Dear HER alumnae,

Do you remember cooking on a budget for 24 women? The intimidating challenge followed by the ultimate accomplishment? Taking time out from studying for a big bowl of minestrone and fresh bread with friends? The first time you tried someone’s family recipe for Kimchi? During one of my years at the House our beloved house director, Sarah Williams, created a fire-themed menu. We sat around that great big kitchen table and ate spicy chili and baked Alaska pie. (I think Sarah actually used a small blow torch for the baked Alaska!)

As your HERAA Vice President, I’ve taken on the project of compiling budget-conscious recipes from HERAA alumnae for the women currently living in the HER House. The recipes don’t necessarily need to be from your time at the House, but should be scalabale to feed 24 guests and include affordable ingredients. We would eventually like to distribute a commemorative recipe book. For now, the collected recipes are available below.

What are some meals or recipes that you would like to share with current and future HER House women? You can send recipes that feed 24 women on a budget to HERAA at heralums.191@gmail.com.

Clara Herrero, CAS 2006

Favorite HER House Recipes

Make Your Own Tacos	Creamy Spinach-Feta Dip	Cheddar Bacon Ranch Pulls	Tomato Basil Soup	Vegetarian Chili
Mushroom Pasta	Sweet & Sour Chicken or Tofu	Veggie Burrito Bake	Oreo Truffles

Make Your Own Tacos

Submitted by Melissa Carr Adeyanju, CAS 2008

Layout the following ingredients buffet style and allow dinner guests to make their own tacos! And for dessert, fried plantains are inexpensive and delicious!

• Lettuce, tomatoes, beans, meat, tofu, cheese, sour cream, rice, tortillas and salsa

Tomato Basil Soup

Submitted by Melissa Carr Adeyanju, CAS 2008

Ingredients

• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 4 large carrots, peeled & diced
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 tbsp dried basil, crushed
• 3 28-oz cans whole peeled Roma tomatoes
• 1 quart chicken broth
• 1 pint heavy cream
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a large, heavy saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat
   until shimmering. Add carrots and onion and cook until beginning to soften, 10 minutes, then add basil and cook until vegetables are completely soft, about 5 minutes more.
2. Add tomatoes and broth, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer
   20-30 minutes, or up to 45 minutes if time permits.
3. After allowing soup to cool somewhat, puree in a blender or food
   processor until smooth, doing so in batches if necessary. For a much silkier texture, strain the puree before returning to the pot.
4. Stir in cream little by little over low heat, until desired texture is reached and soup is heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve warm.

Notes
This recipe should be doubled to accommodate for 24 women. Can also be served with grilled cheese sandwiches for a filling meal!

Creamy Spinach Feta Dip

Submitted by Melissa Carr Adeyanju, CAS 2008

Ingredients

• 1 (8-ounce) carton plain low-fat yogurt
• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup low-fat sour cream
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped spinach
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh or 1 teaspoon dried dill
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• Fresh Dill (optional)

Directions

1. Spoon yogurt onto several layers of heavy-duty paper towels; spread to 1/2-inch thickness.
2. Cover with additional paper towels, and let stand 5 minutes.
3. Scrape into the bowl of a food processor using a rubber spatula. Add the cheeses, sour cream, and garlic, and process until smooth, scraping sides of bowl once.
4. Spoon yogurt mixture into a medium bowl, and stir in the spinach, minced dill, and pepper.
5. Cover and chill.
6. Garnish with fresh dill, if desired.

Notes
Yields two cups!

