Red Pepper Sammies (No Bread)

I love making bread. I love eating bread. I love the way it smells. I love its versatility. Basically, I love everything about bread.

However, I've been trying out recipes that will reduce the amount of carbohydrates and sugars that we eat. I have a family history of diabetes and recently found out that my blood sugar levels were not where they needed to be. (Not much of a surprise after the last year in culinary school)

Lowering our carbohydrate intake is a dietary change that I hope to make and stick to in 2015.

I don't believe in going cold turkey so I've been slowly reducing bread and grains in our diet over the last few weeks. I've found a few good recipes but I'm having a hard time letting go of sandwiches. I know I'm never going to give bread or grains up entirely but I have been looking for some good sandwich alternatives.

I found the inspiration for Red Pepper Sammies on Pinterest. The original dish I found was for skinny philly cheese steak stuffed peppers. I'll probably make those eventually since they look delicious, but to test the idea out I used what I had at home.

I cut 2 large red peppers in half lengthwise.

After placing them in a baking dish I added a layer of some sweet potato noodles I had left over. Sweet potato noodles are a new favorite.

Next, I added about 3 oz of leftover jerk chicken, a few slices of red onion, and 1/2 an ounce of smoked Gouda.

I baked them in the oven for 25 minutes at 350. Since I wanted to pick the peppers up and eat them like a sandwich the pepper to stay a bit crisp. If you want to eat them with a fork and knife, cook them for 35-40 minutes.

For a side, I made some roasted brussels sprouts. I might be going on a bit of a brussels sprout bender after not having  them for nearly 2 months! I tossed the brussels sprouts in a bit of melted butter, olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I baked them along with the peppers and switched the oven to broil for the last 5 minutes while the peppers cooled.

Is this dish a sandwich replacement? Maybe. Did I enjoy it? Yes!

The Red Pepper Sammies even received Charlie's highest form of praise-"I'd eat this again."

Approximate Nutritional Info:

Calories: 460
Fat: 17g
Carbs: 31g
Fiber: 9g
Protien: 46g

3rd Week of December

Where did the 3rd week in December go? I'm convinced time moves faster during the holidays.

Meal planning and execution was derailed by my week long battle with a cold/sinus infection. I'm really not sure what Charlie ate for at least 4 days last week. I'm not sure what I ate either. There are some blurry memories of ramen and pudding. I blame that on the fever that I just couldn't shake.

However, this week we've started to get back on track.

I spent $54.11 at the store for everything in the picture above. I don't have a copy of the receipt because Charlie used it for a special price on gas. My Hy-vee had a random special last Friday where you would earn an additional 0.25 saving per gallon if you spent $50 in the store  and showed your receipt at the pump. Yay for saving money on gas!

I know that I am over budget for this month. We ate out a few times because I got behind on prep. We also purchased some convenience foods here and there because I was not feeling well enough to cook. Getting sick really messed up the month.

I also know I'm over budget because I'm using the last month of December as a test run for my January project. I'll share more on that next week.

Here are the highlights from this week's meals:

We continue to have museli for breakfast. To mix things up, we had it with yogurt this week instead of milk.

Bolognese with Zucchini Noodles
I finally used the last container of bolognese that I made back in November. I love make ahead dishes
but generally try to use them within 2 weeks. I hate having stuff hang out in my freezer for months. I used a spiral vegetable slicer to make the zucchini noodles. I went back and forth on the purchase of a spiral slicer for at least 3 months. I am so glad I finally bought it. The noodles were fantastic! Charlie said he liked them better than pasta due to the texture. I can't wait to make a ton of other spiraled vegetable dishes.



 


Beef Tips with Brown Rice and Brussel Sprouts
One day I'll have to devote an entire post to brussel sprouts. They could very well be my favorite food. This beef tip recipe is super simple. I put 1lb of the Omaha Steak beef tips, 1 can of beef broth, 1/2 an onion,  salt, and some pepper in my dutch oven. With the lid on, I cooked the dish at 350 for 45 minutes and then added the sliced mushrooms. After cooking for 10 more minutes, I stirred in 2 tbsps of cornstarch mixed with 1/8 cup water. After 10 more minutes in the oven to let the gravy thicken, the dish was ready! So delicious!





 
Salmon with Sugar Peas and Sauteed Gnocchi
Salmon, and fish in general, is one of the things I've missed the most over the last 2 months. Going forward, I am going to find a way to eat fish at least once a week.

