Joelen from Joelen’s Culinary Adventures has so many practical and economical tips on her blog. When it comes to throwing get-togethers, she’s the one to go to for advice… and have you checked out the mouthwatering assortment of recipes on her blog? You’ll definitely want to take home leftovers if you go over Joelen’s house for dinner ;).

I asked Joelen to be our guest for Tips and Tricks Friday this week because she has great advice on how to host a fun and affordable dinner party. Speaking of being affordable, dining out is not! This is why I love Joelen’s Food Exchange idea so much! You can try new foods (almost like dining out) but you don’t have to pay extra! How does it work? Well… read on!

A great way to gather your friends and family for a dinner party on a budget is to make it a potluck! I host weekly potluck dinner parties often with some kind of theme and friends/family come over to share a dish to pass. We’ve found that this is a great way to: try a variety of dishes without all the time, effort and costs! Having a theme for everyone to use as a guideline for your dinner party makes it easier for you as the host and your guests to decide on what to bring. Perhaps you can choose a specific ethnic cuisine (Italian, Mexican, Asian, etc.) or maybe a type of cuisine (fondue, teaparty, picnic, etc)… either way, you can be sure that the table will include a wonderful spread for everyone to enjoy.

I’m an avid foodie and I organize a large cooking group here in Chicago called, What’s Cookin’ Chicago. Each month we host 3 potluck events including:

Chef Spotlight Dinners - potluck dinner event where everyone prepares a dish based on a specific chef or a group of chefs

Wine & Dine Dinners - potluck dinner event where everyone prepares a dish based on a specific cuisine where we match up with wine and drinks

Foodie Films Luncheon - potluck luncheon event where everyone prepares a dish based on the storyline of a movie, which we watch together after lunch

These events allowed our friends to get together and enjoy wonderful food and drinks on a budget!

Another budget friendly idea to eat on a budget during the week is hosting a food exchange or swap. My friends and I get together every month for brunch on the last Sunday of the month for our Brunch & Barter event. This event allows my friends and I to make a one large batch of a specific dish to share. Everyone decides on a dish they’d like to make, prepare it and package it up in entree sized (freezer safe) storage containers, enough for each person who will be joining us for brunch. We bring them with us to the brunch spot we’re meeting at and after our brunch, we talk about the dish we made and pass them out for everyone to take home. It’s a twist on the popular holiday cookie swaps many folks participate in during the holidays… only instead of cookies, we’re swapping entrees! These have been a great and delicious time saver and these days we don’t spend money on lunch as we used to!

For details on how to host a food exchange, you can check out my detailed post HERE!

~ Joelen
Joelen’s Culinary Adventures

Pumpkin has a way of sneaking into many of my favorite foods, like pie, muffins, cake, and even… macaroni! Macaroni?! Yes, anything’s possible, and Veronica proves this to be true with her Pumpkin Mac and Cheese that’s sure the please. If you can’t get enough cheese in your favorite classic mac and cheese dish, you’ll be happy that she threw in the cheddar cheese, but let’s not forget about the pumpkin.

When your well-loved cheesy childhood treats is given a grown-up twist with ’secret’ ingredients like Worcestershire sauce, mustard and pumpkin, it suddenly takes on a much more addicting taste. Finish it off with a sprinkle of breadcrumbs, like Veronica does, and you’re in macaroni heaven. Noodles never looked soo good!

Though this is a fun side you can serve at an evening dinner, it’s also something you can whip up during the week for the kiddos. Just think, this time they’ll actually enjoy having veggies in their mac and cheese; they won’t complain–they’ll ask for more :). Speaking of asking for more, there are plenty more mouthwatering and unique recipes on Veronica’s blog, Nila Rose.

Initially, my desire to learn how to cook came out of desperation. I was a college student on a budget who was tired of dorm food! I started off with the basics, like meatloaf and mashed potatoes. It’s been a few years since those meat n’ taters days, but I still don’t know how to make a good broth!

Though I crave fresh food, I still find myself resorting to grocery store broths! But even they can’t capture the flavor found in my grandma’s made-from-scratch soups. It’s times like these that I’ll happily cave and follow a recipe. Sometimes you just want the good stuff, like Kristina’s Turkey Stock and Turkey Noodle Soup. The only thing you have to rely on the grocery store for when you make her soup is the produce! In addition to that, all you’ll need is some turkey and a few spices.

In About a Bit of Everything, Kristina says she made this broth using turkey leftovers. But there are two other great things about the broth worth mentioning. One: You can make a ton one day and freeze the rest for later. Two: You determine how much salt goes into it; you don’t have to worry about reading the no/low/high sodium labels on canned soups anymore :)! This recipe that Kristina shares is low in sodium.

