Category: Food on a Budget (Page 7 of 12)

      Grilled cheese and tomato soup always classic

      December 19, 2011 /

      A gray day in December just screams for a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup, so thankfully we had everything on hand to have the combo for lunch. Here is my take on the most authentic version…..

      The sandwich: You can use any kind of bread, but for authenticity sake I used Italian bread–the packaged kind that is essentially glorified white bread. For the best results, also use real butter, thawed to room temperature (seriously, the sandwich will come out perfectly crispy, and you will not have ingested any of that plastic tasting fake stuff). Slice about a quarter inch slab of butter and place in a quality nonstick skillet. Then butter the outsides of two bread slices. Meanwhile, grab either two thin slices of American cheese or cut a few thin slices off a log of Velveeta. Put the cheese on the bread so that the buttered sides are facing out. Warm the skillet over medium heat and once the butter is melted, put the sandwich down. Cook for about 60-90 seconds or until brown and crispy, then flip the sandwich. Cook for about 30-45 more seconds (the second side cooks in about half the time, but I’m not sure why that is). Slide onto a plate and slice in half if you like.

      The soup: With all due respect to chefs who make killer tomato soup, or to soup companies that create nice versions of tomato soup, I have to say that nothing quite compares to Campbell’s. And make it with a can of milk instead of water for a nice creamy soup. I’m not sure if it’s because this is the tomato soup my mom made growing up, but regardless, it always tastes perfect and awesome.

      I’ll work on more versions of the combo in the next week or so. Meanwhile, do yourself a favor and make this one–I guarantee it will be the best lunch you have all week. Okay, maybe, but you get the point.

      Food on a Budget, Ingredients, On the Grille, Recipes, Your Kitchen

      Perfect pizza

      December 9, 2011 /

      Maybe one of these days we will convince Trader Joe’s to advertise here, because I’m about to pimp them again. Seriously, even though it’s a good 20 minute drive from our house, we do most of our grocery shopping there. Their prices are great, they have cool and unique products and they get you in and out (plenty of cashiers and baggers) quickly. Some of their items that we go out of our way for from Trader Joe’s are the Greek yogurt (thick and tasty), whole grain bread with no additives or junk, and my personal favorite–pizza dough. Now, they have whole wheat dough, and an herb dough. But there is nothing quite like the plain white one. And if you, like me, have ever gone on a wild goose chase for a ball of pizza dough, you might bookmark this thought–the one that says Trader Joe’s has amazing pizza dough.

      Anyway, if you do grab a ball (heh heh, he said grab a ball…I digress), here is how I make perfect pizza every time……preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Wipe a work surface clean, and then spread it with some white flour. Place the dough down and turn it over a few times to coat with flour, and flour a rolling pin. Roll the dough, adding more flour to prevent sticking to rolling pin and surface (this also makes the dough more elastic). Do this as far as you can in every direction to wind up with a round, thin crust. Grab a pizza pan and place dough on it. I like to use a 14 inch pan, rolling up the ends to make them thick.

      Grab a can of pizza sauce (or use spaghetti sauce), and pour a small amount on the dough. Spread it with a spoon, adding more as needed to cover the dough, but not necessarily cover it all the way…there should be red swirls all the way around, with plenty of white space too, if that makes sense. For the cheese, I like to grab some shredded mozzarella and put that in a bowl. Then I shred some sharp cheddar and add that to the mozzarella, then add some grated Parmesan to that. The ratio should be something like 60-30-10. Spread that around the pie, but like with the sauce, don’t over-do the cheese (unless you like it that way). Finally, sprinkle with a dash of dried oregano.

      Place the pie in the oven, and bake, rotating clockwise every 4-5 minutes to bake it evenly, a total of about 12-15 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly, turning brown but not too brown. Remove, slice with a pizza cutter and enjoy. I know it’s perfect when I hear that “thwap!” as I’m cutting it, meaning my dough is thin and beautifully crispy. Man, I’m hungry! Anyway, enjoy and let me know if you have a chance to try this out.

