Less than 5: Big-kid Ramen

Another in my "Less than 5" recipe series. All recipes beginning with that title will have less than 5 ingredients and/or cost less than $5. Bonus for ones that also take less than 5 minutes. =)

 

Ramen used to be the greatest after-school snack ever. Then in college, it was pretty much a daily staple. At 10-20 cents per pack, the good people of Ramen keep poor college kids worldwide from starving. When I started graduate school, and started taking this blog more seriously, I figured Ramen was no longer part of my life. I had graduated to frittatas, lasagna, and white bean chicken chili. Big kid food. 

But then in my masters study, my Taiwanese advisor had Ramen for lunch nearly every day. She just fancied it up by adding a handful of fresh spinach and an egg. Well of course I had to try it, as the chicken-salt smell of Ramen is hard to resist. Adding veggies ups the nutritional value (which previously was negative zero) and an egg or tuna will bump up the protein.

It turns out to make a decently healthy meal, for way less than a dollar per serving. Ever since then, when I have a random Ramen craving, I give in with the justification that at least it's "big kid" Ramen. Now you can too!

Ingredients:

1 package Ramen noodles

1 cup frozen mixed vegetables or spinach

1 egg

Spices (I used parsley, parmesan, and red chili pepper for kick)

Step 1: Heat the noodles and water for 3 minutes in the microwave. Let stand for another 3 minutes.

Step 2: Add the vegetables and egg. Break the yolk so it doesn't explode. Microwave another 3 minutes.

Step 3: Stir in seasoning packet and spices, enjoy!

The chili flakes gave it a nice bite of heat, and I like the frozen mixed veggies because of the corn and carrots' sweetness. You can get creative with this. Use tofu, beans, tuna, chicken. Any cooked vegetable will work well. I'm partial to the chicken flavoring only, but there are beef and shrimp flavorings too. For 0.10 (noodles) + 0.10 (egg) + 0.10 (frozen veg) = $0.30 not a bad meal!

What do you put in your Ramen?

Ten minute chili mac

Who doesn't love a little comfort food now and then?I know I do! I believe in life with moderation in all things. Eat well most of the time, be active most of the time, indulge a little some of the time! Not only is this chili mac super easy and fast, it is also ridiculously cheap. To bare-bones it, just get the store brand mac n cheese and the frugal-est can of pre-made chili and mix the two. This recipe is just one step up from there by making your own quick chilli. You can use the chili alone, or top hot dogs or baked potatoes too.

Ingredients:

1 box macaroni & cheese

1/2 cup shredded cheese (cheddar for extra oomph)

1 can kidney beans

1 can diced tomatoes

1 pound ground beef or turkey

1 small can tomato sauce (6 oz)

1/4 cup chili powder

Step 1: Prepare the macaroni by boiling and draining pasta. You can choose to make your own pasta and cheese sauce if you don't want the preservatives or seasonings from the packaged version.

Step 2: While noodles boil, brown the ground meat and drain fat. In a sauce pot, combine the meat, diced tomatoes with juice, chili powder, drained kidney beans, and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes to 2 hours.

Step 3: If you're using this just as chili for a meal or topper, longer simmering is better. But basically as soon as flavors combine and it is heated through you can add into the macaroni. Just pour it all in there, and give it a good stir.

You can add in any spices you want too, hot sauce if you like that kinda thing, garlic powder, black pepper, salt, etc...

There you have it, a thick, hearty comfort food that is sure to please your palate and fill your tummy. Depending on if you hit sales and buy store brand or not, you can easily feed six-eight for under $3!

Enjoy!

What's your favorite comfort food?

Under 5: Tuna-in-a-biscuit pockets

Tuna is a great cheap staple to have in the pantry. From a simple tuna salad sandwich to tuna noodle casserole, it is a great way to get your protein and Omega-3s for under a dollar. This idea came from one of the many cooking sites I browse regularly. It seems people have endless creativity when it comes to finding ways to put food inside other food and making things easy to eat. These could probably even be portable. I imagine kids would find these fun and delicious too. These take only 15 minutes to make, and 5 ingredients. They also just get popped in the oven, so no mountain of dishes afterwards. Keep this recipe up your sleeve for busy nights when you don't have time to or want to cook a big meal.

