Category Archives: Main Dishes

Breads, Comfort food, Finances, Fish, Healthy, Informative, Main Dishes, Vegetarian

Clam & Garlic Pizza

January 14, 2016 BudgetEpicurean 1 Comment

One of my favorite parts about living in New England is the abundance of seafood. I wrote Tuesday about seafood linguini, and today is all about clam pizza (don’t worry, I actually made and ate them on separate weeks. Unless seafood every day is appealing to you, in which case rock on).

Seafood is pretty darn healthy for you on the whole, be it lobster, clams, shrimp, crab, or any other shelled ocean dweller. Clams are a good source of several nutrients and minerals, including magnesium and manganese, phosphorus, potassium, copper and selenium, and a very good source of Vitamin B12. Read More Here. They are also naturally low in fat and high in protein.

These clams were from a local farmers market (if you’re local to New Haven, check out the City Seed network of markets). I met the woman who captains the boat that harvested these guys, from the river and bay less than an hour from my house. She showed me photos of the boat, the other deck hands, and a typical day’s haul.

She also explained the difference between several different types of clams, mostly size and thus what types of recipes they are best for. Of course I don’t remember most of it, but the point is it was super cool to meet the actual person who obtained the food I was planning to eat. I got this baker’s dozen of clams for only $5 too.

Once I saw the clams, I knew I had to have them. And once I had them, I knew that clam pizza was gonna happen. If you’ve ever been to New Haven, or even if you haven’t, chances are you’ve heard about Pepe’s Pizzeria, and their famous White Clam pie. It was named the best in the country! I am not arrogant enough to claim that I can make it just like Pepe or better, but I wanted to at least give it a shot.

This woman also gave me some good advice on how to open and cook them, since this was my first time cooking with fresh clams. A nice trick is to freeze them for an hour or so, then thaw them in a pan over medium low heat. This makes them pop open really easily. Or you can thaw them on the counter, just make sure to use a container to catch all the flavorful juice they release! That’s good stuff.

The next step of this pizza was making the dough. I could have bought it pre-made at the store, but I wanted to be all Suzy Homemaker and do it all from scratch. Turns out, pizza dough isn’t even that hard to make! And you can make a double batch, and keep half in the refrigerator or freezer to use again later. This may become a regular weekend project now.

Ingredients for Pizza Dough:

2 tsp yeast
3 tbsp warm water
1 tbsp sugar
3 cups flour
1 cup warm water
2 tbsp olive oil
2-3 tsp sea salt

Step 1: Put the yeast, water, and sugar in a bowl and mix to dissolve. The water needs to be just warm, not too hot to kill the yeast. This is called “activating” the yeast. It wakes up and starts eating the sugar. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes at room temperature.

Step 2: In a large bowl, or stand mixer, mix the yeast with the flour, rest of the water, oil, and salt. Mix until the dough is sticky yet pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Let it sit at room temperature 1 hour, so go do laundry or watch a TV show or run errands.

Step 3: Punch the risen dough down, mix for a few minutes. Let it rest again for 1 hour. (This is kind of an all-day project, but with very little hands-on time. Plenty of breaks to get stuff done, and you don’t have to babysit the dough in between.) Either cut the dough in half for two smaller pizzas, or spread it out on a pizza pan (for round) or cookie sheet (for rectangle). Heat the oven to 400 F.

Step 4: Spread your dough, and poke a few holes in it with a fork to prevent big bubbles. Bake the dough for 5-7 minutes, until lightly browned. Then top with whatever you like, and bake another 5-7 minutes, until toppings are warm, browned, and/or gooey.

For my topping, I mixed clams, garlic, and olive oil for a pungent dose of flavor. While the oven was heating, I took an entire head of garlic and cut off the tops. I drizzled a tbsp or 2 of olive oil over it, wrapped it in tin foil, and baked it at 400 for about 15 minutes. This cooks the cloves, turning them soft and brown and mellowing the garlic flavor. Mix this with oil and chopped up clam, and you have heaven in the making.

