It's cold outside, I don't want to do groceries, so as we all do, I went to the cupboard to see what I had. I'm not one to enjoy soup by itself, I seldomly buy soup to just have a bowl, so I was unimpressed to see that I had 3 kinds of soup, all in cans; cream of mushroom, vegetable and onion.
This is where I like to get creative. I went to the freezer, and of course, living in a fraternity house, half my food is gone. All I have left -> 2 chicken breasts and a massive frozen log of pork tenderloin. Great. I'm hungry, and i'm hungry now.
Here's what I came up with. I also found cheap $0.99 fussili noodles, the small noodle with the tight spiral.
I took the vegetable soup, put it in a pot, and added twice the amount of water that the condensed soup required to be reconstituted. This will now essentially be my potching liquid for the chicken, however, if you've ever had chicken cooked in liquid, you'll realize it's not the best texture. Solution: do a quick defrost on the outside of the chicken and then brown the outside using oil in a frying pan.
I then put the chicken in the vegetable soup and put water on to boil for the pasta. Instantly, cheap and easy chicken "cacciatore" a la student.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Valentines Day is around the corner....
So look out gentlemen of the world, the dreaded "holiday" fabricated by the greeting card industry is almost here. Don't worry though, in the coming weeks UWO Eats will help you wow your date (maybe get you a second date) on a budget.
If your plan is to go out on the town, look for a restaurant with a set Valentines Menu in advance. This will help you budget, as your date won't be able to order that $50 porterhouse steak (but if she orders that big a steak, should you be dating her?). Places like The Tasting Room (if they're reopened by then) offer outstanding appetizers that can be shared and paired with a wine flight each for under $60-$80 dollars depending on taste preference. Aroma on Richmond has in years past done a Prix-Fixe Valentines menu, a set selection of Chef's choice dishes that offer you a starter (usually a salad) a main and a, more than likely, chocolaty dessert.
If the plan is to stay in, I have the best recipe that will assure you look like a master Chef and won't hurt your wallet.
Chicken Marsala
What you'll need for a dinner for 2:
2-4 chicken breasts, depending on your and her appetite - $5-10
1/4 cup of flour - steal this from that friend who likes to bake those awesome cupcakes
1 lemon or 2 tablespoons lemon juice - if you have a tea drinking friend who claims they're British, they have lemon juice
1 chicken bouillon cube - $0.50-1.00 in a pack of 4-12. Bouillon is dehydrated chicken broth.
Salt and pepper - go to Saugeen caf and steal 2 shakers if you don't have them already
1 -1 1/2 cup Marsala wine - $12 at the LCBO for the bottle, don't drink it, but you'll want to make this again I promise.
Olive oil
1 large portabella mushroom - $0.50 - cleaned and diced
5 medium field mushrooms - $0.50-1.00 - cleaned and diced
How to make:
Boil water to directions on the Chicken Bouillon cube and add cube, stirring until all is dissolved. Set aside.
Mix the flour with 1 tablespoon each of salt and pepper.
Heat a pan to medium high heat and then add olive oil. (You should always preheat the pan before adding the oil - remember that one)
Pat dry the chicken with a paper towel and coat with the flour mixture.
Add the coated chicken to the pan, brown each side of the breasts to golden brown, and remove, placing on paper towel to absorb excess oil.
In the same pan, using the same oil (don't worry about clumps of flour) begin to cook the mushrooms over medium heat.
Once the mushrooms have began to soften, re-add the chicken to the pan and add the Marsala wine 1 cup for 2 breasts 1 1/2 for 4. Add the juice of one lemon and the chicken broth to cover.
Let simmer over medium to medium high heat until the liquid reduces by half to 2/3 or until chicken is white throughout.
Remove chicken and reduce remaining liquid to a thickened sauce, approximately 5-8 minutes over medium heat.
Serve this with roasted potatoes, recipe to follow or risotto for those who don't mind being more adventurous in the kitchen.
All this meal for <$30 for 2.
Enjoy
If your plan is to go out on the town, look for a restaurant with a set Valentines Menu in advance. This will help you budget, as your date won't be able to order that $50 porterhouse steak (but if she orders that big a steak, should you be dating her?). Places like The Tasting Room (if they're reopened by then) offer outstanding appetizers that can be shared and paired with a wine flight each for under $60-$80 dollars depending on taste preference. Aroma on Richmond has in years past done a Prix-Fixe Valentines menu, a set selection of Chef's choice dishes that offer you a starter (usually a salad) a main and a, more than likely, chocolaty dessert.
If the plan is to stay in, I have the best recipe that will assure you look like a master Chef and won't hurt your wallet.
Chicken Marsala
What you'll need for a dinner for 2:
2-4 chicken breasts, depending on your and her appetite - $5-10
1/4 cup of flour - steal this from that friend who likes to bake those awesome cupcakes
1 lemon or 2 tablespoons lemon juice - if you have a tea drinking friend who claims they're British, they have lemon juice
1 chicken bouillon cube - $0.50-1.00 in a pack of 4-12. Bouillon is dehydrated chicken broth.
Salt and pepper - go to Saugeen caf and steal 2 shakers if you don't have them already
1 -1 1/2 cup Marsala wine - $12 at the LCBO for the bottle, don't drink it, but you'll want to make this again I promise.
Olive oil
1 large portabella mushroom - $0.50 - cleaned and diced
5 medium field mushrooms - $0.50-1.00 - cleaned and diced
How to make:
Boil water to directions on the Chicken Bouillon cube and add cube, stirring until all is dissolved. Set aside.
Mix the flour with 1 tablespoon each of salt and pepper.
Heat a pan to medium high heat and then add olive oil. (You should always preheat the pan before adding the oil - remember that one)
Pat dry the chicken with a paper towel and coat with the flour mixture.
