The heat and smoke comes from three ingredients, smoked cheese, canned chipotle peppers in adobe sauce, and McCormick’s Smokehouse ground black pepper. I used vegetables I had leftover in the fridge but you can pick and choose whatever you like.

1 package of naan bread
1 cup of vegetarian pasta sauce
½ teaspoon of chopped chipotle peppers, more if you like the heat (if you can’t use the rest of the peppers straight away, they freeze well)
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon salt
Good sprinkling of McCormick Smokehouse black pepper
Good sprinkling of garlic powder
½ cup of shredded smoked cheese…I used Gouda

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl mix together mushrooms, onions, and red pepper and add the oil salt, pepper and garlic powder.
Place on a baking sheet and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently until everything is lightly golden brown.

Meanwhile-
Place the naan bread on a baking sheet or pizza pan.

Mix together the pasta sauce and chipotle pepper and spread on each size of the bread.

Place the vegetables on top of the sauce and then top with the smoked cheese.

Cook for about ten minutes or until the cheese has melted and pizza has warmed through.

Serves 2 or 4 if you’re serving with something like a salad.

Hope it’s been a money saving week for everyone. My top buy of the week was a book about proof-reading for one cent. Seems the more specialized and specific the title you’re looking for…yes, what other’s might find boring, the cheaper the cost.

And before I forget, a PR company sent me details about Eggland’s contest and thought I’d post the link here or it will slip my mind. Check out the rest of the site because they have a recipe section too-

http://www.egglandsbest.com/about-us/news/eb-in-the-news/eggland’s-best-announces-search-for-the-first-chief-egg-officer.aspx

I’ve been gardening for a few hours every day this week trying to catch up on lost time due to the terrible spring we’ve had. One way to save money is to divide plants you already have which I’ve been doing this year. You’d be surprised how quickly the new transplant fills out and then needs dividing again. I also just planted some asparagus and rhubarb. Two plants that we won’t enjoy this year but I look at them as investments for future meals.

And interesting articles of the week include-

If like me you make your own yogurt and Greek yogurt, this one’s for you-

http://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/cool-ways-greek-yogurt-133900809.html

Here’s an interesting article about taking advantage of price matching-

http://shine.yahoo.com/at-home/7-keys-successful-price-matching-120400282.html

I’m now off to my lab, AKA, my kitchen, where I’ll be working on Monday’s veggie recipe…I’ll give you a clue, it’s pizza.

Have a fun weekend and money saving week.

Georgine’s tips for saving money this month-

It’s May!

That means spring is in full bloom. It’s a great time to stock up on picnic supplies, outdoor furniture, and party staples because it’s National Barbecue Month. You will see these sales starting in the next 2 weeks as we head towards Memorial Day which is the kick off to summer. If you come across a great sale, stockpile these items for the entire summer. If you have leftovers, they can be saved for next year. In the supermarket look for hot dogs, ground beef, hamburger and hot dog buns, ketchup, mustard, BBQ sauce, relish, salad dressing, chips, ice cream, popsicles, soda, and bottled water all to be specially priced. Asparagus, spinach, and rhubarb are in-season now so look for recipes using these and make some interesting meals while you save money. Combine these sales with coupons and you’ll score a home run. Always start at Coupons.com to find printable coupons in addition to the ones in the Sunday newspapers.

It’s also a good time to shop for a mattress because stores are making room for the newer models.
If you mow your lawn yourself, change last year’s stale gas for an easy start-up plus you will save a service call. Always dispose of fuel according to your town’s regulations.

When ordering online, find a coupon code to add at check that will give you a discount or free shipping or both. Generally if a site asks if you have a coupon code, there is one out there. I regularly post these codes in my good deals on my website or you can find them on an Internet search. Speaking of searches, try Swag Bucks. This is a search almost exactly like Google however you randomly receive points for your searches that can add up big time. These points can be used for gift cards and prizes. If you already search on the Internet you might as well earn something for it.

A few days ago I was reading one of the UK newspapers and found this article about a single mom who was feeding herself and her son for just ten pounds a week. One recipe she'd created was a kidney bean, carrot and cumin burger for nine pence. That had me intrigued and I thought I'd give it a try. So this week's Meatless Monday recipe is a link to the article and also Jack Monroe's blog where she has lots of other recipes, many of them vegetarian, to try.

