Category: budget

Recipe: Cheeseburger Mac and Cheese

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The original recipe was made with beef but I just make it with ground chicken but you could use any vegetarian meat replacement crumbles and it’d probably work just fine. While every recipe like this say “one pot” I have no idea why people desire to lie to you, this is a two pot recipe: one pasta pot to make the macaroni and one large skillet or dutch oven for everything else it’s still super easy and comes together in about 30 minutes with no chopping if you skip the onion (or buy diced onions).

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Recipe: Liège Waffles

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If you have a little time in the morning or decide you want something special the next day these are a great change up from the traditional pancakes and quick waffle batter. What’s so great about this type of waffle is that the batter is a solid mass so there’s no spills or leaks even if you overfill the waffle iron. The original recipe calls for sugar crystals but if you don’t have these you can omit them and simply make sure to put some delicious jam, jelly, syrup, or even savory toppings on the waffles for best results.

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Recipe: Chipotle and Bean Chili

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This is a super simple but really hearty chili that can be made with very minimal prep. This can also easily be adapted for any diet. It can be made vegan using vegetable stock instead of chicken stock, and it can be gluten-free by substituting potato starch instead of flour. This is a fairly spicy chili so you might want to serve it with cream, cheese, or some bread but it’s not so hot you can’t just eat it as it is. If you want a thicker chili you can mash a portion of the beans before you put them in the pot as well.

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Recipe: Vada Pav Burger

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This burger is basically inspired by vada pav which is a kind of dreamy street food that is carbs (potatoes) on carbs (bread) with spicy chilies. You can use whatever bun you like, traditionally it’s made in something more like a parker house roll. You can also pick and choose your own toppings though I kept it really simple and went for cheese, lettuce, tomato, and a ketchup-mayo mix for a sauce but feel free to experiment!

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Recipe: Asparagus Risotto

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This is basically a standard risotto recipe but I really like this one because it makes the risotto green due to adding some pureed asparagus to the liquid. It’s creamy and satisfying and it feels very spring / summer -like because of the color. I would recommend this if you’re tired of your risotto coming out a sort of blah yellow or brown.

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Recipe: Focaccia Pizza

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If you’re stuck in a rut of pizzas this is a great way to change things up a little. It’s still very low effort and requires just 10 minutes and the knowledge that you’re going to have pizza that night. This pizza comes out of chewy and flaky. Make sure you don’t put too many toppings on, one or two is the maximum it can hold (and make sure they’re cooked or dry because too much water will make the pizza soggy). Because there are so few ingredients make sure you salt your dough well and season your sauce if you want something out of this world.

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Recipe: Pupusa

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I’ve never actually had a pupusa so I wasn’t really sure how to make these or what they should be like but it did take me two or three tries to figure out how wet the dough should be, how they should be filled, and so on so don’t get too discouraged if your first batch comes out a little interesting – they should still be delicious. This is just a great and quick way to deliver flavor to your mouth and it pairs really well with all types of salsas/sauces and you can fill with almost anything making it really versatile as a starting point recipe.

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Recipe: Tofu-Bean Meatballs

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I don’t eat most meat (just birds and fish) so I’ve never been one of those people who is trying to make exact replicas of meat but I just wanted to find a recipe that made sturdier “meat” balls because they’re just such a useful food and these fit the bill. Just make sure that your tofu and beans are both really wrung out and that everything is mixed well together and these will come out with a texture that is only slightly more delicate than a regular meatball. They also taste pretty much like meatloaf which is a great plus in my book too!

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