Stretch Week

We have recently decided to get serious about our food budget. We have been very blessed to be able to live off of one income since our little one was born, but we still have some student loan debt to pay off so we've made a plan to 1) live off of 1/2 of our income and 2) budget for things like food and gas. July was our first full month of budgeting for food and while I am a pretty frugal shopper in general, setting a limit forced me to get creative near the end of the month. The result was nearly a week of hunting down new recipes online and subjecting my husband to all kind of interesting food combinations. Some of our meals were so fun that even though they don't all fit the pantry theme, I feel I have to share them. :) Along with some staples like fruit, salad, and cereal, this is how our week looked.

Stretch Week: Friday, July 25th -

Roasted a whole chicken

Made a Chicken Crescent Braid

Yummy and pretty! I modified the Pillsbury recipe for Roasted Garlic Turkey Crescent Braid by using chicken instead of turkey and skipping the sun dried tomatoes since I didn't have any on hand. I did have some baby spinach, however, so that got thrown in and was a perfect fit. I also left out the mushrooms.

Saturday, July 26th -

Went to the farmer's market and spent $10 on peaches, apples, 4 eggplants, and 2 "spaceship squash."

Made Peanut Butter Banana Bread (without the chocolate) from Peanut Butter Boy. Didn't get a picture b/c it was gone in a matter of minutes. lol!

Ate chicken sandwiches with mayo from whole chicken cooked Friday.

Sunday, July 27th -

Tuscan White Bean Salad from Elana's Pantry using two kinds of canned white beans with oven-roasted tomatoes from Gluten-free Girl - it was perfect! And the leftovers were even better on Monday!

hamburgers at a dinner party (free! wohoo!)

Monday, July 28th -

More chicken Sandwiches and leftovers. :) Easy-peasy.

Tuesday, July 29th -

Rustic Garlic Onion Pizza from Fun Foods on a Budget, with Beyond Salmon's Honey Garlic Grilled Eggplant on top.

I used way too much salt on the eggplant - but now I know. We picked a few pieces of eggplant off each piece and were good to go! The foccacia bread crust was the best.thing.ever.

Wednesday, July 30th -

Spaceship Squash Fritters from The Leftover Queen and 40 minute hamburger buns from Taste of Home. I didn't get a picture of these unfortunately, but they were GOOD!

And for lunch I whipped up some quinoa with tomatoes, garlic, and baby spinach.

Thursday, July 31st -

Falafel and pita bread from Iron Stef, and Eggplant Caviar from Sam Cooks.

I've gotta say - we ate well this week! I spent a lot more time cooking than usual but now I can log all of these away as having tried them and should I decide to make them again, it will go faster the second time around. Thanks lovely bloggers for the inspiration this week!

White Bean Rigatoni

Ingredients:

1 box (16oz) whole wheat rigatoni noodles
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 can or frozen box (I used frozen) spinach
1 (8oz) can white beans - any kind (I used great northern)
1 tsp minced garlic

Directions:

Boil noodles as directed. In separate pot, heat sauce, beans, spinach, garlic, and and spices you'd like until just boiling. Remove from heat. Drain noodles and add then to the sauce pot. Mix thoroughly and serve (with cheese sprinkled on top if you'd like).

Easy-peasy! I really didn't even need to write out a recipe - I certainly didn't follow one! This was a successfully thrown together meal - my favorite kind. :)

Chicken Crescent Calzones

Last week I needed to make a super-fast-and-easy meal for friends of mine who just welcomed their first baby. I also didn't have any money or time to go to the grocery store for fresh food. These calzones pared with salad greens topped with pine nuts and mushrooms (which I thankfully had on hand) ended up being yummy-looking enough that I didn't feel bad passing them on.

