In the Kitchen

I have been cooking up new recipes left and right lately.

This is a spinach, mushroom and mozzarella Calzone.  The original recipe just called for mozzarella and pepperoni, which I made as well.  It was really good and the whole family enjoyed them.  I frequently use my bread machine to make dough and that was a great time saver here.  The ingredients were simple and inexpensive:

4oz Hormel Turkey Pepperoni - $3
Mozzarella, spaghetti sauce and dough ingredients were already in my pantry.

Today I was inspired to make two dishes for our out-of-town company:

Ricotta Gnocchi - so good!  It was easy (I had never made gnocchi) and delicious.  I used home-canned tomatoes from last summer which I think made the sauce bright and fresh tasting.  Another less than $10 meal; the only specialty items I had to buy were:

15 oz tub of low-fat ricotta cheese $3
Fresh basil $2.49 (which I also used for the recipe below).

Fresh Tomato Shrimp Pasta - another tasty dish but sampling it after the gnocchi made it seem bland in comparison.   This dish had a few specialty ingredients: 

Fresh mozarella on sale at $2.49 for 8 oz
Bag of fresh spinach $2.89
Fresh basil $2.49
Shrimp, which I already had in my freezer.  You could easily switch out the shrimp for chicken to make this a less expensive meal. 

One change I'd make next time is to eliminate the fresh mozzarella and add some fresh grated Parmesean before serving.

Each of these dishes made enough for four servings with leftovers.

Chicken Cacciatore

I just tried a new recipe from Allrecipes.com - Mom's Chicken Cacciatore. It's a great one-dish meal and easily made for less than $10, especially if you shop the weekly sales. Total cost $9

2 c all-purpose flour for dredging
1/2 t salt
1/4 t ground black pepper
4 lbs of chicken pieces - I used thighs and drumsticks which are cheaper than breasts $4
2 T vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green pepper, chopped $1
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes $1
1/2 t dried oregano
1/2 c white wine - I used chicken broth
2 c fresh mushrooms, quartered $2
salt and pepper to taste

Combine the flour, salt and pepper in a deep glass dish. Dredge the chicken pieces in flour until coated. Heat the oil in a large skillet (one that has a cover/lid). Fry the chicken pieces until they are browned on both sides. Remove from skillet.

Add the onion, garlic and bell pepper to the skillet and saute until the onion is slightly browned. Return the chicken to the skillet and add the tomatoes, oregano and wine. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes over medium low heat.

Add the mushrooms and salt/pepper to taste. Simmer for 10 more minutes.

Serve over your choice of hot pasta. I used gemelli ($1/box) - a new family favorite in my house.

Do It Yourself Pizza

We love homemade pizza in my house - we have a long used pizza crust recipe that I make in the bread machine. A few months ago I came across a bread machine version of a "Boboli" crust - this intrigued me because we enjoy the store-bought Bobolis but they get kind of pricey. The picture above is our first attempt at the "Boboli" recipe below - we shaped it like a heart in honor of Valentine's Day. I also like to use a blend of cheeses - in this case mozzarella with a bit of cheddar.

All of the dough ingredients are already in most pantries; add a green salad and I consider this one of my least expensive "Meals for $10 or Less". For you non-bread machine cooks I am also posting a recipe for a Boboli style crust I found that is made by hand; I haven't tried that one yet but rest assured it did have positive reviews on Recipezaar.com

Both crusts freeze well once par-baked, so this is a convenient and inexpensive item to make ahead of time and keep on hand in the freezer for fast homemade pizza!

Bread Machine Boboli-style Crust - dough made in the bread machine, ingredients below but click on the link for the complete cooking directions. In order to make a pizza you will also need pizza sauce, cheese and toppings.

1 cup water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning (I used 1/4 t basil, 1/4 t oregano)
2 teaspoons parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 teaspoons parmesan cheese, to sprinkle

Pizza sauce - 80 cents
8 oz mozzarella - $2.50
Toppings

Bake at 450 for 8-10 minutes


Boboli-style crust made by hand - an option for those without a bread machine.

