Spaghetti Taco alla I Carly .95

Strange I know, and invented by the preteen/teen/and sometime parent show-I Carly. I had extra pasta and sauce, and needed something quick and easy and thought why not try something made famous by Miranda Cosgrove and clan on I Carly. I had a little left over pasta and this meal didnt require tons of pasta, just enough to fit into 4 Tacos. I definitely wasnt expecting a lot, especially because this meal packs a lot of carbs and didnt require much in terms of ingredients or prep. However, upon taking first bite, the combo of the crunch from the tortilla and the softness of the pasta and the sauce, was very enjoyable. It was like combining two worlds, Mexico and Italy!! Some recipes call for cheese, or atleast have cheese as optional, either shredded or parm cheese, but that didnt appeal to me. So our Spaghetti Tacos were very plain.
ingredients
4 taco shells .40
1/4 lb pasta .25
1/2 cup prepared tomato sauce .30

I think left over pasta works best, but cooking up some pasta works as well.
Boil noodles according to instruction
drain and top with sauce
fill taco shell
our recipe was so simple that I had my friends daughter do the filling

Shopping for the first week in August

Assumed in your Pantry

Olive oil
Cumin
Chili powder
Cayenne Pepper
Salt
Red wine vinegar
Crushed red pepper
Black pepper
Balsamic vinegar

Aisle One
Sauce for pizzas

Dairy
Cheese for pizza
Orange juice
Swiss Cheese

Pantry
Corn tortillas
Black Beans (canned or dried)
Angel hair pasta

Produce/Bakery
Whole Wheat Pitas (not necessarily pockets)
Hamburger buns

1 fresh pineapple
1 red pepper
Red onion (a big one or several small ones)
Cilantro (a good size bunch)
3-4 Limes
Summer squash (or zucchini if preferred)
Mushrooms
Corn (on the cob) or frozen
Avocado
A lot of Cherry tomatoes
Fresh Basil
Spinach
Capers
Lemon juice (or juice of a lemon)

Meat
Meat for your pizzas
1 lb flank steak
Turkey luncheon meat

Frozen
Salmon Fillets
Corn (unless you buy corn on the cob)
1 to 1 ½ lbs Chicken tenderloins
1 to 1 ½ lbs frozen (raw) shrimp

Misc.
Tequila
Chicken broth
Wasa Krisp Break Crackers

While we haven't talked too much about spending less than $70 on these seven meals, we still know you can do it!  This is a long list of produce, but it's stuff we're using alot this time of year, and maybe you have some in your garden, can swap with someone you know who does have a garden, or can go to a market!  Support those who grow for us!

August 1-7, 2010

Yeap, it's August.  Well, tomorrow is August.  We've given you our recipes and menus and some of our thoughts for the past seven months.  Still fun!  Still making our lives easier, and hopefully yours too.  Hope you like the new (free) blog design we chose.  We're trying hard here!

So, this week we're planning:

Pita Pizza
Steak Fajita
Grilled Tequila Citrus Salmon w/ summer squash & mushrooms
Corn, Avocado & Tomato Salad over Chicken
Tomato Basil Black Bean Patty
Angel Hair Pasta with Shrimp & Spinach (with a side of sliced tomatoes & balsamic vin).
Swiss Turkey Krisp

that's it!

Fruit Tart $ 6.53

This came purely out of an accident. we were trying to make a pizza crust using a Jiffy Corn Muffin mix and didnt realize that the mix was on the sweet side, so we quickly switched gears and decided to make a dessert. My first thought was Nutella and spread it on like frosting and then top it with nuts or dried fruit, yum. Then I remembered how much I love mini fruit tarts and did a bit of internet research and concluded the "custard" part is cream cheese mixed with sugar. Next we needed dried fruit, We spent about 5 dollars on fruit, but only used $2.00 in the recipe(the rest of the fruit we will eat) We did decide to go for the mandarin oranges, canned peaches, fruit coctail, dried cranberries, and dried apricots. Next time I make this tart, I am going to include pinapple. This dessert is loaded with vitamins A, C, D and antioxidents as well. Cranberries are considered one of the super foods.
Ingredients:
Jiffy corn muffin mix $1.99
1 egg .15
1/2 cup canned peaches .60
1/2 cup canned mandarin oranges .60
1/2 cup fruit coctail .60
1/4 cup dried cranberries .40
10 oz cream cheese $1,79
2 tsp granulated sugar ,20
2 tablespoons strawberry jam .20

