Fridge Cleanout Lentil Soup

Submitted by: Vicky

Prep Time: 20 mins active, 1 hr passive   Serves: 8   PerPerson: $0.66

Dietary: vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free

Description: This is a great way to make use of a stockpile of slowly wilting vegetables. Just add lentils! It tastes amazing, is filling, and is insanely cheap.

Ingredients

$0.20  1 1/2 Onion, chopped
$0.25  5 cloves garlic, food processed or chopped
$0.60  6 medium carrots, chopped
$0.60  6 medium celery stalks, chopped
$0.40  1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
$2.00  1 pound/small bag lentils (brown, yellow, red, whatevs)
$0.20  1 vegetable bouillon cube (or chicken if you're into that)
$0.00  8 cups water
$0.65  1 potato, cubed
$0.05  salt
$0.05  pepper
$0.05  red pepper flakes
$0.20  2 tbsp oil or butter
$0.10  fresh cilantro for garnish                               
$5.35  Total ($0.66 per serving)
Directions

This one is pretty simple. These are the ingredients we had on hand, but pretty much any vegetable can go into this. Don't worry about chopping everything evenly, as it will be cooked down and blended in the end. Its classic must-go soup!

1. Soak the lentils, even if it says this is unnecessary on the label. It usually is a good idea to let them soak in cold water for at least an hour, just to clean them. If the label says to soak overnight, follow those directions.
2. Heat the oil or butter in a large pot. Like, the largest pot you have. There is going to be a lot of soup.
3. Throw in the onions, celery, and carrots and saute until the onions are clear. In fancy cooking terms, this is called a mirepoix (meer - pwah) and can serve as the basis for almost any soup.
   
4. Add the garlic and any other vegetables, but not the potato, and saute for about 5 minutes.
   
5. Add the 8 cups of water, bouillon cube, and lentils. Bring to a boil
6. Add the potato, and salt and pepper to taste
   
7. Reduce heat until the soup is simmering. Cover and cook for 40 minutes, or until lentils are soft. Throw in red pepper flakes if desired.
   
8. When lenils are mushy, use a hand blender (or transfer in batches to a counter top blender) and blend until smooth.
   
9. Top with fresh cilantro and serve

Notes:
You could top with sour cream as well, which is awesome, or add a bit of heavy whipping cream while blending, if, unlike Carie, you are not deathly allergic to dairy

Grilled Radicchio & Eggplant Pasta

Submitted by: Carie

Prep Time: 40 mins   Serves: 4   PerPerson: $1.68

Dietary: vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free

Description This delicious pasta recipe comes from Epicurious. The bitterness of the radicchio is nicely balanced by the sweetness of the eggplant and tomatoes.

Ingredients

$0.65   large eggplant

$2.99   can peeled tomatotes (peel your own for more savings!)

$1.20   1 head radicchio

$0.20   4 cloves garlic (chopped)

$0.15   1/2 onion (chopped)
$0.25   1 vegetable bullion cube
$0.10   1 Tbsp Italian parsley
$0.10   1 Tbsp thyme
$0.59   basil (1/2 c. chopped)
$0.50   1/2c. dry white wine (the one sitting half-drunk in your fridge...)

$6.73   Total ($1.68 per serving)

Directions

1. Cut the eggplant into 1" thick strips, salt lightly, and lay out on paper towels to "sweat" the eggplants for 30 minutes. Pat dry, brush with olive oil, and salt lightly. Meanwhile...
2. Heat a grill.
3. Cook pasta. Meanwhile...
4. Cook onions and garlic in oil on medium heat until onions are translucent. Add parsley & thyme and cook a few more minutes.
5. Add the tomatoes, wine, vegetable broth cube, basil, and red pepper. Simmer for 8 minutes.
6. Cut the radicchio into quarters, remove the heart. Brush with olive oil.
7. Grill the eggplant and slice into bite-sized pieces. Grill the radicchio until slightly wilted.
8. Turn off the heat and add the eggplant and radicchio to the sauce.
9. Toss the pasta in the sauce.

Notes
This recipe can easily be modified to add meat, e.g. ground beef or sausage. That makes it a little more expensive, but this is still a dirt-cheap meal!

More Photos

"Sweating" the Eggplant slices

Grilling the Eggplant on a Foreman Grill

Aloo Gobi with Biryani & Flatbread

Submitted by: Carie & Vicky

Prep Time: 90 mins Serves: 5 PerPerson: $1.94

Dietary: vegetarian

Description This meal is a lot of work, but sooooo worth it. After tasting the flatbread, Vicky wanted to take it out back and get it pregnant.

Ingredients

$1.50 1 cauliflower - cut into florets
$0.19 large ginger root
$0.70 2 large green spicy peppers (we used pasillas, but others will work)
$0.65 1 very large potato (or a few small ones) -diced into pieces about the same size as the cauliflower
$0.18 1 onion - diced
$2.50 frozen mixed vegetables
$1.50 1 cup garlic
$0.30 2 cups corn flour
$0.07 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
$0.20 1 cup rice
$0.10 2 Tbsp coriander
$0.05 1/2 Tsp tumeric
$0.05 1 1/2 Tbsp cumin
$0.10 1/2 Tbsp whole cloves
$0.50 fresh cilantro (free from our garden)
$0.60 1/2c. cooking oil
$0.50 stick of butter

$9.69 Total ($1.94 per serving)

Directions
White girls cooking Indian food!!!!! Don't be scared, it's not that daunting, just keep track of the spices and follow the recipe. Anyone can do it, we swear.

The Aloo Gobi and Biryani call for a wet garam masala blend - if you don't own it already, you can approximate it by first making a garlic-ginger paste and adding a few spices to it.

