Frugal Vegetarian Recipe (Ooops Thursday) -- Dry Curry

Oops. I forgot to post this yesterday. I was thinking about it all day, so I don't know how that happened. But anyway, here it is.

This recipe is a vegetarian/veganized version of a popular Japanese dish. It's basically fried rice, but using curry spice. It's very yummy. I eat it all the time.

Frugal Vegetarian Recipe -- Dry Curry

1T oil
2 cups rice
1/2 cup shelled edamame (I buy them shelled)
1t garlic powder
1T curry powder
dash of salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a large skillet.
Add the rice and toss. Add edamame and toss together. Add the spices and stir some more. Once the rice has turned a nice yellow color, it's done.

So easy. So cheap.
To be honest, I'm not entirely sure of the measurements of the curry and garlic. I usually just shake a bunch on. So adjust to your own taste!

Frugal Vegetarian Recipe Wednesday-->Chickpea Curry

This Chickpea Curry is another favorite recipe of mine. I make it at least 2-3 times a month (and it lasts a few days). Sometimes, I'll substitute lentils or split peas for the chickpeas depending on what I have on hand...

Frugal Vegetarian Recipe #2-->Chickpea Curry

1 onion (optional)
2 cloves garlic (or 1T garlic powder)
1T oil
2.5 cups chickpeas
1 can tomatoes
1.5 cups water
2T curry powder
broccoli (optional)

1. Heat the oil in a sauce pan and sautee the onion and garlic until translucent. (I put the garlic in after the onions have been cooking for awhile so that I don't burn the garlic)
2. Add the rest of the ingredients.
3. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low-medium. Simmer until most of the water is gone, about 45 minutes.
4. I like to add broccoli to this. You can use either frozen or fresh. Add it about 10 minutes before it's finished cooking.
5. If you want, put half of the curry into a food processor and blend it for a smoother consistency. Then mix it back in.
6. Serve over rice, or with Indian bread (naan, chapatis, whatever..)

Enjoy!

Frugal Vegetarian Recipe Wednesday-->Lentil Stew

I've been a lifelong vegetarian. Never eaten meat. Except a bit of bologna that I didn't know was meat when I was 3 or 4.
Anyway, I get a bit kick out of making frugal vegetarian recipes. I love to think that something cost me just $2 to make and then lasts for a couple of meals. I've been experimenting a lot recently and so I thought that I would share my recipes. One every Wednesday. This is the first.

Frugal Vegetarian Recipe #1-->Lentil Stew
Ingredients
1/2 onion
2T olive oil
1 can of tomatoes
3/4 cup of lentils
2 cups water
2T garlic powder
1t basil
1t rosemary
1t savory
1t parsley

(If you don't have some of those spices, you can eliminate them. No biggie.)

Directions
1. Cut up the onion and sautee it in a a pan on medium-high heat. If you like onions, you can use a whole onion. I'm not a huge fan, but I like a little taste of it, so I use just half.
2. When the onion is cooked, add the can of tomatoes, the lentils, water, and spices.
3. Cover the pan and bring the contents to a boil.
4. After it's reached a boil, turn the heat down to low.
5. Let it simmer, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes. You want it to form a nice thick stew, not watery. So if there's too much water, let it cook a bit longer.
6. Serve either by itself or over rice.

Note: Do not add salt to this while it's cooking. Salt makes lentils tough.

This saves well. It almost tastes better the next day.
You can also make this in a crockpot by just adding all the ingredients and cooking on low all day.