The burger was easy to make…and don't skip simmering the beans because I was tempted to but I think it really helps soften them so you can incorporate them with the other ingredients. I also added some salt and pepper to the final mixture. And if you're wondering what coriander is, it's cilantro and really gives the burger some added flavor.

If you check out the article be sure to watch the video of Jack on the BBC Breakfast show because there's a segment about her shopping at the store where she explains where to look for bargains and how sales are really for the store and not for us!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2322925/Single-mother-Jack-Monroes-9p-meals-win-book-deal-thanks-austerity-recipes-blog-feeding-family-10-week.html

http://agirlcalledjack.com/

I found lots of great articles about all things budget living, so here they are-

There have been lots of stories about people trying to eat at or below the poverty line and here’s one person’s experience-
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/column-five-days-below-poverty-150944520.html

We’re all guilty of letting food sit in the fridge until it goes to waste-
http://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/expert-tips-food-last-longer-205100931.html

With the terrible spring we’ve had it’s hard to imagine summer’s around the corner but here are some budget priced sandals to get you ready for the warm weather-
http://shine.yahoo.com/photos/the-best-summer-sandals-under-25-slideshow/

I have lots of landscaping projects on my to do list so this is a handy guide-
http://shine.yahoo.com/at-home/8-tips-landscaping-cheap-132000321.html#!erdfa

And if like me you love making your own pantry staples and treats check out these two articles. My tip is to buy the supplies for these in the bulk bin section-
http://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/spice-things-kitchen-homemade-taco-seasoning-170900302.html
http://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/crispy-business-cool-ranch-doritos-home-173600201.html

Finally spaghetti always seems to be on sale. My tip. the whole grain varieties taste much better and don’t cost much more and sometimes they’re even the same price-
http://shine.yahoo.com/photos/10-easy-ways-cook-box-slideshow/

Have a good weekend and Happy Mother’s Day.

One of my favorite things to do is put together an afternoon tea, complete with finger sandwiches, scones, and other sweet treats. I’m always looking for new recipes to add and here’s one I came up with last week. I thought I’d share it with you because it’s easy to make, has simple ingredients, and maybe even perfect for a Mother’s Day treat-

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup orange juice
2 eggs, beaten
1 orange, peeled and cut into small pieces (also toss the pieces in some flour to stop them from sinking to the bottom of the bread while it’s cooking)
1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 8 X 4 inch pan with non-stick spray.

In a large bowl sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and add the sugar.

In another bowl mix together the oil, orange juice and eggs. Add this to the flour/sugar mixture and mix thoroughly.

Add the orange pieces, cranberries and walnuts. Mix until everything is well incorporated.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.

Cook for about 50 minutes, check after 40 minutes. The loaf is ready when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Let the loaf cool in the pan for about ten minutes and then turn out onto a cooling rack and let cool completely before slicing.

Makes 16 slices.

4 large green peppers

For the Shepherd’s Pie
1 cup TVP
1 cup stock or water
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
½ cup chopped mushrooms
1 tablespoons tomato paste
½ teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper
Read-made gravy
Oil

For the Potato Topping
1 pound of potatoes, cut into quarters
Butter or low fat spread, milk, salt and pepper for mashing
Shredded cheese for topping

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut the tops off the peppers (keep the tops for another recipe). Scoop out seeds, wash and cook (I steamed mine), until almost fork tender.

Spray a large casserole dish with cooking spray and place the peppers inside it.

Cook and mash the potatoes and set aside.

In a casserole dish, place the TVP and water and cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 5 minutes. Set aside.

In a skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat and add the chopped onions, carrots and mushrooms. And the onion powder and thyme and cook until slightly browned. Add the salt and pepper, tomato paste, and the TVP and mix everything together. Add the gravy and cook for a few more minutes.

Put the mixture into the peppers and top with the mashed potatoes.

Sprinkle each pepper with some shredded cheese and place in the oven for about 15 minutes until heated through and the potatoes are slightly browned.

