Oatmeal Packets

A former sugar junkie goes naturaler little by little...

Years ago, I would have absolutely rejected the idea that something homemade could taste as good as something manufactured, but now I've seasoned my palate to enjoy "real" flavors more and more.

Always in need of quick, easy and healthy breakfast and snack options for the workweek, I was thrilled when I came across a recipe for pre-made oatmeal packets on the Simple Dollar.

I assembled 10 packets, the first of which I added more cinnamon and 1 tsp of brown sugar.  I am already looking forward to eating it tomorrow at work!

I will also experiment with different spices (cardamom!) and seasonal toppings and dried fruit mixes, and keep you updated on the results.

I made 10 packets, which works well with my two week budget of twenty nine dollars. 

With minimal time, and ingredients I usually have on hand, I took care of the bulk of 10 meals - either breakfast or my afternoon snack.

I also found a recipe for Apple Pie Oatmeal topping that I will make later this week with all the apples I've been neglecting.

Or, I could dice up some apple and pear and mix it in the oatmeal when it's done.

Efficiency eating!

Twenty Nine Dollars

Twenty nine dollars is not only one of my favorite Tom Wait's songs, it is also all of the money I have left until payday - two weeks from now.

That's $29 for two weeks of food for two people (he's broke too for now), if I spend the money on nothing but food.

I can totally do this.

What helps (tremendously) is that when I do have money, I go apeshit crazy and stockpile shelf-stable food staples.

The last time I did this was January 21st.  All I have bought since then are perishables - half and half, cheese, milk, coffee, and fresh vegetables.

Now I've got to work my kitchen mojo in order to make frugal yet nourishing meals until my income catches up with me. First, I wrote down everything I have on hand to use.  Then, I compiled an overly ambitious comprehensive menu for my specified duration.  In seeing what's missing, I'll scrupulously decide to purchase the fewest, most cost effective ingredients to turn an impromptu famine into a modest feast.

Everything That Remains:


Leftovers (aka Challenges)
Broken lasagna noodles
A little pizza sauce/red pepper sauce from last week's dinner party
Hummus I made two-weeks ago for a potluck at work

Perishables (most of which are in the fridge)
A few becoming-overripe pears and apples
2 handfuls of brussel sprouts from the farmers market two weeks ago
some broccoli
a head of cauliflower
a few onions
1/2 bag of potatoes
More than enough garlic
A lot of carrots
1/2 a bunch of celery

1/2 pound low quality "fresh" mozzarella
1/2 pound cheddar
A cube of blue cheese
Half a triangle of Parmesan, half a triangle of Romano
A tiny cube of pepperjack
3/4 cup feta 1 pint yogurt
1 1/2 containers of sour cream
2 1/2 packages cream cheese

Drinks:
2 pounds of coffee (we go through pretty much 1 pound each week)
1/2 bottle of hazelnut chocolate milk
3 boxes of Peach flavored Stash tea (my favorite!)
1 small bag of jasmine green tea from Mountain Rose Herbs

Frozen:
1/2 gallon bag of frozen pineapple juice cubes ("I made 'em myself!")
3 or 4 baggies with mixed frozen fruit (from when I pre-assemble smoothie stuff)
1 bag frozen peas
1 bag frozen stir fry veggies (for Anthony's late night ramen fixes)
Tater tots and hash browns

Durables:
2 cans diced tomatoes
4 cans tomato sauce
3 cans tomato paste
3 cans kidney beans
5 cans garbanzo beans
4 cans black beans
3 cans pinto beans

1 can of pumpkin
1 can coconut milk
2 small half-used bottles of curry paste
2 bottles vegetable broth

3 boxes mac and cheese
7 packets of ramen
A lot of pasta (spaghetti, fettuccini, macaroni and lasagna)
A lot of peanut butter
2 small jars of Sweet Creek Strawberry Jam

