Today has been one of those gorgeous autumn days. Couldn’t ask for a better one. Windy and cool, but not cold. The kind of day that makes you want to go and do, and not stay at home.

For those who don’t know, Midalah moved into my house back in July. With Roo leaving for college, and both of us experiencing some serious financial upsets, it made sense.

Unfortunately for Midalah, that means she also has to deal with a housemate who gets hit with the autumn bug. “Let’s go!” is a common echo around the house on days like today.

So we went. There have been serious fall-induced pumpkin cravings, so Lancaster’s Central Market seemed like a logical destination.

Off we went. As we pulled into the parking lot, Midalah asked me if I had remembered a market bag. Oh, yes, I remembered it. I remembered leaving it at home. Oops! And I am not in a position to drop $ 20 on a new bag, so… plastic it was.

We ended up with more sausage from The Turkey Lady. This time, we have Sicilian lemon and orange turkey sausage. We’ll remove those from the casings to make patties. The last time we had turkey sausage, we grilled it. It was very good, but very dry. Hopefully, making patties will keep both flavor and moisture.

There will also be broccoflower and roasted Brussels sprouts, cut right from the stalk. There is also apricot/cranberry bread from Ric's Bread (the woman there today was very nice!). Oh, and roasted pumpkin and garlic soup!

For dessert: pumpkin roll with cream cheese icing. Yay for pumpkins!

Tonight, we feast in full fall fashion!

Hunger Challenge

I did absolutely horrible during the Hunger Challenge (I signed up under my now defunct Hiking to Health blog). So I decided to try today, to see what we could do to keep food costs under the $ 4.72 daily allowance.

Cost is per person:

Breakfast:
Potatoes, sausage, peppers and scrambled eggs
Coffee
Total: $ 1.41

Lunch:
Potato corn soup
Juice
Total: $ .83

Dinner:
Bacon wrapped filet, rice and green beans
Water
Total: $ 2.13

Total for the day: $ 4.36

Not bad, right? The only problem is that all of it, except for the coffee, rice and beans, was pre-packaged or from a mix.

I stopped at a grocery outlet on the way home from work the other night and stocked up. Yes, very inexpensive foods, but I am wondering how much sodium we have ingested so far today and how much more will be in tonight’s dinner? A lot of water is going to be needed to offset all of that!

Eating in on a budget, part whatever - plus Angel Food Ministries

With my daughter away at school, it's just me and my housemate, Midalah. Which means more leftovers for lunch!

So I just spent some time looking through the (rapidly dwindling!) pantry, fridge and freezer.

Tonight was leftover couscous mixed with the last of the farmer's market peppers, garlic and a bag of tiny shrimp of indeterminate age. Actually, it was fairly good.

Monday:
Meatloaf
Mashed potatoes
Green beans

Tuesday:
Whole chicken in the crockpot
Some sort of vegetable from the freezer
Rice

Wednesday:
Casserole made from chicken leftovers

Thursday:
Spaghetti and meatballs

Friday:
Steak (got an awesome deal a while ago and am using it out of the freezer - yay)
Baked potatoes
Grilled asparagus

Saturday:
I am thinking... pancakes and turkey blueberry sausage for dinner

Sunday:
Black bean soup, maybe? Or chili. Haven't really thought that far ahead.

As an aside... I went to the Angel Food Ministries website today and was very surprised to see they have suspended operations for the month of September. They have not given a restart date, either.

It's a sad commentary on our lives today when the organizations out there to help those having a hard time cannot stay afloat. Yes, I know AFM has had some issues in recent years, but now what? There are many who depend on them for inexpensive groceries each month.

I am blessed to live in an area where I have my pick of farmer's markets and inexpensive grocery/seconds stores. For me, AFM is actually not a great deal. I do check the site now and then to get an idea of what they are offering, but have not used the service. Still, how many are in areas where the cost of local groceries are twice what they have been paying with AFM?

And what will those people do now?

Eating (mostly) locally - and cheaply!

