Fish Tacos

Easy peasy.

Cook 1 cup of brown rice according to package directions.
Peel and roughly chop one avocado. Add to the food processor, along with 1/2 jar of your favorite salsa. Blend until smooth.
Drop 3-4 thawed fillets of white fish (I used flounder) into a hot oiled skillet. As the fish cooks, flake into smaller pieces with spatula. This will take less than 5 minutes. Once the fish is done, turn the heat off and stir in the salsa mixture and the rice. Serve in warm tortillas.

Enjoy!

Garden Linguini

Simple. Delicious. Quick. Easy. And yes, under $5.00 (depending upon produce sales).

On a baking sheet, place 2 large zucchini, chopped, and 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes. Toss with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and roast in oven at 425 for 25-30 minutes, until tomatoes burst.

Cook a package of whole wheat linguini according to package directions. Drain and toss with zucchini and tomatoes. Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese and easy homemade whole wheat bread (which comes in at around $0.50 a loaf).

BAM. I almost feel guilty, it's so simple.

Enjoy!

Ham Casserole over Biscuits

I was on a mission this week. My mission: to make every meal for my family under $5.00 in total cost. Assignment #1: Ham Casserole over Biscuits.

This mission was almost a fail before I even left the grocery store. Why? Because the deli counter at an unnamed grocery store that rhymes with Stroger cleverly pushed their store-brand deli meats to an inconspicuous corner while showcasing the premier deli meat, leading me to believe that the only ham I could buy was the high-class brand that will remain nameless but rhymes with Doar's Fed. Which means that the 2 slices of ham I budgeted at less than $2.00 rang up for $4.54. WHAT??? After deliberating for the rest of my shopping trip...should I hide the meat in the canned foods section? should I bite the bullet and buy it anyway, producing an epic fail in my $5.00 meals week?...I finally gathered my courage and went back to the sweet lady at the counter, returning my ham with chagrin. To which the lady responded, "Oh! Well, maybe you'd be interested in our store brand meat..." So the kind deli lady saved the day and my meal did in fact come in at under $5.00

In a large pot, melt 1 Tablespoon coconut oil or butter and then add 2 Tablespoons flour. Cook out for a minute and then stir in 1 cup chicken broth and 1 cup milk. Once the liquids start to simmer, add 1 bag frozen green beans and 1 bag frozen corn. Chop up 2 thick slices of deli ham and add to the pot; pour into a glass baking dish, top with crushed crackers or breadcrumbs and put in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

For the biscuits: Add 1 Tablespoon vinegar to 3/4 cup milk; set aside. In a large bowl, mix 2 cups whole wheat flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1 Tablespoon sugar. Cut in 3 Tablespoons coconut oil with 2 knives or a pastry cutter. Stir in the milk, flatten out dough and cut biscuits (I just use a measuring cup to do this.) Bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes.

Spoon ham casserole over biscuits...

And enjoy!

Vegan Baked Oatmeal

Here's a fun and easy and mmm mmm good recipe I've been making at least once (or four times) a week for my family (or me) lately. It is vegan, not because I am vegan, but because my daughter is allergic to everything (or dairy).

In a very small bowl, mix:
1 Tablespoon flax meal
3 Tablespoons water
(This is homemade egg substitute.)

In a large bowl, mix:
2 cups oats
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinammon
1/2 tsp salt

In a small bowl, mix:
1 1/2 cups almond milk
1/2 cup applesauce OR pumpkin puree (I have tried both with success)
2 Tablespoons melted butter (optional)
Gooey flax meal egg substitute (or, if you must, one large egg)

Pour into a sprayed 8 x 8 baking dish and bake at 375 for 25 or so minutes.

And then, enjoy!

Enchilada Pizza

This was an unintentional two-for-one meal. It started with chicken tacos on Monday night and ended with chicken enchilada pizza tonight. Who knew?

For the chicken tacos I made the following mixture:
2 3/4 cups chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups rice
1 pack frozen corn
1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded
Salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin

I heated that mixture to boil and then simmered for an hour, covered; I also made a big pot of pinto beans. We stuffed whole wheat tortillas with all that goodness and went to town.

It was great...but we had tons of food leftover and I wanted to think of something different to do with them. I almost turned the leftovers into chicken tortilla soup but it is way too hot in the south for soup right now. Finally I thought, why not pizza? Pizza is only my favorite food ever, and anything slapped on top of cheese and bread has to be good.

So to make the pizza, just start with either store bought or homemade pizza dough, roll out, top with store-bought or homemade enchilada sauce, cheese, the chicken/rice/corn mixture, and pinto beans. Sprinkle with extra cheese if desired (always desired in my heart) and cook in 500 degree oven for 12-15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Granola Cereal

Here's a super easy recipe for homemade granola that I have been making for my family for the past month or so. I love it because you can make it as elaborate as you want, adding all kinds of nuts, seeds, or dried fruit to the mix, but you can also keep it very wallet-friendly by keeping it simple.

In a large bowl, stir together 3 cups oats, 3 cups puffed brown rice cereal (you know, the kind that costs $1.00 per bag...I actually like to put the puffs into the food processor first and pulse it a few times to create a better texture...), 1/4 cups unrefined cane sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup whole wheat flour, and a couple of pinches of salt.

In a small bowl or a measuring cup, mix together 1/2 cup canola oil, 1/4 cup maple syrup, 1/4 cup molasses, and 1 tsp vanilla extract.

Pour the liquids over the oat mixture and stir to coat. Spread on a large baking pan (I line mine with wax paper first for easy cleanup) and put into a 250 degree oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring every half hour, until lightly browned (The cereal will get crunchier as it cools down). If you want walnuts, pecans, etc., add them about halfway through the cooking process. Let it cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Stir in dried fruit at the end if desired.

I estimated the cost of this cereal (without nuts or other add-ins) to be roughly $2.00 for the batch. Definitely worth it for us, to pay about the same or a little less than store-bought cereal and know exactly what is in it!


Yummy. We love this with almond milk and frozen blueberries. Enjoy!

***Edit: I have since made this with any combination of maple syrup, molasses, and honey to equal 1/2 cup liquid sweetener, and it has turned out great each time.

Sausage and Butternut Stew

How about a five star dinner with only four star ingredients???

Start with a large butternut squash. Peel, cube, dress with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast until tender in a 425 degree oven - about 30-45 minutes, depending on how small you cut them.

Slice up some smoked sausage (I used venison sausage and it was perfect) and brown in a dutch oven in olive oil.

To the sausage add about 8 cups of liquid - chicken broth and water (I used 6 cups chicken broth and 2 of water). Bring to a boil and add 1 1/2 cups wild rice. Cover and simmer, adding the butternut squash whenever it is done. Simmer until rice is tender. The longer you let it go, the thicker it will get (yummmm), but make sure to stir it every once in a while to make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom once the liquid thickens up.

That's it! Butternut squash...sausage...wild rice...chicken broth...

Enjoy!