Few food bloggers are as savvy about shopping on a budget as Jessica Fisher.
She's the San Diego-based writer behind two blogs, LifeasMom.com and GoodCheapEats.com, and a new book "Good Cheap Eats: Everyday Dinners and Fantastic Feasts for $10 or Less" (The Harvard Common Press, $16.95).
She juggles all that writing while also homeschooling her six children and feeding their family of eight on $900 a month. You don’t have to be a coupon-clipper to understand what it’s like to try to make your grocery budget stretch as far as it can, and both her website and this new book are full of countless ideas to help you do it. She doesn’t buy anything that’s not on sale, which means she has to be flexible when it comes to what to make for dinner, and she always pays in cash, so she can keep track of what she’s spending.
Her family subscribes to a community supported agriculture program to eat better quality produce at a discount, but that means she has to get creative with using up all that produce that she might not have otherwise purchased at the store.
One of those ingredients during fall and winter in Texas is greens, and this recipe for poached eggs and spinach hits all Fisher’s benchmarks: it’s nutritious, fast, cheap and something that most of her family will eat.
She’ll swap in other kinds of greens, or add mushroom, onion or bacon, depending on what’s on hand, and serve it for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Skillet Poached Eggs with Spinach
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 leeks, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise into half-moons
5 oz. baby spinach
8 large eggs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
In a large skillet with a lid, heat the oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the leeks and sauté until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the spinach. Stir gently and cook until slightly wilted.
Spread out the spinach mixture to create 8 small wells. Crack an egg into each well. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Cover and cook until the desired doneness is reached for the eggs, 5 to 8 minutes. Serves 4.
— From "Good Cheap Eats: Everyday Dinners and Fantastic Feasts for $10 or Less" by Jessica Fisher (The Harvard Common Press, $16.95)
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