Good Cheap Eats

Recipes for a Super Bowl (Recipe: Easy Garlic Breadsticks)

Jessica — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:21:55 +0000

A Super Bowl feast should be easy and simple so you can enjoy the game and good eats.

My husband and eldest son are big football fans. Not so big that we kept extra cable channels, but big enough that we’ve cleared the schedule for the day so that they can watch the Big Game this weekend. Part and parcel with the Super Bowl come the snacks. When I asked them what was good Super Bowl food, one said, “Tri-tip,” while the other said, “Chips.”

They are so boring!

Thankfully, tri-tip was on sale this week; I’ve got one all ready to throw on the grill. And I bought a big bag of tortilla chips at Costco last weekend, so they’re covered on that front, too. It gave me pause to reconsider our menu for Sunday night. Time to switch the game plan.

Super Bowl Menu

Not only is this menu seasonal, making use of items on sale or in my produce box, but it’s also pretty make ahead — and tasty to boot. Be on the lookout in this week’s grocery ads for deals on chips, avocados, grilling cuts of meat, broccoli, and potatoes. Those have all been offered at great prices in my local stores and also showing up in my produce delivery.

Here’s our revised Sunday menu:

Appetizers: Chips, Homemade Salsa, Guacamole

Chips and salsa are a go-to combo at our house. I regularly mix up a batch of salsa to enjoy as a snack or to use as a condiment for a myriad of dishes. It goes great on a tri-tip sandwich, too.

This guacamole is a non-recipe recipe. Just mash your avocados, season with lemon juice and salt and pepper and stir in a few teaspoons of your favorite salsa. Restaurant quality guac with very little fuss.

Dinner: Grilled Tri-tip, Broccoli Slaw, Crockpot Baked Potatoes, Easy Garlic Breadsticks (recipe follows)

Tri-tip is a “California cut,” having been popularized by a group of meat cutters on the Central Coast who decided to take a cut normally destined for ground beef and work a miracle. They seasoned it well and cooked it over a woodfire. The result is a meaty and flavorful cut, perfect for grilling.

While tri-tip is the “bargain cut” in Southern California, as low as $2.49/pound in recent months, it may not be as affordable in other areas of the country. Brisket, London Broil, or Top Sirloin may be better options for you this weekend.

I have a number of favorite spice blends that I use for grilling tri-tip, but in a pinch, you can go simple. Just brush your tri-tip with olive or grape seed oil. Season heavily with kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. Cook on the grill until your desired doneness. Cut it against the grain after it has rested for about ten minutes.

You can start your baked potatoes in the morning and have them ready later in the day by cooking them in the slow cooker. The texture will be slightly altered from traditional baked potatoes, but a tasty, make-ahead option, nonetheless.

And broccoli slaw? I was stunned that my husband loves this salad so much. He typically doesn’t like sweet and savory mixed, but he loves this salad.

Add a little bread to the meal with these Easy Garlic Breadsticks. You can whip the dough up by hand or in a bread machine. Form the dough into sticks and bake. You can do this in advance if you want. Just warm them in the oven prior to serving.

Recipe: Easy Garlic Breadsticks

Ingredients

3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon warm water

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 1/4 cup bread flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon dried basil

1 1/2 teaspoon yeast

melted butter, optional

Instructions

For the bread machine: Assemble the ingredients in your bread pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Set the machine to the dough cycle and turn it on. Check to make sure all the ingredients have been incorporated. Scrape them down into the pan if necessary. Allow the machine to do its work.

For mixing by hand: In a large mixing bowl, combine the water, olive oil, and yeast. Stir to combine and allow to proof for five minutes.

Stir in the remaining ingredients.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until a smooth dough forms, about 3 minutes.

Place the dough in a greased bowl and allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 450 °.

Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silpat baking mat.

Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 16 portions. Roll each portion into a long snake and place on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 10 – 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven.

Brush with melted butter, if desired. Serve immediately.

