When Life Gives You Limes...

Mr. W. and I chose Key West as our honeymoon destination.  We knew we would only have four days for our honeymoon, so we wanted to go somewhere that wouldn't require lengthy travel (too bad, it took us thirteen hours to get there due to flight cancellations).  Even though the trip was brief, it was unquestionably the most relaxing vacation we have ever taken.


View from the balcony of our hotel room

Before returning to New Jersey, we picked up the requisite souvenirs for our loved ones.  We also purchased a bottle of key lime juice from a tourist shop.  The price?  $6.50 for a 16 ounce bottle.  Mr. W. teased me for buying such expensive fruit juice, but I insisted that we would enjoy cooking with it. 

Back at home, I spotted the very same bottle of key lime juice on the shelves of our local grocery store.  It was $4.  Whoops. 

A few weeks ago, I was organizing our fridge and came across the key lime juice.  I noticed that it had an expiration date of 4/15/13...just a few days away.  It's bad enough to over-pay for a food item that could have been purchased for less.  But it's even worse to over-pay for an item, and then allow it to expire.  The wheels in my head started turning.  What was the quickest way to use up key lime juice?

Key lime pie, of course!

I remembered seeing a recipe for frozen key lime pie in Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Family Style cookbook.  I made a few minor modifications, such as decreasing the number of egg yolks and adding toasted coconut.  Admittedly, this recipe is time intensive and has quite a few steps.  Most likely, you'll need to make this when you can spend several hours at home.  Nonetheless, the actual process to make key lime pie was simple.  And the end result was delicious.  Mr. W. and I ate the pie over several days and enjoyed reminiscing about our time in Key West.

Usually, I share recipes that I consider to be "frugal foods."  I wouldn't call this a "frugal food" by any stretch of the imagination.  Between the key lime juice, the limes, the egg yolks, and the whipping cream, this recipe contains some pricey ingredients. But, it was certainly less expensive to make this pie than to fly back to Key West.   And, it was better than wasting the key lime juice.



 




Step 1: Preheat oven and toast coconut

Step 2: Prepare the pie crust




Step 2: Prepare the pie crust

Step 3: Gently cook egg yolks

Step 4: Prepare filling

  

Frozen Key Lime Pie
(Adapted from Ina Garten's recipe)

Ingredients:

     Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 6 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted

     Filling:

• 4 egg yolks, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 Tbs. grated lime zest (2 limes)
• 3/4 cup key lime juice (bottled juice is fine.  Or, use 4 to 5 limes)

    
     Topping:

• 1 cup cold whipping cream
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup coconut, toasted


Directions:

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees.  Spread coconut on baking sheet and toast in oven until lightly browned, checking often. 

2. For the crust, combine graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, and butter in a bowl.  Press into a 9-inch pie plate, making sure the sides and the bottom are an even thickness.  Back for 8-10 minutes.  Allow to cool completely. 

3. In a double boiler, combine egg yolks with 1/2 cup of lime juice.  Whisk constantly over medium heat until the mixture reaches 140 degrees. (I don't have a double boiler, so I nestle a smaller pot inside a larger pot.  It works just fine). 

4. Transfer egg yolks to a large bowl.  Whisk or beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until thickened.  Add remaining lime juice, condensed milk, and lime zest, and mix until combined.  Pour into cooled pie crust.  Freeze for approximately 1 hour. 

5. In the meantime, beat the whipping cream on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer until soft peaks form.  Add the sugar and vanilla and beat until firm.  Spread onto frozen pie and sprinkle with toasted coconut. 

6. Freeze for several hours.  Pie should remain frozen until ready to serve.  Before serving, allow to thaw for approximately 20 minutes.

Note: I initially tried this with a sour cream topping rather than whipped cream.  I thought I would like the texture and tartness of the reduced-fat sour cream.  I also wanted to make the recipe slightly healthier.  Big mistake.  The taste was fine, but I had forgotten that sour cream becomes a runny mess when frozen.  I wouldn't recommend sour cream in this recipe; stick with whipped cream as Ina suggests.

