We had a lot of leftover chorizo pasta. To serve something green, I made sesame green beans. I stir-fried half a bag of frozen green beans in sesame oil, added toasted sesame seeds and one packet of Chinese restaurant soy sauce.
Doris was doing her calm jar right before dinner. When asked what her Moody Cow thoughts were, she said "These green beans make me sad." Then later when Karen said "Thanks for the good meal, Mommy." Doris said "This is not such a good meal, Mommy."
So it was not a hit. At least not with Doris. Oh well. Now I'm eating the rest of the chorizo pasta for lunch for the rest of the week so that it doesn't get wasted.
Green beans; $1.50
Sesame oil: 30 cents
Sesame seeds 10 cents
Total: $$1.90 (63 cents per person)
At least it was cheap even if it wasn't liked.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Monday, 1/23/12: Happy Chinese New Year
We always celebrate Chinese New Year. Karen says it's because Angel is Chinese. This year Doris' Chinese/Vietnamese friends gave cards/money, so that added to the fun. While I made dinner, Karen and Doris made a calm jar, ala Moody Cow. Doris was having a very Moody Cow day and when I suggested she read this book with Amma, she said yes, like she knew it would help her calm her emotions down. It seemed to work and we had a much better night.
I didn't plan for this meal. We have a lot of food at home so we aren't going to the grocery store for a while, so I didn't plan and buy stuff for this meal. I just made what I had. And amazingly, I had a lot. Except for rice. We only had a little left but it worked out to be enough.
I made some spring rolls in the toaster oven. I made a dipping sauce of lemon juice, vinegar, soy sauce, chili sauce, and hoisin sauce. It was pretty good. Karen's taking the leftovers for lunch today.
I made Orange Mandarin Chik'n by Gardein. This is really good. It says on their package that it's their most popular product and I can totally believe it. Last time I made it, Doris wouldn't touch it, but this time she ate a lot of it. Most Gardein products are way too expensive, but this one is affordable so I buy it. Doris liked it so much that she is eating the leftovers for lunch today.
I made a tofu and veggie stir-fry with a Thai style peanut sauce. I used fresh mushrooms but the rest of the veggies were frozen. I used half a bag of green beans and a quarter of a bag of Asian stir fry veggies. The sauce was made of peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, chili sauce, and lemon juice. It was quite tasty. Doris ate a lot of the tofu. The only problem with making dishes like this is that Doris can't take the leftovers to school because of the peanut butter so I try not to make them too often. I'm eating these leftovers. Two lunches worth.
Rice: 40 cents
Spring Rolls: $3
Chik'n: $4
Tofu: $4
Mushrooms: $2
Green beans: $1.50
Veggies: 75 cents
Sauces: $1
Total: $16.65 ($5.55 per person)
That's a lot. We could have probably done without the spring rolls, which would have brought it down to 13.65, which is still a lot. We had some leftovers but only enough for lunches, not dinners. So this is okay for a holiday but not otherwise. Probably the chik'n, though cheaper than other Gardein products, is still not a value product.
I didn't plan for this meal. We have a lot of food at home so we aren't going to the grocery store for a while, so I didn't plan and buy stuff for this meal. I just made what I had. And amazingly, I had a lot. Except for rice. We only had a little left but it worked out to be enough.
I made some spring rolls in the toaster oven. I made a dipping sauce of lemon juice, vinegar, soy sauce, chili sauce, and hoisin sauce. It was pretty good. Karen's taking the leftovers for lunch today.
I made Orange Mandarin Chik'n by Gardein. This is really good. It says on their package that it's their most popular product and I can totally believe it. Last time I made it, Doris wouldn't touch it, but this time she ate a lot of it. Most Gardein products are way too expensive, but this one is affordable so I buy it. Doris liked it so much that she is eating the leftovers for lunch today.
I made a tofu and veggie stir-fry with a Thai style peanut sauce. I used fresh mushrooms but the rest of the veggies were frozen. I used half a bag of green beans and a quarter of a bag of Asian stir fry veggies. The sauce was made of peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, chili sauce, and lemon juice. It was quite tasty. Doris ate a lot of the tofu. The only problem with making dishes like this is that Doris can't take the leftovers to school because of the peanut butter so I try not to make them too often. I'm eating these leftovers. Two lunches worth.
Rice: 40 cents
Spring Rolls: $3
Chik'n: $4
Tofu: $4
Mushrooms: $2
Green beans: $1.50
Veggies: 75 cents
Sauces: $1
Total: $16.65 ($5.55 per person)
That's a lot. We could have probably done without the spring rolls, which would have brought it down to 13.65, which is still a lot. We had some leftovers but only enough for lunches, not dinners. So this is okay for a holiday but not otherwise. Probably the chik'n, though cheaper than other Gardein products, is still not a value product.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Sunday, 1/23/12: Chorizo & Spaghetti
Michael and Nancy were returning from their vacation by red eye and were exhausted. I sent them a text that we would give them dinner. I made a double batch of Chorizo and Spaghetti. Luckily, I had picked up Chorizo at Giant and Karen had picked one up at Trader Joe's, so we had two of them.
