Shells with Tomato Cream Sauce

This is a super simple dish that's really comforting. It'd be a great pick me up meal and to prepare for kids. Add roasted chicken breast or another lean meat to add a protein. You could also add basil to make a pseudo/faux caprese inspired pasta.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of pasta (shells, penne, bow ties, etc.)
3 tablespoons Bisquick/Flour
3 tablespoons Butter (plus extra, just in case)
1/2 cup milk/cream
1/2 cup of tomatoes, chopped
Salt and pepper

1) Boil pasta to al dente

2) Make a roux by combining flour and butter. Stir until the mixture is toasted, but not burnt.

3) Slowly whisk in milk until the sauce is thick but not runny.

4) Add tomatoes and pasta. Salt and pepper to taste.

Costs:
Pasta: $1.20/8= $0.15
Tomato: Around $0.30
Butter: $0.09 x 3= $0.27
Flour: Negligible
Milk: $0.30 x 2= $0.60

$0.15+$0.30+$0.27+$0.60= $1.32

Caprese Bruschetta

Ingredients:

• 1 handful of zebra tomatoes, sliced
• Small handful basil, chiffonade
• 1 hoagie role sliced (but an Italian or French bread would be better)
• ¼ cup of mozzarella, shredded
• Drizzle Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste

1) On a baking dish line with slices of bread.

2) Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toast until golden brown.

3) In a bowl toss tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella. Liberally coat with salt, pepper, and olive oil.

4) Serve caprese salad on toast.

Cost breakdown:
Tomatoes: $1.75/2= $0.87
Basil: $1.09/3= $0.36
Mozzarella: $2.47/8= $0.31
Hoagie: $0.45

Total: $0.87+$0.36+$0.31+$0.45=$1.99

Calzones!!!

This is essentially the empanada recipe but with the filling changed out. To see how to make the dough check this post out. 

The only difference is that I didn’t want to make a bunch, just a couple so I only made half the recipe for the dough.

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 1 cup Bisquick mix
• 1/6 cup hot water

Filling:

• 1/3 chicken breast, grilled
• Mozzarella cheese, shredded

“Marinara” Sauce:

• 6 ounces Tomato Sauces
• ½ onion
• ½ bell pepper (any color is fine)
• A couple stalks celery
• Italian Seasoning
• Basil
• Salt and Pepper

Marinara Sauce:
1) In a sauce pan cook down the aromatics (onion, bell pepper, celery) until they start to sweat.

2) Add salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.

3) Add tomato sauce, and maybe a small amount of water.

4) Simmer for a bit. At the very end add basil.

Assembly:
1) Layer marinara sauce, cheese and chicken like a pizza. Then fold calzones closed and baked at 350 degrees for about 15~20 minutes until crust is golden brown. 

Side note 1: I sprayed the baking pan and the calzones with cooking spray before I put them in.

Cost breakdown:
Bisquick: $0.15x3= $0.45
Chicken: $1.19x 1/8 lb= $0.15
Mozzarella: $2.84/8= $0.36
Tomato Sauce: $0.99/3= $0.33
Onion: $0.20/2= $0.10
Bell Pepper: $0.30/2= $0.15
Celery: $0.89/10= $0.09
Basil: $0.07x3=

Total: $0.45+$0.15+$0.36+$0.33+$0.10+$0.15+$0.09+$0.21= $1.84 for 2
Total per Calzone: $1.84/2= $0.92

Cioppino

I. Love. Cioppino. So. Much.
But it’d be so damn expensive to actually make.

Here’s my simplified version.
Serves 2

Ingredients:

• ½ pound calamari
• 4 fillets anchovy (about 1/3 of a can)
• ½ can tomato sauce
• ½ can diced tomatoes
• ½ cup milk
• A handful of basil.
• Like the cilantro, I cut and froze my basil in water. I used two cubes.
• Salt and pepper

1) Clean and cut calamari into bite size chunks.

2) Heat some oil in a skillet and cook calamari until tender. About 5 minutes (don’t forget to salt and pepper).

3) In a small pot combine tomato sauce and diced tomatoes.

