Category Archives: Easy Recipes

These are recipes that can be done by a novice in the kitchen.

Once Upon a Time in Mexico…

Posted by meredithfoster in Chicken, Easy Recipes, Entree, Spanish

Going to a Mexican restaurant is always something I have done for Blake. I don’t like the smell of the frying tortilla chips, margaritas or the taste of melted cheese. I don’t mind cheese slices or cheese platters, I just don’t like it melted. The hard part is I love Mexican ingredients, tomatoes, beans, cilantro, cumin, corn, etc.; I just don’t like the saucy and cheesy execution.

The last time I was “taking one for the team” at a Mexican restaurant, Blake and I were waiting at the bar for our table. In this particular restaurant, the kitchen door was right next to the bar. Blake and I were engaged in a conversation when something caught my eye. I noticed one of the employees carrying a 5 gallon paint bucket. As he walked behind the bar to grab a dish cloth, he set down the bucket. Guess what was in the bucket? LARD, 5 gallons of it. Needless to say, we didn’t wait for our table, and we left determined to use the amazing ingredients that Mexican food offers in a lardless way.

The cool thing about this dish is it’s versatility. You can top it with avocado

Disclaimer: I do love seeing all of the new trendy, fresh Mexican restaurants popping up all over the place. They are a whole different ball game.

Black Bean and Chicken Casserole

Serves 6

Black Bean Chicken Casserole

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons butter or oil
  • 1 large onion, sliced (more if you are an onion fan)
  • 3 chicken breasts, cut into 2 inch pieces
  • 1-1/2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 1-1/2 cans black bean, drained
  • 3 ounces green chile peppers, diced
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or 1 tbsp dried cilantro
  • 1 ½ tablespoon ground cumin
  • 3/4 cup uncooked instant rice
  • ¾ cup frozen corn (optional)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
  3. Stir in onions, and cook until soft and translucent.
  4. Stir in chicken; cook until golden on all sides. (this may take two rounds in the pan)
  5. Pour onions and chicken into a casserole dish.
  6. Stir in tomatoes, black beans, corn, chile peppers, cilantro, cumin, and rice.
  7. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes.
  8. Allow 10 minutes to cool and enjoy
  9. Serve with sour cream.

Sales used in this recipe: Black beans- buy one get one free- Kroger, cilantro free from the garden, chicken from Costco.

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Dress Me Up and Take Me Out

Posted by meredithfoster in American, Beef, Easy Recipes, Entree, Moderate Recipes, Other, Random Tips, Spanish

Anyone else in the grilled meat, fresh vegetable, no creativity, summer cooking slump? I absolutely love summer food, but the meat choices are becoming boring to me. I was looking for a way to dress up my steak, without losing it’s flavor.

Until recently, I have been a salad-dressing -mariander. The idea of making my own marinade had never crossed my mind. Blake headed out to work the other day and took some filets out of the freezer. As he was walking out the door he said, “steaks on the grill OK, babe?” “Sure” I replied dropping my shoulders and thinking about the monotony of another grilled steak dinner.

Right then, I knew it was time to give my steak a boost, and I got to work.  I have always liked the flavors in a Chimichurri Marinade, but I never knew how easy it could be. I got the meat marinating, threw a little cilantro spin on our potatoes and took the corn off the cob and added black beans. Soon, we had a transformed dinner packed with flavor and ready to hit the grill.

Chimichurri Marinade

(We used on Filet Mignon, but would also be delicious and tenderizing on skirt steak, flank steak, hangar steak, London broil, lamb blade or lamb chop)

Makes 2 cups- MUST use fresh herbs, not dried!

Chimichurri Marinated Steak

Ingredients

– ½ cup red wine vinegar

– 1 tsp coarse sea salt

– 4 cloves of garlic sliced thin (if you don’t have a mandolin, try using the long side of a cheese grater)

– 1 shallot chopped finely

– 1 red jalapeno, finely chopped

– 2 cups of minced fresh cilantro (use a food processor if you have one)

– 1 cup of minced flat leaf parsley

– 1/3 cup chopped oregano

– ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions

  1. Combine vinegar, shallots, garlic and jalapeno in a medium mixing bowl.
  2. Let stand for 10 minutes.
  3. Stir in FRESH herbs.
  4. Whisk in olive oil using a fork.
  5. Remove ½ cup of marinade and put aside as a sauce.
  6. Put meat in a glass dish and cover with remaining marinade.
  7. Allow to sit in refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight for more tenderness.
  8. Remove meat, pat dry and grill as usual.
  9. Top meat with reserved sauce.

