inexpensive – Page 13 – Simply Delicious: The Cookbook Project

12-5: Greek Rice

Jamie Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses May 12, 2016July 27, 2020almonds, black pepper, blanched, boiled, chopped, crushed tomatoes, dairy-free, dinner, easy, egg-free, garlic, gluten-free, Greek, green bell peppers, inexpensive, long-grain, lunch, minced, nuts, olive oil, party food, pine nuts, red bell peppers, rice, sautéed, side dish, sweet peas, tomatoes, untested, vegan, vegetable bouillon, vegetable broth, vegetables, vegetarian, yellow onions

Here’s a healthier option–some of the last few have been more on the indulgent side. Don’t get me wrong–there’s plenty more indulgence to come. 12-5: Greek Rice is a nice vegetarian option for a party, picnic, or just an everyday meal. I’m not entirely sure what makes it “Greek”, but we’ll go with it.

What else can I say–it’s just not that exciting. The final dish actually ends up similar to what Americans call Spanish rice, but with more veggies and a somewhat tangy flavor. If that interests you, read on.

3-20: Italian Tomato Soup

Jamie Martin Group 03: Soups, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters April 25, 2016March 14, 2020alphabet, appetizers, basil, bay leaves, blanched, boiled, chili sauce, creamy, crushed tomatoes, dinner, dried herbs, easy, egg-free, garlic, herb salt, herbs and spices, inexpensive, Italian, lunch, olive oil, pared, parsley, pasta/noodles, salt, sautéed, simmered, soups, tomatoes, untested, vegetable bouillon, vegetable broth, vegetables, vegetarian, whipping cream, whole wheat flour, yellow onions

It’s been a while since I’ve covered something out of Group 03: Soups on here–the last one was 3-14: Creamy Corn Chowder back in January. 3-20: Italian Tomato Soup is pretty simple when it comes to ingredients…and flavor. I ended up inadvertently turning my batch into what was essentially Spaghetti-Os, but even that wasn’t terrible.

This soup is pretty basic–Simply Delicious has you add a bit of cream to make it more of a bisque-type tomato soup. If it’s not tomato season, no worries–you can make this with canned tomatoes too. 🍅

12-2: Rice and Vegetable Bake

Jamie Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses April 8, 2016July 27, 2020black pepper, bundt, butter, celery, cooked chicken, cooked rice, diced, dinner, easy, eggs, gluten-free, half-and-half, herbs and spices, inexpensive, lunch, melted, milk, nutmeg, nuts, pared, parsley, pecans, red bell peppers, rice, salt, sausage, side dish, untested, vegetables, vegetarian, walnuts, yellow onions

I’ve done over 100 recipes for this project so far, and I’m about a week shy of working on it for 2 years. Most of those recipes weren’t bad. Maybe not repeats, but not too many of them stick out as YUCK in my mind…until now. I did NOT like 12-2: Rice and Vegetable Bake, but maybe that’s just me–I can admit that I’m weird about certain textures and flavors.

Simply Delicious describes this dish as “colorful” and “nutritious”, which is 1980s code for “bland diet/health food that nobody really likes but can tolerate to varying degrees”. Having had too much of this kind of stuff forced upon me throughout my parents’ yo-yo dieting phases, the mere notion sends a shiver down my spine.

Onward, for science. 💀

5-21: Omelette with Herbs

Jamie Martin Group 05: Eggs & Cheese, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters March 7, 2016October 14, 2020Alton Brown, black pepper, breakfast, butter, chervil, chives, dried herbs, easy, eggs, folded, French, gluten-free, green onions, herbs and spices, inexpensive, lunch, melted, omelette, parsley, salt, Saturday, Sunday, tarragon, untested, vegetarian

A few weekends ago, on a sleepy Saturday morning, I found myself with many eggs, some fresh parsley, and a desire for an omelette. Since I’m now at the point that every time I cook, I consider whether I could use up a Simply Delicious recipe on it, I knew there had to be a true omelette recipe in there, given their heavy reliance on French fine-dining recipes & methods. If you find yourself in a similar predicament, consider making 5-21: Omelette with Herbs.

Simply Delicious shows the half-fold omelette method in their pictures–I’ve always preferred the Alton Brown tri-fold omelette method. This is a truly classic French-style omelette, unlike the last omelette I covered (and messed up), 5-11: Country Omelette.

12-13: Tortellini in Creamy Sauce

Jamie Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses February 16, 2016July 27, 2020al dente, bacon, basil, black pepper, boiled, cheese, creamy, dinner, easy, garlic, inexpensive, lunch, mushrooms, nutmeg, pasta/noodles, salt, sautéed, sweet peas, tortellini, untested, vegetarian, whipping cream

I like tortellini. I like creamy sauce. I didn’t really like this take on those items, 12-13: Tortellini in Creamy Sauce.

This creamy sauce needed a LOT of help in the flavor and texture department, and that shouldn’t be the case for the biggest component of the dish. I did use cheese tortellini instead of meat ones, but even then, it was the sauce that needed the most help.

