the poverty luxe kitchen vol. 17: cheesy polenta + veggies

if i were to pick a new favorite food, it would definitely be polenta. now, polenta isnt exactly the most exciting thing on its own (as my mom put it, its just yellow grits), but its so versatile: you can bake it, fry it, mix things into it, or top it with almost anything and it always turns out delicious. 
unfortunately polenta has a reputation for being really fussy (some recipes involve forty minutes of stirring), so, being as easily intimidated as i am, i tended to consider it a "restaurant only" food. but, you know, sometimes you just NEED some polenta, and you dont have the time or money to go out to the fancy steakhouse with the $20 grilled polenta and veggies thats just SO amazing. so you start looking around at sprouts and find that the little log of pre-made polenta that barely makes one dinner is like $5. which, yeah is a lot less than it would cost at a restaurant, but still, its not cheap. 
except, sprouts sells dry polenta in the bulk section. and its super cheap. like, i got a HUGE bag (that lasted for months) for like $4. and after a little bit of research and experimentation, ive come to find out that polenta isnt actually all that fussy to make. so now polenta, which used to be reserved for birthdays and special occasions, has become a quick and easy weeknight dinner. is there anything better than that? no. no there is not. 
even though you technically can do all kinds of crazy things with polenta, my favorite way to eat it is warm and soft and freshly made, with some sautéed veggies on top. sometimes ill make this on its own for dinner, but its also a great side dish with say, some salmon. and thats what todays recipe is: 
cheesy polenta with veggies.  (serves 4 as a meal, more as a side dish)
heres what you need: 
1 cup dried polenta 4 cups water 1/2 cup shredded cheese (optional, if you omit the cheese this recipe is entirely vegan) olive oil 1 small/medium onion 4 cloves garlic salt, pepper, and herbs de provence to taste 1 bunch asparagus 1 package white mushrooms
heres what you do: 
in a medium/large pot, bring 4 cups salted water to a boil, add polenta, stir, and return to a boil. 
reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally (contrary to popular belief polenta does NOT need to be stirred constantly however it will stick if you dont stir it at all), until almost all of the water has absorbed and grains are cooked through (approximately 10-15 minutes) 
remove from heat, stir in cheese (entirely optional but i really think it improves the flavor and texture), and set aside. 
finely chop onions and garlic and sautee in olive oil until they begin to soften, seasoning with salt, pepper, and herbs de provence to your preference. 
cut the asparagus and mushrooms into small pieces, add to onion and garlic mixture, and continue to cook until the onions are caramelized and the vegetables are cooked through. 
serve the polenta in bowls with the vegetable mixture on top. 
do you have a favorite fancy restaurant food that you learned to make at home? id love to hear about it in the comments!

the poverty luxe kitchen vol. 11: easiest green beans.

guess what? i have a treat for you guys today: a vegetable recipe, thats not roasted. wait, what? yes, sometimes i do cook veggies in ways other than roasting. sometimes. 

i actually have a confession to make: i am not a fan of putting much effort into side dishes. im just lazy in that way, ok? i know some people get really into making an elaborate meal with all kinds of complicated sides (my in-laws, for example, have an entree, salad, and multiple sides at every single dinner), but me? no, i cant do that. the vast majority of dinners i make are all-inclusive (as in, protein, vegetables, and something starchy), and if not, i throw some kind of vegetable in the oven while its cooking (hence the excess of roasted veggies in the meyers house). 

but sometimes its too hot to turn on the oven, or maybe we want something other than asparagus, cabbage, brussels sprouts, carrots, butternut squash, or kale. so for those nights (and also around the holidays when green beans are practically free), im a big fan of making these: the easiest green beans ever: 

easiest green beans: 

serves 4. 

heres what you need: 

1 lb fresh green beans, washed, cleaned, and broken in half

4-5 cloves of garlic, minced

olive oil

lemon pepper

heres what you do: 

heat olive oil over medium-high heat and sauté garlic until it starts to brown (2-3 minutes). 

add green beans and sprinkle with lemon pepper to your preference. 

continue to cook, stirring occasionally until crunchy and starting to blacken in spots (5-10 minutes). 

and thats it. thats literally it. and now you have a fresh, delicious veggie side dish that took zero effort and cost a dollar or two. your welcome. 

the poverty luxe kitchen vol. 8: "healthy" nacho cheese.

nacho cheese. who doesnt love nacho cheese? i mean, its all hot and gooey and spicy and so, so good. but also it tends to come from a can or jar or pump and be chock-full of all kinds of nasty weird ingredients that make you feel so, so bad. 

