Posts Tagged ‘economical’

Healthy Summer Squash Gratin Recipe

Friday, July 31st, 2009

I am in love with squash. All kinds of squash. But especially the summer variety. It wasn’t that many years ago that I proclaimed that I could never be vegetarian because I don’t like vegetables. Obviously, that’s no longer the case, but for some reason squash was always different. My memaw used to boil it until it was soft, mash it up and melt cheese over the top. To me, this was comfort food at its finest.

Now, when summer rolls around, yellow squash and zucchini play second fiddle only to the homegrown tomato. Since it came into season this year, I have made it every way imaginable. I’ve made grilled squash, mashed squash, baked squash, two kinds of squash pasta, squash pizza and squash quiche. I’ve even eaten squash in a taco. I have tried every semi-healthy squash recipe I run across, mostly to distract myself from wanting to prepare it this way. And I’m telling you right now, I’m about to give in. Dear lord sweet baby jesus, please save me because I can’t stop thinking about all that cheese.

So in an attempt to further distract myself with another semi-healthy squash preparation, I give you this delicious summer squash gratin, inspired by 101 Cookbooks. The squash comes out light and herby and gets a little bit of crispiness and tanginess from a topping of whole wheat bread crumbs and feta cheese. It was so good, it almost made me forget about that other squash.

Summer Squash Gratin Recipe

1 1/2 lbs of summer squash (yellow squash, or zucchini or both)

1/2 lb of yukon gold potatoes

Herb Mix:

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

1/4 cup minced fresh oregano

zest of one lemon

1 large clove of garlic, minced

1 teaspoon kosher salt

freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

Topping:

2 slices 100% whole wheat bread

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt to taste

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Slice the squash into 1/6 inch rounds. Slice the potatoes into 1/8 inch rounds (a mandoline is helpful for these steps). If you can’t cut the potatoes that thin, saute the slices in some olive oil for a minute or two before tossing them with the squash. Since the squash cooks more quickly than the potatoes, the idea is to ensure that the potatoes get thoroughly cooked in the oven.

3. In a large bowl combine the ingredients for the herb mix. Add the squash and potatoes and toss well to ensure that the slices are well coated with oil.

4. Place the bread slices in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to create coarse crumbs. Pour the crumbs into a small bowl and use your fingers to combine them with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt.

5. Pour the mixture into an 8 x 8 glass casserole dish and top with the crumbled feta cheese and bread crumbs. Bake 50 minutes. The topping should be browned and there should be little to no liquid from the squash visible in the bottom of the pan.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in budget recipes, mediterranean, side dishes, vegetables, vegetarian | 2 Comments »

Keep it Simple Stupid: Tomato Paella

Sunday, July 26th, 2009

I’ve always been one of those people that has trouble keeping things simple. For special occasion meals I tend to go overboard, choosing recipes that have 25 hard-to-find ingredients and take several days to prepare. The dishes almost always come out great, but sometimes they feel contrived and I’m left too pooped to enjoy the fruits of my labor. But occasionally, I will run across a recipe like this Tomato Paella and I am reminded that sometimes the best dishes are the ones that take little time and allow a few good ingredients to shine through.

I’ve had this recipe stored away for months, waiting for the moment that I had a few extra homegrown tomatoes to use up. When that day finally came last week, I pulled it out and realized I didn’t have any saffron. I had been meaning to order some from here, but there was no way my tomatoes would last that long. So I skipped it, subbing some tumeric instead, and I didn’t miss it.

The only other change I made to the recipe was that I cut the rice in half, thinking that two cups of rice would be too much for just the two of us. In retrospect, I could have eaten the entire full recipe by myself, but it would have taken weeks for my waistline to forgive me.

Tomato Paella
Adapted from Mark Bittman. This recipe depends on good quality tomatoes, so use the best-tasting tomatoes you can find. I would not try making it with those pink, mealy off-season atrocities from the grocery store.

1 3/4 cups water

1 1/2 pounds good-tasting tomatoes, cored and sliced into thick wedges

kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 of a medium onion, diced

1 large clove of garlic, minced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon sweet smoked spanish paprika

1/2 teaspoon ground tumeric

1 cup short-grain rice, such as arborio

chopped parsley for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Toss tomato wedges with a pinch of salt and a generous grinding of pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and set aside.

3. Warm 1/8 cup of olive oil in a medium-sized oven-proof skillet. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the garlic, paprika, tumeric and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and cook two minutes more. Add the tomato paste and cook a minute more.

