All posts by BudgetEpicurean

Long-time student turned young adult with varied interests, mostly food and frugality. Pursuing wealth so I can help others pursue health.

Finances, Healthy, Informative

5 Ways to Preserve Tomatoes

October 13, 2015 BudgetEpicurean Leave a comment

As summer winds down into the gorgeous chill days of fall, gardens are finally running out of steam on producing tomatoes. If you’ve read earlier articles you know how much fun I’ve had with gardening in my neighborhood this summer! Baskets upon baskets of these lovely red jewels. And now, sadly, my final harvest is coming to fruit on the vine, and soon I’ll pull up the plants before Jack Frost takes them away.

For those who still have one last bumper crop, or have a huge pile on the counter starting to soften, here are 5 ways to easily preserve tomatoes for all year round. From as simple as cut & freeze to the process of canning (made simple with my one easy trick!) there are lots of ways to put up what you have now for when it is no longer available fresh, and preserve the lovely nutrients inside.

Option 1: Cut & Freeze

The simplest of all: just cut up your tomatoes into halves or quarters, and toss into a freezer bag. Label and put in the freezer. Later, you can use these tomatoes in sauces, soups, stews, and chilies with no problem. If you want to remove the skins, simply defrost and the skins will fall right off! Or you can leave whole, or puree them with the skins on.

Option 2: Oven Drying

It is oh-so-easy to dry your own tomatoes! All you really need is a wire rack, a knife, oodles of tomatoes (preferably roma), and some time. See my article How to Make Oven Dried Tomatoes.

Option 3: Canning diced tomatoes

Canning your own diced tomatoes is a snap! As long as you have the time to invest, canning your own will create a much healthier, flavorful option than store-bought cans. Simply dice up your tomatoes, place in a canning jar, and process. Be sure to always follow the rules of safe canning whether using a water bath or pressure canning method.

Option 4: Canning pasta sauce

Canning pasta sauce is only slightly more involved than diced tomatoes in that you add spices to the jars. I added fresh basil, garlic salt, and dried onion. Read the full article HERE.

Option 5: Turn them into tomato products

If plain tomatoes aren’t your favorite, there are still SO MANY tomato-based products we use daily that you can make in your own kitchen. Give some or all of them a try:

Don’t Waste the Crumbs has a great DIY Ketchup Recipe
BBQ Sauce
Tomato juice for drinking (like V8 but with fewer preservatives!)
Salsa &/or relish
Tomato paste
Tomato Powder
Tomato Soup (can also be frozen/canned)

And there you have it, easy ways to preserve tomato bounty! Any home gardener who has weathered at least one tomato season has had more chopped fresh tomatoes than they could handle, and these are all tried-and-true preservation methods. Using these techniques you can enjoy the flavor of summer all year long.

Comfort food, Healthy, Main Dishes, Pasta, Sneaky Healthy

Sausage & Veggie Parmesan Alfredo

October 11, 2015 BudgetEpicurean 3 Comments

In the warm-to-chill days of autumn, we begin to crave more hearty, filling, stick-to-your-ribs kind of foods. Soups, stews, chilies, and pasta all sound wonderful as seasonal hibernation signals kick in. However, you probably don’t want to already start putting on your “winter coat” do you? I know it is pretty socially acceptable to gain a few pounds over winter, who doesn’t? With these filling foods, not much time outdoors, and lots of holiday treats, it is easy to succumb.

But not this time!

A lightened up parmesan pasta alfredo to the rescue! This recipe is intensely flavorful, with lots of meat to satisfy the carnos in the family,yet packed with good-for-you veggies for vitamins and fiber. With a homemade alfredo sauce, you get to control how much and what kinds of fats are included, and can amp up the vegetable content, to make a much healthier alternative to a frozen-bagged or restaurant meal.

This recipe takes about 20 minutes, and serves 2-4. If you don’t have the specific vegetables mentioned, feel free to substitute any kind you like, as long as you try to keep at least 2 cups’ worth.

Ingredients:

1 pound sausage links (or loose)
1 bell pepper, diced
1 large potato, diced
1 small eggplant, diced
1 large head broccoli, cut into florets
1/2 bunch kale, rinsed and chopped
1 pound pasta (save 1 cup of cooking water)
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
1/2 cup milk or cream
2-4 tbsp. butter

Step 1: In a frying pan, cook your ground sausage or links until browned, and pour off any excess fat. Add the potates first and cook with a lid for 10-15 minutes.

