Eggplant Parmesan in a Frenzy:::Jenn

The time is ticking away and I have not yet accomplished the dinner goals previously set by an overly ambitious morning shopper. The same one who looked at these lovely eggplants in the store and heard their call to become something tasty.

Instead they sit all too whole and tidy. Finally, determination and frenzy strike the cook...

and slicing commences. Such a small first step, but the lovely quater-inch planks inspire more frenzy.


Next, we tackle those googly eyes (well we actually put the munchkin to work upon them as they were a bit intimidating with that milky stare).


A quick dip in the pool...

oh crumb! #@&**@#!' action...

and into the fire we go. This tried and true mix of olive oil, a bit of smart balance to raise the smoking point and a touch of butter to kick up the flavor (and the calories) yields tender and tasty morsels every time.

Out of the fire they came, and into a roasting pan to be layered with mozzarella (courtesy of the Bug) on a thin bed of marinara sauce.

Dump the extra oil and add a splash of red wine for deglazing the pan, whoosh! I tossed in the rest of the marinara to warm and meld flavors before...

spooning on top of the cheese and broiling for about 5 minutes.

Out came that oozy, gooey wonderfulness that is baked cheese. So we kissed it with a bit of Parmesan for company...

and served it with a chair of bowlies.


Layered on a bed of greens, this was a meal fit for royalty. Or maybe it just tasted that way to a hungry crowd, but we all ate too much!


A bit later than our usual 5:40PM supper time, but well worth the wait. Another meal saved by the frenzied chef.

Pizza:::Gina

As has been mentioned on this blog before, watching Super Size Me last summer really motivated some change in our family. We all knew fast food was bad before watching that, but somehow we didn't really get how bad it is until then.

Anyway, once we saw that, our fast food consumption dramatically fell off (but our healthier eating-out choices picked up, so...). One thing we never could quite shake, though, were pizza nights. With $5-6 large pizzas around here, it was so often a temptation too strong to resist.

When the boys found out we'd be doing this challenge they were mostly dismayed at the thought of doing without pizza. In our more frugal days, we made plenty of homemade pizza, so we all knew it could be done. It was just a matter of doing it. Which we did tonight. (Actually, I had some issues and they ended up being calzones, but...you get the point, lol.)

And, a la Tightwad Gazette, I quadrupled the dough recipe and froze three balls of dough, so we can do it again weekly all month if we so choose.

Breakfast for Dinner:::Jenn

How many times in my childhood I remember Dad fixing egg sandwiches and the like for dinner. I now realize that it's an easy, fast, hot, filling, crowd-pleasing, simple, and fairly cheap dinner option. When I got home with only 20 minutes to get dinner on the table, no leftovers, well...left, and no plan in mind, I turned to dear old Dad's tried and true. An egg, a slice of bacon, a piece of toast (because every thing is better as a sandwich) and some spinach (okay, I had to try and redeem the grease a little bit) and dinner was finished in 16 minutes. Total outlay for this all- organic meal for four, $3.75. How about that.

Week One is Done:::Tammy

Well we survived our first week. Remember? The only way I could get hubby on board was to go at it a week at a time? Well HE did just great. I on the other hand could be found at Studio 127 begging my in-laws for gift cards to McDonald's...lol. My birthday is coming, we shall see how it goes. :D My teenager also did not do well. She was being technical and pleading for a Late Night run on New Year's Eve. In fact, just today she had hoped we could "call the whole thing off."LOL

First of all...I need to say that we eat meat when we can, but most meals are meatless. We also enjoy white flour for it's frugalness and don't have any food restrictions except one peanut butter/milk allergy. We DO have picky eaters but they just. need. to. get. over. it.

Next, I wouldn't call these confessions...just sanctioned eating out.

We went to DQ on Saturday night for ice cream and used the gift card. So it doesn't count.
We went to the movies and had popcorn and soda. But the entire movie-going experience was a gift from a friend at church. So it doesn't count.

I add a caveat to my exceptions...I forgot I was married and would be having an anniversary coming in November.

Our meals have been pretty okay. We did a pantry challenge the week before Christmas so our meals have been a mishmash of various items from our stash of food.

A pantry challenge consists of making an inventory of everything in the pantry, fridge, freezer,  etc. and making a menu out of it. We have used this particular inventory for four weeks and have had to buy very little. I guess it helps that we bought half a pig and are able to purchase from Care and Share.

The most interesting meal by far was the:

Leftover Thanksgiving Carcass Turkey with Elbow Macaroni and Broccoli Scampi 

When made with "normal" ingredients, this dish is a staple to our menu. Dad cooks up some chicken with garlic and olive oil. ( I mean...I guess...I don't cook it). He boils up some penne or bow tie pasta. Mix it together, add the chicken and steamed broccoli, a bit of butter, and, I think, some parmasean cheese. Viola...a one pot meal (the easiest to clean up).