Ingredients for White Clam Pizza Topping:

Dozen clams, chopped, with juice
1 head of garlic, baked, mushed with a fork
2 tbsp olive oil + 2 tbsp olive oil
2-3 tbsp lemon juice
Sprinkle of sea salt
Dash of Italian seasoning
Optional: 1/2 cup Parmesan or mozzarella

Step 1: Cut the top off the garlic, drizzle with oil, & wrap in tin foil. Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes. Squeeze the cooked garlic into a bowl, and mash with a fork. Add clams, clam juice, oil, lemon, salt, and seasoning and mix well.

Step 2: Take your dough, and spread the toppings all over it. Sprinkle again with salt or seasonings, or a squirt of lemon if desired.

Step 3: Optionally, sprinkle on a handful of shredded parmesan or mozzarella cheese. Bake in a 400 oven for 7-10 minutes, until heated through and cheese is melted.

You can serve with extra lemon wedges for sprinkling over the slices. This is garlic and seafood heaven! It smells amazing, and tastes even better.

Oh, and I had only used half the dough on the clam pizza, so I took what vegetables were hanging out in the refrigerator and also made an awesome Brussels sprouts, beet, mushroom, and onion pizza!

Pizza dough you make yourself is delicious, and far more healthy than a packaged box full of leaveners, preservatives, flavorants, and who knows what other chemicals. When you make things at home, you know exactly what goes into them, save yourself some cashola (because it is almost always cheaper to make things from base ingredients than pay the convenience fee of someone else making it) and can add a little love too. 😉 That’s what my grandma always said, and I think she’s right.

How about you? Ever made pizza dough at home? What’s your favorite pizza topping?

Fish, Healthy, Main Dishes, Pasta

Seafood Linguini Bonanza

January 12, 2016 BudgetEpicurean Leave a comment

If you are already a lover of seafood, oh boy do you need this recipe in your life! If you are unsure, trying to incorporate more seafood into your diet, or have someone who does not like seafood and you want to convince them, you also need this recipe in your life!

Seafood is super for your health, mussels & clams provide some of the highest sources of zinc and certain other minerals of all protein sources, is quite high in protein yet low in calories, and a source of omega-3 fatty acids. You should of course educate yourself as to the source of your seafood, and you can read more on the nutrition facts here or here.

Well, isn’t seafood expensive? you may ask. I can’t afford to eat that stuff. you may think.

False.

Let me explain.

The components of this recipe include: mussels, shrimp, and white fish (in this case, catfish). All of these ingredients came out of my freezer (since I am doing my January restricted budget/eat from the pantry challenge), and all together cost about $6. Here’s the secret: always shop sales!

The catfish nuggets I grabbed when they were manager’s special, meaning they had to be sold that day, or else, for less than $2. Just pop it in the freezer, now you have fresh fish whenever you want it. The mussels were on sale, close to $6 for a 2 pound bag, and I used one pound. The other pound is in the freezer waiting for the next recipe. And the shrimp? Also on sale, under $2 for a 12 oz bag.

The other ingredients include fresh onions & garlic & dill, all to be had for a buck or two. Whole wheat pasta, 0.88 on sale. Olive oil, salt, these I always have on hand. And a secret ingredient, stuffed cherry peppers! These were left in the refrigerator and I didn’t want them to spoil, so into the pasta they went! And I must say, it was a wonderful addition, the peppers added just a touch of bite.

Ingredients:

1 pound linguine pasta
1 pound mussels
12 oz shrimp
1.5 pound white fish, such as catfish or tilapia
5-6 hot peppers
2-4 cloves of garlic
2-3 green onions
2-3 stems of dill (optional)
2 tbsp vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 small white onion
Salt & Pepper

Step 1: Either steam the mussels by heating, covered, until they all open, or freeze them and then thaw in the frying pan, this causes them to open. Cook mussels for 7-10 minutes. Add 2 tbsp olive oil and the shrimp, cook another 2-3 minutes. Add the white fish, cook until easily flaked with a fork.

Step 2: Remove the seafood to a plate and keep warm. Add peppers, garlic, and onion, and cook until softened. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and simmer the pasta 8-10 minutes, until al dente.

