Easy Chicken Pad Thai Serves 4 Ingredients for the Sauce: 2 TBS sesame oil – stock 4 Tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce – stock 1 Tablespoon sriracha – stock 3 Tablespoons lime juice – stock 3 Tablespoons brown sugar – stock 2 Tablespoons fish sauce – stock Ingredients for the Pad Thai: 8 oz. flat rice[…]
Shredded Chicken & Figs with Marcona Almonds and Thyme
Shredded Braised Chicken & Figs with Marcona Almonds & Thyme Serves 6 Adapted from Food & Wine Ingredients: 2 teaspoons canola oil – stock 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (you can also use skin-on/bone-in, just discard bones & skin after cooking/before shredding) – $5.00 Salt & pepper – stock 1 large carrot, chopped –[…]
One-Pot Chili Mac & Cheese
One-Pot Chili Mac & Cheese Serves 6 Ingredients: 1 Tablespoon of olive oil – stock 1 spanish or yellow onion, chopped finely – $1.19 2 cloves of garlic, minced – stock ½-lb lean ground beef – $5.49 12-oz bottle of beer (I used a wheat beer, Blue Moon) – stock 2½ cups low-sodium chicken broth[…]
Sesame-Miso Noodles with Green Onions & Edamame
Sesame-Miso Noodles with Green Onions & Edamame Serves 3 Ingredients for the Dressing: ¼ of a ripe avocado 1 Tablespoon white miso paste (I get it at Whole Foods) – $4.23 1 small garlic clove – stock 2 teaspoons lemon juice – stock ½ teaspoon sesame oil – stock ¼ kosher salt – stock 1/3[…]
No-Cook Tomato & Brie Pasta Sauce with Sweet Basil
No-Cook Tomato & Brie Pasta Sauce with Sweet Basil Serves 4 Slightly adapted from a recipe published in Redbook Ingredients: 1-pound pasta (cavatelli or cavatappi works well here) – $2.39 ½-cup reserved pasta water 1-pound very roughly chopped ripe tomatoes (I use grape or cherry tomatoes b/c they’re often sweeter) – $3.99 ¼-cup extra virgin[…]
Pulled Pork Pasta Salad
Pulled Pork Pasta Salad Serves 12 as a side dish Note: This salad was intended as a straight-up side dish to enjoy pretty much any season. As I wasn’t entertaining a large group of guests, I found myself scarfing up just about all of the leftovers after our first round of photos and tastings. At[…]
Roasted Tomato and Kalamata Olive Pasta Sauce
Roasted Tomato and Kalamata Olive Pasta Sauce Serves 4 Inspired by a recipe in Real Simple Ingredients: 2 pounds tomatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks – $6.50 1 teaspoon sugar – stock Salt & pepper – stock ¼-cup olive oil, plus some for drizzling on the tomatoes – stock 4 anchovy fillets, finely chopped (you want[…]
Cheesy Eggplant Lasagna with Prosciutto
Eggplant Lasagna Serves 10 Ingredients: 1 large eggplant cut and sliced into ¼” rounds – $2.79 5 Tablespoons olive oil, divided – stock 1- 8 oz. package no-boil (oven-ready) lasagna – $1.99 1 small Vidalia onion, diced – $1.11 3 oz. prosciutto, chopped – $3.29 3 cloves garlic – stock 2 (15 ½ oz. each)[…]
Sweet Potato-Butternut Squash Mac ‘n Cheese
Sweet Potato-Butternut Squash Mac ‘n Cheese Serves 8 Tip: My local grocery store sells Butternut squash already peeled and chopped. This makes the vegetable just so much more “user-friendly” as I simply had to cook it in a pot of boiling water along with the peeled and chopped sweet potato. I didn’t need all of[…]
Lighter Pasta Carbonara with Peas
Lighter Pasta Carbonara with Peas Serves 4 Adapted from Our Eating Habits Ingredients: ½ lb. bacon, crumbled – $3.59 4 large garlic cloves, minced or run through a press – stock 2 large/jumbo shallots, finely diced – $1.89 1 lb. Spaghetti, Linguine or Fettucini – $1.59 Splash of olive oil – stock 1 cup fresh[…]
Cold Sesame Noodles
