Yesterday I mentioned salmon patties. This is another of my mother-in-law's recipes and we are fans of this healthy and inexpensive meal! Salmon patties, sweet corn, and tomato slices are a perfect summer time supper.
My patties always seem to fall apart but instead of complaining I go with the flow and realize that they are just easier to serve to the kids that way...no cutting required by me! We always eat these plain but I imagine that they would be good on a bun and served similar to a hamburger.
1 can salmon, liquid drained (I pick through the can and discard the skin and bones. I know, I know...they are edible and have health benefits but they aren't appetizing to me or anyone else I know!)
1 slice of bread, torn into small pieces
1 egg
1 small onion, diced
Mix everything together. If too wet, add a pinch of flour to hold things together. Heat 1 T. butter in skillet (my trusty iron skillet is perfect!). Form into patties and place in skillet. Sprinkle salt and pepper on top. Fry in butter until bottom is brown and crispy. Flip, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and fry until other side is brown and crispy as well. Serve and enjoy!
Our Menu for the week:
Homemade Tacos
Boca Burgers
Broccoli Alfredo
Homemade pizza
Salmon patties
Cavaitini (double batch...one goes into the freezer)
We bought a lot this shopping trip and I'm going to be lazy and not list it all this time around. I can't think of a single unhealthy thing we bought though, except a package of Little Debbies that my hubby threw into the cart. Guess I haven't been making enough homemade goodies for him! We spent $97.17 this week...which is under the $100 weekly goal and we spent less than $45 last week so if all goes well this week we will be well under $400 for the month.
I've learned a lot this month, such as to buy the vegetables and fruits that are on sale that week instead of buying whatever we feel like. We get a lot of variety that way and can afford a lot more produce as well. I hope each month to gradually change things so that hopefully in a year or so we can be where we want to, diet wise.
I hope to highlight a few more recipes for you all this week...and then on to the $1,200 challenge next week!
They remind me somewhat of corn nuts but these are actually healthy for you...and oh so easy to make!
You can start with dried chickpeas and soak and cook them but so far all I have been doing is buying the cans of them. Drain the liquid out, toss in a bowl with 2 T. of olive oil, put in single later on a baking sheet, and sprinkle with whatever spices you wish. I especially enjoy just salt and garlic powder, or chili powder. There are a million different combinations that you can try. I bet you could even make a sweet tasting one with a little brown sugar or cinnamon, though I'm not quite sure how that would taste. Bake at 350 degrees for an 45 minutes to an hour or until crunchy enough for your tastes.
I try to make breakfast fun and enticing with something that they will want to eat. In the warmer months it is something simple such as toast with peanut butter and slices of bananas or a yogurt parfait. Just layer fruit with yogurt and you have a delicious breakfast that is both healthy and enticing. A breakfast like this is always gobbled up quickly!
3 T. olive oil
16 oz. spaghetti, cooked al dente and drained
1 medium onion, sliced in strips
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 t. crushed red pepper flakes
2 to 3 cups of coleslaw cabbage mix (the bagged kind you see in the store with cabbage and carrots)
1/3 c. soy sauce
Heat olive oil in skillet. Saute' onion, garlic, and pepper flakes. Add cabbage mix. Once slightly wilted, add spaghetti. Stir in soy sauce and cook for 5 minutes until heated through.
You can also add bok choy, bell peppers, or other vegetables of interest. Add some chicken or pork to make a meaty lo mein. The sky is the limit!
*Whole wheat ravioli
*apple slices with peanut butter on top
*kiwi slices
*Homemade pea soup (we like ours lumpy...but this batch didn't turn out very good. It was missing something; we did still eat it)*Kiwi slices
*watermelon chunks. We weren't intending to have watermelon that day but Joe threw the whole watermelon off the table, splitting it open. We cut it up and enjoyed it for lunch.
What is your go-to lunch that is a hit with everyone?
The tuna noodle salad is a variation of one my mother-in-law makes. Hers does not have cheese and she puts tomatoes in hers. When asking my husband for some meal ideas he always brings this one up.
