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Posts Tagged ‘Thyme’

Serious Herb Harvest: Sweet Basil, Rosemary, Oregano & Thyme

Saturday, August 29th, 2009

The first time we made pesto, we were naive. We got a recipe and then went over to the grocery store to buy the equivalent of two cups of Basil. The equivalent of 1/8 cup of Basil was $2.99. Making pesto was suddenly put on the backburner. We found other alternatives. We went to one of the great local Farmers Markets and got a much better deal. However, we were still scratching our heads. Couldn’t we spend $2.00 on seeds at a garden center and grow our own? Yes. The first year we grew our own, we had a ton of basil. The plants produced from June all the way until our first frost in late October. This year we planted 6 Basil plants and have had more Basil than we know what to do with. We’ve made pesto, used it fresh in marinara sauces, dried it for future use, and of course used it to make traditional Margherita pizzas. Don’t forget that Cajun, Thai, and Indian food can use Basil as well. This is a standard herb.

The other herbs we grow are Thyme, Oregano, and Rosemary. These are all useful dried and fresh for all kinds of cooking. Thyme is one of the best seasonings for chicken noodle soup and Italian ragu. Each time we pick our herbs, we make a decision to either dry them or save some to use fresh in a recipe.

Growing herbs and vegetables has become a family tradition that is beyond just our frugal personalities. Our kids participate and see that you can grow your own food. We actually are eating what we grow which has improved our quality of life. We didn’t have to become gardening experts. All we had to do was a little reading and make a minimal investment of physical labor. I’ll write soon about our Cherry Tomatoes and Jalapenos.

Tags: Basil, Oregano, pesto, Rosemary, Thyme
Posted in Simple Living | No Comments »

Meals for less than $10.00: Sirloin Tips in Pan Gravy and Onions

Tuesday, August 4th, 2009

On a recent trip to the grocery store, we found a couple of items on sale that clicked with a recipe we saw in a magazine we read. We got sirloin steak on sale for $3.00/lb and our local store was running a special on all Skinner brand pastas and noodles. Add some red onion, a few cloves of garlic, ground pepper, and a little soy sauce and you’re really approaching a great weeknight meal. I usually avoid cooking this type of dish because it’s horrible with low quality meat. I sliced the sirloin steaks up and cooked them to medium and that made the dish wonderful.

1.75 lbs sirloin steak ($5.30)

1 lb package of Skinner dumpling noodles ($1.14)

2 cloves garlic ($0.10)

1 small red onion ($0.20)

1 cup white flour ($.05)

1 cup beef broth ($0.25)

1 tablespoon soy sauce ($0.05)

1 teaspoon dried thyme (free from our garden & optional)

1 teaspoon black pepper ($0.10)

TOTAL: $7.19

Recipe: Slice the sirloin into cubes and not too small. Season them with the pepper and the soy sauce. Allow the soy to marinate into the meat for around 20 minutes before cooking. Cook the meat on medium high heat for about 5 minutes until the meat still has pink juices coming out of it. Remove the meat from the pan – the “fond” or cooked beef bits will be part of your gravy. Cut your onion in half and then slice it. Mince your garlic cloves. Place these in the pan with the meat juices and the thyme and cook until translucent. Place a little beef broth in the pan along with the flour and stir vigorously to make a roux (gravy base). Slowly add the rest of the broth while stirring vigorously. Once the gravy thickens, add the sirloin back in and turn down to low. After your noodles/pasta is boiled, combine all of this in the pan with the gravy and beef. You could also use mushrooms in this dish. I do not use any salt because the soy sauce has plenty of salt in it.

NOTE: My amounts are estimated and sometimes the result of my finding items on sale. I do not add sales tax because not all states charge it on food. Almost everything we buy is either private label or purchased on sale. We grow many of our own herbs in a garden in the backyard.

Tags: Sirloin tips, Skinner Pasta, Thyme
Posted in Meals for Less than $10.00 | 2 Comments »

Meals for Less Than $10.00: Baked Chicken, Baby Carrots, & Asparagus

Saturday, June 6th, 2009

On this night, my husband was working a little late at a recording studio in town and I wanted to have something light for dinner since we would be eating so late. I used some frozen chicken breasts that I brined, some bagged baby carrots, and a package of asparagus that I got on sale at ALDI. The asparagus was cooked in the oven with olive oil and salt and pepper. The carrots were glazed with olive oil, thyme, and salt and pepper in a baking dish in the oven. This was a simple meal and there were no leftovers. Thyme is the herb of choice on root vegetables like carrots, parsnips or turnips.

