Week 41--Sam's Club Menu

Mon – Rotisserie chicken and squash (rotiss chickens are $4.98 at Sam's)
Tues – Salmon and sweet peas
Weds – Steak and mashed potatoes
Thurs – BBQ pork in crock pot
Fri – Rigatoni Isabella
Extras – Lots o' leftovers in that fridge...
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I went to Sam's Club on Saturday to buy 3 items: a giant can of Ovaltine, milk, and orange juice, and then see what other deals looked appealing. $140 later I had what I hoped was a generous supply of foodstuffs for the next week and beyond. Pork loins for $1.98/lb? Gigantic food-service size crushed tomatoes for $2.48? Pineapples for $2.88? Crazy.

I'm still getting used to shopping there since I don't like to warehouse food, but I'm also realizing there are some items that might be convenient to have around. We'll see how it goes. If I'm still staring at 3.5lbs of salmon ($21!) in 6 months in my freezer, then I'll know I waste less by keeping things slim. For now, if anyone needs to borrow a cup of rolled oats, we've got enough to fill a small sandbox. Happy cooking.

Pizza Day-in-the-Life

How late afternoon proceeded on Wednesday:

2:30
No one is napping. Bodily eliminations discovered in various areas of the upstairs couch and carpet. Thank goodness for removable couch covers. Suddenly feel motivated to clean entire upstairs. Plan to begin cooking dinner delayed.

3:15
Clean-up done. Get an IM from husband saying it would be a good pizza night. BUT we have a plan for dinner already and we both want to exercise some pizza-eating discipline. I tell him what the dinner plan is and he reminds me this dish was blamed for killing a small town in a Monty Python sketch.

3:45
4-year-old suggests it would be a good pizza night. Something in the air? Family-wide dread of salmon loaf more likely. She must sense it's coming because I haven't mentioned it yet.

4:00
I casually look up some online pizza deals at Green Mill. Conclude there are some offers not-to-be-missed, and besides, it's getting late to make The Loaf. Everyone wearing thin from a long afternoon.

4:30
Husband IMs he's leaving work. Sideways reference that IT WOULD BE BAD TO GET PIZZA. I take the cue.

5:15
Family happily eats pizza in clean upstairs.

Week 40–Peach Pies + At Least Three Meals Only Parents Will Eat

Mon – beef stir fry
Tues – salmon loaf (everyone in the family is dreading this but me)
Weds – bistro mac n' cheese
Thurs – Jamaican fish chowder with kale
Fri – presto chicken tacos
Alts – Rigatoni; Chicken fingers, oven fries, squash
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On Sunday I tried a recipe for mini-peach pies that I saw in Parent's magazine. You make little personal-sized peach pies which are: peaches, cinnamon & sugar on a little bed of graham cracker crumbs within a 4" pie crust round. Bake 400 for 30 min. I made the pie crust from scratch be/c I like to, but you can use pre-made pie crust and just roll it out a bit. The result was ok, but for the time it took to assemble and shape the mini-pies, I will just make a whole pie in the future. More pie that way too!

Discovered several great baking recipes over the weekend I'm anxious to try. Some lemon bread, homemade donuts, others. Will let you know how they are as I get to them over the coming weeks, months, years. You know. Happy cooking.

Gadgets

My mom has a fairly extensive collection of potato mashers in her house. None of them are ever used, although with a healthy dose of Irish ancestry, she loves potatoes beyond any other food. She prefers to use a hand-mixer when making mashed potatoes, but her interest in old potato mashers persists. The one shown here is actually a delightful bike rack and has nothing to do with my mom's collection other than being probably the coolest potato-masher-bike-rack I've ever seen.

I was considering the other day my own kitchen gadget preferences. I've been through a lot of garlic presses, finally landing on my favorite (designed by my friend Willy Loor--thanks Willy! Lovely photo here from the OXO website). But that was more about finding a preferred tool than a collector-type interest.

Of all the gadgets I enjoy using the most in my kitchen, it's probably a whisk. I always get a child-like thrill when I need to "whisk" a particular part of a recipe. Pastry blenders are similarly delightful. I once tried to hand whisk egg whites like the pros and about lost a limb in my efforts. It's not personal proficiency that makes these things fun. I just like the way these wiry devices look, and how they come in so many forms.

I've polled on this site about the quantities of gadgets people have, but what I'd love to know is which of them people collect or particularly enjoy using. Does it have something to do with personal history? Enjoyment of the food you prepare with the tool? Pure aesthetic satisfaction? Ahh, the questions that keep a person up at night. Ok, this probably isn't one of them, but if you feel like sharing a story about your gadget-of-choice, comment away! I would be a happy reader.

Week 39—Salmon and Steak

Mon – salmon with carrots and collard greens
Tues – grill steak with baked sweet potatoes
Weds – lasagna (left-over from the freezer) w/salad and cottage cheese
Thurs – chicken salad with bread/crackers, cheese and tomato soup
Fri – stuffed peppers
Alts – Chachere's dirty rice; chip plate w/homemade chips and refrieds
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Variety was the motive behind this week's menu. I looked to land, sea, and freezer for ideas to bring some colorful things to the table. My husband made some fabulous homemade cinnamon rolls this weekend with a healthy (!) layer of cream cheese frosting. That, plus the cookies I made with my daughter on Friday means we are not lacking for calories as the week begins. Happy cooking.