Dollar General Haul

 It;s getting tougher and tougher to food shop on  a budget. Thankfully there are stores like Dollar Genral and Dollat Tree to help out with feeding the family.These stores actually have pretty good choices and at a good price too,

I had my Dollar General haul today.. Tehy;re a bit more expensive than Dollar Tree but they have really good choices and fun ones at that. Dinner was Lily's Toaster Grill,s I bought them in plain and garlic flavored.Theyr'e from Lily.

Pop them in the microwave for three minutes and they;re just as good as homemade. I really liked these and they;re perfect with a couple  of pickle slices or cherry tomatoes.

Another Dollar General  must have is their mac an d cheese bowls. These are from in house brands Clover Valley (which also makes excellent croutons and salad dressing) It;a a cheap dinner at $2.95 as opposed to grocery store brands that can cost as high as eight dollars.!

The store also has fresh veggies, fruits and baked goods. Their French rolls, croissant like rolls filled with chocolate or vanilla buttercream are the perfect dessert. It;s like someone stuffed a cupcake inside a croissant.

These make for yummy desserts and are perfect chilled.

Times are tough. Shop at your local DOllar General to combat the rising high prices. There;s' some good food choices out there that can stretch your dollars.

A Salad For Everyone

 Creating a salad from a crown can be a challenging feat.There is always someone who doesn't;t like tomatoes or wants  extra croutons.However there is a way to please everyone  - a salad tray. This is an easy and pretty tray to make and assemble. It;s also a crowd pleaser,

I found this recipe in the Stop & Shop Weekly food magazine. It really stood out to me because I had my barbecue the next day. Theirs was a Cobb salad tray with the fixings for a Cobb salad. I decided to add my own spin

There are avocados , sliced hard boiled eggs. Morningstar Farms plant based bacon and two kinds of tomatoes - The walnut sized Camaprai and the smaller cherry tomatoes. This proved to be a crowd please for everyone,

These are the croutons I used ,from Dollar General This si Clover valley and they gave the perfect crunch. keep in mind you can sub in almonds ,  or even rice crackers for crunch, Crumbled tacos can work too.

I also microwaved a whole pack of the bacon. This resulted in three platters of it and then they were crumbled.

I also used three sliced avocados (also from Dollar General)  ut if your crowd lives them then I'd recommend add two or three more.

These are the dressings I used but you can add whatever your guests like. I would suggest having two or three  instead of four or five. It can get messy with everyone pouring dressing all over the place. Also try different veggie variations, Cut up bell peppers and onions  for a different and zingier flavor. Jalapenos can be added . As for proteins,try any flavor cheese cubes or strips along with chicken, ham or turkey cubes. What about the salad? I like a good butter lettuce.It's mild yet tasty and the perfect foil for all these add ins.

A salad tray is the way to go for being a barbecue crowd pleaser .Use these add INS or be creative and try some of your favorites. The end result is a tasty salad everyone will love.

A Cool Hot Salad

 A hot salad might seem ridiculous on a sweltering summer day yet it's actually a good idea. Air fried leaves are not only sweeter and tastier  but add texture to a normally boring salad. Any type of  can be used to create a unique blend of veggies and dressing.

I used Romaine lettuce.It does have the best flavor when air fried and served as a nice base for Roma tomatoes.

These were bought from my local Farmer;s Market and were just washed before air frying.

I then brushed Lidl's olive oil on both sides

If you just had the leaves, you could add salt pepper, and a mix of herbs for more flavor. 

My air fryer basket is round so the leaves had to be curved to fit in,. You really should lay them out straight if your air fryer basket has the room. IF not try to fit them in the basket. It's them airfrying them for about four minutes at 380 degrees Farenheit. This ensures that the leaves are not only crisped but also cooked.

As far  as other veggies , just keep it simple. I added sliced Roma tomatoes which give a lovely juiciness to the salad and to the dressing. The dressing was Follow Your  Heart Vegan dressing in ranch which worked very well with both the Romaine and the tomatoes.

Air fried Romaine really is a delicious addition. The next time I will probably add croutons for some crunch and more flavor. You can add them or even the Parmesan cheese rounds groceries shells. A handful of sunflower seeds would also be a nice addition as well.

A hot salad on a hot day ?It's actually a perfect summer meal. Try air fryer salad for a cool take on a warm weather classic.

Just Salad It

Most of the Northern Hemisphere is roasting right now. Theres no way anyone wants to cook let alone sraind in front of a hot grill flipping burgers. What to  do? Turn all those ingredients into a salad.

A salad can be just as simple or as compl.ex as you want it cna be. It can have lettuce or not. if you want a hearty one though, then add some protein to it. You can easily buy any kind of cold cut and julieene it into thin strips and pieces. Think Italian cold cuts like salame and capacola cut thin and mixed with a crisp lettuce like Batavia or French crisp. Add some sliced tomatoes or whole grape ones and chunks of mozzarella .Add a zingy Italain dressing, redolent with oregano and garlic. A nice side is sliced Italian bread drizzled with olive oil. This makes for a satisfying and tasty lunch or supper. A shredded rotisserie chicken also makes a great base for a salad. Save the legs and wings for munching on later. Shred the body and skin and add to a bowl of cold , crisp Romaine lettuce. Croutons would work here along with sliced almonds. You could turn it into a chicken Caesar with dressing or go for something lught like a lemon  or lime juice vinaigrette.Even fried chicken can be cut up and added to a salad. Add some cherry tomatoes and a honey mustard dressing for a quick and flavorful dinner.

Can you sub in another ingredient for the lettuce? Yes Cole slaw works well with any other ingredient . Think an Asian cabbage  one with fried tofu squares and a ginger dressing. You dont have to fry tor bake the tofu. That'll creare too much work and generate too much heat. Cube it first . Coat in cornstarch and then air fry it for five minutes, the toss and then air fry for an extra five more minutes. Add  some sliced carrots and water chestnuts for more Asian flavor. Serv with a soy sauce  based dressing. Rice is an excellent sub in for lettuce. A tasty rice salad can include tomaotes, broocoli and a hard cheese line Parmiginao or Gran Padano. If you want mor eflavor think about adding a few artichoke hearts. You coukld make the fun cowboy rice salad which is combining the grain with black beans.it has the usual salad extras like tomatoes,peppers and onions but corn kernals are also adde dalong with the beans. The dressing is a tangy lime dressing. If you want to make it heartier, sub in chopped steak for the beans. Macaroni also makes for a good salad base.  Put in some summer sausage along with mozarella , tomaotes and broccoli. Again an Italian dressing works here.

It's summer.It's hot.It's not the time to cook. Make a cool salad for easy eating during these  sweltering days.

The Times Two Tomato Salad

 It's summer and that means a good pasta salad. One that's interesting and a different spin on the classic recipe is Ali Slagle's two tomato salad published Wednesday in the New York Times Food section.it's combining pasta and the fruit of the season into something new.

The recipe intrigued me so i wanted to give ti a try. I added my own spin. Ms. Slagle suggests a "long" pasta like linguine or fusilli. I like a short ,nubby pasta for my salad. I chose

These cooked up nicely and when cooked provided a tasty little bite.

The next step is combining coarsely chopped  vine ripened tomatoes (I used five )

.These are mixed with cut sun dried tomatoes. Ms. Slagle uses the kind packed in oil.I added my own oil as the cut sun dried tomatoes had to be cooked.

This should be sauteed in oil and garlic however I had no desire of more cooking in a hot kitchen. I went the microwave way. The tomatoes was liberally doused with oil and garlic powder before they were cooked.

The tomatoes were  microwaved for three minutes and then mixed with the other tomatoes and pasta.

I made this in the early afternoon. Right before serving I added a cup of shredded basil as required. However the recipe also called for adding nuts like almonds or pine nuts. I thought it should have a Neopolitan bread salad vibe so I added crunchy croutons.

They're just as crunchy as nuts and give the entire salad a fun texture. These are added individually.

The basil also adds to it,These are the leaves I just picked from my garden and they cut the acidity with their fresh greenness.

My version was a pretty good  take. I liked the amalgam of textures along with the married flavor of the two tomatoes. The croutons gave it crunch but also the taste of the bread salad. You could add some vinegar but there's really no need.It was just perfect as is.

This is the perfect salad for the holiday and the rest of the summer. It's a nice change up from the usual pasta based ones. It's cool, tasty and easy to make - perfect for a hot sweltery day.

Know Your Lettuce

This is the time of year for salads.Unlike other summer dishes, these can be varied thanks to the mammy kids of greens to start off with as a base. Home chefs just think there is only romaine and iceberg.They're sort of right, however there are so many different types that you can make an entirely different salad almost every night of the week. Yes, most Americans do buy more iceberg and Romaine than any other kind.Both have their merits.Sadly iceberg has the least nutrition and the least flavor but it is the best base for tossing a salad with strong flavors.A popular summer one is a wedge of iceberg drenched in bleu cheese.You could also add tomatoes and crumbled bacon too.Iceberg also is good for chef salads too, because of the variety of strong flavored meats and cheese.Romaine is another well loved type.It's the base of Caesar salads but can be used as a base for others as well.You can add sliced avocado slices along with tomatoes for a nice vegan side or main meal.Romaine is good too with turkey ,chicken and most seafood.For a more elegant bowl, think aboutbadding crab and lobster morsels with a simple oil and lemon vinaigrette.Try to eat Romaine at least twice a week.It is high in Vitamin C as well as in phosphates and folates. Bibb and butter lettuce are excellent selections.They are top of the line because of their rich buttery flavor.Their leaves form perfect C's and they are the best choice for holding chicken, tuna, crab and turkey salads.It is also good with a simple vinaigrette to emphasize its amazing flavor. Mention escarole and most home chefs will say it's a soup ingredient.However this Vitamin C rich green is actually a great base for salads.The trick is to buy it or if you're growing it in your garden, to pick the Leaves early on.They will be very sweet,only acquiring the bitter aftertaste later on.Escarole leaves are a wonderful base for Mediterrenean salads with strong flavored ingredients.Think an escarole salad with salame, or prosciutto, Provolone or feta cheese and any kind of olive from black to kalamata.Mesclun is another choice.This is actually a mix of different lettuces that have been seeded and grown together.Mix them with the feathery frisee or the peppery chicory.Again these are rich in vitamins and nutrients and a nice spin to a salad.Since these are strong flavored greens ,think delicate add ins such as plain croutons, grape tomatoes and possibly snap beans.Stick with a very light dressing possibly with a citrus base. Vary your salads this summer.Get out of theviceberg and Romaine comfort zone and try the other greens. have fun discovering other types of lettuce and creating new and exciting salads.

From Hot To Cold

A favorite dish is a favorite dish no matter what the season. Yet what happens when those tummy warming meals are to be craved during these hot days? Adapt them to summer cooking. You can still have your delicious favorites yet prepare them in easy hot weather friendly ways. You not only enjoy them but also cook them in a way that’s comfortable during these sweltering times.

The microwave is the best way to make any quick version of a meal. You can still have a warm dinner but in half the time. A fun dish that can be adapted to the summer is baked mac and cheese. You can mix Velveeta along with already boiled macaroni and some milk. Add a quarter cup of flour for shortening and it’s an easy to do fave. If you want crunch, add some bacon croutons or a layer of bread crumbs on top for layering. Spaghetti is easy to. You can easily boil up some and for a fresh sauce just saute some basil garlic and sliced fresh tomatoes. It’s a different spin on a sauce, yet it still tastes the same but with a garden fresh tang.

You can even make a hot lunch during these sweltering days. A hot sandwich is a nice break from cold ones and wraps. You can buy already sliced cold cuts form your local deli or supermarket Put on sliced bread or roll and add some already made hot gravy. It’s not cooking but with a lot of flavor. Homemade soup is another noon favorite . You can make any stock on a stovetop. Then add whatever you want . if not just buy the already made ones. Then add fresh veggies for a nice garden vegetable or try making bisques using fresh seafood and meats.

Just because it’s summer it doesn’t mean you have to give up your winter favorites. Adopt recipes to fit these hot steamy days. It's surprisingly simple.