Here in the East Coast, we are all hunkered down, waiting for Irene's approach.

We live inland, in the middle of Amish Country, PA. For us, this will bring lots of rain and wind, but not the mess those down the shore will have to deal with. So, instead of intense hurricane preparations, Midalah and I headed into the city to Central Market for some provisions.

After a very nice haul of vegetables and some blueberry sausage from The Turkey Lady, we headed out to get the propane tank filled for the grill I bought at the beginning of the season. I've lived in this house almost 20 years and have gotten used to power going out at the slightest provocation, so we're not taking any chances!

Tonight's dinner consists of vegetables from the market, some leftover steak and rice:

Vegetables: green beans, peppers, zucchini, garlic - approximately 2.50
Rice: about .30 cents worth of the $ 1.00 bag
Leftover steak: I had found a nice 1 lb steak for 2.48 last week. We grilled and ate about half and used the rest tonight, so... 1.25

Total: $ 4.05 for 2 people, with leftovers

If the power does go out, cold rice might be the base for tomorrow morning's breakfast!

Graduation party time

So, Roo graduated – yay! And the family gathered yesterday at my parents’ house to celebrate this fact. Of course, there was food. Lots and lots and lots of food. So much food that we’re all going back to Mom and Dad’s to separate the leftovers and see what goes in whose freezer.

Mom made way too much food. If I can get them from her today, I’ll be putting up recipes for her calico bean salad and her sausage and peppers.

Of course, I brought food, too! But a lot of it had to be grilled, so there are no recipes for that. My potato salad “recipe” is at the end of this post.

My aunt made lamb chops marinated in a mint sauce. It was so good, Roo has asked her for the recipe as soon as the lamb ran out.

Midalah made Lemon Lavender Poundcake. She did learn that 1 oz of dried lavender is enough to make about 20 cakes! Her apartment must smell really good right now. I know the cake did!

The best part of the day was spending it sitting under the big tree at my parents’ home, eating, laughing and talking with family. Now, in 4 years, when she graduates from Penn State, we’ll do it all over again!

Simple Potato Salad “Recipe”
All measurements are approximate. I just tossed this together and it seemed to go over well.

5 lbs potatoes, skin on
1 – 2 Tbl Dijon mustard
½ c chopped celery
½ c – ¾ c sweet pickle relish
2 tsp garlic salt
1 ½ c – 2 c mayo, depending on how creamy you want the salad to be.

Scrub potatoes, leaving them whole.

Put potatoes in a pot of cold water. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Boil 15 minutes. Drain and cool.

While the potatoes are cooling, mix remaining ingredients, except for the mayo.

Chop potatoes into approximately ½ - 1 inch chunks and put into large bowl. Add in the mixed dressing ingredients, then add mayo, mixing until you reach the desired consistency.

Chill overnight so the flavors have a chance to meld.

I don’t use a lot of extra salt, but you may want to add salt and pepper to taste, too.

Planning ahead for the week

I do love lazy Sunday mornings.

Right now, I am waiting for my lawn shoes to come out of the wash. They had gotten left out on the porch during all of the rain we’ve had recently. I don’t really care to put my toes into something quite so wet and squishy, so into the wash they went!

While waiting for the shoes to wash and dry, I decided to be semi-productive. Last night’s whole grilled chicken leftovers needed to be taken care of, and I had found a nice little sauce recipe to use with a beef roast.

First, I removed what breast meat I could from the chicken and set it aside for use in a salad tonight. I froze the drumsticks for a snack for Roo and her boyfriend. The rest of the chicken has been tossed into the Dutch oven with some spices and water and vegetables to cook down for broth for soup, and to get the rest of the meat off the bones to be used in a casserole.

I mixed up a quick barbecue sauce and added onions to it. The roast and sauce are now sitting in the crockpot, cooking away happily. I’ll shred the meat and serve it on buns with a green salad and maybe some sweet potato oven fries this week.

This week will be a busy one at work, but I still want to get myself to the gym and not find myself stopping for fast food because I don’t have time to cook. I think I’ve gotten a good start here.

