Newspaper Page Text
meal starts with a menu
B ack a your column in food January, about budget. I cutting wrote Who
would have thought that
food prices would continue
to rise? I have received lots
of e-mails lately from people
who are wondering how they
can slash their food budget,
but still eat well.
With four children and a
food-loving husband, I can
relate to all of your woes.
Here are some guidelines to
help make each and every
dollar stretch.
First and foremost: Make
a menu plan for the week,
complete with a shopping
list. When you are trying to
make every dollar count,
having a menu plan is criti
cal.
Most people blow their
food budget when there is no
dinner plan, little people are
hungry, big people are tired
and pizza is only a phone
call away.
Pizza is fine, but pur- •
chase frozen pizza or fresh
pizza from a discount ware
house and have it on a night
you planned for.
Scotch-Irish thrify, ingenious when it comes to recycling
y brother-in-law, Rod¬
ney, the wizard of
wisecracks in our fam¬
ily, was sitting at the island
in my kitchen, watching as I
put away food from a Sunday
School get-togetHer.
I pulled out a Styrofoam
take-out container and began
to fill it with food for a friend
who was ailing.
“Ronda,” he said in that
tone he uses when I’m about
to get a lecture about my stu¬
pidity on this or that. “Surely,
you don’t re-use Styrofoam
containers.”
I stopped dipping green
beans and looked at him
incredulously. “Of course, I
do.” I smiled before I returned
the volley. “I’m green. I prac
tice recycling.”
He rolled his eyes. “That’s
not recycling, dummy. That’s
re-using. There’s a big differ
ence.
I thought back to all the
times I’ve seen Mama and my
grandmothers wash and dry
baggies then stack them away
neatly for use again.
I fluttered my eyelashes
and smiled coquettishly. “I’m
Scotch-Irish and this is the
way we recycle.”
He shook his head in com
plete disbelief, I can’t
believe you do that. That is
the height of redneck.”
Coming from an expert on the
matter, it must be true. “What
would Jeff Foxworthy say?
I’m sure he’d get some good
material out of it. *»
That’s when I had to
laugh. I thought back to a few
weeks before when Jeff and
his precious wife, Gregg, had
been at my house for a simple
Southern supper. Jeff and
Rodney had stood in the
kitchen, chatting, while
Louise and I put food away. I
pulled out a Cool Whip con¬
tainer and poured mashed
potatoes in it. I see no reason
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home
matters
by Adlen <K 1
W.
Robinson j
for the
Forsyth
County
News
* Before you make your
weekly meal plan, clean out
your refrigerator and freezer,
I am always astounded by
how many meals I can make
from my freezer without
buying anything.
Remember when you do
put leftovers in the freezer to
label, label, label.
How many times have
you had to throw out things
simply because you have no
idea what or how old it is?
With milk costs so high,
think about buying pow
dered milk and mixing it
half and half with milk. I
D ixie iffiK 1
by k
Ronda Rich
for the
Forsyth
County
News
to throw great storage con
tainers like this away,
Jeff tilted his head to one
side and scratched at his ear.
You know, my sister’s got a
whole matching set of them
bowls.” He gestured toward
the Cool Whip container,
“When we eat with her, she
uses them for salad bowls.”
Great. One professional
comedian and one who thinks
he’s a comedian making fun
0 f my frugal ways. But it is
the way of my people. If my
mama could use it again, she
never threw it out.
My grandmother saved
loaf bread wrappers and used
them for bags. If she was
going on a long trip — usual-
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advise against telling your
children about this tip since
you will likely hear the word
gross” screamed at you.
When our children were
quite young, I used to do
that ail the time.
I would take one gallon
of milk and pour half into
another empty gallon, mix
with the powdered milk and
water.
Just make sure the milk
has a chance to get very cold
before you serve it. If you
buy the powdered milk from
a warehouse store, it is even
more economical.
Ground beef, turkey, and
chicken are much more
affordable than steak, roasts,
etc. When they go on sale,
stock up and store in the
freezer — again, be sure to
label and date.
When making tacos, do
not buy the boxed variety,
just brown beef (or turkey)
and then drain well.
Then, to the browned
meat, add a little chili pow
der, cumin, garlic and/or
onion powder and salt to
taste.
