Adapted from one I found on a Quaker Oats box years ago. This is very easy and good! The original recipe used sunflower seeds and coconut, which my family does not eat. Also, I changed the sweetener from brown sugar to honey to cut out the refined sugar.
1 cup honey
2/3 cup smooth peanut butter
2 2/3 cups rolled oats (the old fashioned kind work the best)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/3 cup wheat germ
2 cups of mix-ins in any combination of the following:
coconut, raisins, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips,
unsalted peanuts (pref. NOT dry-roasted), miniature M&Ms, any finely
chopped fruit such as dates, apricots, apples, etc.
Mix honey and peanut butter until well blended. It might help to warm the honey in the microwave about 20 seconds on "High" so that it is not so stiff. Stir in oats, flour wheat germ and mix-ins. If mixture seems too dry, add water 1 Tbsp at a time. If it is too sticky, add oats 1 Tbsp at a time. Mixture should not be so sticky that you can't spread it easily in a pan with greased fingers. Press into a 9x13 pan lightly greased. Bake at 350 until barely browned. Cut while warm into desired size bars. When completely cool, remove from pan with a greased spatula. Allow to "season" on a cutting board until they can be picked up easily without falling apart. Wrap each bar in a small sandwich bag or plastic wrap and store in a zip loc bag. These freeze well. You can adapt the mix-ins (chips, fruit, nuts) according to what your family can eat. If you have some fall apart, save them for ice cream topping. yum!
A great, cheap hit! :)
Deb from Maryland
(4/5/97)
I would like to offer my suggestion for a hot, nourishing breakfast of cereal that is similar to the oatmeal in today's newsletter - but goes just a bit further. This rendition is slanted towards camping circumstances, but applies to home as well.
Mama Judie's
STICK TO YOUR RIBS BREAKFAST CEREAL
If you want a breakfast that will stay with you on a hike, but not take up a lot of time to fix, try this cooked cereal. Everyone can eat a simple, nourishing breakfast, no matter what one's taste choices and time crunches are. Fresh fruit in season is also a nice addition.
Ingredients:
Combine equal parts of rye, wheat, barley and thick oat flakes. I use a
pound of each per batch I make up.
Directions:
For each serving, bring one cup of water to the boil and add a half cup of
cereal mixture. Stir and turn the fire off and let it sit for twenty
minutes or longer. If you are in a real hurry, you can leave the fire on
low, but it is hard to keep a gas burner lit at a very low flame.
During this soaking time, you can put in any additions that appeal to you. I use coconut, chopped dates and chopped dried apricots. My husband likes dried cranberries in his. Any dried fruit is really good and it soaks up the water and becomes full and luscious.
Serve as you would any hot cereal. I mix in about a cup of yogurt and then sprinkle sesame seeds, wheat germ, toasted coconut and toasted pecans on mine. My husband uses less yogurt, and adds maple syrup, the coconut and nuts, and then granola and little shredded wheat biscuits.
So the possibilities are endless. Just put on what you like. You may want to reheat a bit before serving.
Another method is to put the cereal and boiling water in a vacuum bottle at night. In the morning it is all prepared - faster than pouring out cold cereal from a box!
For really cold weather camping, make this in the bottom of a double boiler and heat the bowls in the top part! A small luxury!
Eating well is at least half the fun of camping!
--Judie A.
(4/5/97)
One of your readers mentioned the savings attributable to bringing a six-pack of canned sodas to work that you have bought at the grocery store. This is done to replace those expensive sodas out of the workplace's vending machines. Some of these machines sell sodas from a low $.50 to a high of $1.00 per can. I typically drink a soda in the morning and one for lunch. This amounts to $1.00 to $2.00 per day or $5.00 to $10.00 per week. Buying the canned sodas from a discount chain is a great idea but I would like to suggest one step further. The 2 liter bottles of your favorite drink can be bought these days for $0.80 to $1.00. Two liter bottles contain approx. 68 ounces of soda, this equals 6.8 cans of soda, therefore two of these bottles will get you through the week with a start on the next week. Most offices provide ice and cups free of charge, if not they usually have a refrigerator with freezer compartment where ice can be made, otherwise you can keep your 2-liter in the refrigerator and bring your own favorite plastic cup from home. Either way you can save from $4.00 to $9.00 a week with this method. This amounts to $208 to $468 a year. Maybe after a few years of savings like this, you can buy your own vending machine and really make some money. One other note if you care to take this further, many discount chains and grocery stores offer there own brands of sodas in 2 liter bottles. Some of these can be bought as low as $0.50 for a 2 liter bottle, this will increase your savings even further. A final step is to take empty 2-liter bottles and fill them at home with a Kool-Aid type beverage, juice or tea. These items may even be more healthy for you and the savings may increase even further. Thanks for providing a parking lot for ideas!
