Carmelized Pot Roast w/ Gorgonzola Cauliflower

It’s not every day I discover a better way to cook meat, but that’s exactly what happened this weekend. I set out to make a slow-cooker pot roast. In the past, the meat ended up swimming in its juices, so I propped it up on top of potatoes. In this manner, the potatoes cooked long before the meat was fork-tender, so I drained the juices for gravy, removed the vegetables, and placed the meat in the dry crock and set the temp to high. Hours later, an amazing thing happened. As the fat and connective tissue cooked away, the beef was now slow-frying in its own fat. The entire outside of the roast browned like Carnitas, yet as I broke apart the roast with two forks, the meat was hardly dry at all. Once I tossed the chunks of meat in the gravy, I had a perfect freezer entrée.

Served here with a baked cauliflower casserole consisting of a steamed and mashed cauliflower mashed with 1 cup of béchamel w/ 1/4 lbs gorgonzola and baked at 450 until browned. Yum.

Frugal Factor: 2 lbs. bottom round roast, $4, cauliflower, $2, potatoes, $1, mushrooms $2, milk and butter, $1. $10 for 5 portions is $2/portion.

Chicken Marsala w/ Escarole and Potatoes

Chicken Marsala may be a staple of catering hall buffets, but it’s one of my favorites. Marsala is a sweet fortified wine with a long shelf life, so I always have it in the pantry. On the side, I chopped and sautéed one head of escarole in garlic with a dash of chicken stock.I also nuked a couple russet potatoes, removed the skin, chopped into chuncks and sauteed in olive oil and herbs. Easy.

Ingredients:

• 8 Chicken Thighs, skinned, de-boned and pounded flatFlour seasoned with salt, pepper and dried herbs – Wondra works best.


• 1/4 cup olive oil


• 8 oz chopped mushrooms1 finely diced onion


• 6 cloves garlic


• 1 cup marsala wine


• 1-2 cups chicken stock


• 2 tablespoons butter
  

Directions:

1. Dredge the chicken in the flour.


2. Pour olive oil in 12” skillet and add whole garlic cloves and chicken, then turn on medium heat (trust me)


3. Brown chicken on both sides and set aside.


4. Stir about two tablespoons of the dredging flour into the olive oil to create a loose paste (roux).


5. Add mushrooms and onion and stir until cooked through.


6. Add marsala and scrape and fond off pan.


7. Crush up those garlic cloves.


8. Add chicken and enough stock to half cover the other ingredients.


9. Continue cooking until sauce thickens and chicken is cooked through, adding more stock or flour to get the desired gravy consistency.


10. After turning off heat, stir in a few tablespoons of butter to enrich the sauce.
    

Frugal Factor: 2lbs chicken at $1.89/lbs, $3.78. Mushrooms, $2, onion, garlic, wine, stock, oil, butter: $1.50 (est.). I made four servings, so that’s $1.82/serving not counting the sides, which would probably add $0.75/serving, for a total of $2.47/serving.

Balsamic Chicken with Eggplant and Roasted Vegetables over Polenta

As the local growing season ends, I’m back to getting my veggies at the supermarket. One way to make supermarket produce shine is roasting, which concentrates the flavors and brings out the sweetness. This recipe also uses canned roasted peppers, sundried tomatoes and capers – essential pantry items for the winter. This recipe has a few make-ahead steps, but is well worth the effort. The chicken is optional, but as always, dark meat is best if you plan to freeze and reheat.

Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant



• 1 red onion



• 6 portabella mushrooms



• 1/2 cup sliced sundried tomatoes, soaked in hot water until soft and drained



• 2 cans roasted red peppers



• 1 bulb garlic (preferably North American)



• 1 lbs chicken thighs, sliced



• 2 tbsp capers



• 1 tsp. red pepper flakes



• 1 tbsp. dried Italian herb mixture (fresh works too, but it’s winter)



• Parmesan cheese – to taste



• 1 cup balsamic vinaigrette (see below)



• 1 6x9 dish of polenta (see below)

1. Marinate chicken strips in half the balsamic vinaigrette for one hour or overnight.



2. Peel eggplant and slice into quarters and the slice into ½ inch pieces.



3. Lightly salt eggplant and layer on paper towels for 1 hour or overnight (rinse and pat dry



4. Slice onion in half and then into slices



5. Rinse the mushrooms and cut out the black gills and discard.



6. Slice the mushrooms into bite sized pieces. If stems were included, chop off the duty end and discard, and slice the stem into thin pieces.



