We're all looking for ways to save money during these tough economic times, and there are a couple things we can do in the kitchen that can shave a little off the grocery bill, allowing us a little extra money to put to other bills, etc.
For instance, making our own sour cream from cottage cheese can save us money, and knowing how can also help out when we are making a recipe that calls for it and all we have in the fridge IS cottage cheese. Here's the what to do:
COTTAGE CHEESE "SOUR CREAM"
2 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 C creamed cottage cheese
Put ingredients in bowl and mix 'til smooth &creamy. Use as a base for dips such as anything calling for sour cream. Recipe doubles well. (Yield: 1 C)
Another very cool thing we can do to save a little on the grocery bill is to double our butter. Here's how: Soften a pound of butter to room temperature. Place in mixing bowl. Whip 'til fluffy. SLOWLY add in 1 1/2 C to 2 C of ice water (a tablespoon at a time). This takes a little while, but the butter will accept all the water. The result? You have doubled your butter from one pound to two, and cut the calories and fat in half! One thing though: this doubled butter won't work well for frying, cooking, or baking, as the water will separate out. But it tastes just the same as undoubled butter on toast, rolls, bread, spuds, etc.
So if a pound costs $2.25, you now have two pounds at $1.13 a pound. Saving a $1.13 may not seem like much at face value, but over the long haul, every little bit adds up.
Do YOU have money-saving kitchen tips you could share? I'd love to hear from you--let's pass on the good stuff--we're all in this together, remember. And until next time, happy cook'n!
Besides writing for the Cook'n Club Newsletter, I am also a DVO employee--I answer the phones all day long, five days a week. And I'm here to tell you that "nice" will get us WAY more mileage than "rude".
We're not sure why, or what's going on, but we've had a rash of truly nasty callers the last few days. Is it the weather--we're sick to death of winter, maybe? Or are folks discouraged and frustrated over the economy and their bills maybe? Or is a full moon coming? Whatever the reason, the phone-answering piece of the job has been on the unpleasant side lately.
My co-workers (especially the guys in tech-support) and myself talk about these calls after we hang up. And the thing we say the most? "WHY in the world does anyone think it's OK to be rude to someone?" or "Don't people understand NO ONE wants to help them when they're rude?"
So why I am telling you this? Because in case YOU call, we would love it if you would be nice. A nice caller gets so much better quality of service than someone that is rude--not necessarily on purpose, but because there's an instinctual urge on the part of the service-provider, to close the call as quickly as possible.
We understand the frustration that goes with not being able to get your software to do what you want it to do when you need it to do it. We understand the frustration of spending hard-earned money on something that doesn't seem to be working. And we understand that having to wait for tech support to get back to you adds insult to injury. So we do everything we can to be nice ourselves and help our callers as efficiently as we can--there's nothing we want more than happy, satisfied customers--this is over-arching goal every single day.
Everyone at DVO says that DVO callers are some of the most gracious and happy folks around. So as I say, maybe it's the weather, or the economy, or some other cosmic cause that's bringing out the worst in folks. And we know that sometimes folks just need to vent, but how about this? How about we all just try to be nice--no matter what. It gets WAY more mileage than "rude", and we'll all feel better in the long run! Thanks for listening.
We're in what social scientists call the "BLAHS" part of the year--the holidays and all its hoopla is over, the weather (in most parts of the country) is not the greatest (down right nasty where we are), and we're dealing with cabin fever (if you're a gardener, you know what I mean).
So you know what we need to do? We need to capitalize on this situation--let's have a party! And since it's wintertime, let's do soups! Doesn't a soup potluck sound fun? I'm going to call my favorite neighbors and divvy up soup assignments, breads/rolls, and desserts. I'll provide a nice tossed salad.
So if you like this idea, make those calls, set the table, and let's party! In the meantime, do you have a favorite soup recipe you could share? I'd love to know what YOU are cooking. Can't have too many good recipes--and that's the beauty of the Cook'n software, we know what to do with 'em now! (Which, by the way, seems to me like a terrific use of this BLAH time we're in--I'm going to enter some more recipes in my program!) And 'til we chat again, happy cook'n!
