Crumbled Beef & Pork Sandwich

So when I made the stuffed bell peppers, I originally used 1 lb. of ground beef and 1 lb. of ground pork. This amount actually ended up being a bit too much, so what to do with the excess mixture? Well I just generously topped the mixture with soy sauce, and stuffed it into french bread!

Ingredients: 

• Leftover mixture from stuffed bell peppers recipe
• Soy sauce
• Shredded carrots
• Chopped cilantro
• 1/2 loaf of french bread
• olive oil

Instructions:

1. Cut loaf of french bread into fourths, place in toaster oven until desired crispiness. 
2. On medium heat, add some olive oil to a skillet. Once hot, add mixture and generously soak with soy sauce. Cook for about 5-10 minutes, or until well done. 
3. While the meat is cooking, shred carrots and chop cilantro.
4. Stuff cooked mixture into toasted french bread, top with carrots and cilantro.

Costs:

• Leftover mixture from stuffed bell peppers recipe
• Soy sauce
• Shredded carrots- $0.16
• Chopped cilantro- $0. $.10
• 1/2 loaf of french bread($1.98 for a loaf) $0.99
• olive oil

Approximate Cost: $1.50 (additional cost to the cost of the stuffed bell peppers) for a serving of 2 

I would roughly estimate that the cost of 2 sandwiches would be about $4. 

xoxo,

Amy

Colorful Stuffed Bellpeppers

Stuffing jalepeno peppers got me into stuffing bell peppers! Bell peppers come in a variety of colors, so these are really fun for dinner parties, or just dinner with your roomies. :) Personally, these were not my favorite; there was just too much meat. 

Ingredients:

• .75 lb. ground beef (lean)
• .75 ground pork (or turkey)
• 4 large bell peppers
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1tbsp. BBQ Sauce
• 1 tbsp. garlic salt
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1 sm. onion, diced
• salt and pepper 

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven 375F.
2. In a small bowl, crack eggs and beat well. Rinse and cut off tops of bell peppers, and save for displaying later. Hollow and deseed each bell pepper. 
3. In a medium bowl, combine beaten eggs, ground beef, ground pork, break crumbs, onions, garlic salt. Mix well. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. 
4. With a spoon, carefully stuff each hollow bell pepper with mixture. Spread BBQ sauce over each pepper, put the top back on, and place into oven to cook for about 45 minutes or so. 

Costs:

• 4 large bell peppers- $3.99 for 3( red, orange, yellow) 
• .75 lb .ground beef
• .75 lb. ground pork (or turkey)
• 2 eggs, beaten- $0.20
• 1tbsp. BBQ Sauce
• 1 tbsp. garlic salt
• 1 cup bread crumbs-(I had panko bread crumbs left over from making chicken strips)- $ 0.50
• 1 sm. onion, diced-$0.27
• salt and pepper 

Approximate Cost: $11 for a serving of 4

Sidenote: If you're looking for a kick, my friend Timothy made this recipe, and he added some cayenne pepper! Cayenne pepper tends to do the trick :)

xoxo,

Amy

Jalepeno Poppers!

So after eating some jalepeno popper samples from Sur La Table, I went home and attempted to make my own. "Attempted" is the key word here, my poppers didn't look as presentable as the ones in the store. :(  Regardless of their lack of visual appeal, these are baked so they are much healthier than the poppers you would find at any restaurant!

Ingredients:

• 3 slices pepper jack cheese
• 6 jalepeno Peppers
• 1/8 cup of onion, minced
• 1/8 cup of fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/3 cup of cream cheese
• salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven 425F.
2. Rinse. Slice the jalepeno peppers in half lengthwise, and deseed. 
3. In a small bowl combine the cilantro, salt, onion, and cream cheese. Fill the jalepeno halves with the mixture.
4. Cut each slice of pepper jack cheese into 4ths or so and place on top of filled jalepeno half.
5. Bake for about 15 minutes or so, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Costs:

• Pepper jack cheddar cheese-($2.68 for six slices)-$ 1.34
• 6 Jalepeno Peppers- $0.35
• 1/8 cup minced onion-($0.41 for an onion)- $0.10
• 1/8 cup of fresh cilantro-($0.33 for a bunch)-$0.04
• 1/3 cup cream cheese-($1.42 for 1 cup)-$0.47

Approximate Cost: $2.30 for 12 jalepeno halves

xoxo,

Amy

Mediterranean Pitas

Vegetarian-friendly and easily packed into a ziplog sandwich bag, these mediterranean pitas are perfect to bring anywhere and to anyone!

Ingredients: 

• 1 medium size carrot
• 1/4 of a large cucumber
• 1/4 cup of kalamata olives
• 1.4 cup of feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper
• mini pitas, cut in half

Instructions:

1. Shred carrot. Peel and cut cucumber into matchsticks. Chop olives.
2. In a medium size bowl, combine carrots, cucumbers, olives, feta cheese, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.
3. Toast mini pitas, and stuff with mixture.

