Posted in Budget Friendly

Frugal Fridays: Homemade Ketchup

Posted on by Northerly Nosh

Make or Buy? Tomato Ketchup

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Ketchup is the required condiment for households with children. A hot dog just wouldn’t be the same without it! Have you ever tried making your own?

For purposes of comparison, we’ll use classic Heinz Tomato Ketchup and a recipe for ketchup from Saveur Magazine.

Heinz Tomato Ketchup (40 oz bottle)

TOTAL: $2.50
PER SERVING (1 Tablespoon): $0.02

Homemade Ketchup

1 28-oz. can tomato puree: $1.95
1 medium yellow onion: $1.30
1 clove garlic: $0.06
1⁄2 fresh jalapeño: $0.15
2 tbsp. dark brown sugar: $0.10
1⁄2 cup cider vinegar: $0.30
Pinch cayenne: $0.05
Pinch celery salt: $0.05
Pinch dry mustard: $0.05
Pinch ground allspice: $0.05
Pinch ground cloves: $0.05
Pinch ground ginger: $0.05
Pinch ground cinnamon: $0.05
Salt and freshly ground black pepper: $0.00
(Spices are always roughly calculated)

TOTAL (3 cups): $4.21
PER SERVING (1 Tablespoon): $0.09

Prep Day: All that is required to make your own ketchup is whizzing everything together in a food processor and then letting it simmer on the stove for 45 minutes. The ketchup can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a month or freeze in ice cube trays. Sure, it’s not as convenient as squeezing a bottle, but we’d actually say that making your own ketchup sounds pretty darn easy.

Serve Day: Thaw what you need and serve.

Note: Heinz and many commercial ketchups also contain high fructose corn syrup, though HFCS-free versions have been making their way into the market. If this is something you prefer to avoid, making ketchup yourself is a sure bet for getting what you want.

Posted in Dessert

Tasty Treat Thursdays: Pear Sorbet in Gingersnap Cups

Posted on by Northerly Nosh

Pear Sorbet in Gingersnap Cups

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makes about 8

4 pears, peeled, cored, and sliced, plus one additional pear for garnish
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
*2 T sparkling white wine or pear liquor (only if this is being made for adults only)

2 cups finely ground gingersnap crumbs
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Prep Day: Make the gingersnap cups, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine gingersnap crumbs and butter in a bowl. Lightly spray muffin cups with cooking spray. Press 2 heaping tablespoons of gingersnap mixture into each muffin cup and up the sides. Bake for 7 minutes. Cool completely. Turn pan over and pat the back to release gingersnap cups.

For the sorbet, simmer pears, sugar, and water for 5 minutes. Cool completely. Pour into a blender or food processor and puree. Refrigerate until cold. Freeze in an ice cream maker or in a bowl in the freezer. *If this is for adults only, I recommend adding a couple of tablespoons of white wine (sparkling would be great) or pear liquor. This will add flavor and keep the sorbet from solidifying too hard in the freezer. Eat within 24 hours of making.

Serving Day: Scoop pear sorbet into gingersnap cups and garnish with a slice of pear.

Posted in - Poultry, Healthy Eating

Wellness Wednesdays: The Pasta You Love

Posted on by Northerly Nosh

Why Not Eat The Pasta You Love?!

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Foods from this starch food group are a good source of energy, fiber and B vitamins. We should aim to make these foods the main part of meals. Bread, rice, potatoes, pasta and other starchy foods like cereals are low in fat. It is what we add to them, such as butter on potatoes or creamy sauces on pasta, that makes a difference.

Fiber is helpful in controlling our weight because it fills us up quickly, but it has other health benefits too, such as preventing constipation, protecting us against some types of cancer and reducing our risk of heart disease.

Wholegrain varieties of bread, rice and pasta contain lots of fibre so try to include granary or multigrain breads and high fibre cereals such as Weetabix, Shredded Wheat or Ready Brek into your diet. Make a point of eating the skin on new potatoes and baked potatoes, and why not try brown rice or pasta for a change.

Remember, fiber is like a sponge and soaks up water so make sure you drink plenty of fluids throughout the day (8-10 cups/glasses) to allow it to pass through the body easily and to help keep you regular.

B vitamins are important for a range of different functions including the formation of red blood cells and helping the body to use fat, carbohydrate and protein from our food. Folate is an important B vitamin found in dark green, leafy vegetables such as cabbage, spinach, Brussels sprouts as well as fortified breakfast cereals.

Any woman who is trying to conceive or who could become pregnant should take a 400µg folic acid supplement from the time she could or is trying to become pregnant up until the end of the12th week of pregnancy. Folic acid has been shown to help prevent neural tube defects (NTDs) such as spina bifida in unborn babies. Any folic acid that is not needed by the body passes into the urine, so it is safe to continue to use folic acid supplements for long periods of time.

Resource: Public Health Agency

Chicken Cacciatore

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1 lb chicken breasts
1 (26 oz) jar of chunky vegetable-style spaghetti sauce
1 zucchini, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 sweet onion, chopped

Prep Day: Place all ingredients in a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag and mix together. Freeze.

Serve Day: When ready to eat, remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.

Serve with cooked spaghetti noodles and garnish with olives and cheese. Also would be delicious with Cheesy Garlic Sticks.

Garnish: chopped black olives, shredded Parm cheese