Pantry Cooking

Until Justin starts his new job we are uber short on cash. And now we need to get some money together to move back into our house. To save money this week I decided not to go grocery shopping. I have a gallon of milk, a gallon of orange juice, and a gallon of iced tea (for the adults). If there is no drink specified we are drinking water. The only fresh produce I had in the house was a red pepper, a bag of baby carrots, and a bag of celery. I don't have any fresh meat in the house, but I do have 18 eggs (well 14 as of this morning) and some bacon. We will be making due with some seafood I have in the freezer, peanut butter and canned tuna/salmon. We have plenty of canned and frozen vegetables as well as frozen, canned and dried fruit. Everything I planned for a week's worth of meals is coming out of things I have on hand. I think the most important part of being frugal with food is having desert everyday. It keeps you from feeling deprived.

Saturday –
Breakfast: Bacon, Cheerios, Raisins, Milk
Snack: Fruit cups
Lunch: Tuna & celery sandwiches, carrots
Dinner: Grilled cheese sandwiches, sliced red peppers
Dessert: Popsicles

Sunday –
Breakfast: Eggs, Toast, Orange juice
Snack: Yogurt
Lunch: Mexican rice (rice with tomatoes & seasonings)
Dinner: Steak (from freezer) & cheese sandwiches, green beans, Milk
Dessert: Berries (from freezer) with Cool Whip

Monday –
Breakfast: Oatmeal, Milk
Snack: Dried apricots
Lunch: PB & J sandwiches, carrots
Dinner: Salmon (from canned) Patties with Biscuits and Lima beans, Milk
Dessert: Brownies

Tuesday –
Breakfast: Raisin Bran with Milk
Snack: Fruit cups
Lunch: Canned soup
Dinner: Tuna & mushroom casserole with Peas, Milk
Dessert: Leftover brownies

Wednesday –
Breakfast: Pancakes, Orange juice
Snack: Yogurt
Lunch: Ants on a log (celery, peanut butter, raisins)
Dinner: Spaghetti & Meatballs (from freezer), Milk
Dessert: Jello-O

Thursday –
Breakfast: Hash browns, Eggs, Orange juice
Snack: Crackers & cheese
Lunch: Any leftovers, remaining celery/carrots/dried fruit, Yogos
Dinner: Shrimp (from freezer) Fettuccini Alfredo, canned corn, Milk
Dessert: Cinnamon sugar toast

Friday –
Breakfast: Cinnamon Raisin Bagels (from freezer), Milk
Snack: Fig Newtons
Lunch: Souped up Ramen
Combine 1 package Ramen noodles, 1 can condensed mushroom soup, 1 can water, 1 can tuna (drained), 1 cup peas, & ¼ teaspoon each of salt & pepper (or to taste). Cook on medium-low until noodles are soft & everything is warm. Remove from heat & stir in 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese.
Dinner: Tilapia filets (from freezer), Broccoli & Cheese, Mashed Potatoes (boxed)
Dessert: Graham crackers

We were so close!

Well we finally got sick. We haven't been sick all winter and I thought we were actually going to make it through the whole season healthy. We have been sick for several days and I'm hoping it won't last much longer. We are having house guests this weekend and I feel so bad for them. They'll probably leave here with an awful cold. I did forewarn them but they insisted on coming anyways. I'm also getting way behind with school work with my girls. I know I don't feel like teaching and I can't imagine that they feel like sitting and trying to concentrate. They don't even feel like playing, they just laid around all day drawing and "reading." Someone shared this recipe for frittata muffins and I can't wait to make some for breakfast:

INGREDIENTS:
8 eggs
2 pkgs frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1/4 cup fresh grated parmesean or asiago cheese
1 clove chopped garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450. Combine ingredients in large bowl and pour into large muffin pan (the kind of pan that gets 6 jumbo muffins instead of 12 small) filling cups all the way to the top. Bake for 15 minutes. Enjoy."

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=293286.0

The woman who shared this with me used a regular-sized 12-muffin/cupcake pan and baked them for about 12-13 minutes. She also sprayed the pan. You could probably adapt this to use with any frittata recipe that you like.