Ingredients:
1 large can tuna (or 2 smaller)
1 can cream of chicken (or celery, or mushroom)
2 packages biscuits
1/2 cup frozen peas & carrots
Spray oil

Step 1: Mix the soup, tuna, and veggies in a bowl. It looks like mush, but trust me that it is tasty.

Step 2: Spray a baking pan, and pat a biscuit down flat. Scoop on 1-2 tbsp of the tuna mixture.

Step 3: Cover with another patted down biscuit, and pinch the edges together to seal shut.

Bonus: I had enough tuna mixture that I filled all the biscuits and still had some left over. So I just boiled up about 2 cups of pasta, and spread the rest over it for a super-quick version of tuna noodle casserole! That was lunch the next day.

Step 4: Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, until the biscuits get nicely browned on top.

I tried flipping mine halfway through to brown both sides, that may not have been the best idea, as it split open and spilled tuna guts all over. It was still delicious though.

Two of these is a perfect meal, you have protein, veggies and carbs all in one convenient package. I might try this strategy with other things as well, make my own biscuit pizzas and such. They are just so cute, and easy to eat.

Breakfast Burritos for the Busy

I always say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. However I also understand mornings can be the busiest time of the day. This is why I have become quite talented at whipping up fast, hot, filling breakfasts in under 30 minutes. Sometimes, I even make several breakfasts I can leave in the fridge or freezer, then reheat and run out the door. If you have a few minutes to spare in the AM or some time on Sunday to get ahead for the week, this a perfect idea to make filling your belly in the mornings easy. I made two, but you can scale this to whatever size you want.

Ingredients:
2 tortillas
2 eggs, scrambled
1/4 cup cooked beans (I used canned kidney)
1/2 cup veggie (sliced zucchini featured here)
2 slices cheddar cheese

Step 1: In a sprayed or non-stick skillet, cook the veggies (I've used peppers, onion, cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, squash, carrots...). Add the beans just to heat them, then pour in the beaten eggs. 

Step 2: Cook the eggs until fully done. Sprinkle on some salt or other seasonings if you like.

Step 3: Heat the tortilla for 10-15 seconds in the microwave, then add the cheese and half the egg mixture. Fold both ends of the tortilla in, then roll it up. I ate one that morning and saved the other for the next day. 

Please do get creative, you could add refried beans, black beans, spinach, sriracha... the possibilities are endless so you never get bored. These are also a quite affordable source of some major protein.

What's your favorite wrap combination?

Perfect refried beans - low-fat, high protein!

Refried beans, known as frijoles refritos, are a staple in Mexican and Mex-inspired cuisine. It translates into "well-fried beans", which is an accurate description. Most often pinto beans are used, though sometimes pink or red kidney beans can be used as well. The beans are fully cooked, and any water or broth is drained from them. Then they are mashed well, and put into a frying pan to be cooked again over low heat. Refried beans tend to be made with bacon grease and/or lard and/or bacon added, which sure boosts the flavor, but also may boost your hip size. It's super simple to make your own at home with only three ingredients and no added fat.

Ingredients:

1 can pinto beans, drained (use no added sodium kinds if you can find it)

2-3 bay leaves

1 tbsp cumin

Step 1: Drain the beans. Rinse them as well if not low-sodium to remove some excess sodium. (You can also use dried beans. Soak them overnight in the fridge and boil until soft, then drain.)

*Side note: bean cooking water is apparently awesome for watering gardens
or house plants. So if you cook beans from raw, keep that in mind!

Step 2: Pour the beans into a frying pan. Add about 1/4 cup water, and cook on low until the water bubbles and beans are heated through. Mash with a fork or potato mashed until mostly soft and creamy. 

Step 3: Add bay leaves and cumin. You can also add salt and pepper if you like. Mix well, continue to cook on low heat for 10 minutes to an hour. Add more water periodically if they seem to dry out too much. Enjoy as a side dish, on tacos or burritos, or with eggs at breakfast.


Think Geek has more in-depth info on how they are prepared and when to eat them, Food Timeline has a neat comparison of various historical accounts of what refried beans are and when they originated, and Wikipedia covers why the mistranslation into "refried" is wrong on two counts.

What is your favorite way to cook beans?

Mashed cauliflower & potatoes

One of my favorite healthy foods to hide is cauliflower. Because of its subtle taste and versatile texture, cauliflower can be hidden in many foods, the easiest of which is mashed potatoes. Most people cannot jump right into mashed cauliflower alone, so a 50:50 mixture is a good place to start.

