Learn New Food Prep & Preservation Skills

Thanks for visiting! If you are new here, please subscribe to my daily email or RSS feed so you don't miss a deal. You can also find Savvy Chic Savings on facebook and twitter.

This $25/wk Food Budget Challenge has me thinking in entirely new ways about cooking. I’m not a fantastic cook. I can follow a recipe, for the most part, but I tend to stick to very simple, bland foods. Since it’s usually just my own tastebuds that I have to please, I’ve been getting away with it. NOW I’m looking at food from a different perspective. It’s a challenge, it’s something to improve, and it can be conquered.

Here are 10 kitchen mini-challenges I would like to attempt in 2011.

1. Purchase a whole chicken. Cut it up myself. Use all the parts. (Done!)

2. Canning and preserves. The process just sounds so confusing and overwhelming.

3. Grow some herbs in cute little pots. Cilantro. Mint. What else?

4. Make homemade yogurt. Probably in a crockpot. (Done!)

5. Cook Julia Child’s Boeuf Bourguignon. Julie & Julia is the best blogger movie ever. ;)

6. Grow vegetables in pots on my apartment balcony. Lettuce, for sure.

7. Make my own cheese. Apparently, a mozerella kit like this makes it easy?

8. Use my freezer. I’ve always avoided throwing prepared foods in there. I’m afraid of what they’ll taste like when they come out. (Done!)

9. Make wine with a kit. The initial investment for all the supplies pricey, but the subsequent cost per batch is relatively low.

10. What should #10 be? What’s a frugal cooking skill I need to learn?

What do YOU want to learn?

This post is linked to Top Ten Tuesday at Oh Amanda.

Save on your favorite brands. Get coupons from Coupons.com Today!

Be Sociable, Share!

15 thoughts on “Learn New Food Prep & Preservation Skills”

2. BigBinder and I keep talking about doing a canning bee. We totally should!

3. Basil

10. Make pesto and hummus. I guess that’s kind of 2, but it’s so fun and easy!
Wendy (The Local Cook) recently posted..Spicy Asian Chicken with Brussels Sprouts

Jolon on January 11, 2011 at 1:04 pm said:

2. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do it. I will pay. or barter. I like bartering better. ;) lol
3. I have never used basil in my life but it totally makes sense for #10!
10. I’ll have to search your blog for good recipes :)
- Jen @ BigBinder on February 3, 2011 at 10:31 am said:
  
  Deal!
  
  My #1 is DRIED BEANS! I’d be happy to have a Bean Bee with you and The Local Cook too :)
  
  Also with the chicken; keep the bones and make stock. Also, when you are cutting up veggies, put the ‘scraps’ in a ZipLoc bag in the freezer. When it’s full, use those scraps to flavor your stock, or to make vegetable stock.
  Jen @ BigBinder recently posted..Things I Love Thursday – Valentine’s Day
  - Jolon on February 3, 2011 at 12:09 pm said:
    
    YAY! I now have 25# of dried beans to do something (anything?) with. Let’s do a Bean Bee, for sure. GREAT idea on freezing the veggie scraps. I never would have thought of that!

I conquered the chicken this year. *shudder* I’d still prefer to use gloves. ;)
oh amanda recently posted..Rapunzel’s Golden Hair Birthday Party

Jolon on January 11, 2011 at 2:25 pm said:

Ugh. Yeah, there’s a reason that’s #1 on the list. It totally grosses me out!

1. Good luck with that. I still roast mine before I pull it apart and set aside portions for future meals that week.
2. Canning is SUPER easy and the bonus is that it tastes better/fresher. Ball has a beginner’s kit that they sell with very good instructions, or there are plenty of how-to’s on the web.
3. Wendy beat me to Basil, but you should also consider Chives for indoor or outdoor growing. And, you can grow baby lettuce now if you have a window that gets a lot of natural light.

Jolon on January 11, 2011 at 4:15 pm said:

2. I have read a few guides, but my major confusion is what methods to use for what foods. There’s a pressure canner and just a water bath, right? Ugh. I guess I just need to friend youtube for a moment. lol Also, I saw a “big black pot” for canning in the clearance aisle at Walmart the other day for about $19. Not sure if that’s a good deal or not.

3. I’d love to start these things now instead of waiting til spring!

1, 8. You can roast your chicken, freeze the leftover meat to use in other things and make chicken broth from the resulting bones. Talk about frugal! ;)
2. I also want to learn to can. This summer? All of us??
3. basil, oregano, thyme – I’ve had great success with those.
5. I made Julia Child’s bouef bourginon last year and wrote about it on my blog. apparently I didn’t learn to spell it.
megan @ whatmegansmaking recently posted..Slow Cooker Stuffed Pepper Soup

Jolon on January 12, 2011 at 12:52 pm said:

1. Ok two of you have now said “roast first” sounds good to me. :)
2. Yes, yes, and yes.
5. I’ll have to go looking for it!!

