budgetsmartgirl

Posts Tagged ‘beans’

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It’s Meatless Monday-A Really Budgetsmart Burger

In Meatless Mondays on May 13, 2013 at 2:40 pm

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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/

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It’s Meatless Monday-Feeding The Hungry Ghost

In Meatless Mondays on April 29, 2013 at 1:49 pm

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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.

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It’s Meatless Monday-Bean and Rice Bundles

In Meatless Mondays on March 25, 2013 at 3:02 pm

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Short on time and leftovers…sometimes that combination is the beginning of a recipe which was the case for this quick and easy vegetarian supper. It uses leftover brown rice along with refried beans, chiles, cheese, and spices all encased in a new twist on a bean and rice burrito, phyllo pastry.

1 15 ounce can vegetarian refried beans
1 4 ounce can chopped chile peppers
9 sheets phyllo pastry
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely minced
Dash of chili powder, cumin and smoked chipotle chili powder
1/4 cup melted low fat spread
oil for cooking the onion

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a bowl mix together the beans and chile peppers. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium high heat and sauté the onion until it’s lightly golden brown. Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the brown rice and stir in the onion and garlic. Add the dash of cumin and chili powders and stir well.
Set aside.

Take three sheets of the phyllo pastry. Brush first sheet with melted low fat spread, add a second one, repeat, and then repeat with the third sheet. Cut the stack in half.

Add about two tablespoons of each of the bean mixture, rice, and cheese on each stack.
Wrap it like you would if you were securing a package and tuck under any loose ends.
Place on a baking sheet.

Repeat the process with the remaining sheets of pastry and ingredients.

Brush the tops of the bundles with the remaining melted spread and then dust with some chili powder. Place in the oven and back for about 15 minutes until everything is warmed through and pastry is lightly golden brown.

Serve immediately with salsa and sour cream.

Serves 3-4

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It’s Meatless Monday-Pantry Chili

In Meatless Mondays on March 18, 2013 at 5:04 pm

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One recipe I’ve attempted to tweak is vegetarian chili. I’ve tried lots of different recipes and none seemed to have a richness and depth of flavor of its meat based counterpart.

One thing I love about cooking is experimenting with ingredients until I come up with a dish I like so much that I make it over and over again. I think I finally found a solution, and best of all most of the ingredients were on hand in the pantry and hence the name.

Key ingredients in this one include chili beans in tomato sauce which have chili peppers onion and garlic added to them.

Second thing is dried mushrooms. Many of you know I like to dehydrate fruits and vegetables. When mushrooms are on sale I buy an extra package just for drying. They add a wonderful taste and a meat like chewiness to this dish. If you don’t have any on hand I have seen them in the produce department. While they can be costly you don’t need that many for this recipe.

Third thing is the slow cooking of the carrots and onions and then more slow cooking when the spices are added.

Final vital thing, add more stock than you need for the finished dish and let it reduce down so it imparts as much flavor into the vegetables as it can.

It all sounds like it’s lots of work but it’s not and I think once you taste it you’ll be glad you took some extra steps-

1 15 ounce can S and W Chili beans in tomato sauce
1 15 ounce can chopped tomatoes
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped finely
1/4 cup dried mushrooms
1/2 tablespoon of chili powder (this makes it fairly spicy so cut down on the amount if you’re not like so much heat)
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
good pinch of salt
2 cups of vegetable stock
1 teaspoon dried chili peppers (leave out if you don’t have them or like less heat)
2 tablespoons oil

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and cook it, stirring often until it’s slightly softened. Add the carrots and continue cooking for about five minutes.

Add the garlic and cook for one minute.

Slowly add the chili powder, dried chili pepper, mushrooms, oregano and cumin and make sure everything is coated well. Cook all these ingredients for about another three minutes, stirring all the time.

Add a pinch of salt and cook another minutes.

Slowly add the beans and then the tomatoes and stir together.

