If you have extra fresh turkey and a grinder simply mince the turkey in the grinder.  Remove the flesh from the thighs, legs and the tail.  Breast meat is rather dry and bland whereas the thighs and legs have more flavor and fat.   If you don’t have a grinder, freeze chunks of turkey and mince the chunks in your food processor.  However, ground turkey is available at most supermarkets so save yourself some time and work.

Beans can be dried or canned but for my money I prefer dried beans and the juice created during the cooking process is far superior in flavor to that of canned beans, which tend to be overly salted.  Use red beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, or black beans or a combination.  I prefer red beans with black beans.

Best to soak dried beans overnight according to package instructions but a quick way to plump up dried beans is to wash them first, cover with water up to 1-inch above the beans , do not salt the water, bring to a boil over high heat and cook for 20 minutes.  Remove from heat, cover and let soak for 1 or 2 hours.  Be sure you do not salt the water.  Salting the water will prevent the beans from softening.

Finally, bring the soaked beans to a boil over high heat then reduce to a lively simmer and cook until really soft and tender, about 1.5 to 2 hours.   You can use a crock pot for this step so the beans will cook to tender while you’re at work or running errands.

Use the 5 bean test to make sure the beans are really tender.  If 4 out of 5 beans are soft and slightly squishy, they are done and ready to add meat, veggies and seasoning.  You’ll need 3 cups of cooked beans with the cooking liquid for this recipe.  Freeze the remainder for re-fried beans, minestrone, arroz con pollo, bean salad or other dishes.

While the beans are on their final cooking, prepare the Turkey Sausage.  Always test fry a small patty of sausage to check for seasoning.  If its to your liking then proceed.  At this point sausage patties can be made, wrapped and frozen for breakfast or biscuits and gravy.

Ingredients:

Turkey Sausage:

•  1 pound of ground raw turkey
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp ground sage
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or to taste

Chile:

• 3 cups cooked beans and liquid or 1 can of red beans and 1 can of black beans
• 1 lb Homemade Turkey Sausage
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 15-oz can of diced tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp chile powder
• 1 fresh hot chile of choice, minced with or without seeds and veins or 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp oregano or 2 sprigs of fresh oregano
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 Tbsp masa harina (Mexican corn tortilla flour or 1 crisp corn tortilla finely crushed)

Garnishes:

• cilantro leaves
• cheddar cheese or Monterrey Jack cheese grated
• Greek yogurt or sour cream
• pickled jalapeno peppers
• sliced scallions (spring onions)

Method:

1. To prepare the Turkey Sausage, mix all ingredients in a bowl taking care not to overwork the meat.  Make a tiny patty with 1 Tbsp of the seasoned meat and fry it in a non-stick skillet over medium high heat until done, turning once.  Taste the patty for seasoning and adjust the sausage if needed.
2. In a non-stick skillet, saute the onion and garlic in olive oil until fragrant and wilted. Add the sausage and break it up with a wooden spoon or potato masher as it cooks.  Cook the sausage only until it is no longer pink.  Add to the beans with cooking liquid in a large sauce pan.
3. Add the remaining chile ingredients to the beans and meat.  Bring to a slow boil for 10-15 minutes.
4. Using a potato masher, smash some of the beans to make it creamy.   Continue to simmer until juices are creamy and juices have reduced to your taste.
5. Let cool for 10 or 15 minutes before serving.  Serve with garnishes, warm tortillas or bread.

Remember, I started with a fairly well stocked pantry and freezer so I needed to buy only a few pantry replacements, namely dried beans, split peas, oil and can of salmon.   I spent a total of $66.86 this week and will only need to spend about $10.00 each week for the next 3 weeks for milk, greens and fruit.   My neighbor gave me 4 huge, ripe avocados last week, 2 of which made a superb guacamole for the Nachos Grande I served to my card club on Thursday.  That comprised my free acquisitions for the week.  Those freebies add a lot of value to your diet so if you happen upon an over-turned truck of watermelons on the highway be sure to grab one or two.

