# Housewifely Frugality **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 2, 2009, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housewifely-frugality/516046 "2009-11-02T13:34:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housewifely-frugality/516046/221 "2009-11-06T13:41:50Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Back when I lived with inadequate heat I used to boil a kettle of water (use a pot if you don’t have a kettle) and pour it into a casserole dish, then put it in the bottom of the oven compartment. I’d then put the dough in a bowl on the rack above the water. Shut the door - nice humid place for dough to rise! Just remember not to turn the oven on until it’s done rising, and best to remove dish/water prior to actually cooking the bread. Or you can time your bread making with your clothes drying, if you use a dryer. Or dishwashing, if you use a dishwasher. And bread _will_ rise eventually as long as it isn’t crazy super cold, it’s just faster in heat. I often use a bread recipe from Cook for Good that has zero kneading and zero rising-on-your-time - it goes in the fridge overnight. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housewifely-frugality/516046/222 "2009-11-06T13:42:40Z")
> [@overlyverbose (recipe content snipped)](#): > > 1 lb cubed boneless skinless chicken breast (about 1-inch cubes) > > Toss in the chicken, stir some more, then hit cook if you haven’t already. Is that raw chicken you’re tossing into the rice cooker? I’d have expected it to be sauteed at least a little first. 😕 Otherwise, this sounds really good. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housewifely-frugality/516046/223 "2009-11-06T15:11:44Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > Is that raw chicken you’re tossing into the rice cooker? I’d have expected it to be sauteed at least a little first. 😕 > > Otherwise, this sounds really good. Oops - should have addressed that. Yeah, the recipe calls for raw chicken, but I generally brown it a bit so it’s almost fully cooked, then it cooks the rest of the way in the cooker. I agree that the thought of doing that seems a little risky. When I’m feeling all wild and crazy, I’ll sometimes substitute cubed boneless thighs, which result in a far more tender chicken (but I can’t stand it when I find that one chunk of fat I always seem to miss). ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housewifely-frugality/516046/224 "2009-11-06T15:14:38Z")
I have a very chill kitchen in my old house, I put my bread into the microwave oven, (not on!), to rise, works perfectly. It’s not so much that it’s warm, as, it’s not cool! I tried the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies last night. A big hit, very yummy! ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housewifely-frugality/516046/225 "2009-11-06T15:38:47Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > I have a very chill kitchen Word. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housewifely-frugality/516046/226 "2009-11-06T15:40:01Z")
> [@overlyverbose](#): > > Oops - should have addressed that. Yeah, the recipe calls for raw chicken, but I generally brown it a bit so it’s almost fully cooked, then it cooks the rest of the way in the cooker. I agree that the thought of doing that seems a little risky. When I’m feeling all wild and crazy, I’ll sometimes substitute cubed boneless thighs, which result in a far more tender chicken (but I can’t stand it when I find that one chunk of fat I always seem to miss). Groovy. I am so going to make this! With some sort of veggies on the side. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housewifely-frugality/516046/227 "2009-11-06T17:31:28Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Or you can time your bread making with your clothes drying, if you use a dryer. Or dishwashing, if you use a dishwasher. Well, yes, but while in the apartment-with-inadequate-heat I mentioned the “dryer” was in a laundromat down the street and there wasn’t _room_ for a dishwasher in the place, it was a one-room so small the vermin were stoop-shouldered and I had to go outside to get room to change my mind 🙂 For that matter, even 25 years later, I _still_ don’t have a dishwasher. In fact, I haven’t had one since I moved out of my parents’ house. I just don’t really see that appliance as a necessity. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housewifely-frugality/516046/228 "2009-11-06T19:11:38Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Well, yes, but while in the apartment-with-inadequate-heat I mentioned the “dryer” was in a laundromat down the street and there wasn’t _room_ for a dishwasher in the place, it was a one-room so small the vermin were stoop-shouldered and I had to go outside to get room to change my mind 🙂 > > For that matter, even 25 years later, I _still_ don’t have a dishwasher. In fact, I haven’t had one since I moved out of my parents’ house. I just don’t really see that appliance as a necessity. But do you have a rice cooker? 