This is a great marinade for any meat dish, and much cheaper to use than any store-bought brand. Not to mention, it’s fast, easy, you can make it any consistency that you personally prefer, and you don’t have to worry about any preservatives or chemicals. Plus, you can always brag that you made it yourself!

Ingredients:

Soy Sauce
Brown Sugar

Preparation:

Pour the amount of soy sauce you would like to use for a marinade into a bowl (I usually prep about 1- 1& 1/2 cups). Then, add crumpled brown sugar slowly to the liquid making sure to mix it in well and break up any clumps.

*If the brown sugar is hard, try putting it in a brown bag and thawing it in the microwave for 15 seconds.

Keep adding the sugar until you get the desired consistency and flavor (it should be a little sweet). If I am making a marinade that is between 1 and 1& 1/2 cups, than adding about 1/4 sugar should be more than enough!

Coat the meat in the marinade and let sit for at least 20 minutes before cooking!

Enjoy!

Everyone loves sun tea. And in the summer we crave those thirst-quenching, sweet, tangy drinks that don’t add to our waistline or take from our wallets. Try this recipe if you are a tea lover in any way- it takes minutes!

I usually prepare my iced-tea with black teas or fruit teas. The most simple and cheap would be lipton. When preparing the sun tea, immerse concoction into a glass jar or container and place in direct sunlight (outside is best).

Preparation for lipton iced tea:

For every tea-bag, add one cup of water. I usually add just a tad of honey to the mixture, some lemons and, if I have any, peaches to add some sweetness. Let mixture sit in sunlight for at least two hours and no more than 5 or else it will start to go bad in the sun. Refrigerate or serve on ice immediately!

Other tea options:

If using fruit tea, just add the tea-bags and water and possibly some sweetener. Later, you can experiment with other flavors.

Or, try making chai iced-tea, with chai tea-bags, water, and cinnamon sticks.

Enjoy!

During the summer there are a few incentives for cooking healthier- milder weather, fresher food options, and that little nagging sensation that one should slim down for beach season. So, we often turn to salads for a crisper, lighter, cheaper staple dish. In your fridge and cabinet you can find many items to add/replace the ingredients I have mentioned. One might think of this salad as a “pot luck” salad. Along with this recipe, I usually serve wine and some fresh bread with olive oil. Altogether the dish can cost less than $25 to feed four, if you buy cheap enough wine.

-Summer Salad Recipe-

Ingredients:
1 box mixed greens
1 avocado sliced
1 mini cucumber sliced
2 slices of prosciutto
1 carrot sliced thin or shredded
handful of olives
crumpled goat cheese/sliced parmigiano-reggiano cheese
a dash of salt and some pepper
a squeeze of lemon (optional)
a drizzle of dressing (see below for dressing recipe)

-Preparation-

On large platter, arrange a layer of mixed greens. Next, place avocado slices carefully over greens and scatter cucumber slices. Shred the prosciutto randomly and top with the carrot slices. Next, throw a small handful of olives on top and add the cheese. Lastly, squeeze over lemon, add the salt and pepper and drizzle dressing over the salad only when you are about to serve. Otherwise, this salad could easily sit for an afternoon. Serve salad with tongs and make sure it is only tossed on each individual’s plate, otherwise the avocados will be crushed.

-French Vinaigrette by Williams Sonoma-

2 tbs. dijon mustard
2 tbs. champagne vinegar
6 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper freshly ground, to taste

This vinaigrette is very easy to store- simply pour into a sealed container and refrigerate. When you are ready to use it again, give the dressing ten minutes to thaw and shake it thoroughly before pouring it over your salad.