Fall Dinner (and left overs) for Two: A Fall Stirfry

As evidenced by the cooler weather, and seemingly unending rain, fall is most definately upon us. I don't know about you, but I'm enjoying it. Its nice to get back in to a routine, after weekend upon weekend of activity that was the Summer this year.

Today, I've got a yummy fall weeknight dinner for you. It comes together in about half an hour, and its pretty friendly on your pocket book too.

Fall Stirfry
1 small onion, chopped
2 carrots, washed and sliced 
2 potatoes, washed and sliced (you can use sweet potatoes if you want, I’ve used one of each) 
2 apples, washed and chopped
2 ribs celery, washed and sliced
½ blub fennel, washed and sliced (If you've never eaten it before, you should, its delicious!)
1 package of dinner sausages (honey garlic, bratwurst or Oktoberfest work nicely – maple flavoured breakfast sausages would also be nice)
½ c. apple juice or apple cider
2 tbsp. cider vinegar
½ tsp. Rosemary
½ tsp. Thyme
½ tsp. Fennel Seed, crushed
1 inch knob of ginger, grated
2 cloves of garlic
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large sauté pan, or electric frying pan, sauté the sausages over medium heat until they’re cooked through. Set them aside.


Have a look at your pan and decide if there are enough drippings to cook up your vegetables, or no. If not, add a bit of butter or canola oil. Then throw in your vegetables, and stir them around to make sure they all get a bit of drippings / butter / oil love. Add the rosemary, thyme, fennel seed, ginger and garlic at this time too. Let cook covered, for about 10 minutes, or until things start to get tender. In the meantime, slice up your sausages.

Once your vegetables are about ¾ of the way cooked, add your sausage back to the pan. Deglaze the pan with your vinegar (it will help lift all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan – the brown bits are the extra tasty parts, and you want them incorporated in the dish – really you do). This will steam a fair bit. Make sure you get your hand out of the way. Next, add in your apple juice and salt and pepper to taste. Cover the pan again, and cook for another 5-10 minutes.

It should be done now. Check the taste and add a bit more salt and pepper if necessary. This is delicious with some bread and butter.

This dinner will cost you between $7 and $10 depending on where you source your ingredients, and if you get them on sale like I did. For two people, that's between $3.50 and $5 a serving. This will probably feed 4 for dinner, at $10 for the meal, thats an average of $2.50 a person. Not too shabby if you ask me!

Leftovers are good for lunch. This is the type of dish that gets better as it sits as the ingredients soak up the juices.






Happy Eating!

Budget Wise Dinner for 2: Seasonal Pasta – Sausage and Zucchini Fettuccine

Late summer is delicious. The days are a little bit cooler, the evenings are fresh and beautiful and in Ontario, as around the country, the bounty of the harvest is pouring in to stores and markets everywhere and screams to be eaten.

Growing up, we always had a variety of fruits and vegetables on our table and in our fridge. My maternal grandparents owned and operated a fruit market, and my Mom worked there. Fruits and vegetables were the family business you could say, and this helped me learn at an early age the importance of buying fresh, local produce. It also means that I'm blessed with a well developed knowledge of which fruits and veggies are in season when, which not only helps me eat produce at its finest, but it also helps me save money too. Here is a link to a Foodland Ontario Chart which indicates what is in season when.

Mid-August is prime zucchini season. I know you've all heard about this miracle crop that seems to multiply like rabbits in your garden. It's a pretty versatile veggie; good on its own sautéed a little bit, but is also good shredded up in things like lasagna, as nutritious filler. Tonight it is one of the stars of a pasta dish I like to make in the summer, once the humidity has passed, and I'm starting to crave the comfort foods of fall again.

Zucchini - the miraculous multiplying vegetable!

Normally, I try and avoid leftovers like the plague. I don't enjoy eating the same thing, or a variation thereof, all week. However, pasta dishes are an exception. They are a delight the next day for lunch after the sauce has had a chance to soak in. MMMMM....my stomach is growling thinking about it now!

So, on to the recipe, which made a dinner for two, with leftovers, for only $8 (price breakdown below).

Sausage and Zucchini Fettuccine
1 package of Mild Italian Sausages, removed from casings, and crumbled (about 5 dinner sized links)
1/4 medium Sweet Onion, chopped
1 clove Garlic, minced
28 oz. tin of Crushed, Stewed or Diced tomatoes (I used crushed)
2 small Zucchini, green or yellow will work (I used both)
1 package of Fresh Fettucine, or 1/2 package of Dried Fettucine
S&P,to taste
Canola Oil,as needed
Honey or Sugar,as needed.

1. Heat a large frying pan to medium high and add the crumbled sausage. You may need to break this up further with a wooden spoon. Brown the sausage for about 5 minutes.

Kind of like sausage meatballs.

2. If the sausage hasn't released many drippings, add about a tbsp. of oil. Then add onions and garlic and sauté for 3-5 minutes.

3. Add the tin of tomatoes. If you’re using diced or stewed, break up with back of wooden spoon. Stir well and let simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Simmering dinner.

