Food Challenge Update day 1

I made a trip to Winco and managed to escape with everything I think I will need plus a raging headache. My only deviations were some sausage and baked beans for tonight, some cottage cheese and a bottle of liquid energy (Pepsi - I deserved it!) My goal was to do it all for under $100. I would have made it except for the cough medicine and the eyeliner for Jeanne (I caved!) And so it begins....oh and I double dog dare the girls to eat all this food in less than 10 days!

The Food Challenge

All right friends, here is the food challenge. I need to plan 10 meals for 5 people. I want to use mostly things I have here in the house. I can go shopping only once and need to spend the least amount of money possible. In the freezer I have steak, ground beef, chicken breast, chicken strips, ribs, tortellini, a lasagna, a chicken pie and a meatloaf. I have lots of canned goods, tomatoes, beans, broth and all that.

Here is my possibility list:
Turkey and rice soup - I have the bones from the breast I roasted last night. Need fresh vegies.
Chili - just need a couple of cans of black beans
Tacos - have the shells. just need sour cream and tomoatoes
Bean Burritos - will need to get some tortillas. can use sour cream and tomatoes from tacos
Steak - need a side and frozen vegies
Ribs - same as the steak
Chicken Strips - a desperation meal. Need frozen vegies and tater tots
Meatloaf - same as the other meats
Lasagna - need salad
Spaghetti - have all but salad
Tortellini - should have tomato soup and makings for grilled cheese. need salad
Pizza - really just need some turkey pepperoni and a vegie to go with
Pea soup - Bob would really prefer that I not go there
Bacon Sandwiches - assuming the kids have not eaten all the bread, I just need tomatoes
Borscht - bought some powdered soup mix at an Asian store. Usually make from scratch. need sour cream at least.
Stir fry - will probably use frozen vegie mix.
Duck - not sure why I bought it or what I am going to do with it but it is in play

So here we go. Some yogurt, milk and fresh fruit and we should be good to go. Ideas and thoughts are welcome. I will keep you updated on the progress.

Black Bean Burritos

I can't think of anything I want to write about right now so I figured I would talk about my dinner. I might also throw in a couple of gratuitious photos so beware!

Photo alert!

This recipe happens to be another of my "I'll figure it out when its done" creations. The kids love it and beg for me to make it. Its a great one for busy nights as it only takes a few minutes. As always, measurements are suggestions.

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup water

1 small onion, chopped

1 can green chilies (optional, as in when I have some, they go in)

1 packet burrito seasoning (or you can figure that out yourself but that defeats the purpose of quick and brainless)

brown rice, made ahead or leftover

large flour tortillas

toppings of your choice. sour cream, avacado, tomato, and cheese are a must for me.

throw onions and chilies in with a bit of oil. add beans, water and seasoning packet. Turn up heat and boil water off until fairly thick. Spread rice and beans in tortilla and add your toppings. Plan on a knife and fork because, if you stuff them like I do, you'll need it. Bon Appetit!

An Amazing Tomato Soup Recipe

You probably don't know this about me but I do like to cook, in spite of all of the whining about having to make dinner. I'm not too bad at it either when I put some effort into it. And, just like I live the rest of my life, I don't follow the recipe's very well. In fact, I don't use them at all. Words that strike fear in my family's hearts is "I'm not sure what we're having. I'm making it up". Run for the hills!!!

As bad as this sounds, what I make usually tastes pretty good and every one eats without too many complaints. Every once in a while, I come up with something really good. I'm pretty proud of this one so I thought I would share it. I plan to do this periodically so you better keep up!





***WARNING***


I do not follow recipes. I cook by smell and taste. I don't measure things and I don't write things down. Measurements are by memory and estimation.





Now, without further hesitation, my "recipe" for an amazing tomato soup!

This soup would be incredible with ripe summer tomoatoes. I had to make do with the "ripened on the vine" ones. At least they were red and smelled like tomato. This recipe made enough for about 10 servings with a side or sandwich. I planned on freezing half of it but we ate it all first. Consider making the full amount or even more and freezing.





4 lbs tomatoes


whole garlic


1/2 or small sweet onion


salt


cayenne


(I used Hot Salt for the cayenne and portion of the salt)


whole pepper corns


oregano


sage


marjoram


1 carton of chicken or vegetable broth (2 cans?)





Run the tomatoes whole through the food processor until almost smooth leaving some chunks for texture (skin, seeds and everything! Don't want to waste any of the nutrition)


pour into large pot. Same with onion.


Smash 2 cloves of garlic and put in. Add broth. Bring to boil. Add seasonings to taste and simmer until flavors are blended. Serve topped with your favorite cheese and a salad or sandwich. Enjoy!





