Spinach Pesto Pizza with Roasted Peppers and Portobello

Pizza is always a good quick way to use up leftovers, but sometimes it needs to be mixed up a bit. I get easily sick of the "yooj." I had a leftover portobello cap that I wanted to use, and who doesn't like a good roasted red pepper? Add some feta and pesto, voila! This pesto couldn't be easier to make. Any leftover can be frozen to be used later in sauce, or on another pizza, even a pasta salad!

Spinach Pesto
Ingredients

1/4 cup walnuts
2 cloves garlic
1/2 pound baby spinach (about 10 cups)
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
kosher salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

In a food processor, pulse the walnuts and garlic until chopped. Add the spinach, oil,  Parmesan, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Puree until smooth, scraping down the sides of the processor bowl as necessary. Mix in lemon zest and parmesan.

Using my recipe for whole wheat crust, pesto, slices of the leftover mushroom, roasted red pepper slices, and feta cheese I put together a really amazing pizza! Paired with a salad made a delicious dinner!

Tips and Tricks for Successful Budgeting

I wanted to share some of my tricks for saving money and time when cooking. These will not only help you keep on track with budgeting and meal planning, but can also just make your week easier.

1.  Plan your meals for the week! I know this is said over and over, and I apologize for saying it again, but its true! To the best of your ability think out what you might like to eat each night - what dish or ingredient might work more than once. You do not need to stick to this plan, feel free to swap nights or even rework the menu with what you have on hand. Think of everything you need to make these meals and make a list of the ingredients. Take this list with you to the store and STICK TO IT! The more you do this the less often you will forget to buy ingredients needed throughout the week's meals.

2. Stick to your grocery shopping schedule. If you forget to buy something on grocery day, you know (and I know) you are not going to run into the store and buy ONLY that ingredient. You will see something delicious on sale and buy it, or think that good looking bunch of flowers would look nice on the table. This is not going to keep you on budget, try and eat what you have at home. If you forget to pick something up, see if you can make it work without it.

Grilling chicken for lunches, red sauce for the freezer, and soup for dinner!

3. While cooking dinner think, "is there anything I can prepare quickly to eat tomorrow or the rest of the week?" I like to prep snacks to have on hand. There is nothing better than wanting something to nibble on and already having it ready! While you are cutting veggies for a dinner cut a few extra to have with dip and make more salad for lunch the next day. When waiting for dinner to finish cooking put together a quick fruit salad, no work the next morning!

4. I always plan out how many meals I can get out of cooking once. What leftovers will this give me and how can I reuse them? Can this be frozen and served with something else for a new twist next week? Meatloaf makes great sandwiches, I will make it on a Monday so my husband has something healthy and cheap to take to work for lunch. Same with chicken; if I am already grilling two breasts why not just add two more and have a nice salad or wrap the next day? Besides, packages of chicken come in 4 more often than 2! I find having a variety of different sized Tupperwares on hand is a great way to save different portion sizes. I like these from Rubbermaid! Best part is the lids snap together and stack to save room in the cupboard!

Christmas Present from the Husband

5. Even though you are only cooking for 1 or 2 doesn't mean cut all your recipes in half. Similar to the tip above, why cook multiple times when you can just make something once (and do the dishes once too)! I love to make family sized batches of soup and sauce and freeze them. My meatballs usually last us 2-3 months! Much better than those frozen meals in the freezer section!

6. Freeze! Buy or cook or bake in bulk whenever you can and freeze it! Most meats can be wrapped individually in plastic wrap and foil, tuck into a Ziplock bag and it will stay good for 6 months. This is a great thing to take advantage of when chicken goes on sale buy one get one free! Also good for making large batches of beans in a crock pot or leftover from a can. Just toss into a Ziplock bag and freeze flat, easy to break off however many you need.

I hope these tips will help you save money and time! I sometimes screw up, or am just too tired to cook. When all else fails you can ALWAYS make breakfast for dinner!

Roasted Stuffed Mushrooms

This is an easy and quick meal that makes plenty for leftovers! Hearty, healthy and flavorful you will be making this one again!  Using ingredients we normally have on hand makes this even easier. I first saw this printed in Everyday Food, my changes are below.

White Bean Stuffed Portobellos

Serves 2 (with leftovers for 2)

Ingredients

4 large portobello caps (stems removed)

1 tsp lemon zest

1 Tbsp lemon juice

3 Tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 can cannellini beans, drained

2 tsp fresh thyme 

1 Cup bread crumbs

1/2 Cup feta cheese crumbles

1 bag baby spinach

Preheat oven to 400F. In a small bowl combine 2 Tbsp olive oil and 2 Tbsp lemon juice, brush over each side of the mushroom caps, season with salt and pepper, place stem side down on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for 15 minutes. Flip and drain any juices from sheet pan. Reserve two mushrooms for tomorrow's lunch.

