Budget Bytes

southwest breakfast scramble
$5.73 recipe / $1.43 serving

Ahhh, it's everything I love in one place: eggs, salsa, cheese, chips, and cilantro. Oh, and black beans, too! Just feed me this every day for the rest of my life and I'll be straight.

This super quick Southwest Breakfast Scramble is reminiscent of migas because of the tortilla strips, but I just ended up adding all the things that I like best. It's really delicious and hearty... and who really cares if you eat it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner? I know I'll be bringing it to work with me tomorrow for lunch.

I'll be using the microwave to reheat my leftovers. Sure, it will change the texture a bit (the eggs will get more firm and the tortilla strips more soft), but that's just how leftovers go. It's never quite the same, but still delicious!

P.S. If you're not into cilantro, use some sliced green onion instead. They don't taste similar at all, but it's nice to have something green and fresh on top for contrast.

Southwest Breakfast Scramble

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how to: slow cook potatoes

Baked potatoes are amazing, right? They're yummy, filling, super inexpensive, and a blank slate for whatever flavors you want to add. The only problem is that they take forever to cook and I never want to heat up my whole oven for just a few potatoes.

Enter the slow cooker.

I've seen the slow cooker technique around the internet for a while, but hadn't gotten around to trying it out... Until this weekend when I got an email from Monica raving about how awesome it is to have potatoes ready and waiting for her when she gets home from work (thanks Monica!). I knew it was time to try it out and share the knowledge.

So, I did a little research to get the tips and tricks from those who had tried it before, and I set to work. I cooked four potatoes, about 1/2 pound each in my 6 quart (I think) slow cooker. I probably could have fit six potatoes, but from what I've read you don't want to over fill the cooker or the potatoes on top won't cook as fast. I was a little short on time, so I opted for cooking for four hours on high instead of 8 hours on low. My potatoes were fantastic and probably would have been just fine with an extra hour of cooking.

The cooking time needed will depend on the size of your potatoes and the strength of your particular slow cooker, but the general guidelines are as follows: 4-5 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low. Have them cooking while you're out and about taking care of other things and then dinner is just a hop, skip, and a jump away when you get home! Love it!

slow cooked potatoes

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chana saag
$6.40 recipe / $1.07 serving

Sometimes, when I'm suffering from a creativity block, all I need to do is take a stroll through Whole Foods... the freezer aisle in particular. Yesterday I did just that and saw a frozen dinner called Chana Saag. I didn't look too closely, I just saw chickpeas and spinach and knew that's what I wanted to eat. Yummmmm.

I made this Indian Style Creamed Spinach a while back and although it was a little complex to make, it was one of the best things I had ever tasted. So, I decided to simplify that recipe, add chickpeas, and call it a day. I can proudly say that it was a very good day.

This recipe can be made either hot or mild depending on what type of curry powder you use, but either way the fragrant spices will be heady and flavorful. The evaporated milk adds just the right amount of natural sweetness and creamy flavor to balance those Indian spices. You can probably use coconut milk in its place, but be sure not to let it come up to a simmer or else it may curdle (I learned that the hard way in previous recipes).

I suggest serving this over rice or with some homemade naan to sop up the sauce. I served mine with some rice and while I usually go for jasmine rice, the Chana Saag was so flavorful that plain white rice did the job nicely.

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chipotle sweet potato burgers
$6.30 recipe / $1.58 serving

STOP. THE. PRESSES.

I'm sure I was getting some pretty weird looks in the lunchroom today because I was audibly moaning between every bite of my Chipotle Sweet Potato Burger and staring at it in awe. Seriously the best thing I've eaten in quite a while (and those Black Bean & Avocado Enchiladas were pretty spectacular... not to mention the Philly Cheesesteaks).

So here's the cool thing about these burgers - the patty itself is vegan and gluten free. I happened to put them on wheat buns and slather some mayo on the bun, but you could easily use veganaise or wrap this puppy up in a gluten free tortilla. Either way, the burger itself is gonna blow your little taste bud brains.

