Stretching Your Buck

I manage a small country store in a small town and have noticed a depressing trend in the past years; more and more of the full time residents are going on food stamps. Okay I am going to say it even though it will not make me any friends; I do not think that the food stamp program works and I believe that it should be abolished. We accept the food stamp cards and I can count on one finger how many times I have rung up actual food for one of the card’s recipients. Nine point nine times out of ten people are using the food stamps to buy snack foods, soda, frozen dinners and canned pasta; nothing that is in my opinion healthy. Seriously it really irritates me that my tax money is going to fund this program and these people are wasting that money on junk food.

So what do I think should be done, besides getting rid of the whole program? Well first of all the card recipients should get guidelines about proper nutrition and lessons in smart shopping; secondly there should be restrictions on what can be purchased with the food stamps. But since I am not in politics what I can do is offer up some economical recipes and tips. Seriously I cook dinner from scratch almost every night of the week and it does not take a ton of time to do so; plus the people I know of on food stamps don’t have jobs, so what else do they have to do all day?

The most important thing to remember when you go to the grocery store is to have a plan, do not go in hungry and if at all possible shop only the perimeter aisles. I find that I spend way less when I go to the store with a list because I usually stick to it. Also if you stay out of those middle aisles you avoid the prepackaged foods that cost much more and have higher fat and sodium contents. The perimeter aisles are the ones with the produce, deli, meat, fish, dairy, and bread. I will admit it I do not use coupons. Every time I look at them in the paper I never find them for products that I use; I do however take advantage of the store card sales as much as possible.

The first buck-stretching recipe that I want to share is for soup. Seriously this is the easiest thing you can make, a recipe is not even needed but I made one recently that was fantastic. Basically I just emptied out both my pantry and refrigerator and called it Tricia’s Minestrone. Start by sautéing one chopped onion, two diced stalks of celery, one diced carrot and three minced garlic cloves in olive oil until softened. Add about half a pound of Italian sausage and cook until this is crumbled and cooked through. Next add two cans of rinsed white beans, one can of diced tomatoes, and one of those paper boxes of chicken broth. You could get even more economical by melting three chicken bouillon cubes in three cups of hot water. Stir in half of a box of defrosted and drained frozen spinach, two teaspoons of Italian seasoning and half of a cup of orzo pasta. Cook this until the pasta is al dente, about ten minutes and serve with either a grilled cheese sandwich or crusty bread. I actually added about a quarter cup of store bought pesto that I had in the fridge and the rind from a wedge of parmesan cheese, but these items are not necessary if you do not have them on hand. This soup also freezes fabulously so do not be afraid to make a huge pot full.

Another economical meal is roasted chicken; this is so because you should be able to get at least two meals from one bird. Now there are a million ways to make chicken, and I have one million and one for you, Peruvian Chicken. In a small food processor combine five cloves of garlic, two tablespoons of salt, pepper, 2 teaspoons or oregano, a ½ inch piece of fresh ginger, one teaspoon of cumin, ½ teaspoon of paprika and ½ cup of white vinegar. Process this until it becomes a smooth paste. You can make this recipe with a whole four pound chicken or four pieces; I prefer the dark meat of the bird so I use leg and thigh pieces. Whichever you use rinse and dry them before loosening the skin from the meat with your fingers so that you can smear the herb paste both under and over the skin. Now throw the chicken in the fridge to marinate for at least four hour or overnight, depending on how ambitious you are. Cook the chicken at 400 degrees for at least an hour; you will know it is done when the juices run clear. You can serve this chicken with homemade French fries sprinkled with the same herbs used in the paste. The leftover chicken can be used to make a quick soup or chicken potpie the next night.

Finally probably the most buck-stretching thing you could ever make in pasta. Like chicken there are a ton of different pasta recipes out there and they can be made with almost any ingredient you can find in your house. I personally keep a fully stocked pantry and have on more than one occasion thrown something together on the fly. This next recipe is something that I have all of the ingredients for regularly and is not an expensive meal to make, Tuna Puttanesca. First bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook a pound of your choice of pasta until al dente. While the pasta is cooking sauté four minced cloves of garlic and a quarter teaspoon of red pepper flakes for a minute, add two tablespoons of caper and a half cup of sliced black olives and sauté another minute or so. Add a large can of diced tomatoes that have been drained (reserve the juices) and cook until almost all of the liquid is absorbed. Add the tomato juices and a teaspoon of basil, slat and pepper and cook until the sauce thickens. Finally add one can of tuna and heat through, serve the sauce over the cooked pasta. This dish is a nice change because of the tuna and the fact that it is not as heavy as most pasta dishes.

There are so many more meals that you can make that don’t cost an arm and a leg and also don’t come out of a can. I really think that people need to be educated on what is healthy for them and their children because as far as I can see they really just don’t get it. And I really don’t expect everyone to be a gourmet cook, but I also believe that anyone can put together a homemade meal. If someone gave me a handout like food stamps the last thing I would do would be to waste the money on junk food; but I guess that not everyone cares about where that money came from as me.



Tricia’s Minestrone

1 med Onion, diced
1 med Carrot, diced
2 Celery stalks, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ lb. Italian sausage
2 cans White beans, rinsed
1 can Diced tomatoes
3 cups Chicken broth
½ box Frozen spinach, defrosted & drained
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
½ cup Orzo


Sauté the onion, carrot, celery and garlic in olive oil until soft. Add sausage and cook until crumbled and cooked through. Add beans, tomatoes and broth and heat well. Stir in the remaining ingredients and cook on high for 10 minutes.



Peruvian Chicken

5 Garlic cloves
2 Tlbsp. Salt
Pepper
2 tsp. Oregano
½ inch Fresh ginger
1 tsp. Cumin
½ tsp. Paprika
½ cup White vinegar
4 lbs Chicken, either whole or pieces


Combine the first eight ingredients in a food processor until a smooth paste. Rinse and dry chicken, loosen skin from the meat with fingers and smear paste both under and over the skin. Marinate 4 hours to overnight. Cook at 400° for at least 1 hour, until juices run clear.



Tuna Puttanesca

1 lb. Pasta, cooked al dente
4 Garlic cloves, minced
¼ tsp. Red pepper flakes
2 Tlbsp. Capers
½ cup Black olives, sliced
1 28-oz. Can diced tomatoes, drained & juices reserved
1 tsp. Basil
1 5-oz Canned Tuna
Salt and pepper

Cook pasta until al dente. Sauté garlic and red pepper 1 minute, add capers and olives and sauté another minute or so. Add the drained tomatoes and cook until the liquid is absorbed, add the reserved liquid and cook until thickened. Season with basil, salt and pepper and add tuna, cook through and serve with pasta.