Penny Pasta

No joke, if you're eating on a strict budget, pasta can be one of your best friends these days. And the pasta industry seems to have figured it out! Lately, I am able to find 10/$10 deals at Safeway, or 2/$3 deals. Keep an eye out because there are is an endless list of ways to keep pasta part of your routine. According to Wikipedia (the source of truth I'm sure) there are 350 different types of pasta! I don't know if they're counting the tri-colored versions separately, but you name it: shells, twirls, fettucini, angel hair, penne, macaroni, lasagne... the spice of life!Easy, versitile, low in fat but full of carbs to keep you going through the day, pasta is abundant with possibilites for culinary adventure. I hope you'll feel free to share your own ideas. And don't think this post is anywhere near my last word.

One of my favorite dishes when I was a little kid was twirls (Rotini if you're being authentic) with grated cheddar cheese. I have recently rediscovered this simple dish to my delight. A restaurant nearby makes a mac-n-cheese and their special "twist" is to add a pile of fried onions, which is a-mazing. I slice the onion into thin stips and put a skillet on very hot. Adding a generous pour of vegetable oil I drop the onion in when the pan is sizzlin' and begin to season immediately with salt and pepper. The onion should get very crispy-- if you're a person who loves burned marshmallows, take this is your lisence to blacken! Pile a few pieces of chicken on top, if you can swing it, or go without! This dish is a great lunch or light dinner. Sometimes I like to make a ceasar salad with it-- the lemony goodness is a wonderful compliment. Othertimes, I slice red bell peppers and carrots as side or have a few slices of fresh tomato on hand. If you love fried onions in your green bean casserole, you'll really love making your own fresh onion fritters!

Another easy, inexpensive pasta that's become a favorite around our house is the simply called, Tuna Pasta. Adapted from a Martha Steward Living Magazine, Tuna Pasta involves the following (serves 2-3)

-1/2 box angel hair pasta

-1 lemon

-1/2 cup bread crumbs (if you have them, if not, no worries)

-3 tablespoons capers

-1 can tuna, packed in water

-parmesan cheese

Bring water to a boil in a large pan, add generous pour olive oil and a pinch of salt before cooking pasta. When draining, retain 1/2 cup pasta water in a bowl.

Open and drain tuna. Usually I mix a small amount of mayonaise, dill and a little bit of salt and pepper-- just so the tuna isn't extremely dry.

Jusice lemon into retained pasta water. When pasta is finished, drain and then toss in water/lemon juice. There shouldn't be a lot of water puddling in the bottom of the bowl. You're mostly relubricating the pasta nd coating it in lemon. Add tuna, capers and breadcrumbs. Toss. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and a dash of pepper and serve.

This is such a clean, citrus-y dish with a nice shot of protein from the tuna. Tuna by the can tends to be a bit less expensive than chicken, so it can be a good way to get a serving of protein during the day for a few dollars less.  Also delcious with toasted bread or a salad. I was skeptical about the "tossing in pasta water" too at first, but it's a neat trick to know and no added expense using sauce!

Finally, I'd like to throw out a recipe I used to make for the editorial board when I knew we were going to have a late night and I needed to feed 7 people on a college budget. This is a wonderful dinner for large groups and reheats especially well I think. I'd like to credit my mom with the idea.

Cynthia's Sausage Pasta (laugh, laugh)

-1 box penne pasta

-4 links sausage (Italian, chicken, hot, mild, make it your favorite!)

-3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced

-1/3 purple onion, sliced into thin strips

-2 bell peppers, orange, yellow, red or green! sliced into strips

-5-6 mushrooms, sliced

-1 jar red sauce (I personally love anything with basil added)

Prepare penne. Remove casing from sausage and break off small pieces. I recently discovered that some grocery stores sell sausage "uncased" which is less expensive that buying it in a casing and then removing it. Also, if you don't want to mess with this step, feel free to cook the sausage and then slice it into coins afterwards. I personally like the look of the "free form" sausage and find that the smaller pieces cook more quickly than the cased sausage. It's all about what makes you enjoy cooking though! Cook sausage on medium-high heat until browning and a little crisped.

