To market, to market

I've been getting my craft on, besides my bow business, so that has eaten up my blogging time.
Crafts are so much fun, which is great except when you are having fun crafting and neglecting all the not so fun stuff like laundry BLAH.
My crafting kick also means lots of baking and cooking Yum Yum, but not good for the waistline.
Since we've had several weeks of illness, I got out of the dinner habit because it was a wast, but we are on the mend so I am back on the meal planning track. Here is a recent sample-
Kielbasa & HOMEMADE pierogies-so worth the effort! YUM YUM YUM
Chicken Chimichangas
Ravioli Bake-take frozen ravioli and layer it with sauce and cheese, easy and good.
MoJo Chicken & Rice
Sesame steak with asparagus
Sloppy Joes
Garlic Chicken w/ Orzo
Slow Cooker Pot Roast
Chili
Mushroom Beef
Roasted Chicken

My grocery challenge was awesome because I learned some important lessons. I learned that I buy too much darn food! Even with menu planning, I get into a mentality of filling my freezer which can be great but not great if you do that every single time you shop. You end up with lots of food, and no plans for that food.
I am determined to keep shopping 1x a month,aside from milk and fresh veggies/fruits, and to use what I have. Instead of researching meal ideas and then shopping, I will look at what I have in my pantry/freezer and then find meals that use those ingredients.
I also now want a new fridge. I have a really pretty side by side stainless steel fridge and I HATE it. The side by side makes it hard to find things and the freezer makes it easy to "lose" things and the baskets are a joke. Since the previous houseowners barely cooked, the fridge just proves my theory that the appliances were purchased for looks as opposed to function-dont even get me started on my oven :)

Great Grocery Challenge-Day 1

Its been a long day with two busy busy busy toddlers. I did want to get in the habit of posting our daily menu.
Breakfast-Waffles from the partial box we have. Once the box is over, I think I will make a big batch of homemade ones.

Lunch-Homemade pizza YUMMOOOOO!

Dinner-I broke down and used the convenience food I bought. It was rather odd to just heat up already breaded chicken and to use powdered potatoes, but I will admit it did make dinner time easy. I had 3 custom orders for my craft business and also helping my husband with his business, so it was a busy day so the ease of dinner was nice. We had the Tyson chicken tenders from costco, mashed potatoes and some frozen veggies I had on hand.

So a pretty simple cooking day but no eating out, yay! Husband said he wants the tyson chicken fried but that isnt happening.

The great grocery challenge aka its hard out there for a foodie

Let me just say that I've been doing meal planning for months. It really does help out with stress and motivates me to find new recipes. That said, while it has helped with the budget a bit, I know there is more money I could save. I recently read this blog http://doughmesstic.blogspot.com/2009_06_01_archive.html who did a pantry raid challenge and only spent $100 in groceries for one month. Now, I think its a great idea but there are some issues A) she skipped meals. Yeah, have me skip breakfast and you will have a very unhappy camper and B) she has a baby, so having snacks and meals for a child isnt an issue and C) did you read the lists of food she had on hand before the challenge??? Yeah I dont have all that food and I dont know many people that do.
I do think that the premise was a good one so I decided to do it with my own take.
I sat down on my computer and I typed out what food I already have on hand-
2lbs ground beef
partial box of waffles
5lbs potatoes
12 frozen chicken legs in a large pack
3lbs of frozen mixed veggies
large pack of chicken sausage
2 servings of ravioli
black beans
red beans
assorted pasta
canned corn
diced tomatoes
tomato sauce
flour
taco shells
pot roast
whole grain bread
jam
peanut butter
Hot dogs & buns

At costco today I spent $143 and got
5.5lbs beef stew meat
8 boxes of mashed potato mix(4 servings each box)
5lbs of onion
5lbs Tyson breaded chicken
Frozen shrimp
2 loafs of Italian bread
1 package of arnold's sandwich thins
Swiss cheese
mushrooms
3 DZ eggs
1.5 gallons of organic milk
5 heads of romaine lettuce
24 oz. Parmesan cheese
Chicken breasts
Tub of cookie dough(yeah, my excuse is that my husband spends way too much money buying himself snacks. The $8 for the tub is cheaper than his little trips to the nearest convenience mart)

I spent $34 at Aldis and got-
Green peppers
Bread crumbs
Egg noodles
American cheese slices
Shredded Mozzarella cheese(2 packs)
Shredded Cheddar cheese
Cream of mushroom soup
Beans
Mojo Marinade(awesome for chicken)
Onion soup mix
Rice
Gravy mix
Light ranch dressing
Caesar dressing
Vinegar
Ice cream sandwiches
frozen monkey bread(have you had monkey bread? Mmmmm so good!)
Sweet & sour marinade

Now usually I am not one to buy mashed potato mix or already breaded chicken, but I am trying to fight against my downfall. What happens is that I am too tired to cook, or the twinsies are whining and I cant cook, or my husband says "ugh I am not in the mood for that" so we go out to eat or order a pizza, etc. If I have a few convience items on hand, I dont have an excuse.

My husband will still eat out for lunch but he is going to try and start brownbaging it 1-2x a week. he hates leftovers, I blame his mom because she totally indulged, and still does, his picky ways.

I plan on writing a daily post outlining what we ate that day. So no trips to the grocery store until October and we cant spend more than $200. If we need milk, I will send my husband so I can resist temptation.

My Omnivore's 100

My Omnivore's 100
A British foodie site has come up with a list of what it calls The Omnivore's 100 -- a hundred foods that everyone should try at least once in their life. I've posted the list with the foods from it that I've tried in boldface. How do you fare? I have to say that a few of my favorite items are on this list. I love black pudding, oxtail, and dirty water dogs aka hot dog from a street vendor are a MUST whenever I go back to NY.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake