Healthy Cheap Food

Jul 10 2008

Beef Chili: Great Food For The Family

My husband just loves beef chili. In fact, it’s favorite among every one in the household. It’s easy to buy cans of chili at the supermarket, but I don’t think the taste is really that good enough.

I am interested in quality food at that why I make up all of the chili we eat. Basically, I make a huge amount of it on a Saturday and then put it in container to freeze. All I need to do is thaw it and stick in the microwave and we can have chili anytime.

Here’s my recipe:

Ingredients:

* 3 pounds lean beef, coarsely ground or cut in small cubes
* 1/4 cup chopped onion
* 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 6 cups water
* 2 bay leaves
* 1/4 cup chili powder
* 1 tablespoon salt
* 8 to 10 cloves garlic, minced
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon oregano leaves, crushed
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 3 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika
* 3 tablespoons flour
* 6 tablespoons cornmeal
* cold water

Preparation:
In a 6-quart saucepan, sear beef with onion in vegetable oil until beef is no longer pink. Add water, bay leaves, chili powder, salt, garlic, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper, black pepper, sugar, and paprika. Simmer, covered, 2 hours. Cool. Refrigerate overnight so flavors will mellow. Skim off the solidified fat. Reheat. Combine flour and cornmeal; add a little cold water to make a smooth paste-like mixture. Add paste mixture to chili. Cook, stirring, for about 6 to 8 minutes longer. Remove bay leaves before serving.
Serves 6.


Jul 6 2008

Do What Is Right

It’s important that you always do what is right whether it is in business or your personal life. We are all responsible for our own actions and our own future. If we are doing the things that are right, then how can we possibly better our lives or keep bad things from happening to us.

It’s important to be the very best person you can be and show everyone that you can be a light in this world, rather than be a dark spot. If we can do this, than we can make things better not only for ourselves, but the people around us.


Jul 2 2008

Too Many Old Websites

I have just realized that how many old websites I have out there on the net. I first making pages on Geocities and then added new pages at Tripod, Angelfire and other sites. I think at open time I had seven of these free sites up and running. It was an interesting time of the net, everyone wanted a simple page and there many tools to have one.

Unfortunately, as time went by, I forgot about them. Now I can hardly remember the sites and I am trying to find the old ones, maybe to resurrect them a bit or maybe just to relive some fond memories. I know I have pictures of old friends in them.


Jun 26 2008

Twitter

Argh, just another little tool to keep in contact. My husband set up a Twitter account for me and added my cell phone to it. He did it so that he can text me right from the computer. He is a heavy twitter user and has IM client logged in all the time.

I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand I like it because it’s a great way to stay in contact, but it’s also a way to become even more chained to the computer and that’s a bad thing. At least I am putting my foot down not to use it….yet.


Jun 24 2008

Do It Yourself Projects

Now that summer is upon us and school is out, now is the time to look into several new projects around the house. It’s Do It Yourself Project time and this year we have many to think about.

This week is brainstorming time. My husband and I will compile lists of projects that we can do ourselves around the house. Since we will compile them separately, we will be able to compare them this weekend to see which ones we both think should be a priority and should get done. If it’s a project we both agree on then at least there is no arguing as we do it.

I would really like us to remodel our kitchen and build a backyard deck.


Jun 21 2008

Expanding My Domain Inventory

I have recently been acquiring several new internet domains. I am impressed the value that domains can build and with just a little work improving the property, you can have a very valuable piece of property that can give you a nice return on your investment. It’s kind of like real estate investing in the offline world.

Of course, there is a lot less risk because the amount you need to outlay is a lot less and there is more work needed to generate an income, but in the end I think I will come out ahead in it all. I guess I will keep you all apprised of how much I can indeed make from this.


Jun 20 2008

Shopping For Healthy Foods

Unfortunately, it is hard to shop for healthy cheap food. In fact, it seems like healthy and cheap are polar opposites in this day and age, and guess what, it’s probably right. Everyone is interested in convenience and that means convenience foods.

It’s hard to make convenience food cheap and healthy so makers gives you a choice, healthy or cheap. Guess what? That’s the problem. If you want cheap and healthy food, you need to make the food yourself. You need to make it from scratch with the quality ingredient. It’s easy to get cheap, quality ingredients if you check out the bulk food section of your supermarket.


Jun 20 2008

Refill Your Ink Cartridges

I am kind of dismayed at the high cost of printer ink lately. It seems like it is just way too expensive. Maybe that’s why I am looking at alternatives. Anything that can save us a few dollars is a good thing…as long as it doesn’t reduce the quality of the printing.

I am impressed with the quality of printing that we are getting from our refilled cartridges. The quality is just as good as the original cartridges when you print black and white. With color, it isn’t quite as good, but it is still very functional.

If you are looking to save money on printer ink cartridges, think about doing your own refills.


Jun 19 2008

Family Cellphones

I never really thought cell phones were that good of an idea for families until recently. It seemed like they were expensive toys that were of limited value in a family and in fact were something that took family members away from spending time with each other.

Recently, I have seen the great benefits that comes with family cellphones. We can keep in contact with each other, no matter where we are or what we are doing. It’s great for vacations when we want to split up and go different directions or see different things.

We handle the logistics of this by having 3 cheap prepaid phones. When we go out, we divy them up among ourselves so that each group has a phone. That means everyone stays in contact with everyone else.


Jun 19 2008

Grits Rice Porridge

After I wrote my post about Grits yesterday, I got a call up on the phone asking me how I make my Grits Rice Porridge. First of all I am shocked how many close friends read this blog. I guess I better watch some of the things I post. :)

Anyways, this is how you make it. First off, brown some ground beef in a skillet and set it off to the side. Next take a 1 cup of rice and 2 cups of corn grits. Put them into a large pot along with some ginger and some soy sauce and water. I’d say at least 5 cups of water, maybe 6 to start off with.

Boil it for 15 minutes, stirring regularly. Next add the ground beef and a couple of eggs. If the mixture gets too think, add some water to it. Continue simmering the porridge for another 30 minutes. Everything should be nice and smooth and very tasty.


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