Add the coated chicken to the pan, brown each side of the breasts to golden brown, and remove, placing on paper towel to absorb excess oil.
In the same pan, using the same oil (don't worry about clumps of flour) begin to cook the mushrooms over medium heat.
Once the mushrooms have began to soften, re-add the chicken to the pan and add the Marsala wine 1 cup for 2 breasts 1 1/2 for 4. Add the juice of one lemon and the chicken broth to cover.
Let simmer over medium to medium high heat until the liquid reduces by half to 2/3 or until chicken is white throughout.
Remove chicken and reduce remaining liquid to a thickened sauce, approximately 5-8 minutes over medium heat.
Serve this with roasted potatoes, recipe to follow or risotto for those who don't mind being more adventurous in the kitchen.
All this meal for <$30 for 2.
Enjoy
A nice PHO on a cold winter day
Another killer deal, a change from the usual fast food we students eat, is PHO.
Phở ( in Vietnamese; in English, written pho and typically ) is a Vietnamese thinly sliced meat and noodle soup dish.
This dish combines aromatic broth with many different spices with vermicelli rice noodles and thinly sliced meat, whether that is beef or chicken with your preferred level of hot sauce to warm you up on a cold winter day.
I enjoy Pho when I'm sick, as it has a great punch to combat congestion and the like. I've recently been ordering though GrubCanada.com from Vietnam Taste which is located at 660 Wonderland Road. For $7.99 you can have a meal that, even for large appetites is far too much for one sitting. I'm a 200+ pound male, and I split this mean into two BEFORE putting the broth, noodles and meat together. This way, the noodles keep from going soggy in the refrigerator or the microwave the next day for lunch.
$7.99 for two meals is roughly $4 a meal, dirt cheap and very satisfying. Order with a friend and split the $4 delivery charge and save yourself not only time from studying to cook, but also from having to brave the winter air. A tip for most Western taste buds, order the medium rare or medium well Beef, stay clear of anything with "Beef Balls" or anything that doesn't sound tasty.
For the adventurous, there are other reasonably priced appetizers on the menu that can tantalize your taste buds.
Phở ( in Vietnamese; in English, written pho and typically ) is a Vietnamese thinly sliced meat and noodle soup dish.
This dish combines aromatic broth with many different spices with vermicelli rice noodles and thinly sliced meat, whether that is beef or chicken with your preferred level of hot sauce to warm you up on a cold winter day.
I enjoy Pho when I'm sick, as it has a great punch to combat congestion and the like. I've recently been ordering though GrubCanada.com from Vietnam Taste which is located at 660 Wonderland Road. For $7.99 you can have a meal that, even for large appetites is far too much for one sitting. I'm a 200+ pound male, and I split this mean into two BEFORE putting the broth, noodles and meat together. This way, the noodles keep from going soggy in the refrigerator or the microwave the next day for lunch.
$7.99 for two meals is roughly $4 a meal, dirt cheap and very satisfying. Order with a friend and split the $4 delivery charge and save yourself not only time from studying to cook, but also from having to brave the winter air. A tip for most Western taste buds, order the medium rare or medium well Beef, stay clear of anything with "Beef Balls" or anything that doesn't sound tasty.
For the adventurous, there are other reasonably priced appetizers on the menu that can tantalize your taste buds.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
The Game, a beer and some wings
I just got back from Jacks.
Sunday nights after 9:30pm they have free wings and fries with the purchase of a drink. From what I'm told, this drink doesn't have to be of the alcoholic nature, but when you're at Jacks, a beer and a game of Football just seems right.
The food isn't great, but it fills a void. There are two options for wings - BBQ - they are usually over cooked and over caramelized, and what the server/security personnel was referring to as "extra-hot". These wings are meant to be mean. I love spicy food - I had a great dinner of Pho today from Vietnam Taste- more on that later - but these wings aren't a nice hot, basically, think Franks Red Hot poured all over, nothing to them but to make you thirsty. The free buffet is concluded with French fries. These, like the hot wings, are - it would appear- meant to make you need a drink.
That being said, these do fill a void, when you're hungry, and you live downtown, or on the 12 or 2 bus route and need a place to unwind on a Sunday night, head on over to Jacks, where for the budget conscious student, you can have relatively all-you-can-eat wings and fries for $2.25 - $2.50 (price of a Soft Drink versus a domestic beer). Just remember to make your second drink a cup of tap water, you may need it.
Look out for more cheap places to eat in London, as well as posts on cheap meals to wow your significant other, things like that. Enjoy.
Sunday nights after 9:30pm they have free wings and fries with the purchase of a drink. From what I'm told, this drink doesn't have to be of the alcoholic nature, but when you're at Jacks, a beer and a game of Football just seems right.
The food isn't great, but it fills a void. There are two options for wings - BBQ - they are usually over cooked and over caramelized, and what the server/security personnel was referring to as "extra-hot". These wings are meant to be mean. I love spicy food - I had a great dinner of Pho today from Vietnam Taste- more on that later - but these wings aren't a nice hot, basically, think Franks Red Hot poured all over, nothing to them but to make you thirsty. The free buffet is concluded with French fries. These, like the hot wings, are - it would appear- meant to make you need a drink.
That being said, these do fill a void, when you're hungry, and you live downtown, or on the 12 or 2 bus route and need a place to unwind on a Sunday night, head on over to Jacks, where for the budget conscious student, you can have relatively all-you-can-eat wings and fries for $2.25 - $2.50 (price of a Soft Drink versus a domestic beer). Just remember to make your second drink a cup of tap water, you may need it.
Look out for more cheap places to eat in London, as well as posts on cheap meals to wow your significant other, things like that. Enjoy.
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