Vegetable Lasagna - the No Boil way

Are you turkeyed out yet? Maybe just a little? Here is a convenient one-pan-meal that you can easily make for $10 or less.

I came across a recipe for "No Boil" Lasagna several years ago and since then I have not boiled one lasagna noodle. It's the best way to make lasagna and cuts the prep time in half if not more. You do not need to buy special noodles since the key is to have a little extra liquid in the mixture as well as sealing the pan tightly in foil to allow the steam to build and cook the noodles.

This is a veggie version that Hubby and I cobbled together over the years - we love it because it has a lighter feeling than a meat lasagna and the leftovers are delicious! You can use any combination of vegetables you have on hand - fresh or frozen. When we made this last week we only had onion and mushrooms and it still tasted great.

I submitted the recipe to Recipezaar so you can see it there, or I have included it below.

Noelle's No Boil Vegetable Lasagna - $8

8 lasagna noodles (1/2 of a 1 lb package) $2
1 (15 ounce) container small curd low fat cottage cheese $3
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese $1
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 eggs
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup frozen broccoli (thawed and drained)
1 cup zucchini, chopped
1 cup green pepper, chopped
2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce, any flavor (read the label on your jar for ounces - many are 24 oz; if so add a little more water)
2 cups (8oz) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese $2

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl combine cottage cheese, Parmesan, eggs and basil; mix well.

Heat olive oil over medium heat; saute garlic and onions for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add rest of vegetables and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add veggies into the cottage cheese mixture and mix well.

Spread 1 c of pasta sauce in bottom of a 13x9" baking dish and spread evenly. Layer with half each: uncooked lasagna noodles, cottage cheese mixture, remaining pasta sauce and mozzarella.

Repeat layering.

Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake 1 hour.

Uncover; bake an additional 15 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Domestic Diva

This was one of those really busy but refreshingly domestic weekends. A weekend full of time in the kitchen like I used to have BEFORE having children. Ironically now that I have a bigger family that could actually benefit from my love of cooking I don't have nearly as much time to actually do it. However, this weekend I was able to make a big batch of apple butter, bake a pie pumpkin and freeze the puree to use in our Thanksgiving pumpkin pie and whip up some homemade soup. Hubby wanted Chicken and Dumplings but I wanted to try and avoid using any canned soups and the recipe he loved so much uses 2 cans of cream of chicken soup in the recipe. Instead I cobbled together my own version which isn't so much stew-like but is a soup - not creamy but still yummy! And it qualifies as one of my "Meals for $10 or Less" - especially so since I snagged a 6 lb Perdue whole chicken on sale for 99 cents/lb. In reality after you buy the chicken you should have most of the ingredients on hand to make this healthy, hearty, meal-in-a-bowl soup.

Homemade Chicken and Dumplings Soup - $8.98

1 whole chicken - appx 3 lbs ($6)

2-3 bay leaves

10 whole peppercorns

1 tsp sea salt

3-4 celery ribs washed and cut into chunks - use the leaves if you have them $1

1 lb carrots (divided) washed; half cut into rough chunks, half cut into bite-sized pieces - 79 cents

1 large onion, peeled and quartered - 69 cents

2 medium red potatoes washed and diced into bite-sized pieces - 50 cents

Additional veggies to taste (optional)

Chicken bouillon cubes (optional)

• Rinse the chicken; reserve the giblets for another use. Place chicken in a large stockpot or Dutch oven; cover with water adding the sea salt and other spices, rough cut carrots, celery and onion. Bring to a boil and then simmer until chicken is cooked through. When tender, remove chicken to a platter and allow to cool . Remove meat from bones and set aside.

• At this point I like to let the broth cool so the fat will gel and you can skim it off with a large spoon (or if it's cold outside do what I did and put it on your deck for an hour or so). After skimming the excess fat start to warm the broth up again. When it's warm strain the broth to remove the whole spices and cooked veggies; discard these and return broth to the pot. Taste it - if it tastes weak I cheat and add chicken bouillon cubes until I get the full chicken soup flavor I am looking for. If the chicken flavor is good then adjust seasonings to taste and add the bite-sized pieces of carrot and potato and as much cooked chicken as you like. I usually also add frozen peas; tonight I added frozen green beans and frozen corn because I had them on hand. Return the soup to a gentle boil. In the meanwhile make the dumplings.

