Week Six

I'm back today with another week of recipes for you to try out.  I'm a week behind, so here's what we had last week.  I find this week's food to be particularly tasty, and I've had them all before, so I know that they taste good.

Monday: Guinness Roast Beef 

• Okay, this was A-mazing!  And it was a splurge, but who cares because it tasted so good.
• I had the onions, garlic, spices, and corn starch.
• I bought a chuck roast ($9), beef broth ($2), 2 bottles of Guinness ($4), 4 carrots ($1), and a head of cabbage ($1.50).

The total was $17.50, but I had leftovers and I reused the meat for another day.

Tuesday: Cajun Fettucini Alfredo (I will post this recipe soon)

• For this recipe, I had the alfredo sauce and the spices. - (I froze this a month or two ago, and when it defrosted, I just added some more cream and some more parmesan cheese to even out the consistency.)  It tasted totally fine - I was leery to freeze that type of thing, but it worked!
• I bought the chicken ($12) and the fettucini ($2).

This recipe cost $14, and I had enough for lunch the next day.  For the spices, I used Penzey's spices red and black spices.

Wednesday: White Chicken Chili

• For this recipe, I had all of the spices, the onion, the garlic, the olive oil, dried beans, the chicken from last night and 4 cups of chicken broth.
• I purchased the parsley ($2) and another container of chicken broth. ($2)

My total for this meal was $4, and I froze two more containers of it.  That will be two more dinners for us, and 3 lunches for me!

Thursday: Open Faced Roast Beef Sandwiches

• For this, I had the roast, the gravy, the bread, and I simply bought the potatoes to make mashed potatoes ($2).  

The total is $2 for the dinner, and we definitely had enough for a lunch too!

And, this recipe is pretty self-explanatory.  Toast bread, add roast, put mashed potatoes on the side, drown the whole thing in gravy... you're set.

Friday: Butternut Squash stuffed Shells with Brown Butter Sauce

• For tonight's dinner, I had the ricotta cheese, the pasta shells, garlic, parmesan cheese and the butter.
• I bought butternut squash ($2), a container of spinach ($2), and the sage ($2).

This meal cost $6, and we had way too much of it.  It was good on day one, so make a half portion because this is the dinner that never ends.

Saturday: Waffles with strawberries and whipped cream

• I had everything for this recipe (flour, milk, eggs, cinnamon, rice krispy cereal, vanilla, vegetable oil, baking powder, salt and heavy cream) except for the strawberries ($2).
• I use the heavy cream to make fresh whipped cream, I cut up the strawberries, and the secret weapon is Trader Joe's sugar-coffee grinder.  Grind some on top of your waffles, and you will not be disappointed!

Dinner = $2.

Sunday: Stuffed Shells Again for free!

The meals this week cost $45.40  I'm pretty impressed with this one if I don't say so myself. :)

Have a great week!

All pictures are from Pinterest.

Veggie Lasagna

I've always found a veggie lasagna to be a tricky thing.  I love lasagna, but I'm not so much a fan of egg plant or chunky tomatoes, and so many veggie lasagnas have that sort of thing.  I do love vegetables though, so I came up with my own variation.

I took an inventory of what I had: spinach, sweet potato, carrots and onion.  They all sounded good to me, so I threw all of it in a pan with a bit of olive oil to soften the mixture, and then I just assembled the lasagna as normal.  It was so good, and the best part of this recipe is that you can substitute whatever you want and add or subtract so easily.  Best of all, it was cheesy and it made a lot, so I was able to freeze it for a lazy day.

Here's what you need:

Image Source

Veggie Lasagna

Easily Feeds 8-10

Ingredients:

1 bag fresh spinach

2 carrots - peeled and shredded

1 large sweet potato - peeled and shredded

1 onion - finely chopped

3 garlic cloves - minced (originally I used garlic scapes, but those are really seasonal and found at farmer's markets.  If you're lucky enough to get some, you should totally add them!)

