Tag: bulk cooking

Crock pot comfort soup

I love stews, soups, and meat and potatoes… Guess that’s the Russian in me, huh?

It’s almost October and while the days are still warm the nights are getting cooler. I love fall weather, fall outfits, decorations, tea and coffee… Call me a Basic Bitch but I don’t care!

The crock pot gets used here and there throughout the warmer months but it really takes real estate on the kitchen table during the colder months. I am a huge fan of soup. I could eat it breakfast, lunch and dinner. It’s filling, easy to make, low cal/low carb and comforting. I made a huge batch Sunday night and having it for lunch every day this week.

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I got a little over zealous with the black pepper yesterday

1.5cup per serving

Ingredients:

  • 2 large onions-diced
  • 2 large celery stalks-diced
  • 2 large carrots-diced *In our house, the more carrots the better. Especially because our dog loves boiled carrots. Most of the time, I empty a small bag of baby carrots in the soup and scoop a bunch out for Mr.Marty Party Pants
  • 4 slices cooked bacon diced (do not get rid of bacon drippings)…If you prefer sausage, I bet some crumbled sausage would be good
  • 1 TSP Salt and pepper (or more to taste)
  • Italian seasoning to taste
  • 4 cups chicken broth (I used College Inn)
  • 1 LB boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into itty bitty pieces
  • 2 Cups fresh spinach
  • *Red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:

  • Cook bacon
  • While bacon is cooking, chop up onions, carrots and celery
  • Chop up chicken and season with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning
  • Remove bacon from pan and cook chicken in drippings (add oil or butter if needed) until chicken is browned
  • Remove chicken and saute veggies for about 5-10 min then add one cup of the chicken broth and cook for another 5 minutes, scraping the pan to loosen browned bits
  • Add chicken, veggies, bacon and remaining broth to crock pot and cook on high for 3 hours
  • After 3 hours, add spinach and stir till wilted

The end!

XOXO,

Rachel

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Healthy Does NOT = Expensive

Many people argue that eating healthy is expensive. I STRONGLY disagree.

  • If you eat processed/fast-food because you think it’s cheap…what about the medical bills in the future? What about prescriptions in the future? Cholesterol medicine, blood pressure medicine, diabetes medicine/supplies, etc… it ain’t cheap. 
  • Let’s do some basic math:
    • My household= 2 people
      • Grocery shopping for the ENTIRE week (2-29 through 3-6), this includes breakfast for two, lunch for two, dinner for two and snacks. Total bill $80.00 with the help of coupons and Ibotta
        • Ibotta: This is one of my most favorite money savings apps (I’ve gotten over $100 back just from food/clothing shopping). I’ll give you the basic run down. Over 100 stores (grocery stores, clothing, electronic, etc) participate with this money back app. Each store/company posts rebates on specific items (you will not redeem money if it is not listed on the app), for example, I received 25cents back for buying an avocado. You scan your reciept and barcode(s) to the app, they verify the purchases and money is loaded to your account and you can transfer it to your Paypal account. The more people on your team, the more money you can get back. Please use my referral code so we can be on the same team: ciyalig. I believe the first rebate you redeem, you automatically get $10.00
        • Coupons. They work. If you download the ShopRite app, you can load virtual coupons to your phone. If you clip a coupon and ShopRite has a virtual coupon for that same item, ShopRite will DOUBLE that coupon! Example: You have a 25cent coupon for cheese, Shoprite has a 25cent coupon for that same brand. BAM! You just got a savings of 75cents. I walked out of ShopRite once with 3 Lara Bars, a box of pasta, marinara sauce and toothpaste all for FREE.
          • Total bill for the week is 80.00 thats $40.00 per person for 7 days. $40/7= $5.71 / 3 meals = $1.90 … Isn’t a meal from Wendy’s or McDonald’s like $5 + ? If you get fast food meals 3x a day that is $15+ dollars = approx $105.00 per week… this is for just one person and already costs more than my weekly shopping for 2 people. Someone explain to me how this is cheaper?
  • Purchasing tips:
    • Find store brand products that work for you. Name brand doesn’t necessarily mean tastier. Name brands usually cost more than store brand.
    • Buy in bulk. You can always freeze. We got a great deal on chicken thighs. We bought two packs and froze one for later use.
    • Don’t buy premade food. It’s so silly to me when I see people buy pre-made egg salad…It ends up costing more than a dozen eggs. Make it yourself!
    • Rain check please! If your store is having a major sale and the item is sold out, rain check it. You will get that item at the sale price when its back in store versus the regular price.
    • Look online at brand websites and Facebook for coupons. I’ve gotten some pretty awesome deals on Dannon Greek Yogurt before (6 for the price of 3). Oh, lookie here, a Dannon coupon, how convenient for you!
  • How is this healthier and cheaper?
    • 28oz bag of frozen chicken wings = $5.99
      • wings are the worst part to eat and the least filling. You would probably need to eat half the bag to feel slightly full.
    • 3lbs (48oz) pack of fresh boneless skinless chicken breasts = $5.97
      • Cheaper, more meat, better meat and its versatile in terms of cooking.
        • you can make a crock pot dish, you can stuff chicken with broccoli and cheese, you can fry it up, grill, bake, etc… SO MANY HEALTHY OPTIONS!
  • Stop buying bagged salad kits. This is so silly to me. I see people eat an entire Caesar salad kit mix bag and they cost roughly $3.00 per bag. Let’s say you buy one bag for each work day lunch… 3 x 5 = 15.00 . I bought a family size box of leafy green mix for $6.99 … leafy greens are way healthier than iceberg lettuce and I just bought way more for way less.
  • Stop buying canned soup. High in sodium and how can soup containing meat that lasts for 25 years be healthier than a fresh soup? One can feeds one person for one meal. Make a giant pot of soup and it can last several meals and for more than one person!

