Ok, not really. We went over by 26 cents this week. It’ll end up being about four bucks total because I forgot to add Jambalaya rice mix and FF Italian dressing to the list, despite the fact that I’m using BOTH of them tomorrow and just made the grocery list today.
I did my once-monthly Trader Joe’s run today…got two blocks of extra firm tofu, chipotle hummus, roasted garlic hummus, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, unsweetened vanilla rice milk, and four spring onion noodle soup bowls (my favorite processed meal). Just over fourteen bucks.
This week’s menu plan is pretty simple:
- Monday: spiralized zuchinni “spaghetti” and homemade marinara sauce
- Tuesday: Vegetable jambalaya (we’re having friends over, and what better way to welcome them into our home than to burn their butts off in a flame of firey gas!!)
- Wednesday: Scrounge night
- Thursday: Chili. I was dismayed this morning when I went to the freezer for some chili, to find that we didn’t have any. I hadn’t made any since Christmas Day, but somehow, we always seem to have a neverending stash of chili in the freezer. This must be remedied post haste.
- Friday: dinner with Joey’s parents
- Saturday: veggie fajitas
- Sunday: TBD
Since Sunday is the big V-day, and we’re having a friend over, I’m still thinking about how to glam the night up for her. Joey and I are pretty nontraditional when it comes to holidays…we don’t do the big V-day thing…I just think it’s stupid to wait for two hours to get a seat at a restaurant when we could just go out the next weekend and not have to deal with the masses. Joey concurs, so we’re having our friend Katie over for some (TBD) good food and fun!
I actually folded laundry tonight. After a most excellent workout, spiralizing zuchinni, making marinara sauce, and showering. Totally productive evening!
I leave you with a precious-Kins-shot:
It’s been quite a dramatic week, and I haven’t felt like posting when I get home from work. I’ve also been putting a lot of thought into what I want to do with my writing this year. I quit writing for the Examiner website because I really don’t have time to do what they’ve asked for as their new requirements. I’m making a TINY bit of money from views on my food blog, so I’m just trying to figure out where I want to go from here.
So, in totally random order:
Frugality: We’ve spent about $25 in takeout already this month. Poor planning this past week brought on by not being able to go out last weekend contributed greatly to that, as did work stress. We were at $55 for groceries, because we had to buy coffee, so I anticipate that we’ll be under this week:).
Fitness: Hit the gym once this week. I’m a little bummed about that, but again with the stress thing…when we’ve had free time, we’ve wanted to spend it catching up on sleep. Next week, we intend to hit the gym Monday, Thursday, and Friday at least.
Knitting: Just finished an AWESOME gift for our friend in Iraq. I’ll show a picture once he gets it…he reads the blog, so I don’t want to spoil it:). I ripped the bell-sleeved shrug. I just didn’t like the way it was turning out. I have a hat pattern in queue that I’m going to start on next, I think. And I made great headway on Mom’s skinny scarf this week while our friend Amy was over:).
Grad School: Had to read two novels this past week (which was a major source of stress). No novels this week, just some supplementary information that I don’t think will take very long.
Shelli: adorable, wonderful, fabulous, and perfect in every way, as usual.
Apparently Joey got a hold of the camera while we were sleeping…
Our Taxes are done (hooray!). I’m getting a Vita-Mix with some of the refund money!!!! Watching MST3K. Will be knitting soon…
I’ve had some turnips in the fridge since…well, Christmas. I squeezed them a couple of days ago and they were still firm, so I decided that we should do some simple roasted Root Vegetables for easy meals.
First, I know Brussels Sprouts aren’t root vegetables, but it needed something green.
Ingredients:
- 4 turnips
- 5 carrots
- 5 red potatoes
- 2 onions
- 2 bags of frozen brussels sprouts
Instructions:
- A couple of hours before cooking, thaw the brussels sprouts in a colander in the sink. The colander will allow excess moisture from freezing to drain.
- When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 425*
- Cut vegetables into medium-sized chunks (probably around the size of your thumb). Leave the onion chunks together (rather than separating the layers)
- spray a baking sheet (you may need two or three depending on the size)
- lightly salt the veggies and spread out onto one layer on the baking sheet.
- Bake for about 45 minutes or until the vegetables are tender but have some dark “roasted” spots.
- Serve warm with whatever seasonings you’d like!
The first time I had them this week, I added ketchup. For lunch today, I added a little garlic powder, onion powder, basil and oregano, salt and pepper, and some parmesan cheese. Yum!
The fantabulously wonderful Paula over at Salt and Humor gave me the Beautiful Blogger Award! Thanks, Paula! Check out her blog, by the way…she’s a foodie and cat lover too!
So, the way this works, from what I can tell is that I have to post seven random things about myself that people may not know. So, here goes:
- I never missed a day in school ever, from Kindergarten to 12th grade. I was given a leather portfolio by Independence High School for thirteen years of perfect attendence in the CharMeck School system.
- I love vinegar. Every now and then, I’ll just do a shot of it. White and Red Wine vinegar are my favorites.
- I cried at the end of Terminator 2 when the Terminator had to be lowered into the molten steel and leave John Connor….he said, “I know now why you cry, although it is something I could never do.” I was gone.
- I kiss my cat on the lips.
- My favorite cartoon character is Snoopy’s friend Woodstock.
- I’m scared of those “wacky waving inflatable tube men” that they always have at car dealerships.
- My dream is to become an off-the-grid survivalist writer.
That was fun! Now, I need to tag someone….I’ll tag my BFF, Shannon. Your turn, chica!
Shelli has taken over! She’s demanded that I do a feature of her tonight (ok…the fact that I have very little to write about may have something to do with it too). Here are some of her more fabulous shots:
DIE, Camera Strap, DIE!!!!
