Hearty healthy soup

This is the best soup I've ever made! We've had it twice in 2 weeks, which seems to be our pattern. I make something good, and then we keep eating it over and over until we're sick of it. Hopefully you'll enjoy as much as we have! Here's the recipe:

Spinach, chickpea and rice soup

2 thinly sliced green onions. .99
4 cps chicken broth. 1.89
3/4 cp orzo or arborio rice. 2.30
1 lemon. 1.00
1 can chickpeas. .98
1 (6 oz) pkg. Baby spinach. 2.50
1/3 c. Grated parm (I bought the good stuff here... 8 bucks for a wedge. But it's worth it!)
Olive oil. Pantry
1 Tsp dried oregano Pantry
1/2 Tbsp minced garlic. Fridge
Salt and pepper
2 cups water

Heat the oil in the pan, then sauté the green onion and garlic for a minute. Add chicken broth and water and bring to a boil. Add the rice, drained chickpeas and 1 Tbsp of grated lemon rind. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in oregano, some salt and pepper to taste, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, parmesan cheese and spinach. The end!! So easy and so good. $2.41/serving if you don't buy the expensive pram cheese and just use what you have in fridge. If you buy the good stuff, you're looking at $4.41. Still not too bad!! As soon as I can figure out how to upload the picture from the iPad, you will be very impressed :)

Throw it in the crock pot!

Yesterday I knew that I didn't want to cook when got home. I wanted to watch my dvr'd project runway, walk lily, and pack for the weekend. So I decided to throw some stuff in the crockpot before I went to work and hope for the best when I got home. Success! Here's the recipe:

Crockpot chicken breasts

3 chicken breasts. 5.00
1 can cream of chicken soup. 1.00
1 can cream of mushroom soup. 1.00
1 can chicken stock 1.00
1 pkg. Sliced mushrooms. 1.99
10 crushed ritz or club crackers. Pantry

Put everything in the crockpot. Cook on low while you're at work. Serve over rice or noodles. Makes 3 servings at 3.34/serving. Now...i'm not sure this is the healthiest thing in the world... So eat with some broccoli.

Hummus... OH so good :)

I love hummus.  It's gotten to be a little bit of an obsession.  I eat it on cucumbers, carrots, crackers... and lately I've just started eating it with a spoon.  Brent thinks it's weird, but I've told him that's how people in the Mediterranean do it! (I have no idea if that's true)  Anyways I've started buying ridiculous amounts of the stuff.  In fact, it was on sale at Publix this week... so I bought 3 tubs.  Did I mention that Brent doesn't eat it? 

One really neat thing I did with the stuff last week was put it on chicken!  I know that sounds funny, in fact when I told my mom she said it sounded gross (thanks mom) but it's really good, really healthy, and REALLY cheap!

Hummus Crusted Chicken

2 chicken breasts pounded to 1/2 inch               $3.50
3 Tbs original or garlic flavored hummus           $1.89
Bread crumbs                                                 pantry
salt and pepper                                               pantry

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Salt and pepper the chicken breasts
3. Spread the hummus evenly over the chicken breasts.  This is the glue for your bread crumbs!
4. Cover each breast in bread crumbs, place on baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes.

It's almost like fried chicken, but with a nutty-flavor.  It's delicious. :)  $2.70/ serving

Another meatless Monday!

Brent's FINALLY home from his bachelor party!  (Although he informed me tonight that he has 2 more to go to in the next couple of months... another one in New Orleans.  Unbelievable.)  Anyway, he needed some healthy food to detox a little bit, so tonight we had a mega-meatless taco salad!  I used the Catalina dressing that my mom used to always put on taco salad, and as far as salad dressing goes, it's pretty healthy (70 calories/serving.)

