Easy as 1-2-3

Pork Chops or Chicken: Pop 'em In the Oven

Some nights you just need a simple dish that requires little prep and gives you an hour to unwind. This is the perfect dish for those lazy, carefree evenings.

Using a deep baking dish, add the following ingredients and bake @ 400 degrees for approximately one hour. Keep covered for the first 50-55 minutes; the last 10 minutes or so, uncover the dish and cook until moisture evaporates and the top layer is crispy.

• Choose your meat: lean pork chops OR boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2-4 pieces)
• 1 can of cream of mushroom soup (low sodium if you prefer)
• 1 can of green beans (drain before mixing)
• 1 cup of uncooked rice (white)
  
• 1 cup of water
• Once, mixed-- sprinkle ground pepper and seasoning salt to the top layer
  
• Optional (cut up about 1/2- 1 cup of fresh mushrooms)
• Optional (cut up additional fresh asparagus and/or green beans-- about 1 cup)

After the dish is baked, let stand for about 5-10 minutes. Serve with frosty cold milk.

A New Mahi-Mahi Favorite

Ginger Glazed- yum!

• 3 tablespoons honey
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
• 1 clove garlic, crushed or to taste
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 4 (6 ounce) mahi mahi fillets
• 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper (each)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• Optional (cut up one fresh green onion, and sprinkle the remaining chives)
• Optional- sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds

1. In a shallow glass dish (or Ziploc bag), stir together the honey, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, ginger, garlic and olive oil. Season fish fillets with salt and pepper, and place them into the dish (or baggie). If the fillets have skin on them, place them skin side down. Cover, and refrigerate for 20 minutes to marinate.
2. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.** optional-- add the chopped green onion). Remove fish from the dish, and reserve marinade. Fry fish for 4 to 6 minutes on each side, turning only once, until fish flakes easily with a fork. Remove fillets to a serving platter and keep warm (using foil).
3. Pour reserved marinade into the skillet, and heat over medium heat until the mixture reduces to a glaze consistently. Spoon glaze over fish, and serve immediately.** optional-- add chives and toasted sesame seeds.

Serve over rice with either fresh green beans or asparagus.

Diane's Goulash

This is a dish Rick learned from Diane. Every time he was at their home visiting, he would scarf this meal down-- even if it was weeks old. It's an easy one and makes several meals for two people.

In a large frying pan, brown 2 lbs raw burger, 1 cup of chopped onion, 1 1/2 cups of chopped celery. Brown all on medium heat. When all is cooked, drain excess fat.

Combine in a baking dish for the oven or in a crock pot:

• Hamburger mixture
  
• 2 medium cans of mixed vegetable (drain liquid off vegetables before adding)
• 2 10 oz cans of cream of mushroom soup
• 1 10 oz can of chicken with rice soup
• 6 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 2 cups of dry chow mien noodles

Mix all together in the baking dish. Bake in the oven at 350 for 1 hour or low on crock pot for several hours.

Liquid Lunch

(Rick's Bloody Mary Mix)

This is a great drink to serve when you are impressing a group of friends or having a poker party.

Here is what you'll need~

• Pint Glasses
• If desired, salt the rims by wetting the glasses; then, on a small plate: combine favorite seasonings such as chile powder, celery salt, margarita salt-- all or one of these; set the pint glass in the rimmer mix
  
• Fill the pint glasses with ice cubes (3/4 way full)
• 1 teaspoon of horseradish (chunky; non-cream style)
  
• 3-5 shakes of Worcestershire sauce
• 3 shakes of celery salt
• 3-5 shakes of Tabasco sauce
• 2 shakes of ground pepper
• 1 shot of vodka (or more if you are in the mood)
• 2 green olives
• 1 slice of dill pickle spear (optional)
• 1 stick of celery (optional)
• Fill the rest of the pint with spicy V8 or Caesar Clamato; of course you can use any bloody mary mix
• Mix all by stirring
• An accessory is a small 6 oz. schnit of beer (pilsner) and/or a slice or lemon or lime

Two Varieties of Shrimp Meals

RECIPE #1
My sister-in-law gave me an awesome Christmas gift-- Quick and Easy Indian Cooking. In the book my favorite recipe is the Shrimp with Garlic and Chilies.

