Chrissy Teigen's Granola

My kids ate it. I made her recipe for Peanut Butter Covered Pretzels and Granola with leftover granola. And I effing hate whole stories to go along with recipes so why I'm still typing this crap, I don't know. All you need to know is that the kids ate it all. 

Buy her book, Cravings: Hungry For More and then you'll be able to experience the utter delight of eating homemade granola warm from the oven. 

Meal Planning 6/21 - 6/25

This week is ridiculously busy. I've changed my mind 12,835 times.

Monday: Leftover Adobo Chicken with Sweet Potato Hash and Steamed Broccoli

Tuesday: Dino Nuggets plus mac and cheese

Wednesday: EARLY DINNER: Grilled Cheese, Steamed Broccoli, Raw cucumbers with hummus

Thursday: Steak and tomato salad with Feta

Friday: Grilled Pork Chops with Grilled sweet potatos and grilled any veggie leftover in the fridge

Saturday: MN United Game

Review: Bobby Flay's Salsa Verde Soup

I requested Bobby Flay's Fit cookbook from the library. I'm not quite sure what I was expecting because it's not like Bobby Flay is in the weightloss or fitness genre. I suppose I was expecting more...Bobby Flay???

I thought that the Salsa Verde Chicken soup recipe would be a great easy recipe to try, expecially during Spring Break when I have some extra time to cook. I mean, the children are still wild animal beasts but whatevs...

In any case the soup was straight up chicken, stock, plus salsa verde. There were no other veggies in the soup, no pasta, no rice, no legumes, no beans. Just straight up chicken.

I thought it was bland too. The two jalepenos in the Salsa Verde did not do the soup justice, it was VERY kid-friendly except for the whole no veggie part. I did have to dig the chicken out for Chewie because he couldn't scoop it out with his spoon which meant that he ate his soup on a plate and I needed to serve cut veggies with hummus for a side dish to make up for the lack of veggies in the soup.

I did make another recipe - Quinoa Con Pollo which was EXCELLENT. I have the book for another two weeks, so I'm definitely going to try a few more recipes from Bobby Flay Fit.

Plans Have Gone Awry

I love that word.

Awry.

It looks so odd - like when you look at a word for too long and it just looks wrong. That's how I feel about awry. Like this week. My plans have gone awry.

Chewie has a cold. With a new ECFE class that started last week I watched three little kids come in with snotty noses and knew immediately that we would be coming home with whatever germs those three had. So double colds it is. The Monkey is the only one to avoid it so far and I'm pretty sure that's because she's gone all day at school and doesn't have the opportunity for Chewie to bath her in snot. YUCK.

So my house is a mess - this week I was supposed to clean the kitchen (I've been following the Fly Lady routine since September, October-ish and we have a clean house! OMG! I've decluttered and organized, it's been amazing, maybe I should do some blog posts about that). The only thing I've done is cleaned the stovetop. :::SHRUG::: It's not like I want to deep clean the fridge when I have a cold.

I tried to meal plan and came up with nothing.

Whatever.

Yesterday it was BBQ Chicken sandwiches for dinner. Today's lunch is leftovers and if I feel up to it I'll throw stuff in the bread maker for pizza dough to make some individual BBQ chicken pizzas tonight. The Monkey won't put cheese on hers. I find that strange - but kids are weird so I shouldn't be surprised. HA!

Thursday: I have Italian sausage in the freezer, along with peppers and onions over risotto.

Friday: :::SHRUG::: Maybe pizza again.

Colds really get me because nothing actually seems good.

Yesterday I picked up a cookbook by Real Simple, the magazine called Dinner Made Simple.

It's organized a bit strangely though - by main ingredient, not by protein or which part of the meal. I've tried recipes by Real Simple before and they are so easy and fast plus I usually have most of the ingredients on hand. I'm going to aim to try a couple over the weekend and a few next week. We shall see!

