We love food, and it would be easy for our eat-out spending to be much larger than our budget. It probably already is, but we really try to find deals when we can. We often take advantage of happy hour specials to eat at restaurants we might not otherwise have in the budget.

Mandola’s, a local “Italian market,” just opened its third location near us, and we’ve been wanting to give it a try. I’d heard they have good happy hour deals but only until 6pm. Since Brett got home early from work today, we were able to make it before 6pm and check it out.

The happy hour food menu features two types of pizza for $6 each (usually $10-$12), some fried appetizers for $3ish, garlic bread for $2.50 and a meat and cheese plate for $5. We opted for the sausage and mushroom pizza, fried zucchini, and garlic bread, totaling only $11.50 plus tax.

While we were waiting for our food, a server brought out silverware and a basket of focaccia bread which apparently comes with each order. So I quickly realized the $2.50 we’d just spent on garlic bread was a waste. The focaccia was delicious and they had some herbed olive oil for dipping – yum!

Our table was very full which was a little difficult since we have to keep an arm-length radius clear around Hannah. (sorry for the bad phone pics) The pizza was good, we like thin crusts, and the fried zucchini was also tasty. Hannah had some of everything we ordered. The garlic bread was okay, but again sort of a waste of money because you get the free focaccia. And it was plenty of food; we had almost half the pizza left over.

When we finished eating, Hannah entertained herself but putting her piece of bread in and out of the cup they gave her. We also enjoyed the live accordion player who strolled around the restaurant.

All the employees were very friendly and went out of their way to be helpful, especially to families with small children. When Hannah threw her sippy cup (ours from home) on the floor, an employee picked it up and offered to take it back and wash it for us. We were about to leave anyway, so I didn’t take him up on it, but I was impressed with the genuine service that was shown to us and other families there. Those of us with little kiddos appreciate all the help we can get!

We’ll definitely be back to Mandola’s for a happy hour dinner whenever Brett can get out of work before 6pm. The food deals are great, and they also offer 1/2 off wine by the glass or carafe. And excellent service tops it all off – big win!

Lunches are hard for me, especially with a toddler. I have to come up with something to feed myself and a little person. For some reason, this leaves me standing in front of the fridge scratching my head too many days. This was pointed out to me when I realized that every time I open the fridge, Hannah says, “Hmmmm…” Wonder where she learned that.

I knew that if I didn’t come up with some good, healthy, kid-friendly lunch options, I’d be very tempted to turn to some pre-packaged frozen foods for convenience’s sake. That’s when I expanded my repertoire for bulk-cooking and freezing. I’ve already shared my chicken nugget plan, today highlights my mini-pizzas.

Super easy, just whole wheat English muffins, sauce, and cheese for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. I made my own sauce by cooking canned crushed tomatoes, dried herbs, and grated zucchini. When they cooled, I just threw them in a large freezer bag, and they’re now ready to pull out whenever Hannah wants some pizza. Unfortunately, she was not in the pizza mood tonight and most of hers ended up on the floor. Sigh, I try not to take toddler eating habits too personally.

Brett and I also had mini pizzas for dinner, but we added pepperoni and didn’t throw any on the floor.

I know it’s summer, not typical soup season, but I didn’t want to wait until fall to share this recipe. And we didn’t want to wait until fall to eat it again.

After Hannah was born, we were so blessed by friends and lifegroup families bringing us meals. One night was this Chicken Verde Soup, and we were hooked. I asked for the recipe (which is luckily really easy) and have been making it regularly ever since.

Chicken Verde Soup

• 1 box chicken stock (32 oz)
• 1 bottle verde salsa
• 3-ish cups beans (2 cans drained and rinsed, or 1/2 bag dried beans prepared)
• meat from 1 rotisserie chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 T. cumin (I really like cumin)

Add all ingredients to pot. Simmer for 20-ish minutes. Seriously easy.

