Making Soup Stock Is Economical & Easy

 

Whenever I prepare vegetables I save my scraps and keep them in a gallon size Ziploc bag in my freezer.  Onions skins, carrot peels and the ends of those carrots, parsley stems, celery trimmings,  cabbage cores, etc., it all goes into the bag.  Sometimes I'll have bones or chicken carcasses leftover from a meal too and I will place those into a bag and freeze them for making broth as well.

 

The other day I took out my very full bag of vegetable scraps and some saved pork bones and placed them in my largest slow cooker.  I added some dried herbs and peppercorns from my spice cabinet and filled it up with water.  I let it cook on high for six hours until I had rendered all of that goodness from the bones and vegetable scraps.  I allowed it to cool for a while and then strained the broth into a large bowl.  It looked and smelled delicious.

 

The strained broth was divided up into plastic freezer containers, labeled and placed into the freezer to be used in recipes later on.  Anytime I have a recipe that calls for broth or if I want to make soup I'm all set.  The best thing about making your own broth is that you know exactly what is in it.  The best thing about making broth this way is that it is practically free, made out of things most people would have just tossed into the trash.  With the rising costs of groceries right now I'm not willing to waste anything.  And if I don't have to spend my money on purchasing a carton or can of broth, even better.

 

How I'm Keeping My Grocery Budget Low, Low, Low

 

I literally watch the grocery sales ads like a hawk and shop seasonally.  When I find what I want at a super low price I stock up.  This time of year is a good time to stock up on nuts because baking items start going on sale.  I was out of pecans so I picked up a couple bags on sale for $3.99 each.

 

Anytime cheese goes on sale I will usually buy it.  It stores for quite a while but it also freezes well too so if I have more than what I can use right away I just tuck it into my freezer.  I almost always have grated cheeses in my freezer.  This time around I also had store coupons to use so the cheese ended up costing me only 99¢ per package.

 

I watch for markdown items, especially in the meat department.  This time I found some uncured smoked sausages.  These are package as a twin pack with four sausages each so I froze one and put the other in the refrigerator.  At a $1.29 these were a great buy.  I also picked up a large package of sliced ham and turkey which I'll divide up and freeze most of it.  I thought it would be nice to have on hand for Cobb salads and to make sandwiches for picnics and hiking trips.  This ended up being the only meat items I bought during the month of September.

 

Fruits and vegetables are at their best price if you only buy them seasonally.  Most vegetables are available year round, but fruit tends to be more expensive in the winter than during spring and summer.  When it is high I will often turn to frozen berry options instead of fresh.  Most of the time I take stock of what I already have and fill in with just what I need.  In this case it was green onions and some fresh cilantro.  The cilantro is mostly for our bunny, but she shares.  In turn I share carrots.

 

I picked up mandarin oranges on sale, $2.98 for a three pound bag.  I don't get them often, but they make a nice sweet treat every once in a while and they work great in a pack for when I'm out hiking.

 

The price of cream went down a bit and by doing the math it was much less expensive to buy pints at $2.29 instead of quarts at $5.49 this time.  The dates are far out there into December so I grabbed three to keep in the back of my refrigerator until I need them.  Butter was on sale for $1.88 a pound so I picked up two pounds and added those to my freezer.  I try to stock up on that whenever it goes on sale too.

 

At the beginning of the month I stocked up on fresh and frozen vegetables.  I picked up a head of green and a head of purple cabbage as well as some kale and carrots for chopped salads.  These vegetables keep for a good long time in the refrigerator and I can use them in a lot of other recipes.  A couple onions, some bell peppers, a large bunch of parsley (again most of it was for our bunny), a large of avocado and a head of iceberg lettuce.  I used up the peppers and avocado first so they didn't go bad, but everything else kept me going through to the end of the month.

 

I also keep plenty of frozen vegetable options on hand so I didn't need to make extra trips to the grocery store.  Frozen broccoli and cauliflower florets are a mainstay at my house.  I can use them in so many different ways.

 

A simple meal of roasted vegetables with chunks of meat seasoned with minced garlic & soy sauce

I keep my meals pretty simple so my grocery lists are pretty simple too.  The majority of what I buy is produce and frozen vegetables.  Some meat and dairy. By keeping it simple and only shopping the sales I keep my grocery spending quite low.

 

Chocolate Brownie Cookie Bars

 

Halfway between a brownie and a cookie these bars are a delicious low carb Keto sweet treat.  A healthy way to satisfy that chocolate craving or pesky sweet tooth.