--M.D.
(4/5/97)
I'm glad you're going to do some stories about saving on groceries. You may have heard this before but I have to say that the "price book" described in Amy D's Tightwad book made a HUGE difference in our lives. We now truly know how much things cost and can compare from store to store. It's surprising to find that Costco doesn't necessarily have the lowest prices on all items or that the "ritzy" grocery store has some great deals.
An example: My husband wanted to make a chicken recipe two weeks ago but we didn't have any chicken and it wasn't on sale. We know from our price book that chicken breasts periodically go on sale for 99 cents a pound (down from $1.99 a pound) at a store near our house. I told my husband to wait until we could get the sale price. The next week, chicken went on sale and we bought 25 pounds. By consulting the price book we saved $25 on chicken. That's a tidy little sum!
The other thing I wanted to say is that we bought a freezer a few months ago for Christmas and it is turning out to be one of the best things we have ever bought. When you buy 25 pounds of chicken for a 2-person household, you need to freeze some. Also, we make double and triple batches of things and freeze one and two person meals. Then we have quick dinner options when we both come home late from work -- and we can take great food to work for lunch (instead of paying outrageous prices for deli sandwiches). The freezer is paying for itself quickly.
We use all grocery money-saving ideas we can: coupons, specials, price book, buying day-old foods, store brands, replacing store-bought convenience foods with homemade items, etc. Used in combination, these strategies can truly slash your grocery bills.
Thanks for all the great $ Stretcher columns!
sue
(4/5/97)
I save time and money making all the sandwiches after I buy the ingredients then freeze them. I pack the sandwich frozen with condiments and snacks in the morning and by lunch time it's defrosted and still cool.
--CD
(4/5/97)
In your tips for saving money at the grocery store, you missed one of the most important tips - research. In my area, Cincinnati, most of the major supermarkets routinely advertise in the food section of the Sunday newspaper. In addition, a company called "The Door Store" delivers sale flyers to my door. The ad in the newspaper usually only promotes the super specials at each store. The sale flyers, though, may be as large as four-six pages.
Of course, just because an item is advertised does not necessarily mean it is on sale. That why it's imperative to know what is a good price for the items you normally buy. During the last ten years that I have been watching grocery prices, I have compiled a list of regular and sale prices on products that I routinely buy. (If any of your readers would like a copy of my list they may e-mail me at RobertaPaolo@Juno.com.)
Other points to consider:
* I never prepare a menu. Almost every week, one cut or another of meat
is on sale at a really good price. Each week I buy enough for multiple
meals of whatever is on sale. As a result, I usually have a choice of
chicken, pork and beef in my freezer. I might add that my freezer is the
top of the refrigerator kind. By combining the meat choices with food in
my well stocked pantry, I always have a variety of things to chose from.
The only time I purchase frozen prepared foods is when I get them for
next to nothing, so my freezer is usually not filled with space taking
boxes.
* I stock my pantry the same way I stock my freezer, buy buying extra whenever things are on sale. I compiled a list of the things I like to have on hand. The list includes everything from spices to canned and dry goods. I don't wait until my sugar canister is empty, for example, before buying more. Whenever an area store has it for 99 cents, I buy it. There is power in stockpiling. If I go to the store and "have" to buy sugar, I am powerless, I have to pay whatever the store is charging that week.
* Buy reading the sale flyers, I have learned the sales cycle and know when to expect certain items to go on sale and for how much. I've learned, for example, that early summer is the time to buy things like pork and beans, catsup, BBQ sauce, mustard and other condiments. Once a year I buy enough pork and beans to last until the next year.
* Never buy anything at regular price, including store brands. Store brands go on sale the same as national brands do. A national brand, on sale, is usually less expensive than a store brand at regular price.
* Don't underestimate the power of manufacturer coupons. Manufacturer coupons are especially helpful with saving money on things like, condiments, health & beauty aids, and laundry and household cleaning products. Spend your coupons wisely by always combining them with store sales. An item bought on sale without a coupon is usually less expensive than one bought at regular price with a coupon.
* The two major concerns most people have regarding stockpiling is (a) the potential of food spoiling before it can be used and (b) where to store it.
