Cheap Eaten

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worth1
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Re: Cheap Eaten

#461

Post: # 19259Unread post worth1
Wed May 06, 2020 5:34 am

Sue_CT wrote: Tue May 05, 2020 8:48 pm
worth1 wrote: Tue May 05, 2020 2:38 pm I don't always make cornbread but when I do.
This one is with white corn meal and flour.
Black pepper salt and sugar.
Homemade hog lard to boot.
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Black pepper salt and sugar. Typo?
No I just didn't use a whole teaspoon just a pinch.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

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karstopography
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Re: Cheap Eaten

#462

Post: # 19263Unread post karstopography
Wed May 06, 2020 6:07 am

Lentils are cheap and good. A pound of dried lentils is under a buck. Onion, not expensive, pound of smoked sausage coined and put in the pot with the lentils, not too bad money wise. Store bought, we like Prasek’s, but it seems like most people around here have their own smoked venison sausage. A heaping teaspoon of summer savory. Probably looking at $7.50 to make enough to get 6 or more servings out of. We use a slice of buttered sourdough bread on the side. A hot, delicious meal for under $2.
Zone 9b, located in the Columbia bottomlands, annual rainfall 46”

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Re: Cheap Eaten

#463

Post: # 19268Unread post worth1
Wed May 06, 2020 6:52 am

I gave a guy up north a whole ring of Praseks dried sausage and he ate it in one sitting.
Complained of heart burn afterwards.
Ya think. :lol:
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

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Re: Cheap Eaten

#464

Post: # 19395Unread post worth1
Thu May 07, 2020 7:37 pm

Can of Wolf Brand with added spices tonight and 8 ounces of spaghetti.
Working ten hours days and no time to cook much of anything.
Still waiting for my ground chuck to thaw out in the refrigerator.
Had a can of kipper snacks for lunch.
Starving.
When the ground chuck thaws out I'll make real chili not this disgusting canned stuff. :cry:
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

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Re: Cheap Eaten

#465

Post: # 19400Unread post Nan6b
Thu May 07, 2020 8:51 pm

We have an enormous bag of shells pasta. I cooked up a pot, we slathered butter, garlic & parmesan on it. Ahhh!

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Re: Cheap Eaten

#466

Post: # 19433Unread post worth1
Fri May 08, 2020 5:19 pm

Stopped off at the Jalisco market and picked up a couple of cheap rib eye steaks $6.29 a pound, a red Japanese sweet potato with white flesh on the inside, poblano peppers, and red ripe jalapeno peppers.
The sweet potato will be roasted in the oven.
One of the steaks will be pan fried with salt and pepper.
The peppers will be pan fried in another skillet with onion and just a touch of oil.

The other rib eye will be pounded out and chicken fried at a later date.
If you haven't had a pounded out tenderized rib eye chicken fried, you just have to try it.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

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You might as well be arguing with a cat.

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Re: Cheap Eaten

#467

Post: # 19435Unread post worth1
Fri May 08, 2020 5:27 pm

Oh yes and 10 nice limes for $1.59. :D
Worth
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Re: Cheap Eaten

#468

Post: # 19447Unread post worth1
Fri May 08, 2020 7:26 pm

Peppers a little over cooked but it's been a long day.
The limes really put a nice touch to the flavor sliced paper thin.
Cut off a piece and eat with food rind and all.
Japanese sweet potato was good too.
Saved some for lunch at work tomorrow.
I added sun gold tomatoes cumin and garlic to the peppers.
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Worth
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Re: Cheap Eaten

#469

Post: # 19559Unread post worth1
Sun May 10, 2020 8:06 am

I just finished pounding out the other rib eye with my trusty meat tenderizer to make chicken fried steak.
Along with it will be the rest of the peppers roasted in a skillet and pasta shells and cheese.
The steak is taking a bath in egg wash in the refrigerator to be cooked later today.
The thing is huge. :lol:
Worth
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Re: Cheap Eaten

#470

Post: # 19589Unread post worth1
Sun May 10, 2020 11:19 am

In preperation for my chiken fried steak dinner today I made a salad.
Not just any salad but a SALAD.
I took some of the peppers I cut up some fresh garlic, fresh onion, pinch of sugar, pecan oil, cracked black pepper, fresh lime juice, lime zest, shredded lettuce and some really old aged thick balsamic vinegar from Modena.
I have had this stuff for many years my wife bought it for me for Christmas and I dont want to know how much it cost but it was a bunch.
I'm almost out and it makes me sad in many ways.
Stirred all this up and am letting it sit in the refrigerator.
Will top with kosher salt right before eating.
Worth
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Re: Cheap Eaten

#471

Post: # 19745Unread post worth1
Tue May 12, 2020 7:20 am

Here's the chicken fried steak with peppers.
Pasta shells with peppers and cheese.
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Worth
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Re: Cheap Eaten

#472

Post: # 19917Unread post karstopography
Wed May 13, 2020 10:45 pm

Not typically a buyer of fish, I like to catch and cook my own, but once in a while I’ll buy something that can’t be found in the easily accessible local waters. HEB sells frozen Yellowfin tuna, Anova Brand, $5.86 for two 6 ounces steaks. Wow, really, really good, super fresh tasting.

