National Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day

Move over Canter's and Langer's Delicatessen (our local deli temples to cured and sliced meats) there's a new Pastrami Sandwich in town for National Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day And I have an easy recipe you will want to bookmark, so you can make your own  Pastrami Sammies anytime.

I usually order my Hot Pastrami Sandwich with just mustard, but sometimes I have to go for it with a layer of creamy crunchy Coleslaw (recipe here) also known as a Rachel Sandwich. 

A Rachel Sandwich also has Swiss cheese and Russian dressing served between Rye bread. You'll want to toast the sandwich to get the Swiss cheese all melty and the Pastrami hot. Here is a video of how I make mine using corned beef -- substitute with Pastrami on this auspicious day!

 

NYC isn't the only game in town for Pastrami. We have our local noshing citadels all over L.A., from Canter's Deli on Fairfax Avenue to Langer's Delicatessen, voted the top-rated Pastrami Sandwich in Los Angeles!

Lately, I've been putting sauerkraut on my Pastrami Sammies. Add Swiss cheese and Russian dressing again, and you have a Reuben Sandwich. 

I just use Sauerkraut from the jar or a can and that's tasty enough and cheap too.

Believe it or not but Rye Bread and Swiss Cheese, well at least a Swiss Cheese blend, show up at my local 99c only Store every once in a while - it's the kind of cheap$kate deal you have to jump on.

Here's a video of my Homemade Reuben Sandwich, again it's made with corned beef, but that's easy enough to swap out for Pastrami.

Now if you don't want to spend your hard-earned bucks on a nearly $20 Pastrami Sandwich, how about making a whole Pastrami from a slab of Corned Beef, and for half the price?

Yep, and this is how I do it. I buy whole Corned Beef when it's for sale during St. Patrick's Day for about $2 per pound. Next, I cook the Corned Beef according to the package directions. Finally, I give it an hour of smoking in my gas grill.

So check out my easy-to-follow recipe and make your own Pastrami Sandwiches at home.

Easy Homemade Deli Pastrami - VIDEO

So is a burrito a sandwich? Hmmm...well, I say it's an honorary sammie.  There is a wild fast food joint in L.A. called World Famous Oki Dog and they make a burrito with two hot dogs, chili, and hot pastrami all wrapped in a large flour tortilla!

I can barely finish one, but if you're a hungry teenager from nearby Fairfax High School then that is not a problem. This culinary car crash of flavors is so outrageous I had to make a video about it.

I'll end this National Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day on a wacky note with my Oki Dog video below -- this may be the only time you will need to take a Tums to get through it.

Best Cheap$kate Food Finds of 2020

 Deals Deals Deals - come and get 'em! 2020 was a great year for my budget food foraging finds, everything from Godiva Pudding to Radish Sprouts.

Well, if you are a frequent visitor, you have seen some of these photos illustrating my delish recipes, and special Deal of the Day reviews like below (click on names to see the original cheap$kate review or recipe.

Brown Cow Yogurt

Spring Rolls

Vegan Steak Strips

Mediterranean-Style Chicken Bowl

 

Click on any photo to see larger - to read ingredients or description. 

I get comments all the time about how awful dollar and 99 cent stores must be. I can't argue with that, they carry an abundance of dross and Frankenstein foodstuffs -- hey, you get what you pay for. But I am a bottom feeder on a budget with over a decade of blog experience picking out the best for less. But don't come down on me too harshly, I do highlight plenty of organic food-stuffs that Dollar Trees and  99c only Stores now wisely stock.

Best Cheap$kate Food Finds of 2020

Bouillon Paste? Seems like a good idea.

This brand does a delicious job with frozen veggies and fruit.

Tastes just like regular ketchup, just less sugary.

Check out my Kraut Dog recipe here. I love sauerkraut this way.

Hey, I'll admit to eating from time to time a few preservatives and cooking with unhealthy oils like generic vegetable oil -- gotta keep my liver exercising! Of course, do substitute healthier ingredients in my cheap$kate recipes...if you have a Whole Food budget, or can even find any untainted ingredients in the food desert you may reside in.

Haven't tried these yet, but I like this brand.

Hemp Milk is surprisingly good, especially on cereal.

Used to get a dozen for a buck. 

A little strange, but not bad?

I gotta give it up to my local 99c only Store and Dollar Tree. Without them, my food blog would be anemic and barren. When I'm low on food, I will go to a regular grocery store for coffee and deli-baked bread (usually in the bargain bin and a few days old,) veggies on sale, fresh seafood, and specialty cuts of meat, but I always make time for a quick stop at my fave cheap$kate 99 cent and dollar stores for many food deals.

Cooked Shrimp great in Fried Rice.

99 thanks budget stores and keep stocking the shelves for starving students, hardworking minimum wage earners, retirees on a budget, single-parent families, and everyone else without much change to spare and just plain old penny-pinchers.

Pastrami on Rye? Recipe for Easy Homemade Pastrami here.

Been having Bagels & Cream Cheese lately. 

Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese is intense but tasty.

For my Best Food Finds of 2020 I've learned to be an impulsive shopper - walk past one of these cheap$kate deals below, and by the time you get home, change your mind and return to get the deal, well, it will likely be gone.

Crackers ain't what they used to be and that's okay.

Just a drizzle really kicks up a Stir Fry.

Hic!

Well, that's you're missing all you naysayers and snooty gourmands. Sometimes you gotta bite the budget bullet, but don't worry all my fellow penny-pinching gastronomers, the 99 Cent Chef has your back or at least your stomach!

