Z Bread

 I had two left-over zucchinis from our farm-stand hall the weekend before last.  This time of year, it's easy to over-buy them.  They were cheap and they were tasty -- but it wasn't possible to eat four in a week.  What is a girl to do? Of course, make zucchini bread.  One batch was made in a baking dish, the other was in a loaf pan.  We've enjoyed the baking dish version all week.  It's  breakfast, desert, and snack. No guilt either as I made it with oatmeal and whole wheat flour.  It's been yummy.

Working for the Weekend

It is nice to have time to cook ahead for camp.  We have a small fridge so storing multiple ingredients is out of the question.  This weekend, one meal with be a chicken coconut curry.  The cheap factor is that I am using a package of sauce that was a "Special Today" mark-down. The pans were end-of-season mark downs too.  These are drip pans for grill -- the perfect size for a toaster oven.  For ingredients: chicken breast, slaw mix, yellow pepper, onion, black beans and a packet of sauce.

Culinary Tools

I have needed a potato/tomato masher for some time.   There is probably one in a box in the garage that I have yet to unpack, but that doesn't help me now that it's summer and I am making fresh marinara.  Rather than heading to Target, I knew I'd do better at a thrift store.  I ducked into Amvets last Thursday and found this one for 79 cents.  The saute pan was a separate purchase on Saturday.

Chicken Again

It was chicken for 79 cents a pound this week -- again. I realize that a lot of people would be kind of grossed out to fully dismember a bird -- removing the skin, back and wings is a slimy job. It does take time and without a pair of kitchen shears, it would be impossible.  But I am always willing to get in and butcher a bird because it's one of the best ways to save money.  I like to dump the parts in a bowl, then rub them with oil and seasonings, prior to roasting it.

Wednesday is Thursday this Week...

We are hosting a river cruise tomorrow night for TBG's best clients, so no dinner at home.  That is OK, I used left-overs to make dinner tonight and it's just like it would be if it were Thursday.  I had stock from last week, and a jar of marinara from last night.  TBG left a half a pepper in the fridge from his chicken wrap at lunch.  Add in half a zucchini,  pearl barley & red quinoa, onion, celery, the tail-end of a bag of cabbage/carrot slaw, and diced chicken breast from Monday, and you have a thick soup made with summer veggies.

Marinara

 There is a farm stand down the road from our camp.  They have great produce but also stuff they hold back as "Seconds" because the product is not perfect.  Well, not perfect is fine when you want to make marinara.  Four quarts of fresh tomatoes set me back four bucks and this afternoon, I cooked it all up.  These two jars are destined for the freezer.  A smaller jar is in the fridge for another meal this week.

Thursday Objective Met

My Thursday dinner goal is always to finish up whatever is in the fridge and to make dinner without buying any new ingredients.  It was a success again this week.  Of course it was a given that pizza was part of the plan since I made up three batches of dough on Tuesday.  Then I rummaged through the freezer this morning and found a snack-sized zippy back with small chunks of cooked Italian sausage.  There was also very small amount of chicken thigh left, and a third of a log of mozarella.  I've been going through a small can of Hunts tomato sauce (courtesy of the Dollar Tree) all week, and that was finished tonight too.  The  pizza was delicious!

Chicken, Day Two

It was the second day with the chicken I cooked up yesterday.  We both had a wrap for lunch and then once that was done, I set about to start prep for dinner.  It was Taco Tuesday at Chez Petite.  The Ortega shells came from Dollar Tree, so they were cheap.  They are a slightly higher fiber/grain version.  Although by higher, it's 2g rather than <1g of fiber.  We had the shredded cabbage/carrot mix from pierogi night and I had purchased three red peppers.  These are the misfits that Price Rite sells for cheap ($1.49 per pound).  We were out of cheddar so for cheese, it was Swiss and Assiago.  Someone actually forgot to pack the package of Swiss and I found it in a cart I picked up at Aldi.  So I just dropped it in my car.  That wasn't stealing as someone paid for it but just forgot it.  The sour cream is actually cut 50% with plain Greek yogurt.

My Life of Inconvenience

I took advantage of yesterday's sunshine and scorching heat, and dried my laundry on the line.  While TBG doesn't like his clothes stiff from the line, I do.  As a result, I did a load of my clothes and then hung them out.  When I do loads with his clothes, I give them a quick tumble to soften them up.  However, I prefer saving energy by using the power of the sun.  It's a lot more effort than just throwing the washed clothes into the dryer, but it's economical and environmentally friendly so I am up for the extra work.

