Tightwad Meal Planning for One (or Two) & Monthly Grocery List

As a single person and a non-cook, I find meal planning  almost impossible. Entertaining is a whole other ball game.

Because I only go grocery shopping once a month, I stock many standards like tuna fish, cheese, onions, potatoes, etc. (See grocery list below.)

Perishables are a challenge. Shelf Life Advice recommends: "...keeping leftovers...about 3-4 days, but some foods last a little longer."

I am exploring which foods freeze the best. I am not ready to make an investment of time and money to can or pickle foods.

Because I try to make a new recipe as often as possible, I have lots of leftovers. I am often guided more by what needs to be used now.

In the frig are a serving of noodle soup, a leftover baked potato, two portions of green salad, a meatloaf, remains of whole roasted chicken, 7 eggs, half a loaf of hard bread, half a loaf of sliced multi-grain bread, 1 opened pkg of chunk mozzarella cheese, 1 tomato, 2 potatoes, 2 small red onions, 7 half stalks of celery, 1 pkg turkey lunchmeat, a bit of peas and other items.

I find potatoes very versatile, plus they keep longer then other vegetables. I microwave them whole or in casseroles, fry them, boil them, and use them in a variety of dishes. So, I made potato pancakes using the leftover baked potato, first.

Then, I tackled the roasted chicken.

Without an oven, I occasionally buy a whole roasted chicken. The roasted chicken had already provided three meals, I deboned the remainder (2 breasts, neck and thigh) and diced the meat. I used one of the green salads and topped it with one portion of diced chicken, saved another portion of diced chicken to make chicken salad, froze a third portion to make chicken soup, and froze the bones to make chicken stock.

I am gradually learning to balance making new dishes and rehabbing leftovers to avoid spoilage. For example, because I make alot of fruit spritzers using a small amount of juice, a container of juice can go bad, so I freeze the juice in ice cube trays to make sure I don’t waste juice to spoilage. Later, I put one or two juice cubes in a glass and add club soda to make more juice spritzers.

When I buy a loaf of bread, I wrap half of it in another bag and freeze it, again to avoid spoilage.

Now, the freezer is full.

So, breakfast was potato pancakes. Lunch was salad with diced chicken. Don’t know what will be for dinner but my guess is it will involve leftovers.

Recent successful tightwad tactic:

Poured a dollop of vinegar into an almost empty mustard jar, closed with the lid, shook vigorously to capture the mustard remains, and saved the liquid as a vinaigrette dressing.

===========

Monthly Grocery List

I don’t buy everything on this list at one time. I buy various items over time and store them. Then, when I go shopping, I buy items I need to replenish or items needed for recipes I am planning to make.

For planned recipes:

Wax paper/plastic wrap

Spices I have:

Oregano

Basil

Rosemary

Curry

Cumin

Cilantro

Garlic powder

Black peppercorns

Paprika

Thyme

Spices I need:

Ginger

Turmeric

Parsley

Dill

Molasses?

Caraway seeds

Coconut milk

Almonds

Toilet paper

Acid

Fabuloso

Dish soap, liquid

Laundry soap, liquid, sensitive

Shampoo

Trash bags

Quart or larger resealable food storage bags

Cranberry juice

Orange juice (calcium)

Apple juice

Grape juice, white/red

Jamaica, concentrate

Horchata, concentrate

Lime juice, concentrate

Cocoa Milk powder mix

Ensure mineral/vitamin Choc powdered drink mix

Tea bags

Instant coffee

Club soda

Tonic water

Ginger ale

Rolls

Bread loaf

Flour tortillas

Milk

Yogurt

Cheeses

Eggs

Butter

Olive oil

Peanut butter

Jelly

Mayo

Mustard

Ketchup

Vinegar

Ranch salad dressing

Chili sauce

BBQ sauce

Tomato sauce

Salsa, canned

Capers

Honey

Sugar

Flour

Baking powder

Rice

Pasta, various

Spaghetti

Oatmeal

Crackers

Beans, black, refried, red, canned

Beans, garbanzo, white, dry

Mushrooms, canned

Tomatoes

Mushrooms

Spinach

Celery

Cabbage

Iceberg lettuce

Green peppers or red peppers

Onions

Carrots

Squash

Cucumbers

Pepinos

Potatoes, white, yams

Figs (calcium)

Bananas

Apples

Oranges

Blueberries (frozen)

Strawberries

Grapes

Limes

Fruit, canned, pineapple, peach, mixed

Chicken

Oysters, canned

Salmon, canned, fresh, frozen?

Tuna fish, canned

Pork

Fish*****

Spam, canned

Peanuts

Raisins

Fried plantains

Pretzels

Mini cakes

There are three tiendas (mom and pop convenience stores near me). I pick up bread, fresh vegetables & fruit, milk, soda, etc. if needed.

"Love is Universal" First Smashwords Forum Promo - Get 50% off Gina's Dream, 1st ed./English only

Gina's Dream
by Ria Stone

Get a 50% discount off the 1.99 retail price of Gina's Dream -- First Edition, English eBook, that includes a Bonus Article: My First Editor, as part of the First Smashwords Forum Promotion.

