Homefries, by Em

Once again, this is really, really easy.  So easy I'm not sure if it counts as a recipe.  I'm going to do it anyways, though, because a) potatoes are on sale now and b) I'm still convincing myself that we will be having perfect grilling weather for the rest of the week.  Mmm-hmm.  Yep.

Ingredients:

4 lg potatoes

1/4 cup of mayonnaise

salt and pepper

Directions:

• Cut the potatoes into reasonable-sized wedges.  The ones I got today were ginormous, so I first cut them in half lengthwise, then cut each half into eighths.  Even after having cut the length in half, they were still about the length of the average french fry.  On smaller potatoes you might only end up cutting the whole potato into four wedges.
• Baste the wedges in the mayonnaise.  Place them in one layer on a baking sheet and add salt and pepper to taste.  I greased the baking sheet just to be sure, but with the mayonnaise you probably don't have to.
• Bake at 350-375 degrees (depending on the size of the pieces) for approximately thirty minutes.

Variations:

Try using sweet potatoes instead.  They cook at a slightly higher temperature, about 500 degrees, and you would have to peel them first.

You can also add other spices based on your own preferences.  I always say that I put cayenne pepper on everything.  I'm pretty sure it would be good on these.  Garlic salt would also be good as a substitute for regular salt.

Baba Wawa Fruit Salad, by Em

This fruit salad is total inspired by your and my favorite newscaster, Barbara Walters.  I would never have thought to add the ginger otherwise and since she announced how much she liked watermelon and ginger on a national news show, I don't feel at all bad about crediting her here.

Ingredients:

1/4 medium sized watermelon, chopped into bite-sized pieces

2 or 3 bananas (depending on their size), chopped into bite-sized pieces

1 pint strawberries, chopped

1/2 cantaloup, chopped

approx. 1/2 cup lemon juice

2-3 Tb minced ginger

1 cup sugar

Directions:

So in case you can't tell, most of this "recipe" is just chopping.  Once you're done with all the prep work, throw everything in together and enjoy!!  The lemon juice is to stop the fruit from browning.  These are the fruits I used, but feel free to use whatever floats your boat.  A lot of fruit is on sale right now, so this is the perfect time to make this dish.

Variations:

When changing up the fruit, don't forget avocados, which are berries but are easy to forget about when making a traditional fruit salad.

Pasta Salad, by Em

So, just to warn you, I'll probably be including a lot of picnic-y recipes, because I'm starting to get antsy for some outdoor grillin'.  This is a simple, easy recipe.  Why not try it with whole wheat pasta for a more healthy and flavorful alternative?

Ingredients:

1 lb spiral pasta

1 cup Ranch dressing

2 med. cucumbers

parmesan cheese

Directions:

• Boil some water and begin cooking the pasta.
  
• While the pasta is cooking, slice the cucumber into bite-sized pieces.  Remove cooked pasta, drain, and run under cold water to prevent the pasta from getting too mushy.
• Add the cucumbers and Ranch dressing.  Add parmesan to taste.

Variations:

Add some olives.  I'll be the first to admit that I don't like olives, but when my friend K originally made this that was part of the recipe.  Also try with cherry tomatoes.  Use feta instead of parmesan.

The amount of Ranch dressing you will need is a guess.  The pasta tends to sort of absorb the dressing, so just keep adding more until it looks right.

Potato Fry-Up, by Em

This meal is easy, cheep, and based off of one of my favorite types of pasta, perogies. Perogies are half circle-shaped pasta of Slavic origin. The kind that I've bought in the past are stuffed with potatoes, garlic, and cheese. They taste good boiled with pasta sauce, but my favorite way to eat them is sautéed with mushrooms and onions. You can buy decent perogies at the supermarket in the freezer section, but any time you buy pre-made food you're paying more for having less work to do. So, in order to save time and money, today I decided to make the insides of a perogie, skipping the difficult part of mashing the potatoes and stuffing the dumpling.  This recipe serves six.

Ingredients:

6 medium potatoes, chopped into bite-sized pieces

6 cloves of garlic, diced

1/2 large onion, chopped

8 oz mushrooms, chopped

6 Tb olive oil

4 Tb parmesan cheese

salt, pepper, cayenne pepper

Directions:

• Cover the bottom of a large sauce pan in olive oil (approximately 6 Tb).  Sauté potatoes until they begin to cook through, about 3 minutes.
• Add garlic and cook for another couple minutes.
• Add mushrooms, onions, and parmesan, then salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste.
• Sauté until all ingredients are cooked through.

