What's For Dinner Wednesday V

Cream stew with corn, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms and chicken (basically, a clean out the freezer/fridge kinda thing) and focaccia made with lotus root and the help of my wonderful bread machine. The bread was really, really good but none of us were in love with the cream stew. It was really quick and easy to put together, but it just isn't one of our favorite dishes. But, the bread, in case I forgot to mention it , was really, really good.

In The Kitchen

On the weekends, I usually cook more from scratch than I do during the busy weekdays. Bailey was battling a fever and just generally feeling bad yesterday so we stayed home from swim class and while the kids were watching a DVD, I was in the kitchen.

The muffins are full of good for you things like whole wheat flour, yogurt and shredded carrot. They were kinds like carrot cake and if I had had cream cheese, I probably would have made icing, but they were plenty sweet and yummy without it.

The spring rolls are baked not fried and are a good way to clean out the veggie crisper. For these, I used leftover cole slaw mix (cabbage and carrots), a little garlic and ginger and ground pork. Just cook the filling first, season to taste with soy sauce and wrap 'em up. I brushed them with a little canola before baking them in a preheated 200C oven for about 15 minutes. Really easy and really good!

What's For Dinner Wednesday IV

A quick and easy meal thanks to my good old crock pot was on the menu last night. The BBQ chicken was made in the crock pot and topped with cole slaw and served with fries. There are even leftovers for lunch tomorrow. I can hardly wait!

Lunch In A Hurry

I love being able to get pretty good for you things from the grocery store to make a quick, filling lunch. I can't get enough of the salad with a walnut and cheese topping, I probably have it at least twice a week. Then there is the tuna/mayo rice ball and leftover from last night egg and spinach soup to help round out the meal. Simple, but really hit the spot!

What's For Dinner Wednesday III

I had a little extra time in the kitchen yesterday, so I decided to make pizza from scratch for dinner. The crust was just a matter of measuring and dumping and letting the bread machine do the hard work. For the sauce, I just added a little oregano, basil, garlic and salt and pepper to some crushed tomatoes I had on hand. This time, I also made a stuffed crust pizza with sausages in the crust so it was kinda like a pizza and a pig in a blanket all rolled into one. I have been craving pizza for a while now so this really hit the spot.

What's For Dinner Wednesday II

This could be called the tired mama edition of what's for dinner Wednesday. After a day of errand running, going to the doctor and the pharmacy, taking the kids out to lunch and then letting them run off some of that extra energy, I was tired. Sophie even called me cranky- and she was right! The salad was of the pre-made deli salad variety and the chili was little more than dumping a whole bunch of canned stuff into a pot and opening a seasoning packet, but topped with sour cream and cheese it was pretty darn good! At least, no one went to bed hungry!

Beans, Thrown

Last week was Setsubun, so I tried my hand at making rolled sushi. Since I am not a big fan of raw fish, I made ours with a Korean twist. It had seasoned spinach, ground beef, egg roll and carrots. It tasted good and impressed the kids!

This is the lunch that I sent the kids to school with that day. Look at that poor, sad oni (demon) getting pelted with dried soybeans.

Because I Wonder. . . . .

The other day I had this conversation with fellow pre-school Mom while waiting for the bus:
Her: Man, I think I blew the food budget for this week. I spent close to 5000 yen.
Me: Oh, if you don't mind me asking how much do you usually spend a week? For the four of us we average about 8000 yen.
Her: Wow, what are you eating steak everyday? I hardly ever spend more than 3000 yen a week. (There are also four people in her family.)
(Thinking to myself- how in the world do you do it?!?!?)

So, my question is this, am I crazy for spending about $100 a week (give or take) for groceries for a family of four? Any thrifty secrets to share?

Homemade Spring Rolls

With Bailey at home from pre-school today with a minor cold (I felt better about keeping him home), I decided it was time to try something new. We got all bundled up (what is it with the weather recently? Isn't it supposed to be spring already?? Come to think of it, that might be why Bailey got sick.) and headed to the supermarket. Looking around, I decided that tonight would be Chinese night and got all the stuff we needed to make fried rice, egg drop soup and homemade spring rolls.

Bailey helped stuff and roll them (we "pasted" them shut with a mixture of a little flour and water), but I made the kids leave the kitchen when it was time to deep fry them (thus the picture of a hungry, sad Sophie and a straining his neck to see Bailey).

They got good reviews and I even managed to sneak one of the smaller ones for Bailey's lunch tomorrow. There are three waiting in the fridge for Hubs when he gets home as well. Nothing tastes better than homemade, right?