With a simple salad and dessert, this little chili feeds 2 for less than $15

Fall is a time when many of us start to slow down and at the same time crave food that will warm us up on a crisp and breezy day while filling the kitchen with delicious, comforting aromas.

If it’s easy to prepare, even better. And if that meal doesn’t cost a proverbial arm and a leg? That’s a clear victory in these economic times, when hunting for bargains at the local supermarket or farmer’s market has become both a sport and a necessary evil.

In this week’s Dinner on a Budget, the goal again is to create a filling three-course meal for two — hopefully with some tasty leftovers for lunch the next day — for about $15, or what I paid for a glass of wine in the airport while waiting for a flight recently.

Since we were cooking according to the season, we decided to build the meal around a classic fall dish: a small pot of beef and bean chili.

Ground beef, like everything else, has increased in price in recent years, but it is still among the cheaper proteins. You can usually find it for around $5.99 per pound, which isn’t too bad considering a 16-ounce package easily stretches into four servings with the equally budget-friendly addition of canned tomatoes and beans.

Chili is the perfect dish for frugal cooks because it’s so easy to use (seriously, it’s pretty hard to make a bad pot of chili) and versatile, lending itself to all kinds of different veggies and proteins.

While ours is made with a can of fire-roasted tomatoes, chopped green pepper, and red beans, along with the requisite garlic and onions, you can throw in whatever you happen to have on a shelf in the pantry or in the vegetable cooler of your refrigerator stopped. – think lentils, canned corn, pumpkin, celery and even sweet potatoes.

It often tastes even better the next day, once the flavors have really melded, and the leftovers can be used as a topping not only on hot dogs or fries, but also on enchiladas, tacos and baked potatoes. You can also make a bowl of mac ‘n cheese with a few generous spoonfuls.

I tend to have a heavy hand with chili powder and cumin, which adds a nutty, smoky flavor, but that’s the beauty of chili. You can tame it by turning down the spices, or turn it up to a five-alarm level by adding a few cayenne peppers, red pepper flakes, and/or chipotle in adobo sauce.

The accompanying baked dessert—individual chocolate cakes made in 5-ounce ramekins and painted with a sweet coffee glaze—was almost ridiculously cheap and easy to put together. One of the main ingredients, cocoa powder, costs only about 8 cents per tablespoon. And because the recipe only makes two servings, you don’t need a lot of sugar, flour, or confectioners’ sugar (none of which are in the pantry).

The most expensive ingredient is a single egg yolk that costs 29 cents. Moreover, chocolate cake is simply delicious, especially if you eat it warm and use coffee for the icing.

What was most surprising and also a bit of a challenge when determining the price for this week’s recipes was incorporating fresh fruits and vegetables into the menu. A single baseball-sized apple will still run you at least $1 at most grocery stores these days, and onions—a workhorse in the kitchen of many home cooks—are almost as expensive, especially if a recipe calls for more delicate red onions. .

Small packs of salad greens also tend to be pricey because you don’t get the same economies of scale as when you buy a family-sized container. The 5-ounce package of spinach I used with a green apple and a red onion that I already had in my refrigerator cost $2.99 on sale, or almost double the cost per ounce of a 16-ounce container with a price of $5.99 (37 cents per ounce). ).

The takeaway: If you have room in your refrigerator and want to plan your meals a few days in advance, it’s probably always better to spend a little more on a larger box or container so you can save some money in the long run.

The total amount for the chili dinner, with some ingredients already on hand, half a can of beans and store brand tomatoes instead of the fancy organic brand I really wanted: $15.05, or just a nickel more.

Do you insist on finishing the meal with some carbohydrates? Adding a box of Jiffy corn muffin mix to your grocery list will add another dollar to the cost of dinner, which you can offset by using slightly less ground beef or by choosing to go bean-free.

Spinach-apple salad

This simple salad is adaptable to every taste. I added slices of green apple and also threw in some raisins that I always have in my fridge, but you can also add sliced pear or go a little sweeter with dried cranberries. Or top the salad with roasted nuts or homemade croutons made with stale bread and Italian herbs – whatever you have in your pantry.

INGREDIENTS

For dressing:

1/3 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

For salad:

5 ounces fresh spinach

1 apple, such as Honeycrisp, thinly sliced

1/4 red or sweet onion, thinly sliced

1/4 cup raisins or craisins

DIRECTIONS

In a medium bowl, mix the oil, vinegar, garlic, and Dijon mustard until completely incorporated. Season with salt and pepper.

Combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl. Add dressing, stir to combine and serve immediately.

Serves 2.

– Gretchen McKay, Post-Gazette

Chili in small batches

Chili can be moderately spicy or very spicy, so add chili powder to your taste. I also sometimes stir in a few chipotle peppers into adobo sauce for extra heat.

If you have some grated cheddar in the fridge, throw it on top with the chopped onions for a cheesy finish. Grated Parmesan cheese also works for a flavor boost. Leftovers can be served for lunch the next day, or used to top hot dogs, spoon into sacred pepper halves with rice, or stir into mac ‘n cheese to make chili mac.

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons neutral oil

1/2 yellow onion, diced (about 1/2 cup), plus more for serving

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 green pepper, diced (about 1/2 cup)

1 pound ground beef

Kosher salt and ground black pepper

1/2 15 1/2 ounce can pinto or red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 15-ounce can diced, fire-roasted tomatoes

2 heaping tablespoons chili powder, or more to taste

1 tablespoon ground cumin, or to taste

Dash cider vinegar, optional

DIRECTIONS

Add oil to a large sauce pot set over medium heat. When sizzling, add the chopped onion, garlic, and green pepper and cook, stirring constantly, until the vegetables are tender, about 2 minutes.

Add ground beef and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until the meat is well browned.

Stir in the kidney beans and fire-roasted tomatoes; if you prefer a thinner consistency, you can add half a can of water. Season with chili powder, cumin, salt and black pepper. I also always like to add a dash of cider vinegar for an extra kick, but that is optional.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for at least 30 minutes. When ready to serve, spoon into warmed bowls and garnish with the diced onion.

Makes 4 servings.

– Gretchen McKay, Post-Gazette

Chocolate cake for two

A dessert for just two is easy if you bake it in a bowl. This gooey chocolate cake with a hint of coffee flavor is the perfect example of that. It comes together in seconds and only takes about 20 minutes to bake.

Add less coffee to the confectioners’ sugar for a thicker glaze and more for a thinner glaze.

INGREDIENTS

For cake:

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 (heaping) tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 large egg yolk

2 tablespoons of milk

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons neutral oil

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon hot coffee

For icing:

1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 (heaping) tablespoon of cocoa powder

Milk (or leftover coffee), if necessary, to make a glaze

DIRECTIONS

Spray 2 10cm (6 ounce) ramekins well with cooking spray and place on a mini baking sheet. (I used butter to grease the molds.)

Preheat oven to 350.

In a small bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and a pinch of salt. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolk, milk, oil, vanilla, and coffee (or water).

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in two batches and stir gently to combine.

Divide the mixture between the two bowls.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool.

While the cakes are cooling, make the frosting: whisk all the ingredients together and add more coffee or milk to thin the mixture to a pourable consistency. Sprinkle or spread over the cakes and serve.

— dessertfortwo.com