This would be good with some sour cream or probably with some pasta sauce.

Warm Weather = Cool Concoctions by Ang

One of the most significant initiations of Spring in towns all across America is the opening of the local ice cream shop. In Loveland, OH it's the Whippy Dip and the Hawaiian Ice Stand. I always liked the Hawaiian ice stand - mounds of sugary sweet ice with a thousand and one possibilities to choose from. What could be better than that? In Champaign, IL it's Jarlings Custard Cup. I haven't actually been there yet, but I hear it's pretty amazing! And I can guarantee you I'll be over there soon enough (especially since I work right down the street from it!)

All these sweet treat shops are great during the summer, but what about when it's just too hot to leave your place? Or you just don't feel like dropping another 4 bucks on a momentary sugar rush? The solution is easy.

Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches

Ingredients
1 package of square chocolate covered graham crackers (or some kind of cookie)
1/2 gallon of any ice cream you desire, boxed packaging is easier to use
Cut up sheets of wax paper big enough to wrap your treat

Directions
Set out two cookies or cc grahams, insides up, on each piece of wax paper. Get out a cutting board and open up your box of ice cream. You'll probably want to just unwrap the ice cream completely from the cardboard box so that you have a block of ice cream sitting on the cutting board. take a big knife and cut block of ice cream to desired size and thickness (size depends on cookie). Sandwich ice cream between both cookies. Wrap in wax paper. Put in freezer. Enjoy at leisure!

Variations
The wonderful thing about this recipe is that the possibilities are endless! Some of my favorite combinations are chocolate covered grahams with peppermint stick ice cream inside, chocolate chip cookies with neapolitan ice cream, sugar cookies with butter pecan ice cream. You can also do mini versions with vanilla wafers or any other cookie. You can also try mixing it up a little with banana slices or other toppings that your sweet tooth desires. Or even try cutting a hole out of the middle of the ice cream and filling it with something fun like fudge or caramel or pie filling. Whatever you want! Make as many as you want and pull them out when you don't feel like dropping another 4 bucks. It will be one of your best summers ever :)

Tomato Gravy, by Em

This recipe is another one that my mother makes.

Tomato Gravy (serves 4)

Ingredients:
4 medium to large tomatoes, sliced cross-wise in 1/2 inch slices
Flour, seasoned with salt and pepper, to dredge the tomatoes
1/4 Cup butter or olive oil to cook the tomato slices
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons flour
3 cups milk

Directions:

• Dredge tomato slices in flour and fry in butter/olive oil, turning once (dredging=coating the tomato slices on both sides w/ the flour mixture).
• Remove tomatoes from the pan and add 2 Tablespoons each of butter and flour. It's OK if there is some of the flour mixture left in the pan from cooking the tomatoes. Cook until bubbly, stirring constantly. Add milk and stir until thickened.
• Put the tomatoes back in and serve on toast. You could also melt cheese into the sauce.
  

This is especially good with a crusty french loaf or similar bread.

Easy Pasta Recipe, by Em

This recipe was one that my mother got from one of my friend's mothers.  It's easy, quick, and inexpensive!  It is also delicious...

N's Baked Tomato Sauce with Pasta (Makes 4 generous servings)

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
1 1/2 Lbs. fresh tomatoes, unpeeled (about 4 medium)
1/4 Cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
1/4 Cup dry Italian seasoned bread crumbs
4 cloves garlic minced or put through a garlic press
1 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper

1/2 pound pasta (rotelle's are good as they hold the sauce)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Choose a shallow baking dish that will just hold the tomatoes in a single layer. Cover the bottom of the dish with oil. If using Roma tomatoes, cut in half, if round tomatoes, quarter. Dip cut surfaces in oil, then place in pan cut side up.
• Combine all else except pasta and sprinkle over tomatoes.
• Bake 40 minutes in the middle of the oven. Tomatoes should be very soft.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta and drain. Put in a bowl and put the tomato mixture over it. Toss to coat. Serve with extra cheese, if desired.