For this dish, I seasoned both sides of the filets with salt, pepper, and chipotle powder. Then I did a quick, somewhat successful quick sear on both sides. (I need more practice with fish in a cast iron pan) Next, I brushed on a mix of soy and honey. I poured the remaining soy/honey in the pan and put it in the oven at 350 for 10 minutes to finish cooking. Then I boiled and sauteed the gnocchi I made and froze last month in butter and steamed the sugar peas. I could eat this everyday for lunch and be happy for the rest of my life!




 


Jerk Chicken with Sweet Potato Noodles
The jerk chicken is the other chicken I prepped and froze last week. I used the spiral slicer on one medium sweet potato and baked the noodles with some olive oil, salt, garlic powder and half a julienned red onion for 20 minutes at 350. I added the sugar peas during the last 7 minutes. This was a
wonderful light dinner.









Southwest Chicken Sandwiches
Since I prepped this chicken and froze it last week, all I had to do was thaw it overnight and pop in on a baking tray in the oven for 15 minutes. I loved the flavor of this seasoning. I used the chicken on sandwiches with homemade garlic wheat bread, pea shoots, tomato slices, avocado, pepper jack cheese, and a little mayo. The side is a spiraled cucumber and red onion salad with a balsamic dressing. We used the other half of the chicken in black bean and veggie bowls.



I've got some super fun dishes in the works for next week since I don't have class. Lots of spiraled veggies dishes on the way. More brussel sprouts. And basil!

Until then, Happy Friday!

Meal Prep and Sauces

The majority of active cooking that I do during the week is either making something out of leftovers or thawing/reheating/jazzing up meals (or parts of meals) that I've already prepped.

To do this, I normally spend anywhere from 2-4 hours in the kitchen over the weekend. For me, this is an excellent trade off because there are always complete meals that can be ready in 15 minutes or less.

With the careful shopping and meal planning that I've been doing  over the last 6 weeks, I find we are making better food choices because there are fewer and fewer moments of "Oh crap, what are we going to eat. I don't feel like cooking/I'm starving...Let's order pizza!"

I also like doing our meals this way because it means Charlie knows that if we are eating meals at different times there are "boxes" he can grab and heat up.

Here's how I used my time last week:

Friday-1 Hour

Grocery shopping based on meals I've planned.
Staples of my list include chicken breast, some type of pork, lots of green veggies (fresh and frozen), beans, and brown rice, or some other whole grain.

Sunday-2.5 Hours

1. Cook a large batch of grain(s)
I cooked 1 cup of brown rice and 1 cup of another grain. (If I've planned a bean dish that week I'll soak them overnight Saturday and also have them on the stove at this time.) Generally it takes me 5 minutes to get these dishes cooking and they cook for 45-60 minutes.

2. Cook or otherwise prep your protein

After I get the grains/beans going, I start on the protein.

This past week I had 5lbs of chicken breast and 10 pork chops to work with. I cubed 2.5lbs of chicken and threw it on a baking pan in the oven at 350 for 15 minutes.

Then, I cut up the remaining 2.5lbs of chicken and divided it evenly between two freezer bags. I put one pair of pork chops in the freezer plain but divided the remaining 8 pork chops between four freezer bags.

3. Make your sauces/seasonings

By the time I cleaned up the "raw meat area," the chicken in the oven was done and I moved it to a cooling rack and began working on the following "rubs": Jerk, Southwest, Blackened.(recipes at the bottom of the page)If I run out of time on the first night of prep I'll go ahead and portion the protein/grains/veggies and make the sauces the next day.

I measured the rubs in to mini containers (pictured above) and will keep the leftovers on my spice rack for future use.

Mango Chicken

After I made the rubs I added about 1 tablespoon each to 2 tablespoons of olive oil and put them in with the bagged protein. I add the olive to help protect the meat since I plan to freeze them after letting them marinate for 24 hours in the fridge. If I was cooking the meat in the next 24 hours I would use the rubs dry. I added the blackened rub to two bags of pork, while the Southwest and Jerk went in the bags of chicken.

4. Double  recipes and freeze half

After the rubs were done, I began simmering the base for a Mango Chicken dish which was dinner on Sunday. I used half the chicken I cooked earlier for dinner with two boxes of leftovers which went in the freezer after dinner.

