Your Weekly Frugal Recipe - Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken Enchiladas

The Food Stamp Way

Skills	Prep	Cook
Blender/Food Processor
What do these meters mean?

     This is another one of those recipes that you might need to plan to make ahead of time.  It takes a little more time than a lot of people like, but it shouldn't take more than about 25-30 minutes of prep and 25 minutes of cooking time.  I've made this ahead of time and stuck it in the fridge to bake later.
     The main reason I love this recipe is I don't like to have to take the time to roll my ingredients into each tortilla separately, put them in a pan and then put sauce over them and bake.  This is made in a casserole method, but when you cut it into pieces, most people don't know the difference between this and the individually rolled enchiladas.

Equipment you'll need
Skillet, blender or food processor, 11x7 baking dish, saucepan, whisk, knife, cutting board

Serves 10-12

Ingredient	Amount	Cost
Corn tortillas	12	$0.43*
Medium onion	1	$0.50
Canola oil	1 oz	$0.06*
Shredded Monterey Jack	1 lb	$4.23
Chicken	1 lb	$2.28
Butter	1/4 c.	$0.34*
Flour	1/4 c.	$0.03*
Chicken Broth	2 c.	$0.78
Sour cream	8 oz	$0.96
Poblano pepper	1	$0.50
Fresh cilantro	1/4 bunch	$0.14*
Total		$10.25
* Based on price per package divided by amount used.

Price per plate =$1.25  Notes about ingredients:

The poblano pepper has to be roasted.  If you're not comfortable with this, you can pick up a 4 oz can of chopped chiles for roughly the same price.

You have to use fresh cilantro for this recipe - no substitutions.

Prep Instructions:

Chop the onion into medium-size pieces.

Cut the chicken into medium-sized pieces.  Heat the vegetable oil over a medium flame and cook the chicken and onion in it.  If you have it, sprinkle some cumin over the raw chicken.

Roast the poblano pepper under your broiler for about 5 minutes and skin it.  Put the pepper, cilantro, and chicken broth into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Instructions:

1.   Preheat your oven to 425º F
2.   Melt the butter in a saucepan and whisk the flour into it and allow it to cook until it starts to froth.
3.   Add the chicken broth mixture to the flour and butter and whisk together quickly.  Allow to simmer.
4.   Add the sour cream to the sauce whisk everything together.
5.   Grease a pan with cooking spray or a little canola oil.  Cover the bottom of the pan with a third of the sauce.
6.  Top the sauce with 6 corn tortillas, allowing them to overlap to cover all the sauce completely.

7.   Cover the tortillas with all of your chicken pieces.

8.   Cover the chicken with about half of the cheese.

9.   Cover the cheese with a third of the sauce.

10. Cover the sauce with another layer of tortillas.

11. Cover the tortillas with the last of the sauce.

12. Cover the pan with aluminum foil with the shiny side pointed toward the food. 

13. Bake at 425º for 20 minutes.

14.  Remove the aluminum foil and sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top.  Replace in the oven and bake for 5 minutes or until the cheese is completely melted.

What recipe would you like done the food stamp way? Comments? Questions? Tweet to @cookingcheap

Your Weekly Frugal Recipe - Meatloaf

 Meatloaf

The Food Stamp Way

Skills	Prep	Cook
Casserole dish
What do these meters mean?

     Raise your hand if the last thing you think of when it comes to gourmet cooking is meatloaf. Now put your hand down, no one can see you.  The thing with meatloaf is that it's a basic staple that can be changed into several different things.  In fact my next few beef recipes (there is a pattern to these recipes) will be based off the meatloaf recipe that will be here and we'll transform it into meatballs, stuffed peppers and more!

Equipment you'll need
knife, cutting board, mixing bowl, casserole dish, cooling rack (optional)

Serves 8

Ingredient	Amount	Cost
Ground beef	2 lb	$2.99
Pork sausage	1 lb	$3.48
Eggs	2	$0.15*
Bread crumbs	1/2 c	$0.13*
Onion	1/2	$0.25*
Green onions	3	$0.31*
Garlic	1 clove	$0.07*
Crushed tomatoes	1, sm can	$0.66
Total		$7.79
* Based on price per package divided by amount used.