DIY Salad Dressings by Ang

Since Em wrote an awesome post about Salads(!!!), I thought it would make a ton of sense for me to write about salad dressings(!!!).

If you walk into the aisle of the grocery store with all the dressings, you'll see hundreds of variations on the same theme. There are as many different kinds of salad dressings as there are salads. Many of them have the same basic concept - creamy or vinegary - and the rest of it is personal taste, just like a salad. Some people enjoy salad whole heartedly; some people have to decorate their veggies in order to force it down, hence the hundreds of dressings. But no more! It's time to learn about the world of DIY (do it yourself) dressings, where all leafy greens have the equal merit and possibility.

Last night, my lovely friend Avi made chicken fettuccine alfredo for dinner. I was in charge of the salad. So I put together some romaine, cucumber and cherry tomatoes. It was a basic salad, so pretty much any dressing would have sufficed. Avi only eats ranch on her salads, but I wanted a vinaigrette, and all I had in my fridge was a raspberry vinaigrette that had been fermenting since 1999 (that might be an exaggeration). I pulled out some balsamic vinegar, olive oil and italian spices and created my own.

Ang's Beautifully Simple Balsamic Vinaigrette
2 parts balsamic vinegar
1 part olive oil
1-2 teaspoons italian spices

Directions
Put into jar with lid. Shake well. Voila! Simple and tasty, eh? And after I made Avi try a bite she said "Now, I would put that on a salad!"


One of the hardest types of salads to dress is salads that include fruit. Oranges, apples, pears, grapes, pomegranate... all of these are AWESOME on salads, but the wrong dressing can completely ruin a fruity salad forever. My sister, Monica, is a pro at dressing fruity salads. And she never uses the bottled stuff! So here's my favorite DIY salad dressing recipe of hers.

Happy Dressing
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/8-1/4 cup apple cider vinegar or some other fruit-flavored vinegar
1/8-1/4 cup honey (depending on your sweet-tooth)
1 tsp of cinnamon

Directions
Put all ingredients in a bottle or jar with sealable lid. Close tightly and shake until well mixed, then pour over salad. Adjust measurements to taste and how much salad you make. Goes well with butter lettuces topped with fruits and nuts.


Just remember, you don't have to live with dressings from a bottle. You can make your own! Or spiff up your bottled ones! Add some chipotle spice or Cajun seasoning to a bottle of ranch. Add in some Frank's Red Hot Sauce. Or grab some sour cream and mix in some taco seasoning for a tasty taco salad dressing. Invest in some balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Or even regular vinegar! I have a friend who had a salad every day topped with some regular vinegar and oil, a tiny bit of water and a pinch of salt and pepper. And the salad was just lettuce, carrot and black olive. She loved it! Once you have opened your eyes to the world of homemade dressings, your salad experiences will reach a whole new level. Those leafy greens will become more enticing than you could have ever imagined.

Using Community Resources, by Em

I've tried to be general enough with my information that anyone could use it, but this entry, by it's nature is going to get more location-specific. There are a lot of resources in your community that can be used to cut the cost of food.  Ask around to find opportunities close to you.  Try talking to your local food pantry.  Chances are, if anybody is going to know about other local cost-cutting food opportunities, it's going to be someone who is already involved in that scene.

Buying Locally

Farmer's Markets:

Farmer's markets aren't always going to be cheaper, but if you buy in-season food directly from the source, chances are that you will be saving some money on overhead.

Food Coops:

Food cooperatives tend to focus on locally grown, high-quality items.  Once again, locally-grown items bought in season can be a great bargain.  Coops also provide access to fair-trade and organic products, among other things.

Coops don't have to be organized into a formal, grocery store-like set up.  My mother started a coop with some people in my home town and they ordered food together once a month in bulk.  Buying in bulk also costs less when compared to purchasing individual units in a store.  Consider going together with some friends and acquaintances to order grocery items.

Pay attention to sales and coupons

This is something I'm am not good at doing, but it is definitely worth while.  Check a local newspaper for weekly coupons.  Some stores also have coupons that you can print out on their website.