Mega-Meatless taco salad (serves 4)

1. 1/2 head of iceberg lettuce (chopped)                   $0.99
2. 1/2 can of black beans rinsed and drained             $0.89
3. 1/2 can of chili beans rinsed and drained               $0.99
4. 1/2 can of corn                                                   $1.00
5. 1/2 chopped red pepper                                       $0.99
6. 1/2 chopped cucumber                                        $0.99
7. 1 chopped tomato                                               $1.24
8. 1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese                        $ 2.00
9. a couple handfuls of crunched, baked tortilla chips $3.50
10. Catalina dressing                                               $2.99

Mix everything together :) It's so good.  The only problem is that you're left with a bunch of half cans of everything!  So what I did was mix the corn, black beans and chili beans together, and tomorrow I'm going to add a chopped tomato and some cilantro to make a salsa.  You could even put some jalapeno and chopped avocado in there too!  yummmm.....  Total cost per serving: $3.90.  However; you've got a lot of leftover ingredients because you didn't use all of anything.  While eating this Brent said, "Wow, this is better than I expected."  Now... should I be insulted or flattered?

pizza idea!

I have always LOVED pizza.  The best is the greasy delivery kind that makes you feel terrible after you eat it.  Growing up I can remember my mom always making little mini pizzas on English muffins or bagels or french bread, and I've imitated that many, many times since I've started cooking for myself.  Another idea that's a little healthier is to use those sandwich deli flats that are only 100 calories!

1 deli flat sandwich bread               $2.50 for a pack of 6
3 Tbsp. jarred spaghetti sauce        $1.00-3.00 depending on brand
1/3 cup mozzarella cheese              $2.00
veggies?

Spread the sauce on the bread, cover in cheese, put it in the toaster over at 400 until it's done :)  The bread is 100 calories, the sauce is maybe 20 and the cheese is about 100.  220 calories for PIZZA!?!?!  love it!  And you're looking at less than $1.00 per serving. Win-Win!

sweet and spicy!

I've been making this recipe for a while.  It's my absolute favorite pork recipe. Brent likes it because it uses a lot of those Asian flavors that he loves. I think what makes it so good is that it's sweet and spicy at the same time.  If you're not into super spicy, you might want to use only 1 serrano pepper, or use 1/2 a jalapeno.  Don't leave it out all together though because it's really what makes the chutney so good.  Also... this one is all about timing.  Get the chutney going for a while, and then start on the pork. 

Pork tenderloin with pineapple chutney

Chutney
3 cups pineapple tidbits                $2.70
1 cup chopped onion                    $1.05
2 chopped serrano peppers            $0.18
1/4 cup brown sugar                    pantry
2 Tbsp chicken stock                   pantry
1 Tbsp minced ginger                   fridge or the tube is 3.99... but it lasts for a while
1/2 cup chopped cilantro              $0.99
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil          pantry

1. Heat oil in a large pan.  Saute onion, peppers and ginger for 6 minutes.
2. Add pineapple, brown sugar and chicken stock.  Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. 
3. Let cool for 20 minutes then stir in the cilantro

Pork
1 lb pork tenderloin                      $6.05
1 Tbsp sriracha or chili sauce        fridge
1 Tbsp soy sauce                         pantry
1 tsp. rice vinegar                        pantry
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil         pantry

1. Heat oven to 400
2. Head olive oil in a pan that can be put in the oven.
3. Cover pork with salt and pepper.  Put the pork in the pan and cook for about 4 minutes, or until the down side gets seared.
4. Combine the chili sauce, soy sauce and rice vinegar in a bowl.  Brush half of the mixture on the pork.
4. Flip the pork over (now the sauce side is down) and put it in the over for about 15-16 minutes.
5. Remove from oven, let cool and then brush with the rest of the sauce.

Slice and cover in the chutney!! SO good!!  Serves 4 at $3.74/serving.

Finally a new meal!!

I'm embarrassed to say that I haven't made anything new in a week!  I've just been repeating some recipes I already posted. I swear Brent could eat the same thing every night for a week and be perfectly happy.  This must be a man thing because my mom has told me that dad does it too.  She can just about guarantee that when she asks him what he wants for dinner, he'll say.... salmon.  Brent's the same way.  Once I make something he likes, he just wants that for dinner every night.  I don't know if I should be flattered that he likes something I made... or annoyed that he doesn't have faith that I can keep making good stuff.  So last night we tried something new, and it was another success!  Very yummy.

Chipotle Pork Tacos!

