how to: slow cook potatoes

Baked potatoes are amazing, right? They're yummy, filling, super inexpensive, and a blank slate for whatever flavors you want to add. The only problem is that they take forever to cook and I never want to heat up my whole oven for just a few potatoes.

Enter the slow cooker.

I've seen the slow cooker technique around the internet for a while, but hadn't gotten around to trying it out... Until this weekend when I got an email from Monica raving about how awesome it is to have potatoes ready and waiting for her when she gets home from work (thanks Monica!). I knew it was time to try it out and share the knowledge.

So, I did a little research to get the tips and tricks from those who had tried it before, and I set to work. I cooked four potatoes, about 1/2 pound each in my 6 quart (I think) slow cooker. I probably could have fit six potatoes, but from what I've read you don't want to over fill the cooker or the potatoes on top won't cook as fast. I was a little short on time, so I opted for cooking for four hours on high instead of 8 hours on low. My potatoes were fantastic and probably would have been just fine with an extra hour of cooking.

The cooking time needed will depend on the size of your potatoes and the strength of your particular slow cooker, but the general guidelines are as follows: 4-5 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low. Have them cooking while you're out and about taking care of other things and then dinner is just a hop, skip, and a jump away when you get home! Love it!


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how to: freeze buttermilk

Let's talk about buttermilk for a minute.

Over the past year or so I've slowly become convinced that buttermilk is one of the most underrated ingredients at the grocery store. It used to be one of those things that I'd see at the store and wonder who ever bought it, but now I totally get it.

What is buttermilk? Well, it's not milk with butter added to it (in case you were wondering). It's a cultured milk product, like yogurt or kefir. Basically, a specific type of bacteria has been introduced to the milk and allowed to grow. As the bacteria grows, it eats up the natural milk sugars and produces an acid byproduct. The acid denatures the milk proteins, causing the texture to thicken up - just like when heat denatures the proteins in egg whites and turns them from a liquid into a solid. All of this "culturing" action produces a unique, tangy flavor and thick, creamy texture.

Buttermilk is useful in baking because of its acid pH, which can help leaven muffins, biscuits, and other baked goods. There are many ways you can substitute buttermilk if you don't have any on hand (see a few options here), but the problem with these substitutes is that, while they do provide acid, they do not provide that unique buttermilk flavor.

And boy, oh boy does buttermilk ever have a unique flavor. Granted, I could never drink a glass of it plain (some people enjoy it that way), but when used in recipes it adds the most amazing flavor. Substitutions no longer cut it for me. I need the real thing.

The other awesome thing about buttermilk is its rich and creamy texture. The thick texture is a result of the culturing process and not the fat content, so even if you buy a low-fat buttermilk it will still add a thick, creamy texture to whatever you're using it in. That's a major bonus when making dips, dressings, and soups.

But what are you gonna do? Buy a whole quart of buttermilk, use a cup, and then let the rest go bad in the back of your fridge? I'll admit, I've done that a few times. But then I came across this little gem of a technique! Freezing buttermilk is easy and it's as good as fresh once thawed!

So, promise me that the next time you come across a recipe that calls for buttermilk, you'll actually go buy a quart, use it, and then freeze the rest. Because you're going to love it.

Step By Step Photos

Before you freeze, make sure to measure the volume of your ice cube tray wells. This way you'll know how many buttermilk cubes you need to thaw for any given recipe. I have that cute little shot glass measuring cup (1 oz.), but you could also use measuring spoons. My wells were 1.5 Tbsp in volume, which means I'd need to thaw 12 cubes to make one cup. Make sure you write the volume down somewhere, so that you don't forget. HINT: 1 fluid ounce = 2 Tbsp.
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how to: make pumpkin pie spice

The other day I decided to take a look at the "freshness" date on my pumpkin pie spice... Let's just say that it probably hasn't been fresh for quite some time. I swear I just bought that spice yesterday, but that's not really possible unless yesterday was 2010. ANYWAY.

A comment from a reader prompted me to make my own pumpkin pie spice instead of just going to buy another bottle. A number of people have mentioned that pumpkin pie spice is not available in their area, so hopefully now you can just whip some up yourself.

The recipe below makes about a half cup of pumpkin pie spice, which you can keep in a sealed tight container for about a year. Or, if you want to make a smaller quantity, just follow an approximate ratio of 8:2:2:2:1 (cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, clove).

Since I usually just assign a fixed estimated cost to spices of 5 cents per teaspoon or 10 cents for more expensive spices, I'm not going to try to calculate the cost here. I would have to weigh out the spices and most of them were purchased quite a while back and the receipts are long gone. So, this is a tutorial rather than a cost break down :)

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how to: make chicken broth

I'm going to start this by admitting that this is the VERY first time that I've ever made my own chicken broth. I've been meaning to for years... and it's almost hypocritical of me not to, but for some reason I never got around to trying it.

