Chipotle Turkey Tacos/Taco Salads with Pico De Gallo

12 Tacos
Total price: NY $24.07 (plus leftover cheese, cilantro, chipotles and tomato sauce)
Price per taco/taco salad: NY $2.00


The other night, the LBUH developed a craving for old school suburban tacos. None of this fancy fish in a soft tortilla stuff I’d been feeding him before our finances took a turn for the worse. I wasn’t willing to fry up a pound of ground beef or use orange-colored seasoning from a pouch, so this recipe was a successful compromise. (So successful that it had the LBUH walking around the house singing “Taco, taco, taco!”)

The instructions below incorporate my mother’s patented trick to keep taco shells from breaking. Her method allows the juices from the turkey mixture to soak into the shell, which makes it just pliable enough that it won’t crack but not so much that it turns to mush and all the fillings tumble out the botttom. Personally, I like this best as a taco salad so I pounce on any that happen to break (which, thanks to Mom, won’t be many).


Ingredients

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (staple)
• 1.3 pounds ground turkey breast*(NY $5.29)
• 2 medium onions (NY $ 1.69)
• 1 red pepper (NY $ 1.15)
• 2 cloves garlic (NY $0.59 for one head)
• 2 chipotles in adobo sauce** (NY $1.79 for 7 oz. can)
• 1 cup tomato sauce*** (NY $1.49 for 15 oz. can organic)
• 1 rounded tbsp chili powder (staple)
• Salt (staple)
• ½ cup water (free)
• 12 corn taco shells (NY $2.79)
• Romaine Lettuce (NY $ 2.99 for one head)
• 1 cup cheddar, monterey jack, or mexican blend cheese (NY $2.79 for 8 oz.)
• 3 tomatoes (NY $1.47)
• 2 small jalapeno peppers (NY $0.54)
• 4 tbsps cilantro leaves**** (NY $1.50 for 1 bunch)

Directions
Preheat over to 350 degrees.

Prepare pico de gallo: seed and dice tomatoes and jalapeno peppers, combine in medium bowl. Chop 1 onion and 3 tablespoons cilantro, add to bowl and stir. Salt to taste, and leave flavors to blend while you prepare tacos.

Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat, until fragrant. Add turkey and brown (approx. 2 to 3 minutes).

Add remaining onions, red pepper and garlic and continue cooking until turkey is cooked through (approx. 3 to 5 minutes).

Stir in chipotles, chili powder and tomato sauce. Season with salt to taste, and stir in ½ cup water.

Reduce heat to low, and simmer for a few minutes.

Carefully remove taco shells from package and stuff with a few spoonfuls of turkey mixture. Place filled shells on cookie sheet, heat in oven for (approx. 3 to 5 minutes)*****.

For tacos: arrange filled shells on platter. Serve with bowls of washed, shredded romaine lettuce, cheese, and pico de gallo.

For taco salads: Arrange washed, torn romaine lettuce on plate. Top with pico de gallo, and crumble a filled taco shell over. Sprinkle some cheese on top.

Adapted from Rachael Ray******

* Most packages of ground turkey come in this seemingly odd size, while most recipes call for just a pound. One of the things that I love about this recipe is that it doesn’t leave you with a leftover 1/3 pound of turkey.

** Freeze leftovers for another use.

*** Ditto!

**** For info on storing cilantro, see earlier post.

***** The filled shells keep well in the fridge. To reheat, either pop them in the microwave or back into the oven at 350 degrees.

****** That’s right, Rachael Ray. I understand that there are many who can’t stand Rachael Ray, but I’m a fan. I get that her cutesy expressions can rankle, and her portion sizes are humongous, but I think she gets people in the kitchen cooking when they might otherwise have gone to KFC. And there can be no doubt that that is a good thing. Now if you want to bash on Sandra Lee and that semi-homemade nonsense, then be my guest!


Nutrition Facts
Calories per taco (including cheese, pico de gallo and lettuce)

Calories: 168.1	Protein: 14.2 g	Magnesium: 6.9 %
Total Fat: 6.5 g	Vitamin A: 24.0 %	Manganese: 10.5 %
Saturated Fat: 1.1 g	Vitamin B-12: 0.9 %	Niacin: 3.8 %
Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.4 g	Vitamin B-6: 9.0 %	Pantothenic Acid: 2.7 %
Monounsaturated Fat: 2.3 g	Vitamin C: 46.2 %	Phosphorus: 11.3 %
Cholesterol: 22.1 mg	Vitamin D: 0.0 %	Riboflavin: 4.6 %
Sodium: 533.2 mg	Vitamin E: 5.9 %	Selenium: 5.2 %
Potassium: 248.2 mg	Calcium: 8.1 %	Thiamin: 5.4 %
Total Carbohydrate: 15.6 g	Copper: 4.7 %	Zinc: 3.7 %
Dietary Fiber: 2.6 g	Folate: 9.9 %
Sugars: 1.2 g	Iron: 5.7 %