Step 3: Add the cooked, drained pasta to the pan, along with the rest of the olive oil, vinegar, and the seafood. Mix well to coat the pasta in the seafood juice and oil. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Dice up the fresh dill (or other herbs) & sprinkle on top.

You could also use parsley, basil, oregano, thyme, or rosemary. Feel free to substitute other types of shellfish or seafood such as cooked lobster meat, crab, clams, or scallops. Whatever is on sale! 😉

Administrative, Finances, Informative, Main Dishes, Review

Pantry eating challenge – week 1

January 10, 2016 BudgetEpicurean Leave a comment

So for the New Year, I decided to try a cook-from-the-pantry challenge. See this article for full details, but pretty much the plan is to cook mostly from what is already in my house (fridge, freezer, pantry) and $20 per week for fresh produce & dairy.

How’s it going so far?

Pretty darn well, actually. I’ll try to keep posting updates every Sunday on how the previous week went, and at the end summarize the whole month. But for the first week, things are going along as normal. Here’s the week’s menu:

Jan 1 – Pork roast & sauerkraut (leftover from day before, and it’s good luck on New Years Day!)
Jan 2 – Chicken & rice soup
Jan 3 – Chicken quarters & rice & broccoli
Jan 4 – BBQ spare ribs & baked potatoes
Jan 5 – Crock Pot Turkey Chili
Jan 6 – Seafood linguine (recipe coming Tuesday!)
Jan 7 – Pork chops w/apple chutney, mashed sweet potato, and cranberry sauce
Jan 8 – Spinach stuffed chicken rolls, rice, salad

You get one bonus day because Jan didn’t start on a Monday. 🙂

For breakfast, I have had smoothies using frozen fruit & fresh, wheat English muffins (from the freezer) with almond butter & jam, and cereal (cold and hot). Lunches are most often leftovers from one of the dinner meals, and one day this week I had a caprese sandwich for lunch out with some coworkers.

Oh, how am I doing with not shopping? That part is a little harder… as you may know, I’m a sucker for a good sale, and have no qualms snagging them and stocking up when I find it. Well, that’s a no-no this month, I have to make a strict list of only fresh veg and fruits we want or need, and stick to it. For me, this is the toughest part of the challenge so far. So, what did I buy this week?

Dairy		Fruit/Veg
Kefir (2)	5.92	Bananas (5)	0.96
Org. milk 1/2 gal	3.5	Spinach (12 oz)	1.49
Heavy cream	1.69	Kiwi (4)	1.49
		Asparagus (1 lb)	2.69
		Romaine (3)	1.99
		Avocado (2)	1.98
TOTAL	$23.30	Raspberries	1.59

Yup, I went over budget by a little more than 3 dollars… but honestly that’s still pretty good, given on average I spend $100 per week on groceries.

The cream was so I could make our own coffee creamer, (we are trying to get away from packaged, processed chemicals as much as possible) and organic, grass-fed milk is way more expensive than factory milk. But it is a choice we are making, to be healthier all around. The same goes for adding kefir to our diets, to get more gut-healthy probiotics.

The fruits will mostly be eaten as snacks and in lunches, and added to smoothies. The spinach & romaine will be salads to go with things from the freezer & pantry, and compliment any frozen veg. I already have. The fiancee eats a banana per day for breakfast, and both the asparagus & raspberries were on sale, how could I not buy them?!

Well, that’s it for this week, stay tuned for next week!

How about you guys, ever done a no-spend or low-spend challenge? Do you think you have more food in the house than you think you do? Could you go a month without grocery shopping as usual?

Appetizers, Comfort food, Fish, Healthy, Main Dishes

Salmon Latkes

December 13, 2015 BudgetEpicurean 1 Comment

Latkes, the Yiddish word for potato pancakes, have a long history in Jewish tradition. According to history, the tradition is more about the oil used to fry the cakes than the potato pancakes themselves. The Maccabees freed the holiest Temple in Jerusalem from the takeover of King Antiochus. After ridding the temple of all idols, they lit the menorah with a little purified olive oil. It seemed there was enough to last only one day.