1 lb pork tenderloin                   $6.00
1 cup shallots                           $1.56
4 Tbsp chipotle sauce               $0.89
1 lime (juice and zest)               $0.45
1 1/2 Tbsp minced garlic           fridge
1 tsp dried oregano                   pantry
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil       pantry
1/4 tsp. salt                              pantry
1/2 cup light sour cream           $1.89
8 corn tortillas                          $0.89

1. Pound the tenderloin to 1/4 inch thickness and cut into strips
2. Mix lime zest, lime juice, chipotle sauce, garlic, oregano and salt in a bowl with the pork.
3. Cut the shallots into small strips. 
4. Put 1 Tbsp oil in the pan and saute the shallots for approx. 4 mins.  Take out of pan and put aside. 
5. Add the remaining Tbsp of oil to the pan and cook the pork strips until only slightly pink in the middle (or all the way cooked if you like it that way!)
6. Heat up 2 corn tortillas in the microwave, then top with 1/2 cup of the pork mixture and some sour cream.  SO good!!  Makes 4 servings at $2.92/ serving!!
Brent said that he'd like to marinate the meat and then cook it on the grill.  Personally I like the way the corn tortilla tastes with it... so much healthier and more flavorful than a flour tortilla!  But I if he wants to cook it, heck... I'm game. :)  Enjoy!!

Turn a marinade into a sauce!

All right guys.  I have absolutely no cute stories about this recipe.  It's just really delicious, and I found it in a magazine in a waiting room this weekend.  I was actually very tech-savy in getting it because rather than ripping the page out of the magazine (which is what I was about to do before Brent stopped me) I took a picture of it with his phone and e-mailed it to myself!  In fact, it is SO delicious that Brent stated that it is his NEW favorite meal!!!

Recipe for cilantro-lime-shrimp:
(serves 2)

1/2 pound raw shrimp                           $5.19
1 lime                                                  $0.43
1 minced jalapeno                                $0.14
1 small chopped onion                          $0.58
1/2 bunch chopped cilantro                    $0.89
2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce                pantry
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil               pantry
1 Tbsp minced garlic                            fridge
1 Tbsp honey                                       pantry
1 tsp ground red pepper                        pantry
1 tsp crushed red pepper                      pantry
1 cup cooked brown rice                      pantry (or depending on what you use... 0.30?)
any extra veggies you have on hand (I had leftover zucchini from the other night and a red pepper)

1. Cook the rice according to package directions.  After you put the rice in the boiling water, squeeze just a tad of the lime juice into the water.  Also, use a microplane to grate a little of the lime zest into the water as well.  Don't use too much though-- you need most of that lime for the marinade.
2. Combine everything except the shrimp (for the lime, get all of the juice out and then grate as much zest as you can).  Mix well with a whisk. Place in a large zip lock bag.
3. Take the shells and tails off the shrimp and dump in the bag with the marinade.  Let soak for 20 minutes in the fridge.
4. While that's marinating, chop up the veggies that you found hiding in your fridge. Saute them in 1/2 Tbsp of oil until they begin to get tender.  Time it so that they're only cooking for a few minutes before the shrimp are done marinading.
5. Lastly, dump the shrimp WITH the marinade into the pan that's cooking the veggies.  Cook until the shrimp are pink and done.

6. Chop up just a little more cilantro and mix it in with the rice.  Then pour your shrimp and veggie sauce over the rice!   

$3.62/serving!! 

Meatless Mondays #2

Brent and I were behind a truck full of chickens the other day.  They were jammed in there, couldn't stand up straight, and I'm pretty sure one was frowning at me and mouthing "help."  It was sad.  As I was awwwwing and feeling guilty about enjoying that Caribbean chicken the other night, Brent said the following statement: "You know, I wouldn't mind eating less meat.  Maybe we should only eat meat a few days a week."  I am completely on board.

