On meatless meals, fish, and penance: an interlude
Someone on catholics posted asking for meatless recipes. This was relevant to me because I am queen! QUEEN OF MEATLESS MEALS.
So consider this a little practical interlude
SEAFOOD: This totally depends on where you are. My personal rule of thumb is that in order to be counted as restrained enough for Lenten Fridays, the protein has to be less than or equal to the price of a meat that would be in the "normal" budget such as chicken breast. For me, that's about $4/lb. At this price point, there are actually several options where I live. I'm lucky enough actually to live in an area where I can get wild Pacific salmon for $4/lb sometimes... lol. But if you're not, definitely check the freezer at your grocer! Sole, tilapia, cod, and basa (Vietnamese catfish) can all be had at very reasonable prices. Then, too, canned salmon and tuna is always a great staple.
--poach in flavorful liquid and serve with sides/over pasta
--bread and bake
--bread and panfry
--poach, mash with bread crumbs and veggies and mayo, form into patties, and panfry/bake as cakes (I have a recipe for this)
--grill and serve with sauce
--fish tacos
--use canned fish in any casserole recipe
--chowders
--fish burgers
--top baked potatoes with canned fish and cheese
CHEESE:
Cheese is a little bit of a treat and not THAT economical so I prefer to use it in smaller quantities (like for lunch grilled cheese) or as a garnish rather than main ingredient. That said, you can oomph up grilled cheese with sauces and veggies to make it a bigger meal and serve with soup.
BEANS:
Beans are where it's at, money-saving meatless wise.
--bean tacos (puree black beans or use refried beans)
--use beans in place of meat in casserole recipes, add to macaroni and cheese, etc
--bean soups
--rice and bean dishes such as pilafs (also good in tacos)
--bean hash (use beans instead of meat pan-fried with potatoes and veggies)
--bean chili
--chickpea or lentil burgers (pureed beans + other binders and veggies, baked or panfried)
EGGS:
Eggs are cheap and so versatile! As one of my cookbooks put it, you can cook eggs dozens of different ways and each one really is different, unlike liver which is always the same (awful) no matter what you do to it. LOL.
--frittatas
--omelets
--scrambled, fried, poached
--egg fried rice (see stir-fry section below)
VEGETABLES AND STARCHES:
Vegetable-heavy dishes are also very cheap.
--vegetable soups with hearty bread
--mushrooms as "meat"--grilled mushroom sandwiches, mushrooms instead of meat in casserole dishes, mushrooms added to pasta, mushroom patties made with bread crumbs and other veggies and fried/baked
--pasta with sauce and tons of veggies
--stuffed peppers/mushrooms, eggplant parmigiana
Stir-frying is simple but not necessarily easy--making mistakes can cause disaster. The big ones:
--overcrowding the pan!!!!!
--not having everything cut and ready to go before starting the cooking
--having the heat too low
--not enough/too much oil, or oil with a low smoke point
--adding ingredients in the wrong order, ending up with some vegetables mush and others still raw
You can decrease a lot of the Complete Disaster potential by using a non-stick pan, however, you'll never get the really crispy texture with it, IME. Overcrowding the pan is the big one! Don't be tempted to do this! Do the stir-fry in two batches instead--the actual cooking time is so brief that it really doesn't matter. It's the prep-work that takes time for stir-fry, so doubling the cooking time is minor.
Some tips for eggs in stir-fries, I always do the eggs by themselves first (basically, scramble until almost but not quite done--set but a little gooshy, if that makes sense) and then reserve to a plate and slice up. Do the rest of the veggies and rice, and then add the sliced egg right at the end, and toss until the egg is perfect. Then serve.
So consider this a little practical interlude
SEAFOOD: This totally depends on where you are. My personal rule of thumb is that in order to be counted as restrained enough for Lenten Fridays, the protein has to be less than or equal to the price of a meat that would be in the "normal" budget such as chicken breast. For me, that's about $4/lb. At this price point, there are actually several options where I live. I'm lucky enough actually to live in an area where I can get wild Pacific salmon for $4/lb sometimes... lol. But if you're not, definitely check the freezer at your grocer! Sole, tilapia, cod, and basa (Vietnamese catfish) can all be had at very reasonable prices. Then, too, canned salmon and tuna is always a great staple.
--poach in flavorful liquid and serve with sides/over pasta
--bread and bake
--bread and panfry
--poach, mash with bread crumbs and veggies and mayo, form into patties, and panfry/bake as cakes (I have a recipe for this)
--grill and serve with sauce
--fish tacos
--use canned fish in any casserole recipe
--chowders
--fish burgers
--top baked potatoes with canned fish and cheese
CHEESE:
Cheese is a little bit of a treat and not THAT economical so I prefer to use it in smaller quantities (like for lunch grilled cheese) or as a garnish rather than main ingredient. That said, you can oomph up grilled cheese with sauces and veggies to make it a bigger meal and serve with soup.
BEANS:
Beans are where it's at, money-saving meatless wise.
--bean tacos (puree black beans or use refried beans)
--use beans in place of meat in casserole recipes, add to macaroni and cheese, etc
--bean soups
--rice and bean dishes such as pilafs (also good in tacos)
--bean hash (use beans instead of meat pan-fried with potatoes and veggies)
--bean chili
--chickpea or lentil burgers (pureed beans + other binders and veggies, baked or panfried)
EGGS:
Eggs are cheap and so versatile! As one of my cookbooks put it, you can cook eggs dozens of different ways and each one really is different, unlike liver which is always the same (awful) no matter what you do to it. LOL.
--frittatas
--omelets
--scrambled, fried, poached
--egg fried rice (see stir-fry section below)
VEGETABLES AND STARCHES:
Vegetable-heavy dishes are also very cheap.
--vegetable soups with hearty bread
--mushrooms as "meat"--grilled mushroom sandwiches, mushrooms instead of meat in casserole dishes, mushrooms added to pasta, mushroom patties made with bread crumbs and other veggies and fried/baked
--pasta with sauce and tons of veggies
--stuffed peppers/mushrooms, eggplant parmigiana
Stir-frying is simple but not necessarily easy--making mistakes can cause disaster. The big ones:
--overcrowding the pan!!!!!
--not having everything cut and ready to go before starting the cooking
--having the heat too low
--not enough/too much oil, or oil with a low smoke point
--adding ingredients in the wrong order, ending up with some vegetables mush and others still raw
You can decrease a lot of the Complete Disaster potential by using a non-stick pan, however, you'll never get the really crispy texture with it, IME. Overcrowding the pan is the big one! Don't be tempted to do this! Do the stir-fry in two batches instead--the actual cooking time is so brief that it really doesn't matter. It's the prep-work that takes time for stir-fry, so doubling the cooking time is minor.
Some tips for eggs in stir-fries, I always do the eggs by themselves first (basically, scramble until almost but not quite done--set but a little gooshy, if that makes sense) and then reserve to a plate and slice up. Do the rest of the veggies and rice, and then add the sliced egg right at the end, and toss until the egg is perfect. Then serve.