Menu Planning 1/29 - 2/2

Monday: Pasta Shell Salad from Disney Princess Cookbook (I let the Monkey pick out dinner)

Tuesday: Gnocchi + Marinara

Wednesday: Carrot - Lentil Soup + Samosas (Soup subject to change, I may need to use up other ingredients or have leftovers. Not quite sure yet)

Thursday: Sesame Chicken Noodles from Chrissy Teigen's Cravings

Friday: Pork Chili

Meal Plan 1/22 - 1/26

Monday: Portuguese White Bean & Kale Soup with Bread

Tuesday: Leftover soup

Wednesday: West African Peanut Soup with salad and Lemon Tahini Dressing

Thursday: Dino Chicken Nuggets and Fries/Tots and frozen veggies

Friday: Chicken Pot Pie

Notes on this week's menu -

The Portuguese White Bean & Kale soup is from the Moosewood Cookbook and it was super bland. As in the only seasonings in it were dried Thyme, salt, and pepper - I even added a teaspoon of Herbes de Provence and that still didn't help! The leftovers were supposed to be today but I've vetoed that. The Monkey says she was McDonald's but Bimmer Man vetoed that (I could go for chicken nuggets!), which means it's either going to be MyBurger or 5 Guys. YAY!!!

This also means that I'm a bit leery of the Peanut Soup recipe - others that I've looked at have more spice to them which means this one might end up bland too. I'll make it according to the recipe and we'll see!

Happy Tuesday!

Menu Planning 1/14 - 1/19

Sunday Football Day - Vegan Enchiladas with a spicy Basil-Cilantro Chimichurri + Bimmer Man's Taco Dip

Monday - Mediterranean Chicken Stew with Cous Cous

Tuesday - Pot Stickers + Fried Rice + Steamed Frozen Veggie Packet

Wednesday - Italian Cous Cous Casserole from Thug Kitchen Party Grub

Thursday - Roasted Gnocchi and Brussel Sprouts with Lemon Viniagrette

Friday - Family Fun Night with Pizza

Tuesday's Frugal Mission

Mer.

Frugality.

Frugal.

CHEAP.

Frugal doesn't necessarily mean cheap. Frugal means thinking about where you're spending your money, what you're spending your money on, and actively making a choice on how you're spending money.

Some days I'm great at being frugal. Others... not so much. OY. I think it's like that for a lot of people.

In any case, today I had a BRILLIANT idea. I saw these awesome curtain rod strings at Ikea and thought - I NEED THOSE FOR MY BACK PORCH.

And then I remembered that I bought the same curtain rod strings - in fact I bought them to string up in the dining room to hold The Monkey's art work but I never got around to it (and I've determined I really like the painting we have in the dining room anyway so I bought magnet clips for the fridge). I thought I might have donated the string or maybe sold it in the last yard sale that we had but no, I didn't do anything with it. Instead the curtain rod string thingy was just hanging out in a basket in the closet.

I even have leftover home decor fabric from when I made curtains for The Monkey's room when I was pregnant. SCORE.

All I need are 4 extra corner holder thingys from Ikea and some type of hanger clips and I'm all set to hang up some curtains - instead of using the tension rods which keep falling on The Monkey when she's playing back there (it's sort of funny. I mean you suddenly hear something snap and then a 3 year old screaming "GHOST! IT'S A GHOST! I CAN'T SEE!!!").

So the total cost for these curtains AFTER finding what I already have in my house will be under $10. WOO HOO!!!

My NEXT frugal mission after Ikea and the curtain rod string thingy is to go to the library.

