investmentcooking.com

In this economic climate everyone is looking to see how they can cut their expenses and trying to eat healthy and save money at the same time takes some extra effort. Organic products are more expensive than regular grocery items especially if you buy them at the grocery store. There are no coupons to save you money and sometimes finding the items requires a trip to stores like Whole Foods or other natural food sources that aren’t known for their cheap prices. You are going to have to make choices. Your family only has so much to spend so what are the wisest choices you can make to eat the best?

First of all, pray that God will give you wisdom and the vision to see what your choices are. He will honor that request. We can not make eating healthy an idol in our lives. We should pursue good health so that we can better serve our God not so that we can have the perfect body and live without illness.

Eat seasonally. By eating seasonally you are gaining the best nutrient dense foods plus those foods are usually cheaper because they are bountiful. If you have a garden it is even easier to do this. Watch for new sources for great food. Food Co-ops like Bountiful Baskets or CSAs can offer you wonderful food for much lower prices.
Buy in bulk. I stock up on our main foods at Costco and from Azure Standard. Buying in larger quantities can save you lots of money. For example, I can buy 25 pounds of dried organic black beans for $1.00/pound, which makes about 100 cups of cooked beans. To buy one can of organic black beans it costs $1.43 for 1 ¾ cups of beans. For the cost of 1 can of prepared beans I can make over 6 cups of beans. Cooking beans is one of the easiest foods to prepare and one that my crock pot takes care of for me so it requires very little effort on my part. (See below for my recipe for cooking beans easily.) I usually fix a whole crock pot full and then freeze the extras in 2 cup portions for future meals.

Put your freezer to good use. When you are able to get a good deal on produce, preserve as much as you can for the future. I also like to buy big bags of frozen veggies from Costco for quick meals. They have more and more organic choices and for feeding the family it is much more efficient to buy the large bags for several meals then to buy the small bags at the grocery store.

Be creative in using your leftovers. I like to make soup with some of the bits and pieces left over from other meals. It is like making a meal for free when you can use the leftovers.

Make sure your meals include whole grains and beans. Not only will you get wonderful nutrients from these foods but tummies will fill up and not require so much of the more expensive foods. Make sure to soak your grains with whey or lemon juice whenever possible to make them more digestible.
Find a farmer’s market or participate in community supported agriculture. A great source to find the ones in your area is www.localharvest.org.

Be a good steward of the budget you have for food and be creative in finding ways to obtain your food and you will be able to eat healthier for a lot less. May God bless your efforts!

Recipes:

Beans:
5 cups of black beans (or most other beans: kidney, navy, or pinto)
3 quarts Warm filtered water
4 tablespoons of whey (the clear liquid that separates from plain yogurt or raw milk) or lemon juice

Rinse the beans and put them in a bowl. Cover with warm water & add whey or lemon juice. Cover the bowl and leave overnight. Drain and rinse. Place in the crock-pot on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-5 hours until desired consistency.

Cool and bag for the freezer.

This recipe is from Sue Gregg’s Soups and Muffins Cookbook.

Black Bean Chowder

From Soups & Muffins p. 82

Serves 8 to 10 About 14 Cups
1. Bring water to a boil with rice and potatoes; lower heat to a very gentle boil, uncovered for 30 minutes:
2 1/2 quarts water
1/4 cup brown rice, uncooked
2 medium potatoes, unpeeled or peeled, cubed

2. In a separate pan sauté vegetables in oil:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped or1/4 cup dried green pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced

3. After potatoes and rice have cooked a full 30 minutes, add remaining ingredients and continue a very gentle boil about 1 hour until chowder is slightly thickened:
sautéed vegetables
15 oz. can black beans, undrained (I use my cooked beans from the freezer)
15 1/4 oz. can kidney beans, undrained
16 oz can Vegetarian Beans in Tomato Sauce
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
1 teaspoon ground cumin seed
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
3 tablespoons Sue’s Kitchen Magic Seasoning

4. Remove bay leaf. Top each bowl of soup, as desired, with:
grated cheddar cheese,
chopped fresh parsley or cilantro

The holidays are upon us. I love this time of year. I love baking and having friends and family over to share in the bounty that God has supplied us with.

Are you ready for the holidays? I love this time of year. I love baking and having friends and family over to share in the bounty that God has supplied us with. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. Every year we make a Thanksgiving Tree.  It is wonderful to focus on the things that God has blessed us with and give him the glory.
Investment cooking can help you to make the most of your time during the holiday season. Look at your menu. What could you make ahead of time? Are there things you could prepare early so that the stress of preparing a huge meal doesn’t interfere with the purpose of the holiday? Did you know that there are many foods you can make ahead for your holiday celebrations? In the recipe section you will find a great recipe for mashed potatoes that you can make ahead of time. Another benefit of making the potatoes this way is that they will actually stay hot through the meal instead of getting cold. The dough for the rolls can be made ahead and kept in the refrigerator or you can freeze the dough and then take it out the night before to thaw in the refrigerator. It will take a little longer to rise but the rolls will still turn out delicious! Pie crusts can also be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator or freezer until you are ready to use them.

Make sure to allow plenty of time for your turkey to thaw. This will take up to 3 days in the refrigerator. If it is still partially frozen Thursday morning let it sit in the sink with cool running water to finish the thawing.

Here’s our Thanksgiving Menu for this year:

Roast Turkey in Brine
Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Stuffing
Sweet Potatoes
Smothered Green Beans
Orange Cranberry Sauce (My MIL’s specialty)
Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls

Pumpkin Pie
Pecan Pie

May you have a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration and never forget our Creator to whom we should address our thanks every day and not just on Thanksgiving.