Eating in on a budget

This week will be a bit of a challenge for me. I need to do some grocery shopping, but I need to keep things within a certain budget. With my daughter graduating and heading off to college, family visiting and even planning a weekend getaway to do some whale watching in lieu of a trip to Europe as a graduation gift, I need to keep a tight control on what I spend and where.

Oh, and I have to keep it healthy-ish, also! I am trying to lose weight so I'm not mistaken for one of the whales off the cape!

I see a lot of salads in our future. Good, hearty greens, with meat used as a seasoning and not the star of the dish. Salad Works has a salad that combines craisins, chicken, noodles and mandarin oranges. I make something similar at home for a lot less. That may be dinner Tuesday or Wednesday, since I still need to grill a few chicken breasts to add to meals this week.

What are your favorite cheap, fast and healthy meals?

Han Solo in Carbonite Cake

I had a moment of panic when looking for the pictures of the Han Solo cake Charm City Cakes did for me. My last desktop has died and gone to whatever tech heaven is reserved for overworked computers. I thought the photos were lost! Then I remembered I had posted them to my Facebook account.

Saved!

This was a fantastic cake and was a lot of fun. It aired on an episode of Ace of Cakes in which I appeared as a great big grape, but a happy one!

Check out the lights at the bottom!

I adored the details added to this.

Up close and personal with Han.

Finally, one from my daughter's Facebook photos, since I didn't post any of me to my own:

Lobster Mac and Cheese from Carr's = Happiness on a plate

I have been in a funk lately. I needed something to perk myself up, since life in general has just not been going so well for me.

Today, I found that something in a happy little post from a Facebook friend. Kathlene had posted a photo of the lobster mac and cheese on display at Carr’s at Central Market. One of these had found its way home with her for a Mother’s Day dinner.

I have no idea why, since before this, the idea of lobster mac and cheese has never titillated my taste buds, but this looked so good that I just HAD to have it. After being home sick all day, Roo was heading for her boyfriend’s house so he could fuss and feed her soup, so I was on my own for dinner anyhow…

Carr’s at Central Market closes at 3 pm on Friday. I think I raced up to the counter at 2:55 or 2:56. I was asked if it had been recommended to me over Facebook. Seems a woman walking quickly through the Market as if there is a mission to be conquered is hard to miss!

Dinner has been had. This is a huge portion and would do well to be shared. I have had half and am quite happily content. The rest will be saved and savored.

A hit – I would definitely recommend this! Head to Carr’s at Central Market for a taste!

And if you’re around for dinner or would like to enjoy a sit down lunch after shopping, I highly recommend Carr’s, located right across the walkway from the market. I have enjoyed many meals here and have always been impressed with the service and the quality of the food. My brother’s wedding and small dinner reception were also held at Carr’s. The staff and food are top-notch!

Cake talk

I can't believe I didn't have Ace of Cakes on my Amazon favorites widget! Now that a little time has passed and the show has aired (and the series is ended), I'll post photos of the Han Solo in Carbonite cake that was on the show itself. The book has some of the other cakes Charm City Cakes has made for me over the last few years. If you get the book, look for the page that talks about me and Ro! It's under my married name, since I didn't go back to my maiden name until 2010.

Tonight, I'll post photos, since those are on the desktop and I am not firing that up when I should be getting ready for work.

Happy Tuesday!

Chicken cacciatore for the freezer

I have enjoyed reading and cooking from Family Feasts for $ 75 a Week . Of course, I make my own substitutions and changes, based on what I have on hand. This week, I made a version of the chicken cacciatore from the cookbook.

Total cost for 6 servings: $ 9.37 total, or approximately $ 1.51 per serving. I am using the 6 serving breakdown, though I think with the slight changes here and there, and our appetites, this will actually be 7 or 8 servings.

I used frozen onion and peppers, since I did not have any green peppers on hand.

