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Bastelmutti
2-28-11, 9:17pm
Anyone up for continuing the cook-at-home challenge through March? It's been a help to me. Newbies, feel free to join in! :cool:

Anne Lee
2-28-11, 9:57pm
This is going to be a true challenge because I am going to be on the road a full week later in the month. I must start planning this now

earthshepherd
3-1-11, 6:11am
I am continuing with this, thanks! I had a couple of days in Feb where we bought a meal out (sandwiches, not expensive), but this month I am cracking down again. Chicken noodle casserole for my boys and a friend's family tonight, and a barley-corn-bean salad for me. Yay March!!

Kat
3-1-11, 10:07am
Thanks for continuing the challenge another month. It is really helping me to be more accountable.

We're still in the midst of a kitchen remodel, but we haven't been doing too awful bad. I do miss cooking, though, and am getting a tad sick of TV dinners. :-) Need to make a nice sandwich or something!

Bastelmutti
3-1-11, 10:38am
We're starting the month with a fridge full of chicken & white beans DH cooked up on Sunday. Now I just have to work those into meals - tonight I'll serve them with rice & a side of vegetable curry (meal for the veg), tomorrow tacos.

Does anyone have a foolproof fruit smoothie recipe? DD1 loves them for breakfast, and I usually just toss some stuff in the blender, but this morning's just did not work - it was Silk coconut milk, fresh banana, frozen strawberries & fresh mango. Weirdly sweet and just kind of off. I need something like a formula with proportions - I think that may be my problem.

danna
3-1-11, 6:51pm
March 1
Was mostly good last month except for a 3 day vacation. Need to keep eating down and need all the extra money I can keep this month, so I am here for sure
--tonight was turkey/veggie/tomato soup from the freezer with fresh ravioli...very yummy

earthshepherd
3-1-11, 9:46pm
I just mixed up a huge bowl of egg salad which we will use for sandwiches at work tomorrow and thursday.

I don't make smoothies, but that sounds like a lot of fruits to mix together to me, bastelmutti! coconut milk sounds yummy but it really is sweet. This inspires me to try some smoothie experiments...oh dear!!

redfox
3-2-11, 2:32am
DH & I are really enjoying cooking for just the two of us! It's a pleasure to be able to get something nice in small quantities, and actually have leftovers the next day, instead of having a teen hoover it in the middle of the night... I actually bought 2 pints of gourmet, hand made ice cream, and they lasted over a week! Unheard of here...

Last night I sauteed rainbow chard in olive oil with garlic, onions, celery, potatoes & added some chopped sausages to it. SO good! Night before DH made an spicy pot roast, using Chipotle peppers in it. It was yummy. We had it with quinoa & salad. Tonight was leftovers form both those dishes.

We don't eat meat daily, but this week has been kinda luxurious with meat... which I love, though it's expensive. But with just us two, it lasts so much longer! Our grocery bill feels so manageable now. <sigh> I miss the kids - and really love that they have fledged.

Kat
3-2-11, 8:43am
Resisted temptation to eat out last night--had frozen dinner instead. I really wanted to go out for ice cream, but I ate a bit of chocolate instead.
Our fridge is starting to look pretty bare, and the kitchen remodel is taking our contractor longer than he thought it would. So it doesn't look like I'll be back in my kitchen any time soon. I think I may run to the store today or tomorrow and pick up a few things that are easy to eat and on sale.

danna
3-2-11, 2:08pm
Mar 2
we are having some nachos with with toppings and sides, and a few raw veggies and dip

flowerseverywhere
3-2-11, 6:40pm
pulled pork on homemade rolls for dinner tonight, leftovers will make another few lunches and dinners later on the week.

spinach salads with beans and cheese tomorrow night is the plan, then I'll put beans to soak for baked beans I'll do in the crockpot. The rolls should be gone by then so probably will do cornbread. I throw a can of corn in the mix and they are yummy.

Later in the week I'll pull out some spaghetti sauce from this summers garden, I froze enough that we have that on whole wheat pasta once a week for dinner then lunch the next day. that should take us through the weekend supplemented with some fruit.

