Friday, February 5, 2010

Back on board! A week's meals for under $50!

Well, it's been a long time since I've updated this blog. But truth is we've been busy! I hope make good on my promise for a recipe a week by posting 6 recipes this week!

One thing I've been "bragging" about lately is that I try to spend under $50/week on groceries. I think in this economy it is important to not only cook affordable, but to cook healthy! And often, that is a hard thing to do. I menu plan every week and work hard to ensure recipes use up things I am buying. That means you'll see me factor in a price early, but use a "no charge" in later recipes because we're just using up things from earlier meals. So, here are 6 recipes all for under $50 total. (I'm going to assume you have some standard spices and cooking ingredients on hand so those aren't included in the price.) Have fun cooking!

MONDAY: Spaghetti with Homemade Meatballs
This is a great recipe for meatballs from my mother in law. Depending on the size of your family, these meatballs will go a long way. For our family, this recipe will make enough meatballs for 3 meals! I typically freeze 2/3 of them for any easy meal down the road!

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef $5.00
(I priced this at $5.00 because I typically buy ground chicken or turkey.)
1/2 cup wheat germ $.50
(This probably costs about $3.5o, but this wheat germ will last you forever if you put in the freezer. We are using small amount, hence the reduced price. If you want to reduce the initial cost, you can use bread crumbs.)
1/3 cup fresh parsley $.50
(you can also use dry parsley flakes. I often do. Hint: Sams Club is a great place to buy spices in bulk.)
1/3 cup chopped onion $2.00
(We'll count the onion price here-figure 3 pound bag, but use throughout our meals)
3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese $2.50
(I buy pre shredded and obviously we'll only use a portion of an 8 oz bag here.)
3 tablespoons milk $2.00
(We'll count the milk price here. I buy organic for my daughter, but regular for cooking.)
1 egg $2.50
(I buy only cage free eggs, hence the higher price.)
1/4 teaspoon salt no charge
1/4 teaspoon pepper no charge
1 package spaghetti noodles $1.50
(I buy whole wheat noodles.)
1 package generic spaghetti sauce $1.25

Put all above ingredients into food processor and blend until smooth. Shape mixture into 1 inch balls. Place on shallow baking pan (I line mine with tinfoil-easier to clean) and bake at 400 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, boil spaghetti noodles per instructions on package. Prepare sauce buy sauteeing one onion. Add can of spaghetti sauce. Then add 1 teaspoon oregano and 1 teaspoon garlic. Add cooked meatballs and noodles and you're done!

Total Meal Cost: $17.75

TUESDAY: Vegetarian Tacos
This one is my own creation. It isn't very creative, but good!!!! And SO easy!

Ingredients:
2 15 oz cans black beans $1.50
1 package of 8 whole wheat taco shells $1.50
Fresh Tomato $.50
Package of taco seasoning $.75
Fresh Cilantro $1.00
Shredded cheese (your choice) $1.50
One onion no charge

Saute one chopped onion over medium heat with small amount of olive oil. Add beans (be sure to drain and rinse throughoutly if canned beans). Add taco seasoning and 1/4 cup water. Cover beans and let heat through until liquid is gone. Serve with cheese, cilantro and tomato.

Total Meal Cost: $6.75


WEDNESDAY: Corn Flake Crumb Chicken, Baked Potato and Vegetables
Okay, this one is so easy! The chicken is my mom's recipe from growing up. We'll be using potatoes for another recipe, so it's a great week to throw in a baked potato to make sure you use the whole bag! As for the Vegetable, I will buy whatever is on sale for the week and looks good. If there isn't something fresh on sale, I buy a bag of frozen.

Chicken:
1-1.5 pound skinless chicken breast $5.00
(I try to buy all natural and buy several packages of it while it is on sale.)
1 egg white no charge-eggs above
1 box off brand corn flake crumbs $1.00

Separate egg white from yolk. Dump yolk, but egg white in bowl. In separate bowl, pour approxmately 1/3 of cereal into bowl. Crush with your hands until small pieces. Add 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon salt (or seasoning salt if you have it), 1 teaspoon garlic and 1 teaspoon parsley flakes (if you have.) Mix. Take chicken and put in egg white bowl. Cover chicken in egg white. Move to corn flake crumb bowl. Cover chicken in corn flake mixture. Move chicken to baking sheet (again I line with foil so it is easier to clean.) Repeat process for all chicken pieces. Bake in oven for 35-40 min at 350 degrees.

Potatoes $1.50
(Price assumes a 5 pound bag)
It's a great night for a potato, because you are already using your oven for the chicken.

