Frittata

A frittata is simply a backward omelette. Instead of cooking the egg, loading it, and folding over, you cook your add-ons, pour the egg over, & bake. 

You can make veggie frittata, meat, cheese, etc. I did veggie this morning to use the produce I have in my fridge so it doesn't go bad (waste not, want not).

You will need:

4 eggs

1/2 cup milk

Oven safe sautée pan

Diced veggies/meats/cheese (or all of them!)

I sautéed my onion in about 1 TBSP of butter for two minutes. Added my diced onion & finely chopped celery. Sautéed until the onion was translucent. Added fresh oregano leaves, parsley, salt, pepper, garlic powder. Remove from heat, top with sliced mushrooms. Whisk together eggs and milk, pour over veggies. Sprinkle in one clove minced garlic & feta cheese.

Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes until egg is cooked through.

Cilantro lime rice

I started making this because my husband loves the rice at chipotle... I've tweaked it a few times & finally got it how he likes it.

Ingredients:

Zest of one lime

Juice of 1/2 lime

1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken stock (I use homemade)

Pinch of salt

1 cup rice

1-2 TBSP cilantro leaves

In a sauce pot combine juice of only one lime, chicken stock, salt, and rice. Heat on medium until it begins to bubble. Cover with a slight crack for steam and reduce heat to medium low to maintain slow bubble. Cook for ten minutes or until liquids are gone. Remove from heat and cover completely. Let sit five minutes. Mix in zest of one lime, juice of half lime, and cilantro (we love cilantro so we do about 2 TBSP). 

Gyoza (potstickers)

I have to admit I was in a huge rush when I made these tonight, I had to beat my husband's deadline. He got to be up at 2am tomorrow and has planned to hit the sack at 8pm, which meant dinner needed to be ready at 6pm so he could shower, shave, read the kids a bedtime story, and be done for the night.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound ground beef (pork, chicken, and shrimp will all work as long as it is ground)

1/4 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

4oz mushrooms, diced

1 medium carrot, grated

1/2 cup bok choy or cabbage, diced (incuding white of leaf)

1 TBSP grated ginger (now, I love ginger! I'm a ginger baby. I will eat pickled ginger straight so I double this)

1/8 cup shoyu (soy sauce; I use low sodium so I add a bit more salt to taste)

1 tsp white pepper

2 cups flour

Pinch of salt

3/4 cup boiling hot water

Olive oil 

In a saucepan, sautée onion in a bit of olive oil until translucent (about 8 minutes). Add ground beef (if you're doing shrimp you can skip this step as they will steam at the end to cook but make sure you dice it finely or pulse it through the food processor). Add onion and meat to a mixing bowl. Stir in garlic, mushrooms, carrot, bok choy, ginger, shoyu, and white pepper.

In a separate mixing bowl (I used my Kitchen Aid mixer and paddle attachment) combine flour and salt. Create a well and add water to the center. Incorporate water until a smooth dough forms. If it is too fry add a bit more water. Too tacky add a bit of flour. Knead dough on a well-floured surface & incorporate as much additional flour as possible while kneading to form a stiff dough.

Divide dough in four and cover three portions. Roll out the fourth portion about 1/16 of an inch (I used my pasta roller attachment for my mixer to setting 3).

Again, I was in a rush so I didn't cut the wrappers how I would usually, which is round. I just cut them square. Spoon 1 1/2 - 2 TBSP of mixture in each one slightly elongated. Next, gather the wrapper up around the mixture as if to fold it in half and fold the ends together all the way down to seal the wrappers. 

Heat some olive oil in a sauce pan on medium. Put the gyoza in the pan in batches and brown 2-3 minutes. Don't try to move them, the reason they are called potstickers is because they STICK on purpose. Now add about 1/8 cup water to the pan and cover with lid to steam 3-5 minutes until gyoza release from the pan. If you used shrimp you'll see the orange color enhance to indicate it is cooked.

I hit a speed bump trying to pricematch my olive oil today so I sprayed my steamer with non-stock spray and steamed them for 7 minutes.

With the leftover dough I made some tortillas to be used at a later date:

Albertson's NW weekly ad

Here are some of my favorite grocery deals at Albertsons (North West) this sales week:

Great price on bread! You can freeze bread and defrost in your refrigerator, it is a slight bit tougher but usually not enough to be noticeable unless you're really taking the time to. Limit (2) with in-ad coupon.