4. Add the rice to the skillet and cook, stirring until shiny and slightly toasted, a minute or two. Add the water and bring to a simmer as you arrange the tomato slices on top of the rice and drizzle the tomato juices over the pan.

5. Put the skillet into the preheated oven and bake 15 minutes. The tomato skins should be wrinkled and the rice should be browned and crispy around the edges. If you like crispy rice on the bottom, put the skillet over high heat for a few minutes to allow a crust to form. Garnish with the parsley and serve.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in budget recipes, main dishes, spanish, vegetarian | 1 Comment »

Falafels—Baked, not Fried

Friday, July 3rd, 2009

Falafel is a scary word to the uninitiated. Say it to most people and they will make a face and say, “what is that?” But falafel is delicious. Especially stuffed inside a fresh pita with lots of veggies and tzatziki sauce.

Falafel is made from a mixture of soaked, ground up chickpeas, flour, onion, garlic, seasonings and herbs. While falafel is not an inherently unhealthy food, it can be if made the wrong way. When you buy falafel from a greek restaurant or street vendor, the balls are generally fried, served on white pita, and slathered with tahini sauce and tzatziki.

The first time I made falafel, I fried it. It was great and I was kind of sad that it could only be an occasional treat. Then I read that you could bake it instead of frying and I was intrigued. I decided to try it on the next batch. I found that the difference in flavor was negligible and baking the balls on a cookie sheet was much faster than deep frying them. To further “healthify” the meal, I omitted the tahini sauce, which contains a lot of fat. Instead I used tzatziki made from low fat greek yogurt. I stuffed it all into a white whole wheat pita and filled it with extra tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers. And the result? It tasted just as good as the first batch and it was easier to boot.

Baked Falafel
This recipe for the falafel balls is adapted from this Epicurious recipe. The only real difference is, the balls are baked and not fried. I also like to double the recipe so I can freeze some for later. Note: You do not cook the chickpeas in this recipe. I know this sounds strange, but just go with it. I promise, it works.

2 cup dried chickpeas

1 large onion, roughly chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

8 cloves of garlic

2 teaspoon cumin

2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup flour

oil, for greasing the pans

For serving:

sliced cucumbers

chopped tomato

lettuce

Tzaziki sauce (recipe below)

1. Place the chickpeas in a large bowl, covered by two inches of water (the bowl will seem much too large, but the chickpeas will expand a lot). Soak the dried chickpeas overnight (at least 18-24 hours) and then drain and rinse them.

2. Preheat the oven to 375 F.

3. Place the chickpeas, onion, parsley, cilantro, salt, red pepper flakes, cumin, garlic, baking powder and flour in a food processor and process until well blended.

4. Grease two large cookie sheets (my falafel stuck a little bit to my cookie sheet, so you may want to use a silicone baking mat if you have it, or I suppose you could line the pan with parchment). Using a small ice cream scoop, scoop the chickpea mixture and place it on the cookie sheet in rows about an inch apart (alternately you could roll the mixture into balls the size of walnuts, but the scoop really speeds up the process—I highly recommend using it).

5. Taste the mixture and adjust for seasonings.

6. Bake the falafel for about 20 minutes, or until they feel dry and firm. If they stick to the pan, allow them to cool some before trying to remove them.

7. Stuff each pita with 3 or four falafel balls, lettuce, tomato, cucumbers and a generous dollop of tzaziki sauce.

Tzaziki Sauce

16 oz low fat or fat free greek yogurt

1/2 of a seedless cucumber, grated

2 cloves of garlic

3 tablespoons fresh herbs of choice (dill, mint, parsley or cilantro)

juice of 1 lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl.

2. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in budget recipes, main dishes, mediterranean | 3 Comments »

Carne Guisada—Homesick Texan Style

Sunday, February 15th, 2009

I love carne guisada, but I almost never order it in a restaurant. Why? Well, for the same reason I don’t go to a restaurant and order beef stew—because it’s simple comfort food and it’s just something people cook at home. Besides that, I have rarely had good carne guisada in a restaurant. It’s often dry or bland or tough. Sometimes it has a thick gravy that you can see through, which is no bueno in my book.

I was super excited when Lisa of Homesick Texan decided to put up her recipe for carne guisada. Even when I think I have a great recipe for something Tex-Mex, it seems as though the Homesick Texan can always inspire me to take it a step further.

