Budget Friendly Recipes for Foodies
Normally, of course, canning season is the height of summer’s harvest, working to save as much of the season’s bounty as possible, but these recipes are absolutely perfect for the holiday season, especially if you’re looking to keep your gifts as economical as possible. Canning is a whole new adventure for me, so this was a great learning experience across the board. Continue reading ‘Fab Frugal Friday: For Fabulously Frugal Gifts – CAN IT!’
Fire and Ice Spiced Nuts - with gift packaging!
I always look forward to spicy nuts during the holidays – such a nice change from sugary treats. These are Anne’s creation – so good that I have been craving them all year and I couldn’t wait to make them for Christmas this year. The spiciness is balanced by the coolness of the crystallized ginger and craisins. Yum.
Continue reading ‘Fire and Ice and Everything Nice Spiced Nuts Recipe’
Smoky Sweet Potato Tamale Recipe
Who says sweet potatoes must be smashed into a 9 by 13 and covered with browned mini-marshmallows? This fun twist on traditional tamales will treat your taste buds to a whole new sweet-potato world!
Tamales are quite a bit of work. But, the nice thing about them is you can gather friends and family around the table to help share the work and make lots of great culinary memories in the process. Even small kids can spread masa on a corn husk! You never know – tamales could become one of your new holiday traditions.
I literally bought some pomegranates on impulse the other day as I was stocking up on squash from the glorious display at Wegman’s. I had no specific plans for them, but decided I wanted to experiment with adding them into a savory dish – preferably one involving one of the squashes I just procured (I’m gripped by something of a fixation at the moment).
As it turns out, they’re a wonderful accompaniment in this stuffed squash recipe, like juicy little jewels, adding tart little bursts of flavor that pairs nicely with the mellow, sweet spice of the stuffing. Continue reading ‘Fall Flavor Fest: Moroccan Stuffed Acorn Squash’
Anyone out there feeling like they need to repent a bit from a Halloween weekend binge? I’ve got just the thing for you. Continue reading ‘Virtuous Veggie Curry with Veggie Sauce’
Some more legume love coming your way – I eat lentils more regularly than just about any other pantry staple. Dahl, soups, and stews are the most common, but I’m always up for more. Of course, the Legume Love Affair event is the perfect excuse! (Thanks to Susan for the original concept!) Continue reading ‘Loving the Legumes: Lentilburgers’
Anne's Food-Network-Worthy ULTIMATE VEGGIE CHILI
If you haven’t tried Anne’s ULTIMATE VEGGIE CHILI recipe, put this on your “Must Try” list this Fall! It is easily the best veggie chili I have ever eaten. It has a fabulous rich, smoky flavor and texture and is very frugal. It is packed with budget-friendly healthy protein in the form of beans and tofu.
We originally featured it in our very first food collaboration, the co-authored cookbook, “1o1 Things To Do With Tofu”. A few months after it was published, Anne was chosen as a finalist for the Food Network’s Ultimate Recipe Showdown series two seasons ago, and she made it on to the show to compete and came in Second Place in her category! Last week I appeared on Utah’s Studio 5 to share the recipe, so I thought it warranted a repeat here. — Donna
We applaud food blogger Cook Sister for hosting the blog event “My Legume Love Affair” this month, and The Well Seasoned Cook for starting this event. This post is an entry to this event (stay tuned for more legume posts and entries soon!) Really, shouldn’t we all eat more legumes?
Continue reading ‘It's Chilly – Let's Eat Chili! Anne's Famous ULTIMATE VEGGIE CHILI RECIPE!!!’
I am a huge mushroom fan, and these tasty little mushroom pancakes can be used in so many ways. If you love mushrooms, too, this is a fabulous recipe component to have on hand. You can make a big batch and keep them in the fridge and use just like you would crepes. They are thinner than regular pancakes, but thicker than crepes.
You can serve them so many ways: hot with a little ricotta spread on top and then sauteed vegetables; like a lasagna with marinara sauce and cheese; or cold and turn them into tasty salad stacks, which I did last night. This is a great thing to make if you are looking to use salad greens and veggies but want something a little different and more substantial. We ate them in stacks last night, but we also folded and filled them, like a soft taco.
I made them this time with whole wheat flour to lower the carbs and make them healthier. I was surprised to learn that I like the whole wheat version BETTER than my original all-purpose flour version. There is something earthy and rustic about the whole wheat-mushroom combination. And, both the mushrooms and whole wheat are nutritional powerhouses!
