thai peanut sauce $1.75 recipe / $0.22 serving

I’ve been really digging Asian food lately. As I was deciding on my main entree and side dish for this week, I decided to give Thai peanut sauce a shot. I had never made it before so I looked at a good 20 recipes. Some recipes were simple and sweet with only about 4 ingredients, others were long and complex with 10-15 ingredients. I do like to keep things simple but as it turns out, I had a lot of those ingredients anyway. So, why not use them, right? Right. Well, I know a lot of you may not have all of these ingredients on hand so I will list which ingredients are optional or that you could probably get away with not using and still have a decent sauce. Here is the catch: the fewer ingredients you choose to use, the flatter and less complex your sauce will be. If you can, use all of them because this sauce turned out absolutely AMAZING (I wanted to drink it with a straw). Plus it’s versatile. I used it as a salad dressing today and will be using it for more later this week (stay tuned for the recipes).

Thai Peanut Sauce

Total Recipe cost: $1.75
Servings Per Recipe: 8 (1/4 cup each, 2 cups total)
Cost per serving: $0.22 (for four servings)
Prep time: 15 min. Cook time: 0 min. Total: 15 min.

INGREDIENTS COST
3/4 cup natural style peanut butter $0.82
1/4 cup coconut milk (optional) $0.16
1/2 lime lime juice $0.17
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled, grated (optional) $0.24
1 clove garlic, minced $0.06
1 tsp sriracha sauce (rooster hot sauce) $0.05
1 Tbsp soy sauce $0.03
1/2 tsp sesame oil (optional) $0.02
1 Tbsp brown sugar $0.03
1/4 bunch cilantro $0.17
1/4 – 1/2 cup water FREE (kinda)
TOTAL   $1.75

STEP 1: Make sure your natural style peanut butter is thoroughly mixed before measuring (you don’t want to get all oil or all solids). In a blender or food processor combine all of the ingredients except the sriracha sauce. Begin with only 1/4 cup of water and add more until you get the consistency you want (I used 1/2 cup total). Add the sriracha sauce a little at a time (blending between) until it is to your desired heat (I used about 1/2 tsp).

STEP 2: Enjoy the peanut sauce on salads, pasta or as a dipping sauce!

NOTE: If you do not have sriracha sauce, you can use red pepper flakes. Again, begin with a small amount and add more until it is as hot as you’d like. Remember, when using dried spices, the sauce will get spicier as it refrigerates and the flakes rehydrate.

My recipe calls for 1/4 cup of coconut milk which is only about 1/8th of a can. If you are looking for something to do with the rest of it (because no one likes to throw stuff away, especially delicious coconut milk), you can make some Savory Coconut Rice with the remainder. It is also really tasty when poured over oatmeal with fruit and nuts. If you make smoothies, coconut milk will add a lot of creaminess and a tropical flavor!

When buying fresh ginger, don’t be shy about breaking off a small nub from the large roots they have at the grocery store. It is perfectly acceptable. I never use a lot of ginger so I always just break off an inch or two so that I’m not paying for more than I need. Ginger is easily peeled with a regular vegetable peeler and then you can grate it using the smallest side of a cheese grater.

To our health!

Beth at Budget Bytes

Health Tip: Finding Magnesium in Food (HealthDay)

HealthDay – (HealthDay News) — Your body needs the mineral magnesium to
properly contract and relax muscles, to produce proteins and to help
enzymes function, the U.S. National Library of Medicine says.
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Save $$$ on Healthcare

If you sit down at the end of the year and add up all the prescription drugs, annual physical exams, etc then your chin may drop at your medical bill.