Total Meal Cost: $7.50


THURSDAY: South of the Border Pie
This one came from my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. It's easy!

Ingredients:
1 chopped onion no charge
2 teaspoons garlic no charge
2 teaspoons chili powder no charge
1 teaspoon cumin no charge
1 15 oz can red kidney beans $.75
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice $2.00
1 cup shredded cheese no charge (we'll use rest of package from tacos)
3/4 cup milk no charge
2 beaten eggs no charge
1 green pepper $.50

In saucepan, saute onion, garlic and green pepper. Stir in chili powder and cumin. Let cool. In separate saucepan cook rice per instructions. (Catch-to really be healthy, use the old fashioned PLAIN rice. It will take probably 40 min to cook, but to add flavor you can add beef boulion. If you use a box rice, you're adding alot of chemicals.) Stir into onion mix the rice, beans, cheese, milk and eggs. Spray a 10 inch pie pan with nonstick coating. Spoon mixture into pie pan. Top with a little extra cheese. Cook at 350 degrees for 30 min or until certain is firm. Can serve with salsa (or leftover cilantro and tomatoes from your tacos!!!)

Total Meal Cost: $3.25

FRIDAY: Balsamic Chicken Breasts
This is another recipe from my mother in law. So yummy. Now, I'm assuming you have balsamic vinegar. It's a pretty common ingredient. If you don't, that might bump you up over the $50 as this can run you $5-$10 depending on the quality you buy.

1-1.5 pound skinless chicken breast $5.00
(I try to buy all natural and buy several packages of it while it is on sale.)
salt
Pepper
1/4 cup chopped onion no charge
1/2 cup chicken broth $2.00 (although you'll definately have leftovers.)
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar no charge
1 teaspoon brown sugar no charge
1 tablespoon butter no charge
1 cup cooked brown rice no charge (using from earlier this week)
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley no charge (using from earlier this week)

Place chicken between 2 pieces of wax paper and pound to 1/2 inch thick with rolling pin or mallet. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a small amount of oil in pan. Cook chicken 4 minutes for each side. Transfer to serving plate to keep warm. Add onion to skillet and cook, stirring 2 minutes. Add broth, vinegar and brown sugar. Bring to boil, cook until reduced by one third (about 4 minutes.) Whisk butter into skillet until melted. Cook rice separately per instructions on package. Stir fresh parsley into rice. Put on plate. Put chicken on top of rice. Poor balsamic mixture over all.

Total Meal Cost: $7.00

SATURDAY: Corn Chowder
This is my mom's recipe and is super delicious in the winter :)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter no charge
1 onion chopped no charge
1 green pepper chopped $.50
1 tablespoon flour no charge
2 cups milk no charge
16 oz can crem-style corn $1.00
1 cup potatoes diced and cooked no charge
1 package bacon cooked $1.25

Melt butter in deep saucepan. Add onion and green pepper cooking until tender. Add flour and mix with butter. Gradually add milk and cook until milk thickens, stirring constantly. Add corn and potatoes. Add 1 teaspoon basil and thyme. Add 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Heat gently for 1/2 hour. Cook bacon in microwave per instructions. Chop and add to soup. Serve. (For extra flavoring, you can add pimentos. You can also add extra corn if you'd like.)

Total Meal Cost: $2.75

SUNDAY:
Mom is done cooking. Time for a Hot and Ready Pizza from Little Ceasers :)
Total Cost: $5.00

There it is $50 on the nose!

Monday, December 14, 2009

Falafel and Cucumber Sauce

This one is super easy, cheap and a family favorite! It is Mrs. Hock's recipe and is great! Enjoy!
(P.S.-be sure to add the cucumber sauce and tomatoes!)

Ingredients:
1 15 ounce can chickpeas
1 onion chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley (I've used dry and it is okay.)
2 cloves garlic
1 egg
2 teas ground cumin
1 teas ground corriander
salt and pepper to taste
1 pinch cayenne pepper (I like a little more than pinch)
1 teas lemon juice
1 cup dry bread crumbs

Mix all ingredients in a food blender. Form into flat patties about 2 inches in diameter. Heat oil in frying pan and cook each patty until brown on each side. Serve inside pita bread with cucumber sauce and fresh tomatoes.

