quick meal

Spicy Sweet Pulled Pork Empanadas

April 2, 2013 by Rebecca 4 Comments

It’s time for another installment of “I’m Obsessed with Empanadas”. I’ve made them stuffed with just about everything I can possibly think to stuff in them. The particular empanada recipe I’m sharing today starts with leftover pulled pork. Thi s pulled pork recipe is perfect because it is already spicy enough. If you don’t have any of this kind handy, there’s an easy kludge I’ll share with you, but I do like eliminating work for myself where I can.

…And because I like sweet with spicy, I soaked some golden raisins in rum for a little kick before stirring them into the pork. You could use any variety of raisin you have on hand. The only reason I went with golden ones is that I had an abundance of them. If you’re not a raisin fan, I suppose you could omit them if you’d like, but I think they bring something special to the party.

Rounding out the lineup with the spicy pork and the sweet, rum-soaked raisins is a bit of minced red onion. It adds just enough punch and brightness to make itself known without being overpowering. Now, added to all this is a neat little hand-held, fried package that makes my heart sing.

The longest part of the procedure is soaking the raisins and even that can be hurried a bit if you cover it with plastic wrap and put it in the microwave on HIGH for a minute.

If you have pulled pork and empanada wrappers in the freezer, and raisins, onions, and oil in the pantry, you’re mere moments away from chomping down on crispy, puffy, sweet and spicy pulled pork empanadas. I like to serve them with a side of sour cream that has just a little chopped cilantro and lime juice mixed in for dipping, but they’re equally great nibbled solo or with fresh salsa.

I can’t get enough of the spicy, juicy pork mixed with sweet, slightly rummy raisins and bright crisp-tender onion.

How about you? Are you a fan of empanadas? How about raisins with pork?

XO Rebecca

Spicy Sweet Pulled Pork Empanadas

Rating: 51

Spicy Sweet Pulled Pork Empanadas

Crispy, Spicy Sweet Pulled Pork Empanadas are just moments away when you have pulled pork and empanada wrappers on hand in your freezer. These hand-held meat pies get a little extra kick from minced red onion and raisins soaked in golden or dark rum. Serve these as a blockbuster appetizer or movie night main dish.

Ingredients

2/3 cup seedless raisins
2/3 cup golden or dark rum
3 cups fully cooked pulled or shredded pork *See Notes
1/4 cup minced red onion
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced or pressed
Optional: one chipotle from a can of chipotles in adobo, mashed with a fork
2 10-count packages frozen empanada wrappers (I use Goya Discos)
Enough canola, vegetable, or peanut oil or lard to fill a high-sided pan or skillet with 2-3 inches.

Instructions

Put the raisins in a heat-proof bowl. Pour the rum over the top and cover with plastic wrap. Let the raisins soak in the rum for at least an hour or overnight. **See Notes.

If there is any rum that has not been absorbed by the raisins, pour it off carefully. Toss the raisins with the shredded pork, minced onion, garlic, and chipotle (if using) until all ingredients are evenly distributed.

Lightly roll out each empanada wrapper (just to thin it out a bit) and place about 2 tablespoons of the filling slightly off center. Fold the wrapper in half over the filling and crimp the edges with a fork. If desired, you can fold and crimp the edges decoratively as well.

Heat your oil to 350°F. Line a plate with several thicknesses of paper towels. Carefully lower only as many empanadas into the oil as can fit with quite a bit of extra room for them to move about as they fry and expand. Fry the empanadas for 3-4 minutes, turning about halfway through frying, or until they are a deep golden brown. Remember that they will continue to darken when they are removed from the oil. Transfer the cooked empanadas to the paper towel lined plate and let cool slightly before serving.

Serve with fresh salsa or sour cream with cilantro stirred into it.

Notes

*I use this recipe because it is already spicy. If you don't have leftovers of a spicy pork, you can crush one chipotle from a can of chipotles in adobo and stir it into the pork to approximate the spice and flavour levels.

**If you're in a big hurry for empanadas (and who can blame you?) put the plastic wrapped covered bowl into the microwave and microwave on HIGH for 1-2 minutes, or until the raisins have plumped and absorbed much of the rum. Pour off any excess rum and proceed as directed above.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/04/02/spicy-sweet-pulled-pork-empanadas/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Main Dish, Meat Tagged With: budget friendly, family-friendly, Frugal Food, kid friendly, party food, quick and easy, quick meal

French Roasted Asparagus, Tuna and Hardboiled Egg Sandwiches | Lenten Friday Recipes

March 1, 2013 by Rebecca 7 Comments

We observe meatless Fridays through Lent. And while that should sound like no biggie, it’s surprisingly difficult for a meat-lovin’ family like ours to commit to one day a week sans meat even if we allow ourselves fish, which we do. For someone who spent nearly seven years as a vegetarian, I’m shockingly lacking in the creativity department when I’ve made a rule for myself.

That’s not to say that vegetarian and seafood dishes don’t ding my chimes. In fact, I kind of obsess over mushroom dishes and seafood on Pinterest. It’s really the rule that trips me up because I deliberately avoid food restrictions in my life. It makes me stop and consider why I have such a hard time giving up things for one little day a week but I think that’s good for me. Isn’t that the point of observing Lent, after all?

Last year, I saw a Spring Sandwich on TheKitchn that sounded like the perfect Lenten Fridays dish, and I pinned it like a good girl then forgot I had pinned it.

I’m good like that.

A bell went off in my little brain when I admired the bundles of super-thin asparagus at Aldi last week. I grabbed a couple bundles there, then a handful of fresh dill and a Parmesan peppercorn baguette at Wegman’s and congratulated myself all the way home on being clever enough to remember it.

