Thanksgiving Leftovers: Turkey Chili

I love Thanksgiving leftovers. We ate them all day yesterday. But, I needed to add something besides leftovers today. I had turkey leftover, so I decided to make turkey chili.

Ingredients:
Leftover turkey meat, diced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 onion, diced
1 jalapeno, diced
Garlic salt, to taste
Ground cumin, to taste
Chili powder, to taste
Shredded cheese for topping (optional)

Combine all the ingredients except the cheese in a crock pot and cook on high for four hours. Serve with cheese on top.

Moroccan Spiced Lentils and Couscous

This is a great meal for when I want to feel kind of exotic and want a healthy, vegetarian, cheap meal. Lentils are a great bean to make when you don't have as much time since they don't have to be soaked before you cook with them. The secret is to toast the lentils in the oil before you add liquid and bring them to a boil. This keeps the lentils from getting too mushy.

Ingredients:
1 cup of dry lentils, rinsed
1/2 onion, diced
2 1/2 cups cooking liquid (could be vegetable or chicken broth or water)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander (if you don't have coriander, just add extra ground cumin)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional if you like things spicy) 
1 box of couscous

Serves 4

Prepare couscous according to package directions.

Add some oil to a pot over medium high heat. Add the onion and spices and cook until the onion starts to soften. Add the lentils and cook, stirring often, until the lentils start to toast and smell fragrant, about 4 minutes. Don't walk away from the stove while you do this. They burn easily and stick to the bottom of the pan. Add your cooking liquid and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer over medium heat and cook until all of the liquid is absorbed, about 30 minutes. Serve over couscous.

Pasta with Tomatoes and Pesto Sauce

I make this for dinner when I am at a loss for what to make. It's rare that I don't have pasta in the pantry and tomatoes in the fridge that I need to use. If I don't have pesto, sometimes I make a lemon butter sauce by melting some butter and adding some lemon juice to go with it. If you want to make it healthier, you could also add some frozen spinach when you cook the tomatoes.

Ingredients:
1 pound of pasta
2 to 4 tomatoes, diced
1 jar of pesto sauce
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper

Serves 4

Set a pot of water on high heat to boil. Add your pasta and cook according to package directions.

In a pan, add some olive oil, the diced tomatoes, salt, and crushed red pepper flakes and cook until the tomatoes release their aroma and get soft.

Top pasta with tomatoes and some jarred pesto sauce. It doesn't get any easier!

Pumpkin Oatmeal

I was craving something with pumpkin this time of year, but didn't feel like making pumpkin bread. I decided to make pumpkin oatmeal for breakfast instead. This recipe gives you tons of fiber and more than a full day's value of Vitamin A before you even make it to work!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of oats
1/3 cup of canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
Ground Cinnamon to taste
2 Teaspoons Brown Sugar

Serves 1

Cook oats according to package directions. When the oatmeal is almost done, add in the canned pumpkin, the ground cinnamon and brown sugar and cook until fragrant and the oatmeal is done. Delicious.

Thanksgiving Recipes Galore!

Nothing makes me happier than making Thanksgiving for my family. I have been doing it since I was 21 years old! I was able to put together this menu for everyone and stay within my weekly budget.

I am going to put all my Thanksgiving recipes in one post to make it easier. Pictures will come after Thanksgiving. All of these recipes serve 7, plus leftovers. I have people bringing dressing, appetizers, and dessert.

Lemon Pepper Turkey Breast

We make a turkey breast instead of a whole turkey because that is all that we eat anyway. Adding the lemon slices under the skin helps keep the turkey moist and adds a great lemon flavor. I am making mine with a Rotisserie, but you can bake it according to the package directions if you don't have a Rotisserie. Using a Rotisserie gives me extra oven room for everything else I make.

Ingredients:
8 pounds of turkey breast
3 lemons, sliced thin
1/2 stick butter
1 tablespoon lemon pepper
1 tablespoon garlic salt

After you remove the gravy packet and rinse off and dry your turkey breast, start separating the skin at the neck from the breast by working your fingers between the skin and the flesh. Separate the skin going as far back down the breast as you can.

