Day 6 and 7

Sorry, I didn't post last nights dinner. Had alot of homework to complete and turn it which did pay off because I passed Fundamentals of Business Law.

Day 6 we had Salisbury Steak with Dilled Mashed Potatoes and Corn

Verdict:

That is right he was a little jealous that the kids got a thumbs up photo and he didn't. He is such a DORK! The dinner was very delicious and was easier to make than I originally expected. I was told by the whole family that meal was a must keep. Pat on the back to me.

Recipe:

Salisbury Steak

1 1/2 to 2 lbs. ground beef

1/2 c. finely chopped onion

1/2 c. saltine cracker crumbs

2 egg whites

4 tbsp. milk

1 to 1 1/2 tbsp. prepared horseradish

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

1 jar (12 ounces) mushroom gravy

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients except gravy in a medium bowl, mixing lightly but thoroughly. Shape into thick oval patties. Heat large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Place patties in skillet, a few at a time, and cook about 5 minutes, turning once. Remove patties to a 9x13x2 inch pan, and cover with the gravy. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Test for doneness before serving by cutting into the center of a pattie. The beef should no longer be pink in the middle.

Day 7 Tonight we had Pan Fried Scallops with Caesar Salad and Broiled Italian Bread. Well hubby and I had dinner, my mother in law decided to feed the kids before she brought them home. It almost like being on a date eating dinner in peace and quiet. It was so refreshing.

Verdict: Look at the picture. I burned the bread but the parts that were edible was good. I put to much dressing on the salad. OOPS!!! The pasta was decent not perfect, I over cooked the scallops, so I think I will eat a bowl of cereal now. I will post the recipe because I am sure have a not screwed everything up it would have been delicious. I decided to add the angel hair pasta at the last moment, which was the best thing I did all night.

Recipe:

Pan Fried Scallops

1/3 c. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. dried marjoram

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 1/2 lbs. scallops (either bay or sea)

1/4 c. dry white win

1/4 c. brand

1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Combine the first three ingredients in a gallon size food storage bag. Add scallops and shake to coat. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add scallops and cook until done, about 5 minutes each side. Remove to a platter and keep warm. Over medium heat, add wine, brandy, and balsamic vinegar to pan and cook until heated through, stirring from time to time to get the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Stir in scallops, making sure they are heated completely.

Tomorrow night: Sour Cream Chicken with Rice and Asparagus

Dessert---Week Two (Cookie Cheesecake)

For week two I made a Cookie Cheesecake. It was very simple to make and required very few ingredients. This is the finished product:


I know I know it doesn't look like the most appetizing dessert. It wasn't bad but in my opinion it wasn't that good. I did get alot of mixed reviews. The kids loved it thought it was great and some adults thought it was tasty and some adults thought they just ate poop. It might have looked better and tasted better if I had used a smaller pan but I tried.

RECIPE:
COOKIE CHEESECAKE

1 (2o oz.) pkg. refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 c. strawberry preserves
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. sugar
1 c. sour cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 (8 oz.) container whipped topping, thawed

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Slice refrigerated cookie dough into 1/4 inch slices, and place in the bottom of a 9x13x2 inch pan. Spray the tips of your fingers with nonstick cooking spray and press the slices together to form a crust. Press to pan edges. Bake for about 10 minutes or until light golden brown. The dough will puff while cooking but fall when removed from the oven. Carefully spread the strawberry preserves evenly over entire surface. In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese and sugar. Beat at medium speed until fluffy. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour mixture over preserves, again spreading to pan edges. Bake for an additional 25-28 minutes or until browned on top or knife inserted into cheese layer comes out clean. Cool completely before serving. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream. Keep leftovers refrigerated.

GOOD LUCK!!!

Day 5

Tonight for dinner we had Baked Pork Chops with baked potatoes and green beans. It was hard to get motivated to cook dinner because it was my best friends birthday and I would have much rather ate at Lings and we also had a very very very late lunch. But I still stuck to the goal and cooked dinner we just ate later than normal.

You might be wondering what that is in the green beans. BACON!!!! Bacon is so good with green beans, it might kill the healthiness of the green beans but still delicious.

VERDICT:

That is right both of the kids gave this meal a thumbs up. They both enjoyed it ALOT! The hubby really enjoyed it to. The argument was who was going to take the leftovers to work on Monday. I of course agreed to let him but he said that depends on how good dinner is tomorrow night.