But then, a miracle happened. The lamp burned for eight days and nights. Just long enough to press fresh oil.

And thus, olive oil is a sacred tradition during Hannukah, the eight days and nights celebrated in 2015 from Sunday December 6 – Monday December 14. Any food fried in oil can be commemorative of the Miracle of the Oil, in fact donuts are a very popular Hannukah food, as are matzoh and other kinds of fritters.

This recipe takes the classic potato latke and adds in canned salmon for a protein-filled, full meal on its own. They can be served alone, or atop a bed of lettuce, or covered in applesauce, salsa, relish, or any other condiments you like. Feel free to experiment, there are no rules saying you have to use potatoes and potatoes only.

Grate in some onion, carrots, or beets. Try regular flour, chickpea flour, matzoh, or breadcrumbs as the binding agent. Fry them in olive oil, coconut, or even bake them in the oven. But no matter what you do, do make sure to use a high quality oil, share with your loved ones, and be thankful for all you have!

Ingredients:

1 cup mashed potatoes
2 can salmon, drained
2 eggs
1/2 – 1 cup breadcrumbs
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 1/2 tsp garlic salt
2 tbsp olive oil

Step 1: Either make mashed potatoes from scratch, use leftover mashed potatoes from a previous meal, or use boxed/instant potatoes to make approximately 1 cup cooked. Open the canned salmon and drain.

Step 2: Mix the potatoes, salmon, eggs, and seasonings in a bowl. Add breadcrumbs until the mixture is moist but able to stick together. Form into patties, this should make about 4-8 depending on thickness and size.

Step 3: Add 2 tbsp oil to a frying pan and heat to medium. Add the patties, working in batches if you made more than will fit. Leave some room between each latke so they can heat and cook evenly.

Step 4: Fry about 4-6 minutes, then flip. Each side should get a nice golden brown color. Remove to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain off any excess oil.

Top however you would like and serve! I covered mine in sriracha and homemade green tomato salsa and it was positively delicious.

Comfort food, Crock pot, Fish, Main Dishes, Slow cooker, Soups

Slow Cooker New England Clam Chowder

December 3, 2015 BudgetEpicurean Leave a comment

One of the things I was most excited about when moving to New England was of course the seafood! The beautiful thing about being near the sea is the abundance of affordable and fresh seafood. From salmon to crab to scallops to, of course, lobster, Connecticut is a playground for those who are pescatarian.

This recipe is a simple one for New England Clam Chowder, the whitish creamy version. Not the icky, reddish, tomato-based Manhattan style. Did you know that in 1939, a bill was introduced by State Rep. Cleveland Sleepe in Maine to make it illegal to add tomatoes to chowder?! Oh yeah, New England takes its clam chowder seriously.

The recipe here calls for cooking the potatoes and clams most of the day in a slow cooker, then creating a roux and adding it in just before serving. I have added in my own Polish/Slovak flair by switching the cream for sour cream, creating what we call a “zapraska” (used to make Hungarian chicken paprikush soup) to deepen the flavor of the roux and lend a creamier final flavor.

You could instead cook all the ingredients but the sour cream together all day, and then simply add small amounts of hot liquid to the sour cream and flour until thickened and stir it in just before serving. That would be the ultimate hands-off chowder recipe.

Ingredients:

12 oz clams, fresh or frozen, preferably in their own juice
2-3 tbsp olive oil or butter
2 large baking potatoes
1 onion
2-3 cloves garlic
2-3 ribs celery
8 oz fish sauce or clam juice
8 oz sour cream
1/4 cup flour or cornstarch

Step 1: Dice the potatoes and put into the slow cooker. Add the entire contents of the clams (or fresh and add the clam juice). Add water to cover. (Add more for thinner soup, add just enough to cover potato pieces for thicker soup). Put the slow cooker on “low” for at least 2 hours, or up to 8 hours.

Step 2: Dice the celery, garlic, and onion into small pieces. Add the oil and veggies to a frying pan, and cook for 7-10 minutes, until translucent.

