inexpensive – Page 5 – Simply Delicious: The Cookbook Project

9-13: Hungarian Frittata

Adam Martin Group 09: Ground Meat & Sausage, Section 2: Main Courses January 30, 2018October 18, 2020breakfast, chopped, dairy-free, diced, dinner, dried spices, Eastern European, easy, eggs, franks, frittata, green bell peppers, herbs and spices, hot dogs, Hungarian, inexpensive, lunch, paprika, red bell peppers, salami, sausage, sautéed, sliced, tomatoes, untested, vegetables, wieners, yellow onions

Frittata is one of my favorite dishes. I could eat eggs all day: morning, noon, and night. I am so happy that the meme of Put an Egg On It has come into existence. A warm egg yolk on top of well done corned beef hash is my favorite application of Put an Egg On It. Sausages and salami inside a bed of scrambled eggs could be a close second for best application of eggs in a dish.

A frittata sounds a lot like an omelette: Eggs, veggies, and meat combined together. The difference is in how the ingredients are combined.

17-10: Poppy Seed Bread

Jamie Martin Group 17: Baked Goods, Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods January 23, 2018August 31, 2020all-purpose flour, anise, baked goods, breads, buns, butter, cheese, cumin, dough, egg wash, eggs, fairly hard, granulated sugar, grated, inexpensive, kneaded, milk, parchment paper, poppy seeds, proofed, rolls, salt, sesame seeds, side dish, Silpat, untested, vegetarian, white bread, yeast

One of the last entries from the Baked Goods chapter, 17-10: Poppy Seed Bread is essentially white bread with a sprinkling of poppy seeds on top. Simply Delicious shows it as a loaf, but I chose to make it into rolls/buns–since you’re already topping the bread with seeds, it makes it very reminiscent of sesame seed hamburger buns. 🍔

Even 20+ years later, most mentions of poppy seeds inevitably end up referencing this Seinfeld gag, where Elaine’s love for poppy seed muffins keep causing her to test positive for opium on a work-administered drug test.

This often leads to the question: Can poppy seeds really affect a drug test? And the answer, according to the New York Times, is actually “Yes!” 🤔 You’d have to eat a LOT of them (much more than what the recipe for this bread contains) to have it show up at levels that would cause alarm–but the claim does actually have merit.

1-6: Surprise Sandwich Loaf

Jamie Martin Group 01: Hot & Cold Appetizers, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters January 15, 2018October 14, 2020appetizers, basil, black pepper, bread series, breads, butter, Cheddar, cheese, chives, Colby Jack, Dijon mustard, dinner, easy, egg-free, grated, ham, heirloom tomatoes, inexpensive, Italian, Jarlsberg, loaf pan, lunch, meal prep, melted, Monterey Jack, Mozzarella, Parmesan, parsley, party food, Pepper Jack, pepperoni, picnic, Provolone, salami, salt, sandwiches, sliced, smoked ham, snacks, Swiss, toasted, tomatoes, untested, vegetables, vegetarian, white bread, whole wheat bread, yellow mustard

Trying to put some new posts out there for you–here’s 1-6: Surprise Sandwich Loaf, which was made with a loaf baked from the dough I used for 20-12: Basic Rolls. I made this to break up into portions and take to work with me for lunch one week. It was delicious when first made, but with most things lost its appeal as the week went on.

I love toasted sandwiches. One of my high school jobs was at a Quizno’s, at which I came up with personal sandwich masterpieces which would be impossible to recreate had I been nothing but a customer. However, while I appreciate the efficiency of an entire toasted sandwich loaf, this particular execution leaves something to be desired.