Preparation time: 1 hour(s) 30 minute(s)

Cooking time: 10 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 8

Dessert: Snickerdoodle Bars

This dessert is what we call “a happy accident.” You can read the details here. It’s a delicious bar cookie that mixes up in a jiffy. You could even make it as a mix several days in advance. If a pan would last long enough, I could tell you if they freeze well. I haven’t tried it yet, but I have no doubt they will.

What’s on your game day menu?

Those Snickerdoodle Bars

Jessica — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:37:17 +0000

Snickerdoodle bars are easy to make and taste just as good as the traditional balls rolled in sugar.

A few weeks ago I shared a recipe for a Cinnamon Streusel Coffeecake that our family loves and has enjoyed on many occasions. Unfortunately, when I first published the post I was unaware of not one, but TWO typographical errors. In typing from my notes, my eyes skimmed over the baking powder and the milk. Yikes!

Early on the first day, savvy readers pointed out that something must be wrong. Where was the leavening? I was able to correct the missing baking powder within a few hours of publication. Whew. (Many thanks and apologies to those gracious folks who followed my error-filled recipe with a good attitude! It goes down in the annals of history as The Day FishMama Tanked Everyone’s Breakfast.)

However, it wasn’t until a day or two later that I made the coffeecake, this time using a printout from the site instead of my notes. Something wasn’t quite right. The batter wasn’t light and fluffy. What’s going on here?

I had already spread it in the pan when I realized my error. There was no milk. Uh oh. Chalk it up to one big fail for the week.

However, all was not lost. Once the thing was baked and sliced into squares, I realized that it was a fabulous cookie! In fact, it tastes like one big snickerdoodle without all the hassle of rolling those dough balls in cinnamon sugar! It’s a sweet cookie that disappeared in a flash.

So there you have it. A very happy accident. One we’ll be making quite often from now on.

Recipe: Snickerdoodle Bars

Ingredients

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup oil

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

Topping:

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons unbleached, all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons melted butter

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 °. Grease a 9×13 baking pan.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar and oil. Mix in the egg and vanilla until smooth.

Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Blend just until mixed. Spread into the prepared pan. The dough will be fairly thick.

In a small bowl, combine the topping ingredients and sprinkle them over the batter.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until crisp.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)

Cooking time: 25 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 16

What to Make with Beef

Jessica — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 09:21:24 +0000

Whether you’re in the midst of a pantry challenge, have purchased a side of beef or want to stock up on certain cuts of beef when it’s on sale, having a repertoire of go-to recipes is essential to making the most of great deals and good food.

Salsa Verde Beef

I could probably do pretty well as a vegetarian except for my love of beef. I would much rather choose beef than any other meat most days. Hubs would probably choose fish or chicken. We’re funny that way.

I love to stock up on certain cuts that regularly go on sale so that I can make a variety of dishes for a great price. In this neck of the woods that would be chuck roast, cross rib roast, tri-tip, top sirloin, and ground beef. I rarely spend more than $2.50/pound on these meats and buy several packages at a time. I either prepare them as “freezer meals” or simply stash the meat in the freezer for another time.

Here are some of our favorite ways with beef:

Mediteranean-Steak Salad

Meatballs, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy

Beef Taquitos

Grilled Steak Gyros

Pantry Challenge Finale

Jessica — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:20:59 +0000

Shopping your kitchen can save you money and be a great way to rotate the ingredients you keep on hand.

Stick a fork in me; I’m done!

Oh yes, I did my four weeks of pantry challenge. And it was good. I cleaned out the freezer and thawed that baby out. I worked through our stock on hand, shopping my kitchen before heading out for more. I shaved a good couple hundred dollars off our grocery budget. And I even started some baby steps toward making my boys more independent in the kitchen.

But, I am happy to be done. Yes, yes, I am.

It’s not that it was all that difficult. Truly, it wasn’t. But, it was a little more work than normal. And while January was a sleepy month, trying to get my bearings on school and daily schedules, I know that we can’t move quite so slowly in the months to come.

