Super Fast Update

I'm back from Miami and am getting my house back in order, literally and figuratively. I spent about $70 at Sprouts and $67 at Whole Foods and picked up my Urban Acres share ($50). I didn't go to the store at all last weekend, so this is two weeks worth.

I'll be headed back to Whole Foods tomorrow to pick up some buffalo, fish and cashews. I've got everything else I need for the week, though.

I've been playing in the kitchen this afternoon and a new post with my creations will follow.

This week we'll be having our standard menu: beef, chicken or fish, our fresh produce and I picked up some gluten free pasta we'll be testing out.

The share this week included apples, oranges and lemons (yay!), onions, potatoes, carrots, celery, lettuce, purple turnips, and lots of greens. Oh, and a butternut and acorn squash. Not sure how I'm going to prepare those and I've never seen a purple turnip before.

I am so glad to be home.

Brief Hiatus and Budget Observations

I will be out of town for work for most of this upcoming week, which means there will be little to no blogging. Unless I post pictures of my hotel room. Stephen is going to be home alone with the kids.

Which means he's da man.

Which translates into: Easy meals and lunches are mandatory.

The kids will eat lunch at school this week. *shudder* I'm throwing Stephen a bone on this one.

Dinners will be a crockpot stew I will make ahead of time, spaghetti with butter and parmesan, and one night will be broiled fish with steamed veggies. I'm sure there will be cereal for dinner one night.

I'm headed to the grocery store for a few staples in the morning, but we have pretty much everything we need. I went over budget last week, but didn't keep track (or blog about it, sorry). I've figured out, though, why I haven't been able to stick to my original budget.

There are two very logical explanations. First, the kids aren't eating lunch at school. I'm packing their lunches. I figure this adds an additional $20 a week to the budget.

Second, I'm back on the Mellman plan. Which means my diet consists of very specific and sometimes expensive items. Like buffalo. And cashews. And goat cheese. I'm going to have to figure out a way to either spend less on these items, or as I add new foods, hope that the ones I add aren't uber expensive.

I'm stumbling along the way regarding the budget, but I'll get there.

It's all a journey, right?

Organic Chili A La Crockpot

This was a really fast dinner. When I'm making stew or chili or whatever in the crockpot, there is no recipe.

This meal was made by combining organic ground beef from Texas Daily Harvest, a can of organic white beans, organic black beans (I had made them from dried beans and frozen them, so I pulled them from my freezer), bok choy from my Urban Acres share, a carton of 365 organic chicken broth, a can of tomato sauce, salt, pepper, and paprika. Oh, and an onion.

I served it with the homemade cheese bread sticks. I didn't eat any of it, because it's not on my Mellman plan, but Stephen and the kids did. This is definitely an easy, weeknight, make ahead kind of a meal.

Roasted Organic Potatoes, Broiled Buffalo and Homemade Cheddar Cheese Breadsticks

Buffalo. It's what's for dinner.

Along with some roasted potatoes and homemade cheddar cheese bread sticks. I used the bread machine and Texas Daily Harvest cheddar.

I have it on good authority (the husband and kids) that the bread sticks were delish. (They aren't on my Mellman plan, so I didn't eat them.) But, the buffalo and potatoes I did eat. And they were good.

Delicious and Super Easy Nut Butter Cookies

There's nothing quite like diving into a plate full of these:

These are so easy to make, and totally on my Mellman plan. Mix in a bowl one cup of sugar (I used organic cane sugar by Florida Crystals), one egg (Organic Valley) and one cup of any nut butter. I used cashew butter (Artisana), but since it's pricey, I substituted 1/2 cup of finely chopped cashews for 1/2 cup of the cashew butter.

Once you stir it up, it will look like this:

I added a dash of cinnamon and vanilla extract. Then used a small scoop to line them up on the Silpat (greatest invention known to cookies).

Then pop them into a 350 degree oven and set the timer for 14 minutes. About midway through, they will look like this:

Check them at the 14 minute mark. They may need another minute or two.

But DON'T GO FAR. Definitely don't get distracted by writing a blog post about the cookies. They burn to a crisp before you can upload a few pictures.

I wonder how they'll taste with that freshly burnt flavor.

No, No, Bad Dog: Part Three

Pork Lo Mein, Organic Style

The picky eater asked me to pack him ramen noodles for lunch. I decided to make some without so many chemicals and preservatives. I got some japanese somen noodles at Tom Thumb for $2.65. On the back was a recipe for lo mein that I sort of followed.

All of the organic produce I used was from an Urban Acres share. I shredded a carrot, diced a red onion and pulled out some shredded cabbage and bok choy.


I cooked the noodles according to the directions on the package which took three minutes in boiling water. I used three bundles:

I cooked the pork and garlic in olive oil until it was done, then removed the pork to a bowl and sauteed the vegetables for about five minutes, then added the noodles and pork and topped it with some soy sauce and lemon juice.

Stephen liked it. The kids asked for plain noodles. I thought it looked delicious. I was on my Mellman plan, so I didn't eat it. But I really, really wanted to.