Savory Bread Pudding w/ Ham, Spinach and Cheese

So I baked some whole wheat oatmeal bread from a '70s cookbook that called for far too much yeast. What to do? Savory bread pudding, one of the original frugal foods back before mass-market bread. This is potentially a pantry dish too and substitutions abound.

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf stale bread, cut into 3/4" cubes (no, don't measure)
• 6-8 eggs (start with 6)
• 2 120z cans evaporated milk (have some reg. milk in the fridge just in case)
• 10oz shredded cheese (I used Havarti, because it was on special at Aldi, plus a leftover hunk of Gruyere)
• 1 lbs ham, diced 1/4" or so (you could also use cooked bacon, sausage, or no meat at all)
• 2 boxes chopped frozen spinach
• 3 leeks, white parts only, chopped and cleaned thoroughly (substitute yellow onions to save $)
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped finely
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 2 tsp thyme
• 2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350
• Saute leeks in olive oil until golden, add garlic and cook 1 more minute
• Cook spinach and drain of all water (I nuked it and then squeezed it in a clean kitchen towel)
• In large bowl, combine the milk, eggs and seasoning and whisk thoroughly to combine
• Add all the other ingredients except the bread and combine
• Toss the bread in until all liquid is absorbed. Test a couple bread pieces. If not soaked through, whisk together some more eggs and milk from the fridge and add (sorry, bread varies too much to be exact)
• Place in a large, oiled casserole dish. I used a 9x13 plus two individual-sized ones to take over to Sharon's place. The mixture should fill to about the 2" mark in whatever dish you use.
• Bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes. It should rise a little and brown in spots on the top, but careful not to burn the bottom.

Frugal Factor: Bread, aprox. $2 worth of ingredients. Ham, $3.50 at Aldi, spinach $2, leeks, $3, cheese, $3.50 at Aldi, milk and eggs, $2 (est.). That's $16. I made 8 generous portions, so that's $2/portion. Still frugal. As much as I love them, the leeks really do some damage. And of course, truly leftover bread has already been bought or left at your house by party guests or something.

Fisherman's Pie

Thanks to Crash Kitchen for this idea, although I made no effort to actually follow their recipe. I was skeptical of an English fish pie but this creamy concoction of smoked and fresh fish was a huge hit. It's basically a shepherd's pie but with fish and a bechamel. For the topping, I tried the latest "perfect mashed potatoes" method from the OCD folks at Cook's Illustrated. You steam the peeled, cubed potatoes for 10-15 minutes, rinse them in cold water, and then steam them anotgher 20 minutes until mashable, then rice them. The result really is some insanely light, fluffy mash that's perfect for a dish like this. This method is also fasterand easier - the riced potatoes incorporate with no effrt and you don't have to wait for a pot of water to boil (just a feew cups in the steamer). Any fish will work as long as some is smoked. In fact, using pimenton (smoked paprika) in the sauce might even make up for having no smoked fish.

Ingredients: 8 med. potatoes (about 2 lbs), 1/2 stick butter, 1 15 oz can of mackerel (large bones removed and "dark meat" fed to Marcel), 1 lbs smoked fish (I smoked some whiting fillets out back and used a can of Trader Joe's smoked trout I had opened earlier for a snack), 1 leek, 4 shallots, 3/4 lbs of peas or green beans, 2 cups milk, 3 tbsp. flour (Wondra is best), Worcestershire sauce, paprika and pepper to taste

• Make mashed potatoes with 1/4 stick of butter; set aside
• Melt 1/4 stick butter butter on low heat in saucepan
• Whisk in flour and add leeks and shallots; saute a while
• Add milk and seasoning. Some people say to use warm milk, but I just crank up the heat and whisk it to death
• Add a 10 oz block of frozen vegetables such as peas or green beans (I used blanched fresh green beans because they were already in the fridge) and the fish (if your fish is raw, dice it and throw it in. If cooked, simply break apart.
• Pour sauce in greased casserole dish. Top with mashed potatoes
• Bake at 375 for 30 minutes
• Eat right away or somebody else will
  

Serves 6-9 (depending on whether Dave and Heather are over and have seconds and thirds)

Frugal Factor: As prepared, this is a really frugal dish. You could go all out with cream instead of bechamel and something other than the two cheapest fish at the grocery store, but I'm not sure if it could get much tastier. 15 0z can mackeral, $1.10; 1 lbs whiting, $3.00 (plus the cost of some wood for smoking); frozen peas, $1.25; $0.35 for 2 cups milk; $0.35 for 1/2 stick butter ($2.79/lbs at TJ's - wow); $1.60 for 2 lbs potatoes; $1.50 for the leek, shallots and spices. At $9.15 for 6 servings, thats $1.53/serving.

