49 cent dinner

yep...that's right, this dinner only cost 49 cents. plus we had two lunches leftover so i'd say it's a bargain. all i bought was a head of lettuce for this big money side salad.

the rest was leftovers we needed to use plus some staples. i love cooking this way, opening up the fridge and using whatever is on it's last legs. it makes me feel like i'm on the tv show chopped (that's the one where they get the basket of mystery ingredients, right?). well my basket contained onion, blanched broccoli, tomato, shallot, two little baby red potatoes and green bell pepper. add to that a couple staples like tofu and brown basmati rice and you have yourself a delicious rice bowl entree and side salad.

the tomato and green pepper went into the salad.

i mixed up a little red miso paste and water to stir into the cooked rice for more flavor.
the tofu got dredged in a cajun spice mixture that i made a long time ago for something (it's paprika, cayenne, salt and......other things) and pan fried.
the blanched broccoli just got a little time in the pan to heat through.
i thinly sliced the potatoes and pan fried them as well until browned and a little crispy.
all of this topped the rice and was finished off with a crispy carmelized onion/shallot mixture.

and i must say it was the best tasting 49 cent dinner i've ever had.

-d