Thirty Minute Pizza (from scratch!)

Thirty Minute Pizza

Delivery pizza takes forty-five minutes. Homemade can take thirty. Delivered can cost twenty bucks a pie, including the tip. Homemade, even with high quality ingredients, costs a fraction of that. We typically have more choices for vegetable toppings than the local pizza joints.

Our secrets to a great pizza crust- crispy on the bottom yet tender and soft- without kneading or long proofing, are whole wheat flour and olive oil. (If you have only white flour, see this recipe.) Pans without holes in the bottom are essential.

While buying big blocks of cheese and grating it myself would save money, I wait for eight-ounce bags of grated cheese to go on sale so I can pop several in the freezer for occasions like pizza. In the summer, we make tomato sauce to freeze in eight-ounce containers. Small cans of plain tomato sauce also work in a pinch, so are useful to keep on hand.

For one large fourteen-inch pizza crust:

Got Tax Return?

When spring is nigh, our thoughts turn to big televisions, shiny iGadgets, and new vehicles. The commercials have already started offering cars for "No Money Down!" as you sign away your future tax return. For those who might owe the government, tax season is a time for procrastination; for everyone else it is a mad rush to spend.

If your New Year's Resolutions included, "Eat Healthier," or "Save Money," consider these ideas for your spending spree:

Crock Pot. You may have one kicking around somewhere to dust off and rediscover. Otherwise, you will find this to be a wise purchase because it makes cooking from scratch so much easier. Soups, stocks, beans, and sauces can simmer away in your absence. A pot roast can await you after you get home from work. When it is too hot to think of using your oven, you can bake potatoes, bread, or even dessert in your crock pot. I have heard of people using theirs to make yogurt.

Meet the Food Truck!

Nature's Candy Dish

This morning, I loaded up the kids and drove an hour and a half to a church parking lot at the north end of Omaha. About a dozen other vehicles were already parked there, and more were arriving. Cars, pickups, and minivans. A few small children toddled around the parking lot, staying near their chatting moms. G-man and the Cadet could not wait to get out of the car to join the growing crowd of people milling around. From appearance only, one could say it was an eclectic bunch: retirees, farmers, young men in business suits, mothers, and kids from infants to teens. For some, this was an old routine; for others, this was their first shipment.

Benefits of Line-Drying Laundry

Poolside Laundry

I loved our retractible laundry line so much I had to beg Stealthy Dad to install a second. They wrap around our deck, which is right outside the back door. Our last home had a wire fence around the yard that I threw laundry on to dry. Why do I hang stuff outside when we own a dryer?

Iced Latte or Iced Chai Latte at Home

Iced Latte at Home

Iced Latte. The perfect compromise between a cold, refreshing drink and an afternoon pick-me-up. On countless occasions I have shelled out a fist full of cash at a fancy coffee house (or M-place drive through) for what is essentially a strong cup of coffee poured over some ice. It is really, really easy to make this at home, saving money and time. I have one right now, in fact, and did not have to load the kids into the car to go fetch it.

Cheese Dip Mini Pizzas

Cheese Dip Mini Pizzas 

You made a fantastic No-Tell cheese dip. Your friend brought over a Queso dip. Both were great but the crowd did not finish them.  Mini-pizzas are a fun way to use your leftover cheese dip. You could even whip them up, mid-party, instead of buying frozen minis.

Precooking and Freezing Beans

Last week, I read an article by Jane Mountain at Grist.com describing five packaged foods you never need to buy again.  The list includes canned soup, stock/bouillon and beans; hummus and boxed cereal. I don't think we can let go of our Cheerios. Otherwise, the list is quite doeable. We already cook our own soup, stock, and hummus.

Fast and Soft Cheese

Fast and Soft Cheese

What is that light cheese inside your enchilada or chile relleno? Chances are, it is an unripened, fresh cheese called Queso Fresco. I have checked out a few recipes, and while it takes only a day to make, it requires a starter.

In about an hour, and without a starter, you can make this Fast and Soft Cheese. Fresh and slightly tart, it can be used in place of Queso Fresco, Ricotta, or even Cream Cheese. If you have two hours to let the rennet work, your cheese will string when melted.

Cheapskate in the Kitchen

"Waste not, want not." Those simple words had so much meaning generations ago, when a coffee can became a well-used canister and worn-out garments became warm quilts.  As a society, we seem to have forgotten the value of reusing things. (There is a difference between thrift and pack-ratting. We can all think of someone who has stuff stacked up to the ceiling because he or she cannot bear the idea of throwing it out. The test is easy: Is this thing useful? If it is, put it to use. If it is not, give it away, put it in the recycling bin or, if all else fails, the trash. ) 

When you buy in bulk and cook more from scratch, you reduce the amount of packaged stuff you bring into the house.  Less packaging saves you money. If you can reuse something, you can avoid buying something else. Buying used things can save money, too.