January, the month for positive affirmations, resolutions and goals. One of the goals folks are talking about here at DVO is healthier eating (who isn't thinking about that?). In my research on this subject I'm finding the nutritional pros are all in agreement: just a few small changes can make a BIG difference in our overall health.
For instance:
1) use extra virgin olive oil or safflower oil instead of canola or corn oil (safflower is the new darling of the "heart healthy" world right now)
2) eat a tablespoon of dried goji berries everyday (this berry is off the charts as far as its ORAC number--anti-cancer elements)
3) drink more water (no new news, but this year, LET'S DO IT!)
4) trim down the portion sizes (even just a little will help a lot)
5) insert at least one fresh green salad into your eating regime each day
6) don't eat after 6:00 pm (this one kills me--I'm a chronic snacker when watching TV or a movie--BUT since taking this step alone, I've dropped 4 lbs in the last three weeks)
7) if you can't fathom not eating after 6:00 pm, then make dinner your smallest and lightest meal of the day (the experts say breakfast should be the biggie, then a fairly big lunch, and a light dinner for easiest digestion, better sleep, and some real weight loss)
And there are other tips leading nutritionists suggest such as "eat less fat," but these 7 may be enough for now and an easy place to start. So what do you say--shall we give it a try with one or two of these? 2010 can be the year of better health and more energy! And while we're at it, happy Cook'n! 
Even though the holidays are past, doesn't it seem like life is still a bit hectic? Maybe I need to get more organized or something, but I still feel so under pressure to get stuff done (work, home, family, blah blah blah). This got me to thinking about what I can do to simplify and make things easier where I can.
And so I remembered something my mom used to do when I was a kid--on especially busy days she'd use her pressure cooker to get dinner on (things cook three to ten times faster). Have you used one? I haven't, but I definitely intend to start! I took a look at the cooker we sell here at DVO Enterprises, and our cookbook CD, Cook'n Under Pressure, and I really think I can do this, especially since the CD includes pressure cooking guides.
Besides the recipes for grains and rice, beans and lentils, vegetables, desserts, meat/poultry/and fish, and soups/stews, the meal-in-a-pot recipes may well be my answer to this chronic frenzy I'm feeling. It's worth a try, and I'll be reporting back. Meanwhile, how about offering any ideas YOU have for slowing life down and making things easier? Especially, if you have pressure cooker tips or recipes, won't you share?
Speaking of sharing, here's a pressure cooker recipe my Aunt Annie used a lot during the 40's. (I am so glad I was able to save her recipes and have them organized in my Cook'n Recipe Organizer--what a blessing it 's been to my family!) Try this great soup on a busy and blustery day:
20-MINUTE LENTIL SOUP (serves 8)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion
l large carrot
5 plum tomatoes
4 garlic cloves
2 tsp dried tarragon
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp paprika
6 C water or vegetable broth
2 C brown lentils
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
3 pinches black pepper
Place lentils in pressure cooker. Peel carrot, onion and garlic cloves, seed tomatoes. Add the vegetables, whole, to pressure cooker along with bay leaves (it's OK if the tomatoes are cut in half).
Add cold water or broth, salt to taste, paprika and herbs to pressure cooker and bring to boil, uncovered. When it starts to boil, place pressure-cooker cover and seal. When the pressure indicator rises, let cook 8 minutes.
Turn off heat, carefully move handle to safe position to eliminate pressure. Wait for all steam to clear and open.
Discard bay leaf. Transfer onion, carrot (carefully; it's very soft), tomatoes and garlic to a mixing bowl and blend. You might need to quarter the onion to get it properly blended. Return pureed veggies to lentils, mix well and serve with French bread. YUM!
Let me know if you like this soup, and to close, thanks for reading and being part of the Cook'n family! I can't tell ya how much we appreciate the opportunity to be part of your life! Happy cook'n!
