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Greek-Style Chickpeas (Chickpeas Plaki)

3/15/2018

 
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Here’s another super easy and cheap recipe from the traditional, everyday cuisine of the beautiful island of Cyprus. It's incredibly quick, too, if you happen to have leftover cooked brown rice on hand.  

Dishes like this are what make the Mediterranean diet such a healthy one, unlike the recipes with a heavy red meat emphasis that so many people mistakenly believe are the typical daily fare for Greek households.
 
Mama Aphrodite, my Greek-Cypriot mother-in-law, would often cook this meal at our request.  We would usually ask for it after a weekend of visits to various Cypriot relatives’ homes where they showed their love for us with incredible feasts that invariably resulted in us stuffing ourselves to the point of discomfort. 

There's a reason that the first word I learned in Greek (other than a few choice expletives and please and thank you), was the command to eat.  In fact,  “Fáe, Fáe, Fáe!” (Eat, eat eat!) is probably the most common refrain a guest will hear from any ethnic Greek host or hostess. 
And they really mean it.

​When entertaining guests, they pull out all the stops, so that as a visitor to a typical Greek home you’ll often encounter a table almost groaning from the sheer weight of the platters of different grilled and stewed meat dishes, pasta and meat casseroles, meat and vegetable casseroles, stuffed grape leaves and zucchinis, small plate “meze” offerings (similar to appetizers or tapas), fruits, and desserts, etc.
 
The hospitality for which the region is renowned obligates the host or hostess to ply their guests with course after course of food until you are stuffed to the point where you simply cannot eat one bite more. 

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Chicken with Spinach (Spanaki me to kreas)

8/29/2016

 
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Chicken with Spinach (Spanaki me to kreas)
This is a traditional Cypriot dish that you’ll find in many old cookbooks. Mama cooked it a few times when we visited on holiday in the summer, sometimes with lamb, and sometimes with chicken.

But spinach is a cool weather crop, so this is more of a winter meal in the hot climate of Cyprus.  One way around that problem, even here in cooler New England is to use frozen spinach, which is often cheaper than fresh and also saves some prep time.  

Of course, this is only a true budget meal if you buy the meat on sale. And, as I repeat over and over again in my blogs, that’s the ONLY way you should ever buy meat, except maybe for special occasions. And even then, with just a little bit of planning, you can usually find deals in your local market.

I typically won’t pay more than 99¢a pound for chicken parts or whole chicken. And sometimes I can get legs or backs for quite a bit less. I don’t buy wings because they are too boney, and you’re paying for that in the per pound price.

​Also, if I can get boneless chicken breast for $1.49 or so, I will stock up on that. 

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"Baked" Bean Casserole, Stove Top and Slow Cooker Method

7/27/2016

 
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Tangy
Growing up, we typically ate baked beans a couple of times a month. Baked beans, homemade coleslaw,  with hot dogs and rolls, or old-fashioned canned brown bread – was a regular meal in our house.

I loved it. 
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It turns out it was the result of a misunderstanding between my parents -  namely, that while Mom thought that Dad liked baked beans from his time in the army, he actually didn't like them much at all because they reminded him of the army.
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But he never said a word of complaint about it for decades. I think part of that was because he felt the household and the meals were Mom’s domain, and he did not want to interfere. 

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 Lentils-Mediterranean Style

5/28/2016

 
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Mediterranean Lentils
​It really doesn’t get any simpler or cheaper than this meal. It’s also delicious and one of my Greek-Cypriot husband’s favorites from his childhood on the beautiful island of Cyprus.
 
While many people associate lots of meat with a Greek meal, nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to the actual day-to-day meals that most households in the Mediterranean eat. That daily menu is far more likely to contain beans, lentils, salad, and maybe some sardines than it is to contain lamb or any other meat.
 
Meat is only an occasional part of the menu, typically no more than 1--3x a week in most households I know. The impression to the contrary undoubtedly stems from the wonderful hospitality of that region of the world that has any host or hostess wanting to show their guests their Sunday best rather than the more mundane meals that they eat every day.
 
To give you an example, on our annual family visits to Cyprus, my dear mother-in-law, Aphrodite, would ask me each day what she should cook. 

