jalapeno cheddar corn muffins $1.58 recipe / $0.26 each

jalapeno cheddar corn muffins

$1.58 recipe / $0.26 each

If you have been reading my blog for a while then you know that I like to use up leftovers. Wasted food is wasted money, right? These jalapeno cheddar corn muffins are a quick, easy and inexpensive way to use up some leftovers that you might have laying around. I had an extra jalapeno from my Jalapeno Bacon Stuffed Potatoes (and I made these a couple weeks ago with leftover pickled jalapenos from the Pork and Pineapple Burritos), I had half a bag of frozen corn left over from either the Shepherd's Pie or the Chili (I don't remember which, I always seem to have extra frozen corn...) and I had a little extra shredded cheddar cheese because I always seem to have some of that laying around too. Anyway, throw them all together with a super inexpensive box of corn muffin mix and you've got a great snack or side dish for dinner!



Total Recipe cost: $1.58
Servings Per Recipe: 6 muffins
Cost per serving: $0.26 each
Prep time: 5 min. Cook time: 15 min. Total: 20 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
1 8.5 oz. box	corn muffin mix	$0.43
1 medium to large	fresh jalapeno	$0.11
1/2 cup	shredded cheddar cheese	$0.47
1/2 cup	frozen corn kernels	$0.24
1/3 cup	milk	$0.13
1 large	egg	$0.20
TOTAL		$1.58

STEP 1: Preheat your oven according to the box directions (my box said 425 degrees but my oven runs a little hot so I set it at 400). Either spray the inside of of a muffin tin with non-stick spray or line the wells with cupcake liners.

STEP 2: In a medium mixing bowl, combine the corn muffin mix, diced jalapeno, shredded cheese, frozen corn kernels, milk and egg. Mix well and let the mixture settle for a couple of minutes.



STEP 3: Divide the mixture evenly among the six muffin wells. Place in the oven and bake according to the box directions (mine said 15 minutes). Remove them from the oven when they are golden brown on top. Let them cool slightly before removing from the tin (to prevent them from breaking).

NOTE: Corn muffins and corn bread are super easy to make from scratch too but on a week night, when I don't feel like measuring and mixing ten ingredients, I'm content to pour a box of mix and just add a couple extra items to make it special.

These muffins are a great side dish to Chili, Pulled Pork and gravy, Southwest Breakfast Casserole (which isn't JUST for breakfast), Pumpkin Soup, Bold Black Bean Salad and Enchiladas. They're just so quick, easy, yummy and inexpensive that you don't even need a reason (or main dish) to make them!

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jalapeno bacon stuffed potatoes $4.82 recipe / $0.80 serving

jalapeno bacon stuffed potatoes

$4.82 recipe / $0.80 serving

A few months ago I had made some Broccoli Cheddar Stuffed Potatoes, most of which ended up in the freezer. I can't even tell you how awesome it is to be able to reach into your freezer, grab a scrumptious stuffed potato, throw it in the microwave and be done with it. These little spuds are a meal in and of themselves and could not be more handy. When I've got a couple more days to go till pay day and my fridge is empty, I have the safety net of the frozen stuffed potato waiting to satiate me! Anyway, it was time to make some more and the new flavor I decided on was Jalapeno, Bacon and Cheddar. YUM.



Total Recipe cost: $4.82
Servings Per Recipe: 6
Cost per serving: $0.80
Prep time: 10 min. Cook time: 90 min. Total: 100 min. (mostly passive cooking time)

INGREDIENTS		COST
3 medium to large	russet potatoes	$2.17
1 cup	cheddar cheese	$0.94
6 oz.	applewood smoked bacon	$1.10
3 small	jalapenos	$0.11
2 Tbsp	butter	$0.26
1/2 cup	milk	$0.19
1 Tbsp	fresh cracked pepper	$0.05
to taste	salt and pepper	nada
TOTAL		$4.82

STEP 1: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Wash the potatoes well and prick with a fork (I do this along the line where I will be cutting them in half later so as not to weaken the skin "shell"). Bake the potatoes for approximately 1 hr. You can check them at 45 minutes, they should be slightly soft when squeezed.

STEP 2: While the potatoes are cooking, cut the bacon into "bit" sized pieces and cook in a skillet over medium/high heat until they are crispy. Spoon them out of the grease and drain on folded up paper towels. Set the bacon aside.



STEP 3: Slice the jalapenos down the center and scoop out the spine and seeds. If you like it extra extra hot, leave some seeds in. Chop the remaining jalapeno pieces into small bits and set aside.



STEP 4: When the potatoes are done cooking, remove them from the oven and turn the oven down to 350 degrees. Let them cool for ten minutes or so and carefully slice them in half length wise. Using a sharp spoon, scoop out the flesh of the potatoes into a bowl leaving some still attached to the skin to give it support.



