Grilled pineapple ginger chicken

2.5 pounds chicken skin and bone in
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/8 cup olive oil
1/8 tsp crushed red peppers
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp crushed pineapple
2 tsp hot sauce (I used Tapatio)
4 cloves garlic chopped
1 tbsp red wine vinegar

Combine all ingredients in large resealable storage bag. Marinate refrigerated for at least an hour, up to 12 hours. Remove chicken from refrigerator 15 minutes before cooking to bring up to temperature. Preheat grill to medium low. Place chicken on grill reserving marinade in bowl for basting. Grill chicken for 3 minutes per side basting with remaining marinade as you go. Cook for approximately 18-21 minutes or until juices in the middle run clear.

Budget friendly cooking

Last night I made this recipe for sausage stuffed shells. I can't even begin to tell you how cheap this meal was, combined with Thursdays meal I will barely be spending a thing!

First, I bought every thing to make a quick marinara sauce.
1- 29 oz can crushed tomatoes, basil, garlic, oregano flavor
2- 15 oz cans diced tomatoes, basil, garlic, oregano flavor
1- 15 oz can tomato sauce
1- 8 oz can tomato sauce basil, garlic, oregano flavor
1- 6 oz can tomato paste
1- Large white onion finely diced
5- cloves garlic diced
2- tbsp olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

All of this cost me about $3.00 if I include buying garlic, which I already had. 1 jar of good tomato sauce can run upwards of $3.00 and doesn't even make a third of what I made last night. To make the sauce heat oil over low in large pot (I like ceramic pots for sauces). Add onions and sauté on low until they turn translucent. Add in garlic and stir. Add in all sauce but tomato paste, stir to combine and cover. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Remove lid, stir in tomato paste, cover and continue simmering for about 10 more minutes. Check seasoning at this point.

Now you have a marinara! If you happen to be a vegetarian YOU ARE DONE! If not, then you need to add some meat! Last nights recipe simply for tomato sauce on the bottom of the pan. I was able to use this base for both the meat version and the vegetarian version. Last nights meal cost me a total (with the sausage) of about $8.00. This made a big enough portion for my dinner and lunch, my husbands dinner and lunch and a portion for a child, or another lunch in the freezer.

Thursday I will add some ground beef to half of the sauce and make two lasagnas, one vegetarian and one meat. The total cost for that meal will be again about $8.00 if I buy the expensive low fat ground beef. It will again make both my husband and my dinner and two lunches plus a little more for freezing.

Total, both of these meals plus 2 days of lunches and two extra frozen meals cost $16.00, plus the $3.00 in sauce making it $19.00. For an additional $2.00 per meal you could easily double the size by buying more meat and a few extra cans of tomatoes. In fact if you spent the two dollars more you could make this serve upwards of 8 dinners plus left overs for each meal, lasagna and stuffed shells or make it big enough for either a weeks worth of meals or a whole shit ton of frozen food.

I prefer using a base marinara instead of going straight for a meat sauce. This way I can change the meat. Having more then one pasta a week is one thing but having two ground beef pastas is pretty lame. My husband will appreciate the variation from sausage to ground beef. You could even throw in some left over shredded chicken and I bet the shells would have tasted rocking that way!

Thursday I will make the lasagna and post pictures of it here for you to see, the two meals I got.

Grilled Tri-Tip Steaks

INGREDIENTS
1 2-3 pound tri-tip roast
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon onion powder
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons salt
¼ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS
1. Cut roast into ½” thick slices against the grain.
2. Mix black pepper, white pepper, cayenne pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and salt in a small bowl. Stir to combine. Coat both sides of the steaks, rubbing it in like a dry rub. Let rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
3. In a small bowl whisk together vinegar and oil.
4. Heat grill to low. Baste one side of all the steaks with the vinegar mixture. Place basted side down on the grill. Allow to cook about 4-5 minutes, flip then baste the other side. Allow to cook another 4-5 minutes or until desired doneness.

Stuffed mushroom and spinach shells

30 jumbo pasta shells
1 medium onion finely chopped
3 cups white mushrooms roughly chopped
2.5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cups baby spinach
2 cups pasta sauce (I make my own and store it)
2 tbsp olive oil


Preheat oven to 375. Bring very large pot of salted water to boil. Add pasta and bring back to a boil. Boil until al dente. Drain and add cold water to pan to allow pasta to cool. In a large skillet over medium heat add olive oil and onions. Cook for about 3 minutes and add in mushrooms. Toss and cook until mushrooms and onions are soft. Turn off heat and add in spinach and combine. Place half of cheese in pan and combine quickly. Place pasta sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Take a shell out of the water and gently open it. Using your hand fill it with about 2 tbsp of the mushroom mixture. Place it open side up in the pan. After you have filled all of the shells place any remaining mushroom mixture around the shells. Top with other half of cheese. Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and turn on broiler. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until cheese browns.

Sausage stuffed shells

30 jumbo pasta shells
6 links sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 medium onion finely chopped
5 cloves garlic chopped
3 cups white mushrooms roughly chopped
2.5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cups baby spinach
2 cups pasta sauce (I make my own and store it)
2 tbsp olive oil


Preheat oven to 375. Bring very large pot of salted water to boil. Add pasta and bring back to a boil. Boil until al dente. Drain and add cold water to pan to allow pasta to cool. In a large skillet over medium heat add olive oil, garlic and onions. Cook for about 3 minutes and add in mushrooms. Toss and cook until mushrooms and onions are soft. Remove mushrooms and onions. In same pan break up sausage and saute until starting to brown. (Do not cook all the way through as it will finish cooking in the oven.) Turn off heat and add mushrooms back in. Add in spinach and combine. Place half of cheese in pan and combine quickly. Place pasta sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Take a shell out of the water and gently open it. Using your hand fill it with about 2 tbsp of the sausage mixture. Place it open side up in the pan. After you have filled all of the shells place any remaining sausage and mushroom mixture around the shells. Top with other half of cheese. Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and turn on broiler. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until cheese browns.

Strawberry Napoleons

INGREDIENTS
1 puff pastry sheet
1 3 1/2 ounce vanilla instant pudding
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups sweetened whipped cream
1 1/3 cups sliced strawberries
powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS
1. Thaw pastry sheet at room temperature 40 min. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Unfold pastry on lightly floured surface. Cut into 3 strips along fold marks. Place on baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes or until golden. Let cool.
3. Prepare pudding mix according to package directions except use 1 cup milk. Fold in whipped cream.
4. Split each pastry into 2 layers. Set aside 2 of the top layers. Spread each of the remaining 4 layers with 1/2 cup pudding mixture and 1/3 cup strawberries. For each dessert, assemble 2 layers and top with 1 top pastry layer.
5. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate up to 4 hours.

Coconut Curry Chicken

INGREDIENTS
1 ½ pounds chicken breasts, cut into 1” chunks
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 14 oz can of coconut milk
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon hot sauce
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 inch grated ginger

DIRECTIONS
1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken, onion and garlic, cook about 8 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.
2. Add in curry powder, coriander, cumin, and ginger. Stir in coconut milk, tomato paste and hot sauce.
3. Reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes until the sauce thickens. Serve over Basmati rice.