Food preferences are very individual but for the most part I’ll eat anything except rutabagas.  As far as beverages go, I drink a lot of water but I do enjoy wine and mixed cocktails when my budget allows.  It’s very hot in the tropics so I drink water, at least 2 quarts a day.  It is essential to replacing the fluids lost in perspiring. My only daily indulgence is 2 cups of cafe au lait and a glass of my homemade ginger beer on a really hot afternoon. Drinking commercial pop daily is not healthy for your budget or your body.  Save the pop for a treat.

Monday:

Breakfast – Toast (No-Knead Potato Bread) and butter; coffee with cream and sugar

Lunch – Chile (homemade with 2 links of Sweet Italian sausage and dried red beans topped with cheddar cheese);  homemade corn bread;   Homemade ginger beer

 Note:  Soak 1 lb of red beans overnight and cook  for 2 hours. Freeze 1 cup of cooked beans for rice and beans, freeze 3 cups for refried beans, make chile with the remaining beans.  Freeze leftover chile for card party on Thursday.  Freeze leftover corn bread.

Dinner – Spinach salad with tomato, onion, zucchini, black olives, vinaigrette;  Roasted chicken and sweet potato (1 thigh and drumstick)

Note:  Carve the chicken breasts into slices and shredd meat off remaining thigh and drumstick, reserve remaining carcas for chicken stock.

Snack – Chocolate Sorbet

Tuesday:

Breakfast – Coffee, cream and sugar

Mid morning snack – Mango smoothie (freeby mangoes frozen when in season, yogurt, honey, orange juice)

Lunch – Avocado and tomato sandwich with yogurt cheese

Dinner – Salmon patties with garlic aioli; spinach salad with tomato, spring onions and mango vinaigrette

Wednesday:

Breakfast – Homemade Banana Muffin with butter; coffee, cream and sugar                                                                                                                           Note:  Made 6 Texas sized muffins and froze 5.

Lunch – Chicken noodle soup; toasted cheese sandwich made with potato bread                                                                                                       Note: Homemade stock made from carcas of Monday night’s chicken, add shredded chicken from thigh and drumstick.  This made 4 servings of chicken noodle soup;  froze the leftover soup.

Dinner – Stewed tomatoes and okra with bacon over rice;  Homemade Corn bread (frozen on Monday) and butter                                                  Note: Saved the leftover rice for pork fried rice and made 1 jar of pickled okra with the remaining fresh okra not used.

Snack – Chocolate Chip cookies and coffee

Thursday:

Breakfast – Yogurt, mango and honey;  toast and butter; coffee, cream and sugar

Lunch:  Nachos Grande for Card Club;  Iced Tea with Lemongrass and honey

Dinner:  Card Club leftovers including Chile,  Avocado and Olive Dip, tortilla chips, salsa, yogurt cheese and cheddar cheese

Friday:

Breakfast – 2 Pancakes and syrup, coffee, cream and sugar

Lunch – Avocado BLT on potato bread;   Homemade ginger beer

Dinner – Tilapia with Mojo Isleño sauce, cole slaw

Cocktail – orange juice and rum

Saturday:

Breakfast – Orange juice, Banana Muffin and coffee with cream and sugar

Lunch – Chicken (2 breast slices from chicken frozen on Monday) and avocado sandwich on Potato Bread

Dinner – Pork Fried Rice  (last 2 scallopini of pork used and rice from Wednesday ) with veggies (celery, carrot, Anaheim pepper);  pot of Oolong Tea

Snack – Almond Panna Cotta

Sunday:

Breakfast – Pancakes, eggs and bacon; orange juice;  coffee, cream and sugar

Lunch – Spinach quiche

Early Dinner – Chicken and Rice with Jalapeno Casserole; Texas Pea Salad

Dessert – Almond Panna Cotta and chocolate chip cookies; coffee

Be sure to check back next week for Week #2 Menus – Cooking for One on $100/Month.  If you’re single, how much do you spend a month for food?  Go take my poll at my previous post  Can A Single Person Eat at Home for $100 a Month?  If you’d like a detailed list of the groceries purchased, please leave a comment and I’ll follow up with a post.