Stick a whole chicken in your crockpot. Rub it with olive oil. 6 hours later on low it will be done. Easy. Eat some that night, then pull off the rest and freeze in little baggies and you can make tons of stuff with it. With one person, you could make a chicken go a long time. I can get get 3 meals out of one chicken with my 4-person family: whole chicken first night, chicken pot pie one night, chicken enchiladas one night.

Herbs to grow: Rosemary (for the chicken, or roast it on little potatoes with olive oil in the oven for a few hours and when done sprinkle with goat cheese) Basil (cut up in tiny bits with cherry tomatoes, goat cheese, and cucumbers for an awesome salad) Chives (very hardy and you can cut them up and put them on just about everything.) Cilantro: On everything remotely Mexican-food-ish.

Preserves: There is such a thing as refrigerator preserves, that do not need to be canned. Also I believe there are refrigerator pickles. Easy place to start. You could also freeze your veggies and fruits (when you get them cheap in season) and then use them when they are not in season. Frozen fruits of all kinds make good smoothies with that homemade yogurt you’re going to make.

Mozzerella: Sharon at Good, True and Beautiful blog has a photo tutorial on making mozzerella.

#10 could be Bake your own bread. I tried it this past year. Not that hard, really. Tastes WAY better. And you can bake some flax seed meal into it to make it even more healthy.
Lea Ann recently posted..Hidden printable coupons

Jolon on January 12, 2011 at 4:40 pm said:

Wow. You are amazing. I’m definitely doing the chicken in the crockpot because I just got one before Christmas. I lots of fruit in my freezer for smoothies right now. Hoping to ration them til summer. :) I will check out Sharon’s blog — photos are good for me. I used to make a molasses bread using a recipe from a monastery I visited twice when I lived in New Mexico. The problem is it was so good I would eat that and nothing else until it was gone because it was so good. lol

I think the moral of the story is that I can use coupons like no body’s business to get things FREE and cheap… but I suck at cooking and have obviously been missing out on truly frugal cooking. Thanks for all the tips!!!

Never used basil?! You absolutely must. It can take a recipe from bland to perfect. :)
Catherine recently posted..Say What!

Jolon on February 1, 2011 at 7:53 pm said:

Yay, another Grand Rapids blogger! Hi! :) Thanks for visiting. I know, I’m a total rookie in the kitchen. Hopefully I don’t kill the basil before I have a chance to make it into pesto. ;)

I just found this post, you are more then welcome to bring your jars and I’ll show you some canning, it’s super easy and a no brainer ,the best thing is get the blue ball book. and I also make wine, I’ll be happy to come over and help you. Sicilianos at lake mi and collindale has everything you need, and it’s pretty much fool proof with a kit. With kids ect I have forgotten it and it didn’t go bad…..good luck with all the kitchen stuff

Wendy (The Local Cook) on January 11, 2011 at 12:48 pm said:

2. BigBinder and I keep talking about doing a canning bee. We totally should!

3. Basil

10. Make pesto and hummus. I guess that’s kind of 2, but it’s so fun and easy!
Wendy (The Local Cook) recently posted..Spicy Asian Chicken with Brussels Sprouts
- Jolon on January 11, 2011 at 1:04 pm said:
  
  2. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do it. I will pay. or barter. I like bartering better. ;) lol
  3. I have never used basil in my life but it totally makes sense for #10!
  10. I’ll have to search your blog for good recipes :)
  - Jen @ BigBinder on February 3, 2011 at 10:31 am said:
    
    Deal!
    
    My #1 is DRIED BEANS! I’d be happy to have a Bean Bee with you and The Local Cook too :)
    
    Also with the chicken; keep the bones and make stock. Also, when you are cutting up veggies, put the ‘scraps’ in a ZipLoc bag in the freezer. When it’s full, use those scraps to flavor your stock, or to make vegetable stock.
    Jen @ BigBinder recently posted..Things I Love Thursday – Valentine’s Day
    - Jolon on February 3, 2011 at 12:09 pm said:
      
      YAY! I now have 25# of dried beans to do something (anything?) with. Let’s do a Bean Bee, for sure. GREAT idea on freezing the veggie scraps. I never would have thought of that!
oh amanda on January 11, 2011 at 1:44 pm said:

I conquered the chicken this year. *shudder* I’d still prefer to use gloves. ;)
oh amanda recently posted..Rapunzel’s Golden Hair Birthday Party
- Jolon on January 11, 2011 at 2:25 pm said:
  