I used the recipe from the Pillsbury website for Chicken Crescent Calzones but modified the ingredients quite a bit. Here's the original recipe:

Ingredients:

1	(8-oz.) can Pillsbury® Refrigerated Crescent Dinner Rolls
4	(2-oz.) slices oven-roasted chicken (from deli)
4	(1-oz.) slices Monterey Jack cheese
1	(8-oz.) can Green Giant® Mushroom Pieces and Stems, drained
1	egg, beaten
1/2	cup Progresso® Plain Bread Crumbs
1	(12-oz.) jar chicken gravy
1/4	cup sliced green onions
1/4	teaspoon paprika

Directions:

1.	Heat oven to 375°F. Spray cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
2.	Separate dough into 4 rectangles. Firmly press perforations to seal. Press each to form 6x5-inch rectangle. Top each rectangle to within 1/2 inch of edge with slice of chicken, slice of cheese and 1 tablespoon of the mushrooms. Reserve remaining mushrooms for gravy. Fold dough in half, forming a square; pinch edges to seal. Dip each calzone in egg; coat with bread crumbs. Place on sprayed cookie sheet.
3.	Bake at 375°F. for 20 to 25 minutes or until deep golden brown.
4.	Meanwhile, in medium saucepan, combine gravy and reserved mushrooms; cook over medium heat until hot, stirring occasionally. Serve gravy over calzones; sprinkle with onions and paprika.

I used only canned turkey, swiss cheese, and mushrooms instead of the suggested ingredients. I left out the gravy entirely and didn't top them with anything but panko (japanese bread crumbs). I plan on making them again soon with lots more yummy stuff inside. Stay tuned also for another yummy-looking recipe I found on the Pillsbury site - Roasted Garlic - Turkey Crescent Braid.

Foodie Blogroll and Blog Review

Well, our computer has taken an extended vacation. :( So while we await our new hardware I am having to access the internet briefly here and there. Today I don't have access to my camera for yummy food pictures, but I would love to take the time to introduce you to a site that I love and a related new feature on this site.

We are fortunate on the web to have a wealth of information at our fingertips - sometimes too much to sort through. Bloggers run the risk of over-saturating the "market" as it were with redundant content so it's refreshing to find a blogger who is truly creative. Jenn, The Left Over Queen is my hero(ine). The subtitle of her blog says it all: she makes "masterpieces from leftovers."

Her food philosophy compliments mine so well that I have never read a post from her that I didn't find inspiring. You can find recipes for any occasion and to meet any dietary needs and food tastes on her blog. One of my favorite things about it is how well she has labeled her posts - there's a wealth of information to be found at Left Over Queen and it's so neatly organized that it never takes long to find what I'm looking for.


Her photos always look yummy enough to eat by themselves and she uses the kind of ingredients that my mouth waters to think of. Still, she has plenty of simple "pantry compatible" meals for those days when fresh is hard to come by. I love her Sweet Potatoes with Black Beans and her recent post about Mediterranean Hummus. She even has a whole section of her site dedicated to the pantry! I told you she's my hero, didn't I?


In addition to her site, Jenn has written an e-book and runs the Foodie Blogroll. Busy woman! I'm excited to announce that Eat From Your Pantry has just recently joined the blogroll and thus the ranks of many other fantastic foodie bloggers. We're very happy to be in such great company! Please check out the blogroll over on the right and visit a few of my fellow foodie bloggers. Don't forget to leave them a comment to tell them that you appreciate them taking the time to share their knowledge!

Good and Hearty Granola

I've tried dozens of different granola recipes: Low fat, with fruit, sugar free, etc. and nothing beats good 'ole hearty granola that leaves you satisfied for hours. I don't use refined sugar in mine and while I use canola oil (no saturated fat unlike veggie oil), you could substitute the oil of your choice. If you add dried fruit to this recipe, add it at the end or after it's done - I find that the fruit ends up getting scalded if you put it in right away.

Ingredients:

4 cups oats
2 cups bran flakes
1/2 cup milled flax seed
1 cup chopped almonds
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup dried coconut flakes
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup honey

Directions:

Preheat oven at 220 degrees.
Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix well.
Fold in oil and honey.
Spread on ungreased baking sheet and put in oven for 1-1 1/2 hours.
Stir around on baking sheet every 20 minutes or so to make sure granola browns evenly.
It's done when it's started to get crispy. I sometimes let it sit in the oven with the heat off for a while to let it continue to dry out. It will harden up significantly as it cools.
Enjoy with lots of milk and fresg fruit or over yogurt or ice cream. :)