(Sorry for the amazingly bad pictures! It was dark and rainy all day, so this is the best I’ve got. In the words of preschools everywhere: you get what you get and you don’t throw a fit.)
Only a few more days until the Mister comes home for a couple of weeks. So, so, so looking forward to passing the buck with abandon. Until then, I’m plugging away on the eat at home challenge. This month, with him gone so much, was really a month where I would have eaten out almost exclusively. Coupled with Nico being sick and my lack of sleep, it really did seem like a recipe for disaster. (Pun not intended, too tired for more better sentences me write.) But so far, so good. Not every meal has been healthy, and not every meal has been exciting–she understates!–but I prepared them at home and saved upwards of $100 when you include coffees before school.
I made a collage of a few of the meals I’ve had the last two weeks. Breakfast remains a challenge. I just hate everything about it! I want to wait until Friday to make a big grocery run, so I’m trying to use up everything I have in the pantry and fridge. That means vegetables are becoming scarce and food combos inventive. I was disappointed to discover during my pantry clean out that I am the owner of 2,000 pounds of flour. Coconut flour, garbanzo bean flour, whole wheat pastry flour, semolina flour, white wheat flour, all purpose flour, corn flour, wheat flour…if there is a flour manufactured on this planet, it’s in my pantry. I don’t know what was going on when I bought all that flour, but whatever it was, I planned to bake my way out.
I am also the proud owner of a bag of oat bran the shape and weight of a baby koala bear.
Should the four horsemen of the apocalypse prancercise into town, my family and I will survive on canned beans and corn until they reach an agreement with the “essential” members of our government. Or 3 years, whichever comes first.
If anyone has a recipe that uses 2,000 lbs of flour, oat bran, and a wheelbarrow of canned beans and corn, I’d love to hear it.
You’re doing things! In my opinion, the beauty of days when my husband isn’t home for dinner is that I can totally phone it in and clean out the fridge. Eggs and toast? Yes! Cold plates? You bet! Whatever it is, it isn’t a proper meal, but nobody leaves hungry. Much.
Sounds like your next meal needs to feature corn muffins — a whole lot of ’em!
For all that flour – I say, go with muffins. Sweet ones, savory ones. Then freeze the extras for breakfast, after school snacks or an easy meal on the go. Muffins are also a great way to use up the odd bits of veggies, cooked meats, etc. hanging out in the fridge.
Agree with the savory muffins. When we’re too lazy to cook and too lazy to go out (which is a serious type of lazy), I make pizza muffins – meat + a lot of veggies + a little cheese, sauce for dipping.
I imagine young ones would find them amusing.
I feel better now about what’s in my cupboards! Love your posts.
Prancercise! You made my day. That’s all.
Not only prancercise, but apocalyptic horsemen prancercising. I will have humorous dreams tonight :-D
I love everything about this post, and I’m in awe at how well you’re doing with this challenge. Also: make muffins.
You guys with the muffins! How did I not think of this idea? So brilliant, and they are perfect breakfasts to toss down the boys’ throats like hungry seals on school mornings.
Must research muffin recipes.
Hungry seals! This image has got me laughing out loud. Love it!
Those all look like better-than-acceptable meals in my book! Maybe it’s a factor of where I live, but eating out with kids (especially on a weeknight) usually seems like the least appealing option for dinner procurement. It’s a little bit of a suburban wasteland in terms of food here, and I find it’s nearly always faster (not to mention cheaper and usually healthier) to make something at home, even if it’s just quesadillas and a salad. And the math just blows my mind: I can feed all five of us for a week, breakfast/lunch/dinner, for about $150 in groceries. But if we go out to dinner or brunch any place that isn’t McDonald’s, it’s going to be $75 (my 10-yr-old is starting to eat like a teenager). It hurts, and the food is rarely special.
*Flour disappears in my house when I make a big batch of no-knead bread dough, which I usually use for pizza. You can freeze the dough, too.
Clearly, muffins are in your future. I agree with previous commenters on that. Start cranking out pumpkin-flavored muffins. Delish.
I do have a can of pumpkin in the pantry. Hmmm.
Not just muffins–but pancakes, too. I make these ahead of time and freeze them between pieces of waxed paper. Make each one small enough to pop in the toaster for breakfast in the morning. Here’s a great recipe. I thought of it because in the original, Brody writes you can add 1/4 cup of any kind of flour to the recipe–it doesn’t have to be the cornmeal the author of this post chose.
http://greenjeansbrooklyn.blogspot.ca/2009/01/multigrain-pancakes-to-fuel-furnace.html
Happy eating.