Life is picking up speed. We’ve got two boys playing hockey this season — and possibly a husband, too. We’ve got school and a new school schedule. I’ve got writing projects to tackle. And life is just busy.

That said, I’m so thankful for having given the pantry, fridge, and freezer a good once over. This week I’m tackling a big freezer cooking session and going to refill the deep freezer. But, for this week, I’m hoping to chip away at those little odds and ends that I found in the fridge freezer when I finally stopped to look. We’ve got a few soups, some fruit, vegetables from the produce box, and a few sauces. I can work those meals into the coming days so that we really are rotating stock.

Overall, my three goals were accomplished this month:

Spend less on groceries. (See my final grocery total here.)
Empty and defrost the freezer in the garage.
Begin teaching my boys to cook.

The curious can see what kind of meals we ate by shopping our kitchen first over here. Don’t forget to hop on by these blogs and see how they made this Pantry Challenge work for them:

How did the Challenge go for YOU?

Monthly Meal Plan for February

Jessica — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 09:20:04 +0000

Cooking ahead, shopping the sales, and meal planning all work together for easier meals and calmer evenings.

Going into February the boys and I are doing a big freezer cooking day this week. I figure this is a great way to teach the older ones some kitchen skills, fill the freezer, and do our meal planning — all in one fell swoop.

Originally, I was going to let them choose all the meals individually. But, since The Cookbook (coming September 2012) contains several freezer cooking plans, it was just easier to let them choose that way. We get a range of meal options, plus the grocery list and freezer cooking plan are already done for me. Super plus! (Cookbook recipes are italicized. Wait for it….)

I probably don’t need to tell you that they chose the most carnivorous of the “Everything” plans, so I’m supplementing some of the meals with meatless nights to have pasta or beans and rice. But, as “luck” would have it, all the meats on that plan are on sale this week at my local stores. Score one for the Mama!

By cooking ahead, shopping the sales, and planning our meals in advance, we’re more likely to eat more healthfully as well as more economically than if I flew by the seat of my pants. As I plugged meals into the calendar, I also kept in mind Valentine’s Day and Mardi Gras so that I could plan more festive meals for those days.

Now, of course, we need to do the shopping and the cooking first, of course, but this is the plan at the moment.

Here’s the plan for the rest of January:

29. Birthday Menus chosen by the Birthday ~~Boy~~ Man

30. Chicken Stir Fry, Rice

31. Chili in the Crockpot, Cornbread

Here’s the meal plan for the month:

Grilled Med Steak, Couscous, Pita Bread
Pasta Bar, Salad or Veg, Focaccia
Pizza Night, ChiChi’s Salad
Spicy Shrimp and Tomatoes, Rice, Veg
Tortas, Veggie Dippers
Chicken Teriyaki Skewers, Quinoa Salad
Burrito and Quesadilla Bar
Caribbean Pork Tenderloin, Rice, Veg
date night – Pizza for the kids
Pasta Bar, Focaccia
Steak with Gorgonzola Herb Butter, Baked Potatoes, Veg
Tortilla Soup with Shrimp, Cornbread
Herb-Crusted Pork Roast, Rice, Veg
Chicken Parmesan, Spaghetti, Broccoli, No Bake Chocolate Cheesecake (Valentine’s Day!)
Soup Night, Good Bread
Date Night – quesadillas, veggies and fruit
Pizza Night, ChiChi’s Salad
Beans and Rice, Chips, Salsa
Tortas, Bean and Rice Salad
Herb Butter Chicken Tenders, Quinoa Pilaf, Veg
Jambalaya Pasta with Sausage and Chicken, Beignets (Mardi Gras!)
Soup Night, Good Bread
date night – Pasta Night
Pizza Night, Veggie Dippers
Teriyaki Chicken Skewers, Rice, Stir-fry
Seasoned Steak with Herb Butter, Roast Potatoes, Salad
Beans and Rice, Quesadillas
Soy Ginger Pork Tenderloin, Rice, Veg
Soup Night, Good Bread, Monster Ice Cream Sundae (Leap Day!)