Step 2: Add the rest of the vegetables, in order of firmness/needed cooking time, and continue until all veggies are added and beginning to soften. Meanwhile, boil and drain the pasta.

Step 3: Add the pasta, water, parmesan, milk, and butter, and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the sauce coats the noodles and thickens.

Serve and enjoy!

Administrative, Dips and Sauces, Informative, Less than 5

How to Make Infused Oils

October 8, 2015 BudgetEpicurean Leave a comment

Ever read a recipe that calls for a “garlic-infused oil” or some such thing? Thought to yourself, “That would be way too expensive to buy! I’ll just use regular“? Have you ever tried something in a restaurant or cooked by a friend that had a little special something hiding in the other flavors? It may have been an infused oil! And guess what? They are so easy to make your own!

I had this idea originally because I had found some very pretty small glass jars at a garage sale. They were the perfect size for something you only use a little bit of at a time, or as gifts. This made them the perfect medium for experimenting with infusions!

An infusion simply means that an aromatic is soaked in oil long enough that some of the aromas and/or flavors of the additions are imparted into the oil. The beauty of this method is that you can use pretty much anything you enjoy the flavor of and want to taste in your oils!

You can choose to blend herbs with the oil, or simply put some into the bottle and let it sit. This makes a lovely presentation, and since these were meant as gifts, that is what I chose to do. I also had made my own vinegars, so a nice set of one oil and one vinegar will make for a great gift in the coming months!

Ingredients:

Oil to fill your container
About 2 tbsp flavoring per 1/2 cup oil

Step 1: Whether using garlic, fresh herbs, citrus, ground spices, or citrus fruits, make sure your produce is as fresh as possible and washed and dried.

Step 2: Heat your oil and your flavorings for about 5 minutes, to just bubbling. This helps release the flavors and smells into the oil. Let cool completely

Step 3: Filter your oil, or don’t, and pour into your jars. If you do include more herbs for looks, be aware that it will likely cause the finished product to look cloudy. This is ok.

You can try pretty much any flavoring you can imagine, and can get creative with combinations too! Try citrus and rosemary, cilantro and lime, lemon and black pepper, or basil and garlic. For the very brave, try infusing hot pepper for a spicy oil to fry your chicken in.

These infusions can now be gifts to a foodie in your life, who will likely be very impressed with your kitchen DIY abilities. Or you can use them to cook with of course, or as dipping oils served with crusty breads. Swirl into homemade hummus, or drizzle some on top of quick vegan tomato soup.

Have fun with it, & good luck!

Breakfast, Comfort food, Informative, Main Dishes

Restaurant Review: O’Rourke’s Diner

October 6, 2015 BudgetEpicurean Leave a comment

This is a review of a local diner in Connectict. The Budget Epicurean has not been compensated in any way for this review, and all opinions are my own. For reviews, preference will be given to unique, local, family-owned establishments. Food locations will be evaluated based on:

Taste: 1 (wet toast) – 10 (your taste buds have died and gone to heaven)
Atmosphere: 1 (gas station bathroom) – 10 (Buckingham Palace)
Value: 1 (not worth it) – 10 (super duper deal)

In the heart of Middletown, Connecticut, just off Route 9, sits a classic metal diner. The type of train-car shaped metal diner that brings to mind the “good old days”, Route 66, and other memories of a bygone era. This is O’Rourke’s Diner.

Established in 1941 by John O’Rourke, and owned to this day by his son, Brian, this diner has seen good times and bad, as well as a few reincarnations. A brief history, from their website:

O’Rourke’s Diner – A Brief Timeline
1941 – Uncle John J. O’Rourke, a veteran of Jack’s Lunch, purchases the old wooden Dunn’s Diner.
1946 – Uncle John replaces the diner with a brand new sparkling Mountain View diner to accommodate the growing crowds.
1966 – As a high school honors student, Brian works at the diner up to 40 hours per week, in addition to delivering newspapers.
1977 – Uncle John retires. Brian O’Rourke and his cousin, John Sweeney O’Rourke buy the diner. Brian’s culinary talents emerge in the form of wonderful soups like Irish stew and roasted plum tomato.
1985 – Brian buys out his cousin to “take the diner to the next level.” He uses his experiences throughout the ’80s in the kitchens of New Orleans, Barttra (Ireland), and the Caribbean to reinvent the omelet. This is the beginning of O’Rourke’s Diner as we know it – a cross-section of humanity with amazing culinary artistry!
August 31, 2006 – O’Rourke’s Diner is decimated by fire.
Sept. 2006–Feb. 2007 – The community unites to “raise the phoenix from the flames!”