Please let me know if you make this, how it turned out and what modifications you made because I wouldn't want you to do exactly what I did. No fun there!

Here Comes Santa Claus

OK. So its the week before Christmas (almost). The shopping is DONE!! Even Santa is done with his shopping. Which brings us to my point (assuming there is one in here somewhere). Linden still believes in Santa Claus. She's right on the edge of not believing. Right at that point where she doesn't quite trust the kids who are telling her different things. Right at the point where she has lots of questions. Now if you know Linden, you know that she has LOTS of questions. I think the word is actually 'incessant'? For the past several weeks, we have discussed ad nauseaum how Santa can possibly deliver to all the kids in the world (and believe me, she has more than one angle on this one), why we can't just fly to the North Pole and see Santa and why do kids keep lying to her about The Big Guy not being. To be honest, I am done with Santa. I'm ready to stop playing the game but I don't have the heart to tell her. Her sister is telling her big stories about Mr. Claus and his doings while at the same time slipping that she "knows" was Santa is bringing. Linden is a smart kid. I think this will probably be the last year for Santa, Mr. EB and the tooth fairy. I am trying to enjoy the magic for as long as it lasts. And so is Linden.

Link to where you can find this card : http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14865605

I learned how to knit and my dog stinks!

OK. So they're not directly related but both are relevant in my little world right now. First, the dog. Seriously, there is something wrong with this dog. Something very very wrong. As my husband pointed out in an email this morning, the Geneva Convention banned the use of poisonous gas in warfare. Someone forgot to tell Kanji about this. Its a silent weapon he wields well. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about this.

As for the knitting, its a longer story with, hopefully, a happier ending. I learned how to knit today - again. Its actually the third time. Sort of.

The problem, you see, is that I am left handed. Its something I've always been proud of. I consider it one of the sources of my power. It is also a tad inconvenient at times. Learning to knit has been one of those times. My mother, who was an amazing knitter among other things, was not able to teach me. I am a kinesthetic learner, meaning I need to put my hands on things to learn. She was never able to figure out how to hold the needles or where to put the thread so that it made sense in my hands.

Many years later, I asked my mother in law, who happens to be left handed, to teach me. The lessons went very well. I learned to do a backwards purl stitch and a purl stitch. Wait. That's not right! Its supposed to be knit, purl. Well, yeah it is but things don't always work that way in my hands. What I thought was a knit stitch was really a purl stitch from the wrong side. By the time I figured this out, the motor patterns were laid and I was pretty much screwed. I got really good at making scarves (if you didn't mind that I had a terrible habit of adding stitches).

I tried my hand at hats with not so positive results so I moved on to something a bit different. I learned to knit on a loom (commonly sold as a Knifty Knitter but I think loom sounds much more grown up). I have become very good at my looms. I can make hats in various shapes and sizes as well as handwarmers and assorted other goodies. For some reason, ok, for speed, I thought I wanted more.

So today I did what everyone does anymore. I went surfing. I logged on to dogpile and I entered "left handed knitting". I found lots of sites that made my eyes glaze over with k2 and p1 and stuff like that. Then I found this site: http://www.theknittingsite.com/index.html If you have ever had thoughts of learning to knit, this is the place to go! Ms. Penny Dablin has a series of videos that show exactly what to do with your fingers and the yarn. And she does it all with a charming accent! What I learned was to knit right handed (I know but it made sense to me) but hold the yarn in my left hand (I believe this is continental knitting?) Its going slowly and I am still adding stitches willy nilly but I seem to have both a knit and a purl going and that is an improvement. Now if I could just find something that will help my dog...

On the Wagon - again

Well folks, its been 3 months since my last drink. I think this is the longest its been without even a sip since college. I did it mostly for my health, the empty calories I certainly don't need. The feeling of addiction scared me too as well as the withdrawl everytime I tried to quit. It was time to let it go - cold turkey this time. Not that I don't still think about drinking every day. Mornings are the hardest. I still wake up every day thinking about where I can find that first drink. I try to avoid convenience stores as that is where I usually bought my bottles. I always kept a stash in my truck, away from the prying eyes of my husband. I knew he disapproved of how much I drank. I often snuck the empties into the recycling bin on trash days after he left for work. Vacations are hard. I just got back from a roadtrip to Seattle. The late nights and the long drives made me crave my drinks. Yes, I do admit that I drank while I was driving. In fact, my truck was my favorite place to drink. It made the days go better and the drives easier. I admit is been tough, very tough, but I am oh so proud of myself. 90 days without a drink now. Pepsi, you have lost another customer!