2 cans of tomato sauce

1/2 box or so of no boil lasagna noodles

1 bag of mozzarella cheese

1 bag of sliced provolone cheese

16 oz. ricotta cheese

1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon dried oregano

handful of fresh basil - sliced

1 egg

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil

Directions:

After your vegetables are prepped and ready to go, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil to a large sauce pan.  Allow it to heat for a minute or so, then add onions, carrots and sweet potato.  Saute on medium heat for 4-5 minutes, then add garlic.  Saute another 2 minutes and finally add spinach until it is just beginning to wilt.  Remove from heat.

For your cheese mixture, add ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, 1 egg, oregano, basil, and salt and pepper to a medium sized bowl.  Mix until the ingredients come together.

Finally, to assemble, grease a 9x13" baking dish.  Pour enough sauce in the bottom to evenly cover up the bottom of the pan.  Set 3-4 lasagna noodles on the bottom - don't be afraid to break the sheets in half to get all the spots covered up!  Add more sauce to cover the noodles.  Add half of your vegetables, then add half of the ricotta mixture.  Make sure both are spread evenly across the noodles.  Sprinkle a little under half of the mozzarella on top, and give it another splash of sauce.

Repeat another layer beginning with the noodles and ending with the splash of the sauce.  Finally, top with one last layer of noodles.  You should have about half a jar of sauce left by this point, so go ahead and pour the rest on.  End by adding the slices of provolone cheese and fill in the "cheese gaps" by using the remainder of the mozzarella cheese.

Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes... make sure to check the directions on the noodle box since each brand may be different.  Once it's bubbly, you can turn on the broiler for a minute or so to make the top nice and golden brown.

Serve this with a nice salad, and you're all set for a tasty dinner!  I hope you enjoy it!

Week Five Recipes & Apple Orchard

Oh, it is finally fall!  This is no doubt my favorite season.  I am lucky enough to have already made some wonderful friends here in Indy, and I was invited to go pick apples at Anderson Orchard.

I absolutely had a blast picking 13 pounds of apples!  When we arrived the air was crisp and we were able to take in all of the sites that you would expect to see at a family orchard.  There was row upon row of about 20-30 different types of apples.  Mums dotted the front porch of the little shop, and the smell of pumpkin bread mingled around in the air.  The playground was packed full of little ones that were on  a field trip, and all of it just brought joy to my heart!

Because I picked a lot of apples for just Scott and me, I'll be making lots of apple recipes.  I'll keep you posted on those, but for now, here's what's for dinner.

Monday: Vegetable Lasagna

• I made this about a month and a half ago and had the remainder frozen.
• I did buy some sourdough bread for $3, and we froze the other 2/3 of it.
• We had this for dinner and again for lunch = $3.

Tuesday: Tacos!

• I haven't made tacos in a while, but they sound tasty this week!
• I bought 1 lb of ground beef  ($6), taco shells ($2), refried beans ($2) and cilantro ($2).
• I had rice and I am going to make my own taco seasoning.
• Total = $12... we will probably have some rice and beans leftover.

Wednesday: Community Group... I bought cheddar cheese to go with our chili ($2).

Thursday: Taco Baked Potato

• I will use the 1/2 pound of ground beef that will be left over from Tuesday to go on top of our baked potatoes.
• I bought 2 potatoes ($1) and an avocado ($1) to dice up on top. 
• I will garnish it with our leftover cilantro, and I am going to make a pepper jack cheese sauce.
• Our total = $2 and some guacamole as a snack with the half that didn't get used!

Friday: Roast Chicken with Spaghetti Squash and Mac and Cheese

This mac 'n cheese is the best stuff ever!  I used to make it from scratch, but this is just as good in a time crunch.

• I bought my little chicken for $10.  He was pasture raised, and I'm sure he was very happy until the end. :)  We'll eat half tonight.
• The spaghetti squash was $3, and the mac and cheese was from Trader Joes - $3. 
• This meal is $16 and a lunch added in and half a leftover chicken for next Monday's dinner.

This weekend we are cheating.... friends and family are coming up, so we'll be eating out!

Our total this week is: $45

Week Four Recipes

Hello Again!  Sorry this post is late... I worked a lot last week, which is a great thing, but it leaves little time for blogging.  Here's what we had last week and I'm working to get this week's menu up too!

