Budget Bytes

maple dijon chicken

2013-05-23T10:46:49Z

If you’ve spent any time on Pinterest, any time at all, you’ve surely seen a pin for maple Dijon chicken. Pretty much every blogger out there has made it and it has been pinned to the moon and back. So, I thought I’d play a little game of pintester and try it out myself, because unless every single blogger out there is a liar, this stuff has got to be good.

Of course, I didn’t want to just beat a dead horse with a stick, so I threw my own spin on the recipe. I made the basic Dijon and maple syrup marinade, tasted it, and then added what I thought it needed.

First, it needed garlic. I mean, it was just begging for a little garlic. The bulk of the marinade is Dijon mustard, which can be very sharp and tangy, so it needed some low garlic notes to bring it back to the ground. Second, I added a touch of soy sauce. This acted in the same way as the garlic to help round things out and balance the high and low notes. Not to mention, it provided a little bit of much needed salt to balance the sweet maple syrup and just help all of the flavors pop.

I only made about half the amount of marinade as most other people do. I found that it covered my chicken very well and that helped keep the costs low (real maple syrup is NOT cheap). Lastly, I baked my chicken in a casserole dish (as opposed to on a baking sheet) so that the juices would stay near by and keep the chicken moist, rather than evaporate away and leave the edges dry and burned. It resulted in super tender, delicious chicken and ample juices for braising.

You can make this with either thyme or rosemary. When I began preparing the recipe I found that I was out of both. I almost wanted to give up on life right then and there, but suddenly remembered that I have a rosemary plant on my front porch. So, I used fresh rosemary. I have dried rosemary listed in the ingredients, but if you want to use fresh, just use double the amount.

Lastly, I had eight chicken thighs. Whether I need one or two chicken thighs for a serving depends on the abundance of my side dishes, so I split the difference and listed the price for six servings. I think that’s fair.

Oh yeah, the verdict? That’s some damn good chicken.

Maple Dijon Chicken

maple dijon chicken

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

1 hour

Total time

1 hour 10 mins

Author: Beth M

Total Cost: $5.53

Cost Per Serving: $0.92

Serves: 6

Ingredients

¼ cup Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp real maple syrup
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp soy sauce
1 clove garlic
½ Tbsp dried rosemary (or 1 Tbsp fresh)
2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, stir together the dijon mustard, maple syrup, olive oil, and soy sauce. Mince the garlic and chop the rosemary. Stir both into the marinade.
Coat the inside of an 8×8 inch casserole dish with non-stick spray. Arrange the chicken thighs in the dish so that they are close, but not overlapping. Pour the marinade on top and then spread it around until the thighs are completely covered.
Bake the chicken thighs in the preheated oven for 45-60 minutes, or until they are golden brown on top.

Notes

Use a spoon to drizzle the cooking juices over top of the chicken after baking. Avoid using a brush as this will wipe off the baked on marinade.

step by step photos

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, mix together the Dijon mustard, maple syrup, olive oil, and soy sauce. Mince the garlic and roughly chop the rosemary. Stir them both into the marinade.

Coat the inside of an 8×8 casserole dish with non-stick spray. Arrange the chicken pieces inside the dish. Boneless chicken thighs can unfold to a flat filet, but I like to leave them tucked under as if the bone was still inside. Pour the marinade over the chicken.

Smear the marinade around until all of the chicken is well coated. Bake the chicken in the preheated oven for 45-60 minutes. I checked mine at 45 and, although it was cooked through, I wanted to leave it in a bit longer so that it would be more golden brown. It’s up to you.

And that’s what it looked like when it was finished. The juices in the casserole dish are absolutely delicious. I suggest using a spoon or baster to lightly drizzle the juices over top of the chicken. Don’t use a brush, though, or you’ll just wipe off the marinade that has baked onto the surface.

The Amount of side dishes you have going on will probably dictate whether you eat one or two of these. I’ll be posting the recipe for that carrot salad in a couple of days… so stay tuned!

The other bloggers didn’t lie – It’s one of the easiest, tastiest chicken dishes I’ve ever had. I want to eat it every day!

The post maple dijon chicken appeared first on Budget Bytes.

4 Year Blogiversary and a New Home!

2013-05-19T21:51:12Z

Finally. Fin-al-ly.

It’s no secret that Budget Bytes outgrew Blogger long, long ago. I was in denial for a few years, thinking that, “hey, this is just a hobby and if Hyperbole and a Half can have a kazillion readers and still use Blogger, so can I.” Apples and oranges my friends. At some point just over a year ago I realized that my content is drastically different and it needed a level of functionality that Blogger just couldn’t support.

It’s been a long, long, road full of trademarks, IP lawyers, and design/migration adventures, but the new website is finally here… and right on schedule with my 4-year blogiversary!

Thank you:

I want to give a quick shout out to all of the amazing people that have made this possible:

John Di Giacomo and the folks over at Newburg Law – they executed negotiations for my acquisition of budgetbytes.com quickly and painlessly. I didn’t want to move the site to any other domain and they made it happen. I couldn’t have asked for better help.

Emily White of Emily White Designs- This amazing woman created the new design, figured out how to organize all of my crazy content into a user friendly and navigable site, and orchestrated the complex migration of ALL of the old material to the new site. It was a HUGE job, but she exceeded my expectations at every turn. She’s an amazingly thorough and professional designer and I feel so lucky that I just happened to stumble upon her work one day. She’s a life saver!

And YOU! – Like I said, this is a hobby, but honestly I would have stopped doing it a long, long time ago if it wasn’t for all of you. The constant encouragement and your wonderful stories of food budget reform inspire me every single day to keep blogging about my food and financial fun. It’s been an amazing and life changing experience and it’s all because of you. Words can’t express.

