Budget Bytes: October 2010

honey wheat sandwich bread
$1.34 recipe / $0.11 slice

After making the Honey Wheat Pizza Dough the other day and getting such great results, I was determined to make some wheat sandwich bread. As I searched for recipes, I found that most of them were basically the same as the pizza dough recipe. So, I made the dough again but changed the proportions just a tad to make enough to fill up a bread pan.

The result was FANTASTIC. This bread is this bread fluffy, slightly sweet and utterly delicious. The addition of olive oil keeps the crust nice and soft which is perfect for sandwiches. The aroma that this bread creates as it bakes is absolutely heavenly. So good, in fact, that my landlord (who lives behind me) HAD to come over and find out what I was baking. Now there is a new rule: every time I bake a loaf, I have to bake one for her too :D

Hopefully that's evidence enough to convince you to bake one yourself.

Honey Wheat Sandwich Bread

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autumn fruit and nut oatmeal
$0.54 per bowl

Breakfast for me is usually one of two things: some sort of oatmeal if I'm feeling like a sweet breakfast or some sort of egg sandwich if I'm in a savory mood. Since discovering my super duper high cholesterol last week, I decided that maybe it was time to kick my year long egg sandwich run switch back to good 'ol oatmeal.

I've featured both quick and steel-cut oats on the blog before but I needed to try something new. This recipe for autumn fruit and nut oats isn't anything super genius but it is delicious, super filling, fiber packed and still very inexpensive. The trick here, as always, is to portion control the expensive ingredients (walnuts and cranberries).

The maple syrup I used to sweeten the dish is, of course, optional as is milk (which I didn't use).

For a link list of past oatmeal recipes and egg "sandwich" recipes, scroll to the bottom of the post.

Autumn Fruit and Nut Oatmeal

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lentil & sausage stew
$7.83 recipe / $0.78 serving

Okay, you're really going to have to try not to judge a book by it's cover here. I know this stew isn't the prettiest thing to look at but, OMG, it will knock the socks right off your taste buds! No joke. We're talking insanely delicious here... like "at the end of the week I'll be sad that there isn't any left" delicious.

The recipe posted below is adapted from this Lentil Sausage Soup over on dlynz.com. I still have half of a huge bag of lentils to use up and I'm trying to fiber pack my diet so this soup/stew really fit the bill. And, as always, I made some changes to the recipe to accommodate what was available to me at good price.

The recipe makes a ton but luckily it freezes well. If you want to make a half batch just cut everything in half. Sausage usually doesn't come in a smaller pack than 1 lb. but luckily, sausage also freezes well. I went for a reduced fat turkey "Italian Sausage" because of the cholesterol issue and I was pleasantly surprised! I fully expected it to gag me but it turned out insanely delicious and I couldn't even tell that it was turkey instead of pork. SCORE!

Okay, on to the recipe...

Lentil, sausage & vegetable Stew

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honey wheat pizza dough
$1.14 recipe/large pizza

October is national pizza month! I don't remember where I read that or if it is even legit but who cares, it's a good enough excuse to make some pizza!

After finding that I still have high cholesterol, I have a renewed motivation to eat a bit healthier... of course, this would normally clash with my big plans to celebrate national pizza month but I found a way to make it work. I WON'T give up my pizza.

Instead of making normal pizza dough I decided to inject a little (well, a lot actually) of fiber by making a honey wheat dough. The grocery store was out of regular whole wheat flour so I had to buy an itty bitty bag of fancy, expensive stone ground whole wheat flour. In the end, I was really happy with the purchase. The stone ground flour has a lot more texture and flavor than regular whole wheat flour. Feel free to use either one in the recipe.

Some people shrug off making 50/50 wheat/white breads and doughs thinking it won't make enough of a difference. Well, according to the nutrition label on my stone ground flour, 1/4 cup contains 4g of fiber. I used a whole cup in the recipe which means that I injected 16 grams of fiber into the pizza or 2 grams per slice (if cut into 8)... and that's just the dough, not the vegetable toppings. I think that is significant.

Regardless of the fiber content, I like this dough WAY better than my original pizza dough recipe. It is fluffier with a crisper crust. It was just perfect.

honey wheat pizza dough

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jambalaya
$10.99 recipe / $1.37 serving

Once I got over the excitement of roasting a chicken, I quickly realized that roasted chicken is not the type of thing that I really enjoy eating (smart, eh?). So, I set to work turning the chicken into something that I would actually look forward to eating, like... Jambalaya!