At home, I decided to toast my crusty bread because as much as I love bread, I love it even better when it’s toasted. And here’s the thing, I had decided I wanted to put some olive oil packed tuna on this sandwich to really pile the protein on there and keep my meat-lovin’ tummy satisfied. It seemed like a good idea, so I opened the can of tuna and drizzled a little of the flavour-packed olive oil over the cut bread and brushed it around before toasting it. I’m pretty sure that was the best decision I had made in at least a week… It infused the bread with just a hint of tuna and crisped the surface beautifully and gave it an undeniably French touch. I’m going to repeat that again and again.

I roasted the asparagus because honestly, asparagus just can’t taste better than that.

I smeared some of my best grainy mustard on the toasted bread, piled the tender salt-and-pepper asparagus spears on top, flaked the tuna over the asparagus, laid on slices of hardboiled eggs, sprinkled coarse sea salt and cracked black pepper and added a few sprigs of fresh dill before laying that other fabulous piece of toasted baguette over all.

It took a little work eating the sandwich, what with having such a delicate little mouth and all (she says as two whole cookies fall out of her maw) but I managed. It was glorious, I tell you. I ate the entire thing by myself before assembling more for the guys.

It’s my new go-to Lenten recipe… Granted, there are members of the no-visible-veg contingent who feel compelled to pull the asparagus from their sandwiches, but that’s okay by me because I hoover the tender little spears from their plate before they hit the sink.

No asparagus left behind.

I’m curious… do you observe Lent? If so, how do you do it? Meat-free Fridays? Meat-free Fridays and Wednesdays? If you do, what are your favourite recipes for those days? Do you give up something else or have certain activities?

French Roasted Asparagus, Tuna and Hardboiled Egg Sandwiches | Lenten Friday Recipes

Rating: 51

Yield: 1 large sandwich or 2 smaller ones

Serving Size: 1/2 of a large sandwich or 1 individual sandwich

French Roasted Asparagus, Tuna and Hardboiled Egg Sandwiches | Lenten Friday Recipes

This French style sandwich is one of the best ways to fill up without weighing down on your meat-free days: toasted baguette with grainy Dijon mustard, tender roasted asparagus, hard-boiled eggs, olive-oil packed tuna, fresh dill, coarse salt and cracked black pepper. Serve with a nice glass of wine and you have a feast!

It can be prepared and refrigerated for up to 24 hours before serving.

Inspired by and with thanks to TheKitchn

Ingredients

1 crusty baguette or 2 crusty rolls
20 thin asparagus spears
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 can olive-oil packed tuna
grainy Dijon mustard
2 fresh hard-boiled eggs, peeled and sliced thickly
coarse salt and pepper to taste
fresh dill

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Trim any tough ends from the asparagus spears. Place the asparagus on a rimmed baking sheet and toss with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Arrange them in a single layer and roast for 8-10 minutes, depending on how thick the spears are and how tender you'd like the asparagus to be.

Turn on the broiler in your oven. Cut the baguette or crusty rolls in half and brush them with some of the oil from the oil packed tuna. Place 4-5 inches under the broiler, watching carefully, until golden brown. Do not walk away while this is toasting or you will have charcoal!

When the bread is cool enough to handle, spread all surfaces with the grainy mustard and arrange the roasted asparagus over it. Flake the tuna over the asparagus and follow with the slices of hard-boiled egg, a sprinkling of coarse salt and cracked black pepper and some sprigs of fresh dill before adding the final piece of bread.

Compress lightly with your hands and eat immediately or wrap tightly and refrigerate for up to 24 hours before eating.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/03/01/roasted-asparagus-tuna-and-hardboiled-egg-sandwiches-lenten-friday-recipes/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Fish, Happy Healthy and Wise, Rebecca, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: budget friendly, family-friendly, quick and easy, quick meal, seasonal, Vegetarian

Roasted Mushrooms with Thyme | Make Ahead Mondays

February 18, 2013 by Rebecca 14 Comments

Last week, I posted a picture on Instagram of fifty two ounces of sliced mushrooms and asked, “Does this make anyone else weak in the knees?” Aside from one or two folks who replied that it made them weak in the stomach, most of you appear to be as devoted to mushrooms as I am.

If I see a bowl full of perfectly cooked mushrooms I am quite likely to make a very embarrassing and purposeful face plant into it. I cannot resist them. They’re so savoury, so meaty, so earthy, so nutty, so… so… mushroomy.

I feel no need to curb my enthusiasm for mushrooms since they’re wonderful for your health. Pound for pound, you can hardly find something low-calorie that is more packed with Vitamin D, B vitamins, selenium, ergothioneine (an anti-oxidant that helps protect your cells), potassium, copper, beta-glucans, magnesium and phosphorous. To cap it off (mushroom pun alert), these little fungi help you feel fuller longer. In other words, they can help you control your weight, too!

As if the umami and nutrition power packing of mushrooms wasn’t enough to recommend them, they are so easy to cook that it feels like cheating. They don’t require much in the way of fuss or technique; a knife that’s sharp enough to lob them into a couple of thick slices is all it takes. Since they’re so easy to prepare at the last minute, you might wonder why they’d be a good candidate for Make Ahead Mondays. The reason is twofold:

When they go on sale, you can stock up, roast your mushrooms and freeze them for times they’re more expensive.
It eliminates one step in dishes where you’d like to use a smaller amount of roasted mushrooms. (i.e. Soup, Pizza, Sandwiches, etc…)

Yes, I have shared a recipe here for preparing a large amount of mushrooms before, but this one is different and a gal can’t have too many ways to prepare mushrooms! What distinguishes this recipe from the other one is both that this one is far easier and that it requires fewer ingredients but still delivers massive mushroom goodness. In fact, I’d go so far as to say this is my preferred method of mushroom cookery now. Don’t get me wrong, seared mushrooms are fabulous, but you have to watch them and cook them in batches. With Roasted Mushrooms, you toss everything together, whack the tray in the oven and stir once -halfway through- before they reach perfection.