Following these easy money saving rules could help save your medical bill next year:

Live a new lifestyle before filling a prescription
Be informed about the vitamins you take
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Health-Care Reform Causes Obama’s Popularity to Decline

As the health-care reform progresses, the public’s dislike towards the pending bill continues to grow. And as a result of the public becoming more and more displeased, Obama’s popularity is on the decline. U.S. News reports that, “A poll released Tuesday by CBS News shows the decline to be continual, with 54 percent of the more than 1,200 adults surveyed saying they disapproved of the way in which Obama was handling healthcare.” And feelings towards Congress are worse as 57% say they aren’t happy with how the Democrats are dealing with the issue, and people aren’t too happy with how Republicans are handling the issue either as 61% reported they are dissatisfied.
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E. Coli Found in Soda Fountains

Be cautious when filling up your cup with a refreshing soft drink because researchers found several soda fountain machines in Virginia containing coliform bacteria. Almost half of the 90 drinks from the machines contained the bacteria that could possibly indicate fecal contamination. Several of the soda drinks from the machines fell short in passing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s drinking-water regulations, which states that all beverage samples test negative for E. coli.
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Prevent Alzheimer’s by Talking on Your Cell Phone

Even though there are health concerns about the effect of cell phone radiation on the brain, a new study shows that there might actually be a benefit from cell phone use. Scientists performed a study on mice, and found that mobile phone radiation might shield against Alzheimer’s disease.
The mice involved in the study were genetically [...]
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lemon ricotta cookies $3.53 recipe / $0.12 cookie

I saw these Ricotta Cookies yesterday morning on Tastespotting.com and they looked so scrumptious that I bumped one of my planned recipes in favor of this one. The cookies are great because they are not too sweet, not too rich, they come together very quickly and they are a blank canvas as far as flavor is concerned. You can add lemon, almond, cinnamon… whatever flavor you want. I went with lemon and I haven’t been able to stop eating them. They are light, fluffy and perfect with a hot cup of coffee or tea.

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

Total Recipe cost: $3.53
Servings Per Recipe: about 30 cookies
Cost per serving: $0.12 per cookie
Prep time: 10 min. Cook time: 15 min. Total: 25 min.

INGREDIENTS COST
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened $0.40
1 cup granulated sugar $0.18
1 large egg $0.15
1 tsp vanilla $0.30
1 cup ricotta cheese $0.92
2 cups all purpose flour $1.08
1 Tbsp baking powder $0.07
1/2 tsp salt $0.05
1 cup powdered sugar $0.18
1 medium lemon $0.20
TOTAL   $3.53

STEP 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Whip together the softened butter and granulated sugar until you get a light fluffy paste. A mixer is best for this but if you don’t have one (like me… I know, I should), you can just use a fork and a lot of elbow grease. It won’t be easy unless your butter is really soft.

STEP 2: Once the butter and sugar are mixed together, add the egg, vanilla extract and ricotta. Zest the lemon and add in half of the zest, reserving the rest for garnish. Mix until all of those “wet” ingredients are well combined.

STEP 3: In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking powder. Make sure they are well combined – chunks of baking powder are not delicious.

STEP 4: Mix together the bowl of wet ingredients with the dry ingredients until you have a thick paste like batter. Using a spoon, drop balls of the batter onto an ungreased baking sheet two inches apart. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

STEP 5: In a small bowl prepare the glaze by combining 1 cup of powdered sugar and the juice of the lemon that you previously zested (be careful not to let the seeds drop in). Using a spoon, smear a small amount over top of the baked cookies. ENJOY!

Step By Step Photos

Butter and Sugar
Cream together the butter and sugar until it is a light, slightly fluffy paste.

Eggs, Ricotta, Vanilla
Add in the egg, vanilla and ricotta and mix until it looks like…

Mixed Wet Ingredients
…until they look like this.

Dry Ingredients
In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder) until they are well combined.

Finished Batter
Now mix the wet and dry together until you have this thick batter. Drop the batter onto a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.

Baked Cookies
They will be nice and golden brown on top when done. Slather some glaze on top and eat ‘em up! One at a time please…

Eaten Cookie

NOTE: I used an old coffee scoop to measure my batter when dropping them onto the cookie sheet. I think it was a 2 Tbsp scoop and I got 30 cookies out of it. The batter was so thick that the handle broke off the scoop… The cookies are worth it though. RIP scoop!

Plate of Cookies

To our health!

