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Kurgan
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25 Apr 2012, 7:35 am

Title says it all. What are some cheap, healthy food recipes that you would like to recommend? :)

Chicken burger

What you need:
400 grams of chicken mince
1-2 tea spoons of salt
One egg
1/2-1 tea spoon of pepper
One table spoon of potato starch


What to do:


1. Mix all the ingredients in a food processor. If you do not have one, just mixing them in a bowl with you hands or in a blender will do the trick as well. Part the result into four equally sized parts and mold them into four equally sized burgers.

(For extra taste, add one tea spoon of garlic powder and one with chili powder.)

2. Either fry them on medium heat in a frying pan for a few minutes on either side or inside the oven for a couple of minutes. For how long depends on your stove.


Two of these burgers will have less than 350 calories and more than 40 grams of protein. :)



coconapple
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25 Apr 2012, 4:51 pm

I don't use recipes.
I found that when I used recipes, my grocery bill was very expensive, because I bought things regardless if they were cheap or not.

Now I go to the grocery store, and see what meat and vegetables are cheap. It varies per week or season. For me it's a lot easier than using recipes :-) I don't even bother making shopping lists anymore!

What I do is defrost (and/or) marinade some meat before I go to bed. I give the fridge a quick look, and think of what vegetables I will cook with the meat tomorrow.
As you cook more and more, you will learn tasty vegetable combinations.

Here are some examples of healthy recipes I cooked last week, based on what was cheap at the store. Any questions, please ask.

For all these recipes:
- make sure to only place the meat and vegetables on the frying pan when the fat is "sizzling angrily".
- make sure the meat and vegetables are cooked at very high heat so that they don't get soggy and gross...



BEEF with RED CABBAGE and RED ONIONS
This week Chuck beef short ribs were cheap. I cut them against the grain into thumb-sized slices. I marinated them in a zip lock bag for one or two days with salt and pepper, garlic powder, chili paste, balsamic vinegar (or sherry, or lemon), and some worchestershire sauce (or soy sauce).
- In a large frying pan, heat 3 tablespoons of fat (I would use bacon grease) and cook your slices of beef. You want to cook at high heat so the beef browns nicely.
- While meat is cooking, slice red cabbage and red onion finely.
- Remove cooked meat, and in the dirty pan, cook the vegetables. They will be done when the onions are cooked through.
- You don't need to add any seasoning because the marinated beef adds plenty of flavor.


BEEF with LEEKS and RADISHES
Pictures (click) leeks & radishes
- Remove top green leaves and the roots off the leek. With a sharp knife, slice the white part into very thin slices.
- Slice your radishes into thin slices. Don't peel them!
- Cook beef in the same manner as above, but you can use butter instead, since that will go nicely with the leeks.
- Set beef aside, and cook your vegetables in the dirty pan.
- When the leeks look caramelized, the vegetables are ready.
- You don't need to add any seasoning because the marinated beef adds plenty of flavor.


PORK with CUBED SWEET POTATOES and GREEN BEANS
Pork chops were cheap this week. I sliced each chop into thin slices, then marinaded for one day with: salt and pepper, chili paste (or paprika), oregano, garlic, and rest was water and a bit of olive oil. A bit of soy sauce and mustard powder would have been tasty too.
- In a large frying pan heat 2 tablespoons of fat (I like bacon grease with pork) and when it's hot, cook your pork chop slices.
- Peel the sweet potato, and cut into small cubes. Heat some butter in a pot, and cook the sweet potato. Ginger and a pinch of nutmeg and cloves would be lovely, along with some salt. Stir once in a while to make sure it doesn't burn, and add a couple tablespoons of water if it gets too dry. Take a bite to check when potatoes are ready.
- Cut the stem off the green beans, then cut beans in half. When the pork is ready, set aside, and cook the green beans in the same dirty pan. If the pan gets too dry add a bit of water.



CHICKEN with GREEN CABBAGE, ONIONS, and MUSHROOMS
Bake enough chicken for this and the next recipe.
Chicken drumsticks are generally cheap. If not, look for chicken leg quarters instead. It's a thigh and leg together.
These are much tastier than chicken breast!
- Bake chicken drumsticks for 45 minutes in a 350F oven, flipping half way through. At the end, I like to broil for a couple minutes, but you don't have to. Seasonings for chicken could be... salt and pepper, garlic, and ginger. Just use your hands to pat the seasonings on the chicken.
When the chicken is almost ready...
- Slice green cabbage and white/yellow onion finely.
- Slice mushrooms into thick slices.
- Cook all the vegetables a frying pan with 1 tablespoon of fat (here I like to use bacon grease or beef marrow).
- Some good spices for the vegetables could be: salt and pepper, a bit of chili paste (or paprika).


CHICKEN with BROCCOLI, CAULIFLOWER, and CARROTS
The chicken is the same as above.
- Cut each broccoli and cauliflower "flower" into halves or quarters.
- Chop a (long) carrot into 3 sections, then slice each section lengthwise into quarters. So you'll have 12 carrot strips.
- Some good spices would be ginger, garlic, and chili paste or paprika.
- Heat one tablespoon of fat in a pan, and when it's hot, cook the vegetables to the doneness you like.



snapcap
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25 Apr 2012, 6:10 pm

How do you make a turnip taste good?


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coconapple
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25 Apr 2012, 7:03 pm

When I cook turnips in a beef stew (with home made beef broth), it tastes nice and sweet. Specially with carrots and a bay leaf.

Another option would be to roast it in the oven at high temperature with lots of butter. For some reason this makes them sweet.

Similar to the strange taste of turnip is parsnips. Parsnips become really sweet and delicious if you slice them into thin stripes, cut carrots the same way, and coat everything in butter + ginger, then roast in the oven at high temperature (400F is good).

But if you were talking about the radishes in my recipe... I don't think radishes taste as odd as bigger turnips do.