With the end of summer and onset of fall, summer fruits and vegetables begin to close down shop. The last of the tomatoes are ripening on the vine, the peppers are turning red, and the final enormous baseball bat sized zucchini are finally the last of the crop with no more flowers in sight. If you’ve exhausted the number of times you can make stir fry, or latkes, or zoodles, and have bags full of shredded zucchini in the freezer for later, here is a great recipe to make zucchini taste brand new to close out the season!
This recipe has a lovely presentation, and will make people think you’re a master chef who spent hours in the kitchen. In truth this takes about 10 minutes of prep and assembly, then you simply bake it until ready. You can easily make this vegetarian by omitting the ground turkey and using tofu or lentils or some other kind of bean / meat substitute.
Ingredients:
1 large or 2 smaller zucchini, cored
1 egg
1 pound ground turkey
1/2 cup cooked rice
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup salsa (optional but recommended)
Optional: spices to taste
Step 1: Cut the zucchini in half length wise, and use a knife or spoon to scrape out the inside core. Make sure you remove all the seeds, but you can save the pulp to add to the stuffing.
Step 2: In a bowl, mix the cooked rice and meat (or beans, tofu, etc) with the pieces of zucchini pulp and salsa. Add the eggs and bread crumbs and any spices you want and mix well.
Step 3: Spoon the stuffing mixture back into the hollowed out zucchini boats.
Step 4: Bake face-up on a baking sheet in an oven set to 350 for about 25-30 minutes, until zucchini is soft enough to pierce with a fork and stuffing is slightly crunchy on top.
That’s all there is to it! You can sprinkle on a bit of Parmesan cheese or garlic salt right before serving, or add extra salsa on top. You can sneak extra veggies in there too, I added a few bites of some roasted beets I had in the refrigerator, as you can see by the lovely pink color.
Ever come home after a long day, when you are mentally and physically exhausted, and starving because you probably only had a coffee all day long, and you want good home cooked food but you just can’t… and someone else cooked for you?!?
BEST DAY EVER, am I right??
Well, I will tell anyone who stands still long enough to listen that I’m the luckiest lady alive, and my now-husband (still makes me a bit giddy to say that) is an amazing chef when he wants to be, or is forced. 😉
So let me assure you, this recipe is easy to make, and man-tested and approved. Any son, teen, boyfriend, husband, neighbor, ex, whatever, is sure to love it. I mean, basically anyone who loves bacon will love this, so you’re set. (I’m so sorry vegetarians, vegans, and anyone who doesn’t or can’t eat bacon. I’ll post one for you next time!)
Ingredients:
1 boneless chicken breast
1/2 pound thick cut bacon
2 cups cooked rice
1/4 cup soy sauce
2-3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 small chili pepper (jalapeno, cayenne, or serrano works well)
Optional: you could add a cup of extra diced veggies, stir fry is very forgiving. Try cabbage, bell pepper, mushrooms, onions, carrots…)
Step 1: Cook the rice as needed, set aside to cool (or use leftover rice). In a frying pan, cook the bacon until crisp. Set aside on paper towels to drain, and crumble.
Step 2: Pour out bacon grease, leaving about 1 tbsp in the pan. Cook the chicken until browned on both sides, remove and slice thinly or shred.
Step 3: In the frying pan, add the soy sauce and balsamic, cook the peppers (and any other veggies you add) until fragrant, about 5-9 minutes. Add the rice, and mix well. Add the chicken and bacon back in, mix well and serve! With a salad or some steamed veggies on the side, this is a perfectly delicious meal.
Everyone knows the iconic meatloaf, a loaf of meat. You may have fond memories of your mother serving it as a child, you may have a secret family recipe, you may have only seen it on TV, or you may be a whiz at making vegetarian versions for faux-meat-loaf. Heck, maybe you don’t actually know what meatloaf is. Whatever the case, I will bet you you can adapt this recipe to suit your tastes!
When dating/living with/married to die-hard meat lovers and trying to stuff more vegetables into a resistant person’s diet, you need some tricks up your sleeve. This recipe is great because it combines two of my favorite strategies: shred the veggies so you barely know it’s there, and add lentils to meat to bulk it up without affecting taste too much. If you want a vegetarian version of this dish, easy peasy just leave the ground turkey out and double down on lentils, or try half lentils and half black beans.
This recipe creates a moist, tender, tasty loaf which is packed with all kinds of healthy goodies. The sweet potato gives it vitamin A, beta carotene, fiber, vitamin C, and other nutrients. The lentils give you tons of healthy fiber, protein, folate, iron, and other nutrients. If you add the meat, it keeps the carnivores happy too, and has a texture not much different from meat alone.
Ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey (or pork, beef, chicken)
1 cup cooked lentils
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 egg
1 med-large sweet potato, shredded
Spices to taste (suggest garlic salt, pepper, Italian seasoning)
For the Sauce:
1 small can tomato sauce
2 tbsp hot sauce
2 tbsp ketchup
If you are staying away from processed things (good for you!) and or feel ambitious and want to make your own ketchup (see here) or hot sauce (right here) then go for it! You can use other sauces if you don’t like ketchup such as BBQ sauce, Worcestershire, mustard, or Thai chili sauce. Or you can go sauce-less & have your meatloaf naked!
Step 1: In a large bowl, combine lentils, meat, oats, eggs, and any spices you are using. Optional additions here: diced onion, garlic, or bell peppers.
Step 2: Shred your sweet potato , and add that to the mix.
Step 3: Spray a bread pan with cooking oil, and spread the mixture into the pan, smoothing down the top.
Step 4: In a small bowl or just on top of the loaf, mix the sauce ingredients together and spread evenly over top.
Step 5: Bake in a 350 oven for about 75 minutes.
And that’s all there is to it! Slice it up and serve it up. I made some cheesy potatoes and fresh corn on the cob and it was a delightful summertime meal.
Of course, with meatloaf leftovers the best thing to do it make meatloaf sandwiches! Add some shredded cheese, maybe some extra sauce, and it has a whole new life. Mmmm-mmm!
Nothing is quite so satisfying and delicious as enjoying a brief crop of produce in its prime. Spring peas are a great example. They burst into bloom in the early spring, swell to full pods, and then quickly disappear, leaving round seeds to dry and protect until next year.
The beauty of frozen produce is that you can lock in all the enzymes and living nutrients of a fresh item and keep it for use many days or weeks or even months later. Flash frozen vegetables can be the next best thing to right-from-the-dirt produce, and maybe even better because it is washed and minimally processed. This way, you can enjoy this fresh taste of spring any time of the year!
The cream sauce is made with a minimal amount of fat. I used some half and half and some regular 2% milk. Add fresh grated Parmesan cheese and if you desire a tbsp or so of flour for a thick, creamy, salty sauce that tastes like velvet and will satisfy any Alfredo lover. You can use other types of cheeses too, don’t be shy about trying mozzarella or reggiano, asiago or feta.
Ingredients:
1/2 – 1 cup fresh or frozen peas
1 cup torn greens of choice (kale, swiss chard, collards, spinach)
2 slices thick cut bacon (optional, you can omit for a vegetarian recipe or use turkey bacon instead)
1/2 cup half and half
1/2 cup milk
1/4 – 1/2 cup grated hard cheese
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 pound cooked fresh pasta, drained
Step 1: Boil and drain your pasta. In a frying pan, cook the bacon until crispy. Remove and drain all but about 2 tsp of fat*, and crumble the bacon. Cook the peas and greens in the bacon fat for 5-10 minutes, until softened.
Step 2: To the pan, add the milks and bring to a slow simmer. Add the cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well until thickened, add flour 1/2 tbsp at a time if desired. Pour it over the hot drained pasta and top with a sprinkle of fresh grated cheese!
*If you want a vegetarian dish, omit the bacon and use vegetable of coconut oil instead!
Do you love meals that you can make in under 30 minutes?
You guys. You have to try this recipe. If you only try ONE recipe from this blog, make it this one. (Unless of course you are vegetarian or allergic to potatoes or whatever.)
This dish was inspired by one of my favorite blogs Don’t Waste the Crumbs, but upon Googling I found oodles of variations! You can use any vegetable your heart desires, change up the type of hot sauce, and add as much or as little of any type of cheese that you want. And the best part is that I nearly always have all the ingredients in the house already, so no extra trips to the store.
Combined with the fact that the ingredients are all pretty darn frugal, that makes this dish an instant hit with me. Using on-sale potatoes, frozen on sale mixed veggies, and even with all the fixings, a 9×13 pan costs me under $10. It is now on my “mental rotation of last-minute meal ideas” along with stir fry, chili, and tortilla soup.
The crispy roasted potatoes, the tasty shredded chicken, spice from the hot sauce with the cooling sour cream, added health boost from the carrots and veggies… mmmm now I want some!
As for the additional vegetables, I’d recommend things that you or your family like of course, and things that are quick cooking. Try spinach, peas, or thawed frozen veggies.
I used okra because I had some and I love the flavor, but go wild with mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, cauliflower, or broccoli. The more veggies you sneak in and slather in hot sauce the better!