Step 3: Add the flour to the pan with the oil, stir for 2-3 minutes. Then add the fish sauce and a little water from the slow cooker until it forms a thick paste. Mix in the sour cream, and whisk it all together well. This is the roux (pronounced “roo”) you will add to thicken the soup.

Step 4: Add your roux to the slow cooker and mix well. Now your soup is ready to serve! Add more flour and less water to thicken, or add more water to make a thinner soup. Serve with nice hearty rolls and/or a fresh green salad.

Healthy, Less than 5, Main Dishes, Pasta

Dried Tomato and Artichoke Pasta

December 1, 2015 BudgetEpicurean Leave a comment

Those of you who have been cooking for a long time probably know the feeling of making a dish which to you seems quite simple, yet to someone else who enjoyed the meal with you, it is fancy and magical. I’d like to share a secret: sometimes all it takes is one to two little touches, that don’t take much time or work, to elevate a dish from plain to pizazz!

Oven-dried tomatoes in olive oil and jarred artichokes are examples of such a touch.

Simple things that only cost a few dollars can really jazz up a weeknight meal or make an occasion special. Using pre-canned dried tomatoes and artichokes adds almost literally no prep time (ok, you have to open it…) but makes the final plate look and taste restaurant quality. Other such items are kalamata or pimiento olives, infused oils or vinegars, capers, pine nuts, brined pepper rings, citrus zest, shaved fresh cheeses, or finishing salts.

This dish takes less than 20 minutes start to finish, with no slicing and dicing of mountains of produce or complex kitchen skills besides boiling, straining, and mixing. If you don’t like spinach, use whatever other vegetables you have on hand, or just stick with tomatoes and artichokes alone. I had some broccoli on hand, so I added it in for extra fiber and nutrition, plus it went with the already-there colors.

Whip this meal up to impress dinner guests, say I love you, or just to enjoy a magical moment to yourself any time.

Ingredients:

1 pound pasta
1/2 jar artichoke hearts
2 cups dried tomatoes in olive oil, chopped
1 cup spinach, optional
1 cup broccoli, optional
2-3 cloves garlic, diced

Step 1: In a large pot, bring 4-6 cups of water to a boil. Add the pound of pasta. You can use any shape here, but plain straight spaghetti is the classic choice.

Step 2: Boil the pasta for 5-7 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large pan, add the garlic, chopped tomatoes in oil, and artichokes (and any other vegetables you are using, like the broccoli) and saute for 5-7 minutes, until fragrant and the vegetables soften.

Step 3: Strain the pasta, do not rinse, and add the hot noodles into the frying pan. Stir it all together to coat the noodles with the oil from the tomatoes and the juice from artichoke hearts.

If desired, sprinkle with garlic salt or whatever herbs you enjoy, or grate some fresh hard cheese on top (like Parmesan or white cheddar).

Administrative, Healthy, Informative, Main Dishes, Review

Restaurant Review: Wang’s Chinese Food in Cromwell, CT

November 22, 2015 BudgetEpicurean 1 Comment

For those unfamiliar with my system of reviewing food service establishments, I use three areas, with a scale of 1-10. 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)

Today’s restaurant review is for Wang’s Chinese Restaurant in Cromwell, CT. A small home slash business building tucked just off West Street (Route 372) in between Route 9 and highway 91, I have passed this place countless times on my way to work. And every time I think, hm I should go there sometime. Somehow I just never got around to it… Then I found out a friend of mine just so happens to know the owner, and so we decided to take a trip for lunch.

Upon parking, the first thing I noticed was that it is actually quite larger than I had thought, since the entire left side of the building was a large dining area which can be rented out. When we walked inside, it smelled immediately of those delicious umami smells of soy sauce, bubbling soup, and stir frying vegetables.

There is a fully stocked bar, so you can have traditional sake right alongside a Cosmopolitan if you so desire. There is ample seating for both tables and booths, in a nice dark cherry wood, and white linen table cloths. Some very quiet, soothing music was playing in the background, nonintrusive enough that you forgot it was there.

