Gardening helps offset my grocery bill, especially since I grow items that can be expensive at the grocery store such as peppers and tomatoes. The one downside to gardening is that supply sometimes exceeds demand, particularly when I grow things like yellow squash and zucchini.

My children are now examining all baked goods with a suspicious eye, so I have to step up my game and hide the squash where they will least expect it: in plain sight! The peppers provide a flavorful cover, even if they do not entirely camouflage the squash.

Ingredients for Vegetable Confetti

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups mixed color mild peppers, cut into thin strips
2 cups zucchini, julienned (If you are not sure how to julienne squash, here you go!)
2 cups yellow squash, julienned
1 cup onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh basil, shredded

Directions for Vegetable Confetti

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or wok. Add the peppers, squash, zucchini, onion, and garlic.

2. Sauté for 3 minutes over a medium high heat.

3. Reduce heat to low and add basil. Cook on low for 7 – 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Ingredients for Herbed Chicken

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts  
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander (optional)
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions for Herbed Chicken

1. Preheat broiler.

2. Combine the spices in a small bowl.

3. Pour spices onto a dinner size plate. Dredge each chicken breast through the spices, then flip and coat the other side. Place chicken on broiler pan.

4. Broil for 4 minutes. Flip the chicken over and broil for 4 more minutes or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear. Cut each breast into thin slices and serve on Vegetable Confetti.

How are you hiding your excess zucchini?

Alea shares her tips for saving money and time while reducing waste in her home at Premeditated Leftovers. She is committed to providing her family with homegrown, organic produce despite living in an inhospitable climate. Alea chronicles her gardening efforts at One Determined Gardener. She can also be found on Twitter. Check out all of her $5 Dinners Recipes too.

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I’ve had this hankering for olives lately. While I haven’t set out to eat an entire jar of green olives, I have no doubt that I could do it…as long as I had a huge glass of water and something sweet nearby.

As I was perusing the cupboards when making my meal plan over the weekend, my eye fell on the olive jar ($.49 from Walgreens). And as I started to tear into it and eat every last green olive, I wandered off…  It was as if I was standing under an olive tree in a grove overlooking the deep blue waters of the Mediterranean.  It was very Hollywood-esque.

And as I snapped back to the reality of a baby who recently discovered toilet water (and his mother, that would be me, who cannot for the life of her remember where she stowed the toilet locks from the last baby who discovered toilet water, and is too cheap to go out and by new ones, so she just keeps all the bathroom doors shut now) and a little boy begging for water and a snack, it hit me…I need to try these with the mini-meatballs that are in the freezer.

(Writes Mediterranean Meatballs on weekly meal planner.)

In the end, I thought the green olives were a lovely addition to the sauce.

And now for the means to this end.

Ingredients

1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes ($.16) Sale, store promo, coupon
1 6 oz can tomato paste ($.19) Used $.75/1 Muir Glen coupon
1/2 jar green olives, plus some juice ($.25) Walgreens sale and coupon
1-2 Tbsp olive oil ($.10)
About 2/3 lb ground beef made into mini-meatballs (Sorry I don’t have a recipe posted. Yet. Just make your favorite meatball mix and make the meatballs really small…less than 1/2 inch in diameter) ($2)
4 garlic cloves, crushed ($.20)
Salt and pepper
Spaghetti noodles (about 3/4 lb for our family) ($.75)

1 zucchini ($.75)
Salt and pepper

Directions

In a mixing bowl, add the crushed tomatoes and the tomato paste.

Pour about 1/3 of a tomato paste cans worth of the olive juice in with tomatoes.

Also add 1 tomato paste cans worth of water in with the tomatoes.

Gently whisk. As to not splatter. (Not that I splattered any anywhere.)

Take about half a jars worth of olives (about 1 cup) and slice a few times through.

Send the olives for a little swim in the tomato tub.

In a large skillet, heat some olive oil.

Toss in the mini-meatballs after the oil is hot.

Ttttsssssssssssssssssssssssss…………..

Brown the meatballs on each side.

Then dump in the olive-tomato sauce.

Season with salt and pepper and add some crushed garlic.  Stir it all in.

Wave good bye to the meatballs.

Cover and let cook for 10-15 minutes. Serve over spaghetti noodles.

