Greasy Mess & Onion Gravy

That is what I ended up with after making Chicken Fried Steak. Oh, and the flour club hand! I have never been able to get the dredging in flour and egg thing right. I'd share a picture, but I didn't want to dredge my camera by mistake! I do have a picture of the final outcome though near the bottom of this post.

As promised on Menu Plan Sunday, I loosely followed this recipe. I say loosely because I didn't have all of the ingredients and can't read my computer while I am in the kitchen. It's all from memory baby!

I started with chopped beef steak patties (fancy name for cheap, gonna fall apart hamburger meat?). I dredged them in flour that was seasoned with just salt and pepper. Next, as they began to fall apart I gave them a bath in an egg and milk wash. After that, back into the flour for another crumbly coating session and the finishing touches on my club hand.

As I slipped them into the heated skillet of vegetable oil, I forgot the first rule of frying - lay the meat AWAY from you. I've certainly watched enough Food Network to have this rule imprinted on my memory, but somehow in the heat of trying to not get my club hand all over the handle of my skillet, I forgot. Now, I have 2 nice little burn marks on my forearm to remind me. Anyway, I let the meat cook in the oil for a few minutes on both sides then laid it on some paper towels to absorb the oil. There was A LOT of it! This is why I don't fry things very often. (Even though I do have 30+ bottles of vegetable oil left!)

With the bits and stuff left in the pan I got to do one of my favorite cooking tasks - deglazing a pan! It is so much fun to see all the yummy goodness that is stuck to the pan come off the bottom to make a beautiful and yummy sauce!

Everytime I deglaze a pan I do it differently. Here's tonight's version and where I REALLY departed from the recipe. First, I poured in a large handful of frozen, chopped onions (maybe 3/4 cup?). After they cooked down and I scraped all the yummy bits off the bottom of the pan, I added about 1/2 a cup of chicken broth. Once I had stirred this all together I sprinkled in a couple of tablespoons of flour. As this was going in, I quickly stirred so that it wouldn't clump. By no measure am I a master at this, I just move my arm fast so my sauce doesn't taste like flour. Yeck! I let the sauce cook down to see if it was thick enough and decided that I actually didn't have enough. More broth and flour went into the pan until I was satisfied that there was enough to feed 4 people. (Why 4? I don't know, because I had 4 beef patties?)

I plated up a meal for my husband (who is working late tonight) and then decided to eat some of this wonderful dish myself. I was too tired to make another potato for myself and not really hungry after staring at all that grease, so I just had a small portion with onion gravy on top. I really outdid myself on the gravy - I think it was the best part! Hmmm... who would have thought I'd like onion gravy???

From my stash, I used the beef and broth. The beef was bought when I was participating in Angel Food Ministries. This is a great ministry that trys to get good food into the hands of needy people for a reduced cost. I highly recommend seeing if there is one in your area. As for the broth, since I didn't need the entire can, I took the rest of it and froze it in 1/4 cup portions so I can use it again. Just because I want to use up my stash doesn't mean I can afford to be wasteful and throw away 1/2 a can of good broth!

Weekly Shopping Trip

Tonight I decided to hit CVS, Walgreens, and Publix. I didn't purchase any food items at Walgreens so I am not going to really discuss my purchases, but I had a $5 off $20 coupon and decided to pick up a few of my free-bate items. I guess I am still stashing HBA (health and beauty aids), but only when they are free with money back!

At CVS, I decided to take advantage of their $20 Pepsi deal and get $10 in ECBs back. In the end, I had 6 12-packs of Caffeine Free Diet Pepsi for ~$4. As you'll see later, it put me over my $25/week rule (not by much though), but it gives us drinks for our lunches for about a month and a half if we don't drink it at home. I decided it was worth the overage because it became the cheapest option for lunch beverages that I can get.

Earlier in the day, I also made a stop at the bread store. This is a must if I want to save money on whole wheat bread. We don't eat white bread. I spent $5.02 there and got 2 loaves of whole wheat bread (not the enriched wheat flour kind either!) and 1 pack each of lite wheat hamburger and hot dog buns. If I had bought these at Publix I would have spent an extra $3-4 dollars total and not been able to buy ice cream for my sweetie this week.

