DOLLAR DINNER SERIES The "What Came First" Soup (Chicken/Egg)

I will start posting some of my budget meals in this blog. 
And I thought I would start with this... Because I love soup. 

Not as much as I love my family and friends. But pretty darn close. Some days I would eat soup at every meal, and not because I was sick.

Leftovers are the perfect excuse to make soup. See what's in the fridge, throw it in a pot with some broth and rice or noodles and voila: Soup! Today I made what I call "What Came First" Soup: chicken noodle - egg drop soup. It was very filling and easy to make.

Ingredients (Feeds 4-6)

• 2 large pieces of cooked or fried chicken (leftover Acme "Cheep Chicken" Special $5.99/8)
• Quart of water
• 2 large chicken bouillon cubes ($.99/8)  1.50 .25 .10 .42 .25 .50 .26
• 1 diced onion (Acme Produce Sale $1/10)
• 8 oz egg noodles (the 2nd 1/2 of a bag $1/2)
• 1 cup diced carrots (Acme Produce Sale $1/4)
• 1/2 avocado (Aldi $2.49/3)
• 2 eggs Aldi ($1.65/12)
• Optional: Hot sauce such as yellow pepper sauce (Aji Amarillo)

Instructions

Fill pot with water. Place on medium heat. Add bouillon cubes, carrots, onions, avocado, and diced chicken (skin removed).  Heat until boiling. Add noodles and boil for about 10 minutes. Crack eggs into broth and quickly stir.  Add hot sauce to taste.

$3.28 total (per serving $.55 - $.82)

Don't forget to add vegetable scraps and the rinsed eggshells to your compost pile.

Cafe Bua in Piscataway: Viva la fusion cuisine!

This is what I wrote to Peter Genovese of the Munchmobile recommending Cafe Bua as a Reader's Choice...

"Figured I would recommend my new staple, Cafe Bua in Piscataway since it is conveniently located near sooo many major roads (Near Rts. 287, 1, 27, 18, 22, 35, 440,95/Turnpike, Parkway) and would be easy to add to any route.

Cafe Bua first started as a breakfast/lunch place late last year in the former Majestic Cafe location (next door to Four Seasons Thai Restaurant) but has since expanded to offer dinner.

There really is something for everyone (even the real pickyeaters): I was not a fan of the banh mi and have not tried the soups, but everything else is like, da bomb (if I was still in 1997)...

The Bulgogi Korean Tacos, Red Curry Meatballs and Noodles, Hainanese Chicken, Grilled Skirt Steak with Bordelaise Sauce, Korean Spicy Pork and Eggs (breakfast), Chicken and Waffles... The Tonkatsu Chicken Cutlet comes with the most amazing asian coleslaw. But whatever you do decide to get... make sure you try the Peking Duck Roll as an appetizer.

So dessert... Shaved Ice or Creme Brulee? The trick is to come with at least one other person and make them order dessert so that you can have both ;)

They do sometimes run out of items but are great at improv, so go with it. The owners Oat and April are the sweetest people and definitely are putting their hearts into this restaurant."

www.urbanspoon.com
www.cafebua.com
1353 Stelton Road Piscataway, NJ 08854
Phone: 732.819.3900 • Fax: 732.819.3910 • Email: info@cafebua.com