RePost 5/2/17 Masala Sauce and Individual Portions

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Masala Sauce and Individual Portions

By Creodomus May 2, 2017

I discovered I like Indian food.  Then I discovered it is expensive to buy.  Then I discovered it is expensive to make. Then I discovered it is hard to make.  Three strikes, I don’t get Indian food very often!  Then I discovered that Aldi has several Indian sauces for quite a bit less than I have seen anywhere.  My favorite sauce at Bombay Curry is masala, so I tried it first.  Way too spicy for me! I always get it mild when I order it.  Back to striking out.

But I wasn’t willing to give up on it.  In my research in making the sauces myself I found ways to stretch the sauce so it still keeps the flavor but loses the extra kick.  My recipe now is:

16 ounce jar masala sauce from Aldi

16 ounces plain Greek yogurt 
16 ounces plain tomato sauce

New problem: huge batch of sauce that only 1 person in this household will eat.

So I applied this strategy — pour sauce into small cups (bathroom dixie cups, mini cupcake pan, or a dozen scoops I have from powdered drink mixes that I can’t bring myself to throw out!) and put in the freezer.  Then loosen them from the cups and put into a freezer bag.  Whenever I want to make Chicken Tikka Masala, I just pull one frozen cup-shaped ball of sauce from the bag and defrost it!

It works great, just like it does for chili hot dog sauce, spinach, or korma sauce. Try it and tell me how it works for you!

RePost 3/5/17 Top 7 Homemade Meals

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Top 7 Homemade Meals

By Creodomus March 5, 2017  food, healthy, Polish, simple

It seems pretty hard to eat wholesome, healthy homemade meals.  I try to do this because of the nutrition value and the savings to the budget.  I’m always looking for more, but here are some of our favorites.

1.  Roast

I’m not exactly sure what to call this meal actually.  Sometimes we just say beef stew, but others have told me that is not accurate.  I just cut up onion, carrot, cabbage, celery, and potato and put it in the crock pot with beef and bay leaf and a bit of water.  I like mine with its broth, but Bryan likes gravy, so I’ll pour gravy over his, and sometimes I’ll make dumplings. I love how tender the meat comes out cooked this way and it can easily be very low carb.

2.  Chili

Another easy crock pot meal.  Soak the beans a day ahead to get a jump start.  I like to soak them in chili spices if I’m going to use them for chili.  Ground meat, tomatoes, onions. peppers.  Good to go.

3.  Mexican

We do this meal in a variety of ways, but the ingredients are always about the same:  ground meat (rarely chicken) flavored with Mexican spices, lettuce, tomato, olive, cheese, sour cream, salsa, flour tortillas or tortilla chips, re-fried beans, and taco sauce.  Sometimes open face for pizza, folded over for quesadilla, hand held for tacos or burritos, or piled on a plate for taco salad or 7-layer dip.  Always fresh and full of flavor!

4. Haluski

No,  we’re not Polish, but we sure do enjoy some of the dishes from our Polish friends!  We cook the cabbage good and long (some people like it a bit on the crunchy side) with butter and onion, salt. pepper. and garlic, then toss with kluski noodles.   Optional, add kielbasa or smoked sausage, or even hot dogs.

5.  Unstuffed Peppers

This is about the same recipe, I’m certain, as those used by people making stuffed peppers, I just can’t be bothered handling whole peppers and stuffing them.  Partly I’m lazy and partly, you have to add more pepper anyway, so why bother?  I just cut up the peppers, onions, tomatoes into bite-sized pieces, and cook them in tomato soup with chopped hamburger and rice.  If I want to turn it into a soup, I can add soup stock or broth, but we almost never turn it into a soup.

6.  Stir Fry

So easy, cook chicken, frozen vegetables, and lo mien noodles. tossed with ginger, garlic, soy or teriyaki.

7.  Galobki/Galumpki

Polish again!  This is cabbage tolls, but again, I don’t bother with fancy forms.  I just cut up the cabbage, tomato, and onion, make balls of ground meat, egg, breadcrumbs, tomato, and rice,and cook it in tomato sauce.  I’m seeing simple and easy is my flair!