When lockdown started a few months ago I focused on buying vegetables that would last a long time in my fridge or pantry so I could continue to eat a well rounded plate without...
Onion
Pico de gallo is one of my favorite fresh summer condiments because it only takes a few minutes to make and it’s just so fresh and vibrant. The flavor just screams “summer!” I’m always...
My boyfriend saw what I was cooking and said, “What is this, the “Hungry Man” edition of Budget Bytes? 😆 What can I say, this pandemic has me craving comfort food! And for some...
I’m a huge proponent of batch cooking and stocking your freezer with portioned meals that you can just grab-reheat-and-go! Not only are these make-ahead freezer breakfast burritos a great answer to the “I’m too...
Soup season is already on its way out, but I couldn’t resist one more warm and cozy pot of goodness. For this super easy and deliciously chunky Ham and Bean Soup I took cue...
I’ve probably made a hundred iterations of the bean-salsa-corn combo over the years, and yet I still keep making more. Why? Because it never stops being delicious, it’s super versatile, and I love making...
Sweet potatoes and chili are totally made for each other. The subtle sweetness of the sweet potatoes perfectly contrasts the smoky, spicy flavor of the chili. Add a little creamy cheese on top and...
Ahhh, red beans and rice. This classic dish has been filling hungry bellies on a dime for centuries. It’s rich, flavorful, has a TON of fiber and protein, makes a ton of freezer-friendly leftovers,...
It’s almost Friday and it’s this part of the week when my cravings for comfort food really start kicking in. It doesn’t help that it’s been dark and rainy non-stop for like, the last...
This Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili is the perfect example of why people love slow cookers so much. You literally just dump everything in the slow cooker, give it a quick stir, then turn...
Big weekend breakfasts are my favorite “me time”. They’re lazy (always in my PJs, always), cozy, relaxed, delicious, and just so much less expensive than going out to brunch. Not to mention, no waiting...
This Indian Style Creamed Spinach is a bit like Palak Paneer, but without the paneer. …because my homemade paneer didn’t turn out. 😅 But that’s okay! The creamy spiced spinach is absolutely delightful on...
Homemade chicken noodle soup from scratch is one of my absolute favorite comfort foods. Not only is it incredibly easy, but even just the smell of it simmering away is soothing and totally gives...
Despite its “swampy” appearance, this soup is simply one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. If you like tomato soup, you’ll adore Swamp Soup. It’s like tomato soup on steroids and with a...
What is a Wonderpot? It’s a pasta dish that cooks all in one pot (a.k.a. One Pot Pasta) with vegetables, aromatics (garlic, onion), and broth so that every bite is packed with flavor. The...
Some nights you just need something warm, comforting, and easy to help melt off the stresses of the day, like a big bowl of chili. And maybe some cornbread, too, for good measure. This...
Can’t stop, won’t stop with the yummy soups over here! Soup is easy, soup is filling, soup is an easy way to pack some more vegetables into your day, and soup (usually) freezes well....
There’s something super comforting to me about sautéed cabbage with butter and I eat it a lot in the winter months when cabbage is fresh and inexpensive. And because it’s just so cheap, delicious, and...
I hope you guys don’t get sick of all my soup recipes, because I pretty much live off of soup this time of year! This Smoky Black Bean Soup is definitely going to be...
My philosophy on Thanksgiving is to keep it simple. Simple is elegant, simple is cost effective, and simple is easy (because hey, the cook wants to enjoy the day, too). I like to take super...
Soup is such a great food. So easy, so filling (if you do it right!), a great way to use up leftover ingredients, and the flavor possibilities are endless. I recently discovered how delicious...
I’m all about making things from scratch. When it makes sense. If you’re cooking an entire Thanksgiving dinner by yourself, I think it makes sense to take a few shortcuts. One shortcut I like...
As soon as the weather turns cool, I grab the cozy sweaters and start cooking the comfort food, like this Classic Baked Ziti. It’s rich and gooey with its layers of pasta, homemade red...
Y’all, I’m reaching waaaaay down into the Budget Bytes archives with this one. I first posted this Easy Pumpkin Soup in 2009, just a few months into my blogging journey. When October 1st hit...
