COOKING KTIPS FOR HARD ECONOMIC TIMES

Money is tight, people are still losing jobs, you want to feed your family, but don't know what you are lost, no ideas whatsoever, you watch the Food Network, and still, those dishes are expensive even some stuff that Rachel Ray does, it will break you. Well no fret, cuz. I am your foodie buddy, here to offer expertise to your food issues.

The best thing you can do in tough times, is buy in bulk, and cook foods in a pot, make stews and soups, and freez them. Here's some tips for a family of 4. These days 4 people is a big family, Kate plus 8? That's a freekin circus!

Okay then- what you do is buy meats, poultry, and veggies in bulk. You can make a huge pot of chicken soup for less than 20 bucks. Here's how, and you'll have a lot leftover.

A 5 lb. box of frozen chicken thighs are like 3.99 to 4.99 on sale.
A few potatoes are about 3.00
An onion .99
garlic pennies
Head cabbage 3.99
Carrots 2.00-3.00
and you do have salt and pepper and some herbs and spices on your racks.

Heat up an 8 quart stock pot with some oil, and saute the garlic and onions, browning them really well, then add in the chicken (thawed) and brown it real well. Then add in some filtered water to about 2/3 of the way up the pot, boil it then simmer, add in the potatoes, carrots, cook it till soft, season it with herbs you like, maybe some parsley, a dash of thyme, some salt and pepper, maybe some cumin, then add in the cabbage. This can be a filling meal, not just a side soup. Freeze any leftovers.

Sandwiches for lunch. Sometimes you can get bread from the bakery that is almost a day old, snatch those really quick. Like a bag of 6 inch French or Italian bread will cost pennies because the bakery wants to get rid of it and not take a total loss, in business terms this is called minimizing shrinkage.

Also- the deli department may have some roast beef, or roasted turkey ready to be marked down, ask the attendant, if so, he'll mark it down for you by almost 50% sometimes more!

Go to a farmer's market and get tomatoes, lettuce, onions for cheap too. Take all of this home for the family, turn on your oven to 350 deg. f. and slice the bread in half, and brush all over it with olive oil, or butter, olive oil is a non animal fat so it is good for your heart, if you don''t care, then butter it shall be!

Place your discounted meat in the bread, maybe place some cheese if you got it, and toast it in the oven, Quizno? Oh no, not that! When it's all toasty, put some veggies on there, and your fave condiment, mustard and mayo, or more olive oil. For myself, I just love mayonnaise, mayonnaise is the dressing of choice for me period on a sandwich. But if you're not a mayo person, dress it with whatever, even ranch dressing or thousand island dressings works well with a sandwich.

So there's your tip.

Ron S
808-385-7667
ronsambrano@live.com