Week in Review

[Amanda]

I thought this would be a good follow-up on the Weekly Meal Plan thread - how did you do at actually putting your plans into action? Thoughts/feelings/feedback/goals?

This week I think I did pretty well at actually sticking to my plan. I shopped for the week last Friday and this being Thursday night I still haven't run out of groceries. I think we had to buy milk once. I made everything I planned out except the cornbread which I GUESS I'll get around to tonight, just feeling kind of lazy though. I still have one meal left, the tomato soup with kale chips.

I spent a total of like $110 for the whole week's groceries, which I feel great about!

Best: Pre-slicing and tupperware-ing red onion, english cucumber, lettuce, and new zealand cheddar cheese for quick sandwich assembly. Also having a lot of cheap yet nutritious fillers cut down the price per sandwich and stretched out the number of sandwiches we could make.

The winter greens soup was delicious, especially after subbing in chicken broth for water and adding chopped chicken for extra protein. Definitely the best recipe of the week. 

Worst: After actually reading the recipe for naan and realizing it would take like 4 hours, I decided to go with stovetop roti instead. Including trying to puff & cook my dough up over an open flame on my gas burner. Which mostly resulted in singed dough and almost started a few fires. Adam jumped in and we refined our cooking technique, trying out a 'dough in a mesh strainer over open flame' technique that was somewhat more effective, and finally settling on 'dough on hot frying pan', which was boring maybe, but resulted in some actually super-delicious, puffy, browned roti. I guess this wasn't the worst idea after all - I am definitely going to make them again!

The chana masala didn't come out so great though...? Not even close to as delicious as the stuff you can get in pouches at Indian grocery stores. I used all ingredients and followed instructions to the letter but the flavor of the spices didn't really smoke up or shine through and the tomatoes were still a little acidic after a scant 10 minutes of cooking. The chickpeas were also a little underdone - next time I think I'd brown the spices for longer than ~1 min and cook the whole mixture for about 30 mins.

How did your weeks go? Did you follow your meal plan or did you veer off into mid-January indulgence? Feel free to write about it to your heart's content!

[Jenn Hubbs]

I stayed mostly within my meal plan, though it turned out I didn't need to cook nearly as much as I thought! The gigantic pot of soup lasted us until Wednesday night instead of just into the weekend; I didn't make the black bean enchiladas until last night; we haven't made the stirfry yet, either, but we will this weekend; and I didn't make egg things like I expected to, just ate cereal & milk. We did make a homemade pizza, though, which wasn't expected in my meal plan but did only use ingredients we already had, so I'm totally cool with that.

We've made a LOT of bread recently, which is awesome and also cheap and filling. I had budgeted $50 for the grocery store last weekend but only spent $20. This weekend I'm budgeting $50 again, though honestly? I don't even know most of what I'm going to buy, because we still need to make stirfry and still have multiple days' worth of enchiladas.

My best friend just asked if we want to go get dinner tonight, and while I shouldn't eat out I totally want to, just as a social thing. It is hard to say no! Even when there is perfectly good food at home!

[Amanda]

So last week I stayed sick all the way until like Thursday, so until then Adam and I basically subsisted on peanut butter sandwiches, his toasted ham & cheese concoctions, a pretty good kale and carrot soup that Adam improvised, and lots of popcorn. Also ice cream. 

Since getting better, I made a pizza with homemade garlic/tomato/oregano sauce, mozzarella, goat cheese, chopped black olives, and thinly sliced kielbasa. This pizza dough is the one I always make and it is super easy and sooo good. It's fun to play with it, to be able to customize how thick/thin the pizza turns out (I've made both crispy cracker-thin and really substantial & bread-like crusts out of this dough), or to add chopped rosemary or other herbs into the dough. 

I also made pollo frito a la criolla along with the spinach side dish listed on the recipe and cuban rice. 

Also I made banana bran muffins from my grandmother's recipe, entitled "Puerto Rican Banana Bread" (not sure why Puerto Rican, perhaps b/c it calls for brown sugar?). The smell of baking banana bread make me feel very homey.

Tonight I'm finally making the crema de garbanzos soup.

[Amanda]

This week I was pretty uninspired. I got healthy only to have Adam get sick.

I made the crema de garbanzos soup and it lasted for three days. I also made more spicy tuna pasta. Other than that we mostly just ate peanut butter sandwiches and eggs. I still haven't made croquetas but I still want to!