Non-meat burgers come in a lot of textures... This burger is rather soft and moist compared to most because I didn't use any flour or eggs as a binder. Because of that, you want to be careful while handling them so they don't fall apart on you. It's worth it, I promise.

I tested two cooking methods (I knew you'd want to know). I fried two of them up in a skillet with a little oil and I baked the other two after coating them with non-stick spray. Each method had pros and cons. The skillet was tasty, obvi, because it was cooked in oil. But, because it cooked quickly, it was more moist and therefore softer and more likely to fall apart. The baked patties only browned on the under side, were a bit drier, and therefore more solid. Both tasted great. I'll stick to the skillet method because it's faster and, well, oil=yum.

Chipotle Sweet Potato Burgers

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(not) Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches
$9.29 recipe / $2.32 each

Guess what? I had one more container of Multi-Purpose Shredded Beef in my freezer and one more trick up my sleeve.

(please excuse my chewing, I'm eating one of these as I type... and it's sooo good.)

Why is it a (not) Philly Cheesesteak? Well, because it's really just a Philly Cheesesteak-esque sandwich made with slow cooked beef rather than thinly sliced steak. Different technique, but insanely delicious all the same.

This is by far one of the fastest and easiest recipes that I made with the Multi-Purposed Shredded Beef. All it takes is a quick re-heat of the beef, a super fast saute of the onions and bell peppers, and then a quick melt of the cheese in the oven and you'll be in cheesesteak heaven! Now I definitely need to restock my freezer with shredded beef.

I did much better with my produce prices for this one. Green bell peppers were on sale 2/$1 and I got a big 'ol 3 lb. bag of onions for only $1.29 (score!). I used two bell peppers and two onions and it was probably more than enough for four sandwiches. You might be able to get away with using one of each, or two bells and one onion (or vice versa).

Any way you slice it (har har har), I think you're gonna love this one!

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roasted vegetable french bread pizza
$11.71 recipe / $1.95 serving

Ecstasy. Pure ecstasy.

This recipe turned out even better than I had imagined. You know, when you take that first bite and you're not even done chewing before you have to let out a muffled "Woah..." This roasted vegetable french bread pizza with pesto and ricotta made me do that.

The pesto sinks into the bread and creates an almost garlic bread type base, the ricotta gets warm and creamy, and roasted vegetables are, well, they're just heavenly (one of my favorite things on the planet, actually)! I'm going to be making this one over and over and over.

The cost of this recipe got a little out of hand, but there are several ways you can rein it in. First, if you can find a farmers market, CSA, or some other cheap source of vegetables, that will help a lot. Produce prices at my local grocery store were a bit (okay, more like a lot) on the steep side. This might be a good recipe to stash until the peak of summer when produce is abundant and cheap. You can make your own pesto (use this parsley pesto recipe) and that should help. Also, you could make this on some homemade focaccia instead of French Bread, which would cut a big chunk from the price (although the crispy exterior and fluffy interior of French bread is pretty magical). And lastly, this pizza was actually quite filling, so you might get more like 8 servings out of it.

Oh boy, I can't wait until I get hungry again so that I can have more...

Roasted Vegetable French Bread Pizza with Pesto and Ricotta

Roasted Vegetable French Bread Pizza with Pesto and Ricotta

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golden rice bowls
$7.40 recipe / $1.23 serving

I was talking with a friend recently who was so excited to be finally getting stove in the house that he's been remodeling and living in. So I asked, "What is the first thing you're going to cook?" "Rice. Lots of rice." he replied. Of course. It's so easy to take simple food for granted. I love simple food because it's easy to make and subtle flavors are not lost in complicated cooking processes or long ingredient lists.

So, I decided to go back to my roots for this one and prepare a simple yet filling bowl of Yellow Jasmine Rice, quick sauteed spinach, and a hearty egg. It's awesome. The yellow jasmine rice really makes this recipe special. It's one of my favorite recipes and I'm happy to be able to use it in a new way.

