Light. Easy. Summer. Salad. The quinoa cooks on the stove top in just a few minutes. If you really don't want to have any heat in your kitchen, cook the quinoa in a rice cooker out on your patio. Once the quinoa is cooked, the rest is dump and stir. A refreshing light salad - perfect for the dog days of summer! Four Bean Salad with Quinoa Light and … [Read more...]
Fiesta Beans and Rice
Rice and beans will always be a $5 Dinner. Unless, of course, you go all sorts of crazy and add in expensive spices like saffron or cardamom (2 of the more expensive spices). Rice is crazy cheap - especially if you buy in bulk. And beans might be even cheaper when you buy dried beans and cook them yourself. (They are really easy to cook - if you haven't tried it, you should. … [Read more...]
Lentil Minestrone Soup
Ever since becoming a mom, I've felt like life just keeps getting faster and faster. And faster. We have a gazillion things happening in each of our days, but that doesn't mean we have to sacrifice important things like a healthy dinner. Or our sanity. I wanted to share this Lentil Minestrone Soup with you guys because it is very low maintenance (as most soups are) saute … [Read more...]
Shrimp Mango Curry
Shrimp reeks expensive. And it certainly can be expensive. But it doesn't have to be. Shrimp can be bought in a number of different varieties - cooked, raw, fresh, frozen, tailless, by count, from mini to jumbo prawn. It's often on unadvertised sales, and can be found for less at non-chain grocery stores. The next most expensive ingredient in many curries is the … [Read more...]
Slow Cooker Mango Chicken
Colorful. I love colorful food. Tasteful. I love tasteful food. (Who doesn't right?!) What you see above is what came straight out of the slow cooker. No styling, no color editing, what you see is what you get. I think this is slow cooker food at its finest! Oh and the #2 reason that I love slow cooking it's usually dump and run. This is one such recipe and I love that … [Read more...]
Honey Mustard Lentils & Rice Casserole
What's with the crazy half-fluffed photo, Erin? I know that's what your thinking. I haven't lost my mind. Well...since this cooking method is probably a new concept for many of you, I decided to just fluff half of the dish before snapping the photo so that you can see what it will look like when it comes out of the oven. And what it will look like once it's … [Read more...]
Quinoa Primavera
I love quinoa. I love how it's so filling. I love that my kids lick their bowls when I make it for them. I love that it's packed with protein. I love that it's an inexpensive way to make a gluten free meal. And I love that you can mix just about anything with it for a delightful one dish dinner. Tonight we have on the table a Quinoa Primavera with diced grilled chicken, … [Read more...]
Chorizo Rice Skillet Dinner
One of the beautiful things about a pantry challenge (from 2 weeks ago!) is that you unearth treasures from the depths of your freezer. And one of those treasures for me was a 20 oz. package of chorizo links. (Score!) I knew right away that I could pull off another 'pantry challenge meal' with the chorizo, along with some rice and other goodies in the pantry. Plus a lone … [Read more...]
Roasted Chicken with Tomatoes, Zucchini & Garlic
Simple. Who doesn't love simple. I'm not sure such a tasty meal can be much simpler than this. Here's what it looks like, getting ready to toss in the oven. Place chicken pieces into the baking dish(es). Slice up the zucchini and drain the tomatoes. Drop around the chicken pieces. Drizzle olive oil over everything. Season to your heart's content. Dinner … [Read more...]
Andouille Creole Skillet Dinner
Y'all...if I ever write a 'feeding teenage boys on a budget' cookbook or satire in the future, this will be the headline recipe. It's super filling, super delicious, and super budget friendly. Whenever I use a more expensive ingredient, in this case andouille sausage, I work hard to come up with or find a recipe that calls for other inexpensive ingredients to keep it balanced … [Read more...]