What’s cooking at your house this week?

For more meal planning inspiration, visit Menu Plan Monday each week.

Grocery Geek: Final Week, Pantry Challenge

Jessica — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 09:55:30 +0000

While a Pantry Challenge can save money on food costs, it can stretch you in terms of other resources, namely time and effort, depending on the contents of your pantry.

I must confess, I’m so excited to see the end of this final week of the Pantry Challenge. It’s been good, to be sure. I think we saved some cash. And we used up some things that I might have continued to ignore. But, I’m done.

On Thursday Thaw Out, I was able to empty the deep freeze and place all the contents into the refrigerator freezer. It’s a tight squeeze, but it works. I even let the kids eat Christmas cookies for breakfast one morning and then eat all the ice cream they wanted for dessert that night. I myself put gelato in my morning coffee because we were out of cream.

So, this is the final report on my pantry challenge shopping. Next week is more February than January and with a big freezer cooking session on Monday, I’m counting January done.

So, here’s how we ended the Challenge at our house:

A trip to Ralphs: Ralphs is typically my clearance/sales stop. I found chicken and mushrooms on markdown as well as hot dogs and chicken breast on sale. I didn’t want to completely empty our reserves and then miss chicken sales for the next six weeks. I picked up a few odds and ends: milk, apple cider vinegar (for the boys’ shampoo), flour, sugar, cream, cilantro, and pepperoni. See? random.

I spent $55.00

Stop at Trader Joe’s: I picked up some of our regular staples like rice cakes, yogurt, bread, vitamins, and cheese as well as some snacky things and raclette!

Total spent: $55.53

Our produce box: The produce pickup was a little sparse compared to previous weeks. I think it’s the lull of the season, as far as California is concerned. There were a few rutabagas in the box as well, but I gave those back. We are maxed out on the turnips and rutabagas.

But, we’ll figure out something to do with that daikon radish! Holy root veggies, Batman! I have a feeling that I’ll be supplementing with some fresh fruit next week though. Those oranges will not last long around here.

Total spent $37.80

So, after four weeks of shopping our kitchen and then shopping elsewhere, I spent a total of $446.33 for the month. Typically I spend between $600 and 800 each month depending on the sales and what stocking up I do. Obviously, this was a significant savings.

As I scroll through some of the purchases over the last month, I know that there were plenty of “extras” thrown in like chips and special cheeses. If push came to shove, we could probably reduce our grocery spending more if we had to. I find that good to know.

I also know that I still have several packages of meat, beans, and grains left in my stores, so it’s possible that I could continue this challenge into next month. Gonna have to think on that one.

Total Spent in January: $446.33

Come back on Monday when we talk about how the Pantry Challenge ended as well as goals achieved.

The Butternut Squash Adventure

Jessica — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:56:40 +0000

Butternut squash can be easily roasted in the oven and pureed in the food processor. Use the puree as you would pureed pumpkin.

Recently I shared how I needed to deal with the inundation of squash at my house. Yes, four butternuts, a spaghetti and three acorn squash have been sitting snug and cozy in my pantry. Oh my! Time to start chipping away at them!

The hard part is that my family doesn’t love squash as a vegetable. In fact, it’s a new taste sensation for me even; my mom never ever served squash when I was growing up. Years ago I started preparing spaghetti squash to serve on pasta nights. Last year I used butternut for puree and soups.

Recently, I roasted one with olive oil and salt and pepper and served it on a bed of greens with grilled chicken, pomegranate seeds, and gorgonzola cheese. It was amazing.

But, my family needs a little coaxing. So, the squash has piled up. I decided to tackle the largest squash first.

To give you perspective:

It’s a big squash. Big.