I reserved 5 books - two are urban homesteading books which are all about turning your yard into a vegetable garden and basically making the most out of a 1/4 acre of land. Here in the city we have like an 1/8 of an acre - but with the tree coming down in the back, I can start to take advantage of all the sunlight we're going to get next year and plan out more vegetables and determine how to PRESERVE what I grow. That's the tough part - you can only eat so much while it's fresh so knowing how to preserve homegrown food is really a good thing to know. I'd like to do lasagna gardening in our front flower beds for vegetables and move all the flowers into the actual yard - but make some sort of patio for chairs and a table (yes, we hang out in the front yard here in Minnesota, sometimes even in the garage!). First I need to read HOW to do some of this shit and determine how much sun the front gets to know if I can actually move some flowers and how bad chicken wire will look from the street. Maybe I should start looking at what grows best for vines... Meh, whatever... I have lots of months to think about gardening and to write down which flowers did the best this year.

Three books are just for funzies - one stupid Nora Roberts book (the last in a trilogy which will take me two or three days to read); another last-of-a-trilogy book in the Grave Mercy series which won't take me long at all; and the 4th book in the Logan McRae series by Stuart MacBride (if you can't tell it's a book set in Scotland by a Scottish author).

And the last frugal thing that I do today:

Make lunch with leftovers from dinner - some type of veggie wrap or quesadilla with the grilled veggies from last night.

Cook dinner with the last of our CSA veggies from last Thursday. Tonight = roasted veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, beets, turnips) with rice pilaf.

If you notice, there's no meat listed above. Basically we get enough veggies where I don't really need to cook meat with a meal. There's no way we can eat everything if I include meat. We become partial vegetarians in the summer with the amount of vegetables we receive with our CSA and with what I supplement from the co-op or Cub or Target or Byerly's. That doesn't mean we don't have meat - in the freezer there's pork chops, chicken, ground beef, fish, and shrimp. I have meat so when we do need some protein I can just pull it out of the freezer instead of running to the grocery store or wherever to get meat. It's a cheap way to eat meat - I buy when it's all on sale (and I don't buy the cheap stuff, I buy organic free range chicken, organic grass fed beef, organic fed pork, etc...) and then I toss it into bags with marinade in portions for 1 or 2 people.

So.. I think that's all we're up to today.

Happy Tuesday!!!

Need Meal Ideas?

Some days I feel like we eat the same repeats of the same meals. But then I also plan around freezer meals and I make 2+ portioned bags of whatever we actually like and eat. All of the meals below are from my freezer planning.

The Monkey will eat EVERYTHING below - I know a lot of kids are picky eaters and I don't put up with that crap - the rule in our house is: EAT OR STARVE. I DON'T CARE WHICH YOU CHOOSE BUT YOU WILL SIT AT THE TABLE DURING MEALTIMES. 

And so far it has worked. If lunch isn't eaten then dinner definitely is - if dinner isn't eaten, then we have a really big breakfast. 

Super simple crockpot pork with root vegetables. Just put it all into a crockpot with a beer, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, and then top with whatever fresh herbs you have. 

Italian sausages simmered in homemade tomato sauce. I serve this over pasta, or on a bun, with a salad and a steamed veggie.

This was the leftover picture, so you can't see the chicken - but I usually make a Mediterranean seasoned chicken breasts with curried cous cous and steamed or frozen veggies. The Monkey asks for cous cous now (and curried cous cous, not plain cous cous).

Super simple chicken marinated with teriyaki sauce and steamed cauliflower. 

Sesame chicken with steamed green beans and white rice. 

We eat a lot of steamed veggies. A lot.

My goal for the next month is to branch out from steamed veggies and try some new recipes - like sauteed greens maybe, more roasted veggies, and more sauteed veggies. I'll be perusing Pinterest and drooling I'm sure. 

Tonight's dinner will be chicken pot pies - The Monkey has been asking for "pot pies" for dinner for the last week and I have no idea if they are what she thinks they are or not. We shall see tonight, but at least she's asking for something different than mac and cheese.

Happy Sunday!

August Meal Planning

I still have quite a few freezer meals from last time so I don't have too much to plan out - woo hoo!!

BUT I bulk ordered sides - so in the cupboards I have Near East Mediterranean Curry Cous Cous and Near East Roast Garlic and Olive Oil Pasta. Both are delicious and the Monkey eats both so no worries on finding a starch.

