Dinner on the cheap

So we have no money. But being that I stock up on weird things like pasta sauces, dried herbs, frozen fish, rice, cake mixes that go on clearance for 50 cents. We may whine about not being able to go out an have someone else do the cooking for us, but the truth is, not only are we eating well, but we are eating cheap.

Having a chef for a dad and having gotten to know him and having the worlds greatest home cooker for a Nana raise me gave me a minimalist sense of putting things together. I grew a palette for food that had a taste for Flavors that excited, soothes, sent electricity down your spine or lit up your mouth with a simple medley of flavors that went well together and I also learned to create some of my own culinary pieces that border lined on religious experience.

So eve though we are broke and scraping by I keep my spice shelf stocked by trade. I know which stores to buy fish for cheap.

I go to the farmers market and load up on the fresh fruits and veggies for the week, and know I am going to spend the day cleaning, processing and readying them for the week to make dinner faster.

But its worth it to be able to feed 2 adults for about 200 dollars a month.

We don't drink, I don't buy soda, we rarely eat meat, and when we do its from the farmers market and is usually cheaper than the store.

I trade bakery products for Venison and Duck.

And we eat WELL.

Tonight for dinner we had Agave-Spicy mustard reduction covered Salmon with Panko breading.

* 4 (4 ounce) fillets salmon
* 3 tablespoons prepared Dijon-style mustard
* 1 tablespoon raw agave nectar/1 tsp honey
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1/4 cup Panko dry bread crumbs
* 1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a shallow baking pan with aluminum foil.
2. Place salmon skin-side down on foil. Spread a thin layer of agave/mustard on the top of each fillet, and season with salt and pepper. Top with bread crumbs, then drizzle with melted butter.
3. Bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until salmon flakes easily with a fork.



Chris couldn't believe it was low Glycemic index and Loved the taste. He sill gives brown rice the big thumbs down. I even added butter bacon drippings and salt.

It was TASTY. He said It was chewey and crunchy. It was NOT crunchy. I tasted it the whole time I was coking it.

He is just never going to be a fan of anything but mooshy smooshy white rice.

Up next I want to get a grip on the 5 mother saues. I did tomato. So think Holandaise is going to be next.

Happy Cooking

KJ