How to Feed Eight People on the Cheap

[RichM]

I added a new page to my BK site today. It's a recipe. I got the idea while driving home from Price Chopper.

http://www.joyofbankruptcy.com/sausage_peppers_onions.php

A lot of folks, especially younger ones, never learned how to cook. They only know how to heat, meaning they buy prepared food and stick it in the oven or microwave.

Actually learning how to cook can save people a lot of money, so I decided to post a recipe to motivate people. But it's actually one of my favorite Italian "peasant" recipes.

I used sausage because it was on sale, but it works well for pretty much any meat. For venison or lamb, introduce the tomatoes earlier. It helps tame the gaminess a bit.

-Richard

[tobee43]

nice! i like the "some" wine ROFL!!!!!!!!

is a "some" more or less than a cup or two...or maybe three LOL! again, it LOOKS GREAT!

[RichM]

Lol, I'm Italian. We're not big on precise ingredient amounts.

Thanks,

-Richard

[tobee43]

Lol, I'm Italian. We're not big on precise ingredient amounts.

Thanks,

-Richard

oh! i am too by osmosis! LOL! 45 years of it. funny thing about that side of our family, they say i'm the best italian cook of them all, that is because i watched his mom, grandmother, sister and all the aunts (all 10 of them), and they all can't figure out how i do it. when the truth is i took the best from all of them and then added me!

i'm glad i did, now they are mostly all gone. i just got finished making lasagna, eggplant parm, chicken parm...all to freeze. you don't happen to have a good eggplant caponata recipe hanging around do you???

[RichM]

oh! i am too by osmosis! LOL! 45 years of it. funny thing about that side of our family, they say i'm the best italian cook of them all, that is because i watched his mom, grandmother, sister and all the aunts (all 10 of them), and they all can't figure out how i do it. when the truth is i took the best from all of them and then added me!

i'm glad i did, now they are mostly all gone. i just got finished making lasagna, eggplant parm, chicken parm...all to freeze. you don't happen to have a good eggplant caponata recipe hanging around do you???

No, but I believe my brother Matt does. It was never one of my favorite recipes, although I don't turn it down, either.

I'll shoot Matt an email and ask.

-Richard

[RichM]

Nope. He doesn't have one. Possibly my cousin Julia... Her mom (my aunt) used to make it a lot. I'll have to look up her contact information.

-Richard

[tobee43]

richard, i LOVE it cold and without the eggplant being all cut into pieces, but slices, like to put on a sandwich. if matt could find one i would love it. my dh grandmother made it and it was so excellent! she would jar it and i would eat it straight out of the jar with my fingers LOL! i never liked eggplant but it's a staple for us now. sometimes i just slice it and roast it with olive oil and kosher salt and it's yum

[angel7821]

That recipe looks and sounds delish! I am going to make it this weekend.

[RichM]

Thanks!

[keepsmiling]

Hey tobee, I used to make grilled caponata, will try to dig up the recipe.

[TheBajan]

That recipe sounds awesome! I love Italian everything! I try to limit my pasta though so it's a treat when I do have some. Thanks for posting.

[TBA]

nom nom nom!!! We actually have been learning to cook as well (what?! You can make stuff using flour instead of cream of mushroom soup?! LOL?!?!)

My favorite cooking show is the chew on abc - i have learned sooooooo much! now my parents come to dinner at our house! hehe

[tobee43]

Hey tobee, I used to make grilled caponata, will try to dig up the recipe.

you dig it up and i'll make it and bring it over!!

grilled??????????? how do you do that???? i know you put the tomato sauce in there and onions and capers???? dig it on up!!! and shovel the snow off the grill

[tobee43]

That recipe sounds awesome! I love Italian everything! I try to limit my pasta though so it's a treat when I do have some. Thanks for posting.

i know most people think pasta is so fattening, and unhealthy especially if one is diabetic, but it's what you put on it. i lost a TON of weight on pasta...on the other hand my dh lost all his weight on protein diets which caused me to gain weight.

we eat pasta maybe......4x's a week!!!

[RichM]

I actually do have diabetes, so I limit the pasta. That picture was for the site. I'd never eat that much pasta in one sitting (or in a week, lol). As soon as the picture was taken, I put most of the pasta aside to split off into several meals.

With this recipe, though, I usually just eat it as-is like a gavone, and skip the starches altogether. If I do want a bit of starch, I cook up a bit of whole-wheat pasta or whole-grain brown rice, which have lower glycemic indices than ordinary pasta.

But again, this was for a Web site; so I chose what was visually pleasing. People with DM will know (hopefully) to skip or make substitutes for the pasta.

-Richard