Archives for March 2012

The inspiration for this recipe came from a yummy Pinterest pic by A Nutritionist Eats.  I loved the idea but just can’t follow a recipe to save my life. 🙂  So I added in some potatoes, peppers, and onions, tweaked a few of the herbs and spices, and voila!

Ingredients:

3 c. baked, flaked salmon
3 c. shredded potato (squeeze dry)
2 eggs
1/2 c. bread crumbs
3 minced garlic cloves
2.5 T mayonnaise
1/3 c. chopped sweet bell pepper
1/3 c. chopped onion
1 tsp dried parsley
4 tsp dried dill weed
salt and pepper, as desired

Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients thoroughly.

2. Scoop out 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup of mix, form into 3″ cakes.

3. Pan fry for 3-4 minutes on each side (in 1 Tbsp of oil)

4. Serve with aioli (recipe below) on the side. Makes 10 large cakes.

*I used 1 lb of salmon filets from Aldi and baked them for 12 minutes at 350 before flaking. I don’t care for canned salmon, and this was ready by the time I prepped the other ingredients.

*Instead of using fresh potatoes, which can be really wet and starchy, I used frozen shredded potatoes from Aldi.

Lemon Garlic AioliMix the following together and chill while the salmon is cooking.

5 T mayonnaise
1 T lemon juice
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper as desired

Today I’m sharing my favorite delicious restaurant-style fried rice recipe that you can make at home for super cheap!

Homemade Fried Rice

Ingredients:

4 c. cooked white rice (chilled)

1/4 c. cooked bacon, chopped

1/4 c. browned ground beef, finely chopped

3 Tbs butter (unsalted)

1 Tbs bacon fat (save when cooking bacon)

3 large eggs

1/4-1/3 c. soy sauce (low sodium)

1/4 c. chopped green onion

1/2 tsp sesame seeds

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

1.  Preheat griddle to 400.

2.  Melt butter and bacon fat on griddle.

3.  Spread out the chilled rice on the griddle.  It should be sizzling and start to brown.

4.  Mix in the beef and bacon with the rice, then move the mixture to one side of the griddle.

5.   Whisk eggs and pour on the empty side of the griddle.  Keep moving them with the spatula, they will cook quickly at 400 degrees.

6.  Once the eggs are no longer runny, but not yet brown, combine with the rice.

7.  Add in the soy sauce, onion, salt, pepper, and sesame seeds.  Stir until combined, then remove from heat and serve.

We love getting fried rice from our local Chinese restaurant, but the cost is just way too high for 8 of us.  We can make this at home for much cheaper, less than $5.00 for eight servings!

Cost of ingredients:

Rice – $0.50

Bacon – $0.30

Beef – $0.30

Butter – $0.25

Eggs – $0.45

Soy sauce – $0.20

Remaining ingredients – $0.20

Total cost for four servings – $2.20

That’s only $0.55 each serving!

This recipe is healthy, simple, and packed with flavor. Less than $1.50 per serving as well!

Spinach and Tomato Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Ingredients:

Stuffed Chicken Breasts:

3 chicken breasts, boneless/skinless (about 2 pounds)

6 lightly packed cups of raw spinach

3 medium Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced

4 garlic gloves, minced

2 Tbs basil pesto

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Bread crumb coating:

1 Tbs olive oil

1 Tbs parmesan

1 Tbs plain bread crumbs

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp parsley

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Roughly chop spinach.  It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just makes the stuffing easier.

3.  Combine garlic, tomatoes, pesto, salt, pepper, and onion powder in a mixing bowl.  Add spinach and stir until mixed throughout.

4.  Trim fat from chicken breasts, if needed.

5.  Place one breast at a time into a bag and pound until flat.  Repeat for each piece of chicken.

6.  Spread spinach and tomato mixture across 2/3 of each piece of chicken.  Roll toward the end without filling.

7.  Place stuffed chicken into a glass baking dish, cover with foil.

8.  Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

While you are waiting on the chicken to bake, mix together all of the bread crumb coating ingredients (except the oil) and set aside.  If you are going to serve your chicken with pasta, go ahead and put the water on the stove to boil as well.

9.  Remove chicken from the oven after 45 minutes, brush with oil and sprinkle with bread crumb coating.

10.  Place back in the oven at 350 degrees, uncovered, for another 5-10 minutes.

(Be sure the internal temperature of your chicken is at least 165 degrees before serving.)

We served our chicken with linguine, but it could easily go with salad or rice as well.