We went out for a belated Valentine's dinner Friday night to a hot new trendy wine bar/tapas place called Barcelona Atlanta and it was alright but I doubt we'll be back.

Yesterday I fried some spicy chorizo sausage and after they were browned, I added in fresh tomatoes and cooked them with the sausages until they broke down. Then we ate the sausages and soaked up the flavorful stewy tomatoes with pieces torn off a fresh baguette. So good!

I'm definitely on a Spanish food kick lately. I love the flavors of tomato, paprika, egg, potato, ham, garbanzos, and so on, all melding together into smoky goodness.

[Amanda]

I made the Martha Stewart lentil soup thinking it would last a few days but it was so delicious we demolished it in one day even though I made a double batch.

I made both creamy tomato tuna pasta and pasta with chicken and artichoke hearts and that turned out to be way too much pasta. From now on I should really limit us to 1 pot of pasta/week. 

I made both blueberry oatmeal bran muffins AND pumpkin walnut chocolate chip muffins, which combined with the 2 pots o' pasta was just... carbs overload. 

I made the fancy French apple-endive things and they were challenging to make but pretty good. Challenging because endives are really delicate and the leaves snap off easily, and paper-thin apple slices are also delicate, so my final product was kind of a mess, looks-wise. Pretty good because they were slightly bitter and slightly sweet and creamy yet charred - interesting and new flavor combination for me. Endive = cabbage + apple flavors. 

[Amanda]

The last time I did a big stock-up trip was Feb. 24 - that means I've gone a full two weeks without a major grocery shopping trip! We did do a minor one and got eggs, bananas, and a handful of other necessities, but I'm still pretty happy about this. :) I still have dinner ingredients to cobble together for a few more nights, muffin ingredients, and cereal & stuff. I'm going to try to wait it out and see how far I can make this stretch.

Best of the past week: GAZPACHOOO. I thought I hated gazpacho but apparently I adore it. This is how you make it: put in a bunch of fresh/organic tomatoes, cucumber, and green bell pepper into a blender. Add garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, some old stale bread, and a bit of salt. Puree in blender. Pour some into a bowl and devour with a chunk of baguette.

Other best (sort of a splurge): Fish tacos. Ugh these were so good. I got some wild-caught "sustainable" cod fresh from the fish counter, dredged the fillets in flour with chili powder, salt & pepper, then slid them into a frying pan hot with a little olive oil until they turned crispy and browned. While that happened, I finely diced tomatoes, onions, garlic, jalapeno, and cilantro and mixed em & put that into a bowl. Then I mixed sour cream in a separate bowl with the juice from a fresh-squeezed lime and some chilis in adobo. Then I finely sliced up some cabbage and warmed some corn tortillas on my cast-iron pan. Then Adam and I ate it all and it was THE BEST.

Both of these recipes came from The Essential New York Times Cookbook which was a great idea to buy. Gazpacho and fish tacos are sorta-kinda basic recipes that you may already think you know how to prepare, but the tiny details make a difference. Both of the above came out WAY better than you'd get at a middle-of-the-line restaurant and were also WAY, WAY cheaper. The fish tacos were the most expensive at around ~$8/serving (3 tacos), but compare that to how much you'd pay for the same on a night out for the same quality food ("sustainable" never-frozen fish, heirloom tomatoes, etc) - you'd probably pay like $20-$25/plate! 

Anyway, I really like writing about food obviously. I will stop now because I could keep going FOREVER. I may or may not be procrastinating on something else, so. bye whoever reads this :)

[Amanda]

I doubt if anyone reads this or cares but since I enjoy reading over my past meal-planning decisions I shall continue unabated! 

This past week I made everything I planned to but learned the hard way that relying primarily on leftovers for lunches was a terrible idea. It's been a little over a week since I went shopping and we had to do a stock-up trip of sandwich ingredients and basics.

I also learned that making every meal an experiment/fancy/straight from a cookbook instead of blending in our normal dinner/everyday food was a bad idea - fancy meals are usually fattier and more time consuming and although I got a lot of enjoyment experimenting in the kitchen, the stock up trip that we took for basics was like an "oh duh" moment where I realize that fancy cooking is not necessary for everyday delicious nourishment. That sounds stupid but I tend to get overly ambitious EASILY and I shouldn't let my enthusiasm sweep me off my feet like that because it's dumb and sometimes all you want to do is slap together a ham, cheese & mustard sandwich & call it a day, you know? 

