#cheap eats

[hiddenstashart]

It’s cold! 🌬️🍃 Why not fill your home with delicious smells, and your body with warmth & nutrients, for cheap? Make some soup!

One of my favorites can be made from a few of the most common food bank/free pantry staples: beans and a can of pumpkin puree.

White bean pumpkin chili!

Here’s a recipe for a batch I made last night. It doesn’t always need to include exactly what’s listed here - the fun part about this soup is that it’s easily modifiable but always scrumptious!

🛒 Ingredients:

• onions

• celery

• carrots

• garlic

(all diced)

• ground turkey (or any meat you have on hand, really)

• beans! two cans of whatever - but I like to use white beans (cannellini or navy or Great Northern) and kidney beans

• squash! a can of pumpkin puree or 2 cups roasted, cut up butternut etc. (I used Hubbard squash for this batch)

• handful of chilis or other peppers! A can of diced green chilis goes great, or in last night’s case I just used some marinated sweet red peppers that were in the fridge. Bell peppers work too!

• SPICES. 🔥 chili powder, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, thyme: any or all. Salt and pepper to taste!

• chicken broth. Just enough to cover all of the other ingredients, with a little over the top. (I like to put chicken bones from already eaten meals and veggie scraps in a gallon bag in the freezer and then use that to make my own broth, but you can use store-bought, or even a chicken seasoning packet from Top Ramen noodles)

• garnish! (If you have it!) lime, sour cream, plain Greek yogurt, cilantro or avocado are all delicious with this soup

🍲 To cook:

• in a large pot or Dutch oven, cook the onions, garlic, carrots and celery until they soften slightly. Brown the meat (if you want meat) and then add everything else. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer for 30 minutes.

🥣 Serve and enjoy!

PRO TIP:

🥖 This soup goes great with crusty old bread, which you can buy for 50% off at most grocery stores in their discount section!

[indeedgoodman]

[petula-xx]

Tonight's dinner - Beef Stew.

Simple, warming, delicious and used up some pantry odds and ends. I used vegetable stock instead of beef stock.

Next time I will halve the amount of black pepper though as it was a bit spicy for my taste. Would also go great with some warm, freshly cooked bread and butter!

Here is the recipe I used if you want to give this one a try: https://feelgoodfoodie.net/recipe/beef-stew/

[fruityfoods]

Easy chickpea curry

2 cups dried chickpeas (soaked)

1 chilli sliced

1/2 a knob of ginger thinly sliced

1 can of coconut cream

3 large table spoons of chana masala

Coconut sugar to taste

Step 1: Partially boil your chickpeas until you can crumble one between your fingers (if using canned chickpeas skip this step) drain and set aside.

Step 2: In a dry pot add your oil of choice (I use half and half olive and butter) just enough to cover the bottom. Add your chilli and ginger cold and bring up to a low medium temperature.

Step 3: once at temperature add your chana masala powder and stir rapidly as it foams

Step 4: when the spices just begin to darken add your chickpeas stirring rapidly to cover quickly

Step 5: add the coconut cream + 1 can of water stir through making sure the spice paste hasn’t stuck to the bottom.

Tips: goes great with seafood, udon noodles, rice

I used Tyson dried chickpeas entirely forgetting they are quite tricky to cook through evenly. Look for pale plump dried chickpeas in the store as Tyson’s shells although a great source of fibre can change the texture and cooking time significantly.

Try mixing in some keens curry powder to your spice mix.

Rinsing the chickpeas after the par boil can slow down how quickly the curry thickens.

Be mindful of saltiness, the brand of chana masala powder i brought is very strong I added some lime juice to cut through it which tastes great.

Keeping the lid on but partially cracked can save you a lot of time during clean up, spice stains are very difficult to get out

[and3nooneremembers]

Oh shit I get paid next week and need to eat this week!

I got you. $16 for all ingredients and it'll feed you for a while

Simple Pasta Fagiole *my nonni's pasta chi chi*

Large stock pot, lightly saute diced onion and a bunch of minced garlic for a few minutes. Season with a little bit of S&P

Add the 2 cans of diced tomatoes and chicken stock and bring to a boil

Add half a box of pasta and cook til it's just about done

Drain beans and pour in. Cook at a low simmer for about 10 more minutes

Top with cheese and a few red pepper flakes if you'd like.

Delicious, nutritious, filling, makes a lot

[slowlycooking]

35 Easy Slow Cooker Recipes for Incredible, Effortless Meals

These 35 Easy Slow Cooker Recipes are perfect for busy nights, parties and potlucks, and fun Game Day celebrations with family and friends.

[a-place-for-growth]

The local farmers just started selling the first kohlrabi of the year, and I am always surprised seeing people throwing away the leaves of this underrated vegetable. So I would like to share a recipe from my grandma - a wonderful cook, and also a very frugal person. 

For this budget-friendly kohlrabi soup, you focus on the leaves. My grandma often got them for free at the farmers market, even some supermarkets have "waste bins" for unwanted vegetable parts and will give you some because, as I said, most people use the bulbous stem only. 

This serves two (hungry!) people, and you can improvise a lot. You will need half of the kohlrabi stem. Put the rest aside for a snack, you can even eat it raw, cut in thin slices and salted, like healthy crisps, or in a salad. Make the most of it! You will also need all of the leaves, an onion, and three small or medium sized potatoes. You could also use instant mashed potatoes instead, or add other vegetables of your choice. Go with whatever you have. Peel the kohlrabi stem, onion, and potatoes, remove the hardest parts of the leaves as depicted, and chop the vegs. (Frugal option: Put the peels in the freezer and use them later to make your own broth.) 

Now add a tablespoon of vegetable oil (I used olive oil, but this is a "use what you have at hand" recipe.), and one teaspoon of sugar, and roast it gently until the onions start to brown. Add water until the vegs are just covered. Give this mixture some salt and pepper. Season to your taste. I highly recommend a pinch or two of ground nutmeg, rosemary and parsley for the fancy version of this. Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat, and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. Use a blender to make this smooth and creamy. 

For a fancy version, serve it topped with some almonds, nuts, or fresh herbs. 

The taste of kohlrabi leaves reminds of a mixture of broccoli and turnip. You can just wash and chop them and put them in the freezer, ready to be made into soup later. Don't throw them away - and if others do, get them for free! 🙂

[eataku]

Testo’s, Bridgeport, CT

My parents brought me sandwiches from Testo’s in Bridgeport, CT this weekend and I realized I’d never posted about the restaurant or their food here. 

Testo’s “was” a legendary Connecticut restaurant for folks “in the know” that closed at the end of 2022, selling the land to be developed as a high rise, supposedly. A classic blue collar hangout, where carpenters, electricians, plumbers and painters all went to unwind, it was the “Cheers” of local contractors. My dad included. At the bar on Saturdays you could get massive $5 roast beef and roast pork sandwiches till they ran out, sometimes as early as 1pm...

On the most pillowy Portuguese rolls you could imagine, no less!

Their tripe was some of the best we’ve had anywhere in the world...

Bowls of housemade hot peppers and pickled onions littered the bar...

Drinks were stiff and cheap, the pours were generous.

Testo’s was a secret spot for those in the know and they will be sorely missed...

However, it’s not all doom and gloom as Testo’s always maintained a second, less frequented location, a “pizzeria”, which is still open. This is where my folks went on Saturday as they now sell these famous sandwiches and tripe soup. And I’m happy to report the food is just as good as at the “original”, even is it was takeout for us. Now looking forward to sitting down and eating there soon!

TESTO’S

1023 Brooklawn Ave.

Fairfield, CT 06825

203-330-0333