I did these on the Cast iron comal heated on the big green egg and cooked to rare. Didn’t take long. My wife that’s leery of raw fish gobbled it up. She also ate 2 ears of corn grilled next to the fish. Fresh in the shuck Sweet Corn was 4/1$. I take out the silk before grilling and remove most of the husks.

Tyler Florence nailed the sauce, I just followed his lead. Lime, cilantro, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, jalapeño. Fancy Dinner for two for about 8-9 dollars total. Splitting a bottle of a delicious Marlbourgh New Zealand SB bumps it up to 8-9 per person. That meal in a restaurant would easily be 10 times as much, 1/2 as good and likely come with a side of attitude from the wait staff. No wonder we avoid eating out much.
Zone 9b, located in the Columbia bottomlands, annual rainfall 46”

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Re: Cheap Eaten

#473

Post: # 19921Unread post Sue_CT
Thu May 14, 2020 12:26 am

Lemon Shrimp Linguine with Arugula:

Image

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Re: Cheap Eaten

#474

Post: # 20257Unread post bower
Mon May 18, 2020 3:45 pm

Oh Sue, that looks so good!!!!
You guys are rockin it in this thread and What cookin today... I have been avoiding even looking, to avoid the guilt of so many slap and dash dinners.
I did score some mussels and made a paella which I will post some pics I took... because I was finally cooking something good.
Came here today to gripe about commercial tomato sauce, and to crow about frozen tomatoes I found deep in my freezer, dated 2014! :o :shock: I was desperate enough to nearly empty the freezer in my search when I came home with mussels and realized, all I have left are a few yellow cherries. :x But no! :twisted: A thorough search reveals the monstrous truth. :roll: What is great though is that I blocked my paella with those old frozen tomatoes and it was fantastic. Made no difference at all that I could tell, being deep in the lockup for 5 1/2 years.
Anyway today I put on bread and went out to work in the garden, forgot it, no problem I don't care about the fine points of my breakfast toast, and half the dough is for pizza. It may not rise as much after proofing like mad and threatening to toss the plate on top. No problem, it'll be fine enough.
Searched the freezer for that last container of tomato sauce I thought I had.... nope. Well not a problem I bought a small can of sauce just in case. So I opened this can and my goodness it is like a SOUP. So much water. I guess it was meant for slopping on pasta. So I am cooking it down now, to thicken up a bit. Secondly it says it contains sugar salt garlic powder and spices. I never tasted anything so bland. Cannot detect any of the things mentioned on that list. :evil: I doubt that a mass spectrometer would detect any of those things in what is basically bland tomato and water, afaict. So I will have to add some stuff that's for sure. I could have made some sauce with a packet of cut up Snickers that I found, but I thought it would take too long - that is until I saw I have to cook the stuff I bought. Humph.
I have a little uncut black forest ham chunk that I got for $3.99 the other day. So I figure some thick slices cut up into bits. Lots of bell peppers, I had to buy bells again this time and I'm not happy that the snacking peppers are not around. They were perfect - mid way thickness between a fryer and a bell, sweet but still lots of taste, and just the right size to enjoy several colors if you like or just use one up for a small accent. The bells I bought last time and this time instead are the first bells I've eaten since I started growing my own. They are super thick walled and basically seem to be mostly water. Not as tasty by a long shot. They don't keep as well in the cooler, and they are too large, for to enjoy at a single meal. :|
However I do have a lot of them so this will be a well peppered pizza today. 8-)
AgCan Zone 5a/USDA zone 4
temperate marine climate
yearly precip 61 inches/1550 mm

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Re: Cheap Eaten

#475

Post: # 20269Unread post Sue_CT
Mon May 18, 2020 8:24 pm

A Paella sounds great! That shrimp meal was quick, ready in less than 30 minutes and tasted so fresh and summery. I had it the next night too and enjoyed it just as much. Spring and Summer seem to bring ingredients perfect for quick tasty meals. I bough the shrimp frozen at Costco and put directly in the pan, frozen, it just took about an extra 2 or 3 minutes to cook and required no advance planning. I have half the shrimp left and next time I plan to use it for a lemon shrimp risotto. So many spring and summer meals I look forward to!

