Easy as Pie Test Kitchen

Busy doing Christmas shopping? Try this recipe.

Reader Jacob--who cannot eat wheat, sugar or any sweeteners, or preservatives-- shared this recipe with me over email. I added a little cilantro, corn, and tomatoes, plus some vegan mayo to get what you see in the photo, but it's a similar idea. Very easy. Very tasty. For a full meal, just add some meat. Thanks, Jacob!

1 large onion

1 large green bell pepper

1 large red bell pepper

4 cloves garlic

1 chili pepper

1 lime

1 can black beans (ingredients of black beans, water and salt only)

onion powder

garlic powder

sea salt

pepper

¼ cup olive oil

 Chop onions and bell peppers in any size you want.  Put in a large bowl.  Chop garlic and chili pepper and add to bowl.  Squeeze lime juice into mixture.  Add onion powder, garlic powder, sea salt and pepper to taste.  Mix and let stand 30 minutes.

Add olive oil to a pan.  Heat to med-high.  Add mixture and cook until vegetables are soft.  Drain and rinse can of black beans and add to pan.  Cook for another 5 minutes.  Serve hot.

"Whoopy once, whoopy twice, whoopy chicken soup with rice"

In honor of the new "Where the Wild Things Are" movie (that I haven't seen yet), here's a recipe inspired by one of Maurice Sendak's lesser known books, "Chicken Soup with Rice". The book is a poem about eating chicken soup every month of the year. October ends with, "Whoopy once. Whoopy twice. Whoopy chicken soup with rice."

Besides having Sendak on the brain, I wanted to make something for my burly Alaskan husband who was sick with the flu. What better remedy than chicken soup? I like my soup thick, so you are welcome to add more water or broth if you prefer yours to actually be soupy. I used red wine, which gave it a nice fall kick and also a neat purplish color.

 
Chicken soup with rice ($7.24)

1 1/2 cups rice (I used a wild rice mix from Trader Joe's, but I don't remember how much it cost. $.75 for everyday grocery store rice)
2 large carrots, sliced ($.50)
2 stalks celery, sliced ($.50)
1 14.5-ounce can tomatoes ($1.49)
4 cups broth ($2)
2 cups red wine ($1 from Trader Joe's)
2 cups pieces of chicken ($1)
3 tablespoons dried parsley
salt and pepper

Put all ingredients in a crock pot and heat on high 4-6 hours. Or, if the chicken is already cooked, just nuke it until it's hot. Whoopy twice and enjoy. 4-6 servings.

Yam Shepherd's Pie

I was going to use these yams to make soup, but I've been making a lot of soup lately and I'm a little tired of it. This is easier and sticks to your ribs a little more. :)

Yam Shepherd's Pie--$7.13

2 lbs. yams, cooked and mashed ($2.40) or 1 can ($3.55)

1 lb. ground beef ($2.99)

1 onion ($.74)

1 lb. frozen mixed vegetables ($1)

Brown the ground beef in a large skillet. Once it's browned, remove to a small casserole dish, leaving some of the grease in the pan. Add the onions and vegetables to the skillet and heat, stirring periodically, until the vegetables are heated through and the onions start to brown. Add to the casserole and mix with the meat. Spoon the potatoes evenly over the top and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat the pie under a broiler until it is a little crisp and browned on the top.

I'm not obsessed with pumpkin, really...

...okay, maybe just a little. I used to love pumpkin flavored chai lattes and pumpkin beer around this time of year. Just because those days are over, though, does not mean I can't enjoy pumpkin-flavored goodness. This risotto is actually healthier than the kind with cheese, and it has a great fall kick! And, incidentally, it is easy and inexpensive (even with the organic pumpkin!) I made it for about $7.61, not counting pantry items. I'm sure someone who is better at clipping coupons and looking for sales than I am could probably even make this for a lot less than that.

Pumpkin Risotto

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 white or yellow onion, chopped ($.75)
2 cups rice ($1.50)
1 cup wine (I use $2 wine from Trader Joe's, so about $.50)
1 can (15-ounce)  pumpkin purée ($2.36)
5 cups stock/broth ($2.50)
1 teaspoon nutmeg
6 pistachios, (optional)
3 cloves, (optional)

Heat the oil in a wide, large sauce pan over medium-high heat. Saute onions for 2 minutes. Add rice. Cook and stir for about a minute. Add wine. Cook and stir until wine is absorbed. Add 2 cups stock. Cover and allow to simmer until liquid is absorbed. Continue adding stock 1/2 cup at a time, allowing the rice to absorb the liquid before adding more. Pumpkin with final 1/2 cup of stock. Stir and cook until liquid is absorbed. Add nutmeg.

