Saturday, December 11, 2010

2 Frosting recipes for Holiday or Other Baking

Neither of these will break the bank.  Easy enough for a beginning cook, both recipes are ancient.  


2-3-4 Frosting:
2 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons cream
4 Tablespoons sugar


Place ingredients in a double boiler and heat over hot water until near boiling and sugar is melted.  Remove from heat and add vanilla and powdered sugar to desired consistency.  


Lucille's cinnamon Butter Icing 


4 Tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups powdered sugar
hot water
chopped nuts (if desired)


Heat butter in top of double boiler over hot water.  Add cinnamon and sugar; add small about of hot water slowly until icing is the right consistency for spreading.  After spreading on cake, bars or bread, sprinkle with chopped nuts.  This would be yummy on banana, cranberry or blueberry breads.    



Holiday  baking can be expensive, so start looking for sales in mid-November.  Butter can be frozen.  Keep nut meats in the fridge or even the freezer.  Wal-Mart had Gold Medal Flour for an unbelievable price this week. Chocolate chips are frequently on sale.   Save up coupons for dairy products, baking products and even waxed paper and baking parchment.   You should be able to cut your baking costs by these simple but frugal acts.  


My most important kitchen tip is to prepare the right amounts of food so as not to waste.  If you need to freeze leftovers, make sure to label them well with contents and date  and to use in a timely manner.  


We have discovered Dr. Oetker's frozen pizzas which are absolutely delicious but rather costly.  We have also collected coupons for them and waited for store specials.  With a store sale and a coupon, you are golden. 


 Remember that normally, your home-baked goods will be tastier, cheaper and more nutritious than store-bought.
 That being said, we bought a wonderful open-faced apple-cranberry tart and Trader Joe's this week for $6 and change.  We did this rather than stop for dessert.  It made six servings and was really good.  Everything is relative. I could have cooked it for a little less, but when time is of the essence, learn to make good choices.

My Grandma, she of the 2-3- 4 frosting, and me in Kansas eons ago



The Cheeseparer

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Barley, a cheap nutricious food

This week I made herb-basted chicken and barley with root vegetable pilaf.  This was hearty fare that we got three meals out of with three (big) chicken breast halves.  Never expected to have it stretch so far for two people. 
I used onion, carrot, parsnips and butternut squash for the veggies and used about 2 cups instead of 1 1/2.  Used fresh thyme from the garden but substituted my own dried rosemary for fresh.  Stuck in a garlic clove for the hell of it.  The bacon really perked the barley up!  Root vegetables are cheap and the chicken breasts were on sale for a good price. 
A one pound bag of barley (did not by the fancy organic)  has a lot of mileage in it, and my next barley meal will be a vegetable beef soup with barley, also cheap with a lean cut of beef, more root vegetables and the barley, of course. 


In case you're salivating already, here is the recipe: Herb Basted Chicken with Pearl Barley, Bacon and Root Vegetable Pilaf



Winter demands hearty fare.  Soup is wonderful.  Eat more soup.

Friday, December 3, 2010

Yummy Hors d'oeuvres - Rum Sausages

For those of you who eat pork,  this recipe is a keeper.  The Brown and Serve Sausages  can often be found on sale, but don't buy the cheapest brand.  Any old rum will do.  Yar!  


Rum Sausages


1 pound package brown and serve sausages
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce  ( I use the reduced salt variety)
1/2 cup golden rum ( or any rum) 


Mix sugar, soy sauce and rum.  Brown sausages on one side, turn and cut into thirds.  Cover with rum mixture and summer, turning sausages occasionally so they absorb the sauce.  May be made ahead and reheated.  Serve with toothpicks. 


This recipe is from my mom and is nice around the holidays. 

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Christmas Cookies revisited

The Basic Butter Cookie recipe from my mother, a master baker who loved anything with a sugar molecule in it.


Butter Cookies

2 sticks butter (I always use unsalted)
¾ cup sugar
½ teaspoon vinegar
½ teaspoon soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cups flour


Cream together the sugar abd butter.  Add the other ingredients and mix.  Drop by teaspoonfuls on a cookie sheet and bake for twenty minutes at 300 degrees F.

Chopped nuts (pecans would be good) can be added if you like.

 

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Frittata Italian

I hope you have been enjoying the Thanksgiving Holiday while watching your budget.  Turkey is cheap, as are potatoes, onions, root vegetables, pumpkin and many of our holiday faves.  Stuffing or dressing can be made out of stale bread, onion, celery and seasonings.  No crown roast of pork or prime rib roast is necessary. If you do your own cooking, that helps immeasurably.  


This morning for guests I made an Italian Frittata which was a recipe in the old New York Times cookbook.  When they issued a revised version, the frittata was gone!  I saved it, of course.  A big frittata is a good way to serve breakfast to a whole table without the tedious business of pancakes or waffles, and more festive than bacon or sausage and eggs.  Of course, a strata is good to, but I am very fond of this frittata.  Many are made with veggies and some with leftover pasta.  It is versatile, cheap and tasty.  Can go up and down the calorie scale depending on ingredients.
Italian Fritata in a cast iron skillet
The ingredients are mushrooms, ham, eggs of course, Parmesan cheese, butter, mozzarella cheese, parsley, heavy cream and salt and pepper.  First it's cooked over low heat on the stovetop, then baked and put under the broiler at the last minute.  This served 5 generously out of a 10 inch skillet.  For a bigger crowd, use a 12 inch skillet and more of everything. 


For dessert last night, after a 2nd Thanksgiving dinner, we had a tart made of mascarpone cheese and oranges garnished with pistachios and honey.  It was very special, serves 9, and looks beautiful.  Oranges are Christmasy as are pistachios. 
Mascarpone and Orange Tart with Honey and Pistachios 


The recipe is from Bon Appetit and even calls for a dairy case pie crust.  How easy is that?


Soon I will be posting my mom's special sugar cookie recipe.  She devised it, and none are better,  Happy Holidays from the Cheeseparer

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Seasonal Meals with Pork and Cranberries

Autumn in New England cries for pork.  We made this recipe last night, and it was yummy.  I had originally bought port wine (not the finest, but not the cheapest, either) for some Port Wine Ice Cream that was out of this world, a very sophisticated dessert.  We tend not to sip port after dinner, dunno why.
 Anyway, the port sat around and I ran across this recipe in my clippings. Tried it last night.  Walmart had canned cranberries on sale, the sauce, not the jelly, and I served it with green beans and mushrooms and mashed potatoes.  Very satisfying now that it's dark before five and the nights and long and cold.

