Beans & Rice, Rice & Beans

Dave Ramsey is a hero to me, even though I am not debt free (yet) and I do not follow his advice all the way.

I have, however, stopped the trips to HomeGoods and Kohls, and I have thought about doing that envelope system. I really need to just do it.

I have taken his budget mantra to heart where the household expenses, such as food, come in.

I love when he answers: Beans & Rice, Rice & Beans to someone's query about how to save money on stuff. Ha!

We have a Rice & Beans night most every week. It's easy, it's cheap. It's adaptable, and now that my youngest has FINALLY decided he likes legumes (he took awhile) all 5 of us agree it's a YES.

I make black beans, and brown rice, normally. I have substituted tiny red beans or lentils on occassion. We eat them like a soup, with sour cream, salsa, and sometimes a sprinkle of cheese as a topping. Everyone has their own method. Tortillas accompany.

Here is my bean recipe, adapted from my dear, late, friend Mike O'Leary. Miss you, Mike.

(Ann's adaptation of) Mike's Black Bean Chili

1 16 oz package of dried beans (red or black)
1 8 oz can Ro-tel mexican-style tomatoes and green chilis
1 tablespoon Chicken bouillion powder (I use Knorr)
2 quarts water, boiled
1 tsp dried chili flakes
1 tsp dried oregano
1 dried bay leaf
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
salt, to taste


Put the boiled water in the crockpot (I use my electric kettle to boil it then pour it the crock in as its done). Add the rest of the ingredients. Put on HIGH until the mixture comes to a hard boil. Then turn down to MED and let simmer 4-6 hours until the beans are tender. Remove the Bay Leaf. Add salt now, to taste.

Serve over steamed rice in big bowls and add condiments as desired: chopped avocado, grated parmesan or shredded cheddar, sour cream, chopped cilantro and onions, and a squeeze of lime are some ideas.

Serve with warmed corn or flour tortillas.

"Real" Italian Sauce

Italians do not use a ton of different spices in their homemade tomato sauce. When I hear "I use 35 spices in my homemade tomato sauce" I know immediately that person is Americana/o. They also do not cook the sauce all day, or for 36 hours, another sign its an Americana chef. I am sure their sauce is good, but it's not the real Italian sauce I grew up eating on Sunday.

Italians, they have a basic sauce, that varies from region to region, family to family. Call it "sauce" or call it "gravy", this is the basis for all manner of dishes, from spaghetti and meatballs, to lasagna, to pizza, to eggplant parmesan.

Sundays in our house, we do as we did when I was a kid, we make "sauce". Last week, I made it in the crock pot and added frozen meatballs, we had meatball subs for dinner. This week, I may throw some Italian sausages in there and serve it over rigatoni.

In my family, mom never, ever used oregano in her sauce UNLESS she was making a "piziola" sauce. And this sauce was only for ONE recipe, steak piziola.

Here is my basic sauce recipe:

Sunday Tomato Sauce

3 16 oz cans crushed tomatoes or tomato puree* (Contadina is fine, or any Italian imported brand with San Marzano tomatoes are best)
1 small can tomato paste
2 tablespoons good olive oil
3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced very thin
1 tsp sugar
salt/pepper to taste
fresh basil leaves, 2 or 3

Open all the cans first. Get a very large, heavy pot and heat the olive oil on medium heat. Saute the garlic until just fragrant NOT brown. (Only 30 seconds or so)

Now dump the tomatoes in the pot, stir and cover. Bring to a boil, stir, and turn down the heat. Let the sauce simmer for 30 minutes.

Add the tomato paste and the sugar, salt and pepper, and the basil leaves.

Cover and simmer very gently on low heat, stirring occassionally.

If it gets too thick, add a little water. After 30 more minutes, you can add meatballs, sausages, or any other meat you like. Or leave it plain.

I cook mine about 1 hour to 1 and 1/2 hours total, if that. It will make the house smell like heaven. You can also simmer it on low in the crock pot all day.

* if you can find it, there's an Italian product called "passare" or "pasata" it is basically crushed fresh San Marzano tomatoes in a jar. I get it at my local Italian bakery/deli.  You can sub one jar of this for one of the cans. It is spectacular!

Freeze half this sauce in heavy freezer bags and serve the rest over pasta, on lasagna, or any dish calling for sauce.

Make it a Great Day!
Ann

Weekly Menu, week of 4/30

This week I am starting to blog my Weekly Menu plan. (I know, it's Wednesday, but next week I'll do it earlier!)

Like most families, we have sports practice, meetings, and other crazy stuff during the week.

