Mid-Week Check In

School was called off for Wednesday due to the threat of severe weather. I was able to work Monday & Tuesday and will also work Thursday & Friday. 
Dinner on Tuesday was homemade veggie burgers using this recipe.  I served them with diced onions, red peppers & tomatoes, corn, beets, and steamed broccoli. 

I found some marked down pork sausage at Food City this week for $1.10. 

Found some ground chuck marked down to $2.40. It was in the shape of four patties, but I crumbled them up and made some cheesy hamburger potatoes using this recipe. 

I found this package of bananas marked down to $1.01.

We had banana pancakes on the menu after that and I made extras for breakfasts this week. 

Found these apples marked at 3 for $1.00, so I picked up nine. 

Found these delicious heirloom oranges for $2.99 and there were nine in the package, so about 35¢ each.  

Bailey & I went shopping over the weekend at Forever 21 where they had 65% off their clearance section and found her this dress for under $3.00. 

And finally, here is a photo of our camellia bush. The winter was very mild here, so it is already loaded with blooms. 

I wanted to congratulate Carol over at CT on a Budget for buying a house this week. She has accomplished so many things over the years and her detailed blog posts about how she saves money and meets her goals is an inspiration to many people. I wish her many happy years in her new home. 
I hope you all are having a great week!
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~

Meatless Meals Series ~ Chef AJ's Red Lentil Chili

Image Credit

Dinner tonight was Chef AJ's Red Lentil Chili over baked Yukon Gold Potatoes. 

Chef AJ is one of my favorite plant based chefs and this recipe is definitely a keeper.

You can see her make this recipe on her You Tube Channel:

Chef AJ's Red Lentil Chili

Here is the recipe, my changes are in red.

Chef AJ's Red Lentil Chili

Makes 14 cups

Ingredients:

1 pound of red lentils (I used green since that is what I had on hand)
7 cups of water
2 (14.5 ounce) cans of salt-free tomatoes, fire roasted preferred
1 (6 ounce) can of salt-free tomato paste
10 ounces of chopped onion (approximately one large)
One pound of red bell pepper, (approximately 2 large) VERY finely chopped
3 ounces of dates (approximately 12 Deglet Noor) (I had/used 5 dates)
8 cloves of garlic, finely minced
4 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar (omitted since I was out)
1.5 Tablespoons Parsley Flakes (omitted)
1.5 Tablespoons Oregano
1.5 Tablespoons Salt-free Chili Powder
2 teaspoons SMOKED paprika
1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder (or more to taste) (omitted)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or more to taste) (omitted)

Directions:

Blend the dates, tomatoes, red bell peppers and garlic in a blender and blend until smooth.
(I didn't blend anything, I just put them all in the pressure cooker as is)
Place all remaining ingredients in an electric pressure cooker and cook on high for 10 minutes.
Alternatively, place all ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.

Meatless Meals Series ~ Veggie Burgers

Last year I made the decision, for mostly health reasons, to begin to eat a mostly plant based diet. During the school year this spring it was hard to stay on track with that decision, but I am back on track now that school is out for the summer. 

During the Great Depression many families only had meat if they hunted for it or caught them with simple box traps. Otherwise they simply did without. Only since WWII have people started thinking they needed meat with every meal. 

With the price of meat nowadays though, it can be hard for some families to afford meat at every meal. I know in my own home meat is not served as often as it was the past.  

I've been experimenting with a new vegetable burger recipe this month that was shared on the Whole Foods website. 

Here is recipe with some tweaks made by me: 

Veggie  Burgers

Ingredients:

1/4 cup carrot, shredded
1/4 cup onion, diced
1/4 cup red bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup cooked sweet potato
1 cup black beans, drained
1/4 cup tomato, chopped
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Directions:

Water sauté the first four ingredients for 5 minutes and then combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine. 

 The first time I made these the recipe said it makes four burgers, which was too big for my taste. So, the next time I made them I used a 1/4 cup measuring spoon to make uniform patties. 

With this smaller patty, I was able to make 11 patties out of the recipe. 

I then placed the patties on a parchment lined baking sheet and baked at 400 degrees for a total of 45 minutes, flipping half way through the cooking time. 

These are good right out of the oven and even cold from the refrigerator. You can eat them with or without buns. 

They freeze well and are definitely cheaper than buying store bought veggie burgers. 

You could even experiment and add or omit any ingredients. I think black olives would make a great addition to this recipe. 

Have you made your own veggie burgers? I would love to hear about your experiments in the comment section. 

Belinda