A Week of (Healthy) Bare-Bones Meals

Last week, I talked about ways to get by during food hardship periods. This week, I'm going to practice what I preach. I'm going to show you a week of rock-bottom recipes that you can pull out of your reservoir in hard times. Each day, I'll give you one recipe, along with a basic meal plan. I am not a dietitian, a doctor, or a financial expert. I'm just a gal with a kitchen, a computer, and a knack for saving a few bucks. Your mileage may vary.

Day One

Breakfast: oatmeal made with a banana and milk, not water
Lunch: peanut butter & jam on wheat bread & an apple
Dinner: vegetable fried rice

Recipe: Vegetable Fried Rice

This isn't so much a recipe as a basic set of instructions. What you include will depend on what you have. It's a forgiving recipe, so amounts are not exact. use what you have.

What You Need:

• 1 1/2 cups raw rice (at least use brown rice -- mine was a mix of brown & wild rices)
• 1/4 cup oil (I used olive, because I had it. use what you can afford and what you have on hand)
• 5 cups chopped vegetables (cabbage, carrots, onions, green onions, and peas are all cheap. I added green bell pepper, banana pepper, both from my garden)
• soy sauce to taste
• if you have it, fresh ginger is great. 2 Tbsp minced is enough (I will not count this in my grocery list at the end of the week)

How it's Done:

1. Cook the rice according to directions. Let it cool slightly before using it.
2. In a large skillet, heat half of the oil. Cook the vegetables in the oil until crisp-tender. remove them to a platter.
3. Add the remainder of the oil and fry the rice until it's browned a bit and smells nutty. Add the vegetables back in and stir-fry the food, adding soy sauce to taste.
4. Serve right away. This recipe makes a large amount, perfect for lunches throughout the week.

Frugal Tip #1: Plan meals that use similar ingredients. If you plan for 4 meals that use rice, you only need to buy one package of rice. That will cut your grocery bill significantly.

Anyone Can Cook

Day 10.

Did you ever make "potions" in your bathroom sink, with the door locked so Mom didn't know what mischief you were making? Did you ever make your kid sister taste ingredients blindfolded? Did you ever enter a science fair and do all the work yourself? You're an inventor. Inventors can cook. All cooking boils down to is experimentation. You throw in a little of this, a dash of that. You taste your creation again and again, playing with it. You make a potion. Only this time, it's on your stovetop instead of your bathroom sink. Chef Gusteau knew what he was talking about. Anyone can cook.



So go on! Take one of my recipes and change it up a little or a lot. Make it your own. That's what makes cooking fun! And when you're done, come back and tell me all about YOUR new creation. I'd love to hear about it.





Honey-Orange Chicken over Garlic Brown Rice

serves 4



Ingredients:


2 Tbsp butter

1 3/4 cups chicken broth

1 cup brown rice, uncooked

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 minced onion

1 Tbsp olive oil

3 chicken breast halves, cut into 1" strips

1 shallot, chopped

1/2 cup orange marmalade

1/3 cup honey*

1 tsp grated ginger

2 Tbsp plus 1 tsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp each sea salt and black pepper


How it's Done:



In a saucepan, melt 2 Tbsp butter. Add your rice and garlic and toast for a few minutes until lightly browned and aromatic. Add chicken broth and diced onion. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer 50 minutes.



Meanwhile, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in your skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken strips until no longer pink. Transfer to a plate.



Add the shallot to the skillet and cook five minutes. Stir in marmalade, honey, ginger, soy sauce, salt, and pepper.



Return the chicken to the skillet and stir to coat with sauce. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 10 minutes.



Plate each portion over rice. Garnish with thinly sliced oranges and fresh parsley.



*Tip for measuring honey, peanut butter, molasses, or any other sticky ingredient: first spray your measuring cup with non-stick spray. Your ingredient will slip right out!