Here is that recipe as well as a few of my own adaptations. It will serve 2-4 people, depending on your appetite. Another quick hint, have your rice already cooking while you are preparing the shrimp, getting the ingredients chopped and ready to go. Rice takes around 20-25 minutes while the meal takes only 15 minutes. This is why you have time to let the shrimp stand with the spices (see below).

Ingredients:
1 pound medium-sized shrimp~ peeled, deveined, and washed, patted dry
1/4 teaspoon ground tumeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup of oil (I use Olive Oil, you can use Vegetable Oil)
1/2 teaspoon black or yellow mustard seeds
5 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped (or minced)
1 fresh, hot green chili (or 1/2 a jalepeno pepper) finely chopped-- for extra spicy do not remove the seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons (or more) finely chopped fresh cilantro

Put the shrimp in a bowl. Sprinkle the tumeric and cayenne over them evenly and rub in. Let stand at least 10 minutes for the spices to absorb. Put the oil in a wok or large frying pan and set over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, put in the mustard seed (be sure to cover, otherwise it pops all over the place). As soon as they begin to pop-- this takes only a matter of seconds-- put in the garlic and green chile/pepper. Let these get golden brown. Put the shrimp in shortly after. Stir and fry them over the same heat until they turn opaque. This will take 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and toss (I also add a little ground pepper). Dash the cilantro, then toss and serve over brown rice (or white if you prefer it).

RECIPE #2

Shrimp Scampi Pasta

1 pound uncooked shrimp (peeled, deveined, you may/may not want to leave tails on) 4 lg. garlic cloves, finely minced 1/2 stick butter 1/2 cup olive oil 1 cup white wine 1-2 tbsp. chopped parsley 1-2 tbsp. chopped basil Lemon wedges 2 tbsp. lemon pepper usual amount of uncooked pasta * Extra- one green onion, finely chopped (not the dark green part) Start boiling the water for pasta noodles. The prep work and cooking of the shrimp take about the same amount of time as it takes to cook the pasta. Prepping shrimp- sprinkle the chopped parsley and basil on the uncooked shrimp. Then, add the lemon pepper (and any other spice if you like extra flavor- salt/pepper/Italian spices). In a skillet add the oil and butter, saute garlic until lightly browned. (do not leave for long, or else it will get burnt). This is when you would also add the green onion if you choose to add this. Add shrimp, sqeeze the juice from a couple of lemon wedges and cook until shrimp are pink (a few minutes) and juices in pan are bubbling hot. Next, add the wine which will evaporate quite a bit. Serve shrimp with scampi sauce over the pasta, and garnish with extra lemon wedges.

Simple Taco Salad

This is a delicious and easy meal to whip up! I remember the days of swinging by a taco stand at 2 a.m. to order chips, cheese and guacamole (which was really sour cream and green food coloring). These days, I require a little healthier Mexican snack, so I hope you too will love this tasty dish.

Ingredients (I add in these items in this order):

• Bag of salad (or cut up a mixture of Iceberg and loose/leafy greens-- Farmer's Market all the way!)
• 1 avocado sliced into chunks (very important ingredient!!!)
• 2-3 tablespoons of finely chopped cilantro
• 1 medium sized vine ripe tomato cut in chunks
  
• about 15 sliced olives (for taste- optional)
• 1/2 a bell pepper cut in chunks (optional)
  
• crunched up tortilla chips (about 1/4 of a bag)
• cook ahead of time-- 1/2-1 pound of ground beef or turkey. After draining, I also add taco seasoning (either from the pouch or use paprika, cumin, garlic salt, pepper). Once browned and seasonings are added, let this cool for about 15-30 minutes (whatever you have time for) before adding to the salad
  
• 1 cup of grated cheese (your choice)
• creamy French dressing- I think Kraft is the best brand-- it is the Light orange one, not the bright reddish colored one (put as much as you'd like, but add it to the entire salad before mixing)

Mix all this together thoroughly with salad tongs (or your hands if they are squeaky clean and it's just for your family).

