Eatin' on the Cheap

Right now, in my mind, I am on vacation. I am not actually on vacation, I am somewhere towards the beginning of what will eventually turn into the busiest, most stressful, and exhausting month of my life.

The month of May has now been dubbed Hell Month.

Do you ever have one of those months? Where you just stare at your calendar in disbelief and wonder how all of this got so out of control?

I can’t complain too much. I will be busy making money, which is good. I have goals for crying out loud! And we are about to hit one of those goals this week! The hubby and I have been doing Dave Ramsey since about August, and although we fell off the wagon in December (poor planning on our part) and couldn’t hop back on until last month ( tornadoes and thefts will do that to you), we have managed to (nearly) complete Baby Step #3 of the Total Money Makeover! That is 3 months of salary worth of savings for those of you not familiar. WooHoo! Go us!

But anyway, back to vacation.

So, this month (I mean May) I will be running the crap out of my new catering business with no less than 3 special events,  4 weekly deliveries, 1 dessert buffet, and a couple of new on-site events that I am pretty excited about. Besides the catering, the winery’s new wine club is due for it’s second shipment and I cannot believe the astounding success we have had so far! As of today, I will be putting together nearly 60 shipments for our loyal customers! With the winery, there is also of course our Summer Events that are starting up; movie night, happy hour, Blues & Wine music series and a county wide tour called Hickman County Arts & Ag Tour that is now in it’s second year. And as if that wasn’t enough, one of the newspapers I write for has asked me to do 4 extra articles on top of the weekly column that I already write for them and that is all due by May 10th.

Oh! And our 9th wedding anniversary is May 29th (Happy Anniversary babe!).

And then…vacation.

I have never longed for a condo in Hot Springs, Arkansas so badly in all of my life. Thanks to my mother-in-law for allowing us to tag along all of these years. I have pretty much decided that vacation is less about where you go and all about who is there to help you watch the kids. Vacation is also about quick and easy dinners and, if you are close to the water, seafood.

Shrimp is a favorite of mine and I have totally been on this shrimp/fish taco kick lately. I can’t seem to get enough. So I whipped up this simple recipe and imagined that I was sitting on a balcony, overlooking the water with a cocktail in one hand and a shrimp taco in the other.

June can’t get here soon enough.

Happy New Year!! 2013 has arrived despite all of the Mayan prophecies and many people are making all of the usual promises to themselves. I don’t know why we feel compelled to make all of these changes on the first day of the year. We could just as easily do it on a Tuesday in the middle of August. Nevertheless, here we are with grand intentions of bettering ourselves by this time next year and I am no different.

Top of the list is the always present “Lose X pounds”. I’m changing this up a little this year. It’s more like ” Get your butt off the couch and exercise 5 days a week. And quit eating like a teenager and drinking like a frat boy.” As my 31st birthday looms ever closer (3 weeks away. eeck!) I’m going to have to accept that I no longer have the metabolism of a perky waitress in a dive bar in Memphis. It’s my last hold-out and it’s days are numbered. I figure if I can stick to this, then the weight will gradually fall away.

My next, and probably easiest, resolution is to get back on the Dave Ramsey wagon. We started back in August and did really great up until December. December was (and always is) an expensive month. We didn’t lose any money but we didn’t save any either. So back on the budget we go and that’s okay with me.

This last one is something that I really didn’t think about until yesterday and it fits right into the budgeting goal. It’s a Pantry Challenge and I came across it over at Good Cheap Eats. Ya’ll…I need this. I have so many random things in my pantry that I really need to use. I don’t want to throw it away, but I am tired of moving them around. I have tons of dried beans, pasta, canned squash, relishes, and pickles. I also have lots of off-the-wall things; rice noodles, fish sauce, canned sardines, and Irish oatmeal (what makes it Irish anyway?). With the gardening season coming up, it’s time to make a little room. Oh! And we bought a side of beef, so I need to make room for that too.

So, this recipe is kind of a combo of all of these things. It’s very healthy and filling and the creamy dressing used quite a bit of ingredients in the fridge and spice cabinet. Hooray for me! The salad is enough for one, but the dressing makes enough for four. It’ll last 3-4 days in the fridge. It would also be great as a dip for grilled chicken or raw veggies.

