Louisiana Gumbo - Shawna Style

First lets start with this - there ARE two types of gumbo..those with a tomato & okra base and those without - mine is the latter so ENJOY but don't expect tomatoes and slimy okra :)


Budget Tip:

Almost everything you should have already. Get the shrimp when they go on sale, but even if you don't, it's only a pound, so it's still pretty inexpensive considering how much it makes.

Shawna's Take on Gumbo - NO Pork Allowed!

Suggested Ingredients

Protein

6 chicken thighs - skin removed, but don't remove ALL the fat
Either a full package of turkey kielbasa sausage + 1/2 a fresh jalapeno OR Adelles Chicken Andouille Sausage
1 lb of medium raw, unshelled deviened shrimp

Veggies

1 very large sweet yellow onion
4-5 large stalks of celery
3/4 of a package of small sweet red, yellow and orange peppers
Green onions (for the end product - definitely optional)

Roux
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
1 cup flour

Stock

7 cups home-made chicken stock (see my recipe) plus 1 cup of water or 8 cups of store bought low sodium broth
1 cup of yummy beer (yes you can leave it out and just substitute more broth if you like) - use something with flavor - no BUD LIGHT or MILLER LIGHT! YUCK!
Seasoning

3 Bay leaves
1/4 tsp Cayenne (if you use the jalapeno do about 1/8 instead)
a little salt - about a teaspoon
1 TBSP file powder

Creole Seasoning Mix

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
Combine all ingredients thoroughly and place in a air-tight container.  This mix is good on just about anything!

Suggested Cooking Method
Chop up all the veggies. Cut up the sausage however you like it. I like mine in chunks others like theirs in round slices.

Prepare the meat:

You need either a deep cast iron dutch oven or a cast iron skillet + pasta pot.

Brown the sausage for a few minutes in the pan. Here is the trick: because these sausages don't have a lot of fat, you need to add a little bit of oil to the pan. AND if you use a sausage that isn't spicy to begin with, you may want to dice up the jalapeno and throw it in with the sausage. A word to the cook: if you do this, you WILL breathe in jalapeno and you WILL sneeze and your eyes WILL water..you may want to push the small children out of the room because it'll prolly smoke it up!

Remove the sausage and set aside. Add a little oil to the skillet. Sprinkle about 1/2 TBSP of Seasoning Mix on the chicken and add to the pan seasoned side down. Sprinkle the rest of the seasoning onto the chicken. Let the chicken cook for 2 - 3 minutes on each side, just long enough to get it nice and brown on the outside. Remove the chicken and place on a plate. Once the chicken has cooled a bit feel free to stick it in the fridge until you need it, because it will be a little while.

Make the Roux:

Quickly, before you move on, potty break and then arm yourself with a snack and something to drink!

In the same skillet, add 1/2 cup of oil. Sprinkle in 1 cup of flour. Stir together until most of the lumps are gone. Now, for the next 25 minutes (or until the color is a chocolaty brown) use a broad flat spatula to slowly stir (push) the flour and oil mixture. To have a fabulous roux, you MUST continuously stir the roux. If you must take a break, have someone step in for you.

If you are using a skillet instead of a large dutch oven, go ahead and put the liquid ingredients: stock, water, beer into the pasta pot and bring it to a simmer while you stir the roux.

Once the roux is a dark chocolaty brown, put in the Cayenne and salt. Add the veggies you chopped up and cook for a couple of minutes. If you are using a dutch oven, slowly add the liquid ingredients to the mixture. If you are using a skillet, slowly add the mixture to the simmering liquids in the pasta pot, stirring between additions to make sure the mixture smooths out. Add the bay leaves once everything is together in one pot.

Simmer
Now, you get a break! Let this simmer (about medium heat) for 1 hour uncovered. Be sure to stir it every once in a while and give it a little taste. It should already have that classic gumbo flavor.

Add in the chicken pieces that you've reserved. Cook for another 1 1/2 hours, stirring and tasting periodically. It should be getting a bit spicier! While this is going on, go ahead and shell your shrimp.

After the hour and half has gone by, remove the chicken pieces and put them on a plate. Use two forks to pull the chicken off the bone. Discard bones and cartilage. Shred the chicken pieces and return to the pot.

Add the shrimp and remove the pot from the heat. The heat of the soup will cook the shrimp so don't worry! Add the file powder in last and stir.

At this point, it's ready to go over some rice, topped with green onions and serve with cornbread. Or, you can do what I do, make it a day ahead and put it into the fridge for the flavors to really meld together!

Skinny Banana Bread

Budget Tip:

Bananas are super cheap - buy alot of them and either expect for some to go super-dooper ripe or put them in the freezer.  When you are ready, take them out and let them thaw on the counter.  It's pretty much the same effect.

Suggested Ingredients - only in the way that if you can make it skinnier - be my guest!!