Pork Chops with Cranberry, Port and Rosemary Sauce


I bring the rosemary in from the garden in the fall and snip it all winter until it goes out in the spring or dies indoors.  It likes to be snipped.  The garden chores are never ending.  Yesterday it was pull up the frost-dead annuals and scrub out the pots.  I have to replant my 2 thymes, plant garlic and daffodils.  Oh, why did I get so ambitious and order stuff.  Now it's cold and damp and only the orange cat likes to be outside, and he isn't gonna plant nothing. 


Our supermarket has pork chops on sale, nice thick boneless ones, that cost about a dollar each.  Personally, I like a bone in mine for added flavor, but bone-in chops are getting hard to find.  How lazy is that? 





Saturday, October 30, 2010

Raisin Bread Strata

Here is a recipe.  Something a little different.  Our store had a BOGO on the bread. 


Raisin-Bread Strata with Sausage and Dried Plums

8 – 10  servings

1 pound bulk breakfast sausage
8 large eggs
4 cups whole milk
1 ½ t. salt
¾ t. ground black pepper
1 16 ounce loaf sliced raisin-cinnamon swirl bread, each slice halved on the diagonal.  (Pepperidge Farm makes a good raisin cinnamon swirl).
18 dried pitted plums (prunes) each cut into 3 pieces

Pure Maple Syrup

Sauté sausage in large nonstick skillet over medium heat until brown and cooked through, breaking up with back of fork, about 6 minutes.  Using slotted spoon, remove sausage to bowl; cool. 
Butter a 13 x 9 x 2 inch glass baking dish. 
Whisk eggs, milk, salt and pepper in medium bowl.  Arrange half of bread in bottom of prepared dish with bases of triangles facing in same direction.  Scatter half of sausage, then half of plums over bread.  Arrange remaining bread in dish with triangles facing in opposite direction.  Scatter remaining sausage and plums over.  Pour milk mixture over; press on bread to submerge.  Cover and chill overnight.
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.  Place strata on rimmed baking sheet.  Bake uncovered until strata is pulled and golden and knife inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour.  Let stand 10 minutes.  Cut strata into squares and serve with maple syrup. 

If you don't want is so sweet, forego the maple syrup.  Serves more like 10.  I have a photo someplace. 

From Bon Appetit

Sunday, October 3, 2010

I Squandered on Swordfish



Sometimes you just have to buy something wonderful that just ain't cheap.  Last week, at our house, it was fresh swordfish cooked up with three pepper butter.  The swordfish was lurking there in the Whole Foods Fish counter, looking to tasty, so meaty, all the while screaming "buy me!  buy me!" and so I did.  $25.00 worth!  Eeek! An issue of my eyes being bigger than our combined stomachs. 


So I cooked it up, and served it forth and it was truly delicious.  We had baked tomatoes and a bit of rice from the bowels of the freezer.  the sauce was toothsome, and there were two pieces of fish left, enough for a dinner of fish tacos the following night. 


I made a salsa from fresh tomatoes, onion, garlic and cilantro, and a "crema" of sour cream, garlic and Mexican seasonings.  Yum!  Had no cabbage but some past-prime iceberg, sliced fine, worked just as well.  We made two meals from the sword fish and I didn't feel nearly so guilty.  


This morning when I started to make blueberry muffins to take to a writing event with brunch, there were no frozen blueberries and no buttermilk.  I substituted mixed berry yogurt for the buttermilk, and frozen mixed berries for the blueberries and the result was moist and tasty and the extras came home to the freezer.   I've no idea what a dozen muffins would cost if one bought them, but surely more than that half hour of baking prep, probably less.  In the early a.m. (or even not-so-early a.m. I am not too swift.  

Apropos the three pepper butter.  You can buy black, green and red peppercorns in a grinder for $2.98, and it's not a bad deal.   Sometimes it is good to survey the supermarket spice shelves.  And now to put dinner on the table, a dinner I scrounged from today's brunch when no one wanted to carry her food offering home.  Someone even provided sealable bags for the leftovers.  Now that was a thoughtful gesture.  


Onward, 


The Cheese Parer





Monday, September 20, 2010

Chicken With Forty Cloves of Garlic revisted

The sweet garlicy sauce was totally to die for.  Yum!  Although the chicken was small, we  kept enough for a second meal.  I served it with onions roasted in olive oil and fresh thyme from the garden, and cooked up the other half of cabbage I had used earlier for some slaw.  I put some bacon fat in the cabbage along with more thyme!  All the dishes had a hint (just a hint) of thyme, the unifying presence.  
recipe

I can't tell you how much fresh herbs from the garden will spice up (!) your meals. 
We also had two more small helpings from the pear tart.  All I will have to cook tonight are some mashed potatoes out of the box (we like Hungry Jack, which I find sometimes at the Ocean State Job Lot), and  some baby carrots to supplement the left over cabbage.  We gobbled down the roasted onions.  Another super-cheap side dish, along with the cabbage.  
Eating well does not HAVE to depend on spending a lot.  Be creative.  Oh boy, was that garlic sauce good.  I used the last bit of a bottle of white wine and made my own chicken stock out of the back and neck.  To repeat:  be creative. 


Speaking of which, crepes stuffed with whatever can be a delicious, elegant meal at little cost.  I will post my recipe soon.  Remind me if I forget.  You will, won't you? 

I found  a pasta recipe for Italian sausage and chicken thighs, both always on sale around these parts. 
Do not neglect your fruits and veggies.  Delicious squash (we're partial to acorn) will be on sale in the stores soon.  It keeps if cold, so stock up.  


The Cheeseparer







Sunday, September 19, 2010

Chicken With Forty Cloves of Garlic

Tonight we're feasting on a braised chicken, actually with only twenty cloves of garlic, because forty is for two chickens.  Home grown garlic, home grown oregano and rosemary, a good quality chicken, now defrosting on the kitchen counter. 


