Another Fabulous Yet Frugal Friday Post...
I spend $100/ a week on groceries for our family of four (yes, that includes lunches for the kids at school)! It all started a few months ago when I got tired of how high our grocery bill was getting with multiple "quick stops" in to the local grocery store to pick up things here and there. It had to stop. I'm not sure if my biggest motivation was saving money or if it was just being organized for the week so we weren't scrounging around for last minute dinners. An added side bonus is my husband now cooks most of the dinners! Don't believe me? Well, as you'll see below the dinners are easy, fast, healthy and super easy on the budget.
So you're probably wondering what my trick is? Well, once a week I grab my reusable grocery bags and head to Fresh & Easy. I buy 3-4 of their prepared dinners, tons of veggies for side dishes, super yummy packaged salads for my lunches and plenty of snacks to add to the kids lunches. And yes... all this for $100 a week. Don't believe me? Check out my recent receipt below. I pointed out some of the key dinners & school lunch main dishes. One of the things I love the most is the prepared family size dinners, they take about 10 minutes to cook (oven or microwave) and when paired with salad or other veggies, it's a complete meal. Homemade hamburgers (loaded with onions, spinach & garlic) are great main courses for the kids school lunches.
This is panning out to be a yucky cold/flu season early this year! As a kid I was spoiled with my Mom's homemade chicken soup - chicken soup from a can never has any appeal to me.
I don't think many people realize how super easy it is to make your own chicken soup. Storage is a piece of cake (freeze it for those times when you are sick and not up to cooking!). Here's how my Mom always made chicken soup:
Take 1 roasted chicken (we always take what is left over from dinner and I use the ready cooked whole chickens from the store!) and put it as is in a large pot. Fill 1/2 way with water. Turn on high heat for 1-2 hours. Let it boil away.
Once the meat is falling off the bone and falls apart in your hands (or spoon), pour through a colander into a saucepan. The "chicken stock" is now ready to add all the goodies to.
I always add a couple tablespoons of soy sauce as my secret ingredient. Add a couple handfuls of frozen vegetables and frozen brown rice. Let it boil for about 15 minutes and it's done!
My Mom always said the sign of a good chicken soup was if it turned to jelly when refrigerated. Not sure why that is though, but it does make it easier to skim off the fat...
What's your comfort food when you're feeling under the weather?
I had to share my latest creation - Taco (ish) Salad
I was making this nacho recipe for the kids but was really craving salad for myself so I decided to take the raw ingredients of what I was cooking for the kids, add it on top of fresh cut romaine leaves to come up with this... (sorry the image is a little blurry due to my iPhone and my inability to hold still enough...)
We have one main rule around our house when it comes to dinner time – You must try one bite, and if you truly don’t like it, you don’t have to eat any more of it. So my goal is always to give the kids healthy side dish options with every meal so I know they are atleast partially filling up on nutrient packed food. Here are two of our favorite veggie side dishes:
Sautéed Spinach
In a medium skillet, add 2 teaspoons Grape Seed Oil and 3 Cloves fresh crushed garlic over medium heat. Sauté just until the garlic browns. Fill skillet with fresh washed spinach leaves (mounding), spinach will condense quickly so don’t worry about how high it is. As the Spinach begins to soften, gently stir to allow it to cook evenly. It should take less than 10 minutes, depending on your preferences for the spinach.
Once it is done, transfer to serving dish and lightly drizzle with Olive oil (or any oil you prefer, we have used grape seed as well as peanut oil, the peanut oil adds a wonderful nutty flavor). Drizzle balsamic vinegar and top with freshly shredded parmesan cheese (or feta works well also).
Enjoy!
Steamed Fresh Broccoli
This one is about as easy as it gets and is a very easy way to pack in the veggies without the kids feeling like they are eating too much healthy food! I’ve gotten in to the habit of making the main course and creating a couple veggie packed side dishes. This encourages the kids to fill-up on some of the healthier foods instead of the carbohydrate rich pastas.
In veggie steamer, add 3 cups of fresh broccoli (it needs to be fresh to keep it tasting yummy!). Steam for approximately 25 minutes (again, this depends on how tender your prefer veggies).
Remove from steamer and serve directly on to plates. I normally drizzle with Ranch dressing. Easy as that!