Monday: Slow Cooked Beef Brisket, Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans

• Luckily, we were given quite a bit of produce this week.  I used the green beans tonight, and used the rest throughout the week.
• I bought the brisket $13 and the potatoes $2.
• Meal total = $15, but I had 1/2 the brisket left, and it is going to be used again on Thursday, and I had this for lunch the next day too.

Tuesday: Pizza with Cucumber Salad

• We used up the meatballs that I made and had in the freezer.
• I bought cheese $2, pizza crust $4 and pizza sauce $2.
• I was given a pepper, a cucumber, had onions, and picked out some basil from our garden.
• Meal total = $8, but I have one pizza crust left and some sauce, and they're hanging out in the freezer.

Wednesday: Community Group: Broccoli Slaw

• We bought one package of broccoli slaw and two packs of Ramen noodles.
• Meal total = $5

Thursday: Beef Brisket Quesadillas with Rice and Raspberries

• I had the beef brisket, Ale-8-one BBQ sauce, taco shells, rice and lime juice.
• I bought a small wedge of Brie $3, some Monterey Jack cheese $2 and the raspberries $2.
• Dinner = $7, plus lunch the next day.

Friday: We made an impromptu trip to Louisville, so we were able to eat out tonight with family.

Saturday: We still stayed in Louisville, and we were able to try the Come Back Inn for the first time.  Scott promises it's the best spaghetti he's ever eaten in a restaurant.

Sunday: Grilled Cheese and Trader Joe's Roasted Red Pepper Soup

• I keep the bread in our freezer, and continue to stock up whenever I go to Louisville.... I think it's $5 a loaf, but I kind of consider that a treat.
• We used Pepper Jack Cheese that one of my husband's sweet co-workers bought for us.
• Roaster Red Pepper Soup - $2
• Meal = $2, and we'll continue to eat on this for lunch until it runs out.

Groceries = $37 this week, but we ate out on Friday and Saturday.

Week Three Recipes

We've almost reached the end of August, and it has been a busy week!  Hence the lateness of this post. Last week was a little tricky too.  I planned on making the chicken, but something came up, and well, truth be told, I forgot to defrost it. It was okay though because we had tons of leftovers and parents came to visit us.  Needless to say, we'll be having chicken this week.  And so, here are the recipes for this week.

Monday: Fettuccine with Sausage & Leeks; Cucumber Salad

• Since I forgot to defrost the chicken, I had the leeks and cucumbers.
• I bought fettuccine ($2), parsley ($2) and sausage ($2.50).
• I made the Italian Salad Dressing --- oh my goodness this is so easy.  I usually buy a packet because my grandma always did.  Well, I thought I had some mix, but I did not.  I found this recipe, and it tastes exactly the same except there are limited ingredients and I can pronounce them.  It is literally as easy as the packet.  Just slice up the cucumber, and pour the dressing on top.
• Meal for two, plus two lunches = $6.50... and may I say this tasted fantastic.

Tuesday: Spaghetti Squash with Kale and Kidney Beans

• I bought a spaghetti squash ($3), garlic (.50) and kale ($2).
• I had a can of kidney beans so I used those instead.
• I had olive oil, red pepper, salt and parmesan.
• Meal for two, plus two lunches = $5.50. (Another delicious choice).

Wednesday: CG - Coca-Cola Cake.... Cracker Barrel Style

• I bought buttermilk($1) and coke ($1).
• I had everything else.
• We had 1/4 of the sheet cake left after group, so that means we get dessert!! ($2)

Thursday: Roast Chicken or Roast Chicken, Purple Cabbage and Carrots

• I bought cabbage ($2) and carrots ($2).  Add some butter, seasoned salt and sauté for a tasty vegetable medley. 
• I had the chicken and seasoning.
• Dinner plus leftovers = $4.

Friday: Bubble and Squeak (Please try this.... it is true comfort food!)

• I bought bacon ($4), jalepeno cheese ($3), and 2 large potatoes ($1).
• I had cabbage and carrots.
• Meal plus two lunches = $8.

Saturday: White Bean Chili

• I bought an onion ($1) and a jalepeno (.50), and a bag of dried white beans ($2).
• I had carrots, I made the chicken stock, and had all of the other spices.
• Dinner plus two more dinners to freeze = ($3.50)

Sunday: Leftovers

• Already paid for!

