January cook at home challenge

[Bastelmutti]

lhamo, I have been looking for something to do with a bag of red lentils, too & found this recipe today. Sounds good and easy:

Red Lentil Coconut Soup

[julia]

I'm also trying to cook at home more this year, as we are saving up for an adventure in 2013, going to live in Berlin for three months.

So far I've not cooked anything interesting at home - we are using up horrible leftovers from us both being ill all Christmas - but I cooked a wonderful meal for my voluntary job cooking for a night shelter for some destitute refugees - a vegetable and red kidney bean stew flavoured with Caribbean spice mix (says on the package it's for spicing up chicken), some Reggae Reggae sauce (like a spicy BBQ sauce) and a tin of coconut milk. Anyone vegetarian or halal got that and rice but others got a piece of chicken too. The bill was £8.50 for 8 people, but without the chicken it would have been half that. The previous volunteer cook spent £70 on ingredients - and expected the charity to foot the bill. Obviously needs to get down to this forum...

You're all so inspiring - I don't post much but I love reading.

[lhamo]

I cooked a wonderful meal for my voluntary job cooking for a night shelter for some destitute refugees - a vegetable and red kidney bean stew flavoured with Caribbean spice mix (says on the package it's for spicing up chicken), some Reggae Reggae sauce (like a spicy BBQ sauce) and a tin of coconut milk.

More details on the recipe, please! I'm thinking this year is going to be my "experiment with coconut milk" year, among other things, and this sounds great!

lhamo

[lmerullo]

Amaranth - amazing lists. I am in awe! My brain just doesn't think that way.

Last night, already we fell off the wagon. My mom is legally blind. She said there were extra charges on her credit card bill, could I stop by after work and take a look...Well, an extra $1000 on a cc bill is an emergency! So dh and I stopped in. You know - the statement is printed on 8 x 11 paper, but the important stuff is only in the middle 4 inches? Well, page two contained ONE LINE that had to carry over from the first page. It got lost in the jumble of legaleze and advertising that is printed on these things. Her homeowner's insurance was on the second page - she wasn't expecting it until after the first of the year. After that visit, both dh and I were too tired to cook. We pass a pizza place that has $5 ready to go pies, so dh got one. I had leftover salad from the weekend. Oh, and eating out Monday has already turned my whole meal plan upside down... while we were at mom's I baked some boneless country ribs. They were supposed to be dinner Tuesday, but since we did not eat the spaghetti that should have been Monday, I had to cook the ribs as they would not keep long enough... so Tuesday is spaghetti, and Wednesday will be ribs. At least I know what we are going to eat the rest of the week. For me, that's half the battle.

[jennipurrr]

Thanks for sharing the great ideas!

I haven't had anything amazing, but we have been eating at home. Almost slipped this evening to go to trivia with some friends at a pizza place but schedules didn't match up - I would not have been strong enough to resist! Last night DH got out in the cold because he wanted to grill, fine with me - pork chops and broccoli and green beans...frozen, not fresh Tonight was black beans and rice with turkey sausage, with leftovers for tomorrow's lunch.

[Stella]

Tonight we had chicken taco salad. Cheyenne, Zach and I loved it. James and Bella were not as into it, but they ate some.

[Bastelmutti]

Tonight we're eating at a friend's, but I need to make a side dish, so I am making an orzo - pesto - tomato - olive salad out of stuff I already have at home. Doing well with food spending this week: I'm at about 1/2 my usual expenditure so far.

[Kat]

I made goulash, french onion soup and grilled cheese, and bacon and eggs. I have some chicken marinating in the fridge for dinner tonight (homemade marinade with on-hand ingredients). Not sure what to serve with it, but I'll find something. Future meals include breaded pork sandwiches and pork stir fry.

[treehugger]

I haven't done a lot of cooking yet this month, since we have been away. I did make dinner last night though (lentils & kielbasa, with rice added because I was lower on lentils than I thought).

I still have those two bags of wormy apples (free!) waiting for me in the garage fridge, destined for applesauce...maybe I will finally tackle that this weekend.

My DH's uncle gifted me with some lovely organic bread, rye, and pumpernickel (whole grain rye) flours before Christmas and I really need to look through my recipe books and make my first-ever rye bread. Soon.

New year's eve was a home-cooking triumph. My family (dad, step-mom, step-sister, half-sister, husbands, kids) stayed in and had a game night. I convinced my sister (we were at her house) that making our own pizza would be totally doable, delicious and fun. And it was.

Before we went on our trip, I made a couple quarts of roasted tomato sauce for the freezer. We needed one last meal before leaving home so I made pasta for one of the containers of sauce and then froze that. So, I now have some already-made pasta in sauce in the freezer for a quick meal.

Happy home cooking in 2012, everyone!

Kara

[Stella]

Tonight is pork enchiladas and jicama salad.