2 large bananas - way over ripe to the point of dripping - oh yum!
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup fat free plain yogurt
2 TBSP applesauce
2 TBSP canola oil
3/4 cup (not packed) of light brown sugar (if you can measure it at 175grams)
2 large egg whites
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup wheat flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
some walnuts - roughly chopped

Suggested Baking Method - but not really because if you want it to be good, it needs to be done this way

Small Bowl: Mix bananas, baking soda, yogurt.  Let sit while you mix the other stuff

Medium Bowl: Mix oil, applesauce, sugar, egg whites and vanilla.

Large Bowl: Mix flours, baking powder, ground cinnamon, salt

Put the banana mixture into the egg mixture and mix together.

Make a well in the bottom of the flour bowl and pour in the wet ingredients.  Dump in your walnuts and mix together until everything is moistend.  I like to use a rubber spatula to avoid overmixing and to be sure I got all the flour at the bottom.

Bake in a larger loaf pan (not the really tiny ones) for about 45ish minutes on 350.  I usually start watching at about 35 minutes and take it out slightly before 45 because even if the middle is still showing a bit of banana bits on your poking implement, it will finish baking as it cools down.

This is a really moist and sticky bread..it's AMAZING.  Love it!  Without the walnuts, it's about 157 calories with 3 grams of fat if you slice the bread into 12 slices - who does that??

As a disclaimer, I did get this recipe from joyofbaking.com and doctored it up a bit to make it even healthier than they posted.

Skinny Cheesecake Frosting

Budget Tip

This makes a LOT of frosting so if you are using this sparingly, make 1/2 a batch.  Off-brands are perfectly fine to use if you don't already have these things in your pantry or freezer.  Also, you can change the flavor by changing the pudding type so get whatever is on sale and have at it!

Suggested Ingredients

1 box (8oz) fat free (or reduced fat) cream cheese
2 small boxes or 1 large box of SugarFree/FatFree Cheesecake pudding
1 cup fat free milk + some in case it's too thick
1 whole container fat free or lite whipped topping

Suggested Method of "Putting it Together"

Beat the pudding and milk together until thick using a hand mixer.  Add the other two ingredients and beat together.  If it's too thick go ahead and add a little milk, but not too much because you want the consistency to stay "frosting-like".

Refrigerate until you need to use it.  I like to put this on chocolate cupcakes or muffins but recently found it's great on biscuits as a little dessert and I would bet you could put it on pancakes too..mmm!  I'm imagining some crepes with this in it. 

I would challenge you to try using a pineapple or vanilla pudding with a little less milk a little more pineapple juice on top of a yellow cake or cupcake.  The possibilities here are endless!!

Tequila-Lime Chicken Tacos with Mango Salsa

Budget Tip

Any gold tequila is great in this recipe so feel free to get the cheap stuff!  It'll keep and you'll want to make this again so it won't go to waste.

Suggested Ingredients

Marinade
I found this marinade from the Barefoot Contessa, but she used jalapenos instead.

1/2 cup gold tequila
1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 cup orange juice, no pulp
1 TBSP chili powder
1 medium Serrano pepper, ribs and seeds included
2 or 3 cloves freshly minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Tacos

several boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small strips
small tortillas
shredded lettuce

Mango Salsa

1 mango, diced into cubes
1 Serrano pepper, remove ribs and seeds
1 small cucumber, peeled and diced
1/2 red onion diced
cilantro, however much you think you'd like
juice from one lime (2 or 3 tablespoons worth)

Suggested Method of Cooking

Combine all ingredients for the salsa and store in the fridge until needed.

Combine all ingredients for the marinade into a bowl.  Place chicken strips into the bowl and put in the fridge.  Marinate 3 - 4 hours.  Remove the chicken from the marinade with a slotted spoon and cook in a skillet over medium high heat.  It's OK if you have some of the juice in the skillet from the marinade.  Cook until the chicken is no longer pink. Remove from the skillet and cut the chicken into smaller pieces. 

Construct the tacos with the chicken, shredded lettuce and the mango salsa.  They really don't need anything more.  I like to serve this with black beans and rice.

Cheddar Sour Cream Cornbread - Not Just for Dinner Anymore!

Budget Tip


It may seem like it's cheaper to buy the Jiffy cornbread, but to be honest, the $1 that you spend everytime you need to make cornbread is still more than the number of cornbread (and other recipes) you will get out of the bag 'o cornmeal that you buy. Everything else is already in your pantry and fridge!

Suggested Ingredients

1 1/2 cups cornmeal (if you use self-rising, it won't hurt to leave in the baking powder, soda and salt)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
1 can (approx. 15 ounces) cream-style corn (I use unsalted and these often go on BOGO free)
3 eggs
6 tablespoons butter, melted
a heaping or two of finely shredded cheese

Suggested Cooking Method

While you make up the cornbread mixture, put a 10" iron skillet into the oven and preheat to 375 degrees.

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk together the wet ingredients. Pour the wet into the dry ingredients and mix together until it's moist using a rubber spatula.