Serves 4

About a month ago Ellen Kanner e-mailed me about her new book Feeding The Hungry Ghost. The name intrigued me so when Ellen offered me a chance to read the book, I jumped at the opportunity. It’s part cookbook, part memoirs but most of all reminds us all how many things and events in our lives are connected with food. Ellen is The Huffington Post’s Meatless Monday blogger so I thought this would be a good spot to share my interview with Ellen and she kindly provided two recipes taken from her book for you to try.

www.huffingtonpost.com/ellen-kanner

www.ellen-ink.com/blog

www.ellen-ink.com

Budget Smart Girl (BSG)-Your Huffington Post’s Meatless Monday blogger, what sort of topics do you cover there?

Ellen Kanner (EK)-What I love about writing about food is that it’s so subversive. It allows me to talk about big-picture issues, like education, the environment, your health, food policy, fabulous things to eat and the amazing people who grow or produce it. I’ve been Huffington Post’s Meatless Monday blogger for four years and I haven’t come at the same topic twice. The one common element is, I end each post with a new recipe that takes some of what I’ve discussed and gives you a practical application — something fresh and wonderful to eat for dinner.

BSG-Have you seen more interest in meatless meals recently?

EK-Absolutely. I’m really excited. For the first time in eight years, American meat consumption has declined. For some people it’s a matter of health, for others, it’s the environment, but for a lot of people, it’s just the fact that meat has become too expensive. Well, welcome to the feast — a meatless diet is exciting, abundant and affordable.

BSG-And you’re also the syndicated columnist for the Edgy Veggie. Maybe you could tell us about that too?

EK-The Edgy Veggie is also meatless, but here, I do a really targeted focus, whether it’s eating for your health or what to do with what’s in season or a round-up of new glutenfree products. And I always include a recipe.

BSG-And now to your new book, Feeding The Hungry Ghost. Tell us about it. Is it something you’ve been working on for some time and how long did it take you to write it?

EK-While I get to cover great topics for Meatless Monday and as the Edgy Veggie, it’s very focused — this chef, that nutritional focus, this seasonal vegetable, that farmer. Food is a much bigger story. I wanted to talk about how it connects us — to the planet, to each other and connects us to our minds, bodies and spirits.

BSG-What would you like readers to take away after they’ve read it?

EK-A sense of enthusiasm and empowerment. Cooking and eating meatlessly should begin with pleasure. It gives us the power to change the world, and we can have a great time and a great meal doing it.

BSG-Lots of people assume you can’t eat healthful foods on a budget or that it takes extra time in the kitchen, chopping veggies, cooking beans etc.

EK-One of the biggest misperceptions about a vegan diet is that it’s expensive. I’d love to kill that rumor once and for all. Hello, dried beans? Whole grains in bulk? Seasonal produce? This is food that’s sustained us since we came to walk on two legs. Sorry, I can get a bit passionate on the subject.

Food preparation doesn’t need to take a long time. Most of my stews and soups come together fast. Any simmering can happen on its own while you text your friends or enjoy a glass of wine. These dishes keep in the fridge or you can freeze in small portions and enjoy when you’re ready. Either way, you get many meals with little effort and little cost.

BSG-Have any tips to share with my readers and some must have, low cost pantry items, for the Budget Smart Girl?

EK-Beans, beans, beans — chickpeas, black beans, lentils, any kind of dried beans you like. They’re high in fiber and protein, low in calories, madly versatile and super-cheap.

BSG-Any recipe you’d like to share?

EK-What could be better — and easier — than lentil soup?

The following recipes are From Feeding the Hungry Ghost. Copyright © 2013 by Ellen Kanner. Reprinted with permission from New World Library.

Deep Basic Comfort Lentil Soup

Homemade soup needn’t be a struggle. This lentil soup is simplicity itself.

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 carrots, finely chopped

3 stalks celery, finely chopped

1 cup lentils

1 bay leaf

4 cups vegetable broth or water

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, carrots, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are fragrant and softened, about 5 minutes.

Pick through your lentils and remove any pebbles or odd bits. Pour into the saucepan with the vegetables. Add vegetable broth and bay leaf and bring to a boil.

Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until everything has become tender and fond of each other to the point of coalescing, about 1 hour.