Costs:

• 1 medium size carrot-$0.16
• 1/4 of a large cucumber-($0.34 for an entire cucumber)-$0.09
• 1/8-1/4 cup of kalamata olives ~($4.00 for a jar)- $80
• 1/4 cup of feta cheese, crumbled-($2.38 for a cup) -$0.60
• 1 lemon-$0.16
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 2 pitas halves -($1.98 for 6 halves)-$0.67

Approximate Cost: $2.48 for one serving

xoxo,

Amy

7 Layer Dip

I was at a Mexican restaurant the other day, and I came to the conclusion that most of the dishes consist of the same ingredients. Fajitas= tortilla, meat, veggies, & cheese. Nachos= tortilla, meat, veggies, & cheese. Tacos= tortilla, meat, veggies, & cheese. The list goes on. Well this 6 or 7 or 8 layer dip (depending on how many layers you want) consist basically of you guessed it.... tortilla, meat, veggies, & cheese. :D

Ingredients:

• 1/2 bag of shredded iceberg lettuce
• 1-1/2 pounds of ground beef
• 2-3 roma tomatoes, diced
• a bag of finely shredded cheese( the mexican mixture which is cheddar & monterey jack)
• 1 can of refried beans
• 1/2 cup of chopped green onions
• 1/4 of an onion, chopped

Instructions:

1. On medium high heat pour some oil into a large skillet. Add the chopped onions. Let it cook for a minute or two, and then add the ground beef. Sprinkle with salt and pepper ( I added a hint of soy sauce, but you can season the beef however.) Cook well for about 4-5 minutes.
2. In a large container, for the first layer spread the refried beans at the bottom of the container. Add the cheese for the second layer. Once the beef has cooled, you may add the beef and onions for the third layer. Spread the sour cream very slowly for the fourth layer, or it'll get clumpy on your spatula. Fifth layer, lettuce. Sixth layer tomatoes. Seventh layer green onions. 
3. Serve with tortilla chips.

Costs:

• 1/2 bag of shredded iceberg lettuce-$1.15
• 1-1/2 pounds of ground beef-$2
• 2-3 roma tomatoes, diced-$0.60
• a bag of finely shredded cheese( the mexican mixture which is cheddar & monterey jack)-$2.28
• 1 can of refried beans-$0.80
• 1/2 cup of chopped green onions-$0.20
• 1/4 of an onion, chopped-$0.25

Approximate Cost: $8-9 for a serving of 5

xoxo,

Amy

Soy-Glazed Baked Carrots

Carrot lover or not, you're going to love these! Drizzled with soy sauce and olive oil, these carrots are the perfect side dish, or even a light, scrumptious, afternoon snack. I really enjoyed eating these carrots because you get a combination of sweet and salty; a taste of sweetness from the natural flavor of the carrots and a nice salty kick from the soysauce. Inspiration from one of my great friends, Amy Abell. :)


Ingredients:

• Bag of carrots ( about 6-7 carrots
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper
• Soy sauce

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven at 400F. Spray baking pan with cooking spray.
2. Peel carrots with a vegetable peeler. Slice carrots in half hotdog style. Laying one of the halves on the cutting board, flat side down, slice the carrot diagonally. You'll get longer strips of carrots this way. 
3. Throw on to the baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and soy sauce. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss so that the carrots are covered evenly. 
4. Bake for about 20-25 minutes. 

Costs:

• Bag of carrots ( about 6-7 carrots) - $ $1.12
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper
• Soy sauce

Approximate cost- $1.12 for a serving of 2-3

xoxo,

Amy

Black Bean & Corn Spanish Salad

I always see my roommate Jessica eating this corn and black bean mixture. I sneaked a bite, thought it was delicious, and asked her for the recipe. If you look closely at the photo above, you can see Oscar in the background! :)


Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp. salt
• 6 tbsp. of lime or lemon juice (I've used both, there's a mild difference) 
• 5 tbsp. of oil ( I use olive)
• 2 tbsp. vinegar (cider or red wine)
• 1 cup cilantro
• 1/2 cup red onion
• 3 roma tomatoes
• 1 red bell pepper ( or green, green is less $$)
• 2 tsp. of garlic
• 30 oz of black beans ( 2 small cans, or 1 large can)
• 1 can of corn 
• pepper
• 3/4 tsp. cumin (optional)

Instructions:

1. Drain black beans & rinse. Drain corn. Mince cilantro. Chop onion. Chop bell pepper. Chop tomatoes, and make sure you deseed the tomatoes or the salad will become soggy. Mince Garlic. Combine all in a large bowl.
2. In a small bowl, combine salt, lime or lemon juice, oil, vinegar, and optional cumin.
3. Pour the mixture over the vegetables.
4. Stir and chill.

Costs:

• 1 tbsp. salt
• 6 tbsp. of lime or lemon juice (I've used both, there's a mild difference) - $0.40
• 5 tbsp. of oil ( I use olive)
• 2 tbsp. vinegar (cider or red wine)
• 1 cup cilantro- $0.29
• 1/2 cup red onion- $0.60
• 3 roma tomatoes- $0.65
• 1 red bell pepper ( or green, green is less $$)- $1.68
• 2 tsp. of garlic
• 30 oz of black beans ( 2 small cans, or 1 large can) $1.25
• 1 can of corn $ 0.81
• pepper
• 3/4 tsp. cumin (optional)

Approximate Cost: $5.68 for a serving of 4 

( a lot of the ingredients involve kitchen basics such as salt, vinegar, and oil that I did not include in the calculations.)

xoxo,

Amy