STEP 5: Add the butter, milk, salt and pepper to the scooped out potato flesh and mash it up good until it is light and fluffy. Stir in the bacon pieces, jalapenos and 2/3 cup cheddar cheese.



STEP 5: Refill the potato shells with the mashed mixture. Top each with a little bit more cheddar (about 1/3 cup total). Place the stuffed potatoes on a baking sheet and bake in the oven until the cheese has melted and browned slightly (about 30 minutes).

NOTE: Use as much or as little jalapeno as you like. My three peppers were very small and the mixture was still extremely spicy. Another option would be to use pickled jalapenos which tend to be slightly less spicy (and you may have some left over from your Pork and Pineapple Burritos).

Six ounces of bacon is about half of a regular sized package. You can freeze the unused portion and keep it handy for making more bacon bits or cook off all of it and freeze the unused cooked bacon bits!

If you are going to freeze your potatoes, refrigerate them first and then once they have chilled wrap them tightly in foil or plastic wrap, place them in a zipper freezer bag and date and label them. Frozen potatoes are also great to bring for lunch because they will stay cool (and safe) for hours until you are ready to reheat and eat! Bon apetite! ...I had to, it rhymed.

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bacon pesto pasta bake $8.54 recipe / $1.07 serving

bacon pesto pasta bake

$8.54 recipe / $1.07 serving

I know today is Thanksgiving but I cooked all of my Thanksgiving food last week and after eating turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce all week I needed something new. After perusing my "to cook" list, I decided to make something quick, easy and super scrumptious: pasta with bacon, pesto, cheese and tomatoes. YUM. I just ate a bowl of this while tweaking the photos and I have to say that this is probably more of a side dish than a one-dish meal like I expected. Never the less, it's easy and delicious. Add a couple other sides and you've got a complete meal!



Total Recipe cost: $8.54
Servings Per Recipe: 8
Cost per serving: $1.07
Prep time: 5 min. Cook time: 25 min. Total: 30 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
14.5 oz. box	penne pasta	$2.08
1 10 oz. jar	basil pesto	$1.98
2 cups	shredded mozzarella	$1.88
1 pint	grape tomatoes	$1.50
6 oz.	applewood smoked bacon	$1.10
TOTAL		$8.54

STEP 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray a large casserole dish with non-stick spray. Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook pasta according to the directions on the box (boil for about 10 minutes).

STEP 2: While the pasta cooks, chop the bacon into small bits and cook in a skillet over medium/high heat until crispy. Spoon cooked bacon onto paper towel to absorb the extra fat. While the pasta and bacon cook, rinse the tomatoes and cut each in half.



STEP 3: When the pasta is finished cooking, drain it in a colander. Once it is well drained, return it to the pot (removed from heat). Mix in the pesto, bacon, tomatoes and 1 cup of the shredded cheese. Pour the mixture into the casserole dish and spread out. Top with the remaining one cup of cheese.

STEP 4: Put the casserole in the oven and bake until the cheese is melted, bubbly and golden brown on top (approximately 20 minutes). EAT!



NOTE: This recipe calls for 6 oz. of bacon (uncooked) which is half of a normal sized package of bacon. If you don't use the rest you can freeze it! The best part is that if you don't use the second half all at once, you can just cut off what you need, cook it and keep the rest frozen. Of course, this is only applicable for recipes where the bacon is used in "bit" sized pieces, not strips. Because the bacon is so fatty, it is fairly soft when frozen making it really easy to cut into. Your other option is to cook up all of the bacon into crispy little bits and then freeze half of the cooked pieces. Then, of course, if you really really like bacon, you can just use the whole package in the recipe and make the dish cost $9.64 and $1.20 per serving.

If you are feeling really adventurous, try making a cheese sauce (like in the sun dried tomato and spinach mac n' cheese) and stir the pesto into that before mixing with the pasta. This method will yield a super creamy pesto pasta dish!

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pear ginger steel cut oats $2.89 recipe / $0.58 serving

pear ginger steel cut oats

$2.89 recipe / $0.58 serving

Pears are the fruit of the season and you know what that means... deliciously ripe and on sale! This week I picked up some Comice Pears for $0.99 per pound and I knew exactly what I was going to do with them. I swung by the bulk department and picked up a handful of crystalized ginger and headed home to make a new delicious flavor of steel cut oats! Ginger's spicy warmth makes these oats a perfect match for the holiday season.



Total Recipe cost: $2.89
Servings Per Recipe: 5
Cost per serving: $0.58
Prep time: 5 min. Cook time: 30 min. Total: 35 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
1 cup	uncooked steel cut oats	$0.70
2 medium	ripe pears	$1.17
3 oz. (about 1/2 cup)	crystalized ginger pieces	$0.75
1/4 cup	brown sugar	$0.12
1 tsp	cinnamon	$0.12
1/2 tsp	ground ginger	$0.05
TOTAL		$2.89

STEP 1: In a medium pot, bring 4 cups of water to a boil.