Dinner for the Week = $29.50

Week Two Recipes

Last week's recipes went really well!  As I hoped, I used up almost everything that I had purchased, and all left overs were eaten.  But I also acquired new items and had a few things left.  Here are my dinners for this week, and how I'm going to use up all those remaining items.

Monday: Fettuccini Alfredo

• I used the other half of the pasta that I bought last week.
• I used heavy cream that I bought last week to make caramel sauce.
• I had parmesan cheese.
• I made honey dijon dressing for our salad.
• I bought spinach from the salad bar because we usually don't use the whole bag. 
• Dinner = $1, plus 1 lunch and half of the alfredo sauce left.  I froze it to use at a later date!

Tuesday: Adobo Pulled Pork with Poblano Peppers, Sweet Potatoes and Cilantro Lime Rice

• I bought the pork.  This recipe has onions (I had), orange juice (I bought), chipotle peppers (I had), lime juice (I bought), and a variety of spices (I had).
• I bought two sweet potatoes.
• I bought two poblano peppers.  (I just dice the sweet potatoes and poblanos.  Sauté the potatoes on the stove top in a little oil for about 15 minutes, then add the peppers for about 5 minutes.
• I had rice, but I bought cilantro.
• Dinner = $15

Wednesday: CG Dinner - I am taking a strawberry mozzarella salad. *This was a splurge... I love this, and I wanted to make it while strawberries were still in season!

• I bought strawberries, mozzarella, mint and almonds.
• I had olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
• Dinner = $10

Thursday: Pork Tacos with Pickled Onions and Black Beans  I added lots of seasoning to this recipe... cayenne pepper, cumin, salt, and chili pepper.

• I used the pork from Tuesday (free), got some taco shells (bought), pickled some onions (free), and chopped up cilantro for the tacos.
• I'm using the leftover rice from Tuesday tonight.
• I bought a bag of dried black beans (cheaper than buying a can). 
• I'm also going to freeze any remaining cilantro in a touch of olive oil to use later. 
• Dinner = $3

Friday: Roast Chicken and Quinoa Salad  I still have some left over pork, so I am adding that to some sweet potato and black bean soup that I had in the freezer.  I'm also going to add any remaining sweet potatoes, black beans and rice.

• I bought a whole chicken.  I had the butter and herbs to season it.
• I bought a container of blueberries, a cucumber and a mango.
• I had the quinoa.
• Dinner = $14.50

Saturday: Spinach Artichoke Soup - find this recipe in a post next week.  Roast Chicken

• I am using yesterdays chicken for this (free).
• I am making chicken broth from the chicken bones (free).
• I am buying a container of spinach and a leek.
• I am buying a bag of frozen artichokes.
• Dinner = $6, plus 2 containers to freeze for leftovers later!

Sunday: Eat Leftovers!  Spinach Artichoke Soup

• I'm not sure what will be left, but I know that there will be some in the fridge... take advantage of resting on Sunday and simply reheat what you already have.

That's a whole week's worth of meals plus lunches and 3 full frozen meals for later for just $50.  Please note that my meat was bought local, so your costs will probably be lower if you purchase them at a grocery.

A Week of Recipes

Happy Monday friends!  As you saw in my last post I have been on a serious reading kick.  One of the new books that I am reading is called The Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn.  In one of the chapters of the book, it challenges its readers to avoid waste and to use up everything that is in the fridge.  Flinn examined her fridge and was shocked to see that waste that she had accumulated in a week, and so I decided to do the same.  I thought I had been doing a pretty good job, but I still found the remnants of some lettuce, half a container of sour cream, a little cream cheese, a bean burrito, a dish of rice and a few green beans.  All of these were past their expiration, and while I can take heart that my fridge is now clean, I had to ask myself, why did I just throw away money!  Beyond that, it was just simply wasteful.  

I recently read a statistic that American families throw away 14% of the groceries that they buy each week.  For example, if you spend $100 on groceries each week, $14 is thrown into the trash.  That is almost $60 a month!  It may not look like a lot either... it could show up as some bananas that are past their prime or 4 slices of bread that got stale before you ate them, but when you total it up, it is a lot.  