This is a Giada recipe from Foodnetwork that I have been making for a few years. Here is the recipe if anyone wants to try it. Its funny, I just watched the video and realized she did the same thing I did with the frozen shrimp. Then the video must have been edited because she threw in lots of arugula like I did, but when she dished it up, it is almost all gone, lol. I have lemon infused olive oil in the pantry, so I used the fresh lemon in the pan like she did but then just used my lemon olive oil at the end instead of making it.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/gia ... pe-1947480

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Re: Cheap Eaten

#476

Post: # 20275Unread post bower
Mon May 18, 2020 8:45 pm

Shrimp are a big favorite for me Sue. Love those precooked frozen shrimp, and there are ways not to overcook em. I've been thawing mine under a little running water just to get the ice off em, then adding at the last minute only long enough to warm through. The arugula in your dish looks really fresh too, it is such a great taste. :)
I love a paella made from fresh mussels. The shells really supply the taste, I've tried cooking the mussels in advance and using the juice and all, you will never have the full flavor that comes from shell in. I've had some mighty paellas made with all kinds of seafood but a plain mussel paella is still my go to and humble fave, here where they are fresh and local. Lots of tumeric, some cumin and coriander, cayenne pepper and bay. Mussels go into the hot spice and lid on until the open, then I add the rice tomatoes and peppers, simmer low until done.
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temperate marine climate
yearly precip 61 inches/1550 mm

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Re: Cheap Eaten

#477

Post: # 20276Unread post bower
Mon May 18, 2020 8:49 pm

Pizza was great too... nothing wrong with those old tomatoes. :)
It was a little taste of summer I could really appreciate today, afternoon in the garden was only 3-4 C. Frost tonight!
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yearly precip 61 inches/1550 mm

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Re: Cheap Eaten

#478

Post: # 20330Unread post karstopography
Tue May 19, 2020 3:34 pm

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Going to stuff these crusader bell peppers tonight using a Ree Drummond recipe. Recipe calls for 6 bell peppers, but I think one of these per person will be more than enough. The dish also calls for zucchini and roma tomatoes both of which I have freshly picked and ready to go. Getting three garden vegetables in one dinner is a bonus on the cheap eaten side, but I’m not counting my labor in the final tally.
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Re: Cheap Eaten

#479

Post: # 20331Unread post bower
Tue May 19, 2020 4:03 pm

So true... all the cheap eaten that comes from growing your own, will not really reckon you an hourly wage for your work.
Same goes for the wild mushrooms you bring home after a long hike in the woods.
But still, it's food that you didn't pay cash money for (unless you overspent on the garden budget... it happens too!).
Any way you cut it, you're eating better with your own freshly picked vegs. Your meal will be better than anything you bought frozen ready to eat, and better than a lot of things you could buy from a restaurant at a much higher price. :)

One thing I have always enjoyed is helping out at my friend's farm and learning how they do things to produce a big load of food vs the way we do it in our little garden space. There are methods that help to make it cost effective, but in the end it's the speed of the workers that makes all the difference. These youngsters leave me in the dust, whether it's weeding or harvesting or digging a trench. I only amount to half, or maybe 3/4 of a farm worker at my speed, and that's in spite of the fact I have the skills that come from experience.
So vegetables are undervalued in the economy, because the workers are highly skilled but low paid.
AgCan Zone 5a/USDA zone 4
temperate marine climate
yearly precip 61 inches/1550 mm

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Re: Cheap Eaten

#480

Post: # 20340Unread post worth1
Tue May 19, 2020 5:10 pm

I used to work around a guy that picked on the farms in the Rio Grand valley as a kid.
He said you made more money picking little cucumbers over big ones but it took longer.
Then they tricked him into driving the watermelon trucks but didn't take into account for waiting in line to get rid of the load.
My family's farm was sun up till sun down with the cows chickens pigs and the garden.
It is what we ate from all winter.
If I raked and hauled rocks from the garden all morning I got to go to the swimming hole in the afternoon in the old 1963 ford flat bed one ton truck, meet one of my my girl friends and go swimming.
She had to work on a farm too and she didn't mind riding in that old truck at all.
I never will forget how I met her or what her name was.
I was swimming with the guys and I saw this strikingly beautiful short sassy haired blonde in a bikini walk up the iron beam of the steel span bridge barefoot to the very top 100 feet or more.
Then she dove off head fist into the river, the water barely made a ripple, she stayed down forever and popped up next to me.
I couldn't help myself I kissed her full on the lips she was so beautiful, in for a penny in for a pound, what did I have to lose.
The guys were flabbergasted I did it without even knowing her.
She went to school with them and no one thought they had a chance with her.
She didn't mind and we became good friends.
I mean the whole act was amazing, the balance it took and the courage to jump of the top of that bridge like that.
I never did build the courage to dive that high up, I only did the 50 footer from the road.
My dad told me to be careful diving off of bridges I told him, 'Well yeah you flew a biplane under one once.
Gardening and farming is risk and rewards just like my story.
Tonight's meal will be leftovers from last night and one hell of a lot of good memories living on the farm.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

You can't argue with a closed mind.
You might as well be arguing with a cat.

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