4-6: Rösti

Jamie Martin Group 04: Potatoes & Vegetables, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters February 13, 2016October 6, 2020breakfast, butter, cast-iron, Cheddar, cheese, chives, crispy, dinner, egg-free, fairly easy, gluten-free, grated, green onions, inexpensive, leeks, lunch, nutmeg, pan-fried, pared, parsley, potato pancakes, potatoes, salt, shredded, Swiss, thyme, untested, vegetarian, yellow onions

Here’s one I’ve been meaning to make for a while. As I mentioned in 9-12: Shepherd’s Pie and 6-30: Scottish Chicken Casserole, I had too many potatoes after a Costco shopping trip, so I’ve been burning off potato recipes.

Potato pancakes have been done before, along with a zucchini version as well. So what’s different about this one? For one, this one features an umlaut. 😉

6-30: Scottish Chicken Casserole

Jamie Martin Group 06: Poultry & Game, Section 2: Main Courses February 2, 2016June 18, 2020bay leaves, black pepper, bone-in, breasts, butter, casserole, chicken, chicken bouillon, chicken broth, dinner, dried herbs, drumsticks, Dutch oven, egg-free, fairly easy, gluten-free, inexpensive, melted, paprika, parsley, pot-roasted, potatoes, salt, scalloped, Scottish, seared, thighs, thyme, untested, wings, yellow onions

As I mentioned in 9-12: Shepherd’s Pie, I had a LOT of potatoes to get rid of after buying too many at Costco. So here’s another potato recipe for you: 6-30: Scottish Chicken Casserole.

EDIT: This seems to be a popular one–not sure why, since it’s not very exciting. Easy, but not thrilling. If that’s what you’re here for, game on. If you want to know more about this site/me, read this. Thanks for visiting!

Offhand, I have no idea why it’s “Scottish”, other than it seems similar to a lot of food you get in the UK. A cursory Google search turned up this recipe, which seems kind of like this one. This other recipe (from the same search) gives a bit more history, linking it to a classic French (and Scottish) casserole-type dish.

9-12: Shepherd’s Pie

Jamie Martin Group 09: Ground Meat & Sausage, Section 2: Main Courses February 2, 2016July 5, 2020apple cider vinegar, bay leaves, boiled, butter, Cheddar, cheese, dinner, egg-free, fairly easy, garlic, gluten-free, ground beef, ground meat, half-and-half, Hutton house, inexpensive, mashed potatoes, nutmeg, paprika, pared, parsley, potatoes, red bell peppers, revisited, salt, sautéed, Swiss, vinegar, yellow onions

Here’s one with my mom’s writing on it. 9-12: Shepherd’s Pie promises to be a new take on an old classic and I had a LOT of potatoes to get rid of. Don’t buy a 20-lb bag of potatoes from Costco because it’s “such a good deal”.

I can’t say I’m particularly a fan of shepherd’s pie, but I had all the ingredients and a lot of potatoes to burn up. It stores/freezes well, and this version uses red peppers and beef instead of carrots/peas/corn and lamb (that’s why it’s shepherd’s pie–because of the sheep/lamb). 🐑

3-14: Creamy Corn Chowder

Jamie Martin Group 03: Soups, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters January 28, 2016March 14, 2020all-purpose flour, black pepper, boiled, butter, carrots, celery, chowder, corn, creamy, dinner, easy, egg-free, grated, half-and-half, herbs and spices, inexpensive, lunch, melted, milk, mirepoix, purée, roux, salt, sautéed, simmered, soups, summer, thyme, Tyler Florence, untested, vegetarian, yellow onions

Corn is more of a summer thing, but the recipe for 3-14: Creamy Corn Chowder calls for fresh, canned, or frozen corn, so you can have it anytime you have a hankering for corn chowder. I’m not personally a huge fan of corn chowders, but I know a lot of people are, and my in-house reviewer claimed to like it, so it comes recommended.

I’ve made a variation on Tyler Florence’s corn chowder at my current job, which was also a hit. Both call for thyme, but Simply Delicious chooses to bulk with mirepoix vegetables & milk rather than potatoes, roux, & heavy cream like Tyler Florence. Another example of the lean/health-conscious 80s.

2-36: California Egg Salad

Jamie Martin Group 02: Salads, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters January 27, 2016March 14, 2020bacon, black olives, black pepper, boiled, California, crème fraîche, Dijon mustard, easy, egg salad, eggs, green olives, green onions, hard-boiled, inexpensive, lettuce, lunch, mayonnaise, pan-fried, red wine vinegar, salt, sour cream, Tabasco sauce, tarragon vinegar, tomatoes, turkey, untested, vegetarian

I’m not quite sure what makes 2-36: California Egg Salad “Californian”. I think in the 1980s if you served something on lettuce leaves instead of on bread and used light mayonnaise instead of regular, it was now “healthy” and therefore “Californian“. 🌴☀️🏄🏻‍♀️

I like how their idea of “livening up” egg salad is adding Tabasco and mustard. Really living on the edge there, Simply Delicious.

Side note: The bottle in the back of the shot looks the tarragon vinegar they have you make in 19-7: Fresh and Dried Herbs.