Recipe:

BAKED PORK CHOPS

4-6 pork chops, boneless

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp seasoning salt

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 c. flour

2 c. Italian style seasoned bread crumbs

4 tbsp olive oil

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1/2 c. milk

1/3 c. white win

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Rinse pork chops, pat dry, and season with garlic powder and seasoning salt to taste. Place the beaten eggs in a small bowl. Place the flour in a gallon size food storage bag and gently shake the chops in the flour, one at a time. Dip in the beaten eggs, and coat liberally with bread crumbs. (Sprinkle the bread crumbs on a dinner plate and press chops into the crumbs.) Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the pork chops 5 minutes per side or until the breading appears well browned. Transfer the chops to a 9x13x2 inch baking dish and cover with foil. Bake for one hour. While the chops are baking, combine the mushroom soup, milk and white wine in a medium bowl. After the pork chops have baked for an hour, remove from oven and pour soup mixture over top. Replace foil and bake for another 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

TIP: I would base the amount of cooking time on how thick and big the pork chops are. The ones I used did not need the entire cooking time. Use your best judgement.

Menu for September 25th to October 1st

Saturday-
Baked Pork Chops
Baked Potatoes
Green Beans

Sunday-
Salisbury Steak
Dilled Mashed Potatoes
Buttered Corn

Monday-
Pan Fried Scallops
Broiled Italian Bread
Tossed Salad

Tuesday-
Sour Cream Chicken
White Rice
Asparagus

Wednesday-
Ham and Pasta Dinner

Thursday-
Ground Beef with Vegetable Fried Rice

Friday-
Spaghetti with Zucchini
Caesar Salad

DESSERT OF THE WEEK: COOKIE CHEESECAKE

I am a little skeptical of some of these meals but what the heck I am willing to try anything once.

Day Four

Tonight was definitely a struggle to make dinner. One it is Friday and normally we go out to eat for dinner. Second I went grocery shopping tonight with children who didn't want to behave so when I got home from that I was already mentally exhausted. Despite the hubby trying to pressure me into ordering something, I pushed through and made dinner.





Tonight we had Hungarian Chicken Paprika with Egg Noodles and cauliflower.





Verdict: It was really good and fairly simple to make. HOWEVER.....the Hungarian paprika was spicier than I had anticipated. If making this meal for children I would definitely cut a tremendous amount of the paprika out of the recipe.


Recipe:

CHICKEN PAPRIKA

1 ¾ lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 medium onion, chopped
2 teaspoons crushed fresh garlic
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 ½ tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Hungarian paprika
1 ½ cups chicken broth
1 (8 oz) container sour cream

Wash chicken in cold water and pat dry. If using thick chicken breasts, slice the breasts in half on the diagonal before cutting into strips.

In a large skillet with a lid, melt butter and oil on medium high heat. Add onions and saute for about 1 minute. Add chicken strips and saute four about 5 minutes or until most of the pink is out. Add garlic and cook for an additional minute. Sal and pepper this mixture to taste.

Sprinkle paprika over chicken and continue stirring until well blended with chicken. Sprinkle flour over chicken stirring until well blended.

Slowly add the chicken broth and stir through, bring mixture to a light boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and add sour cream. Mix through until sauce is smooth.

Hope you enjoy!

Day Three and Dessert

Well tonight we had dinner at my parents house. It was nice not having to cook and especially not having to clean. Here is dinner:

We had Lasagna, garlic bread and my parents neighbor made this empanadas, that were delicious.

So since I have nothing to share as far as recipes tonight I decided to let everyone know that I also intend to make a nice dessert of some sort each week.

I unfortunately don't have a picture of what I made on Saturday but it was fairly good and easy to make.

STRAWBERRY JELLO MOUSSE

1 small box (3 oz) strawberry jello***
¼ c. sugar
1 can (14-16 oz.) crushed pineapple
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 envelopes Dream Whip (1 large box)

Pour crushed pineapple and juice in a medium saucepan. Add ¼ cup sugar and the jello. Bring to a boil. Further soften the cream cheese in the microwave, being careful not to melt it, if it isn’t quite soft enough. Add to the saucepan and mix well, trying not to leave any cream cheese lumps. (Don’t worry if you do.) Refrigerate for 1 – 1 ½ hours or until partially set. Make both envelops of Dream Whip following the directions on the box. Add to pineapple jello mixture. Pour into a serving dish and refrigerate until well set.

***You can use any flavor of jello for this recipe!

The kids very much enjoyed this and I thought it would last a few days but when I woke up Sunday morning my baby sister and Bubba were sitting on the couch consuming it at rapid speeds. It was a sight to see and most parents have might have been upset that is what they chose to eat for breakfast but I thought since it had fruit and diary in what the heck go for it.

Day Two

Well here we are in Day Two. Tonight for dinner we were suppose to have cheese enchiladas but hubby stated that he needs meat with dinner. After much debate I agreed to add meat to the enchiladas. So instead we had Steak Enchiladas with Mexican Rice. I did take the refried beans out of the pantry to use but some how they were forgotten about in the process of preparing dinner.

Verdict: Bubba and I both very much enjoyed this meal. The hubby on the other hand did not like the taste of the sour cream inside the enchilada. If you do not like the taste of sour cream then I would not suggest using the recipe that I have posted. I on the other hand could not taste the sour cream inside but that might have been because I had about another two cups of sour cream on top of my enchilada.