And speaking of ice cream (which is dairy and within my guidelines), here's what I took home from Publix. Not too bad, though grapes are still expensive! I don't know how to get them any cheaper. My only consolation is that this bag has at least 8 servings of fruit for $4, which is $0.50/serving. This is still on the high side for fresh fruit, but cheaper than processed snacks.

All in all, I spent about $28.50 this week. I hope this isn't breaking my own rules, but I don't feel bad about it since I still haven't spent up all the underage from my first week. At this point though, I've just about eaten all of that up!

Bloggy Giveaway

I succumbed to the pressure and I am giving away something in Rocks In My Dryer's Bloggy Giveaway!

What will you receive if you win my giveaway, you might ask??? Well... how about food? Everyone loves food and we all have to eat, right? But first, I promise it won't be expired food from my pantry. It will be a wonderful assortment of new spices, rices, and treats! Plus cookbooks! Everyone needs cookbooks! (I'll post a detailed list and a picture of the contents later.)


Just leave a comment below with a way to reach you (either via your blog or e-mail address) and I'll choose a winner with a random number generator at the end of the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival!


Happy Eating!!! (Oh, and if you want to know what this blog is all about... read my concept post.)

EDIT: The contest is closed as of Saturday, February 2 @ 3:40 pm. Thanks to everyone for playing along. You can see who won here.

Menu Plan Sunday

I am on the ball this week. I've already got my menu all planned out. Let's see how well I keep to it now.

Sunday - Pasta w/ Meatballs and Tomato Sauce
Monday - Chef Salad
Tuesday - Apricot Chipotle Pork Ribs, from MGFK
Wednesday - Shrimp Scampi over Linguini, from Rich Plan
Thursday - Chicken Fried Steak w/ Potaotoes,
Friday - Dinner out with new friends

As usual, our breakfasts will be cereal, oatmeal, or eggs and toast.

Lunches will either be planned overs, or since baked potatoes were on sale, I'll probably make some of those and take with a small box of frozen veggies.

Check out the other menus at OrgJunkie's site!

Saturday Night Dinner

We don't normally cook dinner around here on Saturday nights. It seems we either end up eating out somewhere or we are too tired so fix leftover, or even cereal sometimes. But I had the chicken defrosted from earlier in the week and still hadn't made the Sweet & Sour meal that I had planned.

I cut 1-lb of chicken into thin strips and marinated it in flour, soy sauce, water, and that squeezable ginger and chili pepper paste you can buy in the produce section. After a quick stir-fry, I removed it from the pan. Next, I stir-fried 1/2 of a diced red pepper, about 1 cup of frozen, chopped onions, and a small handful of carrots, thinly sliced on he diagonal. Once they had softened up, I added the chicken back in. I let that set for a minute while I mixed up 1/3 cup of ketchup and sugar each with 1 1/4 cup water and some powdered sweet & sour mix from the back of my pantry. Pouring that over the chicken, I brought it to a boil and then let the sauce cook down and thicken. All of this was poured over cooked white rice and topped with pineapple tidbits.

I was very skeptical about the whole ketchup thing and am pretty certain the mix was just a thickening agent, but the meal was delicious! We are both looking forward to packing it for lunch on Monday.

From my stash I used up the powdered mix, rice (and I made extra for the week), the onions, and the pineapple.

Weekly Shopping Trip

I made my weekly pilgrimage to Publix tonight in my quest to buy yummy food to go with my stash. I stuck to fresh produce, dairy, and whole grain bread except for my water. I can't drink the water where we live (horrible smell). I used to buy individual bottles, but realized that wasn't a very eco-friendly way to live. So now, I compromise and buy the 2.5 gallon jugs and then put it in my recycling bin once we finish it. I still keep some individual bottles around to grab on the way out the door, but use my Tervis Tumbler the rest of the time.

It was only my second week in the Eating It Up experiment and I already had to have the cashier take some items off of my bill. I guess I did a poor job adding up my purchases and had to put back the blueberries, plus my lite wheat hamburger and hot dog buns. I did not mind too much though since I was not sure we'd eat the blueberries and I can buy the buns for less money at the bread store if I plan my shopping trip for earlier in the evening.

