Kate’s Cuisine

For the Goulash:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil $0.07
2 pounds stewing beef $10.50
2 onions, finely chopped $0.94
4 cloves garlic, minced $0.04
2 tablespoons paprika $0.96
1 tablespoon caraway seeds $0.45
1 teaspoon dried marjoram $0.15
1 teaspoon salt $0.01
1 teaspoon cracked black peppercorns $0.01
1/4 cup all-purpose flour $0.06
1 can (1/4 cup) tomato paste $0.65
2 cups beef broth $1.00
Zest of one lemon $0.65
1/2 cup sour cream $0.15

For the Dumplings:

4 medium potatoes $0.68
1/2 cup bread crumbs $0.21
1 egg, lightly beaten $0.17
2 tablespoons milk $0.04
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, plus 1 tablespoon for dusting $0.04
1/2 teaspoon salt $0.01
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley $0.25

Total Cost   $17.04

1.) Place oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add beef in batches and brown. As beef is browned, transfer to a slow cooker.

2.) Reduce the heat to medium. Add onions to pan and cook until softened. Add garlic, paprika, caraway seeds, marjoram, salt, and pepper, and cook for one minute while stirring. Add flour and cook, while continuing to constantly stir, for two minutes. Add tomato paste and stir well. Pour in beef broth and cook, stirring, until thickened. Then add lemon zest.

3.) Pour mixture over beef and stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours, until beef is tender.

4.) About an hour before the goulash is finished, start to make the potato dumplings. Start by boiling the potatoes in a large pot of boiling water until they are tender enough to mash. Drain, and allow them to cool enough so that you can comfortably handle them. Squeeze the potatoes out of the skins, mash them, and set aside.

5.) In a bowl, combine bread crumbs, egg, milk, flour, salt, and parsley. Add potatoes and mix well. Form mixture into balls about 2 inches in diameter. Sprinkle additional flour over work surface and roll dumplings in it until they are lightly coated.

6.) Stir sour cream into goulash. Add dumplings, spooning some sauce over them to ensure that they are well-coated with it. Cover and cook on high for 20 minutes, until the entire pot is bubbling.

7.) Serve and enjoy!

Read the review here

Sometimes I think that everything that comes out of my slow cooker tastes pretty much the same. But this recipe is what I use when I need to revamp my crock pot and pull something entirely new and different out of it. I got the recipe out of the book The 150 Best Slow Cooker Recipes by Judith Finlayson, and there are some goodies in it. This one is just one of my favourites. And even though there are a ton of ingredients, don’t be scared by it. They’re mostly things that we all have in our cupboards anyway, and it all comes super cheap too, which is always something I’m looking for.

I’ve also done this recipe with chicken thighs, substituting the beef broth for chicken broth of course. It was delicious and again, something that might even be better than the original! But when you need good comfort food that just hits the spot, you really can’t go wrong with either version of the goulash!

1 pound lean ground beef $4.11
2 tablespoons canola oil $0.14
1 onion, diced   $0.47
3 cloves garlic, minced $0.03
1/2 bag rigatoni $0.99
1 can spaghetti sauce $1.99
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese $3.75
Salt $0.01

Total   $11.49

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a 9″ x 13″ casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.

2.) Fill a large pot until it’s almost full with water and place on stove over high heat so that it comes to a boil. When boiling, add the salt and then add the pasta. Cook until it’s just el dente and drain. When drained, place the pasta in the casserole dish.

3.) In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add onion and garlic and saute until the onion is clear. Add beef and brown.

4.) Once the beef has been browned, drain. Then add the beef to the casserole dish as well. Add the can of spaghetti sauce and mix very well so that everything is combined.

5.) Spread the mozzarella cheese over the top of the casserole and place in the oven for about 10 – 15 minutes until the cheese is entirely melted and brown.

6.) Serve and enjoy!

Read the review here

I got my first taste of this recipe right after I had my first daughter, Paige. My sister made several of them and sent them to me so I didn’t have to worry about cooking and looking after the baby. Boy, I was so grateful! Not only because it took a load off when I had a thousand things to do and no sleep to go on, but because I got a great new recipe out of it! This one is so easy, contains things that everyone always has on hand, and tastes so so good! She sent me some when I had our second daughter, Maddie and now that Maddie is 2, we’re all enjoying this meal on a regular basis. Thanks, sis!

4 pounds beef short ribs $18.30
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper $0.02
1/4 cup olive oil $0.63
1 large onion, diced $0.47
3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped $0.03
5 Roma tomatoes, cut into eighths $3.97
1 cup red wine $4.57
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard $0.12
2 cups beef broth $1.00

Total Cost   $29.11

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit with the rack in the lower 1/3 of the oven.

2.) Season the ribs with salt and pepper. In a large, heavy stock pot heat the oil over medium-high heat. In batches, add the ribs and brown on all sides, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the ribs and set aside. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, wine, and mustard. Bring the mixture to a boil and scrape up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Return the ribs to the pot. Add the beef broth, cover the pan, and place in the oven for 2.5 hours until the meat is fork-tender and falls easily from the bone.

3.) Remove ribs from the pot and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Place on plates and ladle sauce from the pot over the ribs (thicken with cornstarch if desired.)

4.) Serve and enjoy!

Read the review here

I don’t know where I originally found this recipe but I did change it up a bit. The original called for penne to be cooked, and then the penne to be tossed with the remaining rib sauce. The ribs were also to be shredded off the bone and mixed in with the entire thing. I actually think that doing it the way the original recipe called for would be much better.

Doing the ribs this way wasn’t bad. And I only tried this way because I wanted to do something different with my ribs than just throwing them in the oven like I usually do. I did thicken the sauce up with cornstarch because they looked a tad blah sitting on the plate. But next time, I’ll definitely either stick to just making Kate’s Ribs, or I’ll make this recipe the way it originally asked me to. Still, not a terrible switch-up.

1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and diced $2.99
2 tablespoons olive oil $0.36
1 onion, diced $0.47
3 cloves garlic, minced $0.03
6 cups chicken broth $3.00
2 cups milk $0.54
1 teaspoon nutmeg $0.17
1 teaspoon cloves, ground $0.29
Pinch of coarse salt and ground pepper $0.02
1 tablespoon dried parsley $2.01

Total Cost  $9.88

1.) Place olive oil in a large heavy pot set over medium heat. When oil is hot, add onion and garlic and saute for about 5 minutes. Then add diced squash and cook for about three minutes.

2.) Add chicken broth, cloves, nutmeg, salt and pepper and turn heat to medium-high. Allow to cook for approximately 20 – 30 minutes, until squash is very tender and falling apart.

3.) When ready, transfer to food processor and puree until smooth. Transfer back to soup pot and heat up to boiling. Once boiling, turn down to medium-low. When soup has cooled down, add milk and heat until just heated through.

4.) Once milk is heated through, remove from heat and sprinkle top of soup with fresh or dried parsley flakes.

5.) Serve and enjoy!

Read the review here