So I created a plan to start using up everything and to have nothing left in my fridge by the time Sunday rolls around.  I am certainly not an expert, but here is what I came up with for one week:

Monday:  Pecan Crusted Chicken with honey mustard sauce, Mashed Potatoes and Broccoli

• I bought a package of chicken that had three 1/2 breasts and three tenderloins.  Today I used 2 of the breasts and reserved the rest. 
• I had the pecans already.  Chop them up really well.  Coat the chicken in flour, dip in egg, then dip in pecans.  I usually cook it in olive oil until brown on both sides then stick it in a 350 oven until I'm finished with the vegetables.
• Make mashed potatoes as normal, but leftover cream cheese instead of butter.
• I just steam the broccoli- add salt and pepper... maybe some lemon juice if you have that hanging around.
• I bet you have have honey and mustard hanging around your house.... voila honey mustard.
• For this meal, I bought chicken ($9) and broccoli ($2) for a total of $11.

Tuesday: Summer Vegetable Tart

• Here is an example recipe: Ratatouille Tart
• I had pre-made pie dough, a squash, one ear of corn, a red onion and a basil plant.
• I bought a zucchini and fresh, local mozzarella cheese for a total of $6.
• Meal's total = $6, plus lunch for two.

Wednesday: Spaghetti and Meatballs

• I bought spaghetti, but only used half. 
• I bought ground beef, sausage, an onion and bread.
• I made the sauce... I had all of the ingredients thanks to my mother in laws tomato plants!  See the recipe here.
• I had ten meatballs left over... so I am definitely having lunch tomorrow.
• This meal's total was $12.

Thursday: Lentil Soup with Cornbread

• I had the soup in the freezer = free!
• I bought a box of cornbread... which I will never do again. $3... whaa waa.
• Dinner for 2, plus 2 lunches = $3.

Friday: Poached Chicken with Green Beans and Cornbread Dressing

• Remember that initial chicken?  Now it's free!  I simply took some garlic and some fresh herbs and rubbed it all over the chicken.  (I have herb plants and had the garlic.)  I poured in the chicken broth and some lemon juice.  Let it cook for 30 minutes in a 375 degree oven.
• And that cornbread with yesterday's soup?... It's going to be cornbread dressing.
• I added cranberries (had those) and celery ($3) and chicken broth from the fridge.  Here's the recipe.
• I bought green beans ($1).
• Dinner for 2 = $3.   Celery becomes a snack... just separate what you need for the recipe and eat the rest in the afternoon with late half empty jar of peanut butter lurking in your cabinet or the close to expiration cream cheese. 

Saturday: Meatball Subs

• Remember those leftover meatballs?  I am using 4, so I still have 8.  Those are getting frozen, and I will see them in the future!
• I am using up that tasty mozzarella that I bought.
• I bought a loaf of Italian bread for $3.  (I'm only using half, so the other half is getting frozen as well.)
• Dinner for two = $3.

Sunday: The Fridge is Empty ... treat yourself to dinner and head to the grocery.  Time to start planning again.

Total Spent on Dinner Groceries this week: $38*

Total Wasted on Groceries: $0! Whoo hoo!

Please note that almost all meat, vegetables, cheese and pasta were either local or organic.  If that's not important to you, you could probably cut my total in half.

Okay, so there you have it.  I know that I have things that you may not have and that as you use up items that you'll have to replace them.  I also know that this list doesn't include things like breakfast foods and milk, but this is definitely a start, and I was pretty excited.

Feel free to use these ideas, and please share how you make the most of your leftovers!!

Farmer's Market Pizza

I've had this picture hanging around for a few weeks now.  On one of my trips to the Broad Ripple Farmer's Market, I hit the jackpot of fresh produce, particularly with the corn and squash blossoms.  Indiana is known for corn, but it really does taste so much better here.  I found myself eating the corn kernels without even cooking them.  They were so sweet and tender.

I decided that I wanted to make something to combine the squash blossoms and the corn, and I came up with a Squash Blossom pizza.  They pictures I took didn't turn out so great, but trust me, it tasted heavenly.  Here's how I made my pizza.

