Ratatouillie Pie

This idea popped in my head months ago. I actually scribbled it down on the dry-erase marker board on my fridge that I list all the potential recipes I can make with all the food we presently have in our fridge. Right now the list is huge since we have more groceries than I think we've ever had before.

I think the thought came when I was making the brocciflower quiche (see below) or the zucchini-oh my pie, or maybe the tomato pie I made once too.... why not just make a ratatouillie pie of all the odds and ends leftover veggies? And that is how this recipe was born. It came out fabulous and we both scarfed it down, even the hubs who hates eggplants. However, I'd like to perfect it and try again so it tastes more like ratatoullie rather than veggie pie.

So here it is, my Veggie Pie Oh My, that is delicious but impostering and wishing it was Ratatoullie Pie.

Ingredients:
1 small white eggplant, sliced and then chopped in quarters ($1)
1 small yellow squash, sliced  ($.50)
1 half a huge zucchini, sliced and chopped into quarters ($.50)
1 small onion, diced ($.33)
3 roma tomatoes, diced ($1)
1 cup of cheese ($.50)
2 eggs ($.25)
1/2 cup mayo (I use the olive oil kind, I like to think it's healthier) ($.20)
salt and pepper to taste
1 frozen pie crust in pan ($1.10)
2 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp each basil and oregano
fresh basil too if you have
Total: can I just say this is under $5? => officially about $5.38-$5.50

Recipe:
1. Bake pie crust 10 minutes
2. Meanwhile, steam all veggies except tomatoes for the 5-10 minutes the crust is baking.
3. After, rub dijon mustard on crust - this is the secret to making the pie crust taste so good, I always do this. Thanks Pillsbury for the idea.
4. Stir together the cheese, mayo, eggs, and spices in small bowl.
5. Drain the veggies and pour into pie crust.
6. Top with cheese-egg mixture.
7. Bake 20 minutes or more until lightly golden on top.
8. Let cool and enjoy.

Not gonna lie, this was good. It was gone within the day. Next time, I'm going to figure out though how to make it taste more like ratatouillie, perhaps less cheese and more wine.

Holy Guacamole Mexican Pizza

In my non-professional, broke as a joke, grad student opinion - this is by far, the best Mexican pizza I've had. I could also be saying this because I just walked two laps around the park being dragged by my dauschand the first lap, and me dragging her the second lap. So besides fatigue and dulled senses from being on such a budget, I do think this is a pizza to be proud of. I am trying my best to work on my photography skills since I do think pictures say a thousand words and they can really capture the tastiness of it all if shot correctly.

I modified this recipe from a recent pinterest pin, taken from this wonderful blog: HoneyWhatsCooking
And the reason it is modified and I can call it my own recipe, is because I didn't have the ingredients called for and had to improvise. And if I don't say so myself, it came out pretty good and may have hers beat.

Ingredients (for 2 pizzas for 2 people, add salad for some greens!):
4 whole wheat tortillas ($1)
shredded fancy mexican cheese ($1)
1/2 package of frozen corn ($.50)
3 small tomatoes ($1)
taco seasoning ($.10)
taco bell fire roasted salsa (free)
Total $3.60

Recipe:
1. Hubby insisted it wasn't a mexican pizza with just one tortilla. I can't really see how this isn't a quesadilla though, perhaps because it is baked not squished in our quesadilla maker? So start with one tortilla each on a plate.
2. Top each with diced tomatoes and warmed up corn (two minutes in microwave). Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon taco seasoning on each pizza. I have a container of it from leftover pouches from taco kits I bought before since it automatically comes with the tacos sometimes.
3. Generously - although not too much - add cheese to each. Enough so the two tortillas stick together. Like 1/4 cup each.
4. Top with other tortilla and sprinkle some more cheese, mostly so it's pretty.
5. Top again with salsa. About 2 packets each, or 2 tablespoons each.
6. Optional: Do you have sour cream? Then add some, do you have real salsa, chunky preferred? Add this too (I'd put it inside). Do you have chives or scallions? Onions to grill and caramelize? Heaven forbid you have guacamole or an avocado. Now that is the ultimate topping in my book. And there you have it, a better mexican pizza than my already pretty amazing one.

Polenta Fries and Beans

Polenta is amazing. Polenta has blown my mind. It is probably my new favorite ingredient in anything at all. It is so easy, it is so cheap, it is so wonderful. I could go on.

I used to think it came in those tube packages at the grocery store, but they lied. It's a big fat lie. Polenta comes from something called CORN MEAL, and it's found near flour or breadcrumbs in a pouch like flour. It's used for making cornbread but polenta - isn't anything corn tasting at all, really. It tastes like pasta to me, pasta dumplings. And all you do is add water, really. Like I said, cheapest, easiest meal ever. Oh, the big caveat being you have to wait hours for it to cool. But if you think ahead, it's no problem really.

Ways to make Polenta:
1. Under pasta sauce and baked
2. Rolled in to balls and fried golden
3. Cut in to strips and fried like fries (see picture)
4. Baked as a loaf and layered with cheese
5. Mixed with herbs, whatever your heart desires
6. Sauteed in butter but not too crispy
7. Mushy like grits (so says the packaging, I've never actually made this one)
8. Stuffed into tomatoes
9. Cut into pancake patties and fried
10. Etc.....

I have gone crazy searching polenta on pinterest. I think I have made it under pasta, as dumplings, as a sliced loaf, and tonight as fries. Four times I've made polenta, and I still have more left in the one package.

Directions:
1. Add 1 cup corn meal to 2 cups of water in saucepan.
2. Boil and stir vigorously. Don't walk away!
3. Turn down heat from high to medium-low.
4. Stir until thick and difficult to stir without sticking. If you choose, add some cheese and herbs (basil and parsley).
5. Transfer to dish of your choice (pie pan for baking, loaf pan for slicing, shallow brownie pan for slicing in to fries, etc.). Or if making dumpling balls, roll them up and cook right away.
6. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours or overnight.
7. Slice it up, or shape it how you'd like. If baking, you don't need to slice obviously.
8. Bake 350 degrees for 20 minutes or pan-fry/sautee in butter in a frying pan.
9. Top with cheese, salt, and pepper. Or pasta sauce, or accompanied by beans (as in picture). Whatever your heart desires. Polenta is so amazing. :)