Take the skillet out of the oven (it's HOT!) and add a couple tablespoons of butter and coat the skillet. If it sizzles, that's good! If not, stick the skillet back into the oven for a few more minutes. Add the cornbread mixture and then bake 35-40 minutes or until you can stick a toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean. When the cornbread comes out, put another pat of butter on the top and smooth it around.

Now, you all know I always say, use real butter! And I mean it for this recipe. While it seems like alot of butter, the entire recipe makes at least 8 servings and those are LARGE servings.  So, at most you'll have a large serving of cornbread with about 120 calories and 9 grams of fat. 
 
Corn Bread Breakfast
 
Have some leftover?  I bet you do!  This is PERFECT for breakfast.  Take the left over cornbread and split it through the middle to expose the inside of the wedge.  Butter your hot skillet over medium high heat, or use Pam and place the cornbread inside down and toast until lightly brown.  Flip and do the same on the other side.  Serve with eggs and grits.  mmmm!

Chipped Honey Chipotle BBQ Chicken

Budget Tip

Making your own sauce is almost always cheaper than buying it from the store, especially this one because most likely you have all of these ingredients in your pantry and fridge except for the chipotle peppers.  AND, this is yet ANOTHER recipe that you can use with your rotisserie chicken leftovers (or a whole one as I did here)

Suggested Ingredients

1 whole rotisserie chicken
1/2 cup of ketchup
1/4 cup honey
2 - 3 TBSP brown sugar (depending on how sweet you like your sauce)
2 TBSP apple cider vinegar
2 tsp Worcestershire
a pinch or two of kosher salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder (i use a garlic powder mixture called Johnny's)
1 1/2 - 2 TBSP chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
Chicken broth

Suggested Cooking Method

Pull all of the meat off of the bones, reserving bones and skin for making a chicken stock which can be found here:
Rotisserie Chicken Stock

Pull the chicken into strips and then using a sharp knife, chop the chicken into small pieces.  Throw the chicken in a crock pot with the rest of the ingredients stirring it around.  Add just a little bit of chicken stock to give it some liquidity.  Turn the crock pot on low and simmer for 4 hours.  Do NOT open the crock pot for 4 hours!!  I know you want to because it smells so good, but resist it.

This is great for lunchtime sandwiches or if you are throwing a party, serve it over chips and nacho cheese.  They will be a HUGE hit for your Superbowl party!

Red Velvet Fried Chicken Strips

Budget Tip

Box cake is cheap and Duncan Hines brand can often be found BOGO Free.  When it does, buy a couple of boxes.  Take half of the batter and make 6 cupcakes and the reserve the other half for the rest of the recipe.

Suggested Ingredients

1/2 box of red velvet cake, mixed into batter
6 non-frosted red velvet cupcakes
chicken breasts cut into strips about 1/2 inch thick, or so
canola oil for frying

Suggested Method of Cooking

First, place the chicken pieces in the batter and mix until well coated.  Place in the fridge until you are ready to cook them.  Crumble the cupcakes up and place them on a long cookie sheet.  Toast for 10 - 15 minutes at 250 degrees or until the crumbs smell a bit like cornbread and are crumbly and toasted feeling to the touch.  Once they have toasted completely, you can either use a fork to smash them into smaller bits or if you want a fine coating on the outside of the chicken, press them through a small sifter with a fork.  Meanwhile, heat the oil in a heavy pan or iron skillet at medium high heat until the oil pops when you flick water drops into it.

Take the chicken from the fridge and roll each piece into the toasted cupcake crumbs.  Gently place each piece into the oil in a single layer.  Remember not to crowd the pieces.  They will cook better that way.  To be honest, it's hard to really put a time on how long the cooking will take, but if you watch the outside of the chicken, the coating will become a dark brown/red color.  The trick is to get it out just after the chicken is cooked.  I find that it works best if i start with one piece and time how long it takes to cook starting with just a few minutes after the coating has browned a bit.

Place on a papertowel lined place to cool and drain a bit.

Caribbean-Style Jerk Sauce

Budget Tip

I will admit, this recipe is pretty spice intensive so it requires that you have a fairly well stocked pantry.  Spices can be expensive, so feel free to check out your local dollar store for the more common spices, which they all are.  Also, next time you are in your grocery store, instead of heading down the spice aisle where the big name spices are, pop over to the ethnic section. The spices here tend to be a lot less expensive.

Suggested Ingredients

3 TBSP butter - use the real stuff
a couple of stalks of green onions, white and green parts, chopped into rings
1 cup water
3/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar plus a little extra - the dark brown kind is best for color
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 TBSP white vinegar
2 TBSP hot sauce - I like to use Franks however any sort of cayenne based hot sauce will do.
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp lemon juice
1- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder, I actually use a spice blend for making garlic bread spread
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground allspice
1/8 tsp rubbed sage

Suggested Cooking Method

In a medium sized sauce pan that won't react to the tomato acids, saute the onions in the butter until soft.  Don't let the butter or the onions get brown.  Remove the pan from the stove and whisk in all the other ingredients.  Put the pan back on the stove and bring to just above a simmer.  Turn the heat down slightly and let simmer for about 45 minutes.  Let cool and then store it in the fridge until you need it.

