Cheesy Cauliflower and Broccoli Bake

This recipe is for a broccoli cauliflower cheese casserole.  I steamed my fresh veggies and combined them with the cheese sauce from a classic mac and cheese recipe.  Then I covered it in Panko breadcrumbs and baked it.  The result is a cheesy way to serve your veggies.  Enjoy! 

Cheesy Cauliflower and Broccoli Bake

Ingredients

¨            1 head of broccoli, cleaned and cut into florets

¨            1 head of cauliflower, cleaned and cut into florets

¨            8 ounces of sharp cheddar, shredded

¨            3 cups of milk

¨            2 tablespoons butter

¨            2 tablespoons flour

¨            ¼ cup of panko breadcrumbs

 

Directions

1.    Put broccoli and cauliflower in large bowl.  Add about ½ inch of water and cover with plastic wrap.  Cook for 6 minutes in the microwave to steam.

2.   In medium saucepan, melt butter.  Add flour, cook for about 5 minutes to get rid of the flour taste.

3.   Add milk, warm over medium heat until just before it boils.  Add cheese and stir until melted into sauce.  Remove from heat.

4.   Put steamed veggies into baking dish.  Cover in cheese sauce and breadcrumbs.

5.   Bake for 30 minutes or until breadcrumbs are slightly browned.

Overall

This side dish was good.  Next time I make it I will add some ground mustard to the flour and butter mixture for a richer flavor. 

Frugality

The broccoli and cauliflower were each on sale for $.88 from Sprouts.  The cheese was $2 and everything else was on hand.  For $3.76 this is a great way to get the kids to eat their veggies, and adults too! 

Look Forward To

A shopping trip…I just used up all of my veggies!

Lemon Garlic Grilled Artichokes

I love this recipe for fresh artichokes.  It combines some of my favorite flavors- garlic, lemon and olive oil. 

Lemon Garlic Grilled Artichokes

 

Ingredients

¨           2 large fresh artichokes

¨            2 cloves garlic, minced

¨            The juice of one lemon

¨            ¼ cup of olive oil

¨            Salt, to taste

 

Directions

1.    Clean artichokes and cut into quarters.  Remove the choke.

2.   Boil artichokes for about 10-12 minutes.  You should be able to easily stick a fork in the heart when they are done.

3.   While artichokes are cooking combine the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and salt, mix.

4.   Place cooked artichokes into large bowl, cover with olive oil mixture.  Allow to marinate for at least 15 minutes.

5.   Grill artichokes until edges are light brown, enjoy!

Overall

This is my favorite way to prepare fresh artichokes.  

Frugality

The artichokes were 2 for $3 and the lemon was $.44.  All of the other ingredients were on hand.  The total for this side dish is $3.44.

Plum Coffee Cake Muffins

I had an abundance of plums that were ripe and ready to use.  So I searched for recipes until I found one that looked promising.  I found this recipe at http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/plum-coffee-cake-muffins/ and made some adjustments to it to suit my tastes.  The most time consuming part of this whole thing is cleaning the plums.  I ended up doubling to recipe because of my wealth of fruit.  The end result is a great muffin with chunks of fresh fruit.  Delicious!

 

Plum Coffee Cake Muffins

Ingredients

¨           3/4 cup sugar

¨           1 tsp ground cinnamon

¨           2 cups flour

¨           1 tbsp baking powder

¨           1/2 tsp salt

¨           1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

¨           2 eggs

¨           1 tsp vanilla

¨           3/4 cup milk ( I used skim)

¨           1/2 cup melted butter, cooled

¨            About a tablespoon of cinnamon sugar (enough to cover 12 muffins)

¨           3-5 ripe plums, depending on their size, pitted and cut into small chunks.

 

Directions

1.    Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2.   Spray or line 12 muffin cups

3.   In a large bowl, combine 3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.

4.   In another large bowl, whisk together eggs, vanilla, milk, and melted butter. (Make sure the melted butter is cool before you add it.)

5.   Fold the egg mixture into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula. Divide the batter evenly.

6.   Divide one half of the batter evenly among the 12 lined muffin cups.

7.   Add a layer of plum pieces to each (I used about 6 pieces per muffin).

8.   Divide the remaining half of the batter over the layer of plums.

9.   Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over muffins. 

10. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the muffins comes out clean. Leave to cool in the muffin tin for 5 to 10 minutes before removing from tin and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Overall

This is a great muffin recipe that is easy to make.  I am glad to have found such a delicious way to use up my excessive amount of plums.  The muffin has a great cinnamon taste that makes it ideal for breakfast or dessert.

Frugality

The plums were $1.27 from my local food co-op.  I had all of the baking ingredients on hand. 

Look Forward To

I’ve been eyeing a recipe for broccoli cauliflower cheese bake with panko topping.  I also have a few artichokes to cook soon.

Roasted Peppers

This is my favorite way to prepare red peppers.  This can be served in a variety of ways; you could eat them plain, with meat, in pasta or in salad.  I like to scramble them with eggs.  Enjoy!

 

Roasted Peppers

Ingredients

¨            5 bell peppers (I had 3 red and 2 green)

¨            1 clove minced garlic

¨            2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

¨            Salt to taste

 

Directions

1.    Scrub the outsides of the bell peppers.

2.   Place over medium heat on grill or on oven roasting pan, allow skins to char and burn slightly.  Turn as necessary so all sides are crisp.

3.   Place in large bowl and cover with towel.  This will allow peppers to steam so the skins will come off easily.  Allow cooling enough so you can handle them without burning your hands.

4.   With clean hands, peel the charred skins off of the peppers.  Remove seeds and cut peppers into strips.

5.   Place strips into jar or storage container.  Add olive oil, salt and garlic.  Allow peppers to marinade in oil and garlic over night.  Serve as you desire (mine will be scrambled with eggs).

Overall

YUMMMMM!!!  These peppers are so yummy!  This is a great way to prepare bell peppers.  You can use them in other recipes or just eat them as an antipasti dish. 

Frugality

The peppers were on sale 3 for $1.  The garlic and olive oil were on hand.  The total for these peppers is less than $2! 

Look Forward To

I still have 2 artichokes, a broccoli, a cauliflower, some lemon, some onions and 12 plums to work with. 

Green Chile Souffle

I used this recipe as breakfast potluck item at work.  Its definitely a crowd pleaser and easy enough to assemble early in the morning. 

Green Chile Soufflé

Ingredients

¨            12 eggs

¨            8 ounces of shredded Monterey jack cheese

¨            2 cans green chiles

¨            16 ounces sour cream

¨            Pam cooking spray

 

Directions

1.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2.   In large mixing bowl, mix eggs until scrambled, add sour cream, continue to whisk until well blended.

3.   In 9 x 13 glass baking dish, spray Pam cooking spray and then layer cheese and green chiles on the bottom of pan.  Add egg mixture. 

4.   Cook for 35-40 minutes, until edges are brown and egg puffs up like a soufflé.

Overall

This dish is very tasty and easy to prepare.  It is ideal for a brunch where you are bringing a dish to share. 

Frugality

The eggs were $.88 and the cheese was $1.88 both from Fry’s.  The sour cream was $2.50 and the green chiles were 2/$1.  The total cost for this soufflé is $5.26. 

Look Forward To

I still have 2 artichokes, a broccoli, a cauliflower, some lemon, some onions and 12 plums to work with. 

Brown Sugar Cookies

When my husband brought this recipe to my attention, he swore it was amazing.  So I made it and he was right.  These cookies are delicious and easy to make. 

Brown Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

¨            ¾ cup brown sugar

¨            ¼ sugar

¨            1/3 c butter softened

¨            2 eggs

¨            A splash of vanilla

¨            ½ teaspoon cinnamon

¨            2 cups bisquick

¨            ½ cup chopped nuts

 

Directions

1.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2.   In mixer, combine sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla and cinnamon until mixed well.

3.   Add bisquick  and nuts. 

4.   Scoop tablespoons of batter on greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.-Should make about 15 cookies.

5.   Cook for about 18-20 minutes. 

Overall

Very easy cookie to make and delicious.

Frugality

All of the ingredients in this recipe were on-hand in my pantry.  This baker’s dozen was virtually free.

