More budget friendly meal idea

My cousin and I were talking about our shopping list this week. We compiled a few meal ideas that are very budget friendly. Here they are.

When making spaghetti double or triple the amount of sauce you make. Then you can re-purpose it for lasagna or baked ziti. Next week on Monday I plan to make lasagna then on Thursday I will be making spaghetti. Aside from boiling noodles I don't have to do a damn thing!

I like to do a lot in the crock pot. One of my favorite things to do is cook chicken with onions and garlic. One night I fry a portion of it up with some coriander and adobo and make tacos. The next night I add some green enchilada sauce and make quesidillas. Lisa stretches hers even farther and makes enchiladas.

I also love to make Lisa's Spanish chicken recipe in the crock pot. One night I make taco salads and the next night enchiladas.

My husband loves pork carnitas. When making those I double up since it is only onions, garlic and pork, and some water in the crock pot. The next night you add BBQ sauce and wala pulled pork sammies.

When you make large cuts of steak like tri tip reuse some for tri tip salads, fajitas or sandwiches.

My husband loves frozen chicken wings. They can be grilled, fried or baked. For only ten bucks a bag you get a ton of chicken. I like to use them for what I call weekend meals. I don't like to cook much on weekends and I don't like meals with leftovers. Having those wings around is a cheap way to know my hubs will make food. Normaly on Saturday if I don't want to cook I say fuck it lets get fast food. But now I'm going to make sure I have plenty of wings on hand for him to play with. He can grill em, toss em in hot sauce and butter, fry em or do whatever and it doesn't cost me any thing but the initial cost. One bag lasts at least a month.

I make other cheapy weekend meals like burgers. They are great, no left overs and cheap. You can do so much with a burger too so you can make it more then once in a month. Mushroom burgers, chili burgers, Mexican burgers you name it.

One of the tips I was given in a comment was actually pretty brilliant. If you need a lot of something buy two smaller ones. For example we use a lot of cheddar cheese. I used to be able to afford two big bricks a week. Now I can only buy cheese every two weeks. Well halfway through the week my cheese starts to get a little stale. Zip lock bags actually kind of suck in the way of cheese. This week I'm going to buy two smaller cheeses. That way I have a fresh one each week, I'm not throwing away the stale, discolored cheese and the price is close to the same. I took her advice with the sour cream and it worked great. I don't know about you but I have big issues with sour cream after it is open more then a week. This time I bought two smaller sour creams. Which is good because I've only used one, and the other one is still fresh and sealed up for next week.

Eggs are another great saver. You can do so much with eggs. Especially at the end of the week. Omelets for dinner, scrambles, or frittatas. At the end of the week, or on a Saturday my husband loves to go through the fridge and see what is left and make a big scramble (truth he tries to make omelets but it turns into scramble when he flips it..shhhh I didn't tell you). I've been known to do this too. Have a few mushrooms, some frozen spinach left over, maybe a little onion, and some bell peppers. A couple small pieces of two kinds of cheese and I'm set for a delicious breakfast, lunch or dinner. I always ALWAYS have hard boiled eggs in my fridge. Cheapest meal ever, egg salad sandwich on cheap white bread. Or they are a great cheap item to toss in the hubbies lunch box as a snack. He even has his own tiny salt shaker in there. Two eggs cost you maybe .25 in comparison to how much he would spend at a gas station on a snack, even a bag of chips now is over a dollar.

Other money savers are making more then just dinner. I TRY to make my husbands breakfast most days. Some days I fail but the days I succeed I save at least $4.00 of him going somewhere else. And if I make his lunch even 3 days a week, well that is $12.00 and if I tell the truth that his breakfast burritos cost him $5.00, well shit, that right there is a $15.00 a week savings. Imagine what I could buy for $15.00. His lunch cost a minimum of about $7.00 eating out. If I make 3 lunches I've now saved $21.00 and if I make both breakfast and lunch that is $36.00. I don't know about you but $36.00 is sure a lot of grocery money especially when I can buy a weeks worth of breakfast for just about the cost of one of his fast food meals. Eggs are cheap, bacon is fairly cheap when you consider a weeks worth of use. I like to make him breakfast burritos wrapped up in foil so he can eat them driving. Eggs, tortillas, some sausage and bacon, with a little cheese. Quick, simple, cheap and a nice hot and filling breakfast. Some days I make him breakfast sandwiches, Wonder bread, eggs, deli ham and mayo. Again, cheap!

I realize that waking up in time to make breakfasts and lunch sucks, BUT having that extra money in you're account doesn't suck! I also know first hand that making a double portion of dinner to serve as lunch is not any harder, it doesn't take any longer and you won't even notice. The same goes for double portions to reuse in another dinner. Instead of harder this will make your life easier. Not to mention I personally think spaghetti taste better the next day as my lunch!

