Salmon Pasta Salad

This is one of our standard, fall back recipes.  I found the original recipe in The Woman's Day Cookbook.  I've tweaked it over the years to meet our own likes.  It's a very quick and easy recipe to make.  It's even in the book of recipes that I gave to oldest child when he graduated from college.

Salmon Pasta Salad

Lemon-Dill Dressing
2/3 cup vegetable oil
6 TBSP lemon juice
1 tsp minced garlic
2 TBSP chopped fresh dill, or 1 tsp dried dill
1 tsp salt

8 ounces pasta, cooked, rinsed, and drained under cold running water  (we use gluten free spaghetti, roughly broken into quarters before we drop it in the water)

1 red onion, chopped roughly
1 can (15 ounces) pink salmon, drained and skin removed

1 16 ounce bag of frozen peas
* NOTE - place the peas, frozen in the bottom of the colander before you drain the pasta.  The heat from the pasta water will thaw the peas out and give them just the right crunch.



Mix the dressing in a small bowl or large measuring cup, mix the ingredients for the dressing.

In a large bowl (or the pot that you cooked the pasta in), combine the peas, pasta, onions, and salmon. 

Whisk the dressing one last time, and pour it over the salad, stir gently to combine.

Serve immediately.

*another note* if you are using gluten laden noodles, this salad will hold well in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.

Pinto Beans

Beans, beans, the magical fruit, the more you eat, the more you toot!

Who doesn't love a great pot of pinto beans?  They're cheap and easy, tasty, and oh so full of protein and healthy for you!

Oldest child is heading off to grad. school in the fall, and he will be cooking for himself.  Middle child will be living in an off campus apartment.  He will still be using the on campus meal plan, but he is working hard to learn how to cook cheap, easy, and healthy foods.

With that thought in mind, we made a pot of pinto beans the other day.  Not only are they filling, you can save the leftovers, mash them up and fry them to make refried beans, or you can use them to make fillings for burritos or enchiladas, (and freeze to eat later), or you can freeze just the beans and then add them to chili or just heat them up for a filling dinner on another day.

A thick, delicious bowl of pinto bean soup.

The night before, you are going to want to pick through the beans to make certain there aren't any rocks or small pieces of debris mixed in.  Rinse the beans thoroughly under running water and then place in a pan, covered with about 2 inches of water overnight.

The next morning, drain the beans, add more water to cover, and bring to a rolling boil.

Add the beans to your slow cooker, and set it on low.

To the pot, add:

*NOTE- this recipe is for TWO pounds of dried pinto beans.

One large, or two medium onions, diced

Two or three cloves of garlic, diced

2 tsp. chili powder

2 tsp. cumin

2 tsp. oregano

1 can of diced green chiles

1 or 2 cans of diced tomatoes

Cover, and cook on low for 8 hours.  Stir well before serving.  Serve as a soup.


Costs:
Canned Tomatoes: $0.55
Pinto Beans, 2 lbs. $1.89
Diced Green Chiles $0.50
Onion (produce stand) $1.00

Total:  $3.94

For the second night, we made enchiladas.

I used this homemade enchilada sauce recipe I found on Pinterest.  http://www.littlespicejar.com/homemade-red-enchilada-sauce/

We drained the liquid out of the beans, reserving all of the liquid.  The beans were smashed down, and then fried.  We used the leftover liquid from the pot to thin the beans.  (Can you believe a lot of recipes ask you to throw away that bean broth and just use plain water?  What a waste of that protein filled tasty broth!) My Mom and Grandma both used to fry their beans in lard... I'm not quite ready to go back to lard to fry my beans, even though it's REALLY good!

Put about 1/4 cup of beans down the center of a corn tortilla.

Roll it up, and place the enchilada, seam side down, in a 9 x 13 inch pan.

Pour the enchilada sauce over all.

If you don't have dairy allergies in your family, you can layer cheese over top of it all.

I served this with a spinach, berry, and red onion salad from ingredients I picked up at one of the local produce stands.

Costs:
Corn Tortillas: $1.50
(but I didn't use all of the tortillas.  The other half of them will be used in another meal.)
Tomato Sauce: $0.49.
1 jar chipotle peppers: $1.50
Veggie Broth: (I make my own, so????  I really don't know how much this would cost. I pulled a couple of broth cubes out of the freezer for this.)
Spinach and other goodies from the produce stand: $3.50

Unfortunately, we didn't have any leftovers for a third night of beans.  Who would have thunk it?  2 pounds of beans served 5 people 2 very decent meals.  (Oldest son ate 4 bowls of bean soup, husband ate 3.  I have some very big eaters in my family!)

If you're tracking the costs, we got 2 meals for 5 people for a little over $11.  If you're looking at the number of servings, we had 20 servings for $10.93.  That comes out to $0.55 a serving.

I know, making the enchilada sauce from scratch took a little extra time.  So did the veggie broth.  However, I am able to control the sodium, sugar, and other additives in these foods.  So to me - it's well worth my time.  (Enchilada Sauce and Broth both can hide gluten and msg, both allergens for our family.)