Make corn muffin mix in a pie tin or a baking pan (9X6)
let cool
when completely cooled mix softened cream cheese and sugar until smooth and cream
with a spatula or spoon frost cake
decorate the cake with the fruit anywhich way you would like
heat jam in microwave or over stove, ad 2 tablespoons water
when warmed brush or drizzle over fruit tart

Cream of Mushroom Soup $4.51

Mushrooms provide a treasure chest full of important nutrients and vitamins. Vitamin B and D, Potassium, and lots of antioxidents. I grew up eating cambells cream of mushroom soup, and upon looking at the label now, there is a ton of ingredients that really dont appeal to me including flour and msg, so I kinda thought I like the idea of homemade mushroom soup because I can control any potentially unappealing ingredients, and just make a light healthy soup.
I chose to use 2% milk and not cream and olive oil in place of butter. When I can, I like to use olive oil in place of any shortenin, the omega 3's are just so good for the body!!
1 lb button mushrooms $1.98
1 can chicken broth .99
1/2 cup milk(skim, or 2%) .20
1 tablespoon olive oil .10
1 small onion diced .30
1 tablespoon dried parsley or fresh parsley .10
2 garlic cloves minced .20
1 tsp salt .02
1 tsp pepper .02
1/4 cup sourcream .60
heat oil in skillet, add onion, saute on medium until glassy

lower heat and add minced garlic saute 10 minutes

add 1/2 tablespoon parsley, mushrooms, and saute for 15 minutes until mushrooms are golden brown
In a soup pot add chicken broth, milk, entire mushrooms mixture, salt and pepper, simmer for 30 minutes
remove from heat and pour entire contents into food processor.
blend for 1 minute until mixture is smooth
add 1/4 cup sourcream and blend for 20 seconds
pour soup back in soup pot once again and simmer another 10 minutes
serve with dollup sourcream on top
sprinkle parsley

Shrimp De Jonghe

This is my first attempt at making this Shrimp dish and Im hoping it comes out good, because it is something I have a hard time passing up ordering when dining out. If it is offered on a menu, I usually order it. When scanning the internet and cookbooks for recipes, I was amazed at the many different ways to prepare a De Jonghe topping there are. I am going with a basic recipe, but I am cutting some of the fat.....I know people love butter, but 1 whole cup isnt happening.
Lets see what happens
ingredients:
1 5 lbs shrimp
2 cups dry white wine
2 cloves garlic minced
2 cups breadcrumbs
1/2 cup butter
1 cup parsley
2 tsp paprika

In a 9x9 greased pan line shrimp
pour wine over shrimp
in bowl combine butter, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, paprika, and salt and pepper
spread over shrimp evenly
bake at 375 for 20 minutes, until shrimp is firm or topping crisp

Salmon Al Fresco

Well its starting to happen, my vegetable garden is starting to come alive! The 80 tomato plants are a blooming. I am assuming there will be atleast 1 if not 2 recipes every week made with tomatos for the next month. (sorry Kim, I know raw tomato not your fave) Ill try to come up with meals where the tomatos are cooked. So today I didnt have to look to far. I grabbed 4 pieces of salmon out of freezer. Let them thaw. I took a trip to my backyard and grabbed a bowl full of cherry tomatos and a handful of basil, and my salmon bruscetta was born. Seriously, I dont know how one can go wrong with this tasty combo, esp since the meal is so fresh and light. Here is my 5 minute prep:
4 salmon steaks
20(approx) cherry tomatos
handful of basil
1/2 cup of wine
3 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves minced
salt and pepper

heat oven to 350 or fire up grill
place salted and peppered salmon on 4 seperate sheets of aluminum foil
cut up tomato and basil
evenly coat salmon with olive oil and white wine
top with tomato, basil, garlic
bake for 20 minutes or until fish is flakey to the touch of a fork