3 chicken breasts, frozen Pilgrim’s Pride ($3.75)

1 bag baby carrots ($1.25) on sale

1 lb. fresh asparagus ($1.99) on sale

1 tablespoon thyme leaves ($0.40)

2 tablespoons regular olive oil ($0.30)

2 teaspoons kosher salt ($0.10)

1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper ($0.10)

2 tablespoons iodized salt for brining ($0.10)

1 tablespoon sugar for brining ($0.05)

TOTAL: $8.04

Recipe: Heat your oven to 400 degrees. All of these dishes will be cooked at once in three different oven dishes. Place your chicken breasts into an oven dish with a small amount of salt and pepper. Put a little bit of olive oil into another dish and coat your asparagus in it and then pinch some salt and pepper on it. Do the same with your carrots except coat them with thyme as well. Put the carrots and asparagus in there for approximately 30 minutes and your chicken for 15-20 minutes. The thyme is the key to the carrots.

NOTES: A word about brining: brining is the process of soaking chicken or pork in salt and sugar water for several hours in order to ensure it is juicy after cooking. Brining allows you a little bit of room for error in cooking. If you slightly overcook your meat by accident, there is less chance that it will be dry. It is great for frozen chicken breasts that can be a little on the dry side. Our chicken is always juicy and moist! This meal fed twin girls age 12, our son age 3 and me and my husband. We generally slice the chicken breasts in half prior to cooking. I do not add sales tax to the total because many states do not charge tax on food.

Tags: Asparagus, Baby Carrots, Brine, Thyme
Posted in Meals for Less than $10.00 | No Comments »

Weekend Project: Building an Herb Garden

Sunday, May 24th, 2009

Raised bed herb garden - built with re-purposed bricks

When we first moved into our new home in suburban Oklahoma City last fall, we decided that we did not like the builder grade landscaping and set out to do something a little better. With the design skills and help of my sister in law, we took up the old bricks and placed some new green metal borders in front of our flowerbeds. That left us with some red landscaping bricks. We decided that we wanted to make a small herb garden in our backyard so that we could have fresh herbs all summer long. If you’ve been to the grocery store’s produce section lately, you noticed that the fresh herbs are priced into the stratosphere.

Approximately an eighth of a cup of fresh basil runs $3.00-$4.00. A batch of homemade Pesto requires two full cups. That would be very expensive to do if buying all the ingredients from the store. We’ve always grown a few pots of herbs, but they do better in the ground. This project is something we’ve talked about for years and there is no better time than now to build our own garden.

Rosemary

First, we went over to the home store and bought a bunch of bags of plain topsoil. We arranged the bricks in a rectangular shape and then filled it up with our topsoil. Herbs do not like soil to be too rich. The book I read about planting herbs recommends that fertilizer not be used if a rich soil is used. Most of these herbs thrive in plain sandy loam or river bottom type soil. Since my husband’s free time has been taken up by music and traveling this spring, we dropped the ball on growing our own herbs from seeds. As a result, we decided that we’d buy some herb plants that would be almost ready to produce – three basil, two thyme, two oregano, and two rosemary plants. The basil each had multiple plants in them so that gave us 6 plants.

Having vegetables or herbs growing in your backyard or on your patio is not only a matter of saving some money but also a matter of your quality of life. Life is about doing things and learning. I really enjoy going out and clipping some basil and rosemary to make an Italian sauce during the summer. Thyme is a wonderful seasoning for vegetables. Rosemary is great on pork tenderloin. It’s wonderful to dry your own thyme for chicken noodle soup in the fall. The scent of these plants, the flavors, and the oils that come from fresh herbs are so much stronger than store bought fresh herbs and there is no comparison between your own dried herbs and the store’s. Our kids will be taught a lesson in watching us cultivate our own herbs. They will also enjoy the fresh scent and appreciate the thrift in their later years.

NOTES: We will also be growing tomatoes, green peppers, Anaheim chiles, Habanero chiles, Jalapeno chiles, and Scotch Bonnet chiles this summer. Photos and posts will be forthcoming.

Tags: Basil, Oregano, Rosemary, Thyme
Posted in Weekend Project | 2 Comments »

Chicken Noodle Soup

Saturday, May 16th, 2009

I have been asked a number of times now about my Chicken Noodle Soup recipe since I started the blog. Well, here it is but it’s not mine. It’s really my mother in law’s recipe that my husband observed. Many of her recipes came from classic cookbooks such as The Settlement Cookbook or Betty Crocker’s books. This recipe is very simple and not intended to be some sort of gourmet extravaganza. This is how we made it last time (recipes can evolve slightly). The recipe can vary somewhat but the keys to making the soup superior are: (1) great broth or stock, (2) fresh ingredients, and (3) proper seasoning. Great broth or stock is made by boiling the chicken, vegetables, and seasonings together and giving them the time to cook together or react chemically. Great broth is made entirely by the elements from the chicken bones and skin – that is really the key to the flavor. The chicken meat is secondary. The dark meat is important for flavor. Don’t expect to make an impressive chicken noodle soup with some boneless and skinless chicken breasts or canned broth.