but what if i told you that you could make nacho cheese and not feel all that bad about it? that would be pretty awesome, right? well do i have a treat for you today. i mean, this recipe isnt exactly what youd call "light" or "skinny" or "diet" or whatever (and i certainly wouldnt recommend eating it all the time...), BUT its entirely made from normal, pronounceable, real food ingredients. no hydrogenated oils or artificial flavors or scary fake orange color here, just creamy, gooey, spicy cheese sauce ready to be poured over a big plate of chips or into a bowl for dipping (actually, my favorite thing to do the night after taco night is to pile all the leftover taco fixings on some chips and top it all with this sauce, its wonderful). 

so are you ready to make some (relatively) healthy nacho cheese? 

heres what you need: 

(serves 4+ as a topping/dip)

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons sweet rice flour (or regular flour if youre not gluten free)

1 cup milk

8 oz shredded pepper jack cheese

1 cup cooked black beans (or 1/2 a can, totally optional)

heres what you do: 

melt butter over medium heat in a small saucepan. 

stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, for about a minute. (this is called making a roux, its a very important skill in fancy cooking).

slowly stir in milk, stirring constantly to make a nice, smooth sauce. 

raise heat to medium-high and cook until sauce thickens and begins to bubble, stirring occasionally. (if youre familiar with traditional cooking techniques, or my recipe for mac and cheese, you know that we just made ourselves some béchamel).

remove from heat and stir in cheese until completely melted. 

if you want your nacho cheese plain, you can go ahead and stop here, pouring the cheese sauce over chips/toppings or into a container for dipping, BUT if you want to make some AWESOME dip for say, party-type situations, go ahead and stir in those black beans. 

and thats it! now you can treat yourself to "healthy" nacho cheese! (i mean, in comparison to you know, typical nacho cheese)

introducing: the poverty luxe kitchen (+ a recipe for roasted cabbage)

not long ago i had my very first blog coaching session ever with kayli at the passion punch. since then ive also had the opportunity to work with alisha and keizra, and while all three of these ladies are absolutely FANTASTIC and i would without a doubt recommend any one of them if you happen to be in the market for some blog/business coaching, during my first session with kayli we mainly talked about the content here on poverty luxe. i had been feeling a bit lost and burnt of on a lot of my typical topics, but going over everything through fresh eyes was so refreshing and inspiring. we brainstormed a few new series, and today i am very, very excited to debut the first of them for you: the poverty luxe kitchen. 

the poverty luxe kitchen, or the PL kitchen for short, will focus on recipes and tutorials to help you maximize your grocery budget (no matter how limited) on healthy, natural, delicious food, that wont take all day (or a million ingredients). just simple, yummy, and good for you. basically everything I've been working on for our diet for the past four years. if your anything like me (a broke, busy food snob with a million allergies), i think were going to have a lot of fun here. 

so today, as the inaugural post of the PL kitchen, i want to talk about cabbage. 

now, i know youre probably all freaking out, like "what the heck victoria, you built us up on this awesome new series and now youre talking about cabbage?!". but hear me out, cabbage is a surprisingly versatile vegetable. its great on tacos, in soups, coleslaw, salads, sir fry, steamed with other veggies and slathered in savory sauce (a local delicacy). oh and its regularly on sale at sprouts for .50 a pound. sometimes (especially around st. patricks day) its even cheaper. I've seen it for as low as .25 cents a pound at sprouts, and 6 pounds for a dollar at the local mexican grocery store. as far as veggies go, its hard to find something as cheap and versatile as cabbage. 

one of my favorite things to do with cabbage is to roast it (if youre a long time reader you may have already notcied that I've got a penchant for the roasted vegetables) roasted cabbage is perfect for when you need a quick , simple, and cheap veggie for a side dish. and today, im going to show you how to make it. 

(note: for the three of us, i typically only use half of a normal sized head of cabbage for this recipe, so to prevent waste, i usually do our weekly meal plan in a way that uses cabbage twice. like, fish tacos on wednesday and salmon with roasted cabbage sunday)

heres what you need (serves 3-4 as a side): 

1/2 head green cabbage

olive oil

seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic, pepper flakes, spices, go crazy here)

heres what you do: 

preheat your oven to 400 degrees and oil up a baking sheet or jelly roll pan (one with an edge, DO NOT try this on a flat cookie sheet). 

remove the two outermost leaves of the cabbage (they tend to be dirty and yucky). 

remove the stem at the bottom and cut the whole head of cabbage in half (save the other half for later)

slice the remaining half in 1/2 inch slices, parallel to your original chop. 

arrange slices in a single layer on oiled baking sheet. 

drizzle with olive oil and season as you wish (im a fan of salt, pepper, garlic, and red pepper flakes). 

bake for 15 minutes, flip, and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until browned. 

serve hot (trust me on this one). 

so that was our first installment of the PL kitchen, what do you want to see next time? 

p.s. its still january! treat yourself to a gift from the poverty luxe etsy shop for 30% off with code JAN15