FOOD
STRETCH YOUR FOOD DOLLARS WIT
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Crock Pot Roast ou’ve heard it time and again: “what’s for dinner?”
What indeed? It’s often easy to throw up your hands and order takeout, or to load the family into the car and head for a local restaurant. That’s fine for a treat, but doing that on a regular basis can get expensive. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that more than a third of every dollar we spend is for eating out. If you’re strapped for cash, an easy way to help your budget is to just prevent yourself from eating out. First, dedicate yourself to eating more at home and packing your lunch every day. Second, you may have to learn a few budget-friendly habits, like learning to cook cheaper cuts of meat or instituting a vegetarian night. Eating on a budget doesn’t mean you must resort to dull, bland food. There’s lots of inexpensive variety on your grocer’s shelves, and hopefully these recipes will both help you get your food budget under control while getting you out of your comfort food zone.
Crock Pot Roast Roasts are one of the easiest and most cost-effective meals you can make. You simply put the ingredients into the pot, set it and leave it! When you get home, dinner’s ready and the house smells wonderful. 1 roast, chuck or round 2 cups of baby carrots 2 cups cubed potatoes 1 medium onion, sliced 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 2 tablespoons garlic powder 2 cups chicken stock Water Start with a chuck roast or an eye of round roast. Place the thawed roast in the crock pot, followed by the potatoes, carrots and onions (in that order) placed around. Sprinkle the seasonings over everything, then pour in your chicken stock. Once you’ve poured in your stock, add water to the
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January/February 2017
crock until it almost covers the meat. Replacing half your water with stock will increase the flavor, and leaving the very top of the meat uncovered will allow it to brown as well as stay together instead of falling apart in the rock. Set your pot at its lowest, longest setting (preferably “low”) and let it cook for at least eight hours.
After the family has had its fill of roast and veggies, you can use the leftover roast for sandwiches.
Roast Herb Sammies It doesn’t get much easier than sandwiches. For a quick lunch, use your leftover crockpot roast to make a sammy that’s full of flavor. Simply sauté some onions and add some herb mayonnaise that’s easy to make. Leftover roast beef 1 cup caramelized onions Rye/pumpernickel marbled bread Sliced Provolone cheese Herb mayonnaise Before layering your sandwich, let’s make our own herb mayonnaise. First, gather up any herbs that may be on hand around the house, in the garden or in the fridge: fresh basil, rosemary and garlic, for example. Give them a very fine chop and mix them your favorite mayonnaise, or run the herbs through
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a food processor with the mayo. You can also let this mix sit overnight to increase the flavor absorption, or just let it rest while you caramelize the onions. When you’re done, simply layer the ingredients on the bread and pair your sammy with some whole fruit and raw veggies.
Mini Veggie Pizzas A great way to get your budget under control is to introduce your family to Veggie Night. You can do this any number of ways; removing the meat from your lasagna and replacing it with vegetables is one way (it’s also healthier); or you could