Last night we shared a steak that was on sale, and we shared a baked potato (a big one) and we shared a pear tart I made for dessert.  All this sharing has nothing to do with frugality but more to do with keeping one's weight in check.  Also shared a long walk through the woods.   Walking is a great activity, and it's free. 


When I got out my walking stick, the orange cat (a new cat to the household) took one look and raced upstairs.  He has perhaps an interesting story about sticks which he can't tell us.   Many years ago my father was visiting us, and he took it upon himself to sharpen all the dull kitchen knives.  My god, the cat freaked and took off at fifty miles an hour.  Another interesting story.  Animals can talk in their own way. 
The garden is just about gone except for the herbs and a couple grape tomatoes.  I only have two bulbs of garlic left, having eaten ((or almost eaten) nine and gave one away.  It was great garlic.  There is a lot of bang for the buck with herbs, too.  


The nasturtiums are still blooming, and for some reason, the aphids left them alone this year.  We had a big hawk sitting NEXT TO the bird feeder yesterday.  My husband wanted to take a picture, but I chased him before he could eat any of my birdies.  Wish the hummingbirds would migrate.  I'll worry about them until they show up again in May. 


With the cooler weather, one begins to think pot roast,  chili, beef stew, chicken pot pie and spaghetti and meatballs, the heartier fares.  Shop the sales.  Eat seasonally.  Clip those coupons!  Make out your menus for the week from the specials.  You do make out menus and a food plan, don't you?  Shopping willy-nilly is not paring any cheese. 


Yours in thriftiness, 


The Cheeseparer




Italian prune plum tart.  Found all over Germany in late summer, made with either with a crusty dough somewhat like shortbread  (muerberteig) or a yeast dough (hefeteig).  I sprinkle a few sliced almonds on top.  Tastes as good as it looks.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Betty Crocker and the Taco Pie

 My favorite Bisquick recipe is Poppyseed Onion Cheese Supper Bread, a real winner.  We always buy the lo-cal Bisquick because, unlike 95% of reduced fat products, we can't tell any difference.  For heaven's sake use real butter instead of margarine.  Remember how  you were fooled into thinking margarine was healthier and then we discovered all those icky transfats that were worse than butter.  

  Onion Cheese Supper Bread

Another Bisquick recipe, this one using canned chili. A recipe which Betty Crocker emailed me.  Not the real Betty Crocker. The dough was hard to  handle.  I think some more kneading and then a rigorous rolling would have solved the problem. 

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Rujak--What to Serve with Hot (Spicy) Entrees

What kind of salad works best with Thai food, curries, Indonesian Reistafel  and all those fiery-to-the-taste-buds, sinus clearing dishes?  Years and years ago, when I made curry often (the kids loved it!) I came across a recipe that was absolutely perfect for my spicy concoctions.  I've never seen it before or since.  The  page where I typed (yes, typed) it is even yellow and curry-spattered, with the holes fortified with reinforcements.  The salad is a tart fruit salad.  Here is the recipe.
You will note that the ingredients are common and therefore relatively cheap.  I think a kiwi would work well.  The recipe predates kiwi's availability in the stores.  The recipe predates almost everything, except the Cheeseparer.  

Note:  the "sour salt" is citric acid which many grocery store will sell, but you can also find it at the drug store and if that doesn't work crush a vitamin C tablet if the ingredient is citric acid.  It keeps the apple and banana from turning that yukky brown. 


Rujak--Tart Fruit Salad


4 cups water 
3/4 cup  dark brown sugar  (light brown in a pinch)
1/2 t. crushed chili peppers (hot pepper flakes)
1/2 t. sour salt
1 T. lemon juice
1 lemon cut into eighths 
sliced banana (not overly ripe)
orange sections (canned mandarin in a pinch)
peeled apple wedges
thinly sliced unpeeled cucumber 


Boil sugar and water until it makes a clear syrup--about 4 minutes; remove from heat.  Add hot pepper flakes and sour salt; stir until salt dissolves.  Stir in lemon juice after syrup has cooled slightly.  
About 2 hours before serving, mix syrup with the cut up fruit and cucumber.  Chill in coldest part of refrigerator and serve ice-cold.
This is  served as a side dish and eaten as a "refresher" between mouthfuls of hot food.  
 No idea where this recipe originated.

The Cheeseparer. 




 

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Dinner is served

We finally had a dinner party, and it was kinda, sorta frugal and totally delicious.  I found some fresh wild Atlantic salmon at Whole Foods for $10.99 a pound.  Cheap for what it was.  I made a lime butter sauce for the fish (limes were on special).  We grilled corn along with the fish (over oak) and I cooked up some green beans, likewise on sale now as was the corn.  I made a fab gazpacho with tomatoes from the garden, as was the garlic and the herbs.  So delicious.  For desert, we had homemade berry (raspberries and blackberries) ice cream.  Berries were on special, too, as was the wine. 

We had enough salmon left for lunch, beans for another meal, and the ice cream lasted for nine servings.  Being in diet mode, we didn't exactly heap it into our bowls.  Which was fine.  What I liked about the ice cream was that it wasn't so sweet that you couldn't taste the tartness of the berries and the creaminess of the cream.

The meal was not a lot of work, especially with my better half doing the corn and the salmon, and making the ice cream the day before and the gazpacho in the morning so it would be well chilled. How much would this meal have cost at a restaurant?  I don't even want to know! 

Now, the rains have come.  We had a chicken salad on spinach tonight, with heirloom tomatoes and feta.  As good as it gets.  Had to cook indoors due to the weather, but I have a grill pan, and it was no big deal.  We decided to make another ice cream over Labor Day.  Maybe a gelato or an ice milk. Something delicious.  As always.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Take Five Ripe Tomatoes . . .

In mid August, if you are growing your own or have access to a farm stand or farmer's market, the best recipes always begin with the phrase, "take five ripe tomatoes."


