Chicken Egg Drop Soup for a Cold

My mom bought Matt and I a crock pot for Christmas and I had made plans to test it out on one of my Harris Teeter $2.70 chickens by making coq au vin (chicken in red wine).  Unfortunately, Matt came down with a cold which meant coq au vin and my crock pot were going to have to wait.  I was going to have to make soup.

I'm bored of chicken noodle soup.  If you get it at a restaurant, or out of a can, you'll be lucky if the broth isn't made from a bouillon cube.  Even if it is made from scratch, more often than not it's full of  large mushy pieces of overcooked carrot and celery and bloated egg noodles.   I suppose it can be comforting, especially if that's what you grew up with (I loved Campbell's as a kid), but I"m tired of it.  So I changed it up a bit.

This soup is especially good for someone with a cold because it has lots of ginger and garlic. 

The recipe makes about 4 large servings of soup with 1/2 the chicken meat left over to use in something else.  I made brown Spanish rice with shredded chicken and beans (recipe to come).  That's two meals with a chicken that cost less than $3! 

What you need to make the broth

A whole chicken, or bone-in chicken parts (about 4 - 5 lbs)
Tops of green onions (just chop off the tops of the entire bunch)
Garlic - I used about 7 cloves (Your discretion)
Ginger - peeled and sliced thin, about 7 quarter-sized slices (Your discretion)
Black pepper - peppercorns or ground, either is fine

What you need to finish the soup

Cornstarch slurry - about 2 Tbsp of cornstarch and a 1/4 cup cold water - Use your fingers to break up any lumps
Shredded chicken - 1/2 of the meat from the boiled chicken
1 carrot - Small dice
Sesame oil - about 1/2 teaspoon or to taste
Soy Sauce - about 2 tablespoon or to taste
2 eggs - whisked
white part of green onions - chopped small, 1/4 cup
Minced fresh ginger - 1 Tbsp

Method

Take a whole chicken and put it into a large pot.  Add enough water to cover the chicken.  Add the tops of the green onion to pot as well as the ginger, garlic and black pepper.  Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer, occasionally skimming the fat and impurities (foamy stuff) off the top.  Cook for about two hours or until chicken falls off the bone and the broth has a good flavor.  Strain the broth into another pot through a colander large enough to hold the chicken (or pull out the chicken and strain).  Let the meat cool then shred it with your hands.  Bring the broth to a boil.  Slowly add your cornstarch slurry in an even stream into the boiling broth.  Add shredded chicken and carrots and cook until carrots are tender (if they are chopped really small, it'll take about a minute).  Add sesame oil and soy sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Pour eggs into the broth in a slow steady stream and immediately turn off heat.  Finish with chopped green onions and ginger.  Serve with sticky rice.

Eating comfort food at the comfort station

Yesterday Matt and I had the day off together but he came down with a cold (or possibly the flu) and spent the day sleeping in the comfort station.  For those of you who don't know what the comfort station is, which I am suspecting is all of you because I just came up with the term yesterday, it is a little place (usually in the living room) where a really comfy area is set up for you to lay when you are feeling ill.  There were probably times as a child, and were too sick to go to school, when your mom would set up an area in the living room with lots of pillows and the softest blankets where you could watch cartoons, eat ice cream and just be comfortable.   That is the comfort station.

So while Matt rested in the comfort station, I decided to do some cooking...

Breakfast:  Maple brown sugar oatmeal with cranberries

Lunch:  Fresh mozzarella, spinach, mushroom, onion, sausage pizza (1/2 whole wheat).  Spinach salad

Dinner:  Chicken egg drop soup with sticky rice

Almost all the ingredients used to make these meals were purchased at a fraction of the normal cost.  Go here to see how I shop.

Breakfast

I've never made oatmeal before until yesterday.  At least not the type that doesn't require opening a little brown pouch and pouring water over it.  I despise the little brown pouch...  Or maybe I don't hate the pouch as much as the contents within the pouch and what it turns into once it comes in contact with water. Its like a Gizmo and Gremlins sort of situation.

