My hubby is in heaven over this "cooking thing" I've started. He has come home early from work a few times during this trial period, grabbed the book, thumbed through it and said, is the meat unthawed for this? (pointing to a specific recipe in the book) The answer is always yes because I try to keep 1 pd of hamburger and 1 portion of chicken unthawed at all times.He then asks if I will please make that specific recipe. He's been hanging around in the kitchen, milling about, loving that I'm almost always the one cooking now...after all these years. LOL
It's a relaxing feeling to know that I can look at any recipe in the book and know that I have all of the ingredients to make the meal. That one grocery trip filled all the requirements for ALL of these recipes. Why didn't I think of this?! Ugh!
I'm getting right into this money saving, home-making, home-cooked-dinner-every-night lifestyle. The kids thumb through the book to let me know which recipes they want (or hate!) LOL The whole family is getting in on this deal.
It's been fun to keep track of every penny spent on food. The very fact that Brian and I will know EXACTLY what to budget for food each month is going to be priceless with our "get out of debt in a year" plan. We now know what to do and will soon know what it will cost to do it. Yay for that!
For those who are interested in the money side of this thing, our family of Eight spent $43.02 on stocking perishables this week. That brings our family Grocery total up to $360.40 since we began this trial on July 20th. That's Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Snacks for a growing family of eight. (6 of them men/boys)
I am hoping to bring our grocery budget of $600 PLUS (it's usually way over this) down to under $500 per month. At the rate we are going, I'm pretty sure we will be way under the mark, which means more money put toward debt!
For those interested in our meal plan. This is what we ate last week. :o)
MONDAY: I un-thawed "chicken" but it turned out to be Talapia! LOL Kazz grabbed a bunch of plastic-wrapped chicken when he went shopping and there happened to be 2 packages of Talapia in the bunch. I got to make fish, much to my hubby's dismay. tee hee... I made the Cheesy Fish Fillets w/ Rice on page 47. This one is an absolute keeper. It's my favorite fish recipe in the world so far...but I don't get to make fish often due to my hubby's aversion to it. Maybe he'll come around. He had a sandwich that night. :o(
TUESDAY: Tuesday is the Boy Rally at our house. Every other week we invite a bunch of boys over to hang out and eat pizza. We buy cheap pizza and the other families bring over food also. It's a nice afternoon of play-time for the boys and chatting for the moms. Every other Tuesday is USUALLY a no cook day for me because of this activity. :o) Leftover pizza and snacky's and sandwiches follow for the evening "meal."
WEDNESDAY: Classic Fried Chicken from page 20 ... I actually used the recipe to bake the chicken over rice. I should have fried it. Brian LOVED this recipe...probably because there is hot sauce in it.... but it wasn't a favorite for the kids. I will try this again and fry it. I think it will taste like old-fashioned fried chicken with a Buffalo Wing kick.
THURSDAY: Sandwiches and Butter Noodles from page 64 The noodles are a family favorite already. I wasn't in the mood to cook full out so this was an easy peasy plan that I knew everyone would like. It was a good night.
FRIDAY: Soft Shell Tacos from page 37 with a side of Mexican Rice from page 63
This one is a staple. It's tacos...what's not to love. I added taco meat to the Mexican Rice. I think that would be good to stuff Green Peppers with in the future. Yummo!
SATURDAY: Parmesan-Crusted Baked Chicken from page 18 over rice. This recipe would be very good over the Buttered Noodles on page 64 or with a side of marinara pasta. Keep this one in your back pocket for company. It's super easy to make but tastes like a gourmet meal.
SUNDAY: Tonight I plan to make Chicken Fettuccine from page 54. It looks like an easy recipe and a filling one too.
That's been our week. Keep watching for another giveaway! This is one handy little book! :o)
5 comments:
I want the parm crusted chicken recipe!! That sounds tasty. One of these days, I need to see that book.
I want you to know I've ordered this cookbook SOLELY based on your posts. I have high hopes that this book will be the tool that allows my teens or my husband to prepare dinner while I am working and enable me to make easier meal decisions. Thank you for your blog posts!
Lisa, I think you are going to love it! It is written SO simply and without frills. I think it's just exactly the kind of book teens and a hubby will use easily.
Type up BOTH grocery lists, add your basic breakfasts and lunches and head out to the market. We bought most of our at our local Save-A-Lot then what they couldn't find there they got at a "better" market...*we do fruit and yogurt for BF and basic sandwiches/leftovers for Lunch.
After that you are golden. Make sure to buy a lot of Parmesan and some fresh mushrooms too.
Also, buy tomato sauce instead of paste. It's easier to use and even if they add a whole can to any recipe it won't hurt a thing.
AND one more thing, put a sheet of paper on the fridge so they can write down things for the next, weekly grocery run. When items are running low or run out they can add it to the list.
Those are my tips. I think they will have fun picking recipes and you will be more relaxed KNOWING there is food in the house for a REAL dinner every night. :o)
The book arrived a couple days ago, so now it's time to get planning! Thanks for the tips.
Good luck Lisa! :o) I've been using wax paper to cover my chicken when I "smash it" with the tenderizing hammer. That keeps it from splattering so I can smash it harder/thinner.
Hope you love the planning and testing as much as I have! :o)
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