Black Olive Diced Tomato Fritata $ 4.48

Yippee!! another egg dish! Seriously, I could probably do 365 days of egg dishes- no joke. There are just so many ways to prepare eggs: scrambled, fried, boiled, poached, sunny side up, over easy, in an omelette, quiche, strata, list goes on and on and on. The nutrition in eggs is incredible(all you old timers- do you remember "the incredible edible egg" compaign?) Eggs contain a high quality protein, iron, and zinc. For 70 calories per egg, eggs play a big role in weight management, muscle strength, and healthy pregnancies. Egg also cantain Vitamin A and Vitamin E. Vitamin A aids in vision and general cell growth, which aids in healthy skin, and Vitamin E, which is an antioxident that works well with vitamin C and selenium to prevent damage to the body from free radicals. For less then a .25 a day, so many nutrients can be consumed by cracking open the little white gem!
As I said, there are so many ways to consume and prepare eggs, I happen to love Fritatas because they are so easy. they are essentially like an omelette, except they are open faced and not folded over in the cooking process. So basically, I just throw everything I want in my fritata in a bowl, mix well and cook it up in a pan.
Today Im going for my favorite pizza topping- black olives, tomato, and mozarella fritata

you will need 4 eggs .44
1/2 lowfat milk .15
1 can diced tomato, drained $1.69
1 cup black olives $1.15
1/2 cup mozarella .65
salt and pepper
2 tsp oil(canola or olive oil).40

mix all ingredient in bowl(except for oil)
heat oil in skillet on medium
add mixture, with spatula move around tomatos and olives so they are even through out the fritata
slightly move the fry pan so the egg cooks evenly too.
as the egg gets cooked, the liquid will become less and less
for last 2 minutes, put lid on the fritata to ensure egg is cooked thoroughly.

Turkey Bacon and Swiss Panini $4.90

Before I even discuss the ingredients for this sandwhich, I want to disucss the cooking utensil used to make the panini, and that would be my panini maker, purchased at, none other then Walgreens. I couldnt even say when I purchased my panini maker, but it is going on atleast two years ago, maybe 3, and it is going strong, having made 100's and 100's of paninis. We have made anything from grilled cheese, to tuna melts to PB&J and anything in between. Something about eating something hot and gooey is so appealing, and the ease of it all is the biggest bonus. Paninis are going to be our lunch today and possibly dinner as well. Between me working, and shuffling Michael and his buddies to Lacross camp at 1:00 and then picking him up from camp nd driving him 20 miles in opposite direction for travel baseball game, dinner wont be until after 8 00. My usual inclination would be to stop at Subway or Potbelly on the way home, but thats not happening anymore.
Panini alla Walgreens:

2 slices of bread per sandwhich(Im starting with 6, because Michaels friends are staying for lunch) .60
6 strips of bacon .75
1 package of deli turkey $2.59
3 slices swiss cheese .96
$4.90

cook bacon in pan, do not over cook, because they will be too crumbly in the sandwhich
place bacon peices between papertowels to absorb the grease
build sandwhich, placing bacon between the turkey and cheese on the bread
place in panini maker and cook according to how crispy you want your bread

Salmon Carbonara $8.78

I have never really known what to do with canned salmon except use it like tuna and make salmon salad, and then I found this site on the internet with tons and tons of recipes using Alaskan canned salmon. Lots of recipes wouldnt work, due to lack of ingredients, but some would work and some could be tweaked to incorporate ingredients I have to work with. Carbonara has been an old standby in our family since I was little, so with a bit of creativity, I invented a salmon version, loaded with tons of nutrients, because like tuna, salmon packs a big punch in nutrition.
What you will need:

1 lb spaghetti $1.50
1 can Alaskan Salmon $3.49
1 small can tomato sauce $1.79
3 strips of bacon .40
2 egg yolks, 1 egg white,30
1/2 cup evaporated milk .85
1/2 tsp pepper .05
1 tsp salt .05
2 tsp garlic powder.10
1 tablespoon olive oil .25

boil noodles according to instruction
in large skillet, cook bacon until crisp, remove from skillet and rap in papertowel to absorb grease, break bacon into small peices
in bowl combine eggs, egg whites, and evaporated milk, mix until smooth and even consistency
add salt and pepper
in skillet add olive oil, tomato sauce, bacon bits, salmon(break chunks up) garlic powder
cook on medium for 10 minutes, stirring
when noodles are cooked, drain and toss in skillet, adding the egg mixture as well. mix combination together well for 5 minutes
remove from heat and serve

shopping list June 13-19 Walgreens

Canned, boxed, dried and refrigerated goods:
canned salmon $3.49
olive oil $3.99
bacon 2/$5.00
eggs $1.29
evaporated milk $1.69
1 can peas $1.59
honey $3.79
1 can black olives $ 2.29
dried parsley $ 1.19
dried onion powder $ 1.19
garlic salt $1.19
pepper $ 1,29
salt .99
2 boxes pasta(1 linguine, 1 penne)$3.00
2 can clams $3.98
1 can tomato sauce $1.79
2 cans tuna $1.98
2 loaves bread $3.98
turkey $ 2.59
swiss cheese $3,29
rice $2.29
green beans $1.59
mushrooms .50
chicken broth .99
mandarin oranges .50
pinapple $1.99
2 cans diced tomatos $3.38
oatmeal $4.99
milk $1.99
dried cranberry $1.00
dried blueberries $1.50

Risotto with Mushrooms and Peas $6.86

OK, so this dish really isnt a "Risotto" dish, it is more like an instant rice dish, that I make in the same fashion as Risotto is made. I think Risotto gets its flavor from being a long grain rice and being cooked very slowly, while taking in the flavor of herbs and liquids added. So even though I was using instant rice, I cooked the rice in chickenbroth and different dried ingredients and a spash of white wine, very slowly, while stiring all along. The right amount of garlic powder goes a long, long way to add flavor.

Ingredients:
2 cups white rice .65
1 3/4 cup chicken broth $1.99
1/4 cup white wine .30
1 can green peas $1.99
1 can mushrooms $1.79
1 tablespoon garlic powser .10
1 tsp salt .02
1 tsp pepper .02
parm cheese optional

in soup pot on low add rice and chicken broth and wite wine, stiring constantly until rice starts to absorb liquid.
when 3/4 absorbed add garlic powder, salt and pepper, mushrooms and peas, contiue to stir, careful not to smash the the peas
cook until rice is tender and the liquid is gone
remove from heat and add parm cheese

June 13-19 menu Walgreens

We sat down to write out menu for the week and although I thought it would be a huge challenge not to have any fresh produce, chicken, fresh/frozen fish as options, it actually was a snap.

Here it is, and I am up for the challenge

I am not going to specify days this week, because lately with it being summer and us having tons of travel baseball games and practice, days sometimes get mixed up as far as meals and even lunch is sometimes our main meal.

Salmon Carbonara
Mushroom/Green pea Rice dish
Black Olive Diced Tomato Fritata
Spaghetti White Clam Sauce
Mini Crab cakes with Mandarin and Pinapple Salsa
Turkey, Mozarella, Bacon Panini
Loaded with fruit Oatmeal

Convenient Store Cooking

23 Million Americans live in what are known as Food Deserts. Food Deserts are essentially nutritional wastelands that lack reasonable, affordable acess to grocery stores. They exist in primarily rural and urban parts of the country but can be found just about anywhere. People that live in these "deserts" are forced to stock their cabinets with food from convenience stores. Michele Obamas " Lets Move" campaign to stop childhood obesity, has set a goal to eliminate food deserts entirely w/in 7 years. In the meantime what are people to do who live in these deserts? It has been proven over and over again we are a product of what we put in our bodies, and we owe it to ourselves and our families to provide healthy balanced meals. I am a firm believer that if a bit of effort is made, there is enough healthy options at convenient stores that cooking and eating healthy is entirely possible. We have allready starting incorporating "Walgreens" recipes into our blog, and we are going to take it a step further and cook and eat the entire week from the products on the shelves and refrigerator/freezers of Walgreens. We allready planned the menu, and I clipped all my coupons, so I am off(walking, I might add) to my local convenience store which is less then a mile a way.