So last night it was zucchini bake and salad.  Here's the recipe:

about 2 1/2 pounds of zucchini (about 3 big ones)          (on sale at Bi-lo for 1.49/lb= 3.55)
2 packages of sliced mushrooms                                     3.00
4-5 diced tomatoes                                                         2.50
1 onion                                                                           .50
1 Tbsp of minced garlic                                                   fridge
12 oz. shredded mozzarella                                              2.50
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan                                                 fridge
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil                                             pantry
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning or a combo of any Italian seasonings (like basil, oregano, etc) that you have on hand

1. Slice the zucchini into thin strips... almost like lasagna noodles... and let them sit out for 1 hour to dry up a bit
2. Heat the oil in a big skillet.  Saute the onion and garlic for a few minutes, then throw in the mushrooms and saute for 6-7 more minutes until they look soft. 
3. Throw in all of the tomatoes and Italian seasoning and cook for about 20-25 minutes.  You should end up with a sort of chunky sauce.
4. Heat the oven to 350 and spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray
5. place a single layer of the zucchini slices on the bottom of the pan.  Cover with 1/3 of the sauce.  Cover that with 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese.  Cover that with another single layer of zucchini.  Cover with 1/3 of the sauce and 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese.  Cover that with a final layer of zucchini, the rest of the sauce and the rest of the cheese (include the Parmesan cheese here).
6. Bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes.

When Brent took a bite of this he immediately said "yuuummmmm!"  I looked at him like--you realize that was a mouthful of zucchini right?  It's so delicious.  Mine only has 2 layers because 2 of my tomatoes were bad, and I didn't feel like going out to get more.  If you divide the pan into 6 servings, you're at 1.59/serving!  It's seriously good, and seriously healthy.  I got the base for this recipe from a Weight Watchers recipe, which actually called for more cheese and fewer mushrooms.  You know you could probably throw just about any veggies you have on hand in the sauce too (I think it would be really good with red peppers!)  Enjoy your meatless dish!  Hopefully we'll be having more of these vegetarian dinners throughout the week.  Now I just have to get Brent to stop eating chic-fil-a for lunch. :)

Let's Cook! :a culinary experience in Columbia

Last night Brent and I went downtown to take a Carribean/Cuban cooking class at place called Let's Cook!  It was AWESOME.  We got there 15 minutes early, so we went ahead and opened the bottle of wine that I brought in my purse!  (By the way, I didn't just happen to have a bottle of wine in my purse... I was told I could bring one... which made me like this place before we even got there.)

 Once everyone else got there we went ahead and put on our aprons and started making Mojitos!  I'm not sure I'm a fan.  With every sip of it I tried not to make a face... it was pretty much minty straight rum!  I loaded it with sugar, but I don't know if I'll be making them again anytime soon.  Brent on the other hand...had no problem.

After we made our drinks we made a mojito cake!  It was really easy and sooooo tasty.

Then we started the chicken, and while the chicken was cooking, we made a jicama, orange and avocado salad.  I've never tried jicama before and it was delicious!!  All that was in the salad was: shredded jicama, orange segments, slices of avocado, cilantro, a little bit of vinegar and a little bit of sugar.  We were also given salt and pepper to use as needed  for this.... but Brent dumped it in somewhere in something....we never figured out where he put it.

We threw tomato, onion, garlic and rice in with the chicken, and it was so good!  The whole experience was amazing.  There were only 3 other couples, and we all sat around a big table to eat and just talked and had a blast.  We'll definitely be going back... who wants to come with us!?

Say yes to Chow chow :) yum yum

Chow chow must be a Southern thing.  I'd never heard of this delicious concoction before moving to S.C., and I gotta say... I'm in love.  Not only does it only have 15 calories/ Tbsp, but it's so flavorful and versatile that you can put it on just about anything!  I've had it on green beans, chicken.... Brent puts it on tortilla chips.... and last night I tried it on tilapia.  Delicious!!  Now, you might be saying to yourself... chow chow??? Sounds like something she should be feeding her dog, not her husband.  But then you would be wrong and missing out on one of the tastiest little creations this side of... the Atlantic?  Anyways, it's awesome.  It's basically cabbage, onions, peppers, vinegar and some spices.  I got a jar at the farmer's market for $4.00, but I'm pretty sure you can find it in most grocery stores as well.  Here's the SUPER easy and EXTREMELY healthy dinner we had last night:
Tilapia with chow chow:

1. 4 tilapia fillets (buy frozen when it goes on B1G1)                  $3.69
2. jar of hot or mild chow chow                                                $4.00
3. 1/3 cup flour                                                                        pantry
4. salt and pepper                                                                    pantry
5. 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil                                                  pantry

1. Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat
2. Salt and pepper both sides of the tilapia.  Then dredge in flour (you'll probably have some excess flour leftover)
3. When oil is hot, fry tilapia for about 3 minutes on each side (or until done...keep an eye on 'em!)

