Has it really been a week since I updated the challenge?! Surely not... hm. Well, let's see what I can remember. I know we've been doing pretty good eating from the freezer and pantry, when I've been home.
Last Wednesday, Day 10 - Hubby cooked! He got a bag of frozen chicken (thighs, with the bone in and skin still on) and skillet-cooked it with some chili lime sauce and olive oil. We had steamed broccoli (from the freezer) and a packet of Lipton Rice Sides, the taco rice or Spanish rice flavor. Yum.
Thursday, Day 11 - Hubby went out of town to teach other officers driving procedures, and the Boy and I stayed at Nana and Papa's. Nana cooked (have I mentioned she's the queen of throw-it-together last-minute amazing pantry and freezer meals?) and we had a Bisquick pie thing (can't remember what it was called, impossible something...) with ground turkey. It was really good, and reminded me a little of breakfast quiche.
Friday, Day 12 - Went to visit a friend Friday afternoon at her house with the Girls, visited for a bit, then grabbed Whataburger on the way home with the Boy... Hubby didn't get home from his trip until right at bedtime, and I didn't feel like cooking for just myself. The boy had grilled chicken and he stole some of my fries.
Saturday, Day 13 - Spent the day bargain-hunting for clothes for this new baby girl we've got coming (found some great stuff really cheap!) with Hubby, the Boy, and the Mother-in-Law... honestly, we can't remember what we did for dinner that night. I'm sure we ate something... I just can't remember what!
Sunday, Day 14 - Hubby and I had a piece of chicken, dark meat, since that's what I was cooking for the Boy. I usually cook a whole package of chicken for the Boy's meals at once, put it in freezer containers with veggies and sometimes pasta (or whatever I decide, sometimes it's casserole-style, sometimes it's more like vegetable and meat goulash, sometimes it's just random healthy finger foods he likes mixed together), and when it's time for him to eat, we can just pop one in the microwave for a minute or so and his meal is taken care of. Anyway, I was making a pack of chicken for him in the skillet, with the rest of the lime marinade/sauce Hubby used on Wednesday, and boiling some pasta to put with it. Pressed for time and feeling lazy, Hubby and I just had a piece of the chicken and didn't make a single thing to go with it. I'm sure he had cookies later for dessert, and I think I had some milk and a brownie later (Little Debbie, guilty pleasure... homemade are so much better, but I can't help buying the cheapo Little Debbie ones every now and then).
Oh, and I cut my fingers. Ha. While chopping up the cooked chicken for the Boy, somehow the knife slipped and I dropped it. I knew better than to grab for it to catch it, and was concerned about getting my bare feet out of it's way on the way down, and somehow it caught the back of my left hand and cut my pinkie, ring finger, and middle finger. Nothing major, no stitches or anything, but I did cut the whole cuticle or nailbed or whatever you call it at the base of my fingernail on my middle finger... I really hope my fingernail doesn't fall off. Gross.
Monday, Day 15 - CHEAT! We had Culver's for dinner (burgers, fries, and frozen custard... the works) after a quick trip to Target... I felt guilty about it, but not guilty enough to go home and cook.
Tuesday (today), Day 16 - I had a freezer meal I got out (marked on the bag as Beef & Pepper Rice, add 3 cups water)... It was meant to be a crock pot meal, but when I found it I decided it would do just fine (and be pretty fast, since the meat was already cooked) to put it in a large pot with the water and let it cook down quickly like that. It was... mushy. The flavor was good, once I added some Penzey's Seasoned Salt, but it didn't cook down to be like a rice and meat dish, like it would have if I'd made the two separately and then just put them on the plate together and mixed them up. Oh well. It was food. The Boy took a few bites and decided he just wanted to play with it, so he had some whole fat vanilla organic yogurt (yum) so I wouldn't feel like he'd starve. I toyed with the idea of putting our "goulash" on potatoes, or bread, or something, but it didn't happen, and we just ate it with spoons and put our plates away.
No pictures... I'm lazy.
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Pantry Challenge Day 9
We finally cheated... really cheated. But it's one of those things that ends up working out for the better and then you're glad you did it.
I had a meeting after school and didn't get home until 5. Hubby was already home with the Boy, who met me at the door with a grin and then ran off to show me the Cheerios he'd wrestled out of the box and was snacking on. I'd already warned Hubby that we needed to go to the store, because Nana was about out of food and snacks for the Boy at her house, and there were a few things he needed at ours, too.