The interior of the new/old diner is cozy yet not claustrophobic. There is a lovely bookshelf just inside the entry way containing an eclectic mix of mismatched awards, family photos, knickknacks, books, and other paraphernalia. A wrap-around bar seating circles the kitchen area, welcoming locals to sit down, have a cup of coffee, and chat with the waiter, waitresses, and hard-working chefs.

When we ask the staff for favorites and suggestions, of course they say it’s all good. Every food place usually does. But of course, since they have been seen on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, plan on ordering at least one of those items recommended by the great Guy Fieri.

When we are told about Chef Brian and how he took the place over and totally revamped the menu, and that not only does he have a “Chef Brian’s Special of the Day” but that he is in the building this morning, we know at least one of us is definitely ordering that. So that left two more people to order.

After a little discussion, and an evaluation of what people were in the mood for, final decisions were made and the orders placed.

First up, we had to try their fruit juice of the day. It was a mango-pineapple juice, with frozen cubes of mango and cantaloupe to keep it chilled instead of ice to water it down. All of their breakfast smoothies and juices are made fresh each morning with usually local, seasonal fruit. They come in cute hand-held-sized cups with decorative straws. I really appreciate the small details.

Next up, we had to try the “Leprechaun Bites”. According to their menu: “Every morning the little leprechauns in the kitchen start the day off by baking a variety of goodies. Leprechaun bites are an ever-changing assortment of daily sweet breads, cakes, treats, and toppings.” Today, the leprechauns were in the mood for poppyseed & lemon bread, and blueberry muffins it seems.

The breads were both tasty, not overwhelmingly sweet. The blueberry ones weren’t quite blueberry enough for me, and a little dry. But I really enjoyed the lemon poppyseed, I feel like I could eat a whole loaf of that easily.

The next plate to hit the table I didn’t even get a picture of because it was gone too quickly! Chef Brian’s special comes with an ‘appetizer’, which was a small wedge of pistachio pancake with homemade whip topping. The pancake was Kelley green, and lightly nutty with just a hint of sweet. It was a delicious teaser for what followed.

Chef Brian’s breakfast was a work of art. Two eggs benedict sat atop a bed of greens, tomatoes, and olives with two crostini on the side. It was like nothing any of us had ever tasted before.

My choice was the Mexican breakfast platter – 2 eggs topped with black beans, guacamole, tomatoes & onions & home fries. I’m a big fan of black beans and guac, and was just in the mood for something different. This was just the ticket. With a healthy heaping of proteins (hello eggs and black beans on one plate!) and good fats from the avocado, this breakfast was very satisfying and I didn’t feel at all guilty about finishing the whole thing.

Though I did ask for my eggs scrambled, and they came out over-hard.

My dining neighbor ordered the buckwheat pancakes with sweet potato homefries. A fellow healthy eater, she was very pleased with the health factor of this meal. Definitely not for a meat-and-potatoes kinda person, who would be confused by the heavier consistency. But I thought they were quite tasty, and the sweet potato homefries are a great idea.

But the breakfast that really took the cake was of course the DDD special: Banana Bread French Toast. Diner, Drive-Ins, and Dives recommended this plate, and now we know why! Two thick, hot slices of house made banana bread, coated in egg and fried, then doused in sweet syrupy cooked bananas. It was absolutely delicious!

Lesson learned, when a very famous person know for eating good food recommends a certain dish, that’s probably what you should order!

The restroom was cramped but clean, and our waitress (plus two others wandering about) was very friendly, helpful, and always kept the coffee refilled. We felt very welcomed and comfortable. The only complaint I have is that it was FREEZING. They had the air conditioner was set to Arctic blast evidently. Luckily it was a gorgeous sunny day and we could escape to the sunshine, as soon as we gorged ourselves on bananas and pancakes. =)

Overall, I’d give O’Rourke’s diner:

Taste: 6
Atmosphere: 8
Value: 7

Appetizers, Healthy, Less than 5, Main Dishes, Vegetarian

Eggplant Parmesan

October 4, 2015 BudgetEpicurean Leave a comment

Ah, gardening debates. Every gardener most likely has very strong optionions on which heirloom tomato variety is tastiest, easiest to grow, produces the most. Which plants grow best together, which can help attract pollinators or repel pests. Who has the hottest pepper, the most productive beans, the biggest gourds. A question I chose to tackle this summer:

Which is better, purple or white eggplant?