(a) To learn how long food can be stored, check the package. Many products, like cereal, have expiration dates right on the package. You may be amazed at how long you can keep a unopened box of cereal - .six months to a year is not uncommon. Some things, like mustard, can be stored for up to two years. For a comprehensive list of how long to store pantry and freezer items, contact your local extension agency.
(b) I've found that the only people who are concerned about storing a stockpile are those who have never done it. Once you've done it, you learn it's really a non-issue. Although I do recommend storing like things together, the entire stockpile does not have to be kept in one place.
* I don't recommend shopping with children, not because I can't tell them no, but because they break my concentration on the task at hand.
An aside:
Teach children to be smart shoppers from the beginning. My
three-year-old granddaughter knows from shopping with me that I never buy
anything unless it's on sale. One day, when shopping at the grocery, for
example, she would ask if we could by grapes and I told her "No, they're
not on sale and Grandma doesn't buy anything that's not on sale." She
has heard this so many times that now she says, "Grandma will you check
and see if that is on sale?"
--Roberta
(4/5/97)
This is in response to Rhonda from Ohio who requested a recipe for the above. I think these are wonderful!
1-1/4 cups Bisquick
1-1/2 cups oatmeal
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup softened butter
1 egg
Mix. until crumbly. Add your choice of dried fruit, nuts, coconut,
chocolate chips--whatever!
Press into ungreased 13x9 pan; bake in 250 oven 15-17 minutes or until
center is set.
Cut while warm--makes about 27 bars.
vlk
(4/5/97)
This is recipe for soft granola bars:
1c. honey
1c.raisins or dates, diced
1c. safflower oil
1c. nuts, chopped (optional)
2 eggs
2t. cinnamon
2c. oats
1t. baking soda
1 1/2 c. w/w flour
1/4t. salt
Heat oven to 350. Butter pan (13x9 or 15x10x1 or 2 round cake pans).
Blend honey, oil, and eggs in large bowl with spoon till smooth. Combine
dry ingredients; add raisins and nuts; add to liquids. Spread evenly in
pan. Bake 17-22 minutes just till center is set but not firm. Do not
overcook. Drizzle evenly with honey glaze (optional). Cool completely.
Cut into 40 bars.
Honey glaze: Heat 1/3 c. honey and 2 T. butter in pan over medium heat till heated throughout, stirring constantly.
(This recipe doubles and freezes well. Consider using it for breakfast with milk poured over it, and for cookie exchanges. And here's a tip for plump raisins in baked goodies: let them sit in warm water while mixing the other ingredients. Drain and stir into recipe. They won't burn or shrivel while baking; makes a big difference.) Enjoy!!
Ginger, Texas
(4/5/97)
I decided to cut my bill in half several years ago . We are a family of four with two teenage boys who eat a heck of a lot. We live in an area where food is expensive, but I now spend between $50 and $60 a week on groceries, and I could spend less but I choose not to. Here's how:
1. Check all grocery flyers each week, circle what's on sale. I go to two or three stores to fill in the groceries each week. If basics (flour, butter, sugar) are on sale, buy in quantity (but not too large a quantity because you don't want to waste) .
2. I buy breakfast cereal, which the boys eat in large quantities, only if it's about 10 cents an ounce or less - only possible if it's on sale and you have a coupon. I clip coupons only for breakfast cereal and drug items. The rest of the coupons are usually for foods that are too expensive to begin with, I think.
3. I make our menus up after I've gotten home from the grocery store with what was on sale to avoid having to buy ingredients that are expensive. By now, I have a stock list of staples in the house and recipes with which I can always make a meal, no matter what was on sale this week.
4. Look around for cheap recipes. We eat mostly vegetarian, and I have many healthy recipes that are incredibly cheap. Bean and rice burritos, cabbage and tofu stir-fry, potato-carrot soup, many different soups and many different pasta sauces. There are many books and magazines that deal with cheap and healthy recipes all the time.
5. Eliminate sodas and most junk food (we still buy pretzels and frozen yogurt, sometimes - if it's on sale). I make our cookies and snacks. Again, there are lots of easy recipes out there. It does take more time, but I think it's worth it to cut our food budget more than in half.
6. Almost never buy prepared foods. The exception I make is for pierogies, which is a quick and healthy meal and which I can buy in bulk on sale, and sometimes veggie hot dogs and burgers when they're on sale.
7. Make all the lunches for school and work and vary them.
8. We don't go out to eat unless its a special occasion, and we seem to enjoy it more than when we went out a lot. We choose restaurants that we think we'll really enjoy instead of the usual fast food or chain type places. It averages to going out about once every two months.
