The Rye Bread Experiment - Part 1

My mom is coming for an extended visit in a couple of weeks and has some issues with wheat (and yeast) - not a gluten allergy per se, but something along those lines.
At home she has been able to find a 100% sourdough rye bread at her local store but, even though I haven't really searched too much, I have a feeling it's going to be a little harder to find here in Iowa.
So...I decided to have a go at baking my own.

I have to confess that this is not really "Part 1", since there were 3 or 4 failed attempts at making a starter before I actually got this thing to grow. Operator error - water too cold, room too cold.
When I finally decided to use a thermometer and a scale, things went a lot more smoothly. I used a combination of instructions (and some of my own ideas) for this. We'll see how that works out.

This morning, after a couple of weeks of trial and error, I finally have a starter that seems ready to go.
One last feeding this morning. Tonight I'll start the bread making process.

This is the starter before the feeding. There are two lines on the jar. The bottom line marks where it started at the last feeding and the top line how it doubled since then.

After this morning's feeding we are at the bottom line again and will, hopefully, be at the top line by tonight. I have two starters going right now because I'm worried that I'll ruin one and have to start over.

If you're interested in the whole process, there a tons of websites out there explaining it all. It's a, quite confusing, multi-step adventure but, even though I haven't actually gotten to the point of baking a loaf of bread successfully, I feel like I'm getting the hang of the starter part.

Frugal Food Friday

Summer has been a little wild on the spending front. Trips, dinners out, concerts...all fun but it's time to tighten the purse strings around here.

It's also Fall and soup season is upon us!

I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone today.

Many of my favorite/quick recipes call for cooked chicken. (Enchiladas, sandwiches, salads, pasta dishes)
Even though I prefer to use boneless, skinless chicken breast, it's pricey. I've found that chicken leg quarters (1 thigh, 1 drumstick) work perfectly well as a substitute. Yes, they have more fat and calories but it's really not all that bad and I'm trying to be frugal here.
Actually, many top chefs prefer brown meat because it is more flavorful and moist.

Before I go any further, please note that I live in Seattle and the prices I'm quoting reflect what we pay for groceries over here.

5 chicken leg quarters (4.41lb) on sale for $0.79/lb = $3.48

I just season these with salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning which I discovered in the spice drawer during my move.
Bake them uncovered in the oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 1hr & 15 minutes or until the juices run clear.

At this point I transfer them to another dish pretty quickly to get them out of the fat that baked out in the oven.

Let them cool down a bit.

Now you will need

a cutting board,

a knife

a bowl for the chicken

somewhere to put the bones (we're keeping these)

and somewhere for the skins (we're NOT keeping these).

Remove the skin and discard.

Remove the chicken from the bones. I only keep the "good" meat. The rest stays on the bones or go on the "skin" pile. If you want to use the bones for stock, don't strip them completely naked!

Chop the chicken into fairly small pieces - think enchiladas, chicken salad.

I freeze my chicken in one cup containers. Actually, they're 1 3/16th cup containers, which suits me because you cannot actually fit a cup of anything into a 1 cup container and get the lid on.

I love these:

They're Glad LockWare containers with screw-top lids. A little more pricey but those really thin ones get very fragile when frozen and break at the drop of a hat - no pun intended.

For my $3.48, I got 4 cups of chicken - $0.87 a serving!

As for the bones, I use them to make chicken stock for soup. If you're short on time, put them in a baggie and freeze them for later. 

I don't have a recipe for chicken stock. I mostly wing it, but there are many recipes online.

I use:

the saved chicken bones from above

water

carrots

celery - I hate celery but it's crucial for chicken stock

onions
garlic - I used 5 cloves today

dried basil, oregano, and parsley

salt & pepper

and this time I added some fresh cilantro because it was going to go bad and I love cilantro.

I cook it for anywhere between 2 and 4 hours. It just depends on how much of a hurry I'm in.

Strain all the goodies out and discard. Freeze and use in soup recipes.  I use it mostly for, wait for it...chicken soup!

If you've read all the way to here, I commend you.  I certainly did not intend for this post to be quite this wordy!

Santa Hat Brownies

How cute are these? Wish I'd found them before I took boring brownies to a party last night.

Recipe at Daisy's World:

http://daisyt13.wordpress.com/2011/12/04/santa-hat-brownies/

Yummy Looking Chicken Sausage Rolls

Don't these look scrumptious?

Recipe and photo by A Spoonful of Sugar:

http://www.aspoonfulofsugardesigns.com/2011/10/chicken-sausage-rolls.html

Dinner on a Dime #1

OK, not quite a dime, but I do aim to cook for under $10 most nights of the week.  I tell myself that this makes up for the $25 Friday night pizza and the occasional dinner out.
Years ago a friend and I used to challenge ourselves to make dinner for under $5 but that was years ago and in the pre-teenager era.

I also love my crockpot.  There's nothing like taking 5 minutes or so to prepare dinner in the morning and not having to think about it again.  Love it!

This recipe works well for children (peanut butter!) or adults.

Crockpot Thai-Style Pork Stew
(Adapted from Cooking Light Magazine)

For the stew:
2lbs boneless pork loin, cut into 4 pieces
1 red bell pepper, cut in 1"x1/4"-ish strips
1/4 c teriyaki sauce
2 tbs rice vinegar
1 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/4 c creamy peanut butter

Remaining ingredients:
6 c hot cooked Basmati or Jasmine rice (2 c uncooked)
1/2 c chopped green onions
2 tbs chopped dry-roasted peanuts
8 lime wedges

To prepare stew, trim fat from pork.  Place pork and next 5 ingredients (thru garlic) in crockpot.
Cover with lid and cook on low for 8 hours.
Remove pork from pot and coarsely chop.
Add peanut butter to liquid in crockpot.  Stir well.
Gently stir in pork.
Spoon into bowls on top of rice and sprinkle with onions and peanuts.  Serve with lime wedges.

NOTES:
I use whatever pork roast is on sale, even bone-in (just add 4oz or so for the bone) and try not to pay more than $1.99/lb.
The bell pepper cooks away completely.  Kids won't notice it.
I like Trader Joe's Soyaki, but any teriyaki sauce will work just fine.
Jasmine rice is my favorite.  It adds extra flavor.
Be gentle when mixing the meat back in with the sauce or you'll have mush, which still tastes good but looks a little unappetizing.
The green onions, peanuts and lime are just for when I want to be "fancy".  I normally don't bother.

Almost Homemade Banana Bread

This is my go-to quick banana bread recipe.  When the bananas are over-ripe and time is at a premium, it's a life saver.  Not totally homemade, but yummy!

Banana Nut Bread
(from Real Simple Magazine - November 2004)

1 box yellow cake mix
1 large package instant Banana Cream Pudding
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup canola oil
2 ripe bananas, mashed
4 eggs
1 cup chopped pecans/walnuts (optional)

Add all ingredients except nuts to mixing bowl and mix according to cake package instructions.
Add nuts and slowly mix in until just incorporated.
Pour into 2 large or 4 small greased loaf pans.
Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celcius) for 40 to 45 minutes or until cooked all the way to the center.
Let cool in pans for 5 minutes before tipping out.

Ingredients.


Mash, mash...


Grease the pans.  I just use spray.


Chop the nuts.  I love this chopper because it contains the mess.


Mix.  Love my KitchenAid!


How do I ensure that all loaves are the same size?  Weigh them!


Yum!