Recent Discoveries

I’m leaving for Orlando tomorrow, so this will be my last post for more than a week…(unless of course I somehow find free time, which is highly unlikely).  I’m very fortunate that my research advisor is bringing me along to Pittcon, an analytical chemistry conference, that’s taking place all next week.

I’ve been crazy busy lately, as I’ve alluded to, but I’ve had time to make a few awesome meals that I want to share before I forget about them.

1. Pork and Guacamole Omelette

I’m not a fan of omelettes without cheese.  However, the other day I found myself with only avocado, eggs, pork, tomatoes, and onions.  I figured since guac is creamy it might make a good substitute in my omelette.  SO GOOD.  I wish I had cilantro, though.

Guacamole
–mix 1 avacado, 1 roma tomato, 1/8 red onion, tablespoon olive oil, salt, pepper, 1 clove garlic, cilantro, taco seasoning, lime juice

2.  Mashed Root Vegetables

leftovers

I had these left in my fridge, so I wanted to use them but didn’t feel like roasting.  I thought they might be good mashed/pureed.  DEFINITELY.  The celery root added a subtle hint of celery flavor, while the turnip imparted a taste of horseradish.  Basically, it tasted like I made really well seasoned mashed potatoes.  The best part was that I didn’t have to add butter or milk because they came out creamy.

3.  Pork Gravy

I’m nearing the end of my 2 lbs of pork that I made ut I didn’t want to waste the jus that the pork has been sitting in.  I decided to make gravy to go with the aforementioned potatoes.  I think I will always be disappointed in the gravy I make because it will NEVER be as good as my mom’s.  Seriously.

For this I just added all the drippings from the pork in a pot, started to heat it, then added the water that I drained from the vegetables that I boiled.  This is a very important step.  You need the starch from the potato water to emulsify the gravy.  To thicken it, I made a roux (four and water) and added it until the gravy was the right consistency.  It was good, but lacked the same warmth and depth of flavor that my mom’s has.

a wonderful hodgepodge meal

The Best Mashed Potatoes I Have Ever Made

Mashed potatoes have always been one of my favorite foods.  When I was little, my mom centered meals around mashed potatoes and gravy.  I got the idea to make potatoes tonight because I REALLY needed to use the rest of that creme fraiche.  I figured it could work double duty in the potatoes and I could omit the milk and butter from them.  This worked fantastically and tasted unbelievable.  I ended up with a Shepherd’s Pie of sorts using more leftovers…

Mexican Shepherd’s Pie

-boiled 4 Russett potatoes (diced, skin on) in the remaining whey I had leftover (10 minutes)
-drained/mashed them.  Added ~1/3 cup of creme fraiche, continued mashing
-added salt, to taste
-mixed in canned corn, leftover guacamole, salsa

Total meal took 15-20 minutes.  I’m not even going to try and guess the price since I’ve been down to the bits and pieces of leftovers, although I have to assume it was less than $2.50.

*insert clever status including words “quick”, “easy”, and “cheap”*

Another late night…another quick meal.

Didn’t get home until 9:30 and wanted to be eating by 10…JUST managed that.

Last night’s guacamole was looking a little brown, so that was my top priority to use.

I also pulled out of my ‘fridge (aside: I once knew a guy who legitimately thought the proper spelling for refrigerator was ‘fridgerator’) some chopped onions, a frozen pork chop, and leftover home made cheese.

Here’s what I did:

– sauteed onions in olive oil until they were just becoming translucent
-seasoned the (microwave defrosted) pork chop with salt, pepper, dry mustard, crushed red pepper flakes, and garlic powder
-browned the pork in the pan with the onions on both sides, ~3 minutes each side
-topped the pork chop with a thick layer of guacamole
-topped the guacamole with a layer of cheese
-placed the entire pan in the oven at 410 degrees F for 15 minutes

I actually tried to take a picture of this goodness, but my camera batteries died mid shot 😦

To be honest, I was a little bit leery of the pork/guac/cheese combo, but it was really good.  The cheese didn’t melt, but got nice and cripsy brown on top.  I also really enjoyed the warm guac.  Word of caution: I think I undercooked it…so maybe pork isn’t the best thing to try and be super quick with…

It’s okay, though, because I’m now drinking a hot glass of tea in hopes of killing any bacteria from the pork that may be plotting my demise..