The cheese is DEFINITELY a stockup price! .99 per 8oz! You can freeze your cheese. I advise you to shred and freeze. Usually after cheese has been frozen and defrosted it doesn't keep together well, so if you try to grate it usually it will just crumble. Cheese is like oxygen in my house. Limit (2) with in-ad coupon. If you don't want to shred it yourself, scroll down to see how you can get it already shredded for the same price per oz! 

Buy TEN Participating items, save $5 (my favorite deals):

Not necessarily a stockup price but if you're running low or out, pick up a couple jars. 

(1) Ragu 1.99

- .20/1 coupon (01/05 RP)

OR - $1/2 coupon (01/05 RP)

= as low as 1.49 (WYB 2)

Buy (10) participating items and save an additional .50

= as low as .99 each! 

I freeze milk when there is a hot price. I'm not sure about freezing these cartons of Silk but I'm sure it wouldn't make much of a difference as long as you give it a good shake before use.

(1) Silk 2.99

- $1/1 Silk Pure Almond Light printable

OR - $1/1 Silk (01/05 RP)

OR - 1.50/2 Silk (01/05 RP)

= as low as 1.99

Buy (10) participating items and save an additional .50

= as low as 1.49

You can freezer creamer. I don't drink coffee but once upon a time I got paid to take them home with me so I bought them, froze them, and use them for other things. Like vanilla creamer in eggs for French toast or chocolate creamer in hot cocoa for a richer chocolate. Anyway, if you drink coffee, this creamer is a good deal:

(1) Coffee-Mate creamer 2.49

- $1/1 printable

OR - .55/1 printable

OR - BOGO printable

OR - 1.25/2 (12/08 RP)

OR - .75/2 printable 

= as low as 1.50 each WYB two using $1/1 or BOGO coupons

Buy (10) participating items and save an additional .50

= as low as .99 each!  

My husband LOVES Snapple tea. When I can get it for $4 after coupon I'm a happy girl, so snagging them for as little as $3 makes me a VERY happy girl.

(1) Snapple 4.49

- $1/1 Diet Snapple (01/05 SS)

OR - $1/1 Snapple printable

= 3.49

Buy (10) participating items and save an additional .50

= as low as 2.99 each! 

This isn't the cheapest price for juice but if you need a couple bottles, pick them up to hold you over for a bit.

(1) Juicy Juice 2.49

- $1/2 (01/05 SS)

OR - $1/3 (01/05 SS)

= as low as 1.99 each WYB 2

Buy (10) participating items and save annadditivtion all .50 each

=. As low as 1.49 each WYB 2

The price on Wesson oil this week is pretty good without coupon, definitely a few bottles worthy! If you live in Washington state like I do, check your Saars Marketplace for a better price on their store brand this week.

Now, I know the per ounce price of olive oil is more than that of the above pictured Wesson oil BUT if you're trying to eat healthier, Extra Virgin Olive Oil is the way to go. Pompeian also makes a blend of olive and canola oil for frying. I personally love the flavor extra virgin olive oil adds to my recipes. I started adding it to my baked goods and I swear it gives it a little extra sort of earthy flavor and I love it. Extra Virgin Olive Oil is a staple in my pantry.

(1) Pompeian 4.49

- $1/1 Pompeian printable

= 3.49

Buy (10) participating items and save an additional .50

= as low as 2.99

No coupon needed for this great deal on Birds Eye steamfresh frozen veggies! It's an awesome price on its own (but you can get the store brand for .50 per bag, just keep scrolling to learn how). Typically when you have these "Buy [insert quantity] save [insert dollar amount]" there is always a product that is cheap. The cheapest product is a .50 beverage (after savings .50). Now, of you're short a couple of items to make up your set of ten you can just toss a few of those in and get your savings! I prefer to get a food item, this is the cheapest.

I won't typically post household items but the detergent is a part of the Buy (10) save $5 sale so if you need detergent this is decent for a couple of bottle to hold you over.

(1) A&H 1.99

- $1/3 printable

= as low as 1.66 each WYB 3

Buy (10) participating items and save an additional (.50)

= as low as 1.16 each WYB 3

After $2 coupon, the NET TOTAL is 2/$4 or $2 each!

After $2 coupon, the NET TOTAL is 2/$7 or 3.50 each!

After $5 coupon, the NET TOTAL is 10/$5 or .50 each!

After the $5 coupon the NET TOTAL is 10/$5 or .50 each!

After $5 coupon the NET TOTAL is 10/$5 or .50 each! 

After $5 coupon the NET TOTAL is 10/$5 or .50 each. This is definitely a stockup price for me.