Stella
3-3-11, 10:05am
I am so in this month! Last month was bad due to medical issues complicating life a lot. I should have this baby soon so that should mostly be resolved soon and my mom is here to cook this week.

Today is our 8th anniversary so we are going to go out and have a dessert in the evening.

earthshepherd
3-3-11, 11:36am
happy anniversary Stella!

we are still using egg salad and bean salad for lunches, both eat-in and take-out. It helps to make a big bowlful of sandwich filling and have it available for several days.

Stella
3-6-11, 8:42am
Thanks Earthshepherd! We had a great anniversary.

Last night we had enchiladas a neighbor had brought us to freeze because of my bedrest. They were delicious! I have the nicest neighbors.

Fawn
3-7-11, 9:06pm
I'm in for the challenge. I'm still blogging about keeping our food costs less than our food stamp allotment would be for a family of four.
Meals this week:
Monday: Roasted organic chicken, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli
Tuesday: Quiche with organic eggs and non-organic cheese, steamed green beans, corn
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: Shrimp (non-organic) linguine, tossed salad
Friday: Chicken (leftover from Monday) and noodles, steamed broccoli
Saturday: Quinona and mixed vegetables
Sunday: homemade pepperoni (non organic) pizza

Stella
3-7-11, 11:16pm
I avoided pressure from the school to participate in a fundraiser day through Culvers. They sent Bella home with asticker saying "It's Culvers Day!" and told her and the other kids that they should tell their parents to take them to Culvers tonight because 10% of our bill would go to raise money for the school. On principle I dislike being told to spend $25 so a whopping $2.50 can be donated to my kids school. I also don't like my daughter being marketed to that way. Get her hopes up so that I feel like I have to follow through and take her there. Luckily she was not really bothered by not being able to go.

Fawn
3-8-11, 7:13am
I avoided pressure from the school to participate in a fundraiser day through Culvers. They sent Bella home with asticker saying "It's Culvers Day!" and told her and the other kids that they should tell their parents to take them to Culvers tonight because 10% of our bill would go to raise money for the school. On principle I dislike being told to spend $25 so a whopping $2.50 can be donated to my kids school. I also don't like my daughter being marketed to that way. Get her hopes up so that I feel like I have to follow through and take her there. Luckily she was not really bothered by not being able to go.

Oh, Stella- I so know what you mean about the fundraisers and spending $25 to benefit the activity $2.50. I quit fundaraisers a while back, partly for this reason. I told myself, it is a more effcient use of my money to give the $2.50 or $10 to a group/activity that I want to encourage. So I spend less total and the desired group gets more. Win-win.

Stella
3-8-11, 8:34am
That's how I feel too Fawn. I would prefer to just give money directly to the school. It's a more efficient use of my resources and it doesn't involve the school marketing to my kids.

earthshepherd
3-8-11, 8:38am
I hear you, stella, and I don't miss those days when one of my school age children would bring home some flyer urging us to eat at Denny's or some such place for a fundraiser. I also don't miss the campaigns to sell overpriced overprocessed cookie dough, overpriced boxes of chocolate candies, tins of honey-roasted nuts, you name it.

Last night I fooled a battalion of men with TVP spaghetti sauce over spelt whole grain noodles! DH, DS, his best friend AND my young 8-yr-old neighbor all ate and came for seconds without ever guessing that it wasn't real meat. HAHAHA! Victory!!!

Tonight I am hitting them all with Pancake Day (English style) since tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. The traditional way to eat a Shrove Tuesday pancake is drizzled with fresh lemon juice and a shake of confectioners sugar, so that's what we are doing tonight. Frugal as well as celebratory!

Bastelmutti
3-8-11, 10:30am
Fawn, I am following your blog with interest. Earthshepherd - DD1 loves those pancakes with lemon and sugar. I usually make crepes.