This soup has a kick for sure. I guess you could add less verde salsa to tone it down; I like to mellow it a bit by adding sour cream, shredded cheese, and crushed tortilla chips.

This serves 6-8, and my approximate cost for the soup was $10. Adding toppings is an extra $5, and you’ll probably even have a lot left over – could be used for an easy nacho night. Toddler modification: I kept aside some beans and chicken (plain) for Hannah. We usually eat this for dinner two nights, then I freeze the rest in individual-serving containers. When I need an easy lunch, I just pull one out of the freezer. Sometimes I hide it from Brett so he won’t take it for his lunch; that’s probably not very nice of me.

I think this is a good year-round soup because it is easy, tasty, and filling. It’s not thick and heavy like a lot of “winter soups” and stews. And when I eat it, I think of when Hannah was a baby and how thankful we are for sweet friends with good recipes.

Recently, we were feeling like Mexican and headed to one of our favorite local spots Maudie’s. Brett raved about the chicken enchiladas he ordered with a poblano cream sauce. So I figured I needed to come up with my own version; I had a feeling it wasn’t too hard and could certainly be done for less than $7.50 a serving.

My recipe involves my new favorite way to do shredded chicken. Just take four boneless skinless chicken breasts, lay in the bottom of a slow cooker (and I always use a slow cooker liner), cover with around 1 3/4 cups of liquid, set on low for 7 hours and relax! When it’s done, just take the chicken out and shred it with forks. If you’re going to use the liquid left as a sauce, skim off as much fat as possible then put the shredded chicken back in the slow cooker with about 1 cup of liquid and cook on high for 15 minutes. I have done this several times with different liquids and seasonings, all tasty. I’ve done Frank’s hot sauce, beer, and this time I used chicken stock and a couple tablespoons of fajita seasoning. Really easy process with versatility, and no heating up a grill or stove.

And a word about poblanos – they are a very mild pepper, only slightly spicier than a green pepper, far below a jalapeno. So don’t be scared, they’re good flavor!

Chicken Enchiladas with Poblano Cream Sauce

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (according to above directions)
• 16 tortillas
• 2 c. shredded cheese of choice
• 2 T. butter
• 2 poblano peppers, seeded, diced
• 2 T. flour
• 1/2 c. chicken stock
• 1 1/2 c. sour cream

Preheat oven to 350.
To make cream sauce, saute diced peppers in butter until tender. Add flour and stir until smooth. Add chicken stock and stir until thickened. Add sour cream gradually, stirring until sauce is thick and smooth.
Spray two 9×13 pans. Put shredded chicken in tortillas, roll, and place in pans. Sprinkle cheese evenly on top – 1 c. per pan – then bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Take out of oven and pour cream sauce on top. Return to oven for another 10 minutes.

Since these quantities make two pans, it’s perfect to take one to a friend’s house who just had a baby (what I did) or stick in the freezer for later. And it comes out to around 75 cents per enchilada, not bad! And my tortillas came in a pack of 20 – this left four for me to grab some extra chicken and cheese and make some chicken quesadillas for the toddler palate.

This is a have-again at our house! Unfortunately, you have no picture because enchiladas are really not photogenic. But the most important thing is that they’re tasty.

This is another “More-with-Less” recipe as I’m informally making my way through the cookbook – don’t get any ideas of a “Julie & Julia” kind of thing going on. It’s just nice to have a book of healthy and inexpensive recipes to try, especially with the variety of countries and flavors represented. “Torta pascualina” is translated in the book as “Argentine spinach pie.” I happen to know some people making their way to Argentina tomorrow, so the timing ended up being special.

Torta Pascualina 

Have ready
– 1 pie shell and crust for top, unbaked
Cook, drain, and chop finely
– 1 1/2 c. frozen or 2 qt. fresh spinach
Saute until tender
– 2 T. oil
– 1 onion, chopped
Combine
– spinach
– sauteed onion
– 1/4 t. nutmeg
– 1 t. oregano
– 1/2 t. salt
– 2 beaten eggs
– 1 c. grated Swiss cheese
Pour into pie shell. Arrange top crust and seal. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes. Serve hot in wedges.

This is so easy! I tried a new product – frozen chopped spinach that comes one of those steam-in-the-bag things. I’ve always used the frozen spinach bricks which are difficult to thaw, and then you have to wring out all the water to avoid your recipe getting soggy. I just threw the bag in the microwave for four minutes, and it was perfect. Just the right amount for the recipe and no wringing out excess green water. And it was only 20 cents more than the green brick, totally worth it. I also took the shortcut of refrigerated pie crust.

This got good reviews from Brett. Hannah threw it on the floor, but she also threw her banana on the floor – it was just one of those nights. The crust was flaky, and the filling was soft and cheesy. We enjoyed it with a Malbec – an Argentine wine – of course!

Yesterday at the Farmers’ Market, we picked up cucumber, eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, yellow squash and a huge bunch of basil. I have a small pot of basil growing in the backyard, but it looks very sad so I was happy to see a gorgeous bunch for only $2. Pesto time!

Tonight I roasted the eggplant, tossed it with some leftover tomatoes from the recipe yesterday, threw it on some whole wheat spaghetti and topped it with the fresh pesto. Eating local is easy and tasty!

Anyone’s mouth watering at the thought of “soybean loaf”? Mine certainly wasn’t.

I recently got “More-with-Less” – a well-known Mennonite cookbook that emphasizes nutritional balance, “whole” foods and making meal choices that reflect a concern for global poverty and sustainability. The foreword of my 25th anniversary edition states:

North Americans are encouraged to consume. We’ve seen an explosion of new artificial fats and sweeteners and products made with them, yet we suffer from obesity. The nutritional supplement industry encourages us to take vitamin, mineral, and herbal supplements to be healthy and happy. We no longer see food as good, providing nutrients and needed fuel. It is either a splurge or a scourge. (This cookbook) can help recapture the joy of preparing and eating adequate and appropriate food.

My mom used “More-with-Less” often as we were growing up, so I have eaten many recipes from it. But now with my own copy, I’ve decided to try some new ones. I was intrigued by the many soybean recipes included in the book. Growing up in Kansas, I have seen countless soybean fields but have not seen a lot of recipes featuring soybeans. A particular recipe that grabbed my attention was the following:

Soybean Loaf 

Preheat oven to 350.
Combine in large bowl:
2 1/2 c. soybeans, cooked and mashed
1/2 c. cottage cheese
1/2 c. fresh or cooked tomatoes, drained and chopped
2 eggs
2 T. oil
1 1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. bread crumbs
Mix well. Form into loaf and place on greased baking pan.
Pour sauce (a homemade tomato sauce) on top.
Bake 1 hour.

This was undoubtably the weirdest thing I have ever cooked. The ingredients were not expensive or hard to find, and making it was not difficult. I was afraid of it being bland, so I added some garlic powder, fresh ground pepper and dried italian herbs. I also sprinkled some grated parmesan cheese on top. It smelled really good while baking. But really – soybeans, cottage cheese and tomatoes? We had the back-up plan of running to Chick-fil-A if things got bad.

I made mashed potatoes, figuring that was the traditional side dish for meatloaf, and I wanted to have some illusion of normality for this meal.

A nice slice of soybean loaf with mashed potatoes

We were surprised – in a positive way. I really only made this recipe because it sounded so strange, but it ended up being a not-so-bad meal. The texture was similar to meatloaf, and it was surprisingly flavorful (probably due to my recipe rogue additions). Brett’s take: “It’s different.” But he did clean his plate. Hannah had already gone to bed when we ate, so we’ll have to get her review tomorrow.

Would I make this again? No. But I’m glad I tried it. Being open-minded about new recipes may not always result in deliciousness, but the experience was worth it. Expect many more “More-with-Less” recipes to be featured in the future.