Lubna from Yummy Food has a great tutorial on how to make roti. On her blog, she explains, “Roti/Chapati/Indian flat bread is a traditional bread which can be called as carrier for curries or cooked vegetables or dals.” She also mentions that it can be made with a variety of flours (wheat, maida, barley, soy bean, black chickpea)! And the key thing to remember when making roti? Lubna puts it like this, “the softer the dough, the softer the roti.” I have to agree with Lubna when she says that rolling it out perfectly comes with practice. I think I’m going to need plenty, but these step-by-step photos will definitely help!

INGREDIENTS:

* 2 cups Wheat flour
* 1/4 cup Wheat flour, for dusting
* Water, enough to make a soft dough
* 2-3 drops of oil for kneading
* pich of salt
* Oil/Ghee

PREPERATION:

*
Combine wheat flour, salt and oil and gently knead the dough by adding water slowly. (see pic. 1)
*
Knead till you get soft and elastic dough. Leave the dough by covering with a kitchen towel for 15-20 minutes.
*
Divide the dough into equal small portions (nearly 5-6). Dust them with the remaining flour and set aside. (see pic. 2)
*
Now take one small dough ball and roll into a small circle/triangle/square (whatever is comfortable for you). Brush a drop of oil and fold the corners into inside. (see pic. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8)
*
Repeat the same process to all the dough balls and set aside. Now dust the rolling pin and the surface where you are making the roti and start rolling out roti’s one by one.
*
Concentrate on the edges to get even rolled and flat roti. Keep applying plain flour in between to prevent it from sticking on to roller pin. (see pic. 9)
*
Heat pan or tava and wipe it clean with kitchen towel. Place the rolled chapati/roti on it and cook for a minute until the top looks dry then turn it over and cook on the other side till small bubbles appear and chapati starts to puff.
*
Use flat ladle/kitchen towel to press roti gently while cooking the other side, to get roti’s puffed.
*
Brush the chapati/roti with oil/ghee on either side and take out on a clean kitchen towel and store in a hot casserole or serve hot with curry(s).
*
Last but not least add your ‘love’ to make the dish ‘YUMMY’.

The thing about us foodies is that we tend to not follow recipes to the T. We say we get inspired; we admit to finding a recipe intriguing and delicious, then we adapt it. Who knows, we might truly love the original version but, because this is culinary art, we feel the need to give it our own special twist. So we alter one or two of the ingredients, use a new cooking or baking method, tweak it here and there… and then we have a new masterpiece.

Rob from he Curious Blogquat let his taste buds be his guide. He was a fan of Margie Connor’s Sugar Cream Pie, an adaptation of Grandma Meek’s Pie, which included the heavy cream but not the half-and-half, but then he created his own version, what he calls a Dulce de Leche Cream Pie.

All three pies are addicting, but the last one is a bit different from the rest; why’s that? He combined three different sugars with the cream to create dulce de leche and added in some milk to give it a perfect pie texture. If you like creamy desserts, you’ll love this!

Have you ever taken a really close look at that hard-to-please food pyramid? All of a sudden, it takes on a demanding tone, then you feel guilty! That’s why I avoid looking at it; does it really expect us to eat that many servings of fruits and veggies?!

I consider myself a fairly healthy eater, but even I struggle to eat the recommended amount of produce for each day. Niki from Big City Cooking does a wonderful job of incorporating fruits and veggies into her diet, which is why I’ve asked her to be our special guest for this week’s Tips and Tricks Friday Post. Try out a few of her suggestions and you might just find yourself feeling confident the next time you take a look at the food pyramid ;).

Now, for the record, I am not a dietitian, nutritionist, health expert, or anything like that. I am simply a lover of fresh produce. I truly enjoy cooking with the freshest ingredients I can find while keeping them as flavorful as possible. Below are some of my tips and tricks of how you can incorporate more fruits and vegetables into your daily diet. My hope is that this list may give you a jumping off point to increase your usage of fruits and veggies.

1. Start at the store.

I know adding more fruits and vegetables to your diet can be intimidating but if you start small it will be less overwhelming. My first bit of advice is to start at the grocery store. It’s as simple as shopping on the out skirts of the store. What I mean by that is a typical grocery store keeps the produce, protein, grains, and dairy along the edges and the processed (convenience) foods are in the center aisles. So on your weekly shopping trips stick to the edges and make sure to pick up loads of fruits and vegetables so you are ready to get creative in your kitchen.

2. Play hide-and-seek with your fruits and veggies.

Soups are a great avenue to add more vegetables to your diet, however many are thickened with roux’s (butter and flour) or cream. Why not try experimenting with pureeing the next time you make soup. Just as in this Butternut & Apple Soup you can cook many different fruits and vegetables, such as leeks, onions, celery, apples and butternut squash, until tender and then puree with a food processor, traditional blender, or immersion blender to create a creamy soup with loads of flavor from a variety of veggies.