6* I bath water and tote endless
save
gallons outside to water flowers and
trees. This I learned from my Scotch
Irish mama who, long before it was
cool to be green, toted her dishwater
outside in an old metal dishpan and
poured it on her roses. 99
ly an hour or so — she’d
make her up some sausage
and biscuits, wrap them in a
paper napkin and put them in
a loaf bread bag.
When she came to visit us
for an overnight stay, she
.brought her clothes in a
paper grocery sack.
“You waste too much,”
Mama said disapprovingly
one day as she watched me
unload groceries and throw
the bags in the trash.
That’s really not the truth,
especially according to
Rodney. When I’m shopping,
I often refuse a bag and just
carry my purchase out in
hand.
I save bath water and tote
endless gallons outside to
water flowers and trees. This
I learned from my Scotch
Irish mama who, long before
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Add a little water and
simmer for a few minutes,
Those pre-made packets are
filled with additives you do
not need anyway.
Pasta is cheap, and deli¬
cious. Instead of buying bot
tied spaghetti sauce, make
your own.
Simply saute some
minced onion and garlic, add
a can or two of crushed
tomatoes (at a warehouse
store, you can get cans of
crushed tomatoes for a great
price), season with a pinch
of sugar, a splash of dry red
wine, some dried Italian
herbs and some fresh basil
if you have some. Voila!
Delicious homemade spag
hetti sauce in minutes,
Eat vegetarian a few
times a week. Again, I usu
ally do not announce this,
Instead of serving a meat
as the main course, make a
vegetarian baked ziti, or
Fettuccini Alfredo*. Serve a
salad and another vegetable
accompanied by some gar
lie bread. Nobody will miss
the meat,
Buy in bulk when it
it was cool to be green, toted
her dishwater outside in an
old metal dishpan and poured
it on her roses. Mama used
recycled water all her life.
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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS — Sunday. August 17.2008
makes sense. Calculate the
cost and consider that if the
item is on sale at the regu¬
lar grocery store, some¬
times that makes it cheaper.
If you bake a lot, buying
flour and/or sugar may be a
better deal to buy it in
bulk. Doing a little leg
work and calculating can
really pay off.
I have found that buying
free range chicken breasts
at a warehouse is almost
always a better deal than
buying them at the grocery
store — but I always check
the regular grocery stores
sales flyers just in case
they are deeply discounted.
You can never have too
many boneless, skinless
chicken breasts in your
freezer.
To save on treats, plan, a
family baking day. Bake
cookies and other treats,
wrap tightly in freezer
wrap, label and freeze.
Homemade treats taste
better and have the added
bonus of not being full of
additives and preservatives.
To save on vegetables,
She had grown up humble in
the mountains where they
toted water from the creek
and used the cool water to
store a “spring box” which
kept their milk and butter
chilled. She knew the value
of water.
I save string, ribbon, bows
and, when possible, wrapping
paper. I eat leftovers for a
week at a time and air condi¬
tioning is never turned on
before June for I depend
heavily on ceiling fans. In the
winter time, 1 bundle up good
and turn the heat down low.
PAGE 3B
shop the local Farmers
Market and/or small gro¬
cery stands.
Better yet, plan on
growing your own next
summer.
Get your family in on
the act. Explain to your
children you are cutting the
food budget and let every¬
body brainstorm about how
they can help.
Try to calculate how
much money you save in a
month, and use part of that
to do something special for
the entire family — like
enjoy a steak dinner.
Adlen Robinson 's
“Home Matters" column is
published in every
Sunday’s Lifestyles section
of the newspaper. You can
also read her food column
in Friday’s newspaper.
Adlen welcomes reader
tips, comments and sugges¬
tions! Please e-mail her at
contact @ adlenrobinson.co
m or write to her at the
newspaper. Visit Adlen’s
Web site at www.adlen
robinson.com for more
columns and recipes.
From my ancestors, I believe
I’ve learned well.
Are we thrifty or ingen¬
ious? Probably a little of
both. But if things keep
going like they’re going,
more people are going to
wish they had a Scoteh-Irish
upbringing.
After all, we were the
original recyclers.
Ronda Rich is the best¬
selling author of What
Southern Women Know (That
Every Woman Should). Sign
up for. her newsletter at
www. ronda rich. com.