Why is it so great? Just look at them. These are perfectly roasted mushrooms -just a kiss of browning around the edges- substantial, meaty, and juicy, with a hint of thyme and nutmeg to amplify the natural flavour of the mushrooms. This is a lesson I learned from my bonus mom, Valerie, many years ago. Thyme goes with meat therefore it goes with mushrooms. Nutmeg goes with, well, EVERYTHING. No really, nutmeg is described as being aromatic, earthy, and nutty which makes it the perfect companion for mushrooms. I do highly recommend using freshly grated nutmeg from whole nutmegs in this dish. It’s worth seeking them out. I also recommend getting a decent amount of them when you do buy them. Whole nutmegs will last almost indefinitely -unlike purchased ground nutmeg- when stored in an airtight container in a dark cupboard. (See this affiliate link for an example:)

While cute nutmeg graters are available, please remember that you don’t REALLY need a special tool to grate them. The same side on a box grater that you would use for hard cheeses like Parmesan or Romano will do just fine. I use my fine Microplane for the job and it works perfectly.

When I have a stockpile of Roasted Mushrooms in the freezer, I toss them in beef and barley soup and risottos, on pizzas, stuff them in grilled cheese sandwiches, and pile them on top of steaks, chicken, and burgers. On busy, busy, busy nights, I simply serve the mushrooms over polenta or rice with a shower of grated Parmesan or Romano cheese on top. It keeps the crew full and Mama happy. So very happy. Where would you use wealth of Roasted Mushrooms with Thyme?

Roasted Mushrooms with Thyme | Make Ahead Mondays

These are perfectly roasted mushrooms -just a kiss of browning around the edges- substantial, meaty, and juicy, with a hint of thyme and nutmeg to amplify the natural flavour of the mushrooms.

Ingredients

52 ounces of assorted fresh mushrooms (*See Notes)
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
ground black pepper to taste (preferably freshly ground or crushed)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Thickly slice or quarter the mushrooms. Arrange them on 2 11-inch by 17-inch rimmed baking sheets in a single layer. Drizzle half of the olive oil over each pan, followed by roughly half of the thyme, salt, and nutmeg over each pan. Generously sprinkle the black pepper over the mushrooms. Stir with a spoon to evenly distribute everything.

Roast the mushrooms, stirring halfway through, for 20 to 25 minutes, or until they are hot through and beginning to brown around the edges. Eat immediately or divide into meal sized portions and freeze for up to 3 months.

Notes

*I prefer to use mostly baby bella mushrooms with a few white button mushrooms thrown in for variety. You can use whichever mushrooms you like best, but I do recommend using baby bellas or white button mushrooms for the bulk of the mushrooms.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/02/18/roasted-mushrooms-with-thyme-make-ahead-mondays/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

P.S. As crazy as it is, the response to my Crunchy Beauty Tip was so positive that I’m planning another one. I can’t even believe I’m saying it, but I’ll be posting the next one later this week so stay tuned for more natural or low-fuss beauty tips! xo Rebecca

Filed Under: Make Ahead Mondays, Rebecca, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: budget friendly, Food Preservation, freezer pleaser, Make Ahead Mondays, quick and easy, quick meal, Vegetarian

Bulk Italian Sausage and Broccoli Sausage Pasta | Make Ahead Mondays

February 11, 2013 by Rebecca 21 Comments

Have you ever been so intimidated to try making a certain thing in the kitchen that you put it off forever and a day. Then you finally work up the courage to try making it and are stunned to find it ridiculously easy? Such was the story with me and sausage a few years ago. I had made all sorts of food that makes people pause -cheesecakes, bread, homemade thises and thats- but I had always been just a bit scared of making sausage. I chalk this up to the time I spent in my teen and early adult years as a vegetarian. I had this little inferiority complex about my meat cooking skills.

Then one day, we came into a windfall of pork shoulder and decided I didn’t have much to lose since I had so very much pork lying around. I ground a couple of pounds of pork, added what I figured I liked best in sausage -fennel, garlic, crushed red pepper, salt, and black pepper- mixed it up with my hands, rolled it into little meatballs and fried them in a pan before building a marinara sauce around them. Holy wah.

To say that all my sausage making fears were wiped away with one succulent little pan full of saucy, moist, garlicky, spicy, browned-to-perfection-then-simmered meatballs is putting it mildly. The homemade sausage was superior in every single way from texture to flavour. It was perfect. In fact, I was so bucked up by my success that I made fresh sausage and meals from said sausage five nights in a row.

Then, although I was not nearly tired of the sausage, I was definitely tired of washing the grinder and all its little parts, and thus had an epiphany. They call it bulk sausage for a reason; I will make much and freeze some.

And the freezing? I had a trick there, too… I weighed two and a half pounds of sausage into gallon freezer bags, squeezed out as much air as I possibly could and gently pressed the sausage so that it filled the bag all the way to the corners while flattening it. Then I pressed the handle of a long wooden spoon down the center of the bag and twice more perpendicular to that first impression.

The reason I did this was two-fold. First, it would freeze faster and neater; flat bags stack up more efficiently in the freezer than wadded up bulky ones. Second, I could easily break off a square or two of the sausage without using the entire two and a half pounds. Two squares would give me between one and one and a half pounds of sausage which was just perfect for browning and scattering over pizzas or adding to pasta sauce. SCORE! (Ahem. Get it?)

Those first sausage experiments led me to many more. (See here and here for examples that I’ve posted before!) but nothing has matched the versatility and sheer usefulness of having a freezer full of bulk Italian sausage. So. Darned. Good.

Whaddya do with a freezer full beyond adding to pasta sauce or putting on pizza? Well, how about one of our favourite fast weeknight meals? Broccoli Sausage Pasta. This is one that pleases my crowd (even though I admit I have to pull some of the browned sausage from the pan before adding the broccoli to keep the No-Green-Things Contingent from revolting and BEING revolting at the table.) and feeds them for a song. You can use either fresh or frozen broccoli crowns in the dish, whichever you can procure most easily and the hearty dish is done in a flash.

