Menu Monday 4/29 - 5/5/2013

Still no luck on challenge recipes! I guess with Jayme gone, I just don't feel like making anything new that the kids may not like. I need to just sit and find a big list of things to try instead of looking for something each week as I make the menu. I get too distracted! Last week I did pretty good though. I cooked every night!! Only once did I swap out something that was planned for something else. This week has a lot of easy stuff on it and nothing very exciting, but here it is:

Monday-- It's Spirit night for Pattie and Clay's school, but it's at McDonald's so we will have Fish Sticks and Mac & Cheese at home!
Tuesday-- Chicken Ranch Tacos
Wednesday-- Tuna Alfredo
Thursday-- I made Marinara sauce a while back and have some in the freezer. Spaghetti it is!
Friday-- Hot dogs, which I have been craving like crazy for some reason! Maybe I can find a side dish recipe to try out by then
Saturday-- Oven Fried Chicken Strips with pasta salad
Sunday-- Shredded Pork Wraps

Aldi vs Walmart

Just a couple weeks ago, an Aldi store opened up down the road from our house. When we lived in Germany, there was an Aldi much closer to our house than the commissary was so I would occasionally go there for things. If you are unfamiliar with the store, it is a small grocery store that doesn't have a lot of frills or extras. You put a quarter in a slot on the handle of your cart so it unlocks from the storage area and when you lock it back up after you finish using it, you get your quarter back. The checkout station has a chair for the person working it and they do not bag your items. You unload your cart on the conveyor belt and swing your cart around to the end. They scan the items and put them back in your cart, then you pay. After you pay, you wheel your cart over to a table (kind of like the folding tables at a laundromat) and bag your groceries yourself. Did you bring your own bags? Good for you if you did, but if you didn't you can get them at the checkout for 6 cents each. They are pretty good size so you may not need as many as you think and they are sturdy enough to use more than once.
They have really nice, fresh produce and not many name brand items. They do sell wine and a little beer but not much, and none I had ever heard of. What draws people in are the prices! I only needed milk today which is $3.28 at Walmart. Aldi has it for $1.98 so I went there to grab some and whatever else struck my fancy. Here's my list of what I came home with:
2 lb bag of small Honeycrisp apples..........................$3.99
3 lb bag of clementine oranges...................................$1.99
1 lb pkg of strawberries..............................................$0.99
6 oz pkg of blackberries.............................................$1.79
6 oz pkg of blueberries...............................................$1.99
Tortilla Chips..............................................................$1.79
Mini bagels.................................................................$1.99
American Cheese singles............................................$1.99
Hazelnut chocolate bars..............................................$1.99
750 ml bottle Riesling.................................................$4.99
1.5 L bottle Lambrusco...............................................$6.99
Milk Chocolate wafers................................................$1.99
Beef Jerky....................................................................$2.89
Penguin Crackers (like Goldfish)................................$1.39
Fruit snacks..................................................................$1.69
1 lb bag flour................................................................$1.19
1 gal 2% milk...............................................................$1.89
2 gal watering can........................................................$3.49
My total was...............................................................$46.46
When I got back home I pulled up my grocery list app. It has all the current prices for things I buy at Walmart on a regular basis. I made a list of all the things I bought at Aldi that I had a Walmart price for. If I didn't have a Walmart price for something, I used the Aldi price. This had to be done for the three types of berries, both chocolates, the beef jerky and the watering can. The total came out to $52.47. I know it should actually be higher than that because the apples I get at Walmart are Galas, not Honeycrisps and I am quite certain that the berries and chocolates would have cost a lot more at Walmart too.
So what does this mean for my future grocery shopping trips? Probably not much for those "once a week, get everything I think we will need" days, but for days like today when I need one or two things and would like to grab some fresh produce and a bottle of wine I will definitely consider Aldi. If beer is on the list, though, you will find me at the HEB across the street from there.

Menu 4/22 - 4/28/2013

Menu time again! I did pretty well sticking to last week's menu but I did not make anything new. I will see what happens this week! Jayme is home so most of these are at his request:
Monday-- Mexican Chicken Lasagna
Tuesday-- Steak Fingers and fried potatoes with gravy
Wednesday-- Poached Tilapia and Parmesan noodles
Thursday-- Meatloaf (maybe a new recipe?) and mashed potatoes
Friday-- Kobayashi Maru maybe with shrimp
Saturday-- Homemade Pizza, I will blog after
Sunday-- Probably leftovers or something very simple!

