Sausage and pepper pasta

Quick meal for those nights you don't want to spend time cooking.

Feeds: 6 hungry people 
Cost: $7; $1.17/person
Time: 20 min start to finish

Ingredients:

1 lb Italian Sausages, $4.03
1 red bell pepper, sliced, $0.75
1/2 can of diced tomato, $0.37
1 med onion, sliced, $0.25
1 tsp Italian seasoning , $0.05
1 tsp Cajun seasoning, $0.05
1 lb pasta, $1.50

Method:

1. Put the pot of water on to boil. Once it boils cook pasta according to directions.
2. Cook sausages in a large frying pan with about 1 cup of water and medium high. Keep the lid on to keep the water from evaporating. ~ 5 min
3. Removed sausages to a plate, and add the onions, pepper, and seasoning to the  pan. Leave uncovered so most of the water evaporates.
4. Slice the sausages.
5. Once most the water evaporates, add the tomatoes and sliced sausages, cover and simmer until the pasta is cooked. ~5-10 min.
6. Drain the pasta, top with sausage mix and serve.

Freezing: Freezes quite well, for best results freeze pasta and sauce separately, but it will still be delicious if you freeze them as "TV dinners."

Flexible Bean Salad

When it's too hot to cook or you are just looking for an easy and cheap meal, bean salad is the perfect option. High in fibre, flavour, and general goodness.

As usual the measurements are approximate and can be tweaked easily to suit your taste.

Ingredients:
1-3 cans of beans (mixed or 1-3 cans of different types of beans)
seasonal veggies
salad dressing

Directions:

1. Rinse and dump beans into a bowl
2. Add chopped veggies*
3. Add salad dressing and mix

The flavours only improve the longer it sits.

Salad Dressing:
I rarely have dressing on hand so I simply make one using the following guide. Fresh herbs taste great but can be expensive unless you grow your own, dried are a great alternative:

1 part oil
2 parts acid (lemon juice, white vinegar, wine vinegar, rice vinegar, etc.)
Italian seasoning, fresh or dried (basil, thyme, oregano, parsley)
1 squirt of mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Blend until smooth.

* My favourite veggies combos are:

• tomatoes, peppers, green onions
• carrots, celery, and green onions

Cheap and easy hummus

After much delay here is a simple hummus recipe. It is flexible and you can add whatever flavours you like. Also all the measurements are really to taste so just tweak them to get the flavour and texture you prefer.

Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
approx. 2-3 tbsp oil (olive oil is traditional, but vegetable and canola work great too)
1-2 cloves garlic (or a generous sprinkle of garlic powder)
a splash of lemon juice (approx. 1 tbsp)
water 

Directions:
Put everything in the blender and add about 1/2 cup of water to start. Blend adding water as needed until you have a smooth and creamy consistency. (I use a magic bullet: add all ingredients then fill it to the top with water).

Season with salt and pepper.

Additions:
These are some things I like to add to my hummus to boost the flavour.

• parsley and paprika
• 1-2 pieces of jarred roasted red pepper
• a few olives, pits removed
• 0.5-1 tsp tahini/nut butter/sesame oil

If you like creamier hummus  increase the oil and decrease the water, if you like more bite add a little more lemon juice*.


*lemon juice is usually in 1 L bottles in the juice isle. It is fairly cheap and keeps forever (unless you eat a lot of hummus).

Whole Wheat Cranberry Beet Muffins

Don't let the ingredients fool you these are delicious. I was skeptical but will be making more of these tomorrow.

(originally modified from here)

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cup oats, ground in a blender to make a powder

1 tbsp baking powder

2 1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp salt

1 cup canola oil

2 cups applesauce*

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup water

1 cup frozen cranberries

~2 cups finely shredded beets**

1. Heat oven to 350^oF

2. Mix first 7 ingredients; in a separate bowl mix oil apple sauce sugar eggs and water.

3. Combine mixtures and add cranberries and beets.

4. Fill lined muffin cups and bake for 25-30 min until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

This makes about 24 very tender muffins.

*I didn't have this much apple sauce. Instead I blended 2 cups of apples about 8 small, (cored but skins on) with the water and some of the oil to make an uncooked version.

**I used all the beets I shredded using a grater. This was probably slightly more than 2 cups 6 small beets. Anywhere between 1-2 cups should work fine.

Homemade Bread for novices and students

Making your own bread is both easy and cheap, and doesn't take a lot of hands on time.

Ingredients:

1 cup water

2.25 tsp yeast

1.5 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp oil

~4 cups all purpose flour (in the US use Bread flour)

Utinsils:

1 big bowl

1 cup measure

1 tsp measure

1 tbsp measure

Spatula (or spoon for mixing, or hands work too)

baking tray/pan

oven

Steps:

Mixing the dough:

1.       Using water that is almost at body temperature (it should only feel slightly warm to the touch), combine 1 cup of water and yeast in your big bowl.
2.       Add sugar, salt, and oil and stir.
3.       (If you have old yeast, leave it for 5 min. If you start to see small bubbles or foam, your yeast is still fine. If you have new yeast that hasn't expired you can skip this step)
4.       Add about 2 cups of flour and mix until completely combined.
5.       Continue adding flour, about 1/4 cup at a time until it gets harder to combine with the spoon
6.       At this point use your hands and knead (see below) the dough until it stops sticking to your hands, but still feels moist (your goal is to use as little flour as possible to get a dough that is easy to work with and doesn't stick to your hands).