We've been having an eating-out binge: Sunday got the girls lunch during an extended shopping trip (on the plus side, most of the clothes I got for them were from a thrift shop), Sunday eve had dinner out with DH (rare opportunity & used gift certificate so paid about $5), Monday had lunch with my girls and my mom (mom paid), and tonight I have a planned dinner/drinks with girlfriends. If I had to do it over, the only one I would eliminate was the lunch during shopping.

Interesting development - DH is reading Omnivore's Dilemma and wants to eat more veg food. Will have to read it now myself. DD1 is already veg, so it would actually be easier to prepare ONE veg meal for everyone, rather than separate stuff like I do now. We'll see what happens.

Spider In The Bath
3-8-11, 3:24pm
I'll join in for this month. I already cook most of our meals anyway, but I have been trying to make all of our own bread. I usually bake some and buy some. So for the rest of this month I will try and bake all of it.

Fawn
3-8-11, 11:19pm
Fawn, I am following your blog with interest. Earthshepherd - DD1 loves those pancakes with lemon and sugar. I usually make crepes.

Interesting development - DH is reading Omnivore's Dilemma and wants to eat more veg food. Will have to read it now myself. DD1 is already veg, so it would actually be easier to prepare ONE veg meal for everyone, rather than separate stuff like I do now. We'll see what happens.

Hey! Thanks for taking an interest...I am having a ton of fun w/ the thing.


....how cool is it that your DH is interested in the Omnivore's Dilemma?!?
I could have possibly stayed married to a man who expressed interest in the things that I was reading....:|(:~)

Terri
3-9-11, 4:21pm
I stopped by the commercial fisherman's coop yesterday and picked up a luderick (blackfish) which I've never heard of before - it was really good! Apparently they are a big sport fishery here in Australia. I had it with a marinade made of rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil and cayanne pepper.

Oh, and because of eating at home, I had to learn to gut and filet a fish... never done that before. So a good meal and a new skill.

Bastelmutti
3-9-11, 5:00pm
We'll see what happens re: Omnivore's Dilemma! I went grocery shopping today and didn't buy any meat. We both used to be veg and now DD1 is veg, so it wouldn't be a hard switch. (Even if we do go veg, I may have to make an exception for Korean BBQ!)

I experimented today with making seitan crumbles. Umm, interesting...and by interesting I mean pretty awful - had to dump it! :laff: Note to self - next time follow recipe!! :~)

The menu for the next few days is
* Bimbimbap (mixed rice and vegetable dish with an egg on top & spicy sauce)
* Pasta w/ peas
* Tortilla soup w/ quesadillas
* Pasta w/lemon sauce
* Some sort of stir-fry with tofu & rice

Kat
3-10-11, 10:05am
I had a weird issue with my password for this site, so I haven't posted for a few days. I am enjoying reading about everyone's progress!

@Stella--happy anniversary!
@Bastelmutti--thanks for all the meatless meal ideas. DH acts like he is going to die if he doesn't have meat at every meal. I would prefer to eat meat in small amounts or only occassionally.

We've been plugging along with the frozen dinners still. The kitchen remodel has lasted WAY longer than anticipated because out contractor keeps running into problems. It will probably be quite awhile yet before he is done. I miss cooking so much. I hadn't cooked much before this because I was in my first trimester and feeling so crummy. Now that I am in my second, I have a good day every now and then and really want to cook. Sigh.

Kat
3-10-11, 10:08am
Anyway, we're trying to resist temptation to eat out, and our parents have been gracious. My dad sent us home with some sliced ham and prime rib for sandwiches. DH's folks had us over for dinner one night and sent over some spaghetti another. I couldn't be more thankful for them!

ETA: I'm not sure why my posts are separate like that--I must be out of practice posting. :p

Kat
3-12-11, 8:23am
Wanted to eat out last night but came home and heated up a frozen dinner instead. Then I REALLY wanted some ice cream (which we do not have), so I dug around in some boxes and found some dark chcoloate instead. One small square was all it took to squelch the craving for something sweet. My ever expanding waistline and my pocketbook thank me. :p

Kat
3-15-11, 10:43am
We made it through the weekend, largely because our parents fed us and sent us home with leftovers :-) Yesterday I couldn't stand the thought of eating one more sandwich or TV dinner, but our kitchen is still all torn up. So instead of eating out, I made scalloped potatoes, broccoli, and Rice Krispy treats in the microwave.