Quinoa Pilaf / Quick and Easy Meals for College Students

I noticed I had only finished 4 of the 5 "Quick and Easy Meals for College Students" series that I was writing.  These are recipes I taught to my oldest son over the summer.  He wanted to add some variety and nutrition to his meals.

This is a Quinoa based meal.  Quinoa is a high quality protein, complete with all 8 essential amino acids.  It's also an ancient grain.  It's also gluten free.  Quinoa itself comes from South America.   BONUS- it's very easy to cook.

I want to start with a side note on Quinoa.  I've read differing reviews on whether or not to rinse quinoa.  I've cooked it both ways- rinsed and unrinsed, and I prefer the taste of rinsed Quinoa.  To this end, I have a fine mesh strainer that I found at a yard sale.  Quinoa is such a tiny grain that if you attempt to wash it in a regular strainer, it will fall through.  (Sad experience on my part.)  This fine mesh strainer that I picked up holds 1/3 of a cup of Quinoa and lets me give it a quick rinse.  I have seen fine mesh strainers in the kitchen area of stores.

With this particular recipe, I also pick up a container of the pre-cooked veggies at the grocery store.  They are diced finer than anything I can dice, and contain peppers and onions.  Our grocery store calls it the fritata blend.

Quinoa Pilaf:
1 cup Quinoa, uncooked
1 small box fritata blend veggies
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup dried cranberries

In a deep skillet, brown the veggies in olive oil. (stir frequently)  When the onions look translucent, add Quinoa and toast for 1 minute.  Quickly add the water.  Bring the water to a boil, stirring ingredients frequently.  Add the cinnamon stick and bay leaf, cover and lower the temperature to med-low.

Cook covered, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes.

Remove from heat, stir in sunflower seeds and cranberries.  Let sit for 5 minutes, remove cinnamon stick and bay leaf, stir and eat.

*Note: pecans, almonds, walnuts, or pine nuts can be used in place of the sunflower seeds.  If using any of these heartier nuts, you are going to add them to the skillet with the Quinoa at the beginning and toast them. 

Even with the added cost of the pre-cut veggies, this meal still comes in under $5, and it will serve one hungry college student about 2 meals.  (Depending upon the size of their appetite.)

5 Dishes A College Student Can Make

I was looking back through my posts, and I realized I had not yet posted the fifth thing I taught the kids to make while home over break.

The thought was to teach my oldest son how to make quick and easy food - that does not involve peanut butter and a loaf of bread - or leaving something on the stove and forgetting about it until the smoke detectors go off - 5 quick, easy, healthy, and affordable meals.

To Date, the recipes I've shared were:

Chicken Salad
http://mini-van-mom.blogspot.com/2014/04/chicken-salad.html

Eggs in the Microwave
http://mini-van-mom.blogspot.com/2014/03/eggs-in-microwave.html

Hummus
http://mini-van-mom.blogspot.com/2014/03/hummus.html

Next Up?

Roasted Veggies

 

Can be made in either a toaster oven or the oven on the stove.

 

Preheat oven to 350*.

 

2 potatoes, cut into quarters

 

1 onion, cut into quarters

 

2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

 

Mushrooms, (4 or 5) gently washed and sliced into half

 

Coat the baking sheet with a little bit of olive oil  (About 1 TBSP of oil, depending on size of pan.)

 

Place cut veggies on the baking sheet, stir to make certain oil coats all veggies evenly.

 

Sprinkle the veggies with spices: Choose one: several shakes of Mrs. Dash,  salt and pepper, rosemary, etc.  Use your own judgement - start lightly, you can always add more flavor later, but you can't take it away!

 

Place all veggies on the baking sheet in the oven.  Bake at 350* for 20-30 minutes, or until all veggies are tender when pierced with a fork.

Personally, I'm a very big fan of the toaster oven when working with college students.  My toaster oven has a timer feature on the side.  I can set the time and walk away.  There's always a risk of fire when dealing with food, but there's less of a chance of something burning when the toaster oven turns itself off.    Okay, wait, there is one key item here.  You do, on occasion, have to empty the crumbs and other flotsam and jetsam off of the bottom of the toaster oven, or it will eventually catch fire!
No pesky fire alarms in the building going off!  (Not that I would know about this from personal experience or anything....)

Chicken Salad

If you're thinking of diced chicken, coated in mayo, and resting on a bed of lettuce, this is a very different recipe.

Continuing with the theme of food that a college student can make (without setting the house on fire), we have our version of a grilled chicken salad.

I had the boys bake the chicken in the toaster oven.  I love the toaster oven for the boys precisely because it has a timer feature on the side.  I set the temperature, dial up the number of minutes I want it to cook, and walk away.  When the timer goes off, the oven goes off.  Voila!  Less of a chance of forgetting the entire thing and setting something on fire.

We buy the big bags of chicken in the store, that are flash frozen.  When I was at the store last week, a pound of chicken breasts was running close to $10, and the 5 pound package of individually frozen chicken breasts was selling for $12.  I don't know who did the math on that particular deal, but I did snatch up several packages while I was there.  The nice thing about the individually frozen chicken breasts is that you can pull out as little (or as much) as you need.