Well...shit

Codi went to his one year doctor appointment today. Everything was terrific. He's walking, says his three words, does every single thing on the chart that a 12 month old should do, he even does stuff a 15 month old should do.

That is, except...

EAT!

After talking to the doctor he thinks Codi has a food aversion. He has given me the names of a few speech therapists. I guess some speech therapists work with children who won't eat. He said we will try textures, flavors, colors, methods of feeding and such plus techniques to desensitize him. I've started reading about it and it seems normal, well not normal but not WEIRD. So tomorrow I will call and we will get started. Has anyone else every experienced this? Were you told to see a speech therapist? Did it work?

They also pricked his finger and he looks a little anemic. The doctor said that was kind of a big NO SHITTER since DUH the kid won't eat. He is growing well, his head is nice and fat and he looked healthy and happy so the doctor wasn't overly worried. He said to start him on a vitamin, offer him every single food under the moon and work with the therapist.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Thank goodness for friends

Last week I went to my mail box and found the prettiest black and white polka dot box ever. Miss Mathers had sent me a care package. While I plan to do an entire post talking about every single item she sent me this post is about one item in particular. As you may have read I was in a bit of a funk last night. The kids wouldn't stop and my nerves were just on edge. I twittered about my need for chocolate. There was none in the house. I found myself in the kitchen staring at one of the things Mathers sent me.

Sweet Cinnamon Spice.

I made some toast sprinkled this on and then died. It was so delicious. So good in fact I don't have a picture of it because I shoveled in my mouth at lightening speed in order to avoid SHARING!

Yes. That is right, I'm a total asshole for the first time ever I didn't want to share with my kids.

Anyway there is a secret ingredient in this stuff that I know but won't tell that makes it so good. In fact I think Miss Mathers should change the name to "Magic Fairey Sweet Pixey Dust Deliciousness."

I suddenly thought OMG I could put this on popcorn or ice cream or in my coffee (which I plan to do tomorrow morning). And while I absolutly won't share my little stash with you I will give you the link so you can go order your own. But. If you do, order enough so you feel safe sharing. Otherwise, you better have a real good hiding spot.'
Order here...beware it's good shit!

SICK SICK JOKE

I used to tell my husband that God must really love me giving me two boys. After all I wanted boys. They are easier. Cheaper to shop for and mostly drama free.

However I've spent the last hour watching my two children ages THREE and ONE kicking, hitting and choke holding each other. Codi smacks Brandon in the face, Brandon retaliates by locking his legs over Codi's body so he can't move. They both respond by screaming. Codi jumps on Brandon and kicks him in the head so Brandon shoves him off the couch. The next thing I know Brandon is next to me saying MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY CODI PUSH ME MOMMY CODI PUSH ME MOMMY CODI PUSH ME and I have Codi on the other side tugging on my pants saying AHHHHHHHHHWAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHMMMMMMMMMAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAJ

Suddenly it occurred to me that God was playing a sick sick joke on me. Only me. Not Rob. Because in a few years these two will be Robs little buddies and then it will be THREE boys picking on me not two.

My husband is sitting over there on lifting his ass off the chair to make sure his fart is as loud and obnoxious as possible. Brandon is sitting here saying UUUHHHHHHHHH which is his version of a burp. Codi is sitting here poking me in the head laughing. All the while I'm sitting here with my head in my hands wishing for 14 fucking seconds of peace and quiet!

Oh and look there goes Codi with my very expensive iPhone in his mouth. Nope, never mind he just dropped it on the tile in favor of climbing my 11 stairs only to get to the top and SCREAM because he can't get down.

Brandon just stomped off to his room only to get up there and start yelling MOM I CAN'T TURN ON THE LIGHT I WANT KID MOVIE MY TV WONT TURN ON CODI IS TOUCHING MY SOCKS STOP IT CODI MOM CODI WONT GO OUT OF MY ROOM MOM.............

And right now I'm thinking fuck getting drunk can I please just have a jumbo bar of chocolate to dunk in a pot of melted chocolate and sprinkle with shaved chocolate.

At this moment I'm thinking fuck this parenting shit is hard. Because some days IT IS. Moms can't be sick, they can't just go hide in another room, they can't go to bed early. Shit, neither can dads. My husband has to be on call 24/7 with Brandon when he wakes up with his night terrors. I can't do it because I have a 2 foot tall tick stuck to my boobs all night.

