7 Recipes for $7 -- Each!


Charles Mattocks aka "The Poor Chef" lives by the motto "Each cheap, but eat well."

As a special guest blogger for AndersonCooper.com, Charles is sharing seven delicious recipes that each cost just $7-10 dollars. If you're looking for delectable yet cost-efficient recipes for you and your family, take a look...

1. Granny's Curry Chicken

Ingredients:
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced
1/3 cup golden raisins (optional)
1/4 cup toasted, slivered almonds
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons yellow curry powder, or to taste
4 skinless, boneless, chicken breast halves (1 to 1 1/2 pounds)
1 cup yogurt
Minced fresh cilantro or parsley for garnish

Directions:
Put the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. When hot, add the onions (and optional raisins), sprinkle with some salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent; about 5 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium, sprinkle with half of the curry powder, and continue to cook a minute or two.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and sprinkle it with the remaining curry powder. Move the onion to one side of the skillet and add the chicken in one layer. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate. Add the yogurt and stir constantly over medium-low heat until the mixture is nice and thick. (Be careful not to bring to a simmer or the yogurt will curdle.)

Return the chicken to the skillet and cook for a couple more minutes or until cooked through, turning once. Sprinkle with the toasted almonds, garnish with cilantro or parsley and serve with rice.

Chef Charles' Thoughts: Being from Jamaica, I love curry. This is a bit of a twist on the typical way of making this dish. I love recipes where you can make it your own. Spice up your family dinner and allow new flavors in your home. This recipe can be made without the yogurt to keep it simpler.

2. Light and Easy Apple Coleslaw Salad

Ready in: 15 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
2 cups chopped cabbage
5/8 unpeeled red apple, cored and chopped
5/8 carrot, grated
1/3 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1-1/4 green onions, finely chopped
3 tablespoons and 1-3/4 teaspoons mayonnaise
3 tablespoons and 1-3/4 teaspoons brown sugar
2 table spoons of lemon juice

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine cabbage, red apple, green apple, carrot, red bell pepper, and green onions. In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise, brown sugar, and lemon juice. Pour dressing over salad.

Chef Charles' thoughts: If you like coleslaw this is a great treat. I love sides that can become meals. You can even add nuts to this for a bit of crunch. Make this for lunch or even a light dinner if you are trying to keep it simple before you head to bed.

3. Healthy Colorful Cilantro Salad

Serves: 4

Ingredients:
2 bunches of cilantro
1 large tomato sliced
1 cucumber sliced
1 can black olives
1 can garbanzo beans
1 pkg feta cheese
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1 bunch green onions sliced
1 apple chopped
1 pear chopped
3 assorted peppers green red and yellow chopped

Directions:
Cut cilantro and slice and chop other vegetables up. Add cilantro and all remaining ingredients together in large salad bowl. Whisk salad dressing ingredients together and pour over salad.

Salad Dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
Dash salt to taste
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 clove minced garlic

Chef Charles' Thoughts: Now this is by far my favorite salad to make at home and to demo when I do shows. This healthy light salad will be a sure hit. The feta cheese allows the taste to pop out along with the cilantro. Most people don't use cilantro to make salads, but once you make this you may not go back. The light dressing is very easy to make and can be used on many other salads.

For the other four recipes, visit AndersonCooper.com.

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