This sauce has a bit of a kick, but nothing too spicy.  My son loves it!

This sauce is really good tossed with grilled chicken wings.  It's also good when brushed over chicken breasts as they are grilling.  I would imagine, that it would be good if used as the baking sauce for chicken thighs as well, but I haven't tried that yet. 

Shawna-Tini

Budget Tip:

Personally, I prefer Grey Goose, however ANY vodka is good for this recipe, so feel free to get the kind in the plastic bottle if you want.  The lemonade completely hides the taste :)

Suggested Ingredients

Vodka
Crystal Light Lemonade
Chambord (raspberry liqueur)

Suggested Method of Mixing

Fill up a martini shaker with ice.  Fill up the shaker about 1/3 full with vodka and the rest with lemonade.  Shake, Shake, Shake!  Taste it.  If it's too strong add more lemonade, if it's not strong enough, add more vodka!  Strain into martini glasses.

Now the fun part.  Gently pour a small amount of the chambord down the side of the martini glass so that it will sink to the bottom.  When it settles you'll have a really pretty drink with a little surprise sweetness at the bottom.

YUM!!

Picnic Potato Salad

Ok..so maybe you are wondering what to do with the potatoes left over from the smashed potato recipe.  This is the perfect choice since it goes well with anything from lunch to dinner.  Of course, it's best served super cold!  This recipe makes ALOT so feel free to scale it down to half for a family dinner of 4 or so.

Budget Tip

Instead of buying relish, buy a jar of dill pickles.  Mt. Olive puts their pickles on buy one get one free all the time, so stock up!  When a recipe calls for dill relish, just chop up a pickle and there you go!  Want to save even more money?  Pickle your own cucumbers from your own or someone elses' garden.

Suggested Ingredients

4lbs of whole red creamer potatoes
4 eggs
4 or so green onions
2 TBSP capers, drained
1 cup of mayo made with olive oil or other reduced or fat free mayo
1 cup of reduced fat or fat free sour cream
1 big(ish) pickle, chopped
1/2 of a small red onion, diced
italian flat leaf parsley, chopped
juice of 1/2 a lemon
dill

Suggested Cooking Method

Fill a large pot with cold water and some salt.  Throw in the potatoes (whole) and eggs.  Turn on high and wait to simmer.  Once it simmers, turn it down a notch to keep it from boiling over.  Check the eggs by pulling one out and spinning it around on the flat side.  If it doesn't wobble too much, it's done.  Pull the eggs out, peel, chop and let cool.  While the potatoes are cooking, mix 1/2 cup mayo, 1/2 cup sour cream, pickle, onions, parsley, dill and lemon juice.  Add the eggs and mix slightly. Put in the fridge until the potatoes are done.

The potatoes will be done when you can stick a sharp knife through them easily.  Once they are done, pull them out with a slotted spoon and put them into a colander to cool for a bit.  Once they are cool enough to handle you can break the potatoes up either by hand, which i'm not fond of, or by cutting them up into cubes.  I like to cut them up because it makes it look nicer and i'm a bit on the anal side when it comes to things like that.  Besides, when you break them off with your hands, the skins tend to seperate from the potato and I like the skins to stay on.

Mix the broken or cubed potatoes into the mayo and sour cream mixture.  Now, add however much of the remaining 1/2 cup sour cream and 1/2 cup mayo that you want.  If you like your potato salad really creamy add all of it, plus feel free to add more. 

Place into the fridge for several hours or overnight to get it nice and chilled.

Cold Cucumber Soup

This is one of my hands down favorite recipes.  If you've never tried a cold soup, try this one.  It is so crisp and refreshing.  The flavors really meld together after a day or two in the fridge - if it lasts that long!

Budget Tip

Make this in the summer-time and you can get cucumbers for right around .50/each.  That makes this recipe, super inexpensive and since it makes alot, it goes a long way!

Suggested Ingredients

2 TBSP butter (yes, use real butter)
3 good sized cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced
1 videlia or other sweet onion, chopped
2 bay leaves
2 TBSP freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 cans of 98% fat free cream of celery soup
1 1/2 cups of water
1/3 cup fat free sour cream
freshly chopped dill, usually about a TBSP, but whatever you want

Suggested Cooking Method

Melt the butter in a good size cast iron skillet.  Throw in the cucumbers, onion and bay leaves.  A note about the by leaves, break them up a bit, but leave them large enough so you can pick them out later.  Cook over medium low heat for a while until the cucumbers are soft.  Be careful not to let it get brown.  Since the cucumbers have alot of water in them, you won't have to worry much about them burning as long as your heat is low.  Pick out the bay leaves and throw them away.