Codi stop touching my computer mommy is typing. No no don't push that it turns off the comput..................zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Happy first birthday Codi

Now that is how you eat cake
Originally uploaded by wilddreemer

To see the rest of his pictures click over to my flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wilddreemer/


He had the best day!

Two sickies in a bed

I spent my day at work with two sickies in my office.

Don't let the smiles fool you they were only nice to each other for about 14 seconds. They spent the rest of the day kicking each other, screaming, shoving and wacking one another in the head with metal objects. Apparantly being sick does not make them be nicer to each other. Sicky one has had a bath and is upstairs in bed with dad snoring (dad is snoring too I can hear him ALL THE WAY DOWNSTAIRS)

Sicky two is passed out in the Boppy in my lap. He had half a bath (you know when you throw half your body in your brothers bath in an attempt to get in)

I'm pretty sure I'll be sicky #3 tomorrow. I feel like shit, my throat is scratchy and I'm exhausted. Note to husband..DON'T KISS ME AT ALL TOMORROW!

Food

I have a meatloaf recipe and a roasted onion potato recipe up on the food blog. Tonight I have another version of the roasted potatoes and a redoux of the cheesy chicken pasta. I've also started a new catagory over there for cooking with kids. I post up pics of my kids helping me cook. I think I will start putting notes at the bottom of the recipe telling what I let the kids do. For example when we made the meatloaf I put the crackers in a bag and let Brandon smash them. Then I mixed all the seasoning in a small bowl and gave him a tablespoon and let him scoop it in the big bowl as if he was measuring. I also let him crack the eggs in a small bowl first and then let him pour. The other night we made baked apples and I again mixed the seasoning and then let him scoop it in the apples. Then I let him put the precut butter in the apples and pour premeasured juice in there. When I work with cheese I have a small childrens butter knife that I give him. I cut some thin slices of cheese and put them on a plate and then let him cube them and eat them. That way he feels like he is cutting and chopping with me.

Anyway I will try and be better about getting pictures of him helping. I have added other labels too. Such as cheap (which I think I might re-title as budget cooking), and quick cooks. I'm really trying to keep the food blog a nice mix of budget friendly items and then impressive wow your man items.

Anyway check out the latest recipes on the Tasty Temptations blog.

Dear kids, your mom is an idiot..don't be like her

We had Codi's 1st birthday this weekend at Chuck E Cheese. I know lame huh? But, every kid coming was so much older then Codi it made sense to have the party somewhere that would entertain them, and also somewhere that I DIDN'T HAVE TO CLEAN UP AFTER!

The party was mass hysteria. Seriously that place is like a hornets nest. Only imagine hornets who scream and yell and push and shove and steal other kids tickets and break games and spill juice on themselves and get stuck on the slide and OMFG GET ME OUT OF HERE. Our two tables were actually very pleasant. Codi loved his cake the food was devoured and I think there was only one or two crying incidents from my table the entire time. And one of them was totally MINE!

You see. There was this game there. Ginger played it once and got a ton of tickets so I figured sure why not. The premise is there is a ball attached to a rod. The ball spins around in a circle clockwise. What happens is, you put in your token and the machine gives you a number like 4. Then you have a mallet thing and you get to smash this button in attempt to make the ball spin around the number of times shown or more. Only it doesn't give you a number like 4 it gives you numbers like THIRTY FUCKING TWO! Right. So Ginger says it's sooo easy and she did it the first time and played for like four hours on one token. SO. I whack it. the ball goes around 7 times. I get a little mad and put another token in. Ginger says it's easier if you put your other hand on the mallet when you whack it. So I try. I make it around 18 times toward my new goal of 31. Cram another token in. 17 spins. Now I'm just getting mad. I never got a number lower then 31 to try and beat. Now I'm seeing red. I finally decided it is because the mallet is attached to a string no more then a foot long. You can't even lift the mallet to get good leverage (well you could if you were three feet tall).

I stare at this stupid machine and figure I'll just hit it harder. I smash another token into the fucking machine and mash it with the mallet. FOUR. FOUR FUCKING TIMES AROUND. My cousin Lisa walks up and starts laughing at me. "Four times Shannon is that all." That is why they don't make the mallet string longer because if they did I would have mashed her on the fucking head while she teased me.

THAT WAS IT!

I crammed a final token in the machine and before I knew it I was seeing red and BAMMMMMM!!!!!!!!! I mashed that bitch button with my fist.

OWWWWWWWW!

Fuck me. Now Ginger and Lisa are both laughing at me, shaking their heads obviously thinking this is something only Shannon would do at a kids place. So this morning when I was trying to cut some stuff for dinner, and last night when I was typing that is why my fucking hand hurts.