Here are some of the things we do with those tomatoes:
1)  Tomato Bread Salad - I'm serving tonight with fresh basil, fresh spinach, and fresh mozzarella.
2)  Homemade tortilla soup.
3)  Insalata Caprese  (tomatoes with basil, olive oil and fresh mozzarella)
4)  Tomato/vegetable soup
5)  A simple plate of sliced tomatoes with fresh herbs
6)  Gazpacho




Tortilla Soup

3 T. corn oil
4 corn tortillas, cut in strips
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium onions, chopped
4 tomatoes, skinned and chopped
1 T. ground cumin
1 jalapeno pepper
8 cups chicken broth
½ cup fresh cilantro 

Garnishes:  fried strips of tortilla, grated Cheddar, cooked chicken breast (in thin strips)
Diced avocado, chopped cilantro

Heat oil in 4 quart stockpot and fry strips of  tortilla until crisp.  Remove and drain on paper towels.
Saute  garlic and onions and cook until onions are soft.  Add remaining ingredients, including tortilla strips,  bring to boil and simmer 20-25 minutes.  Add salt and paper.  Serve  in bowls with garnishes. 



What are some of YOUR faves?

Here is a tomato bread salad recipe from Epicurious

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Away for the Weekend

Frog in the Lily Pond at our host's place in the Berkshires
Even a so-called cheap house party weekend can add up: gas, food for the group, wine for the group, entertainment, meals en route.  I figure the outlay for around $230.00 in total for  three days.  Not bad, actually if divided by day.  I took along some pecan pie bars, which are actually to die for, and an "antipasto salad," of pasta, sun-dried tomatoes, proscuitto and provlone and salami.  This is an Emeril Lagasse recipe and it serves ten and is really good, probably less than $1 a serving.  The pecan pie bars consist of a shortbread crust (with brown sugar), baked and a pecan mixture (more butter and brown sugar) poured over the hot crust.  It makes about 28 bars if you don't cut them too big.  Very rich, so nice little pieces are fine. 


Our host made a wonderful pork loin, part broiled, part baked and part smoked, with plenty of garlic cloves.  I took a head of my fresh organic garlic and some tomatoes, too.  We just have to stop in Stockbridge, MA at the Red Lion Inn every so often for lunch in the courtyard.  A beautiful warm day, and nice wine and food.   We like the Saturday morning rehearsal at Tanglewood, for only $17.00 a head.  We had a nice picnic with the antipasto salad, the bars and some leftover pork and tomato/cuke/onion salad from the night before.  Oh yes, and wine.  


We could easily have spent 3 times as much on lodging, Tanglewood tickets, and eating out.  I did buy a CD of the Silk Road Ensemble which I've enjoyed at home already.  This is our only vacation this summer, except for my two days in Georgia visiting relatives.  I went to a wonderful party in the country where the host served is own (Angus) beef, his corn, his tomatoes, his okra, his figs and his peppers.  It was a very special evening.  Somewhere miles east of Athens.  The evening before, I partook of homemade peach ice cream.  Life is good in the summertime.  
We had insalata Caprese for lunch.  Home grown basil and home grown tomatoes.  I suppose I could make my own mozzarella, but that sounds like work.  
Last night we grill chicken dressed in fines herbes and seven different veggies.  Enough for a second dinner.  I have one (1) cantaloupe from a plant that was supposed to be a cucumber.  Go figure. 

I hope you have a garden.  The frogs and bees and hummingbirds, the butterflies and even the cheeky chipmunks make it a living spot where flora and fauna and exist.  
Yesterday, a brown creeper came in the kitchen window and existed the living room.  I heard a commotion in the kitchen and one of the cats was most uncharacteristically on the counter.  Bird had enough sense to leave when we opened the door. 

Yours in sometime frugality

The Cheeseparer              

Friday, July 30, 2010

Soup From a Nail

I always loved the children's story about soup made from a nail.  We aren't quite THAT frugal, but we do buy the Select Harvest soups, either at Ocean State Job Lot or at Walmart.  They taste good, have minimal processing and are lower in sodium than many canned soups.  We have 
discovered that one can makes lunch for two. 


This week we had the Mexican chicken soup.  I added fresh spinach and cherry tomatoes and we ate it garnished with avocado and Mexican cheese, all ingredients from the pantry.  It was so good.  One day I made a chiffonade from a leftover corn tortilla and added that.  I had so many extra ingredients that I added a little chicken broth.  So tasty.  

Fresh Atlantic Salmon was on sale at one of the local markets, and I splurged and bought a pound.  We'll cook it on the grill, Thai style with green beans and corn, both fresh and on sale.  There's a peach pie (from scratch, even the crust) in the oven.  It looked to die for. 


No matter how cheeseparing you are, do take advantage of summer's produce.  Our green beans and cherry tomatoes are providing tasty bites from the garden, along with all the fresh herbs.  I made some quick Fajitas using a small frozen petite sirloin, a few frozen shrimp, a past prime green pepper and some onion.  I made a nice marinade with fresh garlic (from the garden) and heated up some corn tortillas from my economy package of fifty.  We used "found" ingredients, i.e. no trip to the store required.  I like to do this.  The larder is bare, but not quite, and what can you cook that's nourishing and tasty?  

You'd be surprised.  Go ye forth and scrounge from the pantry.  Remember:  potatoes fried with bacon, onion, tomatoes and eggs make a delicious dinner.  Scatter some fresh chives or a bit of grated cheese over the top.  Scallions?  Yup. 


I am so excited about my garlic harvest, that I'm planning to make Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic.  Yum!  What are you harvesting this summer? 


The Cheeseparer











Pizza! Pizza!

Last weekend I was in the Atlanta area visiting relatives.   We went to a party on a country property way the heck  east of Athens.  Our host feted us with his own beef, tomatoes, corn, okra, peppers and figs!  Yes figs!    In our local supermarkets, if you can find them, they cost $3.00 for 8, not a frugal price.  I was persuaded to bring home a small container.  
Recently someone in our tribe had a fancy pizza with figs and prosciutto, so guess what I made?  Yup.  I had riccotta and mozzarella, and fresh baby spinach.  I had figs!  We bought the dough and a few oz. of prosciutto, and we made a pizza. 
Because there were only two of us, we ate it for 2 dinner and one lunch in an outburst of frugality.  It was good.   Doesn't it look yummy?  Those figs had quite a ride. 


The Cheeseparer

Monday, July 12, 2010

Spicy Fried Basmati Rice

We grilled a cheap "petite sirloin" and chopped it up to eat over the rice.  This was really good, really surprisingly good.  I had  1/4 cup of leftover  sun-dried tomatoes in oil so that made the recipe cheap to make, esp. with the fresh herbs all from the garden.  The stir-frying went together in minutes.  Slicing and chopping always a chore, but so what?   I did cook the rice in the a.m. after breakfast while I read the paper.        Sometimes, multi-tasking is the way to go. 