1. Blend 1cup chopped garlic, 1 cup fresh ginger, and 1/2 cup oil (olive works, so does canola) in a food processor until smooth and paste-like
2. Add 1/2 teaspoon tumeric, 2 tablespoon coriander, and 1 cup water to the paste. Stir. As it sits, it should become a darker yellow.
3. Set this aside - you will need half of it for each dish. If you only want to make one dish, just halve the proportions.

Now to the actual cooking

1. In a large pot, heat 2tbsp oil until it shimmers, but doesn't smoke
2. Split your pepper in half, but do not severe it. Add it, cut side down to the hot oil, and wait 30 seconds
3. Add the cumin seeds and wait until they stop sputtering and popping. Optional - order the seeds to 'dance, DANCE I SAY!' as they cook
4. Add the wet masala (which will also pop and sputter). Cook until it thickens slightly and darkens a bit in color (the oil will start to seep out at the sides- about 2-3 minutes). If using dry masala, add it and 1/2 cup water
5. Add the cauliflower and potatoes - stir to coat with masala
6. Stir in about 1/2 cup water, and salt to taste
7. Cover and cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes
8. Remove the lid, stir, and cook until the potatoes and cauliflower are soft, about an additional 5 minutes.
9. Garnish with cilantro and serve

Biryani

1. cook rice. Brown, white, basmati, whatever you have on hand
2. Heat 1 1/2 tbsps oil in a pan.
3. Add 1/2 tbsp of cumin seeds and 1/2 tbsp of whole cloves. Heat for about 30 seconds to a minute
4. Add the cup of chopped onions, and brown but don't burn
5. Stir in the rice and cook for about a minute
6. Stir in the frozen vegetables, wet masala mixture, and any chili powder you may desire (we desire all of it). If you are using dried garam masala instead, also add 1/2 cup water at this time.
7. Cook down for about 5 minutes, until the masala thickens.
8. If desired, fluff with butter before serving, but we didn't miss the extra fat.

Notes
This is easier to make if you own a pre-blended garam masala (an Indian spice blend that makes everything taste like magic), but its also not too much of a hassle to make your own, so long as you own a food processor or really like chopping garlic.

The frozen vegetables used where ByBee Frozen Organic mixed vegetables from Costco. Its a blend of shelled edamame, carrots, corn, and peas that I find goes equally well in stir fry as in pasta sauce. I keep it on hand always, and throw a cup in whatever I am making to up the vegetable content.

We heartily recommend adding chili powder/red pepper flakes to the Biryani.

Adaption: you could just make a large pot of the Biryani and add some tofu for protein.

More Photos

Aloo Gobi cooking with the pasilla slices

Flatbread dough

Flatbread dough balls: roll out, fry, & voila!

Vegetarian Stuffed Cabbage

Submitted by: Vicky

Prep Time: 30 mins Serves: 4 PerPerson: $1.01

Dietary: vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free

Description The Ukrainian Burrito in all its glory

Ingredients

$0.75 1/2 head of cabbage

$0.20 2c. rice

$0.60 1c. mushrooms (diced)

$0.20 4 cloves garlic (diced)

$0.30 1 onion (diced)

$1.99 1 can condensed tomato soup

$4.04 Total ($1.01 per serving)

This is one of the dishes we would traditionally make for Ukrainian (Orthodox) Christmas Eve...which is supposed to be a vegetarian meal (no meat for you, peasant!), though I am quite sure Grandma cooked it with lard, which is why mine always tastes different. Anyway, since Ukrainian farmers aren't really known for their balls-out wealth, this is a budget-friendly dish.

Directions

1. Get yourself a medium-sized head of green cabbage
2. Set a pot of water to boil (a large pot, something with enough water to cover the head of cabbage completely
3. Score the cabbage stem (make an 'x' on the bottom, this will help when taking off leaves)
4. Once the water is boiling, submerge the head for a few minutes. You want to soften up the leaves, but not cook the cabbage completely (if your leaves are mush, you did it wrong)
5. Take the cabbage head out of the water and put it immediately in an ice bath and chill it down
6. While the water is heating, make the rice (I happen to have an oh-so-useful rice cooker, but on the stovetop is fine too; add a cube of veggie or chicken bouillon for an added flavor punch. I use brown rice because I like the nuttiness, and I can get 10 lbs of it at Costco for 5$).
7. Brown the onions in butter (or olive oil if you have it on hand/are vegan, a 50/50 mixture of both gives a nice flavor) and throw in the garlic, saute but don't burn!
8. Add the diced mushrooms and cook for a few minutes, then move the mixture off the heat.
9. When the rice is done, stir it in to the mixture. This is your stuffing, and honestly you could just eat this, its delicious.

Now to the cabbage-y part:

1. Heat your oven to 400
2. Peal the outer leaves off the cooked cabbage (these will probably be dirty/overcooked, so nothing big lost)
3. trim a bit of the back stem off of the cabbage leaf. This will make it more flexible, and less prone to breaking when you roll it)
4. Fill the cabbage leaf with a spoonful of the rice mixture. Roll that shit like a burrito, and place in a pan (9 X 11 is good, either lined with foil or greased slightly). You should have enough mixture for about 12-14 rolls. You'll have cabbage left over, which is good, because cabbage can be used to make all kinds of things!
5. Now, the part that brings it all together - Condensed tomato soup. Trust me, its good. Pour the can over the cabbage rolls, and if you're feeling extra saucy (pun intended); and you happen to have it hanging around top with a bit of brown sugar.
6. Cover with foil and bake for 30-40 minutes. Take the foil off and bake for an additional 5-10, depending on your oven and how crispy you might want your cabbage.

Notes
This recipe can easily be modified to add meat, e.g. ground beef or sausage. Just brown it with the onions.That makes it a little more expensive, but this is still a dirt-cheap meal!