4-20: Oven-Baked Tomatoes

Adam Martin Group 04: Potatoes & Vegetables, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters January 2, 2018October 13, 2020all-purpose flour, appetizers, black pepper, bread crumbs, broccoli, butter, Cheddar, cheese, chopped, crispy, dinner, dried herbs, easy, egg-free, filling, half-and-half, heirloom tomatoes, herbs and spices, hors d'oeuvres, Hutton house, inexpensive, Jarlsberg, lunch, mushrooms, parsley, party food, revisited, roux, salt, sautéed, side dish, sliced, sour cream, stuffed, Swiss, tomatoes, vegetables, vegetarian

I love the appetizer-style dishes featured in Simply Delicious. They are complicated because of making individual portions, but you can prepare them ahead of time to heat and serve when ready. When I make a batch of an appetizer like 4-20: Oven Baked Tomatoes, I like to eat a few right away and then stash the rest in the refrigerator to eat later as a healthy snack.

My family did not grow up eating baked, hollowed-out, stuffed tomatoes, however, that didn’t stop me from thoroughly enjoying this dish.

Editor’s note: Looks like my mom made this one before, and substituted broccoli for mushrooms–that makes sense, she hates mushrooms. She also dislikes tomatoes, so I have no idea why she was making this in the first place.

7-29: Polynesian Spareribs

Adam Martin Group 07: Pork, Section 2: Main Courses December 20, 2017October 15, 2020apple cider vinegar, Asian, black pepper, broiled, brushed, canola oil, chilled, citrus, crushed, dairy-free, dinner, easy, egg-free, fruit, glazed, grilled, inexpensive, lunch, marinated, orange juice, oranges, party food, pineapple, Polynesian, pork, ribs, sliced, soy sauce, spareribs, untested, vinegar

Polynesian-style spareribs are my second or third favorite preparation of spareribs. As I described when I wrote 7-16: Orange-Glazed Spareribs, my grandmother’s recipe for Barbecue Spareribs still can’t be beat. However, these ginger and pineapple glazed ribs are more than acceptable. My dish came out of the oven tender and delicious, and maybe a little burnt from cooking too close to the broiler.

This meal is indeed, delectable, as described by the editors of Simply Delicious. I served this dish at a time of the year when corn-on-the-cob was not in season so my final plate looks a little different. The bright yellow corn would provide a nice contrast to the dark ribs on the plate.

5-16: Richmond Omelette

Jamie Martin Group 05: Eggs & Cheese, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters October 30, 2017January 26, 2021all-purpose flour, Béchamel sauce, black pepper, breakfast, broccoli, broiled, butter, casserole, Cheddar, cheese, cheese sauce, creamy, easy, eggs, Emmental, filling, French, garnish, grated, Gruyère, inexpensive, lunch, melted, milk, Mornay sauce, mushrooms, omelette, Parmesan, port wine, roux, salt, sliced, sour cream, tomatoes, untested, vegetables, vegetarian, whipping cream, white Cheddar

A lot of Simply Delicious‘ recipes are takes on already-established dishes, like 9-4: Swedish Meatballs, 2-13: Waldorf Salad or 3-2: New England Clam Chowder. I did a fair amount of searching for anything that resembled 5-16: Richmond Omelette, but besides some rankings of places to get a good omelette in Richmond, VA, there’s not much out there for that particular dish with that name.

I’ve put this one off for a while due to not having port wine on hand. After a trip to the store and a rather haughty store clerk who carded me for it despite the clearly visible gray streaks in my hair, I have the wine–let’s make a weird mushroom omelette-casserole with cheese sauce.

9-3: Herb Garden Meat Patties

Adam Martin Group 09: Ground Meat & Sausage, Section 2: Main Courses October 1, 2017October 19, 2020black pepper, burgers, butter, chopped, cilantro, cream sauce, creamy, diced, dinner, dried herbs, dried spices, easy, egg-free, garnish, gluten-free, ground meat, ground pork, herbs and spices, inexpensive, lunch, melted, milk, pan-fried, paprika, party food, peeled, pork, salt, sliders, sour cream, thyme, untested, whipping cream, yellow onions

Finally, an interesting take on the ground meat patty. Let’s spice things up by adding fresh garden herbs with 9-3: Herb Garden Meat Patties! 🌿

I’ve tried burgers with added spices before. Here’s yet another Simply Delicious suggestion for preparing flavorful meat patties.

