Also, I am using this public forum to encourage us to eat out less which includes better meal planning. You can follow how we are doing in this endeavor by reading True Food Confessions.
This Week's Food Waste
A couple more tomatoes went bad on the counter. This time I can't say that I was surprised by them. I meant to get to them because I knew that they were starting to go bad, but something else always seemed more important. I eventually did get there and saved several, but not these two.
This Week's True Food Confessions
We were lucky this week that we got to go to both a cook out and a pig roast. We took cookies and chips to them, so it was an easy weekend. During the week, we had to make some adjustments to our plans, so we had scrambled eggs one night instead of the chicken that we had planned. We had the chicken the next night. But the important part of this story is that we ate at home when the plans changed when it would have been easier to eat out. Score one for us.
But I had the most fun this week making lasagne by working with what was in the house. No ricotta cheese, so I used no-fat cottage cheese and sour cream. Not enough lasagne noodles, so I substituted spaghetti. Also I mixed kale, that we were trying to use up, with spinach and added some ground meat. And I can't remember how many different cheeses I put in using up the end of several packages. The result? It was quite good, if I do say so myself.
We'll see how we do next week, but if we can continue to cook on most days, I will be happy.
Way to go on the improv work! My goal is similar to yours (cook on most days). My goal is to not eat out or decadently during the week, so I can enjoy a little guilt-free eating out/a treat on the weekend.
ReplyDeleteI think that you also take your lunch to work. We're about 50/50 on that, but one thing at a time.
DeleteWe do scrambled eggs for quick and easy dinners at our house, too. Sometimes I just have too much going on in a day, too much carpooling,etc to get a traditional dinner to the table by a reasonable hour. In my mind, the point is, every one ate a balanced meal.
ReplyDeleteThe eggs worked out especially well because we had some bacon to use up. We didn't have eggs on our dinner menu this week because we had them in burritos last week.
DeleteYou must have a very active imagination to have thought up that lasagna dinner. I would have given up when I didn't have enough noodles.
ReplyDeleteIt's either an active imagination or that I was too tired to go to the store. Either one, it worked.
DeleteYes, we have breakfast for dinner sometimes, also! I really like it since breakfast happens to be my favorite meal.
ReplyDeleteGreat job making dinner at home even when it's easier to go out. It can be a huge challenge with a busy family and the unexpected things that come up!
Thanks for the kind words. I will try to live up to them again next week.
DeleteWell done! I'm interested in the spaghetti substitute? Last time I found I was out of lasagne in the middle of cooking, I sent my hubby up to the shop for some, but I could have used spaghetti? Did you cook it and layer it on the sauce? (Also, we had French Toast for breakfast yesterday. It's getting better...the cinnamon and vanilla are a great addition but what bread do you recommend?)
ReplyDeleteI think I was only two noodles short, so I just laid the spaghetti out lengthwise where the noodles should have gone. I laid it out touching each other but not overlapping trying to approximate a noodle. It turns out that the spaghetti is the same length as the lasagne noodle, so that worked out. My recipe uses extra water so you don't have to cook the noodles ahead of time, so I didn't cook the spaghetti either.
DeleteI have made the entire "lasagne" dish before using another kind of noodle by weighing the other pasta so I have the same amount that I would have had with the lasagne noodles. If you cooked the pasta ahead of time, I don't think it would matter how much you used. It would just depend how you like your dish.
For French toast, many people swear by French or Italian bread that you can cut into thicker pieces. It is also, recommended that you use day old bread. The staleness of this bread should help with the sogginess. It's also a good use for old bread. However, we use whatever bread we happen to have around. I think the key to it all is how long you dip it and if the skillet is the right temperature when you fry it. If I'm not careful, I will have the skillet too hot and burn it. Thankfully, I have a family that is okay with that. However, If I am patient, medium heat works the best.
Thanks for the French Toast tips. Back to the lasagne - lasagne noodles? What are they?! We don't get such a thing over here, only lasagne sheets.
DeleteInteresting, I have never seen lasagne sheets until I just googled them. Generally, what we have here are noodles approx. 9 inches long by 1 1/4 inches wide with curly edges. (I'm not sure of the exact dimensions because I don't have any to measure.) Three fit across our standard 9x13 inch cake pans. I actually liked the texture of the spaghetti better, although I don't know about a whole pan of it.
DeleteDo you cut your sheets before or after using them? Do you cut them into other shapes for other things?
I'm learning a lot these days about life across the pond. Something I never anticipated when I started blogging. Thanks for educating me once again.