 

Chocolate Brownie Cookie Bars 

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

6 eggs

3/4 cup sweetener, of your choice

2 Tbs. cream mixed with 2 Tbs. water

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/4 cup sugar free chocolate chips (optional)

1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional

 

In a large mixing bowl thoroughly mix butter and cocoa powder.  Add eggs, sweetner, cream and water, and salt, stirring to combine.  Add coconut flour, chocolate chips and nuts and stir again until well combined.  Batter will begin to thicken.  Lightly oil an 8" X 8" baking pan.  Pour batter into pan and evenly spread.  Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 20 to 25 minutes until center is firm and springs back at the touch.  Allow to cool and cut into four pieces.  Store leftovers in an airtight container.

 

These bars are approximately 2 grams of carbohydrates each.  Less if you omit the chocolate chips although I can't imagine why one would want to do that. 😏

 

What I Eat In A Day #8

I was busy running errands the other day but I thought I'd go ahead and share what I ate that day.  Even when I'm busy I can still pull off some really good and healthy meals.  Since I needed to be out of the house fairly early I went ahead and made my morning Keto coffee and took it along with me.  Once home I enjoyed a simple lunch of two poached eggs on a single slice of buttered toast made with Keto bread.

 

Speaking of Keto bread, while I was running my errands I picked up two loaves at my neighborhood Dollar Tree.  $1.25 a loaf beats $6 a loaf at the regular grocery store any day!  I was super excited to see it in stock so I grabbed these and got them into my freezer so I'm well stocked right now.

 

I opened a jar of pork verde I had made and canned quite some time ago.  Healthy fast food in my pantry is very much appreciated.  I put it in my little slow cooker on low along with half a package of cream cheese.  A few hours later I stirred it all together to make a delicious creamy sauce.

 

I shredded iceberg lettuce to serve it on adding grated cheese, diced avocado, some olives and a nice dollop of sour cream.  You can serve this on rice cauliflower too.  I like the iceberg lettuce here for the crispness and because it hold up well under the pork verde.  Lots of good flavors going on here.

 

Also, one of my favorite snacks from time to time is almonds and a square of 90% dark chocolate along with a nice cup of flavored hot coffee.  Perfect treat as the weather is cooling now and Fall is definitely in the air.

 

What delicious meals have you been enjoying lately?

Stuffed Mushrooms You'll Want To Make Again

 

I like to change it up every once in a while and prepare these as a main course in place of the typical piece of steak, pork or chicken.  They are super easy to make and don't cost a lot either.  Use large button or crimini mushrooms and nice big portabellas work well too.

 

Stuffed Mushrooms

1/2 lb. ground pork sausage

2 Tbs. finely diced onion

2 tsp. dried basil

1/3 cup grated parmesan

6 - 8 large button mushrooms

 

Clean mushrooms, removing stems and setting aside.  Use a spoon to remove the gills from the mushroom caps.  Place mushroom caps into a lightly oiled baking dish.  Finely dice the mushroom stems.

 

In a skillet sauté pork sausage, diced mushroom stems and onions until pork is cooked through and onions and mushrooms are soft.  Add basil, stir to thoroughly combine.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.  

Once cool add parmesan and stir until meat mixture begins to thicken. 

 

With a spoon fill each of the mushroom caps making a mound of filling over each one.  

Bake at 375° for about 15 minutes until mushrooms are soft and the tops are crisp.

 

The parmesan takes the place of traditional bread crumbs keeping this recipe completely Keto friendly and low carb.  This is a very flavorful dish if you enjoy stuffed mushrooms.  Use smaller mushrooms and these make great appetizers, especially at the holidays or for parties.  You can easily double this recipe too.

 

To Potato Or Not Potato?

 

Technically a potato is a plant which meets my eating criteria, although it is a starchy vegetable and is much higher in carbohydrates than say a head of lettuce.  But occasionally I will eat potatoes.  There is nothing more delightful than to top a piping hot baked potato with butter & sour cream, I can make that a meal.  I also enjoy a few pieces of potato alongside my portion of pot roast and vegetables.

 

Potatoes, in my opinion, should not be off limits if you happen to like them.  They are a very versatile vegetable and are full of potassium and vitamin C.  Their nutrient content is very helpful in maintaining a healthy body.  So I do add them to my menu on occasion for the nutrition and the variety.