Curry in a Hurry

Posted by meredithfoster in Asian, Beef, Easy Recipes, Entree, Fish, Indian

I rarely cook. Typically, I buy the groceries and bring them home for Blake to use. He is just a million times better than me at cooking. He is the “a little of this a little of that” type of chef. I am the OCD type that reads the entire recipe, measures everything out and puts in into little bowls, prechops everything and THEN I start cooking. It’s definitely an ordeal.

The other night I was flipping through Cooking Light when I found a healthy and fast Indian Curry dish. It said 20 minutes. I begged to differ knowing my cooking style. I made a few changes to suit our tastes, and believe it or not, had it done in 27 minutes flat!

Be warned, it is pretty spicy, but you can alter the amount of crushed red pepper that you choose to add. Blake loves it miserable-hot, so I took one for the team. Happy Eating!

Bombay Indian Curry with Shrimp and Filet Mignon

Serves 4
Total Cost- $8.80
Total Cost per person- $2.20

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sales used in this recipe-

Spices from Big Lots, Filet at Costco, frozen shrimp from Costco, Frozen veggies $0.50 off

Ingredients

–  1/4 cup Canola oil

–  1/2 lb peeled a deveined shrimp

–  1/2 lb steak- cubed

–  3/4 tsp salt

–  1/4 tsp black pepper

–  1 1/2 small onion chopped (buy prechopped to save time)

–  1 1/2 tbsp curry powder

–  1 tbsp mustard seed

– 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon (don’t overdo this)

– 1/8 tsp ground red pepper (more or less to heat liking)

– 1 1/3 cup hot water

– 1 cup frozen mixed veggies

Directions:

1. Heat 2 tsp canola oil in Dutch at medium high heat.

2. Salt and pepper shrimp and cook on both sides until just underdone.

3. Remove from pan and repeat process with steak. Remove from pan.

4. Reduce heat to medium, add remaining oil.

5. Add onion and cook until translucent.

6. Add remaining salt, curry powder, cinnamon, mustard seeds and red pepper. Cook one minute. Stir constantly.

7. Add hot water and frozen veggies and bring to a boil.

8. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 4 minutes.

9. Add shrimp and steak back to pan and cook one minute.

10. Enjoy!

*** Serve with rice***

FUN TIP: When you cook your rice, replace some of the liquid with light coconut milk for a more authentic Indian flavor.

Put a Little SPICE is Your Night

Posted by meredithfoster in Easy Recipes, Moderate Recipes, Random Tips, Spanish

I wish I liked  margaritas. I think they are so fun to make and so fun to drink. I have just never just found a liking for the flavor of the sour mix. Even when I add orange juice, it still just doesn’t do much for me. I decided that I was going to find a way to take the idea of a margarita and tweak it a bit more to my liking.

I read a magazine article about a restaurant owner in Mexico who spiced up his tequila with peppers and used other juices to make margaritas. I decided to swipe his idea. Swiper no swiping.

Be prepared: they are spicy!!! If you are not a big fan of spicy, be sure to reduce pepper steeping time or dilute tequila with more juice.

Spicy Grapefruit Margarita
Serves 8

Ingredients

– 2 cups of tequila (I buy cheap for this drink because it is diluted anyway)
-1-2 Habanero peppers, halved (the more you use, the spicier the tequila gets)
– 2 tbsp sweetened lime juice
– juice of one lime
– 5 cups grapefruit juice
– 1 cup of sour mix
– Sea salt

Directions

1.Combine tequila and Habanero peppers in a pitcher and allow to steep for 2-4 hours depending on spice desire (this can be done up to one month ahead).
2. Rub the rim of each glass with a lime to moisten it.
3. Pour sea salt onto a plate and dip rims of the glass into it to coat the rims.
4. Combine remaining ingredients and mix with tequila. Stir.
5. Serve on the rocks and have fun!

Showing Off

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

Well, I did it again. I decided I was going to cook for the family. I guess the summer thing is leaving with me too much time on my hands and too many food magazines for inspiration. I am initially inspired by home grown produce in the summer, then by magazine recipes. I absolutely love the concept of fruit and fish.

When my father in law visits, he typically brings us something fresh from a road side stand from his drive down. The last visit came with peaches. I could smell a ripe peach for hours. It is definitely on my top 10 list of favorite smells, toward the bottom, but still on it.