Now here’s the thing. Where I live, pork shoulder is far cheaper per pound than purchased Italian sausage and it is marginally cheaper per pound than pre-ground pork. Since I prefer to grind my own, I stick with the pork shoulders. If you don’t have a grinder or food processor, you can definitely still make this using pre-ground pork. You’ll still be blown away by how wonderful it tastes!

I re-upped my Italian sausage stores this weekend while my kids were out enjoying all the snow that fell. I know it has nothing to do with food, but you have to see what my thirteen year old guy did with his time. Methinks he has had cabin fever…

When all the chilled and pink-cheeked boys came barreling in the door, I had a pan full of Broccoli Sausage Pasta ready to go. There were happy faces and full bellies that evening.

What would YOU do with a freezer full of Italian sausage?

Bulk Italian Sausage and Broccoli Sausage Pasta | Make Ahead Mondays

Rating: 51

Bulk Italian Sausage and Broccoli Sausage Pasta | Make Ahead Mondays

Homemade Bulk Italian Sausage is so simple and so much better than store-bought. Keep a stash of it in the freezer at all times so you can whip up this fast, fabulous weeknight favourite- Broccoli Sausage Pasta. You'll love this hearty, crowd-pleasing dish of garlicky, spicy, crisped Italian sausage, crisp-tender broccoli and rotini with a generous handful of grated Romano or Parmesan cheese.

Ingredients

To Make the Bulk Italian Sausage:

8 pounds freshly ground pork shoulder {*See Notes} or purchased ground pork.
18-26 peeled garlic cloves (depending on how garlicky you like your sausage.)
8 tablespoons fennel seeds
2-5 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes (depending on how spicy you like your sausage.)
6 tablespoons kosher salt (you can adjust upward, but this is the minimum amount you should use.)

To Make the Broccoli Sausage Pasta:

1 pound Bulk Italian Sausage
1 pound rotini or other shaped pasta
12 ounces to 1 pound fresh or frozen broccoli florets (The pictured dish used 12 ounces of frozen baby broccoli florets.)
1/3 cup chicken stock (preferably) or water
grated Romano or Parmesan cheese to taste

Instructions

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Bulk-Italian-Sausage-ready-for-the-freezer-from-Foodie-with-Family.jpgAdd the pork to a large mixing bowl. Add the garlic cloves, fennel seeds, crushed red pepper flakes and salt to the bowl of a food processor (or pile it together on a large cutting board.) Process until the garlic is broken down very finely and is almost paste-like. If you are using a cutting board, chop them all together until the garlic is almost paste-like.

Scrape the mixture over the pork and use your hands to blend well. Test the sausage spice mixture by forming a quarter sized patty and frying it in a pan. Taste the test sausage. If you need to, adjust the spices and salt.

Divide the sausage into 4 gallon sized freezer bags. Squeeze out as much air as you can before mostly sealing the bag (leaving just a corner open to allow air to move out.) Gently push the sausage flat and fill the entire bag. Once the bag is filled to the corners, seal the little bit of the bag that you left open. Use the long handle of a wooden spoon to press a line down the middle of the bag from top to bottom, leaving a ridge in the sausage. Turn the spoon handle perpendicular to that line and press down about 1/3 of the way from the bottom of the bag and again at about 1/3 of the way from the top of the bag. This will leave 6 "rectangles" of sausage.

Lay the bag on a flat baking sheet, repeat with the remaining freezer bags of sausage and put the pan in the freezer. This will store well for up to six months before beginning to lose flavour.

You can open the bag and break off as many rectangles of frozen sausage as you need.

To Make the Broccoli Sausage Pasta:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat.

In a heavy-bottomed, large skillet, break up and cook the Italian sausage over medium high heat until it is crispy and browned but still moist. If it is excessively oily, feel free to drain some of the fat, but do leave some in to help coat the pasta. The flavour is wonderful!

Add the broccoli florets and the chicken stock or water, scrape up the lovely brown sausagey bits from the pan, cover and steam until the broccoli is crisp tender. While the broccoli is steaming, cook pasta according to package directions.

Strain the pasta and add it to the pan with the broccoli and sausage. Toss to distribute evenly and serve immediately generously doused with grated Romano or Parmesan cheese.

Notes

You can use a food processor or meat grinder to grind your own pork for this project if you wish. I prefer to buy bone-in pork shoulder and remove the bone myself. This cut is perfect just as it is, and aside from taking out that bone, needs no further prep work other than cutting it to fit into the grinder or food processor. It is the perfect sausage-cut because of its natural marbling.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/02/11/bulk-italian-sausage-and-broccoli-sausage-pasta-make-ahead-mondays/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: budget friendly, family-friendly, Food Preservation, Frugal Food, kid friendly, quick and easy, quick meal

Black Bean and Corn Tacos | 10 Minute Meal

January 29, 2013 by Rebecca 7 Comments

This is Day 2 of our three day Taco series leading up to the Super Bowl. Today’s selection is a lightning fast, super fresh and divinely delicious vegetarian taco that cooks up in under ten minutes. HELLO LOVELY! Tomorrow’s taco will be most decidedly decadent, so they balance each other out. One thing is certain, though, and that is that they are both one hundred percent wonderful.

I hope that by now, you all know me well enough to trust that I’m not going to give you a healthy and/or inexpensive meal that feels like you’re wearing a culinary hair shirt, right? I don’t do healthy or cheap recipes just to behave. I do healthy and inexpensive recipes that taste like you just made a REALLY good decision for dinner and you’re going to be just fine watching that cooking competition on television because you’re full and happy. (Can someone please tell me they identify with that line of thinking?)