Total Cost: $1.70

pork: $0.75 (not organic) (paid $2.00/lb)
guacamole: $0.75 (used ~1/4 of the original amount of guac)
cheese: $0.20 (probably used 1/4 of the 1/4 that was left)

 

Chopped Champion in Training

So, besides eating cheap, my other hobby is cooking quick meals.

Today, I was at the chem building from 7:45 AM and I walked in my door at 9:06 PM.  I had gone for a run, too, so I was starving.  I knew I had two avocados that were nearing the end of their shelf life, so I pulled out everything in my fridge and pantry that was opened and needed to be eaten:

2 avocados
1/2 bulb of garlic
1/2 bag of onions
plain yogurt
1/4 box of spaghetti
whey
2 eggs way past their expiration date

The first component was easy- I made guacamole.  I’m a big baby about doing dishes, so I always mix my guac in a tupperware instead of a bowl.  It makes me feel like I’ll make a good housewife someday, once I’m done with this PhD business and all.  (kidding.)

guacamole

2 avocados
1 clove garlic, fine chop
1/4 onion, fine chop
salt, pepper to taste
cumin to taste
taco seasoning, to taste
2 large spoonfuls of plain (homemade!) yogurt

time: 5 minutes

I just mixed it all together.  It definitely could have used some cilantro.  Sometimes if I don’t have cilantro I’ll super finely chop celery to give it that fresh taste…but I didn’t have any of that, either 😦  The yogurt made the cilantro deliciously creamy.  My old roommate used to put sour cream in her guac, so I kind of stole that idea.

Next, I decided to boil the spaghetti in the whey.  This was really interesting because it gave the spaghetti a very sweet taste.  I liked it..it tasted more like fresh, homemade pasta to me.  My roommate, on the other hand, wasn’t such a big fan.  It may have been her lactose intolerance telling her that what she was eating was poison..or maybe sweet pasta just isn’t her style.  The nice thing about the whey is that it all seems to get soaked up by the pasta.  When I drained the pasta, maybe only a tablespoon came out.  Once I put the pasta back into the pot I added a couple heaping spoonfuls of guacamole and stirred it, with the heat on low.

time: 8 minutes

While the spaghetti was cooking, I fried the two eggs, sunny side up.

time: (concurrent with spagetti, 6 minutes)

When everything was finished, I placed the guacamole laden spaghetti on the plate, put the two eggs on the side, and drizzled my homemade creme fraiche over the top.

total time (with plating): 15 minutes

The result?  Amazing.  It was honestly pretty reminscent of spaghetti carbonara.  The yogurt and creme fraiche gave the dish that wonderfully gooey, light consistency that good carbonara sauce has.  The fluffy eggs were the perfect protein to pair with the mild flavors of the guac.  If I could do it over, I would probably add an orange vegetable- maybe cooked carrots or sweet potato to liven it up a little.  Now, for my favorite part:

Price

spaghetti: $0.25 (1/4 of the box, paid $1.00 for whole box) (NOT organic)
avocados: $0.80 (used 2 avocados for the sauce, but only used 1/4 of the sauce)
yogurt: $0.25 (used $2.00 of milk to make the yogurt, only used ~2 tablespoons)
garlic: $0.20 (used 1 clove)
onion: $0.20 (used 1/4 of the onion)
eggs: $0.28 (paid 2.50 for 18) (NOT organic)
creme fraiche: $0.25 (paid 2.50 to make the creme fraiche, used ~1 tablespoon)
Total: $2.23

BUT

I only ate half, and have half packed for lunch, SO:

Grand total: $1.12

I’m okay with that 🙂