Making Do Dinners

You know, I haven't been blogging much because the last few weeks (or perhaps even the last couple of months) have been more about eating for survival and frugality (i.e. not getting take-out again), then anything particularly interesting. Life has been busy, we've been sick off and on, we are dealing with insecurity in employment, and because of that wondering if we'll have to move .... and yet it didn't dawn on me until this morning that I am probably not the only one who needs "Make Do Dinner" ... so without any claims to originality, chefosity, or gourmet taste, here's a few easy meal ideas.

• Stuffed Shells & Turkey Meatballs, from the freezer: I frequently stock frozen stuffed shell, bought frozen at the grocery store, as well as frozen meatballs. Those, with a jar of tomato sauce (or homemade from your freezer, if you happen to be challenging Martha for her crown), layer them in a 13 x 9 pan, and bake for an hour at 400 ... easy dinner.

• Breakfast foods: eggs and toast (my favorite is frying a piece of bread, with a whole ripped out, then cooking the egg in the middle .... yum); pancakes w/ yogurt and fruit; corned beef hash from a can with a poached egg ...

• Fried rice, especially if you have leftover chinese take-out rice and various leftovers to use up.

• doctored soups - more on that soon.

Leftover Steak Fajitas

Wait! You say ... someone who frequently talks about frugality has leftover steak? Well this steak was purchased in 2+ pound packages at under $2 pound, so YES - leftover cooked steak.

Slice the leftover cold steak into slices. Marinate in lime juice, cayenne or chili powder and garlic (fresh or powdered). Allow to marinate for at least a few hours.

Slice onions into thin slices, and cook at a high temperature until lightly browned. Add a bit of garlic (I just love those garlic ice cubes from Trader Joes!), and cook a minute or two longer. Remove from the pan.

Add the peppers (this half a pound of frozen bell pepper slices, thawed and drained), and cook until a bit of color is singed onto the edges. Remove them from the pan as well.

Bring the pan back to very hot, then sear the steak slices JUST BRIEFLY to warm and color.

Serve with refried beans or black beans, cheese, sour cream, salsa, guacamole ... whatever you have on hand in your fridge and pantry. Serve with tortillas (if you like, warm them on your oven stone for a minute).

A very quick dinner from leftovers!

Baked Shrimp

I can't take credit for this ingenious recipe. It is only slighly adapted from my friend Kim's recipe. VERY, VERY good. The Southern resident ate his on a bit of quacamole in a tortilla this time around. And if you catch the loss leader sales on two pound bags of frozen shrimp, it won't even cost a small fortune to serve.

2 pounds shrimp - raw & peeled (these were from my freezer - I thawed and peeled them):








~ 1/2 cup olive oil
3 cajun seasoning
2 cloves of garlic, crushed, or a bit of garlice powder
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 pinch cayenne
juice of 1 lemon or 3 tablespoons bottled lemon juice

I didn't measure one thing for this recipe. Just splash it in a 13 x 9 pan:



Mix in the powdered spices and the shrimp. Allow to sit at least ten minutes. (Or a few hours in the fridge, if you're making this ahead for a dinner party)


Bake at 450 for about ten minutes. Shrimp will look pink when cooked:

Serve with a salad or vegetable and some bread to soak up the yummy sauce. (and if the hubby helps himself to guacamole and tortillas, that's fine too)