Thrifty Tasty Tuesday: Tortellini with Peas

            It was an incredibly busy weekend for me. I was at the theatre most of Saturday and Sunday in preparation for the show I’m directing. It opens in less than two weeks. I doubted I would be able to get my act together enough to write a Thrifty-Tasty-Tuesday for this week. That’s the challenge with healthy eating, isn’t it? It’s easy to eat healthy when you have all the time in the world to chop and simmer. But for most of us, time is as valuable as money. So I realized this was a week that I most needed to test the bounds of TTT.

            When I was a kid, my mother made something she called Piselle e Pasta—a fancy name for a simple dish of peas and small shell shaped pasta. She’d toss in some sautéed onion and ham if there was any leftover. My version, using tortellini is very tasty, super easy and has only four ingredients. My kids love it and I can throw dinner together in a matter of minutes and still get to rehearsal (or Cub Scouts or baseball practice) on time.

Tortellini with Peas

1 16-ounce package of frozen peas

2 13-ounce packages of frozen cheese tortellini

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, plus additional for serving

1/4-cup olive oil

• Cook peas according to package directions.
• Cook tortellini in salted water for one minute less than the package directions indicate.
• When tortellini is almost cooked, use a measuring cup to remove about 1/2 cup of cooking water.
• Drain tortellini.
• In the pot you cooked the tortellini, pour olive oil.
• Return the tortellini to the pot with peas, cheese and 1/4 cup of cooking water
• Cook for another minute or so, stirring gently until the cheese, water & olive oil become a slightly creamy sauce. If the tortellini seems dry, add additional cooking water.
• Season with a little black pepper and serve

Thrifty, Tasty Tuesday: Black Bean Soup & Cornbread

            Welcome to the first installment of Thrifty, Tasty Tuesday! If you’re looking to save money and eat healthier, there is no greater bang for your buck than beans. They are high in fiber and protein and low in fat. And they are cheap. A one pound bag costs around $1.60 a bag. Yes, planning is required when using dried beans because you need to soak them overnight. But the payoff is huge.

This soup was a big hit with my family. The first time I made it, I served cornbread in case I needed to bribe entice the boys to finish their soup. But they genuinely liked it.
Black Bean Soup is made in a slow cooker (Crockpot). The night before, I chop the veggies and soak the beans. Then I toss everything in the slow cooker before we head out the door in the morning. It's a huge relief to come home with dinner almost ready.

Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup

1 lb. bag of dried black beans*

1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes with green chilis
2 Tablespoons cider vinegar

1 finely chopped onion

1 finely chopped bell pepper (I use red, but green would be fine)

4 cloves garlic, chopped or pressed

1 1/2  t. chili powder

1/2 t. oregano

water

4 teaspoons of Vegetable “Better than Bullion” **

salt & pepper to taste

Sort and soak the beans overnight according to the package directions.

Throw everything in the slow cooker except “Better than Bullion” ***

Cover with enough water so there is an inch of water over the beans (about 7 cups). I usually boil the water in the kettle to get things started a little quicker

Cook for at least 7 hours on low (if you won’t be home from work in time, the soup won’t suffer from cooking an extra hour or two).

Add Better Than Bullion and stir thorougly.

If you have an immersion blender, run it through the crockpot before serving to thicken the soup. If you don’t have one, puree two cups of soup into a blender or food processor then return the pureed soup to the crockpot. If you have neither, use a potato masher and smoosh up the beans.

Cook for an additional 30 minutes or more. While that’s cooking, you can whip up a batch of my favorite cornbread shown below.

Serve soup with cheese or sour cream.

*I use Goya beans. There are store brands available for a little less, but I think it’s worth a few cents extra. There is usually less debris and fewer broken beans in the Goya beans. 

**I love this stuff, I keep several varieties on hand. However, it is high in sodium. So if you’re watching your salt intake, use low sodium vegetable stock instead of water and skip this ingredient.

***Salt slows down the cooking time of beans, that’s why it’s best to add this at the end.

*****Smoosh is a very technical culinary term.

Vickie’s Famous Cornbread

(to save time, you can mix the dry ingredients the night before)

1 Cup Yellow Cornmean

1 Cup King Arthur White Wholewheat Flour*

1/2 Cup Sugar**

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs

1 Cup Buttermilk***

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 425º

Spray an 8x8 pan with nonstick spray.

Thoroughly mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

Mix eggs, buttermilk and oil thoroughly and add to the dry ingredients.

Stir gently and quickly. Don’t overmix or the cornbread will be tough. A few lumps are okay, they’ll disappear in baking.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

*I’ll admit it. I’m a flour snob. I only buy King Arthur. I watch for sales and stock up.

**I use turbinado sugar because it gives a slight molasses taste, but regular white or brown sugar works fine.

***If you don’t keep buttermilk in the house, use a cup of milk plus a tablespoon of vinegar as a substitute