Mix together your butter, lemon pepper, and garlic salt by mashing it together with a fork. Put about 1/3 of the mixture in between the skin and the flesh of the turkey. Then shove the sliced lemons in between the skin and the breast. If you are baking your turkey, I also stuff lemons inside the cavity...but since I am using a Rotisserie, they would fall out. Use the rest of the butter mixture to coat the outside of the bird.

Then, place the turkey onto your Rotisserie. Start checking your turkey at 1 1/2 hours. Keep cooking until the breast reaches 170 degrees. This should take between 1 1/2 and 2 hours. Be sure to let your turkey rest before you slice it.

Citrus Cranberry Sauce

This is a great make-ahead recipe. I like my sauce to be more tart than sweet, so I use less sugar than the bag of cranberries recommends.

Ingredients:
1 bag of cranberries
1 cup of water
1/2 cup of sugar
1 cap full of vanilla
3 slices of lemon peel

Dissolve the sugar and vanilla in the water over medium heat. Add the cranberries and slices of lemon peel. Bring to a simmer and cook until the cranberries start to pop open. Remove the lemon peels and place in the refrigerator to chill.

Roasted Red Cabbage, Cauliflower, and Butternut Squash

This is my super healthy dish for Thanksgiving. I use mustard to mellow out the bitterness of the cauliflower and red cabbage.

Ingredients:
1/2 head red cabbage, sliced
1 head of cauliflower, chopped into florets
8 cups of butternut squash, diced into small pieces (I buy the pre-cut kind because butternut squash is SUPER hard to cut up and peel)
Canola oil
Garlic salt, ground cumin, and brown mustard to taste
Peel of 1 lemon

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. (I like these to cook fast!)

Toss your vegetables in canola oil, spices, and a healthy squirt of brown mustard. Spread evenly on a couple of cookie sheets along with the lemon peel and roast for 20 minutes, stirring half way in between. When you serve, remove the lemon peel (it only serves to add a slight citrus flavor to mellow out the bitterness).

Turkey Gravy

For goodness sake, throw away the gravy packet that comes in the turkey! It is so easy to make your own and it has so much more flavor. Plus, it gives you something to do while you are waiting for your turkey to rest before you cut it.

Ingredients:
Pan drippings from your roasted turkey
2 tablespoons flour
1  can chicken broth

Pour the pan drippings from your turkey into a large pan over medium high heat. Add the flour and whisk vigorously until the flour is absorbed and cooked. Add the can of chicken broth and bring to a boil. Cook, while whisking, until the liquid reaches the desired thickness, about 10 minutes.

Tater Tot Casserole

This was my husband's recipe for our very first Thanksgiving together and it has replaced the need for mashed potatoes in our house! It is the farthest thing from healthy, but it is sinfully amazing.

Ingredients:
2 small bags of extra crispy tater tots
6 slices of bacon
1 pint sour cream
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Canola oil

Fry tater tots according to package directions. Slice and cook the bacon in a separate pan. Layer the tater tots, bacon, sour cream, and cheese in a casserole dish. Top with remaining sour cream and cheese. Place in the oven and bake until the cheese melts.

Ginger Carrots

Ingredients:
1 pound of carrots, peeled and sliced on a bias
1/2 stick of butter
2 cups of Ginger Ale

Heat the butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the carrots and some salt and cook for a few minutes. Add the Ginger Ale and bring to a boil. Cover and cook until the carrots are almost fork tender, about 5 minutes. Remove the lid and cook until the Ginger Ale reduces to a nice sauce.

Thanksgiving Week, Including Thanksgiving Dinner: $70

I am very proud of myself this week! Dave and I are eating for a full week, including feeding seven people Thanksgiving dinner, for only $70! To make this happen, before Thanksgiving we are eating vegetarian meals, but that is okay. Experts say that periodically eating vegetarian is very good for you.

