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.

The Magical Trio

So I was going to post pictures of a tasty marinated tofu/nappa cabbage stir fry and then write all about how amazingly amazing it tasted...

But alas...

It was gross.

Well, maybe "gross" is a bit of an exaggeration. But I didn't want to pass on the recipe because it needs some fine-tuning. One problem is that I didn't have one of my usual staples on hand: toasted sesame oil. I had to use olive oil. And let me tell ya: ick.

Anytime I do an Asian(ish) anything, I generally always begin with toasted sesame oil, chopped garlic, and chopped fresh ginger (aka the Magical Trio). If you've been looking for that "thing" that will make your Asian(ish) meals super yummy and taste nearly authentic, the magical trio is it.

So, there you go. At least you got a tip out of me on this post.

Good for your health and your budget!

SATURDAY'S DINNER:

Homemade Chicken & Rice Soup $0.37 (NOT a typo!)

It's probably no surprise to most people that soup is a cheap meal option. But what might be surprising to some is just how GOOD it can be for you.  But let me clarify (at the risk of sounding like a major food snob), that putting a manufactured bouillon cube in a mug of hot water is not a nourishing meal. A good, homemade, slow-cooked bone broth, however, is exceptionally nourishing...and very inexpensive! You can literally use the leftover bones of a roast chicken, some onion, and whatever veggies you might have on hand (or buy some at the farmers market for a couple dollars) and you've got an excellent base or stand-alone meal for your family.

For my soup, I made it over the course of a few days since I didn't have large chunks of time to spend in the kitchen. First, I made the stock on Thursday. I used some chicken leg quarters that were on sale (almost half-price) at the grocery store. Ideally, I like to buy organic meats, but this week I had to choose the cheap (but decent quality) chicken in order to stay within my budget. I placed the chicken, a quartered brown onion with the skin on (leaving the skin on gives your broth a nice golden hue), a whole head of garlic, skin on, cut in half cross-wise so it resembles a blossom, about 2 celery stalks cut in half, and some sea salt into a large stock pot and covered it with water. I let it come to a boil and simmered it for about 10 hours. You can cook your stock/broth for up to 36 hours--the longer you cook it, the more minerals will pull from the bones, thus making your soup more nutrient-dense! This is what it looked like after ten hours of simmer:

Not so pretty, I know. But the end result was very tasty! And cheap! I should say that if you are one who is squeamish about removing meat from bones, have someone do this part for you or move on to another recipe!

So, on Thursday evening, after letting the stock cool for a bit, I placed the whole pot in the fridge and let the majority of the fat rise to the top. On Friday, I spooned the fat off the top (but not all of it--a good schmaltzy broth never came from a boneless/skinless anything). I pulled out the onion, garlic, and celery chunks and began taking the meat off the chicken bones. One bowl was for meat, one for bones, skin, and the onion/garlic/celery mushies. Then I placed a strainer in a large bowl and poured the stock into the bowl, so as to catch any bits of bone or onion/garlic skin. I poured the stock back into the stock pot and added most of the meat. I saved some of it for another recipe. I then added about 5 organic sliced carrots, a sliced organic zucchini, about a half of a chopped onion, about 4 cloves of chopped garlic, a generous amount of sea salt, some freshly ground black pepper, about a cup of uncooked brown rice, and a handful of chopped fresh parsley. Since I didn't have time to cook it that day, I put the pot back into the fridge.

The next day was Saturday and I had to work a long day. My husband was home with the kids, so I told him to pull out the pot around 4ish, simmer it for a couple hours, salt it if needed, and enjoy a nice soupy dinner. He said he served it with tortillas and butter (YUM) and he and the kids loved it. In the end, I made enough soup to feed about TWELVE very hungry adults--maybe more. The great thing about soup is that you can freeze it. When you're ready for some soup again, just pull it out of the freezer, plop it into a pot, add a few more fresh ingredients (sliced napa cabbage/bok choy/more carrots/fresh herbs/whatever), and you have an incredibly nourishing meal!

Once you make your own delicious soup for just $0.37 it's hard to pay $5,6,7 at a restaurant! And, honestly, who knows what's in the broth?! MSG? Artificial colors or flavors? No thanks. Feed yourself and your kids something really great: bone broth!

Clammed up! Speechless! (It only cost HOW much?!)

TUESDAY'S DINNER

Spaghetti with Red Clam Sauce: $1.40

This meal would actually be slightly less money per person if you used real spaghetti. I'll spare you the details, but I have a slight gluten issue, so I used brown rice pasta which is more expensive than the regular type.

I modified a Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook recipe for this one. In a large skillet, saute some minced garlic (about 3 cloves) in olive oil. Add freshly ground black pepper and red chile flakes (I suggest a good amount, because spicy and seafood and tomato are just meant to be together). Add chopped flatleaf parsley (a couple tablespoons). Add the juice from the clams (I used 1-1/2 cans), about a teaspoon (maybe half) of anchovy paste. A word about the anchovy paste...first of all, I consider this a staple just as I do olive oil, salt, pepper, and other spices. That being said, I don't account for it in the total cost per servings. But if I had, it would only add a few pennies to the cost. Secondly, if you're afraid of anchovy paste, let me put your apprehensions to rest: it will only add a depth of flavor to the dish--it will not make it taste like Fancy Feast! Add tomatoes (a couple cans of diced tomatoes will do); I used a big can of Trader Joes organic diced tomatoes--a 28 ouncer, I believe. Let it simmer uncovered for about 25 minutes. Meanwhile, make your pasta. When the pasta is almost done, add the clams to the sauce so they're heated through. DO NOT overcook your clams, or you will be eating what tastes like fishing-pier flavored chewing gum. When your pasta is done, use tongs and transfer the pasta into the sauce. Add about a small ladle of the hot pasta water to the pan--the starchy water makes any pasta sauce extra yummy, and makes the sauce stick to the pasta (thanks Giada for the tip!). Ne-heh-heh-heh-heh-ver rinse your pasta! Please! For the love of Pasta!

If I do this dish again, I think I will add a bit of dry white wine with the clam juice, let it reduce a bit, and then add the tomatoes. And I will also serve the dish with some lemon wedges--always a nice touch to freshen up a dish with anything from the ocean.

For the green beans, I took out my frozen Trader Joes green beans when I started making my sauce. That way, they were only a little chilled when I cooked them closer to mealtime. This is a great simple side dish, especially if you're tired of plain ol' frozen veggies. In a skillet, heat a bit of olive oil and add about a clove of minced garlic. Cook the garlic but not too much! If the garlic gets burned, it will be bitter. Add the green beans and toss with the oil and garlic. Cook until the beans become a teeny bit browned. Add sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, if desired.