Happy 2009!
I've started counting how many times in a day I say the phrase "...in this economy...". Today I said it eleven times, but yesterday I uttered that overused sentence addendum forty-one times! Surely there's a prize somewhere for me! For those of you struggling right now, I want to assure you that I only make light of this recession because of what will become Blog Rule #8: "Laugh, because if you don't laugh, you'll have to cry."While I'm not only still employed, but probably about to be drowning in work, I'm tightening my own budgetary reigns during 2009. I might move to a smaller place. I'm only having one latte at Caribou each day (I know, I know. Life's tough.). I'm clipping coupons and reading grocery store specials fliers more furiously than ever. In fact, I went to the grocery store yesterday and came home with this gem:
Oh, yes! You're reading that right! I saved $38.41 in one trip (my total bill was about $115). The savings includes clipped coupons and store specials AND I still managed to buy organic where it matters and my favorite brands. In the spirit of sharing the savings, I listed some tips for shopping cheaper after tonight's recipe.On to the food! The spoils from my cheap shopping trip included shrimp, whole wheat fettuccine, fresh ricotta and mushrooms - all on sale, of course. I hope you'll enjoy this easy, healthy dinner and prosper in the new year!
Shrimp Fettuccine
2 tbls olive oil
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1/4 cup minced onion
1 large tomato, diced
1 cup fresh mushrooms, chopped (I used a combination of button and porcini. Baby Bellas would be great too)
2 tbls lemon juice
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 lb uncooked shrimp, peeled and de-veined (I buy them frozen)
1/4 cup skim milk
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 tbls fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups whole wheat fettuccine
Cook pasta in boiled salted water according to package instructions. I posted this picture of my new pasta-measure because I love new kitchen gadgets...and because it helps me cook only the pasta I need! While these measures have been around for a long time, I just found one - by fitting long pasta into the pre-measured circles (2 cups in this pic) portion control is easy!Meanwhile, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and onions, sauteing until onions are translucent.
Add tomatoes and mushrooms and saute about 3 minutes. Add lemon juice and wine, stirring until liquids are a pale brown. Add uncooked shrimp
Saute until all shrimp are thoroughly pink. (Note: This is how you know shrimp is done - it will go from being white and somewhat translucent to pinkish, opaque and slightly smaller in size.)
Add milk, ricotta, Parmesan, parsley, salt and pepper, stirring well. If you don't have fresh parsley, dried will work. For a special treat, add about 1/4 tsp of truffle oil at this step..mmmm.
Once sauce has thickened (it will be a bit thinner than traditional Alfredo sauce), serve over cooked fettuccine with extra Parmesan on the side.
Shopping Tips:
- Buy the Sunday newspaper. Not only will you get to read full-color comics, but you can clip some of the best coupons! CoolSavings, Smart Source and P&G Brandsaver usually have inserts alongside the weekly specials published by each grocery store.
- If you don't buy the paper, visit the websites linked above - you can print off the coupons you want.
- Clip only the coupons for foods you actually regularly eat... and don't shun the small coupons like those for $.25 or $.20 off. Many grocery stores do double and triple coupons!
- Read the fine print: usually coupons "can't be combined with any other offer" but that's not always true. Yesterday, I grabbed one of those auto-dispensed coupons off the shredded cheese shelf at the store for $.75 off...and noted that it didn't say "limit one to a customer." I bought 6 bags of shredded cheese and used 6 coupons. Survival of the fittest, people!
- Check out your store's weekly specials. I may switch which store I shop at if another one close buy has more of what I need on sale.
- Buy in bulk and freeze for later. In addition to produce and meats, you can also freeze shredded cheese and bread (so long as it's already been baked!). I bought $30 worth of chicken yesterday for $9 and froze 90% of it - I won't have to buy chicken until April.
- Organics: There's no certification process for organic seafood, so don't waste your money. "All Natural" and "Cage Free" are not things you should pay extra for unless they also have that USDA Organic seal on them. Organic crackers, breads, pastas and rices are also not worth the extra money - grain doesn't hold pesticides well.