Continue reading ‘My Salad Days: Easy Savory Mushroom Pancakes Recipe’
I know. I thought it sounded weird at first, too. Jam? From Tomatoes???
I’ll admit, I was desperate. I had so many tomatoes coming on over the weekend screaming “Pick Me! Pick Me!” that I began to get a bit desperate. I came across a tomato jam recipe and gave it a try. It is great spread on a toasted baguette slice over a thin layer of ricotta.
I decided to spice it up quite a bit, so the jalapenos were my idea. And, I only used about half of the recommended sugar so the jam would have a more tangy savory feel. And, don’t be tempted to squeeze out the seeds and liquid from the tomatoes – that is where all the pectin is that will thicken the jam.
Continue reading ‘TOMATO FEST: Tomato Chile Jam’
I’ve eaten a lot of nutritional bars over the years. Call them power bars, energy bars, meal replacement bars, protein bars, diet bars, and what have you, I’ve tried dozens of dozens. In recent years, I started eschewing the more processed and chemically-laden varieties in favor of ones comprised of actual food. (What a concept, eh?) My favorite of them all has been the blissfully simple Lärabar. They’re delicious, and they’re also vegan, raw, gluten-free, kosher, and pretty much any other virtuous superlative you can think of.
Lärabars come in an impressive variety of flavors (Ginger Snap, Pistachio, Apple Pie, Key Lime, and Cashew Cookie, just to name a few), but what’s even more impressive is the simplicity and purity of ingredients. The latter of the above has exactly TWO INGREDIENTS: dates and cashews. That’s it! The others don’t have too many more ingredients; I’d wager an average of 3, maybe 4, Cocoa Mole having the most due to the inclusion of spices.
Given the minimal ingredient list, being me, I decided to try making them at home. Here are the three I concocted:
CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH
1 cup pitted and roughly chopped whole dates (I used organic Medjool)
3/4 cup raw cashews*
2 tablespoons cacao nibs (you could also use regular chocolate chips)
dash of cinnamon (optional)
Put a sheet of plastic wrap in an 8 inch loaf pan, enough to hang over each side, lengthwise.
Place the dates in a food processor. Pulse until processed to a paste; the dates will start to form a ball. Transfer paste to a medium bowl (no need to clean the processor).
Add the cashews to the processor and pulse until finely chopped. You definitely want this fine, but you don’t want to go too far and make cashew butter. Add the nuts to the bowl with the date paste, add cacao nibs or chocolate chips. Use your fingers to knead the nuts into the paste.
Once well-combined, roll into a log (it doesn’t need to be too fussy) and transfer into the plastic-lined 8 inch loaf pan. Press mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan . . .
and then lift it out – voila, perfect rectangle!
Divide into 8 bars – I used a bench scraper for this, like so:
Close up the rest of the plastic around any leftover bars and refrigerate. Note: these do need to be kept refrigerated, unlike Lärabars themselves, which uses an opaque wrapper specially designed to keep light and oxygen out.
The other varieties I made:
BLUEBERRY APRICOT ALMOND
1 cup pitted and roughly chopped whole dates
1/4 cup dried apricots
1 cup raw almonds*
1/4 cup dried blueberries
CRANBERRY (or GOJI BERRY) PECAN
1 cup pitted and roughly chopped whole dates
1/3 cup raw cashews*
1/3 cup raw pecans*
1/4 cup dried cranberries or goji berries (I used goji berries)
1 or 2 teaspoons orange zest (optional)
Rather than typing the instructions for each over again – it’s basically the same process. Process dates and other moist fruits first, then nuts, then transfer to a bowl, add additional mix-ins, squish together, and press into bars.
I’m pleased with how they turned out – especially since my 14 month old also likes them. My favorite of the three is the Blueberry Almond Apricot one, but the others are tasty too. And I plan to experiment more with different varieties , maybe adding some flax and oats, maybe some spices – and so should you! It seems the key ratio is approximately 1 cup dates or a combination of dates and other moist dried fruits to 3/4 cup nuts of your choice, as a foundation, and then take it from there!
I’ll still be a Lärabar consumer, no doubt, but adding these into our healthy snack arsenal is definitely a boost to the budget – besides, they’re FUN to make. Enjoy!
*Lily is Anne’s 14 month old daughter/Donna’s 14 month old granddaughter.
** When using raw nuts, be sure to soak them first to get their full benefit. Here’s a great explanation, with instructions.
– posted by Anne
