Staple: Parfait Desert

So, if I want a healthy desert, I've been just shoving a "yogurt" on the bowl, a handful of cereal, and a handful of fresh fruit. I've been minding the sugar in them, so it's reasonably healthy.

Vanilla Milk

Okay, so, this is currently my soothing headed towards bedtime and trying to increase my calcium intake go-to.

1% milk + couple dashes ground cardamom + dash or two of vanilla extract
then stir it together (preferably in a pretty flower cup).

Watermelon Water

Okay, so, this is basically just diluted watermelon juice. I had a bunch of juice left in the watermelon after I'd cut up cubes, so I dumped it in a tupperware. Figured I'd spice up my water.

Ingredients
12ish oz Water
4ish oz Watermelon juice
Ice (essential)
Dash of lemon juice

Put it all together and drink

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

**This recipe was inspired by the great and lovely Melissa**

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/223211/quinoa-stuffed-peppers/

So, once again, I'm not sure that I could call this the recipe I followed, because I ignored it, but this was the start.

Quinoa + broth + carrots, onions, and tomatoes because that's waht I had around.
The peppers needed more time in the oven (350, 22 minutes)

This is a great starter. It could use a bit more, but I like how flexible it is.

Staple: Lemon Kale and Quinoa Salad

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2015/01/lemony-kale-quinoa-salad/

This is delicious and so so so easy. I make this all of the time and it only gets easier.

So, I have made some modifications that up the price a little bit, but are so worth it. (And my quinoa from costco probably makes up theh difference really)
-- use precut kale. so. easy.
--use prechopped garlic, it's not quite as good, but oh well.
--double it, I'm going to eat it. Save myself the trouble

So directions are now

1. Put some olive oil (1 tbsp or so) in a big pot and put the garlic in there too and turn up to like 6.
2. Add a bunch of kale... haven't figured out how much is ideal yet, but dump a bunch in. Keep them in there for a couple of minutes or until they start to get glossy.
3. Add two cups of quinoa and three bouilion cubes and three cups of water. Put a lid on it and turn up the heat to a 7 or an 8
3. Start zesting the lemon
4. When the pot is boiling, turn it down to a 2 or so and let it simmer for 15 minutes. (Do longer if necesary to get the liquid out)
5. Put the lemon zest on it, squeeze either half a lemon or the whole lemon into it, add feta and walnuts. Done.

So. EASY.

Own Recipe: Fastest Healthy Dinner on the planet

-can of beans (whatever kind)
-can of diced tomatoes (usually with chilis)
-can of tuna
-sriracha
-whatever spices you want to add

Un-can, drain, mix, delish

Own Recipe: Leftover Brown Rice and Stirfry Veggies

This is perfect for when I have leftover rice and I want to use it up and eat something delicious in ten minutes

Ingredients
Kroger Stirfry frozen veggies
olive oil
brown rice
sriracha
soy sauce
optionals: whatever-- this time it was green onions and canned pineapple bits

Directions
Olive oil on the frying pan and heat it up. When it's warm, add the frozen veggies. When that's all warm, go ahead and add the brown rice to warm that up too. Once it's all hot and happy, add sauce and other ingredients as desired. Boom.

Keeper Recipe: Dal Nirvana

Oh my god. It's so good and so easy and so cheap.

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2010/09/dal-nirvana/

Grab and Go Breakfast: Cottage Cheese Parfait

So, you could totally make this with plain greek yogurt instead, cottage cheese is just usually cheaper. It's delicious with regular yogurt (plain or flavored), but that's not going to have as much protein.

So, here's the deal. Get containers to take to work/school. Get cottage cheese, bag of nuts (baking aisle seems to be cheapest usually for the good stuff), and bag of frozen fruit (I haven't found one that isn't delicious yet-- berries, tropical blend, weird blend with peaches and grapes). Put cottage cheese in the containers, add some nuts and fruit. Then shove the nuts and fruit in the freezer to keep 'em good. Done. Delicious.

Hmmm I should try adding some spices... cardamom or cinnamon or something.

Keeper: Chana Aloo Masala

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2016/02/chana-aloo-masala-chickpea-and-potato-masala/

So, if you come into this with the expectations that this is going to taste just like the Indian food from your favorite restaurant, you're going to be disappointed. Your favorite restaurant probably uses a pile of ghee, don't get their garam masala on sale from Kroger, and probably use a more complex spice combo. However, oh my gosh was it good. Especially once I added sour cream/plain greek yogurt and sriracha? Super addictive.

It was also super easy to make, although I did also have a romcom moment. I was trying to drain the potatoes when I heard all of these popping sounds-- the lovely tomato sauce was trying to splatter all over my walls. So, I tried to hop over there (carrying the pot with me), which caused my poor little foot to cramp. So then I somehow ended up with one shoe off, half crouched by the stove, with one hand massaging my foot and the other hand swatting at the sauce trying to stir it to stop the little explosions. It was fun.