Now, the fun part.  There is NO way, unless you have an industrial size blender that you are going to get all of this in the blender at the same time so take the pan off of the heat and add the lemon juice.  Then add as much as you feel safe with into a blender and blend until smooth and frothy.  In a very large bowl add the water, soup, sour cream and dill and mix slightly with a spoon.  As you finish blending the cucumber and onions, add it to the ingredients in the bowl.  Once you've finished blending all of the cucumber and onions and added them to the bowl, mix again with the spoon.  Blend all of this again in the blender until it is smooth. 

I find that as it comes out of the blender, it's best to put it directly into 2 large storage containers.  Put the storage containers in the fridge and let it get cold.  I like to make this a day ahead of time so that it has time to get really chilly and for the flavors to meld together.

Don't be scared of this recipe because it has a blender in it or because you have to preplan and make it ahead of time.  This is one of the absolute best recipes and if you try it once, you will make it as often as you can!

Sour Cream Smashed Potatoes

The point to this recipe is not that it is all that much different and spectacular but that with some of the staples you already keep around the pantry you can easily make a yummy side-dish to go with just about any main dish.  It's inexpensive, filling and not altogether bad for you either.

Budget Tip

Potatoes are cheap!  Enough said!

Suggested Ingredients

Red Potatoes
Parsley
1 - 2 garlic cloves, minced
fat free sour cream
1 - 2 TBSP real butter
Parmesan Cheese (the shaker kind) (optional)

Suggested Cooking Method

Do not peel the potatoes but be sure to wash them off.  Cut the potatoes up into medium size cubes.  I usually slice the potatoes long-wise, then place the potato face down on the flat cut part, then make 3 long-wise cuts.  Then turn the knife short-wise and cut the slices into cubes.  (I'm saving for a camera, I promise - unless someone cares to donate an old one they aren't using any longer)  Boil the potatoes until they are just done - not too soft and not too hard.  Drain and put back into the pot.  Smash the potatoes preferably with a smasher utensil but a large fork will work too.

Once the potatoes are coarsely smashed, add in the rest of the ingredients to taste. The sour cream is meant to take the place of milk and it really gives them that baked potato taste.  Now, you'll notice that I said to use real butter.  The reason being if you are only using a small amount of butter, you might as well get all the yummy flavor of it.  Otherwise, if you are watching cholesterol and/or fat and calories, use a substitute that you like.  Or, heck, add more sour cream and no butter at all!  The Parmesan cheese really is there to give it a bit more flavor and in fact if you want to make it even more baked potato-like, feel free to add some bacon, or in my case, turkey bacon crumbles.

Once you have it all mixed together, just put it on the stove on medium heat for a few minutes to bring it up to temperature.

Parmesean Turkey Meatballs with Mushroom & Onion Gravy

Budget Tip

Ok, I'll admit it ground turkey is not the cheapest food item, but if you can manage to buy it in bulk from Costco, it's not too bad.  In addition, the rest of the ingredients for this dish you either already have on hand or are super-cheap. 

Suggested Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (like the kind you put on top of spaghetti)
1 egg
a generous helping of dried parsley
1 garlic clove, minced
a bit of salt and pepper OR my favorite Tony's Creole Seasoning
1/2 a good size yellow onion, chopped
1/2 a package of fresh mushrooms, sliced
some chicken or veggie broth
1 can of mostly fat free cream of.. celery or chicken or mushroom (i like to use celery or mushroom but if my son is eating it I generally use chicken)
dash of olive oil and some cooking spray

Suggested Cooking Method

Spray a skillet with cooking spray and put in a dash of olive oil.  Heat the skillet up on med-high heat.  Mix the egg, turkey, cheese, parsley, garlic and seasoning of your choice.  Make little meatballs, or big ones, however you like them and place them in the skillet.  The point is to get them brown but not quite done in the middle.  I usually turn them once to get them brown all the way around.  Transfer to a plate as they become brown. 

After the meatballs are done, put in a bit more olive oil and saute the onion and mushrooms until the onions have a nice brown color.  Add in some broth to cover the onions and mushrooms and then add in the can of cream of whatever soup.  Mix together until the soup isn't lumpy and then put the meatballs back into the skillet.  Add more broth if needed and let the meatballs simmer over medium heat until they are done in the middle.

I like to serve this with smashed potatoes (recipe coming soon) or rice since it makes a great gravy.

Chicken & Mushroom Alfredo Lasagna

Budget Tip:

When buying wine for cooking, get the cheapest chardonnay or pinot grigio you can find.  Aim for $5/bottle.  Then when you have some left over you won't feel bad about putting a little ginger ale or a clear soda in it for a spritzer.  This recipe calls for Gruyere cheese and it's not cheap but it's the only thing in this recipe you'll really have to splurge on . 1 1/2 cups is about 1/2 a pound.

I know it seems like there is alot going on in this recipe but I promise once you've done it once, it's super easy and so rewarding.  Choose this recipe when you are on an off-day from your diet because it's definitely NOT lowfat.  You could also add other veggies like freshly roasted red or green peppers.