Go to Smashwords Forums to get coupon code.
http://smashwords-forum.proboards.com/thread/1421/love-universal-first-authors-promotion or http://smashwords-forum.proboards.com/board/38/ebook-coupons
(discount promotion ends 2/28/2015)

Interested in a POD of Gina's Dream (& El Sueño de Gina)?  Find it at The Write Place:
www.thewriteplace.biz/bookstore/product/56-gina-s-dream-el-sueno-de-gina

For more about Ria Stone, visit: riastoneblog.blogspot.mx/


Gina's Dream/El Sueño de Gina
Press Release

Ria Stone, has published Gina’s Dream, a science-fiction/romance, in print and as an eBook as a dual language book with The Write Place: (www.thewriteplace.biz/bookstore/product/56-gina-s-dream-el-sueno-de-gina)

In Gina’s Dream, Kit Brennan, SETA’s (Space Exploration Through Astronomy) Assistant Director, meets an unusual woman at a convention. She claims she is an alien. What is he to believe? What is he to do?

Kit’s co-worker sees her as a threat, first to his friend and then to humans. The co-worker seeks to discover Gina’s secrets to stop her.

Gina has broken the emissaries’ primary rule by telling Kit who she is. But, she is here to defend her world from a future invasion by humans. As Gina’s safety is threatened, what will she do to defend herself?

Caught in the middle between his co-worker’s fears and her defense, Kit has few choices but to let Gina follow her dream.