On Sunday I sit down with the calendar and see which nights are crazier than others, and accordingly plan the menu. I also use the sales circulars from the Sunday paper to see whats good and on sale that week. I generally don't use coupons, they take too much time and I don't buy many processed foods. (I decided this after trying, and failing miserably, for years to be a good couponer..not my cup of tea)

A "free" night can mean a nice sit-down meal for all of us, with kids helping me prepare some of it.

A "crazy " night (2 or more kiddoes have practices or games until 7pm that one of both of us need to attend) usually means "Soup and Sandwich Night" or "Crock-Pot Night"

All the groceries for the week are purchased on Monday while the kids are at school. My go-to stores are Fresh & Easy, Sam's Club, and Stater Brothers. I may supplement with other store depending on the sales.

My target is no more than 150.00 per week for groceries, and that includes ingredients for 2 kid's lunches, as well as hubs and my lunches. That's tight for 5 people. But it can be done. I add my "pantry" items in here and there. I always have staples like pasta, olive oil, flour, yeast, and some frozen meats like ground turkey and chicken breasts that I buy when there's a sale.

It's almost fun when I hit my budget ceiling for the month and I have to come with recipes using the ingredients I already have in my pantry!

I use the web a lot to help me. www.allrecipes. com is a favorite site . I can enter the ingredients and it will come up with all sorts of interesting recipes to try.

Grocery List:
Sam's Club:
1 gallon milk*
1 5 lb sirloin beef roast
1 package lunchmeat (this week is ham)
1 3 lb block Monterey Jack
1 package whole wheat ciabatti breads
1 package sweet onions
1 package baby carrots
tomatoes
1 3 lb package parmesan cheese*
1 5 lb package potatoes
frozen broccoli
bananas

Total: 100.60
-------------------------------------------------
Stater Bros:
2 loaves sandwich bread
1 half gallon Lactaid milk
tomatoes
avocadoes
lettuce
cereal
juice boxes (on sale)
raspberry preserves*
coffee (on sale) *
black beans
rice
elbow macaroni
juice
apples

Total: 43.45
_________________________________
* indicates a pantry item

This Weeks Menu 4/30:

Monday:
Breakfast -Cream of Wheat with brown sugar and bananas

Lunch- ham and cheese sandwiches, crackers, juice, apple

Dinner- Baked chicken breast (from freezer), rice, salad

Tuesday:
Breakfast- Cream of Wheat with brown sugar and bananas

Lunch- PBJs, zinger, apple, juice
(ham on wheat for me and hubs)

Dinner-home-made Cream of Broccoli soup, Monte Cristo panninis (ham, cheese, on whole wheat ciabatta, served with warmed raspberry jam), avocado and tomato salad

Wednesday:
Breakfast- Cream of Wheat with chopped apples, cinnamon, brown sugar

Lunch- Salami and Cheese, pretzels, juice box, apple
(tuna on toast for me and hubs)

Dinner- Crock-pot pot roast, mashed potatoes

Thursday:
Breakfast- Fried egg sandwiches

Lunch- Ham and Cheese, cinnamon cookie, juice box, carrots

Dinner- leftover beef in tacos, rice, black beans, guacamole

Friday:
Breakfast- cereal

Lunch- Salami sandwich, crackers, apple, juice box

Dinner- homemade mac and cheese, salad
ice cream for dessert!

Saturday:
Breakfast- Pancakes and Eggs

Lunch- sandwiches

Dinner- barbeque chicken and greens

Sunday:
Breakfast- Breakfast burritoes

Lunch- whatever's in the fridge!

Supper- Spaghetti with marinara sauce, baked eggplant
we have "Supper" early on Sundays, an Italian tradition I grew up with. Generally between 2-4pm, depending on whats going on that day.

Make it a Great Day!
Ann






linking to these fabulous parties!

No Need to Knead French Bread

I have had this recipe for years. The original called for pecans and raisins, and it is really good, too.

This time, I tweaked it a little because I wanted to eat it as sandwich bread. I used 1/2 milk rather than all water to give it a more tender crumb.

It is economical and oh-so easy to make! You won't need to lug out your stand mixer, either.. a big bowl, measuring cup, and a wooden spoon is all you'll need to make the dough.

No Need to Knead Bread

4 cups all purpose flour (you could use half whole wheat)
1 package dry yeast
1 cup warm water
3/4 cup milk (heat it a couple of secs in the microwave to have it warm not hot)
1 tablespoon white or brown sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or chia seeds, or a mixture (optional)

Mix the water, milk, yeast and sugar in a big bowl. Stir until the yeast is dissolved. Stir in the salt.