Price per plate =$0.97  Notes about ingredients:

If you don't eat pork, use 3 pounds of ground beef or find some chicken sausage.

1/2 tsp of minced garlic in oil is the same as 1 clove.  1/8 tsp of garlic power is also the same as a clove.

If you don't have a can of crushed tomatoes you can also cut up 1 or 2 fresh tomatoes to use what's in your kitchen.

Prep Instructions:

Mince your garlic if it isn't already or powder.

Chop your onion.  It should be about 1/2 c.

Slice the green onions thinly.

Instructions:

1.  Preheat your oven to 350º F
2.  Mix all ingredients thoroughly.

(The movie's sped up.  The whole process takes about a minute)
3. Form into a loaf.

4.  Place in a casserole pan on top of a cooling rack, if you have one.

5.  Bake for an hour to an hour and a half or until done in the middle.  That means there's no pink left or a meat thermometer reads 155º F.

6.  Remove the loaf from the grease in the pan, if you baked in a casserole, and slice to serve.

What recipe would you like done the food stamp way? Comments? Questions? Tweet to @cookingcheap

Your weekly frugal recipe - Ratatouille

 Ratatouille

The Food Stamp Way

Skills	Prep	Cook
What do these meters mean?

     This recipe suggestion comes from someone I have literally known all my life.  Seriously, we met in kindergarten!  When she started reading my blog, this was what she suggested as one of her favorite recipes.  As luck would have it, our local organic food store, Sprouts, put every fresh ingredient on sale the next week.  I served this over whole wheat pasta to make it stretch more.  By stretch, I mean that we could have served 12 easily once everything was done.  That reminds me, we're having leftovers tonight...

Equipment you'll need
Skillet, knife, cutting board, baking pan

Serves 10

Ingredient	Amount	Cost
Olive oil	2 Tbsp	$0.42*
Garlic cloves, minced	3	$0.05*
Parsley, minced	1/4 c.	$0.11*
Eggplant	1	$1.98
Parmesan, grated	1 c.	$1.91*
Zucchini	2	$0.67
Mushrooms	2 c.	$1.68
Bell pepper	1	$0.50
Tomatoes	2	$1.98
Jar of pasta sauce	1	$1.00
Total		$10.80
* Based on price per package divided by amount used.

Price per plate =$1.08  Notes about ingredients:

Really, use olive oil for this.  It'll make everything better

I buy garlic pre-minced in oil and keep in the fridge (to prevent botulism).  Then I just take a spoonful out with which to cook.

If your store has small eggplants, buy 2.

I found one huge tomato and only bought it instead of 2

If parmesan's too expensive, try mozzarella

Prep Instructions:

Square off your eggplant and cut it into slices    Place the slices into a pan in a single layer and sprinkle them with salt (preferably kosher, but any will work).  Allow it to sit while you finish the rest of the prep.

Slice your zucchini and mushrooms. Cut the bell pepper in half, remove the seeds and slice it.   Dice your tomato(es) and onion.

Once you've completed your prep (it'll take about 30 minutes), your eggplant will have sweated out all its bitter juices.  Rinse each slice or wipe it down with a paper towel to remove the juice and salt. The juice left in the pan Cut the slices into cubes.

Instructions:

1.  Preheat your oven to 350º F
2.  Heat the olive oil in a skillet.  Sauté the garlic until it's very slightly brown then add the eggplant cubes and parsley.  Sauté until the eggplant is soft, about 10 minutes.
3.  Coat the bottom of your baking dish with pasta sauce.

4.  Cover the sauce with your sautéd eggplant and sprinkle cheese over it

5.  Cover the eggplant with zucchini slices and sprinkle cheese over them.

6.  Cover the zucchini with mushrooms and onions and sprinkle cheese over them.

7.  Cover the onions with tomatoes and sprinkle cheese over them.

8.  Top the tomatoes with bell pepper slices.

9.  Bake for 45 minutes in the 350º oven.   Spoon the hot dish over pasta and serve.

We're philistines here, and nothing survives on our table without some meat in it, so we cut up some chicken sausage and put it on top.

What recipe would you like done the food stamp way? Comments? Questions? Tweet to @cookingcheap

Your Weekly Frugal Recipe - Lasagna

 Lasagna

The Food Stamp Way

Skills	Prep	Cook
Crock pot
What do these meters mean?

