Simple things

I haven't written in a few days partially because I have been "off" for Mother's Day. I spent Saturday at an all-day fiction-writing workshop and Sunday we played Risk and ordered pizza. Papa John's had a special: an extra large up-to-seven topping pizza for $12.

But today, I returned to reality.

Breakfast was toast and apples. Lunch was leftover pizza. (And apricot halves from a can.)

Dinner was...

Well, let me tell you about my trip to the grocery store.

I went to the grocery store for three reasons.
1. I needed $2 cash for my daughter's school and the mac machine doesn't dole out singles.
2. I had a craving for chicken
3. My psychologist suggested I buy four boxes of Morningstar vegetarian breakfast patties. (Seriously, that man sometimes rocks my world.)

I spent $13.04 on groceries. I bought:

• Hunts ketchup with no high fructose corn syrup, 24 ounces, $1.15
• Naturally delicious ranch dressing (no MSG), 16 ounces, $2
• Dole Premium Southwest salad kit, $3.50
• chicken, $2.90
• Morningstar vegetarian sausage patties, $3.49

But unbeknownst to me, the women in front of us forgot a bag at the end of the register. So, when she left, my daughter starting bagging my groceries and piled our food on top of this lady's. I go pick up my husband from work, unpack the bag, and find a pound of hamburger and some Boar's Head premium deli ham.

Oops.

I hadn't noticed the lady return to the store before I left, and it's almost an hour after I left the store. So, I asked my husband, "Do I take it back?" Because I assume they'll throw it out. I hope they'd throw it out. I mean, what if I had that hamburger in the hot sun the whole hour.

But the other story relates to my psychologist.

He suggested indulging in my little biscuit sandwiches once a week for breakfast as an exercise in indulgence. He's concerned that I hold too rigidly to the line of discipline and delve into self-denial. He suggested buying four boxes of the little veggie sausages a month because we all like them-- I had mentioned that I stopped buying them because nutritionally all they offer is protein and if I need a protein source for a sandwich an egg is way cheaper.

I'm proud of myself because I bought the sausages AND a premium bagged salad. Lettuce by the head is way cheaper, but I like Dole Premium Salads. So tonight we had biscuit sandwiches and salad for dinner. I had three servings of the salad.

seitan stir-fry

it's been a quick and easy food day:

• breakfast~ the French sausage and cheese stuffed waffles from the freezer (and cocoa for the little one since it was a little brisk)
• lunch~ homemade seitan marinated in walnut oil and reduced sodium soy sauce and fried in the Le Creuset skillet with some steam-in-bag spring vegetables in citrus sauce from Aldi. Once those got cooked, I mixed them into the skillet with the seitan and stir-fried everything
• post-lunch dessert~ daughter and i split a special K chocolate peanut butter bar
• planned post-school snack~ apples and graham crackers with peanut butter or cashew butter? Or just ditch the graham crackers for real cashews.
  
• planned dinner~ nachos with cheddar cheese, mango salsa, black olives, leftover chili, AND leftover hamburger mix from the stuffed bread from the other day
  

Scrambled egg wraps

Tonight for dinner I made a knock off of Vito Caiati's Heuvos Diablo. I started with five eggs (that's how many were left in the package). I only had two tortillas left so I heated those in my le Creuset pan, with a touch of olive oil in the pan. For the other, I put the last section of homemade bread in the skillet.

I made a simple salad for each of us of romaine lettuce, a touch of romano and some ranch dressing.

I put a tortilla (or bread) on each plate. Then I added more oil to the Le Creuset skillet and approximately an equal part low sodium soy sauce and let it heat. Added a can of potatoes. (Yes, a can. I keep them around for when I want potatoes and don't have potatoes.) Sprinkled them with It's a Dilly.

Scrambled the eggs, added some soy milk, put them in a different skillet. Once they were scrambled I topped with havarti dill cheese and transferred to the tortilla shell.

For the sauce, I mixed one part horseradish mustard with two parts mayonnaise.

The beverage of choice was 100% juice diluted with seltzer.

Hamburger Stuffed Bread II

Of course, I can't make anything twice the same way...

I started with some extra virgin olive oil and about 1/3 pound hamburger in the Le Creuset skillet. Added 1 clove garlic, sliced, and about 1/4 cup red wine. When it was brown, I added 1 can condensed tomato soup, oregano from the garden, a tablespoon of brown sugar, and some garlic powder. Oh, and four color peppercorn.

Layered it into a hollowed out baguette with some cheddar cheese.

Bake at 350, in aluminum foil, until the family gets to the table.

DON'T do what I always do. I cut the bread in half. You want more of a deep hole, like a boat, instead of two French bread pizzas.

Good Food Day

Thus far it's been a good food day.

Breakfast for all:
Small section of sausage waffle from the freezer
Juice
Scrambled eggs with ketchup

Lunch:
Peanut Butter and jelly on homemade biscuits
Daughter had strawberries with hers

1 p.m. snack:
Banana

2:30 snack:
romaine lettuce with lots of raisins, ginger sesame vinaigrette dressing and hot wasabi bar mix with a glass of sun tea.

dinner plan: hamburger stuffed bread variation with one of the six homemade honey white French baguettes I made today.

Makeshift Chili Feast

Using the recipe from the last time as a guide (without pineapple as I had none and substituted a can of corn instead), I made chili.
http://angelfoodcooking.blogspot.com/2010/03/another-batch-of-chili.html

I served a side of greens (daughter selected raw broccoli and carrots instead) and a multigrain biscuit (from the freezer) drizzled with real maple syrup. And, of course, I shot of juice so that vitamin C can help my iron absorption.

I suggested making more biscuits after dinner and my daughter announces that she wants chili and fresh biscuits for breakfast tomorrow and biscuits with butter and jelly for dessert tonight. Sounds backwards to me, but that sounds fine.

I was just thinking about it, and everything in our meal tonight, down to the salad dressing was vegan.

Pasta with spinach in herbed lemon butter sauce

Since last week's pasta in lemon butter sauce was so popular I opted to try and repeat the experiment.

I started with the Le Creset skillet, a tablespoon of butter, 1/2 a clove of garlic, juice of one lemon, two tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, handful of fresh parsley from the garden, and several tablespoons fresh chives from the garden. I stirred over low while it all cooked. I believe I added another tablespoon or so of butter to balance the lemon juice.

Next I added about 1.5 cups chopped spinach leftover from the omelet the other day and increased the heat. Then I added slices of Trader Joe's chicken sausage with apples. Let that cook until the sausage browned and the liquid started to dry up.

I made some whole wheat rotini, put them back in the pan with another two tablespoons of butter and a trickle of extra virgin olive oil. Then I mixed it the spinach mixture from the skillet. Voilà, c'est prêt.