Make spaghetti noddles as directed on package.

(For gluten-free meal, use rice noodles in place of wheat pasta noodles…and corn meal in place of bread crumbs in the meatballs.)

Steam zucchini slices in a stovetop steamer for 4-5 minutes, or in a glass baking dish covered with plastic wrap in the microwave for 5-6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve Mediterranean Mini-Meatballs over Spaghetti with Steamed Zucchini.

Cost $4.40

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Every had one of those super productive days…only to forget one very important thing on your to-do list.

That thing: Make dinner.

Eeps!  That’s what happened to me tonight.  I scurried around all day, catching up on Mt. Washmore (yes, we have been home for 10 days and I still haven’t caught up on laundry from the Savvy Blogging Summit!), helping the boys with a new puzzle and reading their new book to them approximately 18 times, answering emails, making important behind-the-scenes decisions, picking up little pieces of fuzz from the floor that Tyler seems to be so attracted to these days, watering the garden, building tents and forts with sheets, chairs and couch cushions, send out a few tweets, maybe a facebook status update…

So I look up at the clock…5:25.

What?!?  How’d that happen?!

Thankfully, I had some diced grilled chicken in the freezer, some cooked turkey bacon in the freezer, along with a box of frozen spinach.  And in the time that it took to cook the pasta, I had the chicken, bacon and spinach thawed, warmed and ready to toss with the pasta.  I even had a second to grab some fresh basil, oregano and thyme from the garden…just enough to give the additional umph to the pasta!

So what’s missing from this here florentine pasta…a cream sauce! I went for the lower cal (and easier) drizzle of olive oil.   And I’m glad I did!

Loved the light-ness of the dish, the flavor boost from the garden herbs, and the smokiness of the grilled chicken. Now, enjoy!

Ingredients

1 lb. pasta noodles, such as mostacchioli, rotini, medium shells ($.92)
2 cups grilled, diced chicken ($1.50)
4 slices turkey bacon, chopped ($.25) Used $1.50 coupon with sale price
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes ($.16)
1 box frozen spinach ($.50) $1 sale plus coupon
Fresh basil, oregano, thyme from the garden
2 Tbsp olive oil ($.20)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions.

2. Cook bacon and chicken, if necessary.

3. Cook the spinach according to package instructions.

4. Wash and chop basil, oregano and thyme from the garden.

5. Toss all the ingredients together with the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

6. Serve Chicken and Bacon Florentine (without the cheese) Pasta.

Need more than this one-dish meal? Add a garden salad.

Got a plethora of tomatoes from the garden? Use those instead of canned.

Want a creamier pasta? Thin some sour cream with some milk and replace that with the olive oil.

Cost $3.53

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So I am just having the WORST luck with the veggies in the garden this year.  I thought for sure (just like I did with the radishes and the yellow squash) that the zucchini would be in by now…but NO…it’s taking its sweet precious time getting going!  And I just noticed yesterday that the “powdery mildew” is starting to form on some of the smaller leaves too.

But…it seems that I’m not the only one having trouble!  I talked with a local farmer at our nearby farmer’s market on Thursday about the garden’s slow growth…and he said “this is just about the worst growing season I’ve seen in all my years.”

So it’s not just me!

The good news is…the farmer’s market has zucchini for as little as $.50 per zuke!  And you might even find an amazing deal like this one too!

Last summer Amy compiled quite the list of zucchini recipes…if you are looking to try something new, I highly recommend checking her zucchini recipes list for some ideas!

And now for the pictorial…

Angel Hair with Julienned Zucchini and Garden Herbs

Ingredients

1 medium zucchini ($.50)
Couple basil, oregano and thyme leaves (from the garden)
1 large or 2 smaller garlic cloves, crushed ($.10)
1-2 Tbsp olive oil ($.10)
Salt and pepper to taste
3/4 lb. angel hair pasta ($.40) Bought on Manager’s Special for $.49/box

Optional
2 cups grilled and diced chicken ($1.50)
1/2 cup grated or shredded parmesan cheese ($.50)

..a great way to make this a one-dish dinner!

