by Beth Rank
Many people are beginning to find themselves lacking and are having to rely on government assistance these days. My goal is to help people stretch what little help they receive in order to have more money to help pay bills. I will be sharing tips on what staples to keep on hand, what foods are good buys at certain times and easy, cheap recipes. Always buy a little extra of things that are on sale instead of waiting until you are completely out and at the mercy of your store's higher prices. Remember, we are trying to get your supply of food up in case there is an emergency and so your money will be freed up to pay bills, as well.
November and December are excellent months to buy baking supplies. Here are some things to watch out for that may be on sale. Some of these things fit into the list of foods to always keep on hand:
Flour (buy 2 if possible and keep in the fridge or freezer)
Sugar (buy 2 if possible)
Brown sugar
Evaporated Milk (good for more than just pumpkin pie, so get some extra)
Canned Pumpkin (great for making bread too)
Turkey
Mushroom soup
Nuts
Spices
Cranberries (Recipe for cranberry coffee cake recipe below)
Canned Green Beans
Fresh Sweet Potatoes/Yams
Apples
Oranges
Again, here is the list of basic food to always have on hand and in stock. You can always make something if you keep these foods in your pantry and fridge:
Eggs
Milk (dried or evaporated is good in a pinch, too)
Cheese
Bread (If on sale, buy extra and freeze)
Butter
Flour
Sugar
Peanut Butter and/or canned meat
Frozen/canned veggies (tomatoes are great to use with beans and rice)
Frozen/canned fruit
Baking Soda
Baking Powder
Salt and pepper
A large bag of Rice
Dried Beans
Next month add to your basic food list:
Anything you are out of on the first list.
Onions (a bag unless you do not like them)
Potatoes and/or Sweet Potatoes
Carrots (large bag of whole carrots, not the so called "baby carrots". These last a very long time)
Cream of Mushroom soup
Cream of Chicken soup
Smoked Turkey Sausage (I always buy extra, a little goes a long way to flavor food)
Bullion (chicken, beef or veggie)
Olive Oil
Meat that is on sale (remember, it can be frozen if not used right away)
Coffee if you drink it (much cheaper to take your own!)
Some kind of spice such as Seasoning Salt, Garlic Powder, Chili Powder, Cinnamon, Vanilla (buy at least one or 2 of these every month and you will soon have quite a variety)
Here are some simple recipes to try:
Cranberry Coffee Cake (you will need vanilla for this):
~ 3 eggs, 2 cups sugar, 3/4 cup butter, softened, 1 teaspoon vanilla , 2 cups flour ,12 oz fresh cranberries. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With a mixer, beat the eggs with the sugar until slightly thickened and light in color, about 5-7 minutes. The mixture should almost double in size. The eggs work as your leavening agent in this recipe, so do not skip this step. This mixture should form a ribbon when you lift the beaters out of the bowl. Add the butter and vanilla; mix two more minutes. Stir in the flour until just combined. Add the cranberries and stir to mix throughout. Spread in a buttered 9x13 pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until very lightly browned and a toothpick inserted near the center of the cake comes out clean. (I baked mine for 43 minutes.) Let cool completely before cutting into pieces. Enjoy!
Scalloped Potatoes with Turkey Sausage:
Potatoes (around 8 more or less depending on the size. Use russets or a baking type, not red)
Onion, 1 large or 2 small (if you don't like onion, just skip them)
Sliced Turkey Sausage
Cream of Chicken or Mushroom soup (1 can of which ever you have)
Milk
Tin Foil
~ Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease 9 by 13 inch pan. In a small bowl, mix 1can of soup with 1/2 can of milk together and set aside. Thinly slice onions and place half of them in a layer in the greased pan. Next, thinly slice about 4 potatoes (more or less) and layer over onions. Slice smoked turkey sausage and layer 1/2 over potatoes. Cover with half of the soup mixture (do not use too much because you need enough to cover the top). Repeat these layers pouring the rest of the soup mixture over all. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour.
Hint: Remember, if your family is small, a 1/2 package of smoked turkey sausage can go a long way to flavor rice and beans or soups and is good with eggs. Keep the other half in the freezer for later.
Shalom, Shalom,
Beth
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