Author Archives: meredithfoster

Merango Tango

Posted by meredithfoster in American, Chicken, Easy Recipes, Entree, Italian

I am not a big fan of casseroles or meals that are all mixed together. For example, I don’t like Chicken and Dumplings or Chicken Pot Pie because each bite tastes the same. I love to have a variety of meat and sides, so I have the ability to transform every bite into a new taste. There are a few exceptions to my stance on this. One is Chicken Merango.

My aunt has made this meal for as long as I can remember. My sister-in-law made it last night. It made me think “what a good blog entry!” It is easy to make and it’s delicious. My brother is determined that egg noodles are a must. I was thinking of serving it on rice, but my brother said that would be like eating “Rice-a-cini Alfredo” and no one wants that.

Chicken Merango

Serves 4

Total price- $4.89

Total price per person- $1.23

Total savings- $5.67

Average Retail- $10.56

-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into chunks

-2 cups of wide egg noodles

-1 can tomato soup

-1 can Golden Mushroom soup

-1 medium onion, cubed

– 1 jar of sliced mushrooms or 3/4 cup of fresh mushrooms

-1-2 tsp garlic powder

– 1tbsp of canola oil

– salt and pepper to taste

1. Saute the chicken until browned.

2. Pour in both cans of soup.

3. Add garlic powder, onion and mushrooms.

4. Simmer low heat for 30-40 minutes.

5. Do a little Merango Tango and enjoy!

Savings in this meal:

Chicken Breast on sale at Ingles- $1.48/lb

Campbell’s soup- BOGO Publix

Finger Lickin’ French Dippin’

Posted by meredithfoster in American, Beef, Easy Recipes, Entree

French Dip: Brilliant.

There is just something about the simplicity and infrequency of the consumption of these sandwiches that inspires me. Blake has always been a huge French Dip fan. He loves the one at J. Alexanders, but he rarely gets it because it’s darn near $30 a bite. After watching him enjoy one at the restaurant, I knew it was something that needed to be included on the Foster menu at home.

We both decided that we could recreate this simple and timeless masterpiece. We know that there are very few ingredients in this sandwich which indicates to us that each element much be spectacular. We started with the bread. The best match we found was a sub roll from Publix. They are hard (but not crumbly or flaky) on the outside and soft on the inside.

The major element is the meat. We all know that. We have found two different methods that we love. The first method, and the one we use most frequently is purchasing roast beef at the deli. I must have Boar’s Head roast beef because all of the other kinds are over cooked (in my opinion). Luckily, we found it on sale this week for $7.99/lb from $10.99/lb.

The other way we do the meat is to cook a rib roast and slice it thin. The great thing about this is that most grocers put rib roast on sale a few times a year. We purchase it when it is $5.99/lb and freeze it for a dinner party. We always have the butcher cut the ribs off but tie them back on for cooking. Then we have prime rib for one dinner, french dips (with natural au jus) for another and beef ribs for a third. Talk about eating for cheap!

French Dip Sandwiches and French Fries

Serves 4

Total Price $9.23

Price per Person $2.30

Average Retail Price $15.97

Total savings $6.74

French Dip

-1 lb of Roast Beef

-1 packet of AuJus mix (if not making the whole rib roast)

– 4 sub rolls

– caramelized onions (optional)

1. Make the AuJus according to the directions on the packet.

2. Butter and lightly toast the buns.

3. Top the buns with dipped mean and optional onions.

4. Serve piping hot with a side of AuJus.

5. Enjoy!!

Savings on this recipe:

*Buy day old sub rolls from your local super market or bakery. Generally they are 1/2 off

*Get rib roast when they are on sale and freeze them

*If you are lucky, catch Boar’s Head Roast beef on sale in the deli

Peter Piper Picked a Piece of Pizza

Posted by meredithfoster in American, Appetizer, Easy Recipes, Entree, Italian

Friday Night in the Foster home has become pizza night. Blake and I both make our own pizza, so we have a lot of variety. I never liked pizza until after I had Lottie. Now, I love it.

Every time they have the pizza at school, I partake. There is just something I love about the overwhelming dry flour taste that accompanies the school cafeteria pizza. One of my students always makes fun of me because I hate cheese on my pizza. I always scrape it off into the trashcan. Then I replace the toppings and chow down.

My very favorite pizza that I have made thus far is Granny Smith apple and hot Italian sausage pizza. It is to die for!

