- The cost of the items is based on what I find on sale at my grocery store the week I post this. As a rule I try to make every meal deliscious and nutritious for a family of four for $10 or less.
- Portions are based on a fairly hungry 4 person family. Double if you want leftovers, triple if you have teenage boys:)
- Sometimes my instructions are vague and sometimes there's extra detail you don't find on typical recipes. I do that on purpose so the average person starts to get an idea as to how they can adapt recipes and also to steer you away from potentially disastrous/expensive mistakes.
Roasted Red Pepper, Eggplant and Goat Cheese Pizza
Pizza gets a bad rap, mostly because in this country we buy it from a chain that douses it in oil, loads it with cheese and fatty meats and serves it up piping hot and ready to clog arteries. Truth is if you make it at home, load it with good stuff and have a little patience, you'll save money and be a lot healthier in the process.
1 Whole Wheat pizza crust (you can make from scratch or buy dough but this saves time) ... 2.25
1/2 c tomato sauce (or crushed tomatoes, whole tomatoes, whaever you've got) .... 0.40
1 Medium Eggplant.....2.00
1/4 large white/yellow onion.... 0.25
1/2 roasted red pepper (you can buy them jarred)..... 0.75
4 oz goat cheese.....2.00
1 package sliced mushroms.....2.00
1/2 head green leaf lettuce.... 0.40
1/2 head red leaf lettuce.....0.40
1/2 c shredded carrots.... 0.30
1/4 medium red onion.... 0.25
Homemade salad dressing
Spray a baking dish with olive oil spray. Peel and slice the eggplant and white onion, place in the baking dish with basil, parsley and crushed red pepper. Bake in a 425 degree oven until the eggplant is soft and starts to toast. Baking the eggplant before layering it on the pizza allows you to add more eggplant to the pizza. Were you to just load raw eggplant on, you'd have to add thinner and fewer slices because the premade crust will burn in the time it takes for the eggplant to cook if it's all added at the same time.
Meanwhile spray a pizza sheet with olive oil spray. Place the crust on the sheet, add sauce. Slice roasted peppers into thin strips. Layer baked eggplant and onions onto pia dough. Add mushrooms, roasted peppers and goat cheese. Bake in 425 degree oven until mushrooms are brown and crust is brown and crisp on the bottom. Toss salad ingredients together and serve on the side.
Crustless Quiche/Strata
Quiche is delicious but the crust offers no nutritional value so if your family has the calories to burn, throw a crust together. If not, serve with whole wheat toast or skip the carbs if you have more self-control than I do.
1 dozen eggs ..... 1.99
1 lb Broccoli.......1.29
1/2 pack Hilshire Farms thin sliced deli ham .......1.50
1 pack green onions......0.99
1/2 c reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese........... 0.50
1/2 head of lettuce (romaine or boston).............1.00
1/2 red onion................0.50
Homemade dressing.......................0.20
1/2 loaf whole wheat bread.................1.00
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Steam the broccolli, let it cool and chop it into very small pieces (or cook broccolli the night before and make an extra pound for this meal, saves time)
Use half of the eggs whole and half egg whites. If you've never separated a yolk from a white, google it...seriously. It's not hard to learn. This is significantly cheaper than buying the egg substitute in a carton and the protein is in the whites anyway so you're getting a better ratio of fats and proteins by eliminating some of the fats (or reserve them for a baked good treat... or cook them up for the football playing twins if they're still hungry)
Whisk the eggs and egg whites together. Add the broccolli. Tear the ham into bits and add to the egg mixture as well. Add pepper but not salt (there's a lot of salt in the ham and cheese so yuo've already got plenty)
Spray a pie pan, an 8x8, 9x9 whatever you've got in the house with olive oil spray. Pour in the mixture (liquid should go about halfway up the dish). Sprinkle cheese on top and bake until set, meaning when you stick a knife in it, it doesn't come out wet. Should take about 30 minutes, give or take.
You can use store bought dressing and just slice the onion and tear the lettuce, or try a homemade dressing... that recipe is for another day though. The bread can be toasted and served on the side. Chop the green onion and sprinkle on top of each plate. Voila!