After taking those items off, my total was $25.13. I am okay with going over my $25 goal though, because I was so far under it last week. Not that I want to go over every week, but $0.13 isn't going to break the bank. Yet. :-)

Oh, let me tell you about the dinner that we had tonight. It was the Tortilla Soup made from a mix by Bear Creek. I'll be honest and tell you it is the first expired item in my pantry. The use by date was September 2007, but I don't think it affected the taste at all. I added in a can of black beans and also a can of yellow corn to bulk it up some. It worked as a yummy meal and I got to eat the Harry & David chips with it! Bruce sprinkled some cheese on top of his and liked it. He topped his belly off with a hot dog though.

Tomorrow for lunch, we'll take leftover baked potatoes from last week and pour the soup over it with more cheese for something a little more filling. Trust me, you can't tackle the task of teaching 8th & 9th graders on an empty stomach!

Sausage Frittata

Tonight we had a breakfast-inspired dish for dinner. I made a sausage frittata based on this recipe I found on-line. Here is what I did:


Cooked and drained 1 lb of ground sausage. Put sausage back in deep-sided pan and then poured 7 scrambled eggs over top. I moved the pan and eggs around a bit to let the eggs seep in through the sausage. After a few minutes I put a lid on the pan and then waited a few more minutes. Once the frittata began to setup I removed the lid and sprinkled cheese liberally over the top. I put the lid back on and waited for for the dish to finish setting up. To serve, I spooned salsa over the top and served with Harry & David tortilla chips.


I was able to use up 1 lb of frozen, Rich Plan sausage, some salsa (of which I have 4 jars still left unopened), and I got to open up the bag of delicious Harry & David chips! Bruce really liked the meal and said I could make something like this again. If I were to do it again, I would use more eggs (7 was all I had), 1/2 as much sausage, and I would saute onions and peppers with the sausage for more flavor and nutrition. Actually, I can think of several different ways I could add vegetables into the mix and still enjoy it. Plus, we get to enjoy the leftovers for breakfast!

I Know Where I Get It

This past weekend I was at my mom's condo and she asked me to help her clean out her pantry (inspired in part by me I am sure). And now, I know where I get my tendency to have too much food.

She and my dad are the only ones who live there yet they were fully stocked with a ton of stuff (not as much as I had, but a lot considering my dad is gone 24 days a month and has his own pantry for trucker food). I wish I had taken a picture of it to show you the before and after. There was food in there from 2004. Now, I know I am bound to have something that old in mine too, once I get to the dark corners of my pantry, but until then... I'm going to talk about someone else's old food. :)

I really am not complaining because I ended up coming home with a bag full of food to add to my stock as well. This is okay since it didn't cost me anything other than time and the usual tiff that comes when my mom and I try to organize things together. I am almost certain that she has made some changes since I left yesterday.

Me: You have 2 whole cartons of oatmeal.
Mom: I like oatmeal; it's easy to make.
Me: But what about the 2 boxes of instant oatmeal. Aren't those easier for you to make?
Mom: I like it plain sometimes too.
Me: Okay then, I'll put the boxes stacked here, and the 2 round cartons next to them, one behind the other.
Mom: No. Put the spare oatmeal behind the cereal boxes. That way we have more room.
Me: But that doesn't make sense.
Mom: That's the way I want it.
Me: Why do you need all that space? Aren't you downsizing?
Mom: It's my pantry.

And that settled it. Of course, why the spare oatmeal? Is she afraid one will blow up and she'll need a back-up?

I tease my mom but only because as I point at her there are 4 other fingers pointing right back at me. I took her desire to get a good deal a wee bit whole lot further. Becky made a good point in her comment the other day about sales. Fortunately, I haven't had much to throw away (yet) as most of what I stashed is so full of preservatives it will last longer than me! We have typically been fairly good about eating the fresh produce I buy, except that 2nd bag of lettuce I have to get when it is B1G1 free!

Of course, being away all weekend until Monday evening, I did not get my menu planned ahead of time. I ended up eating cereal for dinner last night. I did have the foresight to take something out for tonight though - Allstar Chicken, from MGFK. I think it may be one of my favorite MGFK dishes ever! (Sorry no pictures, my camera batteries are dead.)

Better late than never, here is my menu plan for the week:

Monday - Allstar Chicken

Tuesday - Pasta with Tomato sauce and veggies

Wednesday - Breakfast for dinner! (Sausage from Rich Plan with eggs or pancakes)

Thursday - Tortilla Soup w/ black beans and maybe a sandwich for Bruce

Friday - Sweet & Sour Chicken w/ Fried Rice (hopefully using up 2 seasoning packets that I've had for who knows how long)

I'll let you know how this week's menu goes. I picked out several stashed items to use to start and make a dent in my freezer and pantry. I kind of had fun trying to find something to use!

