Quick Remake of Acorn Squash with Chickpeas

 

Winter squash are beginning to appear in the markets! What's that mean for Cheap not Frugal Eats? Winter squash obsession begins! 

I used my recipe Acorn Squash with Chickpeas and Adobo as inspiration for a quick dinner. I sauteed delicata squash that I then simmered in a spicy, peppery tomato sauce (Z.'s red sauce he made with New Mexico chilies) with chickpeas and a few spices. I served my squash and chickpeas over couscous. If you can measure and boil water, you can make couscous. 

I sauteed 1 cup of delicata squash about 5 minutes in a large, high-sided pan. I then toasted 1/4 teaspoon turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, and 1 teaspoon smoked paprika for 30 seconds then added 1 cup tomato sauce and about 1/2 can of rinsed and drained chickpeas. I put a lid on the pan and let simmer about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the squash was tender. Meanwhile, I prepared my couscous. This meal was spicy, flavorful, and just right for a dark, overcast evening. 

What are your favorite leftover quick meal ideas?

Leftover Power: Cuban Minestrone

A good tomato sauce provides the basis of many meals in the Cheap not Frugal Eats household. I was trying to think of the reasons why:

• canned tomatoes and tomato products are a great deal (when on sale, of course) for how much flavor and substance they provide
• I love tomato based sauces. With a little attention and time, I can create something special.
• Most importantly, I travel the globe through tomato sauce.

Z.'s red sauce takes me to Italy. A few peppers and some heat takes me to Louisiana while some turmeric, garam masala, and chickpeas brings the Punjab region to mind. Who knew that I could go on an adventure to western Africa by including a bit of peanut butter and yams?

With a few additions to Z.'s red sauce, I can visit Cuba in my mind. For my Cuban adventures I add peppers, such as bell peppers or mild, flavorful chile peppers. This time of year, I am able to get a variety of chile peppers from my local farmer's market, like pimento but use what you enjoy and what is available. I add plenty of oregano and a generous handful of chopped pimento-stuffed olives. If you are feeling extra adventurous, try including 1/4 cup raisins. 

I have enjoyed this delicious sauce two different ways. The most simple meal Z. and I had was pasta with this Cuban tomato sauce. The olives provide a mildly bright yet briny counterpoint to the slow-simmered tomatoes and onions.

Then, I used about 1 cup of leftover sauce as the base of what I'm calling Cuban minestrone. Since my Cuban tomato sauce is so hearty, I only added a few additional ingredients:

• zucchini
• dark greens (in my case, beet greens)
• black beans
• small pasta
• water or broth
• sherry vinegar, to garnish

I just heated up some olive oil in a soup pot, and sauteed the zucchini and greens. Then I added the tomato sauce, about 4 cups of water (I was only making a meal for myself), and 1/2 can of black beans. Meanwhile, I cooked the amount of pasta I wanted separately. After letting the soup simmer for about 15 minutes, I combined the soup and pasta. I garnished the bowl with a few splashes of a good-quality sherry vinegar.

What other ways do you use tomato sauce? I would love to know!

Red Beans and Rice Revamped

I have always assumed that the definitive Cheap Not Frugal Eats recipe for red beans and rice was posted. I think I was fooled by thinking this because I have so many recipes that involve beans, tomato sauce and rice. Well...I've shared something that comes close to a recipe for our version of Cajun red beans and rice. Goodness, I have come a long way.

I love meals like red beans and rice because it's so easy to create a new meal depending on your mood or what's available in the pantry. In this case, this is the most simple version we make. Just cook some onions and garlic then everything else gets thrown in the pot, simmer until done. Enjoy!