I decided to tackle it Shaina’s way. I put it on a cookie sheet, cut some slits into it, and roasted it for over an hour in the oven. Yes, it took up the whole oven.

And then I scooped out the meat:

I pureed the meat, resulting in 14 cups of squash puree. Then I got to cooking. I spent the better part of last Saturday baking. First I made a delicious butternut squash soup with leeks and herbes de provence. THAT was yum! I had it for lunch on back to back weekend days and then froze the rest for another time.

Then, I baked. I used my favorite pumpkin recipes and just subbed squash puree for the pumpkin.

and I experimented with a Spiced Squash Snack Cake. Recipe coming soon. We need to, er, “test” it again.

Thankfully, I have enough squash to do that again. And again. And again.

Got a favorite use for squash?

What to Make with Fish

Jessica — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:54:52 +0000

Whether you’re in the midst of a pantry challenge or want to stock up on fish and other seafood when it’s on sale, having a repertoire of go-to recipes is essential to making the most of great deals and good food.

Spicy Fish Rub

Last fall a friend of mine from our homeschooling group had a wealth of deep sea fish to share with us. Again, the result of another “hunting” trip that filled the freezer. We were overjoyed at the bounty!

While I have never been a great fan of fish, my husband and sons love fish. And since we wanted to include some fish recipes in my cookbook as well, I had a great time experimenting — and falling in love with seafood.

We’re coming up on a season when fish becomes more affordable. Whether it’s Lenten observations or simply the season of year, grocery stores will soon be offering shrimp, salmon, and other fish for great prices, often under $5 a pound. When you can, stock up on sustainable, wild-caught fish and shellfish.

If you’re curious about which fish are the best to buy in terms of safety and sustainability, you can download a regional seafood guide from the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The market of ocean-friendly fish can vary depending on where you live. I love it that my favorite, wild Alaskan salmon is on the best choice list for my region.

Here are some of the ways we enjoy fish and seafood at our house:

Fish Taco Salad

Tuna Salad with Celery Seed and Dill Weed

Soy Grilled Fish

Cilantro Shrimp Pasta

5 Tips for Organizing the Kitchen (Kitchen Tip Tuesday)

Jessica — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 09:17:48 +0000

This week I have the privilege of hosting Kitchen Tip Tuesday, typically a feature over at Tammy’s Recipes. How fun! Join us as we share tips to make life in the kitchen a little easier.

One of my larger goals for the year is to reduce the clutter in our home and reorganize what stays so that it really serves our family and how we really live. I’m going on Zone Defense, actually, and working room by room to get life in better working shape.

While the kitchen isn’t on the schedule until a few months from now, the Pantry Challenge I’ve been doing this month is helping me think about better ways to organize my kitchen. I’ve worked through my food storage this month reorganizing and decluttering so that I had a better idea of what there was to eat in the house.

Here are some things that I came up with — or learned from my readers:

(Great comments, by the way!)

1. Store things in close proximity to where you use them.

I love this idea and whenever I walk halfway across the kitchen for something, I’m reminded that whatever item I am fetching probably needs to move its location.

2. Arrange like with like.

This is so helpful to find anything from your baking pans to your canned beans. Arrange like with like so you know where everything is and how many you actually have.

3. Label shelves or canisters as needed.

I’m horrendous at not labeling freezer meals or canisters of flour. Correction. I used to be. But, I think that with this Pantry Challenge I’ve finally learned my lesson. No mysteries! Labeling is a great way to free up extra space in my head — and to make it easier for others in the family to cook because they can find ingredients without opening every cupboard.

4. Organize a deep freeze with color coded plastic crates or canvas bags.

Once I shared my freezer organization, y’all taught me a thing or two. I never thought about using canvas grocery bags. Brilliant! And to color code them according to contents? Brilliant once again. I may have to revisit my system to make it easier to find the chicken or the frozen squash. For now, I may need to move all my meats to black crates and all my vegetables and fruits to plastic baskets.

