Food Budget On Life Support? Beans To The Rescue

Below you'll find six budget saving recipes for beans.

Braised White Beans with Chard

1/3 cup olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
5 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
4 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 pound Swiss chard, stems removed, halved lengthwise, and thinly sliced crosswise
1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
6 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
3 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. When oil shimmers, add onion and garlic, season with freshly ground black pepper, and stir to combine. Cook until onion and garlic are golden brown, about 4 minutes.
2. Reduce heat to medium low and add beans, chard, and broth. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until chard is tender and broth is thick, about 10 minutes.
3. Remove the pot from heat and stir in parsley, salt, and vinegar. Season with additional freshly ground black pepper as desired.

Tomato Lentil Curry

1 cups dry lentils
3 cups water (you can use chicken or vegetable stock for more flavor, but water works just as well)
15 ounces canned tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup potato chopped into 1 inch cubes
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
salt to taste and ground black pepper to taste

1. Combine lentils and water (or stock), bring to a boil.
2. Lower heat to simmer, add the rest of the ingredients. Cover and let simmer 45 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add water (or stock) if necessary.

Jamaican Lentil Stew

1 medium onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 inch piece ginger, grated ( I got a jar of Ginger from The Dollar Store)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1-2 teaspoon ground cumin (adjust according to taste)
1 (13 ounce) can coconut milk
4 cups vegetable stock
4 ounces split red lentils, washed and drained
1 small sweet potato
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1/2-1 teaspoon Thai red curry paste (optional)
black pepper, to taste

1. Heat vegetable oil over medium heat in a large saucepan, add the onion and saute until transparent. Add the garlic ginger and saute another 2 minutes until fragrant; lower heat and stir constantly to avoid burning. Add the spices and saute for a minute more.
2. Stir in the coconut milk, stock, lentils, sweet potato and pumpkin puree. Simmer over medium - low heat for 40 - 50 minutes or until sweet potato is soft and almost melting into the stew. Be sure to stir occasionally. Before serving, stir in the red curry paste if you are using it or adjust seasoning with black pepper. 

Tuscan White Beans and Rice

• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/4 inch-thick strips
• 3/4 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 5 ounces fresh spinach leaves, washed, stems removed, torn
• 1-1/4 cups canned diced tomatoes, drained
• 3 cups cooked rice
• 1-1/4 lbs. canned navy beans, or canned Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
• 1-1/4 tsp. Italian herb seasoning
• 1 Tbs. plus 1 tsp. red wine vinegar
• 1 Tbs. plus 1 tsp. dry sherry
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in large skilled over medium-high heat until hot. Add chicken onion, and garlic; cook 7-10 minutes or until chicken is slightly browned and onion is tender. Add spinach and tomatoes. Cook 3-4 minutes more or until spinach is wilted and tomatoes are simmering. Add rice, navy beans, Italian seasoning, vinegar, sherry and pepper. Cook and stir 3-4 minutes more until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

You can substitute 13 ounces frozen spinach leaves, thawed and drained, for fresh spinach, if desired.





Garlicky Greens and Beans

1 1/2 pounds kale, chard or mustard greens, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 (15-ounce) can white beans (Great Northern or Cannellini), undrained
1/2 cup chicken or veggie broth
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and black pepper to taste

1. In a large saucepan, bring 2 quarts water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon salt to boiling water, add greens and cook until they are almost tender but still bright green, 5 to 8 minutes. Time will depend upon type of green being used. Drain and set aside. (Greens can be cooked
   
   
   
   
   one day ahead; refrigerate until continuing with recipe).
2. Heat olive oil in large skillet and sauté garlic until tender but not browned; stir in beans and cook and stir for 8 minutes, heating beans through. Some beans may break up; this is okay as it helps thicken the dish.
3. Gently stir in reserved greens, tomatoes, broth and seasonings. Cook and stir gently until heated through. If desired, top each serving with a dusting of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Beans And Greens Soup ~(my personal favorite)


Ingredients

• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 46 oz can chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 16 oz cans cannellini beans or small white beans
• 2 bunches escarole, chard or spinach
• 1 lb ground chicken, turkey or beef ** (I am a vegetarian so I toss in   teaspoon of crushed fennel seeds to give the soup an Italian Sausage like flavor).
• 3/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup Romano or Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup pasta

Method In a large Dutch oven, place oil with garlic and onion then saute and add broth. Wash, chop and add greens, beans and all meatball ingredients. Make small meatballs and fry in a skillet. Place in soup when brown on all sides. Let simmer, then right before serving, add 1 cup of pasta and let cook until tender, adding water if needed. Top with Romano cheese and serve.

Now go prepare your weekly menu and grocery list...go on, no procrastinating.

Grocery Shopping Around A Weekly Menu

Rule # 1.  Always, always plan ahead. 

• Make four weekly menus 
• Build your shopping list around your menus. 

Rule #2. 
This is WAR.
During times of war one  need to be ruthless so you absolutely must not,  and I repeat,  must not  take your kids to the grocery store with you. They are the Budget-Busting Enemy! Oh they may look  like little cherubs but don't be fooled those precious looking little round faces, they are miniature saboteurs, master manipulators, con-artist and they will convince you to to deviate from The Sacred List. They are little devils,  do not make eye contact with them. Just splash holy water in their chubby little faces and run from the house with The Sacred List clutched to your breasts.....run like the wind.

Shop wisely Grasshopper, shop wisely.

Download A Printable Grocery List

Download A Weekly Menu Planner

Smelling Like A Million For Pennies.

Sometimes something as little as freshening up and smelling good enough lighten your mood.
If you get a few friends together to split the cost a of the Essential Oils  you can be smelling delicious for just a few dollars. (you can get EO's pretty cheap on ebay)

Store bought fragrances can be pretty nasty stuff. Environmental Working Group (EWG) tested 17 popular perfumes and colognes and reported an average of 14 mystery chemicals, with some brands containing as many as 24! Thanks to a legal loophole, fragrance companies don't have to disclose what is in their recipes. Meanwhile, 66% of the chemicals that EWG found are not tested for safety.

Rather than spend the big bucks to scent yourself with untested chemicals, why no make your own, personalized bottle of perfume or cologne? It's cheap and easy and know exactly what we're spraying on yourself plus save a bundle! You just need a few simple supplies:

• A 2 oz. spray bottle. You can clean and reuse one that's already in the cabinet, find one in the travel section of your local drugstore.
• Rubbing alcohol -or- Vodka
• Your favorite essential oil. A rosemary and lavender blend. It's fun to mix and match to find the fragrance that suits you!

Put 40-60 drops of oil into your spray bottle, top off with the alcohol or vodka, and give it a good shake to combine. That's it! You're ready to add a little fragrance to your day.

A sample recipe:
You will need :

• 6 drops grapefruit
• 5 drops lavender
• 3 drops tangerine
• 1 drop ylang ylang

Combine 15 drops of your essential oil blend with one ounce of vodka in a glass bottle and shake well. Ideally, allow your perfume to sit in a cool, dark place for a couple of weeks before using it, which allows time for the essential oils to meld together and results in a rich, complex blend. For ease of application, store your perfume in a small glass bottle with an atomizer top.
If you prefer an oil-based perfume, you can add 15 to 30 drops of your essential oil blend to one ounce of jojoba oil in a glass bottle and shake well. An oil-based perfume can be used immediately. Apply a drop or two to pulse points at your wrists and neck.