Tuna Noodle Salad
1 package egg noodles, cooked
1 can tuna, drained
1 onion, diced
4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
1 chunk of cheese, cubed
enough miracle whip (or mayo) to coat
Nature's Seasoning
Mix everything together in large bowl and sprinkle with Nature's Seasoning. Serve warm or can be made ahead and served cold (I prefer it cold).
Nature's Seasoning is made by Morton and can be found at most grocery stores. We love it on this dish, as well as other pastas, chicken, and soup. We always have a bottle of this on hand!
Chicken burritos are a yummy and quick meal in this house. They are also reasonably cheap as we use just one chicken breast for all five of us.
Make brown rice according to the package directions. Throw a packet of enchilada seasoning into the rice water before cooking as well. Cook a chicken breast (boil, bake, or cook to your liking) with or without seasoning. When cooked, shred the chicken and place a small amount in a tortilla. Spoon rice over the chicken, and top with a sprinkle of cheese. You can add a variety of ingredients such as black beans, corn, or whatever you have on hand. The kids prefer these simple chicken burritos but we do experiment at times.
Pair with a spinach and lettuce salad with a little dressing and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and call it a complete meal!
Our menu for the week is:For dessert this week I made 2 peach cheesecakes. That totaled about $12 for just that. But I think it was worth it as we all enjoyed the first cheesecake and have the other in the freezer for some other time (this is a freezer recipe, which I will post later this week). I did not get a picture of my groceries this week as I arrived home from shopping at lunch time and everyone was starving, which is the reason I threw the groceries into the fridge and cabinets and stuck two pizzas into the oven. Had I planned more accordingly to what time I shopped I wouldn't have had to purchase two pre-made frozen pizzas. My shopping goes as follows:
2 frozen pizzas $2 each
cool whip 89 cents
Morning Star Veggie burger $3.59
4 blocks of cream cheese $1.29 each
butter $2.59
Whole chicken $4.31
chunk of cheddar $1.67
Turkey bacon $2.69 (minus $1.50 coupon)
wheat bread $1.29
hamburger buns 99 cents
pretzels 99 cents
turkey ham $5.15
mac and cheese $1.39
Stovetop 79 cents
peach gelatin 40 cents
chopped walnuts $1.19
spaghetti $1.19
3 containers blueberries 99 cents each
2 graham cracker crusts $1.99 each
Cranberry trail mix $2
2 cans corn 60 cents each
apple juice 99 cents
5 candy treats 67 cents each
Skippy peanut butter $1.99 (minus $1 coupon)
Can of peaches $1.29
dish soap $2.39
2 apples 99 cents
80 oz. jar of pickles $2.99
Minute Maid Lemonade $1.25 (free with watermelon purchase)
can peas 60 cents
Jiffy corn muffin mix 55 cents
2.67 lb. bananas $1.58
coleslaw mix $1.69
1.38 lb. broccoli $2.06
1.44 lb. peaches $1.14
1.85 lb. strawberries $2.74
radishes $1.19
carrots $1.19
1.76 lb. tomatoes $1.74
13.31 lb. watermelon $5.19
Total: $82.68 which means we came in about $17 under budget this week. I may need to pick up milk or eggs later this week though but we have plenty left for that!
That is exactly what I thought when my mom used to make it when I was a child. I wouldn't even try it. Then once, when I was a teenager, I couldn't find a single thing to eat in the house so decided to grab a bowl of this and give it a taste. And it was delicious! It is so good that I crave it and it is perfect for a hot summer day when you don't feel like cooking. My children enjoy it as well.
Today I made a big bowl of it (about four times the amount you see if the photo above) and by late evening I finished the bowl...all by myself! I don't even feel guilty about it as it is all healthy goodness so no worries.
I also realized halfway into my first bowl of it, that something was missing but couldn't figure out what. Later I realized what it was when I saw the can of pineapple on the counter. I forgot the pineapple! It was still scrumptious without the pineapple but not as scrumptious as it could have been with the pineapple.
