Recipe Favorites... care to share??

[msop04]

The other thread about saving money got me thinking... I'd love to be able to compile a list of "go-to" recipes that are easy and relatively inexpensive to prepare. We try to keep our dinners at roughly 700 calories or less per serving (well... for me anyway ). Please list any/all recipes that you can't live without!

P.S. our waistbands and wallets thank you.

 

[zoebartlett]

This orzo pasta salad side dish is so easy, and I don't really measure anything. I just toss everything together in a bowl and voila -- it's done! It's great served cold or warm, either way. Sometimes I add chicken to make it more of a meal. The dressing gets soaked up pretty quickly, so I always add more right before serving.


1 pkg. orzo, drained and slightly cooled
1/2 - 1 bottle of Greek salad dressing
Cherry (or grape) tomatoes, cut in half
1 can black olives, drained
Baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped
1 container of feta cheese crumbles
Grilled chicken breasts (optional)

 

[recordaras]

Here are two of my absolute favorites:

Baked beans - we sort of follow this recipe, but adjust it for two pounds and don't simmer the beans in advance. It goes something like:
1. Soak 2 lbs of beans in the morning, rinse when you get back home from work and put in cast iron dutch oven
2. Add salt pork (we prefer that to bacon), molasses, maple syrup (we don't add extra brown sugar, but you could use that instead of the syrup), pepper, mustard powder, tomato paste, two medium whole onions with a couple of whole cloves stuck in there and a splash each of apple cider vinegar and rum.
3. Set the oven to 250-275 and leave in overnight (warning: you will wake up VERY hungry, because the smell is amazing)

Serve with sauteed collard greens (we've recently discovered that frozen collards work really well too, and they are beyond cheap).

Barley risotto - once again, loosely follow this recipe with some changes:
1. Rinse 1 cup pearl barley, let drain well
2. In separate pan, sautee anything you will be adding in batches - I like doing mushrooms with finely diced root vegetables (carrot, celery, etc.) and set aside
3. Warm up stock (I prefer vegetable) in a stock pot, and have a ladle ready
4. In your risotto pan, cook finely chopped onion till clear. Add minced garlic and fresh thyme (we grow ours on the windowsill), stir quickly, mix in barley, a couple of bay leaves, add a splash of white wine, stir, and start adding stock, one ladle at a time, while constantly stirring
5. Stir stir stir till the barley is tender enough for your taste
6. Add the sauteed ingredients from step 2, a touch of butter, and a healthy helping of grated parmesan, stir, close the lid and turn off the heat. Let stand for 5-7 minutes, and enjoy!

These are both really easy to make (the barley does require more attention due to all the stirring), taste delicious and the price for several full meals is ridiculously low.

 

[recordaras]

And a couple more.

Sweet potato gnocchi (these are really convenient - you can freeze them! But not sure what it is in the low calorie department), based off of this recipe, but we use low fat ricotta and 100% whole wheat flour, and serve it with a tomato sauce instead of the butter/sage that's in the recipe.
1. Bake 1 lb of sweet potatoes (you can also nuke them) and LET THEM COOL DOWN COMPLETELY (don't ask why I stress this so much...)
2. Peel, put into stand mixer bowl with paddle attachment, start to mash
3. Add ricotta, grated parmesan, seasonings (we leave out the extra sugar), and stir on low with paddle
4. Add 2 cups of whole wheat flour (I usually do half white whole wheat and half red whole wheat, both King Arthur), stir for a bit, cover top of bowl with saran wrap and let sit for 10-15 minutes
5. Start slowly mixing the dough, and adding more flour till it's firm enough to be formed into gnocchi
6. Freeze on a sheet

Chana masala: recipe. We use dry chickpeas (I try to avoid using canned things if I can avoid it) and serve with a dollop of yogurt on top. A couple of times my fiance also made homemade paneer to go with it, and it was delicious as well.

 

[msop04]

This orzo pasta salad side dish is so easy, and I don't really measure anything. I just toss everything together in a bowl and voila -- it's done! It's great served cold or warm, either way. Sometimes I add chicken to make it more of a meal. The dressing gets soaked up pretty quickly, so I always add more right before serving.


1 pkg. orzo, drained and slightly cooled
1/2 - 1 bottle of Greek salad dressing
Cherry (or grape) tomatoes, cut in half
1 can black olives, drained
Baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped
1 container of feta cheese crumbles
Grilled chicken breasts (optional)

This sounds delish!! Can't wait to try it -- THANK YOU!!

 

[msop04]

And a couple more.

Sweet potato gnocchi (these are really convenient - you can freeze them! But not sure what it is in the low calorie department), based off of this recipe, but we use low fat ricotta and 100% whole wheat flour, and serve it with a tomato sauce instead of the butter/sage that's in the recipe.
1. Bake 1 lb of sweet potatoes (you can also nuke them) and LET THEM COOL DOWN COMPLETELY (don't ask why I stress this so much...)
2. Peel, put into stand mixer bowl with paddle attachment, start to mash
3. Add ricotta, grated parmesan, seasonings (we leave out the extra sugar), and stir on low with paddle
4. Add 2 cups of whole wheat flour (I usually do half white whole wheat and half red whole wheat, both King Arthur), stir for a bit, cover top of bowl with saran wrap and let sit for 10-15 minutes
5. Start slowly mixing the dough, and adding more flour till it's firm enough to be formed into gnocchi
6. Freeze on a sheet

Chana masala: recipe. We use dry chickpeas (I try to avoid using canned things if I can avoid it) and serve with a dollop of yogurt on top. A couple of times my fiance also made homemade paneer to go with it, and it was delicious as well.

Wow! Thanks for all the recipes, recordaras -- ^^esp. this one ^^ -- I know my DH will love it! And I love anything that can be frozen for later!!

 

[recordaras]

Wow! Thanks for all the recipes, recordaras -- ^^esp. this one ^^ -- I know my DH will love it! And I love anything that can be frozen for later!!

You are very welcome! The first time I made the gnocchi I used warm sweet potatoes and had to use about 3x the recommended amount of flour, but even then they tasted pretty good. We do however prefer the texture after they have been frozen vs using them fresh.

 

[aviastar]

We've been getting a lot of mileage out of this balsamic sauce; we serve it over steaks or pork mostly.

2 tbls. butter
1 shallot
1/4 c. beef broth
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
2 tabls-ish brown sugar

Caramelisze the shallots in the butter till they are translucent and lightly browned, add the broth and the vinegar, mix, add the brown sugar, stir till dissolved. Simmer for a few mins till its as thick and reduced as you like it. I use a pan with a lid because it spits.

My favorite protein to serve it over is pan seared pork tenderloin:

Slice tenderloin into 1/2-1 inch thick slices; pound them out so they are of a uniform thickness and tender. I season heavily with just salt and pepper; season to taste. Heat a few spoonfuls of coconut oil in a pan; let it get sizzly. Add your pork slices so they are a single layer in the pan. Leave them for 3-4 mins and then flip over. Cook another 3-4 mins and remove from the pan.

I serve the pork and sauce over white rice, but skip the rice and go with roasted veggies and the brown sugar is your major guilty ingredient. I've used olive oil instead of coconut; works just fine but the extra sweetness of the coconut really compliments the balsamic sauce.

I save money on meat by buying the club packs at Wegmans- it's often over a dollar a pound cheaper and I just split the packs up and freeze.

 

[msop04]

You are very welcome! The first time I made the gnocchi I used warm sweet potatoes and had to use about 3x the recommended amount of flour, but even then they tasted pretty good. We do however prefer the texture after they have been frozen vs using them fresh.

This is good to know -- helpful hint!