Suggested Ingredients

8oz of sliced portabello - i like em chunky, but slice them up however you like them
2 minced garlic cloves
1 TBSP olive oil
5 TBSP butter
1/2 cup dry white wine (you can substitute chicken broth)
1/2 of a rotisserie chicken
3 1/2 cups of whole milk - if you want to decrease the fat content, use fat-free but it won't be as creamy good
1/4 cup flour
2 tsp thyme leaves or any Italian seasoning
3/4 cups grated Parmesan cheese - don't worry about going fancy you can easily use the shaker cheese
no boil noodles
1 1/2 cps grated Gruyere cheese

Suggested Cooking Method

You can either pull apart the chicken or cut it up into small cubes. 

Put the milk into a small pot and let it heat up while you cook the next part.  It should just be a bare simmer.

Cook mushrooms, garlic, a bit of salt and pepper in the olive oil + one TBSP of the butter.  Saute until the mushrooms are a bit soft.  Add the wine and simmer briskly - about 2 or 3 minutes.  Transfer this mixture, soupy bits and all to a largeish bowl.  Add the chicken.

Melt the other 4TBSP of butter in a 4qt saucepan over med-low heat.  Add the flour and cook to make a roux, stirring constantly.  Add the milk in a slow and steady stream while whisking.  Add the thyme or Italian seasoning, a bit of salt and pepper.  Simmer while whisking constantly until its a bit on the thick side.  This should take 5 or 6 minutes and you can tell if it's done by dipping a spoon in the mixture and seeing if it sticks to the spoon.  Remove from heat and reserve 1 cup of the sauce. 

Stir the Parmesan cheese into the sauce that is still remaining in he pan.  Stir in the mushroom filling as well.

When doing the next part just make sure you reserve some Gruyere cheese to place onto of the lasagna.  With an 8x8 pan I've found that I can only get two layers so in general, split the mushroom filling in half.

Pour 1/2 of the reserved plain sauce into an 8x8 square pan, making sure it covers the bottom of the dish.  Add 3 lasagna noodles overlapping each other.  Put some of the mushroom filling on top and then sprinkle with Gruyere cheese.  Cover with 3 more lasagna noodles, more mushroom filling and more Gruyere cheese. Cover with 3 more lasagna noodles and then cover with the remaining plain white sauce.  Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.

Cover with foil, tenting it a bit so the cheese doesn't stick to the top.  Place the pan on a baking pan covered in aluminum foil so you don't get drippings on your over.  Bake 30 minutes at 425.  Remove the foil and bake for another 15 min or until the cheese is mostly brown.  Let stand for 10 minutes.  You MUST do this to be sure it thickens up all the way so resist that urge to cut into it!

This is an incredibly rich lasagna so I usually serve it with a side of leafy greens and a light balsamic vinaigrette.

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

Budget Tip:

10lb bag of Krusteaz Pancake Mix @ Costco: $10 and it lasts all year long!

I will admit it, I'm in love with pancakes.  They are so inexpensive and easy to make for the whole family.  And on top of that you can do so much with pancake mix and pancakes!

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes: Recipe

Suggested Ingredients

Pancake mix (feel free to make your own batter as well)
Granny Smith apple, peeled and shredded with a grater
cinnamon
light whipped topping

Suggested Method of Cooking

Mix the batter as directed, add in the shredded apple and cinnamon to taste.  Cook as you normally would any other pancake.  Top with a little light whipped topping.

Kahlua, Mascarpone & Strawberries - OH MY!

This is a progression of two breakfast and brunch recipes.  They both have a few things that you may not find in your pantry and fridge however the investment is quite worth the result in the end!

Budget Tip:

It's one of my suggestions to buy fresh fruit when it's buy one get one or on sale and freeze it if possible.  One of those items that you can freeze is strawberries.  Now, the problem with freezing strawberries is they tend to mush after you freeze them so you can't really put them in a recipe that expects them to be firm.  The good news is you can use these strawberries in all kinds of recipes where its OK for them to be a bit mushy such as shakes, strawberry sauces or in something like the recipe that eventually follows: Strawberry and Mascarpone Stuffed French Toast.  The key to freezing strawberries?  Freeze them whole with the stems in tact.  Shake them every now and then to keep them from sticking together. The key to thawing? Depends on what you are doing with them.  If you need to cut them up, put them in the fridge until they are just thawed enough to get the knife through hem.  Otherwise, you can just let them thaw on the counter or for quite  along time in the fridge.

On to the recipes. 

Normally, I would re post a recipe that isn't originally mine with my take on the recipe, however in this case, this recipe is PERFECT the way it is so here is the link:

Tiramisu Pancakes: Recipe

http://ivoryhut.com/2010/03/tiramisu-pancakes/

The only personal notes here is that I do usually have to add about 2 TBSP of flour to the pancake batter and I would suggest unless you have a big family to 1/2 the pancake batter recipe. 

There are two reasons I'm posting this recipe.  One is that it's absolutely FANTASTIC and always a hit.  Two is that you only use 1/2 the mascarpone and there is usually a bit of the creme mixture left over which can be used in the next recipe.

