Budget Bytes: April 2011

no-knead focaccia
$1.07 recipe / $0.09 serving

I was in the mood for sandwiches this week so I needed to make some bread. While my honey wheat sandwich bread was fantastic, I wanted something more savory. Then I got the idea, take the no-knead ciabatta and make it into focaccia! It turned out perfect and was so so so easy.

This recipe utilizes an over night fermentation which gives it incredible flavor. So, while the total time for this recipe is almost a whole day, there is probably less than 15 minutes of actual work that needs to be done.

A delicious loaf of bread for just over a dollar and under 15 minutes of work? YES PLEASE!

no-kead focaccia

20 com

creamy mushroom pasta w/ chicken
$10.04 recipe / $1.67 serving

This post is dedicated to all of you who are still going out to eat at the Olive Garden. ;D

This is a super simple, very flavorful pasta dish that will cost about the same for six servings as you'd pay for one at an "Italian Style Family Restaurant." ...Plus, you'll be using fresh, delicious ingredients. No jelly-like cream sauces from a can here.

I used white wine in my recipe because I really like the flavor that it lends to sauces but if you don't want to use it, just replace it with the same volume of chicken broth.

I also used pre-sliced mushrooms but only because the store was out of whole mushrooms. I would prefer to cut my own and slice them thinner than these were... but you can't have everything in life, right?

If you're not a fan of parsley, you could also stir in some fresh baby spinach because we all know that spinach, mushrooms, cream and chicken play well together. Parsley just happens to be far less expensive and I like it all the same.

creamy mushroom pasta with chicken

21 com

easy dulce de leche
$1.38 recipe

Oh boy, I may have done a bad thing when I made this... I may have opened Pandora's box. Now I want this delicious dulce de leche on everything. I've been sneaking spoonfuls out of the fridge just to get a "fix" all week.

Dulce de leche, which translates to "milk candy", is a delicious caramel like dip. It is usually made by slowly cooking milk and sugar until the moisture boils off and the sugars caramelize leaving you with a thick, rich, creamy sauce.

Although it is printed clearly on every can of sweetened condensed milk NOT to heat the cans unopened, one of the most common ways to make dulce de leche is to boil the unopened cans in a pot full of water on the stove for 3-4 hours. Now, that method is very dangerous because the temperature is difficult to control and if too much water boils away the internal temp of the can will keep rising until it explodes. I've seen this happen. It's not pretty and caramel is nearly impossible to clean off of the ceiling and walls.

Using a slow cooker is much, much safer (although, the danger still exists). A slow cooker will maintain a fairly constant temperature (and a much lower temperature), the lid will prevent the water from boiling off and most lids secure into place with a clamp which would help stifle an explosion. BUT, the can still warns against heating unopened cans... so... follow this recipe at your own risk.

Okay, so if you haven't been scared off, this recipe is so super easy that it's almost unfair. Not to mention, you can make a batch of it for about $1.50 which is far less than the bottles of caramel ice cream topping or dip that you'd buy at the store. What can you use it for? Dipping fruit, topping desserts or stir it into your coffee drinks. It tastes exactly like those little square caramel candies that you can buy around Halloween time.

dulce de leche

10 com

super quick tomato soup
$2.40 recipe / $0.40 serving

Last summer I made some tomato soup from scratch with fresh tomatoes and it was delightful but I've been meaning to make a quick version with canned tomatoes ever since. I definitely needed something quick and satisfying today so I whipped up a pot.

The recipe below is skeleton recipe that can be taken in about a million different directions. Here are a few ideas:

Low carb: skip the brown sugar and bread crumbs and add 1/4 cup of half and half instead.
Smoked Paprika: add a dash of this super versatile spice for a smokey, earthy flavor.
Spinach: Stir in a handful of fresh baby spinach for extra flavor, fiber and nutrients.
Sour Cream: Stir a spoonful of light sour cream or plain yogurt into your bowl for extra creaminess
Fresh Herbs: If you have access to fresh basil, slice it thin and stir it in for a punch of flavor.
Vegetarian: Use vegetable base or broth in place of the chicken base.

And I'm sure there are many many more possibilities! Of course, it's great by itself too. A few goldfish crackers or a grilled cheese and you've got a great, simple lunch.

souper quick tomato soup

19 com

ginger salmon
$7.65 recipe / $2.55 serving

I've shied away from making salmon in the past because of the price. At over $8/lb., it's twice as expensive as ground beef and almost three times as expensive as chicken or pork. After being out of town all week and having to eat at restaurants, I realized just how much of a steal it still is. Sure, you might not eat this every night of the week but on a special occasion? Definitely.

Not to mention, this is one of the EASIEST recipes ever. Mix up a little brown sugar and ginger glaze, slather it on the fish and then pop it in the oven. 20-20 minutes later you've got a delicious, tender salmon steak with a delightfully sweet, crunchy ginger topping. Yessir.

The salmon that I bought was just over 3/4 lb. which would mean 3 servings of 3 oz. each. When I looked at the salmon (see photos below), cutting it into three seemed like the portions would be really small and I almost just cut it into two. Well, I went with three and, let me tell you, the servings ended up being more than enough. So, cut the portions a little smaller than your eyes are telling you. Also, this recipe is extremely easy to double... if you should need more.