I’m always on the lookout for super fresh produce with great quality, and if I can catch it at a great deal, fantastic! Well, I’ve found one of those places, located right here in South Orange County. It’s called Sultan Market Place in Lake Forest (just 2 minutes east of I-5), across from the BevMo right by the Fuddruckers.
I have to be honest, I really didn’t know what to expect, but figured I’d pop in and check it out since I’d heard they had fantastic prices and produce that hasn’t spent weeks getting here from a farm (they work to support local farms whenever possible).
I was a bit intimidated walking in to the market, because it is clearly not the standard type of grocery store, it has a clearly Arabic variety of packaged goods, and I am just not as familiar with Arabic cooking. But, wow! The prices are amazing and the level of quality is great! I didn’t have time to pick up any of the prepared foods, but certainly plan on tasting some of the amazing looking sandwiches the next time I go back (which will be VERY soon!). I bought what seemed to be a ton of groceries (with an emphasis on fruits and veggies) and spent a grand total of $31.00! What a deal. Next time you’re in the area, I’d highly recommend stopping in and checking it out, I promise you’ll become a fan. One part I love is that the produce was obviously fresh because it has stayed fresh far longer than the groceries I buy at "regular" grocery stores.
Sultan Market Place is located at 23611 El Toro Road, Lake Forest, CA 92630 Telephone:(949) 588-2924
In honor of Summer and the annual tradition of barbequing, I thought this would be a great time to share one of our absolute family favorite recipes – Rosemary Corn on the Cob! It is super easy, so don’t be intimated because you really can’t mess it up!
Ingredients:
Corn on the Cob in the husk (I recommend getting extras because our kids always want more!)
Butter
Fresh Rosemary Sprigs (washed well)
Directions:
Gently peel down the corn husks, being very careful to leave attached. Remove the silk strings. Sparingly spread a very thin layer of butter on a couple sides of each cob. Gently press two sprigs of rosemary on either sides of the cob and gently re-wrap the cob with the husks and tie a string around the husk to keep closed.
Add all the cobs to a large bowl of cold water and allow to soak for 15 minutes. This allows absorption of the water to facilitate steaming and to prevent them from catching fire while on the barbeque. Then add to barbeque on the edge of the grill or on a top rack (doesn’t need high heat). Allow them to cook for 15 minutes or so. You can peek at them to determine if they are done.
Enjoy! This is truly one of our family favorites that signals Summertime!
Toasted Almond Tofu Burgers
Kids love this one and it's a great way to have "burgers" and add in a bunch of sauteed veggies for added nutrients.
Ingredients:
1 12-ounce package firm tofu, drained, patted dry, cut into 1-inch-thick slices
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1/2 cup grated carrot
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
2 teaspoons minced peeled ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup almonds, toasted, finely chopped
1 large egg white, beaten to blend
4 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon oriental sesame oil
1 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted
4 sesame seed buns, toasted
4 tomato slices
1 cup alfalfa sprouts
Directions:
Wrap tofu in doubled dish towel. Place on work surface. Weigh down with a board topped with food cans or weights for 1 hour. Squeeze towel-wrapped tofu to extract as much liquid as possible from tofu. Transfer tofu to medium bowl. Using fork, mash into small pieces.
Spray medium nonstick skillet with nonstick spray; place over medium heat. Add carrot, green onions, ginger and garlic; sauté until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Cool. Mix carrot mixture, almonds, egg white, soy sauce, sesame oil and sesame seeds into tofu. Season with salt and pepper. Shape mixture into four 1/2-inch-thick patties. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover and chill.)
If grilling, spray grill rack with nonstick spray, then prepare barbecue (medium heat). If sautéing, spray large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and heat over medium heat. Lightly spray patties on both sides with nonstick spray. Place patties on grill or in skillet and cook until golden brown and heated through, about three minutes per side.
Place 1 burger on each bun bottom. Top each with 1 tomato slice, some sprouts and bun top and serve.
*I made a few modifications: added an extra tsp of sesame seeds, an extra clove of garlic, an extra egg white, some oat bran to bind it together better, and a dash of nutmeg. I also frequently add extra veggies in to the saute (spinach, peppers, zucchini, etc.)
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