I knew I wanted salmon, and I knew I wanted peaches, but I had to figure out how to combine them. I went with salmon with a peach salsa. We had two home grown tomatoes, some fresh basil, a perfectly ripe avocado and red sea salt I picked up on sale the other day. In about 25 minutes, I had dish that was gorgeous. I will admit, I was showing off a bit with this one.

Salmon with Peach Salsa

Serves 4
Total Cost- $19.90
Total per person- $4.98

Salmon with Peach Salsa

Sales used in this recipe- Free peaches, free tomatoes, free basil, red sea salt on clearance at William Sonoma, salmon from Costco, buy one get one free olive oil at Publix

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients-

– 4 filets of salmon
– 3 tbsp olive oil
– 1/2 ripe avocado, cubed
– one tomato, seeded and cubed
– one ripe peach, peeled and cubed
– 3 tbsp chopped basil
– 1/2 fresh jalapeno, seeded (if desired)
– 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
– 1 tsp lemon juice
– 1 tsp coarse sea salt
– 1 tsp cracked pepper

Directions-

Peach Salsa
1. Combine avacado, tomato, peach, basil, lime and lemon juice, jalapeno, salt and pepper and a tbsp of olive oil in a bowl.
2. Put int he refrigerator for. 10 minutes at least

Salmon
1. Pat the salmon filets dry and allow them to reach room temperature.
2. Rub them on both sides with olive oil.
3. Sprinkle with a good sea salt and cracked pepper.
4. Sprinkle with a little lemon juice.
5. Turn grill to medium high heat and spray grill grids generously with butter spray.
6. Cook salmon for 5 minutes on each side or to your liking.
7. Top with peach salsa and enjoy.

***We ran out of propane, so we broiled the salmon for 7 minutes on each side, and it was good this way as well. I just like to grill in the summer, so that was my first choice in preparation.

Grill Envy

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

Jones Bridge pool is one of my favorite places within the Georgia state lines.  I became a member when I was a baby, and spent approximately 50 hours there a week until I was 16. Last year, Blake and I were looking for a community pool to join so that we could establish some new friends with kids for Lottie as she was getting a little bored of watching Blake play video games and grocery shopping with me. I knew that Jones Bridge was going to be place we were going to join. From the second I made the decision, it was as if my Barracuda fins instantly grew back in.

The coolest thing about this pool is that you don’t know a stranger there. Everyone talks to everyone whether they have been introduced or not. In fact, I have met several friends there that I was never introduced to…we just started talking. It just feels like home when I walk into the gate.

This summer Blake and I have been grilling out a lot. The other night we decided to grill at the pool. We ran through our options…steak, chicken, fish, veggies…. I was simply bored with the choices. Blake decided that pizzas would be fun. Instantly, I thought pizza stone, rolling dough, expensive, hassle….

Blake proved me wrong. He headed out to Ingles where he found Naan, an Indian flat bread, on sale for about a dollar each. He picked up six of them and we were ready to go. We pulled out all of the cheeses and toppings we could find in the fridge, and created an awesome meal that was quite impressive. Of course, we made enough to share with our friends at the pool and a little more for those we hadn’t yet met.

Grilled Pizzas

-Naan, Indian bread

-Olive oil

-Pizza sauce

-Cheese (be creative)

– Toppings (be creative)

Directions

1. Brush a bit of olive oil on the Naan bread.

2. Top with pizza sauce of choice, olive oil, pesto, or whatever sounds good.

3. Apply toppings and cheese of choice.  These can be made ahead of time and wrapped in aluminum foil to make at a later time or assembled right at the grill.

4. Preheat grill to medium-low heat

5. Place pizzas on grill and leave on until crust is at desired crispness and the  cheese is melted/browned. (about 8-12 minutes)

6. Leave lid down as much as possible.

Pizza Ideas

-Bacon, ham, jalapeno, pineapple, mozzerella cheese and pizza sauce

-Caramelized onion, goat cheese and Gruyere, arugula, and olive oil (Thanks Jenny!)

-Buffalo mozzarella, fresh basil, tomatoes with olive oil

-Grilled onion, mushroom, red and green pepper (slice them up really small) and Gruyere or mozzarella

-Traditional sausage and pepperoni

– Pulled pork, cole slaw, BBQ sauce

– Hot sausage, Granny Smith apples, reduced Balsamic vinegar, blue cheese, mozzarella and olive oil

– Shrimp with buffalo sauce, diced celery, blue cheese, mozzarella cheese

– The list keeps going on and on….. this is an amazing meal to get rid of leftovers or have fun with whatever is in the fridge.