Coupons are good, but you can also find other, hidden bargains.  Products that have been discontinued or produce that is near it's expiration date are often greatly discounted.  This is why it's always good to go shopping when you have some time to browse.  A couple weeks ago, I got some chopped mushrooms for less that it would have cost me to buy bulk, which was awesome because it also saved me having to chop everything myself!

Buying generic or store brands

A lot of times store brands are cheaper even if the other brand is on sale.  Even if a mainstream brand is more flavorful, you'll save money by purchasing a generic brand and adding your own spices.  This is especially true of discount grocery chains such as Aldi, Save-A-Lot, or Food 4 Less.

Other resources in the Chambana area

• Common Ground Food Coop has started a "feed 4 for under $10" program.  The ingredients for each recipe can all be purchased at the coop (thanks to R for that info!).
• Share Food is "a non profit food buying club that offers good nutritious products at a reduced cost through a volunteer-run, community-based distribution system."  Basically what it amounts to is that anybody who wants to can volunteer for a few hours and then order food from SHARE at a 30-50% discount.  The deals change from time to time and they deliver food a couple times a month.  For more information on this, please use the contact info on the website.
  
• Here's another useful blog about coupons useful to people in Champaign County, Champaign County Couponing.
  

Salad!!! by Em

What's that you say?  Salad doesn't deserve one exclamation point, let alone three?  Oh ye of little faith.

I have always liked vegetables, including salad, but the turning point for me came one time when I visited my dad's cousin, W.  They had made a salad for dinner that had everything on it!  It had the traditional lettuce, tomatoes, carrots.  It had the "second string" salad items -- broccoli, cauliflower, onions, cucumbers, and cheese.  It also had peas, green beans, kidney beans, chick peas, grapes, and pasta salad.  There may have been more, I'm not sure.  Too many people think of salad as a side dish, but it can easily become a healthy, filling, refreshing alternative to your usual entrées.

The most common green leafy vegetable [GLV] found in restaurant salads and bagged salads is iceberg lettuce.  However, the best option is to either use a different GLV or use a mixture of different kinds of GLVs, because iceberg has the lowest nutrient value of any GLV, the most nutritious being spinach.

It's better to buy a head of lettuce than bagged salad.  The closer any vegetable is to being straight from the ground, the more nutrients they have.  All I can say about chopping vegetables is, the more you do it, the better/quicker you get.  I don't even like knives and I've gotten pretty good, but another way to cut time is to use a food processor to slice things like carrots, cucumbers, and onions, then chop the GLV and other items like tomatoes by hand.

The average, no frills salad generally does not contain much protein, so if you're making it your main course, it's important to include a good source of protein, such as meat or legumes.  There are a variety of foods that can "beef" up your salad.  Here's a link to a website that lists some of the top protein providers.

Ingredients for Em's "Kitchen Sink" Salad:

Please don't limit yourself on my account, feel free to add or remove ingredients as suits you.

• Green, leafy vegetables.  My favorite is Romaine lettuce, but I tend to mix in some spinach for its nutritional value.
• tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, onions, broccoli, cauliflower
• four bean salad, pasta salad, peas, sugar snap peas
• dried sweetened cranberries, grapes, apple slices, crushed walnuts
• feta cheese -- I like to include feta any time I use the cranberries or apples, but sometimes I use shredded cheddar instead.
• hard boiled egg either chopped or crumbled
• croutons
• salad dressing of your choice

Variations:

• Add cubed ham or chicken pieces.  Chicken is especially good with the apple, cranberry, feta combo.
• Make a Tex-Mex salad.  Leave out the cranberries, grapes, apples, walnuts, croutons, four bean and pasta salads, and egg (or anything else that doesn't go with salsa).  Instead of feta, use the shredded cheddar cheese with kidney beans (especially for vegetarian protein), and for you omnivores either chicken pieces or beef strips.  Mix equal parts sour cream and salsa for a great salad dressing (or my mom uses Italian dressing) and instead of croutons, use either Fritos or tortilla chips.  Try with hot peppers if you're feeling daring!

Time saver:

If I'm really in a hurry, I buy a bag salad and a head of Romaine, then going to the grocery store's salad bar and get all my toppings there, pre-chopped!

Money savers:

• Chop all your own vegetables.
• Make your own three/four bean salad.
• Make your own salad dressings.  My salsa-sour cream dressing is super easy, but there are loads of salad dressing recipes online.