😉 There are, in many cases, overwhelming issues to living in poverty - like having an inadequate kitchen or not having access to a good market that sells food inexpensively. There aren’t easy ways to overcome that. And those folks I completely sympathize with - I had my own “inadequate apartment in a lousy neighborhood” - baking bread was so not happening. But those issues really aren’t issues for the average suburban Mom whose issues, in the case where I made the OP, are either a lack of basic skills and knowledge or a lack of willingness to change their lifestyle. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housewifely-frugality/516046/229 "2009-11-06T20:49:07Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Well, yes, but while in the apartment-with-inadequate-heat I mentioned the “dryer” was in a laundromat down the street and there wasn’t _room_ for a dishwasher in the place, it was a one-room so small the vermin were stoop-shouldered and I had to go outside to get room to change my mind 🙂 > > For that matter, even 25 years later, I _still_ don’t have a dishwasher. In fact, I haven’t had one since I moved out of my parents’ house. I just don’t really see that appliance as a necessity. It’s so funny, whenever we have one of those threads on “what appliance could you live without?” I’m always the total opposite of everybody else - I would cheerfully give up my microwave, but you’ll pry my dishwasher from my cold dead hands. I HATE doing dishes, but all I use the microwave for is reheating stuff. Of course, with no microwave I’d _definitely_ need my dishwasher since I’d get more pots dirty. The appliances I use the most are the stove/oven, of course, the rice cooker, the stand mixer, and the food processor. If I did less baking I wouldn’t even need the stand mixer. I think I’d be more able to transition backwards to a turn of the century kitchen better than almost anybody I know, only somebody would have to wash the dishes for me and we’d never eat hummus anymore. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housewifely-frugality/516046/230 "2009-11-06T20:49:48Z")
I just bought a rice cooker on sale at walgreens for $7. It works well and can be used to steam vegetables. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housewifely-frugality/516046/231 "2009-11-06T22:01:29Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > Groovy. I am so going to make this! With some sort of veggies on the side. Many frozen veggies can be cooked into that sort of dish, too. I have to admit that one of my freezer staples is frozen mixed veggies. I find them to be very, very handy. Tonight I’ll be cooking some ground turkey, then mixing it with some rice, chicken broth, and frozen mixed vegetables for a sort of casserole for one (Bill’s gone hunting). Why dirty up several pans when I can cook it all in one saucepan? ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housewifely-frugality/516046/232 "2009-11-06T22:16:48Z")
> [@overlyverbose](#): > > Ok - here we go. It’s been tweaked a lot. I think the original just had curry powder and a little salt along with the chicken. > > 1 can tomato sauce Sounds interesting. What size can of tomato sauce though? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housewifely-frugality/516046/233 "2009-11-06T22:39:35Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > But do you have a rice cooker? 😉 That’s the microwave. 🙂 Seriously, I have a small kitchen and space is at a premium. I just never acquired a small herd of appliances and just as well because there’s no room for them. No rice cooker, no electric mixer (yes, I do bread dough, cookies, _everything_ by hand). My husband runs the blender when he makes hummus - I have actually made hummus via _hand_ chopping which, honestly, I’m not enthused about which might be why hubby makes the hummus at our house. I do use the microwave to cook rice and noodles with good results, though it took a little experimenting. That’s the other thing - I’m willing to risk making a mistake, that’s how I become a better cook. Over in the cooking appliance thread I got dinged because I said my knife was my favorite appliance. Well… by their definition I _don’t_ have any kitchen appliances! No toaster, no electric can opener, no rice cooker, no bread machine… People have been amazed that I can do so many things with so few tools, but really, prior to the 20th Century people didn’t have appliances as we know them, yet they still cooked amazing stuff. (Look up traditional ways of making couscous from scratch - there’s an interesting read! Almost as scary as the way my great-aunt used to make chopped liver pate with a hand chopper) ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housewifely-frugality/516046/234 "2009-11-06T23:03:00Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > They’re even better with chopped walnuts. 🙂 I suspected as much. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housewifely-frugality/516046.md?page=11)