Cheddar Bacon Ranch Pulls

Submitted by Mary Pike, SED 2007

Ingredients

• 1 unsliced round loaf of sourdough bread
• 8-12 oz. cheddar, thinly sliced
• 3 oz bag Bacon Bits
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 tbsp. Ranch dressing mix

Directions

1. First, cut the bread going both directions. You’ll need to use a sharp bread knife for this and make sure you don’t cut through the bottom crust. It should still be in one piece!
2. Now place the slices of cheese in between the cuts of bread. Then sprinkle the bacon bits on top making sure they fall in between the cuts, too.
3. In a small bowl, mix together melted butter and ranch mix and whisk until blended. Pour the butter/ranch mix over the bread and wrap the entire loaf in foil.
4. Place on a baking sheet {with edges} and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. Unwrap and discard foil. Bake for an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
5. Now place on a platter and dig in… or if you’re like me, don’t wait for all that and just eat it right off the pan!

Notes
This was a big hit at the 2012 HERAA Valentine’s Day Tea and placed on this list at the request of several alumnae and house members. Adapted from this recipe site.

Vegetarian Chili

Submitted by Rae Lathrop, CAS 2009

Ingredients

• 3 1/4 large onion, thinly sliced
• 2 packages of firm tofu
• 2/3 cups chopped green pepper
• 6 3/4 cans (16oz) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 3 1/4 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, un-drained
• 3 1/4 cans (6 oz) tomato paste
• 1/4 cup and 1 tbs chili powder
• 1 tbs and 2 tsp salt
• 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• /4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage

Directions
Stir ingredients; mix well. Transfer to an oven proof Dutch oven or greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 minutes longer or until thick and bubbly.

Notes
I made this every semester! You just have to mix it up and put it in the oven to cook. Obviously the tofu could be beef and the original recipe asked for bacon, but we always had a veggie option. Super simple, yet delicious. I would pair with vegan corn muffins and a salad.

Mushroom Pasta

Submitted by Montana Higo, SED 2005

Ingredients

• 4 or 5 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (thigh meat is really good too, and cheaper, so use whichever you prefer, or even some of each if that’s what’s on hand)
• 3 large onions, diced (Use 1.5 for meaty option, 1.5 for veg. option)
• 9 or 10 cloves of garlic, pressed/minced (Use 4 or 5 for meaty option, 4 or 5 for veg. option)
• 3 lbs of fresh button mushrooms, sliced (looks and tastes better if the slices aren’t too big, so if you buy pre-sliced mushrooms that tend to be pretty chunky, slice the slices again 2 or 3 times (Use 1/2 of these for the meaty option, and half for the veg. option.)
• If budget allows, add a pound or so of enoki mushrooms too (3 or 4 packages), available from Super 88 or Korean grocery stores, such as Mirim in Allston (pick fresh ones that don’t look yellowed or too moist in the package), washed thoroughly and with the clumpy root material cut off and discarded.
• 4 cups of strong chicken broth for the meaty sauce (can be the cheap kind, made by boiling water and dissolving in bullion cubes)
• 4 cups of strong vegetable broth for the vegetarian option (not to be mixed with the chicken broth, obviously, and also can be made cheaply with veggie bullion)
• 2 cups of cooking sake or white wine (Use 1 cup for the meaty sauce and 1 cup for the veg. sauce)
• 5 or 6 tbs of flour each for the meat and veg. sauce
• 4 lbs of pasta (rotini, fusili, or even plain old spaghetti is fine) (Use 2 lbs for meaty version, 2 lbs for veg)
• butter and canola or olive oil

Directions

1. Salt the chicken meat and pan fry it in a large skillet on medium heat using just 3-4 tbs of canola or olive oil. Turn over the chicken after it’s cooked on one side for 3 or 4 minutes, and then cover it and let it cook on the other side for 5-8 minutes, until thoroughly cooked. Remove from heat, and, after it’s cooled a bit, chop the chicken into small bite-sized bits to add to the meaty version of the mushroom sauce at the very end.
2. Sautee the chopped onions and garlic in 2-3 tbs of butter and 2-3 tbs of olive oil. Set aside.
3. Brown the sliced mushrooms in 2-3 tbs of butter and 2-3 tbs of olive oil, not stirring much so that they can actually brown rather than just steam
4. Boil the chicken broth with 1 cup cooking sake and vegetable broth with 1 cup cooking sake.
5. Add in the browned onions, garlic, and mushrooms–half in each pot.
6. Reduce heat to low and whisk in flour a little at a time into each pot of broth to thicken it into a nice pasta sauce. This may take 5-10 minutes. Use a little more or less flour depending on how well the thickening process goes.
7. Add the chopped chicken into the meaty sauce. Turn off heat.
8. Boil the pasta.
9. Mix the meaty sauce with half of the pasta and the veg. sauce with half of the pasta.