If a smoother, more velvety soup appeals, feel free to purée using an immersion blender, taking care to avoid splatters. Otherwise, simply season generously with salt and pepper. Feed to yourself, an invalid, an infant, or anyone who needs more from less.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Red Lentil Soup with Indian Spices

Rather than your basic brown lentils, which are serviceable but drab, this recipe uses red lentils. They cook in minutes and with the tomatoes, give the soup a rosy, hopeful tint. The spicing is gentle and reminds you things will not always be so hard. The greens add signs of life, not to mention calcium, vitamin C, and tryptophan, the amino acid that promotes a sense of well-being. Can’t have too much of that.

Serves 6

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

Pinch of red pepper flakes

2 large onions, chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 thumb-size piece fresh ginger, minced

1 1/2 cups red lentils

5 cups vegetable broth

One 28-ounce can diced tomatoes

Juice of 1 lemon

2 handfuls fresh spinach or kale, chopped — add another handful if you’re a greens freak like me

1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

In a generous-size soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the cumin, coriander, turmeric, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring often, until the oil darkens and spices turn fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the onions, garlic, and ginger, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions soften and turn translucent, a few minutes.

Add the lentils and cook, stirring, for a few minutes more, until the lentils deepen in color and glisten with the spiced oil.

Add the broth and the tomatoes and their juice, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer until the lentils are tender and have become one with the soup, about 30 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice.

If you want the soup to be silky and smooth, you may purée with an immersion blender, but really, it’s not necessary. Jacob didn’t. The lentils are small, soft, and have coalesced into the soup.

Gently stir in the spinach and cilantro. They will wilt into the soup. Season with salt and pepper.

The soup keeps several days in the fridge.

There’s never a shortage of budget related articles on the Web and here are a few I found this week plus some recipes that sound delicious and budget friendly-

Many years ago I wrote an article about when it’s okay to splurge. Sometimes items seem expensive but they’re usually products where a little goes a long way-

http://shine.yahoo.com/in-the-pantry/pantry-splurge-pantry-staples-193100786.html

Quinoa is the in grain right now and you can find it just about anywhere and it doesn’t take long to cook-
http://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/dinner-8212-done-easy-cheesy-quinoa-cakes-144700786.html

Similar to the when to splurge article. I say it’s a bargain if you love it and never waste it-
http://shopping.yahoo.com/blogs/fashionate/drugstore-beauty-products-worth-more-pay-part-one-210516372.html

And this sounded a simple to make recipe which I’m going to give a try-
http://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/brown-rice-bean-ginger-chile-salsa-192700657.html

I didn’t find any bargains this week but I did hear about a company in the UK who was selling a black maxi dress for 99 pence and needless to say they sold out quickly.

We’re heading into May next week and a whole month of new savings. Look out for anything BBQ and picnic related, also graduation items will start to go on sale. And there’s probably still time to grab a few winter leftover bargains too.

Next week I have a special Meatless Monday feature with two recipes that I think you’re like.

Have a good weekend, and happy saving.

I often refer to my kitchen as my lab where I experiment with ingredients, spices, herbs, you name it in an effort to find inexpensive yet good for you meals. Last week fennel and orange were used in a variety of these ‘experiments’ and one I especially liked was the marinade I used for this Meatless Monday treat, the vegetarian ‘steak’ sandwich. You’ve probably seen Portobello mushrooms stand in for steak in many veggie recipes. It’s a mushroom with lots of character and hardiness and while delicious all by itself, I always think a nice marinade ups the taste factor. So here is what I came up with-

2 large Portobello mushrooms. (Remove the stalks, chop them and reserve them for the marinade)
Juice of 1 orange
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons honey mustard
2 tablespoons chopped fennel
good pinch of black pepper
2 whole wheat buns
optional, fresh basil and feta cheese

In a large glass dish, add the juice of the orange, soy sauce, mustard, chopped fennel, pepper and the chopped stalks. Mix together and then add the Portobello mushrooms and toss them so every part is coated well. Leave them in the fridge for at least two hours, more if you can.

In a skillet and over medium high heat, add the mushrooms and then pour the marinade over the top. Cook for about ten minutes turning them often and until the marinade has reduced down.

Serve immediately on the whole wheat buns and drizzle some of the marinade over the top.

Something nice to add is some fresh basil leaves and crumbled feta cheese.

Serves 2 and oven fries pair really well with these sandwiches.