• If you would like extra yummy toppings, add fresh or store bought salsa and/or sour cream
  

Bulk Spaghetti

As I mentioned in my $ saving tips, making spaghetti in the bulk can save on cost and provide around 4-5 frozen meals. This recipe can also be used if providing for a large group. If you are providing for less than 8 people though, I would cut the recipe in half. Enjoy : )

Ingredients:

1-1.5 pounds of spicy Italian sausage- the ones in links.
Squeeze out the sausage and cook before adding to the sauce (or ground beef/ turkey). Be sure to drain the grease.
Sauce:

• 4-5 cans of Hunts spaghetti sauce (we can usually find for $1 a can when on sale). You can use any sauce you'd like.

• Chop the following vegetables: 1 medium sized white or yellow onion, 1 green or orange bell pepper, 1 jalapeno pepper, 4-5 cloves of garlic, 1/2 to 1 packet of mushrooms, 1/2 can of olives (be sure to slice), 1-2 tablespoons of fresh cut parsley, 1-2 tablespoons of fresh cut basil (Sometimes I cook the onion, jalapeno pepper and bell pepper with the meat, but other times I just throw those into the sauce)
  
• a handful of the following spices should be added to the sauce: an Italian seasoning blend, garlic salt, dried basil, dried parsley and/ or any other spice you like with pasta
  
• a new addition that we sometimes add when warming up the meal later: 1-2 slices of cooked bacon- chopped in tiny pieces.
  
• We have also added 1/2 a container of the Alfredo sauce when we warm up the sauce if we feel like a little change. It's creamy and adds some flavor. Obviously the additions are fatty, so they are extras if you can spare those calories. If you don't eat meat, this sauce is still very tasty without the meat

When reheating, cook up any type of pasta, heat the sauce, and broil some garlic bread. This meal is great with salad and a bottle of Cabernet or Barbara wine! (some of our favorites for a simple meal like this: Columbia Crest, Bogle, or Redwood Creek-- all of those are between $8-$12).

Fresh Fish

Spending a weekend up at our good friends'(Danelle and Scott) cabin is always relaxing and fun. This trip we decided to not only ATV but fish. I haven't fished much in my life (once I went ocean fishing with my grandfather, caught fish with my family at a local lake, and another time sports fishing with Rick). Early in the a.m. with a little drizzle coming down, we headed down to the stocked ponds for a little fishing excursion. Even though they are stocked, it's not as if the fish are jumping out at you or nibbling at every worm. To make a long story short- I ended up catching two Trout! Above is a photo for proof. It just goes to show that there really are some inexpensive meals : ) Key ingredients: lemon, fresh parsly, butter, garlic, olive oil and any other herbs. I first baked at 400 degrees, then broiled for a little more crisp.

Fresh Salsa

Are you another fan of the Farmer's Market? I just love the fresh tomatoes, peppers, onions and all the other veggies! To make this salsa, you must have fresh, preferably vine ripe tomatoes. I truly am going off memory with this side dish, so feel free to add/take out where needed... in fact, I may make this soon and revise my recipe.

Looks like Rick cleaned up the salsa!

Ingredients:

(can make double or half this recipe but usually its not worth making less due to all the chopping time; it's a good salsa to bring to a party)

• 6 medium to large sized tomatoes
• whichever pepper you like: 1/2 to 3/4 jalapeno, 1 green chile pepper, or 1 yellow wax pepper
• 1/2 onion (yellow, white, or red-- your choice-- I use white or yellow)
• 1/2 Bell pepper (orange or yellow add color)
• 3 tablespoons of cilantro
• fresh lime juice (1/2 or all of the lime's juice)
• sprinkle a handful of spices (I never like to dictate how much, taste until just right): cumin, salt, garlic powder, and cayenne or paprika for color and spice
• 1-2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
  
• sometimes I add a little hot sauce if I want it extra spicy

Steps:
1. Dice the tomatoes
2. Chop all other veggies finely
3. Add lime juice, spices, vinegar and hot sauce (optional). Mix and taste, add more if needed.
4. Let stand (refrigerated) for a couple hours minimum. This is actually better the next day when all the spices and pepper sink in to the tomatoes.
5. Serve with your favorite tortilla chips and/or with tacos, enchiladas, or tamales.

Umami Factor

This image isn't the exact meal but will have to suffice until I cook and click one of my own.

Apparently, particular spices or ingredients are part of a "fifth taste". They add savory and rich flavors to a meal. My favorite dish with Umami items is Fried Rice and Shiitake Mushrooms and Snap or Snow Peas.