Apparently Matt likes oatmeal.  To him it is comfort food that reminds him of his childhood.  And while I can't stand the instant stuff, I've never had made-from-scratch oatmeal.  I figured I shouldn't hate something I haven't even tried.  After all, canned asparagus (I hate) tastes nothing like fresh (I love).

Also, I had to do something with all those oats in my cupboard.

Oh...  And it turns out oatmeal is actually pretty good.

Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal with Dried Cranberries

1 1/2 cups of low fat milk
pinch of salt
pinch of cinnamon
vanilla extract
sprinkling of brown sugar
drizzle of maple syrup
3/4 cup oats
sprinkling of brown sugar for the top of the oatmeal
cranberries or any other dried/fresh fruit

Set oven on broil.  Bring milk, salt, cinnamon, brown sugar and maple syrup to a boil. 
Add as little or as much sweetener and flavorings as you'd like...  Taste the flavored milk, if you like it then it's good.  Brown sugar will also go on top of the oatmeal so careful not to over sweeten.
Add oats, cook on medium heat for about five minutes stirring frequently.  Once oats have softened and the mixture is thick, pour into a oven proof bowl, sprinkle the top with brown sugar and broil for a few minutes until sugar has melted.  Add cranberries or other fruit.  Bowl will be hot so careful!

Asian tuna salad

I have lots of tuna and a brand new jar of mayo in my cupboard. So, as you might have guessed, I made tuna salad. Asian tuna salad.

Instead of the usual mayo, mustard, pickles, celery... Or whatever it is that you choose to use... Try mixing tuna with mayo, sesame oil, sesame seeds, green onions and siracha. Just make it to your taste, although I would start with a small amount sesame oil and siracha because the flavor/spice can quickly become overwhelming.

If you want to go healthy, substitute some of the mayo with greek yogurt. Serve on a toasted whole wheat bun with green leaf lettuce, if you'd like.

WHOLE WHEAT BANANA PANCAKES

A couple of months ago I came across a white whole wheat flour by King Arthur Flour. I have found that it is lighter and not as harsh as the traditional whole wheat flour yet the nutritional content remains the same. To read about it a little more go to the King Arthur Flour website.

When I bake at home, I try and incorporate as much whole wheat flour into my recipes as possible. If you're not really used to eating whole wheat products but would like to, start off by using 1/2 all purpose flour and 1/2 white whole wheat flour.

Here is a recipe for whole wheat banana pancakes that I think you will like. If all you have is white flour, that will work fine for this recipe.

WHOLE WHEAT BANANA PANCAKES

1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

3/4 cup milk
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 egg
1 banana
2 Tablespoons melted butter


Combine the milk and lemon juice, set aside. Mix dry ingredients in bowl. Smash banana in separate bowl, add egg and milk. Combine wet and dry ingredients together until flour is moistened (it will still be lumpy). Add butter and stir just to incorporate. Cook as you would any other pancake.

Granola

Matt and I have agreed that we are going to be serious about saving money this year. I have started to clip coupons and purchase items that are on sale and with those items I try to come up with recipes that taste good, are somewhat healthy and aren't full of preservatives and artificial ingredients.

I have lots of oats and dried cranberries on hand so I thought I'd make some granola. This is Alton Brown's recipe (it's good) which I tweaked just a little due to the lack of ingredients in my cupboard. For something a little healthier, try reducing the sugar a little and substituting half the oil with apple sauce. If you don't have maple syrup, use honey.

GRANOLA

3 cups oats

1/4 cup + 2 T brown sugar

1/4 cup + 2T maple syrup

1/4 cup oil

3/4 t salt

1/2 t cinnamon

1/2 t vanilla extract

1 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven: 250 degrees.

Mix all the ingredients, except for the oats and cranberries in a large bowl. Toss in oats. Bake for about an hour or until a nice toasty color, tossing every 15 minutes. Cool. Toss in dried cranberries.

