The viral baked feta and tomato pasta of yesteryear still haunts me to this day. I’ve never made it, but I found myself with a block of boursin and some grape tomatoes slightly past their prime that simply needed to go. So they went! I duplicated the feta and tomato pasta with a substitute of the boursin to delicious effect, even if the sauce wasn’t the prettiest at first.

I may duplicate this method in the future using other soft cheeses like the Cypress Grove Purple Haze or another Boursin flavor. 

This is also our first recorded video with the outtakes on the Eating Normal Patreon– subscribe at the five dollar level for all the perks!

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We all know I love a Frittata. I love reducing food waste even more. This is my favorite method of using up ingredients from other recipes or dishes from other meals that I didn't finish. The image you see above used up some breakfast sausage and a mixture of peppers and onions that I made for meal prepped breakfast burritos!

Duck eggs can be hard to find, so don't worry if you can only find chicken eggs. You can use them to make this frittata as well, but you'll need six or seven chicken eggs instead of five duck eggs.

You can also substitute a splash of milk, half and half, or cream instead of using sour cream like I did here. This frittata is more of a method to be used instead of a hard line recipe. Share your versions with me at our social media.

Recipe Card available below the Read break

Pine nuts are too expensive. They’ve always been too expensive, and it’s even worse with the post-lockdown inflation. Fear not– a substitute has emerged. Roasted pepitas are available at most supermarkets for almost a third of the price, and they’re tasty in many other applications when your pesto is ready. 

I use this version on everything from pasta to pizza, from sandwiches to salads. 

Check out the recipe below!

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It was super cold the first week of February in Northeast Wisconsin, and all I wanted was a good bowl of soup. I had plenty of individual servings in my freezer, but I had potato soup on my mind. This recipe utilizes one of the hacks I learned from a pinterest recipe ages ago on the stovetop instead of the crock pot: save money and skip the cartons of whole milk and heavy cream by buying a block of cream cheese instead!

​The mirepoix that went through the food processor brings additional flavor and fiber to the soup without adding too much cost. Feel free to substitute water for chicken stock. Buying all of the ingredients aside from pantry staples such as olive oil, you can make this soup for less than 10 dollars and have veggies for more uses afterward!

​I used bouillon cubes to create my stock, but homemade stock will always be better.

Football season is halfway through, and that means that we’re going to need appetizers for the folks getting together to root for the Packers in this trying time. I’ve put together a spiced Spinach and Artichoke Dip that requires minimal effort on the part of the host. Mix, toss it in the oven, and profit!

​This recipe can be doubled or even tripled depending on the football party you’re throwing, and we are working on other recipes to utilize leftovers if you over prepare. Have no fear, this dip can go places. If you make too much for the party, you can twist it into a variety of different dishes. Stay tuned to our instagram and tiktok to see what we do with it!

The last Christmas I shared with my ex-husband’s family, I took charge of making dinner for us. His sister had missed out on Thanksgiving due to catching COVID, so Christmas dinner was a Thanksgiving dinner. This turkey and Sage gravy was born from that day and a happy accident of adding more sage than I thought I needed to the gravy itself.

The key ingredient to this gravy is rubbed sage, which is in fact different than a traditional dried herb. The process to make it creates a fluffier texture in the herb itself, and some of that property seemed to transfer to the gravy itself. The best version of this recipe utilizes the drippings from your turkey, but if straining off the liquid from the bottom of your pan sounds like a chore, box stock will work just fine.

Notes:

• Most commercial turkeys come with the neck inside the carcass. You can use this to make a small pot of stock on the back burner while you work on the rest of dinner. This can supplement your gravy if the drippings are not bountiful enough for a gravy. You can also use boxed stock. Most grocery stores are carrying turkey stock specifically during this season.
  
• This gravy comes together quickly at the end of the meal. I recommend waiting as long as you can to make it.
  

If, like me, you’re alone in your home right now, this recipe freezes well. Use a souper cube to freeze leftovers or allow the soup to cool before scooping into quart sized bags. Squeeze out the air, seal, and freeze. I often find I can eat a quart of the frozen soup in a day on my own, and by doing that with this recipe, I enjoyed over six meals with it by myself.

This recipe is a base for using whatever you have in your fridge that simply needs to go. Greens like spinach or kale can also be added to make sure it gets a second chance as well. No white beans? Kidney beans or black beans will be fine. No fresh tomato? A can of diced tomatoes will render a similar amount of liquid as the large fresh diced tomato.

I also keep bouillon on hand to make some chicken broth for whenever I don’t have any homemade stock around. In these first few weeks alone, it’s been especially useful. I don’t eat enough meat to have the bones around for a good stock as often as I used to when feeding two people instead of one.

How do you make your vegetable soup? Share your own tips and tricks below!