Frugal Foods: Herb-Roasted Chicken

 

 

If you've been following this blog for some time, you probably know that Mr. W. and I have been trying to keep our grocery budget in check while also eating primarily local and seasonal foods.  Since chicken is the least expensive meat option, we have been eating lots of it. 

Recently, we started roasting a chicken every Sunday night and using the leftovers for several meals throughout the week.  It's an easy and inexpensive way to simplify meal preparation.  So far, we've used the leftover chicken for tacos/burritos, stir-fry, pasta dishes, panini sandwiches, soup, and various green salads. 

Mr. W. and I have different approaches to roasting a chicken.  When it's his turn to roast the chicken, he soaks it in brine overnight so that it remains moist while cooking.  I don't do the brine thing, but I brush the skin with herb-infused butter.  Either approach results in a juicy, flavorful chicken. 

I know what you must be thinking: J.W., I eat chicken because it's supposed to be healthier for me.  But now, you're telling me that I should slather butter on it?  Doesn't that defeat the purpose of eating chicken?

Really, this recipe does not use that much butter.  A little goes a long way, and I think the flavor boost is well worth the extra calories.  But I'll admit that this is not the most health-conscious way to prepare a chicken.  If you don't eat/don't like dark meat chicken, you can simply substitute bone-in split breasts for the whole roaster chicken.  But seriously, if you don't eat dark meat chicken, I think you're missing out. 

The following recipe was ever-so-slightly adapted from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book (golly gee, that's a creative book title).


Ingredients:

• 1 3 - 3 1/2 lb whole chicken
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground sage
• 1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning

Directions:
1. If chicken came with giblets, remove and discard (or, use them to make homemade stock).  Rinse chicken and pat dry with paper towels.  Use string or twine to tie the legs together.

2. In a small saucepan, combine butter, garlic, salt, and all herbs.  Melt over low heat to infuse butter with herb flavor.  Place chicken on rack in a large roasting pan.  Brush butter over chicken.

3. Roast chicken, uncovered, at 375 degrees.  A 3 lb. chicken will take approximately 1 1/4 hours to cook.  Internal temperature should be 180-185 degrees.  Let chicken rest approximately 10 minutes before carving.

*If you do not have a roasting pan, you can probably make do with what you have in your kitchen.  For instance, stack a metal cooling rack on top of a metal cookie sheet and use that as a makeshift roasting pan.  This will allow the juices to drain off while the chicken is cooking.

Frugal Foods: Almond Macaroons

 

Recently, I was the happy recipient of a random act of kindness: one of my coworkers brought me handmade ravioli and vodka sauce from her favorite Italian specialty shop.  She knew that Mr. W. and I have been trying to eat local foods, and she thought we would enjoy a quick pasta dinner.  Before buying the ravioli, she even ensured that all of the ingredients were locally sourced to the extent possible.  We were so touched by her thoughtfulness that we wanted to do something nice in return.

We decided that a gift of almond macaroons and chocolate-covered pretzels would fit the bill.  Macaroons have always struck me as a “fancy” cookie because they have such a delicate flavor.  But they’re actually a quick and easy dessert.  They’re also economical to make at home.  Whereas the macaroons at Whole Foods sell for $5.99, this recipe costs about $2 for a batch of the same size.  How could you go wrong?  Well, I guess you could go very wrong if you have a nut allergy.  In that case, just omit the almond extract and increase the vanilla extract to ½ tsp.  Emergency room visit avoided. 

I’ve played around with the balance of coconut/sugar/egg/extracts a few times, and this is my favorite version.  You could even drizzle these with melted chocolate or salted caramel, for a little extra pizazz.

