Dinner on a Budget

Fall Harvest Salad

This salad is bursting with the flavors and colors of fall! It’s simple to pull together and you’ll find many of the ingredients featured in our weekly sale from November 4th – 10th! Enjoy it as a side salad, or bulk it up with a cup of cooked quinoa and serve it as your main course. Either way, we think you’ll love the flavors and textures of this delicious dish!

Spooky Pizza

Halloween night is a busy time for kids and adults alike. In the hustle and bustle of putting on costumes, lighting jack-o’-lanterns, and handing out treats, the ease of popping a pizza in the oven is a perfect meal solution. You’ll find local Slice of Vermont pizzas featured in the Weekly Sale from October 28th – November 3rd and adding a few spooky toppings can turn it into a festive Halloween feast!

Fish Tacos with Red Cabbage Mango Slaw

Fire up the grill and take your tastebuds on a summer vacation with these tasty fish tacos! You’ll find many of the ingredients in our weekly sale display from July 22nd – 28th, including several local favorites —  fresh tomatillo salsa from Sonia’s Salsa, organic Elmer Farm red cabbage, and organic Vermont Tortilla Company corn tortillas. The Mahi Mahi featured in the sale comes to us from Orca Bay, which specializes in sustainably harvested seafood from responsible fisheries. This recipe will help you quickly pull it together and the slaw can be assembled a day or two in advance for quicker meal prep on a busy weeknight!

Summer Solstice Rolls

Summer solstice is just around the corner and we think these summer rolls are a perfect way to welcome the new season. This recipe is extremely versatile, so feel free to use any fresh, colorful summer veggies and herbs you happen to have on hand. Our weekly sale from June 10th – 16th features a handful of the ingredients listed, making this one easy on the budget, too! If you don’t plan to serve the rolls right away, try rolling them in plastic wrap until you’re ready to eat. This will prevent the rolls from becoming soggy or sticking together. Other key tips are to avoid over-moistening the wrappers and avoid over-filling. Your first few are bound to be a bit clunky, but you’ll get the hang of it quickly.

 

 

Pasta Salad

If you’re looking for a very versatile pasta salad, we think you’ll find this one’s a winner. It’s the kind of meal that comes together in less than 30 minutes, can be made a few days in advance, travels well to picnics and potlucks, and it can serve as a perfect catch-all for the veggies you happen to have on hand. You may prefer to serve it as a side dish or round it out with chopped salami or other protein to make a heartier main dish. You’ll find many of the ingredients featured in our weekly sale from May 13th – 19th, so it’s a perfect time to give this one a try!

Fish Tacos with Red Cabbage Mango Slaw

Take your tastebuds on a summer vacation with these tasty fish tacos! You’ll find many of the ingredients in our weekly sale display from April 29th – May 5th, including local Sonia’s Salsa and local organic All Souls Tortilleria corn tortillas, and this recipe will help you quickly pull it together. You could even assemble the slaw a day or two in advance for quicker meal prep on a busy weeknight!

Soba Noodle Bowl

This quick and tasty soba noodle bowl is about as versatile as it gets. Make it a day or two in advance and serve it chilled, or whip it up for a weeknight meal served warm.  And feel free to be creative with the veggies and garnishes. It’s a perfect catch-all for whatever you happen to have on hand. If tofu’s not your thing, stir fry any protein you prefer and add it to the bowl in place of the tofu. You’ll find most of the ingredients in our weekly sale from April 15th – 21st, so it’s a perfect time to give this one a try!

Hearty Kale and White Bean Soup

If you’re looking for an immensely satisfying, healthy, one-pot winter meal, look no further than this kale and white bean soup. Using dried beans requires a bit of forethought for soaking and a longer cooking time, but you’ll be rewarded with intense flavor that can’t always be achieved with a canned bean. And perhaps, for those of us working from home (or home looking for work), it’s no big deal to take on some largely unattended cooking like a big pot of slow-simmered beans. The soup tastes even better on the second day and will keep for 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator. It also freezes well, and small amounts of the leftovers make an excellent pasta sauce when thickened with a bit of tomato paste. This meal also happens to be vegetarian, gluten-free, and if you’re celebrating Purim, this bean dish fits the bill. You’ll find most of the ingredients in our weekly sale from February 18th – 24th, so it’s a great time to give it a go!

Chili

It’s Super Bowl season and regardless of your sports fan status, we think you’ll love this hearty chili recipe. It’s a simple, one-pot meal that features a handful of ingredients from the weekly sale display from January 30th – February 5th, so it’s gentle on the budget. Using dried beans requires a little more advanced preparation (soaking) and a longer cooking time, but dried beans are much more economical and the longer cook time allows much more flavor to develop.  Cook up an extra-large pot and freeze the leftovers for a busier weeknight. You’ll be so glad you did!

Homemade Pizza

Making pizza at home might seem intimidating – especially compared to the relative ease of popping a pre-made frozen pie into the oven, but we think you’ll agree that nothing tastes better than homemade and the process is actually quite simple. PaneBelle’s pizza dough is featured in our weekly sale from January 14th – 20th, along with local Maplebrook fresh mozzarella, Muir Glen organic pizza sauce, and a handful of perfect pizza toppings, including local Vermont Smoke and Cure Pepperoni, so it’s an excellent time to try your hand at homemade pizza! Feel free to get creative with the toppings. This recipe makes 2 thin-crust 12” pizzas. If you prefer a thicker crust, follow the same instructions but create one larger pizza.