Vegetarian Red Beans and Rice

by Ace Nation

Keywords: saute entree vegan vegetarian beans/lentils tomatoes

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Ingredients (serves 3)

• 1 tablespoon oil, such as canola
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
• 1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup water (about as much needed to rinse out the tomato cans)
• 1-2 red chile peppers, such as Fresno, pimento, or Italian (bell peppers can be substituted)
• 1 15 ounce can of red beans, rinsed and drained, or about 1 3/4 cups of cooked beans
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1/2-2 teaspoons of Cajun seasoning (amount depending on the brand and your taste)
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Kosher salt, to taste

Instructions

In a large sauce pan, heat oil over medium-low to medium heat.

Add the onions, cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and just beginning to brown.

Add the garlic, cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes.

Add all the remaining ingredients, stir to combine. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce will thicken as it cooks. Be careful, bubbling tomatoes will splash. If you need to put a lid on the pot, make sure the steam can escape.

Serve over rice.

Enjoy!

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Tabbouleh "Salad"

This is a meal we had recently, created in an improvisatory moment.

Basically, it's tabbouleh deconstructed. Tabbouleh is a salad of bulgur wheat, cucumber, tomato, occasionally onion, with lots of parsley and mint, dressed with olive oil and lemon juice.

 

I took the components of tabbouleh but rather than combining them, I layered the ingredients on a bed of crisp lettuce and topped it with my own light, bright vinaigrette. I have become quite smitten with parsley and mint in my green salads. Then, the still slightly warm bulgur added substance and its own nutty deliciousness. If you would like a complete meal, add a few chickpeas. Enjoy!

What I Have Learned: Tomato Soup

 I made tomato soup again. And, it didn't taste like my first pot of tomato soup.

Let me explain a little more. First and foremost this blog exists for me to share my cheapskate expertise, especially when it comes to food. As I become more serious about creating my own recipes or putting my own stamp on other cooks' recipes, I find there are a lot of surprises to creative cooking. Sometimes these surprises are fantastic and other times, a let down. In the beginning of the blog, if I didn't share my mistakes, I wouldn't have anything to share. As I now have greater command of the kitchen and ingredients, sharing mistakes has turned from digital filler to serious reflection of what transforms a meal from okay to great and how my choices as a cook affect the outcome.

Take Pappa al Pomodoro for example. The first time I made this meal, my world was rocked. I used my basic recipe to make tomato soup. Good but not great.

What did I do differently?

• The ratio of fresh tomatoes to canned tomatoes was different. There was a great deal on roma tomatoes so I went heavy on the fresh tomatoes. I don't often cook with fresh tomatoes. Do I need to learn more about how to balance the acidity in fresh tomatoes?
• I roasted the tomatoes and red pepper like I did the first time around. They didn't get as charred as the first batch. Does the char really make that much of a difference? I thought I followed the same directions as before. Why didn't these get the same char?
• I didn't blend bread into the soup. Does the bread balance the acidity of the tomatoes?

Help, please!!!!

Mexican Casserole

What to do with all those leftover corn tortillas?

This was a serious topic of conversation between Z. and I recently. Our corn tortillas come in a package of 72 because it's the best deal. We used to divide the package and individually freeze portions of six tortillas. Once they are reheated for fajitas, they are rather dry and fall apart easily. We are no longer inclined to freezing our tortillas; we need a new solution where semi-stale tortillas no longer matter (I knew I had you at "semi-stale").

I certainly enjoy my Tortilla Strips (which I enjoy the most on their own as a warm, salt snack) but I am looking for something that we could have for dinner. My version of Mexican Casserole is my first attempt at getting creative with corn tortillas. Z. and I love this meal! I already have one variation under my belt and have more planned as more spring produce comes into season.

This meal was great! Z. and I each had a huge dinner and leftovers for lunch the next day. With this first attempt, I wanted to see how innovative I could be with some Cheap not Frugal Eats staples. Enjoy!