 

A little potato & carrot mash to go along with keto meatloaf and some steamed veggies

If you are doing Keto for weight loss you probably want to wait until you've met your goal before adding these into your diet.  If you've met your goal or are just doing Keto to maintain a healthy lifestyle then by all means, add a spud here or there.  I believe all things in moderation are good and the potato is no exception.

 

Sometimes You Just Want A Piece Of Toast

 

Sometimes all I want is just a piece of buttered toast, on its own or with my bacon and eggs.  I am ever so grateful that they came up with Keto and low carb bread options.  For me this has been a real game changer and although they are more expensive to buy than just a regular loaf of bread to me it is worth it.

 

To help keep it more affordable I will buy a few loaves on sale and put them away in the freezer.  I don't eat bread that often so a few loaves will last me several months.  I can't tell you how lovely it is though, to be able to enjoy a grilled cheese sandwich with a bowl of Keto tomato basil soup.  Oh my gosh it is heaven!  Hands down one of my favorite meals.

 

Because of these breads I can now make French toast on a Sunday morning, eat a ham sandwich, a bacon & egg sandwich, or enjoy a slice of garlic bread with my lasagna bake.  Have you tried any of the low carb bread options at your store?  Sometimes you can even find them at Dollar Tree.

 

Meal Prep #4

 

Meal prepping is a good way to prepare for the week ahead, fill our freezer with some made ahead meal (aka Keto fast food), and use up odds and ends we have sitting around in our refrigerator and freezer that we want to make sure get eaten so they don't go to waste.

 

You can do a meal prep marathon and do it all in one day, or just spend a few hours or even stretch it out over a period of a few days like I did recently.  Another great way to meal prep is to cook two meals at the same time by doubling the recipe, eat one and freeze the other.  However you choose to meal prep is up to you, but I strongly recommend doing it as a way to help maintain this lifestyle, keep you out of the fast food drive thru, plus it saves a lot of time and money too.  Who doesn't like that idea?

 

Like I said my latest meal prep extended over the course of four days.  I thawed items that had been in my freezer awhile and I wanted to make sure I used them up before freezer burn could set in.  I also had a bunch of odds and ends in the refrigerator that needed to be used up as well.  I began by thawing two thick cut pork chops.  I took the largest one and cut it into bite sized pieces and placed it into a large mixing bowl with some frozen vegetables I needed to use up and half of a thinly sliced carrot.  I added 2 Tbs. of minced garlic, drizzled a little olive oil and some soy sauce over everything and stirred it until all of the meat and veggies were coated.  I spread it out in a baking dish and roasted it in a 375° oven for 20 minutes, stirred it and continued baking for another 20 minutes.  I divided into four portions, placed each portion in containers and into the freezer.  The other pork chop had a big bone in the middle so I pan fried it and that was my dinner that day along with a salad.

 

Next up was to use up two leftover hot Italian sausages to make a pizza bake.  I sliced the sausages, added a can of Italian style diced tomatoes, some chopped onion and a chopped green bell pepper.  I simmered that on the stove then sliced up a handful of black olives and some mushrooms.  I added that to the pot along with a package of pepperoni slices I cut in half.  Once everything was heated through I divided the mixture into four portions.  After placing each portion into a container I let them cool and topped each one with grated mozzarella, then into the freezer.

 

My next meal to make was to take a pound of ground turkey, brown it with some diced onion, add a small can of red enchilada sauce and simmer it for about 15 minutes.  I stirred in a cup and a half of riced cauliflower, divided the mixture into four portions and placed in containers.  Once cooled I topped each one with grated cheddar cheese and a little chopped onion and placed in the freezer.  When I eat these I plan to top them with a good dollop of sour cream.

 

The last meal I prepared was a lasagna bake.  I browned half a pound of pork sausage with some diced onion, added a 15 ounce can of tomato sauce, 2 Tbs. minced garlic, 2 tsp. dried basil, 1 tsp. dried oregano and let that simmer.  I stirred in one and a half cups of riced cauliflower then divided the mixture into four portions and let it cool.  In containers I did a layer of the sauce, a layer of cottage cheese and a layer of mozzarella, then repeated again.  These also ended up in my freezer.

 

Now I have several healthy, quick and easy meals ready to heat up and eat on a busy day or if I'm just feeling a bit lazy.  I used up a lot of things I had in my freezer and refrigerator that needed to be used up in the process too.  I always feel good after a meal prepping session knowing I have these healthy and delicious meals waiting for me.