Yahoo Food

The $5 Dinner Is Not Only Possible, It's Good

Yahoo Food

Updated Mon, December 9, 2013 at 4:15 PM UTC

By Kelsey Miller & Lexi Nisita, Refinery29

It happens every year. We hit the perfect storm of holiday travel, gift shopping, and suddenly everyone gets engaged. Everything costs money. Oh, and it’s your mom’s birthday. And, rent is due. In the next month we’ll spend more cash than any other time of year - and somehow, we still have to eat. Realizing that a person cannot live on party snacks alone (we tried that once; it was a very bloated season), we challenged ourselves to come up with some real meals we could make on the cheap. We’re not talking about microwave meals or basic, bland staples either. We wanted solid, healthy, sustaining dinners that would carry us through the season feeling healthy, satisfied, and not so poor.

Turns out, it wasn’t so challenging after all. If you shop just a little smarter, and think outside the microwave you can come up with some great stuff. We asked the pros for tips on how to up our grocery-store game and then whipped up four fabulous dinners, each with a net cost of $5 or less per serving. All of these recipes met the cheap challenge at the supermarket and taste test on the dinner table. These are your holiday season lifesavers, in more ways than one. Please, put down the menu and back out of the drive-thru. There’s a better way.

To help us get started, we reached out to Cooking Matters for their tips on how to shop smarter, and keep our kitchen well stocked on the cheap. This great organization pairs chefs with low-income families to help them cook healthy, delicious meals on a budget. Never mind Seamless, you’re probably losing thousands every year on wasted groceries. Sounds extreme, but when we hit the supermarket with the Cooking Matters team we learned a lot about buying and storing food that had simply never occurred to us before. Here are 10 (ridiculously simple) steps to help you shop, eat, and store your food smarter.

1. It all starts with the cart
Wasting less food begins at the grocery store. Live by the motto, “Buy what you need, and eat what you buy.” Always have a plan and a list before going grocery shopping. Check your pantry and fridge before you head to the store to make sure you’re buying what you really need.

2. Buy fresh produce a week at a time
Buy in bulk only if you will use them before they go bad. If you are able to get to the grocery store weekly, buy only enough fresh produce to last that week.

3. Cook with canned and frozen fruits and vegetables
They can be a good solution if you aren’t sure you’ll be able to use up fresh foods before they go bad. Bonus: They are often more affordable than fresh and can be even more nutritious.

4. Make friends with the freezer
Freeze bread when it won’t be used right away, or if you have some left over from a meal (bread can be stored in a freezer for up to 6 months). Freeze leftover vegetables for use in later soups or stir fries. Chop and store fresh fruits in freezer to use for fruit smoothies.

5. Use up produce before it goes bad
Combine fruits into a fruit salad or top cereal with sliced fruit. Cook berries, apples, or pears into a tasty crisp or crumble. Use overripe fruit in muffins, breads, or pancakes. Add vegetables to soups, stews, casseroles, pastas, sauces, or omelets. Combine vegetables and a little salad dressing for a side dish or snack.

6. Store fresh herbs well To help them last longer, wrap the stems in damp paper towels. Store in a plastic bag in the produce bin of your fridge. Still not able to use up all your fresh herbs before they go bad? Chop them up and throw them in the freezer. Try freezing them in an ice cube tray. Once frozen, remove the cubes and place them in a freezer-safe bag. This way you can pull out just what you need the next time you cook.

7. Transform leftovers into a new meal
Left over mashed potatoes can become a hearty soup by combining them with stock, a splash of vinegar, onions, carrots and any other veggies you have on hand.

8. Fill your pantry with flavor
Vinegars and other condiments, like Dijon mustard, are great for quick, homemade salad dressings. Or use them to make a flavorful marinade for proteins or vegetables. Apple cider, red wine, rice, and balsamic vinegars are all good options. Keep the dried herbs and spices you use often on hand. Use to add taste in place of extra salt or fat.

9. Don’t forget fish
Another item you may not think of buying canned is fish. But canned fish is a great secret for getting more heart-healthy fish into your diet in an affordable way. Use canned tuna or salmon to add protein to salads, casseroles, and pastas.

10. Beans!
Canned or dried beans add bulk to soups, salads, and pastas. Swap in beans in place of half the meat in tacos or other dishes. They are less expensive and lower in saturated fats. Look for low-sodium or no salt added when buying canned.

Fried Egg Pasta With Mixed Vegetables
The egg & pasta combo is one of our all-time favorites. It satisfies your carb, protein, and (healthy) fat cravings with the barest minimum cost and effort. In fact, eggs in general are your cheap-healthy lifesaver. When in doubt, put an egg on it. But, put an egg on this first.

Ingredients:
1 box angel hair pasta
2 eggs per serving
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 box frozen mixed vegetables
Servings: 4
Cost per serving: $3.75

Simmer vegetables in a pot and drain. Set aside, covered to keep warm.

Set a large pot of water (with a heavy pinch of salt) to boil on the stove.

While the water is heating, put oil in a pan and bring to a medium heat. Roughly chop garlic and add to the pan. Sauté until golden, then remove from the pan, but keep the oil.

Cook the pasta, drain, and place in a large serving bowl. Toss with garlic, vegetables, and a little extra oil to prevent sticking. Set aside.

For each serving, fry two eggs sunny side up in the pan and oil you used to sauté the garlic. Plate pasta and top with two eggs per serving. Finish by drizzling a little of the garlicky oil over the plate, and top with some fresh cracked pepper. Serve immediately.