What would you do if you met an alien?

~~~~~~~~~~~

Gina’s Dream began as an idea after reading several research papers, in the early 1990s, where basic life functions were being manipulated for singular purposes without regard for the universe’s ecosystem.

Several characteristics run through Ria’s stories. Characters confront moral dilemmas with honesty, truth, fairness, self-responsibility, compassion, common sense, respect for science, curiosity, hard work, and optimism. Characters question the status quo. Spirituality, dreams, faith, and a belief in contributing to community and society to improve the lives of others now and in the future are underlying themes.


Category: Fiction
Genre: Science-Fiction/Romance/Predictive Fiction/Social Commentary
Audience: 12+ Adult
Length: Novelette
Word Count: 23, 180
Language: English/Spanish
No illustrations

*Pen Name

Read more: http://smashwords-forum.proboards.com/posts/recent#ixzz3QKeyfgDO

Silver Dollar Pancakes

I don't even know how to make pancakes, or it's more like I can't remember all the ingredients.

So, it's off to the internet to find a pancake recipe. Often when I search for a "simple" recipe, I find more "glorified" recipes than simple, so it is not always a straightforward task to find a recipe.

But, I got lucky, twice. I found a recipe for "Good Old Fashioned Pancakes" on allrecipes.com. A bonus was I just realized that their recipes offer an "adjust recipe" gadget that will give you the amount of ingredients needed for any number of servings. So, I was able to take the original recipe for 8 servings and adjust it for 4 servings. Cool.

But, as usual, I had to adapt the recipe for my needs.

Original Allrecipes Old Fashioned Pancakes recipe

3/4 cup all purpose flour
1-3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons white
1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons milk
1/2 egg
1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons butter, melted

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg, and melted butter; mix until smooth.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.


My Silver Dollar Pancake recipe

First, I couldn't handle the 1/2 and 2 tablespoons stuff or the 1/2 egg, so I made adjustments.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup flour
2 tspns baking powder
1/4 tspn salt or less
1 1/2 tspn sugar
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
2 tbspns olive oil
extra olive oil for skillet

Process:Mix dry ingredients together well.
Add milk, egg, and oil.
Stir and mash until mixture is smooth.
Batter should be slightly thick. If batter is too runny, add a little more flour and stir until batter is smooth.

Add a dab of olive oil to skillet.
Scoop up a tablespoon of batter, drop a circle of batter into the skillet leaving room for more batter. Drop three or more circles of batter into the skillet. When the batter bubbles throughout, flip the pancakes over to cook on the other side.

Pancakes cook quickly, so be careful not to cook them too long.

I went a little crazy. I wanted to add something to the pancakes but all I had was corn kernels, so I added 1/2 teaspoon to the top of the batter as it cooked and made Silver Dollar Corn Pancakes and they came out great.

Results: 16 silver dollar pancakes.

Potato Pancakes

Leftover Boiled Potato - Potato Pancakes


Ingredients:

1 leftover potato or part of potato, mashed
1 egg
1/4 onion, diced
1/2 a stalk or less, diced
2 heaping tablespoons flour
1/4 tspn baking powder
s/p to taste
1/4 cup milk
A dab of olive oil

Process:

Add potato, egg, onion, celery, flour, baking powder, s/p and milk together.

Mix thoroughly.
Stir and mix until batter is smooth.
Add olive oil to skillet.
Heat to medium-high.
Drop a tablespoon of batter one at a time into skillet to make small pancakes.

Add olive oil to keep skillet oiled.

Pancakes cook quickly.

Like pancakes, batter will bubble, flip and cook on both sides until light to medium brown.

Continue making pancakes until batter is done.

Servings: 9 small pancakes.

Boiled Potatoes

Boiled Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 large mexican white potato
2/3 cup milk*
2/3 cup water
A dollop of olive oil
S/p to taste

Variation: Instead of milk, use equivalent amount of water.

Note: When using more than one potato, increase liquid.

Process:

Peel potato. Cut in half vertically.
Place in large microwave dish with a cover.
Add water and milk.
Add a dab of olive oil to top of each half.
s/p to taste.
Cover.
Cook on high, 10 minutes.

Check periodically to make sure liquid does not boil dry. Add more water if needed.
Time may vary depending on size of potatoes and wattage of microwave.
Potato is done when you can pierce easily with a fork.

Note: To use leftover boiled potatoes, see Potato Pancakes 

My Tightwad Kitchen Gadgets

In my departmento, I have a microwave, a two-burner electric stove and a crockpot.

Being a tightwad is always a challenge. Cooking in a small kitchen without an oven and other kitchen gadgets like a blender is also a challenge. Add in the unique characteristics of my kitchen gadgets and this compounds the challenge to cook inexpensively, healthy and tasty.

The microwave has only one temperature setting: high, and one way to set the time, push the red button to get one minute each time you push the button.

With finicky settings and I am beginning to think the burners on the two-burner electric stovetop transfer heat differently, using the electric stovetop is always a surprise. Liquids boils at half the settings. Finding simmer is still a mystery.

The wide range of kitchen gadgets that you can buy is endless. But, as a tightwad, I am always seeking ways to work with what I have.

Below are my kitchen gadgets. My two favorite gadgets are the handheld grater and my commuter coffee mug.

The grater is easy to use, easy to clean and easy to take apart and to put back together, so I love to grate cheeses and vegetables. The commuter coffee mug is one of my favorite thrift store finds, probably cost about a $1. But, I use it as a mocktail shaker most of the time.

My wooden cutting board is really solid. I use it to crush peanuts, cereal, ice, and other things for various recipes.

Surprisingly, I bought a melon ball scooper to use as an ice cream scooper but use it to scoop out apples and to make mini-meatballs.

The spatula is useful to get those last dregs and drabs out of jars of mayo, peanut butter and the like as well as scraping bowls to get the last of a mixture.

I use a coffee cup and spoons for measuring out ingredients.

The funnel can be used for many things. I often use it for making my own sodas.

I save plastic bottles. Fill a clean bottle with club soda and add a flavoring, as little or as much as you want depending on your tastes, like making a Spritzer. Below are just a few ideas for some Spritzer flavorings:

• cold tea,
• soft drinks, I like making a diet soda spritzer because I get the flavor and a bit of caffeine;
• fruit juices, fresh or from a container;
• concentrates, like lime, jamaica, horchata or others;
• canned fruit juice;
• coffee;
• powdered drink mixes;
• liquid drink mixes like Pina colada or coconut creme.

Updated 7/23/2015

Often, I wonder what does X kitchen utensil look like or what is it's name? So, I research it.

The first utensil, top row, left to right is a "Slotted Turner."

For some reason, I think it should have a different name. Now, I know why I am confused. The "Turner" is also called a "Spatula." But, then what is the utensil, second row from the bottom, first utensil from the right. I call it a "Spatula."

More research is required.

Kitchen Utensils Artwork from: https://openclipart.org

Expresso de Arte & Casa Maryposa - Two new cafés

I was out on errands and found two new cafes. I was delighted.

I did not have the opportunity to try the menu at Expresso de Arte on Calle at 62 #445 x 53 y 51 in Centro but the decor was lovely.

The cafe is large and the menu includes Fetuccine Alfredo, Pannis y Ensaladas, smoothies, frappes and more. The café is open Lunes a Sábado 10:00 am to 10:00 pm.

Then, as I returned home, I saw a new cafe, Casa Maryposa, had opened near me. I decided to take a peek. The decor was heavenly with a butterfly theme. Lots of places to sit and a jardin in the back.

I wasn't hungry but decided to have a beverage. The menu ran from nachos to Fajitas, and had a wide selection of beverages and desserts. I got a chocolate frappe. Nothing cools you off like an ice cold frappe.

The owners were pleased to talk about their café because they had only been open about a week. They use fresh ingredients in their menu items.

The owners were kind enough to give me a sampling of their desserts.

Oh yum, I could not remember the last time I had such delicious desserts. The cookies are fantastic. The Banana Bread is great and the Spice Cake, moan!, it's really good.

Casa Maryposa is so close to my apartment, I can roll out of bed and have Banana Bread or Cookies, or Spice Cake!!!!

Casa Mayrposa
Calle 62 #360 x 41 y 43
Colonia Centro
Martes - Jueves 11:30 - 7:30
Viernes - Sábado 11:30 - 6:00

Facebook page to launch soon. "Casa Maryposa"