Week Menu
Saturday lunch: leftovers from last week
Saturday dinner: Moroccan Spiced Lentils and Couscous
Sunday lunch: french toast and bacon
Sunday dinner: Moroccan Spiced Lentils and Couscous

Daily Breakfast: Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal
Dinner 1: Polenta, Spinach, and Roasted Chick Peas
Dinner 2: Tortilla Soup with Nachos
Dinner 3: Pasta with Tomatoes and Pesto Sauce

Daily lunches are leftovers from the previous night's dinner.

Thanksgiving Menu
Now, for the good stuff.

Lemon Pepper Turkey Breast (8.5 pounds)
Homemade Turkey Gravy
Homemade Citrus Cranberry Sauce
Tater Tot Casserole (the only really unhealthy thing on the menu, but it's a Holiday!)
Roasted Red Cabbage, Cauliflower, and Butternut Squash
Ginger Carrots
Crescent Rolls

*While this would be a complete meal, my mom is bringing her famous Sausage Dressing, my mother-in-law is bringing appetizers and another vegetable, and my friend is bringing dessert.

Shopping List:
Milk
Butter
Turkey Breast (there aren't enough of us for a whole turkey and no one eats anything but the breast)
5 Lemons
1 Orange
Calavasa Squash
1 Avocado
Cranberries
Red Cabbage
Cauliflower
Butternut Squash (2 pre-cut bags for a total of 8 cups)
2 Boxes + 2 Cans of Chicken Broth
2 Bags of Extra Crispy Tater Tots
2 Pounds of Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 Pint of Sour Cream
1 Liter of Ginger Ale
2 Cans of Crescent Rolls
Apple Cinnamon Tea
1 Box Cous Cous
2 Cans of Chick Peas
1 Can of Black Beans
1 Can of Pumpkin
1 Can of Rotel
1 Canister of Oatmeal

From My Pantry: Sugar, Lemon Pepper, Garlic Salt, Ground Cumin, Garlic, Ground Cinnamon, 1/2 Package of Bacon, 2 Onions, Brown Mustard, 3/4 Bag of Carrots, 1/2 Bag of Lentils, Pasta, Pesto Sauce, 2 Tomatoes, Corn Meal, 1/2 Bag Frozen Spinach, Tortilla Chips, Corn Meal

Recipes coming soon!

Chicken Calabaza Stew

This is one of my favorite slow cooker recipes for a busy day. It smells great when you come home too!

Ingredients:
4 calabaza squash, sliced into bite size pieces
2 cans Rotel
1/2 onion, diced
8 ounces chicken, cut in bite size pieces
1 T garlic salt (according to taste)
1 T ground cumin (according to taste)
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese
Tortilla chips

Serves 4

Place the first six ingredients in your slow cooker. Stir to combine. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. *If you don't want to use a slow cooker, just combine the onion, squash, chicken and spices in a pan and cook until the chicken is done. Add the Rotel and just let it simmer for 15 minutes.

For serving, sprinkle some cheese on top and eat with chips. I actually use the tortilla chips instead of a spoon!

Deconstructed Stuffed Peppers

This was actually my husband's idea to do with our left over mini peppers from last week. He wanted regular stuffed peppers, but I just cut up the peppers and tossed them with the "filling" mixture and baked. All of the traditional flavors are there, but I got to use what I had!

Ingredients:
1/2 package Italian sausage
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cups cooked rice
1/2 carton mushrooms, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 cups frozen spinach
2 cups baby bell peppers sliced

Serves 4

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 

Saute the onions, bell peppers and mushrooms in a pan over medium high heat until the onions soften. Remove the Italian sausage from its casings and brown in the pan. Add the frozen spinach and garlic and cook until the spinach is heated through.

Pour mixture into a baking pan and add rice and canned tomatoes. Mix all the ingredients well. Top with cheese and place in the oven for 10 minutes until the cheese melts and is browned.