Meal planning is so weird. I look at other blogs for meal planning ideas and while recipes LOOK FANTASTIC, I realize that when I put it down on my calendar that A) I don't have time; B) I am missing 2+ ingredients that I probably won't ever buy again; or C) I just don't want to make it because it's too involved.

Another thing about meal planning - there are things that I don't like that I see quite a bit -

• I hate quinoa, 
• I'm not much for elaborate breading of meat (I don't have room for all of that), 
• I don't deep fry things, 
• I don't have time to make a sauce or make a mix and then make dinner

And also there are only certain vegetables that I like and that the Monkey will actually eat:

• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Green beans
• Corn
• Tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Water Chestnuts (I know, weird)
• Broccolini stalk thingys

Please notice what is missing - potatoes, asparagus, carrots, eggplant (which I don't like either), peppers and a few other veggies. I make french fries, tater tots, and homemade french fries but the Monkey refuses to eat plain baked potatoes or roasted potatoes. I don't know why (because she'll eat curried rice, LOL!). 

So in general when looking at other blogger's meal plans I have to switch up sides and make changes to recipes to suit our meal needs (like omitting hot sauce and switching from potatoes for a side to jasmine rice). 

I also have to work within our budget, so if that means that I only buy some lettuce, milk, butter, and eggs at the co-op, then so be it. My grocery budget sometimes has to be eating out of cupboards only (which is fine because they're usually stocked in general because every few weeks/months I buy certain items in bulk).

And the other thing with meal planning - I buy organic. We're up to eating 75-85% organic except for some frozen pizzas, cheese, and some pantry items. Organic can be expensive so I need to choose meals that fit within our budget. There are meats that we can't afford (like $17.99/lb for some meats at Whole Foods, seriously....) so I switch up marinades to cheaper organic beef and chicken cuts. Whole chickens are cheap but boneless, skinless breasts are the easiest for me to work with (Costco has organic chicken and beef for bulk purchases or else I order from my organic meat lady at the farmer's market).

So, as you can tell, I'm a super picky freezer meal planner and regular meal planner.

Onto what I have in stock...

Below I'm going to list my freezer inventory and my cupboard inventory so you can see what we usually have in stock. Then I just pick and choose what's for dinner from both lists. I choose a protein, starch, and veggie (sometimes I do two veggies and no starch).

I think this is the easiest way to meal plan for myself - that way I'm not tied down to a certain menu item because who in the heck knows what we'll actually be hungry for on Friday!!

Freezer Inventory

• Greek Chicken (Italian seasoning, olive oil, salt & pepper, sliced lemons), just marinated chicken in a freezer bag
• Plain "Just Bare" chicken breasts
• Sweet Glazed Chicken (ketchup, apricot preserves, worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, olive oil) in a freezer bag
• Margarita Chicken (alcoholic margarita mix, parsley, olive oil) in a freezer bag
• Thin cut beef roast
• Taco Meat
• Pasta sauce - meatless AND beef sauce
• Pesto
• French fries
• Peas
• Chicken sausage
• Ground turkey (which I think the dog might end up eating)
• Pork chops - two different marinades
• Steak (5 steaks)
• Mixed veggies - a few bags of random seasoned and plain veggies

Cupboard Inventory

• Annie's Mac & Cheese (mostly for lunches)
• Near East Garlic & Olive Oil Pasta
• Near East Mediterranean Cous Cous
• Black beans
• Tomato sauce
• Tomato paste
• Jasmine rice
• Honey
• Spices
• Flour & sugar
• Black olives
• Wildtree Organic spices, flatbread mix, cinnamon rolls
• Pasta - spaghetti and rotini

Gah. I know there's more but that's what I know I have off the top of my head. I stopped at the farmer's market and got broccoli, two types of beans, lettuce and a few tomatoes for this week for fresh veggies. 

Oy, meal planning is hard. We'll see what we end up eating this month!