      Food on a Budget, Grocery stores, Healthy, Ingredients, Recipes, Your Kitchen

      Real bagel shops have salt bagels

      November 29, 2011 /

      I’m from New York originally, so I’m a bit of a bagel snob. There are all sorts of bagels–but the ones I know I don’t like are supermarket bagels. You know, the ones that are basically bread shaped like a bagel. Or, worse, the packaged whole wheat ones that are sold in the bread aisle and are also like bread, but are nothing more than whole wheat bread in a ring form. They’re also usually stale because no one buys them. There are frozen ones, which are sometimes okay, but still have a weird taste and texture (I won’t shout out brand names to protect the innocent, or guilty, as it were).

      Then there are the stores such as Panera Bread, that are nationally ubiquitous and have decent bagels that I believe are cooked properly (boiled first, then baked). The problem is, they are not quite authentic, and part of the reason for that is the name of the company, Panera BREAD. They also use foo-foo flavors liberally. Bruegger’s makes good bagels too, but, well, they are a notch below the big boys.

      Which brings me to this post. It took a while once we moved to Madison to find a good bagel store, but we did, in Gotham Bagels. And one of the first signs that I had arrived in a time warp from my days in New York was that Gotham Bagels had my favorite–the salt bagel. And today I noticed another flavor that is typical only of real New York style bagel shops–the pumpernickel bagel. Yum. I had one of each already today. But the salt bagel is amazing. It’s like a giant pretzel but with a bagel taste and texture. This one is slathered with cream cheese, but I also like this bagel with olive cream cheese (another NY thing but also one I’ve found at Bruegger’s or Panera) to give it even more sodium. (note: as always, don’t tell my doctor…I am taking my cholesterol meds and fish oil, anyway).

      Hey, is it dinner time yet? I think I need another bagel.

      Chefs and Restaurants, Food on a Budget, Grocery stores, Ingredients, Your Kitchen

      Quick breakfast frito pie

      November 21, 2011 /

      Don’t tell your cardiologist about this one. Also, don’t tell my doctor, either. But I whipped this up this past weekend and it was too delicious not to share with you. And it’s real easy. It also was the perfect breakfast after I had a few beers Friday night.

      First, take a generous handful of Frito’s and put then in a shallow bowl. Cook 2 slices of bacon in the microwave (or as you would normally cook bacon) for about 2 minutes or until crisp. Cut 3-4 slabs of Velveeta off a hunk and cut that into smaller cubes. Sprinkle over the Fritos and nuke for about 30 seconds. Crumble bacon on top of Frito mixture. Meanwhile, spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray and warm over medium heat. Crack an egg (or two) into the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes or until the whites are set and yolk is still runny. Slide egg(s) onto the top of the Frito mixture and sprinkle with hot sauce. Serve with a big glass of OJ or big mug of coffee, and enjoy (trust me, you will!).

      Food on a Budget, Grocery stores, Ingredients, On the Grille, Recipes, Tailgating, Your Kitchen

      Turkey Day is upon us

      November 18, 2011 /

      Folks, where did that year just go? Just like that, it’s Thanksgiving again. This year we are visiting family and going out for dinner, but we plan on having our own turkey dinner the week afterward. Meanwhile, I thought it would be a good time to plug my own blog here, and publish a link to last year’s instructions on cooking a turkey 101.

      Here is that link:

      And here is a link to what to do with your leftovers

      You can also make the soup recipe I posted a few weeks ago using turkey instead of chicken

      Then, of course, if you can’t button the button on your pants, you can make this healthy turkey sandwich.

      I’ll have more ideas for leftovers next week, but for now I wanted to make sure you were covered with a refresher and some ideas for leftovers to start out.

      Food on a Budget, Healthy, Ingredients, On the Grille, Recipes, Your Kitchen

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