Recipe: Soy and Brown Sugar Salmon

My friend Elizabeth cooked an impromptu dinner for her boyfriend and I last night and it was a real winner. She did a soy and brown sugar marinated salmon, a wild rice medley, and paired it with a very nice Riesling. I threw in a frozen green bean/wax bean/carrot mix that I had and dinner turned out as you can see above. Even better, the marinade for the salmon (the real star on the plate) was incredibly simple.
When marinading, you can either put the salmon filets in a gallon bag or in the oven-safe glass dish you will eventually cook the fish in. That glass dish can then go straight into the oven and then straight into the dishwasher. SIMPLE.

Recipe: Baked Avocado and Egg

After a long and conspicuous absence, Cheap and Easy is back! School got the better of me for a while and to be honest the food wasn't all that interesting. Now that things have evened out the food has improved and I finally have time to keep posting on here.

To kick things off I thought I'd show you the newest thing that I've tried.  I know that looking at this you may be thinking "Warm avocado...is that a...thing?" Let me tell you, spread on some crusty bread this becomes part of a really delicious dinner (or breakfast). You might also be thinking, "Aren't avocados expensive?" Well that depends, if you have an Aldi near you keep an eye on the advertisements, they often sell them for $0.49-0.79 a piece, which is very inexpensive compared to other stores. Other places may also offer decent specials of their own. Some online recipes have topped their baked avocados with bacon, though I prefer it with just some cracked pepper and sriracha (maybe a spoonful of salsa).

Recipe: Summer Quinoa Salad

I'm still here! I am working on getting in the habit of posting more regularly again, so I promise I'll stop failing at that soon.  Until then, this is a great salad that came together in about 20 minutes.  I was having a bottle of wine with my friends Erica and Elizabeth and we decided we wanted some dinner (but didn't want to go out).  They gave me free reign of their pantry and kitchen and after a bit of poking around I threw this together with their help.  What is great about this salad is that it is gluten-free, super healthy, and endlessly interchangeable.  During the fall you could swap in roasted squash and eggplant, in the spring you could add in chopped baby spinach, apple, pecans and raisins.  I wish I had had some fresh parsley or lemon to throw in to give it a tabouli feel but it was perfect the way was. It works great as a main dish, or would be terrific beside a pice of grilled chicken or fish.

Zesty Chicken Rollups

The credit for this recipe goes to my mother.  When I was back at home a few weekends ago she whipped this up and it is a great way to use the grill to keep the house cool in the summer and do something that is a bit out of the norm for dinner.  The secret to keeping the chicken juicy and giving it great flavor is a long marinade in zesty Italian dressing (12ish hours) and the tucked in feta gives is a wonderful little surprise inside.  You could also use a dollop of Boursin or any other type  of cheese that you like, but the feta doesn't melt as easily meaning less could ooze out onto the grill.  The chicken itself is the thin cut variety, if you can't find that you can always pound out your own.

Here's what you need:
Zesty Italian dressing
Thin cut chicken breasts for the number of people you are serving
3 thin asparagus spears per person
Feta cheese
Salt
Pepper
Cooking spray

Marinate the chicken in Zesty Italian for up to 12 hours for the best flavor.  Remove the chicken from the marinade and place on your cutting board, seasoning with salt and pepper.  Remove the woody ends from the asparagus and spray lightly with cooking spray and season with the salt and pepper.  Place them in chicken breast with a slice (if its a block) or crumbles of feta.  Roll up the chicken around the filling and use toothpicks to keep it closed.

Preheat your grill to 400 degrees and cook for 15 minutes, turning every 5 or until the chicken is cooked through.  We served it with grilled corn and some toasted sourdough.