If you're lucky enough to have two skillets, get the second one going for the veggies. If you're working with one (I have been there) then use the sausage skillet. The grease from the sausage will give the veggies a nice flavor and you won't need extra oil. Throw in peppers, mushroom, onions and garlic. You'll want to keep things crisp-tender (I love that expression) so please, sample a pepper or two as you're working! :)

Combing pasta, sausage and veggies in a large bowl. Toss with warm pasta sauce. All in all, you're looking at 5-6 servings for around 10-12 dollars depending on what the vegetables will run you. Not too shabby! I love to make a tube of flakey dinner rolls for moppin' up sauce and stray garlic pieces. Delicious with cold beer or a glass of wine as well! One thing I've learned, you can make any dinner something special if you serve it with a happy heart.

I hope this has you excited to add a box of pasta to your grocery list. I'm going to see a midnight show of The Watchmen tonight and I'm super psyched! I had to get this post out so I wouldn't be thinking about pasta during the movie! It's been on my mind all day.

Til next time. Blueplatespecials away!

Welcome to Blueplatespecials, May I Take Your Order?

Hello Internet!

Sara here, nice to meet you. A recent transplant to Portland, Oregon, I love to cook and, more than that, I love to cook delicious food that didn't cost much! While some are reading about Brangelina in the check out line, I'm cruising the food magazines with equal zeal. Oooh the color pictures....

One of my favorite challenges to do is try to replicate amazing meals I've had at restaurants. I love eating out and enjoying the luxery of having someone else do the dishes for me-- no doubt about that-- but I consider it a challenge; usually the money you save is more than enough to buy a great bottle of wine and a few candles go a long way in recreating the mood. 

So, why do I think you'll care? Because as this recession wears on, I am convinced that we owe it to each other to get through this with grace and uplifiting desserts. I'm sure aspects of my story will resonate with most readers in some way or another: about 6 months ago my boyfriend and I packed a Budget van, reserved four hotel rooms along the way and drove from San Antonio to the Pacific Northwest to see what our next adventure would be. We were fresh out of college, excited, bright eyed and eager to start writing the next chapter of our lives.

About 2 weeks after we'd moved into a place in the Northeast part of the city, and learned the basics of the bus system, the banking levees broke. It was like the country suddenly realized, "Hey, that cough sounds bad. And I've heard it for a while now... Maybe the economy is sick!?" Suddenly it was real. TARP, bailout, bundled securities and $750 billion all became part of the national lexicon. I began to contemplate grimly this move I had just made.

But! Half a year later I can say that I'm still going strong, thanks to the love of friends from afar and a little pug I live with named Waldo that is pure goodness itself. It's hard to get too down when you live with a beast whose purpose in life is to cuddle with you and make you laugh.

I named this blog after the blue plate specials that were common at diners in the early part of the twentieth century. Especially during the Depression, people were concerned about being able to "Dine on a Dime"; while inflation may make the goal of this blog something more akin to "Dining on a Dollar" I promise you that the spirit of the blueplate lives on.

Besides inexpensive, delicious and creative meals, it is a personal goal of mine to try to provide meal ideas that are also nutritious. We see McDonalds and Wal*Mart are the only two major companies posting growth in the last quarter. More power to 'em I suppose, but I would like to show you how, with a little more effort than a drive-thru perhaps, you can make delicious dinners that rival the price of a #6 value meal, while knocking out your food pyramid with a vegetable other than a pickle chip or two.

I welcome your comments, suggestions and innovative improvements on ideas here! My hope is that this site can become a meeting place for fellow food lovers, a learning place for those new to cooking, and a resource for everyone at the end, or beginning, of a long day, just looking for some inspiration.

Food may keep us alive, but community will keep us going.

Onwards and upwards! Blueplatespecial Away!

Holy Crepe!

So far we've talked a lot about dinners and lunches. But what about the most important meal of the day? It used to be a routine around our house to make pancakes on Sunday nights. My dad would but on some Natalie Cole and we'd team up to flip some delicious cakes "under a paper moon, floatin over a cardboard sea..."

Sometimes though, you need something a little faster, a little simpler. Maybe you're trying to cut sugar out, maybe you don't have baking soda, maybe you're adventurous (of course you are if you're reading these rambles!)

Welcome to: the creperie!

These thin pancakes, similar to the Swedish version, are delicious with honey and lemon, powdered sugar and butter, jam, fresh fruit, whipped cream or syrup. And! Don't forget thier savory brothers! Crepes filled with cream cheese and ham, or sauteed mushrooms and onions, or goat cheese and bell peppers! Or asparagus!! The list is as long as your imagination!