Take a Look Around:

Here is what you can look forward to with the new site:

Printable recipe cards! You asked and I delivered. Hopefully the new recipe cards will make life much easier for you.

Easier navigation – The drop down menus across the top of the page include the most popular categories. When you click on a category from the drop down menu, you’ll be taken to a visual list of all the recipes in that category. The name of the recipe is displayed when you hover over the picture. A list of all the categories (not just the most popular) can be found in a drop down menu in the side bar on the right.

Better search function – I’m really excited about this one. I’ve been using the search function a lot while preparing for the reveal, and it works so much better than the old search function. If you’re looking for a recipe, this is the best way to find it. You can find the search tool in the very top right hand corner, or at the very bottom of the page on the left.

Pin straight from the posts – One of the most annoying limitations of the old site was not being able to pin photos to pinterest straight from the website itself. You’ll notice on the new website that you can hover over any picture and pin it just by clicking. Easy! Yay! (or you can still visit me on Pinterest)

Of course, there are always sacrifices:

To make the printable recipe cards I had to sacrifice the nice tables that made the ingredient pricing easy to see. The prices are still there, but they’re just in line with the ingredients. Since the prices are just for example purposes anyway, I figured it’s a small price to pay.

Simplified categories – As my content grew, so did the number of categories. It just got kind of out of hand and overwhelming to look through. I’ve simplified the categories and gotten rid of some that were subjective anyway (easy, intermediate, advanced, quick, etc.).

Broken links – There may be some broken links out there on the internet, but we’ve installed a program that will attempt to search for the corresponding post on the new website and take you there. It will redirect you to the correct post/address most of the time, but I’m sure there will still be some issues. Please bear with me, I’ll have to go update all the links on my pinterest site.

And lastly, I’m only about half way through updating the content to match the new format (inserting recipe cards and uploading feature photos), but I’ll be working on that diligently over the next few weeks. I’m working backward through the content, so the newest material (2012-2013) is already golden.

So, take a look around and I hope you enjoy! Budgetbytes.com

The post 4 Year Blogiversary and a New Home! appeared first on Budget Bytes.

southwest breakfast scramble

2013-05-18T14:42:51Z

Ahhh, it’s everything I love in one place: eggs, salsa, cheese, chips, and cilantro. Oh, and black beans, too! Just feed me this every day for the rest of my life and I’ll be straight.

This super quick Southwest Breakfast Scramble is reminiscent of migas because of the tortilla strips, but I just ended up adding all the things that I like best. It’s really delicious and hearty… and who really cares if you eat it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner? I know I’ll be bringing it to work with me tomorrow for lunch.

I’ll be using the microwave to reheat my leftovers. Sure, it will change the texture a bit (the eggs will get more firm and the tortilla strips more soft), but that’s just how leftovers go. It’s never quite the same, but still delicious!

P.S. If you’re not into cilantro, use some sliced green onion instead. They don’t taste similar at all, but it’s nice to have something green and fresh on top for contrast.

southwest breakfast scramble

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

25 mins

Total Cost: $5.73

Cost Per Serving: $1.43

Serves: 4

Ingredients

6 large eggs $1.35
2 Tbsp butter $0.15
1 (15 oz.) can black beans $1.19
2-3 cups tortilla strips $0.63
1 cup salsa $0.99
1 cup shredded cheese $1.20
handful fresh cilantro $0.17
to taste salt & pepper $0.05

Instructions

Drain the black beans and rinse them briefly with water. Let them drain while you prepare the rest. Crack six eggs into a large bowl and lightly whisk them. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat.
Once the butter is melted, pour the eggs into the skillet. Let them cook slowly over medium-low heat. As the bottom layer begins to set, use a spatula to drag the outside edges in towards the center, allowing the uncooked egg to run back into the empty space. Continue to gently move the eggs around in the skillet in this manner until they are about 75% set. The eggs will continue to cook as you add other ingredients, so you do not want to over cook them at this step. Season the eggs with salt and pepper if desired.
Add the drained beans and 2-3 cups of tortilla strips to the skillet. Gently fold them into the eggs, breaking the tortilla strips into smaller pieces as you go. Spoon one cup of salsa over top of the egg mixture and then sprinkle one cup of shredded cheese over top.
Place a lid on the skillet and turn the heat up to medium. Allow the skillet to heat for five minutes, or until mostly heated through. While the skillet is heating, pull the cilantro leaves from the stems and give them a rough chop. Remove the lid and gently fold the ingredients in the skillet, so that the cheese gets a little mixed in and melts slightly. Sprinkle the cilantro over top and serve hot.

Step By Step Photos

Rinse the beans first, so that they’re ready to go when you need them. The cooking process is quick and if you get delayed the eggs may become over cooked.

Lightly whisk six eggs.

Melt two tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Once melted, pour in the eggs. Cook the eggs slowly over medium-low heat, gently moving them around the pan only when the bottom layer begins to set. Never briskly stir the eggs while they cook because this will create small, dry pieces rather than large, moist folds of egg.

Only cook the eggs until they are about 75% set. They should still be moist, but in large pieces. They will continue to cook as you add the rest of the ingredients.

I like these Mission tortilla strips for this recipe because they’re thick and can hold up to the moisture in the scramble. Plus, they’re usually a bit less expensive than regular tortilla chips. I used somewhere between 2-3 cups. They’re kind of hard to measure.

Add the beans and tortilla strips to the egg, and gently fold them in. Break up the tortilla strips into smaller pieces as you fold.

Spoon the salsa over top and then cover with cheese.

Place a lid on the skillet to hold in the heat, turn the heat up to medium, and let it cook for five minutes, or until it is mostly heated through.

After it heats, gently fold the mixture a little bit more to incorporate the cheese and let it get in contact with some hot parts, so that it will melt. Sorry, this picture has a bad case of the blurs.