Directions

First up…Julienne the Zucchini…

The Julienne is a 2 1/2 inch long and 1/8-1/4 inch wide cut on vegetables like carrots and zucchini.  It is typically done after peeling the veggies…but as you can see, I like to include the green skin in the julienne cuts.  For the color, and the nutrients!

Chop of the head and tail of the zucchini.

Cut into about 2 1/2 inch long sections.

Cut off the green edges, creating a square…as best you can!

Cut the square into 1/8 inch wide slices.

5. Then slice those slices into 1/8 by 1/8 inch pieces. There…it’s julienned. Simple, right?!

Make similar cuts to the green skin pieces.

Pile high the julienned zucchini.

Wash and pat dry the fresh herbs.

Place the smaller herbs, like the thyme and oregano leaves, inside the larger leaves.

Roll up like a cigar and run a knife through the fresh herbs.

Peel a large garlic clove…or 2 smaller ones.

In a small or medium skillet, heat the olive oil for 2-3 minutes, then crush the garlic into the oil.

Tttttssssssssssssss…..izzle!

Saute the garlic for a little less than a minute, or until begins to brown. And make your house smell like food heaven.

Add the julienned zucchini.

And toss with the fresh herbs and sauteed garlic.  Season with a little salt and pepper.

Let saute, stirring often, for 4-6 minutes, or until begin to turn opaque and some turn brown.

While the zucchini is cooking, prepare the angel hair pasta in a saucepan.

Be sure to separate it well.  Angel hair is famous for clumping together!!! Drain pasta when finished cooking.

Toss the cooked pasta with the sauteed julienned zucchini. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve it up!

Makes 4 adult portions.

Cost $1.10-$3.10

Grow. Eat. $ave. in 2 weeks…Fresh Herbs! (Oh the possibilities!)

Link up your favorite zucchini recipes this week!!!

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I loved the Grilled Salsa Chicken so much.  I had to try something similar with marinara and fresh Italian herbs.

It’s a toss up.

They are both just so yum-ilicious!

Ingredients

1 package chicken thighs ($2.26) Manager’s Special
Fresh basil, oregano, thyme (from the garden)
1 jar favorite marinara or spaghetti sauce ($.99) Coupon and sale
Salt and pepper
1 box whole wheat rotini pasta ($1)
(Parmesan cheese…Steve had some on his pasta, the rest of us did not.) ($.05)
2 large broccoli heads, cut into florets ($.74) On sale last week!

Directions

1. Chop the herbs.

2. Stuff the herbs under the skin on the chicken thighs.

3. Spoon in some sauce (just like with the salsa in the Grilled Salsa Chicken.) Season with salt and pepper.

4. Grill until cooked through.

5. Cook pasta as directed on box. Serve with remaining marinara sauce and Parmesan cheese (optional).

6. Steam broccoli florets.

7. Serve Grilled Marinara Chicken with Pasta and Broccoli.

Cost $5.04

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Even though most of us in our family…80% of us to be exact…are not eating dairy foods right now, I still stock up on cheeses when they are on sale so I can make lasagna for Steve’s lunch.  I make a 9×13…and it will last him 8 lunches.  I cut 4 pieces off and store them in the fridge.  And the other 4 pieces go in to the freezer in individual baggies for him to enjoy the following week or two…whenever he needs a break from the typical turkey and cheese sandwich.

In a recent interview with Time.com, I was asked what was the recipe that I had yet to pull off for $5. My answer: Lasagna.

While I could certainly make an 8×8 for $5 given the right sale prices, that would just be weird…because lasagna is meant to be made in a 9×13 pan. So let’s double the $5 price point and make a 9×13 for $10.

Sound good?!?

Ingredients

12 lasagna noodles ($1.50)
1.3 lb. ground beef ($1.93)
1 28 oz. jar spaghetti sauce ($1.49)
Fresh herbs from the garden
16 oz. container ricotta cheese ($2.19)
1 egg ($.10)
10 slices provolone cheese ($1.49)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese ($.99)

Directions

(There are probably a gazillion ways to layer a lasagna. I’ll share mine.)

Cook lasagna noodles.

Make meat sauce by browning ground beef, draining and then mixing with spaghetti sauce.

Pick some fresh herbs from the garden. Basil, oregano and thyme. If necessary, substitute about 2 teaspoons dried Italian seasonings.