Are you ready to get started right now!?

To make about 6 crepes of medium size you'll need to whisk together:

-1/2 cup flour

-1 egg

-1/4 cup milk

-1/4 cup water

-1 tbsp. butter (melted)

-dash of salt.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. When a flick of water from the sink dances off the surface, you're ready. Using a little butter (or cooking spray) dribble in batter in a spiral. Quickly tilt pan so that the batter runs and fills in the gaps (if gaps remain occasionally, don't freak out. These aren't flaws, they are character!) Very quickly you'll want to get a spatula (sometimes I just use a butter knife and it works fine) and flip that crepe. That's one of the best parts about these guys, the batter's a cinch, they're ready in a jiff and clean up is a batter bowl and the skillet! Sometimes I can even have a half dozen ready by the time the coffee is making it's final gurgles.

As you pull the crepes, roll them into tubes instead of just leaving them flat on the plate. This helps to keep them warm as they have less exposed surface area to lose heat off of.

I hope you'll share some of your favorite toppings! Feel free to cut the butter out (even though it's sooooo good) or use 1/2 cup water if you're out of milk. This recipe is the product of my own tinkering, I'm sure you'll perfect your own!

Merci pour la lecture (thank you for reading!)

Canned Goodness

One of the most difficult transitions from Texas to Oregon was adjusting my budget for fresh fruits and vegetables. The San Antonio climate, and proximity to Mexico, made avacados, mangos and 10/dollar ripe limes a 365-days-a-year luxery to take for granted. Now, as I factor in as much as 89 cents for a single lemon (!) I realize what an amazing resource the sun is...

While many might try to make the point that canned is not as good as fresh, the truth is that most of the vitamins and nutrients are still preserved in canned goods and when you've got a craving for corn in January, well, you do what you gotta do.

Besides knocking out the fruit and veggies servings you should be shooting for each day, canned good are easy on the budget. Although I have had to practice distributing the weight among my bags when I leave the store to catch the bus home, it is no chore when I know I have gotten dinner for sometimes as little as $1.50.

I present here a favorite around our household: the Corn and Bean Bowl (serves 2)

-1 can corn

-1 can black beans

-chicken tenders (4) *optional

-dollup sour cream

-your favorite salsa

Drain corn and beans. Heat beans in small sauce pan over low-medium heat. Stir often, as burning black beans to the bottom of your pan will make dishes less than their usual super-fun.

Meanwhile, heat large skilled over medium-high heat. Coat lightly with butter (or cooking spray I suppose if you're a Pam person.) Quickly dump corn into skillet and begin to aggitate corn with a spatula. This high-heat trick is AWESOME with fresh corn, but we are working with canned corn now so look alive. The corn should begin to *jump* a little bit and make popping sounds. You want to season with salt, pepper adn garlic powder as you're working. Eventually the corn will begin to brown. **Do not get hit by a flying kernel.** If they are threatening you, turn the heat down. You're in charge here.

Fill two (blue) bowls, half with beans, half with corn. If using chicken, cut and place on top. A generous dollop of sour cream is a palette cleanser and a cold morsel in each hot bite of dinner. Salsa gives the dish a kick and provides a little color as well.

If you can find them, this dinner is delicious with a Mexican Coke on special occasions-- made with real sugar instead of corn syrup. However, many may prefer a cold beer, iced tea or lemonade.

Clean up's a cinch, two pans, two bowls and the cans go into the recycling bin.

Wanna try it tonight? Yes you can.

Did We Need Milk?

I have never had strong feelings about going to the grocery store-- until lately. The last few months I find myself stressing about the weekly trips through the aisles. I am constantly looking for the pennies I can save here or there. I find myself (irrationally) irritated with my boyfriend when he doesn't understand the silent quota for each item of new food I have established in my head and eats his share of apples in the first half of the week. I recently discovered a mouse in my pantry and nearly cried at the amount of food he had chewed into. I may make pancakes out of old blueberries, or blend brown bananas into smoothies or toast stale bread until it's delicious again-- but I will NOT eat food that a rodent has defecated near. That is an invitation to the plague.