Top with fresh cilantro or green onion, if you prefer! Eat!

Oh. My.

Taking pictures was hard because I couldn’t wait to dig in…

Oh, yes ma’am.

The post southwest breakfast scramble appeared first on Budget Bytes.

how to: slow cook potatoes

2013-05-14T23:50:29Z

Baked potatoes are amazing, right? They’re yummy, filling, super inexpensive, and a blank slate for whatever flavors you want to add. The only problem is that they take forever to cook and I never want to heat up my whole oven for just a few potatoes.

Enter the slow cooker.

I’ve seen the slow cooker technique around the internet for a while, but hadn’t gotten around to trying it out… Until this weekend when I got an email from Monica raving about how awesome it is to have potatoes ready and waiting for her when she gets home from work (thanks Monica!). I knew it was time to try it out and share the knowledge.

So, I did a little research to get the tips and tricks from those who had tried it before, and I set to work. I cooked four potatoes, about 1/2 pound each in my 6 quart (I think) slow cooker. I probably could have fit six potatoes, but from what I’ve read you don’t want to over fill the cooker or the potatoes on top won’t cook as fast. I was a little short on time, so I opted for cooking for four hours on high instead of 8 hours on low. My potatoes were fantastic and probably would have been just fine with an extra hour of cooking.

The cooking time needed will depend on the size of your potatoes and the strength of your particular slow cooker, but the general guidelines are as follows: 4-5 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low. Have them cooking while you’re out and about taking care of other things and then dinner is just a hop, skip, and a jump away when you get home! Love it!

how to: slow cook potatoes

First wash the potatoes well. Dry them off with a clean cloth or paper towel.

As with any cooking method, you’ll want to prick holes in the potato skins to allow the steam to escape as they cook. Just take a fork and stab them each several times all over.

Take a little bit of olive oil and rub it all over the potato skins, then sprinkle on some salt. This helps give the skins a really great texture. It’s hard to explain the texture of the skin after cooking, but they weren’t dry and leathery. The skin almost burst when I opened the potatoes… kind of like how sausage skins snap when you bit into them. It was great.

Wrap each potato in a piece of foil. This will encapsulate each potato with steam, which will help it cook. Nestle the potatoes down into the slow cooker, place the lid on top, and then cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 8-10.

And then when it’s done, unwrap your little earth nugget like it’s the best Christmas present you’ve ever received. Yes, I was almost that excited (except that this was on Cinco de Mayo and I was more excited about chips, salsa, and margaritas).

Slice the potato down the middle and then push each end in towards the center to make it pop open. Now it’s ready for any toppings that your heart desires! I sprinkled on a little salt, smoked paprika, and added a pat of butter. Delicious simplicity!

Of course there’s always the BBQ Beef Stuffed Potatoes. YUM.

What are your favorite baked potato toppings?

The post how to: slow cook potatoes appeared first on Budget Bytes.

chana saag

2013-05-18T14:39:46Z

Sometimes, when I’m suffering from a creativity block, all I need to do is take a stroll through Whole Foods… the freezer aisle in particular. Yesterday I did just that and saw a frozen dinner called Chana Saag. I didn’t look too closely, I just saw chickpeas and spinach and knew that’s what I wanted to eat. Yummmmm.

I made this Indian Style Creamed Spinach a while back and although it was a little complex to make, it was one of the best things I had ever tasted. So, I decided to simplify that recipe, add chickpeas, and call it a day. I can proudly say that it was a very good day.

This recipe can be made either hot or mild depending on what type of curry powder you use, but either way the fragrant spices will be heady and flavorful. The evaporated milk adds just the right amount of natural sweetness and creamy flavor to balance those Indian spices. You can probably use coconut milk in its place, but be sure not to let it come up to a simmer or else it may curdle (I learned that the hard way in previous recipes).

I suggest serving this over rice or with some homemade naan to sop up the sauce. I served mine with some rice and while I usually go for jasmine rice, the Chana Saag was so flavorful that plain white rice did the job nicely.

Chana Saag

chana saag

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

40 mins

Author: Beth M

Total Cost: $6.40

Cost Per Serving: $1.07

Serves: 6

Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil $0.32
1 medium onion $0.36
2 cloves garlic $0.16
2 inches fresh ginger $0.15
1 Tbsp curry powder (hot or mild) $0.30
1 tsp cumin $0.05
¾ tsp salt $0.05
1 large tomato $0.84
1 lb. frozen chopped spinach $1.53
1 (19 oz.) can chickpeas $1.65
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk $0.99
½ cup water $0.00

Instructions

Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Add both to a large skillet with the olive oil. Use a vegetable peeler or the side of a spoon to scrape the skin from the ginger. Once peeled, grate the ginger on a cheese grater straight into the skillet. Sauté the onion, garlic, and ginger over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is soft and transparent. While these are cooking, dice the tomato.
Add the curry powder and cumin to the skillet and continue to stir and cook for one minute more. Add the diced tomato and salt. Continue to cook for about five minutes more, or until the tomato has broken down and is no longer holding its diced shape.
Drain the chickpeas in a colander and give them a quick rinse. Add the rinsed chickpeas, frozen spinach, and a half cup of water to the skillet. Stir everything together and then bring it up to a simmer over medium heat. Let the mixture simmer for five minutes so that the flavors can meld and everything heats through.
After five minutes most of the water should have simmered away. Turn the heat down a bit (medium-low) and add the evaporated milk. Depending on how thick you want the sauce, you can either just heat through or let it simmer until thickened. If you prefer a smoother Chana Saag, you can use an immersion blender to purée some of the mixture, or transfer half of it to a blender and carefully purée it.* I left mine chunky. Once it’s heated through, adjust the salt and curry powder to your liking.

