{Project: Food Budget} Week 22

Really? Is it Thursday?

I'm just too tired to keep up.

Kids do that.

Well mine do.

I am very aware that tiredness = poor nutrition = more tired... 

                                                         must
                                                                          break
                                                                                             cycle...
maybe tomorrow.

This weeks menu:

Thursday - Dhal

It's a 1 day at a time kinda week (with plans to do better and update...maybe tomorrow)

I'm sure the other food bloggers have much more inspiration to share. If I were you, I'd go there:D

Emily Levenson
Dairy-Free Cooking
Test Kitchen Tuesday
Red Pen Mama
Acquired Tastes
Fit Flexitarian
Warm As Pie 
Katy Rank Lev
My Inner Healthy
Little Blue Hen
xox, b
Project Food Budget 2.0
Fresh...A New Chapter
Two Eggs Over Easy 
That's Just Me
Eat Whole Be Vital
Four Happy Violets
Naturally {Un}refined
Pgh Dad  
yogabeautylife
Charmingly Modern
naMAMAste
Six Dollars a Day
The Gluten-Free Vegan
What da Health?
Twice the Twinsanity

 

Time ATC's

My friend Joanie is hosting an ATC swap with the theme of time. My interpretation is 'timeless beauty' and here is my ATC.

The paper is by Graphic 45 and My Minds Eye and the stamps are Lizzie Anne Designs and Unity.

...and that lace, thrift shop bargain!

Long Person Swap

As the little house swap of last month draws to a close, I am ready to have a go at another small sewing project.
I have chosen LONG PEOPLE. I think they are gorgeous! Long people have been designed by Naughty Shorts and this is her photo...
Aren't they delightful?
Would you like to make a long person (a tutorial is provided) and send it to someone? If so, please leave a comment with your e-mail and I will give you a swap partner. This will be an INTERNATIONAL swap so please don't sign up if you are not willing to post overseas.  The postal due date will be 01 June 2012.

{Project: Food Budget} Week 21

The stats:


Monthly budget is $870.00 - $200 per week...
Family of 6 - 3 big ones / 3 smaller ones...
2 school lunches / 1 kindy lunch to pack and send -1 work away home lunch / 1 work at home lunch -healthy and complete baby mush also required!
I aim for 2 meat dishes for the week and the others, vegetarian. 


The menu:


Tuesday - Zucchini Quinoa Lasagna
Wednesday - DIPS4DINNER Walnut-Fennel Dip and Avocado, Lime and Coriander Salsa with Baked Ricotta
Thursday - Pumpkin and Thyme Risotto
Friday - Mung-bean Frittata
Saturday - Herb and Brie Omelet
Sunday - Home made pizza (although this one does not fit my '13' for this week, can NOT pass up the hub cooking on Sunday nights! that and the kids so look forward to it)
Monday - Smoky Lemony Chickpea Crostini with cheese and veges


The bloggers:

Emily Levenson
Dairy-Free Cooking
Test Kitchen Tuesday
Red Pen Mama
Acquired Tastes
Fit Flexitarian
Warm As Pie 
Katy Rank Lev
My Inner Healthy
Little Blue Hen
xox, b
Project Food Budget 2.0
Fresh...A New Chapter
Two Eggs Over Easy 
That's Just Me
Eat Whole Be Vital
Four Happy Violets
Naturally {Un}refined
Pgh Dad  
yogabeautylife
Charmingly Modern
naMAMAste
Six Dollars a Day
The Gluten-Free Vegan
What da Health?
Twice the Twinsanity

THE GO TO 13 - Shopping without thinking!

This week I'm tired of writing shopping lists as long as my arm and back tracking all over the supermarket looking for ingredients I forgot on my first go around...
This week I'm going to SIMPLIFY
                                                                         SIMPLIFY
                                             
                                            SIMPLIFY...*exhale*

...and I invite you to join me.