Olive oil
A little safflower oil
White vinegar
Balsamic pomagranate vinegar
Red wine vinegar
Bragg's liquid aminos
tahini
lemon juice
lime juice
one jar of yeast

Lots of pickles, pepperocini's and jalepenos
2 jars of spicy brown mustard
2 bottles each of Srirach and Tapitio hot sauce
Ketchup, ranch, thousand island, blue cheese dressing, italian dressing, worcestershire sauce, 


nutritional yeast
panko bread crumbs
lots of unbleached white flour
lots of whole wheat flour
white sugar
brown sugar
molasses
honey
corn starch, baking soda, baking powder
2 bags semi sweet chocolate chips (I'll probably just eat these in handfuls)
plenty of herbs and seasonsings - including our new favorite, hungarian paprika, my favorite red pepper flakes, and peppercorns


What This Means:
1. Roasted cauliflower with my homemade "Dirty Vegan" salad dressing (1 dinner)
2. Red curry sauce with steamed carrots, cauliflower and celery
3. I will beg Anthony to make a big pot of chili (I will save the remaining celery, onion, beans and tomatoes for this purpose) (6 meals)
4. Cacio e pepe (spaghetti noodles with fresh black pepper, Romano and Parmesan cheese) (1 meal)
5. "Apple pie" oatmeal (probably 3 meals)
6.  Dressed up mac and cheese (2 meals)
7. Pita bread and hummus (3 days lunch at work)
8. Some kind of basic white/french bread probably
9. Bagels! (to use up all the damn cream cheese! breakfast for one week)
10. Ants on a Log (without the ants because I don't have any raisins) (afternoon snack at work for one week)
11. Baked potatoes with butter, sour cream and pepper (2 dinners)
12. Peanut Butter cookies (dessert after lunch for 2 weeks)
13. Pumpkin curry soup (to get that damn can of pumpkin out of my cupboard)
14. Quesedillas with beans (pinto or black), sour cream, diced canned tomatoes and cheddar cheese (2 dinners)
15. I could even experiment with adding dried chile spices to tomato sauce for a makeshift enchilada sauce.

What I Will Buy
1. One dozen (cage-free brown) eggs 
2. A few cups of brown jasmine rice
3. Two bunches spinach
4. Spaghetti sauce (maybe - with the menu above I might not even need to rely on spaghetti!)
5. Bagels (since I'll probably be too lazy to make them. I can get them day old from the cafe next to the bus station)
6. Milk - for my new favorite dinner rolls, for roux, and for oatmeal
7. Maybe a box of cereal if I can't use all the milk for cooking

Based on my internal intuition grocery calculator, I can probably get these four items for a total of $13, which will leave at least $15 to "save" for the few days before payday in case we run out of coffee)

Then I can Make:
1. A giant green salad with carrots, celery and broccoli and feta (lunch at work for four days)
2. Greek spinach stew (6 meals)
3. "Hippy Mash" - (Anthony's homemade special breakfast: diced potatoes cooked with onions and seasonings (bell peppers too if we have them), then scrambled with eggs and cheese) (2 weekend meals)
4. Fried egg hash brown sandwich (My homemade breakfast: a fried egg between layers of hash browns (2 weekend meals)
5. My new favorite dinner rolls (Anthony brought me home a surprise bread machine recently!), which I can toast and eat with salad)

Here it goes!

Tater Tot Casserole

The first time I made this, Anthony and I ate half of it right away.  Which was really something because my casserole dish is very large (a 13x9 I think, instead of the usual 11x7).

 
It quickly became one of my Foundational recipes - I make this at least once a month.  It's filling, it's fun, it's satisfying, and it is very versatile - like lasagna, I use Tater Tot Casserole to use up whatever veggies are abundant.

 I have no idea how I came upon the recipe at Snarky Vegan (I'll let you head over there to view the original recipe).  The moment I saw it, I knew I had to make it.

