Sunday, May 22, 2022

What's Cooking...or Not

     


     We had a low key week with us back to just two to cook for. I had work work creep into my evenings and house projects each night I forced myself to stay on task, so wasn't very good creative.

  • Sunday: DH got hungry at 2:30 and made a pizza. I had a slice too, so neither wanted supper as it was well after 3:00 before we finished. He polished off a pineapple and I later had sliced apples with peanut butter for a snack. 
  • Monday: Sloppy Joe's and tator tots
  • Tuesday: Taco salads- sort of. The premade shells for salads were ridiculously expensive, so I substituted stand up shells. This used up the pricey iceberg lettuce I had in the crisper.
  • Wednesday: Ravioli with meatballs ( used up opened bags from freezer)
  • Thursday: DH and I ate out
  • Friday: crockpot 3 cheese rotini
  • Saturday: Graduation party food, I made Special K bars, but with rice crispy cereal.

     We're cleaning the park today but it's cold and wet again, so still waiting to decide lunch. I've got a second pan of bars, plus a ham, cheese, and pea pasta salad either way. Supper will be who knows- the salad if not eaten for lunch, or maybe just boxed mac and cheese and vegetables. Like last week, here's some options heading into a long weekend. Some will be for the lake and others for the week. I'll intentionally strive for leftovers, but also going to buy easy things like bagged salad, and potato salad  and coleslaw from the deli. I need to go grocery shopping at some point.

  • Grilled burritos
  • Grilled chicken and side salad
  • Burgers with all the fixings
  • Spaghetti with vodka sauce 
  • Macaroni and cheese and vegetables
  • Ham and au gratin potatoes
  • Grilled cheese/ meat and cheese with French Fries
  • Pizza
  • Chicken, broccoli, rice, and cheese hotdish
     I was supposed to have a five day weekend coming up, but not sure with turnover at work, that will happen. Also, my daughter might be starting a very part time evening job a few nights a week, so she'll either eat lunch late, or supper early. She's hardly been home yet from her trip to really plan, but no doubt we'll all eat. We've got so many things up in the air with life right now, well my girls do, so organizing at least meal options might help. 
     
     Whether we all live together one month or four, combining meal preferances and needs will be interesting. I'm all for increasing our plant based meals so my daughter should help give me ideas. Poor DH though- I'll need to make sure we can get him a baked potato and have chicken and burgers at the ready. Any ideas out there that have been wins in your house?



14 comments:

  1. One idea on the taco salads... we just have ours over beds of lettuce, but often have tortilla chips on the side for scooping. We prefer it that way, & tortilla chips are often on sale for quite cheap. We also sometimes make our own chips (easy with some flour shells, olive oil & salt), to go with the salads.

    I'm going to try & get on top of our food spending again, which is a bit of a never ending project.

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    1. Now that would have been a smart idea! Next time. Il need to use up the open package this week.

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  2. Have a great time at the park cleanup today!!

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    1. It was chilly but nice get together and feel we're giving back.

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  3. I love that you’re continuing with the park cleanup! Last week I cooked in batches and had planned overs so it went pretty well but nothing interesting. This week I will probably pick up a pork loin from Sam’s Club. That seems to be the best value in meats these days, still at 1.99/lb. So pork, gravy, mashed potatoes and then bbq maybe. Grab a chicken while I’m there and do whatever inspires me with that. Tuna hot dish is always a good back up plan. Our graduation parade is Wednesday and then Thursday is the big day! Food is definitely not a priority this week, just need some easy, cheap options. JoAnn

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    1. My sister in law had 9 ice cream buckets of pulled pork. It was delicious so I like your pork loin find. Sam's is so far away I have to be strategic but I'd like to pick up a good rotisserie chicken.

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  4. I hadn't realized it's your vegan daughter that's living with you. Could be interesting, but then she's obviously used to cooking for herself so I mean, seriously, it could be very informative!

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    1. It's a confusing story. College kid is home for summer, not vegan. My older daughter is house hunting, and she's out of her rental end of June. Likely she'll be moving here between the time her lease is done and finding them closing on a house. Sort of like Andre. She's the vegan. Yes, I'll no doubt learn more.

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  5. Our son is often not here when we eat either.I've got good at making meals that he can heat up later on. If the worst case scenario arise there's always eggs so he can make an omelette! Arilx

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    1. Yes, she'll do heat and eat, bake a sweet potato in the microwave or just eat a bowl of cereal. There'll be options.

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  6. Things have gone well since we started cooking three meats in one session. It can go into the refrigerator to eat from, and some goes into the freezer. DH could have his meat whenever. Plus, I also sometimes bake a sheet of vegetables. This works for several days. This kind of cooking seems to work for the two of us with different tastes some days. It would work for four with one vegan amongst you.

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    1. Vegan is no animal product at all so even something like my chickpea curry isn't vegan.It's not as easy as just seperate meat, but that's a partial solution.

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  7. Back when I was one, The Vegetarian Times (probably on line now) has heaps of good recipes.

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    1. She's a really good cook, but being completely animal product free is more challenging. We need substitutes for so many basic ingredients. I'll check that option out for recipes.

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