Showing posts with label Budget Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Budget Food. Show all posts

Sunday, July 13, 2014

A Yummy Barley Recipe - #VeggieBurgers

Are you ready for another barley recipe?  Barley, as it turns out, is a wonderful grain.  I was able to create a Barley and Black Bean Burger of my own that looks like a real hamburger and tastes amazing! My inspiration comes from The Cooking Network and Pinterest!
I never even considered this additional reason as to why barley is great to cook with.  Aside from being high in protein and fiber, it is very inexpensive!  And when combined with another inexpensive food, black beans, it is a great budget meal!  I quite like veggie burgers but have come to understand that if they are purchased, many of them have additives and are full of GMO by-products, so make your own!  They look and taste so much better!  Here's what I did!

Barley and Black Bean Burgers - Yield: 4 Burgers
Black Beans take a long time to cook but are finally done here!

My Ingredients:
  • 1/2 c. dried black beans, soaked overnight, cooked in crock pot on low until soft (low - 8 hours, high- 6 hours)
  • 1/4 c. hulled barley, cooked on stove top until soft, usually about 1 hour
  • 1/2 c. chopped green pepper
  • 2 stalks celery chopped
  • 1/3 cup chopped green onions or scallions
  • 1/2 cup kale or chard chopped rough
  • Approx. 3 Tbsp. bread crumbs or crushed croutons
  • Olive oil
  • Bacon drippings or oil of choice
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1/6 tsp. Chili Powder or to taste
  • 1/4 tsp Seasoning Mix (I use Spike) or to taste
  • 1/6 tsp. Cayenne or to taste

After beans and barley are cooked and soft (make sure to salt each while cooking), process them in a blender or food processor until they are well-mixed. 

In olive oil, sautee the vegetables until tender, adding kale or chard leaves last, cooking them until wilted.  Add in the seasonings to taste.  Add this into bean and barley mixture and blend until well processed.  In addition, add approximately 2 tsp. bacon drippings (or another oil of your choice), and the bread crumbs.  The mixture should be well mixed and feel like wet clay.  Form into 4 patties and put into frying pan and brown with oil of your choice.  
Burgers browning in the pan

Once browned, finish cooking them in a preheated 350 degree oven, about 15 - 20 minutes.  Serve on buns with tomatoes, lettuce, and condiments of your choice. 
Finished Sandwich
Serve with Sauteed Swiss Chard and Bacon!

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

A Way To Get Fresh Fruits and Vegetables For Low Prices --Bountiful Baskets

 bountiful baskets food co-op

My brother and his wife, Alicia, just started participating in Bountiful Baskets.org.  It's a co-op where you sign up to volunteer and reap the rewards of a fresh fruit and vegetable delivery to a specified place in your city.  Before you read any further, it is currently only available in Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Texas, Washington, Arizona and Nevada.  But with more participation and widespread demand, I'm sure it could spread out to other states.  I haven't tried it before, but my brother says it is really good.  They deliver a very generous amount of random seasonal fruits and vegetables to you and you take what is given.  But it is really good stuff at a really great bargain.  He showed me the tomatoes and they looked delicious!  I definitely want to try this!  I'll let you know how it goes!  If you have some experience with Bountiful Baskets or food co-ops, please fill me in as well!

Update:
I went on to be a huge fan of Bountiful Baskets and for about a year and a half I faithfully went every week to pick up my basket of fruit and veggies at great prices.  I became disillusioned, however, when I saw that the amount of fruit and even the quality of the fruit sometimes wasn't as great a bargain as I thought.  I slowed up my participation and finally quit once I moved to Sandy from Provo.  I do have fond memories of this time and maybe will start up again this summer!