This morning I ate a very sad-looking banana with my breakfast. Normally I would have made it into bread or something, but since I am out of a kitchen, I decided to just eat it. No need to waste it.

I went grocery shopping yesterday and came in $47 under budget. We should have enough to make it through the week. I am hoping our kitchen gets done very, very soon. It is expensive eating convenience foods all the time, and the motony of them makes me want to eat out.

Rosemary
3-15-11, 11:09am
Kat, if you have a grill or a camping stove, perhaps you could relieve the monotony that way? You can grill almost anything!

This week our menu is not very exciting. It's spring break and we're busy so my food prep time is reduced. Pasta with broccoli & chicken Italian sausage; grass-fed pot roast with potatoes and cabbage; tofu veggie stir fry; and leftovers. I made some 5-minutes a day whole grain bread dough a few days ago and took it out of the fridge to rise today, so I'll bake that later. I also need to make more yogurt and granola, and chop veggies for eating raw as snacks.

Bastelmutti
3-15-11, 12:03pm
I went grocery shopping yesterday and came in $47 under budget.

I need to do that - LOL!

This week we've had pasta with spinach and ricotta and rice noodles with fried tofu, fresh veg and Vietnamese sauce. Tonight is samosas (frozen), rice & tomato-cucumber salad. Rest of the week: gorgonzola pasta, bean tostadas, lemon pasta.

Yes, we are going to town with a new pasta book DH found at the library - Giuliano Hazan's 30 Min. Pasta - amazing!!

PS Still sticking with vegetarian meals (except fish sauce in the nuoc cham I served last night). We still have some meat like salami around that DD2 and I are eating. I think DD2 and I will stay omni, but we'll see about DH. DD1 is already veg.

Kat
3-15-11, 12:54pm
@rosemary--We do have a grill--I think it is time to ask DH to use it. He enjoys it, and the weather is nice enough (40s-50s). Good idea!
@Bastelmutti--Coming in under budget is nice. But I'd rather spend more and eat real food! LOL

Bastelmutti
3-15-11, 4:17pm
Good point! I have not been coming under budget on food, because darnit we like to eat and I love to cook. Working on it, though!

Kat
3-16-11, 8:50am
I was bad and ate Chinese take-out last night. For dinner and a DVD rental, it costs right around $12. Well...we probably should have eaten at home. But we are budgeted a certain amount for dates, so $12 won't kill us.

Stella
3-16-11, 9:27am
We've been doing much better this month. We've eaten out a handful of times, but usually not the whole family at once, so that cuts down the cost quite a bit. I have frozen some casseroles and things to make it easier to stay on track when the baby comes. Which needs to be soon. :)

Bastelmutti
3-16-11, 9:40am
It's about time, huh? :~) Good luck!

earthshepherd
3-16-11, 10:08am
Soup and grill cheese night tonight, one of my favorite menus!

Stella
3-16-11, 6:48pm
Thanks Bastelmutti. It very much is time. :)

earthshepherd, that's one of my favourite comfort food combos.

JaneV2.0
3-16-11, 7:29pm
Turkey breast with cranberries and Brussels sprouts tonight, corned beef and cabbage tomorrow. I've probably had takeout food (Thai) once in the last couple of months. Miss it. Think I'll do a little traveling and let someone else cook...

Rosemary
3-16-11, 9:30pm
Made a pot roast from some grass-fed beef tonight, with steamed cabbage on the side. DD likes steamed cabbage so much that she wants it for breakfast tomorrow! The roast was quite small so I'll turn the leftovers into beef barley soup tomorrow, which we'll have with a spinach salad.

kally
3-16-11, 9:44pm
we had curried chicken soup with a splash of coconut milk and a lovely salad. I find if I pick up a box of salad this time of the year we will eat salad every day. In the summer we just grow it.