This recipe fits the bill in more ways than one. Let’s cover the health bases first.

Black beans, corn and carrots are in this recipe. All three on their own are good for you, but put them together and you have a powerhouse of fiber, protein, vitamin A, carotenoids, antioxidants, alpha- and beta-carotene, phytonutrients, calcium, magnesium and potassium. Phew. I feel better just typing that. In short, it’s heart, eye, digestive, immune and circulatory system approved. Beat that.

Now let’s talk about WHY you need a recipe like this in your regular rotation. BECAUSE IT’S GOOD AND FAST AND CHEAP. I’m sorry to yell, but honestly… I’m serious here. Raise your hand if you feel tired/overwhelmed/uninspired/overextended in any way and wish you didn’t have to cook from time to time. (For the record, my hand is in the air.) We all get the kitchen funk every now and again. It’s recipes like these that save our budget and lift our spirits and make everyone happy. Even with my big family, we can all eat our fill from a double batch of this and it costs us less than $10.00 for the whole meal. Let’s break that double batch cost down for proof, shall we?

$1.98 for two ten-count packages of flour tortillas from Aldi.
$1.25 (estimate) for three cups of homemade black beans (this would be about the same for canned beans from Aldi.)
$0.25 for one medium sized carrot (generous estimate)
$0.10 for two teaspoons of chili powder
$1.00 for one cup of salsa (generous estimate for both homemade and commercial)
$0.99 for three cups of frozen corn (Based on a ninety-nine cent one-pound bag from a local grocery store)
$3.00 for one pound of Monterey Jack cheese (Based on the price per pound from a local grocery store.)
$1.00 for half of a bunch of fresh cilantro (Based on a $1.99 per bunch cost from a local grocery store.)
This takes my estimate for the meal to a whopping total of $9.57 for a double batch WITH leftovers from a family of seven.

If you have a smaller family, or are cooking for yourself or a couple, you could cut that in half right away and be looking at an under-five-dollar meal!

I used home cooked, frozen beans but you could just as easily use canned beans (as was specified in the original recipe on CampbellsKitchen.com). Either way, the entire thing is done in less than ten minutes. That makes this last-minute snack worthy. I say this because you WILL crave it. And you WILL want these for game day or Super Sunday or late night snacks. And you want to know something? You don’t even need to think twice about whipping up a batch of these because they’re so good for you!

Good golly. We are looking at a meal that taste incredible for a price that is so low it’s barely believable AND it comes together in under ten minutes to boot. That puts this meal squarely in Unicorn Meal* territory along with this and that other favourite but *GASP* it’s even faster to make!

*Unicorn Meal: That elusive meal that is made at unbelievably fast speeds, pleases everyone, and is budget friendly. Hard to find, impossible to forget.

What do you all think? Will you give it a try? Share your favourite unicorn meal. We’re all in this together!

Black Bean and Corn Tacos | 10 Minute Meal

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Black Bean and Corn Tacos | 10 Minute Meal

Fast, delicious, fresh, healthy and budget friendly, it just doesn't get any better than these Black Bean and Corn Tacos. Salsa and chili powder provide massive flavour in this 10 minute meal will fill you up, make you happy, and keep you healthy all at the same time! This is a perfect addition to Super Bowl parties and any game day festivities.

Gently adapted from and with thanks to Campbell's Kitchen

Ingredients

Vegetable or olive oil cooking spray
1 medium carrot, scrubbed and shredded (about 1/2 cup)
1 teaspoon chili powder (or more to taste)
1/2 cup Pace® Picante Sauce or homemade salsa
1 1/2 cups homemade black beans or 1 can (15 ounces), rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups frozen whole kernel corn
6 flour tortillas (8-inch), charred over a flame or warmed
6 ounces (about 1 1/2 cups) shredded Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese
fresh cilantro leaves (or parsley leaves or shredded lettuce. See Notes.)

Instructions

Spray a stainless steel (or other not non-stick) saucepan or small frying pan lightly with the vegetable or olive oil cooking spray. Set the pan over medium heat and let it get hot for a minute before adding the carrots and chili powder. Stir well and often and cook until the carrots are tender, about 2 minutes, depending on how coarsely shredded the carrots are.

Add the picante sauce or salsa, black beans, and frozen corn. Stir, reduce the heat to low, and cook until the beans and corn are both hot all the way through and the corn reaches desired tenderness, about 5 minutes.

Divide the bean and corn filling evenly between the tortillas, then do the same with the cheese. Scatter fresh cilantro (or parsley or shredded lettuce) leaves over the top. Fold in half, then in half again to form a triangle. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

The original recipe calls for shredded lettuce and sour cream. While you can certainly substitute the lettuce for the herb, I prefer the burst of freshness that cilantro or parsley provides.

By all means, add sour cream if you want. I like it just as well without (or with Greek yogurt) and it keeps the price down. If you have it on hand and want to use it, though, it will taste wonderful!

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/01/29/black-bean-and-corn-tacos-10-minute-meal/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Please take a minute or two to hop on over to Campbell’s Kitchen. It really, truly does have a recipe for everyone over there. I pinned a couple more simple, fast weeknight meals we’re going to try.

Presented by Campbell’s Kitchen. All opinions are, as always, my own.

Filed Under: Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, Rebecca, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: budget friendly, family-friendly, Frugal Food, kid friendly, quick and easy, quick meal, Vegetarian

One-Pot Creamy Shells and Cheese | Bonus 2-Ingredient Taco Mac Hack

November 2, 2012 by Rebecca 18 Comments

Friends: I’m participating in the 30 Days of Gratitude on the Foodie With Family facebook page. Won’t you join me when you can and share a little or a big something you’re grateful for every day? And if every day is too much in your life right now, how about just whenever you can? Click here to be part of a thankfulness movement!