  Ugh. Yeah, there’s a reason that’s #1 on the list. It totally grosses me out!
Lindsay on January 11, 2011 at 3:19 pm said:

1. Good luck with that. I still roast mine before I pull it apart and set aside portions for future meals that week.
2. Canning is SUPER easy and the bonus is that it tastes better/fresher. Ball has a beginner’s kit that they sell with very good instructions, or there are plenty of how-to’s on the web.
3. Wendy beat me to Basil, but you should also consider Chives for indoor or outdoor growing. And, you can grow baby lettuce now if you have a window that gets a lot of natural light.
- Jolon on January 11, 2011 at 4:15 pm said:
  
  2. I have read a few guides, but my major confusion is what methods to use for what foods. There’s a pressure canner and just a water bath, right? Ugh. I guess I just need to friend youtube for a moment. lol Also, I saw a “big black pot” for canning in the clearance aisle at Walmart the other day for about $19. Not sure if that’s a good deal or not.
  
  3. I’d love to start these things now instead of waiting til spring!
megan @ whatmegansmaking on January 11, 2011 at 4:39 pm said:

1, 8. You can roast your chicken, freeze the leftover meat to use in other things and make chicken broth from the resulting bones. Talk about frugal! ;)
2. I also want to learn to can. This summer? All of us??
3. basil, oregano, thyme – I’ve had great success with those.
5. I made Julia Child’s bouef bourginon last year and wrote about it on my blog. apparently I didn’t learn to spell it.
megan @ whatmegansmaking recently posted..Slow Cooker Stuffed Pepper Soup
- Jolon on January 12, 2011 at 12:52 pm said:
  
  1. Ok two of you have now said “roast first” sounds good to me. :)
  2. Yes, yes, and yes.
  5. I’ll have to go looking for it!!
Lea Ann on January 12, 2011 at 12:57 pm said:

Stick a whole chicken in your crockpot. Rub it with olive oil. 6 hours later on low it will be done. Easy. Eat some that night, then pull off the rest and freeze in little baggies and you can make tons of stuff with it. With one person, you could make a chicken go a long time. I can get get 3 meals out of one chicken with my 4-person family: whole chicken first night, chicken pot pie one night, chicken enchiladas one night.

Herbs to grow: Rosemary (for the chicken, or roast it on little potatoes with olive oil in the oven for a few hours and when done sprinkle with goat cheese) Basil (cut up in tiny bits with cherry tomatoes, goat cheese, and cucumbers for an awesome salad) Chives (very hardy and you can cut them up and put them on just about everything.) Cilantro: On everything remotely Mexican-food-ish.

Preserves: There is such a thing as refrigerator preserves, that do not need to be canned. Also I believe there are refrigerator pickles. Easy place to start. You could also freeze your veggies and fruits (when you get them cheap in season) and then use them when they are not in season. Frozen fruits of all kinds make good smoothies with that homemade yogurt you’re going to make.

Mozzerella: Sharon at Good, True and Beautiful blog has a photo tutorial on making mozzerella.

#10 could be Bake your own bread. I tried it this past year. Not that hard, really. Tastes WAY better. And you can bake some flax seed meal into it to make it even more healthy.
Lea Ann recently posted..Hidden printable coupons
- Jolon on January 12, 2011 at 4:40 pm said:
  
  Wow. You are amazing. I’m definitely doing the chicken in the crockpot because I just got one before Christmas. I lots of fruit in my freezer for smoothies right now. Hoping to ration them til summer. :) I will check out Sharon’s blog — photos are good for me. I used to make a molasses bread using a recipe from a monastery I visited twice when I lived in New Mexico. The problem is it was so good I would eat that and nothing else until it was gone because it was so good. lol
  
  I think the moral of the story is that I can use coupons like no body’s business to get things FREE and cheap… but I suck at cooking and have obviously been missing out on truly frugal cooking. Thanks for all the tips!!!
Catherine on February 1, 2011 at 7:15 pm said:

Never used basil?! You absolutely must. It can take a recipe from bland to perfect. :)
Catherine recently posted..Say What!
- Jolon on February 1, 2011 at 7:53 pm said:
  
  Yay, another Grand Rapids blogger! Hi! :) Thanks for visiting. I know, I’m a total rookie in the kitchen. Hopefully I don’t kill the basil before I have a chance to make it into pesto. ;)
Ruth on April 7, 2011 at 11:00 am said:

I just found this post, you are more then welcome to bring your jars and I’ll show you some canning, it’s super easy and a no brainer ,the best thing is get the blue ball book. and I also make wine, I’ll be happy to come over and help you. Sicilianos at lake mi and collindale has everything you need, and it’s pretty much fool proof with a kit. With kids ect I have forgotten it and it didn’t go bad…..good luck with all the kitchen stuff