Cost breakdown:
Chicken, approximately 1 ¼ lbs: $ 3.75
½ stick butter: $ .42
½ bag frozen onions/peppers: $ .50
2 ribs celery: $ .40
Minced garlic (I used about 1 Tbl or so from a jar I have on hand): $ .15
28 oz can crushed tomatoes: $ 1.00
8 oz mushrooms: $ 1.66
16 oz egg noodles: $ 1.49

Note: I do not include spices when I figure out the cost, simply because I don’t have the patience to sit and figure out how many ¼ teaspoon servings are in a jar of paprika or cumin.

Looks pretty good, no? Now I’m going to tuck it into the freezer for dinner later in the week. All I will have to do is make the noodles and heat the chicken and we will be good to go!



Yes, I am a messy, messy cook. Oops!

Grilling sausages

For some reason, I have not been able to perfect my ability to grill sausages of any kind. They tend to come out a little on the charred side.

If anyone has any recommendations that will help me achieve grilled sausage perfection, let me know!

OMG - A post!

Wow, I'm not dead! Just lazy, apparently. Time to change that!

Quite often, weekends become leftover days. I spent most of today working in the basement, getting things cleaned up so we can do some painting. My sister-in-law is heading out this way for Roo's graduation and I would like the room where she sleeps to be nice!

So, I didn't want to spend much time in the kitchen. I did make pancakes and bacon for brunch for the two of us, during a break in the cleaning. Dinner had to be something fairly quick.

Earlier this week, I had grilled some sausage on my new grill (yay, new grill!). Had a couple left over, so I tossed them into the freezer to use this weekend.

I found a recipe online that I adjusted to fit what I had on hand. Very simple:

Olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 medium carrots, large dice
2 leftover hot Italian sausages, sliced
2 cups cooked short-grain rice
Can Ro-Tel diced tomatoes and chili
Something green! I would have used fresh parsley or basil, but I was out.

Heat olive oil in a heavy bottomed pot (mine is ceramic clad cast iron). Add vegetables and cook until just this side of soft. Or softer, if you don't like your vegetables to have any crunch at all. Add sausages and rice, then add a can (or two, if you like it soupier) of Ro-Tel tomatoes. Heat through. Serve with a sprinkle of fresh herbs if you have them.



Tomorrow - leftover steak becomes fajitas!

Sushi Samba Park

Oops! Once again, the camera was forgotten, as the company and the food took precedence.

To celebrate my daughter's Sweet 16 belatedly, we headed into New York for a relaxing weekend of fun and food. A trip to Randall's Island to see Cirque du Soleil's Kooza was followed by a visit to one of her favorite restaurants in the city: Sushi Samba.

Sushi Samba has a number of locations, two of them located in New York. We chose Sushi Samba Park, as it is more relaxed than Sushi Samba 7. The fact that it was closer to where we had been was a plus, also.

We are a bit predictable by now, starting off with edamame and the yellowtail sashimi tiradito, as always. However, there were mildly spicy peppers and green bean tempura added this time. Roo did manage to share some of the yellowtail. The combination of lemongrass and jalapeno that flavors the raw fish is a winner and a flavor she craves far too often for my wallet!

Entrees chosen by our party ranged from sushi to the day's special pork dish and a serving of kobe beef tartare. Everything was enjoyed heartily, as were the mango mojitos and mango sambatinis.

Dessert arrived, with warm Valhrona chocolate in which to dip handmade marshmallows, soft cookies and other assorted fruits and goodies.

Service was friendly and prompt, which we have come to expect from Sushi Samba Park. The server was fantastic, even when a late arrival joined us, complete with all of her bags from a full day of running around the city.

Highly recommended for the atmosphere and for the food, Sushi Samba Park remains a favorite with our family.

Changes

Sorry I have been so quiet. JT and I divorced in October 2008. A friend moved in shortly thereafter while she looked for an apartment in the area. My daughter's friend moved in in March 2009. Meals right now are for 4 women and a dog. It's been a little crazy!

