Gourmet Meals For Less

Snowy With a Chance of Meatballs...Turkey Meatballs that is....

Turkey Meatballs with Tomato Sauce over Rigatoni  

 

What do you eat on a cold, snowy night when you’ve promised your daughter you’d watch "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" with her?  Why meatballs of course!  I was trying to decide what to make with the other package of ground turkey I had in the fridge and meatballs seemed the perfect thing. 

I was tired of the same ole’ spaghetti noodles and thought some nice and hearty rigatoni pasta sounded so comforting.  The meatballs were perfect, not too over seasoned where they distracted from the sauce but also very flavorful (sometimes meatballs can be bland). 

And, once again ground turkey was a great stand in for the usual ground beef, and far more healthy.  Don’t shy away from ground turkey and chicken, I think you’ll be surprised at how versatile it is as a stand in for ground beef dishes.  Hope you’ll give my:

 

Turkey Meatballs with Tomato Sauce over Rigatoni 
a try!

Pantry Challenge Day 3 and 4....Barley Beef Vegetable Soup

 
Day Three of my pantry challenge was uneventful but very frugal.  And just in case you think ahha! I bet she’s cheating on the days she doesn’t post a recipe.

I’m not…it’s just that what we’ve had to eat is so boring or mundane, it doesn’t warrant writing down a recipe for let alone taking up a blog entry.  For example…spaghetti with jarred sauce, I mean c’mon no one wants to read about that.  Our third night’s pantry meal would fall into this category, kinda boring but it was definitely cheap! 

 

Hamburgers (made with frozen patties that were given to us) with cheese and fresh tomatoes

Raw carrots and sliced red peppers with homemade veggie dip

and BBQ Potato chips

Total: $5.50

(and I fed the four of us and two of my daughter’s friends.  Can’t beat that for frugal just not very exciting to write about)

 

On the other hand Day 4 of the challenge was blog worthy and so yummy good!  I had been trying to think of a way to use the under blade steak I purchased on sale (they tend to be tough) and after racking my brain..duh soup!  There’s nothing like a slow simmer in soup to tenderize a tougher cut of beef.   I also have a garage freezer full of frozen garden tomatoes and okra that stare at me guiltily every time I venture out there.  I figured I better come up with recipes to use these much labored over produce.  The end result:

Barley Beef Vegetable Soup with Hot Rolls

Perfect for a cold winter evening!

 

Day Two Pantry Challenge…Fiesta Beans and Rice

On day two of my pantry challenge, I had the foresight to thaw out a pound of ground turkey the night before, but I just wasn’t sure yet what I would be doing with it.  As it got closer to dinnertime, I figured I better come up with something quick.  My daughter had a friend over to spend the night, so I couldn’t just set some peanut butter and jelly on the table with a loaf of bread and hope for the best.  Besides, her mom reads this so she would have known if I didn’t fess up and faked a menu to put on here for last night so once again, I took stock of what I had in the pantry and poked my head in the fridge and came up with what I have titled:

"Fiesta Beans and Rice"

 

Believe it or not this name generated a very interesting conversation between hubby and I who gave me a little smirk when I told him my name idea for this dish…as you see the name stuck, since after staring at the picture for awhile he couldn’t think of anything better agreed with my clever name.  So Fiesta Beans and Rice it will remain, of course you’re welcome to call it anything you want…just as long as you like it!

Fiesta Beans and Rice with Corn Tortillas

Serves 5-6

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. olive or canola oil, divided (PI)

1 lb ground turkey (1.50) (purchased at a buy one get one free sale at Kroger)

½ of a white or yellow onion, diced (.25)

½ tsp salt (PI)

½ tsp pepper (PI)

1 Tbs. tomato paste  (freeze the remaining tomato paste in 1 Tbs. portions on wax paper and keep in a freezer bag for future use, very convenient!)

½ packet taco seasoning (.24)

¼ cup water (free!)

½ Tbs. cumin (PI)

½ red bell pepper (optional, I just happened to have some frozen) (.25)

1 can black beans drained and rinsed (.67)

1 cup frozen or canned corn (.25)

2 tomatoes, chopped (1.50)

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro (.15)

½ cup mexi or cheddar cheese (.50)

2 cups rice (cook according to directions) (1.15)

6-8 corn tortillas (1.00)

*(PI)= Pantry Item

Directions:

Heat up a large skillet and add 1 Tbs. oil.  Add ground turkey, onion salt and pepper and brown. 
Add tomato paste, taco seasoning, cumin and ¼ cup water to ground turkey mixture, stirring to combine. 
Add in black rice and corn and allow mixture to simmer approximately 10-15 minutes on low heat. 
While turkey mixture is simmering, heat 1 Tbs. canola oil in a small skillet on medium-high.  One at a time, add corn tortillas to oil, flipping over after 45 seconds.  Fold tortilla in half while in skillet and place on a paper towel covered plate and keep warm until time to serve. 
Right before serving, stir in tomatoes and fresh cilantro into turkey mixture.  Serve over rice with corn tortillas on the side, top with cheese. The beans and rice can be placed in the tortillas or eaten as is, in a bowl.

Total: $7.46

 

As you can see from my above tip on the tomato paste, I love to share ideas and learn new ones that help me make cooking easier, take advantage of good prices and avoid wasting food.  Do you have any great tips or ideas?  Let me know I'd love to hear from you and I'll share them on the blog...Thanks!

Enjoy!

My pantry challenge...BBQ Chicken Sandwich Melts and Country Skillet Potatoes

 

Do you ever just get tired of going to the grocery store?  Since I’ve started this challenge, I’ve felt some pressure to always have these great meals thought out.  The planning is always something I enjoy....the shopping not so much.  As I started thinking about our meals for the next few days, I realized I didn’t want to go to the store.  Now in the past I would have run to the nearest McDonald's or Wendy’s and grabbed us something to go, and to feed us all it would have run at least $25.  I decided instead I was going to shop out of our pantry.

The thing about shopping out of your pantry and fridge is you have to be creative.   You’re not always sure what you have in there and if it’s going to be anything you can make a cohesive meal out of.  Which means you have to actually deviate from recipes and be willing to experiment a little.  The first night of my pantry shopping trip, I decided to make:

Shredded BBQ Chicken Sandwich Melts and Country Skillet Potatoes

Following is the super easy recipes for this meal.  Maybe it will inspire you to shop from your pantry and avoid the drive thru…