I like to save money. I like to know that there will be money when I decide to stop saving and want to give to someone in need or buy a cute dress or a indulge in a cup of coffee that costs more than someone in another country has to spend on food for a week or visit a friend in another country. It’s just the way I am. As a money saving gal, one way I’m trying to explore saving is with the food we cook. Here’s where it gets tricky. I don’t like ground beef and that’s the primary source of protein in many of the recipes I find. It gives me the heebeegeebees for the most part-it just feels weird in my mouth and I don’t like knowing that I didn’t see everything that went into that little plastic package. I enjoy a good burger every now and again, but not any meat in the shape of a loaf or preceding the word helper. Most of the good, less expensive foods we consumed growing up involved ground meat and the delicious vegetables and fruits that grew in the yard. My mom is a good mom. She is a great cook and was very creative with leftovers and allowed us as much cheese or milk as required to consume said leftovers so we weren’t scarred for life. Mostly she now has three grown children who enjoy cheese and milk. Also, I can’t really eat tofu. It tastes just delightful going down, but the rest of the process gets a little confused and it’s not pleasant for me. We’ve tried cooking with seitan-we now pronounce it satan. It was weird and smelled like cat food when I took it out of the can. I couldn’t get over the cat food smell so poor Jonathan had to eat the whole thing for the greater part of the week while I enjoyed delicious peanut butter and jelly.
We’ve had some great meals lately-sweet potato and black bean burritos, grilled veggies with polenta and some other black bean items. Does anybody have any other awesome (vegetarian/legume) recipes that they love?
Well, Kelly. I have the opposite problem. I will not (and that could be underlined) eat legumes. And I know they are a good source for inexpensive meals. One topic I do like is cooking/cooking creatively and just plain trying to find something both my husband and I enjoy eatting. So I can relate to your dilema.
I tend to frequent blogs about frugality so I have a website for you. Although, I have not tried any of these meals so I cannot attest to their quality or goodness. Just giving you another resource.
http://tammysrecipes.com/taxonomy/term/45?
Looks like there is a lot of rice, veggies and cheese. I think you can do a bit of ‘blog surfing’ from here to find more.
My favorite stand-by. A good ol’ baked potato with bacon bits and cheese. Oh…or..uh..turkey-bacon bits?
Mmmm I love vegetarian cooking. And I love your cooking blog posts.
Here’s a link to one of my favorite veggie soups: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/
recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_34662,00.html
I like to make buttery croutons out of stale bread and dump them in there, too.
And, here’s my favorite curry recipe:
1 cup dried soybeans
8 oz. turnips, peeled, cut into 1/2″ cubes
12 oz. new potatoes, scrubbed, cubed
8 oz. carrots, peeled, chopped
1 head cauliflower, chopped
1 eggplant, peeled, cubed
8 oz. mushrooms, washed, sliced
6 Tbs. canola oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled, minced
1 Tbs paprika
2 tsp. ground coriander
1 Tbs. curry powder
2 cups vegetable stock (or chicken stock)
1- 14 oz can chopped tomatoes, undrained
1- 14 oz can light coconut milk
2 1/2 Tbs. cornstarch
salt, to taste
1. Night before: Boil soybeans for 1 hour, change water, soak overnight, next day, change water, boil/simmer several hours with a pinch of salt until done.
2. Heat oil in a large pot. Stir in turnip, potato, and carrot. Cook and stir for 3 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, paprika, coriander, and curry. Stir 1 minute.
3. Add stock, tomatoes, cauliflower, mushrooms, and eggplant. Add salt. Cover and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Smoothly blend coconut milk and cornstarch. Stir into pot. Simmer 3 minutes. Stir in soybeans. Serve over rice.
It’s kind of fun stirring a big, bubbling pot. Makes me feel like a witch, in a fun, make-believe kind of way.
Also, do you guys like quinoa? It’s super high in protein. Here are my two favorite quinoa recipes. Both are vegan and incredibly filling:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/
Quinoa-and-Black-Beans/Detail.aspx
That’s one’s good if you add some diced tomatoes to the mix.
And here’s a good cold Middle Eastern salad called tabbouleh:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Quinoa-Tabbouleh/Detail.aspx
Let me know how you like them, if you end up making one of those!
-Sam
Ok, did you become a vegetarian in Memphis or when you moved back out there? I for the life of me can’t remember you not eating meat. Maybe I am that forgetful? At any rate, I don’t tend to eat a lot of meat myself…at least red meat. Have you tried turkey? Or are you a real vegetarian? Kelly, I’m really upset with myself for not remembering this! It seems you took trips to Chick-fil-a with Catherine and I…