Kate's Cuisine

4 cups apples, thinly sliced (about 4 apples) $1.32
1/4 cup orange juice $0.12
3/4 cup all-purpose flour $0.12
1 cup white sugar $0.19
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon $0.07
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg $0.04
1 pinch salt $0.01
1/2 cup butter $0.46

Total Cost    $2.33

1.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly grease a 9″ pie plate.

2.) In a food processor combine: flour, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Give the processor a quick whir to lightly mix ingredients. Then add butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse bread crumbs, scraping sides down as you go if necessary.

3.) Place apple slices evenly in the pie plate and drizzle orange juice over top. Sprinkle with flour/sugar mixture so that apples are completely covered.

4.) Place in the preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes, until top is just beginning to brown and becomes crispy.

5.) Remove from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

6.) Serve and enjoy!

Read the Apple Betty review here

I don’t know what Holden Caulfield was talking about! In The Catcher in the Rye, Caulfield is talking about the boarding school his parents make him attend. When talking about the swill he had to endure in the school’s cafeteria he said,

“You always got these very lumpy mashed potatoes on steak night, and for dessert you got Brown Betty, which nobody ate, except maybe the kids in the lower school that didn’t know any better – and guys like Ackley that ate everything.”

And while Holden Caulfield is my favourite literary character of a ll time, and Catcher in the Rye is my favourite book, I just can’t agree with him on this one.

This dessert is so warm and delicious and comforting! It’s just like apple pie, but with a delicious streusel topping instead of a crust, and without all the work too! This dish takes about 10 minutes to pull together before you put it into the oven; and I made it the day before grocery-shopping day and I still had every single ingredient this dish needs.

I did mix it up a bit from the original recipe that I found on All Recipes, but just by throwing the dry ingredients into the food processor instead of mixing it with my hands. And I also threw a few more spices in there just because I looove my baking spices! I never knew what Apple Betty was before National Apple Betty day (which is today by the way,) but I’m so glad I found out!

3 medium to large zucchinis, cored and diced $2.80
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed    $0.99
1 can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed    $0.99
12 to 14 new potatoes, halved $2.75
1/2 package elbow macaroni pasta $0.50
6 cups spaghetti sauce $3.72

Total Cost    $11.75

1.) Bring a large pot of water to a boil. When boiling, add zucchini and boil until they’re as tender as you like them. (I like mine a bit on the firmer side so I only boil them for 4 or 5 minutes.)

2.) Meanwhile in a separate large pot, place: spaghetti sauce, red kidney beans, white kidney beans, and new potatoes. When zucchini is finished, place that in the pot with the rest of the ingredients. Turn heat to medium-high and allow to cook, stirring occasionally until potatoes are tender.

3.) Meanwhile, bring another large pot of water to a boil. When boiling, add macaroni and cook  until al dente, stirring occasionally.

4.) When pasta is finished cook, drain and place in a large serving bowl. Add zucchini stew over top.

5.) Serve and enjoy!

Read the Zucchini Stew review here

I love vegetarian dishes! I love meat too, but there’s just something so refreshing and clean-tasting about vegetarian meals! This recipe, given to me by my sister-in-law, is by far one of the best ones I’ve ever come across, and that’s not lip service speaking. This dish is unlike any vegetarian dish that I’ve found – because it keeps you full for days! There’s so much goodness packed into this meal that I don’t feel hungry an hour after I’ve eaten it, like I do with many vegetarian dishes.

This dish is so cheap to make too! And with this one recipe, you’ll most likely get several meals. I froze the leftovers (freezes beautifully, by the way) and me and my girls got 4 suppers out of it. Probably would have been less if hubby had had some, but he likes neither zucchini or stew. Interestingly, my older daughter doesn’t like zucchini either. But she gobbled this up saying that the green stuff was okay when “it’s covered in spaghetti sauce.” So I guess that’s the trick when you’re trying to get your 5-year-old to eat zucchini!

8 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs $6.64
1 cup flour, plus 3 tablespoons $0.17
3 tablespoons olive oil $0.18
Salt and pepper $0.01
1 cup white wine $3.57
3 stalks celery, diced $0.39
3 large carrots, diced $0.51
1 onion, diced $0.47
4 tablespoons fresh thyme $1.07
4 tablespoons fresh rosemary $1.28
1 bay leaf $0.16
4 cloves garlic, minced $0.04
4 cups chicken stock $2.00

Total Cost    $16.49
Cost per serving 4.12

1.) Rinse chicken and pat dry. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

2.) Combine 1 cup of flour with salt and pepper. Toss chicken in flour to coat and add to pan.

3.) Place chicken in pan and brown on one side for about 4 minutes until skin is crisp and golden. Flip chicken and cook for another 4 minutes, until both sides are golden brown. Remove chicken from skillet and put aside on plate for later use.

4.) Deglaze the pan by adding 1 cup of white wine and scraping brown bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Cook, until most of the wine has boiled off.

5.) Adding more olive oil if necessary, add carrots, celery, and onion, turning to entirely coat in the fat. Cook for about 2 minutes before adding thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf. Stir and cook for another 3 minutes.

6.) Mix together 3 tablespoons of flour with 1/2 of the chicken stock and thoroughly stir to incorporate. Add to pan and stir to mix. Turn heat to high until thickened, then add remaining chicken stock; stir to mix. Lower heat to low and season with salt and pepper.

7.) Return chicken to pan and spoon sauce over top. Cover and simmer 40 – 45 minutes until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.

8.) Serve and enjoy!

Read the Smothered Chicken Review here

It took me years to find a good Smothered Chicken recipe. I looked through cookbook after cookbook and website after website. Turns out, to make a really great Smothered Chicken, I just had to come up with my own recipe. And this one’s pretty darned good, if I do say so myself! Remember to keep the skin on, there’s just no point in eating chicken unless you do. And try to use dark meat. I’ve made this with chicken breasts too and it really does make a difference. Dark meat is just so much more flavourful and tender, and makes this comforting dish just that much more so!

1.5 ounce vodka $1.41
3/4 cup 7-Up $0.21
1/4 cup blackberries, slightly mashed, reserving a few whole    $0.62
Several ice cubes

Total Cost    $2.24

1.) Place ingredients into cocktail glass in the following order: ice cubes, slightly mashed blackberries, vodka, and 7-Up. Top with whole blackberries.

2.) Serve and enjoy!

Read the Poisoned Blackberry Cocktail Review here