- See more at: http://blogtimenow.com/blogging/automatically-redirect-blogger-blog-another-blog-website/#sthash.2lzcOnhH.dpuf Nothing but Delicious: Cheap is Delicious: Rustic Bean Bake (and a giveaway!)

Cheap is Delicious: Rustic Bean Bake (and a giveaway!)

If there's one thing I've learned from cooking it's that the cheapest and easiest things are unquestionably the most satisfactory.
I once tried to make this cake. 16 sticks of butter and two days of hard work later, it was littered with imperfections and not a single party guest had the gumption to cut into my pseudo-masterpiece. Most of the cake and all of my pride ended up in the trash.

The key to minimal effort, maximum reward cooking is using a small number of high quality ingredients (screw you, low fat cheese). Buy groceries at a place you trust and choose ingredients that keep well. Some things I always have on hand in my kitchen are as follows: locally made bread (sliced and stored in the freezer), beans, organic root vegetables, organic eggs, onions, cheese (full fat!) and one herb. You just can't go wrong and I promise, you can't spend more than $20.
I'd like to share a thought with you from one of my favorite books, Extremely Loud and Incredibly CloseIn Hell we starve, in Heaven we feed each other. That's my favorite part about easy food- we share all aspects of it with one another. We shop together. We cook together. We eat together. I don't know what's better than that.

This Monday (09/17/12) I am sharing my Rustic Bean Bake with you. It will be part of the lunch bar at The Turnip Truck on 12th Avenue South. I am also hosting a giveaway with The Turnip Truck and the prize is a $50 gift certificate. I'm no mathematician, but I'd say that's about two weeks of cheap, easy food made with excellent ingredients. The winner will be announced next Thursday (09/20/12).

To enter the giveaway, comment on this post and answer the question: What cheap or simple things do you love?
Rustic Bean Bake
-serves 5

Preheat oven to 400 and grease a 9.5" pie dish (or a casserole dish if you are doubling the recipe)

2 medium yellow or sweet onions
1T fresh, chopped rosemary
1T balsamic vinegar (optional)
1 heaping cup peeled and chopped carrots
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup low sodium vegetable stock
1 1/3 cups shredded (full fat please!) mozzarella cheese

3T oil
1/2t kosher salt

Chop onions into 1/4" thick half moons. Cook in a large, heavy pan over medium heat with salt and oil for 45 minutes or until they are deeply golden and at least one neighbor comes over to see what smells so darned good. Meanwhile, peel carrots and chop into bean-sized pieces. Microwave them on high for three minutes. When onions are fully caramelized, add vinegar, rosemary, carrots and beans and simmer for one minute. Add stock and cook for another two minutes. Toss in one cup of cheese and place mixture in pie dish. Top with remaining cheese and bake for 20 minutes or until beautifully and bubbly brown on top.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

lovely post, hannah. as always. :)

my favorite go-to simple staple is cream of wheat [or farina]. served piping hot with salted butter and if I'm feeling splurgy, dried cranberries.

Tesa said...

My absolute favorite simple staple is cheap champagne. There doesn't have to be a special occasion to drink it, it's my go to drink all the time no matter what I'm having for dinner!

aDw said...

My favorite cheap staple is pasta. filling and cheap!

Deb said...

Whole wheat pasta from Trader Joes!!

always hungry girl said...

one of my favorite cheap, simple lunches is a sweet potato with salt, pepper & drizzled with lime juice. so delish! p.s. i love me some turnip truck

Shereen said...

Yum! Can't wait to try that recipe! What a great giveaway too. :) For cheap and simple, I love homemade banana bread! As long as you've got some baking basics on hand, all you need is eggs, bananas, and honey!

Unknown said...

I'm not a big fan of beans, but you're recipe looks and sounds delicious! Maybe I'll make it for Thanksgiving or something. :) My favorite simple go-to that I can never ever go wrong with is grilled cheese, especially with some garlic powder and fresh parmesan added. Yum!!!

Christa said...

Definitely going to try this! Hmm. I've lately been enjoying brussels sprouts, sliced thinly, then sauted in coconut oil with salt and pepper. It's a delicious and different way to eat them.

angiloo said...

Egg Salad ... I've always referred to it as the poor man's tuna salad :) I love it and I always have the ingredients on hand.

Jeffrey Orkin said...

I find myself cooking a lot of lintel/quinoa concoctions when I'm needing to cook on the cheap! So, $50 would get me like a year of dinners, PICK ME!

Lauren said...

made this dish last night! it was delish! right now i love the simplicity of a yummy cashew. it's the best snack ... though it definitely doesn't fall into the cheap category.

Unknown said...

My favorite cheap, simple thing is oatmeal. You can do so many things with it and it's always so easy and comforting.

linda said...

i'm excited to try this recipe! one of my favorite things is a simple, hard-boiled egg.

Unknown said...

My favorite, cheap, go meal is dried beans: navy, pinto, black, red, kidney, you name it. I love that I can buy a pound of beans for $1 and enjoy them for several days (or until I get tired of eating them). Growing up I ate them Southern style (cooked in pork but made with tons of love and served with corn bread). But after a trip to Kenya, I now make them Kenyan style (cooked in water or veggie stock, finished with tomatoes and cliantro, but still made with tons of love and served with chappatti). Either way cooking and eating dried beans combines the best of my childhood and now adult memories into a cheap, nutritious and delicious meal...is there anything better??

Kitty Cat Stevens said...

i recently moved to nashville and i just discovered the turnip truck for the first time today— so wonderful! this recipe looks wonderful! -Jenna

Grace Spriggs said...

I made this dish tonight and had three helpings! It was so good! I don't own a microwave, but it worked out anyway. =)

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