Budget Bytes: March 2011

lemon spice cake
$1.32 recipe / $0.17 serving

This recipe comes courtesy of one of my wonderful readers, Diana. I was intrigued by this recipe for multiple reasons. I remember when I was a teenager I had found a recipe similar to this in a cookbook from the 1950's. I was intrigued by it then (and baked it) and I'm intrigued by it now! Why is this recipe so unique? It's EGGLESS, has only 1 Tbsp of fat and doesn't require a mixer. Score!

So, for all of you vegans out there, this can easily be made into a VEGAN lemon spice cake by using vegetable shorting or oil for the fat. The texture is not exactly like regular cake because it doesn't have the egg but for a low fat, vegan treat, it's pretty amazing!! Surprisingly moist and flavorful!

Yeah, it still has a ton of sugar but, eh... you gotta pick your battles.

The original recipe that Diana sent me uses lemon extract but I had none so I used the zest from a lemon instead. It turned out really good although I'm sure the lemon extract would have had more of a punch. If you want to use lemon extract, just add 1 tsp when you add the butter and cider vinegar.

Thanks again for the recipe, Diana! It turned out fantastic!

lemon spice cake

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carrot & feta salad
$2.49 recipe / $0.41 serving

At least carrots are still cheap, right? Groceries have been going through the roof lately so I was really glad to see that I could still get a 2 pound bag of carrots for $1.48. So, how do you turn a fairly boring, inexpensive ingredient like carrots into something spectacular? Add just a smidge of the expensive but super flavorful stuff, like feta.

I love the flavor combo of this salad: sweet carrots, salty feta and parsley for a burst of green freshness. It's like the vegetable version of one of my other favorite salads, Melon, Mint & Feta Salad. ...I'm starting to think that feta makes everything better. Am I right?

Oh, and the other reason to love this salad? It's SO EASY. Get it going before you start the rest of your dinner and then the oven does all of the work.

Carrot Feta Salad

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greek turkey burgers
$11.47 recipe / $1.91 serving

I had never really cooked with ground turkey before (okay, maybe once and it wasn't good) but I think I discovered the key. You gotta season it up really really good. I added so many goodies to these turkey burgers that they're almost half way between a veggie burger and turkey burger. Tons of flavor, tons of color, tons of goodness.

I also made a really quick garlic & dill yogurt sauce to go along with the burgers. The sauce was so good that I kept eating it straight with a spoon... I might be making this sauce more often! I'm sure it's delish on all sorts of stuff. Plus, it's super quick and easy. You definitely want to use greek yogurt so that the sauce stays nice and thick. If you have regular yogurt, you can strain it over a coffee filter in the refrigerator for a day to remove some of the liquid leaving you with a nice, thick, greek yogurt substitute.

Oh yeah, I used preminced garlic (in a jar) for this recipe because it has a deep, mellow, flavor that I think goes well in uncooked sauces. Fresh garlic is sharp and spicy and can be a bit overwhelming in some recipes.

greek turkey burgers

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chunky mashed potatoes
$3.49 recipe / $0.44 serving

What do you serve with BBQ ribs? Mashed potatoes, of course. There's just no question.

Mashed potatoes are one of those great comfort/soul foods that are high in flavor and satisfaction yet low on cost. Sure, making mashed potatoes seems elementary enough but I'm sure there's at least a handful of you who have never done it before. Mashed potatoes are one of those things that you think you'll just innately know how to make... until you go to do it and then you're like, "uh, what goes in here?" Because if you've ever been there, you know that just mashing up potatoes by themselves isn't all that good.

So, when it comes to mashed potatoes, the more fat you put in there, the better they taste... that's just the rule of the universe. But you also need liquid to facilitate mashing and a good dose of seasoning. I tried to be good and added a scant 2 Tbsp of butter as my fat, some light sour cream for my "liquid" and some garlic, green onion, salt and pepper for seasoning. I kept it simple this go-around because I wanted my ribs to be the star of this week's meal.