Ingredients:
6-7 medium potatoes
1 cup shredded carrots
2 cooked chicken breasts
2 cups vegetable of choice
1/4 – 1/2 cup hot sauce
Optional: 1/4 – 1/2 cup sour cream or Ranch
Optional: 1/2 – 1 cup shredded cheddar
Step 1: Dice the potatoes to about 1-inch cubes, and spread them in an oven-safe pan sprayed with cooking oil. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, until soft inside and crispy outside.
While the potatoes bake, cook your chicken breasts by baking, broiling, boiling, or sauteing. Or you could start with already-cooked chicken to be ahead of the game.
Step 2: Shred the cooked chicken and spread it over the baked crispy potatoes. Add the shredded carrots and other veggies.
Step 3: Layer on the hot sauce and sour cream or Ranch, if using.
Step 4: Add the cheddar (or other cheese) if using. Bake at 350 for another 10-15 minutes.
Step 5: Try to stop yourself from devouring the whole ooey-gooey pan all at once.
Don’t you just love it when you make something that takes literally just a few minutes, but turns out amazingly delicious and also very impressive looking? Me too! So the other day, my coworkers and I realized that it was someone’s birthday. We had totally forgotten, and felt terrible, so we decided the following day would be birthday breakfast! Obviously, I volunteered to cook something. Problem was, I didn’t think that through…
The next morning, I checked the fridge, and didn’t see much besides some eggs. But whatever I made had to be transportable; sunny side up doesn’t travel well, and reheated scrambled eggs is icky. Then I saw a half loaf of bread and the light bulb went on: Strata! Strata is a breakfast casserole based mostly on eggs and bread. You can add anything at all pretty much, and it makes a delicious layered meal.
Upon checking the freezer, I found some turkey bacon, and a half bag of frozen corn and peppers/onions. Since I always keep cans of diced tomatoes and different types of beans around, it just made sense that a Mexican themed strata came together. Full disclosure: I had no idea how this would come out! I threw it all together, popped it in the oven, and got in the shower.
Once it was done, I covered it in tin foil, wrapped it in towels to keep it warm, and stuck it in a reusable bag to take it to the office. An hour later, after a round of “Happy Birthday” which was satisfactorily embarrassing for the coworker in question, came the moment of truth. I pulled out the pan, uncovered the casserole, and the whole room erupted in “Oh my GOSH that looks amazing!” and “that smells SO good, what is it!?”. Once we dug in, the compliments just kept rolling. Almost everyone had seconds, and we finished the whole pan between 6 people!
All this is not to brag, but mostly to convince you that even though it might sound complicated, it is really not. Even if the combination sounds weird, it does work well. Just give it a try and see. You can make strata for the first time on a weekend just to be safe and make sure you have time to get it just right, as long as you make it. And then tell me I’m right. 🙂
Ingredients:
8-10 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 loaf of bread
1/2 pound turkey bacon
1 cup peppers and onions
1/2 cup frozen or canned corn
1 1/2 cup salsa or 1 can diced tomatoes with chilies
1 cup black beans (or other type)
Optional: shredded cheddar cheese
Optional: fresh or dried oregano
Step 1: In a large bowl, break all the eggs and scramble them well with a fork. Add the milk and mix well. Tear the bread into rough chunks. You can also use a few days’ old bread for this, just add a splash more milk. Some recipes call for leaving the bread overnight to soak, but I just made it right away and it turned out great, so it’s up to you.
Step 2: In a frying pan, cook your bacon. You can also use ham, sausage, and/or chorizo instead. Or just omit the meat entirely to keep it vegetarian.
Step 3: Add the vegetables and beans to the pan. Heat well, and cook until peppers and onions are tender.
Step 4: Spray a large 9×13 pan with cooking oil or spread with butter. Pour in the bread and egg mixture. Add optional cheese if using.
Step 5: Pour the meats and vegetables and beans into the bread and eggs. Mix it all together well. You can also choose to keep it layered like a breakfast lasagna, if you have the time for that.
Step 6: Bake the whole shebang in a 350 degree oven for about 35-45 minutes. If you cover it with foil, it will bake faster, if you do not use foil, it will brown on top faster.
Step 7: For the most impressive presentation, sprinkle with a little more cheddar and fresh oregano springs right when you take it out of the oven. The cheese will melt from the heat. Serve immediately, and try to keep yourself from devouring the whole pan in one sitting.
Happy Easter everyone! I hope today is filled with family and food and cute woodland creatures, and maybe some chocolates too. But don’t get too crazy. Remember, Easter & Halloween are dentists’ favorite holidays.