So, don't read this post as a "definitive guide" to making chicken broth, but rather a "here is my experience, you should try it too!" Also, because I know there are A LOT of you who have been doing this for years, I'd love it if you'd share your tips, tricks, and experiences in the comments so that we can all learn from each other :)

So what was my experience? OMG, so easy. Seriously, dump it all in the pot and let it go. Come back later and you have a magical golden liquid full of flavor and good for you nutrients. Why wouldn't you want to do this?! Plus, I always get warm and fuzzy inside when I know that I've reduced my waste. By making broth you get to use every last bit of goodness in your chicken and vegetable scraps. I can't wait to make some vegetable broth too!

A couple good tips I've already gotten from readers:

1) Save your vegetable scraps from other recipes in the freezer until you're ready to make broth. Just make sure they're well washed first to remove sand and dirt.

2) Theresa suggested making the broth in a slow cooker instead of on the stove top for even less baby sitting. Let it go all night and you'll have an ultra-amazing broth by morning!

I can't wait to hear everyone else's tips!

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how to: make yogurt

If there's one thing that I know how to do, it's grow bacteria. After all, that's what I do 40 hours a week when I'm not making delicious food and crunching grocery numbers. I work in lab where we have big fancy incubators and special nutrient rich agar to give the bacteria the perfect environment to grow. But guess what? It's not really that complicated.

To make yogurt, you just need to complete a few simple steps:

1. Heat some milk to 180 degrees Fahrenheit to kill any rogue bacteria.
2. Let the milk cool down to a temperature that bacteria like (115 degrees Fahrenheit).
3. Inoculate the milk with the bacteria that you want (lactobacillus).
4. Let the milk incubate and a nice warm, cozy temperature while the bacteria reproduce and work their yogurt magic.

As the lactobacillus feeds on the lactose (milk sugar) it produces acid, which not only gives the yogurt it's nice tangy flavor, but it also denatures the proteins in the milk, which solidifies the mixture (just like when heat denatures the protein in egg whites and they turn solid).

There are many methods for heating, cooling, and incubating milk to make yogurt and the method I'm describing here is just one.

Some people like to heat, cool, and incubate all in their slow cooker, but that can add about 5 or 6 hours to the process, so I heated my milk on the stove top. I used the slow cooker solely as an incubator (not plugged in) because it has a nice, thick ceramic lining that holds heat well. All in all, it was super easy and I think I will be doing it again!

And does it save money? Yep! A regular six ounce cup of yogurt usually costs around $0.60 each. When I buy a 32 ounce container, that same 6 ounce portion costs me about $0.41 cents. When I make it from fresh milk, a six ounce portion costs me $0.29. Not bad!

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how to: kick the can (of beans)

I know many of you Budget Byters already cook your own beans but I wanted to make this post for all of the newbies out there. Beans are one of the most economical and nutritious foods available so I try to use them in recipes as often as possible. Canned beans are quick and convenient but with a little planning ahead, dry beans can be just as easy and HALF the cost of canned.

Many people (including myself) shy away from cooking dry beans because it seems like such a daunting chore with the overnight soaking and hours of cooking. What I've discovered is that cooking beans can be as easy as "setting it and forgetting it" and, thanks to Kalyn's recent post, I now know that presoaking is not even necessary! If you cook a large batch, the beans can be divided up into two cup containers, frozen and then pulled out of the freezer as needed. Taking frozen beans out of the freezer is just as convenient as opening up a can!

Last night, I cooked up a batch of black beans for today's soup. The final cost for one can equivalent of dry beans was $0.40 cents. Compare that to a store bought can which usually runs me about $0.79 and I've cut the cost in half. Plus, I've eliminated salt, preservatives and a lot of wasted packaging. Have I convinced you yet?



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how to:

Over the past year I have shied away from using wine in my cooking simply because I didn't want to incorporate the cost into the meal. Well after last week's Spinach Artichoke Pasta and Goulash, I don't think I can ever make a white or red sauce without wine again. Just a little bit of wine goes a long way toward adding depth and flavor to sauces. The end result is not a "wine" flavor but rather an indescribable richness and tang.

I first heard about freezing wine during an interview with a wine expert on NPR years ago. The idea is certainly controversial and doesn't sound appealing at first. Although I don't think I'd freeze leftover wine in plastic bottles for later drinking, as the expert had suggested, I have no qualms about using frozen wine for cooking purposes.

Most methods I read about suggested filling an ice cube tray and then transferring the frozen cubes to a freezer bag or wrapping tightly with plastic. This method just seems like it would invite freezer burn or other miscellaneous flavors because of all of the air exposure. Plus, as some have mentioned, depending on the alcohol content the cubes may not fully freeze. So, I poured the liquid wine straight into plastic freezer bags. This way, only a small air bubble will remain in the top bag, greatly reducing air contact.



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