Off we head, to HEB... get there and it's nearly 6 pm, the Boy's regular dinnertime, and we're both hungry, too, so we decide to give up our dollar for the day and get their "Cafe on the Run" deal to eat in their little dining room area. They have a "blue plate special" for $5.99 every day, and it's a meat and two sides. Today there was a coupon for $1 off, so we each got one, with Boy-friendly foods, and ate our dinner before we did our shopping... $12 for dinner for the three of us, not too bad.
We did ok with the groceries, but cheated on a couple of things... me because pregnancy cravings took over on a couple items, and Hubby because he said if I got something, he should too. Haha. I got thumbprint cookies from the bakery (pecan sandies with chocolate icing piped on top, one of my all-time favorites), Hubby got Oreos, and together we bought some coffee creamer (sorry, that's like milk in our house, and when you run out, there's no doing-without just for some pantry challenge), and I bought heavy cream and blueberries to make homemade creme brulee. I think that was all the cheating as far as groceries are concerned... the Boy got lots of goodies, some new things to try and some regular staples we know he likes...
OK now for the part where I tell you why it was ok (and even good) that we cheated and didn't come home from the store and cook something. On the way home, we're cruising along and see this Cadillac XLR (the little sporty 2-door one) ALL OVER the road. I mean, across three lanes of traffic, nearly hitting other cars and the retainer wall, the works. So, Hubby being a State Trooper, he calls dispatch to get someone out to stop this drunk, and the Boy and I are along for the ride. I start filming the driving, in case they need it later, while Hubby is giving the play-by-play to the dispatch and we keep following to make sure they don't get away. They keep slowing down to 25 mph, then nearly stopping in the middle of intersections, going into oncoming traffic... pretty bad. So when they finally get this lady stopped, we have to hang around for a bit (the Boy and I in the car, and Hubby out giving his statement to the local PD officer), and end up not getting home until almost 8 pm! Pretty glad we didn't have to then come in and cook dinner for the Boy and find ourselves something, too!
I had a meeting after school and didn't get home until 5. Hubby was already home with the Boy, who met me at the door with a grin and then ran off to show me the Cheerios he'd wrestled out of the box and was snacking on. I'd already warned Hubby that we needed to go to the store, because Nana was about out of food and snacks for the Boy at her house, and there were a few things he needed at ours, too.
Off we head, to HEB... get there and it's nearly 6 pm, the Boy's regular dinnertime, and we're both hungry, too, so we decide to give up our dollar for the day and get their "Cafe on the Run" deal to eat in their little dining room area. They have a "blue plate special" for $5.99 every day, and it's a meat and two sides. Today there was a coupon for $1 off, so we each got one, with Boy-friendly foods, and ate our dinner before we did our shopping... $12 for dinner for the three of us, not too bad.
We did ok with the groceries, but cheated on a couple of things... me because pregnancy cravings took over on a couple items, and Hubby because he said if I got something, he should too. Haha. I got thumbprint cookies from the bakery (pecan sandies with chocolate icing piped on top, one of my all-time favorites), Hubby got Oreos, and together we bought some coffee creamer (sorry, that's like milk in our house, and when you run out, there's no doing-without just for some pantry challenge), and I bought heavy cream and blueberries to make homemade creme brulee. I think that was all the cheating as far as groceries are concerned... the Boy got lots of goodies, some new things to try and some regular staples we know he likes...
OK now for the part where I tell you why it was ok (and even good) that we cheated and didn't come home from the store and cook something. On the way home, we're cruising along and see this Cadillac XLR (the little sporty 2-door one) ALL OVER the road. I mean, across three lanes of traffic, nearly hitting other cars and the retainer wall, the works. So, Hubby being a State Trooper, he calls dispatch to get someone out to stop this drunk, and the Boy and I are along for the ride. I start filming the driving, in case they need it later, while Hubby is giving the play-by-play to the dispatch and we keep following to make sure they don't get away. They keep slowing down to 25 mph, then nearly stopping in the middle of intersections, going into oncoming traffic... pretty bad. So when they finally get this lady stopped, we have to hang around for a bit (the Boy and I in the car, and Hubby out giving his statement to the local PD officer), and end up not getting home until almost 8 pm! Pretty glad we didn't have to then come in and cook dinner for the Boy and find ourselves something, too!
Monday, January 9, 2012
Pantry Challenge Days 7 and 8!
Two days at a time tonight on the pantry challenge:
Day 7 (Sunday) - dinner at my parent's house (again!) because my cousin, her husband, and their baby came up. We were all sick at Christmas and couldn't get together until now to catch up and hang out. Spaghetti (yum) and salad, with garlic bread. The Boy had his spaghetti and a bunch of other stuff all day long. Felt like he ate 6 times or more! Oh well, he was just extra hungry I guess, since he refused to nap!