5. A place for everything and everything in its place.

Most of our problems with disorder is that we don’t have a regular place to store things.

Many commenters lamented not having a designated spot for things in the refrigerator. I think this is a really good way to help you cook. If you can’t find an ingredient, cooking definitely becomes a chore.

Got a Kitchen Tip to Share?

To Participate in Kitchen Tip Tuesdays:

Post a kitchen tip on your blog. Link to this post, and then leave your link here, so we know where to find YOU! No giveaways or non-tip posts, please! You can also tell us about the tip in the comments.

Next Tuesday, KTT will be back at Tammy’s Recipes.

Pantry Challenge Week 3 (Share Your Progress)

Jessica — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:44:45 +0000

We’re three-quarters of the way through our Pantry Challenge. Are you seeing bare shelves and better able to navigate your kitchen?

Where has the month gone? Seems like we just celebrated Christmas, didn’t we? We’re three weeks into the Pantry Challenge. As I mentioned on Saturday, I stocked up on lunch fixings so that we didn’t have to do a lot of cooking in the middle of the day when things are at their busiest.

In other news, it was kind of a boring week. I wasn’t feeling at that well, and we had several appointments, so things were kinda busy, too. My cooking mojo took the week off, I think. But, we gotta push through, right?

I did tackle ONE of those butternut squash on Saturday, resulting in squash soup, squash muffins, squash pie, squash cake, and squash cinnamon rolls. Yes, really.

Here’s how big that squash was:

I do have to say, using what you have takes work! It’s so much easier to go shopping, is it not? The curse of prosperity….

Anyway, here’s the lowdown on my goals for the month:

Goal 1. Lower my budget.

Currently, we’re just under $300 for grocery spending this month. I am pretty confident that it will be in the $400 range by this time next week, but that is remarkable considering what I normally spend (between $600 – $800). And since we will still have food in the house!

Just “food you have to cook.”

Goal 2. Help my kids be more independent in the kitchen.

I consider this part of a pantry challenge because it will save me money and trips to the local fast food joint. If my kids are able to help with food prep, I know I will be more likely to cook something at home than to make a run for the proverbial border.

In fact, on Friday night, I was too pooped to party — or fix the planned pizza. And by the time I went to start the dough, it was too late to eat a reasonable order. Talk of Chinese food as well as burgers was bandied about. And then I realized I’d have to tell you that we ate out more than twice. So, I grabbed my 9-year old and we worked in the kitchen making grilled cheese, spinach salad, and vegetable crudites. Crisis averted.

Not only do I appreciate the help, but it also gives us a chance to hang out and chat.

I’m sharing more about teaching my boys to cook over at Life as MOM today.

Goal 3. Clean out my freezers and be able to defrost.

We’re not even close to hitting this goal. It’s not that there is a lot of stuff, but there is just too much to cram easily into the refrigerator/freezer. And I’d rather not let my kids eat two boxes of Christmas cookies in one sitting (though they might love it). So, I have a back-up plan.

It’s called Thursday Thaw Out. The high on Thursday will be 74 degrees in my neck of the woods, so I plan to empty the garage freezer, stash the stuff in a cooler, with ice, if need be, and just thaw the freezer out now.

(And yes, whereas you get notice of extreme weather, we get a high surf advisory. It can be dangerous to surf in certain tides. FYI.)

How’s it going in your kitchen?

There’s my update for my three goals for this month. I’d love to hear yours! Either tell us about it in the comments section OR link up a recent post of your Pantry Challenge update. Be sure to link back to this post so that it’s easier to share ideas.

Every Monday this month we’re sharing updates here on GoodCheapEats. What works, what doesn’t. The challenge officially ends on January 31st, but next Monday will be our last link-up.

Hop on by these blogs and see how they’re making this Pantry Challenge work for them:

I’m posting daily updates on my Daily Pantry Challenge Log. Visit that page to see how well — or not — we’ve eaten on a given day. I’ll also share links to recipes that are helping me make the most of what I have.