To make this recipe last throughout the week, I filled single serving containers with the cooked rice, added a scoop of the sauteed spinach and either cooked an egg fresh when I was ready to eat, or I pre-fried an egg and just reheated it all together in the microwave. The reheated bowls that had a pre-cooked egg didn't have that nice runny yolk that almost acts as a creamy sauce, but they were still delish.

Golden Rice Bowls

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funky monkey baked oatmeal
$3.88 recipe / $0.49 serving

Oh, this one is so much fun! (and delicious!)

I really wanted to do some sort of peanut butter baked oatmeal, but I couldn't figure out what to put with it... until I thought about how mashed bananas have made the best baked oatmeals, texture-wise. And then it all just came together. What goes better with peanut butter and banana than coconut and chocolate chips? Nothing! It's Funky-Monkey-Fun up in here!

I wanted to use large flake unsweetened coconut to reduce the sugar content and add texture, but I wasn't able to make it out Whole Foods (they have it in bulk bins). My local grocery store only had the finely shredded, pre-sweetened coconut, so I went with it. I reduced the sugar content from my normal baked oatmeal recipes by half to compensate for the sugar in the coconut and chocolate chips, but honestly, I might even try it without any extra sugar next time.

This oatmeal has just a hint of peanut butter flavor, so if you like super peanutty-ness, increase the PB to 1/3 cup. And, as always, natural peanut butter has loads more peanut flavor than other peanut butter (you know, the big name brand kinds).

And lastly, with all off the goodies baked into this, you really don't need to add coconut, bananas, and chocolate chips on top in the bowl like I have in the pictures. I did that purely for illustrative purposes... you know, so people would be able to instantly see what's in there and not wonder what that brown blob of stuff is in the bowl. It's super flavorful by itself and super tasty with some cold milk poured over top!

Funky Monkey Baked Oatmeal

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how to: freeze buttermilk

Let's talk about buttermilk for a minute.

Over the past year or so I've slowly become convinced that buttermilk is one of the most underrated ingredients at the grocery store. It used to be one of those things that I'd see at the store and wonder who ever bought it, but now I totally get it.

What is buttermilk? Well, it's not milk with butter added to it (in case you were wondering). It's a cultured milk product, like yogurt or kefir. Basically, a specific type of bacteria has been introduced to the milk and allowed to grow. As the bacteria grows, it eats up the natural milk sugars and produces an acid byproduct. The acid denatures the milk proteins, causing the texture to thicken up - just like when heat denatures the proteins in egg whites and turns them from a liquid into a solid. All of this "culturing" action produces a unique, tangy flavor and thick, creamy texture.

Buttermilk is useful in baking because of its acid pH, which can help leaven muffins, biscuits, and other baked goods. There are many ways you can substitute buttermilk if you don't have any on hand (see a few options here), but the problem with these substitutes is that, while they do provide acid, they do not provide that unique buttermilk flavor.

And boy, oh boy does buttermilk ever have a unique flavor. Granted, I could never drink a glass of it plain (some people enjoy it that way), but when used in recipes it adds the most amazing flavor. Substitutions no longer cut it for me. I need the real thing.

The other awesome thing about buttermilk is its rich and creamy texture. The thick texture is a result of the culturing process and not the fat content, so even if you buy a low-fat buttermilk it will still add a thick, creamy texture to whatever you're using it in. That's a major bonus when making dips, dressings, and soups.

But what are you gonna do? Buy a whole quart of buttermilk, use a cup, and then let the rest go bad in the back of your fridge? I'll admit, I've done that a few times. But then I came across this little gem of a technique! Freezing buttermilk is easy and it's as good as fresh once thawed!

So, promise me that the next time you come across a recipe that calls for buttermilk, you'll actually go buy a quart, use it, and then freeze the rest. Because you're going to love it.