Recipe and Nutritional Information after the jump

Herbed New England Clam and Corn Chowder

8 servings
Total Cost: NY $18.67 (plus extra bacon* and carrots)
Price per serving: NY $2.34


Even though its technically spring, its going to be cold and rainy weekend here in New York: perfect chowder weather! I adapted this recipe from a recent Bon Appetit article about eating better for less, but last I checked this chowder doesn’t seem to have ever made it on to Epicurious. Which is a darn shame because its economical, quick, easy, tasty, and a great way for Lovely But Unemployed Husband to get his bacon (“Mmmm, bacon”) fix without me worrying about the state of his arteries. (I am sparing you here from a truly dreadful joke about bringing home the bacon. I would like this noted on my permanent record. Thank you.) The original recipe called for whole milk, but I’ve substituted 2% because it’s a little less heavy and for us its more economical as 2% is what we use on a daily basis. Go ahead and use whichever you have on hand, or a mix if you feel like it. Like most soups, this freezes well.


Ingredients

• 6 bacon slices (NY $3.99 for 1 lb. package)
• 2 medium onions (NY $.69)
• 3 large carrots (NY $1.29/Bunch)
• 1 ¼ tsps dried thyme (staple)
• ¾ teaspoon dried rosemary (or a few sprigs fresh if you have it) (staple)
• Salt (staple)
• Pepper (staple)
• 3 tbsps flour (whole wheat pastry if you like) (staple)
• 4 cups 2 % milk (NY $2.25 for organic)
• 2 8 oz potato (NY $1.50)
• 3 6 ½ oz. cans chopped clams in juice (NY$5.97)
• 2 10 oz packages frozen corn** (NY$2.98)
• Chopped fresh parsley (staple)

Directions
Cut bacon crosswise into ½ inch pieces. Peel and chop carrots, chop onions. Chop, but do not peel, the potato into ½ inch cubes.

Cook bacon in soup pot over medium heat until crisp. Transfer bacon to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.

Pour out all but 2 tbsps of bacon drippings from pot. (Note: if you’re phobic about saturated fat, you could pour out all but 1 tbsp and substitute 1 tbsp olive oil. But you get a lot of flavor bang out of the bacon grease for both your actual and caloric bucks.)

Add onion, carrots, thyme, rosemary, a few pinches salt and several grinds of pepper. Saute until vegetables are tender but still crisp (approx. 5 minutes).

Sprinkle in flour, stir over heat until well combined (approx. 1-2 minutes). Stirring constantly, slowly pour milk into pot. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium. Cook until slightly thickened, stirring frequently (approx. 5 minutes).

Add potatoes, and simmer until potatoes are tender, stirring often (approx. 15 minutes.)

Add the clams with their juice, and the corn Return to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and let simmet for another 10 minutes. Adjust seasoning to taste. Crumble bacon slices into bits. Sprinkle individual bowls with bacon and parsley, serve and enjoy!

Adapted from Bon Appetit, January 2009

*Bacon freezes well and according to Sarah Moulton stays tasty for up to a month. Insert a sheet of wax paper between every six slices or so (or whatever the smallest quantity you think you might want at one time is), wrap in plastic wrap, and place in heavy duty freezer bag before freezing.

** The original recipe called for 1 8 ¾ oz can corn kernels, drained. “CANNED CORN?!?” you ask, increduously. Hand to heart, Bon Appetit said to use canned vegetables. We elected to use frozen corn instead as, among other things, canned corn frequently contains added salt or sugars.

Nutrition Facts
Approximate values per serving, using 2% milk

Calories: 285.6	Vitamin B-6: 14.9 %	Manganese: 15.7 %
Total Fat: 6.5 g	Vitamin C: 25.5 %	Niacin: 11.7 %
Cholesterol: 46.4 mg	Vitamin D: 0.0 %	Pantothenic Acid: 4.5 %
Sodium: 496.6 mg	Vitamin E: 1.1 %	Phosphorus: 11.7 %
Potassium: 795.1 mg	Calcium: 63.3 %	Riboflavin: 7.3 %
Total Carbohydrate: 37.4 g	Copper: 5.8 %	Selenium: 4.4 %
Protein: 21.8 g	Folate: 61.2 %	Thiamin: 12.3 %
Vitamin A: 352.7 %	Iron: 11.4 %	Zinc: 6.2 %
Vitamin B-12: 1.4 %	Magnesium: 9.8 %