After $5 coupon NET TOTAL is 10/$5 or .50 each! Also a stockup price! 

After $5 coupon the NET TOTAL is .50 each! You can freeze these! Simply open the packs, divide the tortillas with a layer of wax paper inbetween, rebag, seal, and freeze! 

After $1 coupon the NET TOTAL is 2/$4 or $2 each for REAL BUTTER! We saw some cheaper deals during the holiday season but now this is a decent deal to buy quite a few, freeze, and use as needed.

After $2 coupon the NET TOTAL is 2/$2 or $1 per 8oz! That is stockup worth and I can just throw the shreds in the freezer!

Cheap grapefruit.

Cheap limes (this is a staple in my pantry).

Great price on organic carrots! 

Great price on organic salad blends! 

Baking the night away

Homemade bread:

2 cups warm water

1 TBSP sugar

1 packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup oil

6 cups bread flour

Combine water, sugar, and yeast and let stand ten minutes while yeast activates. Mix flour and salt in large bowl and create a well in the center. Add oil and half the yeast mixture into the well and incorporate flour. Continue adding all the yeast mixture and incorporating all the flour. You should end up with a dough ball that isn't sticky. If it is too dry add 1 TBSP if water at a time. If too wet add 1 TBSP of flour at a time until consistent.

Knead dough to form a soft, stretchy dough and shape into a ball. Oil a bowl and put dough in it covered to rise for an hour. 

Fill an oven-safe casserole dish halfway with water. Put it on a lower rack in the oven and heat to 350.

Knead your bread dough on a lightly floured surface & divide in two. Shape each piece to fit into your oiled bread pans. 

Cover and let rise about thirty minutes until the dough is about an inch above the pan. Bake above steaming water for 30-45 minutes.

Remove and let cool on rack.

I had a bit of time so I made some bagels using THIS RECIPE (from the The Sophisticated Gourmet) to go with my the twenty-five cent cream cheese I picked up at Safeway this week (deal here).

After eating all the homemade bread and bagels you can until your eyes bulge and you wake up from your carb coma think about reusing it with my breadcrumb and crouton recipe.

Shrimp Po Boy

Sometimes meat and poultry get so mundane. Whenever I can find great prices on seafood I snap them up. I've had a package of shrimp in my freezer for a couple of weeks so I decided I'd make shrimp po boys for dinner.

Ingredients:

1 pound of shrimp, deveined, without shells, uncooked

1 cup of milk

1 egg

1/2 cup hot sauce + more for drizzle 

2 TBSP Cajun seasoning 

3 tsp pepper

1 cup flour

1 cup cornmeal

Shredded lettuce

Sliced tomato

Mayonnaise

Two baguettes (click here for recipe)

Oil for frying

Combine milk, egg, hot sauce, 1 TBSP Cajun seasoning, and 1 1/2 tsp pepper in bowl. Marinate shrimp at least thirty minutes (I started it the same morning). In a separate bowl combine flour, cornmeal, remaining Cajun seasoning and remaining black pepper. Heat oil over medium heat. Dredge shrimp and fry until golden. 

Cut baguettes length-wise and slather with mayo on both sides. Top with shredded lettuce, sliced tomato, shrimp, and more hot sauce.

**I used cooked shrimp so I flash fried it to prevent overcooking the seafood by heating the oil very hot and cooking about one minute on either side just for crunch and to warm the shrimp through.

Vanilla Ice Cream

IIce cream. How does something so diverse seem so complicated? Well, I'm letting the secret out. It isn't complicated at all!

Ice cream is custard + flavor. You start with a custard base of egg yolks and cream/milk & add flavor.

Equipment you will need:

Whisk, preferably an electric whisk (I've got my handy dandy Kitchen Aid mixer with whisk attachment)

Saucepan

Stove

Measuring cup

Measuring spoons

Several bowls (I have a small bowl for my premeasured sugar, egg white bowl, egg yolk bowl, egg shell bowl, and a bowl for my final mixture. You'll also need a larger mixing bowl).

Ice cream maker

Freezer safe storage container

Ingredients:

8 eggs, separated

1 cup sugar

2 1/2 cups half and half

2 1/2 cups whipping cream

1 tsp salt

4 tsp vanilla extract (or one vanilla bean, scraped)

Put a saucepan on medium-low heat with the half and half. Stir frequently until mixture begins to steam. This is called "scalding". It was a step used to kill bacteria back before milk was pasteurized. We need it to make our custard base (and if you cook a lot, scalding helps impart flavor into the liquid for cooking). When the milk begins to steam, remove from heat.