STEP 2: Once the water boils, add the steel cut oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and ground ginger. Stir well and reduce the heat to a simmer (low/medium). Simmer until the oats have absorbed most of the water and they are to your desired thickness (about 30 minutes).

STEP 3: While the oats are simmering, core and dice the pears. Roughly chop the crystalized ginger into smaller pieces.

STEP 4: Once the oats are as thick as you would like them, add the chopped pear and crystalized ginger. Divide the oats up into 5 containers and keep refrigerated until you are ready to eat!

NOTE: I ate one serving of this right when it was finished cooking and again the next morning. The pear flavor was much more pronounced on the second day (after reheating). If you plan to eat the oats right when they are finished cooking, try adding the pear chunks during the last ten minutes of cooking so the flavor can permeate the oats.

The pears add quite a bit of bulk to this recipe so there are either 5 large servings or 6 smaller ones. I find that I can only eat smaller servings of steel cut oats because they are extremely filling. I calculated for five servings to be conservative!

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thanksgiving madness!

thanksgiving madness!

So, I just wanted to recap my Thanksgiving meal experience and encourage anyone who is still on the fence about whether or not they want to cook next week.

The four recipes that I made cost a total of $22.75 and will feed 6 people easily. The total cost of what I purchased (including unused portions of ingredients but not things I already had in my kitchen like sugar, butter and spices) was still only $26.70. So, you can't use "it's too expensive" as an excuse.

I remember my mom cooking ALL DAY on Thanksgiving and that always intimidated me. But, today, I only cooked for four hours and that included photographing and posting some of the recipes (oh, and there were three loads of laundry in the mix too). So, if you were to make a Thanksgiving feast, I'm sure it could be achieved in less than "all day". So, there goes the "it takes too long" excuse.

If I really wanted to go all out, I would have also made something green like Lemon Butter Green Beans ($2.02 per recipe) and some potatoes like Parmesan Roasted Potatoes ($2.99 per recipe). Oh, and of course you need some cocktails so maybe some Spiced Apple Cider Cocktails. That would be a feast!

Still need more ideas? Check out The Food Network, they have put together an amazing Thanksgiving resource. Epicurious also has all of their Thanksgiving ducks in a row with a bunch of how-to videos and a ton of recipes to choose from.

Stay tuned for tons of turkey day left-over ideas! After all, I cooked for six and as far as I know, there is only one of me.

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cranberry sauce $2.77 recipe / $0.46 serving

cranberry sauce

$2.77 recipe / $0.46 serving

I guess I take pleasure in the little things because I was most excited about this cranberry sauce out of everything that I cooked today. The simplicity of this sauce is unreal especially for the amount of flavor bursting forth from it. Fresh cranberries provide a strong refreshing tartness that is only kept in check by the sweet orange juice and sugar. Zest from both the orange and lime provide layers of flavor to tickle your tongue after the cranberry's burst dies down. This recipe is so quick, easy and delicious I will surely be making it year round!



Total Recipe cost: $2.77
Servings Per Recipe: 6 (1/2 cup each)
Cost per serving: $0.46
Prep time: 5 min. Cook time: 10 min. Total: 15 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
1 12 oz. bag	fresh cranberries	$1.99
1 medium	orange	$0.48
1 medium	lime	$0.21
1/2 cup	sugar	$0.09
TOTAL		$2.77

STEP 1: Bring 1 cup water and 1/2 cup sugar to a boil in a saucepan. While the mixture is heating, rinse the cranberries.

STEP 2: After it has come to a boil and all of the sugar has dissolved, add the cranberries and bring to a boil again. I had to put a lid on it because the cranberries begin to pop and spray hot sugary liquid everywhere! Once it comes to a boil again, turn the heat down to low/medium and continue to simmer until it is thick and bubbly (you can remove the lid after all of the berries have popped).

STEP 3: While the mixture is simmering, zest the orange and squeeze all of the juice out of it. Also zest the lime and squeeze the juice from one half of it. Add the zest and juices to the sauce. If it thins it out too much (personal preference) you can continue to simmer until it cooks down to your desired thickness.

NOTE: Fresh cranberry sauce is so delicious and you can put it on just about anything. Of course it is good on all of the usual thanksgiving items but don't forget it on your turkey sandwich the next day! Because it is so jam-like it's also amazing on a piece of toast with butter in the morning. Try it over ice cream too! What do you put your cranberry sauce on?

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roasted turkey $11.92 recipe / $1.99 serving

roasted turkey

$11.92 recipe / $1.99 serving

I'll admit it, I was a little bit intimidated by the turkey. I have never cooked a turkey before in my life. I had watched my mother do it every Thanksgiving and Christmas while growing up but had always refused to participate (raw poultry isn't my favorite). After a few years working in the food service arena, raw poultry no longer make me take off running and after reading a couple recipes, it didn't really seem that bad. I'm not sure what was left to intimidate me but I wasn't going to let fear get in my way. The turkey is done now and I must say, it really was simple. Thaw it, rinse it, stuff it, butter it then bake it. The end. REALLY.



