Week 1 $400 or bust!

RECIPE POST! Today is July 8th.  I'm one week into the Feed the Family on Four competition.  Thus far, I've spent a little over 140$ on food which is a head of the game BUT, 40 of it was enough chicken thighs and chicken breasts to carve out many many meals.  It also included $16 for a half gallon of olive oil from Sam's.  I'm thinking that this will income average out over the next few weeks.  We shall see.  I spent $19 at the farmers market and bought so much produce it took me two trips to get it all in the car.  That's what the picture is.

I am feeling a bit like a faker though because when we were with our friends for the 4th, I spent 88$ dollars on food to fix to share at the celebration and while that isn't technically food just for the 4 of us, it is food for Brian and me, so I'm thinking I at least need to consider about how that contributes to the total.  I know my rule was no party food foul but........

Also, the kids have eaten out a couple of times as have Brian and I, so while that's not in the $400, again it is a little bit of a fudge and its making the food I fixed go significantly farther. 

What we've had thus far and the recipes to follow.
I made a big batch of hummus using an entire bag of chick peas - it made 7 cups prepared - which is a ton and more than enough to keep me in lunches and all of us in snacks for probably 10 days. 

A big batch of ratatouille (delish) that as it started to run out I turned into a vegetarian pizza

A big batch of meat chili that I also turned into pizza topped with smoked cheddar cheese.

Two nights we had Pork Chops (no, not me) Squash and Onions, Corn on the Cob, Black Eyed Peas and collards.

For fruit I bought watermelon, granny smith apples, red grapes and bananas. 

Its a lot of food and I may end up freezing or tossing which again, is something I'm working on, but I'm not unhappy with how this is going.  For one thing, I've stopped going to Harris Teeter everyday acting like if I don't buy something, they'll revoke my VIC card.  This is a big change.  BIG CHANGE.  So much so, it may effect the stock values, so if you're an HT share holder, SELL, BABY, SELL!

Cappy's Big Fat Rat

2 medium sized light weight Eggplants.  Diced, salted and left to sit in a colander for 30 minutes. (one of these days I'll show you how to pick a boy eggplant over a girl eggplant because the boys have far fewer seeds and the seeds are what make eggplant bitter without salting.  Oh, ok, I'll tell you now.  Look at the bottom of the eggplant at the "belly button".  Girls have innies, boys are flush or almost flush with the skin of the eggplant.  Most eggplants are females but you can find the boys if you're willing to peek - I know, it sounds dirty doesn't it!)
2 Big green peppers, diced
2 Big yellow onions, diced
4 - 5 medium sized zucchini, diced
6 - 8 cloves garlic, minced
2 28 oz cans petite diced tomatoes (okay I actually used my own frozen tomatoes with onions and basil but I wasn't writing down recipes at that time so I don't have one to give you but I make this all the time with the canned ones so its fine.  Also, in 'mater season, you can use 6 -7 big ripe juicy ones and I never bother skinning them.)
2 TB dried basil
1/4 cup dried parsley
1 tea Red Pepper Flakes
Salt/Pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a big skillet over medium high heat.  Add the onions, green pepper and garlic and cook until the onions start to wilt.  Add the zucchini and cook until it starts to wilt.  Rinse and drain the eggplant and squeeze out as much water as you can.  Add to the pan along with the spices and herbs and cook until the eggplant starts to soften.  Add the tomatoes.  Simmer for 30 minutes until everything is cooked and the flavors have melded.  Adding tomatoes to a dish slows down the cooking process for the other vegetables so the more cooked they are before the tomatoes go in, the more likely you'll end up with a nice Rat without any crunchy bits (rat tails?) in it.  This is a great pasta sauce and makes a tasty pizza too (I use meltable vegan mozzarella)  It freezes well and the recipe makes plenty so have some now and have some for later.  It can also be used to make a wonderful veggie muffalata.  There are recipes all over the internet but what I would do is buy a nice round loaf of bread, slice it in half and scoop out  some of the middle of the bottom.  Using a good vinaigrette, "butter" both sides very generously.  Take a whole bunch of olives coarsely chop them.  Drain off some of the juices of the rat and add the olives.  Fill the whole in the bread.  Cover with the top.  Wrap tightly with aluminum foil and weight with a 28 oz can of something overnight in the fridge.  For you non-vegetarian types add some salami and good cheese before you wrap it up.  This is good picnic food!

