Spice Rub for Chicken or Beef

We've used a spice rub for grilling twice this week with great success. I love it because it doesn't take the advance preparation that a marinade does, it's lower in calories, and it is packed with flavor. The following mixture is really versatile. I made it with thyme for chicken and with cumin for tri-tip. Both were delicious!

Here's the basic recipe. You can vary it however you like.

1 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cloves garlic, pressed
one lime, zest and juice
1/2-1 teaspoon dried herb or spice
1/2 Tablespoon olive oil

In small bowl, combine pepper, salt, garlic, lime zest, herb and olive oil until a paste is formed. Drizzle lime juice over meat or chicken. Rub paste all over meat. Refrigerate if not ready to grill within 30 minutes. Grill as desired.

Mexican Lasagna

Sounds like a mixed metaphor, doesn't it? I mean, lasagna is Italian, not Mexican. However, I decided to use what I had instead of rushing out to the store for a few ingredients. That's one of the principles behind frugal cooking: making do.

That means, my family were guinea pigs. And I lived to tell about it. In fact, my husband loved it. It was a little too spicy for some of the kids, and one of them couldn't get over his lasagna associations. If I had called it "Salsa Casserole," he might have been fine. But, it was good.

I took my favorite lasagna recipe and tweaked it. Instead of mozzarella and parmesan, I used pepper jack and cheddar. And since I already had several cups of meat sauce (made with turkey) I used that instead of adding ground beef to prepared tomato sauce. I threw in some salsa to give it some kick and to increase my amount of sauce.

I love this recipe for its flexibility and simplicity. Here's my adaptation, in all its glory.

2 cups pepper jack cheese, shredded
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
3 cups meat spaghetti sauce
1 cup salsa (I used Pace medium)
1 cup water
1 teaspoon Better than Bouillion chicken base
8 ounces cream cheese
6-8 lasagna noodles, uncooked

Preheat oven to 350F. In a mixing bowl, combine cheeses. In another bowl, combine meat sauce and salsa. In a medium saucepan bring water to boil. Whisk in chicken base. Add cream cheese and whisk until smooth. Set aside. Spray 9x13 baking pan with nonstick spray. Spread half the salsa-meat sauce in the pan. Sprinkle with 1 cup cheese. Place 3-4 lasagna noodles. Pour cream cheese mixture over noodles. Sprinkle with 1 cup cheese. Place remaining lasagna noodles. Spread the rest of the salsa-meat sauce over the noodles. Sprinkle on the remaining cheese. Bake for 45 minutes until brown and bubbly. Allow to rest 10 minutes before cutting.

This is a very make-ahead dish. Just don't bake it. Once it's assembled, cover and pop it into the refrigerator or wrap for freezing and freeze.

Here's the price breakdown:
grating cheeses $1.50
salsa - free after coupon
meat sauce $1.50
chicken base $0.15
cream cheese $1
served with hawaiian rolls $1 and salad $1

Total cost $6.15 to feed seven people. (There were 1-2 servings of lasagna and some rolls left over.) For more budget meals, check out Erin's $5 Dinner Challenge.

Soy-Ginger Meat Marinade

For birthdays at our house, we let the Birthday Boy or Girl choose the supper menu. Myself included. If it's not in the budget to go out to eat, then I usually propose my favorite mode of cooking: grilling. That way I do a little prep in the kitchen, but my husband is responsible for getting things hot and ready. He willingly does that, so that, in itself, is a gift.

One of my favorite grilled foods is tri-tip. In Southern California, I can buy this on sale for less than $2/pound, which is my target price for meat. However, that cut is not quite as affordable in other regions of the country. That's when a good London broil or flank steak comes in handy. Usually, I saw that for as low as $1.49/pound in Kansas City. (You'll have to let me know meat prices in your neck of the woods in the comments.)

One of the beauties of a tri-tip or london broil is that you can buy a large, inexpensive piece of meat, grill it, and then slice it for serving. It's not as if you have to have an individual steak for each person which can be very pricey. Grilling a "roast"-like piece of meat is the best of both worlds: have your steak and pay for it, too.

Usually these types of meat do really well in a marinade. This is a tangy-flavored sauce that permeates the meat. If you buy just a small piece of ginger and purchase the other items with coupons, you can keep this a relatively budget meal. Though the purists would say you can't sub dried ginger for fresh, I've done it here, and it still tastes great.

Soy-Ginger Marinade
works well on beef, pork, and chicken

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon ginger (freshly grated or dried)
1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic


Combine all ingredients in a small glass bowl. Place meat in a glass dish or ziptop bag. Pour marinade over meat. Allow meat to marinate in the refrigerator for several hours. Cook over a hot grill until done.