Chop fresh herbs. (The fresh herbs will make your house smell amazing when this lasagna is in the oven. I seriously wish I could bottle up the smells and transmit them through the computer.)

Mix the fresh herbs in with the ricotta cheese and egg.

Layer 4 of the the no boil or the boiled lasagna noodles in the bottom of the greased 9×13 pan. Add the meat sauce.

(I was not paying attention and only did 3 lasagna noodles on the bottom…leaving me with an extra noodle!)

Top with 5-6 slices provolone cheese.

Spread the ricotta cheese on top. Then repeat with noodles, meat, cheese slices, ricotta.

Top with layer of noodles, then shredded mozzarella cheese.

Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, or until bubbling and cheese has melted on top.

(Let cool completely before freezing.  This will eliminate the threat of freezer burn.)

Cost $9.69

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Multitasking.

I usually don’t have trouble with multitasking. I can chat on the phone with my mom about the latest while sprinkling Critter Ridder powder all over my garden. (Pesky chipmunks.)  I can be uploading photographs of dinner while reading a story to the boys.  I can read emails while waiting in the drop off line at school (parked, and car turned off). I set up conference calls for those times that I know I’ll be in the car and less likely to be interrupted by the little people. I manage to whip up a batch of muffins with a fussy baby in the sling. (I don’t go near an open oven with him in the sling. I can just hear the panic stricken comments, so let me stop you before you get started.) But I will say, pouring muffin batter into the muffin wells with a baby in a sling isn’t all that pretty. In fact, it was quite messy!

I get how to multitask. I do it all the time. BUT, there are occasions when multitasking is not a good idea.

Making Homemade White Sauce is one of those times.

You see, making white sauce from scratch requires focus and attention. Everything happens very quickly. Once you start to melt the butter, there’s not even time to grab the milk from the fridge or some spices from the spice rack.

When I set out to make this pasta, my goal was to have a pasta dish that seemed like it was cheesy.

I miss cheese. (And I’m too cheap to pay for Vegan cheeses.)

So, I’ll just have to trick myself. I made a dairy free white sauce, using dairy free margarine and rice milk.  And I added some of my homemade taco seasoning to give it some yellow-ish/orange-ish/redness to it. You know, like cheese!

Creamy and tasty it was!

I had no intention of adding the pinto beans to this pasta. But after tasting it, my tongue was on fire. I’m not terribly sensitive to spicy foods, but the sauce had a nice ZIP to it. And I knew that it would not fly well with the little people.  So I short-order cooked.

(Is that a verb? And I sure hope my high school English teacher isn’t reading this. She might ask my school to dig out my transcripts and change my A to an F. Hi Betty. Yes, we are on a first name basis now.)

I RARELY do that…but I didn’t mean for this to turn out with such ZING. So they had spaghetti. And we will eat the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

So back to the beans…they really did help take an edge off the sauce’s heat. Here’s the formula.

SPICY SAUCE + bland beans (with a little chicken and pasta)= PERFECT DINNER

At least my tongue thought so.

And finally, the recipe.

Ingredients

3 Tbsp butter or margarine ($.30)
3 Tbsp flour ($.05)
3 cups milk ($.30)
1 small white onion, chopped ($.30)
2 cups chopped green peppers ($.44) Used half bag frozen chopped green peppers
1 Tbsp homemade taco seasoning ($.05)
Salt and pepper
1 box elbow pasta noodles ($.50) Only have 1 of my $.50 boxes left!
2 cups cooked chicken, about 1 1/2 chicken breasts worth ($1.50) Leftover from last night’s Teriyaki Kebabs…recipe coming next week.
2 cups cooked pinto beans ($.40)
1/4 Watermelon ($1)

Directions

1. Make the white sauce using the butter/margarine, flour, milk, salt and pepper (Video here).  Stir in the chopped onions, chopped green peppers and taco seasoning once the sauce is bubbling and slightly thickened.

2. Cook pasta as directed. Drain and add to large mixing bowl. Mix in the leftover cooked chicken and cooked beans.

3. Pour the creamy taco sauce over the pasta, chicken and beans. Toss.

4. Serve Creamy Chicken Taco Pasta with Watermelon.

Cost $4.84

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I grew up in South Texas. Where you can find a fajita on just about every corner.  But I’ve never had Fajitas in pasta form.