You can also try adding: stock or broth, cream, buttermilk, crumbled bacon, fresh herbs, smoked paprika or a variety of cheeses. The sky is the limit.

Oh yeah, and if it's not obvious by now, I'm a chunky mashed potato kind of girl. I left the beautiful red skins on my potatoes and only half-mashed them for optimum texture. If you're looking for a homogenous, textureless, white goop that may or may not have been potatoes at one time, you won't find them here.

super mashed potatoes

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slow cooker bbq ribs
$10.98 recipe / $1.83 serving

Somebody brought some BBQ ribs into the break room at work last week and I was instantly like, "Oh yeah, I definitely know what I'm cooking this weekend..." There was just no doubt about it, I WANTED RIBS!

So most people cook ribs on an actual grill but I don't have one of those right now. Most people who don't have a grill cook them slow and low (heat) in the oven. I didn't want my oven eating up gas for three hours so I opted for the slow cooker. Sure, the slow cooker needs to run for a good 8 hours but it is so much smaller than my oven that I figured (or hoped) that it was the more energy efficient option. Plus, it's just so SO easy. Just put everything in the pot and let 'er rip.

For the slow cooker to transfer heat to your food properly, you want to fill the cooker at least half way and use plenty of liquid. This is the slow cooker I used, it's 5 quarts and my rack of ribs and onion filled it about half way. For liquid, I ended up using some apple sauce and a little water (the apple sauce wasn't quite as liquidy as I had anticipated). I wanted to use Guinness Stout as my liquid but, of course, I happened to be shopping the day after St. Patty's day and they were out of Guinness singles. You can also use apple juice, orange juice or broth. Just make sure there is enough liquid to fill in all of the spaces between the meat. The liquid is the heat transfer medium. Very important.

Anyway, the end result of this slow cooker process are ribs so succulent, juicy and tender that you're likely to eat the entire rack if you don't exercise extreme restraint. I cut my ribs into portions of two ribs prior to cooking. This also helped them fit nicely in the slow cooker. Yeah, two ribs is a pretty small portion but if you beef up your meal with lots of inexpensive and healthy sides (like beans, greens and mashed potatoes), two ends up being plenty. If you do decide that four ribs is a more realistic serving size, it's still only $3.66 per serving... way less than in a restaurant for sure, which only makes them taste that much BETTER!

slow cooker bbq pork ribs

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olive herb bread
$2.30 recipe / $0.19 serving

It's time for another installment of delicious no-knead bread!

One of my favorite breads to buy fresh from the bakery is olive bread. I'm crazy about olives to begin with so when they're baked into a fresh, crusty loaf of bread I just can't resist! I added some dried herbs for extra oomph and used part whole wheat flour to reduce my guilt (because we all know the entire loaf will be devoured in less than a week).

I used dried thyme but feel free to use whatever herbs (fresh or dried) that sound good to you. If you're not sure what herbs would taste good, eat an olive and then go smell some herbs. Whatever smell mixes well with the taste of the olive in your mouth will probably taste good in the bread. At least that's how I decided which to use.

I dropped by the olive bar to get my olives so that I wouldn't have to buy a whole $6 dollar jar. The cool part is that the kalamata olives that I used were marinated in some sort of oil with red pepper so I got a little spicy kick in my bread. That was a pleasant surprise :)

This recipe takes next to no work but it does need to sit around for a while so make it on a day that you'll be home but busy doing other things.

olive herb bread

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lemon garlic roasted asparagus
$3.21 recipe / $1.07 serving

I was SO HAPPY to see asparagus selling for $2.49 per bunch at the store last weekend. Yeah, that's still pretty expensive but as far as asparagus go, that's about as low as they get (at least around here). Note to self: grow asparagus in your future garden.

Asparagus are incredibly simple to cook whether you're doing it on the stove top or in the oven. Steaming or sauteing asparagus on the stove is the fastest but they cook quickly so they require more attention (overcooked asparagus is a sad, sad thing). Roasting asparagus in the oven takes a little longer but you won't have to watch them as closely. You can season them with whatever you want but I love asparagus so much that I usually just do salt and pepper, sometimes a little garlic. I happened to have a lemon sitting on my counter so I made use of that as well.