Happy New Year!!

Check out this recipe on the Shine Supper Club too!

I’ve been a little obsessed with Caesar salads lately. Maybe it’s because it so hard to find a really good one. Or maybe it corresponds with my other new obsession, anchovy paste. It could also be the plethora of farm fresh eggs in the fridge or the fresh lettuce in the garden. It’s more than likely a combination of all of these things, but for the sake of simplicity, we’ll say that I am obsessed with Caesar salads because they are just really friggin’ good. (Actually, any fresh, well-dressed salad is really friggin’ good but we’ll stick to the Caesar right now)

So, the beauty of the classic Caesar is in the simplicity. It doesn’t take many ingredients, and I would be willing to bet that you already have most of them in your house right now ( except maybe for the anchovy paste, but I’m getting to that). The secret to making this salad really divine is to make sure that the ingredients are as fresh as you can get them. Notice I didn’t say “expensive”…I said “fresh”. If the romaine lettuce is looking a little lackluster at the store, don’t make this salad. It’ll taste awful. ( By the way, you can usually find the freshest stuff in the very back on the bottom of the lettuce bin. Never grab the stuff on top) Will the $30 per pound Parmesan taste great on this salad? You betcha! But the good quality, less expensive stuff that moves faster in the cheese aisle will taste great too.

Now, lets talk about two things that seem to make people a little squeamish: Anchovies and raw eggs.

Let’s tackle the easy one first. Eggs. There is some debate on whether raw eggs are safe to eat. I , personally, am not scared of eating my eggs raw, but I get my eggs from my neighbor who gathers eggs everyday. I know more about the origin of my eggs than most people. And really, for any dish that calls for raw eggs ( i.e. Hollandaise sauce, ice cream, mayo) I would spring for the organic, free-range variety instead of the cheap kind. You want some taste in your raw egg. But if you are pregnant, very young, or have some kind of immune disease you should use pasteurized eggs.

The next tough mental hurdle seems to be anchovies. People seem to think that anchovies taste like old gym socks. I think people are getting anchovies confused with sardines, which can absolutely taste like old gym socks ( unless you douse them in hot sauce and eat them on a saltine cracker). Anchovies are a super savory, oily fish that really remind me more of Asian fish sauce. It may not look real appetizing, but the flavor is unbelievable. And don’t worry about a “fishy” taste, you really won’t pick any of that up. That being said, I like to buy the anchovy paste that comes in tubes so that I’m not left with a tin of anchovies to use up.

What?! I said they were delicious, I didn’t say I wanted to put them on my oatmeal.

The last thing before I get to the recipe is the importance of dry lettuce. As important as it is to wash your lettuce, it is equally important to dry it. Wet lettuce = horrible salad. So please us a salad spinner, or wrap whole wet leaves in a kitchen towel and blot furiously until the moisture is gone. Then continue with assembly.

Ok! On to the recipe!

Thanksgiving is next week. Can you believe it? This year has just flown right by and it’s been full of exciting changes and challenges. Although the big Turkey Day is at the forefront of my mind, right now the most important event going on in my life is my babies’ birthday! They will be five this year. Five!! How did that happen? Where did the time go? How can they possibly be so big?

So, right now, I am putting the finishing touches on a Pirate Party menu. There will be hot dogs, skewered fruit and probably some cheese puffs. I know. It’s terribly elaborate. There are also plans for a treasure hunt and a tattoo parlour. And eye patches. We can’t forget those.

I did cook a Thanksgiving themed lunch for 40 people last week and this wonderful turkey roulade was on the menu. I had to buy the turkey breast and then de-bone and skin them, but you could probably find turkey breasts already skinned and de-boned in a grocery store in civilization. I don’t really have that option here. If you are out in the middle of nowhere like I am, you can refer to my tutorial on butchering your own chicken. It’s basically the same process, just a bigger bird.

This is a really delicious way to make turkey and it’s perfect for smaller gatherings or if you just want something a little different. I took a little shortcut by using pre-packaged stuffing mix ( oh, the horror!) but feel free to use your own cornbread dressing if you have some on hand.