*Remember, never purée hot mixtures. Allow it to cool slightly before puréeing in a blender.

Step By Step Photos

First dice the onion, mince the garlic, and grate the ginger. Add them all to a large skillet with the olive oil. In the south we refer to as bell pepper, onion, and celery as the “holy trinity,” but in my house, THIS is the holy trinity. SO GOOD.

If you’ve never used fresh ginger before, this is how I do it. I just use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin (some scrape it off with the side of a spoon) and then use a small cheese grater to grate it. If you don’t have a small cheese grater, a larger one will also work, you’ll just have larger pieces.

Sauté the onions, garlic, and ginger over medium low heat until they’re soft and transparent. Then add the curry powder and cumin, and sauté for a minute more. The spices will stick to the bottom of the skillet, but it’s okay because the juice from the tomatoes in the next step will dissolve it off. Just make sure that the heat is not up so high that they burn.

While the onions are sautéing, dice tomatoes. Add them to the skillet and sauté for about five minutes more, or until they tomatoes break down a bit. Oh yes, add the salt too because that will help them break down.

After five minutes it looks something like this. I have to admit, it smells and tastes pretty amazing at this point.

For this recipe I prefer to use chopped spinach that comes frozen loose in a bag. It has much less moisture than the kind that is frozen in a block, so I can just add it to the skillet without thawing or draining. If you use the block kind, you’ll have to let it thaw and then squeeze out a bunch of water. Also, make SURE to get chopped or else you’ll have stringy, long pieces of spinach.

Drain and rinse the chickpeas, then add them to the skillet along with the frozen spinach and about a half cup of water. Turn the heat up to medium and let it all come up to a simmer. Let it simmer for about five minutes.

After it simmers for a few minutes, turn the heat down a touch and then pour in the evaporated milk.

Stir everything together, heat it through, taste, and adjust the salt and curry powder to your liking. You can let it simmer a bit longer if you want a thicker, less soupy mixture, but I kind of like that so that the rice or naan has something to soak up. If you want a smoother, less chunky Chana Saag, you can use an immersion or stick blender to puree some of the mixture, which will also thicken it up some.

Whatever texture you choose, it’s freaking delicious.

The post chana saag appeared first on Budget Bytes.

chipotle sweet potato burgers

2013-05-15T20:54:08Z

STOP. THE. PRESSES.

I’m sure I was getting some pretty weird looks in the lunchroom today because I was audibly moaning between every bite of my Chipotle Sweet Potato Burger and staring at it in awe. Seriously the best thing I’ve eaten in quite a while (and those Black Bean & Avocado Enchiladas were pretty spectacular… not to mention the Philly Cheesesteaks).

So here’s the cool thing about these burgers – the patty itself is vegan and gluten free. I happened to put them on wheat buns and slather some mayo on the bun, but you could easily use veganaise or wrap this puppy up in a gluten free tortilla. Either way, the burger itself is gonna blow your little taste bud brains.

Non-meat burgers come in a lot of textures… This burger is rather soft and moist compared to most because I didn’t use any flour or eggs as a binder. Because of that, you want to be careful while handling them so they don’t fall apart on you. It’s worth it, I promise.

I tested two cooking methods (I knew you’d want to know). I fried two of them up in a skillet with a little oil and I baked the other two after coating them with non-stick spray. Each method had pros and cons. The skillet was tasty, obvi, because it was cooked in oil. But, because it cooked quickly, it was more moist and therefore softer and more likely to fall apart. The baked patties only browned on the under side, were a bit drier, and therefore more solid. Both tasted great. I’ll stick to the skillet method because it’s faster and, well, oil=yum.

chipotle sweet potato burgers

Prep time

50 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

1 hour 10 mins

Total Cost: $6.30

Cost Per Serving: $1.58

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1 medium (1 lb.) sweet potato ….. $1.00
½ cup frozen corn kernels ….. $0.31
1 (15 oz.) can black beans ….. $1.19
1 whole chipotle pepper in adobo sauce ….. $0.33
½ cup (divided) cornmeal ….. $0.12
¼ tsp garlic powder ….. $0.02
½ tsp cumin ….. $0.03
½ tsp salt …… $0.03
¼ bunch cilantro (optional) ….. $0.19
1 Tbsp vegetable oil (for frying, optional) ….. $0.02
4 medium wheat rolls ….. $1.42
1 medium avocado ….. $1.19
¼ cup mayonnaise (optional) ….. $0.45

Instructions

Wash the sweet potato well and then poke it several times with a fork so that steam can escape while it cooks.
To cook it in the microwave: wrap it loosely with a paper towel, set it on a microwave safe plate, and microwave on high for five minutes. Carefully squeeze the potato to make sure it is soft all the way through. If it is not, microwave longer, in one minute increments, until it is soft all the way through (mine took 8 minutes).
Took cook it in the oven: heat the oven to 400 degrees and then bake the potato for 45-60 minutes, or until it is soft all the way through (either directly on the oven rack or on a baking sheet).
While the sweet potato is cooling, prepare the rest of the ingredients. Place the frozen corn in a large bowl. Drain and rinse the black beans. Allow as much excess water to drain away as possible, and then add them to the bowl with the corn. Roughly chop the cilantro leaves and then add them to the bowl, along with half of the cornmeal (1/4 cup), garlic powder, cumin, and salt. Take one chipotle pepper out of the can, mince it, and then add it to the bowl along with about one teaspoon of the adobo sauce from the can.
Once the sweet potato is cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh and add it to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Stir everything together and then either use a potato masher or the back of a fork to slightly mash the beans. Cover and chill the mixture for 30 minutes to allow the cornmeal to absorb some of the moisture.
Divide the sweet potato mixture into four (or six) portions and shape each into a patty, approximately ¾ inch thick. Use the remaining ¼ cup of cornmeal to coat the outside of the patties. This will provide a nice crunch to the burger.
To cook the patties in a skillet, heat ½ tablespoon of vegetable oil in a heavy bottomed skillet over a medium flame. When the oil is hot (it should look wavy on the surface), add two of the patties. Cook for about 5 minutes on each side or until the patties are golden brown. Add more oil and cook the remaining two patties. Remember to turn the patties carefully as they are quite soft and can fall apart.
OR…