If you only have $100 per month to spend on food, what would your meals consist of?  I’ve searched for menus given this spending restraint but could find no menus, only shopping strategies and grocery lists.  My real question is how healthy and well can you eat on $100 per month?  As a single retired person living on a fixed income, its important to keep expenses at a minimum and health at a premium.  Dare say, struggling single-young-people  have the same quest.  To that end, I’ve devised menus for a month of meals that ensure high nutrition, comfort and ease of preparation.  Every week starting Monday, August 29th, I will blog one week’s worth of menus with links to the recipes and a shopping list with prices so you can glean how this is being accomplished.  Shopping smart is the key.

Its important to note that certain food staples are necessary to have on hand when you begin creating menus.  A list is provided (below) of staples you should have on hand.  These will last for several months,  for example: a box of salt will last you 4 months or more; herbs, spices, vinegars, syrups and extracts will last at least 6 months;  ketchup, mustard and other condiments will definitely last more than a month.  Unless you love to bake, or dried beans and lentils are your thing, you can allow $10-$20 per month to buy new staples and replenish old ones.  Buying those “Lost Leaders” (sale items that get you into the store so you’ll buy more expensive items) will save a lot of money in stocking your staples for the freezer and pantry.  Once you have your staples you can buy more fresh produce (fruits and veggies), meat, fish, eggs and dairy for immediate consumption.

Growing your own herbs and some vegetables will add flavor and nutrition to your diet plus save money.  Making your own condiments and cooking from scratch will also save money.  And, whenever you get a bunch of fresh fruit or veggies from parents or neighbors, its definitely worth the time and effort to preserve, freeze, dehydrate or pickle for future use.  Food Banks are often called to harvest fruit from backyards where the owners cannot deal with the abundance of fruit falling from their trees.  If your neighbor has a lot of fallen fruit and it doesn’t appear they are using it, ask them for it, u-pick it instead of letting the fruit rot on the ground.   Freeze fruit for pies, smoothies, coulis, etc.  Make some jam, jellies or fruit butters for yourself and for gifts.  If you don’t know how to cook check out YouTube videos entitled “how to cook – “, check out Chef John’s videos at foodwishes, buy a cookbook at a garage sale, ask your Mom, your Aunt, your neighbor or your girl(boy) friend for recipes and definitely try some of my recipes.  Just remember, “If you can read, you can cook.”

List of staples to have on hand:

In the Pantry:

• flour, all-purpose and whole wheat
• yeast
• dry milk powder, evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk
• baking powder, baking soda, cornstarch, cocoa powder
• creamed soups (mushroom, chicken, celery, etc) (I like to make these from scratch and freeze them)
• canned veggies (tomatoes, tomato paste, chipotle chile, roasted red pepper, corn, beets) and fruit (black plums, peaches)
• various spices & seasonings (the basics: garlic powder, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, thyme, salt, pepper, dried onion, dill etc)
• various condiments (worcestershire, soy sauce, ketchup, mustard, Tabasco, olives, capers etc)
• vinegar, olive oil and vegetable oil
• rice, oatmeal and cornmeal
• peanut butter, molasses, maple syrup
• dried fruit like raisins, prunes, figs, and apricots, etc
• canned tuna, canned salmon, sardines, etc
• sugars, white and brown, powdered sugar
• dried beans, split peas, quinoa and lentils
• potato flakes, couscous, stuffing mixes
• pasta

In the freezer and frigerator:

• chicken broth homemade
• beef broth homemade
• homemade breads, rolls, plus store-bought tortillas, English muffins purchased on sale
• pureed pumpkin, squash, spinach, sweet peas, broccoli, etc. and other fresh fruits & veggies frozen before they can go bad.
• ribs, ground beef, turkey, chicken, sausage, etc.  All meats bought on sale, divided into portions and frozen.
• nuts and seeds (these items keep better and longer in the freezer rather than in a cupboard)
• ginger root
• frozen juices
• butter (real) and cheese bricks bought when on sale