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Black-Eyed Peas and Spicy Greens

5/19/2016

 
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Black-Eyed Peas and Greens
“This is really good. I didn’t think I’d like anything vegetarian, but I really do like this!” Those were my brother’s surprised words when I prepared this dish for a family gathering a while back.

​He’s right, of course. This meal is very tasty -- one of my personal favorites. And just as it did him, it might surprise others who are new to the idea of meatless meals to know that vegetarian does not mean tasteless or unsatisfying. It’s perfectly possible to be nutritious, healthy and delicious all at the same time. 
Black-Eye Peas and Spicy Greens
The spiciness of his recipe as written is probably what appealed to my brother. It's certainly one of the reasons my family likes it so much. But it can be made quite mild as well, or however the cook would like it to be.

​The heat is adjustable to personal tastes, and the medley of vegetables in the recipe lends plenty of flavor of their own.  
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It can also be a very quick recipe to get on the table if you happen to have a batch of cooked rice on hand (because you planned and cooked extra from another meal earlier in the week that called for rice, such as Jamaican-Style Lentils).  

Using frozen greens, instead of fresh,  further reduces the prep and cook time. 

In fact, the only thing besides the rice that takes any time is the vegetable chopping. An experienced cook can get it done in about 10 minutes, but it will take a novice a bit longer.  


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Seafood Paella

4/10/2016

 
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Seafood Paella
Years ago, when I was a young graduate student overseas, I spent several months in southern Spain, working on my language skills for my degree. I stayed with a Spanish family, and rabbit paella was regularly on the menu.

Now, I had just shortly before that finished reading On Watership Down, and it was one of my favorite books. Because of that, I just could not bring myself to eat rabbit. Yet I did not want to offend my hostess. So I would surreptitiously pick out the meat and put it in a napkin to throw out later when I brought my plate to the kitchen.

This was undoubtedly very silly because obviously the rabbit juices were still in the rice and vegetables I ate, but such was the logic of my thinking. And the rice portion of the paella was delicious – as it always is.
 
The thing about paella is that it’s a very versatile dish, and you can add just about any meat or vegetable you’d like to it. Sausage and other meat are very common, but so is fish. Clams and shrimp often adorn the top of the rice, and are steamed along with the rest of the ingredients the last 10-15 minutes or so, making it a very attractive dish.
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However, while you can always add such things yourself, particularly for special occasions, that’s not really an option for the budget-conscious for a regular meal. Chicken is one choice that’s more economical. But most often I find that I use tuna or another economical fish (tilapia, pollock, etc.) for this dish. It makes it a very easy, everyday meal that takes minimal prep. And occasionally, I will use canned salmon, instead, depending on what's cheapest in the grocery store.

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 Lentils - Spicy and Sweet Jamaican Style 

3/8/2016

 
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Jamaican Style Lentils
I love the way this recipe combines tangy spices with the added sweetness of citrus to create a delicious blend. I got the original for this recipe from the Mom of a college friend, who served it when I stayed at their home over spring break years and years ago. I've adapted and changed it a bit over time, so I don’t know if it actually has any resemblance to authentic Jamaican cuisine anymore.  But it's tasty all the same.

It is my understanding that Jamaican food can be very hot. This dish is somewhat spicy, but there’s plenty of room for more heat, if that’s to your taste. My sons always add more pepper when I serve this. Or, if you prefer your food mild, you can reduce or even eliminate the peppers.

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Hearty Lentil Soup

1/23/2016

 
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Hard as it may be to believe in this day and age of so much food diversity, the first time I ate lentil soup was during my gap year living and working in England after I graduated from high school.

​I think it may well have been one of my very first experiences with legumes of any type. While we ate plenty of vegetables growing up, meat was the focal point of our main meals, and U.S. diets and grocery stores were not as cosmopolitan as they are today.

But the year I turned 18, I did what's now called a gap year overseas and shared a house on a farm near London, England with 9 other young people from all over the world. It was an intense, challenging time of personal growth where I learned more than a thing or two about long, hard hours of physical labor, getting along with people, and food.

We had a housemother named Tess who was responsible for preparing meals and keeping the household running smoothly. She was all of 17 years old, a tiny little thing with a lovely, thick Yorkshire lilt and a huge personality, who had taken care of her younger siblings for  years after her mother died. 