Hubby did have to run to the store first thing Sunday morning to grab milk (2 gallons, we'll see how long it lasts), but that's all he bought.
Day 8 (Monday... today) - we had grilled cheese sandwiches and canned tomato basil soup (the Progresso kind is the only one I like, and it's actually pretty good). Split the can between us, so a can of soup was all that got used out of the pantry stash. The Boy had hummus for the first time and LOVED it. I spread it on some of those "Magic Pop" cracker things from HEB... kind of like rice cakes, but fluffier? I don't know, look them up if you're really that curious: http://www.deliceglobal.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=76&Itemid=150 . He also had some cut up cheddar cheese and a few cheerios. I realized later that he really didn't have any vegetables, but the weather was nasty and by the time we all got home it was nearly 6 and he was really hungry. Too hungry to wait for a whole meal to be cooked.
After I finish updating, I'm going to plan out the Boy's menu for the next week or two and get him some meals in the fridge and freezer ready to go, so he always has something in there to heat up quickly when he's too hungry to wait for our dinner to finish cooking. Or when our dinner is gross. :)
Day 7 (Sunday) - dinner at my parent's house (again!) because my cousin, her husband, and their baby came up. We were all sick at Christmas and couldn't get together until now to catch up and hang out. Spaghetti (yum) and salad, with garlic bread. The Boy had his spaghetti and a bunch of other stuff all day long. Felt like he ate 6 times or more! Oh well, he was just extra hungry I guess, since he refused to nap!
Hubby did have to run to the store first thing Sunday morning to grab milk (2 gallons, we'll see how long it lasts), but that's all he bought.
Day 8 (Monday... today) - we had grilled cheese sandwiches and canned tomato basil soup (the Progresso kind is the only one I like, and it's actually pretty good). Split the can between us, so a can of soup was all that got used out of the pantry stash. The Boy had hummus for the first time and LOVED it. I spread it on some of those "Magic Pop" cracker things from HEB... kind of like rice cakes, but fluffier? I don't know, look them up if you're really that curious: http://www.deliceglobal.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=76&Itemid=150 . He also had some cut up cheddar cheese and a few cheerios. I realized later that he really didn't have any vegetables, but the weather was nasty and by the time we all got home it was nearly 6 and he was really hungry. Too hungry to wait for a whole meal to be cooked.
After I finish updating, I'm going to plan out the Boy's menu for the next week or two and get him some meals in the fridge and freezer ready to go, so he always has something in there to heat up quickly when he's too hungry to wait for our dinner to finish cooking. Or when our dinner is gross. :)
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Pantry Challenge Days 5 and 6!
I completely forgot to update last night! My friend (the one that just had a baby) was released from the hospital and some friends and I went over to visit and take her and her husband a blizzard... and see the baby again!
Dinner was Jamaican jerk boneless pork ribs with potatoes, onions, and carrots in the crock pot... this was a freezer meal I'd made a while back and we never thawed it and cooked it. The meat turned out really tender and pretty tasty, but I wasn't all that impressed with the vegetables. Too sweet. The recipe had called for maple syrup, which I didn't want to freeze with the rest of it when I put it together, so I just wrote on the bag to add it when we cooked it. Hubby put it in the crock pot while I was at work and thought that since we were out of maple syrup, regular pancake syrup would do. It was... not the same. But I appreciate him for getting it ready for us, and the Boy really liked the carrots and the meat, but not so much on the potatoes.
There's been some discussion as to whether I actually earned my dollar yesterday for eating from the pantry/freezer and not going out, because when we met up to go visit the baby, we also went out to eat at PF Chang's... technically I didn't spend money on going out to eat, because I had a gift card, so the jury's still out on whether it counts or not. Either way, I brought home leftovers!
Tonight was leftovers all around, me from PF Chang's (hooray for Dan Dan Noodles), and Hubby and the Boy had leftover pork ribs and veggies. The Boy also ate some cheddar cheese cut into tiny chunks, and some Cheerios, because he didn't care for the meat as much tonight.
That's all for now, if I get a chance I'm going to clean out the pantry tomorrow, because who knows how many more expired cans of stuff are in there...
