Okay, so some of our weeks menu has changed. I overloaded us with pasta!
Sunday night we had Sausage cacciatore over rotini. The cacciatore was made in the crockpot. Here's the recipe. It was wonderful:
Sweet Italian Sausage, semi-frozen, sliced into chunks
1 red bell pepper, also chunked (big pieces)
1 green bell pepper
1 large onion
1 small zucchini
1 small summer squash
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 T basil, 1 T oregano, 1 T parsley
Throw all the ingredients into the crockpot and cook on low for about 5 hours. Serve over pasta (or polenta). It was wonderful, and I served some crusty rolls on the side.
Monday night we had chicken ragu. It was wonderful. I did use chicken breasts instead. I wish I got a picture, but I still have no located the camera I took from the baby and hid (I guess I chose too good a hiding place). The reviews from the family were wonderful, and I will make this again. It truly is a quick, easy and healthy meal, though a bit too much pasta for one week.
That said, Tuesday night we changed to coconut shrimp with roasted potatoes because we had way too much pasta this week. I had large cooked and peeled shrimp to work with.
Coconut Shrimp:
2 cups bisquik mix
1 cup milk (a little more if not thin enough)
1 bag coconut
Pat the shrimp dry, dip into the mixed pancake batter, and then dip into the coconut. Fry until lightly golden. My kids don't like coconut, so we do some without and they taste just as good... more of a tempura batter. We served this with roasted potatoes (potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces, tossed in a few tablespoons olive oil and baked in a 400* oven for about 30 minutes).
Tortellini and Sausage soup
This one also got rave reviews. I used the cacciatore leftovers for extra veggies. I browned up about 2/3 lb sausage meat, 1 large carrot chopped, and 2 stalks of celery chopped. I tossed in the leftover cacciatore and 1 carton turkey stock (I couldn't get chicken). I also added 1 28oz can whole tomatoes, that I crushed as I added to the pan. It was a bit thick, so I added about 2 cups of water. When the soup has come up to a boil, I added 1 1/2 bags of frozen cheese tortellini and turned it down to a simmer. Brian and Shannon took the leftovers for lunch today.
So, now I find myself in an awkward place. We've created a budget for our family, which has been needed for quite some time. I'm trying to feed a family of 6 on less than before, and to use all of our leftovers as much as possible. I have not done this for quite some time. I think cutting our grocery bill will be challenging, but its definitely doable and will be a good thing for all of us in the long run. So, I put this out to all of you, what do you find you can do without in your weekly grocery shopping to cut down your bill?
I also am finding myself wanting to cook more from scratch (baking cookies and making my own breads with my bread machine). I also really want to be one of those moms who has it all together... clean house, kids that behave, laundry done, kids that follow the schedule, but i'm not sure how to do everything I want in the time frame I have daily. I know it CAN be done, but its going to require some effort on my part. So, my goal over the next few weeks is to get my act together. Of course, advent starts next weekend, and I really do not want the season to be one of craziness. I want to have that welcoming, calming force on the family. I want to have my shopping done and wrapped by then (not going to happen) and be able to make cookies and ornaments with the kids. We have a crazy schedule normally, so I usually have these WONDERFUL intentions, but they don't happen, as life happens during that time too.
So, my other question for you is what is your favorite holiday tradition that you want to incorporate into your holiday season this year? Our favorite is to light our advent candles and do a reading nightly during dinner. Finding those readings is not always easy, but we have a plan (more like I have a plan) and we'll see where it goes.
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