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Colorful Beet Sandwich

| Zoe Wong

I LOVE THIS SANDWICH.

I know a lot of people aren’t a fan of beets, but I promise this sandwich is so appetizing! Because the beets are pickled, the sandwich is tangy and sweet. It’s also pretty to look at.

Might I also mention that this sandwich is a great vegetarian alternative to a BLT sandwich? It’s also (relatively) healthy because there’s no oil or fat, save for the 1 tsp of olive oil in the dijon-mustard dressing.

Cruising through the aisles in Wal-Mart, I found a can of pickled sliced beets for 80 cents! Initially, I thought I’d use the pickled beet juice to make pickled eggs for Easter (future post!), but I ended up making use of the sliced beets.

Canned beets aren’t as bad as some people think. Yes, fresh beets are great (as all fresh vegetables are in comparison to their canned counterparts), but for this recipe at least, the canned version is better. Why?

Well, for one, the sandwich uses pickled beets. So if I were using fresh beets, I’d have to go through the trouble of cooking the beet, slicing it, preparing the pickle solution, and pickling the beet slices myself. No doubt, the whole ordeal would surpass 80 cents. Time is also money, folks. Save your dollars and your time, just get the can.

Putting together this sandwich is pretty quick; the hardest and most time-consuming part is toasting your bread. Personally, I don’t like when my sandwich gets soggy. I don’t enjoy the experience granted when I take a hungry bite and find the bread slice stuck on the roof of my mouth. Therefore, I toasted my cheap slices of white bread. I highly recommend you do too, unless you’re using a drier bread like sourdough or baguette loaf.

Start by toasting two slices of bread on a dry skillet. Honestly, this first step is like making a grilled cheese, except that I don’t toast my bread with oil. If you want to make this like actual grilled cheese, melt the butter first, then place the bread in.

If you asked me straight up why I didn’t just make grilled cheese with butter, I’d say I’m being health conscious. But that’s a lie HAHA. Butter has just become such a luxury to my frugal self these days (but I’d still justify using 2 sticks for a tray of brownies because, BROWNIES). Besides, I don’t really feel too much of a difference with or without butter.

While making the “grilled cheese”, I make the dressing to toss the arugula in.

Propping up my toast and “grilled cheese” to avoid it getting soggy when cooled.

I’ve been obsessed with honey-dijon mustard since I first made it for my Pear and Blue Cheese Salad. It comes together quick and the proportions are easily altered depending on how much you want. I literally put honey-mustard on anything that I can. Eggs, ham sandwiches, crepes, leafy greens, delicious! So I’m not sure if I’m being biased because I like this dressing that much, but I feel that it goes especially well with the pickled beets since it’s also sweet and tangy.

Anywho, I toss the arugula in the dressing. I find that it binds the greens together, which makes it easier to eat the sandwich because the arugula won’t be dropping as much.

Then, I arrange my beets slices from the can onto the “grilled cheese”, top with the arugula, the last piece of toast, and chow down!!

Pickled Beet Sandwich

  • Servings: 3 sandwiches
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 9 slices white bread (pls use better bread, if possible)
  • 1 can pickled sliced beets
  • 3 slices American cheese
  • 3 handfuls of arugula
  • 3 tsp olive oil
  • 3 tsp dijon mustard
  • 3 tsp honey
  • some cracked pepper

Directions

  1. Toast 2 slices of bread on a dry skillet (no oil unless preferred). Once the bottom begins to brown, flip the slices.
  2. Put 1 slice of cheese on one toasted side. Top with the other slice, brown-side down (facing the cheese).
  3. Continue to toast both sides until both sides are brown and crisp, almost like making grilled cheese. Set aside when done. I suggest propping it up so that it doesn’t get soggy.
  4. Toast another slice of bread on both sides. Set aside when done.
  5. In a bowl, combine olive oil, mustard, honey, and some pepper. Toss with the arugula.
  6. Assemble the sliced beets on the “grilled cheese”. Top with arugula and then the last slice of toast.
  7. Cut the sandwich in half and enjoy!

Quick Tomato Pasta

| Zoe Wong

Don’t got pasta sauce? Too busy to make marinara? Ran out of canned tomatoes?

I got you.

Really, all you need are some grape tomatoes. I’m sure cherry or just plain old roma tomatoes (chopped) would work too.

This recipe, as the title suggests, comes together REALLY QUICK. Like, it’s done by the time the pasta is done boiling. I used rotini in the recipe because that’s what I had. The rotini I used cooks in 8 minutes, and I’m always done making the “sauce” before the pasta is even done. If you make this, you don’t have to use rotini. Pastas like macaroni cook even faster (about 5 minute cook time). Or, you can stick to classic spaghetti, which cooks in about 10 minutes. Whatever floats your goat.

I also snuck some zucchini in for health. Any quick-cooking vegetable should work, or you can omit vegetables if it ain’t your thing 🤣

I am told that this kind of “fresh” pasta is most similar to what is actually served in Italy, not the saucy-sauce “spaghetti” type pasta.

Honestly, I like this stuff way better than the saucy-sauce. It just tastes so fresh; it’s gobble-up-in-2-minutes goodness. If grape tomatoes are on sale, do give this recipe a go! I was lucky to end up at Sprouts when 2 packs were on sale for $3! This recipe only uses half of one pack. Then, the zucchini was like 20 cents haha. Half was used for the pasta. So yes, this is a very affordable, budget-friendly recipe.

The full video tutorial can be found on my Insta-Story @hungry.craving as “🍅 pasta”

Grape Tomato Pasta

  • Servings: 2
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 2 servings of rotini pasta
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 cup sliced grape tomatoes
  • 1/2 small zucchini, sliced
  • salt and pepper
  • cayenne pepper (optional)
  • 1 tsp lemon juice (optional)

Directions

  1. Boil the pasta in a pot of water following the package instructions.
  2. In a medium skillet, heat garlic and oil on low heat until garlic is fragrant.
  3. Add the sliced tomatoes, and saute on medium heat for about 2-3 minutes.
  4. Add the zucchini slices and saute for another 2-3 minutes.
  5. Season with salt and pepper, cayenne and lemon.
  6. Add the pasta into the skillet, toss, and serve!