Frugal Feeds | 9 Recipes for White Sauce Creates Endless Diversity in your Dishes

Understanding white sauce will open up a tremendous amount of options for your recipes. Although called a sauce, and in some cases used as a sauce, white sauce is actually more of a binder. Think of it as either a thin, liquidy glue, a standard white glue, a paste or a caulk. When thought of in these four terms it is closer to how we use it.

Today we will focus on white sauce number one--thin, liquidy glue.

For White Sauce #1 you will need:

1 T. fat--olive oil, coconut oil, nut butter
1 T. starch--white whole wheat flour, whole wheat flour, whole oat flour, 3/4 T. brown rice flour or 3/4 T garbanzo bean flour
(Pan browned flour makes it less thick but more flavorful.)
1 c. liquid--2% milk, plain milk alternative, low sodium broth, wine, juice or water
1/2 t. seasoning--salt, pepper, herbs, spices, low fat cheese, bacon

Makes 4, 1/4 cup servings, or about one ladle-full each


For the Traditional White Sauce #1 that works out to be:

1 T. olive oil
1 T. white whole wheat flour
1 c. 2% milk
1/4 t. salt

You will need a whisk, a pouring cup and a saute pan.

In a medium sized saute pan over medium-high heat (usually 7 on the dial), melt the fat, if using coconut oil, and bring to a low simmer. If using nut butter add a bit of water to the nut butter before bringing to a simmer. Sprinkle the starch (white whole wheat flour) over the simmering fat and whisk it until it is very smooth, bubbly and fully mixed. Allow it to simmer for five minutes. You have just made a Roux. Using about one third of the liquid (2% milk) at a time whisk it into the Roux--fat-starch mixture.

Have the liquid fully whisked in before adding the next third of liquid. By this careful process you end up with a sauce that is free of lumps.

Once all of the liquid is whisked in--drop the temperature to medium low (usually a 4 on the dial) and let it simmer until it thickens slightly. Add the seasoning (salt) to taste and serve.

This is the sauce you would use for making a thin white sauce for left-over chicken, a cream-of-something soup, a creamy wine sauce, and a bechamel. One serving of White Sauce #1 gives you 70 calories.


For the White Sauce #1 using Corn or Potato Starch:
Melt the fat in the pan. In a bowl whisk together the liquid and the starch until fully smooth and lump free. Add liquid to pan, whisking regularly. Add seasoning and allow to thicken.


For the Thin White Sauce for Chicken
Change it up from plain white sauce to something different every time.
Things to change:
Add mustard (be sure it doesn't contain vinegar, lemon or other acid or your sauce will curdle) or use mustard powder
Add some grated low fat cheese once you remove the sauce from the heat, and stir to melt
Add Summer Savory
Add Rosemary
Add Thyme



For the Cream-of-Something-Soup
Recipe, as it is, is one serving for a soup. To make it a family sized four serving soup change the ingredients to:

4 T. fat
4 T starch
4 c. liquid
2 t. seasoning

This change to the serving size for Basic White Sauce #1 makes each serving of Cream of Something Soup provide 281 calories and 16% of your daily fiber.

Veggie Soup: Add leftover cooked vegetables at 1/2 cup per person
Broccoli Cheese Soup: Add 1/2 c. broccoli and 1/4 c. shredded low fat cheese per person--add the cheese after you remove it from the stove but before you serve. Stir until melted through.
Cream of Mushroom Soup: Add 1/3 c. sauteed mushrooms and some garlic to taste.
Cream of Tomato Soup: Whisk in 3 c. tomato puree, 2 T. tomato paste and 1 tsp. black pepper.
Cream of Potato Soup: Add 2 diced, cooked, medium sized potatoes and 1/2 cup crumbled bacon or imitation bacon bits.

Adding vegetables increases the nutrients. Adding cheese increases the fat and calories.

 
For a Creamy Wine Sauce:
You will need to replace at least 1/2 of your liquid with red or white wine, depending on how strong a wine flavor you are seeking.

For a Creamy Bechamel Sauce:
You will need to replace 1/2 of your milk with low sodium beef or low sodium chicken broth, depending on how strong a meat flavor you are seeking. Low fat broth reduces the calories in the White Sauce #1 recipes.

You now have a simple sauce that can be used to enhance flavor, mask left over meats, add variety to dishes or to take small amounts of left overs and turn them into filling soups. Add a few croutons from last week and the taste and texture will be outstanding.

Tomorrow we will cover White Sauce #2.

Frugal Feeds | Delicious French Toast Sandwiches

Now that you have the hang of French Toast, lets take it past breakfast. First up, keep the custard dip on the sweet side. But, instead of serving with powdered sugar or syrup, add a slice of lean ham and a slice of Gruyere between the still hot French Toast, or place a slice of each on the open sandwich and broil briefly to warm. This is your basic sweet Monte Cristo.

Now, lets change it up. This time, when you make the custard dip, don't add brown sugar or vanilla. Prepare the French Toast as usual on the griddle. When all are cooked, remove from griddle and turn griddle down to low. Spread a slice of lean ham with mustard and place a slice of low fat cheese on top. Place the ham/mustard/cheese on a slice of the French Toast and top with another slice of French Toast. Place back on the griddle. Put a lid over it and cook until the cheese is melted--less than five minutes. This is Croque-Monsieur.

You have two basic recipes here. Do them a few times and then try making them your own.

For the Monte Cristo try adding any of these to the sandwich--turkey, low fat breakfast sausage, different low fat cheeses, fat free cream cheese, cranberry sauce, preserves, no meat, several lean meats, a fried egg, apple slices, pear slices, cooked berries, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, allspice, or a sweet mustard.

For the Croque-Monsieur try adding any of these to the custard dip--grated cheese, different mustards (without vinegar or lemon in them or the custard will curdle) or powdered mustard, different herbs, different spices, some beer or some white wine. Or just prepare it as it is and add different lean meats, low fat cheeses, A-1 sauce, Worcestershire sauce, tomatoes, grilled onions, grilled peppers or sauteed mushrooms to the cooked French Toast slices.

So, you have a lot of variations now available to you. Lets think this through. You go to your kitchen and you have some stinky cheese, some dried up ham slices, stale bread, an egg and some milk. Sounds pretty depressing for lunch--but if you make a custard dip, dip your bread, cook it, put the stinky cheese on first, then the ham, top with another slice of French toast, cover with a lid and let it steam under that lid for less than 5 minutes you will have a delicious sandwich from things that you would have normally thrown away.

So, next time you see a tablespoon of preserves in the jar, now you have a plan for it. That bit of sauteed veggies that isn't enough for a whole dish? Make a Croque-Monsieur. The great thing about these sandwiches is that you can make different sandwiches for each member of your family, have each serving look similar, and be using up small amounts of odd leftovers--and they will thank you for such a fabulously yummy meal. :0)