Roast Leg of Lamb with Balsamic Reduction

roast leg of lamb

 

If you’ve never had leg of lamb, you’re missing out on a culinary treat.  It’s tender, and somewhat earthy tasting.  I love it with Mediterranean side dishes like couscous (pictured above).    When I saw it at ALDI, I knew I had to get it!  I use this recipe as a basis, but created a balsamic reduction as well.

Frugal Tips:  When cooking a more expensive cut of meat, a little bit goes a long way.  Make sure you have plenty of frugal side dishes to go along with it to bring down the overall cost of the meal.

Roast Leg of Lamb with Balsamic Reduction
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4-6
 
This roast leg of lamb dish is simple, yet will please the most sophisticated of palates.
Ingredients
  • Leg of lamb roast (2-4 lb.)
  • ¼ C. honey
  • 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
  • 2 Tbsp. fresh rosemary
  • 1 tsp. lemon juice
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp. cracked black pepper
  • Sea salt to taste
  • ¼ C. balsamic vinegar
Instructions
  1. In a bowl, combine the honey, mustard, rosemary, lemon juice and garlic. Pour over the lamb roast, cover and marinade at least 2-3 hours in the refrigerator (or overnight).
  2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place lamb on a roasting rack and add salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 20 minutes, then reduce temp to 400 degrees. Continue cooking 55-60 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees.
  3. Remove roast and allow to sit for 10 minutes before carving. While you’re waiting, pour remaining marinade into a small saucepan and add balsamic vinegar. Simmer until reduced, then pour over the roast just before serving.

 

Classic French Steamed Mussels

Classic French Steamed Mussels

 

Steamed mussels are one of our favorite “at-home date night” meals. They cost around $4 per pound, and are easy to make. I first posted our Mussels in Garlic Wine Sauce recipe on Frugal Bites a couple months ago. I recently found this recipe in the newspaper and gave it a try.  It’s based on a recipe in Cook’s Illustrated.  It was very similar to our other recipe, with just slight variations in the amounts of each ingredient.

Classic French Steamed Mussels
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4-6
 
Mussels create an easy, elegant dish that is surprisingly frugal.
Ingredients
  • 2 C. white wine
  • ½ C. minced shallots
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • ½ C. chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 4 lb. mussels, cleaned and de-bearded
  • 4 Tbsp. butter
Instructions
  1. In a large saucepan, bring wine, shallots, garlic, parsley, and bay leaf to a simmer. Cook about 3 minutes. Add mussels and cover the pan. Cook until the mussels have opened, about 5-8 minutes. Discard any mussels that have not opened.
  2. Remove mussels from the sauce. Add butter and stir to emulsify. Pour the liquid over the mussels. Serve with linguine noodles and/or crusty bread.

 

Classic Snickerdoodles Recipe


classic-snickerdoodles-recipe

According to Wikipedia,  that the name “Snickerdoodles” is a corruption of the German word Schneckennudeln (“snail noodles”), which is a kind of pastry.  I grew up eating this very Classic Snickerdoodles recipe at my grandmother’s house in Iowa, who was of German heritage.   Her secret ingredient (lemon extract) made them just a little bit tangy as well as sweet.  I could never eat just one!

Frugal Tips:  Since Snickerdoodles are mainly flour and sugar based, they cost less than cookies with chocolate chips.

Classic Snickerdoodles Recipe
 
Snickerdoodles are frugal and easy to make. The lemon is the secret ingredient!
Ingredients
  • 1½ C. sugar
  • 1 C. vegetable shortening or butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 2¾ C. flour
  • 2 tsp. cream of tartar
  • 1 tsp. soda
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 1 tsp. lemon extract
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream sugar and shortening together. Add beaten eggs. Sift dry ingredients together and add to sugar mixture. Add vanilla and lemon extract. Chill dough in the refrigerator for one hour. Roll in 1″ balls. Dust in mixture of 2 Tbsp. sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

 

Top Chef: The Cookbook just $3.99 for Kindle

top chef the cookbook This Wednesday, download Top Chef The Cookbook for Kindle for just $3.99.  That’s 87% off the print list price of $23.99.  Note that Kindle deals don’t last long, so be sure to verify pricing before you check out.

Top Chef presents the official companion cookbook to the No. 1 rated food show on cable television! Featuring 100 fabulous recipes from the first three seasons of the show, including dishes from the Elimination Rounds and the Quick-Fire Challenges. In-depth discussions with contestants, judges, and crew reveal the inner workings of the show, and lavish photographs take readers behind-the-scenes into the Top Chef pantry and the competition sites. This cookbook will have aspiring culinary contenders reliving classic show moments and relishing new recipes just in time to obsess over Padma’s outfits in Season 4.

Thanks, Thrifty and Thriving!