Try this soon.  Grilled chicken, pork, or shrimp would also be dynamite. 





Saturday, July 10, 2010

Save! Save! Save!

Yesterday, when the sun was hot, there was a bit of a breeze and no rain forecast, I washed a heavy wool blanket in cold water and put it on the deck to sun-dry, thereby saving at least $15.00 of dry cleaning fees.  After the blanket was dry (quicker than you could imagine), I air-fluffed it in the dryer and stuck it into the cedar closet for the summer. 

With house guests here for a month, we have been trying to keep grocery bills under control while catering to their needs:  one vegetarian, one picky eater.   My Significant Other and me are voracious and eat basically anything that's food.  So we have been buying cage-free eggs, organic whole milk, and a host of other pricey groceries.  You would think not buying much meat would be cheap, but you would be wrong.  Today, we're having farfalle with mascarpone, hazelnuts, and asparagus.  It's a delicious vegetarian dish, but the ingredients are expensive.  I'm hoping to get two meals or one meal and a lunch out of it.  

The day after, we're having re fried rice with some cheaper ingredients.  For the carnivores, I will grill a small cheap sirloin and chop it up for us to put over the rice.  Tasty and cheap.  Last night we had bratwurst, sauerkraut  and fried potatoes.   I "doctor" my sauerkraut with onion,  brown sugar, bacon, caraway seed, bay leaf and paprika.  Lots of white wine.  I buy a huge jar at Ocean State Job lot for $2.00.  Of course potatoes are cheap and I got some baby ones on sale.  The vegetarian ate Morningstar Farms Buffalo Nuggets ($4.99 for a box).  We had a HUGE fruit salad with 7 different fruits for dessert.  So tasty and nutritious.  Spell check hates this post.  WTF

We are also finding that shopping every three days, with some visits to the supermarket, Whole Foods and Walmart is helping.  We also do not bring the guests along to toss stuff into the shopping cart.   Ya do what ya can.   Just about anything is cheaper than taking four to dinner. 

It is amazing how much terminology a 10 year old doesn't know.  Greasy spoon?  Not playing with a full deck?  All sorts of expressions. 

I have to go up and iron the stuff I used to send to the cleaners.  Being cheap has become a way of life.

Cheers

Monday, July 5, 2010

Red, White and Blue Dessert

When berries, with their good fiber and antioxidants are in season, we can find lots of uses for them.  On cereal, in fruit salad, and in luscious desserts.  This tart is made with "Farmer" cheese, a low fat cheese that doesn't break the bank.  The berries were on sale.  The crust is easy to make in a food processor, and everything goes together nicely.  Your family and guests will approve.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Father's Day At the Grill

The Dad is our household had to cook his own meal yesterday, but what a meal and so inexpensive, too.  We grilled chicken breasts (with skin and bone for added flavor), zucchini and summer squash, red and yellow peppers (on sale), corn on the cob (on sale).  Other sides were black beans (on sale) with onion and garlic and garnished with Mexican cheese (on sale) and cilantro and basil (from the garden).  For dessert, we had a fruit salad of strawberries and blueberries (both on sale) and banana.  I made orange yogurt bread which tasted good with the fruit.  This was a cheap, healthy meal with plenty of fruits and vegetables.  We loved it .  Cost was minimal, and we have leftovers for tonight.  Oh yes!  We also had a salad of tomatoes and avocado with lettuce from the garden.  Seven fruits and veggies with additional herbs and seasonings.  Speaking of seasoning, I gave the chicken a good rub with Penzey's Southwestern Seasoning.


Penzey's have great spices that make even the cheapest eats something special.  You can buy the spices in different sizes, which is handy for the ones you either use a lot of or a little of.  I've been shopping there for years, and have never been disappointed.


We like Barbecue of the Americas for a rub, too.  Penzey's Spices 

We used our smoker to smoke pork chops, and then I made Kassler Ripppen, a German dish impossible to find in Boston.  The smoked pork chops (on sale, natch), are then cooked with aromatic vegetables and saurkraut.  Served with potatoes, it makes a tasty meal.  

Do take advantage of your own garden produce and all the farmer's markets.  There is no reason not to eat cheap and healthy in the summer. 

The Cheeseparer,  

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Five Minute Desserts

From late spring into the fall,  we are tempted with fresh fruit.  It's hard to beat a good fruit salad with a harmonious selection of fruits.  Add a spot of sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice.  We like to macerate a spoonful or two of Apple Jack with the fruit.


Only slightly more ambitious is a compote.  In Germany and Austria in the summer, you can eat a dessert call Rote Grutze  (Red Groats) everywhere.   Red berries and currants thickened with tapioca(?).  Make your own American version with rhubarb, strawberries, cherries, anything red including leftover cranberries you may have in the freezer.  Cook together with a very small amount of liquid (I like orange juice). Thicken with cornstarch or instant tapioca and of course sweeten according to taste.  Served with a bit of cream, this is delicious.


Only slightly more complicated is a country fruit tart.  Take one Pillsbury pie crust from the dairy case (they come two to a box in our area for $2.99 but can often be found on sale.) Put some parchment paper on a large cookie sheet with sides.  Unroll the crust onto the paper.  Pour a mixture of fruits (2-3 cups) sweetened with sugar and lemon juice with a bit of instant tapioca to thicken.  Any kind of fruit will do.  Crimp the sides around the fruit so that the fruit is still mostly visible  in the center of the tart.  Put into a 425 degree oven for about 20 minutes.  Cool on a trivet and eat.  Serves 4 or 6 people on a diet. 


The parchment paper keeps the cookie sheet clean.   Blueberries, strawberries, plums, cherries, peaches--singly or together.  Be creative.  Sprinkle with a tad of cinnamon or nutmeg is you like.  Not too much.  You want to savor the fruit. 


You can make your own crust for about $1.00 less, but that is more than 5 minutes, but not much with a food processor.  Any of these desserts are worthy of company.  Sometimes I sprinkle a few nuts into the fruit salad or over the tart, but make sure no one is allergic.


