Miami Produce Savings

If you live in Miami-Dade county, it is worth a once-a-month drive to Lorenzo's Italian Farmer's Market. They are just north of 163rd street on Dixie Highway. Their produce prices are now about 20% LOWER than Publix prices and their produce is usually locally grown. They have GREAT stuff. Plus they have a corner in the back with quick sale items that are great if you plan to cook them the same day or the next day. I once found a package of hen-of-the-woods mushrooms marked down to $1.29/lb from $12.00/lb!! I made mushroom ravioli that night and it was heavenly! This last shopping trip I got some lovely fingerling potatoes from the quick sale area. I got two pounds for $1.25. They were divine - roasted with butter, parsley, salt and pepper. An example of the savings: their zucchini and yellow squash at regular price are $0.99/lb. Publix had these on SALE for $1.29/lb.

They also have an Italian Market just south of the Farmer's Market. Bargains are more scarce there but they have the quality of Whole Foods at a Publix price. For example, I got their hand-made-on-premises Italian sausage for the same price as Publix, $3.99 a pound, but made the same day so it was much fresher and much more flavorful. They also have Italian cheesecake for $7.99 - I think the same cheesecake at Publix is around $12. They have fresh pasta as well. Not as much of a bargain but oh, SO good! But if you are really into saving money make your own. It is very cheap and super easy. You will need a pasta roller. Look for a post later about making homemade pasta for pennies a pound.

Hope this is helpful!

Dried beans, people! Do you have them?

Cos you need them. If you are coming up short every month and you stay at home with the kids you HAVE the time for dried beans. They are easily 1/3 the cost of their canned variety and are easily used as a meat substitute. Today I am making an Indian chickpea dish, Chickpeas Moghlai-style, from Madhur Jaffrey's highly-recommended "World Vegetarian". Now, obviously, given the last recipe I referred to, we are NOT vegetarians. We are realists. Most of the rest of the world's population subsist on vegetables first, meat second. My parents' generation had meat only one or two times a week, and sometimes not even that frequently. They were older... born during the Great Depression, poor, and had to eat beans and rice many an evening. And get this - if you make it right, beans and rice are REALLY GOOD. I mean DELICIOUS good. And cheap. And you know I loves the cheap.

So grab yourselves a copy of Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian. I am not getting paid to endorse this. I am not even sure I am not blogging into the wind. But believe me, in lean times that cookbook is a lifesaver. It offers vegetable based meals that are easy on the wallet and are not only Indian, but Caribbean, Central and South American. All good stuff and most don't require any expensive ingredients.

Also, if you have to buy some spices for the dishes, keep them in the freezer. In fact, I keep ALL my spices in the freezer. They last longer as long as you only take them out long enough to measure out the correct amount and put the bottle back immediately. Do not let condensation build up inside the container. Water, light and humidity are the enemies of spices, but I have stretched the life-span of all my spices and herbs by freezing them and handling them carefully (i.e., briefly) when I use them.

Money Saving Chicken and Dumplings Recipe

My 3 year old asks for me to make this about once a week. It is from All Recipes (a site I use frequently). You can change up the veggies to suit what you have on hand.

Two things I do differently:

1. Because it adds more flavor, I usually sweat the carrots, celery and onion in one the healthier tub margarines you can buy before adding them to the broth. Butter is so expensive I save it for things that REALLY need it for flavor. My favorite margarine is Move Over Butter, made from vegetable oil and buttermilk. It is yummy AND less expensive than other "healthy" butter substitute spreads. I can only find it at Winn-Dixie, though. 
2. I mix the dumpling dough in my food processor. SO much easier and comes together in seconds. 

I won't reprint the recipe here just add a link to it since there are really no significant changes I make to it myself. It will serve you for a couple of days and if you buy chicken leg quarters in bulk you can sometimes find them as low as $.79/lb on sale. Skin them before you make the broth and you save time having to skim the fat later.

Chicken Stew with Dumplings from All Recipes.