I digress. I realize my grocery store anxiety is responsible on some level-- if I figure out that I can save 30 cents by getting the plain pasta instead of the tri-colored shells-- isn't that a nice discovery to make? But when I start denying a 23-year old man his apples, maybe I need to relax.

The greatest tool I have found in aid of this pursuit of grocery-buying Nirvana is: the grocery list. It may sound simple, too simple, but it keeps me on track and on budget. I have time to think through what I will make in the coming week: for one thing, this cuts down on spoilage; no brussel sprouts have to go to the compost because they were bought unnecessarily. For second, making a list ahead of time allows me to check through what I already have so there's no extraneous purchase "Just in case we're out of eggs, I can't remember if there are 2 or 10 left" sorta thing. Thirdly, I stay on track in the store with a list. There isn't a lot of wandering and scanning the shelves. While this might be an arguably enjoyable part of the grocery store experience, it also tends to result in extra items finding their way into my cart. Staying focused, ticking off items, and getting home excited about the week's meals to come, that can also be an enjoyable experience.

So staple together a pile of scratch paper or break out that little note book you got in your stocking and haven't put to use yet. Having a grocery list can become a part of the routine that saves time, money and (irrational) irritation with loved ones.

Ode to Polenta

Or as I call them, "international grits." Polenta originated in Italy and is basically ground yellow and/or white cornmeal. Depending on how refined the grind is, the creamier your polenta will be. Though Italian in origin, polenta is a staple in dishes popular on all six populated continents! Sold in a box, preparation is often similar to cream of wheat or grits-- several cups of water, salt, a little butter and constant attention. Though traditionally polenta would take up to an hour to reconstitute when made on a range top, "instant" polenta has become more common in grocery store aisles. These versions generally take under 20 minutes from box to bowl. And, double bonus, a box often runs under $5 dollars and will produce up to 10-12 servings.

*Ensure you store Polenta in a safe place, from personal experience, mice are also a fan of this tasty dried cornmeal! grrr....

Now, a less economic, but also super quick, way to procure your polenta is in a prepackaged tube. Often runnning around $3.50-$4, these versions can also come in a variety of flavors, sundried tomato, basic and garlic, mushroom and onion, etc... A single tube serves about three people comfortably, four if you regulate the portions carefully.

In the instance that you would like to try crispy Polenta slices, the tube is ideal! Already shaped into a cylindar, all you need to do is remove the plastic, shake off the excess water and take a sharp knife out. Over medium-high heat in a skillet with a generous pour of olive oil, toss in your Polenta slices until they begin to brown. Flip and then pull onto a plate. All variety of toppings are ideal here-- a spoonful of tomato sauce and a sprinkle of mozzeralla, a sprinkle of chedder cheese and black pepper, or a fresh tomato slice and a dash of basil. I have heard some even enjoy maple syrup over polenta slices, a'la the corn pancake!

Tube polenta can easily be turned into creamy polenta. Remove plastic and cut the cylinder into cubes. Add a tablespoon of water or so and microwave or heat in a saucepan over medium heat. As the polenta begins to warm and soften, use a fork and mash it against the side. Add any number of thinkeners: butter, cheese, a dash of half-n-half, sour cream or cream cheese for a flavorful, creamier polenta.

Polenta is fat-free (until you add the delicious creamy ingrediants :) and a great source of grain during your daily adventures! I often use it as a substitute for mashed potatoes-- it's amazing with steak or baked chicken. Also, if you're going veggie, it is complemented nicely by asparagus, spinich, mushrooms and onions. Try making a warm veggie sautee to serve over the top! Even shrimp and fish aren't too bold a gambit with this unique and lovable grain!

One final thing I love about polenta especially, is that you can take a thinner cut of meat and save the money at the register-- often a "thin cut" of meat is several dollars less and can be a nice way to trim the fat off that category of your food budget. Truth be told, sometimes a thin cut leaves you a little less than filled, especially when growing boys are at the table. Polenta is a warm and creamy way to stretch your thin cut further.

And don't hesitate to try it for breakfast with an egg on top! The New York Times had a super inventive idea for a polenta pizza with spinich and pancetta as a brunch meal. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/
dining/182mrex.html?scp=1&sq=polenta%20spinich&st=cse I say, be bold and use bacon instead if you don't want to drop the extra dollars on cured meat! Or go meatless and save a pig :)