Bhindi Masala w/ Chick Peas and Kidney Beans

Great, authentic Indian food is hard to come by. Horrible Indian food is everywhere from West Philly buffets to cans and pouches in the Co-Op or Trader Joe's. Happily, "pretty good" interpretations of Indian favorites are easy to make at home.

I made this vegan dish entirely with things from my pantry and freezer. It was light, tasty, healthful and frugal. Many recipes will explain that for truly authentic Indian cooking, you must collect a variety of fresh, exotic whole spices, grind them by hand and fry them up in a paste of ghee, a type of clarified butter.

Maybe that's true, but they sell a ground garam masala spice mix at the Indian grocer and I bought it. In fact, I bought it years ago. Any good chef would tell me to throw it out. But it was delicious. I did fry it into a paste, but I used corn oil.

Don't hold yourself back from cooking something just because you can't cook it like someone's grandmother. Authenticity is a wonderful thing, but cuisine also changes all the time. Cooks from Italy to India make authentic dishes with tomatoes and beans, neither of which were available until Columbus pillaged the Americas. To paraphrase Duke Ellington, if it tastes good, it is good.

Ingredients: 1 14oz can diced tomatoes, 1 16oz can kidney beans, 1 16oz can chick peas, 1 cup chopped okra (frozen is fine and more is fine too - okra, aka bhindi, is tasty in any language), 1 diced onion (I used a sweet vidalia), 3 cloves crushed garlic, 2 tbs corn oil, 1 tbs masala spice mix, 2 tbs Goya Recaito (optional), and fresh cilantro to finish (optional - I didn't have any).

• Start cooking 1 1/2 cups of basmati rice to serve with the meal (don't you hate when they save that part for last?)
• Heat oil in skillet, stir in masala and cook for 30 seconds on high
• Add diced onion a stir in to combine with spice paste
• Add garlic
• Thoroughly drain diced tomatoes, reserving the juice
• Add the tomatoes and okra to the pan. Stir and cook for a couple minutes - you want everythingcarmelize just a little
• Add the reserved tomato juice and deglaze the pan
• Drain the beans and add them too, along with the recaito if using
• Cover and cook on low for 30 minutes
• Serve over rice. If you have cilantro, chop some up and toss it on. If you have chutney, serve it on the side.

Serves 5 (why do all my recipes always serve 5?)

Frugal Factor: Hard to say. I actually used dried beans that I had cooked previously and okra I forgot to put in a stir fry a few months ago and threw in the deep freeze and ancient spices. But at today's Shoprite prices, here goes: All three cans, $1.50 (wait, is the can can sale still on?); 1/2 bag cut frozen okra @ $1.67/bag, $0.83; 1 oz recaito @ $2/12oz jar, $0.16; 1 1/2 cups basmati rice (12 oz) @$6/4lbs bag, $1.08. If a supermarket sells garam masala, it will be in a $5 jar that holds 1.25 oz but a spice store or Indian store will have it waaaay cheaper. Let's just say $1. That's $4.57 for 5 servings, or $0.92/serving.

Chicken Waffle Pie w/ Yeasted Multigrain Waffles

Ever since I got an old waffle iron at Goodwill (since replaced with a new retro Black & Decker) I have been disappointed with the waffles I made. The ones from a mix were passable but never had that crispy crust and tender interior I loved from the make-your-own Belgian waffle station in my college dining hall. My attempts to make them from scratch were even worse - rubbery and bland. Then, while researching my pretzel project, I came across a recipe for yeast-risen waffles which promised the qualities I was looking for.