As soon as you are seated, the waiter immediately brings over a bowl of fried dough pieces and sweet and sour dipping sauce. It is like the Chinese version of chips and salsa. The sweet and sour was so delicious, I could practically drink the stuff, and the dough chips were the perfect level of crispy. Somehow, it all disappeared very quickly…

The next endless part of the experience is the hot tea. Every lunch special (and dinner too) includes bottomless pots of hot tea. I love that, because tea is the best. I’m pretty sure I had at minimum nine cups. Good thing the cups are so small! We also had soup included in our lunch orders, I chose won ton while my friend ordered the egg drop. The soup was so tasty I wolfed it right down, and didn’t even get to take a picture… oops. Sorry, not sorry.

With menu items ranging from $1.50 to nearly $28 for the Peking Duck, there is something for everyone’s budget. Their lunch specials are quite reasonable at $6.50 or $6.95, and includes all you can drink hot tea, soup (won ton or egg drop), egg roll, and entree. Lunch is daily from 11:30 – 3:00.

I ordered the shrimp and broccoli, and funny story, my friend ordered the same thing. She got veggie fried rice, while I stuck with the included pork fried rice, and you can also choose steamed white rice. When the food came out, it smelled absolutely wonderful, and was a very generous portion size. You can see the plate was pretty much overflowing.

The brown sauce was perfect, lightly coating the shrimp and veg but not overpowering. There was a ton of flavor, but I didn’t feel as if I had licked a salt shaker while eating it, which is a good sign. The rice was springy and flavorful as well. The broccoli was steamed just right, soft enough but still with a slight crunch. And the shrimp were gigantic, with 5-6 big pieces per plate.

The owner came over to say hello while we were there and asked how our meals were. We of course said ‘absolutely wonderful’! My friend introduced me as a new frequent customer, and I have to say, she was right. With a distinctly mom-and-pop feel, attention to detail and attentive staff, very generous portions for a reasonable price, and amazing food that actually tastes like food and not something frozen and microwaved or doused in chemicals, I will definitely be returning here often! I’m glad to have finally given this hidden gem a try, and so should you.

Overall, I’d rate Wang’s Chinese Restaurant:

Taste: 9
Atmosphere: 8
Value: 9

You can read other reviews here:

Taste of Austin Part I (Austin, TX)
Taste of Austin Part II (Austin, TX)
Sue of Siam (Aurora, CO)
Pho Lee (Centennial, CO)
Little Owl Coffee (Denver, CO)
Three Sheets (New Haven, CT)
Sushi Palace (North Haven, CT)
O’Rourke’s Diner (Middletown, CT)

Comfort food, Healthy, Less than 5, Main Dishes, Soups

Ham and White Bean Soup

November 19, 2015 BudgetEpicurean 2 Comments

As the days grow colder and shorter, sometimes there is nothing quite so amazing as a steaming bowl of soup. Soup is wonderful for so many reasons. You can easily sneak all kinds of healthy veggies and ingredients into soup. Soups are generally very kind to the budget, with frugal ingredients like beans and grains, and the ability to save about-to-expire produce. Soup feels good on a sore throat, and is mostly healthy (if broth based, not fatty/creamy).

And soup just tastes great.

This ham soup starts with a rich & nutritious broth made from the ham bones, but if you don’t have the time (or the bones) you can use pre-made stock as well. You can also substitute in any type of veggie you prefer, though I recommend sticking to about 2 cups of some sort of leafy green, and 1 cup of another harder veg for contrast.

Ingredients:

1 ham bone + 6-8 oz meat
2 large carrots
1/2 bunch kale
1 large can white beans, or 2 small cans
Optional: 2 tbsp chicken bouillon

Step 1: In a crock pot or stock pot, simmer the ham bone in enough water to cover for 8-12 hours, during the day or overnight. Strain the liquid, pull any remaining meat off the bone and shred it, and return it to the pot. Discard the bones.

Step 2: Bring the stock to a boil, and add the kale and carrots. Drain and rinse the beans to get rid of excess sodium and add to the pot. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, until carrots soften.

