Menu Planning
You know, everybody's different.
When it's -24 degrees outside, some people want to go outside and built snow forts. Other people want to go hiking. I want to stay inside and turn my oven on.
Because of my current unemployed state, money is understandably a little tight. Dev and I are not soaking up the Alamosa night life (of course, even if we won the lotto, there's not much night life to soak up around here- unless you like extreme snow plowing or bingo at the VFW).
I have decided to do my part for home economics by sitting down on Sunday afternoons and planning a menu for the week.
Last week's menu looked something like this:
Monday- honey roasted pork loin with roasted potatoes and steamed broccoli- the afore-blogged-about chocolate cookies for dessert.
Tuesdays- Dev cooks on Tuesdays. We had chicken done in the crock pot with white wine, cream and green peas (sorry Di).
Wednesday- We took the leftover chicken, shredded it off the bone and I warmed the sauce part, thickened it and made chicken and dumplings.
Thursday- I made a salmon quiche.
Friday was leftover day. By that time, we had quite a bit of stuff collected.
Saturday I took the very last of the shredded chicken and made smothered chicken burritos with mexican rice.
So I figured the first week went fairly well. I think I spent about $50 on the groceries for that whole week. Breakfasts are usually cereal and toast, or sometimes eggs if I get up early enough. Lunches are always sandwiches or leftovers.
This week hasn't been bad either. Here's the proposed menu:
Monday- Killer dinner! I took tilapia fillets I found on sale at the grocery store and steamed them in white wine/lemon juice/bay leaf. I served it over couscous I had made with chicken stock and a few red pepper flakes for some zip. I topped the fillets with sauteed onions, grape tomatoes and mushrooms. As an appetizer, I took the rest of the container of cherry tomatoes, halved them and put them in a little gratin dish with olive oil and quite a bit of chopped fresh garlic. I roasted them at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes (til the tomatoes began to fall apart). I took it out and mixed in several large shrimp (on sale at the grocery store as well), fresh lemon juice, chopped fresh parsley and feta cheese. I returned it to the oven for about 10 minutes (until the shrimp were just translucent). I served it with french bread to sop up the juice. I'm not kidding when I say this was amazing. Dev and I practically fought over the last of it. Of course, 2 1/2 hours later, we had the damn chocolate cake for desert.
Tuesday was Dev's night again. We had chili and cornbread. I love this meal. It was -20 outside, and there's just something about a big bowl of chili with cheese, cilantro and cornbread added to it that makes you all warm and fuzzy.
Wednesday- tonight is Shepherd's Pie
Thursday- I have planned a modified quiche lorraine thing. I'm going to use fresh spinach, swiss cheese, bacon and scallions. We'll see what happens.
Friday is going to be grilled barbecue chicken (on the grill pan inside- I'm not freezing to death out by the grill).
Now all I need to do is learn how to cook for 2 people. Although, I guess leftovers are nice to have. It's a good thing I have my big extra freezer!
When it's -24 degrees outside, some people want to go outside and built snow forts. Other people want to go hiking. I want to stay inside and turn my oven on.
Because of my current unemployed state, money is understandably a little tight. Dev and I are not soaking up the Alamosa night life (of course, even if we won the lotto, there's not much night life to soak up around here- unless you like extreme snow plowing or bingo at the VFW).
I have decided to do my part for home economics by sitting down on Sunday afternoons and planning a menu for the week.
Last week's menu looked something like this:
Monday- honey roasted pork loin with roasted potatoes and steamed broccoli- the afore-blogged-about chocolate cookies for dessert.
Tuesdays- Dev cooks on Tuesdays. We had chicken done in the crock pot with white wine, cream and green peas (sorry Di).
Wednesday- We took the leftover chicken, shredded it off the bone and I warmed the sauce part, thickened it and made chicken and dumplings.
Thursday- I made a salmon quiche.
Friday was leftover day. By that time, we had quite a bit of stuff collected.
Saturday I took the very last of the shredded chicken and made smothered chicken burritos with mexican rice.
So I figured the first week went fairly well. I think I spent about $50 on the groceries for that whole week. Breakfasts are usually cereal and toast, or sometimes eggs if I get up early enough. Lunches are always sandwiches or leftovers.
This week hasn't been bad either. Here's the proposed menu:
Monday- Killer dinner! I took tilapia fillets I found on sale at the grocery store and steamed them in white wine/lemon juice/bay leaf. I served it over couscous I had made with chicken stock and a few red pepper flakes for some zip. I topped the fillets with sauteed onions, grape tomatoes and mushrooms. As an appetizer, I took the rest of the container of cherry tomatoes, halved them and put them in a little gratin dish with olive oil and quite a bit of chopped fresh garlic. I roasted them at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes (til the tomatoes began to fall apart). I took it out and mixed in several large shrimp (on sale at the grocery store as well), fresh lemon juice, chopped fresh parsley and feta cheese. I returned it to the oven for about 10 minutes (until the shrimp were just translucent). I served it with french bread to sop up the juice. I'm not kidding when I say this was amazing. Dev and I practically fought over the last of it. Of course, 2 1/2 hours later, we had the damn chocolate cake for desert.
Tuesday was Dev's night again. We had chili and cornbread. I love this meal. It was -20 outside, and there's just something about a big bowl of chili with cheese, cilantro and cornbread added to it that makes you all warm and fuzzy.
Wednesday- tonight is Shepherd's Pie
Thursday- I have planned a modified quiche lorraine thing. I'm going to use fresh spinach, swiss cheese, bacon and scallions. We'll see what happens.
Friday is going to be grilled barbecue chicken (on the grill pan inside- I'm not freezing to death out by the grill).
Now all I need to do is learn how to cook for 2 people. Although, I guess leftovers are nice to have. It's a good thing I have my big extra freezer!
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