We were driving by a local grove store and saw a long line of people waiting for something at a tent. Turns out they were selling fresh local berries out of the tent - awesome! We got some of those fresh local blueberries and peaches then picked up some blackberries, raspberries and local tomatoes at the farm store while we were getting a weekly CSA box. This afternoon my youngest son has been making all sorts of interesting jam and jelly. So far I think the best is the raspberry jam with a little homemade orange liqueur (like Grand Marnier.)
The CSA box this week is mostly nice leafy greens so tonight dinner will be a big salad and some homemade spicy cheese cheese bread. I’m trying that recipe someone so nicely linked earlier - looks good so far.
3 hours, and $600 later we have ALOT!!! of food!
Whole Foods was limiting capacity but they were still too packed IMO. And people were doing a terrible job of social distancing and obeying the one way directions. It was awful!! But they were extremely well stocked.
Then we went to Harris Teeter. Here in our neck, they have them spaced out so you’re never more than a 7 minute drive from an HT. Subsequently we have several to choose from in a very short drive. I haven’t been happy w/ the one walkable to our house. Empty shelves, very picked over, etc. So we decided to go to one closer to the University. First, it was gorgeous. I mean, it’s a grocery store but it was still really pretty!
Second, it was very well stocked! No ramen, but it had a whole pallet of TP… good TP! Also plenty of fresh produce and meat.
So here are the meals we’ll be having:
-Baked rosemary garlic chicken, rice, and sauteed green beans
-Steak, yeast rolls, salad
-Chicken Gyros and na’an
-Athenian Chicken, couscous, greek salad
-Greek Gyros on na’an
-Grilled Carolina Brewery rubbed Pork Chops, rice, green beans
-Herb crusted pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, steamed dill carrots
-Burgers and curly fries
-Shrimp Tortellini in a garlic vermouth sauce
-Pot roast, mashed pots, carrots
-Baked ziti w/ italian sausage
-Carne Asada fajitas w/ pepper, onions, yellow rice
Rotini w/ meat sauce
-Grilled lemon herb chicken w hawaiian rolls, salad
-Chicken Parmesan and pasta
And I have several more nights of chicken w/o a plan. WF was selling their family packs w/ the individual pouches each. I only needed 1, so there are several pouches left.
I also promised to make something for the kids. I still haven’t been able to get flour so baking for them has been problematic. I was able to get some brownie mix and some ice cream, quick brownie sundaes are always welcome. Then I also found a recipe for no bake “Chubby Hubby”. Basically, it’s homemade Reese’s cups w/ pretzels in the middle. I promised to make that!!
For me, planning out that carefully - I could not be patient for. I’m better buying a good variety of things we like, keep basic pantry items stocked and then creating a meal depending on what time, energy, and desire allows.
Tonight we are trying a new recipe, Pasta With Spicy Italian Sausage (out of casing)Broccoli and Chickpeas. It was featured on the NYT Cooking Instagram today.
We have tried so many new recipes! But also last night we just had hamburgers on the grill with roasted brussels sprouts and chips and it was DELICIOUS!
This week we are working on leftovers and things we froze because we had too much! So tonight is still ham. Tomorrow we will have defrosted minestrone for dummies. That will last a couple of days. I’m going to make some kind of bread to go with it.
Next I think I’ll make the roasting chicken. That will feed us for more than several days. With chicken in a variety of dishes.
Steak and bake potatoes one day.
Then I’ll make a crock pot of split pea soup which we will probably freeze half of.
We have all the ingredients for an instapot Creamy Tuscan Chicken and Pasta. It’s really delicious. I’ll make that after the pea soup and steak meals.
So we are good for a few weeks.
Right now…no more room in the fridge or freezer anyway!
I have a quiche in the oven right now (recipe from an OLD, really OLD Betty Crocker cookbook) and a nice green salad made. Tomorrow we have some salmon dinner from our Blue Apron Box.