Why Do You Build Me Up, Butternut?

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

In the past, I would choose a pre-salad over pre-soup on any given day at any given restaurant. Since having Lottie, my taste buds and food cravings have changed tremendously. Now, when given the opportunity, I will always choose soup over salad.

In the winter, I typically have a pot of butternut squash soup in my fridge at all times. I love making shrimp to put in the soup to add texture and Enoki mushrooms provide a unique twist. Lottie loves it as well as a pasta sauce over whole wheat Rotini.

For awhile I stopped making this soup because cutting and peeling the whole squash was too hard for me (and my knives). Once again, Costco came through for me. Get this: They have fresh, precut and peeled butternut squash in the veggie section for $4.99/2lbs. Not only is it cheaper, but it is so easy!

Butternut Squash Soup

Serves- 8

Total Price (no shrimp)- $8.24

Total Price per Person- $1.03

Average Retail Price- $14.98

Total Savings- $6.74

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients

-2 lbs (one large or two small) Butternut Squash, peeled and cubed- seeds removed

-1 small sweet onion

– 2 medium sized carrots

– 1 stalk of celery

– 1 sweet potato (optional)

– 3-5 cans chicken of vegetable stock

– Sauteed or grilled shrimp (optional)

– Enoki mushrooms (optional)

 

Directions:

1. Cut celery and carrots into small pieces.

2. Diced onion.

3. Put celery, carrots and onions into large pot and cook on medium heat for five minutes. Add a little salt and pepper.

4. Add all cubed butternut squash.

5. Cover with chicken stock until all vegetables are just barely covered.

6. Boil until squash is fork tender.

7. Turn off heat and allow everything to cool.

8. Blend until smooth (add water or stock if you like it thinner).

9. Season with salt and pepper to your liking.

10. Serve and Enjoy!

 

Sales used in this Recipe:

2 lbs. Butternut Squash- Costco- $4.99

 

Key No What???

Posted by meredithfoster in Easy Recipes, Random Tips, Uncategorized

AMAZING DEAL ALERT!

64 oz. ORGANIC QUINOA (Kee-noh-ah)

Total Price- $9.99

Average Retail Price- $37.05

Total Savings- $27.06

In my late teens and early 20’s, I was quite nomadic. I loved going to the University of Tennessee, but in the middle of my time there, I decided to pack it up and head out west. At times I regret that decision, but I know that it was that decision that ultimately made each event in my life unfold and lead me to Blake.

I had a great time living in Vail, CO. After leaving Vail, I headed back to NC where I got my degree from UNC Wilmington. My new found love for surfing led me to Sunny San Diego, CA where I found a job at The Marine Room
(www.marineroom.com) that will forever be marked as one of the greatest experiences I have ever had.

When I moved to San Diego, it was clear that working in a restaurant was what I wanted to do. I wanted my days to be spent on a 10 foot long, freshly waxed, red, Allison surfboard, made specifically for me by one of the greatest surfboard designers of all times. It quickly became clear that I wasn’t the only one with this idea. Restaurant jobs were hard to come by.

I heard from a friend that there was this wonderful restaurant called The Marine Room that practically sat in the ocean. I was told not to apply because they rarely hire. Well, stubborn ole’ me went anyway. I am so glad I did because I landed the job, created amazing memories, met wonderful, life-long friends and learned more than I could have ever imagined from two of the best chefs in the world: Bernard Guillas and Ron Oliver.

I will never forget the stuff I learned there about food and wine. There was this fabulous dish that had a red quinoa in it. I had never seen or heard of quinoa, so I asked Chef Ron what it was. He explained to me all of it’s nutritional benefits and it’s history. Quinoa is a South American grain that is full of protein and essential amino acids. On top of that, it is gluten-free.

Since leaving the Marine Room, the popularity of quinoa has greatly increased. It is even finding it’s way to the grocery store aisles. The main problem with quinoa is that it is expensive. A small bag of it runs anywhere from $2.99-$8.99 for a 12 oz. portion. YIKES! This is why I am sharing this amazing deal I found. At Costco you can get 64 oz. of Organic Quinoa for $9.99, and it is delicious!!

Quinoa

A Pleasant SOUPrise

Posted by meredithfoster in Appetizer, Beef, Easy Recipes, Entree, Spanish

I love to pack a hearty lunch in my lunch box everyday. The OCD in me has a hard time when my lunch box has too much empty space in it. A bowl of taco soup, a small sandwich, a fruit and a perfectly folded napkin fill it up ideally.  This recipe makes enough soup for about 10-12 servings leaving a family of four with lunch the next day.