They were the perfect foil for a fave of mine, Chicken Waffle Pie. Basically a chicken pot pie filling served over waffles. As much as I love chicken pot pie, pastry dough is fattening and time consuming (plus butter is $3.50/pound). Waffles can also be toasted separately, which makes for a more freezable recipe.

Waffles.

I followed this recipe, but I replaced 1 cup of white flour with 3/4 cup of whole wheat and 1/4 cup of multigrain flour. Actually, I didn’t have multigrain flour but I did have some rye, oats, barley and wheat hot ceral I don't care for, so I ground it by hand with my mortar and pestle for a couple minutes (you could use a mini food processor but mine’s a pain to clean). I also added 1/4 cup of some Mexican malt milk powder I had around.

These are supposed to be “overnight” waffles so I was worried about making the batter at 11 p.m. and then using it the next day at 7 p.m. (that’s 20 hours in the fridge) because some recipes said “no more than 16 hours” but it all worked out. I had to add a 1/4 cup of milk to the batter to thin it out a little. Otherwise, they came out great.I used 1 1/2 tsp. of instant yeast.

Optional: If you want to make waffles only for the chicken as opposed to saving some for breakfast, adding “better than bouillon” to the milk in the recipe and throwing in 4 tbsp. of thyme, dill, parsley etc. or even some cayenne can really kick it up a notch.

A few caveats: These rise in the waffle iron more than regular waffles so use a little less batter per batch. With my old-school 4-waffle iron, I had to spread no more than 1 cup of batter – I did 1/3 in each of the four compartments and had a waffle volcano. Also, they cook fast so the old waffle-making trick about waiting for the steam to stop will result in overcooked waffles. Use your nose.

Chicken Pie Filling

3 pounds chicken thighs, trimmed of fat and cut into bite-sized cubes; Flour for dusting; 2 onions, chopped; 1 20-oz bag frozen mixed vegetables; 1/2 cup white extra-dry vermouth or white wine; 2 cups chicken stock (better than bullion works great here), 2 tbs. fresh thyme (or 1 tsp. dry), 1/2 tsp. cayenne, 1/4 stick butter, 1 small can evaporated milk or heavy cream.

• Toss chicken cubes in flour (season flour with salt and pepper if you wish) to lightly coat. Heat butter in 12” skillet and add chicken carefully un one layer. Brown and flip. When browned on all sides, remove chicken from pan and put aside.
• Sauté onion in pan over medium-low until soft, ass vermouth to deglaze pan, scrapping brown bits (unless using a nonstick pan)
• Add vegetables and chicken and half the chicken stock and heat on med-high until boiling, stirring frequently (but don’t use metal spoon on a non-stick pan). Mixture should thicken; keep adding the rest of the stock in 1/4 cup increments until thick enough to stay on a waffle but just a little gloppier than you would want to eat. Then, off the heat, stir in evaporated milk or cream
• Serve over two waffles. Freeze separately from wrapped waffles so that filling can be nuked and waffles toasted.

Notes: This recipe calls for dark meat for several reasons: White meat is easy to overcook and that’s even truer when freezing and reheating. In fact, when people say they don’t like dark meat, it’s usually because dark meat tends to be undercooked, leaving it chewy and gross. In this recipe, you cook it long enough so that it is tender. It’s also cheaper. I use vermouth here in place of white wine because an open bottle keeps for a long time. This recipe works for a reg. pot pie or biscuit-topped casserole too, just add a little more water for a thinner consistency since baking will further thicken.

Frugal Factor: Readington Farms Free Farmed chicken thighs, $1.89/pound at Shop Rite ($5.67); 2 onions, $0.60, frozen veg, $2.00; 5 oz can evaportated milk $0.60; 2 cups chicken broth, $0.80 (better than bullion, free if made from leftover bones after cutting up chicken); vermouth, $1.25 (1/3 of a $4.00 355 ml bottle); 3 cups flour (2 2/3 cups for waffles and rest for dusting chicken), $1; 1/2 yeast packet, $0.25; 3 cups milk @ $4.00/gallon = $0.75; 2/3 stick butter @ $3.50/4-sticks, $0.58 (waffles and chicken) = $13.50 for 8 generous portions, $1.69/portion.