Staple: Shakshuka Shakshuka Shakshuka!

Sooooo, this was delicious and easy and cheap and healthy. (And if you leave out the sugar- which I did-- meets the Whole 30 requirements, which I'm not doing, but a friend is)

I can already tell that it's going to be a staple recipe. It takes like no effort, it's real hard to screw up --like a soup is. And it's hearty and delicious.

I didn't really spice it much because I wanted to leave it up to my friend to make it to her level.

http://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/2010/07/summer-2010-travel-blog-shakshuka/

I also think it'd be interesting to try it with some spinach or some mushrooms.

This time I served it over pasta because it was what I had, but next time that crusty crunchy bread would be amazing.

I think next time I might try this variety:

https://www.budgetbytes.com/2016/04/smoky-white-bean-shakshuka/

I have now tried the budget bytes variety and I actually liked the first version better! The beans make it more feeling, but I like the more veggies more.

Own Recipe: Instant Brussel Sprouts Upgrade

Take a bag of microwavable steamed brussel sprouts. Cook 'em.
Poured cooked sprouts into a bowl.
Add dashes of parmesan cheese, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, and a splash of lime juice.

Delicious!

Staple: Smashed chickpea and avocado sandwich

This is such a winner!!

http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/smashed-chickpea-avocado-salad-sandwich/

I didn't have a lime, so I used a lemon. The lime would be better, but this is still way delicious. I also added sriracha as a topping because I couldn't resist.

I'll let you know how well it survives the school transport/fridge/freezing, because this could be one of my new go-tos.


Update
So, freezing was okay, but it took a long time to thaw out--longer than the PB&J for sure. And unsurprisingly, lettuce does not freeze well. Only kept it in one night, so not sure how it would do on the freezer burn front.

The raw stuff kept in the fridge fine, so totally good to make ahead of time and then make the sandwich daily for sure.

Also, tried it with pinto beans instead of chickpeas this week because that's what I had and it was a little watery, which I kind of suspect was just because I was lazy about draining, but it was delicious as well. So, very adaptable.

Lentil Salad

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/215280/refreshing-lentil-salad/

So, the plan was to make that recipe. I think instead it turned into--- I made lentils and then I put some of these ingredients in there and then just started putting stuff on my lentils. Generally delicious, but I'll give feedback on the combo later.

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.

Staple: Thai Curry Vegetable Soup

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2016/03/thai-curry-vegetable-soup/

This needs a proper entry, but this will do for now. This was delicious. Bok Choy was expensive, so I replaced it with leftover spinach and a bag of frozen stir fry veggies. I think the Bok Choy would prob have been better, but this was delicious. Also, sriracha is worth it. The red onions were blegh for me.

Keeper: I made NAAN

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2010/09/naan/


http://www.fullforkahead.com/2013/09/25/homemade-naan/

Some interesting instructions here

Naan notes
--takes an hour + to rise (may use tips in second article next time)
-- if don't have rolling pin, make do with any cylindrical object-- I used a water bottle
--the thinness of it seemed to be a crucial variable-- thin, but not toooo thin
--the minced garlic added to the butter after (from the tin), was meh on the flavor. may be better added to the dough--see second article

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/

Wow, I did it!

Not even four months into the year, and I've met the first goal.

 I've got 12 keeper recipes!!

 I cook most weeks now.  I could easily bring something that someone else would want to eat if I were invited over. Course, it's a life long process and all that and I've got tons of learning ahead of me, but I did it! I am definitely at accomplished beginner cook stage. :-)

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.

Needs Practicing: Budget Bytes Breakfast Burritos

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2011/01/freezer-breakfast-burritos/

These were better the second day than they were the first. This is a very very simple recipe. I definitely needed better salsa and it could maybe use a little more oomph-- sauteed onions and peppers maybe? That would be awesome. Still, I feel like these may be the answer to life's problems and I need to figure them out. Because this would be super fast and filling.

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

Drink: Raspberry Lemon Iced Tea

So, this is barely even a recipe, but I bet I'll still have trouble remembering it exists when I want something healthy to drink that's not water. So here it is:

Celestial Seasonings Raspberry Zinger Tea
Lemon juice
Make the tea, put lemon juice in it. Fridge and ice.
Mmmmmh refreshing

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.