Category Archives: American

American fare

The Kitchen Sink that Helps Babies Think

Posted by meredithfoster in American, Moderate Recipes, Random Tips, Vegetarian

I was a nutritionally unhealthy kid. My taste buds were constantly dancing, but my arteries and my waistline were taking a beating. After my first year in college, I had about 80 pounds to lose to be “average” for my age, gender and height.

My parents raised me with all of the love and compassion that great parents do. They are amazing, but in the 80’s in North Carolina and Georgia, eating a balanced and nutrient-rich diet was not something people thought about. People had just learned that cigarettes had a negative impact on your health and artificial sweeteners, in the likes of Tab Soda, were the talk of the town.

I became a mom in December of 2008. I knew that I wanted my child to be exposed to a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and proteins. In fact, it drives my friend, Melissa, crazy that I have still never fed Lottie Mac ‘n Cheese from a box.

When Lottie started on solid foods, it was simple. We made our own purees and she loved whatever we gave her. The concept of something besides breast milk was a novelty to her. Then Lottie turned one, and she got several fun gifts, and I got a toddler with an attitude. This is when Lottie started throwing her avocado at me and dissecting her egg white omelets to remove the spinach. I never thought I would be there, but I was.

In the winter, I love to make butternut squash soup. It is simple. One day, I decided to take the method of my butternut squash soup but use broccoli. It was delicious and creamy. Then it hit me, Lottie loves whole-wheat pasta topped with butternut squash soup. I could make a veggie pasta sauce. I went to Super H Mart and bought all of the nutritious veggies that were on sale. I used the healthy method from the butternut squash soup with the veggies that were CHEAP and before I knew it I had healthy, nutrient-rich pasta sauce that Lottie (and my husband) absolutely LOVE!

Creamless, Creamy Veggie Pasta Sauce

Serves – 1 toddler for 6 weeks

Total Price with Sales- $5.28/batch

Total Average Retail Price- $16.19/batch

Total Savings- $10.91/batch

Tell them it's PESTO!

– 1 medium sweet onion, chopped (Super H 3lb bag $0.98 Average retail 3 lb bag $2.99)

– 3 stalks of celery, chopped (Super H $0.69/package Average Retail $1.49/package

– 2 unpeeled, chopped carrots (Super H $0.18/lb Average Retail $1.49/lb)

– 3 cans of chicken broth (Costco 12 cans for $6.99 Average Retail $1.19/can)

– 1 cup or more water depending on amount of veggies

(Use the veggies that you want your child to have, but I used the following)

– 1 bunch of spinach, cleaned (Super H $0.99/bunch Average Retail $3.99/container)

– 1 head of broccoli, chunked (Super H $0.69/lb Average Retail $1.99/lb)

– 1 lb asparagus, chopped (Super H $0.98/lb Average Retail $3.99/lb)

– 1 head of cauliflower, chunked (Super H $0.78/each Average Retail $2.29/each)

  1. Get the largest pot you have so you can make/freeze more sauce at one time. We use our lobster pot.
  2. Add enough olive oil to the bottom of the pot to keep the veggies from sticking.
  3. Add carrots, celery and onion and cook on medium heat until onions are translucent (about 5-7 minutes).
  4. Add all other veggies except leafy greens that cook fast .
  5. Pour three cans of low-sodium chicken stock over veggies and add water until the veggies and covered in liquid.
  6. Do NOT add more liquid once veggies are submerged.
  7. Boil veggies until they are all soft.
  8. Add leafy greens and boil 1 minute.
  9. Allow boiled veggies and liquid to completely cool (about 1-1.5 hours).
  10. Blend in batches and freeze in weekly portions.
  11. Surprisingly, the sauce is extra creamy and your kids will love it! It looks pretty gross, but serves in under Parmesan cheese and they won’t know!

* I freeze these in one-week portions, so I only have to make it once ever 6 weeks.