Strawberry & Mascarpone Stuffed French Toast: Recipe

OK, so I got this original recipe from another blogger: http://closetcooking.blogspot.com/
You can go to the blog to get an awesome array of recipes!

I made some adjustments however and found that this is a bit more to my taste than the original and wanted to share it because it not only can use some of those frozen strawberries, but it uses the rest of the leftover mascarpone AND you can top it with the creme from the Tiramisu Pancakes recipe! All of a sudden the 4 bucks you spent on the mascarpone cheese is looking a bit more affordable isn't it?

Suggested Ingredients:

2 cups strawberries, freshly frozen, mostly thawed, sliced
1/2 cup or so mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup light fat-free vanilla yogurt
2 TBS sugar
1/2 cup milk
generous sprinkle of cinnamon
1/2 cup milk (i use fat free but I'm sure whole milk wouldn't be awful)
1 egg
bread (you can use french bread but to keep it on the light side I used regular bread such as either wheat or healthy white)
2 cups strawberries, freshly frozen, completely thawed, but sliced for the sauce

Suggested Method of Cooking:

First, I will start by suggesting, if you can preplan the best thing to do is to let 2 cups of strawberries - and really it can be any amount because you are just going to use it for the topping - thaw completely and then store it in the fridge for a day or so.  This coaxes all the juices to run out of the strawberries and get naturally sweet.  Put these in a small pan and simmer them on the stove while you make the rest.

Mix the mascarpone, yogurt and sugar together and let stand for 10 minutes.  The mixture will be a little lumpy but that's OK.  Mix in the other 2 cups of strawberries gently.  Taste it.  It's good right!?!

Combine egg, milk and cinnamon in a flat bowl for dipping in the bread.  Now, you can go two ways here.  If you don't mind your bread being a little soggy, then put some of the strawberry mixture on the bread pieces and make a sandwich with another piece.  Dip it in the milk mixture and fry it up in a skillet with a bit of butter or non-stick spray.  If you'd rather your bread be a little more firm, which is the way I like it, dip both sides of 2 pieces of bread and fry them up in the pan first.  THEN, when they are done, put the filling in between the slices and put it back in the skillet for a minute or so just to warm it all up a bit.

For serving, simply cut the french toast on a diagonal and pull the two sides apart a bit.  Top with the strawberries that have been simmering and then for the coupe de gras: add a generous dollop of the tiramisu creme!

I promise, after you have both of these recipes, you will not mind the investment into a bottle of kahlua or mascarpone cheese.

Rotisserie Chicken: 3 Ways

Buget Tip for Rotisserie Chicken:

Rotisserie chicken is one of the least expensive food items which can really go a long way.  I often pick mine up at Costco for $4.99 but supermarkets also carry them for $6.50 or $7.00, still making it quite affordable, especially when you see what I do with it!

(Blue Cheese) Chicken Salad: Recipe

Suggested Ingredients

2 rotisserie chicken breasts
1 or so cups of red seedless grapes, sliced in half
fat free mayo
1 granny smith apple, diced
2 celery heart ribs, diced
juice from 1/2 of a lemon
crumbled blue cheese to taste

Suggested Method of Cooking

There actually isn't any cooking in this recipe which I love! 

Remove any skin from the rotisserie chicken, remove the chicken from the bone.  Do NOT throw away the bones!  Those will be used later.  Dice the chicken up into small cubes.  Add the grapes, apple and celery and lightly mix together.  Add the mayo and mix until you feel the consistency is just right.  I like mine to be just a bit on the creamy side but not too much mayo.  Squeeze 1/2 of a lemon over the mixture and stir again.  To finish it off add a bit of blue cheese to taste.  Depending on how potent the blue cheese is will determine how much you use.  If you don't like blue cheese Gorgonzola is good, or if that is still a bit too much try something milder like shredded mozzarella or cheddar.

Breasts? Done.. next up, wings, legs and thighs!

Pesto Rotisserie Chicken with Bowties: Recipe

The most expensive ingredient in this recipe are the pine nuts.  Luckily, one package can make 4 rounds of pesto which you can freeze.  If you can manage it, have your own basil plant or buy from a farmers market or do what I do and collect basil from friends who grow it since I have no good sun in my yard.  Another thing to note here is if you can grow African Blue Basil, do so.  It makes a huge shrub when it's happy, provides alot more basil and is more potent than normal basil.  More basil for your buck!

Suggested Ingredients:

Rotisserie Chicken from thighs, wings and drumsticks
package of bowties (or any pasta really, recommend whole wheat pasta)
1/4 cup of pine nuts
2 cups of fresh basil
2/3 cups of olive oil (extra virgin)
1 -2 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

Suggested Method of Cooking

Boil the pasta according to package directions.  Pull off the skin and bones from the chicken pieces.  Chop the chicken up into smaller pieces.  You can pull the chicken as well, but I like to chop it up.  Save the bones! 