I'll be posting more, though, as things settle down. I need to get used to carrying my camera around more often. Right now, there are plans for a trip for Roo's 16th birthday and, of course, there must be food photos!

Lunch time!

Okay, so it's been a while since I've worried about lunch at work! I don't know where any restaurants are in the area of my new job, and even so, I want to be good financially. So, tomorrow's lunch:

shrimp fritters from one of my favorite bento sites: Fritter Recipe at Just Bento

I used nori fumi furikake - sesame seeds and nori in the fritters, and since I didn't have hot paprika, I used smoked. Nice flavor, if no heat to it.

I took a little more of the furikake and mixed it into some rice. I packed the rice in tight and added the shrimp fritters to the top tier of my bento.

The bottom tier holds these protein bars (minus the soy protein powder that I forgot to pick up) that the girls made: Alton Brown's Recipe, along with grape tomatoes and a wedge of Laughing Cow cheese to eat with the tomatoes.

Now to stick in some water and I'm set.

It's going to be challenging to come up with interesting lunches.


If I was mildly creative, I'd get out my nori punches and make some faces or shapes or something to add some color to the rice, but... nahhh... Tomorrow!

Eating at home and in school

I'm back! Today's post is dinner from Monday night and lunch for Roo for school on Tuesday (her last bento of the school year).

Monday night's dinner was shrimp with green peppers and pineapple, with leftover Tuscan bean salad. Then I prepared Roo's bento for tomorrow. It's a little boring, but it works. And these onigiri seem to do very well refrigerated overnight rather than me making them in the morning. I mix the furikake in with the rice rather than sprinkling it over. Seems to work just fine for us! Ignore the broken strip of nori, pretty please!

Ready to be broiled (worked better there than on the grill):



Done and plated rather messily:



Bento:



Bottom tier: 3 onigiri with mushrooms and furikake, little bottle of soy sauce
Second to bottom tier: Salad with carrots and cucumbers. Little bottles of salad dressing, each holding about a tablespoon. I think she'll only use one, but better safe than sorry.
Next tier: Italian dry salami and extra sharp cheddar cheese for some protein
Dessert on the top tier: cherries

Belated Cake Photo

My parents' 40th Anniversary cake - because they love air hockey. Yes, this was back in oh, December. I am nothing if not consistent in how late I am in posting pictures! What made me think of it is that today is our 17th anniversary - and we'll be heading to the Catacombs for dinner. I will have to remember my camera. And I'll have to remember to USE it to take pictures. Oh, and post them. Right.

What you can't see in this photo (it was late and lighting in my kitchen is horrible at night) is that there were thousands of tiny pin holes for the 'air holes' in a regular air hockey table. It was set on 4" tall wooden dowels and bolted to the wooden board underneath (which is nicely wrapped, of course *G*)



It smelled so sweet! Once again, Charm City Cakes comes through!

Apple things

JT is waxing poetic over what he is calling "the best apple thingies ever."

Roo: "The apples! They speak to me!"

The picture, however, does little justice to it:


I'm guessing this is a hit in this house. And it's a simple simple recipe. Yay for that!

3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, sliced and quartered (Yay for Pampered Chef Apple Peeler Corer Slicer)
1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Sprinkle lemon juice over apple. Mix together sugars, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour over apples and mix to coat (I do this in a covered bowl and shake it until it's evenly distributed). Pour melted butter over all. Cover and bake at 350* for 45 minutes.

Serve as is with fresh whipped cream or cool slightly and place in the middle of puff pastry squares (ended up with that instead of phyllo - JT got the wrong thing, but that's okay, it worked). Pull corners in to cover. Place on greased baking sheet and bake at 400* for 15 minutes.

Serve hot with yet more whipped cream.

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

After watching the Good Eats episode, House of the Rising Bun, I was hit with a craving for really good cinnamon rolls. So off I went to the website, grabbed the recipe and here are the results (these are from last week):

The night before, prepared to go rest in the refrigerator overnight:




The next morning, right from the oven:




Dressed for table:



They were amazingly good!