Shrimp on a shrimp-sized budget!

TUESDAY'S DINNER:

Fried Rice* with Shrimp and Sesame Slaw $1.46

This is one of my favorite dishes. Why, you ask? 1) It's easy to make. 2) It's yummy. 3) It's healthy! and D) It's cheap!

What you'll need:

About 3 cups of leftover, cold White Rice

Garlic

Fresh Ginger Root

Toasted Sesame Oil

Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Grapeseed Oil

1 Egg

1 Carrot

Frozen Peas

Broccoli Slaw

Rice Wine Vinegar

Sesame Seeds

Bragg Liquid Aminos or Soy Sauce

Large cooked Shrimp (peeled, de-veined, tail off--Trader Joes' frozen shimp are great with about 50-70 shrimp per bag)

Begin defrosting your shrimp about a half hour before you begin cooking. Soak them in soy sauce if you'd like. Warm your pan or wok. Add about a tbs of the toasted sesame oil and about a tbs of your vegetable oil. Once oil is pretty warm, add 1 egg. Scramble in the oil. Move to the side of the pan and add 3 cloves of chopped garlic and about 2 inches of peeled, chopped ginger root. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the chopped carrot and cook for about a minute. Add your shrimp (drained) to the pan and warm (do not overcook--they will get rubbery!). Add your leftover white rice and about 2 tbs of Bragg's or soy sauce. Stir to combine and cook for a couple of minutes. Add about a 1/4 cup of frozen peas and stir. Add more soy sauce to taste. YUM!

While your rice is a-cookin'...pour about 2 tbs of sesame seeds into a small pan. Heat over low-medium heat to toast the seeds. This brings out the nutty sesame flavor of the seeds and adds a nice little crunch factor in the slaw. Just watch that they don't burn! When they get a little bit golden, that's perfect! Turn off that heat. When they cool, throw them into your salad bowl.

For the slaw, we used broccoli slaw this time for a change. I do honestly think that I prefer a cabbage slaw, though. Maybe shred your own nappa cabbage...I don't know. But it still was good! In your salad bowl (over your toasted sesame seeds) pour about 3-4 tbs of the rice wine vinegar. Add about 1 tbs of your toasted sesame oil and a splash of Bragg's or soy sauce. Easy and tasty!

So there you have it! A meal that tastes great and is easy on the budget. Serves about 6!

*Disclaimer: I know, I know, this isn't authentic Chinese food. I equate this recipe to my mother-in-law's ayn-chee-lah-dahs (enchiladas). They're totally gringo, and my great grandmother Isabella Morales probably rolls over in her grave every time I eat them...but they are yummy in their own gringo way! So it is with this rice. Hope you like it!

Comfort Food

Sorry it's been awhile since I posted. Feeling queasy due to the Wee One Within (almost 12 weeks along, now!) has made it difficult to write about food, let alone cook it--but my camera on my phone decided to stop working last week. And I'm just too lazy these days to get out the "regular camera" and upload the pics... Sorry. I'm such a bad blogger lady. BUT--in spite of morning sickness and lame camera action, I have wanted to share some tasty and affordable things with you! And this is one of them.

Creamy Polenta & Grilled Veggies $1.02

What you  need:
Cornmeal (I like Bob's Red Mill Whole Grain Cornmeal)
Cream or Evaporated Milk
Stinky Cheese such as Gorgonzola, Blue Cheese, or Roquefort
Unsalted Butter
1 Red Bell Pepper
1/2 an Eggplant
2 Zucchini
1/4 of a Large Onion
Olive Oil Spray
S&P

Comfort food... Comforting because it's creamy (the polenta). Comforting because it's healthy (the grilled veggies). Comforting because it's CHEAP!

I got the polenta recipe from Giada de Laurentiis' book Everyday Italian. It's super easy and yummy! It only takes about 15 minutes to prepare, so you can be grilling your veggies while you're stirring your polenta! First, get about 6 cups of water boiling in a large heavy saucepan. Begin heating your stovetop grill pan (the kind with the "BBQ lines") so it's nice and hot when you lay your veggies down. Then get your veggies ready. Slice 1 red pepper and 2 zucchini into chunky strips. Take half of an eggplant (save the rest for another dish), and slice into thin(ish) discs. Slice about 1/4 of an onion into rings. Spray the grill pan with a bit of olive oil. Lay your veggies down, turn the heat down slightly, and spray a bit more oil on the veggies. Hit it with some S&P. Once your water is boiling, add a couple teaspoons of salt (I ALWAYS use sea salt--yes, it matters...especially for those of you with high blood pressure) and gradually whisk in the cornmeal. Turn the heat down to low and stir often as it gets thick and tender. Giada says about 15 minutes. Watch your veggies, now! Turn 'em, flip 'em, grill 'em 'till they're tender and bright. Don't overcook them. If you finish them up before your polenta is done, just keep them warm in the oven. It won't be long now.... Remove the polenta from the heat and stir in about 3 tbs unsalted butter. Now add about 3/4 cup of heavy cream. I used evaporated milk because I had it leftover from some muffins I had made a couple of days before. Add about 3 oz of the stinky cheese, cut up. A friend came over the other day and brought a yummy stinky cheese that was creamier and a little bit milder than a big bold Gorgonzola. I think it was called St. Andrews or something. We threw out the package so I don't even know what kind of cheese it was. But, all you need for this recipe is something that has a decent stink on it and is easy melting. When everything's all melty and lovely, add S&P to taste.