I hope your garden is planted and thriving and that you have lots of fresh herbs and veggies.   Don't forget to put out plants attractive to bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.  It is easy to enjoy life when the weather is good.  Take time to do so.


Yours in frugality, taste and beauty,


The Cheeseparer             

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Chicken Tostadas

This is bound to be better than going out for Mexican tomorrow, when the so-so Mexican restaurants in the Boston area will be SRO.  My philosophy is make your own.  


The recipe I'm using is from Gourmet a few years back.  Don't panic!  It's Gourmets "Gourmet Every Day" which is never too complicated.  We're going to have some margaritas and a nice salad that echos ingredients from the main course. 

Enjoy!  You can feed the whole family. 

Gourmet's chicken tostadas

The cheese to be pared here in ricotta salata.











Tuna and Noodles Revisited

When I was in college and sometimes hung out with graduate student history majors, some weekends we would get together, chip in 60 cents each, and someone would make tuna and noodle casserole.  I wasn't into cooking then, but I always enjoyed the cheap dinner.  Guess what?

It's still cheap. I use good quality Italian tuna in olive oil ($1.99 each) and good quality egg noodles, from Ocean State Job lot, so they're really cheap.  I make my own white sauce, and always saute a bit of onion and (green, red,  yellow, whatever) pepper first.  Put in a dab of cayenne powder.  Use part of the oil drained from the tuna as "shortening."  Use whatever dairy product (milk, cream, half and half) is available.  I use 2 6.5 oz. cans of tuna.   We like it with crushed potato chips on top.  Breadcrumbs would be good, too, but not as good as potato chips.

A casserole from these ingredients made 3 weekdays dinners for two.  Can't get much cheaper than that.  It tasted great, too.  I dumped in about 3/4 finely chopped broccoli that was leftover from something.  Frozen peas will also work.  Some color, don'tcha know.

Tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo, and we're celebrating in the kitchen, which is the best place.  I'm splurging for some Chicken Tostadas.  See the next post.

Ole! 

Sunday, April 25, 2010

The Cheeseparer has a Dinner Party

An old writing friend came to town this week and I invited her and some others for a mid-week dinner.  I tried to find something everyone would like which wouldn't totally blow out our diets.  Settled on a mostly Mediterranean menu which contributed to delicious lunches.  The full fat Greek yogurt rocks, as did the special feta from Whole Foods.  Here are photographs of the meal.  The orange-mascarpone tart with pistachios was to die for.  Oranges will be cheaper than berries or chocolate desserts.  Very healthy too.  Whole Foods has a nut table where the shopper can pick out exactly the amount she needs.  No waste or extra money.   Ratatouille  is also an economical choice and can be made a day ahead of time.  The Mediterranean Diet is healthy, but not cheap to cook.  


French Toast

In French, the dish we know as French toast is called pain perdu or "lost bread."  In German, French toast is arme Ritter, or
"poor knight." 


Last Wednesday, at Whole Foods, we got totally carried away and bought French bread, Italian bread and German bread.  Two people.  Crazy.  The dinner party guests ate about two slices of the Italian, and we finally finished the loaf.  In the meantime, of course, the baguette got rather stale.  Last night I used some under the steak to sop of the juices.  Toasted it with butter and paprika first.  Quite yummy.  This morning I used the rest to make French Toast.


I don't really use a recipe.  One egg per person, and milk and cream with a pinch of salt and a spoonful of sugar to make it brown nicely.  Whisk together.  I fry it in two skillets in a mixture of canola and butter.  The yin  and the yang.  We eat it with either REAL maple syrup or with apricot syrup from The Apricot King.  Grown in the flavor zone.  They have the best apricot jam, just like my Grandma used to make.  Their dried apricots (I love apricot bars) are also the best.  It is always wonderful to find a small business with a great product line that one can enthusiastically support.  And apricot syrup is hard to find.  My granddaughter loves it.  Hell, we all love it.  French Toast, Waffles, Pancakes.  Yum!


My Dad always made French Toast for us on Sunday morning.  He used Wonder-style bread, which was the only thing my folks ever ate.   He liked it nice and soft and ate a few slices of bread with every meal.  He claimed he couldn't eat without bread.  The only exception was Chinese food which he liked with soda crackers.  Go figure.  I've noticed that what one usually remembers about the departed loved ones is their endearing eccentricities that outlive them.  Once my Dad got carried away and made his French toast out of non-dairy creamer which was a disgusting concoction.  When I visited, my parents always bought a pound of butter, as they knew I didn't eat margarine.  I always told everyone "that stuff will kill you," and with the trans fats it turned out I was right.


You will never see an "all natural"  label on margarine.     So this is one area where WE DO NOT ECONOMIZE.  Nope.  Butter is a pure, natural product.  Just don't eat too much.


One can also make croutons out of stale bread.  Or bread crumbs.  Or feed it to the Scottish Highland cattle, in the unlikely event you have a small herd in your neighborhood like we do.  Love those cows.


I  hope you eat breakfast, a real breakfast, with loved ones every Sunday morning.  We scarfed down two strips of good quality bacon each, and I am embarrassed to report we ate all of the French toast.  I can't believe we ate the whole thing.   


I put French toast in two of my novels.  My books always have at least one party scene, one naked swim, and a lot of craziness.  And lots of food and flowers. lMaybe someday a character should make French toast with non-dairy creamer.  What do you think?


 Live cheaply but well,


The CheeseParer  











Saturday, April 24, 2010

Cookies Galore

I like to bake cookies occasionally.  In order that we don't gobble them up immediately, I freeze them in batches, and then when we  are in a cookie mood (when aren't we?)  I take a package out of the freezer and voila!


When I'm feeling particularly cheap, like now, when property taxes are due next month,  I look for a recipe for which I already have all the ingredients, and today, that recipe is Ina Garten's (the Barefoot Contessa) Oatmeal cookies.  Actually, I didn't have enough pecans, so I am substituting walnuts.


We're driving to New York on Tuesday, and as usual, we're packing a lunch for en route.     We like to stop in Old Saybrook (a bunch of good restaurants and a cool picnic area down by the water), and we'll have roast chicken sandwiches, a small amount of potato chips, grape tomatoes, Coke and water and Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.  We always feel terribly smug knowing our lunch is way better than fast food and every bit as good as an $8.00 sandwich with drinks and cookie extra.    We also save time by not waiting for service.