Having never heard of white eggplant before now, this is a question entirely new to me. But as it turns out, eggplants used to come in only white, which is how they got their name. The small, white fruits growing on the vines looked like eggs hanging down. It is only recently that the purple cultivars became much more popular and well-known, such that when you think of eggplant you likely only think of the purple kind.

To decide the answer to this question, I decided to make some eggplant parmesan. This is a dish which many of my relatives have long loved, but I turned up my nose at the very thought. As I’ve grown older and my taste buds expanded, I decided to give this classic another try.

Everything tastes better to me when I’ve made it myself. And if it isn’t half bad, then I’ll give restaurant versions a second shot as well.

Ingredients:

1 purple eggplant
1 white eggplant
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup flour
1 cup breadcrumbs or crushed crackers
Olive or vegetable oil for frying

Step 1: Rinse the eggplants and cut off the spiny stem and bottom parts. If you like, peel the white eggplant. I did not. Cut into 1/2-inch thick slices. (I also saved the seeds. Cause that’s how I roll.)

Step 2: Dip the slices into flour and coat on all sides. Then dip into the egg, and again coat all sides. Finally roll it in the breadcrumbs or crackers. Place enough oil in a frying pan to coat the bottom and heat to about medium.

Step 3: Place the slices in the oil, and fry about 5-7 minutes on both sides. You want a nice crispy coat and a fully cooked interior without burning the outsides. Put on a plate to cool.

To go with the eggplant, I made some pasta and used my homemade pasta sauce I canned. I added a tbsp of turmeric to the sauce for additional antioxidant effects and nutrition. Hence the vibrant yellow color.

This was super tasty, and both the fiancée and our guest said it was the best eggplant parm they’ve had.

As for which is best? Turns out they were both delicious!

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:45]

Do you have an opinion on white versus purple eggplant? Is there an eggplant recipe you’d love to share? Tell us more in the comments!

Appetizers, Finances, Healthy, Informative, Less than 5, Side dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian

How to Make Oven-Dried Tomatoes

October 1, 2015 BudgetEpicurean 2 Comments

Since between my own backyard garden and my generous neighbor who has a football-field-sized garden I still had a bumper crop of tomatoes, even after canning oodles of quarts and pints of sauce and tomato broth and salsa, I decided to try my hand at oven-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil.

Dried tomatoes in olive oil are delicious little flavor bombs to add to garlic bread for a simple bruschetta, toss into salads or pasta, or top a pizza. The oil itself can also be used in salad dressings or anywhere tomato-flavored infused oil would be tasty. Very popular in the Mediterranean region such as Greece and Italy, this preservation method has been around for a very long time, and I had bags of romas just begging to be bathed in high quality oil that was on sale.

But a jar can be quite pricey, up to $10 in the supermarket. It is far cheaper to can your own! You must invest in the jars and good-quality oil, but it is worth it for the superior taste and nutrition of using local tomatoes, and you can re-use jars forever.

All you need is some wire racks, an oven, and some time. If you have the oven on anyways, to make a roast or cookies, or perhaps to heat the house in the chill of autumn, this is the perfect project. This oven heat is conducive to drying many things, so you could also make a platter of dried apples or sweet potato chips at the same time.

There is some debate over the safety of dried tomatoes and botulism risk. It is possible that small droplets of water may stay inside the tomato and provide a medium for botulism or bacterium to grow. Obviously read up on facts and use your own best judgment when deciding whether to refrigerate, process, freeze, or store at room temperature. This article is not advice, just what I chose to do in my own kitchen with my own produce.

Ingredients:

40-50 tomatoes, Roma are the best for drying
2 wire racks (cookie sheets work too, you’ll just have to flip them halfway to make sure they dry on all sides)
2-3 cups extra virgin olive oil
1-3 canning jars, lids, & rings

Step 1: Cut the tops & cores out of the tomatoes, slice them in half, and push out as many seeds as you can with your fingers or a knife. Save the seeds for planting, drink them, use in a soup, or compost.

