Grocery Mama

Make Leftover Night Fun Night

I always work a leftover night into my weekly menu planning. It's usually Friday or Saturday night, when we have a weeks worth of leftovers in the fridge.

But to liven it up and to add some fun to the night, we make it a Restaurant night and the kids get to serve it all up. I type up the "menu" (aka the leftoever googies) and let my son (age 4) color them in. The kids set the table and put the menus down.

My husband and I choose what we would like, then my oldest (age 10) gets out the food and heats it up in the microwave and serves it to us.

We put prices on the menu and pay with "money" which we use from their toy cash register. We get a bill and we leave a tip.

It's a lot of fun and a bit more fun than just leftovers!

Easy Kid Meals

With dance practice, choir, cub scouts, and tae kwon do, who has time to prepare
an appetizing meal for the kids after school? You do!  You can have time if you
serve an easy to cook kids' meal.

Of course it's a no-brainer to throw a hotdog in the microwave or set a tortilla
in a pan on top of the stove, add some cheese and 90 seconds later have  a
simple quesadilla, but what's the excitement in that?  Instead experiment with
Casseroles or one-pot meals which in most cases go over well with the kids; and
are simple to whip together.

Try this quick kids meal:

1 – lb. ground beef
1 - 16 oz jar spaghetti sauce
1 - cup water
1 1/2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
1 - cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Crumble beef in a three-qrt glass baking dish and microwave for 4-5 minutes, or until beef is no longer
pink. Mix & rotate part way through cooking time. Drain Beef.  Stir in sauce,
water and macaroni.  Microwave another 12 minutes, stirring part way through. 
Sprinkle cheese on top and allow to stand covered approximately 5 minutes before
serving. Serves a couple hungry kids.

There are many meals you can cook with hamburger. Any recipe that asks for
hamburger will work just fine replaced with ground turkey, chicken or venison
instead.  The simple recipe below uses ground meat.  It takes nearly an hour to
bake but merely a blink to prepare.

Combine together:

2 pounds ground meat
1 can condensed cheddar cheese soup
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
Crinkle Cut French Fries

Brown ground beef and drain the grease. Add both soups to strained ground beef
and spoon into a 9x13 greased baking dish. Top off with cut French fries and
bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until French fries are light brown.

Taco salads are very quick and easy to prepare.  Begin with lettuce.  Add tomato, onion
and cheese (if your kids will approve of it.)  Fry up some meat and toss in an
envelope of taco seasoning – or just incorporate some taco sauce to the meat. 
Next add crushed tortilla chips or Fritos.  Finish off with salsa or Ranch salad
dressing.  Remember the sour cream and guacamole too!  Kids love this meal!

For a fast, on the go, healthy, cold meal try:

A head of lettuce (not bagged lettuce)
Ham or Roast Beef slices
Cheese slices
Condiments

Step 1: Peel off a medium lettuce leaf.
Step 2: Assemble meat, cheese, and condiments. 
Step 3: Roll up and stick a toothpick in the middle. 
Step 4: Gobble Up. 
Step 5: Wipe your face, there is a trace of mayo. on your cheek.

How about an interesting twist to the normal macaroni and cheese kids recipe?

1 (16 ounce) box macaroni (elbow, seashell, bowtie – doesn't matter, just not
spaghetti)
1 c. cottage cheese
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon

1. Cook macaroni according to package instructions.
2. Stir in cottage cheese, sugar, and cinnamon with drained macaroni.
3. Taste and add sugar or cinnamon, if required.
4. Serve right away. Delicious!

Incorporate a bit of creativity to incorporate a twist on a tried and true
recipe and even with the chaotic after school activities you will find time to
cook a nourishing meal for your kids evening meal.

If you need some more Easy Kid approve recipies Check them out Here!

The path to container gardening

I love having a garden. It's easy to take care of, easy to weed and easy to water. Why? Because it's in a container. Six of them to be exact.