Mexican Casserole

by Ace Nation

Keywords: entree vegetarian tortilla vegetables Mexican

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Ingredients (serves 2-3)

• Non-stick cooking spray
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno, seeds removed and minced finely
• 1 can corn, drained and rinsed (or 2 cups frozen corn, thawed)
• 1 can beans (red, black, pinto, or a combination), drained and rinsed (or 1 1/2 cups precooked dried beans)
• 1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds or ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 tomato-chicken bouillon cube, if desired
• 6-8 corn tortillas
• 1/4-1/2 cup shredded cheese

Instructions

For the filling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cut tortillas in half. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet and spray each side with non-stick cooking spray. Toast until lightly toasted, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large high-sided skillet, heat canola oil over medium heat.

Add onion, cook, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to develop some color, 8-10 minutes.

Add garlic and cumin to the pan, cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic is cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Add cumin, chili powder, and smoked paprika to the pan. Toast about 1 minute.

Add corn, beans, diced tomatoes, and bouillon cube to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until all ingredients are heated through, 5-8 minutes.

To assemble and complete

Spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. I used my 6-cup glass Pyrex dish.

Spoon about 1/2 cup of the vegetable and tomato mixture into the bottom of the dish and spread evenly.

Layer tortillas over the mixture. You can have a single layer of tortillas and there might be filling exposed or you can overlap tortillas to create a more dense dish.

Spoon another layer of vegetables over the tortillas, enough so that the tortillas are covered by a thin layer, and spread evenly.

Continue the tortilla and vegetable mixture layers until the vegetables are gone.

Spread the cheese evenly over the top layer. Bake 10-15 minutes, until the whole dish is heated through.

Enjoy!

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Pappa al Pomodoro

This was my first attempt at tomato soup. I have said this before and I will say it again: My life has never been the same since I made this. Why would I have made tomato soup before when there were always cans of Campbell’s in the pantry? Once I accepted the fact that I probably wouldn't find any more sales and coupons for canned soup I started paying attention to tomato soup recipes. One day while watching television, I saw Claire Robinson make her version of tomato soup on 5 Ingredient Fix. Aha! I’m embarrassed to admit that I had no idea making tomato soup was so simple.

Such simple ingredients to create a luxurious soup.

Yes, it is another picture of onions. I am very proud of my onion-cooking abilities.

Almost everyone is in the pot.

Don't be afraid. It's just bread simmering in a pot of soup.

What drew me to Claire’s recipe? She used both fresh tomatoes and canned tomatoes. I can’t always get decent tasting fresh tomatoes so the canned tomatoes would add help with the tomato flavor. I also liked the idea of roasting the fresh tomatoes. Anything that’s been roasted and has some char is always a good idea in my book. I also took this as an opportunity to try making another bread soup.

I took Claire’s recipe and made it mine. Z.’s red sauce is one of my favorite foods on this planet. I think one of his secrets is how low and slow he cooks the onions. So I did the same thing with the onions for my tomato soup. Since I didn't need to stick to 5 ingredients, I added chopped fresh garlic (she used garlic-infused olive oil). I also added a red bell pepper (roasted, of course) and I still had some gorgeous red chilies. I liked the sweetness of the bell pepper with the floral heat of the chili. I made one last small change. I made croutons with some of the leftover bread to garnish the soup. I discovered what makes amazing homemade croutons, which I will share my secret another time. I wonder what other variations of this soup I could make? Enjoy!

Tomato Bread Soup

by Ace Nation

Keywords: soup/stew vegan tomatoes bread

Ingredients

For soup

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for roasting
• 1 yellow onion, sliced thinly into half-moons
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound Roma tomatoes, cut in half, seeds removed
• 2 14 ounce cans diced tomatoes (or 1 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes)
• 1 red bell pepper, seeds removed and cut into large wedges
• 1 red chili, such as a Fresno chili
• 1/3 loaf of Italian bread (or whatever you have), torn into small pieces, about 3 cups
• 1 1/2 cups water
• Kosher salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

To roast the vegetables

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In a bowl, toss the Roma tomatoes with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil. Season with kosher salt and black pepper. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet. Then repeat with the red bell pepper but spread on a separate pan. Roast the tomatoes until soft and just beginning to brown, about 15-20 minutes. Roast the red bell pepper until charred and browned on one side, about 20 minutes. To peel, place immediately from the oven in a bowl and cover with a tight fitting lid or plastic wrap. Allow to steam until cool enough to handle. Then, carefully remove the skin from the pepper. Chop into smaller chunks.