ENJOY!

Tasty Veggie Action!

LAST WEDNESDAY'S DINNER:

Veggie Stir Fry with Brown Rice $1.09

Shopping List (at the recommendation of a reader):

Organic Brown Rice
Trader Joe's Stir Fry Veggies
Package of Shitake Mushrooms (about 8 in a pack)
Organic Extra Firm Tofu
Fresh Ginger Root
Garlic
Bragg's or Soy Sauce
Toasted Sesame Oil
Olive Oil
Brown Sugar

Been a little hit and miss with the posts, lately. Sorry about that. But my morning sickness makes me not really want to write about food. I'm just about 9 weeks preggypants, so hopefully the moments of yak will pass soon.

This was a yummy meal! Next time I think I will add some toasted sesame seeds. So I started by marinating my tofu. And started my brown rice which usually takes about 45 minutes. For the tofu, I carefully cut it into cubes and placed it in a sealable container. In a little bowl, I combined about a 1/4 cup of Bragg's Liquid Aminos (you can also use Soy Sauce), about 1 tsp of brown sugar, and a little bit of minced garlic. I poured the mixture onto the tofu, put the lid on, and let it marinate for a little while. I flipped the container a few times to make sure it got good and coated.

When the rice had just about 20 minutes to go, I heated about 1 tbs of toasted sesame oil and 1 tbs olive oil in a large skillet. Sometimes if you use sesame oil only, it can be a little heavy. So heat the oil, add about 2 inches of peeled, finely chopped ginger root and 2 cloves of minced garlic. Turn your fire up to medium-high and add the marinated tofu. Be careful, it might spit hotness at you! Fry the tofu until it's browned. Try not to turn it too much or the tofu might fall apart. While your tofu is browning, slice the shrooms into strips. Once the tofu cubes are browned, push them to the sides and add a bit more oil if your tofu has absorbed most of it. Now throw in the shrooms. Cook them for a little bit until they sweat a little. Add the stir fry veggies and cook until bright green and slightly wilted. Add a splash of Bragg's or soy sauce and you have a yummy veggie delight to pile atop your brown rice!

Tasty! Even in the midst of morning sickness!

Tip: Pat your tofu with paper towels to absorb the excess water before cutting! Press down a bit, you will be surprised at how much liquid is in the tofu. If you don't do this, your tofu might not brown up and will become mushy.

Tahini time! (No, I'm not talking about bathing suits)

THURSDAY'S DINNER (a little behind on posting, I know):

Tahini Pasta with Spinach Salad $0.72

I should warn you. If you don't like garlic you might want to move past this meal and try something else.

So last Thursday I wanted pasta for dinner. But I didn't want red sauce. I also didn't want cream sauce. What to do? Search the fridge and get creative. I found a tub of tahini (sesame seed paste--the stuff that's in hummus that gives it that nutty flavor) and decided that might make a good base for a pasta coating. I used my gluten-free brown rice pasta (I personally find it disgusting but I eat it since I kinda have to). So I dumped about a 1/2 c of tahini into the warm pasta, added some lemon juice, a clove of minced garlic, sea salt, and a good amount of extra virgin olive oil. I'll be honest in saying that the pasta dish wasn't AMAZING, but it was good. What would have made it really good would have been some marinated artichoke hearts or some capers--something salty. But like I said, I had to get creative with what I had on hand. For the spinach salad, I just added 2 chopped hardboiled eggs, a half of a clove of minced garlic, olive oil, and some red wine vinegar. Here's a tip: when making a vinaigrette, always do a 3 to 1 ratio--never 50/50. So 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. If you want more bite, then add more vinegar to taste. Anyway, some sea salt, pepper, and voila! Dinner is served. With this meal, the vampires won't dare bite, and it won't take a bite out of your budget!

Cornflake Chicken Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo

MONDAY'S DINNER:

Cornflake Chicken with sauteed green beans and brown rice: $1.10

Cornflake Chicken Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo (yes, you have to say it with the doo-doos) is super yummy. Really. My daughter made up a little song for the dish a couple years ago and it has stuck. She loves to help me make this meal and loves to eat it, too! I wish I'd taken pictures of the dish, but company came and we ate it up before I had a chance to document!

Preheat oven to 350.