Add the vegetable stock and bring the mixture to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium low, uncovered and cook until most of the stock has reduced down which takes about 15 minutes.

Serve immediately with brown rice, sour cream, shredded cheese and diced avocado if you like.

Serves 4-5

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Super Cheap Super Foods

In Budget Smart Cook on February 15, 2013 at 6:15 pm

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I don’t know if any of you saw this article on Yahoo Shine last week about superfoods that cost less than a $1. Lentils, oats, kale, almonds, tea, oranges, tuna, peanut butter, apples, eggs, carrots, cabbage.

Here’s a link to the article just in case you didn’t catch it-

http://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/better-1-menu-superfoods-ring-99-cents-less-180300537.html

Many of my favorite budget friendly foods made it to the list. And it is proof that you can eat well and still stick to a budget. I thought I’d refer back to these foods in the coming weeks and develop recipes for each one, and I’ll share them with you.

But not all my favorite bargain foods made it to the list. Here are some other ones I think also deserve to be in the spotlight-

Beans
I keep cans of beans in the pantry for adding to soups, burritos, chilis, you name it. They’re supercheap and often times, on sale too. However, I’ve found another way to save even more on beans and that’s to buy them dried, on the grocery store shelves or in the bulk bins.

The nicest thing is there are so many varieties. And recently I’ve even been making homemade hummus using dried chickpeas. One thing that used to put me off buying the dried variety was the soaking and then standing over them while they cooked. Most of the time they use to stick to the saucepan or if I went away to do something else, boil dry. Then I discovered the best way to prepare them is the slow cooker. During the day I let them soak in the slow cooker and then overnight I cook them. In the morning I drain them and put the ones I’m going to use straight away in the fridge, the rest I freeze. It’s the perfect way to have these nutritional powerhouses ready whenever you need them.

Tofu
I know some people really hate tofu but I hope you’ve seen how I’ve been using this bargain buy for Meatless Monday meals. The key is freezing it, letting it marinade and then sautéing it until it’s crispy and browned. It’s a great meat substitute and you can buy it for less than $2 just about anyway.

Other Super Vegetables
I know carrots and kale made it to the list and they are great buys, but there are other green veggies that are often on sale. If the fresh variety isn’t on sale I often head to the frozen food section for things like spinach and broccoli. And carrots are always a good price but other veggies containing carotene are sweet potatoes and squash and won’t break the budget.

Edamame
Depending on where you shop and look, you can buy a package of frozen edamame for less than $2 and I use them in stir fries and also as snacks too. Eat them as is or roast them in the oven with some oil, salt and pepper until they’re crispy and that’s all it takes. They’re much better for you than potato chips.

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The Leftovers Dilemma

In Budget Smart Cook on January 17, 2013 at 7:28 pm

Last week I read a jaw dropping statistic that said half of the food produced in the world is thrown away. I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised because I already knew that the average household tosses out $500 worth of food per year. We’re all guilty of it, even those of us who are budget minded. It could be vegetables and fruits that turn rotten before you get to eat them…or yes, forget about them tucked away at the back of the fridge. Or it might be the leftovers that no one seems to want. Here are some tricks I’ve found help me use everything that’s in the fridge, freezer, and even the pantry.

Make a Second Meal

Look through your leftovers and figure out what could become another meal. I found this site that helps you if you’re lost for ideas. You type in three ingredients you have on hand and they give you recipe suggestions. Sometimes it comes up empty, but the site also has a section with recipes, and it’s divided into categories like lifestyle and equipment. http://www.bigoven.com/recipes/leftover.

Make Homemade TV Dinners
You’ve probably heard me mention this one before. Many years ago I purchased plates that are divided three sections and I use them for making homemade TV dinners. Leftover potatoes, rice, vegetables and chicken or fish, even a slice of meatloaf becomes another meal that’s stored in the freezer. Best thing is no one recognizes them as a recycled meal, and if you’re ever short on time, these are the answer.

