Supper Corn Chowder

Between the economy taking a bite out of my tutoring business and my husband's surgery offering him a 3 to 4 week unpaid vacation, I really have to get serious about budget meals. I am tapping into my great resources of will power and pantry to avoid hitting the supermarket. Making meals out of what you have on hand is a great yet satisfying challenge. The one imperative that you must obey is have an ample supply of basics on hand. Items such as rice, pasta, potatoes, canned vegetables, frozen vegetables, cream soups, bouillon or broths, dried beans, canned tomato products, and, if you have a separate freezer, chicken and ground meat. I also like to keep several packages of bacon. Oh, and cheese..gotta have cheese. I try to get to Costco once a month to replenish anything I have run low on. But to make Costco cost effective you have to be aware of prices at other grocery chains. Certain items are worth the trip, others are not. I also use WalMart and another huge grocery store here in the northwest called Winco. Taking advantage of the offerings of these 3 stores in keeping my pantry stocked with basics really helps in creating cost effective meals. (I am not even going to get into the baking items.)

The following recipe is one from a 35 year old Betty Crocker cookbook. The book long ago met its demise, but the recipe lives on. This was titled "Supper Corn Chowder". I would rename it "Super Corn Chower" as it really is super. I make this at least once a month. It's easy, economical, and very tasty. And you should have everything on hand.

Ingredients

5 slices of bacon sliced into small pieces
1/2 medium onion diced
1 cup diced cooked potatoes (I like to use either red or Yukon gold...they hold up better)
1/2 can whole kernel corn
1 10 1/2 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
2 2/1 cup milk
salt to taste

Cook bacon in a large pot until crisp. Remove the bacon from the pot to a paper towel. Drain off the bacon grease reserving 2 TBS. Add onions to the grease and cook until tender. I like to let mine slightly carmelize for more flavor. Add the corn, potatoes, soup, and milk. Stir until thoroughly mixed. Add in part of the bacon, reserving some for garnish. Add salt to taste and heat through. Be careful not to scorch. When dished up top with a bit of the reserved bacon.


This recipe is easily doubled. I don't think I have ever made just the single recipe. As with most soups, it definitely is better the next day. And again, it is flexible. You can absolutely add more potates, corn, bacon...whatever makes you grin. And this is really good with hot biscuits. Enjoy!

What Do You Mean...Budget? Tater Tot Casserole

Since times are getting a little tough for many people, and it appears that it may last for awhile, I started thinking about how to cut expenses. Food is often one of the first places we start. One of the websites I follow, Simply Recipes, posted about this and it inspired me to look at my own cooking habits. I actually was pretty good at feeding a family of 6 on a shoestring for years. Then as the kids began to leave home, I was able to be a bit more extravagant. The last few years I have really gone all out with my cooking. Haute cuisine isn't my cup of tea, but I did get a bit fancier. For awhile we subscribed to cable, and I lived on the sumptuousness of the Food Network. I learned so many new things about cooking from Rachel, Paula, Giada, Tyler, and the rest. Sadly, cable is one of the cuts we've made, so now I search PBS for cooking shows, and devour Rachel and Martha on network television. And I pick up cooking magazines and peruse the internet for cooking sites. Gotta love the internet! So now, I will try to take the many lessons I have learned and apply them to budget cooking.

One of my methods for keeping a tight control on the grocery budget years ago was to make a weekly menu and then make my purchases accordingly. But I have totally lost sight of that little technique. I have for the last few years just peered into the pantry to see what I "wanted" not what I "needed." So, new resolution...plan, plan, plan. When I was planning meals ahead I seldom had to make extra trips to the store. Over the last several years it seems as though I have been going daily. And do you ever just pick up the one thing you go after? I think not. I can end up spending 3 times what I should have. As of this weekend (I go shopping mostly on the weekends just so I can fight the crowds...good for getting out hostile aggression) I am going to plan the work and work the plan. I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

As we all try to curb our lifestyles a bit, I will give tips that I find useful and links that have recipes and ideas. Today's link is the Simply Recipes one from above. She also has several links that are great for this. I checked them all out and actually bookmarked them. With a little researching you all will be able to help yourselves cut some corners.

Now...FOOD! I find that often those cost cutting recipes are comfort foods in disguise. With all the kids around I did a fare share of casseroles. One of their favorites was "Tator Tot Casserole." I mean, really, who doesn't like tator tots. The following is my version and I have now idea where it came from. I've been making it for over 30 years and my kids still like it.

Ingredients

2 cups cooked rice (I use brown rice)
1 cup chopped onion
1 large clove grated garlic
EVOO
1 lb. ground meat (beef, chicken, turkey, pork, mixture....knock yourself out)
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 box frozen peas
2 cans cream of chicken soup (you can use the healthy stuff)
1 cup milk
approximately 1 lb. tator tots or tator rounds (I accidently picked up a bag of the rounds instead of the tots but they worked fine) enough to cover the top
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Saute the onions and garlic in EVOO. When tender add the ground meat and brown. Add the oregano and cook for about a minute. Drain off any excess water and grease. In a large bowl mix together the meat, rice, peas, soup, and milk. Spread in a 9x13 casserole dish. I usually spray my dish with a cooking spray just to be on the safe side. Top with the tots and finally sprinkle the cheese over the tots. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes. Yummmmm.

There are so many ways that this can be changed. The veggies are purely based on preference. I just really like rice and peas together, but I have seen green beans in this also. Any cream soup can be substituted. So do whatever floats your boat and take comfort in eating with your family.
Enjoy!