According to a Natural Health March 2007 article...
"Aromatic basmati rice and a little fresh ginger help boost the umami effect of this classic dish"...

Ingredients:
(My own tweaks are included)
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1-2 tablespoon grated fresh ginger root
2 cups sliced fresh shiitake mushrooms
2 carrots, peeled and shredded
1 cup (or the entire packet if you buy pre-packaged) snap or snow peas
4 cups of cooked brown basmati rice, chilled
4 tablespoons naturally brewed soy sauce (I use light soy sauce)
1 1/2 teaspoons of Asian garlic-chile sauce (optional; I use Asian chile sauce and add my own fresh garlic- about 2-3 cloves)
3 large eggs, lightly beaten (probably could use egg beaters, I haven't tried)
4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
4 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds (optional)
(optional if not vegetarian-- chicken chunks or shrimp grilled or fried with spices like lemon pepper, garlic/herbs, or a marinade that complements the other ingredients)

Process~
1. In a large nonstick skillet or wok over medium-high heat, warm sesame oil
2. Add scallions and ginger; stir fry 1 minute. Add mushrooms and carrot; stir-fry 1 minute more. Add peas, rice, soy sauce, and garlic-chile sauce, if desired; stir fry 2 minutes, or until peas and rice are heated through (I cook longer). Add eggs, stirring constantly (this freaked me out the first time I made it; I thought I was ruining the meal, until it started firming up and looking like true fried rice). Stir fry about a minute or so, or until the eggs begin to brown.
*** If you are adding in meat, this should be cooked separately and added in at this point.
3. Remove from heat. Stir in cilantro. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired, before serving. (Note: toast sesame seeds in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat for about 3-5 minutes).
Enjoy!

Thrifty Tips

This blogger site is a creation of simple yet yummy meals, even on a budget. My good friend, Jalen, has lured me to the dark side of blogging, but I’m excited because it isn’t about “chatting” and finding your old squeeze. This is a cool place to post those secret recipes that many people can enjoy. I will often throw in money saving tips as I am told I know how to stretch my money. In times like these, we can all benefit from such tips.

Frugal Food tips:

• Shop weekly or bi-weekly, using the ads from your favorite store(s). For the longest time, I would shop at one grocer. Lately I have found that shopping around provides the best deals. One week I’ll get asparagus-YUM- for only $1.99 at Albertsons and then it will go up to $3.99, so I’ll buy it at King Soopers the next trip out. If you don’t already receive a weekly flyer from your favorite store(s) be sure to get your name on that mailing list right away. If you don’t like taking the time to search the ads/coupons, perhaps your hubby/spouse is more up to the task and can use it as bathroom reading material. If you shop when deals are best and keep up every week or two, you never seem to run out of delicious ingredients.

• Always use a list when shopping. Might sound simple, but it’s absolutely helpful. If you are hungry and shop without a list, you buy tons of unnecessary items. So use the ads to figure out your list, and then you can think up all the wonderful meals you'll make that week.

• Stock up with those non-perishable items. Clean out the clutter and find a place for extra shampoo, toothpaste, pasta, canned goods, etc. When there is an awesome sale, go crazy and load up on that item. You are going to need it at some point, right! Sure, Sam’s Club, Wal-Mart, and Costco have good deals for bulk items. But it’s not only those HUMONGOUS bags of food or 1000 rolls of TP that help you save. Like I said, if you find your favorite toothpaste on sale at Safeway for $1, buy 10 of them.

• When buying fresh foods like veggies or fruits, keep some in the crisper so they don’t all go bad at once. This is true for avocados and apples (from my experience). Also, if something like a bell pepper is going bad, incorporate it into your next meal. When potatoes are going bad, my husband (Rick) and I cook up diced potatoes with bell pepper, onions, parsley, olive oil and other various spices. We make a ton and then freeze about 4-5 bags for future meals.

• Cook a large pot of spaghetti, stew, soup, chili, or whatever can be frozen and served later reheated. If you are an on-the-go person like I am, this helps with easy meals on work days. Spend a Sunday cooking up several meals and then freeze them in disposable containers. People do this when a person is sick or out of commission. Why not save ourselves some time/money by giving up an afternoon to make life that much easier. Plus it keeps you from the temptation of eating out.