4. Cover in chow chow.  It doesn't get much simpler than that!  Each piece of fish with 2 Tbsp. chow chow is about 200 calories.  A serving is 1 piece of fish... I ate 2 :)  Total cost per serving: $1.92.  Oh, and it takes less than 10 minutes. :)  LOVE!

It's not General Tso's... it's better!

Brent's OBSESSED with Asian food.  His all time favorite: hibachi.  Ask him where he wants to go for dinner, and you can be sure he'll answer with one of the following: Fusion Bowl, Tsunami or Miyos. (Even if you're not familiar with those restaurants... the names alone should give them away)  So I always keep Asian spices on hand, and he's actually learned that he can mix a few of them together, put it on chicken, and it turns out pretty tasty.  Mixing them in a bowl and dunking 1-inch cubes of chicken breast in it is the most cooking I've ever seen the man done.  But he's proud of himself (and I'm proud of him too).  :)
To create Asian flavor you need:
1. rice vinegar
2. sesame oil
3. minced ginger (I'm telling you... buy the tube!  Mincing ginger is awful)
4. garlic (jar!)
5. some sort of chili sauce... he likes the red stuff with the green cap: sriracha

Having these on hand made the following meal REALLY cheap for me, but if you have to go out and buy all of these things... this may get a little pricey.  Another trick to making a meal a little cheaper is to buy chicken thighs instead of the breasts.  Definitely stock up on chicken breasts if they go on sale, but if you don't have any breasts on hand, then go with chicken thighs.  They're a quarter of the cost.

Tonight's meal: Asian glazed chicken thighs.  This recipe is based on one I found in Cooking Light magazine.  I changed just a few things based in trial and error:

Ingredients:
1. 1/3 cup rice vinegar                      pantry or  $2.50
2. 1 Tbsp sesame oil                         pantry or  $3.75
3. 3 Tbsp honey                              pantry or  $1.99
4. 1 Tbsp chili sauce                         pantry or  $4.15
5. 2 Tbsp. chopped garlic                 pantry or $2.49
6. 1 chopped jalapeno                      $0.15
7. 8 skinless chicken thighs               $5.15

1. Mix ingredients 1-6 in a bowl with a whisk.  Put the marinade in a big freezer bag.  Dump the chicken thighs in the bag (I always cut off the excess fat first).  Marinade for 1-3 hours.
2. Heat oven to 425.  Spray a cookie sheet with at least 1/2 inch sides with cooking spray.  Spread out the thighs and cook for 10 minutes.  Reserve marinade!
3. Remove thighs.  Baste with marinade.
4. Bake another 10 minutes. Remove thighs.  Baste with marinade.  Throw out the rest of the marinade.
5. Bake a final 10 minutes.  (so that's 30 mins of total bake time, with 2 breaks to baste)
SO good!!! -makes 4 servings (2 thighs each)

I had all of the Asian flavors in my pantry already, so the cost of this meal for me was $1.33/serving!!!!  However, if you need to buy ALL of those spices, you're looking at a pricey $5.05/serving.  However, then you have all of them on hand for your next Asian meal!   

Meatless Mondays

Brent and I have been very into documentaries lately.  You name it: eat more vitamins, don't use plastic water bottles, juice fasts, etc... One idea that really stuck with me made economical, nutritional and environmental sense: Stop eating so much meat.  The meatless Monday was born!