I’m a soup-all-year-long type of person. Soup is tasty. Soup is filling. Soup freezes well. And this Chicken and Lime Soup is where it’s at. The clear broth is light enough for summer, and...
What am I doing over here cooking a casserole on one of the hottest days of the summer? Crazy, perhaps, but the stomach wants what the stomach wants, and mine wants King Ranch Chicken...
I’ve been trying to brain storm up some easy plant-based meals lately, and this week’s creation was these Creamy Coconut Curried Lentils with Spinach, which are kind of like the creamy cousin of my...
If you want to take your Taco Tuesday to the next level, try baking your tacos! Yes, I said baking them. These Baked Beef and Black Bean Tacos are one of my favorite fast and...
Move over sriracha, gochujang is having a moment in the American food scene, and I’m really happy about it. These Gochujang Mushroom bowls feature sweet and spicy gochujang marinated mushrooms, quick pickled cucumbers, crunchy...
It’s self care Saturday over here at the Budget Bytes house and I’m eating this super cozy Coconut Turmeric Chicken Soup. With chilly temps outside I knew I wanted to make a pot of...
I had seen recipes for Peanut Stew and all of it’s many variations around the internet for years before I finally gave it a try, and I’m only kicking myself for not trying it...
This super easy, ultra creamy, and heavily spiced Cauliflower and Chickpea Masala is my new favorite dinner! That spicy-creamy sauce is just so 👌that I have to sop up every last bit with a...
Hi, my name is Beth and sometimes I eat weird things. But if ten years of blogging has taught me anything it’s that a surprising number of you also like to eat weird things....
Okay guys, I’m going a little out of my price comfort zone for this one because it’s so good that I have to share. And you may very well be able to make this for...
Oh my goulash, you guys. It’s not often that I use wine in my cooking because it can be pretty pricey, but something magical happens when you add red wine to beef, and it’s...
Today is the most fall day of all fall days. The fall colors are at their peak here in Nashville, the air smells like wet leaves, it’s a little overcast and spooky looking, and...
It’s been a while since I’ve made a one-pot pasta! But this weekend I got a craving for a creamy, smoky, spicy, easy one pot dish, so I set to work! This One Pot...
I’m already declaring THIS my favorite recipe of the winter of 2018/2019, and we haven’t even gotten to winter yet! That’s just how excited I am about this Vegan Winter Lentil Stew. I’ve made...
I’ve been craving meatloaf for weeks, but I was a little reluctant to make a classic meatloaf because there are a million and two recipes for “classic meatloaf” out there, all of which claim...
Zuppa Toscana… it’s one of those recipes that every food blogger has made. I see it on Pinterest at least once per day. At least. I usually try to avoid over-hyped recipes like this but, this one...
Now that it’s officially fall, I think we could all use a good primer on how to make a basic pot of chili. I have several chili recipes on this website, but this basic chili...
What did we do before the cauliflower revolution? While I’m not the type to completely replace foods with cauliflower (I can’t do the pizza crust guys, sorry), I love mixing cauliflower into foods because the...
I love simplifying recipes and making them accessible for the average everyday American cook, with simple ingredients and simple prep, but I think went too far with the original version of this Slow Cooker...
I’m still trying to take full advantage of the fresh summer veggies before they’re gone. This Roasted Vegetable Couscous is the perfect side dish for the transitional season, when the markets are still full...
Rice cookers are a convenient and inexpensive way to cook food for those confined to small spaces or without access to conventional kitchens, so I’m going to develop a few recipes specifically for rice...
Yeah, I know, it’s 90 degrees outside and most people don’t want to be eating chili right now, but I’m a year ’round chili eater. Especially back in the day when I worked in...
You guyyyyysssssss. This Thai Coconut Curry Carrot Soup is everything. I seriously wanted to slurp up the entire pot! It’s light, creamy, just a little spicy, and somehow perfectly fitting with this warmer than...
Spring is kind of a strange time of year to be making soup, but I know at least some of you are still experiencing freakish January-style winter blizzards. Plus, this Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla...
I’ve made a lot of variations of pasta sauce over my nine years of blogging, but I think this latest version wins the title of The Best Weeknight Pasta Sauce. Why? Because it’s incredibly...
