happy weekend!

being in college, of course we want to drink makers mark, grey goose, even budlight rather than natty.  but sometimes we just can't afford it.  we've all heard of aristocrat- the rubbing alcohol vodka that you can get a handle for a whopping ten bucks.  but it's not fun drinking 'crat with crystal light every weekend.

here's a way to make cheap booze taste good:

cucumber infused vodka

 Just fill an empty jar (i used an old pickle jar) with cucumber and cheap vodka (really good with gin, too).  Adding sugar can help to process, but I think it works perfectly well with just the two ingredients

it's better to slice them thin.

let the jar sit in the fridge at least overnight.  really good over ice with tonic, soda water, sprite, or even just water.  awesome with a lime wedge. 

a fifth of pearl for $16, or a whole handle for what, like 12 bucks?!? 

asian ramen coleslaw

 "molly when are you going to make that asian slaw again.  molly my birthday is coming up, can you make the slaw...please."  my roommates are loving this slaw.  it's super easy, super refreshing, and super good.  it's perfect if you have this with something thick and warm.  the thing they might not realize is, that this is freaky cheap!  the slaw mix is about $1.50, the scallions are .99 cents, and the ramen is what, like twenty cents each?

what you'll need: (serves 4-6)_

- one pack of chopped cabbage (coleslaw mix)

- two packs of oriental flavored ramen noodles (uncooked)

- chopped up bunch of scallions

- grated ginger, sesame seeds, slivered almonds (all optional)

-grilled chicken (optional)

dressing
-oil (preferably vegetable oil)
-juice of an orange
-juice of a lemon
-two tablespoons of soy sauce
-both packets of ramen noodle mix
-salt, pepper
-vinegar (apple cider or rice)
-little bit of sugar..mm say about a tablespoon

(optional: sesame oil)

Just mix up all of the ingredients (crumble up the raw ramen noodles), and add dressing.  you can mix this up ahead of time, to let the dressing soak in.  because cabbage is firmer than lettuce, it can take the dressing ahead of time without getting soggy.

happy mardi gras, ya'll!

i think this post is a day late, but i swear i made this on fat tuesday!  i went to new orleans on a service trip my junior year of high school. i fell in love with the architecture, the culture, and especially the food.  loved it so much that i was seriously considering going to loyola new orleans.  but things add up and money doesn't grow on trees, you know? so, let's bring the flavor to bulldog country.  cooking cajun is always fun- the flavors are killer.  and when i hear "beans and rice," i hear cheap and delicious.

new orleans style red beans and rice

-onion (about one medium)

-2 cloves garlic (or how much you like)

-one green or red bell pepper

-about 1 or 2 stalks of celery 

-diced ham (or sausage or both!)

-can of red beans (75 cents...or soak your own!)

-steamed rice from one cup (i used a brown/wild rice combo...but traditionally it's white)

-cayenne pepper

-2 bay leaves

-dried thyme 

-salt/pepper

i forgot celery!! :(

step 1: coat the bottom of a saucepan with some oil and "sweat down" the diced onion, green pepper, along with cayenne, thyme and salt and pepper over medium heat for about 5 minutes.

2 Add bay leaves, and ham and cook for about 6 more minutes

step 3: add beans and garlic aaaand.....

fill pot with enough water to cover all the ingredients.  bring to a boil at high heat, then reduce to medium and let simmer uncovered (it says for 2 hours, i say...whatever tastes good...i did about an hour).  it started to get super dry after about an hour, so i added some white wine and a little more water and simmered it for bout a half hour after that. 

time it out so that your rice is steamy and ready when your beans are (by following the directions on your rice bag, of course)

when the mixture is ready it's look like a soupy glob like this.  mash it all up with a spoon and put it over rice.  all the flavors will be so well melded together you'll love it!

perfect [pumpkin] winter soup

i recently found out how super good pumpkin (yes, even canned pumpkin) is for you. (check it out here).  i heard about using pumpkin puree as the base for a soup, so i decided to look some recipes up, but most of them had tons of butter and heavy cream in there.  with my low budget along with trying to eat healthier, i had to use what i could find.
here's what i did....(it was so. gooooooood)

sweet and spicy pumpkin soup (3ish servings)