I used other half of the chicken I cooked earlier for four servings of spicy peanut chicken. once the rice/grain was done I portioned out four boxes with 1/3 cup rice/grain, 4 ounces of chicken, and as much frozen broccoli or green beans that would fit and put them in the fridge. I normally get 4 boxes out of I bag of frozen veggies.

By this point, dinner is done. I portioned the Mango Chicken in to four servings-2 will go in the freezer. The remaining rice/grain goes in a container in the fridge for use with the pork chops or the other 5lbs of chicken during the week.

I know that seems like a crazy amount of work for one night but if I'm already going to be in the kitchen I try to have as many things cooking as possible.

Charlie normally stays out of the kitchen when all of this is happening because I usually have all four burners going, something in the oven, and all of the counter space is in use!

Monday-1 Hour

all the plates were dirty-don't judge

Dinner Monday was Butternut Squash Curry with Cranberry Chutney. While the curry was simmering I made two sauces.

Sauces: Spicy Peanut, Honey/Ginger/Orange

After pouring the spicy peanut sauce over the chicken in the boxes I'd portioned out on Sunday I popped them in the freezer for later in the week.

Then I made a honey/ginger/marinade sauce out of and poured it in one bag of pork chops. I put some store bought bbq sauce in the last bag of pork chops. Then, right before dinner was done I put the pork chops and chicken bags from yesterday in the freezer.

Summary

Peanut Chicken

After 3.5 hours in the kitchen I have:
-4 boxes of spicy peanut chicken meal
-2 boxes of mango chicken meal
-4 servings of jerk chicken
-4 servings of southwest chicken
-10 pork chops (2 plain, 4 blackened, 2 honey/ginger/orange, 2 bbq)
-4 servings of grain

For the rest of the week (2 hours) all I have to do to get meals ready is keep track of what needs to be thawed for the next day, reheat a meal or cook a thawed protein and heat up some grain/veggies.

I will mix in sandwiches with turkey we still have in the freezer from Thanksgiving, egg salad wraps, or other meals I've made in previous weeks like gnocchi.

 

Southwest: 1 tbsp each of chili powder and paprika, 1/2 tbsp each of garlic powder, ground coriander, salt, and dried oregano, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp each ground black pepper, crushed red pepper, cayenne pepper.

Jerk: 1/2 tbsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp dried thyme, 1 tsp each of allspice and black pepper, 1/4 tsp each cinnamon, cayenne, and salt.

Blackened: 1/2 tbsp paprika, 1 tsp each salt and black pepper, 1/2 tsp each garlic and onion powder, 1/4 tsp each cayenne, thyme, and oregano.

Spicy Peanut Sauce: 3 tbsp peanut butter, 3 tbsp water, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar, hot sauce to taste. Whisk all ingredients together over low heat until warm. If sauce becomes too dry just add a little more water.

Honey/Orange/Ginger: zest and juice of 1 orange, 1 tbsp honey, 1/2 tbsp fresh grated ginger, 2 tbsp soy sauce, crushed red pepper to taste. Whisk together in a bowl and add to dish. (I let meat marinate in this for 24 hours. If I freeze it in the sauce, I thaw in the fridge and then cook and serve the meat in the sauce. This is fine as long as you make sure the meat is cooked to the appropriate temperature.)

Meals from the First Two Weeks of December

When I said I'd be back Wednesday with recipes and such I really meant Thursday :)

I came down with a terrible cold on Sunday that morphed in to a sinus infection-because I'm awesome like that.

Getting sick really ticked me off this week because I'd gone nearly a year without being ill. That might not sound that impressive to some, but I've basically spent the last 5 years constantly catching any and all colds/strep/flu/general disgustingness that was circulating in my classroom.

Since I'm still playing catch up, the meals below cover the highlights from December 1 through December 10. And, I'll be back tomorrow (for real) with another post that details my basic meal prep plan each week and several sauce recipes since I've been promising a post on those topics for weeks.



Turkey "Salad" Pitas
I mixed some of the leftover Thanksgiving turkey with, well, basically guacamole. Charlie and I both love avocados so this worked for us. The pita also has tomato slices and spinach on it. The sweet potatoes wedges were tossed in bacon grease (why not?) with salt, a little chipotle, and garlic powder. The key to getting them crispy in the oven is high heat-bake them at 450 for about 20 minutes.




 




Egg Salad
This was a perfect wrap for a quick, light lunch. I have a recipe for wheat tortillas I'm excited to test but I did not make the ones in the picture. My egg salad is really simple. For two servings I use 4 hard boiled eggs, 1/2 a tablespoon of mayo, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder. We've eaten egg salad sandwiches at least 4 times in the last 2 weeks because I had to do something with 18 eggs in the fridge. Besides, egg salad is delicious!

Veggie Wrap

I filled a wheat tortilla with 2 tablespoons of cream cheese, a handful of green pea shoots, some leftover brown rice, and half a tomato. I made more sweet potato wedges as a side. Have I mentioned Charlie and I are both obsessed with sweet potatoes? 










 





Black Beans with Brown Rice
I froze half of the black bean soup that I made last week in 2 cup containers. After I thawed one portion it in the fridge, I warmed it up with 1/2 a cup of chicken broth and cooked it until the liquid was gone. The rice was left over from meal prep I did earlier in the week. With everything already made, all I really had to do for this meal was slice the green onion and lime, dress the salad greens, and plop the sour cream on top. Black beans might not be much to look at but this version has great flavor due to all of the spices involved. And, for once, I actually omitted the hot sauce so there's nothing spicy about this dish.








Turkey and Spinach Pot Pie
The week after Thanksgiving I made individual pot pies and then a 9-inch pot pie whose filling mainly consisted of all the spinach I had left in my fridge, the remaining leftover gravy, a turkey thigh, and a few spoonfuls of leftover green beans, carrots, and peas. I made the whole wheat crust as well. I had a tough time getting it out of the pan so the dish isn't very pretty but it tasted great. When given the option between the pot pie and several other dishes, Charlie picked the leftover pot pie twice! I found the inspiration for my pot pie here.







Over the last few weeks we've also had the dishes listed below. I think I've included these dishes in earlier weeks and I didn't want to bore anyone by describing them again.

Mango Chicken with Black Beans and Rice
Butternut Squash Curry with Cranberry Chutney
Turkey Sandwiches
Pork Stir Fry
Peanut Chicken

December So Far...

I can't believe that it is already December 8th!

I'm a little behind with the blogging for December because classes began again for me last week so this post is going to focus on the budget. I'll be back on Wednesday with recipes, food pictures, and tips on how I manage to spend 6 hours cooking each week.

I'm two shopping trips in to December and I've spent $206.14 of my $267 budget. If this were last month, I'd be panicking. I learned a lot last month and I'm confident I'll make my budget.

Most of the money I've spent this month has been on meat.



This week chicken breast was on sale for $2.99/lb. After watching last month's sales, I know that this will likely be the lowest price of the month so I stocked up and bought 5lbs. Pork chops were also on sale 10 for $10 with $0.10 per gallon fuel saver rewards. I certainly couldn't pass that up so I bought 10 4oz pork chops. The chicken and pork combined will give me 20 meals.

I also had to spend about $30 on the ingredients for the museli. However, those ingredients will make enough museli for the entire month. $30 for 60 1/2 cup portions of museli for breakfast is a good deal in my book.

And, a trip to Omaha Steaks happened. For the last few weeks they've had a flier in a coupon pack that we get. Charlie loves steak and if you've been reading my blog for the last month you know there hasn't been any red meat.

Nathan, the sales person, was very good at his job and he also convinced us to take advantage of a first time customer sale. In addition to the deal we went for we bought 1 2# pack of sirloin tips and got a second 2# pack and a pack of steak burgers for free.

We spent $102.97 and walked out with everything in the picture. According to the receipt we saved 69% or $223.93. I'm going to deduct the total purchase price over three month because it'll take me at least that long to use everything we bought. My plan is to have red meat once a week, probably on Sunday.

Charlie is VERY happy about steak!

If anyone is interested, I've included a picture of the coupon at the very bottom of this post. They have a code you can enter for online orders. Their steak really is good!

My freezer is packed to the point where I anticipate only having to purchase produce and milk each week for the rest of the month. I actually had to take the ice bin out to fit everything.

All together, I earned enough fuel points already this month to save $5.53 when I put gas in my car yesterday!

Museli-It's What's for Breakfast

I am not naturally a morning person.

It takes a lot of planning for me to get out of bed before 9a.m. with a smile on my face. 

After a week or two on a schedule I'm normally good but it only takes a day or two of sleeping in for me to become a total night owl again.

Protein shakes are a staple on busy mornings (most mornings) but I have a hard time enjoying them in the Winter. I have little desire for a cold shake when I know it is below freezing outside.

