May 30, 2011

Menu Plan Monday: Lots of baking ahead


I'm so excited because this week is supposed to bring us cooler weather, and I actually don't have a jam-packed schedule for once, so I can get some baking done. I'm thinking banana muffins, blueberry-lemon coffee cake (I still haven't gotten around to making it), cereal bars, and sandwich bread. I'd love to make more but if I do more than this, I'll have to do it over two days - which I might. ;) We'll be eating out several times this week - not expensive meals, though, and it can't be helped!

Monday - Chicken enchiladas, salad

Tuesday - Meatloaf burgers, sweet potato fries

Wednesday - Dinner out

Thursday - Pizza using artisan bread dough (which, after some experimentation, has come to be my favorite pizza dough), salad

Friday - Spaghetti with cabbage and breadcrumbs (Martha Stewart Living recipe that I can't find online), fruit salad

Saturday - Dinner out (actually, it's a pot luck - I'm bringing a pasta salad and dessert)

Sunday - Dinner out

See more weekly menus at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

May 23, 2011

Menu Plan Monday: Simple Meals


I'm feeling tired and lazy as I prepare my menu for the week, so I'm looking to familiar, easy dishes that won't require much effort for me to put together:

Monday - Baked Fish (using frozen tilapia I bought at Trader Joe's), tossed salad

Tuesday - Breakfast (since it didn't happen last week): Waffles, eggs, bacon, sauteed cabbage

Wednesday - Tuna Pasta Salad (and maybe some biscuits)

Thursday - Beef tacos, salad

Friday - BLTs, sweet potato fries

Saturday - Not sure what our plans are, but there's always frozen pizza ;)

Sunday - Dinner out

See more weekly menus at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

May 19, 2011

Budgeting for Big but Unplanned Expenses

I've already mentioned our upcoming bathroom remodel, and how it's not something we've been planning but something that needs to be done because of water damage to the floor. The contractor will start work in a couple of weeks, and in the meantime, we've ordered and paid for the wall and floor tile. That was a substantial expense, and we still have more to buy - and we still have to pay the contractor too.

Apparently the 10-year mark is when things start breaking down around the house, because in addition to the water damage in the bathroom, we discovered that our water heater was leaking and needed to be replaced. That's been done, but it was a rather hefty and unexpected expense.

With these two major expenses happening back to back, I've been thinking about our budget and whether we should make any changes.

I'm not sure what we would do, though. We could create a home maintenance account, which would work much like our infrequent bills account - every month, we'd deposit a predetermined amount into the account, and we'd make withdrawals from the account when expenses need to be paid. But I wouldn't know where to begin deciding how much to put into the account every month, and it would be just one more account I'd have to keep track of.

And our current system works pretty well. The money to pay for these expenses will come out of our emergency fund, which is well funded since that was one of our steps for me to quit my job as an attorney. Really, the only issue is that psychologically, it's hard for me to part with money that's in our "savings" because it's not intended to be spent!

How do you budget for unplanned expenses?

May 17, 2011

Three Ways to Make Zankou Chicken Garlic Spread

I'm a huge fan of Zankou Chicken's roasted chicken, which is served with pita bread and their famous garlic spread. The garlic spread is white, thick, and just a tad lumpy. It's super garlicky, and is just the perfect match for the chicken.

As I mentioned earlier this week, I want us to eat out less. And a full dinner from Zankou runs our family $15 to $20, plus the cost of veggie sides. So I recreated a meal from Zankou for dinner last night using a whole chicken from the freezer, and Jennifer B. asked for the recipe of their garlic spread since I confessed to breaking the emulsion yesterday.

I've made the garlic spread several times, and I've tried a few different ways. The one thing you need is a blender, because I don't think a whisk is going to get the job done.

So the first version I tried, via Chowhound, involved 3 small russet potatoes, 14 cloves of garlic minced (1 head), 1/3 cup of fresh lemon juice, 1/2 tablespoon salt, and 1/2 cup canola oil (tip: "mince" the garlic using a microplane). I made mashed potatoes, then pureed the rest of the ingredients, and then added the potatoes. It tasted okay, but more like garlicky-lemony mashed potatoes than garlic spread.