Your dinnerware is lovely.
Chocolate chip banana bread: 2 eggs, 2 bananas, 1/2 cup oil, all mixed with an immersion blender and then added to the dry ingredients– white whole wheat flour (1 1/4 cup), sugar (less than a cup) 1 tsp baking soda. My 8 yr old son can make this from start to finish- he loves using the immersion blender. Oh, and don’t forget the chocolate chips.
You’re my favorite. I needed the laugh today. And good job eating at home – even when it’s hard. My dinner was a big fail last night and after spending 30 minutes and untold $$ making this great meal that smelled awful and tasted worse (I should have known cooked cabbage would not be my friend), I headed out for ButterBurger deliciousness without a blink. Tonight it’s simple beans and toast.
What’s on the dinner plate doesn’t have to always be exciting, when its cooked with love and eaten together as a family, it always nourishes the soul, me thinks. Just want to mention that a lot of the flours (coconut, whole wheat pastry … all the whole grain and “alternative” ones) that might be stored in your pantry will last longer and stay fresher if refrigerated or frozen; no defrost is necessary, just measure and cook. The outer brans of those grains typically hold some oil and can go rancid when simply stored on a shelf … they behave very differently than A/P white flour.
Since you mentioned researching muffin recipes, here’s a super-easy healthy breakfast muffin recipe and ideas for turning it into an “off the shelf mix” to make baking even quicker … I can have a batch mixed and in the oven in under 10 minutes and they store in the fridge well for several days.
http://happilyhomeafter.blogspot.com/2013/09/homemade-muffins-diy-for-making-your.html
Robin, I actually keep my flour in the freezer! I posted on that last year this time, that’s why it’s so baffling that I had some in here. I tossed some of the flour I thought was rancid and added the rest to what I already have in the freezer. My husband will be thrilled with the new additions! ;)
Loved the apocalypse reference! Hilarious! My 12 year old son even laughed :-) And yes, the food combinations do get quite interesting towards the end of “use everything in the house before we go shopping” Side note: I LOVE your dishes!
Well! I have to say, 12 year old boys are a tough crowd, so that made my day. :)
‘Four horsemen of the apocalypse prancercise into town’ – Is there any possible way that you can top this statement, ever? Time to get baking christmas ornaments with all that flour…you could have an ornament making party for your birthday and then decorate every tree on your walking route, bringing sunshine and happiness to all…just what you’ve always wanted?? Am I right?? ;)
I make breakfasts on weekends and then let the kids fend for themselves each morning. Frozen waffles, muffins, breakfast burritos, homemade Poptarts, etc., etc. All sorts of deliciousness, and it’ll use that flour!
“I am also the proud owner of a bag of oat bran the shape and weight of a baby koala bear.”
So about one mug full then? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2228134/Baby-koala-propped-mug-feed-tiny-bottle-abandoned-roadside.html
(Sorry, just couldn’t resist adding adorable pictures of my country’s native animals to the comments)
Hah! This is actually the picture I was looking at last night. :) http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eXnbChRCsuI/TTnABJ4K9hI/AAAAAAAAB74/Cjs2xSz51Fg/s1600/baby%2Bkoala.jpg
I SO need to clean out my pantry. Ugh. Yours is definitely inspiring! Maybe next week? As a side note, in my neck of the woods, the preschoolers say, “You get what you get, and you don’t get upset.”
I’ve been lurking for a while now, and I’ve done the “Eat everything in the pantry because we can’t go to the store this week” dance. Beans are GREAT for that! What kind of beans do you have? I think I see garbanzos there, so try this: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2009/01/smashed-chickpea-salad/
And as for any other kind of bean, whirr it up in the blender with a bit of oil, a bit of acid, a bit of salt, and some spices. Bean dip!
Actually – I’ve been trying to increase Max’s fiber so I made these muffins, which are relatively low in sugar (I used the lower amount and thought they were plenty sweet enough), use oat or wheat bran and flour of whatever variety/ies you’ve got, and were remarkably tasty!
http://www.food.com/recipe/low-fat-high-fiber-blueberry-bran-muffins-205891
You crack me up. Seriously, I love your writing style and your humor. Thanks for the laugh, at the end of a craptacular week!