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.
Friday, January 29, 2016
Saturday, January 16, 2016
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.
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 Recipe: Microwave-Steamed Zucchini
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmh this is such a keeper. It could not be easier, healthier, or more delicious. I was just looking for a way to use up a zucchini that was going to go bad, but I will be doing this over and over.
http://www.food.com/recipe/microwave-steamed-zucchini-323310
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http://www.food.com/recipe/microwave-steamed-zucchini-323310
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DIRECTIONS
Keeper Cheesy Vegetarian Chili Mac
http://www.budgetbytes.com/2016/01/cheesy-vegetarian-chili-mac/
Super easy, not that fast and can't really be left alone because it needs stirring regularly, but good and really filling.
Cost: Cheese is the most expensive part. Could be cheaper with homemade beans, but there'd need to be a lot of them, not sure it'd be worth it.
Convenience: This is super easy to make... but not fast and not unattended. It needs to be stirred a lot, but it's mostly just dumping in ingredients.
Delicious: Good!
Freeze: Supposedly a yes.
Uses: Hearty, warm, good food. A good complement for times when I've got light soups and I just need something filling.
Notes: I need to buy a wooden spoon so i can do a better job of scraping the bottom. Too much of the flour ended up on the side of the pot. Also, the kroger brand kidney beans were a little dry or something. Used 1.5 cups of shredded cheese.
Super easy, not that fast and can't really be left alone because it needs stirring regularly, but good and really filling.
Cost: Cheese is the most expensive part. Could be cheaper with homemade beans, but there'd need to be a lot of them, not sure it'd be worth it.
Convenience: This is super easy to make... but not fast and not unattended. It needs to be stirred a lot, but it's mostly just dumping in ingredients.
Delicious: Good!
Freeze: Supposedly a yes.
Uses: Hearty, warm, good food. A good complement for times when I've got light soups and I just need something filling.
Notes: I need to buy a wooden spoon so i can do a better job of scraping the bottom. Too much of the flour ended up on the side of the pot. Also, the kroger brand kidney beans were a little dry or something. Used 1.5 cups of shredded cheese.
Monday, January 11, 2016
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.
Saturday, January 9, 2016
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
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
Keeper Recipe 2: Summer Vegetable Tian
http://www.budgetbytes.com/2011/08/summer-vegetable-tian/
Cost: It's the cost of veggies and cheese pretty much. Not the cheapest ever, but definitely not expensive.
Convenience: This is super easy to make. It takes at least an hour to make, but most of that is unattended cooking. It's mostly lots of chopping and cramming for the work part. It is a little annoying that it uses up the dish to saute too-- so it might be nice to find other recipes to pair it with.
Delicious: So good. Soooo good. Mmmmmmh.
Freeze: Probably a no. Haven't tried yet.
Uses: We'll see how it holds up this week as one of my major meal options. It's not the most filling thing on the planet because it's mostly just watery veggies, but it was sooooo good. This makes a great side dish, a great snack food for my tastes.
Notes: It came out watery in the bottom this time, I just drained it off and it wasn't a big deal, but there were some recommendations to take the seeds out of the tomato, salt the veggies first, or cook it for longer. ALSO, I used sweet potato instead of potato and cooked the potatoes for 3-4 mintues before I chopped them up, that seemed to work well. Also, the cheese was delicious melted, but not evenly distributed and not really toasted brown (I burned my hand, so I was over it)-- so that could be better next time too. Also, I basically doubled the recipe and used a larger pan because I didn't have an 8x8..There's definitely room for modification on this recipe to make it more stellar, but I'd eat it any day of the week.
Cost: It's the cost of veggies and cheese pretty much. Not the cheapest ever, but definitely not expensive.
Convenience: This is super easy to make. It takes at least an hour to make, but most of that is unattended cooking. It's mostly lots of chopping and cramming for the work part. It is a little annoying that it uses up the dish to saute too-- so it might be nice to find other recipes to pair it with.
Delicious: So good. Soooo good. Mmmmmmh.
Freeze: Probably a no. Haven't tried yet.
Uses: We'll see how it holds up this week as one of my major meal options. It's not the most filling thing on the planet because it's mostly just watery veggies, but it was sooooo good. This makes a great side dish, a great snack food for my tastes.
Notes: It came out watery in the bottom this time, I just drained it off and it wasn't a big deal, but there were some recommendations to take the seeds out of the tomato, salt the veggies first, or cook it for longer. ALSO, I used sweet potato instead of potato and cooked the potatoes for 3-4 mintues before I chopped them up, that seemed to work well. Also, the cheese was delicious melted, but not evenly distributed and not really toasted brown (I burned my hand, so I was over it)-- so that could be better next time too. Also, I basically doubled the recipe and used a larger pan because I didn't have an 8x8..There's definitely room for modification on this recipe to make it more stellar, but I'd eat it any day of the week.
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