Add 1/2 of the flour, stir to wet it throughly, do not overmix. Add the rest of the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing until a sticky but sold dough forms. Again, do not overmix. You want the mixture to be moist, not dry, but not runny either.

Cover with plastic wrap and put in a warm place to rise for 40 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spray Pam a loaf pan(if you want sandwich bread), or a flat cookie sheet (if you want a free-form loaf)

Pour the dough into the prepared pan. To form a free-form loaf, pour it all out and lightly shape it by hand into a log. Do not overwork it.

After rise

pour into pan

here's my free-form loaf, I could have done a better job if I used a large cookie sheet, but it still turned out delish!

Wet the top slightly with a sprinkle of water and place seeds, if using.

add seeds if desired

Place on the center rack and bake for 30 minutes, or until nice and golden brown. Depending on your oven , this may take up to 40 minutes.

Cut the loaf with a serrated knife into slices. Or serve the loaf as is, warm from the oven and slathered with butter. Yum!

the free-form loaf

Make it a Great Day!
Ann

Linking to the always fabulous:
"I've linked up to Frugalicious Friday @ Finding Fabulous... sponsored by Appliances Online and Bosch Washing Machines"

The Best Sandwich I Ever Ate

I was 22 years old and in Italy, alone. I was on a college tour, and had lost my passport in Rome. So the tour had to move on and I had to stay an extra day in Rome (downright awful, right?) to get my new passport. I was taking a train (I forget where, I think it was to meet up with the tour in Florence) but it was late in the day and I was starving, and broke. You see along with my passport, my Amex card was gone too, and I couldn't get a replacement for another few days. So, I had to make do with what little cash I had, and I was budgeting very carefully.

At the train platform, there was a lone vendor selling sandwiches. I did not have very high hopes for this lunch, but I figured, eh, it will be filling at least. I bought one. I heard "mozzerrella e tomate" and I though, how bad could it be, I paid the guy, took my wax-paper and string wrapped sammie, and hustled up onto the train.

Once settled in my seat, I unwrapped my "sang-weeche". The bread was crusty on the outside, yet soft and yeilding, not crunchy. I took a bite.... juicy, vine-ripe tomato, juices dripping, soft creamy mozzerella, and a couple of basil leaves on top of it all, nestled together in the most wonderful, chewy, warm, delicious bread ever. It was a revelation: how could the best sandwich I ever had in my life be gotten on a train platform? I savored every last bite and enjoyed it like no other meal I'd had to this point in my life.

That sandwich has haunted me ever since. I have tried many different breads, driving to the famed La Brea Bakery in Los Angeles, making my own Italian bread, trying the Italian bakeries around L.A. I see similar sandwiches listed on menus, and although good, never meet my expectations. Sometimes I wonder: Was it really that good? Maybe because I was so hungry and so young, what did I know? But, no, it was that good.

Today, I got close. VERY close. I wasn't even aiming for it, either. I bought this new "Whole-Grain Ciabetta" bread from Sam's. I think La Brea does make it for them, although not sure about that. I toasted it lightly in my broiler.

Then  I made a salad out of the last tomatoes of the season, very sweet little cherry tomatoes and one heiloom, with garlic, salt, pepper, evoo, fresh basil and some balsamic.

I then melted some fresh mozz on top of one of the halves until it was bubbly.

I ate, fork and knife style, because it was just too juicy. But the first bite: I thought, could it be? It was so delicious and very very close to the texture and flavors of my idol sandwich.

Try it, so easy! And maybe you'll have a sandwich revelation, too!

Make it a Great Day!
Ann

Scones, Glorious Scones!

Since purchasing Trader Joe's Lemon Curd and  Mark and Peter's Strawberry-Mango Jam I have been plotting and planning to make my favorite scone recipe. All week I have been thwarted by business alternating with laziness. This morning I just uttered the words "Maybe" and  "Scones", and my son badgered me until I relented.

I let him do all the messy stuff.

I use Nigella's recipe "Lily's Scones" and altered it just a bit... subbed greek yogurt for the shortening (I generally do not keep shortening in my larder) and added a wee bit more butter. I also added a tablespoon of sugar and citrus zest into the dough. I topped them with a brush of milk (don't like the egg wash bit) and sprinkled some sanding sugar--big crystally stuff-- before I baked them off. Oh, and I like my scones in triangles, not rounds. Geez, I guess its not Nigella's recipe anymore! Well, here's my version:

Ann's Scones

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, cold
2 tablespoons thick greek yogurt
1 cup cold milk
3 1/3 cups flour
4 teaspoons Cream of Tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon grated citrus zest (optional: lime, lemon or orange)
2 tablespoons or so of turbinado or sanding sugar, for topping
Pam spray


Preheat oven to 425 with rack in bottom 1/3 of your oven. (do NOT use convection setting---they will not rise as high). Prepare a sheet pan by covering in heavy foil and spraying lightly w/ Pam. (This is for easy cleanup later)

Sift the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the butter in slices and mix in with your fingers until well incorporated. A few butter lumps won't hurt, though. Now add the yogurt, zest (if using), and the milk in one dump. Mix quickly until just combined with a wooded spoon.