It all takes more time and effort, but our savings have gone up much more than I ever would have imagined. The trick with kids though is to vary the menu a lot. If I serve them the same things each week, they complain. So, I have lots of recipes to choose from.
--Deborah
(4/5/97)
This recipe has the advantage of being all microwave-cooked -- no opening the oven and stirring every five minutes.
1 / 2 c butter
2 c quick-cooking oats
1 / 2 c brown sugar
1 / 4 c dark corn syrup
1 t vanilla
1 / 4 t salt
Optional items: raisins, shredded coconut, chocolate morsels, chopped nuts
In large glass bowl, microwave butter on HIGH 45 seconds to 1 minute (till melted). Stir in remaining items, mixing well. Spread evenly into greased (I use the wrapper from the butter quarter-stick to grease) 8x8 glass baking dish. Microwave on high 4-6 minutes (till bubbly). Remove. Spread/pat to even-out surface. (At this point you can sprinkle with chocolate morsels). Microwave again 4-6 minutes on *MEDIUM*. Remove. (If used chocolate morsels, spread morsels out over surface, sprinkle with nuts.) Chill one hour. Cut into bars.
Hints: You might want to make pseudo-cuts before you chill -- makes it easier to cut bars after chilling. Mine tend to be less-chewy, but I've made them chewy -- just fool with the ingredients till you get the consistency you want. For my next attempt, I'm going to try using a fat-free spread (Fleischman's) in place of the 1 / 2 c butter.
--Jim P.
(4/5/97)
1 cup granola
1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
1 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup raisins or mixed dried fruit bits
1 beaten egg
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup cooking oil
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
Line an 8x8x2-inch baking pan with foil. Grease the foil; set pan aside. In a mixing bowl combine granola, oats, nuts, flour, and raisins. Stir in egg, honey, oil, brown sugar, and, if desired, cinnamon. Press evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake in a 325 degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes or till lightly browned around the edges. Cool. Use foil to remove from pan. Cut into bars. Makes 24.
My cookbook lists, for each serving, 139 calories; 2 g. protein; 16 g. carbohydrate; 8 g. fat (ouch!); 11 mg. cholesterol; 5 mg. sodium; and 99 mg. potassium. Not exactly low-fat, is it? Maybe someone can use this recipe anyway!
Susan in Ft. Worth
(4/5/97)
I 'm still new at frugality but I
have one little trick that I use. Every week I bake four loaves of
bread for the week. When they are still pretty warm from the oven i
rub them with the empty wrapper from butter or margarine. There is
always enough on the paper for this. I just put the empty wrappers
in a zip lock bag in the fridge for the week so that on baking day I
have them available. Also I try to do any other baking on the same
day so that I don't waste time and energy preheating more than once.
--Judith C.
(4/5/97)
One way that I've saved money in the past is to host a monthly get-together of friends who want to try new recipes as well as share old favorites. We make large batches of food, split the food evenly among friends, and package in containers that we bring from home. This is an excellent way to try new food, save money since you're buying in bulk, and spend a fun afternoon with friends. It's also nice because you don't have a lot of any one dish, rather you have a variety of meals for the month.
--Ann R.
(3/12/97)
Reader Question: We are a family of 5. Our youngest child is classified as
special needs and requires a special restricted-type meal plan.
How can I keep to a budget that will meet his needs in addition
to those of the rest of the family? Can anyone give me some
ideas? We're a military family.
--RJ
First and foremost--shop at the commissary at your base! At least half of the
military families I know do not use this benefit, which will save you 20-30%
off your grocery bills (even compared to the lower-priced chains). Your
request wasn't very specific in terms of what the special dietary needs are,
but you will find most whole foods (as opposed to convenience foods) will be
significantly cheaper at the commissary. Special food supplements are
generally significantly less expensive there also. Be sure to differentiate
between what the rest of the family NEEDS, as opposed to what they WANT. They
need breakfast, but they do not need $4.00/box sugar frosted name-brand
cereal. If your commissary isn't conveniently close, shop once a week or once
a month. Buy your milk at a wholesale club if you belong (recent price checks
in my area show Price Costco beat our commissary by almost 30c a gallon). You
will notice when shopping at the warehouse stores that most of the food on
their shelves is convenience food. Find out the best local store(s) for
produce and other perishables. Clip coupons (& get your kids to help). Check
out the sale ads for the supermarkets and when a great sale comes along on
something you NEED, stock up!
--Valerie
Hi Gary!
Here is another crockpot recipe. It is very nutritious, low-fat, and
inexpensive to make.