I do have a back yard, but it's so much easier having all my veggies in above the ground containers. This week, I got the last one planted. Here in Colorado, you never know when the last snow is going to come in. But I think I'm out of the woods - I hope.

My best advice with a container garden (or any garden) is plant what you like. I have two kinds of tomatoes growing, squash, zuchinni, bell peppers, broccolli, onions and potatoes. I'm really excited and hope they all live.

If you need some help - check out this growing organic ebook here.

But here are some more tips for container gardening:

1.) You can put your plants in almost anything. Make sure it has a wide open top.

2.) Water Daily, or use a drip watering method.

3.) Make sure water can drain. Put some rocks in the bottom first.

4.) Use organic compost as always :)

No matter what kind of garden you have, whether it's outside on some land, in a container or some herbs in the window, it's a fantastic experiance. There is nothing like sitting down at dinner with some item you grew yourself.

I'll keep you posted on my garden as it grows!

Woo Hoo Wednesdays

Besides Sundays paper - wednesday's is my favorite. It has the weekly ads from the grocery stores. I lay out all three and start putting my weekly meals together.

This also allows for me to try new things. I only buy the fruit and veggies that are on sale. But this also gives me a great opportunity to try new things.

For instance both cucumbers and avacado are on sale this week. I'm going to use them together with some fresh cilantro from my container garden to make a salad. I'm going to pair it with the Whole Bonelss Pork Tenderloin which is a BOGO sale this week. *** Side note, I know king soopers does this. But if you just buy one BOGO product, they give it to you at half price. Which is what I plan to do on this item *** Because of the sale, I'll spend 2.99 on the pork tenderloin. And will probably have left overs for lunch. I'll make some rice for the side. And there I have a nice meal for my family.

Tangy Cucumber and Avacado Salad (serves 4):

2 medium cucumbers, cubed

2 avocados, cubed

4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons minced green onions (optional)

1/4 teaspoon salt

black pepper to taste

1/4 large lemon

1 lime

In a large bowl, combine cucumbers, avocados, and cilantro. Stir in garlic, onions, salt, and pepper. Squeeze lemon and lime over the top, and toss. Cover, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

I'm going to grill the tenderloin.

Because I already have some of the ingrediants, this meal will end up costing about $2.00 per person!

Doughs not to be afraid of Part I: Foccacia

I was leaving my house yesterday to take my three kids for a walk before dinner. As we were leaving, I ran into a friend of ours walking her dog. We walked with her down the block and I mentioned that we had decided to go for a walk before dinner because I needed some time for the foccacia to rise.

She turned and looked at me, and exclaimed, "Foccacia, you make your own foccacia." I replied yes and that I make most of our breads.

Dough is relativly easy to make. Yes, a bit time consuming. But once you have it down, you'll never go back to store bought.

Also, with the rise of wheat prices, you'll notice a savings in your grocery bill. Last week, I decided to get lazy and bought two loaves of bread and rolls. The cost came to $12 for the three items. I'm sure I could have paid less if I bought the store bleached white bread, but there is hardly any nutrients in that.

Even if I make my own white bread, I know what goes in it. No addatives and only ingrediants I can pronounce. (ok that's for another post)

Here is my recipie for Foccocia:

1 tsp sugar

1 package yeast

1/3 cup warm water

2 cup flour

2 TBL olive oil

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp Italian seasoning or Fresh herbs

Preheat oven to 475. Dissolve sugar, yeast and water. Let stand 10 minutes. In a large bowl, combine yeast and flour. Stir in enough water until flour is absorbed. Knead one minute. Place in oiled bowl and let rise 30 minutes. Deflate, knead and roll out dough to about 1/2 inch thick. Place on greased baking sheet. Brush with oil and sprinkle with kosher salt and herbs.

Bake 10 minutes and that's it! Fococcia becomes hard too fast.

Enjoy!