Total Recipe cost: $11.92
Servings Per Recipe: 6
Cost per serving: $1.99
Prep time: 15 min. Cook time: 3 hrs. Total: 3 hrs. 15 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
11 lb.	whole turkey	$7.50
1 oval	aluminum roasting pan	$1.99
3 sprigs	fresh thyme	$0.63
3 sprigs	fresh rosemary	$0.63
4-5 leaves	fresh sage	$0.63
3 stalks	celery	$0.33
1 large	onion	$0.66
3	carrots	$0.25
1 handful	fresh parsley	$0.25
8 Tbsp (1 stick)	melted butter	$1.04
TOTAL		$11.92

STEP 1: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and make sure the rack inside the oven is on the lowest level (birds are tall). If your bird is frozen, thaw it for two days in your refrigerator. I bought mine frozen the night before cooking so I had to thaw it under running water in my sink. Make sure it is cool running water, it will take about 1 hour.

STEP 2: Remove the wrapping and pull out the neck and whatever else might be stuffed inside (sometimes gizzards, mine had a bag of "gravy" that was near impossible to pull out - see picture). Rinse the bird and pat dry.



STEP 3: Place the bird in a roasting pan and tuck the wings (the long pointy ones) up under the body so they stay put. Chop the onion into sections and the celery and carrots into large pieces. Stuff a couple of each along with the fresh herbs inside the cavity of the bird. The cavity was much smaller than I imagined so I had to put the extra onion, celery and carrot pieces in the roasting pan around the bird. I made sure that all of the herbs got inside the cavity.

STEP 4: Melt the stick of butter in the microwave and brush it generously all over the bird (I used about half of the butter). Save the rest for the second coating. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover the roasting pan and bird with foil and put in the oven to roast for 2 hours.



I never knew a raw bird could look so delicous! It actually smelled quite fantastic at this point too, thanks to all of the fresh herbs.

STEP 5: After two hours of roasting, remove the foil and brush with the rest of the butter. Be careful of low hanging heat coils in your oven... they burn knuckles without notice! Return the bird to the oven, turn the heat up to 425 and continue to cook for one more hour.

STEP 6: After the third hour check the bird. Is the outside sufficiently brown? Has the meat thermometer popped out? I used a real meat thermometer to check if the internal temperature had reached 160 degrees. I have priced these at the store and you can buy one for about $3. The red dot meat thermometer that comes in the turkey is not always reliable. After three hours my turkey still needed to brown a bit so I left it in for an additional 30 minutes. Let the turkey rest for about 20 minutes to reabsorb the steam (it will escape if you cut immediately, leaving a dry bird). It is now ready to eat!



NOTE: If you are unsure of what size turkey to get (they come all the way up to 20 lbs. or so), here is the rule of thumb: 1.5 lbs. of bird for each person, 2 lbs. per person if you want some left overs. So, my bird was 11 lbs. which means that it will feed 6 people with a little left over.

This is the most basic recipe out there. Since it was my first turkey, I didn't want to try anything extravagant. I found this recipe for The World's Simplest Thanksgiving Turkey from the Food Network and pretty much followed that to a T. When you get more comfortable with turkeys you can do all sorts of fun stuff like brining them before roasting, stuffing butter and herbs under the skin, deep frying the turkey... the possibilities are endless.

Also, I really wanted to use fresh herbs here and they ended up being a large part of the cost. If you need to cut back, try using only one variety of herbs. I bought three packages of herbs at $2.50 each. I only used about 1/4 pack of each one and plan to freeze the rest because fresh herbs are just to precious to go to waste!

I'm pretty satisfied with my first turkey experience. It turned out beautiful and the only mishap was a couple of burned knuckles! If you have been afraid to try it in the past, I encourage you to give it a shot this year! Let me know how it turns out :D

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Indian Pudding $3.88 recipe / $0.69 serving

Indian Pudding

$3.88 recipe / $0.69 serving

One day last week, while taking my break at work, I caught a few minutes of Sandra Lee's Thanksgiving episode of Semi-Homemade (yes, we have a big screen TV and sofa in our break room). For her Thanksgiving dessert she made Indian Pudding. I had never heard of this dish before but I knew from the ingredients that I needed to try it... immediately. So, a day or two later I whipped up a batch and it was just as good as I had imagined. As a matter of fact, it was so good that it was gone in just a few short days... before I had a chance to take a picture of it. So, I made it again today :P This pudding's rich, deep molasses flavor makes it so good that my sister declared it a new staple for every holiday meal!