Lemon Garlic Roasted Asparagus

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eggplant caponata pasta
$11.40 recipe / $1.43 serving

I totally broke my own rules for this one but I had cravings that I just couldn't deny. Why does this dish break my rules? Because I bought multiple vegetables that were out of season and wildly over priced. Moral of the story: you can probably make this dish for far less than I did if you wait till summer!

Eggplant caponata is usually eaten as an appetizer but I really wanted the super veggie packed eggplant relish over some pasta. The vegetable mix is cooked down with a variety of sweet, salty and acidic ingredients to make a delightful relish with a very complex flavor. You can put many things in caponata but I chose eggplant, bell peppers, fire roasted tomatoes and capers. I actually bought some olives to go in there too but they completely slipped my mind. Next time I think I'll try cooking down a few anchovy filets with the onion and garlic for a little extra umami oomph.

This makes a huge batch and if you don't want to eat it all with pasta, you can dip crackers, toasted french bread or even make it into a panini with some fresh mozzarella. Oh, and I bet this would pair wonderfully with some creamy goat cheese... Oh no, the wheels in my head are turning now!

Eggplant Caponata Pasta

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morning glory muffins
$4.47 recipe / $0.25 each

Nom nom nom... (I'm eating one of these as I type this blog post)

So, I'm usually not that into muffins because they really just seem like cupcakes in disguise. Morning glory muffins, on the other hand, are chock full of all sorts of delicious, good for you things. My morning glory muffins have oat bran, shredded carrots, applesauce, raisins, walnuts and coconut, but there are tons of other options. In the future, I plan on experimenting with shredded zucchini, pumpkin puree and pineapple. If you're planning to experiment with other ingredients, just try to keep the ratio of wet to dry ingredients the same to keep the consistency of the batter the same.

That being said, they are still muffins and still have a decent amount of sugar so I'm reserving these for those long, lazy weekend mornings when I want something special with my cup of coffee. The recipe makes 14 and since I'm only planning to eat them as a treat, the majority will be frozen. Baked goods freeze beautifully, just make sure to wrap them up tightly to prevent freezer burn.

morning glory muffins

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coconut chicken soup
$11.14 recipe / $1.39 serving

Oh, I've been wanting to make this soup for such a long long time! There are few things that I like more than coconut milk so I just knew this was going to be good. ...and there was no "lite" in my coconut milk this time, folks. It was full fat, creamy coconut goodness!

I was really pleased with how simple this soup was to prepare. You pretty much just throw everything in a pot and heat it up. How "soup"er easy!

This recipe is basically an Americanized version of Tom Kha Gai. Tom Kha Gai doesn't require many ingredients but there are some that can be hard to find if you don't have an Asian market near by. So, here are the ingredient substitutions that I made:

ginger in place of galangal
lime peel in place of keffir (lime) leaves
red pepper flakes in place of red bird's eye chilis

I know the soup is probably 100 times better with the original ingredients but it still tasted fantastic with the substitutions and I know these ingredients are more realistic for most of you. If you have a chance to get the good stuff, by all means do! I did not make a substitution for the lemongrass because it is a major player in the flavor and there really is nothing like it. Check the produce section of your grocery store near the fresh herbs. Sometimes you can get it minced up in a tube, which will also work.

A word of warning about the fish sauce... if you're not familiar or acclimated to it, go easy or don't use it at all. And by all means, DO NOT SNIFF THE BOTTLE or else that's all you'll be able to taste in the final soup and you won't be happy. Just speaking from experience. The fish sauce gives the soup a deep, savory, salty, umami flavor. Prior to adding the fish sauce, the broth tasted really light and fresh - more like coconut milk. Honestly, I liked the broth both before and after the fish sauce. Two totally different beasts but both good.

