Sometimes money is tight. You still have to eat, right? I have found that I get tired of baked chicken (one of my go-to budget pleasers) but when I have a yummy side dish, it helps. Today I wanted to share something for those Five of Pentacle times. You know–when you have the fabulous choice of paying the electricity bill OR paying rent OR buying food? Yeah. Those fun times…
The Five of Pentacles traditionally means eviction and loss of fortune. I often associate it with the Little Matchgirl fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson. I even went into why in detail here.
I call this budget friendly even though it uses two items that can be a luxury in tight times (olive oil and rosemary). Let me know what you think.
5 of Pentacles Budget Friendly Roast Potatoes
- 2-3 red potatoes aka new potatoes per person
- Olive Oil
- Garlic (I like the jarred stuff so I can use the oil too)
- Rosemary
Wash those potatoes well. You don’t want dirt in your teeth so scrub the little plump darlings. I choose my potatoes over buying a pre-done sack. That way I can get the ones that are small. I like some things small–oh yes I do!
Now chop them in half. Then chop each half in half and half (so you have four pieces per half). If you did get the pre-done sack, you may need to chop yours more. I can’t know. What? I’m not there with you, am I? So aim for pieces no more than 1/2″ or so.
Dump them in a glass baking dish. Here’s a tip. If you have a big, lasagna-style (9×13) pan, use that. If you don’t, split them up into two smaller dishes or two baking sessions. Don’t layer them more than two high. It is bad potato feng shui. Trust me on this.
Now drizzle the olive oil over the potatoes. I know! I didn’t tell you how much olive oil to use. I can hear the Virgo folks panicking now. It’s okay. Don’t drown your baby potatoes (Pisces, ease up on the pour!) but don’t be stingy either (yes, Taurus, I’m looking at you.) You don’t even have to get olive oil on all the potatoes. All the Libras just went into twitch mode. HA!
Now that I’ve abused a full third of the Zodiac, let’s move on. Get you a jar of chopped garlic. Stick your spoon in. Dump a generous amount on the potatoes. Repeat that a time or four depending on your love of garlic. For real garlic aficianados, you can stick a couple of full cloves in as well.
I like to snip a bit of rosemary on the potatoes as well. Go gently here. It’s a strong herb and you don’t need to scare the potatoes–or your guests.
Now bake this at 400 for about 30 minutes. Take it out. Stick a potato with a fork. Is it soft? YAY! It’s done. Is it not soft? Pop it back in for 5-10 minutes and test again.
I have been known to be completely unhealthy and substitute butter for some if not all of the olive oil. You didn’t hear that here. K?
NOTE: I have used baking potatoes (often cheaper than new potatoes) and sweet potatoes done this way (minus the rosemary and less garlic) are heavenly.