Total Recipe cost: $3.88
Servings Per Recipe: 8
Cost per serving: $0.48
Prep time: 5 min. Cook time: 3 hrs. Total: 3 hrs 5 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
8.5 oz. box	cornbread mix	$0.38
1 box	instant butterscotch pudding	$0.82
1/2 cup	molasses	$0.78
3 large	eggs	$0.60
3 cups	milk	$1.12
1 tsp	ground cinnamon	$0.05
1/2 tsp	ground ginger	$0.05
TOTAL		$3.88

STEP 1: In a large mixing bowl mix together the cornbread mix, pudding mix and 3 cups of milk until there are no lumps. Set aside.

STEP 2: In a smaller bowl whisk the three eggs until they are lightly beaten (this makes them easier to mix with everything else).

STEP 3: Add the molasses, cinnamon and ginger to the eggs and mix well. Pour this mixture into the pudding and cornbread mixture and stir well.



STEP 4: Pour the final mixture into a slow cooker that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Secure the lid and cook on high for one hour. Stir the mixture after one hour and continue to cook on low for one more hour. Stir a second time and cook for one final hour (still on low). Serve hot.

NOTE: This dish is excellent on it's own but as I was taste testing this batch I couldn't help thinking about the quart of vanilla ice cream in my freezer...

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apple walnut stuffing $4.18 recipe / $0.70 serving

apple walnut stuffing

$4.18 recipe / $0.70 serving

Yes, I used boxed stuffing mix and yes, this is way better than the manufacturers of that boxed mix ever intended it to be. Since Thanksgiving day is all about cooking as much food as humanly possible (wait, did I get that right?), I like to take a couple short cuts. Instead of making stuffing from scratch, I like to take the boxed mix and jazz it up until it's insanely good. So, I added a little of this (sauteed onions, celery and golden delicious apples) and a little of that (chopped walnuts) and in about 15 minutes flat I have a big 'ol pot of Thanksgiving goodness. As a matter of fact, this is so good I'm pretty sure that I'll be making it ALL THE TIME, not just for thanksgiving.



Total Recipe cost: $4.18
Servings Per Recipe: 6+
Cost per serving: $0.70
Prep time: 5 min. Cook time: 10 min. Total: 5 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
2 boxes	stuffing mix	$1.58
2 medium	golden delicious apples	$.78
3 stalks	celery	$0.33
1 medium	yellow onion	$0.33
4 Tbsp	butter	$0.52
1/4 cup	chopped walnuts	$0.64
TOTAL		$4.18

STEP 1: Dice the onion and celery. Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Once it is melted, add the onion and celery and cook until it is just softened.

STEP 2: While the onion and celery begin to cook, core and dice the apples. Also, before chopping the apples, begin to boil 3 cups of water in a large pot. Add the apples to the onion and celery once they have cooked until just barely soft. Cook for about one minute more or until the apples have gotten slightly soft around the edges. The water should be just beginning to boil at this point.



STEP 3: Spoon the cooked onions, celery and apples into the boiling water. Immediately add the two boxes of stuffing mix. Stir briefly, replace the lid on the pot, remove from the burner and let sit for 5 minutes.

STEP 4: Once the mixture has absorbed all of the water, gently stir in the 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts.



STEP 5: You can either serve this dish immediately (as pictured above) or spoon into a casserole dish (sprayed with non-stick spray) and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes or until the top gets crispy. I'm a fan of the quick preparation, so I like to eat it just the way it is!

NOTE: Making stuffing from scratch isn't all that hard but for such a low price, I don't mind having half of the steps already taken care of for me. There are many different things you can add to boxed stuffing mix to make them great such as dried or fresh cranberries, sausage and fresh herbs. What types of add-ins do you like in your stuffing?

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BBQ pork sandwiches $7.61 recipe / $1.52 each

BBQ pork sandwiches

$7.61 recipe / $1.52 each

Alright, well, this is the last of the slow cooked pork recipes. After eating open faced sandwiches, burritos and quesadillas all week, I kinda feel like I've eaten the whole pig. Anyway, this recipes is perhaps the easiest of them all but still the one that I was most excited to eat. After mixing half of my pulled pork with taco seasoning for the burritos, I mixed the other half with BBQ sauce for these scrumptious sandwiches. Finding a good BBQ sauce is definitely the key here and I have to give a shout out to Cattleman's (I never do endorsements like this...) because they have some crazy good sauce and it was only $1.56 for an 18oz. bottle! Usually the cheap stuff just takes like sugar sauce but this was deep and tangy... a total surprise!



Total Recipe cost: $7.61
Servings Per Recipe: 5
Cost per serving: $1.52
Prep time: 5 min. Cook time: 0 min. Total: 5 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
5	sturdy buns	$2.08
15 oz. or 1 lb.	pulled pork	$3.73
10 oz.	BBQ sauce	$1.17
1/2 of 16oz. jar	dill pickle slices	$0.63
TOTAL		$7.61

STEP 1: Mix together the BBQ sauce and pulled pork. Depending on how saucy you like it, you will need between 1/2 a 18 oz. bottle (I used 1/2 bottle) and full bottle. I calculated for about 3/4 of a bottle or 1/4 cup per sandwich.