In your large mixing bowl whisk your egg yolks and sugar. Now slowly whisk in the half and half, a slow and steady stream, as you don't want to cook curdle the yolks and have lumps, we are making a custard, which is smooth.

Once your half and half is whisked into your yolk mixture, put it back in the saucepan on medium low and scald again. In your final storage bowl combine your cream and custard. Then whisk in your extract & salt. Cool mixture (covered) in the fridge for at least 8 hours before running it through your ice cream maker.

You can add crumbled Oreo cookies (when the ice cream is nearly done turning) to make cookies and cream, scald the half and half with orange peel for a bit of zing. Just remember: custard base + flavor = ice cream. Easy as pie, well... ice cream. Another tip is that the fat content of your milk determines the richness of your ice cream. The more fat, the richer the flavor. You can try heavy whipping cream or even 2% milk to find how rich you like it.

I bought my whipping cream on clearance (for expiration) half off so I needed to do something with it. I made vanilla scones, Yum! That recipe can be found here or by searching #couponwhorerecipes on instagram.

I served our ice cream with an angel food cake (thanks Alton Brown) made using the separated egg whites (you could even attempt marshmallows!). Click here for suggestions to utilize your egg whites.

Spinach Gnocchi

I had a 10lb bag of russet potatoes I snagged for under two bucks last month and decided to do some pasta tonight for a meatless meal. I read somewhere that its a good break for your digestive system so I've been trying to remember to do it once each week (my husband is a steak and potatoes guy so sometimes he's not trying to hear that).

Gnocchi is a potato pasta. If you've ever had potato bread, you know that it has a very light, airy, and fluffy texture. It is absolutely divine. If ever in doubt, potato out. Anyway, gnocchi has a similar light and fluffy texture. You can do a simple gnocchi but in the spirit of trying to get through my frozen stockpile I decided to use some frozen spinach.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 - 3lbs potatoes (red, good, russet, it's all good)

1/2 TBSP olive oil

Salt

9oz frozen (or fresh) spinach, thawed

1/2 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 egg yolk (I used leftover egg I had from making baguettes, using whites doesn't matter, it's just the moisture content that requires yolk only)

5 TBSP flour

Heat oven to 400. Thoroughly scrub and dry potatoes. Pierce with fork. Rub with olive oil and generously salt. Bake 45 minutes to an hour until fork tender. Remove & let cool.

Drizzle olive oil in a pan on medium low and sautée onion until translucent (6-8 minutes). Add garlic and sautée an additional 1-2 minutes until your kitchen smells like garlic. Add spinach and sautée unit wilted (if your spinach is frozen, sautée it until slightly warmed through).

Put spinach in a mesh strainer and use the back of a spoon to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Put in blender with yolk and pulse until almost smooth.

Cut each potato in half and scoop out the meat. Discard skins. Add flour and mash together with a potato masher or back of a fork (you can also do this in a mixer with the paddle attachment). Create a well and add half of your spinach mixture. Mix together and add the other half. If your dough is too tacky add additional flour, half a tablespoon at a time.

Divide the dough in fourths and roll out each fourth about 1/2 inch thick on a well-floured surface. Use your finger and make indents down the snake about an inch apart. Then cut them to form small pillows with the indents in the center. Put each pillow onto a lightly floured cutting board or cookie sheet. 

Bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add one snake of gnocchi to the pot and boil until they float to the top (1-2 minutes tops). Remove gnocchi and top with sauce. If you want a slight crunch, heat a sautée pan with a bit of olive oil and add gnocchi after boiled and sautée a couple of minutes then serve with sauce.

Quick basil Alfredo/pesto Alfredo

4 TBSP of chopped basil (or 4 TBSP of pesto)

1 cup whipping cream

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Bring whipping cream to a bubble, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and immediately stir in Parmesan cheese and basil/pesto.

I used frozen basil/olive oil from my windowsill garden. I simply put them in a covered saucepan on low until they melted, added in a jar of Alfredo, added a bit of Parmesan. Removed from heat and added clove of fresh minced garlic. Topped with chopped walnuts and Parmesan when I served it so it had the flavors of pesto and the walnuts added a great crunch, which is needed with such a soft dish.

If you have any leftover dough (I used about half) finish making the gnocchi & simply freeze it on a baking sheet, then store it in a freezer bag. Same cooking process, just add them in frozen & boil until they float to the top!