Ah what a gloomy day...perfect for some comfort food...
Shrimp Enchiladas Verde Casserole courtesy of REC(ession)IPES! There are actually a few other budget friendly recipes I want to try out, but for some reason the Shrimp Enchiladas were screaming "MAKE ME! MAKE ME!" So I did :)
What I love the most about REC(ession)IPES's blog is that you get a breakdown of the total cost of the meal and the per serving cost. Call me a nerd, but I find them interesting factoids! Btw, these costs are all in NY$, meaning it's WAY cheaper anywhere else in the country. I decided to do a little calculation of this meal in DC$. Why on earth would I do that you ask? Well, I grew up less than an hour outside of NYC and went to college down here in DC. When my parents come to visit, without fail, my mom always mentions how the cost of living is so high here in DC. She'll constantly compare the cost of food in the grocery store and I always have to remind her that I live in a city and that it's not as bad as NYC. So here's my test:
I had to buy a bunch of things at the grocery store and luckily my Giant card got me a few discounts :)
Cilantro is hiding in the fridge.
REC(ession)IPES's total cost: $25.87 (with leftover cheese and cilantro)
My total cost: $24.89 (with leftover corn, shrimp, tortillas, cheese and lime)
My total cost isn't too off, however, I think I did walk away with a lot more leftover ingredients. Interesting!
Enough math. On to the cooking!
I followed the recipe exactly (a first for me!) and was really satisfied with the result! I'd totally make this again with a couple of modifications for my taste (I love heat and acidity so maybe a fresh jalapeno or maybe some green salsa mixed in with the refried beans?). Here's the shrimp mixture waiting to be layered with the tortillas and beans:
25 minutes later and it's dinner time!
Not exactly easy to plate, but I tried my best. Yum! There are tons of leftovers so I'm hoping these freeze well?
I decided to be nice this evening and bought a treat for the sugar king, Jamie. Dessert was a Skinny Cow Low Fat Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwich:
I was browsing RoseyRebecca's blog this morning and thought I'd give them a try. Usually icecream and sweet treats are rare in the apartment, but hey I'm willing to bend the rules a bit for the blog's sake ;p
I thought these were pretty damn tasty. I love that the cookie part was soft and it didn't taste like a low fat dessert at all. Jamie claims he can taste the difference, but I think he's just making that up. Hooray for successful experimental Thursday!!
In other, not so successful news...I didn't get into the NYC Marathon this year (though, now I'm only 2 more rejections from a guaranteed entry). I'm kinda bummed because my 'back-up' marathon plan requires a hotel room and figuring out how to get to the Outer Banks. I'm kind of amazed that there aren't many hotels near the start of the OBX Marathon...not that I've ever been to the Outer Banks before. Ah well, at least I don't have to orchestrate a plan to run the NYC Marathon and make it to NJ for my friend's wedding all in the same day!
Shrimp Enchiladas Verde Casserole courtesy of REC(ession)IPES! There are actually a few other budget friendly recipes I want to try out, but for some reason the Shrimp Enchiladas were screaming "MAKE ME! MAKE ME!" So I did :)What I love the most about REC(ession)IPES's blog is that you get a breakdown of the total cost of the meal and the per serving cost. Call me a nerd, but I find them interesting factoids! Btw, these costs are all in NY$, meaning it's WAY cheaper anywhere else in the country. I decided to do a little calculation of this meal in DC$. Why on earth would I do that you ask? Well, I grew up less than an hour outside of NYC and went to college down here in DC. When my parents come to visit, without fail, my mom always mentions how the cost of living is so high here in DC. She'll constantly compare the cost of food in the grocery store and I always have to remind her that I live in a city and that it's not as bad as NYC. So here's my test:
I had to buy a bunch of things at the grocery store and luckily my Giant card got me a few discounts :)
Cilantro is hiding in the fridge.REC(ession)IPES's total cost: $25.87 (with leftover cheese and cilantro)
My total cost: $24.89 (with leftover corn, shrimp, tortillas, cheese and lime)
My total cost isn't too off, however, I think I did walk away with a lot more leftover ingredients. Interesting!
Enough math. On to the cooking!
I followed the recipe exactly (a first for me!) and was really satisfied with the result! I'd totally make this again with a couple of modifications for my taste (I love heat and acidity so maybe a fresh jalapeno or maybe some green salsa mixed in with the refried beans?). Here's the shrimp mixture waiting to be layered with the tortillas and beans:
25 minutes later and it's dinner time!
Not exactly easy to plate, but I tried my best. Yum! There are tons of leftovers so I'm hoping these freeze well?I decided to be nice this evening and bought a treat for the sugar king, Jamie. Dessert was a Skinny Cow Low Fat Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwich:
I was browsing RoseyRebecca's blog this morning and thought I'd give them a try. Usually icecream and sweet treats are rare in the apartment, but hey I'm willing to bend the rules a bit for the blog's sake ;pI thought these were pretty damn tasty. I love that the cookie part was soft and it didn't taste like a low fat dessert at all. Jamie claims he can taste the difference, but I think he's just making that up. Hooray for successful experimental Thursday!!
In other, not so successful news...I didn't get into the NYC Marathon this year (though, now I'm only 2 more rejections from a guaranteed entry). I'm kinda bummed because my 'back-up' marathon plan requires a hotel room and figuring out how to get to the Outer Banks. I'm kind of amazed that there aren't many hotels near the start of the OBX Marathon...not that I've ever been to the Outer Banks before. Ah well, at least I don't have to orchestrate a plan to run the NYC Marathon and make it to NJ for my friend's wedding all in the same day!
7 comments:
hey you. this is roaming belly from foodbuzz :) the food looks good! what did you do with your leftover ingredients?
Thanks! I only defrosted half of that 2lb bag of shrimp so you'll be seeing another shrimp dish or two soon - maybe a pasta or a tofu stirfry. Corn, shredded chz and tortillas (usually flour) are things I like to keep handy so they won't go to waste :)
That dish looks fantastic, and I'd never heard of that Rec(ession)ipes blog before. Will definitely have to check it out!
And I've been on the Skinny Cow kick for a couple years now. They're amazing. I'm a BIG fan of the Strawberry Shortcake and Cookies 'n Cream. Geoff is obsessed too. Don't worry, start putting enough of these "good for you" products in front of them and the boys will soon forget the difference :)
you can buy skinny cow all you want, but the bottom line is this: you can't stop me from using full-goodness ingredients when i make my own ice cream!!!
ooo strawberry shortcake sound yummy! jamie, you'll eat anything sweet - perhaps next time i just won't tell you if it's low fat ha!
The skinny cow chocolate truffle bars are my favorite so far!! Thanks for linking to me in your blog! I'm going to add you to my blogroll! :-)
So glad you liked it Karena, and thanks for your kind comments! Fascinating to see how much this ran you in DC dollars!
Post a Comment