I spent more time cooking breakfast in November than normal because I had the time. For December, though, I knew I needed to find something that was easy, healthy, and could be served warm.

If Charlie didn't hate it so much, I'd probably make oatmeal most days of the week during Winter.

After searching for something that might be a perfect fit for our breakfast needs, I found museli.

Museli is basically a raw, unsweetened mix of nuts and grains that usually has dried fruit mixed it. It can be served with cold or warm milk. 

Museli appealed to me because it is something I can fix a week at a time and I can control and change
all of the ingredients based on how creative I'm feeling. I also like the way it gives me an opportunity to include more nuts and seeds in our diet. I love nuts but they are so easy to overeat.

I replaced the dried fruit with fresh as I want to limit the sugar we are eating. I also toasted some of the ingredients because I prefer the toasted flavor.

I measured out all of the ingredients according to the recipe below and tossed them in a container that sits on the kitchen counter. Each morning we use a measuring cup to scoop a 1/2 cup serving in a bowl, add our choice of fresh fruit and 1/2 a cup of milk.

The whole processes takes less than 2 minutes. Amazing!


I was very worried that we'd hate the taste or dread eating the same thing everyday. Ten days in, Charlie and I have come to look forward to this breakfast. He likes to put blackberries or raspberries on his (when he remembers). I prefer blueberries or a cut up banana on mine.

I know half a cup of museli and some fruit doesn't look like much in a bowl, but after two or three days of adjustment we find that it does keep us full until lunch.

All in all, I think the museli is here to stay!

Kim's Museli

3 cups Heritage Ancient Grain Flakes
3 cups Uncle Sam Original Cereal*
1/2 cup organic, raw pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds*
1/4 cup roasted, unsalted macadamia nuts*
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted*
1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats, toasted
1/2 cup unsweetened, dried coconut flakes
1 cup wheat germ

Makes 14 1/2 cup servings

Per 1/2 cup Serving:
Calories: 245
Fat: 11.9g
Carbs: 27.3
Protein: 8.3
fiber 5.8g
Sugar: 1.6g 

 *purchased at Trader Joe's; all other ingredients from Whole Foods

4.45 a Day: November in Review

When I started this project, I really didn't think I could make it through the month of November with a grocery budget of $267 for two people.

I was worried we'd end up eating more and more cheap/unhealthy food the closer we got to the end of the month.

I was sure I'd run out of idea for meals.

And, at the start, I was overwhelmed by the amount of planning that I quickly realized would need to happen each week and each day to make sure I didn't waste any food and that we always had meals ready to eat. I have never loved my freezer more.

Overall, I'm really very happy with the way things turned out for November.

I've had a lot of fun with this project and as a bonus we've nearly eliminated processed foods from our diet. And, I've certainly put my culinary school education to good use.

I plan to stick to this budget for the foreseeable future with a few adjustments.

For the month of December I am going to focus on controlling portion sizes, increasing the amount of whole grains in our diet, and adding far more vegetables.

On to the results...

From the start, I decided that any money I was able to save by purchasing items with fuel saver rewards would be added back in to the food budget.  During the second week of the month Charlie filled his car up and saved $1.50 on gas. He didn't get a receipt. (Grrr...) Two days ago he filled up again and saved $5.25. All together, we saved $6.75 on gas in November.

When all was said and done I came in $1.42 under budget!

And, I still have all this in the freezer: 1.5lbs of ham, 3lbs of turkey, 4 meals worth of gnocchi, 2 bags of frozen broccoli, 1 bag of frozen peas, 1 container of bread crumbs, 1/2 a bag of lima beans, 18 eggs, 1 butternut squash, and a 9 inch turkey pot pie that I made last week.

With all of that I could easily last another week.

For those that are interested, here are some of the more valuable takeaways I have from this month: 

1. Sale items are not always the best choice
Sale items are only a good value you if you actually use and enjoy the item. Yes, I'm mainly talking about the ham here. I bought a 6lb ham because I could get a 14lb turkey for free. I hate ham. Nearly every meal that we've had with ham has made me angry.  However, the abundance of ham has made me a bit more creative with meal planning. I've tried several new recipes looking for a way to eat ham that I'd actually enjoy.

2. Stock up on staples
If there is a good sale on something you use often, stock up. For example, during the last week of November butter was on sale for $2.99. Normally, a pound of butter is  $4.29. I now have 5 pounds of butter in my fridge but I have already deducted a pound a week from December's budget.  Of course, you have to be careful with expiration dates when stocking up.