Cost: Cheap? It's from budget bytes. That's all I know.
Convenience: This is quite easy to make. If I could chop potatoes evenly and quickly it could be quite fast! The sauce does need some monitoring if you take too long though.
Delicious: This is way better the second day and with the creaminess and a little more spice added. Sooooooooooooo delicious.
Freeze: Apparently yes. Budget bytes Beth says the potato might get grainy, but she thinks it'd be great.
Uses: Fast dinner with Indianish twist?
Notes: I added twice the garam masala as suggested because I think mine was pretty weak, I also ended up adding some sour cream and sriracha. Next time maybe add green peas? More veggies in this would make me really happy. I know that's even less Indian, but I'm going to try it anyway.

Keeper: Asparagus

So, this was super simple, but soooo good. It's also mostly from budget bytes.

Take the trimmed asparagus and put it in a skillet with some water (so it's like half covered). Put heat on high and leave it on there until the asparagus is soft and a happy bright green. Then drain off water and add a tiny pat of butter, lemon juice, sea salt, and pepper.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmh

Keeper: Freezer Food: Black Bean Quesadillas

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2012/02/hearty-black-bean-quesadillas/

These are a great freezer option. I want a healthier version though. Things to contemplate.

Cost: My most expensive ingredient was the whole wheat tortillas. Regular flour would have been cheaper (and honestly possibly more delicious to my tastes), but much less healthy.
Convenience: Super easy. Chopping onion and garlic was the hardest part.
Delicious: Mmmh quesadilla.
Freeze: Works well, but can take a while to warm up so the cheese will melt, need it on low.
Uses:  Quick healthy dinner, warming and filling, easy
Notes: -can I add more veggies? --or more cheese? Intriuging

Vegetables: Vegetarian Southern Style Collard Greens

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/vegetarian-southern-style-collard-greens-recipe.html

I had tons of leftover collard greens from the African peanut stew this week, so I made this. It's delicious and easy. I didn't have an onion to spare, so I used dried onion flakes.

My Own Recipe: Easy Hoisin Cabbage

I have no idea what someone else would think of this dish that I just made, but it's making me happy. It's very in your face with the flavors, but I'm liking it.

Situation: I had nearly a whole head of extra green cabbage from last week that I didn't know what to do with. I didn't want to eat the whole thing raw because I would like my stomach to still be talking to me politely by the end of the week. So, it needed to be cooked.

But recipes take effort. I looked up a few and then shrugged, chopped it into small bites, put a couple tbsp of water and the cabbage in the pyrex, and shoved it into the microwave until it got a little softer. (I meant to cook it until it was totally soft, but this cabbage was more persistent than I was.)

This is a success, but not a huge one.Now I had half-steamed cabbage that I didn't want to eat. How to give it some flavor?

Nothing sounded good (except maybe like apple and lime or vinegar, but that would take more chopping), but I want to use up my hoisin sauce, so I decided to see what I could do with that.

This is what I did with that:

 Hoisin sauce + Sriracha sauce + roasted sesame seeds + optional bit of cilantro (I liked the color the cilantro added, but I wasn't entirely sold on the flavor addition)

I couldn't tell you how much of each component because I just squirted the sauces in the bottom of a bowl and stirred them together, added the cabbage, and then liberally sprinkled on the sesame seeds.

And mmmmh it's got some kick and some weird depth of flavor and I am a happy girl. The sesame seeds are definitely essential.

Later: Hmmmm Well. It is delicious, but it's more of a small doses kind of delicious. I got that big bowl of it and I happily ate about half of the bowl. Picked at the next 1/4 and then threw out hte last 1/4. I think it had a chance of being much better if the cabbage was thoroughly cooked and therefore blander. I may shove it back in the microwave and try again.

Keeper Recipe: Baked Acorn Squash

So, I started with this recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/baked-acorn-squash-with-brown-sugar-and-butter-recipe.html

But that wasn't going to do it for me and my desire to not get diabetes. So, I did a dash of salt, dash of pepper, maybe 1/3 tbsp of butter, and 1/2  tbsp of brown sugar and no maple syrup.  Next time, I'd give more butter and brown sugar for a much richer flavor, but it doesn't really matter.

Recipe:
- slice it open (and slice a little bit of the bottom if it won't stay upright)
-scoop out insides and throw in trash (unless you have creative powers and can use it)
- put some stuff on it, preferably brown sugar and butter-- add a bit of salt and pepper too
-put it in the oven at 400F for 1 hour and stab it with a fork to be sure it's good to go

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
delicious

Cost: Whatever the cost of acorn squash is, currently it's real cheap.
Convenience: Could hardly be easier to make, but it does take time to cook. 
Delicious: mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmh
Freeze: Dunno. Doesn't sound like a great idea.
Uses: Side dish, quick healthy dinner, warming and filling, eat your veggies
Notes: -could be interesting to try some other toppings on it--lots of variety possible
-life is much better if you put it on aluminum foil so you can destroy the environment but not have to wash dishes.