Step 3: If needed, add in the bouillon. This soup seems simple, but the base is so flavorful from being stewed so long.

I suggest serving this with thick, soft Italian or multi-grain bread, and you may or may not want to shred some cheese over top. I added just a touch of Vermont white cheddar, and it was absolutely scrumptious! Even the fiancee, who just kind of tolerates soups, loved it and had seconds. If you’d like your soup a little thicker, add less water and mash up one of the cans of beans before adding it.

Healthy, Less than 5, Main Dishes, Vegetarian

Easy Stuffed Peppers

November 15, 2015 BudgetEpicurean Leave a comment

Do you love meals that don’t take much work? Do you want to eat healthier? Do you want healthy meal ideas that don’t take much work? You’ve come to the right place!

This is a super simple meal I had at work during my “track every thing I eat week“. It took less than 10 minutes in the morning to put together, then I just let it cook in our small toaster oven at work for an hour. By lunchtime it was hot and ready to go! With no preservative, added fats or sugars, and all fresh produce from my or my neighbor’s garden, it doesn’t get much better.

You can of course use whatever produce you have available to you. Other pepper colors can be sweeter (for example, red bell peppers) and you can stuff just about any vegetable in there. You can also use other grains if you don’t like couscous, for example rice, barley, quinoa, or wheat germ.

Ingredients:

2 small bell peppers
1 large tomato
1/2 small eggplant
6 tbsp couscous
2 garlic cloves
8 tbsp hot water

Step 1: Cut the tops off the peppers and pull out the seeds. Cut in half and lay in an oven-safe container. Chop the eggplant and garlic, and cut the tomato into quarters.

Step 2: Pour 1 1/2 tbsp couscous into the pepper, mix with chopped garlic, and top with eggplant pieces. Add 2 tbsp hot water to each half to get the couscous soaking. If you want to add some ground turkey, go for it. Cover with the tomato slices.

Step 3: In an oven or toaster oven, cook on high (350) for about 1 hour. Add more water to each pepper half as needed.

This is a lovely, hands-off meal, just assemble and let it go. It is light and healthy but packed with flavor.

Comfort food, Dips and Sauces, Healthy, Less than 5, Main Dishes, Pasta, Sneaky Healthy, Vegetarian

Veggie Packed Pasta Sauce

November 12, 2015 BudgetEpicurean Leave a comment

Pasta sauce is one of my absolute favorite things to pack extra veggies into! Any time you have a sauce, chili, soup, or stew, is an excellent opportunity to be sneaky healthy. By blending things in, no one knows they are there, yet you are giving the people eating the meal extra doses of fiber and vitamins. There’s no reason not to!

The best things for blending in include beans, greens, and carrots. Beans thicken the sauce because of their natural fiber content. Greens may change the color a bit, so keep that in mind. And carrots provide a slight sweetness while not affecting the overall color very much. Keep in mind with carrots, you must cook them first so they soften before trying to blend them in, or juice them.

In this sauce, I went really bold and added some spinach as well as a half bag of frozen carrots and peas I had left from a previous meal. To this I added a full can of stewed tomatoes, and 1/2 cup milk. Simmering everything together makes it soften, and then if you have eaters that won’t tolerate chunks, pop half or all of it into a blender before serving.

Ingredients:

1 package frozen spinach, thawed
1 can stewed diced tomatoes
1/2 bag frozen carrots & peas
1/2 cup milk

Step 1: Thaw the spinach, and squeeze out extra water. Put in a pan with the peas and carrots, and cook, stirring often, for about 15 minutes or until carrots have softened.

Step 2: Add the tomatoes and milk, and cook another few minutes. Puree in a blender. You can further cook it down to thicken the sauce, or serve as is.

I added some crumbled cooked bacon and sprinkled on Parmesan cheese, but if you serve as is this is a perfect vegetarian meal. You can see what I mean about the greens changing the color of the sauce. If that is a problem, just start with very small amounts of greens, maybe just a handful of spinach rather than the whole package.

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