I’m going to start this post with a confession and spend the rest of it haranguing you into making this my way. Sounds fun, right? Let’s get started.

My confession: I don’t like baked macaroni and cheese. Right now there are two groups of people reading this. Group A is gasping and fanning themselves and ready to storm me and revoke my foodie card. Group B is saying, “Big whoop.” It’s okay. I understand. I often feel like I SHOULD like it since it’s a little of a lot of things I love in one package. I just don’t. It’s a texture thing.

I DO, however, ADORE creamy mac and cheese and I’m OVER-THE-MOON in love with shells and cheese. There’s just something so awfully cute about shells and I love the way they trap all the good saucy stuff. What I didn’t love about that, though, was how ever-loving messy the process was with the bechamel in one pan and the noodles in another and the blah blah blah. Then a few years ago, I read my beloved White on Rice couple’s creamy stove top mac and cheese recipe and the clouds- they parted. They cooked the pasta IN the milk. Well, duh. Why didn’t anyone ever think of that before?

Over the past couple of years, I’ve tinkered with the recipe to reflect my family’s preferences. While there are many versions of stove-top creamy mac and cheese out there, this one is our favourite (and if you pile my Taco Mac Hack on top, it’s garner-cheers-at-the-table good.)

I’ve made countless versions of this one-pot mac. I know what DOES work and what DOESN’T. I am giving you my version today: the one that never fails us. But here’s where the haranguing comes into play. This recipe is easy IF YOU DO IT EXACTLY AS I SAY. If you’ve been around here for long, you know I don’t say that often. When I say it, I mean it. Of course, there are still a couple of items up for negotiation (like what milk you use and whether you pursue the taco mac angle or go au naturel. The noodles not the nudie, if you follow my meaning…)

Here are the rules:

Choose your milk: You can absolutely choose to use skim, one-percent, two-percent or whole milk here. That is not going to effect the end texture as much as how decadent the final product is. That’s a choice.
Use small shells: not medium shells, not elbow macaroni, not ditalini, not spaghetti, not linguine… You get the picture. This recipe was refined using small shells. And yes, it really DOES make a difference here. I tried doing this using equal weights of other types of pasta. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. It worked EVERY time with the shells.
Use half Monterey Jack cheese and half extra sharp Cheddar. The reasons are multiple. Monterey Jack is a smoother melting cheese than Cheddar and it’s milder. Combining the two in equal parts gives you the tang of Cheddar and the smooth gooey loveliness of Monterey Jack. Win/win… And while we’re on the subject of cheese.
Grate your own cheese. No, I know. The bags of pre-grated stuff are super convenient. I use them from time to time, too. The thing is, the little shreds of cheese in those bags are coated with powder that keeps them from sticking together. Handy for pre-grated cheese, but not so wonderful when you’re melting it and WANT it to come together. Just hike those socks up and grate the cheese. It’s a one-pot meal, you’re still a head of the game even after you mess up the cheese grater. And speaking of cheese, make sure you have it grated before you start cooking. Why? Because you…
DO NOT WALK AWAY FROM THE POT. Heck, you probably shouldn’t even stop stirring. You’re using the starch coating the pasta as thickening power in the sauce. As the pasta cooks, that starch goes into the milk (as the milk is being absorbed by the pasta) to make it thick and creamy. Thick and creamy likes to stick to pans. Things that like to stick to pans like to scorch. Scorched creamy shells and cheese is a sad, sad thing. Just keep stirring. It’s a small price to pay for fabulous creamy mac made in just one pot. You’ll be so glad you did.

Alright, that’s it for my brow-beating. Is anyone still with me? If so, let me tell you about my Taco Mac Hack. It’s so simple it hardly counts as a recipe, so it’s a freebie here. Top your One-Pot Creamy Shells and Cheese with leftover taco meat or browned Mexican-style chorizo and a couple candied jalapeños on top. Ta da! You’ve hacked your mac into Taco Mac. If you’re the ketchup on your mac and cheese type, add a dollop of salsa!

One-Pot Creamy Shells and Cheese | Bonus 2-Ingredient Taco Mac Hack

One-Pot Creamy Shells and Cheese takes creamy mac and cheese to new heights of decadence and ease while only dirtying one pan. For creamy mac lovers and last minute mac and cheese cravings.

Bonus: 2-Ingredient Taco Mac Hack included in the recipe!

Ingredients

1 pound small shells pasta (Do NOT use medium shells.)
4 cups milk (plus extra, in case!)
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup grated extra sharp Cheddar cheese
freshly ground pepper to taste
Optional for Taco Mac:
Fully cooked taco meat or browned chorizo
Candied Jalapenos

Instructions

Add the small shells, milk, butter, mustard, salt, garlic and onion powder to a large saucepan over medium heat. Stirring nearly constantly and taking care to scrape the spoon across the bottom of the pan to prevent sticking and scorching, slowly bring the mixture to a simmer then drop the heat to LOW. Don't forget this or you'll be sorry!

Continue stirring and simmering the pasta for about 15 minutes, or until the milk is almost completely absorbed. Test a piece of pasta (carefully, though, because this stuff is MOLTEN at this point.) If the pasta isn't fully cooked and the milk is almost gone, add more milk in -1/4 cup at a time- until the pasta is fully cooked. This will add a small amount of cooking time (3-5 minutes) to the overall cooking time.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the grated cheese.

Put a lid on the pan and let it rest, undisturbed for 3-5 minutes. Give it one more stir and taste. Add the black pepper to taste and serve hot.

Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator in a tightly lidded container and heated up with a splash of milk in the microwave or in a saucepan.