Chili con Carrion (no, it isn't a misspelling!)
1/2 bag of each of the following beans, black bean, kidney bean, pinto bean, soaked overnight in 8 cups of water.  Drain.  Put in a soup pot, cover with 8 more cups of water boil, then lower the heat and simmer until done - usually an hour but beans are sneaky so watch them!  Salt the water if you feel you must. If "bean pond scum" floats to the surface just skim it off. When the beans are done, drain and reserve 2 cups of the liquid
2 TB olive oil
1 lb ground chuck
1 fist sized onion, minced
4 -5 cloves garlic, minced
3 cans corn, drained
2 28oz cans crushed tomatoes
2 cups bean cooking liquid
Spice Mix
4 TB each ground cumin and chili powder
1 TB garlic powder
1 tea onion powder
Salt, Pepper and Red Pepper Flakes to taste.

In a big skillet, heat the olive oil on medium high heat.  Brown the meat, drain and return to the pan.  Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent. Add all the remaining ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes.  This is good in a bowl, on a potato, on a burger, on nachos or on a pizza with mozzarella, regular or smoked cheddar cheese.  Its a stripped down recipe so you can fancy it up all you want.  It freezes well.  When I make the vegetarian version, I switch out the meat for a bag of the veggie "beef" crumbles or a cup of TVP and then just up the liquid.  I stopped buying commercial chili seasoning years ago, finding them entirely too salty.  You can make up the spice mix in big batches and dole it out as you need it.  Also, if you want or are short on time just use 1 can each of the three beans.  NOTE:  If you're using dried beans, don't try and save water by cooking them in the soaking water - by draining them, you'll eliminate a lot of the "musical" capacity of the beans - if you get my drift!

Hummus by the ton
1 bag chick peas, soaked overnight in 8 cups of water.  Drain. Put in a soup pot cover with 8 more cups of water.  Boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for about an hour until done.  Skim any scum that floats up. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid
3/4 cup Tahini
3 - 4 lemons juiced
1/4 c minced garlic.  I confess.  I buy it already minced in giant jars.  No one has ever complained.
1 tea or to taste, cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
Buzz everything in the food processor adding the bean liquid to achieve the desired consistency.  I like mine more on the stiff side as it holds up better as a bagel or sandwich spread.  I also use the bean juice rather than Olive oil because it eliminates HUGE amounts of fat and still turns out a tasty product.

You mean there's no hamhock in these?  Collards!
However much collards you want.  Oddly, Sam's sells a huge pre-chopped bag of them that is really good quality.  You can also use frozen, but avoid canned at all cost as that's probably some sneaky Yankee concoction.
1 -2 cap fulls liquid smoke
Red Pepper flakes to taste - I like them on the spicy side
Put everything in a pot, cover with water and simmer until the collards are tender.  You'll swear I snuck a nice smokey hock into the pot likker!

Squish (squash and onions)
2 - 3 TB Olive Oil
1 softball sized onion (yellow or white, no need to get all fancy with a red one), slivered
1 lb crook neck or yellow squash, cut in 1/4 inch thick circles
salt and pepper to taste.
Heat the olive oil in a mid-sized pan over medium heat.  Add the onions, stir to coat.  LEAVE THE DANG ONIONS ALONE!  When they start browning on one side, stir, redistribute evenly in the pan, and leave them alone again.  They will not caramelize if you fiddle with them and the caramelization is the secret to the whole dish!  Once they are nice and brown, add the squash and cook until wilted and soft but still maintaining their shape.  Salt and pepper to taste.  If you think its sticking add a tablespoon of water here and there and keep an eye on it because the onions will want to burn if you turn your back on them - they are treacherous!  This is also delicious with cabbage instead of the squash.  The only difference is when the chopped cabbage (1/2 a head to a big onion) starts to wilt, add a 1/2 cup water, cover, lower the heat and steam.  Use LOTS of black pepper.  One of my favorite all time meals on a swelteringly hot summer night is Cabbage and Onions, Pinto Beans and Cornbread.  Soak a Vidalia onion cut into thin slices in some cider vinegar, salt and pepper, for a half hour before you're ready to eat then chop the onion over the beans, dunk your corn bread in the vinegar, listen to the katydids and wash it all down with the perfect glass of sweet tea.  If you're not a Southerner, you'll wish you were!