Stuffed Bell Peppers

Submitted by: Carie

Prep Time: 30 mins active, 60 mins baking   Serves: 6   PerPerson: $1.04

Dietary: dairy-free, low-carb

Description: Bell peppers stuffed with veggies and ground turkey (could substitute rice, ground beef, textured veggie protein, or whatever). Each pepper makes a filling and healthy meal.

Ingredients
$1.80  6 green bell peppers
$0.20  2 carrots, diced
$0.20  2 celery stalks, diced
$0.60  3 large tomatoes, diced
$0.10  1 large onion, diced
$0.06  2 jalepenos, diced (this makes it mildly spicy, add more for more spice!)
$0.20  4 cloves garlic, diced
$2.50  1 lb ground turkey
$0.10  2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
$0.05  1 Tbsp salt
$0.05  1 tsp black pepper
$0.05  1 tsp red pepper flakes
$0.10  1 tsp thyme
$0.10  1 Tbsp parsley
$0.10  1 Tbsp oregano                      
$6.21  Total ($1.04 per serving)


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Dice the veggies and combine with the ground turkey in a large mixing bowl.
3. Add the spices and Worcestershire sauce and mix thoroughly.
4. Cut the tops off of the bell peppers and remove the seeds and membranes.
5. Stuff the peppers to the top with the filling mix.
6. Arrange the peppers in a lasagna dish and bake for 60-90 minutes until the filling reaches 165F.
7. Serve with hot sauce for the spice lovers!
8. Serve warm or cold

Notes: Adding cheese (e.g. Parmesan) to the filling mix makes this even tastier and gives it a gooier texture. However, it would kill me, so I don't.


More Photos

The filling mix for the peppers

Stuff that pepper!

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

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!