Ingredients:

Prepared pizza dough or crust (I got the pre-made dough from Trader Joe's)

olive oil

dried basil

dried oregano

dried parsley

red pepper flakes

1 ear of sweet corn

6 squash blossoms, stem, stamen and rough portion removed

prosciutto

Italian cheese blend

Directions:

Form your dough into a pizza, and preheat the oven to the direction's temperature.  Place your pizza dough onto a baking sheet if it is not already baked.  Pour a little (maybe a tablespoon or two) olive oil onto your dough.  Spread it out.  I used a pastry brush to evenly distribute the olive oil.  Then sprinkle the spices onto the crust of the pizza.  Use as much or as little as you like...everybody's taste are different.  Sprinkle a little bit of cheese, then add as much prosciutto as you like.  Sprinkle on about an ears worth of corn.  Top your pizza with the squash blossoms and lots of cheese.  Place in the oven and bake according to package directions.  I like to take my pizza off the baking sheet once the dough is stable so that the bottom can get crisp as well.  I finally like to turn on the broiler in the last few minutes so that the top of the cheese gets bubbly and brown.  If you do this, be sure to watch it carefully.

That's all!  It hit the spot and was not a typical pizza.... just my type of thing.  Scott and I gobbled it right up!

Here are some more pictures from the Broad Ripple Farmer's Market.  Now you can see why I keep talking about it!

Source

Spaghetti

Hi there!  Sorry for the absence; our internet has been down, but I am happy to report that it is finally back!  It made for a boring week, but I had a lot of time to read.  I got through "The Pioneer Woman" in two days, and I have been meticulously combing through her cookbook with the rest of my time.  I'm bound and determined to make those cinnamon rolls that she keeps talking about.

Saturday, I went to the farmer's market, and I spotted a big box of Roma tomatoes, and I knew that I had to have them.  The trouble was that another lady wanted them too, and she spotted them first.  Luckily her mom talked her out of them; I really did have better plans for them anyways.  So I grabbed them, a spaghetti squash, and a cabbage.

The second I got home, I got to work.  Here's how I made my spaghetti sauce:

Spaghetti Sauce

Source: Me :)

Ingredients:

20 or so Roma tomatoes

1/2 to 3/4 cup red wine

2-3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes*

3/4 teaspoon dried basil - you can use fresh too*

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano*

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 onion, roughly chopped

3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Rinse your newly purchased tomatoes and cut an X into the end opposite the stem.  As you are doing this, get a large pot of water boiling.  Drop the tomatoes in, and let them boil for a minute.  While they are boiling, grab a large bowl, fill it with ice and water, and set it close to the tomatoes.  When your timer sounds, put the hot tomatoes into the ice bath.  This will make the skin super easy to peel off.  

Continue to boil the tomatoes in shifts until all of your tomatoes have been boiled for the minutes.  Drain out the water and grab a trash can.  Peel the skins off of the tomatoes... warning this is about to get messy!  Then take a sharp knife and cut off the stems.  Cut the tomatoes vertically and discard the squishy insides, seeds and any core that remains.  And that's the tricky part!  It's really not tricky, just kind of time consuming and you'll be up to your elbows in tomato juice, but it's good for your skin...I think.

In the same pot that you boiled the tomatoes in, add the olive oil and onions.  Let them cook until they begin to soften, about five minutes.  Add the garlic, and cook for 2 minutes longer.  Then take the onions, garlic and tomatoes, and put them in a blender.  I hate chunky tomato sauce, so I blend it to a pulp, but it you enjoy your sauce with a little more texture, pulse it until you have the consistency that you enjoy.

Pour the newly formed sauce back into the pot, add the red wine, sugar and all the seasoning.  Let it simmer for a long time... like two hours.  Your sauce may look thin at first, but it will thicken beautifully; the longer it simmers, the thicker your sauce will be and the sweeter and more full flavored it will become.

You can easily add meatballs or brown some ground beef to make a meat sauce.  I know this takes quite a bit of time, but it really just tastes better than canned tomato sauce.  It's easy work, and your taste buds will thank you!!

*Feel free to change the amount or even the spices themselves. If you don't even like a hint of spice, leave out the red pepper flakes.  Do whatever sounds good to you!*

Happy Monday!