I made the concoction listed above. We had frozen our turkey carcasses from Thanksgiving for later use. I boiled the whole shebang in my canning pot (*gasp* on the new flattop...I know...scary) with some herbs and veggies. When it had cooked down pretty good I drained all the liquid to put into tupperware for freezing. We will make turkeyless turkey and dumplings sometime with it. Or turkeyless turkey and noodles. With the warmed carcass, I deboned it all and stored it in the fridge until use. I got two good bowls full of meat....SWEET! So I attempted the above scampi recipe and the kids liked it. Leftovers went to work with my hubby. He makes much better scampi than I do. 

The best meal this past week has been:

Spicy Meat and Cous Cous

This is an old recipe we have had since the early days of our marriage, though I cannot remember where we got it. Originally it was Spicy Lamb and Cous Cous, but I'm not a shepherd (in the literal sense, though I DO have a herd ;)) and lamb is expensive. So we call it Spicy Meat and put in whatever meat is on hand.

First, make a marinade of honey, soy sauce, garlic or garlic powder, and cinnamon (which is why I LOVE this recipe). Cut up the meat and let it sit as long as you want. :) Warm up some olive oil and cook it. Originally it called for broiling, BUT we tend to burn when we broil and it's not always convenient for our monthly fire drill, so electric skillet it is. Cook up some cous cous and add the meat to it. It's YUMMY. We had it with salad that was days away from being chicken feed and some of the FREE salad dressing I got by couponing. :D

I don't have pictures because, you know, that would require PLANNING.

Tomorrow night we are having biscuits and gravy with some more PIG in it! B&G as we call it at our house...especially the meatless kind...is the most frugal meal we can make next to spaghetti. The most expensive ingredient is the baking soda of the biscuits. This meal is dinner AND dessert. The kids like to put honey and jelly on leftover biscuits.

As an end note: Our savings so far would amount to $60. I know...it's bad. But I figure my hubby was home for four nights this past first week and we would have eaten out two of them. It costs $25 to $30 for the three of us to eat Late Night. I can buy a LOT of groceries for $60...or a real cute chicken purse for my birthday...hint hint hint.

Oh and btw...I have lost three pounds this week. If that ain't a sign I don't know what is!

It's Dinner:::Jenn

"What is it Mama?" "It's dinner."

Sometimes that is all that can be said. Since my reasons for dining in are most motivated by frugality, I simply can not condone letting food go bad in the refrigerator from lack of consumption. Consequently, tonight when my daughter asked what we should call it, my only answer was dinner. I crumbled up the stale bread sticks and two remaining corn tortillas and added the soon to expire package of lunch meat. I think it was turkey, but honestly I just didn't look that close at the package. In went some grated cheese, frozen peas and corn, and half a bottle of Goddess dressing. I mixed it up and baked it in my dutch oven at 400 for about 25 minutes. Upon tasting, it was lacking. Therefore I added a can of diced and drained tomatoes and some butter, mixed it up and cooked for another 15 minutes. At that point we sat down to "dinner" and found it quite tasty actually. Some wrapped it up in a tortilla and some just used a spoon but all seemed quite happy. Add some fresh fruit and (while not my best creation ever) it was very filling and somewhat balanced. I had to admit to my daughter that no, we would probably not be able to make it again, but that we could try something similar another day. 

I basically follow the basic casserole formula for a lot of these sort of meals and they almost always meet with success. It says something like this:
2 C of starch, 2C of protein, 1C of veggies and 1C of moisture. Something for a topping is a nice addition as well.

I can't say that I always follow this formula, but the results are much more consistent when I do. I also find that as long as I oil/grease my dutch oven a bit, the flavor from using it over another pan is noticeable. All the past 1,000 or so meals cooked in it have added a nice taste to the pan that is noticeable in many dishes.

Buffalo and Barley:::Monique

Today, I made one of my family's favorite meals.  It's easy, cheap, and often what we eat on Tuesdays since I'm not home that night to cook for my family.  I lead Weight Watcher meetings every Tuesday night, so if it isn't cooked before 4:30 when I leave, the solution used to be going out to eat.  My DH would usually call for take-out pizza.  When the pizzas started costing $40 we decided we really needed to do something different, especially since it was once a week.  We decided that Tuesdays would be crock pot night.  So for probably a year now, I've been putting something in the crock pot or planned something that DH can cook. I've been in a dilemma, though, since around Thanksgiving because I found out that my made-in-China crock pot may be leaching lead into our food.  The big crock pot was thrown away (it was broken anyway) and I've just been cooking things on low in the oven or on the stove.  For Christmas, my DH bought me the cooking item I've been drooling over since Thanksgiving. It's made in the USA so I'm very proud of it!  

