(Actual) Chili this time

I can seirously get down on a bowl of classic chili.

Ingredients:

• ½ pound ground pork
• 2 cups of assorted beans (I used red and black, that I froze from Red Beans and Rice and black beans from when I made Deconstructed Chili)
• 2 slices Applewood Smoked Bacon
• “Marinara” Sauce from Calzones (Check)
• 3 cloves garlic
• Ancho Chili Powder
• Smoked Paprika
• Salt and Pepper to taste

1) Chop bacon and garlic. Add to a pan.

2) Once bacon has rendered, add ground pork.

3) In a pot heat tomato sauce.

4) To sauce, add beans and about a cup of water if there’s not enough liquid.

5) To ground pork add paprika and ancho chili powder to taste.

6) Once pork is cooked through add to tomato sauce and beans.

7) Add salt, pepper, and more chili powder to taste.

8) Simmer until some water has cooked off and chili has thickened.

Serve with chopped onions and grated cheddar cheese (optional).

Cost breakdown:
Pork: $2.40
Bacon: $0.46x2= $0.92
Beans: $0.32+$0.25= $0.57
Marinara Sauce: Negligible since the cost was already absorbed into the Calzones
Garlic: $0.06x3= $0.18
Chili Powders: So hard to calculate -_-

Total: $2.40+$0.92+ $0.57+$0.18= $4.07 +small cost of chili powder for multiple servings
Side note 1: The total cost will be slightly more if making the tomato sauce fresh, or if using the optional garnishes. 

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

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Why does everyone hate Brussels sprouts? They’re so yummy, especially roasted. This recipe is super simple and definitely the definition of delicious “rustic” cooking.

Ingredients:

• About half a pound of Brussels sprouts, cut in half 
• 1 ½ cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 1 slice thick cut Applewood smoked bacon
• Salt and Pepper

1) Cook bacon in a pan. Once crispy and fat has rendered out remove bacon.

2) Toss brussel sprouts and tomatoes in bacon fat. Salt and pepper.

3) Place on a baking tray and roast at 375~400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until tomatoes have softened and Brussels sprouts have a charred just a bit.

4) Chop reserved bacon and sprinkle on top.

Cost Breakdown:
Brussels Sprouts: $0.83
Tomatoes: $0.89/2= $0.45
Bacon: $0.46

Total: $0.83+$0.45+$0.46= $1.74
This would also make a great side dish to a side of protein!

Has anyone else noticed I make a lot of soup?

I absolutely love chowder. Especially clam chowder. I shouldn’t be buying large amounts of seafood so I decided to opt for a nice hearty corn chowder instead.

Ingredients:

• 1 ear of corn (I used white, but you can also use yellow or canned)
• ½ leek, cut into half-moons
• 1 potato, chopped
• 2 thick cut slices of Applewood smoked bacon. (More if desired).
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2 Cups Milk
• Salt, Pepper, and Oregano to taste

1) If not using canned corn, harvest kernels from ear of corn.
Side note 1: An easy way to cut kernels from the cob is to stick the cob into the middle of a Bundt pan. The kernels will fall into the cake pan and the cob in place.

2)Chop the bacon, place in a pan and cook until the fat has rendered out and the bacon is nice and crispy.

3) Add butter to the pan.

4)When butter has melted, add corn kernels and leeks. Salt and pepper.

5) In a pot add milk and potatoes. Wait to boil then turn down heat, very low.

6) Add corn, leeks, and bacon to pot.

7) Add oregano to taste. More salt and pepper as needed.

8) Allow to simmer until chowder thickens a bit and potatoes are soft.

Serve and enjoy!

Cost breakdown:
Corn: $0.39
Leek:  $0.64/2=$0.32
Potato: $0.06
Bacon: $0.46x2= $0.92
Butter: $0.09x2= $0.18
Milk: $0.30x2= $0.60

Total: $0.39+$0.32+$0.06+$0.92+$0.18+$0.60= $2.47 for multiple hearty servings

Sometimes I really miss home Part 2 of 2

Another “I miss San Diego” Recipe

Ingredients:

• 8 Extra Small Avocadoes, or as many medium or large ones as you want
• ¼ Medium Onion, diced
• Juice of 1 Lime
• The acidity in lime/lemons prevent avocados, bananas, and apples from oxidizing and turning brown too quickly
• ½ Jalapeno, seeded and de-veined based on preference 
• Salt

1) Cut avocados in half, remove seeds.
Side note 1: An easy way to pick a ripe avocado is to push a little bit into the fruit. It should give a little bit to the touch but not too soft. If the market doesn’t have any ripe avocados either wait for ripe ones or take the unripe avocados and stick them in a brown grocery bag for a few days.