* Use what is on sale, the specific veggies don’t matter.

* Top with Parmesan cheese

* Use in your toddler’s other favorite dishes- omelets, quesadillas, rice, etc

* Veggies I would NOT use, cucumbers, potatoes, peppers or eggplant simply based on texture for the soup.

HAVE a BABY that doesn’t love to sleep?

Contact Laura Hunter at www.momsoncall.com

She can help!

You Can Still Look HOT Eating Hot Wings

Posted by meredithfoster in American, Chicken, Moderate Recipes, Random Tips

One of my favorite foods in the world is hot wings. It drives my husband nuts when I eat them because I used a fork and a steak knife to prevent from having to slurp my fingers or dip into my 401k to afford enough paper towels to keep me clean.

I am O.C.D. Normally the things that I obsess about are doors being locked, cabinets being completely closed, recycling bins being organized, expired coupons and floor surfaces being free of dirt and debris. One other thing that drives me nuts is when anything is under my fingernails. It drives me crazy! It’s nearly impossible to eat a hot wing without getting sauce under your fingernails…..UNTIL NOW!

When I was on Facebook the other day, I saw a friend of mine, Tisha, ask her Facebook family if anyone could think of a way to eat hot wings with out looking like a barbarian. It was then that it hit me that I was not the only one. This discussion lead to the creation of the following dish. I know they are thighs and not wings, but they are close enough. Also, they are skinless which dramatically reduced the saturated fat and cholesterol.

Dainty Finger Lickless Hot “Wings” with Celery Casserole

Serves 4

Total Price- $5.37

Total Price per Person- $1.34

Total Average Retail Price- $13.58

Total Savings- $8.21

Dainty Chicken "Wings" and Celery Casserole

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs (Super H $1.49/lb Average Retail $3.99/lb)

9 tbsp butter (Costco 5lbs $5.19 Average Retail $2.99/lb)

½ cup Texas Pete Hot sauce (Big Lots)

1 tsp salt (Big Lots)

1 tsp pepper (Big Lots)

1 tsp oil

  1. Clarify 6 tbsp butter by putting in sauté pan on low heat and waiting until white, foamy, coating forms on the top. Spoon out the white foam and leave remaining butter in pan.
  2. Add ½ tsp oil to prevent butter from burning.
  3. Set pan with clarified butter to high heat.
  4. Cut each thigh into wing-sized sections (average 3 per thigh)
  5. Season with salt and pepper.
  6. Once butter is very hot, add thigh to pan in batches leaving ½ inch between each thigh until browned and cooked through (approx. 3 mins per side)
  7. Set on paper towel to drain.
  8. Put 3 tbsp melted butter in a bowl.
  9. Mix melted butter with Texas Pete stir with fork until thick and mixed thoroughly.
  10. Drizzle over cooked thighs.

Drizzling

Cold Celery Casserole

½ cup Light Sour Cream (Publix Buy one get one FREE $1.79/2 Average Retail $1.79/1)

8 oz Fat Free Cream Cheese (Publix Manufacturers Coupon $0.40 off, doubled to $0.80 to $1.19 Average retail $1.99/ 8 oz

5 stalks of celery, diced (Super H $0.38/bunch Average Retail $1.99/ bunch)

½ sweet onion, diced (Super H 3lb bag $0.98 Average retail 3 lb bag $2.99)

1 tsp salt (Big Lots)

1 tsp pepper (Big Lots)

1 tbsp shredded cheddar cheese (Costco $6.99 5/lb bag Average retail $3.49/1 lb bag)

2 tbsp crumbled blue cheese (Costco $2.99/8oz Average Retail $4.99/8 oz)

2 tbsp Panko bread crumbs (Super H Buy one, get one free. 2/$2.99)

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Combine first 6 ingredients into a bowl.
  3. Spread evenly into a glass 9 inch baking dish
  4. Top with remaining ingredients and place in oven for 30 minutes, until topping is golden brown and cream is bubbling..
  5. Refrigerate for one hour before serving.
  6. Serve cold.