Step 2: Place the tomato halves on a wire rack or baking sheet, cut side up, and put into the oven at 200 degrees. Crack the door open if you don’t mind the heat to allow more air circulation. Let them dry for 1 hour, then flip them if using baking sheets and check the dryness levels.

Step 3: Take the completely dry tomatoes and begin packing them into sterile mason jars. The tomatoes are ready if they are rubbery with absolutely no water when squeezed, but you don’t want them so dry they are crunchy with no give. If you choose to use a vinegar dip, use tongs to dip each tomato prior to placing in a sterilized jar.

Step 4: Pour in olive oil to cover the tomatoes. Make sure they are completely covered. If you feel okay with it, you can now store your tomatoes this way in a dark cabinet, or in the refrigerator.

You may also choose to water-bath or pressure can your jars at this point. Totally up to you.

These little jars will store for about 2 weeks in the refrigerator, and potentially up to a year in the cupboard if processed. They make lovely presents, if you can bring yourself to part with them. I recommend putting them somewhere easily accessible as you are likely to want to use them all up within days.

For ideas on how to use these, start here:

Check it out on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/350506783478334749/

Dips and Sauces, Finances, Healthy, Informative, Main Dishes, Pasta, Vegan, Vegetarian

How to Can Homemade Pasta Sauce

September 29, 2015 BudgetEpicurean Leave a comment

Since moving to Connecticut, we have slowly made friends with the neighbors. We are lucky enough to live in a pretty safe and quiet area, where the people are very kind and welcoming. My good fortune is knowing a guy named Tony, a few houses down the street, who gardens for his health.

Now, there are lots of well-known reasons why gardening is good for the body and soul. Being out in nature brings a sense of peace and calm, helps relieve stress and lower blood pressure, and may boost your immune system. Having home-grown fruits and vegetables enables healthier food choices and better nutrition, while keeping you active and exercising. All those hours of digging, planting, weeding, tending, picking, and preserving burns serious calories and keeps you toned and limber.

Not to mention the fact that gardening can save you serious cash! Just buy the seeds and materials once (better yet, swap seeds with other local gardeners for better-adapted produce, and save your own seeds for next year!) and you can garden for free almost forever. It is easy to find local, free sources of soil amendments like fertilizer and mulches if you ask around and get creative.

Tony takes this to a new level! His garden is literally the size of a football field, all out in his large 2-acre New England backyard. He and his wife single-handedly till, plant, weed, and tend this garden every year. His wife tells me that he has even shrunk the garden a little this year, due to time constraints and health issues, so the garden used to be even larger before I knew about it. Amazing.

Tony says his favorite thing about the garden is the sense of community. Everyone on the block knows Tony, and knows they can come by anytime to pick a bag full of produce to take home. His garden produces far more than he and his family alone could enjoy, so he gives freely to everyone around him.

This is the beauty of gardening. You make friends, share food, recipes, and stories, and build a true community.

Needless to say, I was hooked.

By mid-August, I had my kitchen table and counter literally covered in tomatoes, and needed to finally take the time to do something with them all. A large batch I simply cut into quarters and put in gallon freezer bags. They will sit in the freezer until I need to make a soup or chili; then I will thaw them, and the skins will fall right off, and I can use them in whatever recipe is on my mind.

Another large portion goes into cans as sauce to rest in the pantry until it’s pasta night. Tony shared his “lazy Italian” way of making sauce, which saved me tons of work and hours in the kitchen!

The typical way of making sauce is to boil the tomatoes briefly, then submerge in ice water. This makes the skins easy to remove. You then separate the seeds and skin from the inner flesh, and cook down for hours until it thickens into a sauce.

This cooking down process makes the house smell amazing, and warms it up on a chilly day. But this also takes a lot of time, and energy from the stove. I’m a fan of the new “lazy” way, and the sauce tastes just as good! So pull out your blender, and lets get started!

This recipe will make about 5 quarts of sauce.

Don’t add the spices if you want a plain tomato sauce, or change up the spices to whatever you want in the end product. This does use the water-bath canning method, read up on all possible dangers of canning or use a pressure canner if you are unsure.