We are cheapskates and are proud of it. I would like to show off a few ideas from the Stealthy Kitchen:

Chai Latte at Home

Chai Latte at Home

In college, I had no idea what a "tea latte" was, despite the fact that I made and enjoyed so many of them when savouring rare moments at home. There was a positively delicious carob tea on the market at that time. I would brew my cup extra strong and top it with frothed milk. When that tea was discontinued, it inspired a cross-border road trip to buy up as many boxes as I could. My friend wanted a bottle of her favorite fragrance so I picked her up after her late-night shift at a bar and off we went... Border Patrol did not believe us when we declared our purchases on the way home; it was the first time I had ever had my car thoroughly searched. All for pretty perfume and wonderful tea, both of which were rationed for a long, long time.

Lately, Stealthy Dad and I have been enjoying spiced chai. It is a black tea with notes of cardamom and cinnamon that invite a little sweetness. Some cool, frothed milk adds fun and the result is as satisfying as a dessert.

To make your own, coffee-shop style Chai Latte, brew a cup of chai tea in a large mug. Leave room for about a third milk. Let the tea steep a few minutes and remove the tea bag. Stir in sugar or honey to taste. Prepare the froth by adding milk to a lidded bottle and shaking it. Pour it over your tea. Take a moment to watch the milk swirl down into the tea. Enjoy.

(And if this chai tea goes off the market, I promise to just make do with what is on the store shelves instead of getting into trouble having an adventure.)

For easy instructions on making a Cafe Latte at home without an espresso machine or Keurig landfill-hogger click here.


www.stealthymom.com


I shared this post at Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways.

Mazto Ball Soup (Knaidlach)

Over the weekend, we roasted a chicken. Stealthy Dad carved it to serve, and immediately put the carcass into the crock pot to make stock.

I covered it with water and added some sad-but-not-ready-for-compost vegetables from the fridge. Thanks to the idea from on the Traditional Foods blog, I also added a couple tablespoons of vinegar to break the bones down, releasing more minerals into the broth. A day and a half later, I strained the solids from the broth. After pouring it back into the (rinsed) crock pot, I added some light seasoning to the broth: salt, ginger, sage, thyme, and dried onions.

The decision of what soup to make was not an easy one. Nearly every culture has a version of dumplings and broth. It came down to two: Won Ton or Matzo Ball. I can get decent Won Ton soup down the street, so chose to make the latter.

Matzo Ball Soup 

Breakfast Bread

Red River Cereal, which is a blend of cracked wheat, rye and flaxseed, is one of my favorite breakfast foods.  So is toast. Why choose? Each loaf of this hearty bread contains four bowls of porridge, a bowl of oatmeal and a third of a cup of sunflower seeds. Pop a couple slices in the toaster and you have hot porridge, to go!

As a bonus, you can use sour milk if you happen to have some in the fridge. Your bread will have a faintly tart taste like sourdough.  Adding a cup or two of wheat bran before the flour will add even more fiber. Bread always slices better the day after it is made.

Coffee Break (Latte or Cappuccino at home)

Coffee Break: Latte or Cappuccino at Home

Long morning or late night? Would you like to go out for a fancy coffee somewhere but cannot get away? Try this easy method to make a coffee-house coffee at home without the fuss or expense of an espresso maker.

Materials

French Press (Bodum) coffee pot
microwaveable bottle with lid (I use a Nalgene water bottle)
coffee
hot water
milk

Method

Put the kettle on and put twice the amount of grounds you would normally use in your french press.

Pour boiling water into the press and allow to stand at least five minutes. Longer is better since the nuttiness of coffee comes out during brewing.

Pour milk into the bottle. For a cappuccino, use a quarter cup milk per cup of coffee. For a latte, use a half cup of milk per cup of coffee. Lid off, heat the milk in the microwave.

Pour coffee into your cup. Shake the milk until frothy and pour it over your coffee.

Variations

Coffee syrup, like at the coffee house, is available by the bottle. Add a shot to the milk before you shake it. 

Vanilla and Honey. For a drink that is more natural than the coffee syrup, but just as delicious, add a tablespoon of honey and a quarter-teaspoon of vanilla extract to the coffee.

A sprinkle of nutmeg or cocoa over the top completes the experience. Enjoy with Raisin Spice Omega Cookies.



