Turkey Patty Melts

4 servings
Total cost: NY $6.42/10.21
Cost per sandwich: NY $1.60/2.55

Both Jersey natives*, the LBUH and I grew up hanging out in diners. When we saw Bill Telepan on the Today Show making an elevated version of the classic Jersey patty melt, it got us salivating, although the high levels of butter and red meat gave us pause. (Well, it gave me pause anyway, the LBUH would exist on nothing but an all bacon diet if I let him.)


If you don’t know from patty melts, they’re like the perfect union of a grilled cheese and a hamburger. Tasty, yes? Here’s the less heavy version of Telepan’s patty melt that we cooked up.** You’ll notice that we put ketchup right in the meat mixture. We did this for two reasons: (1) turkey meat is less fatty than ground beef, so can get dried out on its own and (2) you shouldn’t be pulling apart a true patty melt to add in any condiments, as it should be partly melted together with the cheese, and partly precariously slippery from the caramelized onions. But in our opinion, its just not a burger without ketchup. OK fine, that’s just my opinion, the LBUH disagrees. But you’re with me, right?


Ingredients

• 2 tbsps olive oil (staple)
• 3 tbsps butter, softened (staple)
• 1 large onion (NY $0.79)
• 8 slices rye bread (staple if you’ve got some/NY $3.79 for a whole loaf)
• 6 slices reduced fat aged Swiss cheese (NY $1.64)
• 1 lb. ground turkey (NY $3.99)
• 4 tbsp ketchup (staple)
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard (staple)
• ½ tsp paprika (staple)
• ½ tsp cayenne (staple)
• Salt (staple)
• Pepper (staple)

Directions

Slice onion thinly. Melt half a tablespoon butter in one tablespoon olive oil until lightly browned in a large skillet. (If your pan is dark, look for the yellow color of the butter to disappear.) And onion and cook over high heat for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to low, add a teaspoon of salt and continue cooking another 6-7 minutes, until onions are golden brown and translucent.


Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine together turkey, ketchup, mustard, spices, and salt and pepper to taste. Form into four patties that are more oval-shaped than round. After the onions are done cooking, add another tbsp of olive oil to the pan and add patties. Cook for about 5 minutes per side over medium heat, or until juices run clear when you press down on the top of each patty with a spatula.


While the patties cook, prep the sandwiches. Lay out 8 slices of bread. Top each slice with part a slice of cheese, cutting off the edge so that the cheese doesn’t extend beyond the edge of the bread. Lay the trimmings on the top of the next slice, starting the next slice of cheese after the reset of the trimmings. You’ll end up using about one and a half slices per sandwich.


* The LBUH even grew up down tha shourah.

** You’ll note that even though this is lighter version, this is still far from “diet” food. I shudder to think what the fat/calorie content must have been on the version made on the Today Show; I think Telepan glopped about 2 tbsps of butter on each slice of bread. (You’ll note that his recipe literally directs one to “slather” the butter on the bread. Gross.) These make pretty hefty quarter-pound sandwiches. If you like, you could easily make 6 patties out of the meat, or only use one slice of cheese per sandwich.


Nutritional Info
Amount Per Serving

Calories 633.4	Vitamin A 15.5 %	Iron 23.7 %
Total Fat 34.9 g	Vitamin B-12 0.2 %	Magnesium 8.3 %
Cholesterol 133.3 mg	Vitamin B-6 5.4 %	Manganese 33.6 %
Sodium 1,519.4 mg	Vitamin C 5.3 %	Niacin 12.8 %
Potassium 194.3 mg	Vitamin D 0.0 %	Phosphorus 9.9 %
Total Carbohydrate 40.8 g	Vitamin E 6.5 %	Riboflavin 13.8 %
Fiber 4.9 g	Calcium 44.0 %	Selenium 28.8 %
Sugars 5.5 g	Copper 8.2 %	Thiamin 19.8 %
Protein 40.4 g	Folate 15.7 %	Zinc 5.6 %

Recipe and Nutritional Information after the jump

Spicy Turkey Bean Chili

10 servings
Total cost: NY $18.79
Cost per serving: NY $1.88


Everyone needs a good turkey chili recipe in their repertoire, particularly during the dark days of January. This one has some zing to it; if you like it milder, knock it back down to 1 chipotle pepper. In furtherance of my continued quest to break free from the tyranny of commercial broths, this recipe calls for no broth whatsoever. This makes a lot, but like most chilis, it improves with age as the flavors meld and freezes well to boot.