Grocery Scavenger Hunt

When it comes to saving money on groceries one of the biggest tips I can give is leave the kids at home! But as a mom of three, I know it's inevitable that there will be times I have to bring one or even all of them with me.

When I know it's going to be one of those group trips, I take some time to put together a grocery list for each child. For my 4 yr old, I use pictures and simple words. I make sure to include things on his that he would normally want. Like yogurt and granola bars. That way, when they see something else they want (that's not on sale) you can point to the list and say, "Remember you are getting this item instead. Let's go find it." Redirection - it works wonders.

You can find images of the items on your grocerers site if they have a shop at home section. I know both king soopers and safeway offers this.

You don't have to put your whole grocery list on theirs, just enough to keep them busy.

Honestly, go knowing, it's going to be a slightly busy and disctracted trip with kids. The worst thing I see at grocery stores is a rushed mom with kids crawling out of the cart and yelling at them. Go with it, have fun. Food is a fun family affair. Make it a game, and the trip will be much much more successful.

Support your local farm

Ok, It's time you knew, I'm really just a big dork. But I thought this clip was cute. And it's almost time for the local farms to open up their doors.

If you need help finding local produce in your area check out http://www.localharvest.org/

Please send me your favorite local dishes and picts of your recipes made with seasonal ingrediants!

Start a Harvest Group

It’s my favorite time of year! Growing season. Honestly, I let this up to the local farmers in my area and shop faithfully at their stands. But this year, I’m going to grow a few things myself as well.

Gardening is a great way to get your kids involved in meal preparation and appreciating that things don’t magically appear in a store – they grow.

It’s also cost efficient. With the rise in gasoline prices, you are paying for that green bell pepper to arrive at your local supermarket. Your garden doesn’t have those overhead costs!

Here is an idea on the traditional garden – start a harvest group. A harvest group is a group of your friends, neighbors or family that decides which vegetables, herbs or even fruit they would like to grow. Then, each person (or family) grows one item for the group to share.

For instance, let’s say you have five people in your group. Your group decides on sugar peas, bell peppers, chili peppers, tomatoes and zucchinis. Person A will grow tomatoes. Person B will grow bell peppers and so on. Then as the veggies ripen, Person A shares their crop of tomatoes with the group.

No one needs a huge yard to grow the items. I use containers myself. It’s just a way of sharing with a community.

Want to try a new product - Print the coupon

Companies are constantly coming out with new products. The benefit of this to you is that you can normally find a printable coupon for it online. You can either google the product name and the word coupon after it, or watch commercials.

The new trend in tv advertising is giving a url for viewers to go too. Many times, there is a printable coupon for a few dollars off or a free sample to be shipped out o you.

Also, the url's might not be the main site, so keep a little notepad by the tv, and just jot the website down for furhter viewing.

The reason for this new advertising trend is because, web views and visits are traceable. The market research teams can see who is coming to the site, what times and if the marketing method is working. You can't do this with TV.

So reap the benefits.

Here are some recent lists I've seen:

$1.50 coupon - Aveeno Postivly Aging

$1.00 coupon - Desitin

$3.00 of Nair

YoMommy free yogurt

Snuggle trial

I'll add them as I find them!

Lunch Ideas

If you are searching for lunch ideas for your little ones while they are home, a great place to look are the menus from daycares. My son goes to daycare two days a week and they always hand out the monthly meal calander. I get ideas of lunches to make for him when he's home the other days. They also work for my 10 year old on the weekends.

If you don't have a child in daycare, ask your friends for copies of theirs. They are useful and great for quick and easy lunch ideas.

Here are some ideas of May's month:

Mac & Cheese, green beans and peaches

Chef Salad w/ ham and cheese, dinner roll, oranges

Grilled cheese sandwhich, tomato soup, oranges (one of our favorites)

Chicken salad, carrot sticks, pina wedges with mandarin oranges

Saucy BBQ chicken w/ bun, tater tots and fruit cocktail

Enjoy those lunches. Just some ideas outside of the ole stand by of PP&J!