4) After tomatoes are heated add calamari.

5) Chop anchovy into small pieces.

6) Add salt, pepper, basil, and anchovy.

7) Add milk. Let come to a simmer.

8) Serve.

Side note I: I served it with a biscuit but a slice of French or sourdough bread would be great too.

Cost breakdown:

• Calamari: $2.49/lb x ½ lb= $1.25
• Anchovy: $1.59/3= $0.53
• Tomato Sauce: $0.99/2= $0.50
• Diced Tomatoes: $1.19/2= $0.60
• Milk: $2.39/8= $0.30 
• $0.30/2= $0.15
• Basil: $0.99/14= $0.07 
• $0.07x2= $0.14
• Biscuit: $0.10 (See http://foodieambitions.blogspot.com/2013/06/im-southern-not-really-but-i-wish-i-was.html for full breakdown)

Total: $1.25+ $0.53+ $0.50+ $0.60+ $0.15+ $0.14= $3.17
Total per serving: $3.17/2= $1.59 per serving
Per serving+ Biscuit: $1.59+$0.10= $1.69

Calamari Risotto

I’ve always wanted to make risotto and my friend was coming over for dinner so I thought this was the perfect chance. I think that seafood is a little bit of a luxury, so I tagged it as $plurge. Lol.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Squid Calamari
• ¾ Onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 cup Arborio Rice
• 4-5 cups stock/broth (not pictured)
• Olive Oil
• Green Onion for Garnish (Optional)

1) If calamari isn’t clean, clean calamari. Set aside legs for another day. Cut into ½ inch bites.

2) Chop up garlic. Set half aside.

3) In a pan pour enough olive oil to coat. Heat. Then add garlic and calamari. Cook until calamari is tender to the bite. Shouldn’t be longer than 4~5 minutes.

4) Set calamari aside.

5) Mince onion.

6) Heat broth/stock until boiling.
Side note I: I used the chicken broth I made a few days ago. It was frozen so I had to melt it down. I also added some more water since it was such a concentrated solution.

7) In same pan heat more oil, add garlic and onion.

8) When onion has turned translucent, add rice.

9) Once rice is toasted add about 1 cup of broth at a time. Stir constantly.

10) After broth is absorbed, add another cup of broth. Repeat process until rice is cooked to al dente.

11) Fold calamari back in.

12) Plate and add chopped green onion for garnish.

Cost Breakdown:

• Calamari: 1lb @ $2.49
• Arborio Rice: 1 cup (about ½ lb) $1.27
• Garlic: $0.48/18= $0.06 
• $0.06 x4= $0.24
• Onion: $0.20 x ¾ =$0.15
• Broth: $2.08 x ¾ = $1.56 (See this post for full break down)

Total: $2.49+ $1.27+ $0.24+ $0.15+ $1.56= $5.71
Total per Serving (2~3) = $5.71/2= $2.86/serving OR $5.71/3= $1.90/serving

Side note II: This was a little much for two people. I think it could’ve realistically fed three people.

Bisquick Pizza

Another one of those Bisquick meals. Lol.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup Bisquick mix
• Chicken
• Roma Tomato
• Onion
• Spinach
• Mozzarella

1) I forgot to save some tomato sauce so I had to make a quickie sauce. I chopped up a tomato and half an onion and cooked it slowly in a small sauce pan. I added some salt and pepper for taste.

2) Combine Bisquick mis with about ¼ cup of hot water. Mix until a ball forms. Let rest for about 8-10 minutes.

3)Preheat oven to 450 degrees

4)Roll out dough (into any shape you want).
Side note I: I realized I didn’t have a rolling pin… So I used the next best thing.

5)Top with sauce, cheese, spinach, and chicken.

6)Bake for 10~15 minute or until cheese is bubbly/crust is golden.

Cost break down:

• Bisquick: $0.15/serving x 1.5= $0.23 
• A serving is 1/3 cup. ½ cup is 1.5x that.
• Tomato: $0.31
• Onion: $0.20/2= $0.10
• Spinach: 1.80 x a handful: $0.15?
• Mozzarella: $2.84/8= $0.36
• Chicken: Picked off of bones made to use broth. Let’s not make my brain hurt to calculate this?