So 3 weeks of rain was followed by 5 days of searing heat, then… more rain. All of this wishy washy weather has been reeking havoc upon our allergies but the garden doesn’t seem to mind much. Especially the broccoli and lettuce. We have been eating off of those plants for the last week or so. Especially the lettuce. I have certainly been adding more fiber in my diet. The great thing about lettuce is that not only is it fairly fast growing, but you can really just harvest what you need and leave the rest for another day. So, if I want a salad for myself I just go and cut a few of the large outer leaves instead of cutting the whole head. If I do cut the whole head, little shoots of new leaves will grow back in it’s place. It’s pretty awesome and the kids are really getting a kick out of it.

Before long, we’ll have a little more variety. The tomato plants are starting to bud out and I even have my first squash blossom coming out.  It also won’t be long before the onions are ready to pull out and dry. I’m already planning out recipes to use with the future crop of fresh veggies!

So, with all of this fresh lettuce coming in, salads have become a regular part of our diet. It’s easy for a salad to get boring, so I like to experiment with different dressings, toppings, and marinades. Texture is really important too. A good salad will have a creamy element and a crunchy element. Otherwise, it all starts becoming a little monotonous. With this salad, I added not only croutons for crunch, but some black beans and corn for some creaminess and sweetness. If you have some ripe avocado lying around it would also be a great addition! The dressing is a simple and refreshing lime and cilantro vinagerette that is very similar to the marinade for the chicken. All in all this is a healthy and satisfying lunch or dinner on a warm spring day.

Cilantro Lime Grilled Chicken Salad

Serves 4

4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless

for marinade:

2 limes, zested and juiced

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 T cumin

pinch of red pepper flakes

pinch of salt

For salad dressing:

1 lime, zested and juiced

2 T chopped cilantro

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 cup olive oil

salt and pepper

For salad:

1 head of lettuce, washed, dried and torn into pieces

1/2 cup canned black beans, washed and drained

1/2 cup fresh or canned corn kernels

tomatoes and onion to taste

croutons

mozzerella or parmesan cheese

Prepare your coals for grilling.

Meanwhile, whisk together the ingredients for the marinade and pour over the chicken breasts in a covered dish or ziploc bag. Let sit in the marinade for at least 2 hours.

Spread your hot coals evenly on your grill and oil the top grate with an oiled rag. Then, place your chicken breasts on the grill and grill 4-6 minutes on each side until the chicken reaches 165 degrees internally. Remove and let rest.

In a small bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the salad dressing to make a vinagerette. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Toss your salad ingredients in a large bowl. Slice the chicken breast and place on top and then dress the dish with the dressing. Toss lightly to coat and serve!!!

I am a child of the 80′s. When I say “child” I mean I was born in the 80′s. You would not find me dancing to hair bands in my basement while combing my bangs into a perfect sphere that would reach the door a good 5 minutes before I did. Although I did have a perm ( briefly) and a t-shirt tie with stirrup pants and some Keds. Oh…and I loved “the Boss”.

Boorrrn in the U-S-A! 

I had a tape player, and a strawberry shortcake pillow, and I never missed an episode of Punky Brewster or Rainbow Brite. And I always looked forward to Mom’s ground beef meals. They were always so good. I think ground beef was the staple more so than chicken for us in the 80′s. Come to find out, nearly all of Mom’s best dinner recipes came from one cookbook, Betty Crocker’s Working Woman’s Cookbook.

Mom’s copy burned in a friend’s house fire and it wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago that Mom finally replaced the cookbook. And being the awesome Mom that she is. She sent it to me.

This book is so freaking awesome. There are so many great meals in here! And not only meals but freezer cooking recipes too!

So, because I’m in love with the cookbook and because some part of me longs for the 80′s, I’ll be cooking out of this cookbook all week.

Like totally!


So this is like a taco salad, but it’s really tasty. Even the kids loved. This horseradish dressing is surprisingly good. The Freezer Beef Mix can be used in casseroles or as a super quick taco mix.


Chili Beef Salads
1 portion of Freezer Beef ( recipe follows)
1/4 c. water
1/4 c. chili sauce
1 small head of lettuce, shredded
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
1 avocado, sliced
6 corn tortillas
oil for frying
Horseradish Dressing ( recipe follows)

Heat the oil to 350. Fry each tortilla in oil while holding down with metal whisk to shape a bowl.