3. Test the waters with creative flavor combos.

I like to make sure there are at least 2 different vegetables in every meal I consume. I know this is easier said than done on those crazy week nights, but by mixing up flavor combinations you can have a flavorful, veggie packed meal on the table in under 20 minutes. The Crispy Black Bean Tacos I make are a prime example; they combine carrots and cabbage (pretty typical) with feta cheese and a cilantro lime dressing. The flavor combination is truly unique but keeps this simple meal exciting.

4. How can you spice up your lunch? Fruit of course!

Sick of a typical turkey sandwich on white bread with lettuce and tomato? Why not rev it up a bit by adding fruit. This Turkey, Brie, and Nectarine Sandwich is truly a gourmet sandwich you can make at home.

5. It’s time to ditch the old snack of chips and dip.

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I know it is so easy to reach for the prepared French onion dip and potato chips but why not munch on fruits and veggies instead? On the weekends I like to make Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Chips to leave on the counter and snack on throughout the day. This is a very simple recipe to throw together and gives such great flavor that I promise you won’t miss the junk food.

6. Opt for veggie protein sources instead of animal.

Beans may not be a true vegetable but they are still a healthy food group that many people don’t utilize enough (and they come from a plant), so I will mention them briefly. Instead of cooking with high fat beef products I look to beans for a substitute. They are high in protein which keeps you feeling full longer and are made up of complex carbohydrates so they give you lots of energy (without leading to weight gain as many people think when they hear CARBS). In the Vegetarian Chili I make there are three different types of beans, plus lots of veggies. It is so hearty that even my meat head husband loves it. Plus this freezes well so you can make a double batch and keep it on hand for when you are not in the mood to cook (yes this happens to everyone once in a while).

7. Get creative with your sides.

While I enjoy my share of steamed veggies they can get old after a while. I know side dishes maybe are an afterthought to the meal but I suggest getting creative with your sides, they can really bring the meal alive. Try mashed cauliflower, roasted brussel sprouts, broiled tomatoes or my favorite, veggie ‘fries’. I have made Mushroom and Zucchini fries and both are such a great substitute to fried potatoes.

8. Na na na na, hey-hey-hey, goodbye! Say farewell to strictly meat and potato meals.

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I try to make 1-2 meatless meals a week, gasp! I know this maybe scary to all you meat eaters but I promise vegetarian does not mean tasteless or boring. Check out this Herb Roasted Mushroom Pizza or Indian Chickpeas in a Tomato Cream Sauce. They are both impressive enough to entertain with and loaded with hearty vegetables, like mushrooms, that will satisfy anyone’s hunger.

9. Why not make a salad a meal?

By adding protein to a simple salad it can quickly become a complete meal full of vegetables. One of my favorite hearty salads is Crab stuffed mushroom & greens which not only has the lettuce but the added mushroom and red peppers. Plus the crab cake is broiled, not fried, always a plus!

10. And don’t forget breakfast!

If your morning is anything like mine you are lucky to grab a bagel (ok fine, a donut) as you run out the door, but breakfast is very much an important time to get in some fruits and veggies. During the week I like to keep grapefruit or yogurt with blueberries in the house and on the weekend what’s better than a quiche. This Spinach Quiche is a great source of iron, calcium, and protein. Plus you can mix up this recipe a million different ways. Add red peppers, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, asparagus, or olives, the possibilities are endless.

So now that you are armed with my ten tips and tricks of how to add more vegetables and fruits to your diets go forth and get cooking!

Sincerely,

Niki

Big City Cooking

After dining out with friends or family, do you ever find yourself saying something like “I could’ve made that at home” or even “I would’ve enjoyed this more if the dish was tweaked here or there.”? Sometimes staying at home and cooking with someone you love can not only be more affordable, but also more exciting than going out to eat because you get to choose what goes into making the dish special and delicious.

Rosa from Cooking with Rosie shares a recipe with us that her husband dubbed as restaurant-worthy, and we agree, but it’s even better because it’s hers. With a name like Rigatoni al Forno with Gorgonzola Sauce, a tasty pasta meal you’d probably see on a menu, it’s easy to see why this is the dish to prepare for a special dinner.

Rosa even says you can make it for unexpected guests–believe it, she prepared this in under an hour! This recipe is an original. Feeling inspired, Rosa put a few savory ingredients together and ended up with rigatoni pasta that includes bacon, bread crumbs and a gorgonzola sauce that’ll make you want to lick the plate clean!

What’s the secret ingredient in your chili? Is it chocolate, the addicting dessert that deliciously makes its way into some of our favorite savory foods? Maybe it’s the combination of beans you use… or maybe your chili is bean free! Whatever it is that makes your chili yours, we know you’ll find a special place in your heart (and belly!) for Lydia’s super scrumptious Pumpkin Chili.