Alright, lets do this thing.

Ginger Salmon

35 com

peanut soba stir fry
$8.57 recipe / $1.43 serving

I'm SO EXCITED about this one... this is one of those recipes that turned out so good that I couldn't keep out of it while I was shooting photos. I kept stuffing in mouthfuls in between shots!

I wanted to make a stir fry this week because they're just so quick, easy and packed with goodness. This is one of those cases where it was actually less expensive to buy the frozen, pre-chopped mix of vegetables than to buy each vegetable fresh. Red peppers alone were $2.50 each and I got a whole bag of vegetables for $1.94. Plus, this way I won't have tons of left overs. Frozen vegetables are a wonderful asset to those eating on a budget. They don't go bad quickly in the refrigerator, there are a ton of varieties and most don't contain any added salt or preservatives (check the label to be sure). Sure, the frozen weren't as crunchy as fresh would have been but the dish was so good over all that I didn't care.

I added soba noodles (buckwheat noodles) to the stir fry for bulk and fiber. I paid $3.94 for 8 oz. of soba noodles and I'm quite sure they can be purchased for far less else where, probably even at Whole Foods. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to drive across town that day. Check ethnic markets for an even lower price. Oh, AND my hoisin sauce was organic so I'm sure you could get that for less too. Moral of the story: you can probably make this recipe for a few dollars less than I did.

peanut soba stir fry

29 com

review: smoked paprika

I was out of town all week at a conference so I didn't really do any cooking this week. In absence of a new recipe, I thought this would be a good time to share my latest obsession: smoked paprika!!

And, no, I'm not getting any kick backs from McCormick for talking about this... I'm just in love and I think you will be too!

21 com

cuban chorizo stew
$8.82 recipe / $1.10 serving

I came across this post on the Parsley Thief a couple of weeks ago and was very inspired by the combination of coconut milk and black beans (two of my favorite ingredients!). So, I had to give it a try. I had some extra chorizo in my freezer from when I made the chorizo and sweet potato enchiladas so I decided to use that along with a couple other things to turn the recipe into a stew. It turned out FANTASTIC! I also cooked some jasmine rice to serve along with it. Basmati would also be great.

The flavor combination of the stew is perfect. Hot spices mellowed out by the creamy coconut milk and a little acidity from the tomatoes to cut through the coconut cream. A little fresh cilantro to liven it up and everything is in perfect balance!

If you're a vegetarian or are not crazy about all of the fat in chorizo, this stew would still be stunningly delicious without the chorizo. Or, you can try some vegetarian chorizo (sold with other refrigerated meat substitutes, usually in the produce section) which is much lower in fat and calories.

The night before I made this recipe, I whipped up a batch of black beans in my slow cooker. If you haven't tried this method for cooking beans yet, YOU MUST. It's so easy and saves so much money. All you have to do is put in the dry beans and water, turn it on high and let it do it's thing for four hours. Then, I ladle the beans and liquid into three containers (2 cups each, roughly equal to one can each) and refrigerate or freeze them until use. It only takes ten minutes of total effort. Seriously, try it. Here is my post with more detailed directions.

Cuban Chorizo Stew

8 com

dijon lentil salad
$3.07 recipe / $0.51 serving

Wow, I've had so many good recipe suggestions from readers lately! And I guess that's a good thing because I've been so busy with school and other projects that I don't even have time to think. So, thank you, readers, for all of your wonderful ideas!

This recipe came courtesy of Alana who got the recipe from Ina Garten. I did a quick search to find Ina's actual recipe so that I could link it, but I was unable to find it. But, as usual, I changed things up a bit anyway.

I love this dish because it uses a super simple dijon vinaigrette to add tons of flavor and tang to otherwise boring lentils. The lentils are also cooked with a mixture of vegetables to add flavor and, to my surprise, cloves! The cloves were not over powering at all, but instead added a nice hint of sweet spice to the background. Absolutely delish!

I've been eating this salad as a side dish but I loved Alana's suggestion to eat it with some crusty bread and light red wine... I can definitely handle a dinner like that on a lazy summer evening!

Thanks Alana!

Dijon Lentil Salad

43 com

zucchini pizza boats
$7.92 recipe / $1.32 serving

Stuffed zucchini are a popular dish in the Mediterranean region. I've wanted to make some for a while but this post on Green Light Bites really motivated me.

Stuffed zucchini are usually filled with some sort of seasoned meat, starch and vegetables. What caught my eye about the Green Light Bites version is that they are pizza themed which makes them very family friendly! They look like pizzas, they taste like pizzas but you're getting a whole lot of vegetables!

So, inspired by Green Light Bites I made my own zucchini pizzas. I added some bread crumbs to beef up the filling, used parmesan instead of feta because that's what I had on hand, and I threw a couple black olives on top. I wanted to put some turkey pepperoni on top but the store I was at was sold out... Boo! Anyway, this recipe is completely customizable so go wild with it!

You can even make it low carb by replacing the bread crumbs with more parmesan. Either way, these were so good and easy that I'll definitely be whipping some up the next time I get a pizza craving!

stuffed zucchini pizzas