Rising (letting the dough double in size):

7.       Knead the dough for 5-10 min or until it starts to get an even texture. Then form a ball and put it back into the bowl.
8.       Rub a little oil over the outside of the ball to keep it from drying and cover with a clean tea towel or some cling wrap.
9.       Leave the dough in a warm place for about 45-60 min

Shaping the Dough:

10.   Once the dough is about twice its original size, cut it into 6 equal pieces and shape it into balls.
11.   Flatten the balls to about 1/2 in thick and place them evenly space on your tray.
12.   Rub them with a little more oil, then let them sit and rise again for about 30 min.

Baking the bread/buns:

13.   Bake buns at 400F for about 20 min or until the bottom of a bun sounds slightly hollow when tapped.
14.   For bread loaves, simply roll the entire batch of dough into a log and put it into a loaf pan. Bake at 350F for 30-40min until the bottom sounds hollow when you knock on it.

Kneading:

To knead your dough.

1. Flatten the fough ball slightly with the heal of your hand.

2. Fold the dough in half toward you and flatten again, pushing away from yourself to flatten the dough

3. Turn the bowl 1/4 turn. Fold the dough toward you, and flatten by pushing away with the heal of your hand.

4. Repeat the process, always rotating the bowl 1/4 turn until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. Add flour as needed to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands.

Tips:

·         If you forget about your dough and it rises so much that it collapses, try kneading it 4 or 5 times quickly and letting it rise again for 15-20 min.
·         Hot water kills the yeast. Cooler water just means the yeast will take longer to make the bread rise. Opt for cooler over too hot water.
·         If your home is not warm enough to rise bread, put the bowl into the microwave (DO NOT turn it on), and put a glass of very hot water into the microwave before closing the door. The water will heat the air in the microwave.
·         Add a little extra water if the dough is too dry, a little extra flour if it is too wet.
·         For whole wheat dough, try substituting about 2 cups of whole wheat or oat flour for 2 cups of the all purpose flour. (For 100% whole wheat you will need a different recipe)
·         The more moist the dough, the easier it is for the dough to rise, and the lighter the texture of the baked bread. A drier dough will take longer to rise and make a denser bread.

Back-to-school: Grocery list

This menu should provided a week worth of very large meals (my husband and I actually use this for a week of meals for ourselves), so you could half the amount, or simply eat the same set of meals for 2 weeks if you are a light eater. This week's focus is on portion control when it comes to expensive ingredients (e.g. chicken). As always, leftovers from dinners double as lunches.

Dinners:

1.3 Chicken wraps

2. Pasta stir-fry

3. Chinese Chicken & Rice

4. Pasta Salad

5. 3 Tuna salad wraps

6. 3 Chicken fajitas wraps with left over veggies

7. Leftovers

Breakfast:

Cheapest: Oatmeal

*Interesting(not included in the pricing below): Peanut butter toast, fruit, and yogurt

Shopping List:

Cost	Produce
0.12	1 head garlic
0.11	1 small piece ginger root (about 1-2 in)
1.77	3 medium onions (I bought a 3lb bag)
2.39	7 green peppers (about 3lb or 1.5kg)
0.67	1 head romaine lettuce
1.39	1 pint of baby tomatoes or 3 tomatoes
	Meat/Dairy
10.00	1kg cooked chicken breast strips (usually in the frozen meet section near the fish)
1.74	2 cans tuna
	Bakery
3.19	10 large tortilla wraps
	Dry Goods
1.19	6 chicken bouillon cubes ( could substitute chicken broth or similar)
1.42	1 bottle Italian dressing (oil kind)
2.27	1kg quick cooking oats
1.46	900g pasta
2.29	Rice (check that you buy parboiled, or that the instructions indicate cooking time is less than 20 min)
1.99	Soy sauce
2.99	Salsa
0.98	Corn starch
2.99	Mayonnaise
	Expected Pantry Items
	Bullion/Broth powder
	Spices
	Oil
	Corn starch
	Soy sauce
	Mayonnaise
	Rice
	Italian Dressing
	Oats

This was the actual total for my trip to No Frills" $38.96, but if you have the pantry items it should come to under $30.

Useful hints:

This week requires you to use the chicken 5 times. Try dividing it into five portions before your first meal to make sure you have enough for the whole week.

If you can't get the $10 bag of cooked chicken, try cooking your own and slicing it thinly once it cools.