So. Some advice. Next time you are at Chuck E Cheese, maybe try stepping away from the stupid fucking game before you mash it and nearly break your hand. Perhaps go try something less dangerous like playing in the ball pit.

And NO! I didn't win. Even when I mashed that fucker with all my might bare fisted I still only made it around 9 times. Stupid fucking Shannon proof games.

What would you take

You are about the be stranded on a desert island. You can bring 3 things but!

You will be provided with all of the basic food and drink items.
You can not bring anything electric or battery operated.
You can not bring a person.

What three items do you bring?

Back from the dark side

I finished book four yesterday. I think I read all four in about 5 days. I must say the Twilight series might be the best set of books I've read in a really long time. I loved how it made me feel emotions. I was sad, mad, happy, hysterically crying, and furious at least once in every book. Every character made me mad and every character had some redeeming quality that made it so I loved them a thousand times more then I hated them. I dreamt about the book and thought about the characters and sympathized and empathized and just plain fell in love.

Yes. I feel like a dork. Yes. I told my husband I had a crush on a vampire and YES I really really do have a crush on a fictional vampire.

I love how this book was never written to be about traditional vampires. It wasn't all blood sucking and coming out at night. The book was never based on common myths and while of course the whole thing is fake the book is written in a way to make you believe it is TOTALLY FACT!

I would be lying if I said, the same way Sundry is consumed with zombies, I'm now convinced my husband is a secret ware wolf and both of my kids are half breeds, which is because of course I'm a secret vampire. Why else would I be so cold all the time, and why else would my husband radiate heat through me so well and why else would Codi have so much fun biting my boob when he nursed?

Not much else has been going on. This last few weeks I've been having the WORST round of vertigo. I go to bed spinning like some drunk idiot and wake up swaying and rocking so bad I nearly dropped Codi walking from my bed to the door the other day. I've been nauseous and just plain feeling shitty. You know that feeling girls that you sometimes get once a month where you feel like an empty cavern. Like even though you're not hungry you feel like you are starving. Like nothing can fill that void. That is how I've felt. I tried going back on iron to see if it helped. I messed with my vitamins, I ate a little different and nothing helped. I remember last time this happened I spent hundreds of dollars to hear the doctor tell me that with vertigo you have to wait it out. I know there is a pill I can take when vertigo gets too bad but of course since I'm nursing I can't take it.

Codi had his first birthday this weekend. As soon as I get the pictures off Katies camera (my battery died right when we walked in) I'll show you how my son showed his cake who was boss. He has his 1 year appointment this week and I'm sad because I know he won't make the weight requirement to turn around, hes one freaking pound short. I've gotten him to eat saltines and pancakes right now and that is it. Even now I put some cinnamon sugar toast in front of him and he looked at me like I just tried to feed him fois grois. Just to be clear if that was chocolate toast he would totally be eating it.

This just in, Brandon just sneezed a booger so long it DANGLED into his cereal bowl. Eww. Good thing he was almost done.

My parents let Brandon have their copy of Toys R Us Biggest Toy Book Ever. He now spends every night "reading" this book and telling me every single thing he NEEDS! He also points to everything and tells me what is a girl toy and what is a boy toy. Did you know a Hot Pink monopoly set is for boys only?

Brandon just whacked Codi in the head with some big piece of rubber thing while yelling JUKE! WTF is a Juke hmm? I have no clue. Earlier last week Brandon looked at me and told me I was a dork. Gee thanks kid. This weekend at the store with my husband we ran into some of his old work friends. Brandon looked at them and said, "you don't say shit." Hey thanks for that kid!

Oh yeah. We switched his daycare. And I plan to write a ton more about that on Wednesday. It is an excellent story! Seriously, watch for that one!

I feel like I spent the whole weekend doing the same things. I woke up and swept the floors and went to bed and swept the floors. I've cleaned my tables and counters like 6 times this weekend. I'm sitting here right now staring at the food on the floor wondering why kids have to spill so much. It is like they have some kind of built in mechanism forcing them to drop everything in an effort to irritate their parents. I think it is attached to the same mechanism that makes them wake up the second you fall asleep.

Oh did I tell you about this weekend when the giant motherfucker spider came running across my couch this weekend? The spider I tried to kill but instead watched in horror as he ran down the couch and hid UNDER IT. Yeah I didn't sit on that couch for two days because I was convinced spiders were going to come out and kill me. Yes, this was just a day after I was woken up by eight tiny legs crawling on my arm. You know eight tiny legs that fucking disappeared when I woke up and went to mush them! Fucking spiders.

Okay have to go and sweep the floor and try and convince Codi to stop climbing to the top of the stairs and then crying because he can't get down.