STEP 2: If your meat is not heated, simply microwave the portion that you are using at the moment. Stack your delicious meat on the bun with a few pickle slices and go to town!

NOTE: This is a great item to keep in the freezer. Since I had already been eating pork all week, I froze this entire recipe. I always freeze my bread products anyway (because they thaw really fast and last at least a month instead of only a week) so I tossed all of the buns into a big freezer bag. Then, I divided the BBQ pork into individual serving sized sandwich bags and put all of those in a freezer bag and labeled it. Then yesterday, when I wanted to bring a BBQ pork sandwich for lunch, I grabbed a bun, a bag of BBQ beef, threw a couple pickle slices in another sandwich bag and brought them to work. When it was time for lunch the bun had thawed and I was able to slice it in half. I popped the BBQ pork in the microwave (I brought a microwave safe dish) and in about 1 minute it was ready to go! Now I can have a BBQ pulled pork sandwich anytime I want!

Also, I calculated this recipe for 5 sandwiches even though my pack of buns came with 6 (for $2.50). I did this because I thought 3 oz. of meat was perfect for this size sandwich and I wanted to use about 1 lb. of meat (5 sandwiches at 3oz. each is 1 oz. shy of a pound). If you are truly using half of the pulled pork, then you might have a little more than a pound and will probably be able to make 6 sandwiches. If you do only make 5, just keep that extra bun frozen and use it for a sandwich later. Bread products freeze really really well.

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cherry almond steel cut oats $4.23 recipe / $0.85 serving

cherry almond steel cut oats

$4.23 recipe / $0.85 serving

So I'm back on the steel cut oats bandwagon after a couple weeks off. I had begun to draw a blank on new flavors and fell back into my bran flake rut when *BAM* three new ideas just popped into my head! Here is the first one in all of it's creamy, almondy, deep cherry goodness.



Total Recipe cost: $4.23
Servings Per Recipe: 5
Cost per serving: $0.85
Prep time: 5 min. Cook time: 30 min. Total: 35 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
1 cup	uncooked steel cut oats	$0.70
5 oz. (3/4 cup)	frozen black sweet cherries	$1.50
2 cups	vanilla soy milk	$0.75
1 Tbsp	brown sugar	$0.03
1/4 cup	sliced almonds	$0.56
1/2 tsp	almond extract	$0.54
1/2 tsp	vanilla extract	$0.15
TOTAL		$4.23

STEP 1: In a medium pot, bring 2 cups of vanilla soy milk and 2 cups of water to a boil. Roughly chop the frozen cherries while waiting for the liquid to boil.

STEP 2: When the liquid comes to a boil, stir in the oats, cherries, brown sugar and 1/2 tsp of salt. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the liquid has absorbed and it has reached your desired thickness.

STEP 3: Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and almond extracts as well as the sliced almonds. Divide the oats into single serving containers and refrigerate until you are ready to eat!

NOTE: You can use regular milk in place of the soy milk if you'd like (it will also be less expensive) but the heat and fruit acids from the cherries will cause the milk to curdle. I know "curdle" is an ugly word but all it really means is that the proteins in the milk clump together. It has no nutritional impact and there is no change in the flavor (yes, I made it this way at first). Also, once it's in the final gloopy oatmeal state, you can't see the "curdles". Still tastes great!

So my original idea for this recipe involved dried cherries rather than frozen but I found that they were $10.99/lb and that's from the bulk bins! Outrageous. So, I checked the frozen cherries and they were only $2.99 for a 10 oz. bag... thats less than half the price! Plus, I think they added more flavor. It definitely pays to check your options!

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NEW LABELS!

NEW LABELS!

Hey everybody! Just an FYI: I added a new set of labels to make finding recipes a little bit easier. I have added a skill level label (easy, intermediate or advanced) to each recipe and a "quick" tag to recipes that take 30 minutes or less.

If you have not used the "labels", check the first sidebar on the right for the list of labels. When you click on a label, you will see all of the posts that have been labeled with that word. It is an easy way to search the recipes by ingredient, type of cuisine and now difficulty level!

Easy recipes are those that involve either very few ingredients or ready made/store bought ingredients. These are the type of recipes that you can throw together quickly on a weeknight for dinner, quick meal or snack. These are your best bet when you are tempted to go to the drive through! After all, it takes at least 30 minutes to go to the drive through, wait and drive back, right?

Intermediate recipes involve more fresh ingredients, chopping, cooking and maybe learning a new skill or two.

Advanced recipes have a lot of ingredients, have a lot of steps and can be time consuming. But don't worry, if they made it onto the blog they are worth all of the work!

Then there are the quick recipes. Don't be mistaken, not all "easy" recipes are quick and not all "quick" recipes are easy. Roasting vegetables, for example, is very easy but requires a lot of time in the oven (usually unattended so it's easy).