1st Shopping Trip

Tonight was my first trip to the grocery store since beginning my Eating It Up experiment. I knew that in order to stick to my 3 ground rules, I would need to stay on the perimeter of the store, this is where the freshest and least processed food is stocked. I headed to the dairy section first to pick up milk and had to struggle as I walked past the cheese and the yogurt. It isn't that these are not allowed, it is that I still have plenty left over from last week's trip and I don't need them this week. Even. On. Sale. I had to repeat that to myself several times.

As I talked to myself (in my head, not out loud, I'm not nuts) and walked over to produce I did make one circle around the clearance rack and told myself I didn't need anything on it. No matter how good of a sale it is. I had some version of all of it at home already, waiting to be used up.

My diligence was rewarded when I arrived in the produce section and saw that crates of clementines were on clearance for $2 each! Normally they are $6.99 and my personal target price is $3.99. Publix had them at my target price 2 weeks ago and I suspect that the 3 lonely crates left on clearance were from that sale. I knew that not all of them would be good and I'd have to toss some, but at that price, I bought all 3! (Plus some bananas, which are a staple in my diet.)

After swinging by and picking up a treat for Bruce (marshmallow fluff) I headed for the check out. Success! My savings were greater than my $12.74 total. I was $11.26 under budget!

(Oh, and we did grill the london broil tonight. It was tasty, but not as strong as I thought it would be after marinating for almost 24 hours. It is going to be used up in a salad and on a potato this weekend.)

Fast Food Again

Okay now, I have a really good excuse for why we didn't eat our London Broil. It was worth it. Instead, we got a pizza. The best local place, Pizzanos, has a $5, one-topping special that we occasionally take advantage of. We always get ours with jalapenos, and drink it with a glass of milk. Unfortunately, when we got home, there was only about 2 oz of milk left. My dear husband let me have it. :-) We ended up sharing it, then eating ice cream.

I still haven't decided if I am going to make these quick dinner purchases count against my $25 a week. I think I'll take them out of our dome budget since they were related to the many hours it has kept us away from home. Yeah, that's what I'll do.

On Track

As promised, we did have the Napolean Artichoke from My Girlfriend's Kitchen for dinner tonight. It had a mild flavor and the vegetables were kind of bland. I probably should have added more salt and pepper. I don't think I would make it again, except I have another one in the freezer. And... to make sure we are prepared for the next two nights, I've already started marinating the london broil in the cracked pepper and garlic sauce.

**By edit, I'd like to add that yes, we really do eat dinner sitting on the couch most nights. I had my daughter in my lap nursing and daddy wanted to be near us. :)

Mistake

I'd love to write this morning and tell you how wonderful the Napoleon Artichoke was last night. I'd be delighted to share photos of an elegant and nutritious meal. It would be my pleasure to describe how delicious everything tasted.

But I can't. We went to the hardware store last night to pick out items for the house we are building and stayed for more than 3 hours. By the time we were done, we were too tired to face the prospect of waiting and cooking dinner when we got home. So we did what any other American family would - went through the drive through.

Yep, 2 days into my new eating experiment and I am already scarfing down fries and a chicken sandwich. How sad is that? I'll just have to move my menus back by one day to make up for this lapse. Tonight though, shall be different!

Menu Plan Monday

Since this venture of Eating It Up is all about using up the food I already have, I thought it most wise to plan my menu ahead of time. Laura, at orgjunkie.com hosts a place on her blog for bloggers to share their menus and find new recipes. I am excited to join them this week, with the first planned menu of Eating It Up.

Monday - Napoleon Artichoke (from MGFK, "chicken sauteed with artichoke hearts, white wine, capers, red peppers and mushrooms" served over egg noodles)

Tuesday - London Broil marinated in a garlic & black pepper sauce, served with wild rice and vegetables

Wednesday - Steak Salad (to used up left over London Broil)

Thursday - Soup Potatoes (baked potato covered with soup and cheese)

Friday - Planned Overs (I'll be out of town so hubby will be alone)

Of course, my menu looks good and normal now, but wait until all I have is vegetable oil, applesauce , and peanut butter!!!