Side note 2: An easy way to harvest avocado meat is to use a spoon and scoop out flesh.

2) Combine all ingredients. I used a potato masher to easily pulverize the avocados.

Cost Breakdown:
Avocadoes: $0.10x8= $0.80
Onion: $0.20/4= $0.05
Lime: $0.10
Jalapeno: $0.08/2= $0.04

Total: $0.80+$0.05+$0.10+ $0.04 =$0.99

Sometimes I really miss home Part 1 of 2

I’m originally from San Diego and therefore a huuuuuuuge fan of Mexican food. I gotta be real with everyone, the Mexican food in Northern California just isn't the same. To fix my cravings I decided to make some salsa. You can’t do much better than some fresh salsa/pico de gallo (unless it's the pico de gallo that you're Mexican friend's grandma made, because that is bar none the best).

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, diced.
• ¼ medium onion, diced.
• 3 cubes frozen cilantro (or fresh)
• 2 cloves garlic
• Juice of 1 lime
• ½ Jalapeno, seeded and deveined based on preference
• Salt, to taste

1) Combine all ingredients. Serve with chips, or tacos, or on top of really anything that needs a bright acidic punch.

Delicious!

Cost breakdown:
Tomatoes: $0.89/2= $0.45
Lime: $0.10
Garlic: $0.06x2 cloves= $0.12
Onion: $0.20/4= $0.05
Jalapeno: $0.08/2= $0.04
Cilantro: $0.015x3 cubes= $0.05

Total: $0.45+$0.10+$0.12+$0.05+ $0.04+ $0.05= $0.81

I guess I've done a bit of shopping Part 4 of 4

I’m not really the biggest fan of groceries at discount stores like Target and Wal-Mart in part because they only provide the most commercial of products. One of the reasons why I like Berkeley Bowl is that they have a lot of fresh produce and farmer’s markets are even better for that reason. But I won’t ever try and deny that places like Target have great prices on what they do have.

What I usually don’t buy at Berkeley Bowl because it gets overpriced are items that are manufactured/pre-packaged. This tends to include dried goods and whatnot so is pretty much all I really bought from Target.

• 1 box, 1lb Penne Pasta $1.29
• 1 box, 1lb Shell Pasta $1.29
• 1 bag, six hoagie rolls $2.69 ($0.45 each)
• 2 cans Starkist White Albacore Chunk Tuna $2.18 ($1.09 each)
• 1 bag granulated sugar $2.34
• I ran out so I needed to buy more. Like oil, salt and pepper unless I use a huge amount I won’t factor the cost into my breakdowns.
• 2lbs ground beef (it was either 80/20 or 85/15) for $5.59 ($2.79/lb)
• I don’t need nor was I was planning on buying meat/ground beef but I couldn’t resist. The ground beef was actually priced at $7.59 or $3.80/lb (so not much different than at Berkeley Bowl) but it had a sticker for $2 off on it. I’m assuming it was either sell the ground beef or throw it out (the best by date on the package was a few days later than when I bought it). When I got home I portioned the meet out into ¼ pounds and threw them in the freezer ½ lb per Ziploc.

Total: $15.83

In four shopping trips I spent:
$23.77+$6.85+$24.66+$15.83= $71.11

Woah, I didn’t realize I spent this much in about two weeks. This is why it such a better idea to think ahead about grocery shopping and what not. I essentially went in without a plan to the farmer’s market, second Berkeley Bowl trip, and to Target (other than wanting pasta). I have a pretty well stocked kitchen now (especially a lot of protein) so hopefully I won’t have to go grocery shopping again soon, except for maybe some more produce which is fairly inexpensive.