Cucumber Sauce:
6 ounces plain yogurt
1/2 cucumber peeled, seeded and diced
1 teaspoon dried dill weed (I tend to add a little more)
1 tablespoon mayonaise
salt and pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients together and serve.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Stuffed Eggplant with Yogurt Dip




Well, it's been awhile since I updated the blog. Needless to say, the craziness of the holiday season has kicked into high gear... and although I'm still trying new recipes, finding the time to put them up on the blog is HARD! Anyways, here is a great one I tried for the first time last week. It came from a recipe book I have called "Cooking with Spice." It's a vegetarian meal, but it's great!




Ingredients:

4 medium eggplant (I only used two and cut all the ingredients below in half)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions
2 garlic cloves
1 bunch parsley
5 ripe tomatoes (looking back, I'd just use a can of cooked/diced tomatoes for the inside part)
1 cup cooked rice
1/2 teas ground paprika
cayenne pepper (to taste)
1/4 teas ground cumin (I used more around a full teas of this and the paprika)
1 teas sugar
For the yogurt dip:
2 garlic cloves
1/2 bunch mint (I didn't have mint, so I used cilantro. It was good, but mint would be better.)
1 cup plain yogurt

-Wash and cute eggplant in half lengthwise. Sprinkle with lemon juice and salt and allow to stand for 30 min.

-In pan heat oil, and two at a time, sear the eggplant halves on both sides for about 5 minutes. Allow to drain on paper towels. With a spoon scrape out the pulp, leaving and edge of about 1/4 inch all the way around. Chop the pulp coarsely.

-Peel the onions and garlic and dice finely. Wash the parsley and shake dry, pluck the leaves from the stems and chop finely. If you decide to use tomatoes (instead of canned), cut an x across the top and bottom of 3 tomatoes. Drop them into boiling water for about 1 minute. The skin should come off now. Peel, quarter, seed the tomatoes and dice finely.

-Heat the remaining oil in a pan and cook the onions and garlic in the pan until translucent. ADd the eggplant pulp, the rice, tomatoes, parsley and herbs and cook for about 4 minutes over low heat until done.

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the eggplant shells in a greased casserole dish and fill with the rice-vegetable mixture. Wash the remaining tomatoes and slice finely. Arrange over the eggplant. Bake for 35 min.

For yogurt dip: mix ingrediants together and put on top of eggplant.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Spicy Bean and Biscuit Pot Pie

Okay, this was delicious! (Sorry I forgot to take a picture!) I'll admit... a little time consuming (but easy), but delicious! The recipe came from a cookbook my mother in law gave me (Preventions Low-Fat, Low-Cost Cookbook.) This recipe only has 581 calories per serving (I think the way I did even has less because I used skim milk instead of buttermilk) and 6.8 grams of fat. AND, it only boils down to $.93 a serving (according to the book!) Enjoy!

Filling:
1 1/2 cups chicken stock/broth
1 tablespoon honey
2 cups chopped onion
2 cups diced tomatoes (you could use canned, but I cut up fresh ones)
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup diced green peppers
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons canned diced mild green chili peppers (I used a fresh jalepeno)
2 cups cooked pinto beans
1 cup cooked chick-peas
1/3 cup whole kernel corn
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

Biscuit crust:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons reduced-calorie butter or margarine
3/4 -1 cup low-fat buttermilk (I used skim milk)
2 teaspoons honey

To make the filling:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a large casserole dish with no-stick spray.
-In large pot, put a little olive oil in pan and cook onions for 2-3 minutes. Add chicken stock and honey. Bring to boil. Add the tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, garlic and chili peppers. Cook and stir for 5 minutes. Add the beans, chick-peas, corn, chili powder, and cumin. Cook and stir for 5 minutes.
-Pour 1/4 cup of cooking liquid into small bowl. Add the tomato paste and soy sauce. Stir until the tomatoe paste dissolves. Add back into vegetable mix. Let simmer for 5 minutes-continue to stir.
-When mixture looks "thick" (i.e. most of real runny liquid is gone), put vegetable mixture into casserole dish.

To make the biscuit crust:
-Blend flour and baking powder into a large mixture bowl. Using a fork, cut butter or margarine into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal.
-Into measuring cup, combine the honey and buttermilk. Add to flour mixture and stir with fork. Add up to 1/4 cup more buttermilk if needed to form a stiff dough. Knead lighly in the bowl for 3 minutes, or until dough is no longer sticky. Turn onto floured surface. Roll out to approximately 1/2 inch think and cut into biscuits (I used a circle cookie cutter to do this.) Place biscuits on top of filling.
-Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Cover and backe for 10 minutes more.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Three Bean Minestrone Soup

Well, I forgot to take a picture of this, but it turned out really good! Plus, aren't soups in the fall/winter the BEST?! As I was cooking this, I came up with a tip. Homemade soups are really awesome, but can be a pain to put together. SO, here's my tip: when you are feeling ambitious, make a few "soup kits". In your soup kit, cut up one onion, 2 carrots and 2 celery stalks. Go ahead and freeze in your freezer. So many soups start with these three ingredients. This way when you want to make a soup, all you have to do is add chicken or beans or ham or beef and broth of your liking!