7. Toss each vegetable separately in some olive oil, herbs and pepper flakes and put on roasting pans (keep veggies separate in case their cooking times are different.
   Place veggies, as well as whole bulb of garlic, in a 450 degree oven until browned but not burned. 20-30 minutes on average.



8. Open cans of peppers. Drain the first can and and slice into bite sized pieces, set aside. Run the other can, liquid and all, in a blender until smooth.



9. Pat dry the marinated chicken and sauté under high heat.



10. Add all the veggies



11. Squeeze roasted garlic cloves into mixture.



12. Add a dash of the vinaigrette, the pureed peppers, and the capers



13. Serve over warmed polenta squares with grated cheese. Fresh parsley might be nice too.

For the balsamic vinaigrette: 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar, 2/3 cup olive oil, 1 tsp prepared mustard, 2 tbsp lemon juice, salt and Tabasco to taste. Put it all in a blender and blend until opaque and emulsified..

For the polenta: Bring two cups water/stock to a boil, lower heat to simmer, whisk in 1 c cup cornmeal and stir slowly for 30 minutes, until mixture pulls away from pan (add water if it gets too thick to stir). Pour into greased casserole, cool, and cut into squares.

Frugal Factor: This makes six servings. $2 for the eggplant, $4 for the mushroom, $1 for the onion, $4 for the chicken, $1 for everything else. That’s $2/serving. A little high – darn those mushrooms.

Mexi-Mac

A ridiculously easy recipe. I made two batches, one with ground beef and one with texturized vegetable protein. Like many things in life, it is better with meat, but it’s a great way to use TVP too. This is the kind of Middle American recipe you see on those little booklets in the supermarket checkout line. But it's mighty tasty. I only had penne but it should really be made with elbow macaroni.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs ground beef (or 2 cups of TVP, rehydrated)
• 2 packets of taco seasoning (or bulk from Penzey’s)
• 1 lbs macaroni, cooked
• 2 jars mild salsa
• 2 cans pinto beans
• 1 8 oz block of cheddar or jack cheese, ½ shredded, ½ in quarter-inch cubes
• 1 cup sliced green Spanish olives
  

1. Cook the ground beef or TVP according to the taco seasoning directions
2. Add everything but the shredded cheese, mix together.
3. Top with cheese.
4. That was easy.

Frugal Factor: Made with beef, $5 for supermarket beef. $2 for cheap macaroni, $5 for two jars of salsa, $1 for the seasoning mix. Thats $14 for 9 portions, or $1.55/portion

Sauerkraut, Ham and Kasha (slow cooker)

This isn't a complicated recipe, but it was delicious. Buckwheat groats, a.k.a. Kasha, are one of the healthiest and filling things you can eat, loaded with protein. Only this is, while I have had wonderful Kasha at Russian restaurants in the Far Northeast, mine always tastes like socks. However, toss it with sauerkraut and the flavor is much better (assuming you like sauerkraut).

Ingredients:

• 1 Bag Fresh Sauerkraut, rinsed
• 1.5 lbs. smoked meat (I used the remannts of a ham and three smoked turkey drumsticks)
• 1 tsp. caraway seeds and
• tsp. thyme
• 1.5 cups buckwheat groats
• 2 cups stock
• 2 tbs. butter
  
  

Directions:

1. Toss the first four ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low until meat is falling off bone. Remove bones.
2. Put the groats, stock and butter in a saucepan, cover, bring to a boil and simmer 20 minutes
3. Add cooked groats to kraut and meat slowly (until it's about 1/3 kasha and 2/3 kraut.
4. Season to taste.
5. Eat.

Frugal Factor: Ridiculously cheap. $1 for the groats, $1.50 for the kraut, $2.75 for the turkey legs. That's $5.20 for four portions, or $1.31/portion.