Dry or Freeze It
Sometimes I buy something with every good intention of using it and then never get around to it. Rather than let it go to waste, or just rot on the fridge shelf, I either dry it, using my dehydrator or freeze it. I sometimes do this with leftovers too. If I have corn or peas I put them in the dehydrator and use them later for soups and stews.

Make Your Own Meal Kits
I always keep a few of these on hand and they’re perfect when you have just a few carrots, stalks of celery, maybe half an onion left. I discovered that most of the recipes I made had those three ingredients in them so now I keep bags of them in the freezer and call them my homemade meal kits. Perfect for stir-frys too.
And here are some ideas for using specific leftovers-

Beans
Perfect for putting in soups and stews. Or combining with scrambled eggs and cheese for homemade breakfast burritos.

Bread
One thing I never buy is breadcrumbs. Sometimes I have slices from different loaves of older bread that aren’t fresh enough to make a sandwich with, but make ideal breadcrumbs. I even add garlic powder and herbs for the flavored variety. And if you ever have leftover tortillas, turn them into chips.
I cut them into triangles, brush them with oil and sprinkle on chili powder and cumin and bake them for about ten minutes in a 375 degree oven.

Potatoes
These cry out to be made into fritters or things like fish cakes. And the ideal way to use leftover fish too.

Meat or Chicken
If there’s not quite enough for another meal one good idea is to chop it up, combine it with vegetables and gravy and make a shepherd’s pie.

Pasta
I use mine in soups, or one serving portions of mac and cheese.
Rice
This goes into either soups or even quick rice puddings.

Stuffing
I always seem to have leftover stuffing during the holidays which I now put in the freezer for later use. It does make the perfect filling for stuffed Portobello mushrooms.

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It’s Meatless Monday-Smoky Lentil and Bean Tacos with Sungold Tomato Salsa

In Meatless Mondays on September 10, 2012 at 5:59 pm

One thing I’ve discovered about making vegetarian food is spices, herbs, and pairing neutral tasting foods, like beans, with other flavor dense items is essential.

I came up with this recipe a few weeks ago out of sheer desperation (a hot kitchen and little time to spare). I’d just purchased a package of whole wheat tacos shells, had a can of black beans on hand, and also a bag of previously cooked lentils sitting in the freezer. Also sitting nearby were the Sungold cherry tomatoes from the CSA box. I knew the beans and lentils probably wouldn’t be appetizing as is but then I thought how about adding some spices like smoked paprika. Hence this recipe came about and it’s simple to put together.

1 package whole wheat taco shells

1 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 1/2 cups of cooked brown lentils

1 tablespoon chili powder (less if you’re don’t want these too spicy)

1 tablespoon cumin

2 teaspoons smoked paprika (you can usually find this with the gourmet collection in the spice aisle) add more or less depending on how smoky you want them

1 onion, chopped

oil

For the salsa

1 1/2 cups of Sungold cherry tomatoes, halved

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

Pinch of oregano

salt, pepper

handful of chopped cilantro

1 hot pepper chopped…more if you like it really hot

1/2 onion, chopped ( I used a red onion as I had some leftover from another recipe)

Heat some oil in a skillet and add the onion. Cook until softened and lightly browned. Stir in the lentils and beans and then add the cumin, chili powder and smoked paprika.

Mix together and low heat and continue cooking for about ten minutes to get the flavors into the beans and lentils. Watch it carefully because it can stick.

While this is cooking, add all the ingredients for the salsa to a bowl and mix together.

When the lentil mixture is ready you can either put it into the taco shells or place it in a bowl and serve it help yourself style. Top with cheese, sour cream, and lots of the salsa.

Serves 3-4

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It’s Meatless Monday-Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

In Meatless Mondays on August 27, 2012 at 4:03 pm

One thing that’s fun to do is take a recipe that uses meat and figure out how to convert it to a vegetarian one. I did that last week with a stuffed cabbage roll recipe. I used the Savoy cabbage and peppers from the CSA box and also the slow cooker to make this easy and tasty supper.  The cabbage is filled with sauted veggies and black beans, plus a handful of the dried herbs I’d dehydrated earlier. I think I managed to makeover this dish into one that is high on taste and nutrition, but low on cost.