Step By Step Photos

Before you freeze, make sure to measure the volume of your ice cube tray wells. This way you'll know how many buttermilk cubes you need to thaw for any given recipe. I have that cute little shot glass measuring cup (1 oz.), but you could also use measuring spoons. My wells were 1.5 Tbsp in volume, which means I'd need to thaw 12 cubes to make one cup. Make sure you write the volume down somewhere, so that you don't forget. HINT: 1 fluid ounce = 2 Tbsp.

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beef ragout with
mashed cauliflower
$13.11 recipe / $2.19 serving

This is the last installment in the shredded beef series. Although this recipe ended up being something quite different than I intended (thanks to my chronic absent mindedness), it still ended up super delicious!

I intended on making a classic ragout with lots of vegetables stewed into the sauce... but... somehow I forgot all of the vegetables (time to start taking ginko?). SO, if you want, you can finely dice a stalk or two of celery and shred a carrot in with the onion and garlic for the sauce. It will add tons of flavor, texture, and visual appeal. Not that it wasn't still delicious and gorgeous!

Wine adds quite a bit to the cost, but it has such an incredible flavor that I didn't want to skip it. If you'd rather not use wine, you can substitute with beef broth. While beef broth will also give you a nice deep flavor, it is a different deep flavor from the wine.

So, when I was brainstorming this recipe I got the idea to put the ragout over mashed cauliflower. Cauliflower isn't exactly cheap and I was hesitant to add to an already fairly pricy recipe, but I couldn't get it out of my head and had to try it. Was it delicious? Yep. Was it worth it? Eh, not unless you're trying to avoid carbs. My suggestion is to go the much more budget conscious route and serve this over mashed potatoes. Plus, one head of cauliflower didn't make very much mash. It yielded only 2-3 cups of mash, which doesn't give you much to spread out over the 6 servings of ragout. Go with mashed potatoes.

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black bean & avocado enchiladas
$5.85 recipe / $1.46 serving

Okay, I have to take a little break in the Shredded Beef programming to bring you this absolutely scrumptious vegan delight!

I've been eating this for lunch all week and the fact that I only have one serving left almost makes me want to cry... I might have to make a second batch PRONTO. Yes, they're that good.

What makes these enchiladas so amazing? Not only are they filled with super fresh flavors, but they're smothered in a homemade enchilada sauce. Now, if you've made my homemade enchilada sauce before you know that it takes less than ten minutes to make and is 100 x better than the canned stuff. Well, this time I went one step further and added a little cocoa powder to the enchilada sauce. OMG. You won't believe how rich and amazing the cocoa makes the sauce! It doesn't taste like chocolate, just extra rich and good. It's the same amazing chili/chocolate combo that works magic in the Aztec Cocoa. SO. GOOD.

Black beans give these enchiladas filling power and avocado offers that creaminess that you'd usually get from cheese. If you're vegan, just make sure your tortillas are vegan (some use lard, some don't). Or, try making your own!

And yes, I know that enchiladas are supposed to be wrapped in corn tortillas, not flour. Use whichever type you like. Delicious is more important than correct, in my book.

Black Bean & Avocado Enchiladas

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hoisin beef tacos with
sweet & sour slaw
$9.15 recipe / $1.14 each

One of the most important aspects of street food is that it has to be easy. Fast and easy.

This idea came from some of my friends who were gushing about a local food truck. I've never eaten at said food truck, but apparently they have a hoisin pork taco topped with an Asian slaw. Sounds easy enough! Since I already had the shredded beef on hand, I went ahead and made it with beef instead of pork (although pork would probably be less expensive and also super tasty).

I went with the most basic of basic Asian slaws out there to make it fast and easy. It's just a little shredded cabbage and carrot with a sweet and sour dressing. If you want to get a little more fancy, you could add green onions, chopped peanuts, and maybe some pineapple or fresh ginger. As it is, though, it's got all of the crunch, sweet, and sour that this taco needs to make you want that second, third... or fourth taco.

Speaking of, I priced these per taco because it's hard to estimate a serving with these. I could eat anywhere from one to three, depending on the situation. So, I'll just let you make that call.