Strangely enough, I've missed blogging. I've been asked more than once in the last week why I haven't blogged. I would have
thought that unemployment would be the perfect opportunity to update my blogs
every day, or at least a few times a week.
Yet somehow, I haven’t updated this blog since December 2012. It’s not because I’m not cooking, the
opposite is true in fact. I cook all the
time, nearly every day. I think it’s
just a matter of adding blogging to my list of daily activities. You know:
Wake up
Make coffee
Feed dog
Beg son to
use the potty
Write blog
Etc…
Of course,
in no particular order. The daily
activities always seem to be the same; the order however, leaves something to
be desired on some days.
With all of
this in mind and with no promises of the future of this blog, let’s talk food.
I have found
that lately I have been the voice of the frugal meal maker. Partly because of our situation with my
unemployment, but partly because it’s easy and I have the time. We have become pupils of the “all cash”
budget with categories (ala Dave Ramsey) and I seem to really have this food thing for our family
down to a science. I budget $100/week
for groceries and only $25/week in fast food.
I plan all of our meals on Saturday for the following week (Sunday – Saturday). Sometimes, I even make multiple things on
Sunday, and freeze or just store for that week in the fridge. I like to think that these kinds of habits
are very much needed for when I eventually find a job. Besides being cost effective, we’re eating
much healthier. Note: I don’t always
make the healthiest meal, but it’s got to be much healthier than take out/fast
food? Right?
I’m not a
couponer, but I do look for deals. And I
don’t grocery shop with the husband or teenager. They have a habit of making my bill higher
than it needs to be.
This week’s
menu:
Sunday:
dinner @ mom’s
Monday:
roasted chicken, veggies, potatoes
Tuesday:
tostadas
Wednesday:
chicken parm with pasta
Thursday:
pork chops, veggies
Friday:
sopes, rice
Saturday:
hamburgers, pasta salad
And of
course, that didn’t go as planned at all. When I went
to prepare the chicken for the slow cooker on Monday morning, the chicken was
completely frozen, despite thawing in the fridge for 2 days! So, I made tostadas on Monday. Rice, tostada, beans, ground beef, cheese (the stinky feet crumbly kind), lettuce and homemade salsa:
Which means,
I made the roasted chicken today, with a side of steamed broccoli and smashed
potatoes:
This now
means I’m not making chicken parm tomorrow, because I’m not a fan of having the
same protein two days in a row. So,
maybe sopes tomorrow? I have leftover
rice from yesterday’s tostadas. The
beauty of making the menu is that even if I don’t follow it EXACTLY, I know
that I have all of the ingredients necessary for each meal at my disposal.
It's worked out nicely since the beginning of the year.
Here some things I'm working on, and will hopefully update you all on:
Planting and growing our own veggies
Growing our own herbs
Mastering the art of sauces (I'm getting close, I can feel it!)
Organizing the freezer
Making more recipes that I've pinned on Pinterest!
Cake/Cupcake decorating
Until next time...