Our breakfasts are usually the same - cereal and a piece of fruit. Our lunches are either planned overs from dinner the night before or a frozen meal (Smart Ones or Lean Cuisine).

Day One

Today was the first full day of my Eating It Up experiment. I looked in the freezer to see what would be easy to get started with and was pleased to find some chicken that had already been flavorized and was ready for baking. When my mom was here after my daughter was born she made up several freezer meals for us to enjoy in the weeks ahead. They were a real blessing and I was surprised when I found this last one (I think it's the last one anyway) hiding in my freezer.

It was meant to be the sample bag for my mom to take home with her since she had not tried either of the recipes I requested she make up for us. But, I guess she took the wrong one, so we ate it up tonight. There were 3 Parmesan chicken cutlets and 3 honey mustard chicken cutlets (recipes below). We baked them up at the same time. My husband had the honey mustard chicken and I had the parm chicken. It was all rounded out with a box of frozen seasoned veggies.

Both of these recipes work well in the freezer and are super easy to whip up on the spur of the moment. I was glad to find the again.

Parmesan Chicken

1 lb chicken cutlets

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I prefer Kraft ParmPlus)

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Rinse and dry chicken breasts, salt and pepper each breast, coat each one with 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese. Bake for 20-30 minutes until done.

Honey Mustard Chicken

1 lb chicken cutlets

1 cup honey mustard dressing

2 cups crushed corn flakes

1 bunch green onions, cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 350. Rinse and dry chicken breasts. Mix green onions into honey mustard. Dip chicken honey mustard dressing then in corn flakes. Try to cover as much of the chicken as possible. Bake for 20-30 minutes until done.

It Ain't Pretty

Just so you have an idea of what I am working with, let me give you an overview of my stash stockpile. I have limited cabinet space and no built-in pantry, so shortly after we moved in 4 1/2 years ago, we purchased a white shelving unit with doors to store non-perishables (left).

I also have reusable grocery bags that I don't use anymore, because they are storing even more items that I just had to stock up on. I have an upright side-by-side refrigerator/freezer that is almost always full. I just went to My Girlfriend's Kitchen last week and still have 11 meals left from that trip. We used to belong to Rich Plan and their quarterly meat deliveries holds up all of the stuff on the top layer of my chest freezer (not pictured).

I like to shop for deals. I like buying 20 boxes of whole grain, organic pasta from Big Lots for $1. I like not having to worry whether or not I have applesauce to pack in our lunches each day (below). Frozen vegetables are a necessity when you no longer have room to store the canned goods. And you never know when you might need 32 bottles of free vegetable oil (left).

I just went grocery shopping last night and spent $75. Was that cheating? No, not really? The idea for this eating it up experiment only came to me on my way home as I pondered my husband's earlier comment about having too much food in the house. As I mulled it over, I had to agree. I buy too much food. I wouldn't be surprised to find a bottle or can of something that is more than 2-3 years old as I dig further back into the archives that is my pantry. You haven't even see my cabinets, 2 of which also have food stocked up in them - one for baking supplies and the other for spices, snacks, and beverages.

The Concept

What would happen if an average family decided to drastically cut their grocery budget and finally eat all of that food that mom has been diligently stockpiling for months? I'm not sure, but am willing to find out.

I got hooked on something called the Grocery Game several months ago and this led to massive stockpiling of non-perishable goods and marathon sessions of coupon cutting. I ended up with some junk food, some healthy food, and a lot of guilt when I didn't have the right coupon with me when I needed it.

Now, I've cancelled my newspaper subscription and my Grocery Game membership and am ready to find out just how long my 'stash' can last and just how creative I can be with 6 cans of Geisha pineapple from Walgreens and $1 a box whole grain pasta from Big Lots.

In order to know if my experiment is a success, I need to make some ground rules. Here they are:

1. My budget is $25 per week for fresh produce, dairy, and breads.
2. I can add other items to my shopping cart, so long as I stay under the $25/week limit.
3. I will post my receipt information and shopping list to keep me honest.
4. I have to try and be as creative as possible when using the existing ingredients in my pantry.

I kept myself to 4 rules to keep it simple. But I also have a goal of sharing one recipe per week so that I can discuss how I creatively used my 'stash.' This should get really interesting after a few weeks when we've used up all of the easy ideas. I predict that it will probably be pretty easy in the beginning, but should toughen up as we run out of items considered staples in our home (like cereal and cookies).