Cooking With Angie - Know How Much

Being healthy is not an easy thing to do nowadays when everything is fast or fried. Even making fresh food at home we can get carried away with the fats and sodium.

If you have a health problem like diabetes or high blood pressure you seriously need to know what you are eating. 

While I am all for cooking with fresh and raw ingredients, I am not perfect and I will take that chili dog if offered or I will make my own at home.

I want to show you how many calories, how much fat, how much sodium and how much sugar is in a dish you make.

I will do it with canned food and fresh foods, lets make vegetable soup with hamburger!

We Will Use :

2 fresh Potatoes peeled and cubed 

163 calories each = 326 calories

.04 grams fat

26 grams sodium

3.4  grams sugar

1 fresh onion peeled and sliced - 

44 calories

0.5 grams fat

4 grams sodium

4.7 grams sugar

2 carrots sliced 

30 calories = 60 calories 

0.4 grams fat

100 grams sodium

6.8 sugar

Can Goods :

1 Can Green Beans - Drained

53 calories

0 fat

1015 grams sodium

3.5 grams sugar

1 Can Corn -drained

245 calories

3.5 grams fat

1050 grams sodium

12 grams sugar

1 Can diced tomatoes with juice

87 calories

0 fat

630 grams sodium

10.5 grams sugar

8 Oz.  Hamburger Meat

523 calories

27 grams fat

198 sodium

0 sugar

Now, lets add up those numbers!

Makes 9 1/2 Cups 

Total calories = 1338

Total Fat = 31 grams

Total sodium = 3023 grams

Total sugar = 41 grams

Now, how much per serving of 1 cup?

Calories = 141 calories

Fat = 3.4 grams

Sodium = 319 grams

Sugar = 4.5 grams

That is how I keep on track with how many calories I take in each day being on a 1200 calorie diet, low sodium and sugar. Sometimes it take a few minutes to figure up the amounts but well worth it in the end. 

By Andria Perry

Photos By Andria Perry & pixabay

How To Make Four Meals / ten servings and Two Snacks With One Whole Chicken

There will always be a time when money is short so its best to learn to get the most from each whole chicken, even if we do have to home can the last meal, its food waiting for you.

I do not throw anything away, "everything," even the bones will be used.

Meal One : One breast is made into chicken nuggets by cutting the breast in long strips and then into cubes or "nuggets." I mix up flour and my spices. I wet the nuggets and drag them into the flour mixture and drop into hot grease and fry till light brown, drain on a paper towel. I serve this with a baked potato and sweet peas.

Makes two meals.

Meal two : I cook the other breast as I did for the nuggets but I refrigerate overnight and I make a huge vegetable filled salad for dinner, I chop the cold fried nuggets into smaller pieces. 

I then toss the chicken into sweet and sour sauce and dress the salad with ginger sesame dressing. 

Or toss in Texas Pete`s hot sauce and dress the salad with ranch dressing.

Makes two meals.

Meal three :  B-B-Q chicken thighs and drumsticks. Grill time! Toss them on the grill and cook till done, using your favorite b-b-q sauce. 

Serve with grilled corn and baked beans.

Makes two meals.

Meal four : Remember I said " throw nothing away?" You can freeze the bones and skins to do this at a later day, if you want.

Boil the back bone of the chicken and the breast bone that still has a small amount of chicken attached and skin for a couple of hours in water over low heat. 

Remove the chicken bones from the broth and allow to cool, remove the chicken from the bones.

I got 2 cups of chicken and four cups of broth. Put this in the refrigerator over night. 

Remove the yellow fat from the top of the cold broth (note: you can save an use this fat for frying)

Next day.  Chop one onion, a couple ribs of celery, a couple carrots and a few potatoes.

Cook all the vegetables in the chicken broth, add garlic and parsley. Salt to your taste. Add the 2 cups of chicken pieces and a cup of cooked pasta and you have chicken noodle soup! 

Depending on how many vegetables you add depends on how many meals this will make but I would say 4 of more. 

BUT ....do not forget you have all those soft chicken bones and skins, the dogs get a treat! Since the bones are so soft they are safe for the dogs. And that makes two treats. 

Now that is how to use a whole chicken.

By Andria Perry

Photos by Andria Perry

One Beef Roast - Prepared 3 Ways For 8 Meals

I have to say that when I buy a beef roast I try to make several meals from each roast, after all paying $7.00 up is not cheap, however, I do want to actually see and taste the meat in each meal.

The roast I bought was $7.90 and it was very lean.

The first day I had to work on the homestead so I put it onto boil, lowered the heat, covered and went about my outside work. A few hours later I had a nice tender chunk of beef ready for me to do my magic, make meals!

I sliced the roast into about 2 inch slices and returned them to the cooking pot with the broth, remember to reserve the broth.

Meal #1 

Beef and mushrooms with brown gravy

You will need :

1/3 of the beef roast

1- pack of brown gravy

1- small can of mushrooms, drained

Let`s put this together :

Use one cup of the beef broth to make the brown gravy, add the mushrooms and allow them to warm in the gravy.

Break the roast into small pieces, add to the gravy.

That is it!

Makes 2 servings.

Serve over toasted bread or potatoes and side dish of sweet peas.

Meal #2 

Beef Hash

You will need :

1/3 of the beef roast

2 - large potatoes

Vegetable oil

garlic powder

Salt 

Black pepper

Let`s cook!

In a medium size skillet add just enough oil to cover the bottom, heat over medium high heat.

Cut the potatoes into small thin cubes and add to the hot oil. cook them until they are golden brown.

Break the beef roast into small pieces and add to the potatoes and cook until the meat had warmed, sprinkle with garlic powder, salt and black pepper.

Remove from heat and serve.

Makes 2 servings.

Serve with side dish of green beans.

That is it!

Meal #3

Beef and vegetable soup

You`ll Need:

1/3 beef roast - small chunks

Beef broth- All of the reserved

2 - carrots - chopped

2 - potatoes - chopped

1 can of cut green beans - drained

1 can of sweet corn - drained

1 can of diced tomatoes

1/2 cup okra - sliced 

1 small onion - chopped

Salt- to taste

Black pepper - to taste

Garlic powder - dash

Worcestershire sauce - dash

Put everything in a large cooking pot with a lid. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover. Cook for 30 minutes over medium heat, or until the potatoes and carrots are soft.

Makes 4 servings.

Serve with tasted bread, crackers or cornbread.

So we got 8 easy meals of meat for just under $8, that is not a bad deal at all.

Don`t want beef three days in a row? That`s easy! take 1/3 of the beef, add broth and put into a quart freezer bag and freeze, so now you have the meat cooked and waiting for you. The Soup also freezes well.

Note: You can always freeze broth in a mayo jar, just leave room for expansion at the top.

By Andria Perry

Photos by Pixabay