Total: $0.23+ $0.31+ $0.10+ $0.15+ $0.36= $1.15

Chicken Cacciatore with Polenta

This is a fairly “rustic” dish. Hearty and delish.

Ingredients:

Chicken Cacciatore:
1 chicken thigh and drumstick
2 gloves of garlic
Carrot and Onion mixture from stuffed hamburger 
1 Zucchini (not pictured)
1 Squash (not pictured)
1 8oz can Tomato Sauce
Salt and pepper

Polenta:
½ cup polenta
1 chicken stock
¾ cup milk

Side note I: I made my own chicken stock but feel free to use canned/boxed or a bouillon cube. Just try and use a low(er) sodium variety.

1) Do you guys remember the whole chicken I butchered? And the carcass that I saved? Well if you don’t here’s a reminder…

Pretty, yeah?

Stock is pretty easy to make. Just put it in a pot with just about enough water to cover the carcass. Add some salt and pepper. Boil away for maybe 30-45 minutes.  Set aside enough stock for polenta, save the rest for another time.

Side note II: My carcass was completely frozen but if yours is at room temperature/not frozen try and break as many as the bones on the carcass as you can. This lets the yummy marrow juices from the bones to be included in your stock.

Side note III: After I strained the broth, I kept the carcass. Admittedly, this is pretty damn extreme but I couldn’t see all the meat on the bones go to waste. So… I picked apart the meat off the bones. If you don’t feel comfortable doing this you don’t have to. But if it’s any incentive, look how much meat I was able to pick off!!

2) While the stock is boiling away, chop up garlic.

3) Heat a medium skillet with a small amount of oil and sear off the chicken. Turn them after a few minutes (the skin of the chicken should have a pretty, golden color).

4)After both sides of chicken are seared remove from heat.

5)Add chopped up garlic and onion/carrot mixture to pan

.

6)Then add the can of tomato sauce plus ½-1 can of water. Add salt and pepper

7)Allow some of the volume to evaporate off. Slice squash and zucchini and add to tomato mixture.

8) Then add chicken. Turn down heat to low-medium (tomato mixture should be simmering). Allow to cook for another 30-45 minutes (until chicken is cooked through).

Side note IV: I set aside half of the mixture for use tomorrow.

9) Take a ¾ cup of chicken broth and mix with equivalent amount of milk. Heat until simmering/almost boiling.

Side note V: The more fatty milk you use, the creamier the polenta will be. I used 1% but feel free to use 2%, whole milk, or even half and half.
Side note within the side note: But remember, the higher fat content the more calories. It’s  bastardly trade off.

10) Add ½ cup of polenta. Stir vigorously and constantly. The polenta will quickly absorb the liquid.

Turn down heat and keep stirring. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Side note VI: You can plate this dish without making the polenta cakes, just serve polenta as is.

11) Transfer polenta to a container, smooth out surface. Put in fridge to cool.

12) Once chicken finishes cooking remove polenta from fridge. Cut into fourths.
Side note VII: I used a cup to get round cakes but you can cut them in whatever shapes you want: hearts, stars, triangles, pentagons… Go crazy!

13) Heat a very small amount of oil (or butter!) in a sauce pan. Place one polenta cake until it browns a little. 

14) Then flip and repeat.

Plate and serve (with wine!!!).

Cost Breakdown:

Chicken Cacciatore:

• Chicken: $1.19/lb x  ½ lb=$0.60 
• Garlic: $0.48/18= $0.03 $0.03x2= $0.06
• Carrot and Onion mixture: $0.10+$0.03= $0.13 from stuffed hamburger 
• Zucchini and Squash: $1.39/bargain produce bag x ¼ bag= $0.35
• Tomato Sauce: $0.99/can

Sauce cost: $0.06+$0.13+$0.35+$0.99= $1.53

$1.53/2=$0.77

Total chicken cacciatore cost: $0.77+0.60= $1.37

Polenta:

• Polenta: $1.69 x ¼ lb= $0.42 (1 cup is 8 oz therefore half a cup is 4 oz, or a quarter of a pound)
• Milk: $2.39/8= $0.30 $0.30x ¾ = $0.23
• Stock: $2.08/4= $0.54

Polenta Total: $0.42+$0.23+$0.54= $1.19 for four cakes

$1.19/4= $0.30

Total: $1.37+$0.30= $1.67

Side note VIII:
Stock:
Chicken carcass: 1.19/lb x 1.75= $2.08 (On a whole chicken, about 35% is bones. My chicken was about 5 lbs, which translate to about 1.75 in bones)
I used about 5 cups of water with some evaporating so about 4 cups total.

Mushroom Ravioloi w/Sauce

Most night's I'll probably be making single servings, however my best friend is crashing at my place tonight before she heads off to the airport therefore today's dinner is two servings.

Making ravioli out of pot sticker skins is actually an idea I've had since watching Ikinari Ougon Densetsu (the Japanese reality show competition that this blog is loosely based off of). The celebrity, who was incidentally the reason why I watched the show in the first place, was using pot sticker skins to make things left and right and I kept wondering why she didn't make ravioli.

Mushroom ravioli sounded yummy (and mushrooms aren't very expensive) so that's how I decided what kind to make. But any stuffing that would regularly go into ravioli should work (at least in theory).

Tonight's dinner was made from these items:

• 1/4 can of cream of mushroom soup
• 32 pot sticker skins
• 6 oz brown mushrooms
• 1 handful spinach plus extra
• 4 oz cream cheese
• 1 egg
• Splash of milk (maybe an 1/8 cup or so)
• salt and pepper to taste*
• splash of oil/butter*

1) Remove stems from mushrooms and mince the tops

2) 

• Saute mushrooms in fat of choice (I used oil but butter would probably be delicious too). Salt and pepper to taste
• Blanche spinach in boiling water, then roughly chop spinach. Frozen spinach also works really well in place of fresh spinach. 

3) Combine cream cheese with sauteed mushrooms and blanched spinach. It's okay to dump the hot ingredients into the cream cheese; it serves to soften the cream cheese. Add more salt and pepper to taste

4) Layer sets of pot sticker wrappers on a board, crack an egg and whisk. The egg will be used to seal the ravioli

5) 

• Place a few ravioli in boiling water. Remove after 2~3 minutes.
• In a small skillet combine cream of mushroom soup with milk. Do not make too thin, want a saucy consistency. Add some salt and pepper to taste. Roughly chop some spinach and add to sauce

6) Plate the ravioli and ladle sauce on top. Serving suggestion; Red wine. 

7) Bon apetit!

Cost Breakdown:

• Pot sticker wrappers: $1.99/102= $0.02/wrapper
• $0.02 x 32= $0.64
• Cream cheese: $2.62/2= $1.31
• Brown mushrooms: $1.70/11 oz= $0.15/oz
• $0.15/oz x 6 oz= $0.90
• Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup**: $1.69
• $1.69 can x 1/4 can= $0.42
• Eggs: $2.79/12=$0.23/egg
• $0.23/egg x 1 egg= $0.23
• Milk: $2.39/8 cups***= $0.30/cup
• $0.30/cup x 1/8 cup= $0.04
• Spinach****: $1.80/0.4 lbs= $4.50/lb
• $4.50/lb x 0.1 lbs= $0.45

Total: $0.64+$1.31+$0.90+$0.42+$0.23+$0.04+$0.45= $3.99

Per Serving: $3.99/2= $2

*Not counted towards costs since I consider this an item every household will have regardless of budget

**Names of brands are only used for reference points. The owners of such brand names retain all right, title, and interest in and to their respective brands. No manufacturers or brand name owners have endorsed this blog or any recipe unless otherwise noted. 

***I bought 1/2 gallon. There are 16 cups of liquid in a gallon therefore there are 8 cups in a 1/2 gallon

**** I didn't actually measure the amount of spinach. Could be more or less but definitely not a large amount.