Budget Friendly Meal #6: Pineapple Chicken with rice and rabe

I found this recipe on Bigoven.com. I was looking for an interesting way to bake chicken with pineapple. After reading all of the positive reviews, I decided it was worth a try. And it was delicious! So much so that I wanted to share it, here. The meal is complete when served with brown rice (kashi would also be great) and steamed broccoli rabe. I also plated it with the chicken pan juices drizzled on top of the rice. It is a simple dinner to make and sure to please almost everyone!

Zippy Baked Chicken Breasts

4 chicken breasts
2 tablespoons butter or margarine melted or olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

GLAZE

3/4 cup Crushed pineapple drained, from 8-3/4 oz can
1 cup brown sugar firmly packed
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons brown mustard
1 teaspoon soy sauce (wheat free if desired)

Preheat oven to 375. In an ungreased 9-inch square baking pan, place chicken breasts in a single layer. Brush with melted butter; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare glaze by combining all the ingredients together and mixing well. Pour over chicken. Return to oven and continue baking 30 to 40 minutes, basting occasionally until deep golden brown and tender.

Variations:
To prepare with:
Thighs: After glazing bake 20 to 30 minutes.
Drumsticks: After glazing bake 20 to 30 minutes
Wings: After glazing bake 10 to 20 minutes

Budget Friendly Meal #5: Beef Noodle Bake

This is one of my mom's classic recipes. I have been eating this dish for close to 20 years and just updated it as a wheat (gluten) free dish. The kids were crazy about this. Served with a green salad, it is a complete meal for the entire family.

1 pound ground beef (organic or grass fed, if possible)

2 (2 oz) cans sliced mushrooms, drained

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 teaspoons sugar (optional)

1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce

bag of noodles of your choice (brown rice fusili works well)

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup lowfat sour cream

1/2 cup freshly grated cheddar cheese

6 green onions, chopped

Cook & stir ground beef in a skillet until lightly browned. Add mushrooms, garlic, salt, pepper, sugar (optional), and tomato sauce. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Cook noodles and drain. (With rice noodles, I like to cook them until just al dente, as they will soften up when baked; approx. 1-2 minutes shy of suggested cooking time). Combine 3/4 of the green onions with cream cheese and sour cream. Blend well. In a greased 2 qt. casserole, evenly spread 1/3 of the noodles; top with 1/3 of beef mixture. Spread 1/3 of the cream cheese mixture over the top. (I drop small spoon fulls across the top and then lightly spread as much as possible. The heat from the noodles will help this process)> Repeat 2 times; top with the cheddar cheese and remaining green onions. Bake at 350 degrees until bubbling hot in the center, about 50 minutes if chilled or 35 minutes if not chilled.

Serve with a green salad and fruit. 6-8 servings. Source: Cici Wynn

Budget Meal 4: Polenta "Lasagna" and Salad

This recipe has appeared in my blog before but it is good enough to get a second mention. I created this a few years back and still make it from time to time, especially now that Ella is unable to eat wheat. Pair it with your favorite green salad and maybe some fruit for dessert and you got yourself and easy, delicious, budget friendly meal!

Polenta Casserole

1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 bag of sliced crimini or brown mushrooms
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 large can of chopped tomatoes
1 large can of tomato sauce
teaspoon of salt, dash of pepper, pinches of basil & oregano
2 tubes of prepared polenta
1 package of marscapone cheese
2 packages of sliced fresh mozzarella (Trader Joe's)
Grated Parmesan cheese, approx. 1/4 cup

Cook onion in olive oil over medium heat until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Add mushrooms and garlic. Cook until mushrooms are done, another 5-7 minutes. Add tomatoes and sauce. Season with salt, pepper, basil and oregano. Cook for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, slice polenta into 1/2 inch rounds. Heat a medium sized, fry pan. Pour in approx. 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Cook polenta slices until edges are slightly crisp, approx. 3 minutes per side. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.

Oil a rectangular baking dish. Pour approx. 1/2 cup of the sauce into the bottom. Layer the bottom of the dish with the cooked polenta rounds. Top each round with a dollop of marscapone and a slice of mozzarella, and top with another polenta round. Cover "sandwiches" with remaining sauce. Layer remaining mozzarella over sauce and sprinkle with Parmesan.Bake covered in a 375 degree oven for 15 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for another 10 minutes or until the cheese is brown and bubbly. Serve hot.

Budget Meal 3: Taco Night!

Taco night is a classic and for a reason! It is budget friendly, easy to prepare and can suit the needs of everyone in the family. Growing up my Mom made ground beef with taco seasoning and it still holds a place in my heart. The toppings can be anything you want. Personally, the buffet has to include SHARP cheddar cheese, fresh tomatoes, guacamole, salsa, chopped green onions, sour cream, lettuce and sprouts! Gabe and I both have fond memories of taco nights from our youths and both agree that sprouts are a very important component. Maybe because we grew up in the 70's? Your taco shell is also a personal decision and can vary from family to family. Mom always had corn tortillas, which she pan fried slightly in oil, to order. Gabe's family always had taco shells. I also think that fresh flour tortillas are perfectly wonderful. Corn tortillas are happily, gluten free and thankfully, Ella loves them. As far as the sides go, it is completely up to you. Re fried beans, black beans, rice, carrots, jicama, and watermelon all go well with this meal. Honestly, it could be a feast if you let it. As far as the meat is concerned, the options are limitless. I have also made grilled portabello mushrooms, which are so good in tacos. Lately, the following recipe has been my favorite for our family. It is a cinch to make and you will be shocked at how good it is!

Slow Cooker Beef for Tacos

3-4 lb. chuck roast

1 envelope dry taco seasoning

1 cup chopped onions

2 tablespoons white vinegar

7 0z. can diced, roasted green chilies

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker. Cook on low for 9 hours. Shred meat with a fork. Serve with pan au jus drizzled on top.