Notes
Let’s see, here’s a cheap and easy recipe that I sort of whipped together the other day based roughly on an online recipe. Goes well with garlic toast and a simple green salad on the side. Enjoy!

Sweet & Sour Chicken or Tofu

Submitted by Molly Miller, SAR 1990

I remember we could only use meat a few times per week. I wanted to make sweet and sour chicken but had to use tofu instead. I used a tempura batter to deep fry the tofu and everyone loved it! Not sure of the exact recipe.

Veggie Burrito Bake

Submitted by Clara Herrero, CAS 2006

Ingredients

• 1 large clove and 1 1/2 tsp garlic (minced)
• 1 medium onion (minced)
• ¾ cup uncooked rice
• ¾ teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 ½ cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 16 cups fresh spinach (loosely packed)
• 1 ½ teaspoons garlic (minced)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups cooked black beans
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese (shredded)

Directions

1. Saute clove of garlic, onion, tumeric and uncooked rice in 1 tbs oil until onion is tender. Stir often.
2. Add chicken or vegetable broth and mix well. Simmer, covered, until liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes for white rice, 40 minutes for brown rice. Remove from heat, let stand 5 minutes, fluff with fork.
3. While rice cooks, heat 1 tbs oil in frypan on high heat. Add remaining garlic and spinach, one handful at a time as it wilts, adding a little water as needed to prevent sticking. Spinach should be moist, with loose leaves, not clumped together.
4. Mix black beans and chili powder in a bowl.
5. Layer ingredients as follows in a 2 quart casserole: half of spinach, all of the rice, all of the beans, remaining spinach.
6. Sprinkle cheese on top. (At this point, casserole may be tightly covered and refrigerated.)
7. Cover and bake at 375F until sizzling, 45 minutes. Or heat in microwave about 10 minutes then let stand 5 minutes.
8. Serve by spooning into warm flour tortillas.
9. Optional garnishes: salsa, avocados, guacamole, sour cream, Tabasco pepper sauce, chopped fresh cilantro, lime wedges.

Notes
This recipe is from the cookbook Simply in Season. Recipe should be multiplied at least 4 times to serve 24.

Oreo Truffles

Submitted by Jenny Gray, CAS 2012

Ingredients

• One package of Oreo cookies (Regular, not Double Stuffed)
• One 8-ounce block of cream cheese
• Chocolate of your choice – dark, milk, white, etc.

Directions

1. Take the entire package of Oreo cookies and grind them up in the food processor. You want the cookies to have a consistency of really fine sand when you are done – if there are chunks of Oreo than you will taste it in the truffle (Though that’ll still be delicious!)
2. Add the entire block of cream cheese to the processor – mix until all the Oreo crumbs are incorporated with the cream cheese.
3. Roll the mixture into balls and lay them out on wax paper. The larger the balls you make, the larger the truffles will be.
4. Put the tray of chocolate balls into the freezer for 10-15 minutes.
5. Melt the chocolate of your choice in a saucepan or double-boiler.
6. Remove the tray from the freezer and cover all the Oreo balls with your melted chocolate.
7. Stick the tray of chocolate covered balls back in the refrigerator or freezer until you wish to serve them.

Notes
You can adapt this recipe by using different types of chocolate to cover the truffles or you can buy a package of Mint Oreo cookies to make mint truffles!