Ingredients:

8-10 pounds assorted tomatoes
5-6 canning jars, lids, & rings
Per jar:
- 1 tbsp dried onion
- 1/2 tbsp dried garlic
- 2 tbsp basil
- 2 tbsp parsley
- pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp vinegar
Blender
Strainer
Cheesecloth or coffee filters

Step 1: Sterilize your jars by boiling for 5 minute,s or run them through the dishwasher. To each jar add the spices for the sauce. I also chose to add one whole tomato just diced to each jar, because I like a little texture in my sauce. You can skip that step and just add the pureed tomatoes.

Step 2: Wash all your tomatoes, and cut out the middle hard part & stem. Remove any brown or black spots or mushy areas. If you want to and have time, you can remove the seeds (and save them for next year!). Cut the tomatoes into quarters.

Step 3: Put the tomatoes into a blender, and blend in batches. My blender can handle about a dozen large tomatoes at a time. You may need to squish some juice out of them to get the blender going at first.

Step 4: Line a strainer over a large pot with coffee filters or cheesecloth. Pour the tomato puree into the strainer and let it sit. You can wait a few hours, or leave it over night if you have a lid. This lets most of the watery juice drip out, leaving the thicker sauce on top. Saves you the hours of boiling down, and now you can keep the tomato water too!

Step 5: Pour your separated sauce and tomato juice into prepared jars. Wipe the rims and put on the lid and ring. Process in the water bath for 35 minutes (adjust for altitude). Remove the jars to a cloth and let them cool 8-10 hours.

The jars are ready if you hear the “pop” of the lids seal, or if when you press down in the middle the lid does not spring back. Any jars that do not seal, put in the refrigerator and use within a week, or process them again.

The tomato broth that filters out is like liquid gold, and will be great as a base for soups and stews, or you can freeze it in ice cube trays to cook veggies in instead of using oil. The sauce will bring back the taste of summer later on in the dead of winter.

And this is how I processed and preserved about 50 pounds of tomatoes in two days time!

And it is so easy. As long as you use vinegar or lemon to acidify the tomatoes and broth, they are perfectly safe to water bath can at home. Enjoy preserving your bounty. Do you have more tomatoes than you know what to do with?

More things you can do with tomatoes:

Do you can or preserve? Have any other ways to save tomatoes? Tell us about it in the comments below.

Dips and Sauces, Main Dishes

Flank Steak With Chimmichurri Sauce

September 27, 2015 BudgetEpicurean Leave a comment

Some may be asking, what is chimichurri? And how do you say that?

Pronounced just how it is spelled, this silly sounding word packs some serious flavor for grilled meats. Originated in Argentina, it is a green or red sauce based typically on ground parsley, olive oil, and vinegar. Other spices, flavorings, and tomato sauces can be added. It is a bit like hummus or pesto, every home cook and chef has their own secret recipe to make it perfect.

This sauce is very forgiving, and a great way to use some of summer’s last herb bounty before Jack Frost takes the rest. Feel free to experiment with a dash of whatever green goodness you have on hand. It is a fantastic accompaniment to any grilled meats, from racks of ribs or lamb to chicken kebabs, skirt steak, or this recipe here for flank steak. Pretty much any meat you have, just grill it up, douse it in the chimichurri sauce, and watch whoever eats it eyes light up!

This recipe can be made Paleo friendly through the use of ghee or clarified butter, or coconut oil rather than regular butter. It all depends on how strictly you follow certain diets. Choose your cut of meat according to the tastes and appetites of those who will be eating the meal.

Chimichurri Ingredients:

1/2 cup mint leaves
1/2 cup basil leaves
1/2 small green bell pepper
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic

Step 1: Put all ingredients in a blender or food processor, whirl until well combined. Add a little vinegar or oil if needed to get it to the thickness desired.

Flank Steak Ingredients:

1 large flank steak (1-2 lbs)
1/2 cup seasoning/rub of choice
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp chimichurri per person

Step 1: Take a healthy handful of your rub, and slather it all over all sides of the beef. Don’t be afraid, get on in there! Rub it good, give it a nice massage. It deserves to be pampered in the last few minutes it has before being inhaled by you. I used a prepared Chicago Steak rub from McCormic, but you can try any one of millions of unique rub or marinade ideas, or invent your own!

Step 2: In a hot frying pan, melt your butter, then add the steak. Let it cook and sizzle, about 7-9 minutes. You want the rub to caramelize a bit and form a nice crisp crust. Flip it over, and cook the other side. You want it to give a little when pressed, but not too springy. You could always use the fist technique to tell. Remove it to a plate and let it rest 5-10 minutes to redistribute the juices.