Lisa has a couple of rules when it comes to her carne guisada. The first rule is that no potatoes go into the pot. It is my opinion that potatoes ruin carne guisada. This is very serious and if you choose to ignore this rule, well, there is probably no hope for you or your carne guisada so you should just give up right now. The second rule is that sweet bell peppers are for wussies and old ladies (my words, not Lisa’s). I know, I know, I love them too, but no matter how much you may love delicious sweet bell peppers roasted on a sandwich or in your hummus, please keep them far away from your carne guisada pot. Instead choose spicy green chilies like serranos and jalapeños. I took this a step further and added some roasted poblano peppers because, well, I like poblano peppers in my carne guisada and I think they give it extra depth of flavor. The last rule is that the meat should not look like the contents of a can of Prime Cuts in Gravy—it should be cooked until it’s tender enough to string and fall apart. Enough said. I was able to make this happen very quickly on a Friday evening in my pressure cooker. If you have one I recommend using it.

So I followed Lisa’s rules and when I took that first bite of rich, spicy goodness nestled inside of a warm corn tortilla, my eyes got wide. I had found carne guisada perfection and I knew I would never go back to my old ways. I also knew I had to share this with everyone I know. So here it is: my version of the Homesick Texan’s carne guisada.

Carne Guisada

Inspired by this recipe by the Homesick Texan.

Serve with fresh flour or corn tortillas, salsa, pico de gallo and cilantro. Great with mexican rice (check out this stellar recipe) and charro beans on the side. This makes a big old pot of meat so invite your friends. It also makes great leftovers. Scramble some up with an egg the next morning—it makes an awesome breakfast taco.

6 pounds of beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes (you will end up with about 5 lbs)

2 tablespoons neutral oil 

1 medium onion, diced 

2 jalapeño peppers, minced 

2 serrano peppers, minced 

2 poblano peppers, roasted and cleaned of stems, skins and seeds, diced or cut into strips 

6 large cloves of garlic, minced 

1 tablespoon cumin 

1 tablespoon dark chili powder 

1 teaspoon mexican oregano 

2 bay leaves 

2 1/2 cups of water 

1 14-oz can of diced tomatoes with juice 

1 12-oz bottle of beer (Lisa recommends dark mexican beer, but even a nasty Bud Light will impart more flavor than water alone)

1 tablespoon of flour mixed with 1/4 cup of water to make a slurry

1. In a large heavy pot, pressure cooker or dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons of neutral oil on medium high until it shimmers. Brown the meat in small batches and set aside. NOTE: This is the most important step of the whole recipe. Make sure the pieces are well caramelized. Areas of the pot and meat drippings will become a dark brown color as the meat cooks. Don’t be scared. This will give the gravy its flavor. 

2. Add the onion, jalapenos and serranos to the meat drippings and cook until soft, scraping the browned bits from the pot. Add the garlic and seasonings and cook until fragrant. 

3. Add the meat, poblano peppers, water, tomatoes, beer and slurry. Bring to a simmer. If you are using a pot or dutch oven, simmer covered for about 3 hours or until the meat becomes tender and begins to fall apart. If you are using a pressure cooker, cover and bring to pressure and cook for 45 minutes on high.

Budget Recipe Info

Carne guisada is normally made with beef chuck roast which is a very inexpensive cut of meat. I bought mine at Costco for $3.99/lb, but it sometimes goes on sale for $1.99/lb in our regular grocery store. Served with rice and beans (also inexpensive), carne guisada is a very economical meal.

We fed six guests the night we made this and we still had enough for lunches and breakfasts all week long. I normally tire of leftovers after eating them once or twice, but for some reason I never get tired of tacos. So carne guisada was a great choice for our second week of eating on a budget, and nothing went to waste.

Budget Tip

Buy spices in bulk if possible. Bulk spices are much cheaper than those pre-packaged in little jars (because you’re not paying for the packaging) and grocery stores usually go through them faster so they will be fresher. You can also use them to make your own inexpensive seasoning blends instead of buying the pre-made ones. Often pre-made seasoning blends are mostly salt anyway.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in beef dishes, budget recipes, main dishes, mexican | 2 Comments »

(Almost) Painless Vegetarian Tamales

Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I made vegetarian tamales. Now if we were talking about your traditional meat-filled tamales I would say, “if you’re ever feeling like you’ve just had it too easy lately and you really want to punish yourself, keep reading because I’m going to tell you exactly how to do it.” These tamales, however, are not “filled” in the way that typical meat tamales are. Instead, the vegetable filling is stirred into the masa. Thus, they are much faster and easier to put together and you could probably knock out a few dozen of them in a couple of hours.