I shared this post with the Homestead Barn Hop, where bloggers share recipes, do-it-yourself and money saving ideas.


www.stealthymom.com

Dairy Bargains.... (yogurt, string cheese, and cottage cheese from scratch)

I did it again. At the grocery store a couple days ago, there were several half-gallons of milk in the cooler at a dramatically reduced price. The catch was that they "expired" in two days. No problem, right? Make some muffins, some cream soup, maybe pop some in the freezer for another day? Unable to resist a bargain, I stocked up on this end-is-near milk.

On the first day, I made some string cheese for the kids using the American Mozzarella Cheese recipe that Dr David Fankhauser posted to his page.  For string cheese, I double the rennet, and reduce the sodium content by only using a half teaspoon of lite salt per gallon of milk. During the last steps, I pull the cheese into long strings and fold them over, like pulling taffy, until it starts to solidify, then serve it warm to the crowd instead of storing it in brine. If it is not eaten all at once, I'll put it in an airtight container and warm it up before serving it the next day. It will not have the preservative benefit of salt, so if I want to keep it longer than a day I freeze it.

Fresh Yogurt Banana and Ovaltine Smoothie

Two more days flew by. So here I was with a gallon and a half of milk with today's date on it.


Half a gallon (2L) became yogurt. Yogurt requires that milk be brought to a boil then cooled down before inoculating with the bacterial culture. Even though my favorite yogurt culture requires 12-15 hours' incubation, I was not worried about incubating pathogens because of the boiling step.

I was on a roll. Only one US gallon (4L) left.... why not make cottage cheese? My cottage cheese from out of date milk recipe also requires that the milk be boiled first, and can be used for milk even a week past its date. Tonight there were some, um... modifications to the procedure:

Step One: Put the milk on to boil.

Step Two: Quickly go to the bathroom, since the kids are in bed and the burner is on low anyway...

Step Three: Get side tracked. Check laundry, pet the cat, let the dog out, and let the dog in again. Find the portable extension phone one of the kids must have left in the toy box.  Forget why you went down the hall in the first place and check the latest on FaceBook.

Step Four: Hear the sizzle of milk boiling over and dash to the kitchen.

Step Five: Damage control. Pour the milk into another container, while carefully not stirring to disturb the burnt skin on the bottom of the pot. Get a towel to clean off the burners and the front of the stove. Pour vinegar into the pot and bring to a boil, which removes the burnt milk without scrubbing.

Step Six: Pour the scalded milk back into the (clean) pot, and place in the fridge to resume making cottage cheese later. Normal cheese making instructions would shun using old milk, and boiling or chilling it, but this is my recipe and it is idiot-proof.


www.stealthymom.com

Strawberry Faux Milkshake (non-dairy option)

Our kids like to cool down with a "milk shake" that is loaded with calcium, potassium and Vitamin C. G-man adds frozen fruit to the blender and the Cadet likes to press the buttons.  While we could use raspberries, blueberries, peaches or cherries, this is the version of the Faux Milkshake that they like best:

Strawberry Faux Milkshake

Blend well:

2-3 frozen, ripe bananas*
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup fresh, homemade yogurt (or non-dairy milk)
1 cup milk (or non-dairy milk)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Pour into cups, or sippy-cups with straws.


*When bananas get overripe on the counter, peel them and freeze in a ziplock for later. At times our grocery store will sell dark bananas at a steep discount and I swoop in and buy a couple dozen. Frozen bananas add texture to a faux milkshake that is close to ice cream.




For other natural food recipe ideas, check out Traditional Tuesdays, Fat Tuesday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday,  Real Food Wednesday, Healthy 2Day Wednesdays, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, and Allergy Free Wednesdays,  Gluten Free Wednesday,  Thriving on Thursdays and Fight Back Friday.




www.stealthymom.com

Cottage Cheese Recipe- from Out of Date Milk

Everyone in our house likes cottage cheese. The kids like it with macaroni and I’ll catch Stealthy Dad eating it right out of the carton. Since the kind from the store is so high in sodium, it is a rare treat unless we make it ourselves.

Cottage Cheese made from Out of Date Milk

Once in a while, an out-of-date gallon of milk will peek out at me from the  back of the fridge. Out-of-date milk is not safe to eat without boiling first and purist cheese makers will tell you not to boil milk before making cheese.  If I have learned anything from my trials and errors with making cheese, it is that every time I mess up I end up with pretty much the same thing. I took all of my mistakes, put them together, and came up with a fool-proof method for making dry cottage cheese. 


Have a gallon (4L) of milk that has "expired?"  You can use it to make a great cheese for perogies or in the place of store-bought ricotta in lasagna. We also use it tossed with penne, garlic, olive oil and parmesan.