Ingredients

• 2 tbsps olive oil (staple)
• 2 cloves garlic (NY $0.31 for one head)
• 1 large yellow onion (NY $1.26)
• 1 green pepper (NY $1.89)
• 1 red pepper (NY $2.15)
• 1 pound ground turkey (NY $5.99)
• 2 tbsps chili powder (staple)
• 1 tsp cumin (staple)
• ½ tsp oregano (staple)
• ½ tsp hot paprika (staple)
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder (staple)
• 1 14.5 oz can kidney beans (NY $0.89)
• 1 14.5 oz can pinto beans (NY $0.89)
• 2 chipotles en adobo (NY $2.19 for one can*)
• 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes (NY $1.89)
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (staple)
• 1 bottle cerveza (NY $1.33)
• 1 bunch scallions (NY $0.99) (optional**)

Directions

Start this one about an hour before you plan to eat.

Mince the garlic, and chop the onion, green pepper and red pepper.


Warm 2 tbsps olive oil in a large pot, and saute the chopped vegetables about 5 minutes until softened. Add the ground turkey, spices and cocoa powder. Continue cooking, stirring to break up the meat, until the turkey is browned, about another 5 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the chipotles. Once turkey is no longer pink, stir in the drained and rinsed beans, the chipotle, crushed tomatoes, vinegar and beer.


Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, approximately 30 minutes longer.


* When you have leftover chipotles, which you inevitably will b/c I’ve yet to see a recipe that calls for an ENTIRE can (and my lips burn just thinking about it!), freeze the excess.

** You can, of course, garnish this with any number of things, according to taste and the contents of your fridge. Diced tomatoes, sour cream, chopped red onions, sour cream, avocado, tortilla chips, shredded monterey jack, diced jalapenos for the truly bold, etc., etc. We happen to like scallions, and we didn’t want to leave all toppings out of the pricing for this recipe, because half the fun of chili is the make-your-sundae-style garnishing.


Nutritional Info
Amount Per Serving

Calories 220.7	Vitamin A 32.8 %	Iron 17.8 %
Total Fat 6.8 g	Vitamin B-12 0.0 %	Magnesium 11.9 %
Cholesterol 32.0 mg	Vitamin B-6 11.6 %	Manganese 23.7 %
Sodium 329.6 mg	Vitamin C 79.3 %	Niacin 3.9 %
Potassium 457.6 mg	Vitamin D 0.0 %	Phosphorus 13.0 %
Total Carbohydrate 24.2 g	Vitamin E 3.1 %	Riboflavin 6.9 %
Fiber 8.3 g	Calcium 5.6 %	Selenium 5.1 %
Sugars 1.0 g	Copper 11.9 %	Thiamin 10.7 %
Protein 15.6 g	Folate 26.3 %	Zinc 5.9 %

Recipe and Nutritional Information after the jump

Macaroni and Cheese with Tomatoes

Total price: NY $13.04/16.83
Price per serving: NY $1.30/1.69


Macaroni and cheese is arguably both the ultimate comfort food* and the ultimate budget food besides. You wouldn’t know it lately, however, as in recent years expensive “gourmet” versions have become trendy, chock full of eighteen kinds of expensive imported cheeses, loaded with pancetta, crimini mushrooms, and frizzled leeks, and even mounded with truffles.

This recipe gets back to what I consider to be the basics. When I was a kid, my mother always put a few tomato slices on top of her macaroni and cheese, which otherwise came straight out of the red-checkered Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. We always elbowed and jockeyed for the tomatoes, inspiring one memorable meal-time squabble that you already know the gist of if you've ever seen the “That caviar is a GARNISH!” scene in “You’ve Got Mail!” Are these tomatoes are good as caviar? You be the judge!


This version dramatically ups the quantity of tomatoes in my mother’s dish for two reasons: (1) increasing the fiber, vitamin, antioxidant, etc etc blah blah content of the dish and (2) decreasing fighting at the dinner table.

This recipe also deviates from tradition in one notable aspect by subbing out some of the cheese for chicken stock. The result is easier on both your wallet and your arteries, but is still creamy, cheesy and deeeeeeeelicious.