Menu 4/14 - 4/21/2013

Trying to get my groove back! There is no challenge recipe this week. It will be a challenge just to get everything on here made and eaten! I may get brave and try another alfredo sauce recipe for Sunday's Chicken Alfredo but if I had to say right now, it would be a NO!
Monday-- Pork Roast with Mac & Cheese
Tuesday-- Mom will be here! Making her some Tilapia Tacos with Chuy's Creamy Jalapeno Sauce and possibly Casa Ole Green Sauce too.
Wednesday-- Letting Mom choose, either out or she can pick what I make
Thursday-- Daddy coming to get Mom and take her back home after a dinner of Chimichurri Casserole
Friday-- Corn Dogs and chips! Jayme will be home at some point that night :)
Saturday-- Crawfish Boil for my SIL's birthday at her house. I will be taking what's left of the dips from Tuesday night
Sunday-- Chicken Alfredo

Shrimp Scampi

This recipe is a great one to wow company with. It is super easy, fairly fast and sinfully rich. I made it for my in-laws last week and they were very impressed! I got the recipe from my mom who got it from the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company Cookbook

The Ingredients

2 pounds shrimp
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
1/2 tsp steak sauce
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp hot sauce
Hot cooked noodles, I used linguine
Fresh parsley, if desired for garnish

Saute onion and garlic in butter until translucent.

Add lemon juice, tarragon and sauces.

Bring to a boil, then add the shrimp.

Cook, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes or until shrimp turn pink.

Add to cooked pasta and toss.

Garnish with parsley and Parmesan cheese, if desired. So good!

Roast Duck

A couple months ago, one of our new neighbors was coming home from work and we were out in the yard planting a tree. He came up to me and asked, "Do you eat duck?" I answered that I never had but not because I was opposed to it. He then told me his wife's boss had gone duck hunting and had given her a couple of the ducks which she accepted but had no intention of cooking. he asked if I wanted them so I said, "Sure!" Then they sat in my freezer  Raley kept asking me when I was going to make them and I finally said I would cook one for Easter. Then I had to find a recipe.....

Not too long ago we finally got with the times and started watching "Duck Dynasty" on A&E. If you don't watch it, you should! It is hilarious and heartwarming and good clean family fun. There aren't many reality shows you can watch with your kids, but this one you can. Well, as you may guess by the name, it is about a family of duck (and everything else) hunters who run a highly successful company selling (among other things) duck calls invented by the family patriarch. They also show a lot of cooking! So I went to their website looking for an easy recipe for duck. In the end I went with a very basic recipe from allrecipes.com

The Ingredients

1 duck (4 - 5 pounds) **I was surprised to find two ducks in the bag instead of one but together they made the correct weight so i used them both

2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

2 tsp paprika

1/2 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix spices together, rub over all surfaces of the duck(s). Place in roasting pan.

Roast for one hour, the baste with 1/4 cup of melted butter. Continue baking for 45 more minutes, baste with remaining butter and cook 15 more minutes until golden brown.

I don't have any more pictures but the end result was pretty tasty. Maybe just a tad overdone but not to the point of being dry and awful. The only complaint I got was from my brother who bit down on a piece of birdshot! Nothing like organic food, right? :)

"Irish" Beef Stew

I know it has been an awful long time since I even posted a menu, but I am trying to get back into my groove. So today I will post a few recipes, all of the Challenge Recipes, even though they were never mentioned on a menu post. Sorry! Please forgive :)
This is what I made for St. Patrick's Day dinner and it was fabulous! I more or less followed the recipe in Pioneer Woman's Food From My Frontier book.

The Ingredients

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
2 pounds beef stew meat
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
12 ounces beer of your choosing
4 cups beef broth (I use the new Knorr Homestyle Stock concentrate)
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp Tomato paste (I did not have so I used ketchup)
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
Pepper to taste
potatoes of your choice. I like to use baby gold or fingerlings
carrots
2 Tbsp flour

The most important ingredient for this recipe is the reason it is "Irish" Beef Stew. My beer of choice was Guinness Draught. Most people will tell you not to cook with a beer you would not drink. This happens to be an old favorite of mine so I wasn't worried but Jayme does not like it so I was slightly worried for him. he loved the stew though, so I guess it all worked out okay!

Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat and add beef to brown on all sides.

Since I was finishing my stew in the slow cooker, I threw the meat in there when it was brown. Then moved on to cooking the onion and garlic, again just to get them started.

Then into the crock with them as well. Now it was time for the beer. I did not use the whole can. Depending on what kind of beer you use the amount may change.

Sorry for the blur! Give everything a good stir and add in your Worcestershire, tomato paste (or ketchup), sugar and spices along with the beef broth. With the Knorr concentrate, you first dissolve it in hot water like you would bouillon cubes or granules. Only this stuff has bits of veggies floating around in it and is very rich and delicious.

Then on with the lid and slow cook away on low for 6 - 8 hours or high for 4 hours. About halfway through, add in the veggies. Just when the meat is tender and the veggies are perfect, whisk together the flour with 1 cup of the liquid from the pot.

Add that back in for a thickening agent while you grab your bowls, crusty bread, drinks and kids. Serve and enjoy!

My wee little leprechauns loved it too :)