Dinner was Jamaican jerk boneless pork ribs with potatoes, onions, and carrots in the crock pot... this was a freezer meal I'd made a while back and we never thawed it and cooked it. The meat turned out really tender and pretty tasty, but I wasn't all that impressed with the vegetables. Too sweet. The recipe had called for maple syrup, which I didn't want to freeze with the rest of it when I put it together, so I just wrote on the bag to add it when we cooked it. Hubby put it in the crock pot while I was at work and thought that since we were out of maple syrup, regular pancake syrup would do. It was... not the same. But I appreciate him for getting it ready for us, and the Boy really liked the carrots and the meat, but not so much on the potatoes.
There's been some discussion as to whether I actually earned my dollar yesterday for eating from the pantry/freezer and not going out, because when we met up to go visit the baby, we also went out to eat at PF Chang's... technically I didn't spend money on going out to eat, because I had a gift card, so the jury's still out on whether it counts or not. Either way, I brought home leftovers!
Tonight was leftovers all around, me from PF Chang's (hooray for Dan Dan Noodles), and Hubby and the Boy had leftover pork ribs and veggies. The Boy also ate some cheddar cheese cut into tiny chunks, and some Cheerios, because he didn't care for the meat as much tonight.
That's all for now, if I get a chance I'm going to clean out the pantry tomorrow, because who knows how many more expired cans of stuff are in there...
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Pantry Challenge Day 4
Quick update for tonight's dinner...
Used from the freezer: 2 frozen pre-cooked hamburger patties
Used from the fridge: milk, Parmesan cheese
Used from the pantry: 1 box macaroni and cheese, 1 can fire-roasted tomatoes, 3 cans ranch style beans, 1 can refried beans
We had frozen lean hamburger patties sauteed in the skillet with a can of fire roasted tomatoes and then topped with Parmesan... and macaroni and cheese. The hamburger patties were some already-cooked HEB ones we had originally bought to actually make into burgers, and when we tried them in the store (of course they were sampling them the day we bought them, otherwise I never would have tried them), they were good. Not so good once we got them home. The meat was pretty dry... oh well.
This dinner started out as a "quick" dinner of macaroni and cheese and ranch style beans, which has been a go-to staple for Hubby and I for several years when we're really too tired to cook and just want something quick and easy that doesn't require a car ride and/or a drive through. That's why you see "ranch style beans" on the pantry list of stuff we "used" tonight... haha, Hubby pulled out a can of beans... expired. Pulled out another can... expired. Same with the third can of ranch style beans and the can of refried beans. That's when I decided to check the freezer to see if we had something I could turn into an edible meal quickly and came up with the hamburger patties. I decided to try a trick my mom uses sometimes and just cook the meat in the skillet with a can of tomatoes on top, but when she does it, it turns out tasting much better.
Overall, not the best dinner we've ever had (by a long shot), but it was free and got some things out of the pantry, right! I will say, if I'd ordered this at a restaurant (or something like it, and it came out tasting like this), I would have wanted my money back.
Oh, and the Boy had macaroni and cheese and a few bites of banana!
Used from the freezer: 2 frozen pre-cooked hamburger patties
Used from the fridge: milk, Parmesan cheese
Used from the pantry: 1 box macaroni and cheese, 1 can fire-roasted tomatoes, 3 cans ranch style beans, 1 can refried beans
This dinner started out as a "quick" dinner of macaroni and cheese and ranch style beans, which has been a go-to staple for Hubby and I for several years when we're really too tired to cook and just want something quick and easy that doesn't require a car ride and/or a drive through. That's why you see "ranch style beans" on the pantry list of stuff we "used" tonight... haha, Hubby pulled out a can of beans... expired. Pulled out another can... expired. Same with the third can of ranch style beans and the can of refried beans. That's when I decided to check the freezer to see if we had something I could turn into an edible meal quickly and came up with the hamburger patties. I decided to try a trick my mom uses sometimes and just cook the meat in the skillet with a can of tomatoes on top, but when she does it, it turns out tasting much better.
Overall, not the best dinner we've ever had (by a long shot), but it was free and got some things out of the pantry, right! I will say, if I'd ordered this at a restaurant (or something like it, and it came out tasting like this), I would have wanted my money back.
Oh, and the Boy had macaroni and cheese and a few bites of banana!
Pantry Challenge Day 3 (late!)
I know... I'm late! Yesterday was Day 3 of our Pantry Challenge, and we didn't eat out, but I didn't get a chance to update the blog, so I'm doing it this morning... I had a good reason, though! One of my dearest friends had her first baby yesterday!! I am so excited for her and her husband as they start their journey into parenthood and pray they will find so much joy in that tiny baby boy as he grows and changes every day!