Dumplings - these are rolled dumplings which taste like homemade noodles (not to be confused with a biscuit or drop dumpling which has a cakier texture like a biscuit).

2 c all-purpose flour

1 t baking powder

1 c hot chicken broth

1 egg

• Sift the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Make a well and pour in 1 c of hot chicken broth, mixing first with a fork then with your fingers. Add the egg and mix well. Add additional flour as needed until the dough is workable.

• Knead the dough for a few seconds on a floured board. Separate the dough into 4 or 5 parts; roll each section into a thin roll. Cut into 1" - 2" pieces and drop dumplings into the boiling soup. Stir and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Test carrots and potatoes for tenderness and serve.

Working backwards in my cooking spree, yesterday we decided to make a dent in the 1/2 bushel of apples we picked at the orchard last month, so we made Apple Butter. It's a fun recipe to make with kids if you have a crank-style apple peeler.

My daughter quickly took over the job of peeling while my little guy was happy to watch and eat apples.

We used a recipe similiar to the one we made earlier this year - it turned out dee-licious and since it cooks all day in the crock pot you get the additional benefit of having your whole house smell like apples and cinnamon. I love putting it on toast; the only thing that would have been better is if I had been able to squeeze in making a loaf of homemade bread in my domestic delirium.

Surprisingly my girl and I had a little down-time too, probably during one of Hubby's 4 trips back to Home Depot.

We discovered that we both enjoy Oreos with milk. She even likes to dunk them which I find especially cute. Yes, that's my girl.

Noelle's Crockpot Three Bean Turkey Chili

There was an episode of "Top Chef" a few weeks ago that contained a challenge for the chefs to make a healthy, easy-to-prepare meal for a family of four that cost no more than $10.

I enjoyed this challenge, but I especially enjoyed the aspect of trying to keep it under $10. I drive my husband crazy by mentally tallying up the cost of a given dinner (while we are eating) and telling him how inexpensive it was to cook at home and isn't so much better than going out to eat?!?! He is a good sport and plays along with me. That's one of the reasons I love him :-)

So, here is my first installment of "Meals for $10 or Less". A couple of notes - I usually use "house brands" for items like canned tomatoes or beans unless otherwise specified. I will assume that your cupboard is stocked with the basics, like seasonings and will not include them in the cost of making the recipe.

This chili recipe is one of our favorites - it tastes great, is low-fat, full of nutrition and is super easy to make because you throw it all in the crockpot. You can cut costs by purchasing your ground turkey on sale (freeze it if you don't plan on using it right away). A few weeks ago I came across a large selection of La Preferida organic canned beans (15 oz cans) that were marked down to $.35 a can. I have no idea why they were in the "Clearance" cart at the grocery store - the use by dates weren't until 2010 - but I didn't ask questions, I just bought all 19 cans! Hubby rolled his eyes when I got home, but that's what you gotta do when you are trying to be a Smart Spender - buy on sale and if you don't need it right away, store it (especially if it's marked down 75%!!)

Noelle's Three Bean Turkey Chili - $8.11

1 pound ground turkey $3
1 (28 ounce) can diced or whole tomatoes $1.35

1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained $1.09

1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, drained $.99
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained $.99
1/2 medium onion, chopped $.69
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin

salt and pepper to taste

Place turkey in a non-stick skillet and cook until evenly brown; drain.

Inside of a large crockpot mix turkey, tomatos, beans and onion. Season with chili powder, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, cumin and stir well to combine all ingredients.

Cover and cook 8 hours on Low or 4 hours on High. Stir occasionally. Yields appx 8 servings.

NOTE: You can stretch this even further by serving it over cooked elbow macaroni or even spaghetti (and make your own version of "Cincinnati Chili"). Sometimes I will also chop up and add green pepper if I have it on hand.