I have never made enchiladas from scratch. I have only made them out of a Taco Bell box. It was very simple to do but was a little more time consuming then I originally expected.

Final Product:

Recipe:

CHEESE ENCHILADAS

2 ½ c. Monterey Jack cheese, grated
1 ¼ c. cheddar cheese, grated
1 medium onion, chopped
¾ c. sour cream
2 tsp. parsley
¼ tsp. pepper
1 pkg. (8 ct.) large tortillas
½ c. green pepper, chopped
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp. dried oregano
¼ tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp minced garlic
15 oz. tomato sauce
Sliced black olives, optional
Salsa, optional
Additional sour cream and cheddar, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 9x13x2 inch pan with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix the cheeses, onion, sour cream, parsley, and pepper together. Spoon mixture down the center of all tortillas, making sure each has approximately the same amount. Roll tortillas and place seam side down in the baking pan. Mix the remaining ingredients together, and pour over top of the enchiladas. Bake, uncovered, about 20 minutes or until enchiladas are hot and bubbly. Serve with additional sour cream, salsa, and black olives, if desired.


I have decided to post each recipe that I have for my meals thanks to my good friend from work. If you do enjoy this recipe after using it please comment and tell me what you think. Well that is it for tonight. Tomorrow is dinner at my parents house but I might try to make something like Broiled Italian Bread just so I can say that I did cook something to contribute to dinner. Hmmmm....guess we will have to see what happens.

Day One (Well Sort Of)

The true adventure started on Saturday September 18th, 2010. We have already ate dinner every night in this house since then. I have made dinner every single night. I think hubby is really enjoying that fact. My new menus will start on Saturday because it is the easiest day for me to go grocery shopping. If you ever want a recipe for something you see on here let me know and I will be sure to post it for you.

WEEKLY MENU for September 18th to September 24th

Saturday:

BBQ Beef Steak with Creamy Macaroni and Cheese and Peas

Sunday:

Easy Stuffed Peppers with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Italian Bread

Monday:

Shrimp Jambalaya

Tuesday:

Herb-Roasted Pork Tenderloin w/ Vegetables and Applesauce

Wednesday:

Cheese Enchiladas with Refried Beans and Mexican Rice

Thursday:

(We are suppose to go to my mom's house for dinner but in the event we don't)

Paprika Chicken with Egg Noodles and Steamed Cauliflower w/ Cheese

Friday:

Peking Chicken with White Rice and Green Beans

Dinner tonight was Herb-Roasted Pork Tenderloin w/ Vegetables and Applesauce

Pictured above. This meal was a huge hit in the house. Bubba stated I will save the Applesauce for last I look over and he has inhaled that first. Funny little kid. The pork was very moist and the meal only took about 10 minutes to prepare and I only dirtied a cutting board and the pan I cooked it in. LOVE IT!!!

Why?

Basically this first post is to explain why, why am I blogging about my adventure. The adventure you ask. The adventure is to not eat out for dinner for 365 days in a row. There of course is a few exceptions such as when we eat dinner at either of our parents house and when we get gift cards to restuarants from friends as presents. Why am I put myself through this? Numerous reasons---1) To save money of course. You must think for a family of my size when we go out to eat we spend on average 60 to 70 dollars a meal unless it is fast food then we spend about 25 to 30 dollars. That is INSANE!!!. I spend approximately 100 dollars on groceries a week in this house. 2) I want to feel accomplished about doing this adventure. I must admit myself I am a little skeptical myself but I believe if I put my mind to it I can do anything.

And some of you who don't really know may ask who are you. Well in short I am a wife, a mother, a worker and a student rolled into one giant bundle of energy and most of the time happiness. I have a wonderful husband who does cook and clean and is a wonderful father all on top of working a full time job. We will just refer to him as EWoo. I have three beautiful and outgoing and loveable and gorgeous children. My 6 year old boy, is a 1st grader and has the appetite of a horse. Doesn't really complain about anything that is put in front of him and consumes it at irregular speeds. We will call him Bubba. Then there is my 4 year old little one, she is a little bit more a picky eater. Doesn't like casseroles or her food touching and occassionally makes faces at dinner that kinda remind me of her having to eat poop. And don't worry we don't she did inform us that she don't like poop. Her nickname is Ms.Em. And then we have my newest addition to the house, the Doodle, she is almost 5 months old and has the appetite of a full grown toodler. That basically wraps up my life.

We do struggle fiancially in this house but we do the best that we can with what we have. I tend to spend between 100 to 150 dollars on groceries a week and that includes all household items, i.e. toilet paper, formula, soap and detergent. I will be posting what we did have dinner and my weekly menu and what I spent at the grocery store, with the occassionally posting of life in general.

I do enjoy comments and love to hear feedback so always keep that in mind when you are reading this. Well here it goes.