Food-wise, I kinda cheated... I at homemade food that I didn't go out and buy, but it wasn't my home, or my food... I took the Boy up to Nana and Papa's house and they watched him while I went to the hospital to check on my friend and see the baby, and they had dinner ready when I got back to pick him up (love them, they are awesome!), so I ate with them.
The boy had a mixed plate of peas, pasta, cheese, grilled chicken, and then some applesauce (and he stole some bread we were eating, too, after he finished his dinner and started running around.
My dad made some amazing shrimp, five different presentations - boiled, grilled with jalapeno, bacon, and cream cheese, and three different batters on some fried shrimp. We had salad and bread with our shrimp, but didn't waste plate space with any other sides.
That's all for now, I will update again tonight (hopefully with pictures) for what we eat from our own pantry!
Food-wise, I kinda cheated... I at homemade food that I didn't go out and buy, but it wasn't my home, or my food... I took the Boy up to Nana and Papa's house and they watched him while I went to the hospital to check on my friend and see the baby, and they had dinner ready when I got back to pick him up (love them, they are awesome!), so I ate with them.
The boy had a mixed plate of peas, pasta, cheese, grilled chicken, and then some applesauce (and he stole some bread we were eating, too, after he finished his dinner and started running around.
My dad made some amazing shrimp, five different presentations - boiled, grilled with jalapeno, bacon, and cream cheese, and three different batters on some fried shrimp. We had salad and bread with our shrimp, but didn't waste plate space with any other sides.
That's all for now, I will update again tonight (hopefully with pictures) for what we eat from our own pantry!
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Pantry Challenge Day 2
OK so here's the update for Day 2 of our Pantry Challenge. Earned our $2 for not eating out, but didn't get rid of much from the pantry, and dinner was good but a bit pathetic on the "well-rounded" aspect.
I had my 24-week doctor's appointment to check on Baby Girl this afternoon, so my mom came over to watch the Boy and Hubby met me at the doctor's office on his way to work, since he's on nights this week. This was the longest appointment ever! I got there at 3:45 for my 4 pm appointment, and wasn't walking out until after 5:30! Got home at nearly 6 and the boy had been too hungry to wait for his dinner, so my mom made him a grilled cheese and cut up a banana for him. Nana to the rescue!
I had a set of steaks in the fridge we got on sale a couple days ago that were going to go bad if we didn't cook them today, so Hubby came home for "lunch" break and we cooked them with some olive oil, soy sauce, garlic salt, and pepper in the skillet, and that's it. No sides, no veggies, no fluff. I was too tired to worry about doing anything else with it. The steaks were good, though, and had good flavor (we were worried they'd be too salty)...
I hate having so much beef in one week, but tomorrow will be beef again to use up the last of the meat from the fridge, then it's on to the freezer, yay!
I had my 24-week doctor's appointment to check on Baby Girl this afternoon, so my mom came over to watch the Boy and Hubby met me at the doctor's office on his way to work, since he's on nights this week. This was the longest appointment ever! I got there at 3:45 for my 4 pm appointment, and wasn't walking out until after 5:30! Got home at nearly 6 and the boy had been too hungry to wait for his dinner, so my mom made him a grilled cheese and cut up a banana for him. Nana to the rescue!
I had a set of steaks in the fridge we got on sale a couple days ago that were going to go bad if we didn't cook them today, so Hubby came home for "lunch" break and we cooked them with some olive oil, soy sauce, garlic salt, and pepper in the skillet, and that's it. No sides, no veggies, no fluff. I was too tired to worry about doing anything else with it. The steaks were good, though, and had good flavor (we were worried they'd be too salty)...
I hate having so much beef in one week, but tomorrow will be beef again to use up the last of the meat from the fridge, then it's on to the freezer, yay!
Monday, January 2, 2012
Pantry Challenge Day 1
Day 1!! I made whole wheat shell pasta with meat sauce, and that's what all three of us had... we were a lot cleaner than the Boy was, he had to have an immediate shower after he finished!
Here's our pasta, on the new dishes I got for Christmas...
We used about 2/3 of a box of whole wheat shells, a can of tomato paste, a small can of tomato sauce, a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes, and a couple tablespoons of Penzey's Italian Seasoning. Fridge stuff was an onion, some garlic, and ground beef. I've got leftovers for lunch tomorrow, too!
We had to go to the store before dinner anyway, but we only bought a few things for the Boy, and some bread... no clue what I'm making tomorrow for Day 2...
Here's our pasta, on the new dishes I got for Christmas...