For the best results buy a fresh, organic turkey from your butcher.  In lieu of a fresh bird, a ButterBall turkey is perhaps the best quality and comes with pretty fail-safe directions for stuffing and roasting.  Be sure your frozen bird is completely thawed out in the refrigerator.  This may take 2 days or more and any liquids accumulated in the drip tray should be removed at least every 12 hours.  Once the turkey is completely thawed, remove the giblets and neck, reserve for stock.  Rinse the bird under cold running water, inside and out, then dry with paper towels, or a clean cotton kitchen towel, and place in a clean roasting pan.  Be sure to use warm soapy water to wash down cupboards and cutting boards after handling any poultry.

This recipe is enough for a 10-12 pound turkey.  Sazon seasoning (Goya brand) is available at Latin markets, Wholefoods and most of the bigger supermarkets.  If you cannot find it, substitute 1 tsp ground coriander and 2 Tbsp annatto oil, or 1 Tbsp Adobo de Achiote.

Ingredients for Marinade:

• 8 garlic cloves mashed with 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 envelope Sazon seasoning with Culantro and Annatto or Adobo de Achiote 
• 1/3 cup sour orange juice or dry white wine
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 large onion, minced

Method:

• Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl. 
• Liberally massage marinade on the inside and outside of the turkey.
•  Place in roaster pan, cover and refrigerate overnight or at least 12 hours.
• Loosely stuff the turkey with the stuffing.  Pull the legs together so that they overlap.  Use butcher’s twine to tie the legs together.  Tuck the tips of the wings under the back.
• Place turkey in a 400° F. oven for 30 minutes to brown the skin.  Cover with aluminum foil, reduce heat to 325° F. and roast for about 4 ½ hours or until juices run clear when the meat is pricked, the leg joints feel loose, and a meat thermometer registers 180 degrees when inserted in the thickest part of the thigh.
• Check the stuffing: the thermometer should register 165 degrees when inserted into the center of the stuffing. 
• Baste turkey with pan juices during roasting.

Notes:

1. Stock made from the giblets and neck is perfect for moistening your stuffing and making gravy with pan juices.
2. Make giblet stock the night before stuffing the bird.  In a large sauce pan place cleaned giblets and neck, cover with water.
3. Add 1/2 onion chopped, 8 sprigs parsley, 3 sprigs of oregano, 1 tsp of Adobo de Achiote or 1 tsp coriander seed, 1/2 tsp salt,  6  black peppercorns and a few dashes of chili sauce.
4. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer and cook until giblets are fork tender.  Add more water if needed during cooking.
5. Cool to room temperature.  Remove meat, chop and return to liquid.  Refrigerate until needed. 

Chorizo and Pine Nut Stuffing:

• 8 cups dried bread cubes
• 8 oz chorizo sausage (hot or mild), casings removed
• 1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted in a dry skillet
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 Tbsp Sazon or Adobo de Achiote
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper or 1 habanero chili, minced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• stewed and chopped giblets and neck meat plus broth as needed

Method:

1. Place bread cubes in a large bowl.
2. Saute onion in 1 Tbsp butter until wilted and fragrant.  Remove to bowl with bread cubes.
3. Add sausage to saute pan and saute until crumbled and fat has been rendered.  Remove sausage with a slotted spoon and add to bread cubes.
4. Add remaining ingredients to bread crumbs and toss to combine with enough giblet broth to moisten all. Reserve remaining broth for gravy.
5. Check seasoning and stuff bird loosely.  Place remaining stuffing in a buttered casserole.  Bake at 325° F. for 20-25 minutes until browned and crisp on top.

Tip for making lumpless gravy:

1.  Add giblet broth to pan drippings and bring to a boil.
2. In a glass jar with lid, pour 1/2 cup cold water, add 2 Tbsp flour, tighten lid on jar and shake until flour and water are smooth and creamy.
3. Whisk floury water into drippings until gravy thickens.  If you want thicker gravy add more flour and if you want thinner gravyadd more broth or wine to the drippings. 