Here is this weeks shopping list:

Fruit & Veg

Tinned tomatoes

Cheese

Milk

Bread

Yoghurt

Rice

Stock

Legumes / pulses

Oil

Eggs

Herbs / spices

Nuts / seeds

I am affectionately calling them THE GO TO 13...

by next week they may be the never going there 13 depending on how this all goes:D

It works like this:

Buy these things - only these things, any version or substitution is ok, depending on your preferences - even meat eaters could change legumes / pulses to meat I suppose...

Cook up 7 nightly meals and blog your creative expressions of said ingredients!

I would love someone else to give it a go (for completely selfish reasons...that would give me twice the ideas for half the work!)

Please leave me a comment below if you want to join me and I'll link to your blog.

Recipes & ideas all received warmly!

Wish me luck:) my shopping day is Thursday and I will post my menu as usual on Thursday for Project Food Budget.

Carrot Dip

I had planned Dips 4 Dinner this week. That has a kind of a ring to it, maybe I should write a blog...
DIPS4DINNER and you could all post your fav dips...but I digress:D

I'm not the biggest fan of carrot. Carrot cake yes please, but carrot as a steamed vegetable on my plate appeals mostly as a bang 4 your buck vegetable.

That said, I nearly always have them...and they sometimes get old before they get cooked. They are really the only veg that this happens to in my fridge.

So DIPS4DINNER (maybe a new regular at my place) provided the perfect opportunity to find something good to do with those little orange babies...and find I did:)

This dip is truly awesome, stupidly simple, and great as a sandwich filling too.

The fact that it is so pretty just seals the deal. No more squidgy carrots here.

You can find the recipe here. 

It is called Turkish Carrot Yoghurt Dip and was posted by Anh Nguyen of ‘a food lover’s journey’ 

{Project: Food Budget} Week 20

Monthly budget is $870.00 - $200 per week...
Family of 6 - 3 big ones / 3 smaller ones...
2 school lunches / 1 kindy lunch to pack and send -1 work away home lunch / 1 work at home lunch -healthy and complete baby mush also required!
I aim for 2 meat dishes for the week and the others, vegetarian.


I'm trying to use what we have this week...with a bit of a nut roast theme:)
Total spend is $180.00 That's all dinners, lunches, breakfasts and snacks.
Oh...and I ordered for delivery - that's an $8 charge but saves me an awful lot of energy which is more precious than my $8!


Tuesday - Lentil and cashew nut roast
Wednesday - Chicken with sherry and raisins
Thursday - Almond and sesame nut roast
Friday - Oriental noodle salad
Saturday - Dips, vege sticks and toast
Sunday - home-made pizza
Monday - Cheesey beano's


All served with a tonne of salad or veg:)

The Week 20 Participating Blogs:

Emily Levenson
Dairy-Free Cooking
Test Kitchen Tuesday
Red Pen Mama
Acquired Tastes
Fit Flexitarian
Warm As Pie 
Katy Rank Lev
My Inner Healthy
Little Blue Hen
xox, b
Project Food Budget 2.0
Fresh...A New Chapter
Two Eggs Over Easy 
That's Just Me
Eat Whole Be Vital
Four Happy Violets
Naturally {Un}refined
Pgh Dad  
yogabeautylife
Charmingly Modern
naMAMAste
Six Dollars a Day
The Gluten-Free Vegan
What da Health?
Twice the Twinsanity

{Project: Food Budget} Week 19

Oh dear, running a little late today...much like the rest of the week really.
I haven't even done the food shop yet! Have been feeding the family morsels from the pantry.
I knew I was scraping the bottom of the barrel last night when I served up rice.


Yep


rice


with soy sauce


sadly, the kids were delighted.


So...composing an on-line order as I type.
Here is this weeks menu, beginning today, rather than Tuesday.
The kids and DH loved the sausage casserole from last week so it features again. It's a win win kinda dish because I can throw in as many veges as will fit, selectively give acceptable vegetables to all the kidletts, avoid the sausage myself and eat the rest. Win.