Peter Piper Picked A Pepper Relish

Posted by meredithfoster in American, Easy Recipes, Random Tips, Spanish, Vegetarian

So far one of my favorite things about this blog is when people ask me for ideas. I like the challenge of finding ingredients for what they want on sale and making them into something delightful.

Last week I posted about home grown veggies. One of my friends, Christy, told me that she had so many banana pepper that she was throwing them out before she could use them. First off, I would say compost them. In fact, it was her mom, during my childhood, who introduced me to composting.

I thought for a while about what to make with a plethora of banana peppers. At first, I considered a casserole with a biscuit topping, but no matter how savory you make it, that would still be pepper overload.

So I went in the direction of a relish. The coolest thing about pepper relish is that it stays good for a while. Generally when anything is cooked in vinegar, it will last a lot longer than you would think.

Banana Pepper Relish

Total Cost- $1.49

Total Cost at Average Retail- $6.34

Total Savings- $4.85

Banana Pepper Relish

–         7-9 Banana Peppers, seeded and deveined and chopped finely (Garden FREE- Average Retail- $3.99/lb)

–         2 jalapenos, finely chopped and deseeded (Garden FREE- Average Retail $1.99/lb)

–         1 cup of vinegar (Publix Manufacturer’s Coupon $0.50 off doubled so $1.00 off from Average Retail $1.99)

–         1 tsp salt

–         ¼ cup water

–         1 tbsp mustard (Publix Manufacturer’s Coupon $0.40 off doubled so $0.80 off from Average Retail $1.79)

  1. Cook peppers and vinegar on medium heat for 5-7 minutes until translucent.
  2. Add remaining ingredients and cook for 5-7 more minutes.
  3. Quickly strain, still reserving some of the liquid.
  4. Allow time to cool and transfer to an empty jar.
  5. Refrigerate and serve

All it takes to make a pepper relish

The ingredients

Sweet TOMATO Pie and I Shut My Mouth

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

Growing up in the South, my meals included mayonnaise, butter, cream, buttermilk, fried flour and/ white gravy. Since I left home as a teenager, I have changed my diet to represent culture and essence of southern cooking, but with a healthier (much healthier) spin on the classic dishes.

I think this summer I decided that Tomato Pie has moved into my top 10 All Time Favorite Foods. Since we have had a plethora of tomatoes this summer, I was experimenting with new ways to uses them so they wouldn’t go to waste. When I saw Buy One, Get One Free piecrusts on www.southernsavers.com, I knew just what I wanted.

I clipped three of the buy one get one free coupons for piecrusts, so I knew I had some room to experiment with modernizing a southern Tomato Pie.

Since the Southern traditional one is always a hit at dinner parties and family gathering, I am going to include that recipe too.

Traditional Tomato Pie

Total Price- $2.01

Average Retail Price- $10.22

Total Savings- $8.21

Traditional Tomato Pie

1 pie shell (Publix $2.49/2 Buy one get one free. $0.62/each Average retail $1.25/each)

3 tomatoes- thickly sliced, seeded and dried- dry very well with paper towel (FREE- garden, Average retail $2.99/lb

2 tbsp fresh chopped basil (FREE–garden Average retail $2.99/pkg)

¼ cup chopped sweet onion (Super H 3lb bag $0.98 Average retail 3 lb bag $2.99)

½ cup Mayonnaise (Publix Buy one Get one Free $3.99/2 Average retail $3.99/1)

1 ½ cups extra sharp shredded cheddar cheese (Costco $6.99 5/lb bag Average retail $3.49/1 lb bag)

½ tsp salt

½ pepper

  1. Baste rim of piecrust with egg white prior to baking to make it brown better.
  2. Bake crust 5 minutes at 425 degrees.
  3. Combine salt, pepper, basil and onions.
  4. Place seeded tomatoes in crust to cover the bottom.
  5. Spread onion mixture over tomatoes.
  6. In a mixing bowl, mix cheese and mayonnaise and spread over tomatoes.
  7. Bake for 35 minutes at 400 degrees.
  8. Allow pie to cool/set before cutting and serving.