To Make Taco Mac:

Sprinkle re-heated taco meat or crispy brown chorizo over bowls of hot Creamy Shells and Cheese and top with candied jalapenos if desired.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/11/02/one-pot-creamy-shells-and-cheese-bonus-2-ingredient-taco-mac-hack/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Comfort Food, kid food, Main Dish, Pasta, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: budget friendly, family-friendly, kid friendly, quick and easy, quick meal, Vegetarian

Mexican Poutine | Sweet Potato Fries with Chorizo and Queso Fresco

October 16, 2012 by Rebecca 7 Comments

You know those nights when you walk into the kitchen and feel like the last thing you want to do is put spatula to pan and do anything? I had a serious case of kitchen funk a couple weeks ago. The good thing (or bad thing, depending on your perspective-du-jour) about having kids is that I don’t have the option to sit out a meal. For a couple reasons -all equally valid- that just is not going to happen.

My kids don’t skip meals (or mid-morning, mid-afternoon, mid-anytime snacks) lightly. There is much moaning, weeping, gnashing of teeth and rending of hair if we even approach missing one of their fifteen daily repasts.
I have such an acutely developed sense of maternal guilt that I can’t short shrift them on any food. From the time that my eldest child was born, my pediatrician has given me the business about every one of my kids being underweight at every visit. I started getting a complex that she thought I wasn’t feeding them.
I’m a hungry person. Even if the kids weren’t here, I get downright surly if I don’t get at least two decent meals a day. Oh sure, at nearly forty years old, it’s starting to catch up with me, but I can eat just about everyone I know under the table. Feeeeeeed me!

All those reasons are explanations of why I don’t skip meals, but that doesn’t prevent me from phoning it in from time to time, and I don’t mean takeout. Living as far out from civilization as I do, any takeout beyond a sub or sub-par pizza isn’t a reality. Besides, even when I’m feeling at my laziest, that little frugal angel on my shoulder thwaps me upside the head and says, “Are you kidding? For the price of ONE of those subs, you could buy the deli meat and rolls for two sandwiches each and a bag of chips to boot.”

So when I walked into the kitchen last week and drew a blank, the well-stocked freezer and pantry that I cultivate in my finer moments came to the rescue. I grabbed a bag of homemade chorizo from the freezer, blankly shoved it in the microwave to defrost a bit, because when all else fails, chorizo wins the day. Then I stood staring into my pantry. Nuttin’. I had no idea. In a moment of pique, I whined to myself, “What I wouldn’t give for a plate full of poutine.” At that moment the proverbial lightbulb went off in my head. I didn’t have the goods or the fortitude to make a real poutine -with fresh fries, gravy and melty cheese curds- but I did have the stuff to make a riff on it.

With renewed enthusiasm, I broke up the chorizo in a hot pan and started browning it. While that browned, I tossed the innards of a bag of good frozen sweet potato fries onto a sheet pan and into the oven. I fetched a jar of my favourite salsa from my basement shelves and a brick of queso blanco from the refrigerator.

When the fries came out of the oven, I piled them in a bowl and threw obnoxious amounts of crispy chorizo and queso blanco on top, hit it with a few well-aimed dollops of salsa and a shower of chopped cilantro and sat down to congratulate myself on making my doldrums pay dividends. Don’t ever let anyone tell you nothing good can come of self-pity and laziness.

Just please do me a favour, don’t tell my kids I said that.

Mexican Poutine | Sweet Potato Fries with Chorizo and Queso Fresco

This Mexican flavoured riff on the above-the-border Quebecois classic, poutine, replaces the traditional French fries with sweet potato fries, below-the-border spicy, crispy, garlicky chorizo, and crumbled queso blanco or queso fresco. Spicy, salty, sweet, crispy, soft, cheesy, simple, and utterly satisfying!

For Game Day munchies, movie night and hectic days!

Ingredients

1 bag frozen sweet potato fries (or a large batch of homemade sweet potato fries.)
1 pound bulk chorizo, preferably homemade
1/2-3/4 cup crumbled queso blanco or queso fresco (or shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese if either of those is unavailable.)
Optional: salsa and chopped cilantro, to taste

Instructions

Bake the frozen sweet potato fries according to package directions. While they bake, break up the chorizo in a hot skillet over medium to medium high heat. Stir while cooking and continue breaking it up with a spoon.

Fry the chorizo, stirring frequently, until it is fully cooked and has taken on some deep brown, crispy areas.

As soon as the fries come out of the oven, use tongs to transfer them to a serving plate, use a spoon (use a slotted one if your chorizo is very greasy) to pile the hot chorizo on top of the fries. Scatter the crumbled cheese over the top. If using the salsa and cilantro, add immediately before serving.

Dig in!

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/10/16/mexican-poutine-sweet-potato-fries-with-chorizo-and-queso-fresco/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Comfort Food, kid food, Meat, Rebecca, Recipes, Snacks Tagged With: budget friendly, family-friendly, kid friendly, quick and easy, quick meal

Thai Red Curry Shrimp with Coconut Rice (How to Freeze Rice) | Make Ahead Mondays

October 1, 2012 by Rebecca 4 Comments

My husband doesn’t like curry. …Or at least he SAYS he doesn’t like curry. He claims it makes him belchy. (Since when did that deter him, I ask…) This is one of my eternal frustrations because I do like it. A lot. It goes both ways. My husband adores angel hair pasta cooked past al dente served with piles and piles of meat sauce. I say this is sloppy joes on pretend pasta. Ah, love; it’s not all wine and roses. Sometimes it’s burps and mushy noodles. The important thing is that we both recognize that we don’t have to have the last word.

I question how much my husband actually dislikes curry, though, because over the years I have featured at least four recipes in our regular rotation that lean heavily on curry whether in powder or paste form. One of them is one of the most popular posts ever here on Foodie With Family. Another is one of our family favourites and a prize winner. I think it’s more accurate to say that he’s picky about curry. I don’t blame him. In my opinion, the balance of curry is easy to mess up. It can go from complex and tantalizing to muddy and overwhelming if too heavy a hand is used.

