Improvised Supper
For quite some time now, we have had a schedule whereby my older girls do all the cooking. But this is the last semester for our oldest girl at college, and she's got a lot on her plate, so I told her I would pick up the three meals she makes each week.
The first of those meals was this past Tuesday. We have company over for dinner every Tuesday night, so I had to cook a fairly large maindish (they bring the side dishes and desserts). And one of the families that comes follows Jewish dietary laws, so I couldn't use any of the pork in my freezer- nearly all the meat in the freezer right now is pork, we just picked up a pig from the butcher.
Well I thought about it a bit the night before, but didn't come to any conclusions. Tuesday afternoon another guest was coming over to look through some glassware I am getting rid of, and I spent the morning getting ready for them, and forgot about dinner. Then, I was just about to start supper in a crockpot when they arrived. And I enjoyed the visit so much, I put it off until far too late in the afternoon, when I suddenly remembered, excused myself and dashed to the freezer.
What's in my hand? I knew we had some chicken in the freezer, but when I finally went to check, what I had was a small bag of about six chicken breasts (boneless), and two large bags of leg quarters- there wasn't time for them thaw and cook.
I had a tin of ready made curry sauce in the pantry, some dried shallots from teh asian grocer's, and water chestnuts.
So I started the chicken breasts in the roaster with a curry sauce and some dried vegetables and water over them, and started rice in the rice cooker. Since there were so few chicken breasts, I wanted a full rice cooker (mine cooks ten cups). But I ran out of brown rice at the eighth cup.
What's in my hand? I rummaged around the pantry and came up with a package with two cups of lentils. Lentils and rice cook at the same temp, with the same amounts of water, in about the same amount of time, so I was able to just add them to the rice cooker, along with some butter and chicken broth powder.
Lentils also add extra protein, so that would supplement my tiny chicken pieces.
Once it all was done, I cut up and then combined the chicken in the sauce in the roasting pan with the cooked rice and lentils, mixed well, and served 16 people generously (there was a cauliflower salad on the side)- so generously that there was enough for at least ten servings of leftovers for lunch the following day, and we still have three or four servings.
Ingredients- a few pieces of chicken, maybe five, so around two dollars worth.
Curry sauce- 2.50
Lentils and rice: about .75 cents worth.
Butter: .50
broth powder: not sure- a quarter's worth?
Six dollars for a very filling maindish, with enough in it for 16 people plus leftovers.
thats What's In My Hand Cooking
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11 Responses to “Improvised Supper”
March 27th, 2009 at 6:38 am
I love this. I struggle with the whole concept of using only what is in my pantry /freezer/fridge. Not because I dont know that it is a great idea, frugal and wise….but that on any given night I might not “want” to have or not have TIME to ponder and plan and do all the required work that is associated. This hurdle is, in the long run, costing me a great deal of money.
THANK you for another reminder of one of the things I need to work a bit harder on to stretch my dollars and cents!
March 27th, 2009 at 8:31 am
I was wondering about your chicken. You said 5-6 pieces of boneless skinless, right? And you thought it was around $2? I just bought a 2.5 lb bag w/ 4 breasts for 4.88. Where do you get your chicken so cheap? I’d love to know.
March 27th, 2009 at 8:57 am
Wow!!! I am impressed and inspired.
March 27th, 2009 at 10:59 am
Tracy, they were small pieces- I was kind of dismayed when I saw them, and the ratio of rice to meat was a bit larger on the rice side than I would have liked. I buy it on sale or at Aldi’s, and I watch the sales. Whenever it is less than 2.00 a pound, I buy at least thirty pounds.
Ruthann- we live in the country. When I lived within walking distance from the grocery store, it was much more tempting to cook based on what I felt like fixing than using what was on hand. Having put it off so late left me with little time for a run to the store- plus, I still had the first guest of the day, so I couldn’t go shopping anyway.=)
In other words, some of my ‘discipline’ is laid on me by my circumstances, for which I am grateful.
March 27th, 2009 at 11:54 am
Sounds good. what kind of curry sauce are you using?
March 27th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
I think it was called S&B, and it was mild. But it was the last tin, and I don’t recall the brand for sure.
March 27th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
That is some good work right there. You are my inspiration. LOL!
I could learn from you. I’ll be back.
XOXO
Joce
April 1st, 2009 at 12:48 pm
Good for you and your family! I have truly been inspired by your wonderful dinner testimonial of ‘cooking with what’s available’ -
with all the folks that just ‘stop’ by expecting to eat at my home – I pride myself in coming up with quick and healthy – When company stay longer into the evening and it’s dinner time -
I have to get ‘really’ creative – how rude it is to serve your fam in front of guests who won’t seem to go home – I was always taught to make ‘more than enough’ and to serve company -
I’ve been told our home is so cozy that folks just feel at home and find it hard to leave -
I’ve been known to serve and serve and serve -
Feels like thanksgiving – offseason tho’…
Feet hurt all the same – accompanied by a warm satisfied heart of giving all that I got…
I will continue to use ‘what’s in my hand!’
April 2nd, 2009 at 6:36 am
Practically artistic in your improvisation! Very creative
April 3rd, 2009 at 11:03 am
Sounds delicious! But….. for future reference, eating meat (chicken) and dairy (butter) at the same meal is one of the things forbidden by traditional Jewish dietary laws. Just something to think about for future Tuesdays.
April 5th, 2009 at 12:17 am
Keep the ideas coming!!! Just getting back from spring break sister – short, but sweet- can you say ‘laundry?’
Glad I made a grocery store trip ‘before’ leaving – I’m fighting the urge to go ‘back’ to the store for more stuff -
So if folks wanna stop by tomorrow after church, guess what? I’ll be prepared — I NEED LENTILS though – what a great idea — WE ARE A “BEAN” FAM too!
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