Basil in the Kitchen

Neighbor Dave gave me a fist-full of basil this afternoon when I went over the let him know I was putting the sprinkler on.  He suggested I freeze what I couldn't use -- but I intended to use it all.  Once I got it inside and cut the flowers away from the bunch, I decided they were too pretty to go to waste.  Now that I've done that, I have decided to do it more often.  I go out in the yard and cut the flowers off the basil all summer just to help keep the plants as leafy as possible. Generally, I just let them drop to the ground.

Soup Indiscretions....

Tomorrow is "Souper Tuesday" at work, but my soup is taking a pass.  The boss takes everyone out to lunch the day before a holiday.  Since I started making things for the soup on Friday, I'm going to bring it all in and we will freeze it.  We can thaw it next Monday and it will be on site and ready to go next Tuesday.

I have a confession to make about my soup.  It is a Frankenstein monster of ingredients, based on what is either cheap or left from something else in our house.

Convenience and Comfort!

Another one of my current convenience hacks, is to buy a small container of guacamole and one Haas avocado.  I'll chop and mush up the avocado, then mix in the pre-made guac.  This saves me from wasting at least half a bunch of fresh cilantro -- as no matter what I plan, I can never use it all.  This Little Salad Bar tub was $2.49 and the avocado was a buck.  Last week, avocados were on sale for fifty cents!  I buy these at Aldi along with their Simply Nature multi-grain tortilla chips.  As far as junk/snack food goes, this is a pretty healthy snack.  I also cut down on the cost and sodium in the pre-made mix.  The avocado comes out to two bucks per pound, while the tub of guac is $2.58 per pound.  So I am also saving a little bit of money too.

Embracing Convenience

She who used to refuse to buy salad in a bag, has drastically changed her opinion of salad convenience.  Not only do I now buy salad in a bag, I am buying salad kits, which I thought was something I would never do.  I have embraced not only the convenience but the ability to make a healthy meal that tastes fresh and delivers nutrition and fiber.

Quick Cheap Meals

I try to make our meals from scratch, and also make them healthy.  Then there are times I am a hypocrite.   Mostly, it's because I am cheap.

On days where I have not had a chance to gather and assemble dinner, we'll order a pizza or some other form of take-out, or we'll eat out (generally at a diner).  Regardless of which we choose, it is rarely a healthy meal.  That's why I decided to buy a few "cheat" meals that I can make in a pinch.

Friday Night Dinner

Our Friday night dinner splurge wasn't lobster -- but it was seafood.  We had scallops, made in the Sous Vide.  I had given up spending money on good scallops because I could never cook them just right.  That is not a problem with the Sous Vide.  The correct temperature is 125 degrees, and they need 25 minutes.  After that, just a quick pan sear in butter -- 20 seconds per side.

Saturday Splurge

We had a nice dinner at home tonight.  A sirloin steak cooked to near-done by the sous-vide, then finished on the grill and topped with Gorgonzola cheese.  The sides were asparagus, roasted red potatoes and a salad with greens, red peppers, mushrooms, onions and blueberries.  For the wine, 19 Crimes -- whatever red blend it is that TBG gets.  I'm not particular!

Asian History

About ten to twelve years ago, when we had a substantially lower income and a much higher debt load (a mortgage that was at least double what we carry today), we had a bad restaurant habit.  Every Thursday night, we would meet another couple out for noodles.  Then we'd generally also go out either Friday or Saturday night.  At least one weekend morning saw us in a diner for breakfast.  We also partied a lot more and often went out for Saturday night.  Now, we get our Asian fix at home.

It Looks LIke Dinner, but it was Lunch!

This was our Friday lunch.  I know, it looks a lot like a dinner -- and that is because it was made from left-overs!  The pizza from Wednesday only used 2/3 of the dough I made.  I knew that with the extra time I have on my day off, that I could use it for lunch.  The soup was leftover from my big batch early in the week.

Tea Totalling

I made up another big batch of iced tea today -- my standard formula of White Jasmine, Green, Black and Ginger, with freshly squeezed lemon and also a bit of fresh ginger (steeped with the tea).  A little honey was added with the sugar for a change. It turned out very well!  We save a lot of money and calories making it at home.  The convenience is great too.

Bread Crumbs!

I know it's a small thing, but since I hate to waste, I saw no reason to throw away left-over bread crumbs from our breaded cod dinner on Sunday.  I just sealed them up and planned to use them for meatloaf tonight.