October cook-at-home challenge!

[Bastelmutti]

OK, cook-at-home-ers, a new month is here! How are you doing? After being lax all summer, I took a close look at mint.com recently, and our food budget category was out of control some months. Other months were fine. So, I am making a more concerted effort to stick to our food budget. I budgeted an amount for every 4-5 days, since we eat a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables, and buying weekly wasn't working. If we're out of something, we're out until the next trip to the market. (being creative w/out any bread right now) Sounds simple doesn't it? Where is that hiding-under-a-chair smilie?

This week's menu so far:
Mon. - rice, edamame, lemongrass tofu, veg soup
Tue. - chipotle-pinto stew, chicken, quesadillas
Wed. - (school night) pasta & sauce & need to make GF lunch for 5 kids plus snacks
Thu. - something for DD's b-day

[Rosemary]

I made a huge pot of veg split pea soup yesterday for our monthly church soup luncheon. DD & DH took some for lunch today, and my mom and I will have the rest for lunch tomorrow.

Dinners -
Saturday - chili at a friend's. We brought cole slaw, vegetables cut up for eating raw, hummus, and an enormous apple crisp from apples that were picked from our tree that afternoon.
Sunday - crock pot dinner as I had to pick up mom at the airport at 5pm - pot roast, potatoes, parsnips, carrots, and cole slaw leftover from Saturday.
Tonight - spaghetti squash, homemade pesto, chicken sausage, the last of the cole slaw.
Tuesday - tofu/broccoli stir-fry with black bean sauce. I finally found some Chinese fermented black beans so I can make my own sauce.

That's as far as I've planned so far. Tuesday PM is the farmers' market so our fridge will be full of good stuff, just not sure exactly what yet.

[treehugger]

My parents were in town from Thursday evening to this morning, so that meant we had more meals out (their treat) in a weekend than we have had in the last 6 months. We ate at a Senegalese place in SF on Thursday night, lunch out at my uncle-in-law's restaurant Friday, the boys had deli sandwiches at the UCLA/Stanford game Saturday night, and we had breakfast out this morning. Whew, what luxury!

In between all of the dining out, we ate meals at home (eggs/yogurt/cereal for breafast; leftovers for lunch; pizza Friday night and BBQ chicken and potato salad last night).

So, back to cooking at home for 100% of our meals. Still have some leftovers that will get us through till tomorrow's dinner, so I need to plan something for that. Probably something lentil and rice-ish, with the broccoli that needs cooking. That's all I got for now.

Kara

[Bastelmutti]

Whew! Had five active kids here after school - made a tray of veggies & ranch, a bag of corn puff thingies + a small bowl of cheese cubes. All gone within minutes. Like a swarm of locusts! Decided to make refried bean tostadas for lunch Weds. - it's the loaves and fishes concept: one pack of tostadas and a can of refried beans will feed the multitudes. Popcorn for snack that day. Hopefully the weather will hold & I'll channel the energy out into a park.

[Rosemary]

Dinners this week -
poached cod and steamed broccoli
potato-pea curry with carrot raita and spinach salad
pork roast with mushroom-barley pilaf and spinach salad (and leftovers from this another night)
winter squash stuffed with a wild rice/turkey/cranberry mixture
green bean/rice pilaf with cashews and Caesar salad

Cooking ahead - today I cooked 4 days' worth of breakfast quinoa for DD, and 0.5 lb of chickpeas for snacks. I'll use some of the chickpeas and the cooking liquid to make some soup. On Friday my mom and I peeled about 10# of apples from our tree - the mildew was really bad this year, and I didn't think we should eat the peels, even after washing - and we made about a gallon of applesauce and 2 apple crisps, some of which is in the freezer in individual containers for DD to take to lunch. I cut up carrots, brussels sprouts (we like them sliced, raw), and sweet peppers yesterday for snacks and salads.

[Bastelmutti]

In a minute I'm off to soak black beans and make fresh salsa for rice and bean bowls tonight. For the rest of the week I planned spaghetti and red sauce with meatballs, red lentil soup with baked potatoes, and rice or noodles with tofu, broccoli and peanut sauce. At some point I might make some potato parathas for DD1's lunches:
http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/2007/01/14/aloo-parathas/
(Love this website!! The recipes really are easy and adaptable. They are all vegetarian, some are vegan, and contain no onions or garlic.)

[treehugger]

Bastelmutti! Thanks for reminding me to go put some pinto beans on to soak. I meant to do it last night, but forgot. I'm working at home this morning, so, perfect timing.

Kara

[Bastelmutti]

cow-hi You're welcome!

[treehugger]

Er, can you remind me again later? I had to come into work in a hurry and didn't do the beans. Need to remember (again) tonight. :}

Kara

[Bastelmutti]

Hey, treehugger, go soak your beans! :~) (have to go check the crockpot now...)

[treehugger]

Hey, treehugger, go soak your beans! :~) (have to go check the crockpot now...)

Nope, later still. I'm at work for 2.5 more hours. :D

Kara

[Rosemary]

Trying to stay caught up, spent an hour after dinner tonight chopping vegetables for quick lunch and salad prep. DD asked for fruit salad in her lunch tomorrow, so that's ready to go, too.

[Bastelmutti]

Have gotten into a rut lately - dinners have been repeating: pasta, black bean & rice bowls, rice & veg & tofu. Did make some hamburgers which were good. I used the Bittman suggestion of plain ground beef and salt from his How to Cook Everything book & they were better than the ones I have made before.