Stir Fry With Chicken, Ginger, and Bok Choy

The key to making this recipe have a great flavor is to infuse the stir fry oil with a flavor of ginger. Dice the ginger and put it in the oil in your stir fry pan while you prepare your other vegetables and the chicken. When you warm your pan, the ginger will further flavor the oil.



Ingredients:
8 ounces chicken breast, cut in bite size pieces
1/3 onion, diced
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and diced
5 carrots, sliced
1 small head of bok choy, green parts sliced
1 clove of garlic, chopped
Garlic salt
Dried Asian seasoning
Canola oil
Soy sauce
Brown rice, cooked

Serves 4

Coat your stir fry pan with oil and add the ginger. Let the ginger infuse in the oil while you chop your other vegetables. Dice your chicken and coat with garlic salt and dried Asian Seasoning. 

Turn on your stove to medium.Saute the onion and carrots until the onions soften. Add the chicken and cook until it is no longer pink. Add the bok choy, garlic, and some soy sauce. Cook until the bok choy is completely wilted. Serve over rice.

Delicious, fast, and super healthy.

Healthy and Hearty Lasagna

I love lasagna. I add lots of vegetables to mine like spinach and mushrooms.I make it without ricotta cheese, because my husband doesn't care for it. I also use a no-boil method to make the process easier. It takes a little longer in total cook time, but it takes less time spent in the kitchen.

Ingredients:
1/2 package Italian sausage
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 carton mushrooms, chopped
1 cup frozen spinach
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1 can diced tomatoes with roasted garlic
1/2 package lasagna noodles (You can actually use the regular ones instead of paying extra for the no-boil ones)
French bread

Serves 4

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Saute the onion and mushrooms in some oil over medium heat until the onions turn soft and translucent. Remove sausage from its casings by slicing the casing and removing the filling. Add to the pan and break it up with your spatula as it cooks.  After the sausage is mostly cooked, add the frozen spinach and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the spinach breaks up.

Break up some lasagna noodles to fit into your pan. Layer on 1/2 your can of diced tomatoes, the meat mixture, and some cheese. Add one more layer of noodles, the other 1/2 can of tomatoes, the meat mixture, and the rest of the cheese.

Now this is how you turn regular lasagna noodles into the no-boil lasagna noodles: All you do is pour one cup of water into the bottom of your pan by going around the edges. Cover the pan with foil and bake 40 minutes. Remove the foil and stick a knife into the middle of the pan to make sure it goes through and the pasta is cooked. Place the pan uncovered back into the oven and bake another 20 minutes or until the cheese browns. Remove from the oven and let it rest another 15 minutes. This allows any leftover moisture to absorb into the pasta.

Serve with french bread. 

Delicious and healthy with tons of vegetables and less than one sausage link per serving.

Bacon Tomato Avocado Sandwich With Sweet Potato Fries

I love a good BTA (bacon tomato avocado) sandwich. The creaminess of the avocado takes away the need for mayonnaise and I slice a whole Roma tomato on my sandwich. I serve them with baked sweet potato fries. With this meal, I end up eating about 2 cups of vegetables!

Ingredients:
6 slices of bacon
2 tomatoes
1/2 avocado
4 slices of bread
2 small sweet potatoes
Canola oil
garlic salt
chili powder

Serves 2

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Slice your sweet potatoes into french fry strips. Toss in a bowl with a couple of tablespoons of canola oil and healthy pinches of garlic salt and chili powder. Spread on a cookie sheet and place in the oven. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring half way through.

Pan fry your bacon and toast your bread for your sandwiches. Slice up one Roma tomato per person and 1/4 avocado per person. Pile everything into your sandwich. Serve with sweet potato fries. Delish!

