Low-cost, healthy meat--maybe a dream, these days...

Once again, I find myself in the position of having paid the bills, and looking at a very small amount of money left for groceries and general living. I headed out this afternoon, with high hopes, to our local Cub Foods grocery store, and found absolutely no meat on sale for anything like a reasonable price.
With six people to feed, four of them adults, a pound of anything doesn't go very far, let alone a pound of the various pathetic, fatty looking cuts of beef and pork I saw today for nearly $4 per pound. There was no chicken on sale at all--I can't imagine paying $12 for a package of chicken wings--the dregs of edible flesh society. They should be giving those away, really, for the amount of actual meat involved.
I am a big fan of the boneless/skinless chicken breasts for many recipes, but I was fully prepared to buy whole chickens to save money today, but no dice.
So, I actually came back home with no meat at all. My mom and I will sit down and do some planning, and we'll divide up some of the cost and share some cooking, and that will help. But I am really bummed out by my experience. I'm all for meatless-meals, but I do not want to be a vegetarian.
I did, however, thaw my last bag of chicken leg quarters today, and I made a massive stock-pot full of soup, with all of the fading carrots, pale celery, random potatoes, and bits of veg from the freezer. It is delicious, absolutely the ticket on a cold night, and everyone loves it. Plus, there's enough for at least 2 more meals left after dinner tonight, and I also have a couple of cups of chicken leftover (it was a 10lb bag) for a casserole. I served it with a loaf of homemade bread, and everyone is fat-tummied and happy and warm now.

Easy, Healthy Breakfasts

I really hate cooking breakfast. I really do. Once in a while, I get a little bit of an urge to do it, and I go all out with omelettes or waffles or something, but generally I'm a peanut-butter toast on whole grain type of person. It's easy and nutritious. We also often have leftovers from dinner--really, there's nothing like a big bowl of home-made chicken soup for breakfast. Jim works overnights, so I like to make sure he gets something to eat before he goes to bed.
I myself have a really hard time eating in the morning--I can do coffee, but my stomach is always a bit unsettled for some hours after I get up. I have noticed, though, on the days I do manage to choke something down, my metabolism really gets revved-up--I'm starving all day, and can keep it under control with a bit of cheese, fruit, or some nuts. When I don't eat breakfast, I wait until I feel ill, eat lunch, and then have unhealthy cravings all day, culminating in probably eating too much at dinner. So, I need to find something that I can manage to eat right away in the morning. I need something I can prepare ahead, something that I can face in the morning, something that everyone will like, and something that is packed with nutrition.
I tried this oatmeal muffin recipe today, as is, just to see how it holds up. I am planning to alter it a bit to beef up the nutrition with whole wheat flour, a bit of milled flax seed and oat bran, and perhaps once in a while some chopped nuts or fruit. My friend Jeannette gave me a delightful jar of organic apple butter, and it's just the ticket for these muffins. I found the recipe at allrecipes.com.

• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup quick cooking oats
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.

1. In a small bowl, combine milk and oats; let soak for 15 minutes.
2. In a separate bowl, beat together egg and oil; stir in oatmeal mixture. In a third bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir flour mixture into wet ingredients, just until combined. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups until cups are 2/3 full.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Nice and simple. The appearance of the muffin is wholesome and milky on the top, and the flavor is mild and slightly nutty. If you are into big, sweet, cake-y muffins, this is not for you. But if you enjoy the subtlety of a good buttermilk scone or a shortbread cookie, these will be very satifying. I am very pleased with the results.

Once of the few things I can eat in the morning (beside steak, oddly enough) is a baked good. Most muffins at the store are SOOO expensive and SOOOO sugary. Not a good option for a health-conscious family on a budget. With the additions I plan to make, the fiber and protein levels in these will go way up, and hopefully these will hold everyone for a bit.

One thing we really like here is butter--not huge amounts, but real butter on things that use a spread of some type. No yucked-out oil-based garbage to wreck our food (and undoubtedly our bodies). I like to buy the tubs of whipped butter--it's inexpensive, and has about 1/2 the fat and calories of regular butter, yet it's still just butter. The texture is delightful, too.