Risotto w/ Scallops, Saffron and Fava Beans

Fresh green fava beans have been showing up on American menus a lot lately. I use frozen ones, sold as Broad Beans by Goya. One benefit to the frozen beans is that if you just run them under hot water for a minute, the inedible shells thaw while the beans stay frozen, so it’s easier to remove the shells without crushing the bean.


Ingredients:

2 cups chopped scallops (chopped if big, whole if small)

2 cups shelled fava beans (you could use peas too)

1 chopped white onion (leeks would be great here)

2 chopped garlic cloves

2 tbs. olive oil

2 cups Arborio or Sushi Rice

4-5 cups Stock (I used Better than Bouillon lobster stock, which works well here but is generally disgusting. If you don’t have time/constitution/ventilation to make your own fish stock, chicken or vegetable stock will do.)

Pinch each of saffron, white pepper, marjoram, and cayenne pepper

1⁄4 cup heavy cream (optional)


Lightly sauté onions in 1 tbs.olive oil. Add rice and brown the rice a little. Add garlic. Add half the stock and stir. Set to simmer, and add fava beans when rice is half-cooked. Slowly add rest of stock. When rice is a just a bit harder than al dente, add the spices and scallops. Keep stirring until a creamy, loose consistency had been achieved. Finish with cream and 1 tbs. olive oil and serve immediately.



For the portions you freeze, add a little stock to help with reheating in the microwave.



Frugal Factor: I bought the main ingredients so long ago I am a little lost. I think it would be $4 for the scallops left over from a big bag I got on sale, $1.50 for the fava beans, $4 for the Arborio rice at the overcharging supermarket price, $1 for everything else. I got 6 servings out of this recipe, so that’s $1.75/serving. A restaurant would sell this for $15!

Swedish Meatballs over Kluski Noodles

	The Jan/Feb issue Cook's Illustrated had a recipe for Swedish Meatballs. I always like getting them at Ikea, so I gave it a try. The recipe called for heavy cream in both the meatballs and the sauce. I used evaporated milk - it's cheaper, lower in fat and won't separate when reheating like cream often does. The recipe called for half a pound each of ground pork and ground beef. I doubled the recipe so I could use the whole package of each. I meant to add some fresh dill or thyme - that would have made it better. And I needed lingonberry sauce. Doh!
	In my mixer bowl, I made a panade of 4 crustless slices white bread soaked in ½ cup evaporated milk, two eggs plus a half tsp. each of allspice and nutmeg, 2 tsp.each of baking powder, salt and brown sugar plus two grated onions. I gave it a quick mix to form a paste, added the meat, and mixed on medium for 45 seconds until everything was incorporated. Forming 55 little meatballs took forever. I wonder if Swedish Salisbury Steak would be just as good.
	The recipe called for pan-frying, but I split the batch between the frying pan and the broiler. Frying takes a lot more attention, stinks up the kitchen and adds extra fat. The fried meatballs were a bit more crispy and fluffy but they also tended to fall apart. With the sauce it was hard to tell the difference. Broil. Just remember to put some water in the bottom of the broiler pan so the drippings don't smoke and stick to the bottom.
	The sauce is pretty basic - two cups of broth thickened with flour and enriched with 1/4 cup evaporated milk. The recipe called for chicken broth but I used Better Than Bouillon beef base. It tasted like that was a mistake at first, but once I added the tbsp. of brown sugar 2 tbsp. of lemon juice, the sauce had a bright sweet and sour flavor. I added a little allspice and white pepper too. I tossed the meatballs right in the finished sauce to keep warm while I boiled some Kluski noodles and finished cooking some squash for the side dish.
	Frugal Factor: I used the last of my ground pork from the 1/4 pig I bought which worked out to about $4/lb. The ground beef from Shop Rite was $2.19/lb. 12 oz bag of kluski noodles, $1.79; evaporated milk, 12 ox can, $0.89. That's $8.87. Let's round that up to $10 to cover the pantry items (bread, onion, spices, sugar, etc.) Yielded 55 meatballs - 8 portions plus the ones I sneaked while finishing the sauce and such. That's $1.50/portion. (the side dish was a butternut squash I bought for $2.50 - so add $0.42 for that for the meal)