For the soup

In a soup pot or large sauce pan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over low to medium-low heat. Add the onions, stirring occasionally, cook until golden, about 25 minutes. Add the garlic and chili, cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is softened, 5-7 minutes.

Add diced tomatoes and any juices, roasted tomatoes, roasted pepper, and water. Turn up the heat slightly, bring to a boil, simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the bread and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Carefully blend soup with an immersion blender or in a stand-up blender until smooth. Return to a pot and keep warm. If the soup is too thick, add a little water at a time, about 1/8 cup, until you reach the desired consistency.

Serve garnished with the leftover croutons.

Enjoy!

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Z.'s Red Sauce

Red sauce, marinara, tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce...whatever you call it, the homemade stuff is easy and delicious. Does anyone else call it spaghetti sauce? My family always has. Why would we eat anything but spaghetti? Whenever we mixed all the pasta (and we did not call it pasta, they were noodles) and sauce together before serving, like one of my grandma's liked to do, we called it goulash. We were in the middle of Wyoming after all; we had no idea.

Since Z. hates tomatoes, he had never tried tomato sauce until a year or so ago. I had accumulated a few jars of marinara sauce due to some expert couponing. Z. was willing to try a taste of pasta and tomato sauce. He loved it! After going through our stock, we decided to try making it ourselves. I will admit, I have actually only made our red sauce once...the first time. The rest of the time, I have been Z.'s assistant. Turns out, he makes an awesome red sauce!

We like ours rather chunky, so we use a whole onion, diced rather finely. The trick here, is to let the onions get some color on them. The other important note is to let the sauce gently simmer for some time. If we wanted to have red sauce ready right away, we would omit the water. The little bit of water we add lets the sauce simmer for as long as we like without evaporating away. Another tip...DO NOT SKIMP ON THE OLIVE OIL. Use a little more than you would than normal while sauteing the onions or add a little drizzle before serving. Enjoy!

P.S. This freezes great. Our preferred freezing mode for everything is to place it in a freezer bag, get out as much air as possible, and place it in the freezer as flat as possible. To thaw, I run some hot water over the bag and once the contents are pliable enough, I place them in a small pan on the stove to heat up.

Z.'s red sauce gently simmering away

Hillshire Farms sausage links that have been sliced and are browning for pasta with red sauce!

Z.'s Red Sauce, serves 2-3

2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1/4 cup water
1 small onion, finely diced
6 cloves garlic (more or less according to taste), minced
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4-1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
kosher salt and black pepper

1. Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium-low. Add onions and sugar. Allow to cook until soft and beginning to caramelize, stirring occasionally, about 25-30 minutes.
2. Add garlic and a little more olive oil if needed. Season with black pepper and chili flakes. Cook until garlic is soft, about 5 minutes.
3. Lower heat to medium-low if it is not already set there. Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, and season with salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and Italian seasoning. Let gently simmer for 20-25 minutes. Before serving, taste and adjust salt if necessary.

Variations:

• Ground meat seems pretty traditional. Sauteed chicken breast is also tasty with pasta and red sauce.
• We like to slice sausage links - like kielbasa - and brown it and serve it with our pasta and red sauce.
• Add 1/2 diced bell pepper, any color, to add some vegetables and delicious flavor.
• Beans are a great addition. Kidney beans when allowed to simmer in the sauce for a few minutes, turn surprisingly silky. I had red sauce with kidney beans over leftover polenta loaf. See!