-one can of pumpkin puree (usually in the baking isle...super inexpensive)
-1-2ish cups of apple juice (what i had in the fridge...but really worked out well...many recipes call for chicken stock)
- 1/2 yellow onion finely chopped (i only had red...but yellow would be better...doesn't really matter)
-2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
-couple scoops of vanilla yogurt (replaces heavy cream)
-little bit of apple cider vinegar (also don't need it, but i love a little acidity in things)
-some white wine (you don't need it...but i love it when i cook)
-splash of skim milk (also not totally necessary)

different spices (whatever you like, really..)
- cayenne pepper
- curry powder
-garlic powder
-turmeric
-chili sauce

i bet an all-spice or more warmy spices like cinnamon, nutmeg etc would be nice, too

this recipe is obviously very flexible.  i used a lot of spices and spicy things to play out the sweetness of the apple juice, along with the vinegar.  the fun in it is trying it as you go and figuring out what to put in it to make it how you like it.  but when you get that perfect onion-y/garlicy/apple sweet/curry spicy taste....bingo!!

i replaced heavy cream with yogurt and high sodium chicken stock with apple juice and spices

first heat a pot coated with olive oil to around medium (or a little higher) and add chopped onions.  "sweat" them down so that they become tender and translucent (salt and pepper always).  at this point, i then added white wine, until the alcohol was cooked out.  i added the garlic and cooked for just a little (garlic is bad burnt, so make sure the heat isn't too high).  

i then added the apple juice until warm, then the puree, then the yogurt (constantly stirring).  now is the fun part: making it savory and spicy.  i added  cayenne, garlic powder, turmeric, curry powder and mustard powder (ooo...you know what? grey poupon would be really good, too....), chili sauce and vinegar.  i kept adding cayenne until it was the perfect heat.  

this soup is especially perfect for those who live in old kirksville houses with thin walls like me.....it'll warm you up for at least...mmm, 4 minutes..

so you say you don't like beets?

dad and i have never been picky eaters by any means, but the one thing he has never liked are beets. "they taste like dirt".  because of this, i never really gave them a chance, and rather assumed that i wouldn't like them either.  i started hearing about how awesome beets are for you: they help your mental health, apparently help fight cancer and heart problems, are very detoxing etc. etc. etc.   

overall this salad is killer!  

    Warm beet and goat cheese salad (1-2 serving)

 - 1 can of beets (fresh are better, but obviously not as simple and lazy)

 - 1/2-1 whole avocado

 - crumbled up goat cheese

 -  almonds or walnuts

 - dried cranberries or cherries

 - arugula, spinach, any kind of dark leafy green (like a pre packaged spring mix)

 dressing (see below) v v v

canned beets are super inexpensive (60ish cents)! just drain and eat. but watch it- they are a natural dye, so the juice will stain!

dressing:  balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, honey, orange juice, salt, pepper

-whisk it all together and make sure there's a balance of sweet, citrus, acid and tang.  like i said (before), if you have a well-stocked kitchen, all you'd really need to buy is the orange

                                                       

or, if you remember from (this) post, it's easy to pre-make a standard balsamic dressing that you can use for so many different things (i used this and thinned it out with more oj and vinegar)

dip the canned beets in the dressing and place on a saucepan at, mmm..? medium heat.  (when in doubt,  put it at medium).  cook both sides for around 5ish minutes, so that they start to get a nice sticky caramelization.  

what's really easy is to always have a bag of mixed nuts and dried fruits.  you can find these usually around the produce section by the lettuce.  having this and goat cheese may seem like a stretch for a college budget, but if you're a salad lover like i am, you can get a good 8-10 salads out of both. 

(goat cheese $3.50 ish, nut mix 2.98isn)

cut up the avo and put it on the lettuce with the remaining dressing....gettin therrree!

this salad is crazy good.  the earthiness of the beets, with the sweet and tangy dressing, the creamy goat cheese melting on top of the warm sticky beets, the fresh crisp of the lettuce, the dried berries absorb the juice, the crunch of the almonds....uh! 

GIVE IT A GO!

getting started

in order to make cheap food taste good, you have to stock up your pantry.  things that i always have and suggest you should, too:

-olive oil
-salt
-pepper
-an onion
-a head of fresh garlic (lasts for a long time)
-honey
-brown sugar
-vinaigrette (mainly balsamic and apple cider)
-dijon mustard
-lemon or lime (or both!)
-soy sauce
-peanut butter
***spices***
-cayenne pepper
-cinnamon
-curry powder
-chili powder
-cumin


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simple balsamic dressing that goes well on TONS
-balsamic vinaigrette
-dijon mustard
-lemon juice
-salt
-pepper
-minced garlic
-tiny bit of honey
-olive oil

on sale at hy-vee

so much Hy-Vee food on sale found here from 1/23-1/29

What you can do:
-Baked salmon with blablba or tilapia fish tacos blaba
(((recipe and pics))))
Roasted carrots BLABLA
(((recipe and pics)))
roasted garlic bread BAA;ALAL
(((recipe and pics))
romaine salad with homemade dressing (((i'll teach later)))))


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