 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups coconut ($2.49/bag = $.93)

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar ($3.79/5 lb. bag = $.11)

• 2 Tbsp. flour ($1.99/5 lb. bag = $.01)

• 1/8 tsp. salt (free-ish)

• 1/4 tsp. almond extract ($4.99/1 oz. = $.21)
 
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract ($2.99/1 oz. = $.12)

• 2 egg whites ($1.99/dozen for standard large eggs = $.33.  Or, $4.99/dozen for cage-free local eggs = $.83)

               

               

Directions:

1.       Preheat oven to 325 degrees and spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.

2.       Combine coconut, sugar, flour and salt in a medium bowl. 

3.       Separate egg whites from the yolks. 

 

We made a double batch, so we had four yolks

 

4.       Stir egg whites, almond extract, and vanilla extract into coconut mixture.

 

 

5.       Using a tablespoon, drop coconut mixture onto prepared cookie sheet.

6.       Bake approximately 20 minutes, until lightly browned.  Transfer immediately to cooling rack.

Yum!

    

Yield: 12-14 macaroons

 

Total Recipe Cost: $1.71 -$2.21  

 

Notes:

We save the egg yolks for omelets or frittatas.  At $4.99/dozen, we’re not about to pour those yolks down the drain! 

 

Obviously, coconut is not a local ingredient.  I really wish it were, because I love a good pina colada.  However, it’s a go-to ingredient for people who keep Kosher and/or follow a Paleo diet.  Although Mr. W. and I don’t have these dietary restrictions, many people in our circles do.  We use a lot of coconut in foods that we share with these friends and colleagues. 

Frugal Foods: Cocoa Crunch Granola

We eat a lot of granola in our household: granola as an after-workout snack, granola with yogurt, granola because it's Saturday night and we're watching 30 Rock on Netflix.  There were times when Mr. W. would buy these small, fancy pouches of granola that were $5.99 each.  The flavors had clever, crunchy names and the granola was delicious.  But they only contained about 3-3.5 cups so we would finish a bag of granola every few days.  It's amazing that something so inexpensive to make (it's mostly oats, after all), could be sold for so much.

But the man wants granola.  He should have granola, right?  It's not like he's asking for heroin.

One of my coworkers, who also loves to cook, mentioned how much she loves Ellie Krieger's Nutty Granola.  Hmm...if I could make granola myself, that would substantially lower the cost of Mr. W's granola addiction, right?  I tried the recipe and was glad I did. 

Ellie's recipe is quick, simple, and virtually foolproof.  It's also easy to modify if you want to experiment or have different ingredients on hand.  Her version uses lots of nuts and maple syrup...delicious, but pricey.  To keep the ingredients cost down and stretch the recipe further, I made a few modifications to her original recipe:

• Added more oats
• Used cashews rather than pecans (slightly cheaper)
• Used a combination of honey and maple syrup

I also added cocoa powder, just for good measure.  Here's my recipe:


Cocoa Crunch Granola

• 4 1/2  cups old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup raw, unsalted walnuts
• 1/2 cup raw, slivered almonds
• 1/2 cup raw, unsalted cashews
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Spray two large baking sheets with cooking spray.  If desired, use a food processor to chop the nuts to uniform size.  In a medium bowl combine the oats, nuts, maple syrup, honey, cocoa powder, and salt. Spread the mixture evenly onto the baking sheets and bake, stirring occasionally, about 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool completely on a cooling rack, then store in an airtight container.  Yield: appx 7 cups, or 14  1/2 cup servings.


More money-saving tips: When shopping for these ingredients, I bought the nuts and oats from the bulk section at Whole Foods.  Also, this isn't a recipe where you need whole walnuts or whole almonds.  It's much less expensive, and a time-saver, to buy nut pieces.  Maple syrup is always pricey, but we purchased it from BJ's (it's a discount membership club, like Costco or Sam's Club). 

All told, this recipe costs about $6 to make.  Since it yields about 7 cups, it's half the price of fancy store-bought granola.  This savings seem well worth the minimal time and effort.  Plus, the kitchen smells wonderful while it bakes.  Yum!