To cook the patties in the oven, Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and then coat lightly with non-stick spray. Place the patties on the foil and then spritz the top of the patties lightly with non-stick spray (this will help it crisp up). Bake for 25 minutes, or until the patties are heated through and the bottoms are golden brown.
Spread one tablespoon of mayonnaise on each bun and top with a chipotle sweet potato patty. Slice the avocado and place ¼ of the slices on top of each burger. Top with extra cilantro leaves, if desired.

Step By Step Photos

First cook the sweet potato. I like to do this in the microwave because it takes less than ten minutes, as opposed to almost an hour in the oven. Either way, you’ll want to prick the skin several times with a fork to allow steam to escape as it cooks.

To cook it in the microwave, loosely wrap the sweet potato in a paper towel and then cook on high for five minutes. Give the potato a gentle squeeze to make sure that it is soft all the way through. If the center is still stiff, microwave more, in one minute increments, until the center is soft. Allow it to cool for 5-10 minutes. (Or you can bake it in a 400 degree oven for 45-60 minutes).

While the sweet potato is cooking, you can prepare the rest of the ingredients. This is what the little can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce looks like. These peppers have a smokey, spicy flavor. You can usually find them in the Hispanic ingredients section of most major grocery stores.

When you open up the can, this is what you’ll see. Little fat peppers and lots of sauce. You can freeze the rest of this can, so that you don’t have to buy a new one every time you want to use one or two peppers. Just transfer it to a small freezer bag.

The peppers are pretty small, but potent. Just take one pepper out of the can and mince it up (remove the stem if it is attached). Also take about one teaspoon of the sauce from the can and add it to the bowl with the other ingredients.

Once the sweet potato is cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh and add it to a large bowl along with the corn kernels, drained and rinsed black beans, roughly chopped cilantro, 1/4 cup of cornmeal, garlic powder, cumin, salt, and minced chipotle pepper + sauce.

Stir everything together and then use either a potato masher or the back of a fork to mash up the beans. Refrigerate this mixture for about 30 minutes so that the cornmeal has time to soak up some of that moisture.

The mixture will be very wet, but you should be able to form it into four patties. These patties were pretty large, so you may even want to do five or six patties. Use the remaining 1/4 cup of cornmeal to coat the outside of the patties. This adds a nice texture to the finished burger.

You can either fry the burgers in a skillet with a little oil (about 5 minutes on each side over medium heat) or…

Bake them in a 400 degree oven for about 25 minutes. I sprayed the tops with non-stick spray, although the tops didn’t brown at all. The patty in the front is flipped over so you can see the browned bottom. Flipping half way through baking may be a good solution, although I haven’t tried it.

While the patties are cooking, you can prepare the buns and toppings. Need help with slicing avocados? Check out this step by step photo tutorial. I used mayonnaise for a little extra moisture, but that’s optional. Why am I just now thinking about how awesome sriracha would be on there? Someone please try it for me.

And then it’s time to experience… NIRVANA.

The post chipotle sweet potato burgers appeared first on Budget Bytes.

(not) Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches

2013-05-18T14:48:02Z

Guess what? I had one more container of Multi-Purpose Shredded Beef in my freezer and one more trick up my sleeve.

(please excuse my chewing, I’m eating one of these as I type… and it’s sooo good.)

Why is it a (not) Philly Cheesesteak? Well, because it’s really just a Philly Cheesesteak-esque sandwich made with slow cooked beef rather than thinly sliced steak. Different technique, but insanely delicious all the same.

This is by far one of the fastest and easiest recipes that I made with the Multi-Purposed Shredded Beef. All it takes is a quick re-heat of the beef, a super fast saute of the onions and bell peppers, and then a quick melt of the cheese in the oven and you’ll be in cheesesteak heaven! Now I definitely need to restock my freezer with shredded beef.

I did much better with my produce prices for this one. Green bell peppers were on sale 2/$1 and I got a big ‘ol 3 lb. bag of onions for only $1.29 (score!). I used two bell peppers and two onions and it was probably more than enough for four sandwiches. You might be able to get away with using one of each, or two bells and one onion (or vice versa).

Any way you slice it (har har har), I think you’re gonna love this one!

(not) Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

30 mins

Total Cost: $9.29

Cost Per Serving: $2.32

Serves: 4

Ingredients

2 cups Multi-Purpose Shredded Beef $5.20
2 medium onions $0.43
2 medium bell peppers $1.00
1 Tbsp vegetable oil $0.02
to taste salt & pepper $0.05
1 large loaf soft French bread $1.69
4 slices provolone cheese $0.90

Instructions

Reheat the Multi-Purpose Shredded beef in the microwave or in a small sauce pot over low heat. While the beef is heating, thinly slice the bell peppers and onions. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Place one teaspoon of vegetable oil in a large skillet and place over a medium-high flame (or use a non-stick skillet with a little non-stick spray). When the skillet is very hot, add about ⅓ of the sliced vegetables. Saute for 2-3 minutes, or until they become soft and the edges become golden brown. Continue to cook the rest of the vegetables in small batches and replenishing the oil as needed. Try not to over crowd the skillet, which can trap the steam and cause the vegetables to stew instead of caramelize on the edges.
Cut the French bread loaf into four equal pieces and then slice each piece open. Place the opened bread on a baking sheet. Divide the shredded beef between the four sets of bread. Pile the beef on one half and spoon some of the cooking juices over the other half. Add the sauteed onions and peppers on top of the beef and then top each sandwich with a slice of provolone.
Bake the sandwiches in the oven for 3-5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the bread is slightly crispy on the edges, then EAT.

