Menu Monday - Caught in a Snowstorm!

Happy Monday all!  I first want to point out that my long time friend and wonderful blogger, Laurie Steiner, has allowed me to guest blog on her fantastic blog today.  Go and check it out while you're catching up on your blog reading!

Now on to today's menu, which is a bit different than normal.  Last week we had quite a blizzard here in Springfield, dropping almost a foot and a half of snow on our little midwest city.  As much as people may think we get a lot of snow every year, we usually only get about a foot for the whole year...total.  So you can imagine what 18 inches at once did...school closings, business closing and a seriously stuck newlywed couple.

 Our back deck.  The wall on the right comes up to my mid-thigh.  We got a few more inches after this picture.

Because of the snow I wasn't able to hit the stores in time to try out a new recipe, but wanted to give you all an idea of how we survived the snowstorm without going too crazy by eating the same thing over and over.  When we went to the store before the storm we knew we had to get food that would stretch.  Our last trip to Sam's prepared us without even realizing it because we had enough ground turkey, chicken and pork chops to definitely give us variety and last the week.  We were able to have everything from broiled pork chops to baked spaghetti, and even paninis and wraps because of the few things we picked up at the store.

The last day we were stuck all I was craving was a pizza but the delivery service wasn't coming out to our house still because of the roads. I was a little bitter at first but after going out on the roads the next day I completely understood. I had reached the point where I didn't want to eat anything else we had...I had a craving and that's all I wanted.  We've all been there!  We went into the kitchen to come up with a creative way to put something together and there it was...the Bisquick box.  Chris and I laugh often because we can make pretty much anything with Bisquick (we used it a few times last week for pancakes and waffles).  Right there on the Bisquick box was a recipe for pizza crust!  In the interest of full disclosure, it wasn't as fantastic as a nice crispy pizza crust, but it was great enough to soothe my cravings and give Chris and I a little pizza for dinner that night.

A few things we learned that we would like to pass on:
- Make sure to have 2 or more varieties of meats for dinner so you don't feel like you're eating chicken every night.
- Pasta goes a long way and there are a ton of ways to make it!  We bought two different kinds of pasta for variety.
- Buy things you might not normally buy but you tend to crave (for us it was BBQ and pizza).  Being stuck is tough enough, if you are getting sick of eating the same foods you "always eat" it makes it worse!
- Portion sizes!  We eat small portions to begin with, so we always made leftovers.  They made for great lunches later in the week and we still have some for lunches or dinners this week.

The one great thing about being stuck is realizing how much money we saved by not spending  money on eating out.  We were able to see how easy it is to throw meals together at home and had to eat what we had rather than going out and buying more food even if we didn't necessarily need it.  It's a tip I know we will continue to use as time goes on.  


Here's to hoping no one gets stuck in any more snow storms!  But just in case, what are your tips for stocking up for great variety during snow storms?  Any meals you HAVE to have while snowed in?

Menu Monday - Paninis are better than Sandwiches!

First, let me apologize.  Last week was a bit crazy (including an interview for a great job!!) so I'm sorry for my lack of posts.  But I'm back today with a great new recipe the hubs and I tried out this weekend.

One of the worst times for us is weekends.  Out running errands most of the weekend, hubby and I tend to just grab something to eat at a "reasonable" restaurant and sometimes that means eating out two or three times a weekend!  This weekend we had plans for dinner Saturday night and decided to make something new and fun for lunch instead of eating out.  We got a panini maker for a shower gift and everyone knows, paninis are better than sandwiches!  We opened up our panini cookbook and found a fun new recipe we LOVED. We learned a few lessons with it, which I will explain after I show you the great recipe and photos!

Crab Melt

Ingredients:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 Tbls finely chopped fennel bulb
3 Tbls thinly sliced green onion
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning (or other Chesapeake Bay-seafood seasoning)
8 oz fresh lump crabmeat (we used imitation)
2 hot dog buns
1 Tbls unsalted butter
2 oz shredded Cheddar Cheese (optional)

All of our ingredients and the great cookbook we got the recipe from!

Directions:
     In a small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, fennel, green onion, lemon juice and zest, and Old Bay seasoning until well blended.  Gently stir in the crabmeat, takingcare not to break it up too much.
     Preheat the sandwich grill.  Open the hot dog buns flat and brush on all sides with the melted butter.  Place in the grill, close the top plate and cook until lightly toasted, 2-3 minutes.  If using the cheese, leave the buns in the grill and heap the crab salad into them, dividing it evenly, then sprinkle with cheese.  Lower the top to within 1/2 inch of the cheese and hold until melted, 30-40 seconds.  If not using the cheese, simply transfer the toasted buns to warmed plates, heap the crab salad into them, and serve at once.