Apple Sausage Pizza

-1 premade pizza crust (We like Mama Mias from Ingles the best)

-1 cup of shredded mozzerella

-3 tbsp crumbled blue cheese

-2 HOT Italian sausage links- browned

-1 Granny Smith apple sliced thin

-1 cup Balsamic vinegar (reduced to 1/4 original amount)

– 2tbsp olive oil

We like to buy the precooked crust and just add the toppings. Mama Mias from Ingles is similar to the school cafeteria crust.

1. Remove the sausage from the casing and brown in the pan.

2. Reduce 1 cup of Balsamic vinegar by 75% until syrupy and sweet.

3. Slice apples thin for topping pizza

4. Spread a thin layer of olive oil to pizza crust

5. Top with mozzarella cheese

6. Evenly spread cooked sausage, apples and crumbled blue cheese on pizza

7. Cook as directed on crust package

8. After cooked, drizzle Balsamic reduction on top of pizza and enjoy!

Fried and Satisfied

Posted by meredithfoster in American, Appetizer, Chicken, Entree, Moderate Recipes

My best friend, Jenny, and I love to talk about food. When we talk, text or email throughout the work day “what’s for dinner?” is always one of our questions to each other. Sometimes we talk just to figure out what we plan to have. I am not sure if it is because of our love for food or the fact that we talk so much we never have new news to share.

If Jenny goes out to dinner, and I am at home, I will look at the restaurant’s menu online and guess what she is going to order. We always consider Chicken Fingers or Buffalo Chicken Fingers pretty safe orders. I would not be willing to say the same about quesadillas, wings or hamburgers because we know they can be hit or miss. It is pretty hard to mess up a chicken finger.

Stefani, a Cook with Coupons reader (and friend), asked for a good fried dish. Her husband always wants something fried, but she is intimidated to do it at home. This is our “go to” fried meal. Hold the sauce if you like plain chicken fingers. Well Stef, here you go! Enjoy!

*Helpful money saving and flavor adding hint*

Keep the used oil. Let it cool overnight and put it back in a storage bottle.

Use if for the next few fries.

It adds flavor each time you cook in it and it doesn’t go bad.

Fried Buffalo Chicken Fingers

Serves 4-5

Total Price- $2.85

Total Price per Person- $0.72

Average Retail Price-$12.30

Total Savings- $9.45

Buffalo Chicken Fingers

Chicken

2 eggs

1/3-cup milk

1/3 cup Texas Pete hot sauce

1 tsp salt, pepper, garlic powder

1-cup flour

½ cup Panko bread crumbs

1 ½ tbsp powdered sugar

1 tsp salt, pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper

4 chicken breasts cut into strips

1. Mix eggs, milk, hot sauce, 1 tsp salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a bowl.

2. Place the chicken strips into the mixture and stab a few times with a fork then let marinate.

3. Mix flour, Panko, powdered sugar, 1tsp salt, pepper, paprika, and cayenne in a bowl.

4. Heat oil to high heat.

5. Toss the marinated chicken strips in the flour mixture and let set for 2-3 minutes.

6. Place the chicken strips in batches of 5-6 into the oil and cook for 7-8 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.  To check pull the biggest strip and let sit for 30 seconds before cutting in half and making sure it is done.

7. Remove the finished strips and place on a plate covered in paper towels to soak up the excess oil.

8. Serve immediately with dipping sauces or toss in a sauce of choice.

Sauce

4tbsp butter

2tbsp Texas Pete hot sauce

1. Microwave butter for 45-60 seconds or until completed melted.

2. Stir in Texas Pete hot sauce 1 tbsp and then a little at a time until reaching the desired strength.

3. Lighter orange is more mild where red is hot.

4. Serve with steamed rice and asparagus!

Savings on this meal:

-Chicken- $1.48/lb at Inlges

-Texas Pete Hot Sauce- Buy one get one free at Publix for the extra large bottles

-Panko $1.00 off at Publix (limit 3)

Which Came First…The Quail or The Egg?

Posted by meredithfoster in American, Appetizer, Entree, Fish, Moderate Recipes

My family is crazy about eggs. We eat all kinds of them. We like the tiny and colorful ones used to decorate sushi rolls. We like chicken eggs, Easter eggs, and  Cadbury eggs. We REALLY love quail eggs. They are so yummy and delicate. We put them on top of a lot of dishes, but my favorite is seared scallops. Blake is determined that the reason it is my favorite is because of my OCD. I do have to admit, I really getting a warm and fuzzy feeling inside when I see the fried egg cover the scallop perfectly; not too big and not too small. They just seem to be good matches.