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Dirty Rice with Brown Rice and Collard Greens

1/11/2016

 
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I love the convenience and ease of one-pot meals, and this so-called Dirty Rice meal is even easier than most. However, this particular recipe calls for sausage in place of the traditional chicken parts or ground pork, and we all know that sausage is neither the cheapest protein source – even on sale - nor the healthiest one.

Of course, you can always use use diced, cooked ham leftover from a Baked Ham Dinner as an option, if you happen to have some on hand that you bought on sale and used in a previous recipe earlier. Or you can use leftover chicken from a roast chicken dinner.  

​But that's not always the case. So when I wanted to double the original recipe to accommodate my teenage boys’ appetites, I added a cheaper protein option by using lentils to augment the sausage and keep the meal within my budget and health parameters. 

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Avgolemono (Greek Egg and Lemon Soup)  (Vegetarian Version)

1/5/2016

 
Greek Avgolemeno (Lemon-Egg Soup)
The first instance when I tasted Avgolemono, it was a bit of revelation to me. It was so different from anything I had ever experienced growing up, and I immediately loved the combination of the thick, creamy rice and egg soup and the tart, lemony flavoring.

​My Greek-Cypriot husband made it for me that first time during our university days in Vienna as international students.

​He used the recipe he found in an old Cypriot cookbook and struggled a bit with the decidedly vague instructions, but managed to make a success of it as far as I was concerned. I gobbled it up.

 
Since that first time enjoying it, this soup has been a mainstay of our family menu planning.

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Hearty Black Bean Soup

10/3/2015

 
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This is one of my oldest recipes. I have loved black bean soup since my childhood. 

It's the canned version I remember. That was what we occasionally had for lunch -- but never for dinner. Campbell's, I think it was - a pretty rare purchase made by my frugal Mom. But the flavor sure stuck with me.

Of course I didn't learn about the possibility of meatless meals until I had a vegetarian house mother the year I worked on a farm in England after high school. She introduced me to all kinds of possibilities for nutritious, budget-conscious meals.

So when I was a poor grad student and then a low-earning newlywed, I made it a point to try to re-create her delicious vegetarian fare, as well as my childhood favorites. This particular  soup was definitely one of those.

I wanted to replicate the flavor, but add a whole lot more heartiness to make it a meal in a pot. I soon came up with this recipe.

It was a mainstay of my menu repertoire for many years, included in the cookbook I created for family members one Christmas in lieu of gifts we could not afford.  But I had not used it in years and years, and had actually forgotten about it until recently when I happened to notice it again among my recipes.

I cooked it up shortly thereafter,  fell in love with it all over again, and proceeded to make it a few times over the course of the next few weeks.  

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Spicy Black Bean and Corn Salsa Salad

8/10/2015

 
Spicy Salsa Bean Salad

It's a scorching week of weather this week, and this entree salad makes a satisfying and versatile dish that's perfect for when the temperature soars.  Or for when it doesn't. 

Come to think of it, it's great just about any old time. 

To give you an idea about its versatility:
  • It can be vegetarian, as described here, but is also very nice with a couple of cups of cut up chicken; 
 
  • It can be made with pasta, with rice, or simply served with tortilla chips. That means that for those with celiac disease or gluten intolerance, it can easily be made gluten free;

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    Hi, I'm Nancy, and I'm on a mission to help people eat and live well on a tight budget. Yes, it CAN be done. I should know because  I've been doing it for a long time now.  I learned cooking and eating on a budget first from my frugal Mom while  growing up in a family of 11, then  as a poor grad student and a struggling young newlywed putting my husband through school, and in more recent years with my family of 6, including my 4 (now grown) sons. Along the way, I picked up several college credits in nutrition.  I've always cooked using a realistic, frugal budget and keeping nutrition foremost in mind.
    I walk the walk of budget living and cooking every week, even now when we could well afford to spend more. I just don't see the point of doing that when what we've been doing has worked so well for us, saved us thousands, and kept us healthy and happy.

     In this section of the blog, I offer some meal plans and recipes, some old, some new, to help get you started on eating well for less than you think and keeping money in your bank account. Every one of them is less than $2 per serving  for a full course meal.  

    I hope you find some of these recipes useful.  

    And thanks for visiting!

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