Back to Basics on Food

We are back to basics on food. Seems like everyone I know or talk to is on a money diet. Which may cause this country to lose weight. When it gets down to the nitty gritty, people are asking themselves, "What do I really need?"

No more extras. When you have to cut out extras you know that is has come to serious choices. We have been used to spending and having whatever we want and now? Now it is different. We have to find areas and ways to make our money stretch. That is if we have any. So we are back to basics on food.

What are the basics of food? What kind of meals can be prepared that cost very little? Here are some examples of low cost meals:

• Spaghetti
• Chicken dinner
• Meatloaf (remember meatloaf?)
• Tuna casserole
• Beans and Rice
• Chili Beans
• Soup (all kinds)
• Pasta dishes (macaroni for example)
• Turkey dinner

Spaghetti can be very cost effective especially if you get the sauce in bulk at Sam's Club, Costco, or make your own. Also if you use ground turkey instead of ground beef it will save you money. In fact, just use ground turkey for all of your hamburger recipes you'll save money.

Chicken dinner will be cost effective especially if you buy whole chickens at Sam's Club or Costco or anywhere else for that matter. It is almost always cheaper to buy it whole and learn to cut it up yourself. Just cut the thighs and legs at the joints, then cut the back off about halfway and then cut the rest in half. When I was first married, I could not cut up a chicken. I thought it was gross, but now it doesn't bother me in the least bit. Mashed potatoes go well with this dinner and then serve a vegetable. Cooked carrots are also very inexpensive and go well with any dinner.

Meatloaf...again use ground turkey. It comes in 1 lb. chubs and if you use two of them and mix in some bread crumbs, egg, onion, and seasonings. Bake at 350° for about 1 hour. It will taste really very good. Then again mashed potatoes or rice goes very well with turkey meatloaf and a vegie.

Tuna casserole is easy to prepare. If you are making a large amount buy the big cans at Sam's Club or Costco. Use some extra wide egg noodles and just boil the noodles when done add a can of cream of celery soup or mushroom and some tuna and grated cheese. You can then bake in the oven for about 1/2 hour with bread crumbs on top and it's done or just heat on the stove top till nice and hot and it's ready that way too. Serve with a salad or whatever vegie you like.

Beans and Rice are easy and if you use brown rice the combination makes a complete protein if you are trying to go vegetarian. I love beans and rice. You can make your own beans by following the instructions on the package. Or you can put them in the crock pot at night and they are ready in the morning. But make sure to clean them well before cooking as beans often have pebbles or dirt on them. Then just cook your rice. Many people avoid rice because they don't know how to cook it or think they must have a rice cooker. But rice is actually very easy. It's 1 C. rice to 2 1/4 C. water. You just put the rice and water into a pot and bring it to a boil. When it reaches boiling point turn it down to medium low for twenty minutes. It is done.

Chili Beans are easy once you have the beans cooked. Just add some fried ground turkey, diced onion, diced bell pepper, diced or stewed tomatoes and the beans. Season with garlic, salt, and red chili powder to taste. That's it. Easy huh?

Soup-I would have to do an entire article on soup. There are so many different kinds to make that I can't possibly even write about all the soups you can cook. I LOVE soup. Some of our favorites are chicken noodle, split pea, lentil, and ministrone. Most of the time you can find a recipe on the back of the bag of split peas. I have used these recipes often and found them to be very tasty!

Pasta dishes are very affordable. For example I love macaroni. I just boil the macaroni pasta till done. While it is cooking I fry some ground turkey with diced onion. When the ground turkey is done I add stewed or diced tomatoes and when the macaroni is done I drain it and put it back in the pot and add the ground turkey mixture to the macaroni, and season to taste. Serve with a salad and that's it, easy huh?

Turkey dinner is one of my favorites. I always buy them when they go on sale in November. Store a couple in the freezer and cook them throughout the year. Turkey is so versatile, you can do so much with it. The first night turkey dinner, the second turkey soup, during the week turkey sandwiches, and if you get tired of it, put the meat in the freezer.