PT 3 (and final) 27 healthy/hearty meals on 150.00, Ft. Trader Joe's

I'm going to wrap up the recipes for this past shopping trip that totaled around 150.00 bucks, give or take a few (around 158 actually.) Yes, I am actually making the meals. Here is the Curried Potatoes with Mint Pea Salad-I sopped up the curry sauce with some Garlic Naan bread and the whole thing was divine.

I have enough left over for lunch tomorrow. 

Now, even though I just had a tomato based sauce and some eggs, I am going to now segway into other dishes that boast those ingredients. Again, you needn't make them in consecutive order, just know that you have the ingredients on hand. I now want to make Spaghetti Squash. 

Yep, squash that ends up like spaghetti. I will be adding a sauce-most likely just a jarred marinara. I will probably also add some cannelli beans to the squash. But according to this recipe for how to make the squash, you have to be careful how you apply any sauces. I let you read on about it. The right way to make Spaghetti Squash

Next meal is Chorizo and Migas (eggs). But not 'real' Chorizo. Chorizo found at Trader Joe's, soy-based. Its been given rave reviews by anyone who has tried it and people were known to have cried when it was discontinued for some time. I am anxious of course to see what all the hype will be about, and I do love me some Migas (spanish eggs.)

Recipe here: Migas with Chorizo

Meanwhile, how about a snack? Why pay 6.00 for a bag of kale chips, when you can make your own? ( I know. At first I thought they sounded gross too. Boy was I wrong. I made them at home and like a Lay's potato chip-I could.not.stop.eating.them.

While not a meal per se, I did buy a bag of kale in the 150 mission, so yes, that trip also included some snacks. Recipe here Kale Chips

Keeping with another tomato-based sauce theme, and another fake 'sausage' theme, how about Italian Sausage and Peppers, a classic favorite? I found what sounds like a fantastic recipe for them (even though my family is Italian, we didn't make this)-and I also found some fake Italian sausage at the Trader so......along with a bag of tri-colored peppers I already had in my freezer, and I just bought another bag of onions-well it was a no-brainer!

Recipe here: Italian Sausage and Peppers

Now for a completely different road: Miso Soup. I love love LOVE Miso soup. You may have had it and didn't even know it. It is the complimentary soup served to you in Japanese restaurants. It usually comes in a black and red bowl that you pick up with your hands, and its a cloudy golden broth, with a couple squares of Tofu and Scallions floating on top. Not only is it divine, but it's one of the healthiest things on the planet for you to eat. Miso is fermented soybean. The health benefits are too numerous to list here. And it's surprisingly easy to make at home. 

I like using miso in a tub found in the fridge section of a health food store, but it also comes powdered which is fine also-if that is all you can find. It probably comes in a jar and stuff as well, and if you are fortunate enough to live near an Asian market, all the better. White miso is more mild and than Red miso which can be real salty to some tastes-it is traditional restaurant style though. Also can use as a base for Ramen soup (not that crap in the package for 25 cents that gets most people thru college, either. Red, yellow or white-Misos are incredibly good for you. 

Recipe: Miso Soup

 Meal 19: Cauliflower Corn Bisque! VEGAN!!!  Utilizing more of the cauliflower, a bag of Roasted Corn from Trader Joes (the only change to the recipe I made), also using more turmeric (that healthy spice again!) and lime.....this is a chilled soup, perfect for summer. 

Ashley makes a relish for the top as you can see, but I am not feeling the jalapenos and radishes right now. Normally I would, but lately I've had some heartburn so I'm going to pass on that (but it sounds delicious to me and I will make next time) Cauliflower and Corn Bisque

So how about meal 20, more curry. A Quinoa Curry Bowl. With lentils. And....drum roll......still got some mint left?? Good. A cilantro-mint Chutney. 

Recipe: Curried Red Lentils and Quinoa with Cilantro-Mint Chutney

Now the thing with the Quinoa is that you can cook up a huge batch of it on a Sunday evening-and utilize it throughout the week, and even freeze some in a baggie once cooked for when you decide to make these dishes. It may seem like "well I just had curry" or "I just had Quinoa." So you can also for example, make the mint-cilantro chutney (because you have just a little mint left and don't want to waste it) and put it on something else. You can use different kinds of curry-there is a red curry sauce, a yellow curry sauce and a green curry sauce. Experiment! So just because the recipes sound alike, they often aren't. Just like these red lentils taste a bit different than brown ones do. 

But for brown lentils, how about a Lentil Loaf with Garlic Mashed Cauliflower? After all, you've got some of that left also. So let's do that! 

Recipe Lentil Rice Loaf

Once again, I'm using up other things, such as the mushrooms I purchased for the Creamy Tomato and Spinach pasta. 

Mashed Cauli w Garlic

Recipe: Mashed Garlic Cauliflower

Meal 22: Veggie Nests from Trader Joe's

This one is easy. From a box: 

They taste just like Tempura. Cook up some rice, and make a salad and boom, yummy dinner. 

23: While you got that Quinoa, how about a Peruvian Stew? If you are like me, you've frozen some potatoes already in the freezer for even easier cooking. Also, again with the peas, and feta and cilantro (you did buy a big bunch, right?)

I have to give you this recipe. 

2 tbl veg oil

1 onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

5 minced garlic cloves

1 T paprika

2 tsp coriander, ground

1 1/2 tsp cumin

6 cups vegetable broth

1 lb red potatos, unpeeled, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 cup quinoa

1 cup corn

2 tomatoes, cored and chopped

1 c frozen peas

salt and pepper

Garnish:

8 oz queso or feta cheese

1 avocado, diced

1/2 c cilantro

Here's a picture: 

Heat oil in dutch oven. Add onion and bell pepper and cook until softened. Stir in garlic and apprika, coriander and cumin and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in broth and potatoes and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to med low and simmer gently for 10 min. Stir in quinoa and simmer for 8 minutes. Stir in corn and simmer until potatoes and quinoa are just tender, 5 to 7 mins. Stir in tomatoes and peas and let heat through, about 2 mins. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper to taste. Add to bowls and garnish as desired. 

Now: Be creative. You have a lot of leftovers, both in finished meals and in ingredients. So, what is left? There's eggs and feta and spinach omelet (24), there's rice and veggies and teriyaki sauce (soy, pineapple juice, brown sugar) 25,  there's veggies and tofu and jarred Masala sauce 26, there's a big ass salad-because you have spinach and kale and lettuce and carrots and celery and oh, how about a beet salad? 

Number 27: 

A can of beets, chopped. Some celery, chopped. The rest of that red onion-chopped. A can of Mandarin oranges, I keep them whole. A dressing of rice vinegar, sugar and lemon/lime. With some chopped parsley. Really good with a rice and bean dish. 

So there you have it. I have stuff in my freezer, I have stuff in my fridge, I made 27 items off of a 158.00 grocery ticket. I will post tomorrow all the items I purchased and the price. I did get some fun stuff as well-it wasn't just all for the meals. Stay tuned, and I hope you will try some of these recipes! I am still searching for amazing ones for us all to try, and I found a VEGAN BLT that I gotta get on board with, hopefully it'll be good enough to pass onto you! Thanks for reading!