Look Forward To

I still have a broccoli, a cauliflower, some red and green bell peppers, a head of iceberg lettuce, 12 plums and 6 nectarines…

Easy tomato sauce

When you’re “frugal” like me, you don’t like to waste food.  So when I realized I had some tomatoes, onions and bell peppers on hand, that needed to be used up, I decided to make pasta sauce.  This is my first ever homemade pasta sauce recipe and let me just say, I nailed it!  Enjoy this one!

Homemade Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

o   2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

o   1 small onion, chopped

o   1 green bell pepper, chopped

o   3 cloves of garlic, minced

o   ¼ cup white wine (I used Riesling)

o   salt to taste

o   8 ripe roma tomatoes, quartered

o   1 teaspoon dried basil

o   1 tablespoon butter

 

Directions

1.    Heat EVOO in medium saucepan and add onion and bell pepper.  Cook for about 5 minutes.

2.   Add garlic, cook for another 3 minutes.  Add white wine, cook to reduce by half the liquid  (a few more minutes).

3.   Add tomatoes, basil and salt, cook for 40 minutes over low-medium bubble.

4.   Use immersion blender or food processor to pulse into sauce of desired consistency.  Add butter, melt and salt to taste.

5.   Serve on pasta, enjoy!

Overall

This is exactly the flavor I was looking for and who knew pasta sauce was so easy?!  This is a great, easy recipe.

Frugality

The onion was probably about $.50, the bell pepper was $.33, and the garlic was $.44 all from Sprouts.  The tomatoes were $1.26 from my produce basket, the butter and wine were on hand.  The total for this sauce comes out to $2.53 and much better than a jar of your usual go-to pasta sauce.

Look Forward To

I still have a broccoli, a cauliflower, some red and green bell peppers, a head of iceburg lettuce, 12 plums and 6 nectarines…

Avgolemono (Greek Vegetarian Lemon Orzo Soup)

So my question today was what do I want for dinner?  Completely uninspired and close to grabbing take-out, I asked a co-worker and he suggested Egg Drop Soup….which got me thinking that I haven’t had Avgolemono (Greek lemon orzo soup) –also has eggs in it- in years.  I’ve been a vegetarian for 13 years so it has been at least that long, as it’s usually made with a whole chicken as the base for the broth.  I started this recipe by looking online at recipes and really didn’t find one I liked.  So, I called my mom and she and I worked out a new recipe while on the phone for a good hour.  Here is what we came up with, enjoy!

Vegetarian Lemon Orzo Soup (Avgolemono)

Ingredients

o   2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

o   1 large onion, chopped

o   3-4 large carrots, chopped

o   A head of celery, chopped

o   8 cups of water

o   1 tablespoon dried dill weed

o   ½ tablespoon dried oregano

o   1 cup orzo

o   3 eggs

o   The juice of 2 lemons

o   Salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions

1.    Heat EVOO in large soup pot, add veggies and sweat them out for a few minutes.

2.   Add 8 cups of water and bring to slow boil.  The longer you cook this, the better broth you will end up with.

3.   While veggies are cooking, prepare 1 cup of orzo according to directions on the box.

4.   Use immersion blender or food processor to break down big pieces of veggies when broth is ready (broth should cook for at least ½ hour).

5.   Add orzo to prepared vegetable broth.

6.   In separate bowl, whip eggs and add lemon juice.  Slowly add a few tablespoons of the broth to the lemon egg mixture at a time, to avoid curdling the eggs.  Do this until the lemon mixture is hot enough to add to soup pot without cooking the eggs.

7.   Add salt to taste and enjoy!

Overall

At first I wasn’t sure about this recipe, I was going for a very specific taste when I set out to make this.  Once the soup cooled down and I added enough salt to take the place of the missing chicken, it was divine!  I will absolutely make this again.  Next time I might consider roasting the veggies before adding the water for a richer flavor.

Frugality

The onion was probably about $.50, the carrots were $.44, and the celery was $.88 all from Sprouts.  I had the spices and eggs on hand.  The lemons were $.84 and the orzo was $1.50 from Fresh and Easy.  The total for this big pot of soup came out to $4.16.  A great deal!!

Look Forward To

Doing something with all of these plums, nectarines and tomatoes…I’m thinking of plum oat muffins and maybe a homemade tomato sauce but that could change with my mood.