Baked Sweet Potato Pancakes with Apple-Onion Sauté & Kale Salad
There is no greater joy than comfort food that’s actually good for you. This meal is one such gem. A spin on the traditional latke with a classic kale salad and an apple-onion side that will make your eyes cross. Seriously. Do this. Why are you still sitting there?

Ingredients:
2 sweet potatoes
2 eggs
2 tbsp flour
1 regular potato
4 carrots
2 apples
2 onions
1 bunch kale
4 tbsp olive or vegetable oil
Juice of 1 lemon (2-3 tbsp)
Salt & Pepper to taste
Servings: 4
Cost per serving: $4.40

Preheat the oven to 400.

Add 2 tbsp oil to a large pan and set over a medium heat. Slice onions and apples into thin wedges and add to pan. Saute until onions are well caramelized and the mixture is combined and fragrant (usually around 30 minutes). Stir only occasionally, and adjust heat if apples and onions start to burn at all. While this magic happens slowly on the stove, you can work on the rest of the meal.

Wash all the potatoes and carrots, dry well, and use a grater to shred them into a mixing bowl. CRUCIAL STEP: Strain as much liquid as possible from the mixture by squeezing handfuls over the sink. To speed it up, you can lay a cup or so of the mixture into a paper towel, or a clean dishcloth and wring it out.

Add flour, eggs, and a little salt. Use your hands to mix this all together until well-combined. Really get in there. It should be good and sticky. If it’s too wet and won’t stay together, add a little more flour. If it’s too dry, add a small splash of olive oil. Remember though, since you’re baking (not frying) it can be a little more fall-apart-y.

Form potato mixture into small patties (about the size of your palm) and lay on a lined (or lightly oiled) baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, then flip and bake for 20-25 minutes longer, until they look crispy with browned edges. Turn the oven off, leave the door ajar, and leave the pancakes in there to keep warm while you finish up.

Wash and dry kale and tear into large-bite pieces. Whisk together 2 tbsp olive oil with lemon juice. In a large bowl, toss with kale, massaging the dressing into the leaves. Plate with pancakes and a big scoop of apple-onion goodness and enjoy!

One-Pan Salmon With Veggies
This one is for all the novices out there — especially those with limited kitchen supplies. All you need is one sizable oven pan, two plates, a cutting board, and a knife. We’ve got a basic template below, but you can feel free to switch up the fish and veggies as seasons and tastes change. If you’re on the hungry side, a little couscous or rice doesn’t hurt, either, and the preparation time fits nicely into the cooking time for the fish.

Ingredients:
1 bag fingerling potatoes
2 shallots
Frozen salmon filet, usually sold in packs of two (also great with swordfish or cod — if you live near a Trader Joe’s, you can get all of these at remarkably low prices)
2 tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
Salt & pepper to taste
Servings: 4
Cost per serving: $4.80

Preheat oven to 375. Thaw frozen fish in refrigerator overnight, or let sealed package sit in cold water, changing water every 15 minutes (depending on the size of your filets, they should be mostly soft, if not completely thawed, after 2-3 cycles of water).

Coat a glass oven pan with olive oil. Wash potatoes well. Peel and chop shallots. Mix vegetables with salt and pepper in the pan.

Pour remaining olive oil, with some salt and pepper on one plate; flour on another. Dip each side of your fish filet into the oil, then lightly into the flour on each side. Place in the pan and bake for 20 minutes, or until fish is flaky and opaque inside.

Arugula Pesto Chicken Breast & Basmati Rice
Pesto is a delicacy that is usually reserved for restaurants, and buying enough basil to make it can get very expensive, very fast. However, turns out following a standard pesto recipe with some arugula can be just as good — plus, you get to save your extra pesto for pasta!

Ingredients:
4 boneless chicken breasts
1 bag arugula
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic
3 tbsp olive oil
Red pepper flakes to taste
Handful of almonds (optional)
1 cup basmati rice per serving
Servings: 4
Cost per serving: $5.00

Chop garlic cloves and almonds, if you’re using them, into quarters (or, for the almonds, use the resourceful method we came up with when confined to a college dorm kitchen: Put them in a Ziploc bag and crush them with a hammer. Seriously.) We recommend pre-chopping the ingredients a bit if you’re using a blender; however, if you have an actual food processor, you can probably skip this step. Then again, if you’re the sort of person who owns a food processor, you probably don’t need our help, here.

In a blender, combine arugula, parmesan, garlic, and almonds. Add the olive oil as you go until the mixture is homogenous. Stir in red pepper flakes to add a bit of spice. You can add salt if you need it, but the parmesan cheese should do the job.

Start with the rice first, then move on to the chicken. Combine 1 cup of rice and 1 1/2 cups water and a bit of salt. Bring it to a boil in a pot, then cover and reduce heat to low. Let cook for 18 minutes, no need to stir or even peek! Fluff before serving.

Scoop half the pesto out onto a plate. Coat each side of the chicken breasts thoroughly, adding more pesto as needed. Make sure you scoop out only the minimum amount of pesto needed, so as not to contaminate any potential leftovers with the raw chicken.

Just barely coat a frying pan with olive oil. Heat the oil and place the chicken in, then turn the heat down to medium. Cook for about 5 minutes on either side, or until juices run clear and meat is no longer pink when cut open.

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