In a saucepan heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat, saute garlic for 1 minute. Add beans, thyme, lemon zest and 1 cup water. Season with salt and pepper, stirring occasionally until liquid is almost evaporated, about 3 minutes. 

Top each mushroom half with a handful of spinach leaves, then 1/4 cup of bean mixture, layer of feta cheese and top with breadcrumbs. Drizzle mushrooms with remaining olive oil. Return baking sheet to oven and roast until breadcrumbs are golden, 5-10 minutes. Serve with a spinach salad and garlic chiabatta toast. 

For your leftover lunch, warm bean mixture and mushrooms. Top a spinach salad with sliced mushrooms and feta. Top a couple slices of toast with the warmed bean mixture.

Mushroom, Pepper, and Potato Frittata

This is a wonderful and easy dish to make for company, a quick dinner, or to use up leftovers from the fridge. Feel free to swap out the ingredients for what you have; add spinach, veggies, cooked meat, etc. Also warms up great the next day in the toaster oven!

Mushroom, Pepper, and Potato Frittata
serves 6


Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
2-3 red bliss potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 pepper thinly sliced
1 clove garlic minced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
5 large eggs
5 large egg whites
1/2 cup whole flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

In a medium (10-inch) nonstick oven proof skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add onion, potato, and peppers; season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine. Cover skillet, and cook 10 minutes; uncover. Add garlic and cook, tossing mixture occasionally, until onion and potato are tender, about 5 minutes.


Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, egg whites, parsley leaves, with salt and pepper to taste.
Add remaining tablespoon oil to vegetables in skillet. Pour egg mixture into skillet. Cook on stove, over low heat untouched for 2 minutes. Cook for about 10 minutes longer, lifting mixture a few times around the edges with a spatula to let egg flow underneath. Continue cooking until frittata is almost set in center.

Heat broiler with rack set 4 inches from heat.Sprinkle cheese over the top of the frittata. Place skillet under broiler; broil until frittata is set and top is lightly golden, about 3 minutes. Run a clean spatula around edges to loosen, then slide frittata out onto a serving plate, and cut into wedges.Serve with a mixed green salad and fruit.

Roast Pork Tenderloin with Fried Rice

Bite Me! No offense, that's just the name of the cookbook my friend Tina gave me for Christmas. The description of the book is "a stomach-satisfying, visually gratifying, fresh-mouthed cookbook." When I was thinking of something to pair with my Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin this was the perfect side. We also recently discovered the joys of steamed edamame and bought a bag of frozen pods at Trader Joe's. Putting the three together for a meal worked out really well. It was totally filling and really tasty!

Fried Rice
(adapted from Bite Me)
serves 6

Ingredients
3 Tbsp Soy Sauce (I use low sodium)
2 Tbsp Oyster Sauce
2 Tbsp Ketchup
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp freshly grated ginger
1/4 tsp Sriracha sauce or any hot sauce to taste

Whisk together the above ingredients and set aside.

2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
1 medium bell pepper, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup frozen green peas
4 cups pre-cooked and chilled white rice (I used Basmati rice from the freezer!)

Over medium heat, heat 1 Tbsp vegetable oil over medium high heat in a wok or frying pan. Add all veggies (except peas and garlic) and cook until tender crisp, or to your liking. Stir in garlic and frozen peas and cook through. Add cooked rice and reserved sauce and cook for about 1 minute until heated through. Feel free to add two scrambled eggs if that suits your fancy.

Weekly Budget Update!

Leftover week is here! After diligently cooking for the last month my freezer runneth over! And we need to eat some of that food. Because almost all my meals are made for this week my grocery bill was really low this week, I spent $29 at Stop and Shop today. This evens out the extra money I spent on extravagances last week, notably a $15 flank steak and a $10 block of Gruyere cheese. There is still over 2/3 of the cheese left and 1/2 lb steak in the freezer!

No good deals or major purchases at the store, just milk, eggs, potatoes, and bread.

Meal Planning this week is also going to be easy. I will pretty much just choose something out of the fridge every morning and surprise Eric at dinner! Tonight we had sausage and pepper sandwiches! I am also playing cards with my girlfriends this week, stay tuned for what I bring!

Sausage and Peppers

Tonight starts freezer week! We are kicking this week off the same you would the big game - sausage and pepper sandwiches! Served with the left over arugula salad from date night!