Medium Healthy Mozzarella and Basil Tomato Pie

Total Price- $2.01

Average Retail Price- $10.22

Total Savings- $8.21

Medium Healthy Tomato Pie

1 pie shell (Publix $2.49/2 Buy one get one free. $0.62/each Average retail $1.25/each)

3 tomatoes- thickly sliced, seeded and dried- dry very well with paper towel)

½ cup fresh chopped basil (FREE–garden Average retail $2.99/pkg)

¼ cup chopped sweet onion (Super H 3lb bag $0.98 Average retail 3 lb bag $2.99)

½ cup Mayonnaise (Publix Buy one Get one Free $3.99/2 Average retail $3.99/1)

1 ½ cups shredded mozzerall cheese (Costco $6.99 5/lb bag Average retail $3.49/1 lb bag)

drizzle of balsamic vinegar

½ tsp salt

½ pepper

  1. Baste rim of piecrust with egg white prior to baking to make it brown better.
  2. Bake crust 5 minutes at 425 degrees.
  3. Combine salt, pepper, basil and onions.
  4. Place seeded tomatoes in crust to cover the bottom.
  5. Spread onion mixture over tomatoes.
  6. Drizzle balsamic vinegar on onion mix
  7. In a mixing bowl, mix cheese and mayonnaise and spread over tomatoes.
  8. Bake for 35 minutes at 400 degrees.

Allow pie to cool/set before cutting and serving.

Extra Healthy Mozzarella and Basil Tomato Pie

Total Price- $2.62

Average Retail Price- $9.72

Total Savings- $7.10

Healthy Tomato Pie

1 pie shell (Publix $2.49/2 Buy one get one free. $0.62/each Average retail $1.25/each)

3 tomatoes- thickly sliced, seeded and dried- dry very well with paper towel)

8 fresh whole basil leave (FREE–garden Average retail $2.99/pkg)

¼ cup chopped sweet onion (Super H 3lb bag $0.98 Average retail 3 lb bag $2.99)

1 tbsp cups shredded mozzarella cheese (Costco $6.99 5/lb bag Average retail $3.49/1 lb bag)

5 – ½ inch thick slices of fresh mozzarella (the kind in the big ball) (Costco $1.99/each Average Retail $4.99/each)

drizzle of balsamic vinegar

½ tsp salt

½ pepper

  1. Baste rim of piecrust with egg white prior to baking to make it brown better.
  2. Bake crust 5 minutes at 425 degrees.
  3. Combine salt, pepper, and onions.
  4. Place seeded tomatoes in crust to cover the bottom.
  5. Place fresh basil leaves over the top of the tomatoes
  6. Spread onion mixture over tomatoes.
  7. Drizzle balsamic vinegar on onion mix
  8. Sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese over onion mixture
  9. Bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees.

Allow pie to cool/set before cutting and serving.

Home Grown Country Girl

Posted by meredithfoster in American, Random Tips, Vegetarian

I am a cold weather person. I don’t like hot weather, but if there is one thing that makes hot sunshine and high temperatures worth it, it is home grown vegetables and fruits. We live in a house that doesn’t get much sunshine. Even after taking down 15 pine trees from the front yard, we still only have one area of the yard that gets 6-8 hours of sun/day. So Blake built me a terrace in that area which became our garden. As any of you farmers out there know, you need tons of sun to grow veggies and fruit.

We plant our garden in March or April. We make it an Easter Saturday tradition. The crops require quite a bit of water and we are believers in composted soil and additional fertilizer (the kind that promotes the growth of fruiting, not foliage). Don’t cut corners on the stakes. We did that this year, but next year we will get the taller and sturdier stakes, so the plants have more support when they begin to bloom.

