BrokeAss Gourmet

BrokeAss Gourmet

Creamy Lemon-Parsley Sauce over Spinach Ravioli

The versatile sauce in this dish is great on any pasta or even over grilled chicken or fish. It’s so simple and made from such common ingredients, so save it for a night when you really don’t feel like grocery shopping.

Ingredients

  • 1 16-oz. package spinach ravioli $4
  • 1 lemon, zested and juiced $0.50
  • 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped $1
  • 2 tbsp olive oil Pantry
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced Pantry
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus a little extra for garnish $3
  • 1/4 cup half-and-half $1.50
  • salt and pepper to taste Pantry

Recipe Serves 2

Directions

  1. Cook ravioli according to package directions in salted water.
  2. While ravioli cooks, heat olive oil over medium heat in a small saucepan. Add garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes or until translucent. Add parsley, half-and-half, lemon juice, Parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
  3. Once cooked, drain ravioli and arrange on a platter. Drizzle with sauce and top with lemon zest, more parsley, and Parmesan cheese.

Category: Meals

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Summer Crab Risotto

  • Prep Time 0:15
  • Cook Time 0:20
  • Estimated Cost $16.50
  • 3 Comments

Normally I’m hesitant to buy crab in cans, but for some reason, the Trader Joe’s brand is surprisingly good—and an excellent way to enjoy crab inexpensively. This brightly-flavored risotto is hearty enough to be a main course, but would also work nicely as a side dish alongside other seafood items—like grilled salmon or swordfish.

Ingredients

  • 2 cans lump crab meat, drained (ideally from Trader Joe's) $4
  • 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice $2
  • 1 cup frozen corn kernals $2
  • 3 oz. fresh goat cheese $4
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced Pantry
  • 1/2 white onion, diced $0.50
  • 2 15-oz. cans chicken or vegetable stock $1
  • 6 scallions, sliced $1
  • 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped $1
  • 1/2 cup half-and-half $1
  • salt and pepper to taste Pantry
  • 2 tbsp olive oil Pantry

Recipe Serves 3-4

Directions

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add garlic and onions and cook until translucent.
  2. Add the Arborio rice and cook, stirring constantly until lightly toasted. Slowly stir in stock little by little until fully absorbed (this will take several minutes). If needed, add a little water to create a creamy consistency.
  3. Stir in corn, crab, scallions and most of the parsley (reserve a little for garnish). Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Just before serving, stir in the half-and-half and the goat cheese.
  5. To serve, spoon into bowls and top with a little parsley.

Category: Meals

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Hipster Dogs

  • Prep Time 0:05
  • Cook Time 0:07
  • Estimated Cost $13.50
  • 3 Comments

When I think of hipsters, I think of skinny black jeans, pretentiousness, bad haircuts and sausages. Yes, sausages. Think about it—sausages are just unclassy enough to seem ironic (hipsters like doing anything ironically), yet overpriced gourmet sausages abound (hipsters also like spending money unnecessarily). Plus any hipster bar worth its salt is within walking distance of a good late-night sausage cart. And not that I’m suggesting anything, but this dish is easy enough that it could probably be thrown together fairly successfully after a night of binge-drinking PBR.

Ingredients

  • 2 gourmet sausages, any kind $4
  • 2 sprouted-grain hot dog buns $3 for 6
  • 1/4 cup shredded Muenster, jack or other semi-soft cheese $3
  • fancy mustard (I like sweet-hot) $3
  • 1/4 onion, diced $0.50
  • 1 tsp olive oil Pantry

Recipe Serves 2

Directions

  1. Split the sausages in half lengthwise. Heat the olive oil in a grill pan over high heat. Cook the sausages for 2-3 minutes on each side until plump, with grill-marks on both sides.
  2. While the sausages cook, split the buns and toast them in the toaster oven or regular oven (at about 400 degrees F). Once toasted, spread with mustard.
  3. Assemble the sausages in the hot dog buns and top with the cheese and onions. Place the assembled dogs under a broiler set to high (this can also be done in a small toaster oven) for 1-2 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Category: Meals

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Spicy Corn Chowder

  • Prep Time 0:15
  • Cook Time 0:20
  • Estimated Cost $11.00
  • 5 Comments

Humble corn chowder seems to me to be something of a long-forgotten underdog soup. This lovely rendition features the bright flavors of chili powder and fresh scallions as well as the traditional corn, potatoes and onions. I highly recommend serving it with toasted baguette slices as fresh croutons.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 white onion, diced $0.50
  • 1 medium baking potato, scrubbed and diced $0.50
  • 4 scallions, sliced $1
  • 1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels $2
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter $1 for a stick
  • 4 tbsp flour Pantry
  • 1/2 to 1 tsp chili powder $1.50 for 1 oz.
  • 1/2 tsp cumin $1.50 for 1 oz.
  • 1/2 cup half-and-half $1 for 1/2 pint
  • salt and pepper to taste Pantry
  • 1/4 cup grated jack (or pepper jack) cheese $2

Recipe Serves 2-3

Directions

  1. Melt the butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Sprinkle in the flour and whisk together until a thick paste forms. Slowly add 3 1/2 cups of water, whisking constantly until a milky broth develops. Add the onions and potatoes to the broth. Increase heat to high and cook for 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through.
  2. Add the corn and most of the scallion slices (reserve a few pinches for garnish). Stir in the half-and-half and more water if necessary to bring the soup to a creamy, chowder-like consistency. Add chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Adjust seasonings as necessary. Stir in cheese until melted and fully incorporated.
  3. To serve, ladle into bowls and garnish with scallions and croutons if desired.

Category: Meals

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Salmon with Lemon-Dill Sauce

  • Prep Time 0:05
  • Cook Time 0:25
  • Estimated Cost $14.00
  • 4 Comments

This simple, refreshing preparation of salmon is good any time of year and can be paired with nearly any side dish. It is so good, in fact, that it prompted my friend James to declare that it will “tingle your taste buds like nothing else.”

Ingredients

  • 2 4-6 oz. salmon fillets $10
  • 1/4 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt $1.50
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise Pantry
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced Pantry
  • 2 lemons--1 zested and juiced, 1 sliced $1
  • 2 tsp fresh or dried dill $1.50 for 1 oz
  • salt and pepper to taste Pantry

Recipe Serves 2

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Whisk together sour cream, mayonnaise, garlic, lemon juice and zest, dill, salt and pepper. Set aside.
  3. Arrange salmon fillets in a baking pan. Cover well with lemon-dill sauce. Top each piece of salmon with a few lemon slices. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until salmon is cooked to desired done-ness.

Category: Meals

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