I will be enjoying the day with family, having an egg hunt, dying hard boiled eggs, eating some ham, and yeah probably having more than a few pieces of candy. 🙂 (Oh, and don’t tell, but I totally want to surprise everyone with this unbelievably easy [microwave only!] carrot cake recipe and healthy cream cheese frosting! I really hope it is as delicious as it sounds.)
Enjoy the roundup below of creative, healthy ideas to make this the best Easter ever!
Happy <nearly> St. Patrick’s Day! Can you even believe it is already almost time! For me it seems like the year is flying by, as it usually does. The East Coast had a glimpse of spring and all its sunny, 60-degree glory, followed by chilly weather again. Those daydreams of warm soil, hot sunshine, and tiny green buds and leaves poking up bravely into the world are becoming closer and closer to real.
Whether you make this tonight, or use leftover potatoes and cabbage later, this is a delicious and filling meal that everyone will love, regardless of heritage.
Ingredients:
1 head of red or green cabbage
1.5-2 pounds potatoes
1 pound ground beef
1/2 stick butter (or 1/4 cup oil of choice)
1/2 cup milk (or water, or stock)
Salt & Pepper
Optional: 1/2 an onion, diced; garlic salt
Step 1: Dice the potatoes into cubes, you can use any kind. I leave the skins on because that is where the majority of the nutrients and minerals are found, but you could peel them. Cut out the hard core of the cabbage, and shred the head or cut into thin strips.
Step 2: Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and add the potatoes. Simmer for at least 25-30 minutes, until soft when poked with a fork.
Step 3: In a large covered pot, add the cut up cabbage with a few tbsp water or stock (or wine, or vinegar) and heat over medium heat for 10-20 minutes, until cabbage becomes soft and translucent. If using onions, add at this time too.
Step 4: In a large pan, brown the ground beef (or chicken, or turkey, or pork). Drain off the excess fats. You can use the same pan if you remove the cabbage. Add the cooked softened cabbage back in.
Step 5: Drain the potatoes, and mash it up to your desired consistency, whether totally smooth or with chunks. Add the butter and milk (or other liquids) and mix well.
Step 6: Add the mashed potatoes to the pot with cabbage and ground beef and mix well. Season to taste with salt & pepper.
That’s all there is to it! Three classic mainstays of Irish cooking, cabbage, potatoes, and meat, together in one happy marriage. Serve with gravy if desired. If you are clever about cooking order, you can make this all in one pot too. This makes a huge amount, so be sure you have plenty of people to share it with or will eat it over time. You can of course halve or quarter the recipe as needed.
This post is about my newest addition to my Kindle offerings: “10 Crock Pot Freezer Meals”! You can see for yourself at my Budget Epicurean Kindle Author page. The eBook contains a complete grocery list, with the items categorized in order to easily breeze in and out of the store in minutes, as well as ten of my best & most loved slow cooker recipes, including Cranberry Spiced Chicken, Orange-Glazed Pork Chops, and White Bean Chicken Chili. I even added some handy, easy printables to label your bags, so you know what you have days or weeks later!
To watch the short video on how easy it is to shop for and assemble everything, check it out here! Of course ALDI was the store I went to (I just love them for their focus on providing the best prices over flashy ads or in store perks). I had my list in hand, and the total for everything that was going into these ten meals (minus just a few pantry staples) was $87. Given that each meal is made to serve 4, that is only $2.18 per meal!!
Of course, you can substitute as needed, such as if you have a hatred of a specific type of bean, swap it for a different kind, or if you do not eat pork, use chicken or beef instead. Definitely the highlight of the trip was finding this little bonus deal: $0.35 for canned, organic, reduced sodium black beans!!! Oh yeah, I bought 2 cases. That doesn’t count towards the meal totals…
The entire shopping trip took me probably about a half hour. And that is with writing down prices of things, and forcing my significant other, who was such a trooper, to take pictures and help me double check that I hadn’t forgotten anything. 🙂
As a reminder, you can purchase the nice printable ebook HERE.
First things first, I got everything organized. This means putting all the ingredients for each recipe into a pile. Some ingredients were used in multiple recipes, so I put those piles next to each other. Then I cut out the labels, and taped them onto a bag.
Next, take a cutting board, and for each recipe that requires dicing, chop up the peppers, or onions, or whatever, and place the raw veggies in the corresponding bag. It is best to get all that out of the way first. I actually ended up wearing goggles, because the onions were so strong and stung my eyes so that I couldn’t see for all the watering they were doing!