Sweet Substitutions: Chocolate Chip Chickpea Bites

Let's take a break from our regularly scheduled programing, shall we? My sister sent me another post for the Sweet Substitutions section (you can read the first one, here)  This time its Chocolate Chip Chickpea Bites from one of her friends blogs, and from the pictures it looks like something I'm going to have to make myself very soon.  Without further adieu, I'll let her take it away:

Recipe: Lentil Stuffed Mushrooms

I've gotten back on a lentil kick recently, though some popular opinions assert that I never got off of it... but no matter.  I've talked about them a few times (here, here, and here) but this recipe might just take the proverbial cake.  The earthiness of the lentils pairs very nicely with the mushrooms, the ingredients stewed with the lentils add some extra nutrition and color, and the lentils themselves could be prepared several days ahead.  I made a pretty big batch of the lentils here, but if you were only looking to make a few mushrooms the recipe could easily be halved.  I got most of my ingredients at our local ALDI.  If you have one check it out, I've been very surprised by both the prices and the quality of the stuff they have.

You might also notice after reading the recipe that I cook the lentils for a long time, but I have a reason....I sort of like when they form a mush, or I suppose paste sounds better.  After it cools and goes in the fridge it can be spread on bread, dipped with crackers, and used in all sorts of ways (one of which is being stuffed into mushrooms, so it works out pretty well).  With the ease of prep after the lentils are cooked this would be a great item to take to parties, or reduce the recipe and have with a salad for an easy summer or fall dinner.

21+: Blueberry Gin-ger-ade

Happy 4th to all of you in America, and happy Wednesday to the rest of you.  I made this drink last night for some festivities and thought that I would share it with you all.  It got great reviews from my friends and really hit the spot with the heat. Its cool, sweet, and is easy to throw together.  You can even make some of it ahead of time and throw in the ginger ale right before you leave.  This makes about 2 liters of drink but could be halved or doubled pretty easily.

Recipe: Roasted Broccoli with Lemon

I'm back! (It's alright if you didn't realize that I was gone, I'm happy to have you reading this too).  I apologize about the long break but between school wrapping up for the year and starting a job I haven't been able to post as regularly.  I'm working to change that.  Anyway, today I have an incredibly easy recipe that is really delicious.  I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Vegetable+425degree oven+a little bit of time=magic.  Today we are casting this magic on broccoli.  Trust me, even my sister was raving about how much she liked it...and if I can win her over you know something is working right.

Recipe: Roasted Beet and Spinach Salad

Let's go ahead and add beets to the list of things that I never in a million years thought that I would like even though I had never tried them (because I had never tried them).  WRONG.  Beets are amazing.  I love them for a few reasons: their earthy sweetness, their color (we really don't eat enough purple), and the way they can be transformed to fit many different types of dishes.  For this salad I roasted and sliced them and added them to a simple salad with a simple dressing.  It all comes together beautifully, and the beets could even be roasted a day before if you want them cold.

Recipe: Flatbread (Indian Chapatis)

Anyone who knows me can tell you about my deep and unending love for Indian food.  While I don't cook  most of the meals often (generally a lack of the myriad of spices needed), I did recently attempt this flatbread.  It is super easy, and you will have it mixed, rolled, and cooked in 10-15 minutes. Plus, in its simplest form you can use as few as 3 ingredients, but the recipe offers a vast amount of room for customization.  Herbs, spices, zests, etc can all be added.  This recipe makes 4 chapatis, and seems easy enough to double/triple/etc.  Because it comes together so quickly you can get to the point where you've rolled it out, then cover with a damp paper towel and just cook them up right before you serve your meal.

Recipe: Roasted Cauliflower

Cauliflower was one of those vegetables that I never had much growing up.  I've always enjoyed it in Indian dishes and other cooking but it isn't something that I've used much myself.  That is all going to change.  I should have known to try roasting it, roasting makes everything better...and here, it works magic once again.  If you think you don't like cauliflower, try it this way and hopefully you will experience the same revelation I did.

The cauliflower turns from bland and boring to golden and nutty and is so easy to prepare.  For a dipping sauce I used a mix of ketchup and sriracha, though a peanut sauce, aioli, or tomato sauce would work nicely as well.  If you have kids this could pass as a new type of "fry." Half a head of cauliflower is enough for 2-3 servings (or one.  Hey it is cauliflower...no shame).