Best of the week: Tuscan duck pasta, easily - this was so damn good. I've only had duck a handful of times before and mostly in Chinese/Thai food, so eating duck in the context of a simple Italian pasta was great and so so rich & good. The recipe was easy to follow, too- I will type it out because why the hell not:

PASTA WITH TUSCAN DUCK SAUCE

- 2 duck legs (I used 1 duck breast and that was fine) ($5.50)

- salt and fresh-ground black pepper ($0)

- 1 medium onion, chopped ($1.50)

- 1 1/2 cups dry red wine (I used Our Daily Red - $8.99)

- 1 28oz can plum tomatoes, drained and chopped (I just used fresh plum tomatoes) ($3.50)

- 1 package pasta, like penne ($3.00)

- freshly grated Pecorino Romano/Parmesan ($0 for me; already had)

(Total cost: $22.49; serves 4-6, so $5.60-$3.74/serving; let's call it an even $4/serving)

1. Trim fat from duck and lay skin-side down in a pan. Turn heat to medium, then low after duck begins to sizzle. Cook undisturbed for 1 hour, then turn and cook on other side for 30 mins - duck should be tender. (you can leave it on while you do other stuff, you don't have to watch it)

2. Remove duck from pan, leaving a few tbsp fat. Add chopped onion and cook until soft ~5mins.

3. Set a large pot of salted water to boil for pasta. Cook the pasta while you make the sauce.

4. Add wine to onions and turn heat to high. Let it cook off until liquid is reduced by half.

5. Add tomatoes, salt, & pepper and cook till mixture is saucy ~15 mins.

6. Meanwhile shred the duck meat and add it to the simmering sauce.

7. Drain cooked pasta (should be soft but not mushy), then add sauce. Sprinkle with cheese.

~done~

Also the paella was really good and really really easy. I added in some chorizo to spice it up a little which was a good decision.

The mushroom soup was good too - it basically is onion, garlic, mushrooms, tomatoes, beef broth, and eggs stirred in at the end. I omitted the tomato and stole some ideas from the bacon & lentil soup that I made the week before, by first browning some bacon and using that smoky fat to cook the onion and garlic etc, then I added in some black lentils at the end. The soup was clear, black, earthy, beefy, and really good!

Worst of the week: Eggplant involtini. Yeah, so eggplant soaks up a LOT of oil. How did I forget this, I do not know, but it was like eating a sponge filled with olive oil. I mean it tasted good but having cooked it myself I was grossed out by it. Also the Roman-style meatballs were highly mediocre. The sauce had a lot of tomato and it was just kinda gross - maybe I did something wrong? Just very heavy and not a very interesting flavor.

Anyway by the end of the week Adam was like "oh my god please make some healthier food" - this was after the involtini and the meatballs and some cookies that were made with literally 11 tablespoons of butter - and we were both feeling nasty. So yeah. That's my goal for this week, healthy and easy food. 

[Amanda]

What we ate from last Sunday to this Sunday:

Sun: Roasted red peppers with pasta and poached eggs. Made a lot of roasted peppers so there were leftovers.

Mon: Boxed emergency soup that we keep in the pantry when we're running low on everything else. It was mushroom and roasted garlic soup.

Tues: Went grocery shopping. Made roasted red pepper hummus with the leftover peppers and homemade naan (cooked on a cast iron pan). There was a lot of leftover hummus which I put on top of toast for snacks throughout the week.

Wednesday: Stuffed chicken with two cut up lemons, thyme, and two sprigs rosemary. Rubbed olive oil all over the skin and sprinkled generously with salt and pepper. Roasted in 350 degree oven for like 1 hr 30 mins, then turned the heat up to 425 to finish off and make the skin brown and crispy. It was super juicy and amazing and great. I didn't make any side dishes because I was lazy so we finished the whole chicken (I wanted leftovers), but no regrets.

Thursday:  Made gazpacho. Making it is pretty quick and easy! I put the finished batch into a pitcher container in the fridge so whenever we want a portion we just have to pour it out into a cup/bowl. Sometimes I just pour a little into a glass and toss it back. It's super healthy/energizing and delicious. I also made banana nut muffins using my grandmother's recipe for "Puerto Rican Banana Bread" - classic family favorite because it's so dang yummy. 

