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Cheddar Potato & Ham Soup

October 30, 2008 By Kate 1 Comment

Cheddar Potato & Ham Soup

  • 1 T. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 2 celery stalks, diced
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 1/2 lb. ham slices, cubed
  • 4 potatoes, cubed
  • salt, pepper & dill
  • 4 c. chicken stock
  • 1/4 c. butter
  • 1/4 c. flour
  • 2 c. milk
  • 1/2 lb. extra-sharp cheddar, cubed or shredded
  • 1/2 t. pepper
  • 1/2 t. garlic powder
  • 1/4 t. cayenne pepper

1. Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onions, celery and carrots. Cook until onions and celery are translucent. Add ham and potatoes. Season with salt, pepper & some dill. Add chicken stock, bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are tender.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in milk, bring to a boil and cook until thickened. Remove from heat. Add cheese and stir until melted. Add seasonings.
3. When potatoes are tender, whisk the cheese sauce into the soup pot. Continue boiling slowly until soup is desired thickness, stirring frequently.

This soup is also delicious without the ham.

Head over to BooMama’s for the Souptacular Crockpotalooza.

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Quick & Easy Pancakes

October 30, 2008 By Kate 6 Comments

Whenever I’m able to steal away to the kitchen for about 15 minutes, I usually can find something that needs to be done. If our meals for the day are done, if I’m not in the middle of freezer cooking, and if I don’t have any other baking to do, I usually make pancakes.

Pancakes are one of my favorite things to have on hand in the freezer for quick breakfasts. (Muffins and French toast are my other favorites.) They freeze wonderfully and reheat quickly. They’re also versatile enough that we can eat them for lunch.

They also make a quick snack. We like to cut them into strips, warm in skillet with some butter, and then sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon while still warm. This is a favorite treat with the kids.

Here is the recipe I use for our freezer pancakes. When I’m making special breakfasts I sometimes use a more elaborate recipe, but this one is perfect for everyday.

Pancakes

  • 4 t. baking powder
  • 1 1/2 c. white flour
  • 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
  • 1/4 t. salt
  • 1/4 c. sugar
  • 2/3 c. dry milk powder
  • 1/2 t. cinnamon, optional
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 3/4 c. water
  • 2 T. oil, melted butter, or applesauce
  • 1 t. vanilla

1. Whisk together baking powder, flours, salt, sugar, dry milk powder and optional cinnamon.
2. Whisk in eggs, water, oil, butter, or applesauce, and vanilla.
3. Pour about 1/4 c. of batter on a hot, greased griddle for each pancake. Makes about 2 dozen pancakes.

The nice thing about this recipe is that it is easily halved, doubled or tripled. Also, after step 1, you can put the mix in jar or container and keep on hand for last minute preparation.

This mix is also friendly to add-in ingredients. I’ve successfully added chocolate chips, bananas or blueberries to the pancakes.

To freeze them, I stack as many as we’ll need for breakfast in a plastic freezer bag. If you want to be able to use just a few at a time, freeze the pancakes on a cookie sheet before putting in the bag so that they don’t stick together.

To reheat, I usually just defrost and warm them in the microwave. You could also thaw the pancakes in the freezer over night then warm for a few seconds on each side in a skillet, or on a cookie sheet in the oven for a few minutes.

If this is your first time to my new blog – welcome! I hope you’ll spend a few minutes looking around. (You may be familiar with my two other blogs – A Simple Walk and Happy To Be At Home.) I’m still getting things settled here and trying to keep up with the posting. I hope to have it all fixed up and working like clockwork, with a new recipe daily and at least 3 full game plans weekly, within the next week or two.

You can find more Frugal Friday over at Crystal’s blog.

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Sticking With Store Brands

October 29, 2008 By Kate 3 Comments

One of the easiest ways I am able to stretch our grocery budget and stick to our $350/month limit is to buy store brands. The quality of store brand products has increased so much over the years that my family doesn’t even notice a difference. In fact, there have been times when I’ve purchased major label products because of coupons and they comment that it tastes different, and not always a “good different.”

We do not buy many packaged or convenience food items, but what we do is always store brand only. Dairy, grains, and meats are also store brand only. I can’t even think of a product that we buy regularly that does not have a store brand equivalent.

I’ve noticed lately that the store brand labels are starting to expand. There seems to be four common options to store brands: Organic (not much different from premium label organic, at least in my experience), Select (most expensive), Regular (moderately priced) and Value (least expensive). When available, I am always willing to give the value items a shot. If my family likes them we’ll stick with that option. If not, I go back to the regular store label.

We do try to incorporate organic food into our diet as much as possible, although it is getting harder and harder with the rising food prices. There are certain items I will only buy organic versions of. I have done a fair amount of research on organic items and have realized that organic junk food is still just junk food.

Needless to say, I carefully weigh all my options when it comes to buying food, both for health and cost reasons. And the store brands definitely work for me!

How have your experiences been with store brands? Do you find that it helps you keep your grocery bills down to buy store brand products?

Find more WFMW over at Shannon’s blog.

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