Week 4 Food Costs: $55

My experiment last week with using leftovers from dinner for lunch the next day worked well, so I am continuing that again this week. We spent $55 on food this week for six days ($4.58 per person per day). Here's what we are eating:

Friday night: Date Night
Saturday Lunch: Bacon, Avocado, Tomato Sandwich with Sweet Potato Fries
Saturday Dinner: At My Mom's House
Sunday Lunch: Pancakes and bacon
Sunday Dinner: Bacon, Avocado, Tomato Sandwich with Sweet Potato Fries

Weekday Breakfast: Toast with Peanut Butter and Banana
Dinner 1: Deconstructed Italian Stuffed Peppers
Dinner 2: Lasagna
Dinner 3: Chicken Stir Fry with Ginger and Bok Choy
Dinner 4: Chicken Calabaza Stew
Weekday Lunch: Leftovers from Previous Dinner


Treat: S'mores!

Shopping List:
Tomatoes
Avocado
Bok Choy
Carrots
Calabaza Squash
Bananas
Frozen Spinach
Bacon
Italian Sausage
Chicken
Mozzarella Cheese (big bag)
2 Cans Tomatoes
2 Cans Rotel
Bread
Tortilla Chips
Graham Crackers
Marshmellows
2 Hershey Bars
Milk

From My Kitchen: Garlic Salt, Chili Powder, Cumin, Sweet Potatoes (4 small), Onion, Fresh Garlic, Pancake Mix, Syrup, Peanut Butter, 1/2 Bag Baby Bell Peppers (leftover from last week), 1/2 Large Carton Mushrooms (leftover from last week), 1/2 Bag Shredded Mexican Blend Cheese, Lasagna Noodles, Rice, Ginger, Soy Sauce

Halibut Mediteranean Stew

It's a special dinner tonight! Halibut is my favorite fish, but even frozen, it is pretty expensive. I paid $1 per ounce for my frozen bag of it. But, I can afford a few special ingredients per week because I don't buy junk food.

Ingredients:
12 ounces halibut
2 cans diced tomatoes (I bought one can of the garlic diced, and one can of the fennel and red pepper flavor)
1 bulb fennel, sliced (if you don't have fennel, just use an onion)
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 cup chopped bell peppers (I bought the bag of baby sweet bell peppers because it was cheaper)
Barley (or rice)

Serves 2 dinners and 2 smaller lunches

Prepare barley or rice according to package directions.

Heat a large pan over medium high heat. Add your fennel (or onion), bell peppers, salt, and pepper, and let it cook until it browns on one side. Then stir, and let it brown on the other side.

Meanwhile, chop your halibut into large bite-size pieces. Add the halibut, canned tomatoes, and garlic to your pan. Cover, and cook until the halibut is done, about 10 minutes. Serve over barley or rice.

Red Beans and Rice

You don't get cheaper, healthier, easier or tastier on a cold night than red beans and rice. I usually make red beans and rice on weeks when I want to have an expensive meal (like my halibut) because it is so cheap to make and keeps my grocery costs down while being delicious.

Ingredients:
2 cups dried red beans, soaked over night
1 cup dried rice
1 chopped onion
3 cloves chopped garlic
Tabasco to taste
dried chili pepper to taste (I usually do 2 Tablespoons)
3 cups water
sausage or bacon, sliced (optional)

Soak your beans over night the night before you want to make this recipe.

Put beans, chopped onion, garlic, water, salt, chili pepper, and sausage/bacon in your crock pot. Turn on high to cook in 4 hours or low to cook in 8 hours.

Cook rice according to package directions. Serve beans over rice with Tabasco sauce and bread for dipping.

Italian Sausage Spaghetti

This is a meal good enough that I make it for a special occasion, like Valentine's Day, or when I have company. My husband also makes this great spaghetti, so it is great for a date night.

Ingredients:
1/2 onion, sliced
6 ounces mushrooms, chopped (I like mine chopped into pretty small pieces)
1 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup sliced bell peppers (I buy the sweet bell peppers in a bag, because they are cheaper)
2 cans diced tomatoes
Red wine
Italian sausage (I use half a package for this, and the other half for another meal)
Spaghetti
Red Pepper Flakes

Serves 4

Remove the sausage from its casings by cutting the casing and squeezing the sausage out. Add sausage to a pan over medium high heat. Let cook until most of the way done, then remove the sausage from the pan.