Chicken Salad

One or two chicken tenderloins
black pepper
lettuce, 1 head, washed & torn
1/4 cup of chopped nuts
1 can of mandarin oranges, drained
Italian Dressing
assorted chopped veggies

Spray the toaster oven baking pan with non-stick spray.  Place the chicken breast on the tray, and grind black pepper over all.

Bake in a 350* toaster oven for 30 minutes. (if frozen)  Keep an eye on the chicken for the last 15 minutes.  If the inside center is white, the chicken is done.  If it is still pink inside, cook in 5 minute increments until it is white.

Meanwhile, tear and wash the lettuce leaves.
Dice any salad veggies.  (I must confess, for the boys salad, we bought a mix of pre-cut salad veggies in a box.  Red & Green Pepper, Red Onion, and Celery.  Alternately, they can buy veggies from the salad bar.)

Prepare the Italian Dressing.

Slice the chicken into strips.

Toss everything together in a salad bowl, top with dressing.


Italian Dressing
(From the Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook, 1981, pg. 351)

In a screw top jar, combine 1 1/3 cups olive oil, 1/2 cup high quality cider vinegar, 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (if desired), 1 TBSP sugar, 2 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. celery salt, 1/2 tsp. white pepper, 1/2 tsp. dry mustard, 1/4 tsp. paprika, 1 clove of garlic, minced.   Cover, shake well to mix.  Chill, shake again just before serving.  Makes 1 3/4 cups.

Honestly, the boys have been mixing up salad dressing since they were little.  Whipping up a batch doesn't take them very long.  You'd think it would be easier to buy a bottle of dressing, but this is quick, easy, tastes fantastic, and isn't very expensive to make.

Eggs in the Microwave

Last week, I taught my boys how to fix 5 easy and quick meals that would get protein into their system and get them out of the door in a hurry.  I didn't want anything that was peanut butter based.  Oldest son relied heavily on peanut butter sandwiches last summer.  He needs a repertoire of easier, healthy, inexpensive meals that he can make.

Eggs are a wonderful source of protein.  One egg is a fantastic meal, a great way to start your day and get your engine running.

Made in the microwave, I don't have to worry about oldest child putting eggs on the stove and then reading a book while waiting for the eggs to cook, forgetting about the eggs and setting the house on fire.

The ingredients: egg, tortilla, a little bit of milk, a dash of hot sauce, and some shredded cheese.

Eggs in the Microwave:
In a microwaveable coffee mug, sprayed with non-stick cooking spray:
Crack one egg.  Pierce the egg yellow, and whip the egg well.  (I use a fork.)
Add a couple of dashes of hot sauce.   (I use the green tabasco sauce because it's not as intense as the red sauce.)
Add a small chug of milk. (Like maybe 2 TBSP) 

Stir well.

Put in the microwave for 90 seconds.  Pull it out after 1 minute, stir the eggs again, and then zap it for 30 more seconds.

You'll have what looks like an egg ball in your mug!

Spread the egg inside of a tortilla, top with a little cheese, wrap it up, and you've got an awesome meal in less than 5 minutes!

Note:
If you don't like hot sauce, don't add it.
If I have them on hand, I'll add fresh spinach or basil to the tortilla before I add the eggs.

Hummus

My goal for this week was to teach my oldest child how to make 5 healthy, easy items to eat that would take a minimal amount of prep.

Earlier this week, we taught oldest child how to make a yogurt parfait.  By layering fruit (fresh or frozen), yogurt, and granola, you have a very decent, quick breakfast.  If the granola that you use has nuts in it, you have just cranked the protein level up a notch.

The second of five items that we taught him to make was Hummus.  A quick and easy meal, hummus is power packed with protein.  A minimum of ingredients, a whirl in a blender or food processor, and you've got a meal that can hold you for hours.  Hummus can be eaten with pretzels, pita bread chips, put in between slices of bread for substance in a veggie sandwich, the possibilities are endless.

This is the recipe that I taught the boys to make today:


Hummus:

1 can of chickpeas, (also known as garbanzo beans). Save 2 TBSP of water from the beans.

1 clove of garlic, peeled.

The juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 tsp. salt

2 TBSP high quality extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup sesame tahini (will be found in the vegetarian/health food section)


In the bowl of your food processor or blender:

Add the sesame tahini, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt, 2 TBSP bean water, blend well.

Add the chick peas, blend well.

Blend until it looks smooth and creamy, serve immediately.

If you are not planning on eating this right away, store covered in the refrigerator.


A few notes:

From beginning to end, it took oldest child 5 minutes to make this.  The hardest part was peeling the garlic clove.

If you add too much water, the only way to thicken this back up again is to add another can of chickpeas.

This recipe only dirties one item: the blender or bowl of the food processor.  These are items that can easily be put into the dishwasher. 

The most expensive part of this recipe is the tahini.  However, once you buy a container of tahini, you've got enough to make several batches of hummus.  Your cost for this will vary, but this batch came up under $1.25.   Much, much cheaper than the $5 containers of pre-made hummus you buy in the store.