Recipes:

ROAST TURKEY IN BRINE

1 14 pound frozen turkey
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1/2 tablespoon allspice berries
1 gallon iced water
1 red apple — sliced
1/2 onion — sliced
1 cinnamon stick
3 cloves garlic
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary
6 leaves sage
butter

Combine all brine ingredients, except ice water, in a stock pot and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve solids, then remove from heat, cool to room temperature refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. Early on the day of cooking, (or late the night before) combine the brine and ice water in a clean 5 gallon bucket. Place thawed turkey breast side down in brine, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area (like a basement) for 6 hours. Turn turkey over once, half way through brining.

A few minutes before roasting, heat oven to 500 degrees. Combine the apple, onion, garlic, cinnamon stick and cup of water in a small pan and cook until steeped about 15 minutes)

Remove bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard brine. Place bird on roasting rack inside wide, low pan and pat dry with paper towels. Add steeped aromatics to cavity along with rosemary and sage. Tuck back wings and coat whole bird liberally with butter. Roast on lowest level of the oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cover breast with double layer of aluminum foil, insert probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and return to oven, reducing temperature to 350 degrees. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees. A 14-16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let turkey rest, loosely covered for 15 minutes before carving.

Source:
“adapted from Good Eats (Food Network)”
Copyright:
“1999″
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Light Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls

By: Krystal Bickel

10 cups whole wheat (or spelt) flour — freshly ground
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
1/8 teaspoon Vitamin C granules
3 tablespoons yeast
1 1/2 cups kefir (you can use more water or regular milk if you don’t have kefir)
1 ½ cups water — warm
2/3 cup virgin coconut oil (or olive oil)
1/2 cup honey
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon sea salt

Mix 5 cups flour, vital wheat gluten, Vitamin C, and yeast in mixer bowl.

Add water, kefir, oil & honey. Mix well for 1-2 minutes. Turn off and sponge for 15 minutes.

Add eggs and salt.

Turn on mixer, add flour 1 cup at a time until dough forms a ball and cleans side of bowl.

Knead for 5-6 minutes for soft dough.

Shape dough into rolls. Let rise until very light.

Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes. Do not over bake.

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Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes

Recipe By: Tara Wohlenhaus & Nanci Slagle
The Freezer Cooking Manual from 30 Day Gourmet

5 pounds potatoes
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3 tablespoons butter — melted
1 teaspoon salt
8 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup almonds — sliced (optional)
paprika

Peel & quarter potatoes. Place potatoes in a saucepan and cover completely with water. Bring to a boil, and then gently cook until tender. Drain well.

In a large bowl, combine potatoes, cream cheese, egg, garlic powder & salt. Mash well by hand or with an electric mixer.

Spoon potatoes into a greased 3 qt casserole or 9×13 pan. Drizzle or brush melted butter over potatoes. Sprinkle with almonds if desired and paprika.

Refrigerate for up to 2 days or label and freeze for later.
To serve: thaw completely. Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes until top is golden.
Serving Ideas: Optional Toppings or Stir Ins:
1/4 cup crumbled, crisp bacon
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES:

Holiday Freezer Cookbook
From 30 Day Gourmet

Holiday Freezer Cooking (Downloadable eBook for only $6.95) is a unique system for assembling and freezing your entire holiday meal, as well as appetizers and breakfast/brunch foods, ahead of time. No more all night cooking! Make dinner when YOU have the time! These traditional feasts serve 6 to 36 guests without the traditional hassles.

The 12-Week Holiday Planner for the Christian Family
(Includes The Glorious Coming: A Jesse Tree Advent Celebration devotionals!)

A couple years ago I found this wonderful ebook written by Sheri Graham and is called The 12-Week Holiday Planner for the Christian Family. It contains all the forms you need to prepare for this holiday season so that they will be what you want them to be plus you will have a record for future years. Even though we have less than 12 weeks to go, this planner can help make your holidays successful. I am loving my copy!

Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!
Psalms 95:1-6

Here in Phoenix we have a wonderful co-op run by two amazing moms called Bountiful Baskets. Every other week you contribute via their website and on Saturday morning you go to a site to pick up your baskets of fruit and vegetables. They have an organic version for $25 and a conventional version for $15 on opposite weekends. Because of the size of our family we need 2 of the organic baskets and then we share some of it with my in-laws.

They also have some great opportunities for extra produce from time to time. For example, I was able to buy 2 bushels (38 pounds) of Honey Crisp Apples for $24.50/bushel! They were delicious! Earlier this year we were able to buy cases of peaches and pears too all for great prices.

I am learning to can and I’ll try to get some pictures of what I’ve canned so far this fall up soon. I’ve been saving a lot of money buying our produce this way plus it keeps me out of the store so I save money that way too.

Investment Cooking is a way of preparing meals by organizing your shopping, preparations and cooking in the most efficient way. You can simply double or triple the meal you are preparing for dinner tonight and put the other meal(s) in the freezer for another night. You can organize a cooking session based on a protein that you found on sale such as making several meals featuring chicken. Finally, you can devote an entire day to cooking resulting in a month or more of food ready and waiting in your freezer. Other names for investment cooking are bulk cooking, cooking for the freezer, or once a month cooking.
What are Whole Foods?

Whole foods are foods that are found as close to nature as possible. They include but are not limited to: freshly ground whole grains, purified water, beans, organic fruits and vegetables, “clean animals” as commanded in Leviticus 11 such as chicken, fish, beef, and venison, honey, unrefined oils such as olive oil and virgin coconut oil, butter, eggs, dairy products (preferably raw and certified), yogurt, kefir and other cultured dairy products, whole grains such as wheat, corn, spelt, barley, brown rice and many others.

I am changing my format over to a blog. Instead of doing the newsletter I will be posting recipes and articles on this blog. Let me know how you like the new format and if you have any questions you would like me to answer.