9-39: Zesty Meat Casserole

Adam Martin Group 09: Ground Meat & Sausage, Section 2: Main Courses June 13, 2017October 19, 2020baking pan, butter, carrots, casserole, celery, celery root, cheese, chopped, creamy, dinner, easy, egg-free, gluten-free, grated, ground meat, half-and-half, inexpensive, julienned, milk, Parmesan, parsnips, peeled, piquant, potatoes, salt, sautéed, sweated, Tabasco sauce, untested, vegetable bouillon, vegetable broth, vegetables, yellow onions

Not every Simply Delicious recipe is a home run. With 9-39: Zesty Meat Casserole, perhaps unsuccessfully, tries to break the mold. By not forming the beef into a patty, meatball, or kebab, this casserole tries to do something different. To cook this recipe, I had to prepare a parsnip, something I’m not accustomed to. I made this dish before a trip out of town and brought it with me to have something homemade to eat.

I cut my vegetables in a manner similar to the photograph, but my substitution of milk for half-and-half made the sauce come out runny.

9-29: Ground Meat Kebabs

Adam Martin Group 09: Ground Meat & Sausage, Section 2: Main Courses June 11, 2017October 19, 2020beef, broiled, cornstarch, dairy-free, Eastern European, easy, egg whites, eggs, garlic, gluten-free, grill pan, grilled, ground beef, ground lamb, inexpensive, kebabs, lamb, lunch, meatballs, minced, olive oil, pan-fried, paprika, party food, salt, sautéed, skewered, sweated, tzatziki sauce, untested, yellow onions, yogurt

The Ground Meat and Sausage category is mainly 2 types of dishes: ground meat patties and ground meat kebabs. 9-29: Ground Meat Kebabs is one of the kebab variety. I made this recipe at the same time as 9-19: Meatballs on Skewers because they called for almost identical ingredients.

Grilling outside is much more satisfying than using a grill pan in my apartment, but I currently don’t have a lot of space for grilling.

Editor’s note: Putting on my ex-history teacher hat for a second–note that Simply Delicious claims this dish is from the vineyards of Yugoslavia, which hasn’t been a country since the late 80s/early 90s, around the time the Soviet Union collapsed. These remind me a lot of lule kabobs, which were one of my favorites when we lived in a heavily-Armenian area in Los Angeles (the apartment with the blue tiles and yellow walls from the beginning of this project). These are NOWHERE near as good as those ones, but I suppose they could pass in a pinch.

9-19: Meatballs on Skewers

Adam Martin Group 09: Ground Meat & Sausage, Section 2: Main Courses June 7, 2017October 19, 2020allspice, almonds, appetizers, beef, broiled, chilled, chopped, cinnamon, cornstarch, dinner, dried herbs, eggs, fairly easy, gluten-free, grated, Greek, grill pan, grilled, ground beef, ground lamb, ground meat, ground veal, herbs and spices, inexpensive, kebabs, lamb, lemons, lunch, meatballs, Middle Eastern, mint, nuts, olive oil, pan-fried, party food, peeled, salt, sautéed, skewered, tzatziki sauce, untested, veal, yellow onions, yogurt, zested

Gyro is probably my favorite preparation method of ground meat, so when I saw this recipe, I got very excited. This recipe, 9-19: Meatballs on Skewers is basically the same recipe as gyro, just served differently. However, I wish I had just bought a container of tzatziki at the store instead of making the yogurt sauce.

The rabbit handle piece on the end of the skewer in the example photo is simply incredible. I’ve never seen a set of skewers quite like that. It looks like the other skewers have other animal handles, I think I see a cat and a chicken on the other skewers that are slightly obscured by the meatballs. The serving dish is very neat, I’d like to add one to my collection.