3. Repeat meals but change the flavors
During the first two weeks of November I tried to have radically different meals every other day. However, I was wasting a lot of time and energy planning this way. Over the month I learned that I can do stir-fry's, sandwiches, gnocchi and many other dishes each week without getting bored by changing the spices/sauces/other ingredients. Orange-scented stir-fry one week with spicy chicken stir-fry the following week, and then peanut chicken the week after that feels like you're eating really different things when really you are using the same basic ingredients.

4. Make ahead meals are amazing
You always need a back up plan.  If you are already in the kitchen, it rarely takes more time or effort to simply double a recipe and freeze the leftovers. I did this with beef stew, pasta, gnocchi, and all the bread I made this month. Having meals already made that I could quickly thaw and eat were a lifesaver during the 3 or 4 times this month that something unexpected happened and I wasn't able to cook what I had planned.

5. Processed or prepared foods don't save that much time
I always hear that eating healthy is too expensive. Or, "I don't have the time." Well, not all of my meals were a beacon of healthful eating this month but overall we ate better on $267 than when I spent whatever I felt like at the store. Yes, I spent a lot of time during the first two weeks figuring how to plan and shop, but now I know what to look for and what to avoid. I also have at least 15 meals now that I know I can get on the table in 30 minutes or less. And, yes, culinary school has made me much more efficient in the kitchen, but, other than the bread I made, none of this month's meals were terribly sophisticated or time consuming. If you really want to eat healthy and eliminate processed foods from your diet, cost and time are just two more excuses getting in your way.

4.45 a Day: Week 4

The idea of running out of food has been in the back of my mind for the last two weeks simply because I'm used to spending a minimum $100 a week at the store. Emphasis on minimum.

However, I continue to be amazed at home much food I still have in the freezer and in my pantry.

I'm a little embarrassed to say I've never really tracked out food budget so I have no idea of how
much I normally spent at the store each month.

This week I spent  $26.38. I did have a shopping list but I'm not going to include it here because, as you can see from the picture above, it was very short.

Breakfast this week was homemade museli and berries. I'm going to devote a whole post to that with my plans for December.


On to this week's food...

Ham and Bean Soup
Still eating ham. The pictures that accompanied this recipe gave me lots of hope for this dish but it was so boring that I'm not even going to post the recipe. However, I was thrilled with the way the whole wheat biscuits turned out. I made a lot of white bread this month so I thought I'd try to add some more whole grains to our diet.





Gobi Matar-Cauliflower and Peas
After the success of the butternut squash curry a couple of weeks ago I decided to try one with cauliflower and peas for our vegetarian dish this week. So easy and so delicious! Here's the recipe.



 



Mac and Cheese Gnocchi
I used the gnocchi because I didn't feel like making pasta. It was delicious. This is seriously the richest, creamiest mac and cheese I've ever made. You can find the recipe here. I cut it in half and it was easily enough for 4
people or two people with leftovers. I added some ham to my dish since I still have quite a bit of it on hand.






Peanut Butter Bacon and Banana Sandwiches (a.k.a. The Elvis)
I remember eating peanut butter and banana sandwiches as a kid. The addition of bacon is a revelation. I always thought this sandwich was a bit gimmicky because of the Elvis connection. I was wrong. This sandwich is straight up legit. And easy. I used the whole wheat raisin pecan bread I made this week with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, two strips of bacon I cooked in the oven, and 1/2 a banana. I could seriously eat 3 of these without any remorse.



 
Thanksgiving Dinner
I spatchcocked the turkey (cut the backbone out and flatten) which allowed me to cook at 14lb turkey in about 80 minutes. I also made garlic green beans, spice orange cranberry sauce, gravy, whole wheat sage stuffing, and sweet potatoes with brown sugar, chipotle, bacon, and pecans. For dessert, Charlie's favorite: spiced pumpkin roll.



 

Turkey Pot Pie
I used whole wheat crust, left over turkey thigh, green beans, peas, carrots, and gravy. Yum! I got the inspiration from this recipe but then did my own thing since I made them from leftovers. The pie crust was 2 cups whole wheat flour, 1 stick or 1/2 cup butter, and just enough water to hold the dough together. The dough came together easily in the food processor but was a bit difficult to roll out. I had enough ingredients leftover to put a 9inch pot pie inthe freezer as well as two more individual pot pies.