Drain on paper towels.

Heat freezer beef, water, chili sauce in saucepan over medium heat until hot.
Arrange fried tortilla, lettuce, beef, tomatoes, and avocado on a plate and top with horseradish dressing.

Freezer Beef:
3 lbs. ground beef
2 large onions, chopped
1 lb mushrooms, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 t. salt
1 t. pepper

Cook and stir all ingredients until beef is cooked through. Drain and spread out on a large cookie sheet. Freeze partially then separate into 3 portions ( about 3 cups each) and store in freezer bags up to 3 months.

So, back in the spring, I bought a couple tomato plants at KMart and planted those tomato plants in the 3 square foot sunny spot in my yard. ( Really, that’s all the sunny space I have) Well, they have become quite prolific. In the last week I have picked 7 or 8 tomatoes  and I have probably another 10 or 15 that are still on the bush. So, for the last week I have been eating tomato sandwiches and tomato salads until the world looks level. There is something very satisfying about making a meal with a vegetable that you picked 10 minutes ago.

Well, the other night I refrained from eating all of my tomatoes between two slices of bread with lots of mayo and some bacon and instead I roasted them with this chicken dish. The results were fabulous. In the words of my husband, ” Dinner was really, really, really good.” And he had to reheat it at 2am before he enjoyed it.

Roasted Chicken and Tomatoes
3-4 lbs of chicken pieces
3 medium tomatoes
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 T chopped fresh oregano
2 T chopped fresh Basil
1 t. Dijon mustard
1 lemon
1/4 – 1/3 cup olive oil
3 T butter
3 T flour
salt and pepper
hot egg noodles to serve

Preheat oven to 400. Line a metal baking dish with foil and place chicken pieces skin side up. Season with a little salt and pepper.

Cut the tomatoes into wedges and scatter over the chicken.

In a small bowl combine, juice of lemon, garlic, oregano, basil, dijon, and salt and pepper.

Whisk in oil and make an emulsion.

Pour vinaigrette over the chicken and tomatoes. Toss a little so that everything is covered. Top each piece of chicken with a small piece of butter.

Remove chicken from the pan and pour the liquid from the pan into a sauce pan. Heat over medium low heat and add in flour. Cook until the sauce has thickened.

 Pour over the chicken and hot egg noodles and serve!

I don’t have much to say today. The days are hot, the night’s are stormy, and the dirty laundry pile is taller than my children.
Goodness, I hate laundry. I was talking to my friend who has triplets yesterday and she told me that she treated herself and took her and her husband’s ( not the kids’) laundry to the laundromat and let them wash, iron and fold all of it. They had 60 pounds of laundry.
 I wonder how much our laundry would weigh. I wonder what it would be like to have it all washed, ironed and folded. I wonder if I can put that on my Christmas wish list.
Laundry, of course, has nothing to with this light and flavorful summer salad. It has everything to do with a bag of pearl barley I found in the back of my pantry.

Who knows how long it’s been there. I’ve never cooked barley before, but it’s pretty easy. A lot like rice really. It’s got a nice nutty flavor that goes well with vegetables. It’s different, and I was in the mood for something different. It’s also a great way to use up leftover grilled veggies if you happen to have any. Throw some grilled chicken with this dish and you have a complete meal!

Oh! I did start up a Facebook page. I would love if you would join me over there!

Grilled Vegetable Salad
1 cup pearl barley
2 1/4 cups water
assorted veggies such as squash, zucchini, onions,cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp Herbes de Provence or fresh herbs if you have them like thyme or basil
salt and pepper
olive oil

Boil water in a saucepan and stir in barley. Let simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the barley is cooked through but still firm and slightly chewy.

Meanwhile, slice your veggies and brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill over medium heat until veggies are slightly softened.

Remove from grill, chop vegetables, and put in a bowl.

 In a small bowl mix together lemon juice, garlic, herbs, and salt and pepper.

Whisk in just enough oil to make an emulsion, about 1/3 cup.

 Add barley to the veggies, pour in half of the dressing and mix well.

Taste to see if you want more dressing and add more if needed. Great warm or room temperature!

