Hiatus

Lest you think this blog has been abandoned, I assure that it has not.  Due to some personal circumstances in my life right now, I'm taking some personal time.

But never fear!!  I WILL be back within the next few months, with many great recipes to share.  Thanks for reading and following Recipes of A Cheapskate!

PS- I do post what I'm eating fairly often on my Facebook Page--click the link over there {{on the right side}} to 'like' it!

Strawberry Spinach Salad

 Spring is here!  I think.  It's hard to tell around here, because we'll get a week of beautiful weather, and then snow.  Mother Nature is a tease.  But I know, even if Spring isn't quite here yet, it's right around the corner, it's trying to push through the cold weather!

And so I start looking at the fresh food at the grocery store closer, because it's starting to become more affordable as it comes in season!  That's my favorite.  I hate buying out of season produce, because I hate spending an arm and a leg on my food!

This spinach salad is fresh and affordable, when you get the strawberries on sale especially!

When I made this salad, I used a large bag of spinach, the largest my store carried, and there was plenty for the 12 of us eating dinner.

STRAWBERRY SPINACH SALAD
Posted at: http://recipesofacheapskate.blogspot.com
Slightly adapted from: Radiant Health Inner Wealth

Salad:

• 1 bag/bunch spinach leaves (whatever size your grocer carries)
• approx 1lb fresh strawberries, trimmed and sliced
• sliced almonds, toasted (the toasted is optional, mine were not)

Dressing:

• 2 Tbsp EACH: olive oil, apple cider vinegar, sugar
• 1 Tbsp EACH: sesame seeds, soy sauce, orange juice
• 1/2 Tbsp poppy seeds
• 1/8 tsp paprika

Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing and set aside.  Layer the salad in a large bowl: spinach, strawberries, and then a sprinkle of almonds.  Continue until the bowl is full.  You can either add the dressing to the salad before serving, or let others serve themselves.  I prefer to let others serve themselves.  Give the dressing a good shake before serving.

Turkey Cuban Sandwich

Sometimes you just need a large sandwich, am I right? Or am I the only one that feels that way?  Sometimes I just want juicy pickles, layers of meat and cheese, and a good blob of mustard and mayo.  Other times I want it piled high with veggies--cukes, peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, sprouts...mmmm....

This sandwich is of the former variety.  And to give it a bit of a Thanksgiving feel, it has turkey and a cranberry relish on it.  Superb!  Add it to your Thanksgiving leftover menu and you won't go wrong.

TURKEY CUBAN SANDWICH
Posted at: http://recipesofacheapskate.blogspot.com
Minorly altered from: Closet Cooking

• 1 roll/bun, sliced in half
• 1 Tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tsp mustard
• 2-3 Tbsp cranberry relish (if using a sauce, use less)
• 2-4 slices turkey
• 2-4 slices swiss cheese
• 2-4 slices ham
• 2-4 slices dill pickle

Use enough turkey, cheese, ham, and pickles to cover the sandwich length. Assemble the sandwich and enjoy!  Original recipe called for brushing the outside with some oil and grilling for a few minutes on each side, if you'd like to try that.

Panko Crusted Salmon

A 2-month break...apparently life got a little crazy around here.  It's  true story, but I won't go into too many details.  Suffice to say, baby #3 is joining our little family and cooking, blogging about food, and in some cases eating it, were the LAST thing I wanted to think about.

But I'm trying to get back into the swing of things.  Be patient with me as I'll be hit and miss.  This is a fun hobby for me, and often times other things come first!

This salmon recipe is a hit for me.  I eat it a few times a month.  It's quick to put together, and I've got the recipe pared down for 1 salmon filet.  I'm the only fish eater in my house, so it's on those nights that it's just me and kids.  They can have their scrambled eggs, or frozen waffles, and I'll cook up this salmon for me.  Win-win, right?

Besides being quick to put together, the crunchy panko with the tangy mustard is really a perfect fit for salmon.  My recipe calls for the Lemon-Pepper Panko, but regular panko would work just fine.  Add extra seasonings to give it lots of flavor though!

AND I love the ease of using my cast iron skillet.  Seriously folks, if you don't have at least ONE, go get one!  I pan cook the salmon first and then throw the whole pan into the oven to finish cooking!  It's extra nice for my clean up as well.