Unlike Mexican cuisine which is spicy hot from chiles, Puerto Rican cooks do not use hot chiles.  Their dishes are packed with savory seasonings made of fresh vegetables and dried herbs and spices.  Goya brand Sazon is also a seasoning salt mix used regularly in Puerto Rican cooking as a substitute for achiote oil (annatto seeds cooked in olive oil).   Sazon is sort of the lazy cooks alternative to adding the saffron color to a dish.  But that’s for another post…Asopao – Puerto Rican Chicken Soup uses Sofrito, Adobo and achiote.  Mojo Isleño, a delicious sauce for seafood will be posted after that.

Okay, back to Adobo!  One of the key ingredients in a fresh adobo is vinegar.  I thought this unusual because lime juice seems like a better compliment to the garlic, olive oil, oregano and salt/pepper.  However, I was assured by one of my neighbors Myrla Colón that Puerto Ricans prefer the flavor of vinegar over lime.  So there you have it, authentic adobo of Puerto Rico contains vinegar…red-wine vinegar preferably.    I’ve taken a bit of license here and offer lime juice as an option to the vinegar. 

Filipino adobo chicken is simply chicken stewed in garlic, vegetable oil, soy sauce,vinegar and optional fresh ginger.  It’s more Asian than Spanish so don’t confuse adobo chicken of the Philippines with adobo chicken of the Puerto Rican persuasion. 

You can buy dry powdered Adobo with a variety of herbs and spices but an authentic Puerto Rican Adobo made of fresh ingredients is by far superior.   This recipe will be cheap and simple to make since you probably have all the ingredients right in your kitchen now.  Use this recipe to marinate chicken pieces overnight.  They will be positively succulent when grilled the next day.  Serve with rice and beans, green salad and a glass of your favorite wine. 

Ingredients:

• 6 cloves garlic, peeled
• 3 tsp sea salt
• 12 black peppercorns
• 1 Tbsp dried oregano (3 Tbsp fresh oregano)
• 1 Tbsp red-wine vinegar (or 1 Tbsp lime juice)
• 6 Tbsp olive oil
• 8 chicken pieces

Method:

1. In a blender or small food processor, grind garlic, salt, peppercorns and oregano with vinegar.
2. Slowly add olive oil and whirl until emulsified.
3. Wash chicken pieces in cold water and pat dry. Place in zip-lock bag or glass dish with lid.
4. Cover chicken on all sides with Adobo marinade.  Place in refrigerator overnight or at least 3 hours.
5. Remove chicken from refrigerator.  Turn pieces to coat with marinade and allow to come to room temperature.
6. Remove chicken pieces from marinade.  Reserve marinade for basting during cooking.
7. Prepare grill.  Over medium heat, cook chicken pieces for 10-12 minutes covered.   Baste with marinade.  Turn and continue to cook additional 10-12 minutes covered. Baste with marinade.
8. Check for doneness.  Juices should run clear when chicken is pierced with a knife in the thickest part of each piece. 
9. Just before the chicken is really done, move the chicken pieces to a high heat area of the grill.  Brush one last time with marinade and grill just until browned to your liking.

Grilling Tips:

• Only grill chicken over medium heat.  High heat will only char the outside and leave the inside undercooked.  If you can hold your hand over the area for grilling 5-6 seconds, the temperature is just about medium.   
• Finish chicken over high heat to brown and crisp the skin as well as destroy any bacteria. If you can hold your hand over the grill area for 1-2 seconds the temperature is high. 
• Do not brush the cooked chicken with the marinade that the raw chicken sat in.  Any bacteria from the raw chicken will be transferred to the cooked chicken.
• If chicken breasts are really thick they’ll require longer cooking.  You can butterfly the breasts so they will cook at the same rate as the thighs, wings and drum sticks.