Thursday - Conveniently pizza with family!
Friday - Sausage & Vegetable Casserole
Saturday - Easy-Peasy Black Bean Burgers courtesy of our very own Emily Levenson
Sunday - Home made pizza
Monday - Everyday Red Lentil Dahl

...off to finish the shopping, will check back later with costings.
This weeks participating blogs:

• Dairy-Free Cooking
• Test Kitchen Tuesday
• Red Pen Mama
• Acquired Tastes
• Fit Flexitarian
• Warm As Pie 
• Katy Rank Lev
• My Inner Healthy
• Little Blue Hen
• xox, b
• What da Health?
• Project Food Budget 2.0
• Fresh…A New Chapter
• Chandeleah
• Two Eggs Over Easy
• That’s Just Me
• Eat Whole Be Vital
• Four Happy Violets
• Naturally {Un}refined
• Pgh Dad
• yogabeautylife
• Charmingly Modern
• naMAMAste
• Six Dollars a Day
• The Gluten-Free Vegan

Tiny houses for swapping...

I gave it a go and here are the results...by no means perfect but whimsical I hope rather than just daggy!
They are slightly different shapes. I prefer the shape of the 'red ribbon house' which is from retro mama's PATTERN.
I hope my swap recipient as happy with my offering. I will post the collection from all swappers when the postal date of 01 March has passed...

T-shirt Flowers

I made a bunch of these back in October for my Girls Night In fundraiser and have made some more for my friend Cindy this week...I thought I'd share them as the are super easy and a cute addition to hats, headbands, scrap pages etc.
I found the free tutorial here. Brooke from Still Learning Life put it together. Thanks Brooke!

{Project: Food Budget} Week 18

Total spend so far this week is $155. I changed things up a bit this week. Having survived the school holidays, I couldn't summons the energy for a food shop with the two little ones, so ordered on-line for delivery...a little more expensive and $8 delivery but sometimes a girl just has to do what a girl has to do:D

Monthly budget is $870.00 - $200 per week...
Family of 6 - 3 big ones / 3 smaller ones...
2 school lunches / 1 kindy lunch to pack and send -1 work away home lunch / 1 work at home lunch -healthy and complete baby mush also required!
I aim for 2 meat dishes for the week and the others, vegetarian.

Tuesday - Melted Leeks and Quinoa with a Poached Farm Egg and Parmesan Broth
Wednesday - Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken with rice and salad
Thursday - Nutty Lemon-Herb Brown Rice with Avocado and leafy greens
Friday - Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

Saturday - Rice and Beans

Sunday - Home made Pizza

Monday - Sausage and Vegetable Casserole

Shopping List:

6 tomatoes

2 cucumber

1 capsicum

1 lemon

1 lime

1 avocado

butternut pumpkin

green beans

leeks

7 onions

2 red onion

spring onions

2 bag salad greens

fresh thyme

fresh rosemary

fresh corriander

1 cup frozen corn

1 can tomatoes

garlic

quinoa

black beans

1 cup walnuts

Basmati rice

Brown rice

12 tortillas

jalapeno peppers

1 cup chicken stock

2 cups beef stock

salsa

parmesan

cream cheese

tasty cheese

1 egg

16 chicken thighs

1 kg sausages

honey

1/2 cup soy sauce / vegetable oil / cornstarch / sesame seeds / white wine vinegar / cumin / chili powder / onion powder / salt & pepper / olive oil / plain flour / Worcestershire sauce / tomato sauce / dry yeast


The Week 18 Participating Blogs:

Emily Levenson
Dairy-Free Cooking
Test Kitchen Tuesday
Red Pen Mama
Acquired Tastes
Fit Flexitarian
Warm As Pie 
Katy Rank Lev
My Inner Healthy
Little Blue Hen
xox, b
What da Health?
Project Food Budget 2.0
Fresh...A New Chapter
Chandeleah
Two Eggs Over Easy 
That's Just Me
Eat Whole Be Vital
Four Happy Violets
Naturally {Un}refined
Pgh Dad  
yogabeautylife
Charmingly Modern
naMAMAste
Six Dollars a Day
The Gluten-Free Vegan