Step By Step Photos

Begin by reheating your beef. If you recall from the original shredded beef post, I froze mine in the cooking liquid. For most of the other recipes I drained off the liquid after reheating, but this time I used it as an au jus to moisten up the bread – and it was deeeelicious. You can reheat it either in the microwave or in a pot over low heat.

I used two bell peppers and two onions, which was probably too much for four sandwiches, but I really don’t mind having extra sauteed bell peppers and onions. They can go on any type of sandwich or pizza. You can try just one of each or two of one and one of the other… or something.

Slice them up thinly so that they cook quickly.

Add just a little oil or non-stick spray to a skillet and heat it over medium-high. Wait until the skillet gets nice and hot and then add some (but not all) of the vegetables. Saute them quickly over the medium-high flame until they are soft and the edges have browned.

Do the same with the bell peppers… you can actually cook the bell peppers and onions at the same time as long as you do it in batches so that they skillet is not over crowded (so it doesn’t trap the steam).

Cut your french loaf into 4 pieces (approximately 6 inches long each). Slice each one open and then place them on a baking sheet. Pile the shredded beef onto one half of each sandwich and spoon some of the cooking juices onto the other half. Note: I only made two sandwiches because I used the other half of my French bread for something else.

Pile the sauteed peppers and onions on top of the beef…

Then place a slice of provolone on each one. I happened to get smoked provolone and it was OUT OF THIS WORLD. I thought one slice per sandwich was going to be skimping, but it was plenty. Pop these babies in the oven for a few minutes to melt the cheese and then…

You’re in business!

Seriously.

The post (not) Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches appeared first on Budget Bytes.

roasted vegetable french bread pizza

2013-05-15T20:53:57Z

Ecstasy. Pure ecstasy.

This recipe turned out even better than I had imagined. You know, when you take that first bite and you’re not even done chewing before you have to let out a muffled “Woah…” This roasted vegetable french bread pizza with pesto and ricotta made me do that.

The pesto sinks into the bread and creates an almost garlic bread type base, the ricotta gets warm and creamy, and roasted vegetables are, well, they’re just heavenly (one of my favorite things on the planet, actually)! I’m going to be making this one over and over and over.

The cost of this recipe got a little out of hand, but there are several ways you can rein it in. First, if you can find a farmers market, CSA, or some other cheap source of vegetables, that will help a lot. Produce prices at my local grocery store were a bit (okay, more like a lot) on the steep side. This might be a good recipe to stash until the peak of summer when produce is abundant and cheap. You can make your own pesto (use this parsley pesto recipe) and that should help. Also, you could make this on some homemade focaccia instead of French Bread, which would cut a big chunk from the price (although the crispy exterior and fluffy interior of French bread is pretty magical). And lastly, this pizza was actually quite filling, so you might get more like 8 servings out of it.

Oh boy, I can’t wait until I get hungry again so that I can have more…

roasted vegetable french bread pizza

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

55 mins

Total time

1 hour 10 mins

Total Cost: $11.71

Cost Per Serving: $1.95

Serves: 6

Ingredients

1 medium red onion $1.25
1 medium eggplant $1.71
1 medium zucchini $1.31
1 medium yellow squash $0.91
1 medium green bell pepper $0.89
4 cloves garlic $0.32
2 Tbsp olive oil $0.32
to taste salt & pepper $0.05
1 tsp dried basil $0.05
1 large loaf soft French bread* $1.69
¼ cup pesto $0.81
1 cup ricotta cheese $1.40
1 cup shredded mozzarella $1.00

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Prepare two baking sheets by lining with foil and coating lightly with non-stick spray. Chop all of the vegetables into one inch pieces and peel the garlic. Place all of the chopped vegetables into a large bowl or onto one of the baking sheets. Drizzle with olive oil, add the basil, and sprinkle lightly with salt and freshly cracked pepper. Toss the vegetables with your hands until they are well coated in oil and seasoning.
Divide the seasoned vegetables between the two baking sheets. Spread them out so that they are in a single layer and not piled on top of one another. Roast the vegetables in the oven for 45 minutes, or until they are shriveled and the edges are lightly browned. Stir the vegetables and rotate the baking sheets after the first 30 minutes of roasting.
While the vegetables are roasting, cut the French bread bread open like a hoagie roll. Spread 2 tablespoons of pesto over each open half (spread thinly) followed by ½ cup of ricotta on each half. The ricotta and pesto will mix slightly as you spread them on, that is okay.
After the vegetables are finished roasting, give them a taste and season with a bit more salt if needed. Transfer the bread back onto one of the baking sheets used for roasting the vegetables. Pile the roasted vegetables onto the bread and then sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese on top.
Pop the pizzas back into the oven (keep it set to 400 degrees after roasting the vegetables) and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the bread is crispy. Divide the pizzas into 6 or 8 equal sections and enjoy!

Notes

*This works best on soft “French bread” rather than real baguettes, which are much more tough. The bread can be divided up into 6 or 8 pieces before topping and baking, if it’s easier to manage that way.

Step By Step Photos

Start preheating your oven to 400 degrees because it will probably be ready by the time you’re done chopping your veggies. I used an eggplant, red onion, a few cloves of garlic, zucchini, and yellow squash. Mushrooms would also be awesome, but they were pretty expensive, so I skipped them.