I must confess that on the way home from a quick, unplanned trip to New York,  we stopped in New Haven for lunch.  The place we wanted to eat was closed at 4:00 p.m. in spite of what the guide book said, so we wandered across the street to an Argentine place.  New Haven was celebrating "restaurant week" and we had a totally fabulous three course lunch (we needed no dinner) for a song.  It would be hard to say what menu item was tastier, but we were so taken that we'll stop next time we go thru New Haven on I-95 in a state of hunger.  The restaurant is Pacifico.  Try it if you're in the area and into ethnic.   
Pacifico 


Now for that  cookie recipe


If you are at home but having a busy day, this is my cookie procedure:
1)  First pass:read the recipe and get out all the ingredients and put them together on the counter.
2)  Second pass:  measure and "prep" all ingredients
3)   Third pass:  make the dough and refrigerate if you need to 
4)  Fourth pass:  bake the cookies


Cool and divide all but a couple day's eating and freeze.  

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Potato Pancakes

The house guests are here, and as always have requested a dinner of latkes or potato pancakes.  This is a last-minute high-labor dinner (4 people) that is economical and delicious and requires no preparation beforehand.  Resolve not to leave the kitchen, hell, don't leave the stove during the intense time that you're frying the pancakes.


Any cookbook should have a recipe.  I combine several recipes, using seasoning from one, onion from other, Bisquick from a third.  We like our latkes well-seasoned and thin and crisp.  I use the grater on the Cuisinart to grate the potatoes, and then wring out the excess moisture in a muslin towel.  Chop or grate the onion fine.  A clove of garlic is not necessary but ads resonance.


I like to serve thick-sliced bacon, sour cream and applesauce with the pancakes.  Something for everyone.  Fry up the bacon before you start on the latkes, and make sure your oven is on low with a heatproof platter therein.  Two skillets or grills make the process go much faster, but you really have to concentrate.


I also serve buttered broccoli (something green) with the pancakes, but that's just me.  A tossed salad would also work, but then you are setting yourself up to fry and toss at the same time, unless you have a kitchen helper who can take the salad chores off your hands.  The broccoli can be steamed early and reheated without any harm done.  For heaven's sake don't serve it half raw.


I use canola oil and butter with maybe a bit of bacon grease.  Suit yourself for the frying oil, but olive is not recommended.  Keep stacking the pancakes onto the heatproof platter in the oven until they're all done and everyone can eat together.


We are having fresh pineapple for dessert.  I'll post a photo if we happen to think about it before the platter is empty.  They're dynamite.


The Cheeseparer  

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Tomato Soup from Provence

For years, I saved every Gourmet and food magazine that came into the house, and there were many.  When we moved, I threw out a large collection, but of course the subscriptions didn't end.  For several years now,  I clip the recipes I might want to try and ditch the rest of the magazine.  Usually I save the Thanksgiving, Christmas and Barbecue issues. 


A couple times a month I actually cook something from these (by now) old clipped recipes.  And sometimes there is a real winner.   We were in New York last week and indulged a bit too much in food and beverages,  and so ye old bathroome scale showed a couple of extra pounds.  We find that eating soup is as good as dieting, so I dug out an untried soup recipe.  Decent tomatoes were on sale, and the rest of the ingredients were cheap.


Like everything in French cooking, there was some pain involved,   peeling, slicing, chopping, sieving, but the basic prep. was simple as I did other stuff in the kitchen during the actual cooking.  Yesterday, we tasted the results, and again this noon.  Ye gods, the soup had improved overnight.  I mean tomato soup.  How could it improve?  Well, it did.



I hope you are shopping supermarket specials.  I save $44.00 on a bill of $103.00 last Friday.  I found the exact recipe at Epicurious.  Don't let the list of ingredients intimidate you  I  used dried (from the garden) basil and had some dry fresh thyme.   A well-stocked spice shelf is a cook's best friend.



Here is the recipe.  If not now, try it when tomatoes are in season and your garden or farmer's market is bursting with them.  Yum! 



Provencal Tomato Soup with Rice 

We ate it with croutons and a salad of avocado, white asparagus, cucumber and romaine. 

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Yakisoba from the New York Times

For the frugal lifestyle, serving 4 with 2 porkchops rates pretty high.    The other good thing about this recipe is that is calls for both cabbage and carrots, so not only are the colors pretty, but we all get our veggies.  And it tastes super, with just the right amount of spiciness. 


Here is the recipe: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/03/dining/03mini.html?scp=1&sq=japanese%20+%20chinese%20noodles&st=cse

I bought fresh noodles, but the dried would likely be much cheaper.   Pork chops were on sale.   Learn ways to compound your savings.



We are it for two nights.  I sauteed some fresh spinach in garlic and ginger for the second night.  Pineapples were on special, and we       bought one, which is providing  food for several meals.  Tonight we ate it with fresh orange.  Oh yes!  

Think I'll make some chili this week.  We didn't have any all winter.  I did make a lot of soups, thought, and lots of ethnic meals.  I have part of a roast that too small to really be a roast but I'll bet if I cut it into small dice it would make some kickass chili.  We have dried ancho peppers in the house and also guallilo (?).  Kidney beans, tomatoes, onions.  What's not to like?  I always make Southern cornbread with chili.  No flour, no sugar, just pure southern cooking.  So good


Bon Appetit! 


The Cheeseparer


                 

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Valentine's Day Blast the Frugal Way

We spent $102.00 at the supermarket on Friday, including $17.00 for two beautiful bouquets of red and white tulips.


Eating out on Valentine's Day is usually a horor show--crowded, with bad service and nervous, overdressed couples.  We find it's much more enjoyable to go out before or after the event, or like yesterday, sit at the bar in Chestnut Hill at Paparzzi, drinking good pino grigio and eating carpaccio and focaccia, and fine Italian soup. 