That was May 2011, and since then my roux-making abilities have increased greatly.  Here are the guidelines I use and some pictures!






Prep:
Grease a casserole dish
Cook a lot of tater tots
Shred a lot of cheese
Make a roux (step 3 of this simply recipes mac and cheese recipe)
Steam veggies like cauliflower, broccoli, greens, whatever
Finely chop veggies like onions
Shred veggies like carrots



Assembly:
Mix some of the roux with the veggies in the bottom of the pan
Layer cooked tots on top, and pour the rest of the roux over everything
Top with shredded cheese

Cook:
Cover with foil, and throw into a pre-heated oven at 350/375.
Cook for a while (15 minutes?) until the cheese is melty
Remove foil and cook longer if needed to evaporate excess moisture

 

Peanut Butter Cookies!

It's important to me to have a sizable repertoire of low-fuss awesomely good recipes.  Also, when I find something I like, my devotion and loyalty are like nothing else on earth. 

Enter what is perhaps the ONLY peanut butter cookie recipe I will ever use for the rest of my life.

These cookies turned out so good, I have no reason to experiment with unknowns.  I'll let you head over to Simply Recipes for the recipe, which I made verbatim with no deviations* like I do when I'm cooking.  It has all the hallmarks of being a good recipe - it is exactly what you'd expect a Peanut Butter Cookie recipe to be, and if you're any kind of baker, you will already have the ingredients on hand.  If you don't already have all the ingredients on hand, add them to your "Things I Should Always Have on Hand In My Kitchen" grocery list.

Enjoy!

*I ended up refrigerating the dough for 12 hours because I was too tired last night after making Black Bean Burgers and Spinach Rice Casserole.

Easy Macoroni and Cheese

Back in my "days of yore" (single, living alone for the first time, 2007ish), macaroni and cheese was one of the first things I chose to learn to cook.

Until I recently discovered how to make a roux, or cheese reduction sauce, this cheesy heart attack of a meal was my go-to-recipe when I could afford all the dairy it calls for!

I didn't note down the original source of this recipe, but when I googled the aptly named "Triple Cheese Mac Attack" I found one reference to a yahoo foods recipe at a site called 'strong and healthy living'

"Triple Cheese Mac Attack"
2 cups cottage cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon salt
Garlic salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 cups extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
½ cup Swiss cheese, shredded
1 (7-ounce) package elbow macaroni, cooked and drained

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, combine cottage cheese, sour cream, egg, salt, garlic salt, and black pepper. Add cheddar and Swiss cheeses and blend well. Cook macaroni as directed on package and drain well.

Add cooked macaroni to cheese mixture and blend until well coated. Add macaroni mixture to a greased 2- or 2½-quart baking dish and bake, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes.

My changes
If I have ricotta on hand, I'll use some of that instead of cottage cheese.  I add 1 Tbsp of Sriracha, and use garlic powder instead of garlic salt.  You can leave out the swiss if you don't have any.

I love this recipe because you pretty much just throw everything together.  Since it's just cooked noodles with a lot of cheese, it's also hard to mess up this recipe.

Spaghetti Sandwich

Behold!

Great Ways We Used Anthony's Spaghetti Sauce:
Cheesy bread sticks to eat it directly
Lasagna Rolls
Real, Actual Lasagna (recipe coming soon!)
Spaghetti

Spaghetti Sandwiches - one of my favorite foods besides mac and cheese.  Usually I use spaghetti noodles broken in half, but Anthony likes this with macaroni noodles, which does make it easier to eat in sandwich form.

Lasagna Rolls

Lasagna is my ultimate "grudge" recipe.  One I tried to make in my early days of cooking, before I had any mojo for cooking at all.  As I've mentioned before, most of the things I would make in those early days turned out so badly I would try to choke down as much as I could, weep over the waste of food/money and my ineptitude/failure, throw out the entire meal, and give up cooking for months before trying a recipe I might not fuck up.