Friday. Leftovers + sandwiches night. Adam discovered that if he dipped his ham & cheese into the gazpacho it becomes doubly delicious, so... good for him I guess. Oh yeah- this whole week we were eating pb&js or ham/turkey & cheese sandwiches for lunch.

Saturday: Snacked on leftover hummus. Adam had the 4 am shift so when he came back he crashed hard. We woke up and decided to go out for pizza & beer at Mellow Mushroom. Thai Dye pizza = the best. We wound up eating the whole pizza between us and staggered back home (we can walk there yay) feeling mega gross. It was nice to go out though, we rarely do, and now we're thinking of doing a dinner out once a week. Or at least a few beers at a bar or something. It's nice. Obviously we would have to refrain from overindulgence though.

Today (Easter Sunday): We woke up still feeling full. So nasty. So far we've just had tea and split a sandwich between us. Tonight I'm making the carrot & herb salad (GET IT CARROTS BC ITS EASTER) which is light and healthy and the perfect pizza antidote. Although... I made a surprise for Adam (he's at work) that is plastic eggs filled with little chocolate caramel sea salt thingys and also some flowers so. that is not very healthy BUT ITS EASTER and I like celebrating holidays even if Adam thinks it's silly. I even gave our dog 3 plastic eggs with dog treats and a fuzzy squeaky lamb toy. 

So anyway, this week went really well. I still have a bunch of groceries for the upcoming week and I think it'll go smoothly! YAY.

[Amanda]

Ok, so this past week I made:

- Crema de garbanzos soup, which I made a ton of. It was ok but not awesome.

- We ate a ton of sandwiches.

- Pasta, using up leftover onion, tomatoes, and wine by making red wine reduction. not that awesome.

- Banana bread with swirled in chocolate hazelnut butter. yum.

- Some other boring stuff I can't remember.

- Blah. Uninspiring week using up leftovers. 

- Also drank beer throughout.

- And ate out at lunch a couple times.

[Meredith]

Ate out three times this week & once at my boyfriends parents, which was nice, but need to get back into the cooking groove, because, $$$.

  I did make the black bean/corn/tomato soup, which was delicious, and ate it for lunch 2x last week. Made snap pea risotto w/ enough for leftovers, although we ended up scarfing it down late Friday night after coming home from a party. I'd planned for April to be a dry month for me, but so far have had at least one drink every day in April. Have been drinking far less than usual though, so that's something. Saturday went out for brunch, then out for dinner. Sunday made veggie hash for lunch (roasted hashbrowns/red & green peppers, onions, garlic, spices, with an egg), and falafel, tzatziki & pita for dins with leftovers for tonight.

[Amanda]

It's been a week, I made all the stuff I was planning to, it was all great.

The mustard roasted fish with lentils and spinach was really delicious. Fish is pricier, though...

Chicken and roast veggies was easy and good - potatoes rubbed down with a little olive oil and salt, then roasted next to a thyme, rosemary, and shallot-stuffed chicken, also with olive oil/salt/pepper, some lovely fresh asparagus spears roasted quickly at the end along with the rest, a few garlic cloves = yummm comfort food; nutritious.

I made the spanakopita last night. it was good & pretty easy to make and nourishing.

We ate the sausage simmered with chopped garlic, fresh tomatoes, & smoked paprika until stewy.

I still have ingredients to make spicy tuna pasta (finely diced onions/shallots, minced garlic, capers, olives, tuna, red pepper flakes, salt = the pasta sauce)

I will go grocery shopping tomorrow probably. I want to go extra cheap this time. EXTRA, extra cheap. I need to save as much $$ as possible. What is the cheapest stuff I can get? hmmm

[Meredith]

Week in review:

 - leftover falafel was still tasty; froze most of the pita dough to use later
 -pasta did not happen - leftover roasted chicken is still sitting in my fridge and will likely need to be thrown out. boo.
 - calzones did not happen as my partner's parents took us out for dinner
 -  teriyaki meatballs, were scrumptious as usual, although I didn't make a salad
-stuffed red peppers = super yummy.

Amanda, nothing is cheaper than dried black beans and chickpeas if you like beans! Rice 'n' bean bowls with sauteed onion, jalapeno, red/green pepper, garlic, spices, squeeze of lime juice, hot sauce is my go-to for a cheap & fast meal. Falafel & homemade pita is dirt cheap too.