Sausage and Peppers

1 lb sweet italian sausage links (you can mix in hot if you like), sliced into rounds
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
3 medium peppers (I use a mix of red and green), sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
olive oil
1 large can tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp red pepper flake
1/2 cup red wine

In a skillet or dutch oven heat olive oil over medium heat. Add sausage rounds and cook through. Remove from pan and drain fat (you can use the rendered fat from the sausage here if you like, I try to keep it a bit healthier and drain it). Add 1 Tbsp olive oil and add garlic, peppers, onions, and red pepper flake . When the peppers and onions soften add the wine, let cook off a bit and add tomatoes and spices. Return cooked sausage to the pot and let simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Sausage and peppers is a versatile meal; you can serve it over pasta, with a salad, or on a torpedo roll! This recipe makes about 6-8 servings and freezes very well! 

can you smell how good this looks?

Leftovers Again!

Usually when you hear that phrase its someone complaining about having to eat the same thing again...not in this house! It should read, "Leftovers again? WOOOOOO!" I usually will wait a day or two before eating leftovers, or they go into the freezer for another time. But the Cassou-Lazy was too good to wait! We ate the rest last night, and it was so easy to heat up! I had saved the leftovers in the cooking container. Place the casserole dish in the oven while preheating to 350°.  Cook for 40 minutes. It was warm and bubbly, and ever more crispy on the top! My belly is sad that we can't have it again tonight too! I'm sure it will be on the menu in the months to come!

ignore the impending avalanche!

Speaking of leftovers, I took inventory of our freezer last night and I think I don't have to cook next week! Just reheat and go! To give you an idea of what we have to choose from check out this list!

• 2 cups marinara sauce
• 1 serving pea soup (from my mom for Eric!)
• 4 servings beef stew
• 4 servings chili
• 1 serving lentil soup
• 2 servings chicken cacciatore
• 7 pizza crusts
• 1 lb hamburger
• 1 lb chicken tenders
• 2 1/2lb pork tenderloins
• 2 can's worth black beans
• 4 cups white rice
• 4 servings sausage and peppers 
• 1/2 lb kielbasa
• 3 chicken breasts
• package of goyza
• frozen shrimp
• and much, much, more!

We sure like our frozen veggies!

I think we will have an easy grocery trip this weekend! Check back Sunday to see how we made out!

Chicken and Sausage Cassou-Lazy!

Thanks to Healthy Delicious for sharing the wonderful recipe for Cassoulet with White Beans, Sausage and Turkey. I have made some slight changes due to my pantry missing ingredients, I would recommend using what you have on hand to save a trip to the store and some money! I have listed my changes to the recipe below.

While talking about this dinner a friend pointed out that this is not a genuine French Cassoulet (oh la la) and I should not call it that on my blog. He dubbed it Cassou-Lazy. I was going to argue with him (this dish takes some work after all) but I looked into what a cassoulet really is and was quite surprised.  The Internet told me that a traditional French cassoulet is a slow cooked peasant food with white beans, tomatoes, ham, pork sausage, and duck. It would cook in the fire for up to 3 days using any scraps they had left over. Three days!! Well there is no way I have time for that! This dinner only takes about 1 1/2 hours. I was even able to make sausage and peppers for another night using the left over ingredients from it! Cassou-Lazy it is!

Two dishes in one night means less work later!

 Cassoulet with White Beans, Sausage & Chicken

2 links sweet Italian sausage, taken out of casings

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 small onion, chopped

1 carrot, diced 

6 plum tomatoes, roughly chopped (or a large can of plum tomatoes, drain and save sauce for another time)

1 sprig fresh rosemary, chopped 

2 springs fresh thyme, chopped 

1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes

1 can Cannelini beans

4 ounces roasted chicken thighs, rough dice

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

1 Tbs olive oil

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Place a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook through. Remove the sausage, leaving the drippings in the pan. Add the garlic and onion and cook in the sausage drippings until they begin to soften — about 5 minutes, add more oil if needed. Add the carrot and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, rosemary, thyme, and pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally to help break down the tomatoes, for about 10 minutes. Stir in the beans.

Spoon half of the tomato and bean mixture into a 3 quart casserole dish or dutch oven. Scatter the turkey and sausage over it, then top with the remaining beans. Sprinkle the bread crumbsover the top, then drizzle with olive oil.

Bake for 60 minutes, or until the sauce is thick and the bread crumbs have browned (if necessary, you can put it under the broiler for 5 minutes at the end to help brown the breadcrumbs). Let sit for 15 minutes prior to serving.

mmmm look at those crunchy breadcumbs!

This dinner was so good I wish you could be here to taste it! This is a warm you to the bones, delicious, crowd pleasing dish to be shared with friends and loved ones. I will be making this all winter long, you can call me Cassou-Crazy!