So the next version I made eliminated the potatoes. When you add the oil slowly to the garlic, lemon juice and salt, it emulsifies and turns into this glorious, thick mayonnaise type consistency. What I learned the hard way is that you need to let it mellow for a few hours at least. The sauce was way too intense at dinner, but the next morning it was delicious.

That second version is what I was going for yesterday. Unfortunately, I didn't add the oil slowly enough and my emulsion broke. It was no longer thick and glossy but liquidy. I tried starting over but for some reason I couldn't get the second emulsion to form either, so I was feeling a little desperate. I've served roasted chicken with my white bean dip, so it occurred to me to add about 1/2 cup of cannellini beans to my non-emulsified liquid. It did the trick, and I had a spreadable sauce that was still garlicky and lemony and went nicely with the chicken.

I'm not sure which version I prefer - the second or the third. In the future, I'll probably try making the second version, and resorting to the third if my emulsion breaks again.

Be warned - it's a lot of garlic and it's intense! But delicious :)

May 2, 2011

Thoughts on Extreme Couponing

The monthly Nabisco Cookies Facebook printable hit its print limit so quickly this month that I couldn't help but wonder if the new TLC show, Extreme Couponing, has resulted in more people using coupons.

That in itself would be a great thing - while it might eventually cause prices to rise because stores can't afford to lose too much money on loss leaders, I think everyone should have a price book and pay rock bottom prices whenever possible. It would do wonders for our collective financial consciousness if everyone paid more attention to how much money they spend. Maybe it would even get people thinking about living within their means!

I've only watched one segment of Extreme Couponing, and I have to admit that it made me uncomfortable to see carts full of the same item. If the store is okay with a customer buying 100 of the same item for free after coupon, I guess it's fine. I personally would be uncomfortable and reluctant to do that, especially in one transaction.

I've read some things that indicate some of the couponers portrayed are actually committing coupon fraud by using coupons for items other than those stated on the coupon. That is obviously detrimental to all coupon users, especially those of us who follow the rules stringently. I hope that rather than glorify coupon fraud, the show will actually condemn it and maybe even help to stop it.

I'm also hoping that the show will result in less animosity toward coupon users. There are so many stories in the coupon forums about cashiers and other shoppers getting annoyed or even rude when the coupons come out. I've experienced this a couple of times myself, always at Target, and I now shop there a lot less than I used to. Maybe Extreme Couponing can make cashiers and other customers supportive or at least curious when someone uses a bunch of coupons. I've gotten "wow"s on occasion and that's always fun.

One thing about couponing that I'm not sure is accurately portrayed on the show is how much time and effort "extreme" couponing takes. I don't consider myself "extreme" and yet I'm maxed out on time and effort. It takes time to plan my shopping trips and transactions, clip my coupons, go to the different stores, make adjustments depending on the store's stock, and pay for my purchases. It's a part-time job in and of itself - which is fine for me, because I consider it fun. But I certainly couldn't do more.

What do you think about Extreme Couponing?

Menu Plan Monday: I have to bake in the heat!



I had that fabulously productive baking day on Friday, but I have to contribute something to a school event on this week, which means I have to bake in 90+ degree weather. When I have to bake in the heat, I try to make a bunch of things at once and turn the oven on no more than once a week, so I'll also plan on making corncake (thanks for the suggestion, Brandy!), coffee cake, cinnamon rolls and pop tarts too. But we'll still have to eat "real" food for dinner :)

Monday - Beef tacos with the fixings (lettuce, cheese, etc.)

Tuesday - Grilled pizza (so I don't have to turn on the oven), salad

Wednesday - Tuna Pasta Salad, served over lettuce

Thursday - Roast chicken (in the slow cooker, not the oven), flat bread, mashed potatoes, garlic sauce

Friday - Chicken nachos, salad

Saturday - Breakfast (waffles, eggs, bacon or sausage)

Sunday - Dinner out

See more weekly menus at I'm an Organizing Junkie.