Cost of ingredients:

Chicken – $5.40

Spinach – $0.50

Tomatoes – $0.50

Pesto – $0.40

Remaining on hand ingredients – $2.00 (I stink at this part)

Total cost – $8.80 (for six servings of 1/2 breast each)

Cost per serving – $1.47

So I have literally been on the phone ALL DAY LONG dealing with my children’s insurance company and trying to get some emergency room bills covered.  So, when I realized it was 5:30 and I hadn’t even started dinner, well…..

So I begrudgingly walk rush into the kitchen and start grabbing things off the shelf.  I had some leftover chicken from some quarters I had roasted last week, some canned veggies, two wrinkly squash, 3 carrots, you get the idea.  Thank God I have the ability to make dinner from nothing, because none of this food alone was enough to feed my army!  See the recipe below and the delicious looking pot pie finale!

Super Simple Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

2 cups chicken (chopped, shredded, canned, whatever you have on hand)

1 can corn, drained

1 can green beans, drained

1 can evaporated milk (I used skim)

2 wrinkly squash-that-should’ve-been-thrown-out-but-they-aren’t-moldy-just-yet (or fresh, ya know, whatever), chopped

3 carrots, chopped (preferably from the back bottom of your fridge, hiding under cheese and leftovers)

1 container of Bob Evans Garlic Mashed Potatoes (got them for dirt cheap, otherwise I’d use 2 big potatoes)

2 cans of cheap-o store brand biscuits (or some bisquick mix, if you’ve got that on hand)

Directions:

Set the biscuits aside.

Dump everything else in a big bowl and microwave it for 5 minutes.

(I like to add in garlic and onion powder, parsley, salt and pepper as well.  Be creative!)

Stir, then pour into a pan, and cover with the biscuits.

Pop it in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes.

Relax.

Take a bubble bath.

Shave your legs.

Let’s be realistic.  Run around cleaning up the table so there’s room to eat.

20 minutes later, pull that delicious smelling pot pie out of the oven and wow your family with your awesome baking skills!

 

Deliciousness achieved, and it only took a few minutes!

Next time you think you should just order pizza because you don’t have time to cook, think again.  For me to get enough pizza/fast food for my family of 8, I’m looking at a minimum of $20 if not $30.  Yikes!  Instead, I sucked it up for 5 minutes and put together a tasty dinner that was fairly healthy!

Cost of tonight’s tastiness:

Chicken – $2.00 (I buy leg quarters and roast them for cheap chicken for dishes)

Canned corn – $0.50

Canned green beans – $0.50

Evaporated milk – $0.50

Mashed potatoes – $1.00 (on sale w/ a coupon)

Carrots – $0.25 (buy the big bag, they keep for a while)

Squash – $0.65 ($1.29 for a pack of 4 at Aldi)

Biscuits – $1.00 (packs of 4 at Kroger for $2.00)

Total:  $6.40

Woot!  That’s for a good 8 servings, so only $0.80 per person!  I’ll take that over $30 in pizza any day!

We went to Whole Foods last week (our monthly treat) and picked up some pretty tasty corn relish.  Kenneth and I ate almost the whole container in the car on the way home!  However, at $8.00 for a 16 ounce tub, it isn’t something I’ll be likely to purchase in the future.  Lucky for me, Whole Foods lists ALL of their ingredients on their deli item labels.  I ended up making a MUCH cheaper version that is absolutely delicious, and I think my husband just fell in love with me all over again.  😛 Check it out, make it, tweak it to fit your style, and let me know what you think!

Roasted Corn Salad

Ingredients:

6 c. of frozen sweet corn

1/2 c. oil (approximately, I forgot to measure!)

1 vidalia onion, diced

1/2 c. diced green bell pepper

1 Tbs minced fresh parsley

1 tsp minced fresh basil

2 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 c. halved cherry tomatoes

2 inch piece of jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

4 Tbs white wine vinegar

1 tsp lime juice

Directions:

1.  Toss corn in oil and spread out on a baking sheet.  Roast in oven on low broil until slightly browned.

2.  Remove from oven and mix with remaining ingredients.

3.  Try not to eat half the bowl immediately.

It is a REALLY simple recipe, but here are some shortcuts and tips to make it even easier.

-Let the corn thaw slightly before tossing with oil.  Otherwise you just end up with a big frozen chunk of corn.

-Put your parley, basil, jalapeno, and seeded jalapeno in the food processor.  Pulse until finely chopped.

-This salad is delish hot or cold, and is even better the second day.

-It’s not just a salad, try it on a taco or burger as well!

My version cost somewhere around $4-$5 to make about 10 cups.  That would have cost me $40 at Whole Foods!  This salad is definitely a keeper, I just need to remember to make 2x as much next time!