During the colorless winter months, Lydia’s Pumpkin Chili will add color to your kitchen table and face; not because it’ll turn your icy cold cheeks beet red as a result of the spiciness. Her chili is packed full of veggies and all the nutrients you need to fight off whatever ails you when the weather outside is frightful. Even if the sun goes down at 4 PM in your hometown, the vivid orange of the pumpkin and bright veggies will remind you of a summer sunset. They’re the special ingredients that make this chili one that will warm you from head to toe.

So what’s all this talk of pumpkin? Lydia actually pureed the pumpkin that adds depth and heartiness to her chili. What makes this recipe even more unique is that we can be pretty flexible with the ingredient quantities. In her blog Food is for Eating, Lydia shares another version of this same chili, one that includes molasses and black beans; the results are just as delicious as the original!

This week’s Tutorial Tuesday guest is Stephanie, also known as Chef Tess Bakeresse. She’s got a batch of bear buns that are adorable and tasty; check out her in-depth tutorial. Before we begin the guest post, I want to tell you how Stephanie responded when I asked her what she wanted to share with you all this week…this is what she had to say:

I think the main thing I have to add regarding the buns is that after all these years of making bear buns, they never fail to make a few people who are normally very much “sticks in the mud” smile! That has been one of my main aims in life, making people smile. Hopefully some of your readers will find them a wonderful project and a great tradition. That is what baking has become in my home. It is a tradition started by my grandmother, carried on by my mother, and continued with my children.

These cute buns certainly brought a smile to my face when I first eyed them on her blog! Let’s just say they really are the perfect treat for kiddos and the young at heart! Let’s read her post…

My Bear Buns Are Cute. Really Cute.

I’m not obscene. This is about as close to anything off color as I will get. Blame my mom. She started this. When I was growing up, every year she would make these for Valentines day and give them away to friends and family. Only she would ask, “Do you want butter or jam on your bear buns?” I guess the apple doesn’t fall very far from the tree. Thank goodness! I wouldn’t have it any other way! I made these today to take to my kids at school and surprise them at lunch. Hopefully I won’t get sent to the Principal’s office.

Does anyone else want cute bear buns too? Start with the basic bread recipe. I happened to use the Overnight Started Bread for this one. Once the dough has gone through all the mixing and raising, and is ready to shape into loaves or rolls, get your buns together by first working out the dough.

I used half for a regular loaf of bread, and the other half for rolls. I only made six. So, with the dough, I divided it into 3 balls. 2 I divided into 3 each so I got six rolls. Does that make sense. I wasn’t very good at math.

Roll the six balls into buns and place on a stoneware pan, lightly covered with cornmeal.

The remaining ball, I divided in half. One half I used for 12 ears. Look how random this picture is of little dough blobs on my counter. Very sheik. I know.

Those 12 little blobs became bear ears. Like rabbit feet. Lucky.

The other six, became the snout. Snooty dough balls.

Then I added raisins for eyes and a nose.

I lightly mist them with water and allow them to raise. It took a little over an hour before I could really poke their eyes out…or IN… I should say.

It’s a wonder they can even see with those little raisin eyes anyway. What am I saying? I think I have been spending way too much random mommy time!

I then mist them again with a little more water.
Hose them down so they don’t misbehave. Crazy Kung Fu bears.
Sprinkle them with a little more cornmeal and some poppy seeds…

Ohhh my gosh! Sooo cute!
Cute. Cute. Cute. I admit it. I am now part of the subculture of cute stay at home mom’s who does a food blog…with cute stuff. Oh cute. If I didn’t think I would puke from my own cuteness, I’d say cute again. AArrrrgh! I’ve done it now!

How can I help it?!
Oh yeah, bake 350 degrees 30-35 minutes. When cool pose them with a fluffy white stuffed animal…like a toy panda (because that is what the cute subculture of insane mom food bloggers would do).

I think they taste cute too.

Vij of Spices N Aroma has the answer to… your craving for a new and healthy snack, your need to create an impressive but no-fuss appetizer for your dinner guests; the list goes on! You don’t have to stop at the corner mart to pick up a bag of chips on your way home tonight. Even if you’ve just heard that a few friends will be stopping by, you can still impress them with Vij’s Aubergine Fritters.

Vij says her little sister puts this quick treat together when unexpected guests drop by. Even though the fritters look like they might take an entire afternoon to prepare, especially the way Vij has elegantly plated them, you can make these in just a few minutes. You don’t even have to worry about having cheese and crackers around just in case, Vij insists that anyone can make them.

Unlike chips, you can choose what kind of oil to fry these chips in, or even how much salt and pepper are sprinkled on the chips. There is also a nice chili and garlic sauce recipe that Vij shares with us, the perfect dip for these crunchy eggplant chips!