So you start with about a cup and a half of cornflakes in a pie pan. I love love love Trader Joe's organic corn flakes. Great crunch, yummy flavor, and organic. And cheap, too! Anyway, have your 6 year old sous-chef smash them up really well. My daughter likes to use the base of a cup and crush the cereal until it's crumbly, but not fine. I added about a tbs of flour, some paprika, sea salt, garlic powder, Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute (it's like Mrs. Dash but way better), freshly ground black pepper, and some chilli powder. Mix it all together with a fork and set aside. In another pie pan, whisk an egg and add a little bit of water. Get out your chicken leg quarters. These are usually priced pretty fairly and make a very filling serving of chicken. You can use boneless skinless if you like, but I find the flavor is much better with bone in. So take your chicken leg quarters. Rinse them and pat them dry. Dip them in the egg bath first, then give them a roll in the cornflake mixture. Make sure they're nicely coated with the cornflake mixture. Place them on a baking sheet (don't crowd them, though) and bake for about an hour. You will end up with yummy, crunchy, savory, oven-fried chicken.

On the side I made brown rice and my easy peasy garlic sauteed green beans. I use frozen green beans because I'm lazy. Just steam them up--don't overcook them. Add a bit of olive oil to a warm skillet, throw in a clove of fresh minced garlic, and add the green beans. Salt, pepper, and yum! Add a little lemon juice to brighten it up (which also would compliment the chicken).

A very tasty meal for 6 hungry grownups!

Sing along, now: Cornflake Chicken! Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doooooooo!

Sabaggy Squash

TUESDAY'S DINNER:

Super Savory Sabaggy Squash $0.62

When I was a little kid I couldn't say spaghetti. But since I have never been one to follow the crowd, I didn't call it pasketti. No, it was sabaggy.

I purchased a fairly large spaghetti squash--about the size of my forearm. I cut it in half (not lengthwise, simply because I don't have the strength/ability/sharp enough knife to hold it in place and slice on through the dang thing (it's not as hard as a butternut, but not as soft as a zucchini). So I sliced it at the middle and placed the two halves cut side down in a baking dish with about an inch of water. I baked it at 350, uncovered, for about an hour--until the squash was easily pierced with a knife. Drained the water from the dish (careful!!!), put the halves cut side up and cut them into quarters. Allowed them to cool and then scraped out the seeds. Then I began scraping out the "sabaggy". Spaghetti squash gets its name simply because of the way it looks when served. It does not have the same texture as pasta in any way--in fact it's almost crunchy--but it tastes great with all the things that taste great with spaghetti (marinara, olive oil, butter...). So I scraped out the squash into the baking dish. I added about 1/3 stick of butter (if you don't like using butter, well....my condolences). Then I mixed about a 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil with a clove of fresh minced garlic and several tablespoons of parmesan (I just used the lame "shaker cheese" since I didn't have enough fresh parm). I poured the stuff onto the squash, added a good amount of salt, and tossed it. I heated some simple marinara to put on top. I also grated a bit of leftover, lovely, pricey Whole Foods parmesan that my husband had bought me for my birthday (yes, my husband knows me well and buys me CHEESE on special occasions) and mixed it with a bit of chopped fresh flatleaf parsley. This made a lovely addition to sprinkle atop the mound of yummy, garlicky squash.This meal was delicious and healthy and the kids loved it too. Served some peas on the side and voila. Call it pasketti, sabaggy, or super yum yum. This made about 8 HUGE grownup servings, so it will make a great leftovers option too. I might get creative and fry up some squash patties! Ooh...wish me luck!

Couscous (translation: Yumyum)

TUESDAY'S DINNER

Give-a-nod-to-Autumn Couscous $0.70

Here in So Cal we are spoiled with lots of produce all year long. But there are some things that are loveliest at the end of summer and beginning of autumn: tomatoes, eggplant, fresh herbs, squashes and gourds. And this dish really says a nice little thank you to the season and its bounty. I do believe it's just kind and good-willed to wink at Autumn as she makes her way to our hemisphere once again.

I love couscous. Mostly because it's fun to say. Say it as if you're an excited hen and it's even more fun! For this dish, I adapted a Rachel Ray recipe. I think it would have been really tasty with some golden raisins or currants thrown in. In a large warmed skillet, I poured a couple tbs olive oil, a chopped onion, a couple of chopped squashes (zucchini and yellow squash from the farmers market), and salt and pepper. I then added about a half cup of pumpkin (canned--I ain't got time to be hollowing out jack-o-lanterns...not yet anyway) and about a carton (4 cups or so) of chicken broth. Yes, I've been known to be a bit of a food snob and usually like to make my own (say it like Thurston Howell, III) stocks and broths, but I'm also a busy mama and I ain't always got time to be simmerin' stuff (see above-mentioned jack-o-lantern issue). Bring it to a boil and toss in about a 1/3 of a palmful of coriander seed, and ground cumin. Stir it in, add about 2-1/2 cups of whole wheat couscous and stir it in. Cover, remove from heat for about 5 mins. Then fluff with a fork and add some chopped fresh parsley and cilantro and a chopped seeded tomato. YUM. We enjoyed this as a main dish with some leftover black bean soup on the side, but this could go well as a side for anything really.