 

You can see what we ate with our $ 102.00 which includes groceries for the rest of the week, too.  If we had gone out for this meal at a nice restaurant, I calculated we would have spent $175.00 for two with tip, tax, wine and four courses. (A salad of lettuce, artichoke bottoms, cherry tomatoes and cucumber is not shone.  I made everything from scratch, a labor of love, but hey, it's Valentine's day.  The crepes were delicious.  
If you have eggs, milk, flour and fruit you can do scrumptious crepes and cafloutis.  I used an on sale package of frozen stawberries and made a sauce with cornstarch, a little sugar, orange juice, orange liquor and a dash of brandy.  The crepes are filled with cream cheese (on sale) and powdered sugar.  The recipe made 12 crepes, which means we have three luscious deserts for  Saturday, Sunday and Monday.  

The stuffed chicken breasts are from Rachel Ray and there is enough for tonight and extra stuffing for some stuffed shells later in the week.  

The shrimp bisque was made with on-sale shrimp and their shells, and I splurged and bought leeks and a fennel bulb.  Again, enough bisque for three days and was it ever good.  I use cheap white vermouth when a recipe calls for white wine. 

Yes, I spent a good portion of yesterday in the kitchen, but having (delicious) food for 2-3 days is a good tradeoff.  Living cheaply does not mean living poorly.  Give your creativity free rein.  

Happy Valentine's Day and President's Day from The Cheeseparer

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Going Bananas

We're in the path of the current snow storm, one of those freaky nor'easters that dump snow and lash us with cold winds. 


We always keep some "winter stores" in the house from December - April.  Just canned goods mostly and maybe a box of Biquick or Hungry Jack--stuff to eat if we get snowed in for more than a day or two.  I usually have tuna, hash, and Spam, but since we are trying to reduce salt,  hash and SPAM are iffy.  We have a gas stove, so even if the power goes out, there's still an oven and burners.  


This morning I ran to the store for milk and eggs which were in short supply.  With milk and eggs you hve a wide variety of menus,  frugal menus, even.  Tonight we're having some prepared chicken, part of a BOGO I purchased in the fall.  The first bag of chicken (a good brand name) wasn't very good, but I'm hoping with a different flavor and the new oven things will come together.       


In case the chicken is still mediocre, there's still baked beans (I add bacon, cherry tomatoes and  onion) and a wonderful never fail dessert.  It says serves 2, but it really makes 4 servings unless you're VERY piggy.   A Clafouti can be made with almost any kind of fruit--cherries are classic.  But good old bananas, cheap and always available are dynamite. 


Here is the recipe: 


1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar (we like recipes that are not TOO sweet).
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
2/3 cup milke  (I use 2%) 
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large banana, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into bits


In a blender, blend together 1/3 cup of the sugar, the flour, eggs, milk, vanilla and the salt until the mixture is smooth.  Arrange the banana slices in one layer in a buttered 3-cup gratin dish or flameproof shallow baking dish, pour the pudding over them and bake the clafouti in the middle of a preheated 400 degree oven for 20 minutes, or until the top is puffed and springy to the touch.  Sprinkle the top with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar, dot it with the butter and broil the clafouti under a preheated broiler about 3 inches from the heat for 1 to 2 minutes or until it is browned. 


Serves 2-4.  


Gourmet Magazine, 1992


What could be simpler  than this?  So yummy.  And children will like it.  Nothing artificial.  Bon Appetit!

Monday, February 8, 2010

Bean Dip, Easy from Scratch

A friend on Facebook gave me this recipe when I was bemoaning the lack of bean dip among 16,000 jars of salsa.  Hey, beans are good for you, too.  I can buy a can of black beans for 99 cents.



Mash a drained can of black beans, add sour cream to the consistency you like, add 1 or 2 green onions chopped, cumin and salt...tada! very easy and very good!



You can be lazy and throw everything into the food processer, except the scallions (green onions).  I added some chili powder and a spoon of hot salsa.  Whatever floats your boat.  Get some minimally process all natural chips.  I know the super bowl is over, but enjoy.  

This is a recipe where low-fat (never non-fat) sour cream might be acceptable. 

The Cheese Parer

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Refried Rice

Of all the cheap, tasty meals you can prepare, re-fried rice is one of the best.  My recipe, from the Chicago Tribune, is umpteen years old.  I use it for the basics and then I get creative. 


The basics:  
Early in the day, heat some regular oil in a small skillet.  Beat 1-2 eggs, depending on how many you are serving.  Pour the eggs into the hot oil and let them cook until done.  Remove from skillet, cool on a plate and then shred with a fork.  


Cook however much rice you think you'll need.  I use basmati rice for everything, but that's just me.  Brown rice is also a good choice.  For the two of us, I usually cook 3/4 cup rice in 1 1/2 cups water.  Add a bit of salt. 


Next cook 1-2 slices of bacon until crisp. 

Get out the remaining ingredients and slice and chop as time permits:  you will need 
1-3 cups of leftover meat, depending on number of eaters.  I've used leftover pork roast, pork tenderloin, pork chops, shrimp, steak, roast beef, roast chicken.  Coarsely chop.  Set aside. 

Chop some onion and scallion.  Now you have the basics.   Good stuff to add:  nuts, broccoli (precook) bean sprouts, spinach, water chestnuts, green beans, frozen peas, mushrooms (great!)  You want something for crunch and some greenery for nourishment and to make it look pretty.  Use your imagination.  Get out the sesame oil, hot oil and/or red pepper flakes, Sechuan peppercorns, garlic, and soy sauce.  You will also need a bit of salt and a teaspoon of sugar. 

Final preparation.  Add some oil to a very large skillet, and add the onion(s) bacon, leftover meat and saute until the onion is mostly cooked.  Add the rice and stir/fry like crazy until all the rice grains are coated with the oil.  Add the veggies and cook until they're how you like them, from crisp to well-done.  Add the egg and the soy sauce, sugar and the rest of the seasonings in proportions you like.  Add the nuts and some fresh chopped chives if you have them.  Taste for proper seasoning.  Stir and fry.  

Serve.  I like to serve this with a salad of lettuce (your fave) topped with a sliced orange and some sort-of-sweet vinaigrette.  

It really tastes good.  The 2 people recipe will provide 2 dinners.  Any bits of veggies are good, but I am particularly fond of mushrooms, broccoli, spinach and peas.  Peanuts or almonds are dynamite.   

You will not leave the table hungry, and you'll leave the table happy.   Vegans or vegetarians could eat this if you substtute firm tofu for the meat.   

We didn't even half to pare any cheese to produce this dinner. 

Cheers!