Yield: 6 servings

Price per serving: Aprox. $0.30

HOMEGROWN SWEET POTATOES

It breaks my heart when I go to the garden section of a store only to find that the plants are being neglected and left for dead on the shelves. Back in the spring I stumbled upon some sweet potato plants that hadn't been watered and were drying out in the hot Florida sun. After already having previously purchased 3 tomato, 3 pepper, 1 okra, 1 zucchini, 1 cucumber, basil, oregano, cilantro, rosemary, lavendar and thyme plants and the pots to grow them in (I don't have an actual garden, but a little patio garden), Matt made me promise that I would put a stop to my newly formed obsession. This was partly due to the amount of money I had spent but more because our patio was slowly turning into a miniature jungle. Anyway, I had already made my way into the garden section... And in front of me were the helpless sweet potato plants that were limp from the lack of watering. How was I supposed to walk out of the store without taking one with me? So I purchased a dying plant for about three dollars, a large pot for fifteen dollars, two bags of organic soil for ten dollars and drove home excited to transfer my little plant into it's new home hoping that Matt would understand why I had to do what I had to do. Of course, like always, he did.
My sweet potato plant had become very large with curly vines and a few pretty purple flowers. As it got colder the leaves began to die and I knew it was about time for harvest. I wasn't really sure what to expect. Afterall, their home was just a pot.


I turned the pot upside down and to my surprise and extreme delight there were lots of potatoes protruding from the soil.






Because of the lack of space, some potatoes were tangled together but they were all healthy and good to eat. I think I must have harvested about five pounds of potatoes.






Matt cleaned, roasted and pureed the sweet potatoes which he then turned into a healthy delicious soup (recipe to come soon).


Sometimes you just never know what a little plant might do for you.

CVS CHALLENGE

Yesterday I started, what I like to call, the CVS challenge. Using the CVS rewards system and by clipping coupons, I am setting a goal to use no more than $5 a month on toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, tp, lotion, contact solution...) for two people. Contrary to popular belief, I am not going to ration out toilet paper squares or anything else for that matter. I'm just going to shop smart and make the system work for me a little.

Here is how I am doing this.

1) First things first. Sign up for a CVS card and register it online. You can get a card in the store. Its not a credit card and it won't cost you anything.

2) Buy the Sunday newspaper to receive their sales flyer as well as manufacturer's coupons.

3) In the flyer you will see certain items that generate "extra bucks". This means that you will purchase the item for full price but at checkout the extra bucks will print out with your receipt. "Extra bucks" is like real money except that they have an expiration date (use within a month).

For example: Yesterday I purchased a name brand contact solution for $9.99 and I received $9.99 in extra bucks. I can use those extra bucks to buy anything in the store, which basically means that I received the contact solution for free. Big deal right? Generic contact solution is $2 at Walmart, so why go through all the trouble? Here's why.

4) With my extra bucks I am going to purchase more items that generate MORE extra bucks. With those extra bucks I'm going to purchase more items that generate MORE extra bucks... And you get the idea.

Of course, nothing is that simple and here is where the challenge lies.

The contact solution that I paid $9.99 for and that generated $9.99 ECB (Extra Care Bucks) was the only item in the flyer that matched the amount of money you got back with what you spent. There are, however, plenty of items that give you back ECBs... But its more like getting $2 in ECBs for a $6 item.

For example: Yesterday I purchased 12.6 oz Pantene conditioner ($3.33) and a hair styling product ($3.49). This purchase generated $2 ECBs. Again, what's the big deal? I still have to pay quite a bit out of pocket, right? Well, not necessarily.

5) This is why you clip coupons. In last month's paper there was a buy one Pantene product get one (around the same value) free. So I purchased two products for $3.49, which is a good deal within itself and then I generated $2 ECBs. Essentially I paid $1.49 for the conditioner and hair mousse. You couldn't get two travel sizes for that little.

So now I have $12 ECBs to use towards my next purchase. I also have a coupon (which you receive when you first sign up for the CVS card) for $4 off a $20 purchase. On my next shopping trip I will spend $4 out of my own pocket for $20 worth of merchandise. I will have to find the best deals that will generate the most amount of ECBs to keep things rolling. If I can manage this, I will hopefully accomplish my goal of spending $5 or less a month for toiletries.

I will keep you all updated on my progress as well as where to find the best deals.