Add the chopped onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms to the pan with the sausage grease. Cook until browned. Add the sausage back in to the pan along with the garlic, canned tomatoes, and 1 cup red wine. Cook until wine reduces and sausage is complete done.

Serve over spaghetti with some red pepper flakes. Have a glass of wine with your meal!

Italian Sausage and Potato Soup

This soup is inspired by Olive Garden's Zuppa Tuscana. I love that stuff!

Ingredients:
1/2 package of Italian sausage
2 large potatoes, chopped into same-size pieces
2 boxes chicken broth
1 onion chopped
1 can Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained (I add the beans to make the soup heartier and have more fiber)
Red Pepper Flakes
French bread (optional)

Serves 4

Remove the sausage from its casings by cutting the casing and squeezing the sausage into a soup pot over medium high heat. Break up the sausage as it cooks. Add chopped onion and some red pepper flakes and cook until onion is translucent and sausage is almost done.

Add the potatoes, beans, and then the broth. Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are fork tender, about 10 minutes.

Serve with warm french bread. 

Recipe: Make Ahead Breakfast Burrito

I gave in to temptation when running late for work this week, and pulled into 7-11 to buy one of their delicious breakfast burritos. Now, I am craving breakfast burritos for breakfast. While I think that most people, including myself, always have the best intentions of a luxurious morning routine that includes eating breakfast at home, I have a hard time waking up before the sun in the Winter months to do this. So, I decided I would make all my breakfast burritos for the week on Sunday, and then grab them before I leave and eat them at work.

Ingredients:
10 eggs
milk
2 large potatoes, chopped into small pieces
10 tortillas
1/2 bag of shredded cheese 

Makes 10 burritos

Pan fry the potatoes in a skillet with a little bit of oil and salt and pepper over medium high heat. Cook until they are crispy.

Meanwhile, beat your eggs with a splash of milk and salt and pepper. I like using milk in my scrambled eggs because it makes them go further. Scramble your eggs, stopping while they are still wet.

Lay out your tortillas, and fill each one with some of the eggs and the potatoes. Top with some shredded cheese. Roll up your burritos.

WAIT FOR THEM TO COOL COMPLETELY and then put into separate ziplock baggies. (If they are warm, they will get soggy in the baggie). Place the burritos in your freezer.

When it comes time to eat them, wrap them in a paper towel and pop them in the microwave for approximately one and a half minutes, flipping the burrito over half way through. Depending on your microwave, they may need to be heated longer or shorter.

What I Don't Buy At The Grocery Store

When you are eating for $5 per person per day, there are a lot of things that you don't buy at the store. I choose to focus my food budget around nutritious, whole foods. Consequently, I don't buy hardly anything processed. For one thing, unprocessed foods are much cheaper than processed foods. For another, they are healthier.

Here is a list of things I rarely, if ever, buy at the grocery store:
-Chips
-Candy
-Packaged cakes or treats
-Crackers
-100 calorie snack bags
-Soda
-Granola bars or cereal bars

Occasionally, I will buy these things if I know I will be too busy to cook, and thus, tempted to grab fast food on the way home:
-Frozen lunch entrees
-Frozen skillet dinners
-Breakfast bars where I can pronounce all the ingredients

The key to these "occasional" foods is if I can pronounce all the ingredients and if they come to less than $2.50 per serving (for lunch/dinner) or $.75 for breakfast.

Instead of spending money on the things on my "rarely" list, I like to spend my grocery dollars on more fruits and vegetables, wine, expensive meats (like good fish) or exciting condiments (like nice olives) to bring a meal over the top. I feel I get a bigger flavor bang-for-my-buck and I know I get a better nutrition bang-for-my-buck.

Week 3 Grocery Costs: $56

I spent $56 for six days of food for Dave and I this week ($4.67 per person per day). We had date night out on Friday night and have a wedding to attend tonight. We are eating pretty high on the hog this week too! I bought a bottle of wine and some frozen halibut. By not buying junk food and having one vegetarian meal, I can afford food "luxuries" like wine and halibut (which cost me $1 per ounce!).