    Before you start planning to have this for tonight's dinner, you should know that this is a crock pot recipe.  If you don't have a crock pot, don't make this recipe unless you know someone who will let you borrow theirs.
     I have a confession to make; I can't make lasagna in the oven.  Every time I try, the noodles end up dried up and crunchy.  In short, it's a bust - every time.  There are two ways that I can make one:  buy it from a store or use the crock pot.  We're trying to do the "not from the freezer section" thing, so let's make it in the crock pot instead!
     The problem with crock pot recipes, for most people, is that they perceive them as taking too long.  This particular recipe takes about 30 minutes of prep work and 4 hours to cook.  If you don't want to get up and do it before work some morning.  Take some time the night before you want to serve it and do all the prep work.  Then put the removable part of your crock pot in the fridge over night.  The next morning, when you're getting ready for work, put the removable part of the crock part into the heating part, put the cover on, and turn it on low.  Then walk out the door ready to come home to lasagna that night!

Equipment you'll need
Crock pot, skillet, knife, cutting board, mixing bowl

Serves 8

Ingredient	Amount	Cost
Italian Sausage	1 lb	$3.00
Medium onion	1	$0.50
24 oz cans pasta sauce	2	$2.00
Shredded mozzarella	2 c.	$2.29
Ricotta	15 oz	$2.15
Grated parmesan	1 c.	$2.66*
Uncooked lasagna noodles	16 oz	$1.77
Total		$14.37
* Based on price per package divided by amount used.

Price per plate =$1.80  Notes about ingredients:

8 ounces of brick cheese makes 1 cup of shredded cheese.

Depending on where you buy it, ricotta cheese can be the same price as cottage cheese or as much as three times the price.  Decide appropriately, and substitute cottage cheese if it's less expensive.

Italian Sausage was on sale this week which made it literally 3¢ more expensive than ground beef. If it's not on sale where you are, or if your family doesn't eat pork, substitute ground beef and sprinkle some Italian seasonings over it while it cooks.

Prep Instructions:

Chop the onion into medium-size pieces.

Brown the meat and onion together in a skillet.  Drain the grease off and mix the pasta sauce with the meat.

Mix 1 cup of mozzarella with the Parmesan and ricotta together in a bowl.  Reserve the rest of the mozzarella in the fridge for later.

Instructions:

1.  Cover the bottom of the crock with about a quarter of your meat-sauce mixture.
2.  Cover the sauce mixture with lasagna noodles.  Break them to cover it as completely as possible.
3.  Cover the noodles with about one-third of the cheese mixture.  Use a spoon to spread it around, if you need.
4.  Cover the cheese with a quarter of your sauce mixture.  I use my spoon to squish them together a bit to make it cover more area, but that's up to you.
5.  Cover the sauce mixture with lasagna noodles again.
6.  Repeat steps 3 through 5 once more.

7.  Cover the top layer of noodles with the last of your meat sauce.

8.  Place in the cooking element of your crock pot on low for at least 4 hours.

9.  About 20 minutes before you're ready to eat, sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella cheese over the top of the sauce and replace the cover. 

10.  When the cheese is all melted, dish it out and eat.

What recipe would you like done the food stamp way? Comments? Questions? Tweet to @cookingcheap

Fast, Fun Veggie Platter for the 4th

     I popped these out because my mom sent me a picture of them a month ago.  I couldn't think of a better time to make such a cute veggie platter.  I figured I'd write down how to make them so you could do the same, if you want.  This is almost guaranteed to get your kids to eat their vegetables because they'll be so taken by the cute ladybugs.
     Tomatoes have large amounts of Vitamin C and A while olives are a great source of Vitamin E.  Though this looks complicated, you'll be surprised how easy it is.  Here are what you'll need.  In rare form, I didn't price everything out, but all the ingredients were between $5 and $10 and the used amount was less than $5.
     If your family is vegetarian, you can eliminate the meat used in this recipe and put the tomatoes directly on top of the cream cheese.  If you're vegan, use hummus instead of cream cheese.   No matter how you make this, your kid's will pop one in their mouth before they realize they're eating veggies!

