Making pickled peppers is so easy you’ll wonder why you haven’t made them before. I know I have. Case in point: Bobby Flay’s pickled jalapeños. Celebrity chef Bobby Flay is always thinking outside the box. I love to take out his Mesa Grill Cookbook and just thumb through it for something creative to try. I wanted to make some fruit salsa, and as part of fruit salsa he made pickled jalapenos. This just sounded too intriguing to pass up. I had no choice- I had to make them. And, I decided to add pickled carrots – the kind you get at taco stands – so yummy when treated with a boiling brine.
The result is surprising – the jalapeños are still crisp – the brine does not make them soggy, but only adds tartness. This is a very easy recipe – you don’t need to blanch the veggies first, the boiling brine takes care of that. Just stuff the jar with veggies and pour in the boiling brine. That’s it. Really.
Here’s a tip for those already engaged in one of the most frugal enterprises of all: gardening. Did you know you can save your coffee grounds to be used as compost? Here’s Kathy LaLiberte at Gardening.com with the full scoop:
When I go to my local coffee shop, I often come out with more than a cup of coffee. Near the door, they have a bin with free bags of used coffee grounds. Like most avid gardeners, I find it impossible to resist free food for my garden!
In the spring, I spread handfuls of coffee grounds around my acid-loving plants—azaleas, blueberries, rhododendrons. The grounds are slightly acidic and besides helping to lower the soil pH, they foster the humus-rich soil texture these plants really love.
In late summer and fall, I dig coffee grounds right into the vegetable garden after removing early-season crops such as peas and spinach. In the winter, I add the grounds to my compost pile. They’re a good source of nitrogen at a time of year when that can be a little difficult to come by.
And here, Science Daily explains that it’s the nitrogen that makes it so valuable. How To Do Things explains, well, how to do it. (It’s very easy, but there are a few key things to know.) Finally, as Kathy LaLiberte mentioned, the Slow Cook writes about how the coffee behemoth itself, Starbucks, makes a point of offering their used grounds to anyone.
So hang onto your own or head to your local coffee shop, or both – but make use of this trash-turned-true treasure!
It had to happen. You just can’t have a frugal food blog without at some point having a post about making your own yogurt. And, yogurt is a natch for this blog – it is both frugal and healthy and can be eaten by almost anyone. It has natural weight loss and anti-cancer powers and some researchers say it actually improves lactose intolerance. So, Here it is – FFF ‘s take on home made Greek yogurt!
I was intimidated by the process – fears of messing up the accurate measuring, exact temperatures and timing. But, it turns out it really isn’t that complicated. Just heat, stir and keep warm for 6 hours. That’s it. Really.
One of my favorite new products in America’s food world is Greek yogurt. It is tangy but less acidic than regular yogurt and has a beautiful thick creamy texture. The Greek style may be even healthier than regular yogurt. So, I decided if I was going to try making yogurt, it had to be Greek style. I added instant dried milk powder to help thicken the yogurt and hopefully mellow the tartness. I am happy to report success! The result was a thick and creamy tart – but not acidic – yogurt at a fraction of the cost of purchased Greek yogurt. Whip up your own – it’s a snap!
Got leftover sweet potatoes? Have I got a fabulous frugal recipe for you!
So, you see, I got this new amazing blender. I couldn’t help it – they had one of those demos at Costco – you know the kind – where they whip up amazing complete gourmet meals in 12 seconds or less.
Before you think I have gone completely insane, I have tried at least a dozen smoothies since my purchase a few weeks ago. I have tried adding whole veggies and fruits with skins and seeds and all. They’ve all been good, but if you held a gun to my head and forced me to pick a favorite, it would be this one. This conclusively proves my theory that anything tastes better with sweet potatoes! Anything. They are nature’s perfect candy/vegetable – and a powerhouse of nutritional goodness. The Center for Science in the Public Interest has ranked sweet potatoes as number one in nutritional value among all vegetables.
Try this some night: Make a couple of baked sweet potatoes. Eat one with butter and cinnamon sugar. Yum. Then, throw the other one in the fridge for your morning smoothie – A Sweet Potato and Oatmeal smoothie sensation! You will swear that there is cream and sugar in the mix after you taste this magical concoction, but there is not. Fresh ginger gives this smoothie a little bite, the oats add creaminess, and the dates give it a richness. Such a great way to start your day!
Crispy chips made from carrots, parsnips and radishes
When you are making a recipe with vegetables, especially root vegetables or fiberous vegetables with low water content, try this fabulous and frugal slick trick to make a beautiful garnish effortlessly while your dish is cooking.
Here is the entire recipe: slice your veggies into very thin slices (1/8 inch or less), spread in a single layer on a lightly oiled baking sheet, spray with a little oil on top, sprinkle with a little S & P, and roast in the oven. If you have lots of time, roast them slowly (I did 275 degrees with the convection feature of my oven for about 45 minutes) or you can roast them faster in a hotter oven- but watch them closely so as not to burn. That’s it. Really.
These chips will keep for several weeks in a zip top bag with a paper towel inside. They are so handy to throw onto the tops of soups, salads, whatever you’re making. I used them to top a cream soup. Delish.
Easy. Delicious. Beautiful. And you will be an instant culinary rock star!