For more birthday dinner inspiration, visit Life as MOM's Ultimate Recipe Swap.

Simple Salade Composee

Salad is one of my favorite dishes. Always has been. I try to make a meal-sized salad at least once a day which makes it my usual lunch. I start with a base of romaine lettuce since I can regularly buy that at Costco for 50 cents a head.

Then I layer on whatever veggies, protein, and cheese I have on hand. Yesterday I created a very simple salade composee. Isn't that a nice, fancy way to say I-threw-a-bunch-of-stuff-on-a-plate-with-dressing?

Here's what I used and it was delicious:

a handful of romaine lettuce, washed, spun, and torn into bite-sized pieces $.10
cucumber slices .10
carrot sticks .05
garbanzo beans .15
celery sticks .10
julienned red bell pepper .05
a few homemade, sourdough croutons .05
canned tuna, about 1/4 cup .25
sliced red onion .05
cherry tomatoes .10
feta cheese .25
caesar-salad dressing .10
a few grinds of black pepper

It doesn't take much to make a good (and cheap) eat. In fact, the prices I listed are probably on the expensive side as it's hard to price out just a few pieces of each. The total came to $1.35 which may be an over-estimation. You know you'd spend 5 times that (at least) at a restaurant.

Just use fresh ingredients and make it look fancy and you're good to go.

For more lettuce recipes, visit Tammy's Recipes.

Recovering the Lost Art of the Carrot Stick

Over the past fifteen years, pre-cut baby carrots have become the main way that consumers buy this highly nutritious root vegetable. But unless there's a good sale, my experience - both in the Midwest and West Coast - is that a pound of carrots costs at least $1.50/pound.

But, there is a better way. A way that was good enough for our moms and our grandmothers: Buying whole carrots and cutting them yourself. Who woulda thunk it?

A one-pound bag of whole carrots costs about 50 cents - about 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of baby-cut carrots. Plus, I've found that they taste better than baby carrots. Here's a simple, easy way to create your own carrot sticks.

And it's not hard.



Wash and peel your carrots. Cut off the two ends. Split the carrot in half, lengthwise.



Cut each half in half again, lengthwise. Then, chop each of those quarters into serving size pieces. I like thirds.



Pretty, easy, good, and cheap.

For more kitchen tips, visit Tammy's Recipes every Tuesday.

Caesar Salad: A Fine Thing

When we got married, restaurants were at the height of the caesar salad craze. Now, I know that caesar salad never truly goes out of style. But, in the early 90s every restaurant had one. Every. restaurant.

And it's a good thing, too, 'cause we love it.

There are many caesar salads filed away in my memory bank. The caesar that we order almost every time we go to CPK. The chicken caesar salad from Taffy's Pizza that we usually got after church back in our Santa Barbara days. The salad I usually ate when I finished waiting tables at Brigitte's. The unbelievable version that Palazzio still makes. And the delicious, hand-crafted-at-your-table version that we enjoyed the first days of our honeymoon when we forgot our travel money at home and spent two days on $40.

1994, San Luis Obispo, the first leg of our honeymoon

Shall I go on?

We've got lots of memories wrapped around a recipe that was created spur-of-the-moment in Tijuana almost 100 years ago. And sweet memories make it a great addition to any romantic meal. And that, in itself, is a fine thing.

Thankfully, early in our marriage we found some inexpensive alternatives to restaurant caesar salad, delicious though it may be. When I can get a good sale and coupon, I might buy Paul Newman's or Caesar Cardini's bottled varieties. But, the best dressing is this one. It has just a handfull of ingredients and a wonderful flavor.

Caesar Salad

the juice of one lemon
1 garlic clove, minced
1 egg (I omit this if serving to children and pregnant women)
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 head romaine lettuce, washed, torn into bite-sized pieces, and chilled until ready to serve
3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan
1 cup croutons

In small glass jar or bowl combine lemon juice, garlic, and egg, if using. Blend well. Add olive oil and shake or whisk well to combine. Season with salt and pepper. In large salad bowl, place lettuce and toss with dressing. Sprinkle on cheese and croutons, toss again. Serve immediately.

For more romantic meal ideas, visit Ultimate Recipe Swap and for more Fine Things, check out Finer Thing Friday.

Good. Cheap. Eats: The Blue Plate Special

I'd heard of serving mac and cheese with meatloaf, but I'd never done it. So recently we tried that traditional combination and we loved it!

