Menu Plan Monday

Monday:



Steak Fajitas ♦ ♦ ♦

I'm going to saute an onion, red peppers, and the steak fajita strips (from my food co-op share). Then we'll top with cheese, salsa and sour cream and serve with tortillas.

Wednesday:

Toasted Pears with Blue Cheese (from Barefoot Contessa: Back To Basics)

3 ripe but firm Anjou pears

fresh squeezed lemon juice (3 lemons)

3 ounces coarsely crumbled sharp blue cheese

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup walnut halves, toasted and chopped

1/4 cup apple cider

3 Tbsp port

1/2 cup lightly brown sugar, lightly packed

1/4 cup good olive oil

6 ounces baby arugula

kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 375. Slice the peeled pears lengthwise into halves. Remove the core and seeds with a melon baller, leaving a round well for the filling. Trim a small slice away from the rounded sides of the pear so they will sit flat in the baking dish without wobbling. Toss pears with lemon juice to prevent browning and arrange in a baking dish large enough to fit them snugly. Gently toss crumbled blue cheese, cranberries, and walnuts together in a small bowl and divide mixture among pears, mounding it on top. Then combine the apple cider, port and brown sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour the mixture over and around pears. Bake the pears, basting occasionally with the cider mixture, for 30 minutes until tender. Set aside until warm or at room temperature. Just before serving, whisk together the olive oil, 1/4 cup lemon juice, and 1/4 cup of the basting liquid in a large bowl. Add arugula and toss. Divide arugula among plates, top with a pear, drizzle some of the basting liquid over the top and sprinkle with salt. Serve.

Chris will be at school on Wednesday, so....I think I might just eat pears for dinner with nothing else. Hey, it's better than eating the whole twinkie box for dinner, right?





Friday:



Fried Tomatoes ♦ ♦ ♦

Butter-flavored vegetable cooking spray

4 medium green, or red, tomatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Salt and pepper, to taste

Spray large skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium heat until hot. Coat tomato slices lightly with flour; cook over medium heat until browned, two to three minutes on each side. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Recipe makes four servings.

I think we'll grill up some Omaha steaks from the freezer and do these fried tomatoes with salad.

Utah Food Co-Op

One commonly-used method for saving money on groceries is joining a local food co-op. We've only got one in Salt Lake (some places have many!) - The Community Food Co-Op of Utah. I decided to give it a try this month. Co-ops have a rotating menu with different food packages or shares that you can purchase each month. You pay the co-op for your desired share and then pick up your food at your neighborhood distribution center on the day of the co-op. So simple!

This month's standard share ($23) included:

• 1lb. Top Sirloin Fajita Strips
• 2 lb. Package of Chicken Drumsticks
• 2 lb. Sirloin Pork Roast
• 1 lb. Lean Ground Beef
• 1 lb. Rice
• 1 loaf Artisan Wheat Bread
• 5 Fuji Apples
• 5 Pears
• 5 Oranges
• 1 Romaine Lettuce
• 3 Red Bell Peppers
• 5 Tomatoes
• 2 Avocados
• 1 2lb. Bag of Carrots

What a deal! The retail value was $46 + tax for the standard share. Now I'm off to work on my menu plan using some of these items!


How does the co-op provide food at such low prices?
By ordering in quantity and utilizing local farmers/growers.

Who can join?
Anyone! If you eat, you qualify.

Is the food good quality?
The food comes from the same wholesalers that supply the local grocery stores, so you can expect the same quality. No seconds or bruised items here. It's all fresh, excellent food.

How can I find a local food co-op near me?
www.coopdirectory.org

How do I find recipes to cook with the ingredients I've got?
Use www.recipezaar.com! Type in an ingredient and it will give you recipes that use it!

Yesterday's Shopping Deals

Target
10 Southbeach Diet bars $2.33 each
3 Kotex pantiliners $2.79 each
-$2 Southbeach MFQ x 10
-$1 Kotex MFQ x 3
-$2 Kotex TQ x 3
= $2.67 + tax (Saved 32.96!)



Smith's
3 Suave Lotion $1.00 each
1 Milk $2.00
3 Kraft Mayo $2.99 each
6 Green Giant Steamers $1.50 each
1 Philadelphia Cream Cheese $1.50 each
1 Birdseye Veggies $1.99
2 Crab Classic $2.99 each
-$5 Mega Event savings
-$1.00 Suave MFQ x 3
-$0.75 Mayo MFQ x 3
-$0.50 Green Giant MFQ x 6
-$2.00 Birdseye Veggie MFQ
-$1.00 Crab Classic MFQ x 2
= $15.19 + tax (Saved $31.04!)

Monday Drugstore Deals

I went to Rite Aid Monday morning but skipped out on Walgreens because I didn't need anything there. Some people have been asking me for a little more detail on how my drugstore runs work, so here's what I got....with a little more detail.

(Don't mind the crockpot and rice cooker on the counter from Monday's dinner.)

Purchased
$19.99 Onetouch Ultra Mini Glucose Monitor (to be donated)
$2.00 GE lightbulbs
$2.49 Skintimate shave gel
$2.49 Skintimate shave gel
$0.99 Softsoap
$0.99 Softsoap
= $28.95

Coupons Used
$5 off $25 Rite Aid purchase coupon
$19.99 Onetouch Ultra Mini Glucose coupon (V 1/4/09)
$1.50 in-ad skintimate Rite Aid Coupon
$1.50 in-ad skintimate Rite Aid Coupon
$0.35 softsoap coupon (SS 1/4/09)
$0.35 softsoap coupon (SS 1/4/09)
= $1.98 + tax

And I'll get back a $2 SCR for the lightbulbs. Savings this trip: $34.98.