Chicken & Sausage Jambalaya

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roasted chicken with root vegetables
$14.96 recipe / $2.49 serving

I really don't know what got into me last weekend but somehow I got it in my mind that I was going to roast a chicken. I don't particularly like chicken (unless it's doctored up with some great sauce or something) but I've never roasted a chicken and I was suddenly determined to do it.

I've come across a some recipes over the past few months that just looked so mouth wateringly good. Like this one, for instance, that is self basting with bacon and yummy potatoes. Then there was this one with a unique, creamy looking milk reduction. In the end, since this is my first chicken, I decided to go with this recipe for a basic roasted chicken with vegetables.

I didn't have anything big enough AND oven safe to roast a chicken in so I ended up purchasing this roasting pan for only $9. Now, roasting pans can cost upwards of $60 each but my mom used one almost identical to this during my entire childhood and I'm sure it's still going strong. Plus, it came with a lid - BONUS!

Roasted Chicken with Root Vegetables

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freezer burritos
$7.59 recipe / $0.95 each

Are y'all ready for a Budget Bytes first?! Here it is... a recipe that actually costs MORE than the store bought version!

Yes, you read it right. I made these frozen burritos to replace those guilty-pleasure frozen things that cost around $0.60 each at the store. I'll openly admit that every time I'm grocery shopping I want to put a few (or ten) in my cart. But then the fear sets in. Something about factory made, super cheap burritos has always frightened me. And thank goodness because that hhas also kept me away from Taco bell. So I decided to make some frozen burritos myself. To my surprise, they were more expensive!

Then why am I posting it? Because I still like the idea. I like that I know what is inside of them and that I put it there. I like the idea of having these handy little bundles in the freezer to just grab and go whenever I don't have time to prepare something (which will be often these next few weeks). Plus, a lot of you have teenagers in the house and this is a GREAT item to keep around for hungry, grazing teens.

Why are they more expensive? Well, big burrito sized tortillas are surprisingly expensive. I'll need to learn to make my own to combat this - it's on my list. Also, I added sliced jalapenos which definitely puts these heads and shoulders above the store bought variety. Lastly, the refried beans ended up being a bit pricey at $0.98 per can. I can buy a whole pound of dry beans for that price (about three cans worth) so next time I'll make my own refried beans.

Freezer Burritos

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easy greek salad
$1.26 ea.

Today's post isn't so much a recipe as it is me proving a point... to myself.

Eating delicious salads every day doesn't have to mean breaking the bank.

I often shy away from buying lots of salad stuff because if I buy all of the really delicious ingredients, the cost can pile up. And by "good ingredients" I mean things like nuts, fancy cheeses, dried fruit... you know, the GOOD stuff. But then I remembered Budget Bytes Principle #2: adding a just little bit of really flavorful ingredients makes a huge flavor impact without hugely impacting the wallet.

So, instead of making a huge greek salad with tons of vegetables, feta, fancy olives, sun dried tomatoes, pickled peppers and all the rest, I scaled it back a bit. I was still able to accomplish the pungent greek flavor without going crazy with the ingredients and spending tons of money.

I used simple vegetables (romaine lettuce, cucumber and tomato) and added a little feta cheese (portion control is key) and some plain jane green (manzanilla) olives. Yeah, I would have loved Kalamata but the green olives were super inexpensive and still gave me that briny, salty, olive flavor that I was craving. The Kalamatas can wait for a special occasion!

Easy Greek Salad

Cost for salad dressing varies considerably... for a 1/4 cup of store-bought I estimate about $0.25. Yes, I KNOW, I should be making my own... I will soon, promise.

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pumpkin cream cheese spread
$1.27 recipe / $0.32 serving

There are a kajillion pumpkin recipes that I'd like to make and not nearly enough time or stomach room for them all. But this recipe has been in my queue since last year so it definitely gets priority.

The recipe comes together in minutes and is good spread on anything from home made cinnamon raisin bagels to crackers. It's sweet, tangy and full of deep autumn spices! Plus, adding pumpkin to cream cheese is like adding a vitamin and fiber packed pill to something that is normally sinfully delicious. Sounds like a win-win.