You just can’t have a frugal cooking blog without at some point featuring spice rub recipes. (( I’m pretty sure there is a law somewhere requiring frugal foodies to use spice rubs!)) The Mother of all Spice Rubs is Spike Seasoning, which boasts 39 ingredients – no, I am NOT making that up! – and has been around since my mom was a kid.
Spice rubs are so very handy, healthy and frugal, whether you just use them as a shortcut to spice up a dish or as a rub. I use three rubs pretty frequently and try to keep them mixed up and on hand. Even in the dead of winter (hello – right now!) these rubs will make you feel like you are having a backyard barbecue. So here, beloved frugal readers, are Donna’s Top Three Spice Rubs of all time – with a bonus: Donna’s Techniques for cooking Spice Rubbed Fish Fillets!
Fish is on many “I Should Eat More of” Lists. White fish fillets are perfect as a canvas for spice rubs! Here’s an easy, budget-friendly fish recipe to do just that – and only takes just 20 minutes total time. Using small fish that are lower on the food chain is an environmentally friendly thing to do – they are sustainable fish, AND – more good news: they’re less expensive than larger varieties. For this technique, you could use tilapia, snapper, trout, cod or any other firm white fish fillets. (Pictured above is tilapia.) This technique is one that can be used with most any spice rub – try one of our three different spice rubs with different flavor profiles – Indian Tandoori Spice Rub, Southwest Chile Cumin Spice Rub and Jamaican Jerk Spice Rubs. All three are delicious – but feel free to use your own creation or purchased spice rub. Just make sure to watch the salt content so your fish isn’t too salty.
SPICE RUBBED FISH FILLETS
Serves 4
Prep and cook time – 20 minutes
3 tablespoons Spice Rub
1 teaspoon cornstarch
4 white fish fillets, 5 to 6 ounces each
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
Mix spice rub with cornstarch and then coat one side of each fish fillet with 2 teaspoons of spice mixture, pressing down with fingers to adhere spices to fish. Heat a large skillet to medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to skillet. Place 2 fillets in pan, spiced side down. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, until lightly browned on bottom. Carefully turn fillets over, so that uncooked side is down. Cover and cook another 2 to 3 minutes, until fillets are cooked through. Repeat this process to cook remaining 2 fillets. Serve warm with spiced side up on rice or pasta.
We have been loving the frugal tips given to us by readers for our blogiversary giveaway! Freida reminded me of a great one for getting the most out of your ginger. I learned this one a while back, after countless chunks of fresh ginger sadly went to waste after not being used in time. (I do use it in a lot of recipes, but sometimes you just can’t get to it all!)
The easiest and most efficient way to store ginger is to simply peel it and pop it in the freezer. So when you’re first prepping it for a recipe, go ahead and peel it all. (I find the best way to do so is with the edge of a spoon, like so:)
Once you’ve used what you need, pop the rest into a ziploc bag, and into the freezer it goes. Then, once you need it, you can grate it straight out of the freezer with a microplane. No need to thaw it first!
Alternately, you can slice the ginger and cover it with mirin or dry sherry in an airtight container, which will keep for a few months in the refrigerator.
Our First Anniversary Giveaway has yielded so many fabulous and frugal tips that we have decided to feature some of our favorites in upcoming Fab Frugal Friday tips.
Our first was left by Jim of Jim Heywood Photography fame. He suggested whipping up a half-butter half-canola spread that will keep in the fridge for several weeks.
I LOVE this spread. It has a buttery taste but is smooth, light and maintains its spreadable texture even when chilled. I used unsalted butter because to me it has a fresher taste, and then added kosher salt. And, this spread cost only about $1.50 to make at home, compared to similar purchased butter spreads of the same quantity for about $5.00.
It is so easy to make: just throw equal amounts of butter and canola oil in your mixer (HEY! you could use the mixer you win in our giveaway!) and whip until it looks just like whipped cream. (See photo above!)
This recipe proves my theory that any recipe can be made delicious by adding sun dried tomatoes. Even a tofu recipe!
Ok, ok, we know you’ve always walked by that block of white stuff stashed in the corner of the produce department and thought “I should eat tofu,” but you never knew what to do with the stuff. Well, we here at FFF have a solution: Sun Dried Tomato Spread made with THREE ingredients: 16 ounces extra firm tofu; 1 jar (8 ounce) sun dried tomatoes in oil; and garlic powder. That’s it! (You can, of course add S & P and a little diced parsley to make it look pretty, but those are entirely optional.)
Want to start a fun new holiday meal tradition and keep the kids occupied whilst you slave in the kitchen? Try this fun and super easy way to make your own homemade butter for the holidays! My kids LOVED to do this when they were little!
It’s too easy to even call it a recipe, but here goes:
Pour some very cold heavy cream into a jar (plastic is a good idea if small kids will be helping). Add a pinch of salt. Put the lid on the jar and then tape it closed with duct tape or heavy mailing tape. Use several thicknesses, just to be sure. Then hand the jar to your kids (willing adults will work, too!) and let them shake, roll and otherwise agitate it for anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on how much and how frequently you shake the jar.
Then, open the jar and pour off the liquid – hey! I think this is the real “buttermilk, no?. Scoop out the ball of butter that has formed and Voila! Homemade butter!