Ingredients

• 8 tomatoes (NY $4.77)
• 1 pound elbow macaroni (NY $1.49)
• 8 oz. extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated (NY $4.79)
• 2 cups chicken stock (NY $1.39)
• ½ cup parmesan cheese, freshy grated (staple or NY $2.80 for 5 oz)
• 2 cups milk, whatever kind you keep on hand (NY $0.60)
• 2 tbsps Parsley (staple or NY $0.99 for a bunch)
• Dash of Nutmeg (staple)
• Dash of Cayenne pepper (staple)
• 5 tbsps flour (staple)
  
• 1 ½ tsps. dried thyme (staple)**
• Salt (staple)
• Pepper (staple)
• 2 tbsps olive oil (staple)
• 2 tbsps butter (staple)
• Optional: breadcrumbs (staple)
  

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice tomatoes about ¼ inch thick. Spread tomatoes in a single layer on baking sheets. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with 1 tsp. dried thyme, salt to taste and chopped fresh parsley. Grind black pepper over. Bake until tomatoes have softened, approx. 20 minutes. Remove, but do not turn off oven.

In a pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until just on the crunchy side of al dente, approx. 5 minutes (or per package directions). Drain in a colander, and run under cold water to stop cooking. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour into ½ cup chicken stock.


Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in nutmeg, cayenne, 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, and additional salt to taste. Pour in milk and remaining chicken stock.

Whisk in flour mixture, and bring to a boil, whisking frequently. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and bring to a simmer. Continue cooking approx. 8 minutes, whisking frequently.

Add cheese and cook, stirring with spoon, until cheese has melted.

Turn off burner, pour macaroni into pot, and stir to combine.


Line bottom of a 9 x 13 glass dish with a single layer of cooked, sliced tomatoes. Scoop up any loose juices on the sheets and pour those in the dish too. Pour macaroni mixture over. Top with another layer of tomatoes. If using, sprinkle breadcrumbs across top to your taste.

Bake until bubbly*** and golden brown, approx. 30 minutes. Serve immediately.



Adapted from Martha Stewart Living

* And can’t we all use some comfort these days? The LBUH recently had what we thought was a good lead on a job. He met a cool woman at a networking event who was hiring, and seemed very impressed by him. She told him to call her on a certain day to set up a time for him to come in and meet some other people and discuss what kinds of things he could do for her company. He called her as requested and asked if she still had time to meet that week. The response? “Sure, I’ve got pretty much unlimited time to meet this week, because *I* just got laid off.” Just in case you’ve been living under a rock: its hard out there these days. And apparently even the uber-wealthy are asking for mac and cheese these days.

** This is also delicious with fresh thyme if you have some on hand.

***Don’t you just love that instruction? I’m tempted to use it in all my posts. Hmmm, maybe I will in the future . . . (Okay, FINE I’ll leave it out of any future fro yo recipes. Happy now? Party pooper.)

Nutrition Facts

Approximate values per serving

Calories 257.4	Protein 10.8 g	Magnesium 7.5 %
Total Fat 14.1 g	Vitamin A 19.9 %	Manganese 13.3 %
Saturated Fat 7.1 g	Vitamin B-12 3.5 %	Niacin 11.7 %
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.9 g	Vitamin B-6 7.3 %	Pantothenic Acid 4.1 %
Monounsaturated Fat 5.2 g	Vitamin C 18.2 %	Phosphorus 19.2 %
Cholesterol 32.2 mg	Vitamin D 1.1 %	Riboflavin 13.7 %
Sodium 254.3 mg	Vitamin E 4.3 %	Selenium 24.0 %
Potassium 314.4 mg	Calcium 18.9 %	Thiamin 13.1 %
Total Carbohydrate 22.5 g	Copper 8.1 %	Zinc 8.0 %
Dietary Fiber 1.8 g	Folate 16.4 %
Sugars 1.1 g	Iron 8.6 %

Recipe and Nutritional Information after the jump

Ratatouille Buckwheat Crepes

Total price: NY $20.33 (with lots of leftover buckwheat flour)
Price per crepe: NY $1.35


I'm finding this post hard to write as, in addition to the LBUH still being out of work, my own job just announced an across the board pay cut. We'll be tightening our belts even more around here. (Hmm, at what point does the tightened belt actually become more of a "corset" than a "belt"?) While the news about the economy may still be bad, the smell of this ratatouille in the oven is just amazing.

Yeah, I know, but sometimes, it's the little things.


Served in buckwheat crepes, which are both traditional in French cooking as well as made from healthy buckwheat flour, this yummy vegetable dish is economical, good for you and chic.