4. Add sliced zucchini and cook for an additional 8-10 minutes. Seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. If you find the sauce too acidic add a big squeeze of honey, or a tablespoon or two of sugar. Sounds weird, but trust me, it works.


Cook your pasta at this time too.

5. When your pasta is done, mix the whole mess together so that the pasta can absorb a bit of the sauce. Then serve with some parmesan cheese on top if you like.

Yummmm!

Price breakdown as follows:

Sausage $1.99 (on sale)
Zucchini $0.70 (on sale, and in season)
Onion $0.25 (whole onion $0.98)
Tin of Crushed Tomatoes $1.59
Fresh Pasta $3.49
S&P, Oil and Garlic Freebies (These are likely in your pantry)
_______________________________________________________
Total Cost $8.02

Note: If you have dried pasta on hand, use it and you’ll further reduce the cost of your meal to about $6.50.

Delicious, seasonal food, using local produce is possible on a budget – you just need to know when things are in season, and take advantage of sales when they happen.

Happy Eating!

Erin

Monday Night Dinner for 2 : Brined and Grilled Pork Chops and Corn-Basil Pancakes

Tonight's dinner for two is a fairly quick and easy one. Pork Chops and Corn-Basil Cakes. No need for a starch because the pancakes are a two for one deal - veggies and starch in one shot. You could serve this with a salad too if you were so inclined, but I think you'll find that the meal is filling enough with out it.


Why brine the pork chops you ask? It seems a bit fussy when you could just slap them on the grill, or in the frying pan you say? This is true - I can't dispute the fact that you could have perfectly satisfactory pork chops without brining them. However, try brining once (it only takes 15 minutes) and you'll never go back! The end result is so succlent and juicy, that the extra 15 minutes seems like a very small price to pay and really, who couldn't use those 15 minutes to relax and have a libation to unwind from a long Monday?

Easy Brined and Grilled Pork Chops
2 Pork Chops, on the bone and thick is better, but whatever you have will be fine
1 c. Boiling Water
4 c. Cold Water
1/2 c.Salt
1/2 c. Sugar
1 tsp. Chili Flakes
S&P to taste
BBQ Sauce of your choice

1. Boil the 1 c. of water and pour in to a large bowl. Mix in, until dissolved, salt and sugar. Add the rest of the brine ingredients (cold water and chili flakes) in a large bowl. Place your meat in the bowl, and wait 15 minutes. If you have time, you can brine up to 24 hours. If you're going to brine your meat longer than 15 minutes be sure to put it in the fridge.  You can also brine other cuts of pork (like tenderloin), and chicken and turkey as well. Adjust the spices as you like.

Pork in a bath. Betcha never thought you'd see that!

2. Heat your grill or a frying pan to medium high. If you're using a frying pan, add a little oil to the pan.

3. Remove your chops from the brine, and pat dry with a paper towel. Season your meat with s&p and place on the grill.

4. Cook to an internal temperature of 150F, turning once, and basting with your favorite BBQ sauce.

Handy grill work by my man Jon.

5. Remove from the grill or pan, cover with tinfoil and let rest for 5-10 minutes. Be patient - I know you're hungry! But honestly, meat that has been rested is far better than meat straight from the grill. Resting allows the juices to redistribute making for a yummy piece of meat.


At our house, grilling is done by men, so while my man grills the chops, I make up the pancakes.  The timing for this duo is just about perfect, you'll finish up the last of the pancakes while the meat is resting.

My very enthusiastic Sous Chef, Tucky, hard at work!

Corn and Basil Pancakes
*adapted from Eating Well's recipe, orignal available here.


3/4 c. flour
1/2 c. milk
2 eggs
2 tbsp.oil, divided
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
2 c. fresh or frozen corn (I used frozen)
6-8 leaves chopped fresh basil, or 1 tsp. dried basil

1. Make the pankcake batter. Start off by whisking together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt and pepper). When you've done this, add in the wet ingredients (eggs, 1 tbsp. oil, and milk) and whisk until smooth. The batter should be the consistency of thick pancake batter. Add in the corn and basil and stir until coated.

The batter will thin out a bit when you add the corn.

2. Heat a large nonstick frying pan over medium. Add oil, or give it a spray with PAM if you have it. You could also use a cast iron pan if you wanted, but you'll need to double the oil, unless your pan is well seasoned.

Obviously I opted for the extra oil.

3. As for cooking, if you've made pancakes before which I suspect you have, you shouldn't have any problems with these. Drop a large spoonful into the pan. Let cook for about 2 minutes. Turn them, and let them cook about 3 more minutes. If you flip them too soon, they will crumble, believe me. You may need to adjust the heat so that they don't burn, depending on your stove and the pan you're using.

Mmmmmmm! Dinner!

Note: These are pretty good with a dollop of goats cheese on top!

A yummy Summer dinner for two, in about 45 minutes. If there are leftover pancakes for the love of God don't heat them up in the microwave - the result is not good! Ask Jon. Instead, throw them back in the frying pan for a few minutes to heat them through.

Happy Eating!
 
Erin