Happy New Year!

I apparently have had a second trimester energy boost, because I've been cooking up a storm today ... and the rest of this week. I'll post recipes later. It's nice to be able to cook again without getting sick to my stomach. Hate the first trimester!

After a late night and cereal for breakfast, then an early nap, I started off today with cooking lunch: The short ribs my mom always makes for New Year's Day, plus black-eyed peas. If you don't eat black-eyed peas on New Year's, you're missing out: It is considered good luck to eat them on New Year's Day! While the short ribs and beans were cooking, I started a soup in the crock pot for dinner, using my friend's "toss it together" recipe, thinking we were going to be gone half the day. Our plans changed, but the soup was already going. So I made rolls to go with, plus pumpkin chocolate chip muffins and bread so we could freeze the muffins and kiddo can have some quick breakfasts when school starts again next week. She'll be able to choose from peach cobbler muffins (which I made a few weeks ago), blitz kuchen muffins (made on Christmas), and these, which are her favorites.

I also plan to start freezing meals so, after this baby is born, I won't have to cook for a while. It's going to be an interesting year, to say the least!

I'll be coming up with menus on Monday for next week, and hopefully will be able to bake muffins at least once a week to keep the freezer stocked. We go through them fairly quickly, though I'm now out of pumpkin and Libby's has a shortage due to the massive amounts of rain fall in the midwest last harvest, so I'll be experimenting with different kinds. Sad day on the pumpkin front, but it means more delicious muffins for us!

So, I'm a slacker ...

Being pregnant has taken its toll on whether I'm cooking or not. Not, mostly.

I did this recipe after Thanksgiving. http://whatsinyouroven.blogspot.com/2009/11/leftover-turkey-hash-la-guy-fieri.html

This one, too. http://whatsinyouroven.blogspot.com/2009/11/cranberry-swirl-muffins.html

This one before Thanksgiving and may soon again. http://whatsinyouroven.blogspot.com/2009/11/peanut-butter-chocolate-chip-cookies.html

As far as my original recipes go, I haven't really created anything fresh lately (aside from my take on the turkey hash). I need to get back to planning menus though because then maybe the husband or the kidlet could cook. Hmph.

I am sooooo nauseated right now. And I was supposed to make tomorrow night's dinner tonight (spaghetti pie) so we could eat quickly after church and head to temple square. um, yeah ... hopefully I can get that done after work. which has sucked tonight because I'm still not feeling well from a stomach virus, so I should be done with work but I don't think I even have half my requirements done. Bah.

Menu Plan Monday on Tuesday

After I went shopping last Friday, I compiled a list of dinners, lunches, breakfasts, and snacks that I could make for two weeks until we make a major shopping trip again. I'm only going to list the dinners.

*roast turkey breast, baked potatoes (or mashed or rice), broccoli
*egg rolls, fried rice (the egg rolls are stuffed with veggies and chicken and the rice has veggies in it)
*pizza (yeah, so not dairy free, but I made this one night for the kids and made salmon burgers for the hubbers and me)
*salmon burgers (made homemade hamburger buns. so good)
*steak strips, ramen, frozen veggies (ramen is a food group, doncha know)
*brakfast for dinner (bacon, fried potatoes, eggs, fruit)
*leftover turkey bbq sandwiches
*pork ribs, cheesy potatoes for the kids, rice for the husband and me, frozen veggies or canned green beans (we have enough for 4 dinners of some variation of this meal)
*chicken breasts (see the pork ribs -- same deal)
*garlic guacamole hamburgers, salad (made this sunday because we were supposed to have a bbq with the husband's co-worker but they got sick so we just had it at home)
*meatloaf (small one), potatoes, veggies
*chicken thighs, sides

Did the ribs last night in a sweet/hot/salty/sour sauce: Soy, vinegar, olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, and apricot preserves. Heated the sauce through just til the preserves had melted, then added diced pork and cooked through. wish i'd made more -- there was none left!

