Anyone have any good recipes they would like to pass along? This would definately help in the planning process; less to think about! :)
Back to this past week...We did really well. And when I say that I mean we didn't eat out at all except for the pizza night on Monday. Other than that, we stayed home and either ate leftovers or cooked a meal.
This is a GREAT feeling for me. As I mentioned before, I am the one who looks at our expenses and attempts to "budget". I have gotten so frustrated with how much we are spending eating out. So this is a HUGE breakthrough for us. I hope it pays off at the end of the month when we look to see how much we saved by not eating out.
After this week, I'm pretty optimistic.
Most of the recipes I made this week were out of the Bride and Groom cookbook (see previous post). And I have to say, I am SO impressed with every single dish I have made! There isn't one single recipe that has left us more than impressed and very satisfied. It makes me not want to use any other cookbook, but I know I will need to branch out and try new things. But it is so hard when everything is SO good!
Wes and I decided to start rating the new meals that we try; basic scale of 1 to 10. This way we can either throw them out to never try again or make sure they become an addition to our "dinner recipe database" and use again.
So I am going to be sure and let everyone know how the rating turned out on each dish. Maybe it will cause you to want to try it too! Wes seems to be a very picky eater, so if you see a high rating, you can know that it MUST be good!
Here it is, our week's dinners at a glance....
Monday: Pizza Night!
Tuesday: Mexican Casserole
Wednesday: Leftover pizza (our schedule got crazy, so we had to make it quick)
Up to this point in the week, nothing spectacular and hadn't tried anything new. But Thursday started it all!
Thursday: Texas Chili (B&G Cookbook) It all can be summed up in one word: AMAZING!!
Rating: 11/10!!!
Note: Wes LOVED this recipe! He even said it might just be better than his Mom's chili. Whoah! His Mom makes some great chili, so this one must be a winner and a definate repeat. (maybe even next week!)
Friday: Pasta with Pesto, Shrimp, and Cherry Tomatoes,
Side: Roasted Asparagus
(Both from B&G Cookbook)
Rating: 9/10
Quote from Wes: "This tastes like something you would order at a restaurant! SO good!"
I think that is a good sign that he liked it. It was really good and SO flavorful!
Tonight: Slow Cooker Pot Roast w/ Carrots and Red Potatoes
Rating: No rating; yet to be determined.
**In the crock pot as we speak, slow cooking it's way to wonderful goodness!! We LOVE Pot Roast!
That's all I have as it relates to food. Wow, my past two posts have been about nothing but food. Hmm... And the only pictures I have taken have been of food... I am going to have to try and work on that. There really is more to Wes and I's life aside from food. :)
Until next time...
Love this! I used to meal plan all the time, but once we moved back to Minnesota life got crazy and I stopped. You inspired me to start again-- the amount of money we spend on eating out is ridiculous as well!
ReplyDeleteGirl, you guys eat like kings! In order to keep the cost down, try fine-tuning recipes with cheap ingredients - Ramen noodles, prepared canned soup, grill cheese (add oomph-factor by adding ham, greens, etc.). I have a favorite go-to recipe that is really good and CHEAP. I use frozen chicken breasts that come in a bag (just thaw and they are just as good as fresh...) and store brand stuffing mix. I don't put cheese on mine although I have that in my fridge all the time so no biggie if I wanted to. Use store brand soup. This is a less-then-three-dollar meal per person if you shop right. Good luck!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.campbellskitchen.com/RecipeDetail.aspx?recipeId=25783&ref=%2fSearchRecipesResult.aspx%3ffilter%3d%26q%3dchicken%2band%2bstuffing%2bskillet%26fbid%3d9q0HpNaRywA&fbid=9q0HpNaRywA
For your pizza night, buy in bulk at Sam's (DiGiorno is the best IMO). That's two bucks or so for a whole pizza instead of spending over $20 for delivery pizza. Also try a soup and sandwich night - do canned soup and spruce up with herbs or more veggies. Do a three cheese grilled cheese (include mozzarella which is stringy - fun!). If you find a good deal on heavy cream, add cream in beef and veggie soup, let simmer for a bit, and you have a different take on can-to-bowl soup...you can do this with tomato too!
ReplyDeleteAlso, use that window in your kitchen. Grow your own herbs which will kick up any soup one more notch.
How about basil (grown in your window), tomato (store bought), and cheese (already in fridge) grilled cheese? YUM-O.
I have a really healthy and easy recipe that is awesome for the winter months! Let me know if you'd like it and I can fb message it to you!
ReplyDelete