From the family "Brasicaceae" (I don't know how to say that either), cauliflower is related to broccoli, kale, cabbage, brussels sprouts and collard greens. For the long history of cauliflower breeding, see Wikipedia. In one cup of raw cauliflower alone, there is only 25 calories, yet 10% of your daily recommended fiber and over 75% of your daily vitamin C! Bet you didn't think a boring white veggie could help fend off colds, but it's true. It has no fat of course, but also not much protein, which is acceptable. I don't recommend mashed cauliflower alone as a meal. The World'sHealthiestFoods website recommends cruciferous vegetables like cauliflower a minimum of 2-3 times per week. Cauliflower has nutrients that help support the immune system, anti-inflammatory system, and antioxidant systems. It has been linked to some amount of cancer protection, likely because of these protective effects.

Ingredients:

1/2 head of cauliflower

4-5 potatoes

1 1/2 cups stock (chicken, beef, veggie, homemade)

Garlic salt

Step 1: Peel the potatoes, dice them, and cut the cauliflower head into florets.

This is veggie stock I made myself in a slow cooker earlier.

Step 2: Put the stock (or water) into the crock pot and then add in potato and cauliflower.

The cauliflower should break apart easily in your hands.

Leftover scraps of potato and cauliflower will go in the freezer until I have enough to make another batch of vegetable stock.

Step 3: Cook on low 2-3 hours or high 4-5 hours. Mash the potato and cauliflower together, adding any spices or more liquid if needed. You can now serve or doctor however you would normally use mashed potatoes. If you don't tell, no one will even know the difference! 

What's you favorite way to use cauliflower?

Ratatouille niçoise

There are several recipes or types of food which I've heard of, tried, or seen but have not yet tried to cook myself. One of those is ratatouille. The 2007 Disney movie brought the dish into the main stream consciousness with its adorable main character, Remy, a rat who just wanted to be a great chef. Ever since then it's been in the back of my mind as a 'make this someday' dish.

Ratatouille the dish is traditionally a French dish consisting of stewed vegetables. It originated in the French province of Nice, and comes from the Occitan language "ratatolha" and the French word "touiller" meaning to toss food. There are similar dishes in many other cuisines, including the Catalan samfaina, the Majorcan tombet, the Spanish pisto, the Italian caponata, Greek tourloú, and Filipino pinkabet. French chef Michel Guérard came up with a new version called Confit byaldi for the Disney movie. It can be served as a side dish, or made a whole meal when served over rice.

In my version, I pulled together several variations, and used what I had available in my kitchen. I had planned on a potato leek soup sometime this week, but silly me had only bought one leek, so into the ratatouille it went. While I'm at it, I'll throw the potato in there too. Oh, and a single turnip I had bought for who knows what reason. Also I had no fresh tomatoes, but my pantry is never without a can of diced tomatoes.


Ingredients:
3 zucchini (I just happened to have three different colors, so at least it'll look pretty)
1 turnip
1 potato
1 leek
1/2 red onion
3 large bulbs garlic
1 leek
1 can diced tomatoes
2 tbsp butter or margarine
1/4 green bell pepper, sliced

Step 1: Slice the onion into thin strips, dice up the garlic, and slice the leek. Add them and the bell pepper to a frying pan on low with the butter and cover.

Let that cook and caramelize, stirring occasionally, while you preheat the oven to 350 and proceed to the next step. 

Step 2: Slice the zucchini into thin coins. Peel and slice the potato and turnip as well.

 Step 3: Layer the potato, turnip, and zucchini in a casserole pan.

Step 3: To the pan add the can of diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then pour over the vegetables in the casserole dish.

Step 4: Cover in foil and bake at 350 for 45 min to an hour. You'll know it's ready when the slices are soft when poked with a fork.

I also took the foil off after 45 minutes and let it bake another 15 minutes to evaporate some of the juices. You can now serve it over rice or couscous, with fresh crusty bread, and/or sprinkle on some mozzarella. Deliciously vegetarian and very low fat and low calorie. Bake up a batch, put on the Ratatouille movie or some classic Julia Child and enjoy!

If you have a favorite French recipe, anecdote of your trip Paris or first year of chef school, or a story of attempting a French recipe that ended unfortunately, please share here!