Step 3: Cut it against the grain in thin slices for best results. This means if you can see the muscle fibers running lengthwise, cut it perpendicular, top to bottom, for the most tender bites.

You can now use this meat for tacos, enchiladas, over rice or polenta, or just by itself with some simple sides. I made some garlic chili broccoli rabe and baked potatoes for a simple, amazing, delicious complete meal!

Even the vegetable-allergic fiancée said that the chimichurri was soooo tasty, and really brought out the meaty, beefy grilled flavors. The vegetal flavors and aromas of the herbs combined with the acid from the vinegar & lemon is just what this humble smoky cut needs to be elevated to restaurant-quality at home. Enjoy!

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:44]

Comfort food, Crock pot, Healthy, Main Dishes, Slow cooker

Slow Cooker Sausage & Kale Stew

September 24, 2015 BudgetEpicurean Leave a comment

Last week, a terrible thing occurred.

No it has nothing to do with upcoming elections. It wasn’t weather related. Everyone I know and love is just fine. (as far as I know.)

My Crock Pot broke.

It was in the sink with dirty dishes, and one thing lead to another, somehow in the mountain of dishes the crock got split right down the middle. The lovely workhorse of my kitchen, and it’s hardy ceramic bowl was now split in twain, to be used no more. I was heartbroken to say the least.

Any reader of the blog knows how in love with my slow cooker I am. This thing is amazing, making my life so much easier by preparing dozens, even hundreds, of slow cooked meals for me while I work or play or do whatever somewhere else. Then we come home to a house that smells amazing and a hot and healthy meal.

Though I will of course replace my crock as soon as humanly possible, I dedicate this post to the crock pot, as its last documented meal prior to fatal injury. May your crock last many years more.

Ingredients:

1 head kale, torn into small pieces
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes
1/2 pound sausage, cut in slices or ground
1 can white beans
1 cup water or broth
Optional: parmesan cheese and rustic whole grain bread

Step 1: Rinse and tear the kale into pieces and place in the slow cooker. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and add those. Open the white beans and either dump it all in or rinse them first then add to the crock pot. Add in the water or broth to your desired thickness.

Step 2: Brown the sausage quickly in a frying pan, and add to the crock pot. At this point you can add any spices you want such as garlic, onion, paprika, rosemary, etc. Set on high for 4-5 hours or on low 6-8 hours and let it cook.

Honestly, this really only needs heated through to be eaten, but the longer you let it stew the more the flavors meld and the broth thickens to become more stew-like and less soupy. Up to you how long you want/need to wait.

This is amazing on its own, or you can serve it with some nice thick bread on the side. This makes plenty for about 4 servings, and you can of course double or halve it to your needs.

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:43]

Beverage

Sunrise on the Beach

September 22, 2015 BudgetEpicurean Leave a comment

Sometimes, necessity is the mother of invention. Sometimes it is bored. Sometimes it is curiosity. And sometimes it is all of the above!

Given the ingredients in the house at the time where a cocktail was needed, a combination of a Sex on the Beach and a Tequila Sunrise came about. And maui wowi, it was delicious! I highly recommend catching a sunrise on the beach asap.

Ingredients (makes 2 16oz glasses):

2 oz spiced rum or tequila
2 oz flavored vodka of your choice
2 oz cranberry or cherry juice
24 oz orange juice

Step 1: Mix the rum and vodkas in a shaker filled with ice. Pour half into each glass filled with ice. You can see I had 1 oz each of peach and caramel vodka, so I just used those, but you can use whatever flavor you have or just plain.

Step 2: Pour the orange juice into the liquors to mix. (Maybe your hand slipped while measuring 2 oz rum and added 4, who’s to say?)

Step 3: Carefully, pour the cranberry or cherry juice down the side of the glass. If you have differing densities and pour slowly enough, the two will not mix completely and you will end up with a nice ‘sunrise’ color gradation. If this doesn’t happen, drink the whole thing and promptly mix another batch. (Kidding!)

Have fun & be safe!

More things you can do with tomatoes:

Do you can or preserve? Have any other ways to save tomatoes? Tell us about it in the comments below.

The fusion of food, fun, frugality, and curiosity.