Are you ready for the recipe now?  It's simple and I usually don't measure anything.  Choose some vegetables.  I use celery, carrots, and onions.  Instead of using beef stew meat, I use buffalo.  Tonight I cut up a 5 or 6 carrots and one whole stalk of celery.  Then I tossed in a cup or two of barley.

I usually just add all the raw ingredients and some beef broth or bouillon in the crock pot but since I was using my new "baby," I put some canola oil in the dutch oven and then browned the meat, added the vegetables and then added around 8-10 cups of water, the barley and then my bouillon and spices.  This is what it looked like at that point.

Here are the spices and bouillon I used.  You could use whatever appeals to your family.  Yes, I did use the fresh rosemary tonight.  I haven't used it since we planted it earlier last spring.

Then, because my family really likes their carbs, I made a loaf of bread that my family hasn't had in a long time but really likes.
And finally, the finished product!  Everyone ate and the four year old even thanked me several times for making a delicious meal.
One final note, my DH and I had a lunch date today that included going out to eat.  However, it was just us and the baby and we used Christmas money from my mom.  Does that count?  

Winter Greens:::Jenn

What's not to love about a dish with this much color? Last night I took 1/2 a cabbage and a small bunch of Kale and chopped them roughly to saute in a skillet with garlic onion and a touch of olive oil. I served it over some pre-cooked pasta ( I frequently cook some extra pasta to have an easy meal addition later) with scratch corn bread and a pitcher of wellness tea. The chicken was bartered, and I cooked it in the new crock-pot for a few hours with just enough water for moisture. It came out very tender and with enough leftovers to make chicken enchilada casserole for tonight's dinner. I would estimate cost at about $3.25 for the meal and I have over half of a pan of corn bread left, lunch for DH to pack, and a good start on tonight's meal. My kids ate it all (they love cabbage with an abandon unnatural to childhood) but said it had a bit too much onion this time. Though I struggle to keep a balance between cost and nutrient dense foods, I am always pleasantly reminded how well things like kale and cabbage do both. On a time note, this was not as consuming as it might appear. The chicken went into the crock pot in the late morning and the corn bread took only a few minutes (even with lots of little girl help). Come dinner time, all I had to do was chop and saute the greens and warm up the pasta. Somehow a little time here and there during a day at home seems so much less effort than something that takes an hour to prepare right at dinner time--especially as we are trying to also get ready for bed and straighten up after day of wreaking havoc upon the tiny place we call home.

What's for Dinner:::Gina

Okay, I know this is a resolution for 2009, but I've been working on the blog most of the day, and am eager to get started. Tonight I have an Italian potato soup simmering and a loaf of country bread in the oven. On Christmas Eve my grandmother took us to the Olive Garden (little did I know it might be my last meal out, lol) and I had the soup and salad. This is my best reconstruction of that soup, with a few modifications. It's simmering now and I just sampled it. I'd say so far, so good. I guess I'll commit and write a recipe here:

Italian Potato Soup

1# ground beef, buffalo, or sausage (I suspect sausage would be the best, but I didn't have any on hand)
1/2 a large onion, finely chopped
1 large baking potato, quartered lengthwise and then thinly sliced
1 can white beans (dried, cooked, and frozen beans would be the most frugal choice)
4 cloves of garlic, minced
Approx 2 teaspoons each dried basil and oregano
Approx 1 t dried fennel seeds
Approx 3 C milk
1 bunch kale, finely chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste

Basically, I just browned the beef and onion, adding the garlic when it was almost done. I added spices while this was browning and then added the potato and beans. Cover with milk and bring to a simmer. Simmer about 30 minutes, add kale, and simmer another 5 or so.

The bread is a variation of this recipe, with whole wheat (white wheat) flour instead, and a little cornmeal thrown in because I ran out of flour after last week's baking frenzy.



Wrap up analysis...

Kids factor: Accepted very well. Liam hemmed and hawed a bit, but that was because he had a snack about 5 minutes before dinner. Grrrr... I tried to get them to rate it, but Quinn was the only one who got the concept of that really, and he gave it a 9, which is probably an exaggeration. He can be very ingratiating.

Cost factor: Honestly, I don't know what a half-gallon of organic milk runs these days, but I used about 2/3 of one, so I'll guess that's in the neighborhood of $2. $2 on the beef, $1 for the kale and beans, $0.25 for the onion and probably $1 for bread fixin's and maybe another $0.50 worth of spices. So a grand total of $6.75 and it made about 10 servings.

Health factor: I'm not a huge fan of dairy, I used beef instead of buffalo, and potatoes are questionable at best. Still, it was 2% milk, no "extra" fats, and did contain kale. So, fairly healthy, but not extraordinarily.