Cold Sesame Noodles Serves 2 to 3 Adapted from Saveur Ingredients: ½ lb whole wheat spaghetti, cooked al dente, according to package directions (soba noodles also work, but I find they have a slightly bitter after-taste that’s distracting) – $2.19 4 Tablespoons sesame oil, divided – stock 2 Tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce – stock 1[…]
Savory Marsala-Infused Mushroom-Shallot Sauce
Savory Marsala-Infused Mushroom-Shallot Sauce Serves 4 Note: The consistency is not particularly creamy nor saucy, it’s almost chunky, even tapenade-like. But it’s perfect and packed with flavor. Ingredients: 2 large shallots, halved – $0.89 3 cloves of garlic – stock 2 Tablespoons of olive oil, divided – stock 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, divided (you[…]
Pumpkin Seed and Spinach Pesto
Pumpkin Seed and Spinach Pesto Makes about 2 cups Adapted from Whole Living Ingredients: 1 cup hulled, raw pumpkin seeds – $6.87 1 cup fresh basil, packed – $1.79 ¼-cup fresh chives, roughly chopped – $0.69 1 cup baby spinach, packed – $3.99 1 large garlic clove – stock 1 teaspoon salt – stock Freshly[…]
Vegetarian Lasagna with Spinach, Sweet Potatoes, and Fontina Cheese
Vegetarian Lasagna with Spinach, Sweet Potatoes, and Fontina Cheese Serves 12 Ingredients: Whole wheat lasagna noodles (12 oz.) – $2.19 1 lb. sweet potato, peeled and cut into medium dice – $1.23 2 Tablespoons olive oil – stock 1 large Vidalia or sweet onion, diced – $1.19 1 ½ lbs. assorted mushrooms, sliced (I used[…]
Pappardelle with Summer Corn, Caramelized Leeks and Sweet Basil
Pappardelle with Summer Corn, Caramelized Leeks and Sweet Basil Serves 4 Ingredients: 2 extra large leeks, sliced into thin rounds (yields ~2 heaping cups) -$2.99 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, divided – stock 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil – stock ¼-lb ham, chopped -$1.75 1/3 cup dry white wine – stock 2 ears of corn[…]
Five-Minute Pesto Parmesan Meatballs
Pesto-Parmesan Meatballs Makes 10-12 racquetball-size meatballs Ingredients: 1 ¼ pound lean ground beef – $3.99 ¾ cup Italian-style breadcrumbs – $2.29 1/3-cup basil pesto (homemade or store-bought) – $3.99 ¼ cup of finely chopped fresh spinach (I often pulse it in the food processor) – $1.99 ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan – $2.25 1 extra[…]
Pesto Pasta Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Asparagus
Pesto Pasta Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Asparagus Serves 10-12 as a side Ingredients: 2 pints grape tomatoes – $4.00 1 teaspoon brown sugar – stock Pinch of kosher salt – stock Freshly ground black pepper – stock 2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided – stock A big bunch of thin asparagus – $3.99 1 lb[…]
Greek Pastitsio – Baked Pasta with Homemade Meat Sauce and Bechamel
Greek Pastitsio – Baked Pasta with Meat Sauce and Bechamel Adapted from Simply Delicious Serves 10 Ingredients: 1½lbs lean ground beef – $6.00 2 medium sweet onions, finely chopped – $1.59 3 large carrots, peeled and finely chopped – $0.99 3 celery stalks, finely chopped – $2.99 4 garlic cloves, crushed – stock 2 bay[…]
Pasta with Creamy Goat Cheese, Crisp Bacon and Fresh Chives
Pasta with Creamy Goat Cheese, Crisp Bacon and Fresh Chives Serves 4 Inspired by a recipe from Everyday Living Ingredients: ½ pound pasta (shells, farfalle, cavatappi or orechiette work best) – $1.99 1½ cups of reserved pasta water, divided 6 slices of thick-cut bacon – $3.29 4 ounces of goat cheese – $3.99 ½ cup[…]
Pumpkin Risotto with Crispy Prosciutto
Mariel here. This past Saturday, my husband and I traipsed on up to The Country with another friends-with-kids couple to go pumpkin picking. Somehow, despite the fact that our child is more petite than your average gourd and would rather swat at the stuffed birds in his “activity gym” than ogle real ones, we were[…]