Definitely no more room in the freezer! I would like to pick up some steaks but not sure that I need to, so chicken it is. Because I have plenty of that
I’m impressed @conmama
Tonight is hamburgers. I froze ground beef into individual patties so I’m able to just take out two. I have some pretzel buns I’m going to defrost. Deciding between oven sweet potato fries or roasted baby potatoes. I will serve it with a garbanzo bean salad I made yesterday.
I’m enjoying my NY Times cooking subscription.
I ordered a round Dutch oven from Sur La Table yesterday to use for the no knead bread. I’ve been using an oval but I’m hoping to get a little smaller loaf with a higher rise out of the round.
I marinated flank steak this morning with a tried and true favorite recipe that I think I got from Bon Appetit 20 or so years ago. Dh is grilling that, and I’m making Old Bay roasted potatoes with grilled zucchini and squash.
Tomorrow night is tortellini with a meat ragu that Dh made a few months ago and found in the freezer over the weekend. I bought sourdough bread and we’ll have salad with it.
Dh made a sourdough starter yesterday so hopefully at some point we will be able to make our own sourdough bread.
Did you order that Staub 4 qt that’s the deal of the century right now? I have that one and it’s one of my most loved and used pans - makes great bread as well as everything else. I used to like my Le Creuset, but now that I’ve tried the Staub, it’s definitely my favorite. My oldest is moving to his first apartment this summer and I just noticed that good deal on them at SLT and ordered him one, too.
That happens to me too, but I’m trying to do mental list of the grocery aisles and tell Alexa before I sit down to do my order. I also check my pantry and fridge/freezer and all the drawers inside first, too.
It’s just so much less stressful than having to go to a store and worry about picking up the virus. JMO.
This thread just makes me realize how affluent our CC community is. Some mighty fabulous meals being consumed…it makes me feel very very lucky, but at the same time, I feel discomfort knowing that so many people are going hungry while my family eats so well.
I’m going to donate to our local food pantry tomorrow. We also got a solicitation from the hospital system I used to work for to donate money to help out nurses and other health care workers in terms of child care, food, money for their utilities, etc. DH asked if I was on board to donate and of course I said yes.
Tonight I made nachos for dinner. Not fancy at all, not particularly healthy, but sure tasted good. Back to a more healthy choice tomorrow…shrimp scampi with sauteed spinach. As I mentioned, very very lucky…
Most of us posting here sound very fortunate. I feel grateful that we have enough food from my last outing a week ago and can still use up what we already had in the freezer and pantry. Tonight, used up the rest of the Ikea meatballs I’ve had in the freezer and improvised a sauce to go with them with what I had on hand . Noodles, whole berry canned cranberry sauce. Enough leftovers for tomorrow. Will go out again in the next day or two to replenish the fresh stuff-salad stuff, vegetables, fruit, whatever meat is available. We’ve always primarily cooked and eaten at home but do miss the thought of not being able to go out again any time soon.
I have been donating meals from restaurants to health care hospital workers in NYC.
I made it a reoccurring donation. $120 a week for 10 lunches to be sent. Helps the restaurants and just a nice thing to do for the hospital workers on the front lines to show my appreciation.
There is no right way to do this. I learned this the hard way this past weekend after carefully planning meals (I love to cook) and shopping for ingredients during my weekly grocery store excursion. And then came a storm and multi-day power outage, which resulted in me throwing out a lot of perishable food.
I never plan my meals out. First, I’m too erratic re cooking every night. But, I do have a list of dishes I make over and over so I just make sure I have the stuff for those. Then I wing it the rest of the time.
I have different dishes I regularly make depending on the season. Much lighter fare in summer. As soon as it warms up on a regular basis my shopping list will change a lot. We’ve only been in upper 40’s-upper 50’s most days, with the occasional 65ish - so I’m still on winter meals.
Back to a more healthy choice tomorrow…shrimp scampi with sauteed spinach. As I mentioned, very very lucky…