Pesto
Toast the pine nuts in the oven at 350 degrees for 5 or 6 minutes, stirring 1/2 way through.  Use a food processor to chop up the basil, pine nuts and garlic.  While running the processor, slowly add in the olive oil.  After all the oil is added, add in the Parmesan cheese then pulse a few times to mix everything together. 

Once the pasta is done toss the drained pasta with the chicken.  To serve, simply put a bit of pesto over the chicken and pasta and toss gently.  Be careful because the pesto is a bit on the strong side, of course, depending on how much basil and garlic you use!

Rotisserie Chicken Broth: Recipe

Now, the bones we saved from the previous two recipes can be used. 

Suggested Ingredients

Chicken bones from a rotisserie chicken
1 onion, chopped
3 celery heart ribs, chopped
smashed garlic (or roasted garlic if you have some extra time on your hands)
fresh rosemary
lemon zest peel

Suggested Cooking Method

This one is easy.  Throw the bones in a pot with chopped onion, celery a bit of salt, pepper, smashed garlic and fresh rosemary and cover generously with water.  If you are feeling frisky add in some lemon zest peel.  To get lemon zest peel, use a peeler to get just the top of the yellow part of the peel (no white part because it's bitter!)  Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer.  Simmer for a long time - at least an hour and keep tasting to determine when it's done.  When it's done strain out the goodies and the bones.  I like to freeze mine and use it as needed.  At the very least place this in the fridge to cool down.  Once it's cool, the fat will all rise to the top and can be scraped off and thrown away.  Now you have fairly low fat, low sodium chicken stock for use!

Now, you've used the entire rotisserie chicken!  I've used the chicken salad on whole wheat English muffins, croissants and served with crackers as an appetizer.  It's really yummy and makes quite a bit so it goes a long way.  Most of the recipes can be made with ingredients already in your kitchen and for less than $10.00.

Cheap Tomatoes for Sauces

Unemployment Tip for Tomatoes

Either grow them yourself or find someone who is growing them - they probably have an overabundance of them during the summer months. Don't know any farmers? Buy from a farmers market or go to a "pick-it-yourself" farm - http://www.pickyourown.org/

Here in Tallahassee we have several farmers markets including:

Downtown Farmers Market: http://www.downtownmarket.com/ (Sat 8:00AM - 2:00PM)
Tallahassee Farmers Market: 1415 Timberlane Road @ Market Square (T,TH, Sat 8:00AM -5:00)
Grower's Market: 229 Lake Ella Drive (Wed 3:ooPM - dusk)

Italian Stewed Tomatoes: Recipe

Suggested Ingredients

Ripened Tomatoes which can include any garden variety such as Roma, cherry and beefsteak
olive oil
1/2 red or videlia onion
3 ribs of celery
1/4 cup of fresh basil
1 -2 fresh garlic cloves, minced
Chicken or vegetable broth
sea salt to taste

Suggested Method of Cooking

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Take as many tomatoes as you would like to stew and make an X across the bottom of each tomato, just piercing the skin. While you wait for the water to boil, chop up onion and celery. Put a bit of olive oil into a skillet. I love to use cast iron for these sort of recipes. Toss the onions and celery into the skillet with the olive oil and saute.

Meanwhile, your water is now boiling so drop the tomatoes into the water for no more than 30 - 45 seconds. Remove, peel and chop each tomato. If you are also cooking smaller tomatoes like cherry, leave them whole. Don't forget to continue to stir the onions and celery! Once the tomatoes are chopped, add them to the skillet along with enough broth to cover the veggies. Add the basil, garlic and let simmer over a medium-low heat. Cook for a bit, tasting every once in a while. Add some salt if you want, or not. I like to cook this on low for at least 1/2 hour or more. At the very least cook until you begin to taste the flavor of basil and garlic in the sauce.

Once it is done let it cool slightly, then divide into freezer bags in 14.5 oz portions. This is the normal portion that is in cans and most recipes will call for. Now freeze and when you need stewed, diced or whole tomatoes, just pull 'em out and defrost them! They are perfect for sauces, soups, casseroles, etc. They keep for around 8 months, depending on how freezer tight your method of freezing.

An Introduction to The Faboulous Life of :Cooking Unemployed

The story is short really. Prior to becoming statistically unemployed, I spent most of my time working, thinking about working, travelling while working, working while vacationing, cramming in happy hours with co-workers while working, oh and did I mention, working?

When I found myself with quite a bit of more free-time on my hands I realized fairly quickly that I really didn't have any hobbies - that didn't include, you guessed it, working. Even worse, now that I had the time to have a hobby, I found that I didn't have the income to subsidize a hobby. Oh the vicious cycle!!

But it seems that a hobby has found me out of necessity. I mean, everyone has to eat, right? And not having the income I used to have, meaning close to none, eating out simply is not a choice any longer. Oh the shame!!

I decided that even if I have to cook at home, I would not, could not limit myself to Ramen noodles and lettuce sandwiches. This is my journey to explore new foods, new experiences and as close to gourmet cooking as you can get on a nickel and dime budget of the unemployed.