I like to read healthy eating blogs & just love the colorful food, but forget some of those options when shopping and cooking time rolls around. Also I'm in a salad rut (greens & ranch, greens & lime vinaigrette, greens & lemon vinaigrette, you get the idea!) So, I had this idea to do a rainbow of salads over a week or two - here's what I've found recipes for so far:

Red - Raw Red Beet Salad w/ Sunflower Seeds & Feta
Orange - Sunburst Carrot Salad
Yellow - Spicy Mango Salad, Thai Green Mango Salad
Green - Raw Kale Confetti Salad, Vegetarian Green Sushi Salad (w/ brown rice)
Purple - Crispy Red Cabbage Salad

If some of them turn out well, I can post the links to the recipes.

[Rosemary]

It's much colder than 2 weeks ago and warm breakfasts are in order. I made some gingered black-eyed pea soup and had that for a few days. Today I had some red beans that cooked overnight in the crockpot for chili tonight... for breakfast, I took some out and cooked briefly with some frozen spinach, turmeric, ginger, a dash of cinnamon, and a little coconut. Beans make a warm, very filling breakfast... I find them much more satisfying than oatmeal.

I'm trying to keep the rainbow of produce going but the local season is definitely winding down. I roasted some beets from the farmers' market for my salads. I've finished the last of the summer squash that was in my fridge. We're eating lots of carrots.

Recent dinners -
tonight - chili with small red beans, turkey, and acorn squash; salad
roasted chicken (from the freezer) and roasted cauliflower (that was very tasty, with a nicer texture than steamed cauliflower)
omelette, roasted potatoes with fines herbes, and broccoli
poached salmon and steamed cabbage
sausages and the rest of the cabbage (noted how quickly a cabbage disappears when cooked compared to raw in coleslaw!)

[Bastelmutti]

Mmmm, roasted vegetables. Have to put that in the rotation.

Yeah, it's the season (in the Midwest, anyway) - the season when cabbage has taken up permanent residence in my crisper!

[Rosemary]

Yesterday's lunch mushroom-barley soup was really good, and super easy. I had sauteed a big container of mushrooms from Costco and frozen them in 3 containers. I sauteed some onions in the water that was left after steaming bok choy leaves, added the mushrooms to get them warmed up, and some chicken soup base, and put it all in my small crockpot with some added water and 1/4 c barley. It cooked while I was Zumba-ing. When I got home, I added a big handful of fresh parsley, and we stirred in the steamed bok choy at serving time... which just cooled off the soup to a perfect temperature.

Last night we had a stir-fry for dinner - the bok choy stems, red bell pepper, and tofu. Tonight is chicken, mashed cauliflower (trying this out to see if it fools DD & DH!) and salad. DD is still taking chicken-spaetzle-veg stew for her lunches, and I've been finishing various soups each morning for breakfast. Soup is an immensely satisfying breakfast.

[treehugger]

About a week ago I had bought a big bag of "Spring Mix" at Smart N Final. I don't know why; I don't usually buy lettuce mixes since they don't seem to last very long. But it was a good price and even I (ha!) am subject to impulse buys occasionally. :)~

Anyway, Monday I noticed it was starting to get a little too past its prime to eat raw. So, last night, I sauteed some garlic, red onion, garbanzo beans, tomatoes, the rest of the greens (which had very little lettuce, but lots of spinach, arugula, radicchio, frisee, etc.), and tossed with hot pasta, and some feta cheese. It turned out very well.

Saturday I harvested the last of the tomatillos and pulled the plant; got five pounds. I roasted them all, along with some garlic and jalapenos. Tonight I need to puree the whole pot and add some onion, fresh garlic, and cilantro to make 5 batches of salsa verde. One batch will go right into enchiladas (I have some shredded roasted chicken in the freezer). The rest will go into the freezer for future meals.

Kara

[Bastelmutti]

Spaetzle sounds like a great fall meal. YUM!

treehugger, your lettuce-rescue pasta sounds awesome, too.

I'm about to throw black beans in the cooker again & make some fresh salsa, then later cook some rice in the rice cooker so the family has dinner while I'm at school. They can eat it with tostadas, cheese, etc.

Haven't started my new salad plan yet, but glad I wrote it down here, so I can start next week. I am trying to get by on what we have in the house until next week (only buying essentials) & then stock up again.

[Rosemary]

Cauliflower used to be DD's favorite vegetable, but she declared last spring that she no longer liked it. I like to have it at least occasionally, so have been experimenting with different ways of preparing it, other than steaming, my stand-by. Last week I roasted it - which I liked very much, but she said she did not. Last night I made mashed cauliflower with a very small amount of potatoes in it, unannounced. Both she and DH loved the "very good mashed potatoes." I revealed the surprise ingredient after DD asked for, and ate, seconds.

Tonight's dinner will be a one-pot green bean, carrot chickpea dish with cashews and rice that everyone really likes. I'll add some leftover chicken from last night. I up the veggies and decrease the rice when I make this.

[Anne Lee]

I'm on the road this week. I brought my food to eat at the motel since the noon meals are provided. I brought a containers of lentils and rice to eat with tortillas and a leftover container of beef stew (I travel with a small cooler when I drive in state). I added some baby swiss to the lentils and rice last night. It added a nice little touch of fat to the meal. I don't trust myself to travel with EVOO. Oh heavens, I just KNOW I would spill it - probably in the car, probably on my work materials - and wouldn't that be a mess to clean up. Breakfasts are yogurt, cereal and fruit. Except this morning when I had an English muffin from the continental breakfast and the natural peanut butter which I also travel with. I tell you what, I feel so much better not eating out regularly, especially when I'm in a small town and the selection isn't always the best. Tonight I will treat myself to something from Panera as I otherwise won't eat until 9PM or so.

[JaneV2.0]

I adore cauliflower--mashed and buttered, made into casserole with cheese and bacon, finely ground into "rice," as part of a crudite' plate...the possibilites are endless.

[19Sandy]

Yum - sounds great!