And I know what you’re probably thinking, who cares if they’re easy. Vegetarian tamales? That’s an oxymoron. Tamales are supposed to be soft, greasy, lard-laden little bundles of joy with a meaty surprise inside. This is true. However, I’ve done some research and it appears that the more heart-healthy variety has quite the following. If you don’t believe me, hang in there. The recipe for the venison tamales that I also made over the Thanksgiving holiday—the ones that took all day long and left me twitching in a useless heap on the couch for the remainder of the evening—is coming.

Vegetarian Tamales with Sweet Corn, Carrots, Hatch Green Chiles and Cheese

These tamales are made with a combination of olive oil and butter instead of the more traditional lard. You could use vegetable shortening and they would still be vegetarian, but vegetable shortening is bad for you and it tastes like nothing, so where’s the fun in that? Make sure to season the veggies well and use a flavorful vegetable stock. Offer these with all the fixin’s: salsa, sour cream, guacamole, shredded lettuce, chopped onions, jalapenos and cheese.

Makes about 30 tamales.

6 cups masa harina

2 teaspoons salt

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon cayenne

4 cups flavorful, room temperature vegetable stock

3 tablespoons pureed chipotle peppers in adobo

1 cup olive oil

½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 onion, 1/4 inch dice

2 carrots, 1/4 inch dice

1½ cups corn (fresh off the cob is best, but frozen is fine)

6 hatch green chilies, roasted, peeled and diced

8 oz grated cheese (cheddar, monterrey jack, queso quesadilla or a blend of the three)

1 package corn husks, soaked and rinsed

1. Caramelize the onion in a little oil or butter. Add the carrots and cook for several minutes. Add the chilies and the corn and cook until the mixture is fairly dry with no visible moisture. Set aside to cool.

2. In a large bowl whisk together the masa harina, seasonings, salt and baking powder. Stir in the stock, chipotle puree and two cups of water.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the butter on high speed until fluffy. Add the olive oil and continue to beat until combined. With the mixer on medium speed, slowly add large spoonfuls of the masa mixture. Then increase the speed and beat for several minutes until the mixture becomes light and fluffy. To test the readiness of the dough, drop a small spoonful into a glass of water. If it floats, it’s ready. If it doesn’t, keep beating.

4. With the mixer on low speed stir in the vegetables and the cheese.

5. Fill each husk with 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the masa. Roll the husk to enclose the filling and secure the ends with strips of corn husk if you like.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in appetizers, budget recipes, mexican, vegetarian | No Comments »

Fresh Peppercorn Pasta with Greens

Wednesday, November 26th, 2008

Okay so now you have fresh pasta. Now what? Well there are a number of things you could to with it. The simplest of those is some butter and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese (and lots of black pepper if you’re like me). You might even throw in some fresh herbs. But, how about adding some wilted greens like Luisa Weiss did?

My Greenling box had some collard greens and kale. For this I used the kale, but I’m sure other kinds of greens would work. Although, now that I think about it, I would probably avoid beet greens or red chard as they would turn the pasta an unappetizing shade of pink. But who knows, maybe you like that kind of thing? Edit: I have now had pasta made with beet greens and I found that “pink noodles”, as I called them, are sort of amusing. They were also rather delicious. Maybe it’s just me, but I wasn’t put off at all by the color of the noodles. I thought I would be. Sorry to judge prematurely. LESSON. LEARNED.

So here is what you’re going to do:

1. Melt some butter in a large skillet. Add 1/4 of a cup of chopped onion and two minced cloves of garlic. Cook for a minute or so. Then a few handfuls at a time add two bunches of greens (thoroughly washed, with tough stems removed and chopped or torn into small pieces). Stir after each addition to wilt the greens a little before adding the next handful.

2. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste, then add about a cup of water or stock and cook until the greens are tender and the liquid is mostly reduced.

3. At this point you should have timed your pasta to be done cooking. Drain the pasta reserving some cooking liquid. Add 1/3 cup of garlic and herb cheese (i.e. Boursin, Alouette, or Full Quiver Farms Basil-Garlic Cheese Spread) or ricotta cheese. Salt to taste.

4. Melt the cheese into the greens and add some pasta cooking water to thin it out if needed. Then, dump the pasta into the greens and cheese mixture and toss. Finish with some black pepper and grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in budget recipes, main dishes, pasta, vegetarian | 1 Comment »