Leftover bread from last week can be frozen

Try cinnamon or maple syrup on your oatmeal to keep it interesting

Recipes:

Quick oatmeal:

Measure the recommended amount of oats into a bowl. Add the recommended amount of boiling water and a sprinkle of cinnamon or some maple syrup if you have some. Let stand for a few min. If it doesn't reach the consistency you like, microwave for 1 min.

1.  Chicken Wraps

·          Slice one pepper, one tomato (or handful of baby tomatoes), lettuce (if you want)

·          Thaw 1/5 of the chicken in the microwave or leave it in the fridge overnight to thaw.

·          Assemble 2-3 wraps(save one for lunch) with mayonnaise or salsa (add some grated cheese if you have some left from last week)

2. Pasta Stir-fry

·          Boil water and cook 1/2 or the pasta until done (about 10minn)

·          Slice 2 peppers, 2 small (or 1 medium) onion, and 1 clove of garlic

·          Fry with some Italian dressing and 1/5 of the chicken until heated and slightly soft.

·          Combine with pasta and serve

3. Chinese Chicken & Rice

·          Cook rice according to instructions.

·          Slice 1 onion, and 2 peppers thinly

·          Mix in a cup:
3/4 cup water
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp corn starch
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp dried or 1 in grated fresh ginger
pepper to taste

·          Fry 1 minced clove of garlic in a little oil for 1 min

·          Add veggies and 1/5 of the chicken. Fry until heated

·          Add sauce and fry for 3-4 min until it thickens.

·          Serve over rice

4. Pasta Salad

·          Boil water and cook 1/3-1/2 the package of pasta

·          Chop 1-2 peppers, and 1 tomato (or handful of baby tomatoes) into 1-2 cm chunks.

·          Thaw 1/5 of the chicken in the microwave or in the fridge overnight

·          Once pasta is cooked, mix everything with enough Italian dressing to suit your taste.

5. Tuna Salad Wraps

·          Mix 1-2 cans of tuna, with 1 chopped tomato(or  handful of chopped baby tomatoes), some mayonnaise and salt and pepper to taste.

·          Shred lettuce

·          Assemble 3 wraps (one for lunch, 2 for 2 dinner) using tuna mixture and lettuce.

6. Chicken Fajita Wraps

·          Cook rice if desired adding 1tsp broth mix or 1 bouillon cube to the water to flavour the rice.

·          Slice the remaining peppers and 1-3 small (1 large) onions into strips

·          chop 1 clove of garlic finely

·          Shred some lettuce

·          Fry peppers and onions, with the garlic in some Italian dressing.

·          Once the veggies are warm add chicken and a little more dressing as needed. Fry until heated through.

·          Using 3 wraps (one for lunch) as follows:
Wrap
Lettuce
Rice (if using)
Veggie and chicken mix
Salsa (if desired)

Back-to-school: Grocery Shopping on a Budget

Once you know your grocery stores here are some suggestions for making it on a small budget:

1. Check out the flyers before you go

Decide which store has what you need most, and decide if you will go to multiple stores. Remember that most items will go on sale every 6 weeks or so, so if you will need cheese next week and it's on sale this week, you might want to stock up.

2. Get to know your prices.

Try to walk the same route through the store each time, and get to know what prices are on items you usually buy. Just because it is marked on sale, doesn't mean it is a good price.

3. Make a flexible meal plan and list

If you are an impulse buyer, make it a strict list, but ideally you want an idea of what you will get, then you can modify it when you see what is marked down. Try for 5 planned meals, and 1-2 types of snacks each week.

4. Walk through the store first and look for sales

Do a quick walk through looking for sales, and picking up the items on your list. Then stop in a quiet corner and assess what you have. Ask yourself:

                Can I modify my meals for the week to make them cheaper with discounted/sales items?

                Do I NEED everything in my cart or can some of these wait till next time?

                Do I have some fruits/veggies to eat each day (or whatever food group you tend to forget)?

Do a second trip through the store to put back/pick up things as needed.

5. Set a budget, and keep a running tally as you shop

Round things up to the nearest $0.50 and keep track of what you have put in your cart.  I worked on a $20 budget and I think with planning most guys could make it on $30-40 even if they eat a lot, as long as they plan carefully.

6. Save 20% of your budget for non-food/pantry restocking

For me the was about $4-5 each week. This is for non-food items like toilet paper, toothpaste, etc. Or save it week to week  an use it to buy expensive foods like cheese, meat, etc.

7. Cycle your purchases

On a small budget you can't buy cheese, meat, flour, etc each week. So work on buying enough for several weeks, but only buying one of the expensive items each week. For example:

Week 1: Cheese

Week 2: Meat

Week 3: Milk

8. Watch your portion sizes

Just because you have a block of cheese, doesn't meal you need to finish it this week. Opt for cheaper snacking alternatives and use more expensive items for their flavour and nutritional value. Also, learn how much you eat of specific items like pasta by measuring it out each time you cook. For example, I use 3 handfuls of pasta or 1 1/2 mugs of pasta for myself and 4 handfuls or 2 mugs for my husband. That way you don't make too much and let it go to waste.