Cut the vegetables into one inch pieces. Either put them all in a big bowl or just put them on a baking sheet and add the olive oil, some salt and pepper, and the dried basil. Toss them with your hands until they’re evenly coated with oil and seasoning. The oil won’t fully cover all of them because the eggplant tends to soak it up like a sponge, but that’s okay.

Once they’re seasoned, divide the veggies between two baking sheets so that they’re not piled on top of eachother. If the vegetables are over crowded on a baking sheet, the moisture will get trapped and they’ll just steam in their own juices rather than roast. I like to lightly coat the foil with non-stick spray since I don’t use a lot of olive oil to coat the vegetables. Roast the vegetables in the pre-heated oven for 45 minutes. Stir the vegetables and rotate the pans 30 minutes in.

I actually only made half a loaf because I’m using the other half for another recipe. Open the French bread up so that the two open sides are exposed. You can either leave the length of the French bread intact while you top it and cut it after baking, or cut it into sections now for easier handling.

Now comes the good stuff… Store bought pesto can be expensive, but this little jar (8 oz.) was the least expensive one at $3.25. You can usually find pesto by the pasta sauce, Mediterranean ingredients like artichoke hearts and olives, or sometimes in the produce section.

Spread the pesto on first, so that the oil soaks down into the bread. You don’t need a lot of pesto because it’s SUPER flavorful. I only used 1 tablespoon for each of these pieces, which were half of the total length of the bread.

Next, spread on the ricotta. I used 1/4 cup for each of these pieces (again, half of the total length of the loaf), so you’ll want 1 cup for the whole loaf. The ricotta and pesto will mix a little as you spread it on, but that’s really delicious, so no worries.

Now your roasted vegetables are done. They should be shriveled and a little browned on the edges. Give them a taste and add a little more salt if you want.

Put the French bread back onto one of the baking sheets you used to roast the vegetables and then pile the roasted vegetables on top.

Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top. Again, you don’t need a lot because you already have the ricotta underneath. I only used a half cup for this half loaf of bread (both pieces). Put the pizza back into the oven (keep it turned onto 400 degrees after roasting the vegetables) and bake it for 5-10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the bread is crispy on the edges.

And then O-M-G. …I almost died from deliciousness overload.

The post roasted vegetable french bread pizza appeared first on Budget Bytes.

golden rice bowls

2013-05-18T14:39:55Z

I was talking with a friend recently who was so excited to be finally getting stove in the house that he’s been remodeling and living in. So I asked, “What is the first thing you’re going to cook?” “Rice. Lots of rice.” he replied. Of course. It’s so easy to take simple food for granted. I love simple food because it’s easy to make and subtle flavors are not lost in complicated cooking processes or long ingredient lists.

So, I decided to go back to my roots for this one and prepare a simple yet filling bowl of Yellow Jasmine Rice, quick sauteed spinach, and a hearty egg. It’s awesome. The yellow jasmine rice really makes this recipe special. It’s one of my favorite recipes and I’m happy to be able to use it in a new way.

To make this recipe last throughout the week, I filled single serving containers with the cooked rice, added a scoop of the sauteed spinach and either cooked an egg fresh when I was ready to eat, or I pre-fried an egg and just reheated it all together in the microwave. The reheated bowls that had a pre-cooked egg didn’t have that nice runny yolk that almost acts as a creamy sauce, but they were still delish.

Golden Rice Bowls

golden rice bowls

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

55 mins

Total time

1 hour

Total Cost: $7.40

Cost Per Serving: $1.23

Serves: 6

Ingredients

RICE

2 Tbsp butter $0.15
1 small yellow onion $0.32
2 cloves garlic $0.16
2 cups uncooked jasmine rice $0.88
1 tsp turmeric $0.05
½ tsp ground cumin $0.03
⅛ tsp cinnamon $0.02
1 whole bay leaf $0.15
3 cups chicken broth* $0.27

SAUTEED SPINACH

2 Tbsp olive oil $0.32
2 cloves garlic $0.16
1 (16 oz.) bag spinach $3.49
to taste salt & pepper $0.05

OTHER

6 large eggs $1.35

TOTAL $7.40

Instructions

Begin the rice first because it will take the longest to cook. Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Saute onion and garlic with butter in a medium pot over medium-low heat until the onions are soft and transparent (3-5 minutes). Add the dry rice, turmeric, cumin, and cinnamon. Stir and cook these ingredients for about 3 minutes more to toast the dry rice and spices. You should hear it crackling a little as it cooks. Make sure to stir often so that the rice does not stick to the bottom of the pot.
Add the chicken broth and bay leaf to the pot. Place a lid on top and turn the heat up to high. Let the pot come up to a full rolling boil and then turn the heat down to low. Let the pot simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn the heat off and let the pot sit for an additional 20 minutes without removing the lid or stirring the pot. After the final 20 minutes, fluff the rice with a fork.
When the rice is close to being done, prepare the sauteed spinach. Mince a clove of garlic and add it to a very large pot along with the olive oil. Saute the garlic for 1-2 minutes over medium heat, or just until becomes soft and fragrant. Add the fresh spinach and saute for about 3 minutes, or just until the spinach has wilted. Season the spinach with salt and pepper to taste. Fry six eggs.
To serve, add about one cup of warm rice to a bowl, add ½ cup of the sauteed spinach, and then top it off with a fried egg. Hot sauce adds a nice kick to this dish, too.

Don’t act like you didn’t see the sriracha coming…

Step By Step Photos

Star with a diced onion and some minced garlic in a medium pot with butter. Saute these ingredients for a few minutes over medium-low heat until the onions are soft and transparent.

Then add the dry rice, turmeric, cumin, and cinnamon.