Don't judge a book by it's cover; you will love this salad as a side dish or as a yummy lunch!
Apple Raisin Salad
2 apples, cored and sliced into bite sized pieces
1 shredded carrot
1 small can pineapple, drained (can be chunks or crushed, whichever you prefer)
handful of raisins
1 tiny package walnut pieces
1-2 T. Miracle Whip
1 container yogurt (I used strawberry, hence the pink tint)
dash of cinnamon
Mix everything in bowl and enjoy. You can add more of some ingredients and less of others if you prefer. This always turns out a bit differently for me as I throw in everything without measuring.
I've been relying on a new favorite...whole wheat tortillas with lots of goodies inside! I have several variations but my two favorites are chicken, lettuce, a sprinkle of cheese, and salsa.
Or, a slice of ham, handful of spinach, sprinkle of cheese, and some spicy mustard.
Roll it up and presto - a nice cool summertime lunch which is healthy and filling.
The kids aren't into these roll ups as they seem to be hard for them to eat without them falling apart, no matter how I roll them up. They are happy with a sandwich, some fresh blueberries, and a handful of healthy trail mix. 
As part of a healthier eating plan I decided to cut down our meat consumption even further, especially when it comes to our red meats. So far we have been doing a good job as for the whole week we bought just 1/2 lb. hamburger, some ham and turkey for lunch meat, one package of hot dogs (for 4th of July), and one chicken breast. That meat will be all the meat we have eaten this week.
Last night I made bean burgers, which is a recipe I remember I ate as a child. I cut the meat down even further and fried up just 1/2 lb. of hamburger. I then poured in a can of baked beans and after that heated up I mixed in a little mustard and ketchup and spooned it onto buns. We all gobbled it up, even my husband who isn't too fond of beans (okay, he didn't gobble it up, but did eat two of them).
It is an easy and economical meal. Served with corn on the cob, blueberries, and some peaches it was satisfying as well.
They also eat like birds through. While they want to snack all day they do not want to sit down and get filled on a big meal. If I make them a sandwich for lunch they eat just half of it; if I make them half a sandwich they eat half of the half. And then half an hour later they are hungry again.
I think I solved the problem by making them little snack trays for lunch. In the effort to go more raw, healthy, and prevent food waste - these trays work. This tray is my 2 year olds (the rest of ours have larger quantities):
The kids enjoy having a range of choices and nibble off their plates. Whatever they don't finish I stick in the fridge and they pull it out when they get hungry. Within a few hours the trays are empty and they are usually full and can wait until supper.
Grapes, cantaloupe, broccoli, carrots, dip and a pretzel stick fill them up. It's amazing how everyday I can fill the tray with something different to give them a variety. Some days I add nuts, different fruits and vegetables, a granola bar, etc. It may not look like a lot but even I get full on these trays for lunch. Kids also like little muffin tins with a little bit of this and a little bit of that in each section. It is fun, healthy, and filling!
I don't know how to get hubby fully on board with this healthy eating. I don't expect him to like all the new recipes that I try but I don't want this challenge to be like pulling teeth. I want him to want to eat healthier as well. Thankfully, yesterday when we went shopping he didn't throw any soda or snack cakes into the cart so that is a start.
Anyway, here is the recipe for the Thai Peanut Noodles that I enjoyed.
8 oz. fettuccine ( i used a lb.)
1 1/2 c fresh broccoli
1/2 carrot, grated
2 tsp. garlic, minced
1/2 t. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 T. brown sugar
4 T. soy sauce
3 1/2 T. rice wine vinegar
4 T. peanut butter
In pot, cook fettuccine as directed. Near end of cooking, add broccoli to same pot and cook approx. 3-4 minutes.
In greased large saucepan, heath garlic on med high heat for two minutes. Add red pepper flakes, ginger, and brown sugar to sauce pan. Allow to cook another two minutes. Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and peanut butter to pan. Mix peanut butter into liquid to form a sauce. When sauce begins to boil, add cooked and drained pasta/broccoli to saucepan. Mix well. Add carrot and mix to prevent clumps.
2-3 servings
