Mmm Cheap!

I cooked ribs last night and was not pleased; I think they came out tough, despite the fact my family practically fought over them. Normally I let ribs simmer for close to two hours in sauce before throwing them in the oven or broiler to get nice and crispy. Last night I was rushed though. You can't rush a good meal, dammit. Oh well.

Despite the fact I haven't been posting as such I've been doing very well on the budget I set for myself for the groceries in January. I haven't kept the closest track but if my estimates are correct I'll be surpassing it by about $50 for a grand total of less than $275. Not bad at all when you have six mouths to feed. Last time I posted I gave this list of cheap eats:

Split pea soup and biscuits
Morro (rice and beans together) with roasted chicken
Chicken Noodle Soup
Ramen and Onigiri
Yaniqueques (fried bread) BLTs
Rice and beans with tostones (fried plantains)
Shrimp alfredo
Lentil stew
Home fries with Scrambled Eggs
Oxtail (a treat) with white rice and beans
Penne with Marinara and romano cheese
Stuffed shells

The italicized items are the ones I actually got around to cooking. Not bad! Sorry I don't have pictures of all of them. Some days I sit down with every intention of going back to photograph food only to find empty pots in the sink. Whoops.

My family sat around last night telling me what they wanted me to tackle in the upcoming week. Here are the suggestions so far:

Spaghetti and Meatballs
Rosemary and Garlic Cornish Hens (a fall back I haven't made in a while)
Beef Stew
Soft Tacos
Chicken Empanadas
Salmon and Rice Pilaf
Lasagna
Fettuccine Alfredo
Chicken Parmesan
Black Bean Chili with corn chips
Gumbo

A lot of Italian and saucy stuff there. I think it's the cold. Some new things are on there too; I've never made gumbo before! I'm going to attempt this recipe someone told me about and go from there. Here's hoping at least one person in my household likes it.

Until next time,
<3 Jess

It's Rice and Beans Month!

Remember my post a while back on how I was only going to spend $200 this month? Well it seems I'm going to try to squeeze that even further. It is now rice and beans month. That's an exaggeration, of course, but the idea is that I'm going to spend as little as possible per meal and still serve satisfying dinners. Money seems to be a bit tight for everyone and my family is not excluded (especially since my mom hasn't been able to find a job these past six months since the layoff). I think I can do it though. Here are my meal ideas for the month of January.

Split pea soup and biscuits
Morro (rice and beans together) with roasted chicken
Chicken Noodle Soup
Ramen and Onigiri
Yaniqueques (fried bread) BLTs
Rice and beans with tostones (fried plantains)
Shrimp alfredo
Lentil stew
Home fries with Scrambled Eggs
Oxtail (a treat) with white rice and beans
Penne with Marinara and romano cheese
Stuffed shells


I have the ingredients for all these things on hand so no having to buy anything until next week. Three cheers for being thrifty as hell. Expect pictures of these not-so-fine dishes. :)

Until next time,
Jess

T'was the Day Before Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving menu

Excuse my messy penmanship; I wrote the updated menu this morning at two in the morning just before falling asleep clutching a recipe for biscuits and dreaming of lumps of dough dancing to the nutcracker suite. Incidentally I just realized I left biscuits off this menu though I plan to make them..sneaky, yeasty bastards.

The checkmarks next to the dishes indicates I've made it already, the dash means I'm going to be preparing it completely or partially today and the x means it gets cooked completely tomorrow.

Thanksgiving is also our Christmas tree decorating party; after a good meal my whole family places ornaments on the tree in between playing board games, the wii, and watching family movies like "The Grinch" or "Nightmare Before Christmas". So that means I have to take down the tree and ornaments from the closet and sort through them. Actually, I think my mother and brother will be doing most of the household stuff on my to-do list, which I am grateful for. Truthfully I shouldn't be sitting on my ass and blogging when lots has to be done but every girl needs some downtime.

Today's To-Do List:

Food

Place turkey in cold water to ensure it's fully thawed
Season turkey and let marinate in fridge overnight
Roast garlic for mashed potatoes
Prepare gravy (minus thickening agent)
Wrap sweet potatoes in foil to roast tomorrow
Mix glaze for ham
Infuse extra virgin olive oil with rosemary and thyme for bread dipping tomorrow
Prepare picadillo (seasoned ground beef)
Toast bread for stuffing
Thaw sausage for stuffing

Household

Press table linens
Wash platters and serving ware
Set up Christmas tree
Bring down boxes of ornaments
Recharge camera batteries
Recharge wii remotes

My to-do list tomorrow is huge and organized by hour so I'm not even going to get into that. I'm also going to take a moment tonight to manicure my nails (which as a cook just means making sure they're clean, unpolished, and short), do my hair (neat bun), and go to sleep early!

Here's hoping tomorrow goes well.

Until next time,
<3>