My preferred hot sauce for Cajun cuisine.

And keep checking back for another year of scrumptious blog postings!

My Top 9 Recipes of 2020

As for year-end lists, my Top 9 Recipes of 2019 is one you can really sink your incisors into. And all of my top picks are deliciously cheap to make. Just click on any recipe name to see the original 2020 blogpost for tasty photos and my money-saving tips, and be sure to play any embedded video below. The ranking order is random and not by delectability, so go ahead and dig in! 

1. Stuffed Bell Peppers

A colorful all-in-one entree is easy to do. Stretching out no-longer-cheap ground meat with cooked rice makes this entre fairly inexpensive.

2. Peach Salsa

If you are in Peach season then jump on this recipe for your next backyard gathering. I guarantee this appetizer with tortilla chips may out-perform your BBQ grilled burgers or steak. Or keep it vegan and serve it with your fave grilled veggies.

3. Peach Cobbler

Let's keep the peach theme going. Peaches can do double duty as an appetizer and dessert. 

3. Blueberry Pancakes

Popping with flavor, my pancake recipe uses fresh whole blueberries that caramelize and sweeten even more as they grill in the batter.

4. Hot Dog with Relish & Mustard

I finally got around to making a video series of my favorite Hot Dog Recipes. I like sweet relish on mine, how do you like yours? Go ahead and leave a comment if you want to.

5. Kraut Dog

Is this Hot Dog super sour? Heck yeah, and it's just the way I like 'em. I always have a jar of sauerkraut in my cupboard to top my Hot Dogs during Super Bowl Sunday, Baseball World Series, Hockey Stanley Cup, Soccer World Cup, Monday Night Football, and the Tennis French Open.

6. Chili Dog

And I mean chili with NO BEANS! But, I will make an exception and use chili made with poultry instead of beef. I use canned chili too, so there!

7. Strawberries & Yogurt

A simple and obvious series where I just mix fresh fruit with plain yogurt. Whatever is in season I'll give it a go. Use your local fresh fruit from a roadside stand or Farmers Market. They have pretty fresh fruit in regular grocery stores these days, too.

8. Scrambled Eggs & Corned Beef

I usually have a hunk of leftover Corned Beef after a St. Patty's Day meal. The Corned Beef may be cabbage-flavored but that's okay. I slice up a small piece of Corned Beef, heat it up, and scramble in a couple of eggs. It's an artery-clogging breakfast but I only have it once a year. 

9. Roast Turkey Breast

How do you make a Thanksgiving or Christmas meal super fast? Follow my recipe video below and cook with half the bird in half the time.

It has been a fruitfully abundant year of recipes here at the Cheap$kate Chateau. I did the heavy lifting for you, so now all you have to do is pick a recipe link and save yourself some hard-earned cash by trying out any of the above. And if you have a favorite recipe of mine, then leave a comment to share.

And make sure to keep checking in here from time to time. I create yummy-looking blog posts with a dollop of humor, and while my tastes are cheap, my recipe flavors are top shelf !

Black-eyed Peas & Collard Greens for New Years Day - Videos

Starting the New Year with Black-eyed Peas and Greens is a Southern tradition signifying good luck and prosperity. I'm not superstitious but what the heck, might as well just in case?

Peas represent coins and Collards are the green color of money. And you are visiting the right place, this Internet Chef likes cooking for cheap so you will save mucho dinero following my recipes. Black-eyed Peas and Collard Green have a lot of flavor the way I make them, so read on and see how much bang for the buck I deliver...free of charge!

I can honestly say I did not care for Black-eyed Peas as a kid as they were usually heated up right out of the can, but over time I have grown to savor them, especially when they are homemade. 

 My Black-eyed Peas video recipe below has the addition of a leftover hambone or ham hock. Ham is still cheaper than a buck a pound, but make sure to get it bone-in so you can add it to the Black-eyed Peas. Ham hock is more expensive but you are buying a small cut of pork.

The main vegetable additions are onion, garlic, and celery. If you are vegan it's easy enough to leave out the ham and add extra veggies like carrot and bell pepper. And for that smokey ham flavor add a few drops of Liquid Smoke.  

And for the New Year's Day Celebration, my Black-eyed Peas just need some rice to make the Southern traditional Hoppin' Johns. You can cook some rice (about 20 minutes of simmering, covered) with the finished Black-eyed Peas or steam the rice separately and add the Black-eyed Peas when you are ready to celebrate.

Check out my easy-to-make Black-eyed Peas video recipe below and click here to see my original blog post's step-by-step directions with yummy photos and tasty text. 

As for Collard Greens, I never had them until I started High School in Louisiana. We'd get them sometimes in the cafeteria for lunch and if you went to a local country-style restaurant or BBQ joint they were on the menu somewhere and they were always loaded with bacon or ham, of course.

My late wife Amy found a recipe she would make all the time and I fell in love with it, too. What makes the recipe over the top is the addition of a bottle of beer, a tablespoon of molasses, and a small splash of vinegar.  Bacon is included, too but you can substitute with a few drops of liquid smoke and make this a vegan entree. 

I get Greens here for about a dollar per bunch -- that's still a good and cheap deal. So check out my recipe video below and click here to see my original blog post and all the yummy details. 

Simplest to serve Black-eyed Peas and Collard Greens with white rice, and a hotlink, or Mom's Jambalaya!