I made it with one box of fettucine, two blocks of chorizo, two onions, four cloves of garlic, two cups of parmesan. Instead of dried sage, I used dried Italian seasoning - 4 tsps. I added one jar of sun-dried tomatoes and one jar of greek olives. It was dry so I added the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes, which added some nice flavor with all of it's seasonings, and 3/4's of a can of tomato juice. For Karen and I, I pan-fried it. Doris said she didn't want it pan-fried. I also served it with some frozen broccoli. Doris ate a lot of the broccoli and some of the olives and a little pasta. Karen and I enjoyed it.
I packed it up in a big yogurt tub for Michael and Nancy with some leftover peas and carrots. Karen had also made some scones and coffee cake, so I included that as well. Nancy sent a text that it was delicious and asked for the recipe, so it's definitely a hit. I had to do a lot of doctoring, so I was happy to see it turned out well.
There is a ton of leftovers so we'll definitely get another meal or two out of this.
Chorizo: $6
Onion: $1
Garlic: 40 cents
Parmesan: $2.80
Italian Seasoning: 20 cents
Sun-dried tomatoes: $4
Olives: $6
Tomato juice: 67 cents
Broccoli: $1.50
Total: $23.57 ($4.71 per person)
It's a lot but we made a ton. If it had just been the three of us, I would have made less and it would have probably cost $13, much more reasonable, especially considering that it always has leftovers.
Week 11 in Review
Sunday: Beenoop Free
Monday: Cutlets $12.90
Tuesday: Burgers $4.20
Wednesday: Mama Lucia $15
Thursday: Leftovers Free
Friday: Pizza $12.20
Saturday: Addis Ababa $20
Total: $64.30 ($9.19 per day)
Pretty good week, especially considering we went to the restaurant twice. I might be getting a handle on food prices post-CSA.
Monday: Cutlets $12.90
Tuesday: Burgers $4.20
Wednesday: Mama Lucia $15
Thursday: Leftovers Free
Friday: Pizza $12.20
Saturday: Addis Ababa $20
Total: $64.30 ($9.19 per day)
Pretty good week, especially considering we went to the restaurant twice. I might be getting a handle on food prices post-CSA.
Saturday, 1/21/12: Addis Ababa
We had a date night planned. Catherine and Dale were going to babysit and Karen and I were going to use our Groupon to Addis Ababa. Doris doesn't really appreciate Ethiopian food, so we were going to enjoy it ourselves. But Catherine and Dale canceled, and our groupon was going to expire, so we took Doris with us.
We ordered the vegetarian sampler platter for two with yellow peas, tomato salad, red lentils, cabbage, and green beans, potatoes, and carrots. Doris took a bite of the potato but said it was spicy. I think it was a bit hard. She touched the injera and said it was yucky. Then she ate all of the green beans. She kept saying "I really like the green beans." Unfortunately there were only a few green beans, so she had quite a small meal.
Karen and I enjoyed the rest of it.
Total: $20 ($6.67 per person)
We ordered the vegetarian sampler platter for two with yellow peas, tomato salad, red lentils, cabbage, and green beans, potatoes, and carrots. Doris took a bite of the potato but said it was spicy. I think it was a bit hard. She touched the injera and said it was yucky. Then she ate all of the green beans. She kept saying "I really like the green beans." Unfortunately there were only a few green beans, so she had quite a small meal.
Karen and I enjoyed the rest of it.
Total: $20 ($6.67 per person)
Friday, 1/20/12: Pizza
Reia was coming over for a sleepover so I made every kids favorite food - pizza. I made two pizzas - one cheese and one with green pepper, onion, mushrooms, and olives. Doris loves mushrooms and olives but always chooses cheese pizza when given the choice. I served it with a fruit salad of strawberries and clementines.
It did as well as you might think. Kids don't eat when they are together because they are too excited. There was a lot of leftovers for us to eat for a few lunches.
Pizza Dough: $6
Sauce: $1.19
Pepper: $1
Mushroom: $2
Olives: $2.50
Onion: 50 cents
Cheese: $2
Strawberries: $3.85
Clementines: 60 cents
Total: $19.64 ($4.91 per person)
That's a lot, but it did create a lot of leftovers. If it had just been the three of us, I would have only made one pizza, which would have cost $12.20, much more reasonable.
It did as well as you might think. Kids don't eat when they are together because they are too excited. There was a lot of leftovers for us to eat for a few lunches.
Pizza Dough: $6
Sauce: $1.19
Pepper: $1
Mushroom: $2
Olives: $2.50
Onion: 50 cents
Cheese: $2
Strawberries: $3.85
Clementines: 60 cents
Total: $19.64 ($4.91 per person)
That's a lot, but it did create a lot of leftovers. If it had just been the three of us, I would have only made one pizza, which would have cost $12.20, much more reasonable.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Thursday, 1/19/12: Leftovers
We had leftover pizza and salad. I spiced it up a bit by adding tomatoes, cheese, and dressing from leftovers at work. Popular meal and it was free.
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