Ingredients
For the Crepes:

• ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon buckwheat flour ($4.99 for 2 lb. bag)
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour (staple)
• 1 2/3 cup milk (NY $0.50)
• 3 eggs (NY $0.55)
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted (staple)
• ¼ teaspoon salt (staple)

For the Ratatouille:

• 1 eggplant (NY $3.56)
• 1 zucchini (NY $1.06)
• 1 onion (NY $0.73)
• 1 red pepper (NY $1.97)
• 1 yellow pepper (NY $2.80)
• 4 tomatoes (NY $2.39)
• 8 cloves garlic (NY $0.59 for head)
• 3 tbsps parsley (staple or NY $0.89 for bunch)
• 3 tbsps olive oil (staple)
• Salt (staple)
• Pepper (staple)
• 1 tsp. dried thyme (staple)
• 1 tsp. dried rosemary (staple)

Directions
For the Crepes
Whisk all ingredients together, until the batter is smooth. Place in the refrigerator to rest for at least 2 hours before making crepes. Then move on to making the ratatouille.

Remove batter from fridge, and stir thoroughly.

Heat a small non-stick skillet (or crepe pan, if you have one) on the stove.

Use a small ladle or ¼ cup measuring cup to pour about 3-4 tablespoons batter into the pan. Pour the batter in a small circle, while swirling the pan to rapidly distribute the batter thinly. Its OK if you don't get this right the first time! Concern yourself more with making sure that the batter disperses in a thin, even layer on the pan than with making sure you get a perfectly round crepe. If it looks a little funky, that's just proof that its homemade. Crepes are far tastier when thin than when thick or, worse yet, of uneven thickness. You should get the hang of this after a few trial runs, I promise. You can also just shake the pan back and forth vigorously to even out the batter.


After about a minute, start running a non-stick spatula around the rim of the crepe, sliding it under the center of the crepe once the edges are loosened. Flip the crepe over with the spatula, and continue cooking for a little less than another minute.

Stack cooked crepes on a plate, and repeat with the remaining batter, giving it a quick stir with your ladle or measuring cup as you dip out each new crepe.


If you won't be eating all the crepes at once (and this recipe makes a lot!!), put cooked crepes in foil in the fridge. Rewarm in foil packet in 250-degree oven until warmed through.

Serve crepes at the table with the ratoutille, allow each diner to make their own crepe. Place ratatouille in the center of each crepe, and either roll up like a burrito, or fold one lengthwise and then in half again horizontally. Or allow each diner to just wing it, which is always amusing!

For the Ratatouille:
Prepare and refrigerate crepe batter first.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Slice the onion, zucchini, and tomatoes into 1/3 inch slices. Halve the eggplant lengthwise, then cut into 1/3 inch slices. Seed and core the peppers, then cut into ½ in wide strips. Dice the garlic and chop the parsley, and place in small bowl. Add salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary. Add approx. 3 tbsps olive oil, and stir to combine.


Lay down eggplant in a single layer at bottom or burner-proof casserole. Using fingertips, pick up a small clump of herb mixture. Use herbs to spread olive oil across surface of vegetables, scattering herbs evenly across as you go. Repeat with layers of remaining vegetables, topping each with herb mixture. Arrange top of vegetables in decorative pattern.


Cover casserole with lid, and bake in oven for approximately one hour. Depending on how much water your vegetables give off, your ratatouille may be overly liquidy at this point, or may be done. Vegetables should be tender and cooked through.


If the fluid at the bottom of the dish covers more than about a third of the bottom of the dish, transfer to stove and continue cooking uncovered, for approx. half an hour, or until liquid reduces to be slightly thickened and covers only about the bottom third of the vegetable layers.

Transfer dish to table and allow diners to serve themselves.

Nutrition Facts

Approximate values per serving

Calories 94.2	Vitamin A 18.3 %	Iron 5.2 %
Fat 2.9 g	Vitamin B-12 3.4 %	Magnesium 6.2 %
Cholesterol 47.1 mg	Vitamin B-6 8.4 %	Manganese 19.8 %
Sodium 119.0 mg	Vitamin C 79.1 %	Niacin 4.7 %
Potassium 265.8 mg	Vitamin D 1.6 %	Phosphorus 9.4 %
Total Carbohydrate 13.7 g	Vitamin E 1.8 %	Riboflavin 7.8 %
Fiber 2.5 g	Calcium 5.6 %	Selenium 13.4 %
Sugars 0.1 g	Copper 5.4 %	Thiamin 6.2 %
Protein 4.4 g	Folate 7.0 %	Zinc 3.8 %

