The Frugal Gourmet

This week’s challenge was to make a meal for the whole family costing less than $10. (Next week’s challenge is at the end of this post. Don’t forget to weigh in!) We are bargain shoppers more often than not, so it wasn’t too hard to do it this week, but we did the math to be sure we were staying true to the challenge. Many of our money-saving moves seem to be based on buying ingredients in bulk, (we seriously purchase 10 pound bags of onions), producing big batches of things, and freezing some for later use. We do buy some prepared foods, but we’re conscious of it as the exception to our general approach. We were baking lots of bread products before the pandemic made it cool. Both Phil and I were raised Mennonite, so  frugality is in our DNA. With Ben home every day, somehow working up a lumberjack’s appetite, it has been challenging keeping him stocked with lunch food. BBQ pockets not only meet the frugal challenge when priced out per pocket, they also provide quick lunches for Ben when frozen.

What does one serve alongside BBQ pockets to round out the meal? If you are anyone other than Phil, it could be Golden Carrot Bake. Sounds fine, right? It has the word golden, and carrots make it healthy, so what’s the problem? We only made this dish one time, about 10 years ago, and it was delicious, yet it is the most maligned dish in our family’s history. If you even utter the words “Golden Carrot Bake” around Phil, he shudders and looks away.

When we made it ten years ago, we all enjoyed it the evening we made it. The portion we didn’t eat got safely stowed away in a Tupperware container in the fridge. Days passed. Weeks passed. One evening we decided that we had enough leftovers to forage for a meal. Everybody heated up their choice of whatever we found that appealed most to us, and Phil ended up with the Golden Carrot Bake. About halfway through the meal, someone asked Phil what he was eating. When he answered, Sophia and I exchanged a look, and I asked if it tasted ok. Sophia, who has always had a freakish memory for dates and mundane events, reacted with true alarm. “Dad, that dish is seventeen days old!” Phil put his fork down, pushed away from the table, and announced that he was officially off food for awhile. Though he felt no ill effects physically, he still suffers from PTGCBD (Post Traumatic Golden Carrot Bake Disorder). Since that fateful day, all leftovers in our fridge fall into one of two categories – edible or Golden Carrot Bake.

I decided it was time to revive the dish, and allow Phil to stare down his demons. It is a really good dish – healthy, thrifty and easy – but we do recommend you consume leftovers within sixteen days, to be on the safe side.

Golden Carrot Bake – $4.28

From Simply in Season by Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert (with minor adjustments made by us)

3 cups carrots, shredded ($1.15)

1 1/2 cups water

2/3 cup uncooked brown rice ($.30)

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1/4 teaspoon pepper ($.05)

2 cups Pepper Jack cheese ($2.29)

1 cup milk ($.15)

2 eggs, beaten ($.22)

1 small onion, chopped ($.12)

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Combine carrots, water, rice, salt and pepper in saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes. Do not drain.
2. Stir 1 1/2 cups cheese, milk, eggs, onion and nutmeg into carrot mixture. Transfer into a baking dish, and bake, uncovered for about an hour.
3. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and return to oven long enough to melt cheese, about 2 minutes.

I realized, when typing up the recipe for pockets, that I made a mistake when I first put it on the blog over a year ago. I believe that I have corrected it, but I apologize if you made it with the wrong amount of yeast and it failed. For yeast we have done. For yeast we have left undone. I am truly sorry, and I humbly repent.

BBQ Pockets – $.29 per pocket

For pork:

1 pork shoulder (half of it is used for pockets – $6.14)

1 tablespoon salt ($.04)

1 18-ounce bottle BBQ sauce ($2.29)

Trim excess fat from pork shoulder and place in slow cooker with salt. Cook on low about 10 hours, or until pork is tender, and shreds easily. Shred half of the pork and mix with BBQ sauce. Reserve remaining pork for another use.

For dough:

In large KitchenAid mixer, combine and allow to bloom (5 minutes or so):

3 tablespoons yeast ($1.24)

1 cup warm water

Add:

3 cups warm water

1/2 cup metled butter ($.57)

1/2 cup sugar ($.10)

1 tablespoon salt ($.04)

2 eggs ($.22)

12 cups flour ($1.00)

With dough hook, mix until all flour is incorporated, then knead an additional 2-3 minutes. Let rise until doubled in bulk, or chill several hours. (This can easily be mixed in the morning, put in the fridge, and produced after work for dinner.) In two batches, roll into thin sheets (approximately 25X20 inches) and cut into 5 inch squares. Top each square with 2-3 tablespoons shredded BBQ pork, bring corners together, pinch closed, draw corners to center, pinching again, and place pinched side down on lightly greased cookie sheet. Cover with a tea towel and let rise 15-30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20 minutes. Serve warm, or cool to room temperature and freeze individually.

Chocolate Pudding – $1.29

Chocolate Pudding Mix – ($.99)

2 cups milk – ($.30)

Prepare pudding using package directions. 

Not only did our costs came in at less than half the frugality challenge goal, but we don’t have to lift a finger for tomorrow’s dinner! Win-Win! Here’s how it broke down:

6 BBQ pockets $1.74

1/2 Golden Carrot Bake $2.14

3 Pudding servings $0.97

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Total $4.85

For our next challenge, in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, we’re going green. What does that mean? We have no idea. What do you think it means? Maybe, you literally want us to make a meal using as many green ingredients as possible. Maybe, green symbolizes health. Maybe, you want us to try something Irish. Put your best idea out there, I’ll run them by the executive chef, and we’ll pick the meal idea we like best. We will consider all ideas submitted before Friday.