Flexibility In Your Hand

Posted by: DeputyHeadmistress on Friday, October 2nd, 2009

A while back in a post on my regular blog about drastic budgeting in the kitchen, I shared some links on cooking on a budget from an extension office, and then I shared some ideas on how to use that basic plan and make it even more frugal. The recipes and menus included a recipe for a batch of muffins made from Raisin Bran cereal, and one of the things I said was:


*Make muffins completely from scratch, rather than using the Raisin Bran cereal recipe (this is another one that really surprises me. Muffins are not difficult and they are quite inexpensive. Raisin Bran even on sale, is not 'from scratch.' )

This is true, except for when it isn't.=) Recently a grocery store in my town had Raisin Bran cereal on sale for .99 a box, and they had coupons in the store for 1.00 off on two boxes of Kellog's cereal, making the Raisin Bran .50 a box. There was a limit on two boxes per customer, so naturally, I had several children go in to buy a couple of boxes.

Here's the recipe my daughter used to bake a batch of raisin bran muffins:

Raisin Bran Muffins

1 box (15 ounces) Raisin Bran

5 cups flour

Sugar (I have a recipe that calls for 3 cups, and one that calls for 1 1/2 cups, how much you use would depend on how sweet you like your muffins and how much sugar you have on hand)

5 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons salt

4 eggs

1 cup cooking oil, melted margarine, butter, or shortening

1 quart buttermilk

Stir the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Beat together the eggs, cooking oil and buttermilk; mix with the dry ingredients. Fill greased muffin pans 3/4 full. Bake at 400 degrees for around 15 minutes.

You can store this batter in the fridge for up to four weeks, and make a fresh, hot batch of muffins in the morning within 20 minutes- get up, turn the oven on, spoon the batter in the pans while the oven is heating, pop them in and bake.

Here's another muffin recipe we often use when being flexible:

Graham Gems
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 stick margarine
1 egg
1 cup sour milk
1 small teaspoon baking soda
2 cups stone ground whole wheat (graham) flour)

Blend sugar and margarine, stir in egg. Add other ingredients. Fill muffin cups 2/3 cup full. Bake at 375-400 degrees for 15 minutes. Makes 12.

You can add 1 cup of dried fruit to the batter, or make them plain and eat with butter and grated cheddar cheese. I prefer them with butter and cheese.

Pip made a triple batch recently and discovered after she already started that she had neither enough brown sugar or the right amount of eggs. She added a bit of white sugar to the brown sugar to eke out the sweetener (she could have added a bit of molasses, too- I have substituted molasses and white sugar for recipes calling for brown sugar only before), and she just made do with two eggs instead of the three called for by tripling the recipe. I believe she also had only 2 teaspoons of baking soda rather than three. The resulting muffins were denser than usual, but I liked them- they had a pleasing bit of extra texture and crunch to the outside- hearty, hippie muffins, I called them.

Amy Dacyczyn in The Complete Tightwad Gazette offers this other flexible maindish recipe:

1 cup main ingredient
1 cup second ingredient
1-2 cups starchy ingredient
1 1/2 cups binder
1/4 cup “goodie”
seasoning
topping

Main ingredient: tuna, cubed chicken, turkey, ham, seafood, etc.
Second ingredient: thinly sliced celery, mushrooms, peas, chopped hard-boiled eggs, etc.
Starchy ingredient: thinly sliced potatoes, cooked noodles, cooked rice, etc.
Binder: cream sauce, sour cream, can of soup, etc.
“Goodie”: pimiento, olives, almonds, water chestnuts, etc.
Topping: cheese, bread crumbs, etc.

Basically combine ingredients, except topping, and then bake (or have on stovetop) until it's hot.

Just as muffins are better with butter, flexibility is better with the attributes of contentment and gratitude. , and perhaps a small sense of adventure- rather than feeling deprived when you start to make a recipe and discover that you are missing an ingredient, look at it as interesting challenge to see what you can do instead, and be appreciative of the things you do have rather than resentful of the things you do not.

Want more like this post? Read on!

  1. Sour Milk It is one of the ironies of modern life that...
  2. Frugal Tactics For Cookie Baking I hauled home a 4-lb bag of chocolate chips this...
  3. Shopping To Feed A Crowd Last week we discussed feeding a crowd for less. But...
  4. Gathering the Fragments… of Thanksgiving Dinner, or what to make with the leftovers. ...
  5. Improvised Supper For quite some time now, we have had a schedule...

Topics: Recipes, what's in my hand?

One Response to “Flexibility In Your Hand”

Shanna Says:
October 5th, 2009 at 11:20 am

Goodness, I’ve baked and cooked this way for years – using what I had on hand for “whatcha got muffins, casseroles, soups, etc., etc.,”. My husband has alternately been a church music director, teacher, and librarian, and I was a secretary for many years [when I wasn't a stay at home mom], and none of these jobs pay a lot. So whatever could be purchased from the grocery store on our paychecks was what our family ate. Since our kids are now grown and married, Hubby & I find we can splurge a little on food for just the two of us [i.e., I might actually have all necessary ingredients on hand for a recipe!]. Your recipe ‘basic outlines’ are helpful to keep for quick reference, so thanks for sharing them.

 

Leave a Comment