Earlier this week, I put 3/4 cup of black beans, red beans, and white beans into my crockpot and cooked them overnight. My plan was to mash them up in my food grinder and turn them into baby food for Katelyn (which I did.) But before I did that, I decided to use some of them in a soup. I was inspired to make this recipe by Robin Miller (a show I often watch), but I changed quite a bit. Here's what I did:

Ingredients:
1 medium to large onion diced
2 large carrots diced
2 celery stalks diced (don't be afriad to use the leaves of the stalk too-they are good!)
1 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes (and juice)
1 medium zucchini (diced)
1/2 package of frozen spinach
Beans (see above for amount) but you could use just one kind of bean too and you could use them from a can instead of dry and cooking them ahead of time.
1 cup of noodles of your choice (I used egg noodles)
2 bay leaves
2 teas thyme
1 teas rosemary
1 teas celery salt
1 teas onion powder
black pepper to taste


Put onions, carrots and celery into your crockpot. Add tomatoes (with juice!) and 1 cup water. Add spices (feel free to add more of any of the above spices to taste :)) Let simmer on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. Approximately 1/2 hour before you are ready to serve, add zucchini, spinich and noodles (cooked.) Enjoy!

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Apple Crisp

Yum, yum, yum. Who doesn't love fall? It's the time of soups, stews, crock pot recipes galore, and of course, APPLES! This Friday Dr. and Mrs. Hock (my in-laws) came over for dinner. For dessert I decided to make apple crisp... delicious! The recipe is Mrs. Hock's to begin with, but I modified it (just slightly) to make it even healthier!!!! Enjoy :)

Ingredients:
1 cup white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 teas ground cinnamon
1/2 ground nutmeg (if you like nutmeg flavor, you can add almost a full teas)
2 teas wheat germ (optional...it's just a really healthy ingredient, but it isn't needed)
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups butter
4-5 large apples (peeled, cored and sliced)
2 teas lemon or lime juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, oatmeal, cinnamon, nutmeg, wheat germ and brown sugar. Cut butter into mixture until crumbly. (Important: make sure the butter is room temperature and very soft. Do not have it melted though. Also, make sure you use "cutting" motion to incorporate. Cutting is using a fork and knife and pulling it apart through the mixture. This keeps it crumbly rather than mixing which will form a big lump.)

Put half of mixture in bottom of 8x8 or 9x9 greased pan. Cut apples in thin slices and place in separate bowl. Add lime or lemon juice and toss. Then layer apples on top of the oatmeal mixture. Finish by adding the remaining oatmeal mixture on top of apples. Cook for 45-50 min until top is just turing brown and apples are tender. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Hawaiian Pizza!

Well this past week, we tried something I've never done before. I made my own pizza. Crust and all. And you know what? it was GOOD! Now I will admit I think I can make it even better but for a first try, not bad :) One of the best things about this crust is that it doesn't contain yeast or kneading (which is nice!) I also got the concept of Hawaiian pizza from a cooking show I watch, "Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller", but I added more to mine than hers.



Crust:

(First of all, let me credit my mother in law here. This is her recipe. She is a SUPER healthy cook and you'll probably see alot of my recipe inspirations come from recipes that are hers.)

2 1/4 cups white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 teas baking powder

1 teas salt and sugar

1 1/4 cup milk (her recipe calls for buttermilk, but I used skim milk)

1/4 cup safflower oil (I used canola.)

Mix above ingredients and put in deep dish pizza pan. (Or you can put on a baking sheet which is what I did because I didn't have a deep dish pizza pan.)

Cook for 5 min. at 425.



Sauce:

1 can tomato sauce

2 teas soy sauce

2 teas honey

Mix and spread on pizza crust.

Add 1/4 cup mozzeralla cheese and 1/4 cup monetary jack cheese.

Add toppings.

(For toppings I used canned pinneapple, chicken and ham.)

Add additional 1/4 cup mozzeralla cheese and 1/4 cup monetary jack cheese.



Cook in oven at 425 for additional 15-20 min.

Pardon the picture... we were so excited to dig in that I forgot to take a picture until we were eating!!!