Chef shares how to feed family for whole week with less ingredients, money

ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (WXYZ) — If you ask a financial expert, they will tell you inflation is rising faster than our household income — the biggest jump since 1982.

Grocery prices are soaring, making family meals unmanageable at times.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, food prices shot up almost 7% in November and has not stopped yet.

The cost of meat, poultry and fish are seeing the biggest jump up, now at about 13%.

Eric Deason is the executive chef at Papa Joe's Marketin Rochester Hills. WXYZ spent the afternoon walking through how you can feed your family for a whole week on less ingredients and less money.

Preparation is the real key to paying less.

“When you plan out like that, you are only getting the product you need, not things you think you might want,” Deason said.

"And don’t shop when you’re hungry, you'll walk out with the whole store,” WXYZ’s Glenda Lewis said.

“But if you do take the time to prepare, then it can stretch the whole week, including your dollar,” Deason said.

Here’s some great recipes from Deason

CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

Ingredients:

• 2 pound chicken breast
• ½ cup celery, diced
• ½ cup carrot, diced
• ½ cup yellow onion, diced
• 1 can biscuits
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tablespoon chicken base
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Need crock pot to prepare
2. Place diced vegetables, garlic, chicken, heavy cream and milk into crock pot on low heat. Cover and cook for two hours.
3. Remove the whole chicken breast from crock pot carefully as it will be extremely hot, into a large bowl or cutting board. From there, using two forks, carefully shred the chicken to add back to the crock pot.
4. Add chicken base to crock pot.
5. Add ½ of the raw biscuits to the crock pot by tearing each biscuit into bite sizes pieces. Mix well. Reserve other half of biscuits to serve with. Cook following directions on can in the last 20 minutes of cooking.
6. Continue cooking on low for one hour, covered. Add salt and pepper to taste.
7. Remove lid, and serve

Great additions:

• Add 4 ounces shredded cheese in the last 20 minutes of cooking to make cheesy dumplings.
• Add cooked diced bacon when putting chicken back into the crock pot for an added treat

LEMON HERB TILAPIA WITH BASMATI RICE PILAF AND SAUTEED VEGETABLES

Lemon herb tilapia ingredients:

• Four tilapia fillets
• Two lemons, sliced into eight slices each, reserve one lemon for serving
• 1 teaspoon peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon basil
  

Basmati rice pilaf ingredients:

• ½ cup yellow onion, diced
• ½ cup celery, diced
• ½ cup carrot, diced
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 cup basmati rice
• 3 cups water
• 1 teaspoon vegetable or chicken base (preference)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Sauteed vegetables ingredients:

• ½ red pepper, medium dice
• ½ green pepper, medium dice
• 1 yellow squash, medium dice
• 1 zucchini, medium dice
• 2 stalk broccoli, stalk removed
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoon oil or butter (depends on preference)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Lemon tilapia directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay each piece of tilapia flat on baking sheet, lightly salting each piece.
3. Sprinkle peppercorns, paprika and basil across each piece of tilapia. Layer two slices of lemon on each piece of fish, lightly squeezing the lemons to release a little juice.
4. Bake for approximately 15 minutes, until fish reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees. Fish should be firm to the touch, and when cutting open should have a white color throughout.

Basmati rice directions:

1. Preheat 2-quart saucepan with tablespoon of oil on medium-high heat.
2. Saute onions, carrots and celery until the onions and celery are translucent, approximately five minutes.
3. Add rice, saute for two minutes to slightly toast the rice,
4. Add water, base, turmeric, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat to low, cover. Stirring occasionally, simmer for 20 minutes or until the water is absorbed and the rice is tender.
6. If water is absorbed before the rice is tender, your heat may be too high. You can add a ¼ cup of water and continue cooking until tender.

Sauteed vegetable directions:

1. Preheat large saute pan with oil or butter on medium-high heat.
2. While pan preheats, lightly toss the vegetables with seasonings and add to pan.
3. Saute until tender, approximately 15 minutes, stirring constantly.
4. Portion each plate with one piece of tilapia, 4 ounces of basmati rice and 4 ounces of sauteed vegetables. Garnish with reserved lemon slices.

BEEF STIR FRY

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds stir fry Meat
• ½ red pepper, medium dice
• ½ green pepper, medium dice
• 1 zucchini, medium dice
• 1 yellow squash, medium dice
• 2 stalks broccoli, stalk removed
• ½ yellow onion, medium dice
• 1 cup basmati rice
• 6 cups water, separated into two 3-cup portions
• 2 ounces soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• Salt and pepper to taste

Beef stir fry directions:

1. Preheat saute pan over medium-high heat. Add drizzle of oil and sear meat with salt and pepper for five minutes.
2. In separate larger pan, preheat pan over medium-high heat. Add vegetables and minced garlic, saute until tender, approximately 15 minutes.
3. Add beef, soy sauce and chili flakes to vegetable pan. Reduce heat to low. Simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Basmati rice directions:

1. Place rice and water into pot, lightly salt and pepper. Bring to boil.
2. Cover, reduce heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes or until rice is tender, stirring occasionally.
3. Place 4 ounces of steamed rice with 6 ounces of stir fry mix onto each plate. Garnish with parsley.