I am finally back from a long and wonderful vacation. While I was gone the springtime breezes turned into summer’s sweltering heat. Heat like this means dinner will be much lighter fare for us. A light and flavorful pesto pasta dish fits the bill nicely. Lucky for me, Amalia from Garofalo Pasta sent me a free sample of their amazing pasta for me to try out.

 Now, one of the perks of a food blog can be that sometimes people want to send you things to review. I’m all for it. But I just want to let you know that, other than a free bag of pasta, I’m not being paid for a good review.
 I am going to give them one anyway. Garofalo pasta is delicious. It has that slightly nutty flavor with a great chewy texture that real Italian pastas have. It’s the pasta you cook with when you have company coming over. It’s the pasta that can stand on it’s own in a dish. I’m in love. Now, Amalia tells me that you can buy this at Costco for a comparable price to other pastas. I don’t have a Costco near me, so I am going to take her word for it. If you have a Costco near you, pick some of this pasta up and give it a try.

Of course, if you are feeling lucky, you can enter the Garofalo Pasta Giveaway! Garofalo Pasta is giving away a CASE of assorted imported Garofalo Pastas. The box you receive will look something like this:

Here’s what you need to do to enter:
Leave a comment on this post and tell me about your favorite pasta dish! You must also be a follower ( if you are not already) and don’t forget to leave a contact email so that I can notify you if you are the big winner!


If you blog about this giveaway, comment again with a link and be entered twice!


This contest will end at midnight on Monday, June 28th. Good Luck to everyone!!!

USA Only




Oh! and here’s the recipe to try with your next bag of Garofalo Pasta!


Lemon Shrimp with Spinach-Basil Pesto


1 pound of peeled and deveined shrimp ( I used a 51-60 count)
1 pound of pasta
2 cups of loosely packed basil leaves
2 cups loosely packed fresh spinach leaves
1 T pine nuts
1/3 cup grated parmesan
2 large lemons
4 cloves of garlic, minced
extra virgin olive oil, about 1/2 cup, more or less
salt and pepper


Whisk together the juice of the lemons, 2 cloves or garlic, and salt and pepper.

Whisk in just enough oil to form an emulsion, about 3-4 Tablespoons. 

Toss the shrimp in to marinate and set aside.

Put your water on to boil. In a food processor, combine spinach, basil, remaining garlic, the zest of one lemon, pine nuts, Parmesan, and a couple of tablespoons of oil. ( my cheese here isn’t grated. I couldn’t find my stinking grater)

Pulse until pureed. Add in a couple more tablespoons of oil to form a smooth pesto. Salt and pepper to taste.

Cook and drain the pasta. 

While pasta cooks, quickly saute the shrimp in a hot skillet, just until they have turned pink, about 3 minutes.

 Then combine the pasta, shrimp, and pesto together.

 Sprinkle with additional lemon zest and Parmesan cheese and serve!

Now, I know I have told you about my dislike of salads, so I hope you are not shocked by a large wedge of iceberg on my plate. I really don’t like salads as a meal. Side salads are fine. Nothing but a salad is not fine.
Anyway, I have found that one of the downfalls of making a salad at home is that good salad dressing is hard to come by. You want to keep it relatively low calorie, but you also don’t want to dress your salad with a store bought “lite” dressing that tastes like the bottom of my shoe. Vinaigrettes are good, but sometimes you just want a mouthful of creamy, pungent blue cheese.
I know the feeling. I’ve been there.
You may also have in your fridge one of those new “Greek Yogurt” cups that you had a coupon for that you got for free or nearly free. You know…this stuff:

Maybe it has been in your fridge just staring at you for a couple of weeks now, giving you the eyeball. Maybe you have been turning your head, shutting the fridge door and walking away, not knowing what in the world to do with it.
Again…I know the feeling. I’ve been there.
So here you go. Something to do with your Greek yogurt and satisfy your need for creamy blue cheese dressing all in one dish. I know. I’m a genius. You are welcome.

Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing
3 T Fat Free Half and Half
1-6 oz. container of Greek Yogurt
4 oz. crumbled blue cheese
2 T white wine vinegar
1 t. Dijon mustard
salt and pepper

Mash half and half and cheese in a bowl with a fork until creamy.

Stir in the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Serve over lettuce, with hot wings or veggie crudités.

Will keep for 3 days in the fridge.