Kat
3-16-11, 9:55pm
@earthshepherd--I love soup and grilled cheese!

Another night of sandwiches (DH) and frozen dinners (me). I about cried when I saw the groceries ads this week--asparagus is 1.49/lb. I LOVE asparagus, and that is as cheap as it ever gets here. But I have no way to cook it!!! I was thinking about buying some and blanching it at my MIL's so I could freeze it. Has anyone ever done that before? How long do you have to boil it? And can you broil it after it has been frozen?

Stella
3-17-11, 10:10am
I tried freezing asparagus once and it was good for turning into soup, but it wasn't as good for just eating as a side dish. YMMV. Do you have a grill? I love asparagus grilled.

Rosemary
3-17-11, 10:26am
I've used frozen asparagus in stir-fries.

I'm making bagels today. The bagel shop charges, at their best, $0.50 per bagel. I can buy good (preservative-free) frozen whole wheat bagels for $0.25 each. I estimate the cost of a homemade bagel at about $0.10 (and probably with better ingredients. I've added some rye flour and some flax meal.).

Kat
3-18-11, 9:47am
Let us know how the bagels turn out, Rosemary! I've always wanted to try to make my own, but I am intimidated by them!

We'll probably eat leftover scalloped potatoes tonight.

Rosemary
3-18-11, 1:04pm
The bagels are excellent! I modified the recipe in Laurel's Bread Book to add some rye flour and flax meal. The barley malt syrup really adds flavor - I've made them once before, without that, and they were not the same. They took a little time but I will definitely make them more often now that I've got the system down.

Today we're celebrating DD's birthday a few days early because it works better for us than the school day next week. I'm making her chocolate cupcakes with my own rendition of coconut-pecan frosting, at her request. We'll have her birthday dinner on the actual day (lasagna).

Lunch was easy bean/cheese/spinach quesadillas and we'll have a tofu stir fry for dinner.

Kat
3-23-11, 7:44am
Still plugging along. I am getting really tired of frozen dinners and sandwiches, but instead of grumping about it am trying to be thankful that we have food to eat. Been stocking up on some great grocery deals (mostly meat), do when I do get my kitchen back, I should have lots to cook!

redfox
3-23-11, 8:05am
I made yogurt this week! I got a yogurt maker cheap off craigslist. It's essentially a controlled slow heating unit with cute jars- looks kinda like a little space ship, and it's on the counter next to the rice cooker. My DH makes comments about the babies they will have together...

The yogurt is yummy! I used organic whole milk, added honey, and used a commercial organic plain yogurt for starter (Nancy's). Next batch will be adding maple syrup as the sweetener. I figure each 6 oz jar of homemade costs about .35, which is quite a bit cheaper than the $1.99 my fav stuff costs at the coop.

Extra bonus - no plastic container to wash & recycle.

Kat
3-25-11, 10:00am
I *really* wanted a cheeseburger last night. I ate a frozen TV dinner instead. LOL

TMC
3-31-11, 6:00pm
Last day of the month, I've been lurking around but not cooking at home as much as I want to. Two kids in activities, my full time job, DH is finishing the basement, spring planting time almost here, 6 new pigs in the barn and a puppy to housebreak means I have had some very full hands.

Yesterday I did an inventory of my freezer and am getting organized again to have things ready to cook. Today DS and I ate dinner at 4:00, chicken quesadillas with spinach and salsa and potato soup, than I drove him to his study prep class and left pre-made quesadillas for DH to pop in the oven and soup for him and DD in the crock pot. Feels great to get that accomplished. New month tomorrow!

Rosemary
3-31-11, 6:37pm
Let's see... this week we had tacos on 2 nights (I always plan this for two nights because of all the chopping!), herbed chicken with mixed vegetables, and tonight we're having green chile scalloped potatoes and a big salad.

Kat
3-31-11, 8:26pm
My MIL has sent food over for us almost every night this week. Seriously, I have the BEST MIL EVER!