We had to go to the store before dinner anyway, but we only bought a few things for the Boy, and some bread... no clue what I'm making tomorrow for Day 2...
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Here we Go! Pantry Challenge 2012!
Here's the picture of our pantry... before I've organized it. See, I told you it was ridiculous!
Here's a picture of the bottom shelf and floor area, which is the stuff Baby Boy can reach (and play with). His food mostly sits on the bottom shelf (Mum Mum crackers, applesauce, etc) but it's also been overrun with a bunch of other things!
Here's how this will work - we'll cook each night (or some nights have leftovers) and I'll post what we made, how it turned out, and periodically update the pictures with how the pantry and freezer are looking. I'll also post when I have to go to the store to buy fresh stuff so we can keep track and make sure I'm not adding anything to the pantry!
First order of business for today: organize the pantry so I know what we've got in there... then, decide what I'm cooking tomorrow. I'm thinking it'll be spaghetti, since I have ground beef in the fridge I bought and haven't frozen yet.
Here we go!
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Catching Up... and a Challenge.
First, let me say I know it's been forever since I've posted anything! Lots has happened since my last post in... um... April, 8 months ago! Let's break it down:
April-May - finishing up the school year, spending as much time with Baby Boy and Hubby as possible
June - relaxing and enjoying a break from work
July-August - we found out we were PREGNANT with baby #2!! This was very exciting for us, as we'd talked about wanting our kids to be close in age... We're due April 28, 2012, and found out in November we're having a GIRL!
September - Baby Boy's first birthday!!
October-December - craziness of the Birthday/Holiday season in our house. We've got six immediate family birthdays during that time, plus a couple extended family ones, our anniversary, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Whew!
We all had a great Christmas and are looking forward to what 2012 will bring, which is what brings me to the "challenge" portion of the post... here's the background info: I'm kind-of a food hoarder. I know. Crazy, right? What exactly does that mean? My pantry shelves and freezer (and most of the time the fridge, too) are always full. When I go to the store, I don't check to see what I already have on hand, I just go and buy what I think I might need. If I have a specific recipe I'll be using that week, I usually buy double on the pantry items needed, and there's no real justification as to why. For example, if I'm making something that calls for 2 cans of crushed tomatoes and a can of chicken broth, I'll more than likely buy 4 cans of tomatoes and 2 cans of chicken broth. I'll usually add in a can of tomato sauce and tomato paste, too, in case I need to alter the recipe... or just to have them in the pantry... Needless to say, because of this, every shelf (and the floor) of the pantry are full. They're usually really organized, so it's not like I can't find anything, but the lower shelves are a bit messy these days with the Boy running around and wanting to dig around in the pantry. I think I have 6 boxes of pasta in there (and that's a modest guess)... I've decided this is ridiculous. I can't really figure out why I'm this way about buying food, and probably don't want to get into the psychotherapy aspect of it. I'm not afraid of running out of food, I'm not preparing for some disaster where we have to survive on what we've got, I just.... I don't know... buy too much stuff. Same thing with the freezer, and the fridge. When I walk through the produce section, I always buy tomatoes. We may already have them at home, but I always buy some. I always buy lettuce, with the intention of having a salad with our dinners... does it happen? Not usually. The Hubby (rightfully) gets upset at all the perishable things that get thrown out, because unlike cans of chicken broth, the lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, and cottage cheese all go bad pretty quickly. The second part of the problem, other than the hoarding, is that we don't cook at home enough, and spend WAY too much money eating out or grabbing fast food. Honestly, I think I've cooked at home maybe 5 times this month. Sad.
Here's the challenge, then. We have decided starting January 2 (not the 1st, because Hubby is working and I'm having dinner at my parents' for "New Year's Food"), we are eating strictly from our pantry and freezers. Yes, I said freezers... there are 2, the main one attached to the fridge in the kitchen, and a very full deep freezer in the garage. No picking up fast food, no going out to eat while we're out running errands, no ordering pizza because we're hungry NOW and there's nothing cooked. Eat what we've got. We (and by "we" I mostly mean "I") have to be really creative, not so much at first while there's tons of stuff in there, but later, when I'm out of easy meals and I'm actually having to think up ways to put all these ingredients together. I'm actually pretty excited about it.
Here's the payoff (other than cleaning out the pantry and then reforming my shopping habits when I do start grocery shopping again)... for every day we make it without eating out, Hubby and I each get a dollar. At the end of the month, we put our 30ish dollars in our spending accounts and go on a date together, out to eat somewhere, to celebrate. Honestly, we may be extending the challenge to February, too, because I think I probably have enough food stored up for 2 months (or more?). If that happens, same rules apply ($1 each per day, date night at the end of the month).
