PASTA BEAN SALAD

This is a great salad for those of us who take our lunches to work. Very easy also.
I use this same recipe eliminating the pasta and add grilled turkey or chicken.

2 C cooked penna pasta and chill or cool off under water (or any pasta you might have)

Combine in large air tight bowl:
Pasta
Sliced celery hearts with leaves
15 ounce an of Pinto beans rinsed
15 ounce can of Garbanzo beans rinsed
1/2 C of Edamame bean thawed and rinsed (these I find frozen)
  hubby doesn't like to many
Chopped red onion (amount depends on you. I use 1/4 C)
1/2 can of small black olives
1/4 C fresh parmesan cheese (plz don't use that powdered stuff in a box)
1/2 tablespoon dried basil or 8-9 chopped fresh basil
Salt/pepper
3/4 C Italian dressing (I use Newman's)
1 teaspoon cane sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (optional, I like the extea zing)
P in air type bowl and shake to combine

This needs to sit for a few hours....if you can keep folks out of it.

My lunch portion.

After I took my portion

 

 

 



MY COBB SALAD

I have to admit I stole this from our fav restaurant, Black Walnut. Very simple.

Put lettuce on plate (I use Romaine)
Top with the following:
Crisp bacon cut up (not bacon bits)
Avocado slices
Tomato quarters
Hard boiled egg cut in half
Chunks of your favorite cheese
Chunks of good Blue Cheese (I love this stuff)
Your favorite meat (I used smoked BBQ'D turkey breasts cut up)
Grilled corn (you can get it frozen just thaw before or if you are real talented grill your corn on the cobb)
Olives

I make my Blue Cheese dressing:
Blue Cheese, mayo, salt/pepper, squeeze of lemon juice, and enough milk to thin out.
Add more Blue Cheese for stronger flavor.
Add crouton if you want.

Notice my fine dining plate, yep we eat on paper plates and use real metal silverware.

As Close To Organic Food As I Can Get

My son sent me an email about various produce that are slammed with pesticides and some that are not as badly slammed. I keep this list in my purse when I go to the grocery store. I mostly have it memorized. Below is the list.

If you are lucky enough to have a store called Trader Joe's you can get organic at a lower price than some larger chains. I buy my peppers, potatoes, cucumbers, and some meats at Whole Foods because the chain I go to doesn't have these in small quanities. I can buy my fruit, most of the time, at the chain I go to. Also frozen organic is good. I add them to muffins or cereal. 

Living in a TinCan you are limited. I don't buy processed foods so both my small frigs are full of fruits, vegetables, dairy, and things I make for lunches.(tuna salad, three bean salad, chicken pasta, and other things). I try to make these on the weekend so all I have to do is just put them in seperate containers for our lunches.

I do cheat sometimes and buy meat/dairy on sale at my chain. Yea, the cattle probably lived and were fed in a feed lot. I buy my tuna in bulk from Costco. If you want some processed stuff you can get it in great quanities at Costco. They have quite a selection of organic. I just dont have the room.

Of course, the ultimate would be having your own cattle or barter for a neighbors grass raised cattle. Also your own chickens and other critters along with a full garden and green house. That is on the back burner for us now. I buy my food weekly with a strict budget and pre planned menu. This menu includes treats, breakfast meals, and lunch meals. We probably spend $100-$120 a week for two.

Check out my post about how to pre-plan your week the weekend before. If I had a freezer I could make large amounts of ....say...skettie and freeze a few batches.

http://www.tincancooking.blogspot.com/2013/04/frugal-grocery-shopping_24.html


 

Eat Organic Okay Non Organic Apples Grapefruit Berries Kiwi Cherries Mango Grapes Pineapple Peaches Watermelon Strawberries Tomato Imported Nectrines Sweet Potato Carrots Yam Peppers Sweet Peas Spinach Mushrooms Potatos Eggplant Lettuce Domestic Cantaloupe Cucumbers Corn Cabbage Broccoli Avocado Asparagus

Famous Green Jello

2 C boiling water
1 small  package yellow jello
1 small package green jello
1 can crushed pineapple with juice
1/2 C cottage cheese
1/2 C mayonaise
3/4 can evaporated milk
1/2 C walnuts chopped medium fine


Boil 2 Cups water, add both packages of jello, mix until combined.
Add, pineapple, cottage cheese, mayonaise, canned milk, and nuts.
Stir to make it smooth taking the lumps out.

Put in frig until set.
See Thanksgiving Day for a picture of Green Jello.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Since we are still in our Tin Can cooking a turkey is out of the question.
Menu:
Turkey breast (cooked in our on-the-counter oven)
Steamed fresh green beans
Dressing in a glass bowl (cooked in our not-so-great propane oven...finished in our fancy oven )
My Famous Green Jello Salad
Rolls ( I forgot to take the oven dial off of broil when I cooked the rolls so they are a bit dark)

Turkey, Green Beans, Dressing, Rolls, Famous Green Jello (green jello recipe in next blog).

Best Day to Buy Groceries for a Bargain

From a site called "The Daily Finance" has a great article. Check this out.

Remember eat first and take your grocery list from your menu you created. Create you menu from the sale items online. See my previouse blog called "Frugal Grocery Shopping"

When it comes to grocery shopping, we know it's wise to not to go on an empty stomach, but when should you head to the supermarket to bag the best bargains? Believe it or not, there's actually one day of the week that's better than the rest.

That's right, savvy savers. While it may be most convenient for you to shop on the weekends, it's more economical to tackle your grocery list on Wednesdays. According to Lifehacker, this mid-week day is when many grocery stores release new sale ads, but also honor the previous week's sales items. That means you'll have more sale items at your fingertips.

MyGroceryDeals.com also confirmed that Wednesday is the best day for grocery shopping. "For about half of the country, this is the day when approximately half of the retailers start their weekly sales," site representative Gord Crowson told CBS News. Of course, you should double check with your local stores to be sure.

To save even more, experts say that shopping in the evening is your best bet. That means Wednesday nights are the ultimate time to buy. "This is the time when perishables are typically reduced for quick sale," Crowson added. "If the Produce, Bakery or Meat departments are concerned about having too much stock left over at the end of the day, they will often reduce the price by up to 50 percent to encourage quick sales."

So, when your pantry and refrigerator need to be restocked, make time to shop on Wednesday nights. You'll give yourself the best chance to score the biggest deals on your meals

Things have changed

Good news gang. My old job at a local Toyota dealership (like working retail)  has ended and my new job at the state of Texas has me working daytime with weekends off and lots of holidays. I can't believe I finally got this kind of job.
Now that is is finally fall in Texas my menus will change, along with working days I dont want to spend a lot of time when I get home making dinner. Yep, the old crock pot will be helping me out.
Since both of us take lunches its a challenge to get things done in the mornings. Remember a WEEKLY MENU is important. I always add what I want to make for our lunches on the menu so I can buy what I need.

My evening plan:

1) Always keep Weekly Menu handy.
2) Make dressings for salads and finger food dip
Hubby can only have 6 ounces of meat/fish a day soooooo this gets tricky. When he has meat for lunch he either gets a small amount and has more for dinner. I try to make it either. If he has veggies, fruit, nuts, and crackers for lunch, which he loves, then dinner is easy.As a carnavoir its hard to do this 6 ounce thing.
3) Cut up all veggies or finger food for lunch
4) Leftovers are a must.