And here is the disclaimer: obviously not everyone will agree with me on whether a recipe is easy, intermediate or advanced so please take that with a grain of salt. If you are a beginner PLEASE do not shy away from recipes just because they are not labeled "easy". You can't learn if you don't challenge yourself, right? ;)

Enjoy everyone!

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pork and pineapple burritos $10.06 recipe / $1.68 each

pork and pineapple burritos

$10.06 recipe / $1.68 each

One of my favorite places to eat when I'm in New Orleans is Juan's Flying Burrito because I LOVE burritos and theirs just rock. My favorite burrito is the "Al Pastor" which combines slow cooked pork, pineapple salsa, jalapenos, beans and rice. So, you KNOW the first thing that I was gonna do with my slow cooked pork was recreate that burrito. Well, I'll admit, I get lazy sometimes so I didn't do it exactly the same but it still tastes mighty delicious and it's only about a quarter of the cost. When I want to treat myself then I'll go get the real thing!



Total Recipe cost: $10.06
Servings Per Recipe: 6 burritos
Cost per serving: $1.68
Prep time: 10 min. Cook time: 5 min. Total: 15 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
6 large	flour tortillas	$1.08
1 cup	uncooked rice	$0.44
2 cubes	chicken bouillon	$0.24
1 can	black beans	$0.87
12 oz.	pulled pork	$2.97
12 oz. (3 cups)	shredded cheese	$2.82
10 oz.	crushed pineapple	$0.92
1/2 cup	diced jalapenos (pickled)	$0.22
1 packet	taco seasoning	$0.50
TOTAL		$10.06

STEP 1: In a medium pot, bring 1 cup uncooked rice, 2 cups water and 2 chicken bouillon cubes to a boil with a lid in place. Once it comes to a rolling boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes. That is your seasoned rice for the burritos.

STEP 2: In a skillet, heat the 12 oz. of shredded pork, 3/4 cup water and 1 packet of taco seasoning until it is thick, bubbly, well mixed and heated through. Remove from heat and save for burrito assembly.

STEP 3: Drain the black beans in a colander and rinse under cold water. Place the stack of tortillas on a plate and microwave for 30-45 seconds. The steam generated in the microwave will soften the tortillas and make them more pliable for rolling.

STEP 4: Begin the burrito assembly by placing 1/3 cup of cooked rice on the tortilla. Top with 1/3 cup beans, 2 oz. of seasoned pork, 1/2 cup cheese, crushed pineapple and diced jalapenos. Roll the burrito then wrap in foil. You can either keep the burritos in the refrigerator, ready to reheat (up to one week), or freeze them in a heavy duty freezer bag. Frozen burritos can easily be heated (after removing foil) in the microwave!

NOTE: My burritos are a little less fancy than Juan's because I did not take the time to make pineapple salsa. Instead, I just used crushed pineapple from a can. Sometimes I guess you just have to sacrifice for time! Fresh red onion goes really well with pineapple so this would be a great place to use up any extra that you might have leftover from another recipe.

Next time I think I will also add a few springs of fresh cilantro just to brighten things up. Cilantro is very inexpensive and adds a lot of flavor (I'm kinda bummed I didn't think of it before hand). Fresh jalapenos would also be amazing (and probably less costly than the pickled) but I went with pickled because the fresh are sometimes a little too spicy for my taste.

If anyone has an easy pineapple salsa recipe, I'd love to have it! Maybe next time I'll do it up right and make the salsa!

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open faced pork sandwich with pan gravy $1.12 each

open faced pork sandwich with pan gravy $1.12 each

So I couldn't wait to start using up my delicious Pulled Pork and one of the easiest and fastest ways is to eat it on an open faced sandwich. Also, as promised, I have instructions for making the Pan Gravy that goes along with it. Because I couldn't decide what to have for breakfast this morning, I gobbled down the sandwich and I must say it was quite delicious! A perfect little snack or light lunch if paired with some fresh fruit and yogurt.



Total Recipe cost: $1.12
Servings Per Recipe: 1
Cost per serving: $1.12
Prep time: 5 min. Cook time: 0 min. Total: 5 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
1 slice	whole wheat toast	$0.18
4 oz.	pulled pork	$0.93
1/4 cup	pan gravy (recipe below)	$0.01
TOTAL		$1.12

FOR THE PAN GRAVY

STEP 1: After making your roast, drain off the cooking juices into a bowl.



STEP 2: Pour the juices into a large shallow skillet and simmer over medium/medium-high heat to reduce. When the liquid has reduced to half it's volume, it is time to add the flour to thicken.

STEP 3: In a separate bowl, mix 2 Tbsp of flour with enough water to make a "slurry" (thinner than a paste, pourable). Make sure there are no lumps in the slurry. Slowly pour the slurry into the simmering juices while whisking.