How to stretch a roast

1. Buy a roast (pork or beef) on an incredibly good sale (I bought a 7.5 pound roast for 99 cents/pound not too long ago).
2. For dinner A, put it in the crock pot on low until it's cooked through but not falling apart, and eat slices of roast with your favorite sides. Then leave the remaining roast in the crockpot on low until it is falling apart, and shred. Put in fridge to keep for the rest of the week (or freeze part of it). (We had cheesy potatoes, because the dairy thing got lost by the wayside a bit ago, though we are working to get back to it, and frozen peas. Sides cost: $1.)
3. Let your husband make sandwiches out of some of the leftovers, but let him know you have plans for the rest (that last part is key in my house). He had two lunches of leftover pork roast sandwiches. Him loves pork. (he used shredded cabbage and mayo and bbq sauce on his sandwiches. approximate cost: 50 cents)
4. Dinner B, heat up some of the roast with BBQ sauce. Add some coleslaw and have BBQ pork sandwiches. This day, also slow cook one pound of dried beans in the crock pot on low heat all day. Freeze half for another time. (approximate cost for sandwiches: 75 cents)
5. Let your husband take more sandwiches to work, but remind him you want another dinner out of the roast. (50 cents)
6. For dinner C, put the rest of the roast in a pan with some fajita seasoning. Dice an onion and cook it in a separate pan in a little olive oil, then toss in the beans and 1/3 c salsa. Serve with cheese, sliced avocado, sliced tomato, and lettuce in warm tortillas. (about $3.50)
7. Husband gets another lunch out of the very last of this roast tomorrow. (50 cents)

When I make Kahlua pork, it doesn't last this long unless it's HUGE, but this roast made 3 lunches and 3 dinners. For about $14.25. FABULOUS.

Breakfast

So this morning, we were all starving. I made eggs in baskets.



(not my picture)

Made 6, plus 1 scrambled egg and a piece of toast for the baby, and I put some ham on top of the husband's. Total cost: approximately $1.75.

We could have had it a bit more balanced with fruit or juice, but we didn't. haha.

Menu Plan Friday

I went shopping.

We now have all the desserts we'll need for a month or so. lol. We also have other foods we'll go through and use here and there. Here's a list of what dinners I have stuff on hand for -- not assigning days, just because.

*Kahlua pork, taro, rice, spinach
*Steak, baked potatoes, cole slaw
*Pulled pork sandwiches with slaw
*country fried steak, rice, country gravy, veggies (we had this last night; need more gravy mix or will use brown gravy)
*soup and biscuits (we had this tonight but have more of it so will probably do it again soon)
*Flying saucers and peas (I realize this isn't our normal fare, but we're trying to eat what food I can get for cheap)
*Spaghetti
*Gnocchi (from scratch)
*Pancakes or waffles
*Chicken waffles
*various ways to prepare chicken with rice or ramen, veggies
*Steak chili (made from scratch) with cornbread

That's almost two weeks' worth of dinners that we have in our house right NOW! And if we needed, we could stretch it further. We also have some lunch stuff (leftovers from above meals, sandwiches, soup, etc.) and breakfasts will be more along the lines of eggs and toast or cereal with rice milk. So I think we're just about set for a week or so and I'll have to get more meats next week, but that's probably it.

I buy meats when they're on a good sale and freeze them. I'm just learning how to be more frugal with other things, but the meat and other food storage has saved our butts when days were cut at the plant or a big bill came or whatever. So ... I told my sweet husband that he'd have to put up with things not being "normal" and just eating around what's on sale. Between the sales and learning how to save more money and what we have on hand, we'll be just fine.

orange coconut chicken

I didn't have any curry but wanted some sweet/hot coconut chicken and had some chicken legs in the freezer (from an awesome sale not too long ago). So I made this:



Orange Coconut Chicken

14 chicken drumsticks
2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 can coconut milk
1/2 of 18-ounce jar orange marmalade
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/4 tsp poultry seasoning
1/4 tsp ground ginger (maybe less, depending on your liking of ginger)
1/2 tsp onion powder
dash or two of cayenne
1/4 c coconut flakes

In nonstick skillet over medium high heat, heat olive oil, then place in drumsticks, skin side down, to brown. While browning, mix remaining ingredients in small bowl. Turn chicken over, pour sauce all over, cover, reduce heat to low or medium low. Cook for 1 hour. Remove cover, increase heat to medium, let cook an additional 15 minutes. Turn chicken and continue cooking until done and sauce is reduced.

Serve with rice and mixed oriental veggies.

*Perhaps the best compliments were:
Hubby -- "Very filling ... so good ... I guess I'm done." After only two drumsticks. If you know my husband, you know that's not normal. He just couldn't stuff any more in him. Of course, I'll put it in the fridge and he'll eat it when he gets home from work. lol

Kiddo -- "Mom, where did you get this recipe? It's so good!" "From my BRAIN!" "No, really. Where?" hahaha. Stinkin' kid.

Baby -- "nom nom nom ..."