Here's the EASY vegetarian sandwich we had tonight:
The BMTB: Basil-Mozzarella-Tomato-Balsamic


Ingredients:
(makes 2 servings)


1 fresh tomato                      $0.50
1/2 fresh mozzarella ball     $4.00 (so 1/2 would be $2.00...save the rest to put on a mini-pizza!)
6-8 leaves fresh basil           a la basil plant sitting in my kitchen ( Farmer's Market!)
1/2 cup Balsamic vinegar    pantry
2 ciabatta rolls                      $1.25
Extra virgin olive oil              pantry
salt and pepper                    pantry
cooking spray                       pantry


1. Simmer the balsamic in a small pot for a few minutes until it begins to reduce.  Don't simmer too long because it will burn (trust me on this one...)
2. Split the ciabatta rolls and brush the reduced balsamic on the bottom half.  Top in this order:
        1. 2 slices tomato
        2. 2 1/4-1/2 inch slices of mozzarella
        3. salt and pepper
        4. 3-4 basil leaves
        lightly brush the top of the ciabatta bread with extra virgin olive oil
3. Heat up a skillet (or grill pan if you got one) and spray with cooking spray
4. Place the sandwich in the skillet, top with a heavier skillet to flatten.  Grill for 3 minutes, spray the top of the sandwich with cooking spray, flip and grill for 3 more minutes.  Done!

You're looking at about $1.88/sandwich if you already have balsamic vinegar and basil.  Also, the entire sandwich is about 450 calories, (because of the delicious bread... which is really what makes a good sandwich anyways right?) so enjoy with fruit or veggies.   Lovin' meatless Mondays :)

Discovering how much I love eggplants (especially when they're free!)

2 days ago I went to the local farmers market for the first time.  I can't believe I'd never gone before.  I'm hooked.
I somehow timed my first venture to the F.M. perfectly, arriving about 1/2 an hour before they were all packing up to leave.  When you go towards the end of the market, you have a better chance of hearing the following sentences:
"Why don't you go ahead and take a few more. We're trying to get rid of these."
"Go ahead and take 5 for a dollar instead of 3... I don't want to put them back on the truck."
...or my favorite
"Just throw one of those in your bag too.  Don't worry about it."


That last one is how I got my first eggplant. 


So I left the farmers market with some peaches, cucumbers and a free eggplant.  I knew the eggplant was going to become eggplant Parmesan... I just hadn't worked out all the details yet.  I perused the Internet for some ideas, combined a few things, threw out unnecessary steps and ingredients, and came up with the following recipe.  and it rocks.


ingredients
1 medium eggplant                    (mine was free... in season you're looking at about $2 or less)
2 egg whites                             (carton=1.59/12= .13 per egg so.... 26 cents)
1/2 cup breadcrumbs               (pantry)
1/2 Tbsp Italian seasoning         (pantry)
1 garlic salt                              (pantry)
1 Tbsp grated Parmesan           (fridge)
jar of tomato sauce                   $1.50-$3.50 depending on brand
1/4 box of angel hair pasta        $1.00
shredded mozzarella cheese        $3.19
1 tsp. red pepper flakes             (pantry)


Steps:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 and grease a 9x13 pan.
2. Cut off the ends and all of the skin of the eggplant.  Slice it into 1/2 inch thick rounds.
3. Mix the Parmesan cheese, garlic salt, and Italian seasoning into the breadcrumbs.
4. Dip the eggplant into the egg whites and then smother it in the breadcrumb mixture.  The whole slice should be covered, but shake off any excess.  Repeat with each slice and place in a single layer (or as close as you can get to one) in the 9x13 pan.
5. Bake for 12 minutes, flip all the pieces, bake for an additional 12 minutes.
6. While the eggplant is baking, cook the angel hair according to package directions
7. Take out the eggplant and on each slice place a big spoonful of the jarred tomato sauce and 1/8 cup of mozzarella cheese
8. Bake for an additional 10 minutes.  During this time, stir some of the same jarred tomato sauce into your angel hair pasta and add some red pepper flakes.
 Done! Serves 4.


This entire meal costs $1.65/ serving.  It's healthy because we're not frying the eggplant, we're just baking on the breadcrumbs to make it taste fried.  It's delicious.  Enjoy!