12 cabbage leaves

1 red pepper, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 15 ounce can of black beans

1 14 ounce jar of pasta sauce… I used Ragu

Seasoning, including, salt, pepper and onion powder

A handful of dried herbs, including basil and oregano

Oil

In a skillet, heat the oil over medium to high heat. Add the onions and saute until lightly softened. Add the pepper and carrots and saute until everything is lightly browned. Transfer the mixture to a bowl.

Drain and rinse the black beans and add to the veggie mixture. Add the herbs and seasonings. Using a fork or potato masher, slightly mash everything together. Don’t overdo it because you still want to keep the veggies and beans mostly intact.

Pour a little of the pasta sauce into the bottom of the slow cooker and swirl around so the bottom is coated.

Place a cabbage roll on a cutting board and put about 1/4 cup of the veggie/bean mixture onto it and roll up. Place seam down in the slow cooker. Repeat with the rest of the leaves.

Don’t worry about piling the rolls on top of one another.

Pour the rest of the pasta sauce over the rolls and cook on high for about 4 hours.

These are perfect served with brown rice. The best thing is the cabbage almost melts during cooking and everything blends together for a very rich taste.

Serves 4

Meatless Monday will be back on September 10th.

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It’s Meatless Monday-Bean, Rice and Cheese Enchiladas

In Meatless Mondays on April 23, 2012 at 3:30 pm

Two things I always keep on hand are rice and beans. You can make no end of meals from them including this one I put together last week. I combined the two ingredients with some other pantry staples and decided to make my own enchilada sauce but with a slight twist. Instead of pureeing the sauce I left it as is and not only used it as some filling for the enchiladas but the topping too-

1 15 ounce can pinto beans

1 1/2 cups of rice…I always use brown rice

1 14 ounce can of Red Gold chopped tomatoes with green chilies

1 8 ounce can of Red Gold tomato sauce

1 onion diced

2 carrots, peeled and sliced

Pinch of salt

3 tablespoons of chili powder

1 teaspoon of dried oregano

Some oil

1/2 cup of stock or water

1 1/2 cups of sharp shredded cheese

5 tortillas

Sour cream and salsa for topping

Spray a large casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray and preheat overn to  350 degrees.

Heat oil in a skillet and add onion, cook until slightly softened but not brown and then add the carrots. Next add the salt, oregano and chili powder and mix everything together and continue cooking for about 2-3 minutes. Slowly add the tomatoes and tomato sauce. And gradually add some stock. Cook for about 15 minutes or until the carrots are cooked.

Place enough of sauce in the bottom of the casserole dish to lightly coat it.

On top of a tortilla, place 1/4 cup of beans and 1/4 cup of rice,  about 2-3 tablespoons of both the cheese and enchilda sauce. Fold up into a sqaure ‘package’ and place in the casserole dish. Repeat with the remaining four tortillas. Pour the remaining sauce over them and top with cheese. Cover the dish with foil and bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese melted and golden.

Serve with extra cheese, sour cream and salsa.

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It’s Meatless Monday-Veggie Burger

In Meatless Mondays on April 9, 2012 at 3:01 pm

Those who know me well will tell you if I see a veggie burger recipe I’ll try it.

Last week was no exception when I found this one on Shine at Yahoo! The article was about red meat alternatives and featured two vegetarian recipes, one being the veggie burger.

http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/healthy-red-meat-substitutes-youll-love-092300281.html

It tasted good but the only thing I had trouble with was getting the ingredients to stick together to form a patty. I didn’t mash the beans completely so maybe this was a factor. I decided to add a beaten egg and that worked.

 I served mine with steak fries and barbecue sauce.

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