A neat tidbit that we learned this weekend was about blueberry bushes; ours is not doing very well at all, in fact, it is quite pitiful. We went to visit Blake’s uncle Brian this weekend. He lives out in the country and grows a ton of produce. He has a blueberry bush that is the size of a storage shed. I could not believe it! He told me that the trick is to plant at least two or three together to encourage cross-pollination. I never knew this tip, so we are picking up a buddy for our friend, Mr. Blueberry on My Shoulder this weekend.

This year, we are growing tomatoes, jalapenos, banana peppers, green/red/yellow peppers, blueberries, okra and cucumbers. In retrospect, I would have opted for one extra tomato plant, some beets and one less jalapeno plant. I LOVE Beets! We have way too many peppers. One good pepper plant of each type would be enough for us.

NOW IS THE TIME TO PLANT YOUR WINTER GARDEN!!!

Here is a little shot of the crops we picked YESTERDAY! Looks like I am due to make a few tomato pies!

A day in the garden

A few tips to a prosperous garden:

1. Leave plenty of space (at least 18 inches) between the plants when you plant them.

2. Plant them around Easter weekend.

3. Be sure to bury the bottom 6 inches of the plant you are planting. It seems like you are covering up a lot of the foliage, but that is ok.

4. For tomatoes, pinch back the little leaves that grow in the joints of the plant. Go easy on pruning anywhere else.

5. Water regularly. We prefer in the morning. In the evening, the water can create bacteria from not having the sun and in the afternoon, it is pointless.

6. Plant cucumbers, squash and melon in the spot where your compost pile was.

7. Steer clear of planting vegetables in clay. Sandy or Sandy loam are your best bets.

8. The easiest crops to grow (in my opinion) are onions, peas, beets, rutabaga and zucchini squash.

9. Put some type of guard around you garden (mesh nets or chicken wire work well) to keep the precious, but hungry rabbits and deer away from your salad!

10. Don’t be afraid to grow a garden in the winter. Salad greens, carrots, beets, radishes, cabbage, collards, broccoli, cauliflower all take well to the cold weather.

Just What the Doctor Ordered

Posted by meredithfoster in American, Easy Recipes

Yesterday my mom had her dreaded rotator cuff surgery. I knew that after fasting the night before, she would want to come home and have something good to eat, but I also knew that it couldn’t be too greasy or spicy.

When I was growing up, fried chicken and mashed potatoes were a weekly event in my house. My grandparents owned a southern cooking restaurant in High Point, North Carolina called The River Road Inn. Both my mom and my dad worked there when they were younger, so they know how to cook southern specials. In fact, when we fry chicken at home these days, my dad still uses one of the cast iron pans from The River Road Inn. He also uses the same recipe.

Since my mom couldn’t have anything fried, I decided to make her mock fried chicken done with breadcrumbs and potato chips and baked in the oven. It was quite a hit! We also made a cucumber and onion salad from the garden and sliced some homegrown tomatoes.

I WANT TO KNOW:

WHAT DOES COMFORT FOOD MEAN TO YOU?

SHARE A STORY

“Fried” Chicken, Collards, Mashed Potatoes and Corn Bread

Serves 4

Total Cost- $4.32

Total Per Person- $1.08

Total without Sales- $14.60

Total Savings- $10.28

Comfort food

CHICKEN

~ 4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts Super H $1.48/lb Average Retail $4.99/lb)

~ 3 tbsp mayonaisse (Publix Buy one, get one free $2.99 for 2)

~ 1 Egg (Costco 36 eggs for $1.18 $0.06/egg Average Retail $2.99/12 $0.25each)

~ 1 tsp hot sauce of choice (BIG LOTS)

~ dash of paprika, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper (BIG LOTS)

~ ½ cup milk (Costco $1.89/gallon Average Retail $3.49/gallon)

