Halushki With Butternut Squash.

Today’s recipe was the only path I really could take tonight, to be truthful. The rain has been steadily coming down all day, the weather turning crisp and autumnal again. A cold-weather pairing of halushki, which I’d never tried before, and baked-and-mashed butternut squash were sure to hit the spot!

I became intrigued by halushki when I stumbled upon a recipe for it over at The Urban Vegan a couple of weeks ago and immediately added it to my meal plan. I’m so glad I did! It exceeded my expectations by a mile, earning an immediate spot in the winter dinner rotation … and accolades from LeeLee, which is always a plus!

But the halushki wasn’t the only part of the menu that was a first attempt tonight. The butternut squash recipe we tried was actually a test run for Thursday’s Thanksgiving feast, and on the whole we were pleased by the attempt. Next time, we’ll bake the butternut squash for a longer time, and covered with foil, to allow the pieces to soften and make mashing easier. Tonight’s came out too chunky for LeeLee’s taste, but I liked it just fine! Mixed with Silk vanilla creamer and some brown sugar – what’s not to love?

The stats:

Macaroni: $1.00 ($0.50/person)
Cabbage: $1.44 ($0.72/person)
Mushrooms: $2.95 ($1.48/person)
Squash: $2.49 ($1.25/person)

GRAND TOTAL: $7.88 … or $3.95 per person.
BUT WAIT! This recipe makes enough for leftovers the next day. So the per-person price goes down even more!

:)

Poor Man’s Stew With Salad and Foccacia.

I wasn’t sure what to make of it when I set everything to boil in my large saucepan. Would veggie “beef,” mixed vegetables, and broth go well together, all by themselves, until the time came to add a can of cream of mushroom soup? Would that just muddy the waters, as it were? Would the spices I’d chosen go along with the dish as a whole? Shouldn’t I just throw a canned of diced tomatoes into the mix instead and call it a day?

Rather than give in to my doubts and my Type A mind, I went along with the recipe and was so pleased with the result! This turned out to be a smooth, hearty stew filled with protein and veggies and all manner of goodness, with not very much fat and next to no money involved. In fact, the most expensive parts of this meal were found in the salad and foccacia – not that I’m complaining about how those side items turned out!

So I’ll definitely be giving this dish another try. Who knows? It may even join the regular rotation by the time winter’s in full swing!

The stats:

Ground “beef”: $3.99 ($2.00/person)
Mixed vegetables: $1.00 ($0.50/person)
Veggie broth: $2.50 ($1.25/person)
Cream of mushroom soup: $1.00 ($0.50/person)
Salad: $3.59 ($1.80/person)
Foccacia: $3.99/seven ($0.86/person)

GRAND TOTAL: $16.07 … or $6.91 per person.

:)

Postcard From the South.

Oh, how I wish you’d been there!

I had SO MUCH FUN in Florida over a long (four-night!) weekend. My family and I visited my favorite cheesemakers, Sweet Grass Dairy, in South Georgia, and went on hikes and walks around some of our favorite nature preserves and lakes. We watched Florida State beat Wake Forest in football. We sent a good amount of time just lounging on sofas or porch swings, chatting and catching up with each other.

And … we ate. This IS a food blog, for crying out loud, people.

So let’s begin at the beginning, shall we?

I arrived in Florida at lunchtime, and because the drive from the airport to the house is a long one, we stopped off for a bite to eat first. But that night, I was able to savor one of Mama’s home-cooked specials, Crock-Pot chili. Hearty yet comforting, spicy yet smooth, it was a meal that couldn’t be beat! And it was the perfect dish to cap off a long day of traveling.



The next night, leftover chili fueled a whole new meal: Stuffed bell peppers! As much as I try to mic my mother’s peppers, I always fall short. Hers were delicious!

We ate out the next couple of nights, snacking on leftovers here and there. Believe me, we didn’t miss many meals! :)

… and before I knew it, it was time to return home to Virginia. Though I confess that every time I leave Florida, I have to spend a few days adjusting to what “home” is. I always leave a little bit of my heart down in the Sunshine State. I suppose it’ll be something I’ll just continue to get used to.

So, a good 24 hours after my arrival back here, I was still feeling a touch out of sorts when I arrived home after work today. Luckily, I knew just the meal to whip up to combat that! When you’re in need of comfort food, it’s best to turn to an old favorite … potato soup. With Goldfish, of course. And a salad to round things out.

I'll be back to giving The Stats tomorrow, but for now, happy eating and traveling to all of you!

:)

Chik’n Posole With Salad and Foccacia.

I’ve had this dish in my mind for about a week now, and on this rainy, chilly night, I knew I could wait no longer. So into the pot my ingredients went, and out came chik’n posole.

I first stumbled across this dish last month over at $5 Dinners, and the first go-round was, I must say, a success. Tonight’s rendition was just as good – maybe even a little better, since there were no leftovers save for a few tiny kernels of hominy and a sad old piece of diced tomato. Paired with a salad and some frozen foccacia rolls (cooked, of course, silly!), it was a great, hearty, tasty dish.

I can’t wait to serve it again!

The stats:

Chik’n: $4.99 ($2.50/person)
Diced tomatoes: $1.00 ($0.50/person)
Broth: $2.78 ($1.39/person)
Hominy: $1.00 ($0.50/person)
Onion: $0.79 ($0.40/person)
Salad: $3.99 ($2.00/person)
Foccacia: $3.99/seven ($1.14/person)
Hot pepper: FREE from the garden!