Skills	Prep	Cook
What do these meters mean?

Equipment you'll need:  Paring knife, Chef knife, cutting board, spoon

Ingredients:
1 package of cherry tomatoes (not grape, they're too small)
1 bunch parsley
1 can whole olives
1 box round crackers
1 package of ham or turkey or any lunch meat you want
1 small container of cream cheese (I chose onion and chives, but what you want is up to you)

Method:
1.  Lay out crackers on your serving plate so you know how many lady bugs you're going to be making.
2.  Take one whole cracker and lay it on top of several pieces of your lunch meat (I did 4 at a time).  Using the tip of your paring knife, cut the lunch meat into circles that are the size and shape of your crackers.  Move your cracker to touch the circle you just cut and repeat until you've cut all your meat into cracker templates.
3.  Using your spoon, spread a thin layer of cream cheese on each cracker.  Do this by putting some cheese on the cracker and using the back of the spoon to spread it.
4.  Put one of your cut pieces of lunch meat on top of the cheese on each cracker.  If you run out, cut some more.  If you cut too many, it still makes good sandwiches when it's in pieces.
5.  Break off the leaves of parsley and put one on top of each piece of ham.
6.  Cut each tomato in half and place one half on top of a cracker, making sure to place it partially on the parsley while still leaving the frilly part sticking out.  Make sure your tomato leaves enough room at the front of the cracker for the next step.  You can always adjust it later.
7.  Cut olives into quarters and place each quarter in the empty space in front of the tomato.  Put the flat side of the olive up against the tomato so that it looks like a head.
8.  Mince 3 to 4 olives into very small pieces.  Sprinkle a few pieces of olive on top of the tomato to make spots.

Your weekly frugal recipe - Mozzarella Sticks

Fried Mozzarella Sticks

The Food Stamp Way

Skills	Prep	Cook
What do these meters mean?

 This week's recipe comes as a request from @katecgarvin who wants to know how to make mozzarella sticks.  Though fried mozzarella is far from a gourmet meal, it's probably what most of us associate with our first trip to an "Italian" restaurant.  I know it's my favorite horribly non-authentic appetizer.  You can also buy it frozen!  Wait, no, we don't do that here.

Equipment you'll need
Chef knife, cutting board, heavy-bottomed saucepan or cast iron skillet, mixing bowls, metal slotted spoon or fork, candy thermometer (optional)

 
Serves 4

Ingredient	Amount	Cost
Mozzarella cheese	8 oz	$2.28
Egg	1	$0.12*
Milk	1 Tbsp	$0.01*
All purpose flour	1/4 c.	$0.03*
Italian bread crumbs	1/4 c.	$0.07*
Garlic powder	1 tsp	$0.10*
Vegetable Oil	at least a quart	☨
Total		$2.61☨
* Based on price per package divided by amount used.

Price per plate =$0.65☨ - a quart of vegetable oil costs about $3.00, but you'll use less than 1/4 c. in the process of deep frying, so the cost is nominal

Notes about ingredients:

Italian Bread Crumbs:  If there's a price difference at your grocery store (there isn't at mine), buy regular bread crumbs and add 1 tsp of Italian seasoning to them.

Vegetable oil:  Deep frying is seriously the only situation in which I'm going to recommend actual vegetable oil.

Prep Instructions:

Beat the egg and milk together in a mixing bowl.  (This is called an egg wash)

Put your flour in another mixing bowl.

Put your bread crumbs in a third mixing bowl.

Cut the brick of mozzarella into pieces that are 2 inches long and 1/2-inch square

Instructions:

1.  Heat the oil to 375ºF (185ºC) in a heavy bottom saucepan.  If you don't have a candy thermometer, heat the oil over medium-high heat until a tiny pinch of flour bubbles in the oil when you drop it in.  If, when you put a touch of flour in the oil, it just sits there, it's not hot enough.  Wait 5 more minutes.
2.  Roll each cheese stick in the flour, coating it completely.
3.  Dip each stick into the egg wash completely.
4.  Roll the stick into the bread crumbs.  I roll it three or four times.  Use your dry hand to cover any parts that might have come off on your wet fingers.
5.  Carefully place the cheese stick in the hot oil.
6.  Allow the cheese stick to fry until the bread crumbs are golden brown.  If the oil isn't hot enough, all the cheese will melt out of the bread before it browns up.  Wait a few minutes and try again.  You might lose a couple, but you'll get it right.
7.  Remove the cheese stick from the oil with a metal slotted spoon or a fork (plastic will melt), and place it on a paper towel folded in quarters to dry.  Let it cool a bit before you try it or you'll burn the crud out of your tongue.