Take the dough and dump in on your foiled pan in one big lump. Shape it with your hands into a circle, pressing it together gently until it is no more that 1/2 inch thick.

Get a plastic knife, or any not-so-sharp knife, and cut the round like a pie into 8 equal-ish pieces. Spread them apart on the foiled sheet until they are no closer than 2 inches from each other. Brush tops lightly with some milk (I just use the back of a spoon) and sprinkle sugar so it sticks.

Bake for 12 minutes or so, or until risen and wonderfully browned.

Serve hot with Lemon Curd,  assorted Jams. Butter, and clotted cream, if desired. Eat until deliously happy.

Make it a Great Day!
Ann

Ricotta, Tomato and Arugula Sandwich

A delicious, weight-watcher friendly lunch today...

Ingredients:

Ricotta, Olive Oil, Sara Lee Sandwich Thins, a red ripe tomato, arugula, salt and pepper
Toast the bread. Add the ricotta and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Now add sliced tomato and pile arugula on top of that. Salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil--that's it!

It's really good...and as Lawrence Sanders would say: "An eat over the sink sandwich!" Well, not really, a paper plate and napkin will do!

Make it a great day!
Ann

Happy Passover Recipe:Chocolate- Toffee Matzoh

OK, people, you must try this recipe....

so delicious.....

You will find the recipe for Chocolate Covered Toffee Matzo here. And it's EASY...oh, yes dangerous!

RECIPE:

1/2 lb matzos

1/2 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

8 ounces chocolate chips

Directions:

1 Line a cookie sheet with foil and lay matzo on pan.

2 Melt brown sugar with butter in saucepan; boil until mixture coats a spoon.

3 Pour brown sugar mixture over matzos.

4 Bake in 350 degree oven for 3-4 minutes (watch closely-it burns easily!!!) until it starts to bubble.

5 Cover with chocolate chips and put back in the oven until the chips start to melt.

6 Spread the chocolate to cover the matzo.

7 Freeze until hard, then break into pieces.

8 Option- sprinkle chopped nuts on top.( I use almonds)...I have also seen it covered with a little sea-salt...looks good - gotta try that

HERE is the BEST tutorial...with amazing pictures too. LisaDang.com blog "Dang it Delicious" great reads!

Make it a Great Day!
Ann

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Mint on Spaghetti

My kids can seriously eat spaghetti almost every day. It can get boring for adult palates so when I boil a pot of spaghetti for the kiddoes, I like to get creative. I make me and hubs something a little more sophisticated at the same time. The kids get their beloved spaghetti sauce, while the adults get a more complex dish.

I came up with this because I had one of those giant Costco packs of cherry tomatoes that had already made a few salads and were becoming overipe. This is the perfect time to roast them babies.

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

 Line a cookie sheet (have you noticed 80% of my recipes start with "line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil..." EASY cleanup, guys!) with aluminum foil and spray w/ Pam. Add the washed and mainly dried cherry tomatoes and toss them gently with 1 tablespoon chopped fresh herb of your choice (here I used mint, which was execllent, but any herb you can reach out your back door and pick-basil, thyme, parsley, whateva), a couple tablespoons of sea or kosher salt, 2-3 smashed cloves of fresh garlic, and 1/4 cup good olive oil.

Roast until the tops look charred and they give off their juices.


this is what they look like when done

Top buttered spaghetti with a big spoonful of the tomatoes with the juices, some more chopped herb, red pepper flakes, and large amounts of grated romano cheese. Smash the tomatoes and grab a forkful of the pasta...heaven!

Make it a Great Day!
Ann

Strawberry (very) Short Cake with Marinated Strawberries

This is so simple I hesitated to blog about it. But here goes....

Just bake a White or Yellow Cake in a 9" round pan. (We added some red food coloring to keep things interesting...)
Meanwhile, make the marinated strawberries (this idea is particularly good when the strawberries are not as sweet as you'd like)

Marinated Strawberries

1 pint fresh berries, sliced

2 tablespoons orange juice

1 tablespoon sugar, or 1 packet of Splenda or other sweetener

1 tsp honey (optional)

Mix all together in a bowl. Keep in fridge while cake bakes and cools, until ready to use.

Let the cake cool and cut it in half through the middle.