The only exceptions to the "no grocery shopping" rule are for the Boy and the fridge. I refuse to ruin his diet (and he's had pretty much all homemade food since he started eating) by having him eat packaged and frozen stuff... he's going to have to have fresh fruits, vegetables, milk, eggs, yogurt, etc. Granted, he's eating lots of table food these days, and will definitely eat what we're having a lot of the time (spaghetti, casseroles, chicken, etc.), but he'll still have to be supplemented with fresh stuff, too. Also, we'll have to keep some perishable, refrigerated items on hand for us, some of the same things the Boy will be eating - I have to keep eating healthy during (and after) my pregnancy, so there's no way around that. But absolutely no pantry items and no meats (we have many pounds of meat in the freezer).
So, here we go! I have a couple of days to get the pantry organized (and, knowing me, I'll probably inventory it, too), and get some meal ideas floating around, and I'll post pictures of the pantry and freezer starting out, then progressively as we go throughout the challenge, and I'll try to post each day what we ate and how it turned out!
Yay!
-Wifeypie
April-May - finishing up the school year, spending as much time with Baby Boy and Hubby as possible
June - relaxing and enjoying a break from work
July-August - we found out we were PREGNANT with baby #2!! This was very exciting for us, as we'd talked about wanting our kids to be close in age... We're due April 28, 2012, and found out in November we're having a GIRL!
September - Baby Boy's first birthday!!
October-December - craziness of the Birthday/Holiday season in our house. We've got six immediate family birthdays during that time, plus a couple extended family ones, our anniversary, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Whew!
We all had a great Christmas and are looking forward to what 2012 will bring, which is what brings me to the "challenge" portion of the post... here's the background info: I'm kind-of a food hoarder. I know. Crazy, right? What exactly does that mean? My pantry shelves and freezer (and most of the time the fridge, too) are always full. When I go to the store, I don't check to see what I already have on hand, I just go and buy what I think I might need. If I have a specific recipe I'll be using that week, I usually buy double on the pantry items needed, and there's no real justification as to why. For example, if I'm making something that calls for 2 cans of crushed tomatoes and a can of chicken broth, I'll more than likely buy 4 cans of tomatoes and 2 cans of chicken broth. I'll usually add in a can of tomato sauce and tomato paste, too, in case I need to alter the recipe... or just to have them in the pantry... Needless to say, because of this, every shelf (and the floor) of the pantry are full. They're usually really organized, so it's not like I can't find anything, but the lower shelves are a bit messy these days with the Boy running around and wanting to dig around in the pantry. I think I have 6 boxes of pasta in there (and that's a modest guess)... I've decided this is ridiculous. I can't really figure out why I'm this way about buying food, and probably don't want to get into the psychotherapy aspect of it. I'm not afraid of running out of food, I'm not preparing for some disaster where we have to survive on what we've got, I just.... I don't know... buy too much stuff. Same thing with the freezer, and the fridge. When I walk through the produce section, I always buy tomatoes. We may already have them at home, but I always buy some. I always buy lettuce, with the intention of having a salad with our dinners... does it happen? Not usually. The Hubby (rightfully) gets upset at all the perishable things that get thrown out, because unlike cans of chicken broth, the lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, and cottage cheese all go bad pretty quickly. The second part of the problem, other than the hoarding, is that we don't cook at home enough, and spend WAY too much money eating out or grabbing fast food. Honestly, I think I've cooked at home maybe 5 times this month. Sad.
Here's the challenge, then. We have decided starting January 2 (not the 1st, because Hubby is working and I'm having dinner at my parents' for "New Year's Food"), we are eating strictly from our pantry and freezers. Yes, I said freezers... there are 2, the main one attached to the fridge in the kitchen, and a very full deep freezer in the garage. No picking up fast food, no going out to eat while we're out running errands, no ordering pizza because we're hungry NOW and there's nothing cooked. Eat what we've got. We (and by "we" I mostly mean "I") have to be really creative, not so much at first while there's tons of stuff in there, but later, when I'm out of easy meals and I'm actually having to think up ways to put all these ingredients together. I'm actually pretty excited about it.