This week, I am trying a new method for our lunches. We are both getting tired of eating the same thing for lunch every day for a week. So, I am going to try making a little bit extra for dinner every night, and then we will take leftovers from the previous night's dinner for lunch.

Menu:
Friday night: Date night, dinner out
Saturday lunch: leftovers from date night
Saturday dinner: We are going to a wedding
Sunday lunch: french toast, eggs, bacon, hashbrowns
Sunday dinner: leftovers from the week with a salad

Breakfast: Make-Ahead Egg, Potato, and Cheese Buritos
Dinner 1: Halibut Mediterranean Stew
Dinner 2: Italian Sausage Spaghetti
Dinner 3: Italian Sausage and Potato Soup
Dinner 4: Red Beans and Rice

Grocery List:
fennel
garlic
baby bell peppers (a bag of these is cheaper than 2 red bell peppers)
2 yellow onions
1 red onion
mushrooms
romaine lettuce
4 potatoes
french bread
frozen halibut
Italian sausage
4 cans of diced tomatoes
1 can Great Northern beans
2 boxes of chicken broth
dozen eggs
flour tortillas
bottle of Pinot Noir
milk
spaghetti

From My Pantry: shredded cheese (1/2 bag), barley (you can use rice), crushed red pepper, lemon juice, garlic salt, olive oil, red beans, rice, Tabasco, chili powder

Recipes coming Monday!

Mediteranean Turkey Patties with Salad and Rice

I am using the rest of the ground turkey from my lettuce wraps to make dinner tonight. Stretching one type of protein through two meals is one way that I keep my grocery prices low.

I was thinking of Mediterranean and Greek food when I dreamed up this meal.

Ingredients:
1/2 Pound Ground Turkey
Garlic Salt
1 Tablespoon + 1/2 Teaspoon Dried Oregano
Red Pepper Flakes
Salt and Pepper
Romaine Lettuce
Red Onion, sliced
Tomato, diced
Lemon Juice
Olive Oil
Garlic Salt
Rice
Mayonnaise 
Spicy Brown Mustard

Serves 2

Cook rice according to package directions.

Mix the ground turkey with garlic salt, dried oregano, and red pepper flakes. Form the ground turkey into four patties. Heat a pan with some olive oil over medium high heat. Add the patties to the pan and cook until no longer pink, flipping half-way through. 

Chop lettuce, onion and tomato. Make a dressing by mixing 1 part olive oil, 2 parts lemon juice, garlic salt and a squirt of spicy brown mustard. Pour over the salad.

For an aoli-like sauce, combine 1/4 cup mayonaise, 1/4 cup spicy brown mustard, and a squirt of lemon juice. Serve sauce over turkey patty.This sauce is really cheap, using ingredients already in your fridge, but makes the meal feel special.

A Note on Animal Protein

You may notice on this blog that I don't make a lot of meals that have a big portion of animal protein in them. Really, there are two reasons for this:

1. Personal Taste- I very rarely crave a big piece of chicken breast or steak for dinner. It's more of a special occasion treat than an everyday craving.
2. Cost- Animal protein can be expensive to buy.

In my house, we have, on average, one meal a day without animal protein, sometimes two. This helps us keep our grocery costs down. Instead of animal protein, I spend this extra money on fruits and vegetables. In the meal without animal protein, I include a plant protein, usually beans or nuts. I don't buy a lot of soy or tofu either. I don't care for it, and there are mixed ideas about how healthy or unhealthy processed soy is.

Also, in the meals that include animal protein, it is very rarely a breast of chicken or a steak along with a side. I try to stretch my animal protein dollars very far by using meat as a component of a meal instead of the star of the meal. For example, I would make a stir fry with vegetables and half a chicken breast per person instead of one large chicken breast and some vegetables on the side per person.

Being creative about stretching your meat into several meals and including one vegetarian meal a day can help you eat healthfully on less than $5 per person per day.

Leave a comment about how you use meat in a healthy and cheap menu.