So we all have those nights where we don’t want to spend a lot of time making dinner or doing the dishes. This soup is one of those dishes that allows you to have a quick and delicious home made meal that leaves little to no mess.  Taco soup is a something that I grew up eating. I am not sure where my mom got the recipe, but we cook it a few times a month in the winter. Enjoy!

Taco Soup

Serves 10-12

Total Amount- $13.01

Total price per person- $1.09

Average Retail price- $22.88

Total Savings- $9.87


 

–          2 lbs of ground beef, turkey or bison

–          1 onion, chopped

–          3 cans pinto beans

–          3 cans corn

–          2 cans diced tomatoes

–          1 can Rotel tomatoes with chilies

–          2-3 cans of low sodium chicken broth

–          1 packet of Hidden Valley Ranch dry seasoning

–          1 packet of taco seasoning

–          1 tsp Lawry’s Seasoning Salt

–          1 tsp garlic salt

–          2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

  1. Brown 2 lbs ground beef and 1 chopped onion in pot with a little olive oil
  2. Season beef with Lawry seasoning salt, garlic salt and Worcestershire sauce and packet of taco seasoning.
  3. Add 3 cans Pinto beans (slightly drained)
  4. Add 3 cans corn (slightly drained)
  5. Add 2 cans of diced tomatoes
  6. Add 1 can rotel tomatoes with chilies
  7. Add 2-3 cans chicken broth
  8. Add dry hidden ranch dressing packet
  9. Cook until warm (medium heat for 30 minutes)
  10. Top with tortilla chips, sour cream, cheese, olives, ect.

Sometimes I adjust flavor with more tomatoes or chicken broth….depends on your taste!

Sales used in this recipe:

Patton’s Meat Market- 5lb package of lean ground beef $11.99

Kroger BOGO –  Delmonte Diced Tomatoes

Kroger BOGO – Rotel Tomatoes

Costco $2.25 off Swanson Low Sodium Chicken Broth

Swimming Upstream

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

For a long time, I refused to cook salmon at home. I always found it
to be too expensive for what it was, and when I made it, it was so
fishy tasting. The weird thing was that when I went to
restaurant, I loved to order salmon, and it was never fishy.

One day at Costco, I decided to get some salmon that was frozen (less than $3 per serving). I always get the frozen scallops and shrimp from Costco,  and
they are always delicious. Buying this salmon was the best thing I
have ever done for my bank account, palate and waistline. I literally
have been eating it 3-5 nights a week. Blake makes this amazing brown
sugar and dill marinade, and then we broil it. It is so good and crispy.
Sometimes we put it on a sandwich and add bacon, but my favorite is to
serve it with a trendy grain(in this case a bed of cauliflower) and some steamed broccoli. This tops my recipes as my favorite!!!

Brown Sugar and Dill Broiled Salmon on a Bed of Cauliflower

Serves- 4
Total Price- $11.40
Total per person- $2.85
Average Retail- $37.96
Total Savings-  $26.56


Ingredients

– 4 filets of salmon

– 2 tsp. olive oil

– 1 1/2 tablespoon mayo

– 2 tsp lemon juice

– 1/2 cup brown sugar

– 1 cup chicken broth

– 1/2 cup water

– 2 tsp. dill (dried)

Directions-

Preheat oven to broil- place top rack 4-5 inches from top.

Make sure it is all the way preheated before you put the fish in the oven.

Dry Salmon pieces before starting.

1. Put all ingredients in a medium saucepan.

2. Turn on medium to high heat and whisk until blended.

3. Bring to a boil until reduced by 80%.

4. Add tsbp of Rum (optional)

5. Reduce until it is the consistency of syrup.

6. Put in a bowl to cool.

7. Coat salmon pieces in sauce.

8. Line a baking pan with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick spray.

9. Place salmon in pan.

10. Drizzle more sauce on top of each salmon.

11. Broil 7 minutes on one side and flip.

12. Drizzle remaining sauce and broil for 7 more minutes until crispy.

13. Serve hot!!!

*TIP: If the sauce reduces too much and becomes like molasses add chicken stock or water 1/2 tbsp at a time and stir until it is the desired thickness.*

Sales on this meal:

Salmon-Costco- 8 pieces for $22

Brown Sugar- Publix- BOGO

Mayo- Publix- BOGO