Shelli’s so bright, we’ve gotta wear shades….
Lanky, adolescent Shelli…
Bye Guys!!
Frugality: Grocery costs totalled $40 this week…ten bucks under budget. This month’s takeout is a little over….about $65. I went out with my friend Sarah for Mexican on Tuesday…unplanned, but very worthwhile expense. I’m all for budgeting, but I don’t want to forsake hanging out with a friend who needs some time out of the house.
Knitting: I worked on my mom’s skinny scarf at choir last night. I need to work on my bell-sleeved shrug, too. From reading other knitters’ comments about this pattern, it appears that I’m not the only one who noticed that it was waaaaaaaaay too short. Someone gave the measurements for how long they knitted the sleeves and back, so I’m back in the game. And, on a slightly unrelated note, I got a solo on a pretty awesome song for our conference in March. Yay!
Grad School: Discussion posts done for World Lit. Will commence discussion posts for Asian-American Lit soon. Good reading, good movies. Lots of work.
Eating: Not great…I weighed myself this morning. We’ll leave it at that.
Work: This week, I’ve discovered yet another new way that I’m just like my father (which I definitely don’t mind, fyi). Meetings are worthless. Just leave me alone and let me do my job. I’ll be much happier that way. So will my clients.
Weather: Today: Sunny and 60. Tomorrow: Cold and Rainy. Tomorrow night/Saturday am: 1-4 inches of snow. The grocery stores are packed. People must have bread and milk. I swear, in the South, I think that even VEGANS buy milk when they hear that snow is coming. Perhaps it’s a conspiracy between the grocery industry and the dairy board…hmmm…
Shelli: We haven’t had a pee incident in a month. She is now allowed in the bedroom without supervision and we’re not shutting the bathroom door anymore. The toy of the day has been the mouse on wheels that Gma-Gpa got her for Christmas. She drug it out of her basket last night. It rolls really fast if you pull it backward and then push it forward.
TV: Fell asleep during our taped-watching of NCIS. The State of the Union Address meant no Criminal Minds. No McGee and No Dr. Reid….a sad week…
Fitness: Killer workouts on Monday and today. Will probably go back tomorrow. Joey worked out with his friend (and drill-instructor) Wesley. He keeps crying every time he coughs.
I wish Shelli didn’t always look pissed when I take a pic. I also don’t get many “in motion” photos in the winter. The house is on 60*. She ain’t moving.
So many toys, so little time…
Busy and rough couple of days. Be back tomorrow. *hugs* to everyone!
So, a post that isn’t entirely centered around food, finally;). I’m taking Asian American Lit this semester, and I just got done watching a movie called Picture Bride. I have to be honest, I haven’t had a whole lot of luck with the films I’ve had to watch for my classes thus far (with the exception of Smoke Signals). Boy, was I in for a pleasant surprise! This film is a masterpiece…absolutely fantastic…a beautiful love story built around the concept of the “picture brides,” Japanese girls who were sent from Japan to marry laborers in the can fields in Hawai’i. It was amazing. If you ever get a chance to watch it, I definitely recommend it. And if you’re local, I’ll be more than happy to loan it to you!
One of the best things about this one was that not all of it was in subtitles…there was some actual English, so I was able to get another repeat done on my bell-sleeved shrug. However, I was looking at the pattern and I don’t think that the girl made the length right, so I’ll have to make some adjustments, I think.
On some slightly food-related news, yesterday, Joey bought me this:
Yep, a pastry board! I have been bummed since we bought the house that I didn’t have a good place to make and knead dough. I didn’t like to use the counters, and we have a rolling kitchen cart, but it’s got a built-in cutting board, so kneading on it makes a mess. I’d been using my big plastic cutting board, but that’s not been working well because…well, plastic is sticky! So, we saw this at the Wally World yesterday and Joey told me to have at it! I used it last night for the Sweet Potato Gnocchi!
Well, that’s all I’ve got for tonight, folks. It’s been a good night…good trip to the gym that left me feeling pretty exhausted, good dinner, good movie…I’m ready to go to bed:)
So, we were just sitting here tonight, after having enjoyed a great Sweet Potato Gnocchi dinner, watching the playoffs and talking about random things, and we ended up talking about David Allen Coe’s song, “You Never Even Call Me By My Name,” and I flashed back to Wednesday night trivia at the Hooters in Matthews. They played that song every week, and I remembered the best friends that Joey and I used to have, and how the boys would always sing along (poorly). We don’t talk to those friends anymore…life took us all in different directions. But I looked back on that moment just now, and I smiled.
Don’t take moments for granted. And make lots of moments that’ll make you smile.
Food Budget Update: Thus far, we’ve been under $50 each week for groceries…success! We’re at $50 for takeout this month; we bought our friend Cory’s dinner last night, which put us at $20. I’m not planning takeout for the next week because my tummy has been upset today…I’m gun-shy now;).
Meal Planning Update: This week wasn’t so good for the meal planning stuff. I picked a couple of items that weren’t wins and then had a night or two where I didn’t feel like what I’d planned. I think that flexibility is a good thing, but I don’t want to be too much into doing that, so I tried to make this week a little more exciting:
Meal Plan, 1/25-1/31
- Monday: Tofu stir-fry (served over eith brown rice or rice noodles)
- Tuesday: Roasted Root veggies and brussels sprouts (carrots, onions, potatoes)
- Wednesday: Scrounge Night
- Thursday: Spiralized Zuchinni with Marinara sauce
- Friday: Brown Rice Veggie Burgers
- Saturday: Cream of Broccoli Soup
- Sunday: Linguine with garlic cream sauce
Tomorrow night, I’m making sweet potato gnocchi. I forgot to buy spaghetti last week and I have a bag of sweet potatoes just begging to be made into gnocchi for the playoffs!!