Sweet Substitutions: Chocolate Chip Cookies

So welcome, welcome to my newest feature on the blog.  The sweet substitution posts will be done with the help of my sister.  Between the two of us she bakes far more than I do.  Between tending to not have the patience for the measuring (as readers of this blog have no doubt noticed) and not having a whole lot of sugar in my diet I just don't seem to make delicious desserts, which is a shame.  However, with a group of sorority sisters and fraternity boys at her disposal, my sister isn't lacking people to try the sweets that she makes.  The ones posted here make substitutions to the typical oil, egg, and sugars to make the desserts a bit healthier without being any less delicious.  She said that the texture and flavor were just as good, and that the applesauce and banana played very nicely off of the chocolate.

100th Post: Steak and Sweet Potato Empanadas

Wow, a year really goes by fast.  I can't believe I started this blog last February and that one year later I'm on my 100th post.  I want to thank everyone who has read my blog, commented, shared, or otherwise been a part of this journey.  I hope that you continue to enjoy the recipes that are still to come.

Today's recipe really hits both the cheap and easy portions of the blog.  While it may not be entirely traditional it is incredibly versatile.  I used diced sweet potato and beef.  If you don't have that on hand, scour the fridge: taco meat, shredded chicken, roasted veggies, anything with tomato sauce (boom calzones), chicken or tuna salad.  The only other ingredient you need is a package of thin crust pizza dough.  Plus, these are baked instead of fried and still turn a lovely golden, crispy brown.

P.S. It may seem like a lot of steps, but if you have the filling leftover from something you can skip to the stuffing phase which will cut down prep time considerably.

Dessert: Key Lime Fudge

As I move towards my 100th post (wow, can't believe it will be the next one!) I thought I'd share one of the few desserts that I make.  This fudge, simply put, is phenomenal.  It combines all the things that I love about good food: easy to make, pretty easy on the wallet, and absolutely delicious.  The bright acidity of the limes sets off the more muted tones of the white chocolate...and that is not even getting into the pretty pop of color of the green on white.   It has been a go-to best seller for me at bake sales this year.  I got the idea from the blog  Dozen Flours , which is a beautifully designed dessert blog (trust me, go look at some of the pictures).  I've played around with the ingredients and lime amount to find a variation that I like.

Recipe: Tomato Soup

The only thing better than a big hot bowl of soup on a cold day is a big hot bowl of soup that all came together in a food processor for super cheap and makes enough to feed.  This is not a fussy soup and eschews some of the traditional ingredients such as  milk, cream, or basil (though the latter would have been great had I had some).  I add thickness and creaminess to the soup with white beans but otherwise let the tomatoes do the talking.  You will need a large food processor such as a 10-14 cup but you can process it in batches and then add into the pot.  This would be great if you wanted to add thawed, wrung, spinach, or as you'll see at the bottom some cheese and pieces of ham.  There are so many options.

Snacktime: Hummus

I love hummus...and I love it even more now that I have a food processor (I'd recommend a 10-14 cup one for this recipe) and I can make it for myself. Not only is it significantly cheaper but I can control exactly what goes it in, which is always a plus.  Also, it couldn't be easier.  The one tough ingredient for hummus is the tahini paste which is made from ground sesame.  It can be found at many groceries, though I could not find it at Wal-Mart.  Best advice is to check a Publix, Hy-Vee, Wegmans, or the like.  The tahini will set you back 6 or 7 dollars but you will get lots of hummus batches from the bottle. I used olive oil in the recipe, but you could play around with other oils or sub out up to half with the liquid from the chickpeas.

Recipe: Santa Fe Soup

This is a great recipe that my mother makes in the winter.  It is spicy, full of vegetables, and makes a large amount (the leftovers of which are wonderful frozen.  It can also be made with a variety of different proteins, or none at all.  I used a rotisserie chicken, but that could be substituted for 3-4 cooked and shredded chicken breasts, 1-2lbs of cooked and drained ground beef, or even cooked and drained stew meat.  If making it without meat, you might consider adding another can or two of beans to the mix.

The rest of the ingredients pretty much include canned items (and optional chicken stock) making this an affordable, and pantry clearing soup.  Other substitutions you could play with are the beans.  You need two cans and can really use any combo of black, kidney, or white.  In the end, this will make around 8-10 servings.  At the end of the post you can see a picture of how much it makes to give you an idea.  The canned veggies are all the standard sizes, so the 10-14.5 ounce varieties.

Recipe: Mixed Greens with Clementines and Apple Cider Vinaigrette

So let me start off by saying how sorry I am for such a long gap between posts, my exams got in the way.  That being said, I have lots of great recipes to share with you all over the coming days, and I'm going to start with this one.  Over Thanksgiving, my family had a variation of this salad at my aunt's house.  She used blueberries where I used clementines, though any berry (strawberry and blackberry also come to mind) would be great in this.  If you don't have a few clementines on hand, I think a can of well drained mandarin oranges would also work.

On a different note, if you wanted to leave out the greens, the clementines could be tossed with the dressing, almonds, and feta to make a lovely citrus salad/salsa.  I would love to hear back if any of your try these variations.
*Note to vegans, the dressing contains Worcestershire, so it is not vegan in this form, but I believe there are substitutes for it out on the market.
This recipe makes 4 side salad portions or two dinner portions, but can easily be doubled.

Caesar Roasted Tempeh Pizza

It has been a while since I cooked tempeh and I was struggling with coming up with a new way to do it.  Now you may be asking, why not do it a way you know? Well, I asked myself that too and it mostly came from already being in sweat pants and not wanting to go to the store.  I also needed a new blog recipe.

Anyway, long story short, the Caesar tempeh is really nice.  It would be great in its namesake salad, on a sandwich, or served plain.  I was looking to stretch it into a few meals so I took the pizza route with it, and the tempeh was a nice substitute for meat when used like this.  Also of note, the tomato/garlic/mushroom/parsley mixture would be wonderful as a bruschetta topping or added to a soup.  It is sharp and garlic-y and can be made year round.

That brings me to a dirty secret this week...I like canned mushrooms.  Not all the time, but on pizzas there is something about the texture that just works for me.  You can use fresh or sauteed if you so choose.

Recipe: White Chicken Chili

I've been on a chili/soup kick lately, most likely a result of it getting colder here in Iowa and the need to stock my freezer before finals arrive.  This is a great, and pretty easy, chili to throw together.  All the ingredients work nicely together and lime is a revelation when combined with the slow burn heat of the poblanos.  I used 3 different types of beans because the store had them, but using 3 cans of Great Northern beans would work just as well.  One step in this recipe is mashing half of the beans used, and this would be a great way to involve kids in the kitchen if you have them.  I used chicken breasts for this recipe, but shredding a rotisserie chicken is an easy swap to simplify this even more.  If you are one of those who cannot stand cilantro substitute it for fresh flat leaf parsley.

You will need:
3 chicken breasts, seasoned with salt and pepper, cooked and shredded
2 poblano peppers, seeded and chopped
1 onion, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
32oz Stock (I used a no-sodium chicken stock)
1 lime, zested and 1/2 juiced
1 can navy beans, drained
1 can white kidney beans, drained
1 can great northern beans, drained
4oz can chopped green chilies
1 Tablespoon Cumin
1.5 Teaspoons Coriander
1 Teaspoon Ancho Chili Powder (or chili powder)
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
Red pepper flakes (optional)

Start by prepping all of the vegetables.  Chop the poblanos (and then wash your hands with warm soapy water), the onion, and garlic.  Open and drain the beans and mash half of them either with a potato masher or by hand.  You will have time while the chili is simmering to cook the chicken, but I found it easier to cook the chicken first so it could cool before I shredded it to add.

In a large pot add a glug of oil and heat over medium high heat.  Add the onion and the poblanos and cook for 5-6 minutes until soft.  Add the garlic and green chilies and cook for 1-2 more minutes.  Add salt (if using regular chicken broth, add just a sprinkle until you taste later), pepper, cumin, coriander, and chili powder.  Cook for another minute so that the spice flavors can bloom, and then add the chicken stock.

When the stock has come to a simmer add the lime zest, juice, and the mashed and whole beans.  Stir to combine and cook at a simmer for 20-25 minutes.  About half way through give the broth a taste and adjust salt and pepper to your liking. If the heat needs to be adjusted, use the red pepper flakes.  Add the shredded chicken and cook just until it is warm.  Stir in the chopped cilantro and serve.

Garnishes could include: Cheese, sour cream, red pepper flakes, sliced avocado, diced tomato, tortilla strips.