Grind the pistachios and cloves in a food processor. Stir into risotto. Allow to cool a few minutes before serving.

Sausage & Asparagus--Quick & Easy

This is becoming a new favorite at our house. Basically, cut up some asparagus ($3), cut up some chicken sausage (half a package--$2.50), saute them together in a pan with a little oil and garlic. Add some halved cherry tomatoes ($1.50) or cannellini beans ($1.25) and heat for another two minutes. You can serve it by itself or over rice or pasta. And, of course, make sure to read the sausage ingredients before you buy. Weird things can lurk in sausage, but it's not too difficult to avoid allergens if you're careful. So, here you are, for about $7 total and almost no effort:

 

With tomatoes...
 

With cannellini beans...

Celebrate Fall with Sausage & Apples

It may not feel like it, but Fall will officially be here Tuesday. Besides, I couldn't wait to get started on some of my favorite fall recipes. Here's one that my mom used to make when I was growing up. We all loved it, and I'm guessing that made my mom pretty happy because it's extremely easy, not to mention pretty cheap. It's kind of a breakfasty meal because of the syrup and sausage, but one of the homiest dinners is breakfast for dinner, right?

Baked Apples with Sausage Links

8 apples, large, baking apples preferable
8 sausage links
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup apple juice

Heat your oven to 400. Core the apples. Put sausage links through the apple cores and set them in a glass baking or casserole dish. Mix syrup and apple juice and pour over the tops of the apples. Bake uncovered about 45 minutes, spooning the syrup and juice mixture over the tops of the apples every so often. Serve hot.

Beets, again! (and that's not a complaint)

I am really learning to love beets, and my husband is too. I guess it's going to take me awhile to blog about 365 different vegetables to eat when I'm still stuck on the first one.

I ran across a recipe in Deborah Madison's vegetarian cookbook (the best cookbook ever, IMHO) for baked beets with horseradish sauce and decided I'd try it. Of course, I followed her recipe more in spirit than actuality (I did not use fresh horseradish, I baked the beets completely different, and I did my usual thing to vegetarian recipes, adding some kind of pork.) But I've gotta giver her props because I never would have thought of horseradish on beets. It was so good, I decided I had to take a photo of it on my good china.

Incidentally, Deborah Madison has joined the blogosphere. She has some delicious whole foods types of recipes posted already. Check out her blog at www.deborahmadison.com/blog

Introducing Easy as Pie's Perfect 10!

This is the first in a series of meal recipes that cost less than $10 and take less than 10 minutes of active time to make, with 10 or fewer ingredients. If you're busy like me (and who isn't these days?), these are the perfect dinner solutions!

This week, Tuscan Pork & Beans with Steamed Carrots for $9.55

This recipe does require thinking ahead a little, but still doesn't actually take much time over the stove to prepare. There are a couple of options with the pork and beans. I'm calling the dish "Tuscan" because it has Italian seasoning in it. I went to a Mexican restaurant for lunch the very day I made this for dinner and realized their Olla Bean Soup with Carnitas was almost identical, with slightly different spices. So, you could use Mexican or Fajita seasoning and substitute cilantro for the parsley and voila: South of the border flair.

I recommend using dried beans. First of all, it's cheaper. Then there's the dirty little secret about beans--they don't make you nearly as gassy if you use dried beans and soak them overnight instead of using canned beans. I'm not a scientist, so I'm not sure why it works, but you can read some theories here and here. All I know is it works for me. If you're dealing with food intolerances like I am, you'll jump at the chance to, um, degassify your food as much as possible.

Tuscan Pork & Beans--$8.05
1 pound dried navy beans ($1.50) or 3 cans prepared beans ($5.25!)
1 pound boneless pork loin ($5)
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning ($.25)
2 bay leaves ($.20)
2 teaspoons salt
3 green onions, sliced ($.50)
1 tomato, chopped ($.50)
1 sprig parsley, chopped ($.10)

Soak the beans overnight covered in cold water. Drain them. Cover them with fresh water in a pot, and let them simmer for 30-40 minutes. Lay the pork at the bottom of a slow cooker pot. Pour the beans over it, along with the water you cooked them in. Add the Italian seasoning, salt, and bay leaves and stir. Cook on low heat 8-10 hours. Serve topped with tomatoes, green onions, and parsley.

Steamed Baby Carrots ($1.50)
1 pound bag baby carrots ($1.50)
butter or margarine

I like to use steamer bags to steam my veggies in the microwave. Just follow the directions on the bag (usually 5-6 minutes for a decent amount of carrots). Or you can use a steamer basket in a pan on the stove. Steaming keeps more of the nutrients in the vegetables than other cooking methods. Top the carrots with butter or margarine as you like, and enjoy!