Total spent this month: $110.89
Total saved this month: $1065.88

Menu Plan Monday

Monday:



Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

(adapted from Fix, Freeze & Feast)

8 chicken breast halves

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil

1 1/2 tsp minced garlic (4 cloves)



Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar and oil in a small bowl, stirring until dissolved. Line crockpot with chicken and pour marinade evenly over the top. Cook on low for 6 hours. Serve over rice.





Wednesday:



Beef Stew (my Mom's recipe -- as good as they come!) ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

2 lbs Rump roast (or top round)

carrots

potatoes

sliced onion

mushrooms

(any other favorite veggies you're craving)

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 Tbsp (heaping) beef gravy powder( or lipton onion soup mix)

1 bay leaf

salt & pepper to taste





Cut meat into 1 1/2 inch chunks. Put in a ziploc bag with a few tablespoons of flour, some salt and pepper, and shake until coated. Then brown beef in a hot skillet with olive oil. Add meat and veggies to roaster or crockpot, and stir in cream of mushroom soup, gravy powder, bay leaf and salt & pepper. (It will look like there is not enough liquid but don't add more! The veggies and meat will cook down and add juices.) Cook in oven at 300º for 5 hours or in a crockpot on low for 5-6 hours. Serves 6-8.



I'm going to serve this with salad, rolls, and homemade twinkies for dessert (I'm taking dinner into a friend who had a baby last week).







Friday:



Crab Rangoon (link) ♦

2 packages crab classic

2 packages cream cheese 8 oz brick

2 cloves minced garlic

1 package wonton skins

salt and pepper to taste

butter



Put imitation crab in a food processor and process until you have small pieces. Dump into a bowl and mix other ingredients except wonton skins. Line a cookie sheet with the wonton wrappers. Place 1 tsp mixture in the center of the wonton wrappers. Wet all edges with water and fold end over into a triangle. Next, tuck all corners under so you have a little pillow. Do this with all remaining wrappers. Line them on a cookie sheet without touching each other. Brush tops with melted butter. Bake at 400º for 12-14 minutes until golden brown. If you have left over mix, spread on halved english muffins and broil till tops are brown...yummy!



I'm going to serve this with leftover rice from Monday and salad.

Monday Drugstore Deals

I only hit up Rite Aid yesterday because I didn't need anything at Walgreens. All of their Christmas items went to 90% off yesterday, so I stocked up for next year! Here is what I got:


2 bags of sparkly bows
8 spools of curling ribbon
5 packs of festive tissue paper
1 cute stripey gift wrap roll
1 mini bow set
1 Hannah Montanna gift tag
3 festive gift bags
1 white 7-pk gift box set
1 Glucose Meter

Total: $0.21 + tax after coupons

(Later in the day I bought some tupperware at Smith's to store all this in until next year!)

Menu Plan Mondays

One of my New Year's resolutions is to be better at planning out my weekly meals. The cooking isn't the hard part - it's the thinking it up! Since Chris is at school three nights a week (he'll be done with his MBA in March), I haven't been cooking a whole lot at night. As a result, we don't have good leftovers for lunches the next day, which is a bummer. We're getting reaaaaally sick of canned soup and hot pockets for lunch.

So here we go. I'm going to start by planning 3 homecooked meals per week, and we'll see how that works out. Probably Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. That way we leave time to eat the leftovers in between. Here's my plan for this week.

Monday:

Shredded Chicken Tacos

I've got some shredded chicken mix in the freezer from the last time I made it in the crockpot. I'll pull this out to thaw and then heat up the night of. I'm going to make some homemade crockpot blackbeans, rice (in the rice cooker), cafe rio tomatillo dressing, and then top it off with some lettuce, cheese, sour cream and salsa.

Cafe Rio Creamy Tomatillo Dressing ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

3 fresh tomatillos, cut into quarters

1 package Ranch Buttermilk Dressing mix

1 cup Mayo

1/3 to 1/2 cup buttermilk

1 cup fresh cilantro

2 cloves crushed garlic

1/4 teaspoon crushed cayenne pepper

Combine all ingredients in a blender and refrigerate one hour.

Crockpot Blackbeans ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

1 lb dry blackbeans

1 1/2 qts chicken stock*

1 green pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 tsp dried oregano

1 clove garlic

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 oz red wine vinegar

Put dry blackbeans in a pot and cover with water until one inch above level of beans. Let soak overnight. The next morning, rinse blackbeans and combine all ingredients in crockpot. Cook on low 4-6 hours.

*This amount is approximate. Use enough chicken stock so liquid level is just above beans/ingredients level to avoid burning.

Wednesday:

Easy Instant Baked Potato Soup ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

1 can Carnation Evaporated milk

1 can Butterball chicken broth

1 pouch Hungry Jack instant potato flakes

1 1/4 cup chives

cooked bacon

cheese

sour cream

(I think I might add an onion to this recipe)

Crumble cooked bacon in a pot. Add chives and cook over medium heat until chives are limp. Add one can chicken broth and one can water. Stir in one packet instant potato flakes. Once combined, remove from heat. Stir in condensed milk. Return to heat and heat until warmed through. Top with cheese and sour cream.

Friday:

Crockpot Stuffed Cabbage ♦

1 roll Jimmy Dean spicy hot sausage (I'm going to use regular sausage)

1 cup cooked rice (kept over from Monday)

1 head cabbage

1 can diced tomatoes

Mix sausage and rice into a ball until well-blended. Wash cabbage leaves and dip into boiling water for ~5 minutes until pliable. Place ~2 Tbsp of mixture into each cabbage leaf and roll into an envelope. Line cabbage leaves in crockpot and dump diced tomatoes on top. Cook on low for 8 hours, and serve with a baguette.