The Frugal Kitchen: Beans and Greens II

 Earlier this week we were expecting storms, so we harvested our collard greens and mustard greens.  Now remember that I live in Florida, so our growing season is Fall, Winter and early Spring.  Collards taste better after a little cold weather making early Spring a good time to harvest.

I soaked the greens in lightly soapy water, then soak them and rinse in cold water.  In the meantime I have lightly salted water boiling in a large pot.  I cut out the tough ribs and cut the greens into manageable pieces.  Put the greens in the boiling water and blanch for three to five minutes.  This neutralizes the enzymes that can effect the quality of the greens.  Pack the greens into freezer safe containers and freeze.

Today I made beans and greens using collard greens and dried white kidney beans.

INGREDIENTS 

1 cup dried beans soaked in water overnight

2 or 3 cups frozen collard greens 

1 smoked ham hock or 1 Tbsp. ham soup base

3 finely minced garlic cloves or 1 Tbsp. garlic soup base.

4 cups water

2 bay leaves

Black pepper to taste

Salt to taste ( I didn’t need to add any)

1 Tbsp. vinegar if you feel it needs it at the end of cooking

Place all ingredients, except salt and vinegar, in an electric or regular pressure cooker.  Cook on high for 45 minutes or, if you like very soft beans, 1 hour.  After cooking taste for salt or vinegar.  Adding these two ingredients before cooking will result in tough beans.

Serve with corn bread or soda crackers.  Enjoy!

God bless,

Pam

The Frugal Kitchen: Mushroom Stroganoff

A simple, satisfying, and vegetarian stroganoff is an economical choice considering the cost of meat these days.

INGREDIENTS

3 or 4 large portabella mushrooms cut into 1/4 inch slices (you can substitute with other mushrooms)
1 onion sliced thinly
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. dried dill
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 Tbsp. dried chives
1/4 cup white wine
1 cup vegetable broth
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
8 oz. sour cream

Cook the onion slices over medium heat in the butter and oil until transparent.  Add the garlic, dried spices and mushrooms, cook for one minute.  Then add the white wine, broth and tomato paste.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes.  In the meantime cook rice or egg noodles.  When the mushroom mixture is done cooking add the sour cream and heat over low until warm.

Serve over the rice or noodles and garnish with more chives.

Enjoy!

God bless,
Pam

The Frugal Kitchen: Leftover Chicken Mexican Casserole

Since only my daughter and I eat meat, whenever I bake a chicken there are plenty of leftovers.  I needed something I could make easily and economically, so I mixed up this casserole.

INGREDIENTS

Pre baked chicken torn into bite size pieces
1 can cream of chicken or mushroom soup
1 onion chopped
1 bag of frozen mixed vegetables
4 cups of cooked rice
1 jar salsa
1 bag of shredded cheddar cheese
1-2 Tbsp. oil

Cook the frozen vegetables in the microwave.  Saute the onion, vegetables and chicken in a small amount of oil.

Mix the soup and salsa together in a bowl.  Add about a half can of water to thin it to a sauce consistency.  You may not need to do this if your salsa has a lot of liquid.

Begin layering the ingredients in this order:  sauce, rice, veggie/meat mix and cheese.  Finish with a layer of cheese,

Cook at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes.  The cheese should be golden brown.  You can make this casserole in advance and hold it in the refrigerator, but add 15 minutes to the cooking time.

A super simple and nutritious meal.  You can substitute based on the leftovers you have on hand.  Enjoy!

God bless,
Pam

The Frugal Kitchen: Easy Sag Paneer

This recipe literally takes only as long to cook as a pot of rice.  A wonderful and different quick meal.

Ingredients

1 package chopped frozen spinach
1/4 package queso blanco
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 Tbsp. ground fresh ginger
2 Tbsp. oil
1 Tbsp. butter or ghee
1/4 tsp. garam masala
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. salt, to taste
3 Tbsp. cream

In pan heat oil and butter over medium heat.  Add garlic and ginger, cook for 30 seconds, then add in defrosted spinach.  Stir in spices, salt and cream.  Bring up to a boil, then lower to a simmer.  When it is heated through crumble queso blanco (mild Mexican cheese similar to farmer's cheese) over the top.  Gently stir in cheese.  Serve over rice.

This recipe makes three servings.  Double or triple the recipe as needed.  Leftover sag paneer can be used as a filling for an omlette the next day.

God bless,
Pam

The Frugal Kitchen: Beef and Noodles

Yesterday I wanted to serve something that I knew my fussy eater daughter would like.  So, I decided to go for that old favorite, beef and noodles.  It is a super easy recipe, but does take a long and low cook time.

BEEF AND NOODLES

beef stew meat
1 can beef consomme
1 can beef and onion soup
pepper to taste
1 pkg. wide egg noodles
flour
water
olive oil

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy pot.  Add your beef (cut into one inch chunks) and one tablespoon of flour.  Brown well, then add the consomme and soup.  Bring to a boil, then down to a simmer and cover.  Simmer for two hours adding pepper midway through cooking.  Mix three tablespoons flour with water to make a slurry.  Add slurry to pan, stirring well, then cover while you are cooking your noodles.  Taste the beef and add salt if needed.  Serve over noodles.  Sprinkle with the herb of your choice.

This recipe can be made in a crock pot.  After bringing to a boil, add to crock pot and cook on slow for the day.  Enjoy!

God bless,
Pam