1 whole young chicken or cut up fryer (no boneless/skinless!)

4 ribs of celery

3 carrots

3 cloves garlic

1 small yellow onion

1 tablespoon thyme leaves (fresh is best, but bottled and dried is fine)

2 heaping tablespoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 bag of egg noodles

RECIPE: In a large stockpot, place everything but the egg noodles in the pot. Then, fill with water leaving just enough space for the boiling to occur without coming out of the pot. This is roughly 3-4 quarts. If it appears that there is too much water, don’t worry because it will cook down. You will not cover this as it boils. There are two ways to do the vegetables – diced (my preference) or chopped in half. If you leave the vegetables chopped in half, it’s obvious that you intend to remove the vegetables. If your family is picky and expects the soup to look close to Campbell’s, this is your choice. I prefer the vegetables to be in there diced. Boil this for at least 2 hours. Ideally, the bone in the chicken drumstick should be able to break in half. After a good 2 hour boil, remove the chicken (vegetables too if left rough) and put it on the plate. Pick the meat you want off the bones and put it back in the broth. Add your noodles and boil until noodles are finished. You must check the seasoning at this point. You may need to add salt. However, I advise you not to check the seasoning frequently as you can get fooled. Always be cautious with salt. Another thing – the thyme is essential.

Tags: Broth, Chicken Noodle Soup, Stock, Thyme
Posted in Family Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe | No Comments »

Meals for less than $10:00: Quiche Lorraine

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

This is one of my favorite meals to prepare. It’s easy and requires simple ingredients that we already have on hand. What I love about it is its sophistication and complex flavor. Eggs are an inexpensive way to stretch our budget as seen with our breakfast for dinner meal and provide an abundance of protein. Quiche isn’t exactly beans and cornbread, so the family doesn’t view this as some sort of cheap meal. The ingredients are affordable but this meal does require your time and thought. When serving, it may seem that each person isn’t getting a lot, but one generous slice fills my husband up and he weighs 180 lbs. This is a very filling meal. A salad would be a good companion to the quiche if you wish to add something else while keeping the meal under $10.00.

Filling:

8 slices bacon, crumbled ($1.50)

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese ($1.25) *on sale

1/3 cup finely chopped white onion ($0.25)

4 large eggs ($0.50)

1 cup heavy whipping cream ($1.00)

1/4 teaspoon salt ($0.05)

1/4 teaspoon black pepper ($0.05)

1/8 teaspoon cayenne ($0.05)

1 teaspoon thyme ($0.25)

1 cup chopped fresh parsley ($0.25) (for garnish)

Pastry:

1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon shortening ($0.25)

1 cup all purpose flour (I prefer unbleached) ($0.25)

1/4 teaspoon salt ($0.05)

2-3 tablespoons cold water ($0.10)

TOTAL: $5.80

RECIPE: Heat oven to 425. Prepare pastry. Cut shortening into flour and salt using pastry blender or criss crossing two knives until particles are size of course crumbs. Sprinkle with cold water, one tablespoon at a time tossing with fork until all flour is moistening and pastry almost cleans the side of the bowl. One to two teaspoons water can be added if necessary. Gather pastry into a ball and then shape into flattened round on a cloth covered board. Roll the pastry into circle two inches larger than upside down pie plate. Fold pastry into fourths, place in pie plate and then unfold and ease into plate pressing firmly against bottom and side.

Cook bacon. Dice it and then place it back in the pan to cook with the onions and other seasonings. Skim out these items from the bacon fat. Sprinkle bacon, cheese and onion in pastry lined quiche dish or pie plate, beat eggs slightly, beat in remaining ingredients. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300 and bake about 30 minutes longer or until knife inserted into center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

NOTE: The thyme and bacon are fairly essential to the recipe. It is conceivable that you could substitute whole milk for the cream, but you’re taking a chance on the consistency. I estimate honestly on the prices and many of the items are purchased on sale. I use my local grocery store’s most recent price for eggs as a reference since my eggs are fresh from my mother’s chickens. I store some of the leftover seasoned bacon drippings in the refrigerator for other recipes (spinach is great with a slight bacon flavor).

Tags: Bacon, Quiche Lorraine, Thyme
Posted in Meals for Less than $10.00 | 1 Comment »