Stir and cook these ingredients for a few minutes before adding any liquid. This will toast the rice and the spices, which adds more flavor. You should hear the rice crackling and popping a little. Make sure to keep stirring so that it doesn’t burn or stick to the bottom of the pot.

Finally, add the broth and bay leaf. Put a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to high, and let the pot come up to a full boil. As soon as it reaches a full boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer with the lid in place for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn the heat off and let it sit, without removing the lid or stirring, for an additional 20 minutes.

After sitting for 20 minutes with the heat turned off, lift the lid and fluff the rice with a fork.

When the rice is close to finished cooking, start the spinach. Mince a couple more cloves of garlic and saute them in olive oil for 1-2 minutes, or until it just becomes soft and very fragrant. You’ll want to use a very large pot so that you can stir the spinach without it spilling out all over.

I used a large 16 ounce bag of spinach. These large bags of “cooking spinach” are usually a much better deal than the small salad sized bags of spinach. This huge bag will cook down to just a few cups.

Add the fresh spinach to the pot with the garlic and olive oil. Stir and cook for a few minutes or until the spinach is fully wilted. This happens pretty fast. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Fry up six eggs and then build your bowls. 1 cup rice, about a 1/2 cup of spinach and one perfect egg.

In my house where there are eggs there is sriracha!

The post golden rice bowls appeared first on Budget Bytes.

funky monkey baked oatmeal

2013-05-10T23:49:06Z

Oh, this one is so much fun! (and delicious!)

I really wanted to do some sort of peanut butter baked oatmeal, but I couldn’t figure out what to put with it… until I thought about how mashed bananas have made the best baked oatmeals, texture-wise. And then it all just came together. What goes better with peanut butter and banana than coconut and chocolate chips? Nothing! It’s Funky-Monkey-Fun up in here!

I wanted to use large flake unsweetened coconut to reduce the sugar content and add texture, but I wasn’t able to make it out Whole Foods (they have it in bulk bins). My local grocery store only had the finely shredded, pre-sweetened coconut, so I went with it. I reduced the sugar content from my normal baked oatmeal recipes by half to compensate for the sugar in the coconut and chocolate chips, but honestly, I might even try it without any extra sugar next time.

This oatmeal has just a hint of peanut butter flavor, so if you like super peanutty-ness, increase the PB to 1/3 cup. And, as always, natural peanut butter has loads more peanut flavor than other peanut butter (you know, the big name brand kinds).

And lastly, with all off the goodies baked into this, you really don’t need to add coconut, bananas, and chocolate chips on top in the bowl like I have in the pictures. I did that purely for illustrative purposes… you know, so people would be able to instantly see what’s in there and not wonder what that brown blob of stuff is in the bowl. It’s super flavorful by itself and super tasty with some cold milk poured over top!

Funky Monkey Baked Oatmeal

funky monkey baked oatmeal

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

55 mins

Total Cost: $3.88

Cost Per Serving: $0.49

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

3-4 medium bananas $0.88
2 large eggs $0.50
2 Tbsp brown sugar $0.04
½ tsp vanilla extract $0.14
1 tsp baking powder $0.04
¼ cup natural peanut butter $0.57
2 cups milk $0.50
¼ tsp salt $0.02
2.5 cups old fashioned rolled oats $0.43
⅓ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips $0.50
⅓ cup shredded coconut $0.26

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mash the bananas with a fork until they are about half liquidy and half chunky. Start with just three bananas and add another if needed to make 1.5 cups.
Add the mashed bananas to a large bowl. Warm the peanut butter slightly in the microwave so that it is more fluid and can mix in easier. Add the peanut butter, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, baking powder, and salt to the bowl. Whisk these ingredients together until smooth. Add the milk and whisk again.
Add the dry oats, chocolate chips, and shredded coconut to the bowl. Stir everything together until evenly combined. Lightly coat the inside of an 8×8 inch casserole dish with non-stick spray. Pour the oat mixture into the casserole dish and bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven.

Notes

SERVE: After baking, divide the dish into 6 or 8 servings. Scoop the oats out of the dish and break them up slightly in the bowl. Pour cold milk over top and enjoy! The cooked oats can be placed in individual resealable containers and either refrigerated or frozen until ready to eat. Simply reheat in the microwave before eating or enjoy cold!

Step By Step Photos

First begin to preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Then, mash your bananas. I left mine a little chunky this time… because this is funky monkey! It usually takes me 3-4 bananas to make 1.5 cups. If you get a little extra, it’s okay.

Add the mashed bananas, eggs, peanut butter, brown sugar, vanilla, baking powder, and salt to a large bowl. Whisk these together until smooth.

Once you have the thicker ingredients mixed well, add the milk and whisk again. I find it easier to do the thicker ingredients first and then add the milk, or else it gets too splashy.

Lastly, add your dry ingredients: old-fashioned rolled oats, chocolate chips, and shredded coconut. Stir them into the liquid (use a large spoon as this stuff will get stuck in a whisk).

Pour the finished mixture into an 8×8 inch casserole dish coated with non-stick spray.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, then serve!

You really don’t need to add anything to the top, just a splash of cold milk!

The stuff on top just made it SO much prettier!

Baked Oatmeal FAQ’s

Is baked oatmeal crunchy? Nope, it’s like a more solid version of regular oatmeal. A little chewy around the edges, but soft and custardy on the inside.

Can I use quick oats? Yes, but it will have a LOT less texture… more mushy, in other words.

Can I used steel cut oats? I haven’t experimented with this, but in general steel cut oats require a LOT more liquid and a much longer baking time, so you’d have to do some major tweaking to this recipe.

Can I use soy/almond milk instead of dairy milk? Readers have used those substitutes in my other baked oatmeal recipes with success, although I have not tried it myself.

The post funky monkey baked oatmeal appeared first on Budget Bytes.