Archive for January, 2009

Ways to Reduce Your Grocery Budget

Tuesday, January 27th, 2009

A recent Mom Blog Network post shares some great tips on how to reduce your monthly grocery budget in these tough times:

4 Ways I am Going to Reduce our Grocery Budget Now:

1. Portion control. Eating less at meal time, so we can have more for leftovers the next night or for lunch. Like Wanda recommended – take out what you want to save before serving it.

2. Eating less meat and more veggies. I got a book called “How to Cook Everything Vegetarian” for Christmas and I am ready to dive in and figure it out some tasty veggie meals. (recommended by Amelia.)

3. Seeking out better deals on meat and freezing it. I already watch the sales on meat, but I am going to try and be even more keen on it. Also, I am going to check Costco prices.

4. Making double or triple amounts of meals and store some in the freezer. Most of the time when we eat out during the week is when I don’t feel like cooking. So I am hoping by sticking some meals in the freezer that can easily be heated up will curb some of the eating out.

One of the readers commented on how Dream Dinners is a great way to help cut back on costs. In reviewing the above suggestions, Dream Dinners can definitely help with items 1 and 4. All of the Dream Dinners meals are designed for portion control in mind – one chicken breast, one chop, or one steak per person per meal. If you take suggestion #2 and have some nice sides to the meal, then one piece of meat will fill you up nicely. Dream Dinners also lets you make several meals at once to store in your freezer. Having the meals in my freezer has helped me to cut back from a 4-5 times per week eating out routine to a 1-2 times per week eating out routine (that’s saving about $15-$20/week.) Let us know if Dream Dinners has helped you reduce your grocery budget or if you have other ways to help save money on meals.

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Chinese Chicken Salad Recipe

Saturday, January 24th, 2009

Chinese Chicken Salad
(Serves 8-10)
Dressing Ingredients:
1/4 cup seasoned rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup light vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Salad Ingredients:
1/2 head of Napa cabbage, chopped
1/2 head romaine lettuce, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 Tbsp. sesame seeds
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1 pound cooked chicken breast meat, shredded (optional)

Cooking Instructions:
1. In a small bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients. Set aside.
2. Add cabbage, onions and chicken to large bowl.
3. Toss well with dressing and top with sesame seeds and almonds
4. Chill and serve.

Recipe copied from Dream Dinners 2008 calendar.

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Chef Touched Tips for Dream Dinners January Meals

Friday, January 16th, 2009

A couple weeks ago, Stephanie Allen posted her latest batch of Chef Touched Tips. I wish I had read these – in particular the one about allowing resting time – before cooking my Oldest Dream Dinner ever cooked, but you live and learn. Here is a sampling of her tips for January’s menu:

Sweet and Sour Chicken with Jasmine Rice
This was a great dinner and an even better lunch the next day! I layered the rice on top of a spinach tortilla, topped it with the leftover chicken and veggies then splashed some seasoned rice vinegar on top and sprinkled with fresh chopped green onions. Place on top of plastic wrap and roll tightly. Wrap with foil and refrigerate until ready to enjoy!

Fireside Pork Roast with Mashed Potatoes
I made this in my new crock pot. I placed the pork in the crock, spayed with non stick first, then covered with the sauce and 1/2 cup red wine. I have a low setting and let it cook all day, 8 ish hours. It was delicious and and fork tender. The leftovers made great hot sandwiches for dinner the next day.

Seared Steak, Potatoes and Onions
This was a fun and easy dinner to make. I added a few tablespoons fresh chopped rosemary from my herb garden before cooking this and it was delicious. We like out steaks rare so we just cooked them 3 min per side under high heat. Don’t forget resting time adds to the cooking, always under cook and let the juices of the meat finish cooking until perfect. For the few leftovers we had, I sliced it up and tossed them into some scrambled eggs for a delicious quick breakfast.

To view more of Stephanie’s Chef Touch Tips, visit her blog stephanieallen.wordpress.com.

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The Oldest Dream Dinner Ever Cooked?

Wednesday, January 14th, 2009

I believe that I have officially set the world record for the oldest Dream Dinners ever cooked. Way back in 2007, I assembled the Dream Dinners Grilled Sirloin with Caramelized Onions & Gorgonzola Cheese at the local Dream Dinners. That’s right – 2007. November of 2007 to be exact. In case you’ve forgotten, it is now 2009. See the cooking instructions below as proof of said 1 year and 2 month old Dream Dinners:

sirloin

This weekend, as I was poking through the freezer for something to eat, I stumbled across this Dream Dinners and thought it was finally time to cook it up, so last night I did. The onions sizzled like fresh onions in the pan. The thawed beef came out of their nifty vacuum sealed packages like they had been sealed last week. Other than the fact that I over-cooked my beef (a curse that has haunted me for many years) – the meals was still VERY tasty. The onions packed a nice punch. I threw in a side of mixed veggies and my meal was great.

I’m toying with the idea of having a contest along the lines of my world record feat. Stay tuned to see if I’m able to secure a nice prize.

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Dream Dinners January Side Dish Recipe

Monday, January 12th, 2009

Green and White Bean Salad
From the Dream Dinners Cookbook
(Serves 6)

Ingredients:
1 16-ounce bag frozen green beans, thawed
2 16-ounce cans white beans, such as Great Northern or cannellini beans, drained
4 teaspoons minced garlic
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
½ cup fat-free Italian dressing
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup (4 ounces) grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:
1. In a large bowl combine the green and white beans, garlic, bell pepper,
2. Italian dressing, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.
3. In a separate bowl combine the cheese and parsley.
4. Toss the cheese mixture and the bean mixture together.
5. Transfer to a serving bowl.

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