Recipe and Nutritional Information after the jump

Veggie-ful Black Beans and Brown Rice

4 servings
Total Price: NY $ 7.33/ NY $ 16.11
Price per serving: NY $1.83/ NY $4.03


So you probably didn’t need me to tell you that rice and beans are budget-friendly. And you probably have already figured out that subbing brown rice for the traditional white makes the whole works healthier. What makes this rice ‘n’ beans recipe a little different is the quantity of veggies that go into it. The result is a really tasty dish that is chock full of protein, fiber, vitamins and I’m guessing those phytochemical and antioxidant thingies one hears so much about these days. You can also throw in extra odds and ends veggies you happen to have on hand, like red pepper, carrots, even celery or zucchini chopped up kind of fine. The leftovers from this pack great for lunch: just put the rice on the bottom of your Tupperware, layer on the beans and tomatoes in the same container, and pop in the microwave at lunch time. It’s so simple my brother could cook it, and cheap, cheap, cheap! Everyone I’ve ever made this for or recommended it to has loved it. (Hmmm, or at least that’s what they tell me. . .) Here’s hoping you will too.



Ingredients

• 1 14.5 oz can black beans (NY $1.79)
• 2 tomatoes (NY $2.70)
• 1 large green pepper (NY $0.95)
• 2 medium onions (NY $1.30)
• 2 cloves garlic (NY $ 0.59 for one head)
• Balsamic vinegar (staple)
• White cooking wine (staple, or NY $3.29 for 16 oz.)*
• Oregano (staple)
• Salt (staple)
• Pepper (staple)
• Olive Oil (staple)
• Cooked brown rice (staple, or NY $5.49 for 36 oz.)

Directions
Chop and saute the onion, green pepper and garlic in 2 tbsps olive oil, until tender. (About ten minutes.) Add the can of beans with their liquid. Add 2 tbsps or so balsamic vinegar, 2 tbsps or so wine, 1.5 tsps oregano, black pepper and a little salt. Add some water if its looking dry or if you like your beans soupy. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes. Serve over brown rice, topped generously with seeded, chopped raw tomato.

Very loosely adapted from the black beans and white rice recipe that was on the back of the Goya can about 10 years ago

* A note on cooking wine: Yes, this recipe uses it. If you don’t know, cooking wine is an shelf stable product available in the grocery store, made by adding salt to wine as a preservative. Its an inexpensive product that some folks get truly virulent about. There are many who will tell you that if you wouldn’t drink a wine, you shouldn’t cook with it either. Now, there are some dishes for which that is undoubtedly true, but rice ‘n’ beans really isn’t one of them. And its not the most wallet-friendly of philosophies in any event. Unless you were going to cork open a bottle anyway (and, though tempting, something we’re trying to avoid these days, emphasis on trying) its silly to do so just to dump a few glugs into your beans. However, if you’re really stuck on avoiding cooking wine but still want to cook with wine, here are some other ideas. You can save leftovers from a bottle you haven’t quite finished drinking (note: this does not happen frequently in my house), freeze them in an ice cube tray, then transfer to a zip-top baggie and store in the freezer for future cooking. Just toss the cubes into the pot while cooking, or defrost first if the temperature drop would mess up your recipe. Another idea is to pick up minibar size bottles of el cheapo wine at the liquor store, and use those for cooking. For this recipe which only calls for about 2 tbsps, however, you’d end up with extra Sutter Home. And tell me, oh wine snob who didn’t want to condescend to use cooking wine in the first place, do you really want to drink that? Another tip is to substitute dry vermouth, which is shelf-stable even after opening, for the wine in your recipe. All tips and tricks worth trying for different purposes. But really, for rice and beans? Go on, just shell out the $3.29 for the cooking wine. I won’t tell.

Nutrition Facts
Approximate values per serving, assuming ½ cup brown rice

Calories: 334	Protein: 11.8 g	Iron: 16.3%
Total Fat: 8.5 g	Vitamin A: 13.4 %	Magnesium: 30.1%
Cholesterol: 0	Vitamin B-16: 20.9%	Niacin: 13.6%
Sodium: 20.7 mg	Vitamin C: 52.4%	Phosphorus: 24.5%
Potassium: 54.3g	Vitamin E: 8.4%	Riboflavin: 8.2%
Total Carb: 54.3 g	Calcium: 5.2%	Selenium: 16.4%
Fiber: 11.4 g	Copper: 19.8%	Thiamin: 26.5%
Sugars: 1.2 g	Folate: 39.7%	Zinc: 12.0%

Recipe and Nutritional Information after the jump