I can go on and on with examples. But this ties back to my post on meal prepping. Clip your coupons, find rebate apps like Ibotta (join my team!), have a list, don’t go in blindly, prepare a menu for the week, use the same foods for different meals. As you get into a routine, meal prepping will become easier, shopping will become easier, you will become healthier, and quality of life becomes better.

I truly believe you are doing a disservice to yourself and your family by buying/eating/feeding processed foods. You only live once *YOLO* , be kind to yourself and your loved ones. Take care of yourself. Be wise. Be healthy.

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Chicken Soup for the Soul

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Last week I was on a chicken soup recipe mission because my Husband was sick and needed some good “Jewish Penicillin”. But there was just one little issue- neither of us like boiled chicken. It would be such a waste to get chicken for the purpose of flavor and then chucking it. I needed to find a way to not waste food.

I thought to myself, “why not use rotisserie chicken?” It totally worked and was so flavorful and I’ve made this concoction again for this week. This recipe was adapted  from here.

This recipe yields approx 6 servings so adjust accordingly.

Ingredients:

  • bag of carrots
  • bag of celery
  • 1.5 onions
  • 6 cups chicken broth
  • 2 cups water
  • whole rotisserie
  •  2 tbls oil or butter
  • parsley
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • dried oregano or Italian season (whatever you have on hand)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • *noodles/rice optional*

Directions:

  • Bring broth and water to a simmer
  • While the broth and water are warming up, chop up a handful of carrots, half an onion and one celery stalk- throw it into the pot
  • Season with a pinch of salt and pepper
  • Cover the pot partially. In the meantime, separate the skin and bones in one container and the meat in another
  • Place the skin, bones, and bay leaf in the pot, partially cover and simmer for another hour to release max amount of flavor
  • Chop up the rest of the chicken, carrots, onion, and celery. Put to the side
  • After the hour, grab a large bowl and a colander. Place colander over the bowl and pour mixture in. This will separate the broth from the skin and bone mixture
  • Take your chopped up veggies and oil and saute in the pot until soft
  • Pour broth back into the pot and place chopped chicken and parsley in and simmer for another 10-20 minutes
  • *Add noodles or rice when you are ready to serve

So much flavor and really easy to make. I hope you guys enjoy!

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