut like a pecan.

More Cream Cheese Combos

This year I thought I’d try to come up with some more good holiday combination using cream cheese which is on sale just about everywhere right now. One idea is to combine it with chopped dried cranberries and some candied orange peel. If you want it sweet, try adding honey or confectioner’s sugar. I thought these would be good rolled into balls and then rolled in chopped pecans and served on cocktail sticks.

One other sweet combination I’m going to try is adding honey or confectioner’s sugar, cocoa powder (or even melted chocolate) and chopped crystalized ginger.

And a savory treat. Blue cheese always seems to add some pizzazz to just about everything so combining it with cream cheese sounds like a winner. I’m thinking this would even make a great topping for baked potatoes for a quick meal post holidays.

More Holiday Links to Check out 

People have been sending me all sorts of great holiday links to pass along to you so before I forget here they are-

More Gifts to Make

This one from Gourmet-

http://www.gourmet.com/food/gourmetlive/2011/121411/craft-fare-diy-gifts

And check out www.education.com. If you’re a parent you’ll find a ton of good stuff not only for the holidays with things like crafts and printable cards, but a winter activities book you can download too.

Christmas Dinner

If you’re still not sure what to cook December 25th, All You has some suggestions

http://www.allyou.com/food/celebrations/christmas-menu-00411000073690/?xid=recipe-121511

Wrap the Green Way

And if you’re still looking for ideas for gift wrapping this year, try this one-

http://www.naturalhomeandgarden.com/diy-projects/wrap-it-green-alternative-gift-wrapping-ideas.aspx

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