Budget meals

30-minute chicken Caesar salad wrap on the grill

Nifer — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:07:23 +0000

Does it ever occur to you to make Caesar salad at home? I never think of it until I’m at a restaurant and it suddenly looks like the best thing on the menu—especially with some grilled chicken on top (even if I have to pay extra for that).

With this recipe dreamed up by the EatingWell Test Kitchen, it’s not just the chicken that’s grilled—the romaine lettuce is too! (Another thing I’d never think of.) That lightly charred lettuce adds more delicious smokiness to the Caesar salad filling for this easy meal rolled up in a warmed spinach wrap.

Super-easy oven-barbecued chicken

Nifer — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 18:34:12 +0000

Unpredictability may spice up a marriage, sure—but predictability can be comforting without being boring. For instance, when my husband and I go out to eat, we can predict with a pretty high degree of accuracy what each other will order. If we’re out for Asian food he’ll go for spicy and garlicky—and I’m going to want sticky chicken with sesame seeds.

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Easy DIY healthy chicken taco bowls

Nifer — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 17:53:50 +0000

How many meals can you make with a corn tortilla? The outside-the-box cooks in the EatingWell Test Kitchen gave themselves the challenge of creating a few new dinners based on corn tortillas for the May/June 2013 issue of EatingWell Magazine. But they really outdid themselves with this new Chicken Taco Bowls recipe and guess where they found their inspiration? At the bottom of a muffin tin.

Being single never tasted so good: tips to make cooking for one delicious and easy

Nifer — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 21:34:24 +0000

You know what the best part of cooking for one is? You don’t have to cater to anyone else’s dietary restrictions and YOU can make exactly what YOU want to eat. Sure, it may be a little tricky finding recipes for one or to find the inspiration to get out your pots and pans instead of ordering takeout. But with a few simple tips and easy recipes, you can make delicious meals for yourself without wasting food and save money by not eating out.

How to make simple Taiwanese three-cup chicken on the stovetop

Nifer — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 19:57:58 +0000

I just have two questions about this chicken recipe: Why is it called “Three-Cup Chicken”? And can I please have it for dinner tonight? It has the Asian flavors I love: Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, fresh ginger and fresh basil. And lots of garlic: 12 cloves plus 1 tablespoon minced garlic. That’s why Kathy Gunst included it in her story “A Fresh Look at Garlic” in the March/April issue of EatingWell.

Crazy-healthy casserole: zucchini quinoa lasagna

Nifer — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 19:11:13 +0000

Quinoa is all the rage these days—and once you’ve made a few quinoa recipes, it’s not hard to see why. It cooks in 15 to 20 minutes, which means it is a truly convenient whole grain, and makes itself at home in lots of different kinds of recipes—soups, salads, casseroles, even desserts (Hello, quinoa blondies.)

Quick microwaved stuffed baked potatoes for a cheap dinner

Nifer — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 19:02:31 +0000

The scene: My kitchen. The time: Tonight, about 30 minutes before everyone melts down from starvation. The options: Join in the meltdown; scrounge around for enough money to order pizza; or do something special with those innocent-looking potatoes in the pantry. I bought them recently, thinking it would be a good idea to have potatoes in the house, just in case. And in this case, I can turn them into Asparagus & Ham Stuffed Potatoes in 30 minutes and turn dinner drama into a satisfying family meal. (At less than $3 per serving, it’s cheaper than pizza too.)

Quick, budget-friendly stovetop ziti (no chopping required!)

Nifer — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 14:02:45 +0000

I used to do my own taxes, but in the last few years, with the complications of kids in and out of college and so on, I (gratefully) handed everything over to a professional. I’ve just dropped off everything with her for last year’s taxes—and immediately resolved to get our spending under control. Starting with grocery shopping. My idea of shopping within a budget is typically to ask the budget to look the other way.

How to make chicken stock and chicken broth

Nifer — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 18:51:54 +0000

One of the first recipes I learned in culinary school was how to make homemade chicken stock. Both stock and broth start with the same base of vegetables (carrots, celery, onions), herbs (parsley, thyme, bay leaf) and water, yet broth has an enhanced flavor from using the chicken meat while stock generally only uses the chicken bones. Many recipes and store-bought products use the terms interchangeably. You can use chicken broth and chicken stock interchangeably in recipes.

Better than the $1 menu: Superfoods that ring in for 99 cents or less

Nifer — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 17:57:19 +0000

Every few months, it seems, there’s hype about the latest, hottest superfood—chia seeds and acai berries spring to mind. But LOTS of foods, many of which are stocked in nearly every grocery store in America, are “superfoods”—foods brimming with various disease-fighting nutrients, usually without providing too many calories.

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6-ingredient fast & skinny one-pot jambalaya

Nifer — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 20:32:38 +0000

If you do a search for jambalaya recipes, you’re going to find more to choose from than you know what to do with. There are lots of great Cajun cooks out there—and lots of jambalaya recipes full of personal expression and ingredient lists as long as your arm. (What Makes Cajun Food So Great? Top Chefs Share Their Secrets.)

Set it & forget it: slow-cooker stout & chicken stew

Nifer — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 18:49:57 +0000

Whether you want a healthy comforting weeknight dinner or a delicious stew to enjoy on the weekend (say while you’re watching the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens in the upcoming Super Bowl!), a warming bowl of slow-cooked chicken stew with stout fits the bill with two of America’s favorites: chicken and beer.

Budget-friendly and healthy quick pasta bolognese

Nifer — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 18:08:01 +0000

So here we are in January—it’s cold outside and yet we’re trying not to crank the thermostat too high inside because the holiday bills are coming due and suddenly we’re not feeling all that flush. (Guess we’ll have to keep wearing those Christmas sweaters to stay warm.)

Fast, produce-packed lemon chicken stir-fry

Nifer — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 20:09:24 +0000

With my new year’s resolution to eat healthy fresh in my mind, I’m focusing this week on getting more vegetables into my diet. A light, bright, tasty meal that helps me pack in more produce is a fast chicken and vegetable stir-fry.

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The ultimate satisfying weight-loss soup

Nifer — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 15:44:39 +0000

I think it’s a happy coincidence that January is not only national soup month, but also the peak of people’s efforts to lose weight. Research shows that soups can help you lose weight: in one study, published in the journal Physiology & Behavior, people consumed the fewest calories on days when they ate soup rather than the same ingredients in solid form. Soup has a high water content, which can help you feel full. Broth-based soups packed with veggies give you the biggest bang for your caloric buck.