You know how it goes: Some days are better than other days, some weeks are better than other weeks, and some months are better than other months.
January was definitely not one of our better months so when February came we decided to celebrate a new beginning by allowing ourselves a few treats. We continued to “shop” mostly from the pantry and from our freezer, but we did spend a little more than we usually do.
We splashed out for some extra vegetables to supplement what’s left from our Good Food Boxes and bought some dairy products, including a half litre of whipping cream. Whipping cream is a big treat at our house and we really enjoyed it.
I bought liver on Saturday. It’s one of the few meats I don’t like to freeze and it’s usually very affordable. We were both looking for a comfort food meal and I was looking for something quick and easy to prepare. At $1.96 for enough liver to feed the two of us, it was a worthwhile purchase, even while I'm participating in a pantry challenge.
In keeping with my “Thing One and Thing Two” meal planning style, I did use the leftovers from our Wednesday supper to form the basis of our evening meals on Thursday and Friday. That helped to keep our costs down.
I think we did okay. Our total expenditures for the week came to $22.73 - just over 15% of our alloted food budget for February.
Here’s what we ate this week:
Monday, January 30:
- Breakfast – Poached eggs on English muffins (from the freezer), apples
- Supper – Roasted beets and carrots, blue cheese risotto, orange sorbet
Tuesday, January 31:
- Breakfast – Oatmeal, canned pears
- Supper – Scrambled eggs and toast, apples
Wednesday, February 1:
- Breakfast – Peach spice muffins (from the freezer), Brie, apples
- Supper – Bacon wrapped bone-in turkey breast, baked yams, apples with maple oatmeal cookie crust
Thursday, February 2:
- Breakfast – granola, oranges
- Supper – Whole wheat spaghettini with turkey and bacon, celery and mushroom salad with herb vinaigrette, pear sauce pie with whipped cream
Friday, February 3:
- Breakfast – Wheat and white biscuits, pear butter, yogurt
- Supper – Frittata made from Thursday’s leftover turkey and bacon spaghettini, salad of romaine lettuce, grated carrot and beet with homemade thousand island dressing, leftover pie and whipped cream
Saturday, February 4:
- Breakfast – Johnny cake and stewed rhubarb
- Supper – Liver and onions, beef gravy, mashed potatoes, peas, oranges
Sunday, February 5:
- Breakfast – Yogurt, stewed rhubarb, and granola parfaits
- Supper – Herb and onion waffles (from the freezer), creamed eggs, grilled tomatoes
This post is linked to the Eat From the Pantry Challenge hosted by Coping With Frugality.
4 comments:
Wow, you are doing great! How did you make the bacon wrapped Turkey breasts? I am going to do some bacon wrapped bone in chicken pieces later this week. I was planning on removing the skin and then doing them in the slow cooker.
I simply took the turkey breast with the skin on and wrapped it in the bacon. (I left the skin on because I find turkey breast can be quite dry. The skin imparts both flavour and moisture.) I put it on a broiler pan (with a raised rack that allows the fat to drain) and put it in a 350F oven. I baked it until it reached an internal temp of 165F and then removed it to a board, tented it with foil and let it rest 10 minutes. I removed the bacon and set it aside--easy to do because it cooked into one solid piece--removed the skin from the turkey breast, removed the breast meat from the bone and carved it. My husband used the cooked bacon for lunch time sandwiches.
Bacon tends to go flaccid when cooked in the slow cooker. It's too moist an environment for it to crisp up, but it does impart good flavour. If I were going to cook bacon-wrapped anything in the slow cooker, I'd allow a few extra minutes at the end of cooking, remove the cooked meat with the bacon still on it to a broiler pan, and put it under the broiler for a few minutes to crisp and brown the bacon. It's worth the extra effort.
Thanks - we ended up having major schedule changes this week and didn't get the meal made in the slow cooker so I think I will make it in the oven tonight like you did :)
That happens. :) I hope it turns out well for you.
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