Put the marinated strawberries with the juices in the cut part, top with Cool Whip then replace the other half and top with more Cool Whip and berries. The juices from the strawberries soak in and make it extra delicious. I used Splenda and "Free" Cool Whip to make it lower-calorie. We refrigerated leftovers and it was spectacular the next day too.

Make it a Great Day!
Ann

Warm Spinach Salad with Fried Egg

I am not kidding you this is so delicious--for a light supper, lunch or brunch.

I wanted to take advantage of these AWESOME FARM EGGS
we bought on our trip this week to Santa Ynez, CA. We bought them at a roadside organic farm stand up there. I bought them because they were BEAUTIFUL...a light blue-green color shell. The ended up being dark yellow-orange yolky eggs that were sooo good....

Ok, here's the recipe.

Take a bowl full of washed and dried baby spinach--enough for 2 generous salads. Saute some torn up bread in garlic and good olive oil until browned. Take the bread out and now fry up 2 eggs over easy. Salt and pepper them as the cook. remove the eggs and keep warm.



Olive oil from Olive HIll Farm in Los Olivos CA



Now add about 1/3 cup good olive oil, some more garlic (or some chopped shallot) crumbled cooked bacon and about 1/3 cup red wine vinegar. Let this warm up together.

Now toss the salad with the croutons and this dressing. Add a handful of grated parmesan cheese. Toss well, add salt and pepper to taste. Divide among 2 plates and add the fried egg to the top. ENJOY immediately!

Make it a Great Day!
Ann

Easy Weeknight Dinner: Oven Roasted Salmon with Pineapple Salsa

This is so delicious. Even the non-fish eaters like it. It's hearty, yet light. I buy my salmon at Costco or Sam's and its a huge boneless filet that feeds a crowd-- or a family, with leftovers!

I serve any leftovers, cold, with a remoulade sauce--or if I'm really lazy, just a dollop of plain mayonnaise. Heavenly.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Line a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan with foil. Put about 3 tablespoons olive oil to coat the bottom. Add the salmon filet in one layer. Cover it with your choice of fresh chopped herbs, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Then squeez half a lemon over it. Place the spent lemon halves on the cookie sheet too. Top the salmon with another couple tablespoons of that olive oil. Place in oven and roast for 25 minutes until edges are lightly browned and sizzling, and fish flakes easily.

all dressed and ready for the oven

salsa ingredients...I bought that red pepper at Marukai Japanese Market

Meanwhile, steam green beans with garlic and make salsa: Add 1 cup chopped fresh pineapple, 3
tablespoons fresh cilantro, 1 avocado, cubed and 1 scallion, sliced. Add a tablespoon of fresh lime juice, salt , pepper and hot chili flake to taste. Mix well and keep chilled.



salsa--if you plan on keeping it over an hour, put the avocado pit in the bowl to keep it from turning brown

 Serve the salmon with a wedge of lemon, green beans and the salsa.

flaky, juicy perfection- just out of the oven

Make it a Great Day!
Ann

Chicken and Corn Chowder

Time for another Easy Weeknight Dinner!


This is great when its cold and rainy, as it is here in sunny southern California today. We've had a LOT of rain this winter.

I used fresh Thyme, as it is back in my garden. I love it. But you can use any fresh herb: basil, cilantro, parsley, even a little sage.

Chicken and Corn Chowder

2-3 large boneless chicken breasts, quartered
1 medium yellow onion, diced
olive oil
2 large potatoes, cubed
2 yellow squash, cubed
1 can chicken broth
3-4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed and stem discarded
1 16 oz bag frozen corn kernels
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
black pepper
salt


In a 5 1/2 quart dutch oven or heavy soup pot saute the onion in the olive oil until translucent; add the chicken and brown on all sides. Cover with the chicken broth, add 2 thyme sprigs, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper; bring to a simmer and cover. 

Meanwhile, melt butter in a heavy saucepan; add flour stirring constantly with a wire whisk. After about 2 minutes, slowly add the milk while whisking to blend. Lower heat and bring to a boil; it should be thick enough to coat a wooden spoon...take off heat and add the rest of the thyme.

Add the potatoes and then the squash to the pot with the chicken and add enough water so that the potatoes are submerged. Cover and again bring to a boil; lower and simmer for 25 minutes. 

After this time, take out the chicken to a board and shred with a fork; it should be tender enough for this. Return the shredded chicken to the pot and add the corn, bring to a boil. Now add the white sauce, whisking it into the soup to blend. Let this simmer, uncovered, for another 10 minutes, until thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with warm sourdough bread and butter.

Serves 6

Make it a Great Day!

Ann