Must say…not too bad.

(If we could have had this with sour cream, I would have totally added some.) (But it certainly didn’t need it!)

Ingredients

3 chicken breasts ($2.44)
1 box bowtie pasta noodles ($.50)
2 Tbsp canola oil ($.05)
1 bag frozen peppers and onion blend ($.88)
1 Tbsp lime juice, for veggies ($.01)
Dashes ground cumin, for veggies ($.02)
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup lime juice, for marinade ($.10)
Dashes ground cumin, for marinade ($.02)
Salt and pepper
Avocado, sliced ($1)

Directions

Place the lime juice and ground cumin for the marinade in the bottom of the dish you’ll use to marinate the chicken.

Sprinkle a little more of the ground cumin and a few drops of lime juice on top.  Season with some salt and pepper.

Grill until cooked through, then dice.

Meanwhile cook the pasta.

And saute the frozen veggies. (No need to let them thaw.)

Toss in the fresh cilantro, as well as the ground cumin and lime juice.

Saute for a few minutes, stirring often.

When you start to see this, the veggies are done.

Add veggies in with the cooked pasta. (If you want to add sour cream…add 1/2-1 cup here.)

Toss in the grilled and diced chicken.

Toss. Toss. Toss.

Serve Grilled Chicken Fajita Pasta with avocado slices.

Cost $5.02

(with lunch leftovers too!)

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Pictured above: the mixins.

This is a quick and easy pasta salad. And quite refreshing too.

(Too bad, it’s cool and wet outside today!)

Ingredients
2 cups elbows or penne pasta noodles ($.50) Almost out of my $.50 boxes of pasta!
6 strips of bacon or turkey bacon ($.50) Bought this past week for $1.5o/package.
2 heads broccoli, cut into florets ($.79)
1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes ($.19)
About 1/2 cup homemade ranch dressing (or your favorite store bought!) ($.40)
Fresh fruit ($.50) We had apple slices.

Directions
1. Cook the pasta as directed on the box. Drain and rinse with cool water.
2. Cook the bacon in a skillet or in the microwave on paper towels. Let cool, then crumble.
3. Steam the broccoli florets for just 2 or 3 minutes, in a stovetop steamer or in the microwaveable bowl with 1/2 cup of water, covered with plastic wrap.
4. Place the cooked and cooled pasta in a large mixing bowl and toss with the crumbled bacon, broccoli florets, diced tomatoes and homemade ranch dressing. Toss. Toss. Toss.
5. Serve BBT Pasta Salad with fresh fruit.

Cost $2.88

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Remember the Slow Cooker Beef Roast with Balsamic Onions?!?

Well, you should just bookmark it now and make it next time you have a beef roast on hand.  Or better yet, toss it with some pasta and might I say you won’t regret it!

I used up a BOGO beef roast from the freezer, a yellow onion and some $.50/box pasta.  Along with half of a $1 green pepper and a $.99 Romaine lettuce head with a homemade salad dressing for the salad.

Yum.

That is all I have to say.

Yum. Yum.

Ingredients
Few drizzles of olive oil ($.05)
1.3 lb beef roast ($3.88)
1 yellow onion, sliced ($.30)
3-4 Tbsp balsamic vinegar ($.15)
Salt and pepper
1 pound penne pasta ($.50), use rice pasta for GF meal
1/2 head Romaine lettuce ($.50)
1/2 green pepper ($.50)
Homemade salad dressing ($.25)
1 cup frozen peas (for the boys) ($.50)

*Soon we will be eating lettuce and peppers from the garden!

Directions
1. Drizzle some olive oil into the slow cooker and add the beef roast. Add the sliced onions and balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Set on low and cook for 8 hours. Once cooked, pull/shred into bite size pieces.
2. As the cooking time on the beef roast nears its end, cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain and add to a large bowl. Toss the pasta with the beef pieces and onions. Add about 1/4 cup of the beef-balsamic broth from the slow cooker and toss with the pasta and beef.
3. Prepare salad and dressing.
4. Serve Balsamic Beef and Onions Pasta with side salad.

Cost $6.63…with LOTS of leftovers!

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