Remember Kathy's December demonstration of her to-die-for "Cake Balls" ? I've discovered another variation--a new twist on a POPULAR theme, so to speak. Rather than baking a cake and mixing up some frosting, and then smooshing that all together (for the "ball" that is then dipped in chocolate), do this instead:
Grind an entire package of Oreos with an 8 oz. package of cream cheese. Blend well. Form your balls and dip in dipping chocolates, just as directed for the Cake Balls. Life is good, isn't it?
On another note: Are you like the rest of us here at DVO? We're setting New Year's goals. One of mine is to be more thoughtful and demonstrate more appreciation to others. With that idea in mind, I found a great book that I read over vacation. It's a quick and easy read with some practical suggestions that I'm already putting into practice. For instance:
Author Mike Robbins suggests we make a list of 5 or so people that are in our lives right now, that have impacted us in positive ways, and then within the next 72 hours we acknowledge them with either a note, a phone call, a personal visit, or... He suggests that as part of our "Thank you", we specify how they've impacted our life. I love this idea--wouldn't you agree that just about everyone needs more appreciation? And how cool is it to actually DO something about this need? What a lovely year we could all have if we demonstrated more appreciation to each other!
So that's it for today. Let me know what's on your mind (and in your ovens too!) And lastly, I hope you're enjoying the Cook'n products as much as we enjoy creating them for you!
If you're a Cook'n Club reader (our weekly newsletter ), you might remember an article I (Alice) did a few weeks ago regarding the fun of making homemade crackers. I talked about how easy this is, how tasty they are, and how much better the quality is (as compared to store-bought).
WOW! Did this article generate a lot of response. Come to find out, I'm not the only one out there that's had some fun with this idea. One reader emailed me asking if I had a recipe for something she enjoyed as a child--cheese straws. I put the question to our readers, and we received some good recipes. Here are three you might want to try:
Betty Webb shared a recipe her mother made when she was a little girl and says her mother made it before that (it is 100+ years old).
CHEESE STRAWS
1 grated sharp Cheddar cheese
1 C butter
1/4 tsp salt
2 C flour
Mix; roll thin and cut in strips. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 8-10 min.
Jeanne Mason sent us a recipe for cheese straws she found in her Wear-Ever Cookie Press book:
1 lb grated sharp cheese
1/4 lb butter
1 egg
1 Tbsp cold water
1 3/4 C flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp paprika
Cream butter and cheese until soft. Add egg and water. Beat well. Sift flour, salt, cayenne and paprika together. Add in 3 additions, beating well after each addition. Chill dough 10 min. Pack into Wear-Ever Cookie gun fitted with the saw-toothed disk. [Obviously we can make this without a Wear-Ever Cookie gun--any cake decorating tube would work as long as the tip is large enough. OR, we could just use a plastic baggie with the corner snipped off.] Make long strips on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 min. or until golden. Cut in 3-inch lengths while still warm. Yield: 8 dozen 3-inch lengths (straws).
Finally, Dorothy shared a supper-easy old Tupperware recipe she'd saved.
Cheese Twists
1 15 oz pkg. refrigerated unbaked pie crust
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese
Roll out pie crust to a 12-inch square. Roll dough to a 12x10-inch rectangle. Brush with 1 Tbsp of the melted butter and sprinkle with 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese. Cut dough crosswise into 12 1-inch strips. Fold each strip in half length-wise and pinch edges together, twist. Place twists about 1 inch apart on lightly greased baking sheet. Repeat with remaining pie crust. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 min., or until golden. Cool on baking sheets. Carefully transfer twists to a sealed container. Makes 24.
I was so jazzed that Betty, Jeanne, and Dorothy took the time to share these great recipes and want to publicly thank them. And I hope you'll give them a try and let me know what you think. Meanwhile, do YOU have a fun recipe, or a food memory you'd like to share? Let me know what's on your mind--and thanks for stopping by!
COTTAGE CHEESE "SOUR CREAM"