Turkey and Cranberry Sandwiches
Turkey, horseradish cheddar cheese, homemade cranberry sauce. Homemade Bread.








Since we weren't doing a big Thanksgiving this year, I cooked my turkey on Tuesday. So, we had "turkey leftovers" before we actually had Thanking dinner. After cooking the turkey, I went ahead and broke down the bird, portioned and froze some of the meat, and then made a few dishes for the freezer. Having the bird done and out of the way make Thanksgiving so much easier!

We also had some stew that was in the freezer from the first week of November for dinner one night.

I'll be back on the 30th of the month with a final total and some things I've learned. I want to make sure I actually make it to the end month without spending any more money before I declare the project a success.

4.45 a Day: Week 3

Heading to the grocery store on the 14th day of the month knowing you only have $70 left to spend
for the next 15 days is quite nerve-racking.

I had to keep reminding myself that I had a ton of food in the freezer and that I just needed to buy a few things to round out the meals.

At any rate, I spent a total of $49.70.

With the money remaining in the budget, I'll only need to pick up some produce and the very few items I still need for Thanksgiving next week.

I did pick up an extra butternut squash because they were still on sale for $0.49/lb. I'm going to dice it up and freeze it to make that curry dish from last week again sometime in the future.

I bought extras of some items that were on sale like the chicken stock, butter, and cheese. There's no way I'm going to use 3 containers of stock, 3 packages of cheese, or 2 lbs of butter in the next two weeks but I will use it eventually.

Earning fuel saver points on these items was an added bonus.

In my opinion, stocking up on pantry items that you will actually use when you find a good sale is one of the best ways to save money.




On to the food...




Blackberry Scones

Breakfast this week was either a protein shake or blackberry scones with an orange glaze and scrambled eggs. I used the blackberries on sale as an excuse to practice making scones because I'm not very good at it. I generally despise scones but did find one version out of 20 in a baking class that I could tolerate. Clearly, scones are still a work in progress for me. I destroyed the berries in the first batch and the whole scone turned blue. The second batch was better but not what I had pictured.

In looking for berry breakfast recipes before I decided on scones I found this BuzzFeed article that has 39 different ways to use berries for breakfast. There are some great ideas there so I've tucked it away for future use. 

 

Thin Crust Sausage and Veggie Pizza

Yes, I put green beans on a pizza. No, it wasn't gross. I've been making pizza almost once a week but hadn't tried to make thin crust yet. This is a very easy and very tasty recipe. It's not quite the cracker crust I'd hope but I'll definitely make this one again! 

Spice Rubbed Pork Tenderloin 

O.M.G. SO DELICIOUS. Here's the recipe. I don't get excited about meat often but this was amazing. Charlie and I both went back for seconds.The spice rub really complements the pork. The glaze is a bit sweet and a nice treat but I think the dish is great without it.

Pork Sandwiches 

I used what was left of the pork for sandwiches served with lima beans. Lima beans are one of my  favorite foods. I'm looking forward to eating a ton of them this winter.

Orange Scented Chicken Stir-Fry 

Why have I never made stir-fry before? So easy. So many combinations. Stir-fry is getting added in to a weekly rotation. After making this one I immediately started searching for other recipes and have already bookmarked several. I used this recipe for the technique and the sauce which I made spicier with the addition of sriracha and red pepper flakes. I also replaced the marmalade with 2 fresh squeezed clementines.

Ham and Cheese Empanadas 

I decided on this dish because I was desperate to do something completely different with all the ham I still have in the freezer. These were very good but not very healthy. If I make them again I'll make the shells bigger so I can stuff some extra veggies inside the empanada. Here's the dough recipe.   

Spicy Peanut Chicken

This might have been my favorite dish of the week. I loved the peanut sauce. I used this recipe for the sauce but kept adding a little bit extra of all the ingredients and a lot of extra sriracha until I was satisfied with the taste. 






 
Gnocchi with Bolognese
Before the last 3lbs of potatoes from week 1 went bad I made a huge batch of gnocchi. We now have enough gnocchi in the freezer to have it once a week for dinner until the end of 2014. I used one of the leftover containers of bolognese that I froze from week 2.  Charlie was skeptical about putting such a heavy sauce on the gnocchi but he loved it. It is tied with the pizza for his favorite dish of the week. 



Friday
Tomorrow we'll have a bowl of lima beans and the rest of the sausage and the left over empanadas.