GRAND TOTAL: $18.54 … or $8.43 per person.

:)

Veggie Burgers, Mixed Veggies, and Baked Potatoes.

First of all, I owe you an apology for missing a week’s worth of posts! Last week got away with me – work during the day (as usual), but then fun outings and adventures nearly each evening! That’s pretty rare for a weekday homebody like me … but it was a blast. From a moonlit hike at the National Arboretum (which I highly recommend and which, on a frugal note, was paid for by the company I work at!) to an evening with friends, I stayed busy but had a great time. But I apologize for being absent for a week! In the middle of it all, I promise I did take photos of each meal – and in fact managed to eat at home nearly every night, despite my adventures!

I’ll do a catch-up post soon. But in the meantime, here’s tonight’s dish.

Given the autumnal weather – and accompanying meals – of late, I found myself in deep, DEEP cookout withdrawal. Don’t get me wrong – I love soups and chilis and hearty, wintry meals. But a girl could use a burger once in awhile, too, you know?

The George Foreman grill seemed like too much work tonight. So I wrapped up a couple of potatoes (still more from the batch we picked a couple of months ago – and I can assure you there’s plenty more where that came from!), baked them in the oven for an hour, and 15 minutes from their finish time, I put four Morningstar Farms Grillers on a cookie sheet and set them in to bake as well, turning them with 7 minutes left on the clock. When I put the burgers in, I also plunked some mixed vegetables into a pot to warm up, and by the time the oven timer went off, dinner was ready!

We served the potatoes with butter and some leftover sour cream from last weekend’s chili, and served the burgers with lettuce, onion from the farmer’s market, and a tomato. It was a summertime meal in the middle of a crisp, cool fall – and a welcome interruption from cold-weather dinners!

The stats:

Buns: $0.99/eight ($0.12/person)
Burgers: $3.50/four ($0.88/person)
Mixed vegetables: $1.00 ($0.50/person)
Potatoes: Prepaid.
Onion: $1.00 ($0.25/person)
Tomato: $0.91 ($0.46/person)

GRAND TOTAL: $7.40 … or $2.21 per person.
BUT WAIT! This meal makes enough burgers for two rounds of leftovers. So the per-person price goes down even more!

:)

Sloppy Joes, Peas, and Twice-Baked Potatoes.

Now this was a meal I’d been looking forward to all week! There’s just nothing like a sloppy Joe. Paired up with peas and topped off with a twice-baked potato (which I’d never made before), it was a great dish.

But the potato. Oh, the potato! I’d never known how to really make a twice-baked variety until a couple of weeks ago, when I stumbled upon this recipe. Instantly, my mind shifted to our makeshift “root cellar” (really the cabinet under the counter), where three bags of potatoes sit waiting to be used (and used often). And I knew that I’d have to give this rendition a try!

Truth be told, it wasn’t hard work at all. Sure, it took time to bake seven potatoes (!) and then let them cool enough to where I could scoop out the insides and prepare the filling. But the actual work took upwards of 10 minutes, tops … and with that, I had restaurant-quality potatoes right here in Chez Recessionista. To add to my bliss, I was able to freeze five of the potatoes for use later (more on my latest freezing craze in another post, I promise).

So, in short, the meal turned out great. And now LeeLee has leftover sloppy Joes for tomorrow’s lunch, too. But I’m taking the leftover potato. Sometimes, generosity just doesn’t pay. J

The stats:

Buns: $0.99/eight ($0.12/person)
“Beef”: $4.29 ($2.15/person)
Pizza sauce: $1.85 ($0.93/person)
Mushrooms: $2.49 ($1.25/person)
Peas: $1.69 ($0.85/person)
Potatoes: Prepaid.
Sour cream: $2.29 ($0.57/person)
Cheese: $2.99 ($1.50/person)

GRAND TOTAL: $16.59 … or $7,37 per person.
BUT WAIT! This dinner made enough leftover for a couple of additional meals, AND the potatoes made enough to freeze for at least four more servings. So the per-person price goes down even more!

:)

Tomato-Basil Quiche With Salad.

Please forgive the delay in posting this week! I ran a marathon on Sunday and have been in recovery (read: sleep) mode for the last 48 hours or so. But I’m back now … and hungry! So let’s get to it.

Today’s dinner was a great one for a nice rainy day – quiche served alongside a lush green salad. It was so tasty, so fresh, and teeming with summer veggies cooked at the peak of perfection!

Wait. Summer?

Remember this dinner, where I made two quiches and froze the second one? Well, we’re reaping the rewards of that today! And honestly, this reheated quiche was even better than the original. It was firmer, tastier, and more cohesive since it had time to settle. And believe me, it was very difficult not to just split the pie plate in half and eat it all!

So this experimental frozen quiche worked out great. We’ll definitely try it again!

The stats:

Quiche: Free! (Already paid for, if you must know the truth, but free for today!)
Salad: $3.99 ($2.00/person)

GRAND TOTAL: $3.99 … or $2.00 per person.
BUT WAIT! This meal makes enough for LeeLee to have for lunch tomorrow. So the per-person price goes down even more!

:)