I made my typical mac and cheese. So easy and cheap. And then I took this recipe for meatballs and shaped it into a loaf. I baked it for 30 minutes to an hour alongside the mac and cheese. For a classic side dish, I made a wedge salad: a wedge of iceberg lettuce with a drizzle or two of blue cheese dressing. Yummy!

The best part of this meal was that it was good and cheap! Here's my cost breakdown:
iceberg $0.50
dressing $0.50
ground beef $1.25
bread crumbs (free from leftover bread)
onion $0.25
eggs $0.40
spices $0.25
macaroni $0.75/2#
sour cream $1
cheddar cheese $1

Total $6.15 to feed seven of us. That is one good. cheap. eat!

(Check out $5Dinners for more ideas!)

Chimichangas

Chimichangas are one of my husband's all-time favorite meals. For years, the measure of a Mexican food restaurant was the quality of its chimichanga. It wasn't until we got our new "donut machine" that we ever tried to make them at home.

They are so easy, it's laughable. If you know how to make a burrito, you can make a chimichanga.


Spread your favorite burrito fillings down the center of a large flour tortilla. Use only the items that should be warm. (Save the lettuce, tomato, salsa, and sour cream for toppings.)

Fold in the sides at the ends of the filling, and then roll it up. Now cook it until crispy. To do this, you can deep-fry it, pan fry it in about an inch of oil, OR you can crisp it on your griddle!



We tried the latter method this last week with great results. Just keep the griddle hot and turn the chimichangas as they crisp. Using the griddle is a great way to make many at one time. They're not as deliciously fatty as a truly fried chimichanga, but they are still really good.

Top with your favorite cold fillings, such as lettuce, tomato, avocado, salsa, and sour cream. You can also serve it with a side of warmed enchilada sauce. Yummy!



Check out Tammy's Recipes for Kitchen Tip Tuesday.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Got bananas and chocolate? Then you've got the makings for a wonderful snack. Or breakfast. Or dessert.

I never heard of chocolate chip banana bread until college. You always knew when it was on the menu at the dining commons. Someone at the window would peer in to read the menu and pretty soon the news had spread. I remember seeing girls race to the bakery area in order to snag their fare share. And if they were already out? Oh dear.

Hell hath no fury like a woman separated from her chocolate-laden banana bread.

This recipe combines bananas, canola oil, and quick oats for health and some sugar and chocolate - just 'cause. It looks beautiful sliced on a pretty plate for a breakfast buffet and is a welcome surprise in any lunch box. It would also make a great addition to your Mother's Day Menu. (Check out LifeasMOM for more ideas.)

Chocolate-Chip Banana Bread

1 cup sugar
2/3 cup canola oil
2 eggs
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup mashed bananas
2/3 cup unbleached flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup quick oats
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. In large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients until well blended. Pour into greased loaf pan. Bake about 60 minutes or until tester comes out clean.

* I quadrupled this recipe recently and divided the batter amongst 6 loaf pans. While they were slightly shorter loaves, I liked their size and they baked more evenly through. It seems to me that a standard recipe of any banana bread often bakes too slowly on the inside.

Tortilla Chips

These are so simple to make -- and so much better than store bought. Recently, I purchased three dozen tortillas for about $1.50. This makes the equivalent of about 2-3 bags of tortilla chips, making this a very frugal, delicious snack.

peanut oil
corn tortillas
salt

In deep fryer or large kettle, heat oil (at least one-inch depth) to 375 F. While oil is heating, cut corn tortillas into sixths. Prepare a metal rack for cooling by placing it over a flattened paper sack. In batches, fry tortillas until crisp. Remove to rack. Any drips of oil will be absorbed by the paper bag. Sprinkle with salt according to your tastes. Serve with your favorite salsa or guacamole or use to make nachos.

What's your favorite use for tortilla chips?

One of Our Favorite Good. Cheap. Eats: Pasta, Bread, and Veg

Tonight's dinner is a regular meal that keeps us under budget: pasta with red sauce, broccoli, salad, and garlic bread. This evening I added up what the meal cost us and I was astounded.

Pasta $0.75
Bertolli sauce in a pouch $0.50
scant amount fresh Parmesan $0.25
broccoli $0.50
romaine lettuce $0.50
French bread $.75
butter $0.25
red wine vinegar $0.10
dried basil, garlic powder and dried parsley $0.15

Grand total = $3.75 to feed seven people quite well. It was meatless, but no one minded. And the kids just gobbled it down.

What's a favorite budget meal of yours?

Don't forget to visit the $5 Dinner Challenge for menus under five bucks.