antipasto mix

If you're an avid reader of Budget Bytes you already know that I choose most of my recipes based on what I have "left over" in my fridge that I need to use up. Well, after making Pepperoni Stuffed Chicken last week, I had some left over pepperoni and mozzarella. The first thing that came to mind was antipasto. As my wheels started to turn, I thought about all of the different things that you could do with an antipasto mixture... pizza, pasta, sandwiches all of which are YUM. So, antipasto it was. Usually antipasto has a lot of meat and cheese but those tend to be on the expensive side. So, I went with mostly vegetables, a little pepperoni and a little mozzarella. This stuff is potent so the serving size is 1/2 cup (and I plan on adding that 1/2 cup to other things to make a larger meal). Stay tuned throughout the week for the recipes that I used the antipasto mix in!



Total Recipe cost: $13.75
Servings Per Recipe: 14 (1/2 cup each)
Cost per serving: $0.98
Prep time: 15 min. Cook time: 0 min. Total: 15 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
one 7 oz. jar	roasted red peppers	$1.93
one 13.75 oz. can	quartered artichoke hearts	$2.29
one 6 oz. can	pitted black olives	$1.47
8 oz. (half jar)	spicy pepper rings	$0.80
1 recipe	marinated mushrooms	$4.50
4 oz.	mozzarella	$0.80
3 oz.	sliced pepperoni	$1.45
Dressing
2 Tbsp	red wine vinegar	$0.08
1 Tbsp	balsamic vinegar	$0.10
2 Tbsp	olive oil	$0.21
1 tsp	mustard	$0.05
1 clove	garlic	$0.06
1/2 tsp	sugar	$0.01
TOTAL		$13.75

STEP 1: Drain the roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts and black olives and put them all together in a large bowl.

STEP 2: Add the hot pepper rings (remove from jar with a fork to leave the juices behind) and the 3 oz. of pepperoni (this is half of a normal 6 oz. pillow pack of pepperoni). Dice the mozzarella into small squares and add to the bowl as well.

STEP 3: Add all of the ingredients for the dressing to a small food processor or blender. Blend until the mixture is well combined and the garlic is minced. If you do not have a blender or food processor, just finely mince the garlic with a knife and whisk the ingredients together.

STEP 4: Pour the dressing over the bowl of vegetables, cheese and pepperoni. Mix well and allow to marinate for 1 hour in the fridge.

NOTE: You can use any mix of canned, pickled or fresh vegetables that you'd like. You can even make this recipe vegetarian or vegan depending on what you choose. Here are a few of the canned vegetables I used:


This recipe makes a lot (7 cups for my recipe) and I really don't anticipate using all of it this week. Soooo, as usual, I'm freezing some. Everything in here freezes well (yes, even the cheese) so it's a go. Don't forget to properly label your freezer bag and try to use it up within 3 months!


Stay tuned for recipes to use this antipasto mix in later this week!