Seared Scallops with Fried Quail Eggs

(Appetizer, but can be Entree if you add more scallops)

Serves 2

Total Price- $2.94

Total Price per Person – $1.47

Average Retail Price- $5.18

Total Savings- $2.24

Seared Scallops and Fried Quail Eggs

Ingredients

-8 medium to large sea scallops

-8 quail eggs

-¼ cup of micro greens

-2 tbsp butter

-Dash of olive oil and vinegar

-Salt/pepper

-Dash of Sriracha

* We  melt butter to drizzle on ours*

Scallops

  1. It is imperative that the scallops are brought to room temperature and patted dry, very dry.
  2. Then sprinkle the scallops with salt and pepper and any other seasoning you like.
  3. Put 2 tbsp butter and a dash of olive oil (the olive oil is not for the flavor but to prevent the butter from burning) in a pan and bring to medium to high heat.
  4. Wait until the pan is extremely hot and add the scallops. Make sure they are at least 2 inches apart so that they sear rather than steam.
  5. Cook on the first side for 3 minutes. DO NOT MOVE THE SCALLOPS.
  6. Flip and cook other side for 1-2 minutes.
  7. You can touch scallops to feel if they are ready. They should be soft enough that they smush in when you push them, but not firm.

Quail Eggs

  1. Heat a thin layer of oil in a pan to medium-high heat.
  2. Crack the quail eggs and place them in a very small bowl.  Make sure to do this before you crack into the pan to get any shell out.  It works well to use a sharp knife and cut a small clean slit into the shell before cracking.
  3. Place the quail eggs in the oil and cook until all of the white is cooked through without flipping.
  4. Use a spatula to transfer the quail eggs from the pan to a plate keeping the yolk side up.  Place one on top of each scallop.

Fried Quail Eggs

Plating

  1. Melt some butter to put on the base of the plate.
  2. Then place the scallops.
  3. Top each scallop with a fried quail egg yolk side up.
  4. Toss micro greens in a little oil and vinegar, sprinkle with salt and pepper and use for garnish. If you have Edamame beans, they look pretty on the plate. Drizzle some Sriracha in the butter for a nice touch.

Savings for this meal

Scallops- $18.99 for 4lb. at Costco

Quail Eggs- $2.99/ 18 eggs at Super H Mart

Eat Your Veggies!

Posted by meredithfoster in American, Appetizer, Easy Recipes, Vegetarian

Entertaining is the best. I wish I had a bigger house so I could entertain every weekend. Since I can’t do this, I do my best to be invited to as many “potluck” parties as possible. This allows me to make friends via fun appetizers. You know how you go to potlucks and wind up eating four varieties of potato salad, two macaroni salads, a handful of pigs-in-a-blanket, three meat balls and a scoop or two of 7-layer dip and then leaving feeling unsatisfied, but miserably full? Well, maybe that is just me, but I love to bring something different- something that “wows” the crowd.

This summer Blake and I joined my childhood pool to have a place to spend our summer days, meet some friends and allow Lottie to meet some other kids.  We LOVE our pool. Anyway, we had a Memorial Day potluck right when the pool opened. Blake and I decided to bring one of our favorites- a veggie basket! The cool thing about this appetizer is that you can munch on it all night long and still leave feeling very healthy.

Veggie basket

This dish was a HIT! In fact, I met one of my Facebook friends based totally on the dipping sauce of this basket (J Tisha). The only problem with this basket is that everyone at the pools knows me as “Veggie Basket Girl” rather than Meredith. Oh well, take what you can get.

The key to this appetizer is to buy vegetables that look like they were just pulled from the garden. Tie a pair of garden gloves to the handle for a nice little touch. Be careful in the basket you choose. It really needs to be wide and FLAT. Otherwise the veggies all roll into the center and frustrate the dickens out of you.

Choose veggies that are on SALE!

The Veggie Basket

For the green beans and asparagus– boil for a few minutes (4ish) and then drain and transfer IMMEDIATELY to a bowl of ice water. Do not over boil!

For the potatoes– Boil until fork tender, but not as tender as a potato for mashing.

For the artichoke– cut stem down. Boil for 1 hour 15 minutes. Add water as necessary.

For the carrots – Try to find the ones with green stems to allow them to hang off edge of basket for the “fresh from the garden” look. They weren’t on sale when I made mine.

For the radish and celery– serve raw but try to find the ones with stems.

***You can make all these veggies the night before and store in ziplock bags in the fridge until a few minutes before the party***

For the sauces- (Serve in hollowed out bell peppers)

–         Spicy ranch– ranch mixed with a teaspoon of Sriracha.

–         Mock Hollandaise- ½ cup mayo, ¼ cup mustard, tsp lemon juice, salt and pepper and tsp of poppy seed.

–         Blue Cheese- Whichever kind is on SALE.

–         BE CREATIVE!