Potluck Bean and Rice Salad

I had signed up to bring a side dish to a neighborhood potluck last night, but events conspired against me and it was suddenly an hour before the party and I hadn't figured out what I was bringing--nor did I have time to run to the store. I scanned the pantry, scanned a few cookbooks, and put this together from a few different sources. It came out great!

1 cup cooked rice
1 14 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 14 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 14 oz can corn, drained (or a cup or two of frozen corn)
1 red pepper, diced
6 scallions, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp dried basil (fresh would be better if you have it!)
salt and pepper to taste

Mix everything up and chill until ready to serve. Great for potlucks and buffets as it can sit out at room temperature.

Baked Artichoke Chicken

So this is a recipe that is proposed with mixed feedback. It got rave reviews on one of my cooking lists. I thought it was a bit heavy and rich tasting. My kids liked the chicken, but not the topping. You know that really rich artichoke Parmesan dip? This is basically dip on chicken, and baked.

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

3/4 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 14 oz can water-packed artichoke hearts

Preheat the oven to 425.

Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.

Pound the chicken breasts with a mallet for a bit until they're thinned out. Place them in the pan.

Mix together the mayonnaise, artichoke hearts, Parmesan, and garlic. Spread on top of the chicken. Bake at 425 for 30 minutes or so, until cooked through.

Quick Marinated Barbecued Salmon

I dislike cooking fish in the house because of the odor it leaves behind, so I've been doing more and more barbecuing of fish. I also tend to cook the flash frozen fish, as I seldom plan ahead enough these days for fresh fish it seems. I've been finding some good recipes in What's for Dinner: 200 Delicious Recipes That Work Every Time. I'm adapting them to the grill. I cooked these tonight with the wild salmon from Costco, which comes frozen in individual packets. Two packets feed 3 of us, with a bit of leftover if one of us is not overly hungry. Fish is becoming one of my "Quick what's for dinner?" meals. I thaw the packets in water for half an hour or so, do a quick marinade, the grill. In the meantime, I can throw together a vegetable or two and some rice or pasta or potato side dish. Tonight I did steamed broccoli and baked potatoes. (When I'm in a hurry, I scrub the potatoes then pierce with a knife, then microwave a few minutes each till just done. Then I throw them in the oven or on the grill to get the crispy skin we like. Voila--dinner in pretty short order, even when starting with frozen fish!

Marinade:

2 Tbs lemon juice
2 Tbs orange juice
1 Tbs olive or canola oil
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste

3-4 salmon steaks

Caper-Dill Sauce

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup yogurt
1 tsp lemon juice (or more...)
1 tsp dried dill
1 tsp capers, drained
1/4 tsp sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Mix up the marinade. Put the salmon steaks in a shallow dish and cover with the marinade. Marinate for 15 minutes or so, turning now and then. Mix up the caper-dill sauce while the salmon marinates and preheat the grill.

Put the fish on the grill skin-side down and cook for a few minutes, covered. Then brush some of the marinade on and cook a few more more minutes until it flakes a bit with a fork. The skin will stick to the grill and your salmon is ready to eat!

Hobo Hamburgers for 4

There's something to be said for wrapping food up in foil and cooking it all together. The kid who might complain about the same ingredients in a different presentation might happily eat it this way! The other advantage of this is that you can easily adjust the quantities to suit smaller or larger appetites or leave one particular vegetable out if someone has really strong dislikes. My kids don't like onions so I left them out of their packets. The final advantage is that you can make the packets up ahead of time and just pop them in the oven or on the coals at the appropriate time. (However, cut potatoes will turn nasty-looking so don't mix them up too soon.) If you parboiled the vegetables a bit first, I bet these would make handy freezer meals too.

People on a cooking list I'm on were raving about hobo hamburgers and someone posted a link to Paula Deen's version of hobo hamburgers. I started there but made a few minor tweaks. First, I cut the meat down to a pound for 4 burgers, rather than a pound and a half. I only put the onions on mine. I used Russet potatoes and fewer carrots because everything just wouldn't fit! I didn't have a green pepper so I just left that out. I did mix up the "house seasoning," a mix of 4 parts salt, 1 part garlic powder, and 1 part pepper, because I use those things a lot and can see it would be handy to have it around like that. If you don't want to mix up the whole batch as she posted, just use about 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, and 1/4 tsp garlic powder. Not exactly the same but pretty darn close.

I'm actually making these again tonight with a few other variations. First, I don't have any bacon since we cooked up the last of it for my Mother's Day breakfast. The bacon probably lent flavor last time, but it was soft and no one really wanted to eat it anyway. Second, I did have a red pepper, so diced that up and added it to the meat mix. Oh, and I'm also using Italian flavored bread crumbs because I bought them by accident.

1 pound ground beef
1 egg
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tsp Paula Deen's house seasoning OR 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup chopped green (or red) pepper, optional
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese

2 Russet potatoes, peeled and sliced
2 carrots, peeled, cut in half, then sliced lengthwise
1 large slice of onion for whoever likes onion
4 slices bacon, cut in half, optional

Mix the beef, egg, bread crumbs, lemon juice, seasonings, pepper, and cheese.

Tear some foil pieces large enough to fold in half, but the burger on, then wrap tightly and seal. Shape 4 patties and place one on each piece of foil. Place onion, potato and carrot slices on top. Top with 2 pieces of bacon. Wrap the foil tightly around the meat and vegetables. I like to bring two pieces up to the top and fold down a few times to create a nice seal, then roll the side pieces up.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or cook over coals.

Broccoli and Beef Stir Fry

I barbecued a steak the other night and had a good sized piece left over. Usually, I'll turn leftover steak into either fried rice or burritos, but I had a nice bit of broccoli as well, so opted for a stir fry combo. I combined a few different recipes, based on what sounded good and what I had around. You could, of course, use raw meat and stir fry a little longer, until cooked through.

leftover cooked steak, about 1/2 pound
1 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs sherry

1/3 cup water
2 tsp cornstarch
4 teaspons soy sauce
1 Tbs sesame oil
2 tsp minced ginger
1 clove garlic, minced

about 1 pound of broccoli

3-4 Tbs oil, divided

Slice the meat into 1/4" thick strips of bite sized pieces. Put in a bowl and sprinkle with 1 Tbs of soy sauce and sherry, mix together, and let sit for a quick marinade.

Slice the broccoli into florets. Slice any thick stems into 1/4" pieces.

Mix together the cornstarch, water, 4 tsp soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic. If you want it spicy, add some red pepper flakes, 1/2 tsp or so.

Heat 2 Tbs of oil in a skillet over medium high. When it's hot, cook the beef in it, stirring frequently. Cooked meat will only take a minute or two. Raw meat should cook in 3-4 minutes. Remove the meat.

Add the other 1-2 Tbs oil and then cook the broccoli 2-3 minutes, until softened a bit. Put the meat back in the pan. Reduce the heat a bit, pour in the cornstarch mix and stir together. Cook 2-3 minutes.

Serve with rice.

Cheap Shopping

CheapCooking requires cheap shopping, of course. Reading your grocery flyers, making your menu plan based on what's on sale and/or stocking up on the really good deals are a must. You'll still need a price book to keep track of prices, of course, but the folks at MyGroceryDeals can give you a helping hand on reviewing the advertised specials at your local grocery store. I actually had a similar idea a few years ago but never followed up on it. I'm glad someone else had more follow-through! It's a free service so give it a try and see if it brings your grocery bill down.