STEP 4: Continue to whisk and simmer until the gravy reaches the desired consistency. Mine still had some reducing to do so I let it simmer for about a half hour and whisked well every 5 minutes or so.



STEP 5: To assemble the sandwich, mix 4 oz. of pulled pork with 1/4 cup (or less) of gravy and pile onto a slice of toasted bread!

NOTE: Since I accounted for the costs of all of the ingredients used to make the "roasting juices" in the recipe for the meat, the only additional cost for the gravy was 2 Tbsp of flour ($0.07). My gravy made 2.5 cups and each serving will be about 1/4 cup, making each serving of gravy only about a penny.

You can add additional spices to the gravy as it cooks if you wish but I found that as it cooked down the flavors got very concentrated and I did not need to add anything. The intense meat flavor is so amazing, you'll never want to use store bought gravy again!

You can freeze the gravy for later use in a heavy duty freezer bag (be sure to date and label). When you reheat the frozen gravy, you will need to whisk well as it heats to remove lumps and to reabsorb any liquid that has separated.

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perfectly pulled pork $8.34 recipe / $0.93 serving

perfectly pulled pork

$8.34 recipe / $0.93 serving

I like meat, more importantly, I LOVE slow cooked meat. I love the tender juicy-ness and depth of flavor; they can't be matched. I decided to cook a pork roast in my crock pot this week because I also LOVE pork and it happens to be one of the least expensive roasts out there. After browsing tons of recipes for roasts and rubs, I decided to use a generic blend of spices so that I could season the pork after cooking to fit it's desired use. I can mix it up with some BBQ sauce for a big juicy sandwich, some taco seasoning for nachos or burritos or just some lime, cilantro and cumin for fresh quesadillas. I now have over two pounds of cooked-to-perfection pork that can be used 100 different ways. And the best part? I barely had to do anything... all the work was done while I was away at my J.O.B.



Total Recipe cost: $8.34
Servings Per Recipe: 9 (4 oz. cooked meat)
Cost per serving: $0.93
Prep time: 10 min. Cook time: approx. 8 hrs. Total: 8 hrs.

INGREDIENTS		COST
3.5 lbs.	boneless pork roast (shoulder roast, boston butt or picnic roast)	$6.43
1 medium	yellow onion	$0.71
1 medium	bell pepper	$0.50
5 cloves	fresh garlic	$0.30
2 Tbsp	paprika	$0.10
1/2 tsp	garlic powder	$0.05
1/2 tsp	chili powder	$0.05
2 whole	bay leaves	$0.105
1 tsp	salt	$0.05
TOTAL		$8.34

STEP 1: My roast had a net around it so first I removed the net. Next, using a sharp paring knife, I cut deep slits into the meat and pushed peeled garlic cloves down inside.



STEP 2: Next, I mixed the paprika, garlic powder, chili powder, salt and some fresh cracked black pepper in a bowl for my spice rub. You can really use any mix of spices, this is just what I found in my cabinet. Rub the spices all over the outside of the roast, top and bottom.



STEP 3: Place the seasoned roast in a ziplock bag or in a dish that you can cover well. Finely dice the onion and the bell pepper and add them to the bag or dish. Let the roast sit in the refrigerator over night to absorb the spices. Prepping the meat only took about ten minutes total.



STEP 4: In the morning, before I left for work, all I had to do was dump the contents of the bag into the crock pot, add 3 cups of water, secure the lid and turn the heat on to low.



STEP 5: When I came home from work (8 hrs later), I was greeted with this beatiful, fragrant, tender roast with lots of delicious juices that were just begging to be made into gravy!



STEP 6: Just use tongs, a fork or any other utensil to shred or mash the pork into strings. I fished most of the meat out using tongs then poured the rest of the contents of the slow cooker into a colander that had a large bowl underneath. I kept the little bits of meat and chopped vegetables to add to whatever I use the meat for. The juice was kept for gravy making.

NOTE: This is seriously one of the easiest and cheapest things to make, ever. My roast (which was a small one) was only $1.88 per pound. The larger roasts (6-8 lbs) were only $1.18 per pound. Crock pots range from $10 on up. If I remember correctly, mine cost about $20. If you do not have a slow cooker, you can do this in the oven on a low temperature (about 250 degrees) using a dish that has a lid. If you use the oven, be sure to do it on a day when you will be home all day long... It doesn't seem as safe to leave the oven on while no one is home as it does the slow cooker.

If you don't think you can use up all of your meat within a week, you can freeze some of the meat after cooking (drained of juices, in a heavy freezer quality bag) or, as I plan to do, assemble some burritos and freeze those individually. Then, when you're broke and too tired to go to the store or cook, you can just reach in the freezer and defrost/cook a delicious homemade burrito!

Stay tuned for all of the recipes I have in store for the slow cooked pork... they're all swirling around in my head just waiting to come to life!

If you have a favorite spice blend for roasts, feel free to share them with the rest of us!

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