I have realized after years of experimentation, that the one kind of curry my husband will invariably love is a Thai curry, specifically a red curry. Red curry is a blend of lemongrass, garlic, Thai ginger and red chiles (among other things). How could you possibly go wrong with that? When RiceSelect sent me a jar of their Texmati light brown rice*, I knew right away what I was going to do with it. It was getting a red curry topping.

*What I love about this rice is that it cooks quickly like white rice and tastes a great deal like it, but gives you much of the nutritional content of brown rice. As a mom of many, I call that a win.

Because the curry we were making was a Thai curry, we decided to turn our dinner into a party to explore Thai culture along with our meal. In Thailand it’s considered unlucky to eat alone*, so we loaded our table up with friends and family. This is an easy task given that our family makes seven per meal all by itself. Since our dinner party was on Sunday, we all wore red; the traditional colour assigned to Sunday in Thai culture.

*Well, gee. I must be the luckiest woman alive, then. I almost never eat alone. (Unless you count me hiding in the bathroom to inhale a chocolate bar.)

In keeping with the Thai theme, we used bamboo mats on red place mats to decorate the table. My son Ty declared it to be his day. Thai. Ty. Oh my. This same child also selected a knots and rope-work class based on the fact that he should be great at it since his name is Ty. Ty. Tie. Help.

Back to the good stuff…

The curry we had was a Thai Red Curry Shrimp: a dish that appears far too simple to have the complex and comforting flavour that it delivers. Coconut milk and red curry paste simmer with onions, peas and shrimp and are ladled over fragrant coconut rice. A simple scattering of chopped fresh cilantro and basil over the top of the dish seems insignificant until you taste it. The fresh herbs, sweet shrimp, and umami laden curry coconut sauce with vegetables all come together in a symphony of flavour, including all four of the main seasonings of Thai cuisine: salty, sour, bitter, and sweet.

Because the curry itself comes together in very little time, the recipe I’m including here calls for making a larger amount of rice than you’ll need for the meal. Coconut rice freezes and reheats beautifully, so the recipe includes instructions for freezing the extra rice for last minute cravings and nights when you’re on the run. Do take advantage of this!

Coconut rice is a beautiful base for stir-fries, sweet and sour meatballs, hamballs. Coconut rice also adds a little unexpected flair to fried rice; simply use your hands to break up the frozen rice directly into the hot pan.

Give this super-fast, exotic, satisfying meal a whirl some evening. You’ll be so glad you did. It’s way better than mushy angel hair with sloppy joe topping.

Oh shoot. Did I just get the last word?

Thai Red Curry Shrimp with Coconut Rice (How to Freeze Rice) | Make Ahead Mondays

Thai Red Curry Shrimp: a dish that appears far too simple to have the complex and comforting flavour that it delivers. Coconut milk and red curry paste simmer with onions, peas and shrimp and are ladled over fragrant coconut rice. A simple scattering of chopped fresh cilantro and basil over the top of the dish seems insignificant until you taste it. The fresh herbs, sweet shrimp, and umami laden curry coconut sauce with vegetables all come together in a symphony of flavour. Instructions on how to freeze extra rice for future meals are included in the recipe.

Ingredients

For the Coconut Rice:

5 cups Texmati Light Brown Rice
3 cans full-fat Coconut Milk
additional water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

For the Thai Red Curry Shrimp:

1 teaspoon coconut oil or vegetable oil
1 medium cooking onion
1 can full-fat coconut milk (13-14 ounces)
1 tablespoon Red Curry Paste
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon raw sugar or light brown sugar
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup water
1 pound raw, shelled, cleaned shrimp
Chopped fresh basil and cilantro for garnish
Optional: 1 teaspoon lemongrass paste (available in the produce section at grocery stores.)

Instructions

To Make Coconut Rice:

Add all of the ingredients to the bowl of a rice cooker, select regular rice cycle (no need to cook on the brown rice cycle) and begin the cycle. When finished, fluff with a fork and serve.

(If you do not have a rice cooker, combine all ingredients in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, stirring once, then cover with a tight fitting lid or foil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let stand, undisturbed, for 5-10 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.

To Freeze Extra Coconut Rice:

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or rinse the pan with water and shake off excess. This will keep the rice from sticking. Spread the rice out on the pan and let stand until it is no longer steaming hot. Rinse a measuring cup with water and shake out the excess. Measure meal-sized portions into re-sealable zipper top bags. Use your hands to gently flatten the rice and distribute it evenly in the bag. Seal the bags, label and store in the freezer for up to 6 months.

To Reheat Rice:

Transfer the frozen rice to a microwave safe container and microwave on high in 1 minute bursts, until the rice is hot all the way through. Fluff with a fork before serving.

To Make the Thai Red Curry Shrimp:

Heat the coconut oil over medium high heat in a large saucepan. Add the onions to the pan and saute, stirring or tossing occasionally, until the onions have a touch of brown to them.

Add the coconut milk and red curry paste to the pan and bring to a boil, whisking to combine the red curry paste into the coconut milk. Lower the heat and let it simmer gently for 5 minutes.

Add the fish sauce, sugar and water and return it to a boil. Again, lower the heat and let it simmer for 8 minutes. Add the optional lemongrass paste (if using) and whisk it in carefully.

Add the frozen peas and cook until the peas are hot all the way through, about 2 minutes. Bring the liquid back to a gentle simmer and add the cleaned, shelled shrimp. Cook just until the shrimp are curled and pink. This should take between 3 to 5 minutes.

To Serve the Coconut Rice and Thai Red Curry Shrimp:

Scoop a serving of coconut rice into each bowl and spoon the shrimp with the sauce and vegetables over the rice. Scatter some chopped cilantro and basil over the top and serve immediately.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/10/01/thai-red-curry-shrimp-with-coconut-rice-how-to-freeze-rice-make-ahead-mondays/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com