The sandwiches were delicious!  We made them with some of my mom's homemade potato fries that the hubs loves so much.  A couple of things we learned.  First, we already had fennel seed seasoning so instead of spending the money on a fennel bulb (which we couldn't find at our local grocery store) we substituted the fennel seed.  We only used half the amount of seed it called for because raw seasonings are always stronger than the fresh fennel bulb, but that was still a bit much.  I would suggest only using 1/2 Tbls of fennel seed, taste the mixture and see if it needs more.  Also, we substituted fake crab meat because its cheaper and easier to find and wouldn't have to worry about picking shells out of the meat anyhow! It made it much easier to fix.  We have enough left over in crab meat and other seasonings for 1 more sandwich, which may come in handy this week since we are expecting a blizzard here in Missouri!  Another reason having leftovers is always great, you never know when you're going to be trapped in the house for days at a time!

The finished product with our potato fries with cheese!  So yummy!

So let me know how your crab melt is!  And don't forget to send me any of your favorite low cost recipes for me to try and feature on Menu Mondays!

Introducing...Menu Mondays!

My good friend Amanda had a great idea so if you enjoy my new Menu Mondays, you can thank her!  Being on a budget means cooking a lot more and the worst thing that can happen is getting into a rut, which leads to boredom and, at least in our case, leads to going out to eat just to change things up.  My husband and I have decided to try a new recipe at least once a week, so now I will start sharing those recipes with you!  Here is what I promise...I promise the recipes will be budget friendly, things you may already have in your fridge or meals that will go a long way!

To start out, I have to thank The Nest magazine.  Those of you who signed up for The Knot when you got engaged probably receive this seasonal magazine as well, full of great ideas and tips on everything from the kitchen to decorating to baby making.  The latest issue had 5 Meals Under $5 so the hubby and I decided to give one a try and we have to say, it was fabulous!  Below is the recipe and a few pictures of what part of the final product looked like.  We ate it with a bottle of wine we had already opened and had a really nice homemade meal that cost us very little and we still have enough for leftovers AND enough ingredients to make it again!  So without further ado - here is the first Menu Monday Recipe!

Apricot Glazed Pork Chops with Lime Cilantro Couscous

Ingredients:
1 Tbl. Olive Oil
1/2 Tbl. peeled and finely chopped fresh ginger
1/4 Cup apricot marmalade or jam
2 bone in pork loin chops (each 8-10 oz and 1/2 in thick), trim fat (We used no bone chops and it still was wonderful!)
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper
1/2 Cup couscous
1 Tbl. chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp. grated lime zest
1 Tbl. fresh lime juice

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to broil, with the rack set 4-6 inches from the heat.
2. In a heavy skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add ginger and cook until golden brown.  Add marmalade or jam, and reduce heat to medium.
3. Place pork on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil; season generously with salt and pepper.  Brush both sides with the apricot glaze.
4. Broil until thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the pork chop reads 155F.  (About 8-10 minutes. Ours took 10 minutes since we didn't have a thermometer)
5. While the pork chops are in the oven, begin the couscous by following the directions on the box.  After removing the couscous from heat, stir in cilantro, lime juice and zest.
6. Carefully remove pork chops from oven and brush again with marmalade.  Allow meat to rest 5 minutes before serving with the couscous.

 All the ingredients we had left over (plus some frozen pork).  Enough to definitely make it again without spending more than $2 at the store.

The meal was incredibly simple and was a lot of fun for the hubby and I to make together.  I am also pretty sure you could easily substitute chicken for the pork if you aren't a pork eater.  A couple of tips...we used the boneless pork chops which we bought at Sam's and got 9 pork chops!  They are extra thick so we cut them in half and were able to make twice as many pork chops, which led to yummy leftovers for lunch during the week.  Also, make sure the lime zest is chopped very small before you mix it in with the couscous.  We thought ours was chopped up enough but a couple of times we would get a heavy dose of lime zest in a bite!

So let me know how it is!   Have a recipe you use a lot that you think I should try and feature in Menu Mondays?  Let me know!  I'm always looking for inexpensive recipes that can be stretched.  Bon Appetite!