Recipe and Nutritional Information after the jump

Shrimp Enchiladas Verde Casserole

8 servings
Total price: NY $ 25.87 (with leftover cheese and cilantro*)
Price per serving: NY $3.23


Seafood is admittedly pricey, but given how ridiculously healthy and delicious it is, we’re not willing to give it up until after the recession is over. But maybe that’s not as far away as it once
seemed? Just maybe? (Now’s when you nod your head and say “Yes, undoubtedly!”) As much fun as this site has been, it would be even better to be rendered obsolete. Back to seafood: one way to keep the price manageable is to use it as just a small part of a larger dish. This recipe does just that, and is truly idiot-simple besides. As easy as an old-school casserole—dump in a can of this, scatter over a pack of that—but blessedly devoid of cream of lima bean soup. Posting this sooner than anticipated as its one of the Lovely But Unemployed Husband’s favorites and, as you may have heard, its hard out there in the job market. (For the moment at least! Soon to end maybe! See above!)


Ingredients

• 1 pound peeled cooked shrimp (NY $9.20**)
• 1 10 oz package frozen corn (NY $1.39)
• 2 4 oz cans chopped green chiles, undrained (NY $3.78)
• 2 10 oz cans green enchilada sauce (or green salsa) (NY $3.98)
• 12 6-inch corn tortillas (NY $ 1.49)
• 1 15 oz can nonfat refried beans (NY $1.99)
• 1 cup reduced-fat shredded cheese (Mexican blend, Montery Jack,
• Cheddar or the like) (NY $5.19 for 8 oz.)
• 2/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro (NY $1.50 for 1 bunch***)
• Cooking spray (staple)
• Optional: 1 lime (NY $0.33)

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Coat a 9 x 13 inch baking dish withcooking spray. Remove tails from shrimp**** and dice. Combine shrimp, defrosted corn, 1/3 cup cilantro, chiles with their juice and ½ cup of the enchilada sauce in medium bowl.

Spread 1/3 cup enchilada sauce in prepared baking dish. Next put down an overlapping layer of 6 of the corn tortillas. Spread refried beans evenly over tortillas, top with shrimp mixture. Cover with another overlapping layer of remaining tortillas. Pour remaining tortilla sauce over the top. Cover with foil.

Bake until bubbly at the sides (approx. 20 minutes). Remove foil and sprinkle cheese over top. Continue baking, uncovered, until cheese melts (approx. 5 minutes). Sprinkle remaining cilantro over top (or serve on the side), and let stand (approx. 5 minutes). If desired, serve with lime wedges to squirt over the top.

Adapted from Eating Well

* To store leftover cilantro, I trim the bottom of the stems, and pop the bunch into a glass of clean water (like an herbal bouquet). Either keep this on the counter if you plan to use quickly, or put a plastic bag over the top, afix with a rubber band (so basically, your cilantro is wearing a shower cap), then pop the whole works into the refrigerator.

** We found that, surprisingly, shrimp was the same price per pound whether fresh or frozen, raw or cooked. We went with fresh, pre-cooked, but shop around and go with whatever is cheapest. If frozen, defrost before combining with the corn, etc. If raw is cheapest, cook before combining with corn mixture.

*** If you’ve figured out how to grow a pot of cilantro in your apartment, you have my congratulations! We’ve never managed to make that trick work. If you’ve done it, please share your secrets below!

**** If you’re lazy, or just don’t like playing with shrimp tails (like me), you can just take your knife and lop them off. You’ll waste some shrimp that way, however, so better to get the shrimp to come out of their shells. LBUH will either coax(he’s a good coaxer) the shrimp out of the shell by pinching the bottom or will slice the shell off by running a knife horizontally down one side of the shrimp.


Nutrition Facts
Approximate values per serving

Calories: 285.0	Vitamin A: 40.6 %	Iron: 15.3 %
Total Fat: 4.2 g	Vitamin B-12: 15.4 %	Magnesium: 15.3 %
Cholesterol: 114.0 mg	Vitamin B-6: 12.2 %	Manganese: 10.2 %
Sodium: 1,041.6 m	Vitamin C: 20.0 %	Niacin: 13.8 %
Potassium: 318.4 mg	Vitamin D: 0.0 %	Phosphorus: 30.6 %
Total Carbohydrate: 40.1 g	Vitamin E: 1.9 %	Riboflavin: 7.0 %
Fiber: 8.1 g	Calcium: 13.4 %	Selenium: 39.1 %
Sugars: 2.7 g	Copper: 9.6 %	Thiamin: 6.5 %
Protein: 23.1 g	Folate: 7.0 %	Zinc: 13.0 %

Recipe and Nutritional Information after the jump