Beth at Budget Bytes

roasted poblano and sweet potato salad $5.96 recipe / $0.76 serving

This recipe was inspired by a dish that I saw at Whole Foods Market. I don’t have their recipe so I made this up based on what I thought theirs was. It turned out pretty tasty and it’s super healthy which (in my opinion) is win-win! Also, this was my first time cooking with poblanos and I have decided that they are my new favorite ingredient. Their flavor is incredible and my house smelled AMAZING while they were roasting. I’m going to have to try a stuffed poblano recipe soon!

Roasted Poblano and Sweet Potato Salad

Total Recipe cost: $5.96
Servings Per Recipe: 8
Cost per serving: $0.76
Prep time: 15 min. Cook time: 45 min. Total: 1 hr.

INGREDIENTS COST
2 large (about 2.5 lbs.) sweet potatoes $2.43
2 large poblano peppers $0.98
one 14 oz. can black beans $0.0.78
1 cup frozen corn kernels $0.32
1/4, diced red onion (optional) $0.12
1 medium lime $0.20
3 Tbsp olive oil $0.32
1 bunch cilantro $0.66
2 tsp ground cumin $0.10
1/2 tsp salt $0.05
TOTAL   $5.96

STEP 1: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees on the broiler setting. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray your poblanos with non-stick spray. Place the baking sheet with the peppers about 4 inches below the broiler coils(this is the second rack level on my oven). Roast the peppers under the broiler for 15 minutes on one side, flip them over then broil for another 5 minutes on the other side. You want the skin on the peppers to be all blistered and blackened. This will give them a nice smokey flavor. Don’t worry, you will be peeling away the charred skin.

STEP 2: While the peppers are roasting, peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into even chunks about one inch square. Place the chunks in a bowl and toss them together with 3 Tbsp of olive oil, 2 tsp of cumin, 1/2 tsp of salt and about half a bunch of chopped cilantro leaves. Mix it all up until the sweet potato chunks are well coated. The peppers should be done roasting at this point.

STEP 3: When the peppers come out of the oven, put them into a resealable freezer bag and let them cool. The peppers will steam themselves in the bag as they cool allowing you to easily peel away the skin.

STEP 4: Turn the oven from broil to bake (still on 400 degrees), pour out the bowl of sweet potato chunks onto the baking sheet that was used for the peppers, and roast the sweet potatoes for 30 minutes. Stir the chunks half way through.

STEP 5: Drain and rinse the can of black beans. Thaw one cup of frozen corn kernels. Finely chop 1/4 of a red onion (if desired). Put the beans, corn and onion together in a bowl. When the poblanos have cooled, peel off their skin, open them up to remove the seeds, seed pod and stem then cut the flesh into chunks. Put the chopped poblanos in the bowl with the other vegetables.

STEP 6: When the sweet potatoes are done, let them cool for about 10 minutes. In the mean time, chop the other half of the cilantro, and juice the lime. Mix the sweet potatoes, cilantro and lime together with the rest of the ingredients and serve. This dish can be eaten warm or cold!

Step By Step Photos

fresh poblanos
Coat the poblanos in oil to prepare them for roasting.

roasted poblanos
They will be charred and blistered when done (even more charred than this is okay).

peeled poblanos
After steaming in a ziplock bag, peel away the skin. Remove the seeds and dice the flesh.

prepped sweet potatoes
Peel and dice the sweet potatoes. Toss them in a bowl with olive oil, cumin, salt and cilantro. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes.

roasted sweet potatoes
Combine the roasted sweet potatoes with the poblanos, beans, corn, red onion, lime juice and fresh cilantro.

Roasted Poblano and Sweet Potato Salad

NOTE: It’s kind of funny that the sweet potatoes are the most expensive ingredient in this dish. I usually visit the produce market but this week it was so bitterly cold, I was coerced into buying my produce at the grocery store (the produce market is open-air). I’m sure that if I had bought the ingredients at the produce market, I could have made this dish for far less.

While making the salad, it looks like it is going to be a very small amount. To my surprise, it actually made quite a bit. Since I cook for only myself, I will definitely be halving the recipe next time. This recipe can easily be halved, doubled or made into whatever quantity you need!

To our health!

Beth at Budget Bytes

Beware restaurant, frozen meal calorie counts, US study says (AFP)

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