Making terrible lasagna was particularly devastating for me since the recipe was from one of my favorite authors in a wonderful book: Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. This book was pivotal in my transition from a corporate food junkie to a cook-from-scratch home gardener.  I thought that the recipes included would have to be awesome, as they are favorites and frequents in the Kingsolver kitchen.  I was trying to do the right thing - learning to cook at home using local ingredients purchased at local small grocers instead of depending on a destructive, amoral global food system.  When my first attempt failed, it wasn't just a waste of my limited money, it was a reflection on my inability to affect change in the world.

Yes, I know, I take things (a little too) seriously.

When I recently found a recipe for Lasagna Cupcakes, I felt vindicated.  I mean, fuck lasagna!  With all its complications and nuances!  I'll show them!  I'll simply bypass the entire blase ordeal and make something much more interesting.

By the time I found a recipe for Lasagna Rolls, I had, in fact, made successful, non-sucky lasagna for my friend in the Emerald Valley Time Exchange who wanted some help making a weeks worth of meals.  Since I was making it for someone else, I put my heart and soul into making it not suck, and she was there to help me at every layer.  "A little more"  "that looks perfect"  "that way the noodles won't dry out"

But still, fuck lasagna.  I will always resent lasagna for being invented and being a thing that so many people like to eat.  Likewise, I will always have a special place in my heart for lasagna-related knock offs.  These rolls taste just as good as lasagna and somehow seem easier to make.  Lasagna rolls and cupcakes are more fun to take to a potluck or to serve for guests, and a very easy way to turn this traditional (predictable) dish into something unique and surprising.

The recipe I jotted down in a hurry was from what I think was a "Cooking School" edition of "Taste of Home" magazine.  I couldn't find the exact recipe, but here is a list of all the ones they had on their site, and here is the one that's closest to what I copied.  The second time I made these, I made some adaptations, noted below.

Lasagna Rolls

4 oz softened cream cheese
10 oz, 1 package, frozen spinach, thawed
1 1/4 cups mozzarella, divided (maybe more)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (maybe more)
6 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained

Oven at 375 degrees.  Mix cream cheese, spinach, 1 cup mozzarella and Parmesan.  Mix until well blended.  Spread onto noodles.  Roll up tightly.

Place seam sides down in a 9-inch square baking dish with some sauce in the bottom.  Top rolls with sauce and remaining cheese.  Bake 30 minutes or until heated through.

How I Made These Even Better:

Increase noodles to 10, which all fit (tightly) in an 8-inch square pan.

Add a few Tbsp of the pasta sauce to the cheese mixture.

For 10 noodles, add 8 oz ricotta to cheese mixture, and use ~3 oz cream cheese.

Use fresh spinach! Tear into bite sized pieces.

Mix the cheese first, add dried herbs (like "Italian Seasoning" and let sit while the noodles are cooking.

Roll each roll in some sauce before placing into the pan. 

Bake covered with foil for the first 20 minutes, then take foil off and test for done-ness every 5 minutes or so until it's just right.

Once you have some kitchen mojo, you realize that most recipes are just loose templates.  It's one reason I forget to measure while I'm cooking for this blog.  You just kind of know what works and what doesn't.  You talk to people about food and they tell you what works and what doesn't.  You know what you like.  You learn more about how heat, chemistry, steam, moisture, etc work together to cook your food, and you learn how to manipulate them to do your bidding.

If you don't have kitchen mojo yet, TRUST ME it gets better!  You will make some truly awful things but after a while things will start to click.  I recommend picking a few foods you love and keep trying and trying to make them until they turn out good.  Research online and talk to people who cook about how to cook rice, how to cook pasta, or different tricks or tips to keep your shit from burning, drying out, getting mushy, etc.

Please don't give up.  If I can do it, you can too!

I know that's cheesy as hell but so is good lasagna.

Happy Cooking!