Let me talk you through the process of this recipe, ok?  Since I'm using measurements like "dash", and "sprinkle".  I take my filet, skin-side down, and run a line of dijon mustard down the center of it.  Then spread it around with a spoon, covering every bit! This is what the panko will stick to.  I mix together the panko, salt and pepper, and some parmesan cheese with a little bit of olive oil.  That mixture get pressed onto the filet and the filet then gets cooked on the stove AND in the oven.  Now that you've got the concept, you can adjust to make multiple filets, yes? :)

PANKO CRUSTED SALMON
Posted at: http://recipesofacheapskate.blogspot.com
Adapted from: Annie's Eats
Recipe is for 1 standard salmon filet

• 2 Tbsp Lemon-Pepper Panko
• dash of salt and pepper
• Sprinkle of parmesan cheese
• olive oil
• dijon mustard (regular works just fine too, I promise)
• 1 salmon filet

Preheat your oven to 425degs.  Using a cast iron pan, or another oven safe pan, heat up a small amount of oil over medium-high heat on the stove.  Prepare the salmon by running a line of dijon mustard down the middle of it and spread it all around the top of the salmon.  Mix together panko, salt, pepper, parmesan cheese and a small bit of oil.  Press that mixture thickly onto the salmon.
By now your oil in hot and ready for the salmon.  Gently place the salmon skin side down and sear it for just a few minutes.  This really helps the skin come off easily when you eat it.  Then put the whole pan into the oven for 5-10 minutes depending on the thickness of the filet, until the panko is nice and browned.  Let it sit for a few minutes before serving.

Pesto Turkey Sandwiches

Wow, sorry for the blogging hiatus!  It was unintended, but I had lots of fun spending time with family and friends lately!

I love pesto so so much.  I throw it in dishes all the time, and I love spreading it on sandwiches.  This turkey sandwich is different from other turkey sandwiches in that the turkey is cubed instead of sliced sandwich meat.  Which makes leftovers super tasty (seriously, I used mine on pizza last night!).  This sandwich recipe is also easily adapted to a make a wrap instead of a sandwich.

The ease in which this came together was also fantastic.  While this could be an everyday meal, it works great if you have leftover turkey after a big meal.  A unique turkey sandwich for post-Thanksgiving eating!  

PESTO TURKEY SANDWICHES

Posted at: http://recipesofacheapskate.blogspot.com

Adapted from: http://damndelicious.tumblr.com

• 2 cups diced turkey
• 1/2 cup pesto
• 1/4 cup greek yogurt (or sour cream)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• hard rolls
• spinach
• sliced tomatoes
• sliced mozzarella (the fresher, the better)

In a bowl combine the turkey, pesto, yogurt (or sour cream), salt and pepper.  Mix until combined.  Spread the mixture on top of sliced rolls and heat up to melt the cheese (microwave or broil in the oven).  Top with tomatoes and spinach.  

Bruschetta Pasta

Remember a few weeks ago how I made that amazing bruschetta chicken?  Well, I went and turned that awesome tomato mixture into a pasta 'sauce'.  

I feel like I shouldn't call it a sauce though, because really, it's not.  It's a bunch of chopped up tomatoes mixed with seasonings.  So not very saucy.  But i serve it over pasta, therefore in my book, it's a sauce.  But remember, I'm an amateur home cook.  

The tomato mixture transferred over beautifully though, and the taste was fantastic.  Just like it was with the chicken.  And it becomes a quick weeknight meal!  If you look at costs too, a few tomatoes, pasta, balsamic vinegar, garlic, and seasonings, it's a very affordable dish.  Probably no more than a few dollars for the entire dish.  Especially since many of those things should be staples in your house (if you're like me, and freak out when you run out of minced garlic...).

BRUSCHETTA PASTA
From: http://recipesofacheapskate.blogspot.com

• 4 roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 Tbsp dried basil 
• 1-2 Tbsp minced garlic (more or less depending on the taste)
• a few pinches of salt and pepper
• 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 4 servings of spaghetti noodles
• Shredded parmesan cheese for topping

Cook the spaghetti according to package directions.  Mix together the tomatoes, basil, garlic, salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar.  When the pasta is done cooking, mix together with the tomatoes and top with the parmesan cheese for serving.  

Chocolate Pomegranate Cookies

My blogging time seems to have disappeared lately!  I'm making food, and taking pictures, and trying new things but it seems like every time I sit down I'm attacked by these little kidlets of mine.  And by the time they're in bed I'm thinking of just eating cookies, instead of blogging about them.  

Anyway, these cookies were fantastic!  Most of the arils (the little juicy red seeds in the pomegranates) stay together and so you get bites of chocolate and bits of pomegranate.  I love it!  The cookies unfortunately didn't stay together for me very long.  They were rather crumbly, but that didn't stop me from dumping them in a bowl and eating them with a spoon.  I'm totally ok with that.  And would STILL make them again.

And again. . .

CHOCOLATE POMEGRANATE COOKIES
Posted at: http://recipesofacheapskate.blogspot.com
Originally from: Dana Made It

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter–don’t use margarine
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening–you can substitute more butter 
• 3/4 cups white sugar
• 3/4 cups brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking boda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 to 2 1/2 cups choc chips–approx 1 bag of chips
• 1 cup pomegranate arils (those red seeds)

Cream together the butter, shortening, 2 sugars, vanilla, and eggs. Beat the mixture on medium-high for a full 3 minutes–it will change into a very creamy mixture. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Combine it with the butter mixture and mix till everything is incorporated.  Add the pomegranate arils and chocolate chips. Mix briefly to incorporate everything. A few seeds may burst while mixing but that’s fine. Scoop the dough into small balls (I used a tablespoon) on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 12 minutes