One of my favorite things to do is replicate “convenience foods” at home, and for the past couple of weeks I’ve been seeing ads for these new breakfast cups where you just crack an...
My brain is a couple months ahead and I’m so ready for summer, so I’m going to break out a couple summer vegetable recipes now instead of waiting. I just can’t wait any longer....
Yesterday may have technically been the first day of Spring, but when I took my dog out last night before we went to bed, I looked up to see that it was SNOWING. Yeah,...
Chicken and Dumplings. What does that mean to you? There are about a million (okay, maybe more like 900,000) different interpretations of this comfort food. When I was growing up it was basically chicken...
THIS is one of those soups that makes you feel good about your health and is still incredibly delicious and satisfying. Beans are probably the most underrated super food. They’re packed full of fiber,...
I’m the type of person who could just eat marinara sauce with a spoon. I love it just that much. BUT that feels kind of weird so I try to find other vehicles to...
Do you remember the cabbage soup diet? It was one of those crazy fad diets where you were supposed to eat as much as you want of just one thing (in this case cabbage soup) and...
Oh, January. You fill me with such conflicting emotions. It’s so cold and grey outside, so I want to eat nothing but comfort foods, yet my brain is screaming, “New year, new you!” Haha!...
Yummmm! We’ve already eaten half way through this Vegetable Pot Pie Skillet, but I already want to make more! It’s just such a warm and comforting winter classic. This Vegetable Pot Pie Skillet contains...
I don’t know if I mentioned this, but I pretty much ate my weight in cheese over the holiday. Now that I feel sufficiently icky, I’m trying to focus on some more plant-based recipes...
I’ve been making a lot of soups lately and not being very diligent about chopping and freezing my leftover vegetables, so I found myself this week with a refrigerator full of vegetables and wondering...
I’ve been waiting for months to share this new book with you, you guys! My friend, Daniel Shumski (author of Will it Waffle? and Will it Skillet?) just came out with his third book,...
You guys know how I feel about cabbage, right? It’s like, the best thing ever. It’s super cheap, doesn’t spoil quickly, is super healthful, and can easily bulk out a meal. Braised Red Cabbage...
Bratwurst is something I only eat once in a blue moon but when I have it, OMG it’s soooo good. When my bratwurst craving came back this time I decided to try a little...
It’s funny that I’m calling this Sausage and Tortelloni Soup when the motivation behind making it was all the vegetables that I packed into the pot. I was craving vegetables, but didn’t feel like...
I got a really strong craving for my One Pan Roasted Kielbasa and Cabbage Dinner the other day, but instead of making it the exact same way, I decided to change it up and...
If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen my story the other day where I was trying to figure out what to do with a pound of ground beef that I had...
I’m declaring chimichurri the sauce of the summer. It’s so bright and vibrant, and as I’ve mentioned before it’s good on pretty much everything! This week I made this scrumptious one-pot Chimichurri Chicken and...
The last apartment I lived in was on a super cute street in Mid-City New Orleans. I had the best group of neighbors and our entire block would often hold impromptu cookouts on the weekends....
It’s Monday and I’m throwing caution to the wind. Sometimes you have to start the week out with a bang to make the weight of the long week ahead a little more bearable, you...
I had a very “Louisiana” day yesterday. I made a big pot of red beans during the day and then went to a crawfish boil at night. :P I was craving red beans, so I...
You guys. I didn’t know if anything could ever top my Hearty Black Bean Quesadillas, but we now have a very strong contender! These Ultimate BBQ Chicken Quesadillas are packed with tender chicken pieces, creamy...
Looking around my kitchen the other day I took note of a few leftovers that I had from the last few recipes. I had a couple chorizo links in the freezer left over from...
The aroma from this salad is the most deliciously fresh aroma of cucumbers, parsley, and crunchy green peppers, and it’s beyond delightful. The only thing better than the aroma is the flavor. In short,...
“Plus? What is this ‘plus’ business?” … I can hear it now. Well, the “plus” is LENTILS! *crowd cheers* Yes, these easy Homemade Sloppy Joes Plus have lentils for added fiber and to bulk them...
I’ve avoided cauliflower for a while because it’s been really expensive. Apparently we went through a shortage at the exact same time that cauliflower rice, cauliflower pizza crust, and cauliflower “alfredo” sauces hit their peak...