Because I live in the south and we put rice in anything remotely liquidy, I also cooked up a batch of jasmine rice and served the soup over it. The soup was good by itself but once I added the fragrant jasmine rice, it went from good to HEAVENLY. So, give that a thought.

Chicken Coconut Soup

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spring rolls & quick
peanut sauce
$9.15 recipe / $1.84 serving

Spring rolls are all about texture. The rice paper wrapper is so unique, almost skin like; a little sticky, quite stretchy and just really cool. Inside the stretchy wrapper you've got rice vermicelli, lettuce, other crunchy vegetables and usually some type of meat or seafood. So many textures, flavors and colors wrapped up in one little package. They're so very cool.

You really can put anything in a spring roll: shrimp, tofu, pork, all veggies, whatever you want. I'm not super crazy about shrimp so I used krab (a mix of snow crab and pollock) and then added sliced mango, red bell pepper, cilantro, lettuce and bean threads. I meant to buy rice vermicelli but accidentally got bean threads instead. They look almost identical in the package but rice vermicelli needs to be boiled while bean threads only need to be soaked for about 10 minutes in warm water. The vermicelli is much softer but the bean threads still worked okay.

I also made a super quick, simplified peanut sauce for this recipe. I have made a peanut sauce from scratch in the past, but in this case I just wanted something quick and easy.

This recipe was definitely more difficult and costly than I had anticipated. That being said, it was still a really FUN project and I know a lot of you will be interested so I'm posting it anyway. The recipe also left me with a bunch of left over ingredients which I usually try to avoid (lots of left over wrappers, bean threads and lettuce). Luckily, most of it was dry goods that can sit safely in my pantry while I think about what other interesting fillings could be put in thescool wrappers. We'll see... (feel free to suggest something in the comments!)

Spring Rolls

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lemon ricotta pasta
$3.52 recipe / $0.88 serving

Alright, here is a recipe for those nights when you just need something quick, easy and light. With just a few ingredients, no chopping and barely any cooking, this is a no brainer.

The flavor of this pasta is light and fresh and can be the jumping off point for any number of variations. The light, creamy ricotta brings together the sweet peas, bright lemon and spicy pepper absolutely perfectly. If you want to take it a little further, add some fresh basil, some grilled chicken or maybe some kalamata olives.

...but I liked it just the way it was. Simple, fresh and easy.

Oh, also, this recipe is great because you can make just one serving at a time or multiple. It's very forgiving so you don't even really need to measure the ingredients.

Lemon Ricotta Pasta

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muesli (cold oats)
$1.71 recipe / $0.21 serving

Oh, the controversy!

The recent roll out of McDonald's Fruit & Maple Oatmeal has sparked quite a debate all over the internet. Is it healthy? Is it the devil? Does it really have as many calories as a cheeseburger? I don't know and it doesn't really matter because I can just make my own oats in about five minutes.

I did realize, though, that I needed to share one of my favorite ways to eat oats: muesli. It's easy, delicious, customizable and doesn't even need to be cooked. Muesli is basically any mixture of dry oats with fruit and nuts. It's different from granola in that it's not baked so it doesn't have that hard, crunchy texture. I used a basic mix of old-fashioned oats, raisins, walnuts and brown sugar. Other delicious options include: flax seeds, oat bran or germ, cranberries, almonds, coconut or dates.

Instead of being cooked, the muesli mix is soaked in either cold milk or cold yogurt until the oats are softened. If you're using milk, it takes as little as five minutes, yogurt should soak over night due to it's lower moisture content. I usually just let the muesli soak while I make my coffee then it's ready to go! The result is a flakey, chewy oat with buttery bits of nuts and little, sweet dried fruit gems. The texture is delightfully unique and it's a great alternative to hot oats during the warm summer months.

The muesli mix also doubles as homemade instant oatmeal packets. Just scoop a half cup of the dry mix into the bowl, add one cup water and microwave on high for 90 seconds. Your instant oatmeal is ready to eat.

museli