~ 1 cup Panko bread crumbs (Super H Buy one, get one free. 2/$2.99)

~ ½ cup crispy potato chips (Walmart Great Value $0.99 each Average Retail $3.99 each)

***You can use Saltines, Ritz Crackers, Corn Flakes or regular bread crumbs in place of potato chips if you prefer***

~2 tbsp flour

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
  2. In a mixing bowl, mix eggs, milk, hot sauce, paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper.
  3. In another mixing bowl, mix Panko breadcrumbs, crushed chips, flour, salt, pepper and paprika.
  4. Transfer dry mix to a large plate.
  5. Dip chicken breast into the wet mixture, then coat with the dry mixture.
  6. Transfer coated chicken to a greased baking pan or a cookie sheet.
  7. Cook for 20 minutes.
  8. Flip chicken breasts over.
  9. Cook for 20 more minutes.
  10. Spray chicken breasts with butter spray and broil for 2-4 minutes until crispy.

COLLARDS

~ 1 bunch of fresh collards (chopped) or one bag of prechopped collards (Super H $0.99/bunch Average Retail $3.99/bunch)

~ 1 can chicken stock (Costco 12 cans for $6.99 Average Retail $1.19/can)

~ 1 ¼ cup water

~ 4 slices bacon (Publix Buy one get one Free $3.99/2)

1. In a large pot, cook 4 pieces of bacon on medium high heat for about 5 minutes and    leave them (and their grease) in the pot.

2. Add chopped, cleaned collards, add chicken stock and water and bring to a boil.

3. Reduce heat to a simmer and simmer for 1- 1 ½ hours.

4. Salt and pepper to taste.

MASHED POTATOES

~ 1 lb Idaho Potatoes peeled and cubed (Super H $0.98/ 10lb bag Average Retail $4.99/10lb bag

~ 1/2 stick salted butter (Costco 5lbs $5.19 Average Retail $2.99/lb)

~ ½ cup sour cream (Publix Buy one get one free2/$1.99)

~ ¾ cup whole milk (Costco $1.89/gallon Average Retail $3.49/gallon)

~ salt and pepper (BIG LOTS)

  1. Boil potatoes until fork tender.
  2. Add butter and mash.
  3. Add remaining ingredients and mash
  4. Salt and pepper to taste.

Here Fishy Fishy

Posted by meredithfoster in American, Easy Recipes, Fish, Spanish

Blake had his best friend, Yas, and his dad come over for lunch today. We made fish tacos. We had some Tilapia in the freezer and our garden provided most of what else we needed. Yesterday at Super H mart, the whole wheat tortillas were not on sale, but I knew they were at Publix. I really hate going to a store for one item, so I asked if they would give me the $0.50 off so I didn’t have to go to Publix, and sure enough they did. I buy all of my seasonings at BIG LOTS for $1.00 each. They are just as good as the name brands. For this recipe, you can buy the premixed blackening seasoning to simplify it, but I like making my own. Whoot!

Blackened Fish Tacos and Black Beans

Serves 4

Total price for 4- $8.02

Total price per person $2.00

Total price without sales- $16.49

Total savings- $8.47

Blackened Fish Tacos with Black Beans



3 filets of tilapia (Super H $2.99/lb from Publix $6.99/lb- recipe used about 1.5lbs $4.49)

3 tbsp of blackening seasoning (mixture of cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, sugar, oregano, thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, and nutmeg) This recipe uses about $0.50 worth of seasonings

2 tomatoes (Garden- FREE)

½ onion (red or sweet) (Super H $0.69/lb from Kroger $1.99/lb- used 1/5 of  pound $0.14

3 tbsp of fresh cilantro (Garden- FREE)

juice of one lime (Super H 7/$1.00 from Publix 3/$1.00 total $0.14)

2/3 cup of sour cream (Super H $0.99 from Publix $1.99. Used $0.50 off coupon)