Okay, this might be the best thing I’ve ever made in my slow cooker. No joke. The combination of the subtle spices, orange essence, and richness of the slowly cooked pork is absolutely to die for....
Okay, I’ll admit I just made this salad as a vehicle for the lime crema. It’s all about the crema. This stuff is seriously life changing and I haven’t been able to stop making...
I had a completely different plan for cooking today, but you know what? In the end I decided I just wanted some comfort food. This Cheesy Rigatoni Skillet is just another version of my favorite easy...
Have you ever gotten flavor overload? Like if you eat too much and the next day all you want to eat is something really simple? Okay, maybe that’s just me or because I work...
I’m alllll about the casseroles in winter. They’re warm, filling, and comforting. This week I took my favorite Broccoli Cheddar Casserole and beefed it up a bit. …Er, chickened it up a bit. I...
When my body is tired and achey, or I’m feeling a bit under the weather, I always throw together a pot of this Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup. The aroma that fills my house as...
The other day I got a message on Facebook from Tiffany exclaiming how much she liked my Easy Oven Fajitas and Oven Roasted Greek Stuffed Pitas and she asked if I could create a similar...
While checking the sale flyers for my grocery stores last week I noticed that Whole Foods had beef stew meat on sale for $3.99/lb. and I was ALL OVER that. I was finally able to...
Last week I saw an amazing photo for some Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches from Carlsbadcravings.com and I couldn’t stop thinking about them. I wanted those sandwiches and I wanted them bad. But then...
Okay, one last Thanksgiving post before the big day! I couldn’t let this year get away from me without making some stuffing (yeah, my yankee blood still calls it “stuffing” and not “dressing” like...
As I mentioned in my last post, I’m having fun exploring the new Trader Joe’s in New Orleans. I asked everyone on Instagram to share their favorite products with me so I could sample...
If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen my stories about adventuring through the new Trader Joes in New Orleans. I’m so excited to finally have a Trader Joes near by because...
What happens when an unusually cool Autumn breeze blows by and I get a sudden craving for split pea soup, but am waaay too tired to do any actual cooking? I grab a bag...
I’m trying to stock my fridge with some healthy options for the week ahead because I didn’t do so well last week. So, this morning I threw together some of my favorite flavors (garlic,...
Fried cabbage and noodles is simple comfort food at its finest! If you’re a fan of plain buttered noodles with salt and pepper, you’ve got to try adding caramelized onions and sautéed cabbage into...
The other day on Facebook I asked your opinion on “classic casseroles.” The response was almost unanimous—you love them, but would like to see versions made without as many canned ingredients or “cream of”...
I love taking concepts from old recipes and reinventing them into something new. For this Tomato Herb Rice with White Beans and Spinach I’ve taken my (not) Sun Dried Tomato Sauce and used it to...
I hate using the term “diet”, so let’s just say that ever since I got back from vacation I’ve been focusing on healthy lifestyle choices. I’m trying to focus (again) on increasing my vegetable...
This week I played around with the concept for my classic Taco Chicken Bowls and made a “green” salsa version, or Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken Bowls. Salsa is kind of a secret weapon when...
A few weeks ago my friend Jenni sent me a link to this recipe for Tzatziki Pasta Salad with the comment that, “it isn’t too Budget Bytes friendly (too many splurgy ingredients), but it’s really...
Have you ever had refried beans that were so good that you wanted to just eat them plain out of a bowl? If you’ve been getting your refried beans out of a can, I’m...
I really wanted to have this recipe ready for y’all yesterday, because it really is one of those “weekend day-cooking” sort of recipes, but I have been glued to social media since late last week,...
I have a serious case of salad envy. Every day my Instagram feed is flooded with gorgeous photos of amazing salads overloaded with mouth-watering ingredients. That type of food is hard to create when...
It’s HOT outside, so I’m experimenting a lot with my slow cooker this week. Slow cookers are awesome not only because they’re mostly hands-off, but also because they contain their heat well and don’t...
Remember that Creamy Tomato and Spinach Pasta that we all love because it’s so easy and delicious? Well, the other day when I was craving a creamy-pasta-comfort-food dinner, I decided to morph that recipe with another...
