lists, budgets, food

Here's to a semi-productive day. I didn't get everything conquered on my to-do list, but made a good sized dent. I plan on taking most of tomorrow off from work (since I worked all day Saturday) so hopefully I can finish the rest then.

Conquered::

• menu planning
• grocery shopping
• laundry (okay, just the washing - no folding/putting away)
• cook
• blog
• order wall photos (currently doing - CAN YOU BELIVE IT MOM?!)
• swiffer/vacuum (from Nic's list)

Yet to do::

• walk/run/bike (heh. I should change this one to eat numerous graham crackers with peanut butter and chocolate chips)
• budget break down
• grind flour (can you do this with a food processor?)
• wash maia (bonus - maybe tomorrow?)

Nic did much better (although his list was way shorter), and I am sure he would have finished if he hadn't got stuck at work for so long.

**********

Nic and I are really trying to nail down a budget that we will actually follow. We are quite notorious for coming up with budgets, following them for a week and then falling off the wagon. Lately we have been talking a lot about starting another, but it's been all talk and no action.

In one of many of our budget talks, we came up with a list of goals that we would like to achieve in the next xx number of years. They range from finishing the basement, saving for our trip to Sweden, saving so much money in our emergency fund, and more long term goals like being able to build the house of our dreams to raise of family (of puppies) in.

One item that always comes up during budget talks is food. We love food. I love to cook food. But sometimes we go a little overboard and realize that this is an area that we can trim some fat and start saving some green.

Once we get our budget in place, our plan is to have a cash budget for groceries and actually plan our some of our meals for the week as to maximize trips to my beloved Hy-Vee.

So, on the docket for this week::

• Monday - Lentil sloppy joes
• Tuesday - Potato white bean basil burgers
• Wednesday - Leftovers
• Thursday - Salad (Nic's choice - can you believe it?!)
• Friday - Date night at Shorts Burger & Shine! Our favorite brewery is taking over 10 taps and they are having a little shindig to celebrate.
• Saturday & Sunday - hopefully we will be camping!

Today's trip to the grocery store was supposed to be short, sweet and to the point. But I was a little hungry when I went, so a few extra impulse buys found their way into my cart.

Here's a typical haul from our trips to Hy-Vee:


Pinto beans, organic spinach, beer, cheese, zucchini, asparagus, red bell peppers, organic apples, potatoes, eggplant, spices, bbq sauce, tomato paste, white beans and bananas that were on super sale because the skin was a little bruised - today's bags were organic bananas - SCORE!

And the impulse buys::


Moscato, green bell peppers, organic pears, strawberries, mangos, yellow squash and more red bell peppers - I only needed 2 for this weeks meal plan, but they were on super sale. Not pictured are 12 quart Ball jars that I picked up for food storage.

Yeah - don't you love that my impulse buys are mostly produce??! And the wine was totally necessary after yesterday's 18+ hour workday.

After a quick trip to Wal-Mart, I came home and spent the next 4 hours in the kitchen preparing most of the food we'll be eating this week.



Pretty sure I love using Ball/Mason jars for storing food. Super cheap and I don't have to worry about BPA. Win.


Baba ganoush, Rosy pear applesauce, Lentil sloppy joes.

The baba ganoush was a happy accident. Not sure we can eat the entire quart though - hopefully I can freeze it!

The rosy pear applesauce came to be because organic pears were on sale so I threw a few in the cart.



Lentil sloppy joes. Yeah, if you know me well, you know I have a very hard time cooking for two. I try really hard, but ultimately end up cooking for an army. Good thing this recipe freezes well and is one of our favorites.



Roasted red peppers. Because what else would you do with a huge bag of red peppers that winds up in you cart?

I am glad I spent the afternoon cooking, but towards the end, things got a little hairy. I should have cracked open the bottle of moscato long before I actually did.

Well that was an epic post.

Nic just told me I am teaching tomorrow morning's 5:15 spin class. Yippe. Better hit the hay.