1 fresh jalapeno- seeded (Garden FREE)

1 can of black beans (Buy one Get one Free at Publix last week. $0.49 each from $0.99)

6 flour tortillas (Super H- $1.99 to match Publix. Was $2.99)

¼ head chopped green cabbage (Super H $0.49/lb from publix $1.29 per lb- used 1/5 of head $0.07 total)

Before starting the fish tacos, you need to make the pico de gallo and the cream sauce. Cut 2 tomatoes into 1 inch chunks and remove seeds. Dice half of onion and add to tomatoes. Add 2 tbsp of fresh cilantro coarsely chopped. Dice ½ seeded jalapeno and combine. Add juice of ½ lime and 1 tps of salt and pepper. Mix. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, strain and serve to top tacos.

To make the cream sauce, add juice of ½ lime, 2/3 cups of sour cream, 1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro and ½ diced jalapeno- seeded. Mix and refrigerate and serve on top of tacos.

Heat black beans in pot for 10 minutes on medium high.

Combine all seasonings together to create blackening. Cut each tilapia filet in half and pat dry with paper towel. Bring to room temperature. Put 2 tsp of butter  and 1 tsp of oil in a large pan and bring up to very high heat. Roll tilapia in seasoning and when the pan is hot, place filets in pan. Cook on high heat until cooked through and crispy (about 3 mins per side depending on thickness of filet.

Wrap tortillas in foil and put in the oven on 300 degrees for 5 minutes to heat before serving.

Serve like a salad bar and allow guest to top with what they choose. For me, sauce, fish, pico, more sauce, cabbage- black beans on the side. YUMMY!

A Fish out of Water

Posted by meredithfoster in American, Easy Recipes, Fish

Blake started his new job last week, and I tried to have him an inexpensive prize at the end of each day when he got home. Today, I got him cedar planks that were on sale from Whole Foods. We put them to use on this dish. We both knew we wanted some kind of white fish, and Mahi Mahi and mango were on sale, so we went with that. I love the combination of mango and tomato~ especially when both are ripe!

Cedar Plank Mahi Mahi with Mango and Homegrown Tomato Salsa

(Serves 2)

Total Price for 2 people- $8.63 ($4.32 each)

Total Savings for 2 people- $14.28 ($7.14 each)

Cedar Plank Mahi Mahi with Mango/Tomato salad and polenta


2 Frozen Mahi Mahi Filets ( Whole Foods/Paycheck $6.99/4 filets from $11.99)

2 Ripe Mangos chopped(2/ $3.00- Publix from $1.99 each)

1 small red onion- diced small ($1.29/lb from Publix from $1.49/lb)

½ Jalapeno- seeded and diced small(FREE- garden)

2 tbsp Cilantro coarsely chopped (FREE- garden)

1 ½ Homegrown tomatoes diced and seeded (FREE- garden)

Juice of one lime (5/$1.00 Publix from 3/$1.00)

Salt, pepper, cumin, cayenne pepper

1/2 roll of polenta ($3.19 Whole Foods from $3.69)

Soak Cedar Plank in water for one hour. Marinate the Mahi filets in lime and lemon juice, salt, pepper, cayenne and melted butter in a Ziplock bag (buy Ziplock bags in bulk when you have a coupon from Costco, BJ’s or Sams. Generally coupons range from $2.00-$5.00 off depending on quanity).

In a bowl, add mango, onion, tomato, cilantro, lime, cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper and mix. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Strain excess juice.

Turn heat of grill to medium high and allow cedar planks to get hot. Once hot flip the hot side up and apply Mahi to cedar plank and grill for 7-8 never turning.  (If you want crispy Mahi, place straight on grill or broil for 4 minutes per side).

Cut prepared polenta into ½ inch discs and grill for 2 minutes on each side alongside the cedar planks.

Serve Mahi on top of three discs of polenta and top with Mango salsa. Garnish with fresh dill (FREE from garden)