Next, take a can opener, and open up all your cans. Drain things like beans if you like, I didn’t even bother, just dumped the whole thing in there. Pour the canned goods into the bags. Any seasonings like chili powder or honey, pour those in next. Finally, open the meats (if using) and add those to the bags last. Be sure to keep meats separate otherwise so as to not cross-contaminate, and wash your hands after touching them.
Orange-Ginger Glazed Pork Chops
BBQ Pulled Pork
Crock Pot 5 Bean Vegetarian Chili
Salsa Chicken
Creamy Italian Chicken
Tortilla Soup
Spiced Cranberry Chicken
White Bean Chicken Chili
Garlicky Sweet Lemon Chicken
Garlicky Sweet Lemon Chicken
Chicken Cacciatore
Once you have your bags filled, you can take them to your freezer. Ideally, freeze them laying flat so that you save freezer space. You can also put any of these recipes straight into the crock pot, as I did with the garlicky sweet lemon chicken.
The day before you plan to eat one of these meals, just take the bag from the freezer and put it into your refrigerator. Preferably put the bag onto a plate or in a bowl, just in case it leaks or drips water as it thaws. The next morning, pour the whole contents of the bag into your slow cooker and cook as instructed. You can use each recipe’s suggestions, or serve with whatever you have handy. And there you have it! Ten meals that serve 4, from cans to freezer to cooked!
Freezer meals assembled and ready to go!
You can purchase this list of ten slow cooker, freezer-approved recipes, plus a complete one-page shopping list, serving suggestions, and printable freezer bag labels on Amazon!
Just search “Budget Epicurean”. Or visit this link: http://goo.gl/VtfKOq
I’m hoping to expand these meal plan offerings soon to include a vegetarian option, diabetic meal plans, gluten-free meal plans, and more! Please let me know if you have any feedback, questions, or something else you want to see in the future in the comments below or by email at budgetepicurean (at) gmail (dot) com!
You can view the video of how easy the shopping & assembly is here:
Many many food bloggers and regular people alike love this method of cooking! It is hard to overstate how much time, energy, and cash you can save by cooking this way. If you’re already experienced with meal planning based on grocery store sales, or want to try coming up with your own recipes, here’s a great article from one of my favorite frugal sites, the Simple Dollar, fully explaining the process!
For those who are unsure of trying new “health craze foods” like kale or spaghetti squash, let me assure you, they are SUPER easy to cook and incorporate into your repertoire. By now the interwebs are bursting at the seams with kale related recipes, so that’s a good place to start. You can pretty much use it anywhere you would use lettuce or spinach, sometimes coating in oil or steaming first since it is much more hardy in texture.
As for spaghetti squash, this baby is coming into its own in the fall. I have written before about my “spaghetti” and turkey meatballs, where you use the strands of squash just like noodles for the same texture but way more filling fiber and nutritious vitamins than wheat pasta. You can try starting this trick by using half-and-half squash and pasta, then working up from there according to taste.
Cooking a squash is as easy as 1-2-3 with a microwave. Simply cut the squash in half, and lay cut-side down on a plate in the microwave. Add about a 1/2 inch of water, and microwave 5 minutes. Flip the squash over, and microwave again. If it is soft when poked with a fork, you’re good to go, otherwise continue flipping and microwaving a few minutes at a time. When it is done, you can take a fork and drag it down the sides, pulling out the flesh in spaghetti-like strings.
Hence the name.
You can of course also bake it cut-side down in a shallow oven-safe pan with a little water, 45-60 minutes or until softened. These preparation methods work well for pretty much all types of winter squash as well, from spaghetti to acorn to butternut.
For this recipe, spaghetti squash, kale, and other yummy veggies come together in a warming, filling fall favorite. You can make this in a frying pan or in the oven, and once made can be stirred into omelets, served alone or with sauce, or like I did wrapped into a burrito!
Ingredients:
1/2 small spaghetti squash
Handful kale (about 1 cup)
2 slices bacon — optional
1 tbsp olive oil — if not using bacon
1/4 white onion, sliced
1/4 pint mushrooms
Nuitritional yeast
Sprinkle of sea salt
Step 1: In a frying pan, add the onions and bacon if using. (Otherwise, cook onions in olive oil). Cook 1 minute, then add the mushrooms and kale, and flip the bacon. Cook, stirring, about 5-7 minutes. Then add in the spaghetti squash. Cook until everything is heated through.
Step 2: Now you can enjoy as is, add some sauce, scramble some eggs into it for a lovely omelet, or wrap it up into a burrito!
The fusion of food, fun, frugality, and curiosity.