Here's the payoff (other than cleaning out the pantry and then reforming my shopping habits when I do start grocery shopping again)... for every day we make it without eating out, Hubby and I each get a dollar. At the end of the month, we put our 30ish dollars in our spending accounts and go on a date together, out to eat somewhere, to celebrate. Honestly, we may be extending the challenge to February, too, because I think I probably have enough food stored up for 2 months (or more?). If that happens, same rules apply ($1 each per day, date night at the end of the month).
The only exceptions to the "no grocery shopping" rule are for the Boy and the fridge. I refuse to ruin his diet (and he's had pretty much all homemade food since he started eating) by having him eat packaged and frozen stuff... he's going to have to have fresh fruits, vegetables, milk, eggs, yogurt, etc. Granted, he's eating lots of table food these days, and will definitely eat what we're having a lot of the time (spaghetti, casseroles, chicken, etc.), but he'll still have to be supplemented with fresh stuff, too. Also, we'll have to keep some perishable, refrigerated items on hand for us, some of the same things the Boy will be eating - I have to keep eating healthy during (and after) my pregnancy, so there's no way around that. But absolutely no pantry items and no meats (we have many pounds of meat in the freezer).
So, here we go! I have a couple of days to get the pantry organized (and, knowing me, I'll probably inventory it, too), and get some meal ideas floating around, and I'll post pictures of the pantry and freezer starting out, then progressively as we go throughout the challenge, and I'll try to post each day what we ate and how it turned out!
Yay!
-Wifeypie
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Food Network Tendencies
I've been watching a lot of Food Network lately... well, not just lately, since my obsession with that particular channel has been going strong for years. I love me some Alton Brown in all his nerdy glory, sweet southern Paula Deen with an obsession of her own: butter, and Kerry Vincent with her ice queen exterior and hair wrap thing...
Watching all that food made me start thinking about my favorite ingredients... not dishes, meals, or recipes, but the ingredients themselves. Here's my ten favorite ingredients (that I am thinking of right now... I reserve the right to change these as I remember new things, or the next time I go walking through the grocery store!):
1. Heavy Cream - that's right, whipping cream. I love it. It's the main ingredient in ganache, which I also love!
2. Butter - you know a little butter will fix most anything. Except burns. Do not put butter on a burn.
3. Leeks - as far as veggies go, this is one of my favorites. I'll take leeks over regular onions any day!
4. Garlic - we put garlic in just about anything we cook; I don't know what I would do without it...
5. Chocolate - no one should be surprised by this!
6. Tomatoes - I will eat tomatoes any way, any day... by themselves or in something, cooked or raw, I don't care, they're awesome!
7. Basil - yum yum yum.
8. Cilantro - chopped cilantro goes in just about anything... salads, omelets, enchiladas, pico de gallo...
9. Shrimp - by far my favorite protein...
10. Avocado - It doesn't even need to be mashed up into guacamole, I'll eat avocado straight with a spoon from the peel! Note - avocado was the first food (besides milk and organic brown rice cereal) I fed my baby!
I am proud to say I did not get up to go raid my pantry to think of these... that's probably a good thing, because if I'd gone to check, we might have ended up with my twenty favorite ingredients! Take a minute to think of your favorites... feel free to post them, I'd love to know how people's kitchens differ!
Watching all that food made me start thinking about my favorite ingredients... not dishes, meals, or recipes, but the ingredients themselves. Here's my ten favorite ingredients (that I am thinking of right now... I reserve the right to change these as I remember new things, or the next time I go walking through the grocery store!):
1. Heavy Cream - that's right, whipping cream. I love it. It's the main ingredient in ganache, which I also love!
2. Butter - you know a little butter will fix most anything. Except burns. Do not put butter on a burn.
3. Leeks - as far as veggies go, this is one of my favorites. I'll take leeks over regular onions any day!
4. Garlic - we put garlic in just about anything we cook; I don't know what I would do without it...
5. Chocolate - no one should be surprised by this!
6. Tomatoes - I will eat tomatoes any way, any day... by themselves or in something, cooked or raw, I don't care, they're awesome!
7. Basil - yum yum yum.
8. Cilantro - chopped cilantro goes in just about anything... salads, omelets, enchiladas, pico de gallo...
9. Shrimp - by far my favorite protein...
10. Avocado - It doesn't even need to be mashed up into guacamole, I'll eat avocado straight with a spoon from the peel! Note - avocado was the first food (besides milk and organic brown rice cereal) I fed my baby!
I am proud to say I did not get up to go raid my pantry to think of these... that's probably a good thing, because if I'd gone to check, we might have ended up with my twenty favorite ingredients! Take a minute to think of your favorites... feel free to post them, I'd love to know how people's kitchens differ!
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