Keeper: Quesadilla

I wanted something warm and satifying and comforting for snack and I was wandering around indecisively until I remembered that I had tortillas.

So, less than 5 minutes later, warm quesadilla in hand (pepperjack and brie!), I am so happy with life. 

I just did it dry, works fine and barely have to wash the pan, but I've also used just enough melted butter to coat the bottom before (internet tells me this is about 1/2 tsp. Could also use pam, or just read someone saying that they think it works better to put the butter on the tortilla with their fingers instead of hte pan)

Quesadilla ideas

 Peanut butter and banana (really delicious desert one)

cheese + tobasco

cheese + beans + hot sauce

grated sweet potatoes sauteed with onion and cilantro and layered with Jack cheese

caramelized onions and brie. 

Why am I even listing these? Just make delicious things.

Keeper Recipe: Weeknight Black Bean Chili

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2015/02/weeknight-black-bean-chili/

I continue my quest to rule budget bytes apparently and also my trend of making everything a keeper recipe. I suspect as the year goes on, I'll take recipes out as keepers, but at this point.

Cost: Canned stuff can be pricier, but it's still cheap. 
Convenience: So easy to make. Hardest part is prepping the onion and garlic, everything else is just dumping in cans and measuring spoons of stuff and stirring it rarely.
Delicious: Waiting to see what it tastes like after a couple of days, but even one night later it's awesome.
Freeze: Dunno.
Uses: Super convenient hearty filling meal. Also could be great for having guests over when don't have time to cook or are doing it when they're there and not wanting to have to think about it. 
Notes: I made my veggie by only using 2 cans of black bean, 1 can light kidney, and 1 can pinto bean. This did make it soupier (added one can), so may consider draining one of them next time, but the soupy tastes good. This would be really good with the adds on she mentioned--green onion, sour cream,tortilla chips and such. Oh, and the diced tomato, I used the jalapeno ones instead of the green chile ones. Aaaand I didn't have oregano, so I used the italian seasonings because the first ingredient is oregano. 

Staple: Kale Chickpea Curry Soup

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2012/05/kale-chickpea-soup/

Cost: Cheap!
Convenience: This is super easy to make. It's fast, it's simple, the ingredients are all easy.
Delicious: This is a more delicate flavor than some of my others, but it's really delicious. The chickpeas aren't always exactly the right texture, but I suspect that would just be fixed by not buying the cheapest possible chickpeas.
Freeze: Dunno.
Uses: Delicious soup that's healthy, light, and easy.
Notes: I added twice the curry, but I also think my curry is weak because its' old, so I don't know what the overall effect is. Also, next time, don't be in such a hurry--and actually take the time to make sure the kale is in bite sized pieces.

Take two: --work on getting the textures and spices better. The kale pieces can be still smaller, the potato bits should be better cooked (turn it up to a high temperature much sooner, it will take FOREVER otherwise), those chickpeas still aren't the best--consider making own and freezing? Need to get the pressure cooker up and running and see if can freeze. Spices muddle it up-- use straight up oregano-- get it at store soon. 

Take four?: It really does matter that you put the kale in and let it cook enough to wilt before you put all the other stuff in. I did this recipe from memory and forgot the order. It's a soup, so it's still perfectly delicious, but the kale is better when you do it that way.

Take who knows? I ended up using crushed tomatoes instead. Still worked delicious, but changed the taste.

Keeper: Grilled Cheese Sandwich

So, I don't even have a recipe here, but it's definitely one of my keeper things. I wanted something warm and filling and delicious, but was too lazy to do much. So, I made a grilled cheese with pepperjack cheese and it was great. I'm sure I might want to do an actual write up later and include exciting variations, but in the meantime-- I will record that this is an option.

Keeper Recipe 3: Moroccan Lentil Veggie Soup

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2014/11/moroccan-lentil-vegetable-stew/

Damnit! So, I messed this up a little, I put too much cinnamon in and I used two different kinds of lentils ecause it was what I had. So, it's good, but not amazing. But I'm calling it a keeper anyway because its' one of my favorite things to pull out of the freezer previous times I've made it. Can't stop me. 

Cost: haven't calculated it, but budget bytes claims it's like a dollar a serving. 
Convenience: Very easy to make!
Delicious: Quite good!
Freeze: This is so good frozen and reheated. 10/10
Uses: It's a soup and it's different and it freezes amazingly well and is generally warm and happy.
Notes: Don't mess it up next time