     This is one of those recipes you won't want to do often, but they're tasty.  Unfortunately, the first bite you take will probably seem bland to you for two reasons:  First, fresh mozzarella has a lot more salt than the dry mozzarella you probably bought.  Second, restaurants and frozen brands pack extra salt into their mozzarella sticks.  If you don't like them after a while (it took me 2 sticks), add salt to your bread crumbs next time.  You should also note that, if you'll buy a jug of vegetable oil just for frying, you can let the oil cool completely then use a funnel to put the oil back in your jug.  To keep the oil clean, put a coffee filter in the funnel before your start pouring the oil in.  It'll take longer, but your oil will stay good longer.  If you're frying correctly, you won't lose very much out of your oil each time.  The thing about deep frying is that it is unhealthy if your oil's not hot enough to cook things immediately because they breading or batter will absorb the oil.  If it's too hot, it'll burn really fast, but that's really not a problem in this one.  In fact this is probably the best way to introduce yourself to deep frying - if you don't get it quite done, you don't run the risk of salmonella.  If your cheese sticks are still cold in the middle, you kept the oil too hot.  Learning experiences are great.

What recipe would you like done the food stamp way? Comments? Questions? Tweet to @cookingcheap

Your weekly frugal recipe - Chicken Carbonara

Chicken Carbonara

The Food Stamp Way

Skills	Prep	Cook
What do these meters mean?

Equipment you'll need
Chef knife, cutting board, deep skillet or sauté pan, 4 qt. saucepan or pot, colander, mixing bowl

Serves 4

Ingredient	Amount	Cost
Spaghetti	1 lb	$1.34
Eggs	4	$0.46*
Butter	2 Tbsp	$0.17*
Whipping Cream	1/2 c.	$0.52*
Bacon	4 oz	$0.90*
Onion	1 medium	$0.50
Chicken Breasts	2	$6.16
Grated Cheese	1/2 c.	$0.53*
Parsely	1 bunch	$0.44
Total		$11.02
* Based on price per package divided by amount used.

Price per plate = $2.76

Notes about ingredients:

Butter: Use margarine if that's what's common in your house

Whipping Cream: Half and half is lower in fat and is usually less expensive. When I went shopping, 16 oz of half and half was $1.00 while the same amount of heavy whipping cream was $2.08. 1/2 c. = 4 ounces

Chicken Breasts: Chicken thighs are less expensive. My store has chicken breasts for $3.08 per pound while chicken thighs were $2.26 per pound. Assume 1 pound per chicken breast or about 2 thighs each.

Cheese: Buy solid cheese and grate it yourself for savings

If you use these substitutes, the price for the dish is now $9.11 with a price per plate of $2.27!

Prep Instructions:

Cut the chicken breasts or thighs into uniform strips

Chop the bacon into very small pieces.

Chop the onion into small pieces.

Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat them thoroughly with a fork or whisk.

Instructions:
1.  Bring water to a boil in the sauce pan and cook the spaghetti in it for 10 minutes, or until soft.
2.  While spaghetti cooks, place bacon in sauté pan and cook thoroughly.  Drain off the grease.
3.  Add butter, chicken strips, and onion and cook until chicken is tender.
4.  Drain the cooked spaghetti and add it to the sauté pan.  Add the cream and salt and pepper to taste.  Stir over heat until it begins to boil.
5.  Add the cheese and eggs.
6.  Turn off the heat and stir well.
7.  Top with chopped parsley and serve immediately.

I must also note that I had everything in this recipe except for the half-and-half, so this recipe technically cost me about $0.25.  Herein lies the beauty of having stores of food, but we'll get to that later.  Also, it seems that the portions in this are really large, so you might have some for leftover night which further decreases the price per portion.
What recipe would you like done the food stamp way? Comments? Questions? Tweet to @cookingcheap