California Vegetarian Chili
Throw everything into the crockpot. Heat on low 8 hours or so, or heat on high 4
hours or so. Great served with tossed green salad and cornbread.
Per serving: 320 calories, 17 grams protein, 64 grams carbohydrate, 18 grams
fiber, 3 grams fat, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 232 milligrams sodium (unless you
use low-sodium canned corn and beans).
Enjoy!
Barbara B, who would rather sew than cook
Simple Pizza Dough
The Pizza Dough I use is this:
1 cup warm water
1 tsp. salt
1Tblsp oil
1 pkg. yeast
2 1/2 to 3 cups flour
This makes enough dough for one large pizza or a cookie sheet size. I am not in the habit of fixing a dry mix ready to make pizza but this recipe mixes up quickly and can be doubled if necessary.
--Evelyn
This is out of a bread maker cookbook. I do make it in the breadmaker on dough cycle, but I can only imagine it's workable by hand. I make the double batch for one fresh crust and freeze the other half of the dough, and it works well, even risen.
Bake your crust (with all the good stuff on it) at 425 for ~20-25 min.
Hope this helps and happy baking. :)
--Chris :)
Pizza Dough
The best I can do is give you the Hot Roll Mix recipe from Make-a-Mix
Cooking. You would have to add yeast to this when you're ready to make a
batch of pizza dough. You may wish to replace part of the flour with
whole wheat, too.
Hot Roll Mix
5 lbs. all-purpose flour
1 1/4 c. sugar
4 t. salt
1 c. instant nonfat dry milk
Stir all ingredients together to distribute evenly. Put in a large airtight container. Label.
Have fun!
Lee Ann
Here are some good crockpot recipes.
* Exported from MasterCook *
CROCKPOT ENCHILADAS
Serving Size : 6
Amount Measure -- Ingredient -- Preparation Method
Brown hamburger and chopped onion, pour off grease. Put all ingredients in crock pot except Doritos chips. Mix and cook low 4 to 6 hours. Last 15 minutes before you are ready to eat, add Dorito chips and stir.
--Barbara
I don't have a crock pot but here's my favorite meal! I make a large batch, and eat it all week (it nukes well, but try not to freeze it, the rice ends up a bit weird).
Ham Simmered Rice (Pork fried rice done differently)
cook the garlic and onion lightly, dump in the meat and vegetable (heat until thawed if you are using frozen), add the spices, add the cooked rice (may need to add a bit of extra water), put on a bit of soy sauce, simmer slightly.
Ham is expensive, and I don't miss it if I cut back a bit and increase the peas. You can freeze ham cubes. I usually have ham for dinner when I need to impress somebody, then immediately chop up and freeze the rest in margarine containers which are easily thawed. I cook rice often enough that I can plan ahead and cook a whole bunch the previous night, and I buy peas frozen in a bag so it's easy to break off a hunk to use in this.
--Jean D.
Here's a dough recipe for the person who was looking to make her own pizza crust. I generally make about a quadruple batch, and then freeze the dough in single-pizza balls. Then the night before I want it, I get the dough out of the freezer. After it's thawed, I just shape it as usual.
For a large, thick-crust pizza on a cookie sheet:
1 T. yeast (original recipe said quick-rising, but I just use whatever I can find cheap in bulk)
1 c. lukewarm water
1.5 T. olive oil
1 t. salt
2 cups or so of flour. I like whole wheat, personally.
Dissolve the yeast in the water. Add the oil, salt, and flour.
Knead the dough until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if needed to keep the dough from getting sticky. (Now is the point where if you're making larger batches, you can freeze the dough.)
Put the dough into a large, lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp towel, and let rest for 5 - 10 minutes while you're fixing the filling.
We like vegetarian pizzas, and since these tend to get a little watery, I usually make the sauce by seasoning tomato paste. I roll the dough out onto a cookie sheet, spread it with the sauce, and cover it with whatever veggies are reasonbly-priced at or avaialable in the garden. I bake it at 400 F for maybe 15 minutes, then spread mozzarella on and bake for 10 - 15 minutes more. The other advantage to this approach is that you can use less cheese, thus reducing fat and cholesterol.
-- Judith B.
One of the best recipes that we use is a tomato meat sauce one that can be used on pizza, spagatti and in baked pasta dishes
brown the hamburger with the garlic and spices (not the salt). Then add crushed tomatoes, vinegar, and salt. when heated through pour into plastic bags and freeze. we freeze it in 1 1\2 cups portions, this covers 2 pizza's.
--Richard L.