I like having the option of savory (plain) cream cheese or sweet (pumpkin) so the recipe is a half-block portion. If you don't want left over cream cheese just double the recipe and use up the whole block. Or, you can use the left over half a block of cream cheese to make some Spinach Artichoke Pasta.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese

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how to:
save wine for cooking

Over the past year I have shied away from using wine in my cooking simply because I didn't want to incorporate the cost into the meal. Well after last week's Spinach Artichoke Pasta and Goulash, I don't think I can ever make a white or red sauce without wine again. Just a little bit of wine goes a long way toward adding depth and flavor to sauces. The end result is not a "wine" flavor but rather an indescribable richness and tang.

I first heard about freezing wine during an interview with a wine expert on NPR years ago. The idea is certainly controversial and doesn't sound appealing at first. Although I don't think I'd freeze leftover wine in plastic bottles for later drinking, as the expert had suggested, I have no qualms about using frozen wine for cooking purposes.

Most methods I read about suggested filling an ice cube tray and then transferring the frozen cubes to a freezer bag or wrapping tightly with plastic. This method just seems like it would invite freezer burn or other miscellaneous flavors because of all of the air exposure. Plus, as some have mentioned, depending on the alcohol content the cubes may not fully freeze. So, I poured the liquid wine straight into plastic freezer bags. This way, only a small air bubble will remain in the top bag, greatly reducing air contact.

freeze wine

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goulash
$10.17 recipe / $1.27 serving

I was all set and ready to make another lentil dish when I saw this recipe and was hit with a serious craving for Goulash. I know goulash is exactly the type of basic "recipe-rut" dish that a lot of you are trying to steer away from but you gotta give this one a chance. Goulash is one of those dishes that if it's done right, its really right but if it's done wrong (hamburger helper anyone?) then it's really really wrong. Well, Mehan's recipe is oh so right. The red wine sauce is deep and rich and the soy sauce adds an interesting twist. You won't be disappointed. It's delicious, satisfying and inexpensive. This goulash fits Budget Bytes to a T.

I made only a couple small alterations to the recipe this time because the original was just that good. I used two green bell peppers instead of one red and reduced the wine to 1/2 cup, both in the name of cost reduction. I upped the diced tomatoes and sauce because I'm a tomato fiend. The rest is just as it's written.

Oh, and here is my disclaimer: Goulash is one of those dishes that is different in just about every country that it's made even though they all use the same name. So, before you email me with disgust at how this is NOT goulash, just know that "goulash" takes many forms. Thank you, the end.

(but I really do love every single email that I get, good, bad or ugly!)

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pumpkin bread pudding
$5.13 recipe / $0.64 serving

Prepare to be inundated by pumpkin recipes. I love pumpkin.

Bread pudding is usually a super indulgent dessert-like "breakfast" item but since I don't like eating 6,000 calories for breakfast, I lightened it up a bit. I started with this recipe from Epicurious then replaced the half and half with regular milk. Second, instead of making a super rich caramel sauce to drizzle over top, I left mine plain so that I could top it with a scoop of low-fat yogurt or simply some maple syrup. If you want to be fancy-schmancy, you can use some whipped topping and then drizzle it with maple syrup. Or, just make the caramel sauce from the original recipe.

Some chopped pecans would also be amazing in there, if you have some.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

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september update

If you hadn't heard, I was a little over budget going into September so I made it my resolution to plan my recipes around things that I already had hanging out in my pantry and freezer. This resulted in a lot of dried grains, legumes and home made breads.

WELL, I'm happy to say that not only was my diet much more healthfy (TONS of fiber) but I cut my grocery budget by almost half! I'm sure that If I were to really scale it back and not focus on coming up with new, fun stuff for the website, I could probably cut it in half again.

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spinach artichoke pasta
$7.29 recipe / $1.22 serving

You know how spinach artichoke dip is so good that sometimes you want to just order the appetizer as your meal and not share it with anybody? I hereby give you permission to. Well, as long as you make it yourself instead of spending $8 for one serving of it. And I guess you can share because you'll have enough to feed six.

I started with my favorite spinach artichoke dip recipe, added some pasta to make it more meal-worthy and then made a few substitutions in the name of heart health.

The absolute best part about this recipe is that it literally came together in the time that it took me to boil the pasta. It seems like a lot of my recipes have been really time consuming lately so it was really refreshing to make something that was so quick and so delicious. It's a WINNER!

Scroll down to the bottom of the post for ingredient substitutions and add-in ideas

Spinach Artichoke Pasta