Budget Meal 2: Breakfast for Dinner

This may seem like a bit of a cop out, but really it is not! Kids and adults all seem to like this unusually timed meal. Often, when I am feeling less than inspired, this is my go-to meal. It is the perfect time to serve up a variety of allergen free options, customized to suit everyone in the family's needs. The best part is that is all very budget friendly.

Strawberries are starting to hit the market in droves and the prices are very affordable. Surprisingly, Costco often offers locally grown produce at crazy cheap prices. Earlier this week I scored a 4 pound crate of enormous and delicious strawberries. So when I decided on this particular meal I wanted to incorporate them somehow.

The meal that I served was wheat-free waffles with strawberries, vanilla yogurt, bacon and bananas. It is up to you to decide what type of waffle to use. I happened to make mine from scratch and cooked them with my waffle iron. But you could also get yours frozen or you can make pancakes, in which case, they sky is the limit. Bacon is a must with any breakfast meal at our house, so that was a no brainer. I also had a huge tub of vanilla yogurt that paired well with the textures of the strawberries and waffles. (Each person had a different way of eating this meal. Milo dipped his waffle in the yogurt, while Ella had hers on the side, and I ate mine with the yogurt and strawberries drizzled over the top of the waffles.) And since Milo is busy learning how to say "Na Na!" I also sliced up some of those for him.

Since many of you who read this blog are not necessarily on a wheat/gluten-free diet, and because I always feel weird about posting a published author's recipe, I will leave it up to you to come up with your own means of obtaining waffles. Or pancakes. Or crepes. Or whatever. I will give you my method for macerating strawberries, a technique that I learned while working at an ice cream parlor in college.

Macerated Strawberries

2 cups sliced fresh strawberries

2-4 tablespoons sugar (to desired level of sweetness)

Place the berries in a bowl. Sprinkle sugar on top. Let sit, at room temperature 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. After about 15 minutes, a sugary syrup will start to appear. The more it sits, the more syrup you will see. Serve over waffles, crepes, scones, pancakes, shortcake or ice cream. My personal opinion is that this concoction is best eaten within 24 hours, otherwise it starts to taste a bit alcoholic (not a good thing). But it is easy enough to do, that if you are like me, you will make this frequently throughout the late spring and summer. Enjoy!

Budget Meal 2

Waffles with macerated strawberries

Vanilla Yogurt

Bacon

Eggs?

Potatoes?

Really, the sky is the limit and completely up to you!

Living WELL doesn't have to be expensive

Everywhere I turn lately, I am reminded of how bad the economy is. Food costs are higher than ever. Magazines, newspapers, television and radio shows are all offering ideas on how to feed your family on a budget. All of this got me thinking... and now I am going to hop on the bandwagon. Part of this is a challenge for myself and part of it is to come up with options for those of you who read this blog. I tend to be a no holds barred, sort of chef. I believe in high quality ingredients. A person cannot have a spice cabinet that it too full. Much of this I get from my Mom who taught me that it is worth going to every store in town, to find all of the ingredients necessary to make a recipe. Over the years we have had many interesting wild goose chases, looking for unusual things like juniper berries, lemon grass and endless types of specialty liqueurs... Moving to LA increased my chances of being able to cook all of Martha Stewart's recipes, but even still, I often have to visit 3 or 4 stores. And when I lived in New York City, the ante was even higher because almost everything was available, the challenge was in finding it! Luckily, we lived two blocks away from Zabar's and not far from Fairway. No matter how much pavement pounding I did, it was ALWAYS worth it! And even now that I have two little kids, it remains a passion for me. But feeding a family, in dire economic times AND trying to work within all of Ella's allergy restrictions requires a little creativity. So now I am going to truly challenge myself to make a tasty, healthy meal for 4 with as few ingredients as possible. And I am going to try and do it once a week, at least. These meals can be made for less than $20.

Here is my first entry. If you ever need to quickly access any of these recipes, look to the column at the right and click on "Budget Friendly".

Budget Meal #1

Slow Cooked Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Vegetables and Mashed Potatoes

Slow Cooked Pork Tenderloin

1-2 Pork Tenderloins

2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms

1 can French Onion Soup

1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup (Whole Foods has one that is organic and wheat free)

Place all ingredients (in the order listed) in a slow cooker/crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.

When it is ready, you may slice it or shred it and serve on top of mashed potatoes. Top with some of the mushrooms and drizzle the au jus from the bottom of the cooker on top of the mushrooms.

Roasted Vegetables

2-3 vegetables of your choice (for budget purposes, look to what is in season), approx. 2 lbs total

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F.

Clean and cut vegetables into small pieces and toss with oil and salt in a large bowl. Spread in 1 layer in a large shallow baking pan (1 inch deep) and roast, stirring and turning over occasionally, until tender and golden brown, 25 to 35 minutes.

Mashed Potatoes

2 lb Yukon Gold potatoes (preferably large)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2/3 cup whole milk
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon white pepper

Peel potatoes and cut into 1-inch cubes. Transfer to a 3-quart heavy saucepan and add 5 cups cold water and 1 teaspoon salt, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

Drain potatoes in a colander, then return to pan and cook over moderate heat, shaking pan occasionally, until dry, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer potatoes to a bowl and keep hot, covered. Heat milk, butter, white pepper, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt in saucepan over moderate heat until butter is melted.

Force potatoes through food mill or ricer (or if you do not mind a few lumps go old school and use a hand mixer) into hot milk mixture in pan and gently stir with a large heatproof rubber spatula just until combined.

** I also really like using chicken broth and 1/2 & 1/2 in place of the milk. The two flavors and textures work well with the mashed potatoes.