The Food Network has been highlighting Thanksgiving recipes for the last couple of weeks, and I have been completely into it. I now know how to brine, deep fry, roast, smoke, and grill a turkey. Of course, I'm having my Thanksgiving dinner at the country club so I'm not sure how useful any of this information will be, but I'm available in case you have a Thanksgiving-food related question.
My favorite shows are related to what to do with Thanksgiving leftovers. I love watching food morph into different food with a completely different flavor. This is the essence of Robin Miller's Quick Fix Meals and Sandra Lee's Round Two Recipes. Who hasn't had leftover chicken and thought, "What should I do with this?" These types of recipes are really helpful for me because my husband is not a fan of leftovers. I can freeze something and he'll eat it weeks later, but he's not interested in having last night's dinner for lunch tomorrow.
The leftover segments got me thinking about my own leftover situation this year. Because we're eating at a buffet, we sadly won't have any Thanksgiving leftovers. We're also eating at 1pm so I fully expect to be hungry again by 8pm. I might actually have to cook something... but what? It seems like this would be the perfect time for Thanksgiving leftovers, but I don't want to make Thanksgiving dinner just to have leftovers! Hmm.
I'm also being fairly budget conscious, especially as we head into the holidays. Even though I'm not making Thanksgiving dinner, I'm still taking advantage of the great sales on Thanksgiving foods - cans of pumpkin, crescent rolls, sweet potatoes, chicken stock, cranberries, etc. These are foods I either already use frequently or like but don't usually make because of availability/cost. But now is a great time to stock up or plan menus around these items.
This is what I offer to you. Over the next couple of days, I'm going to post some ideas and recipes for using "Thanksgiving ingredients" in different ways. I'll also post a few leftover recipes for good measure (I may finally share my Thanksgiving braid recipe).
I'll start with what we had for dinner tonight. These recipes highlight sweet potatoes, which I've been eating a lot lately, and those French's Fried Onions that I've only ever used for green bean casserole.
French's Crunchy Onion Chicken
I linked the recipe from the French's website (it was also on the back of the can) because it is pretty close to what I made. I made the three-serving (read: 3 chicken breasts) Dream Dinners version tonight, and I don't remember exactly what was in it. The major variation is that instead of an egg dip, I melted minced garlic (1 tsp maybe?) and worcestershire sauce (1 tsp maybe?) in a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil in a small sauce pan and dipped the chicken in that before rolling it in the crushed onions (I didn't use flour). I baked at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes and then broiled for 2 minutes. It was absolutely delicious - very moist and full of flavor. It was a great way to use those onions so buy the big canister when you're making the green bean casserole!
Candied Carrots and Sweet Potatoes
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
2 carrots, sliced
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup water
salt to taste - I used about 1/2 tsp
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Steam the sweet potatoes and carrots until tender. Put vegetables in a baking dish (probably a 9x13 - I used an 8x8). Melt the remaining ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat until the brown sugar dissolves and it starts to bubble. Pour the brown sugar mixtures over the vegetables and bake for 45min-1 hour. I stirred up the vegetables a couple of times to make sure the brown sugar and butter continued to coat the vegetables.
These vegetables are definitely sweet - they are called candied afterall - but I thought they were a great balance to the savory and somewhat salty flavor of the chicken. Sweet potatoes are full of Vitamin A and inexpensive right now so I am a huge fan of playing with different preparations, flavors, and textures right now. Stock up!
Showing posts with label Dream Dinners. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dream Dinners. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Balancing the budget
I've been a huge budget kick lately. Because I'm not working, I've decided that it's my job to make sure we reduce our expenses to save a little extra money. I hate it.
We've always been aggressive savers, especially for retirement, but we are not as careful when it comes to everyday living. We were careful about every penny in the early years of our marriage, but as our combined income has grown, we've definitely become more lax in our spending. Part of it is that we have more disposable income, but another part is that we're both spontaneous and like to have adventures while we can. We work hard and that has translated into playing hard as well.
Because I'm not working hard at the moment, I don't know that I've earned the right to play hard at this point in my life. My husband has earned this right, though - he works harder than almost anybody I know between work and getting his MBA - and I don't want to take this away from him. However, I'm trying to be sensible and recognize that although my income wasn't much, it generally paid for a lot of our adventures. This new situation makes it hard to find a balance between being financially smart and enjoying life to the fullest.
The one thing that has changed dramatically is the number of times we go out to eat, and especially the number of times that I go out to eat. I used to frequent coffee shops and places like Panera to do my work, and I always bought lunch, drinks, and snacks while I worked. Those costs definitely added up, so by staying home more often, I've definitely cut those expenses down. I suppose that I could insist my husband bring his lunch to work too. However, getting lunch is one of the only breaks he gets during the day and I'm reluctant to take it away from him. If he brought lunch, I have a feeling he would work right through lunch and never take a break. When he has to get his lunch, he gets away from his desk for a little while, and gets a little fresh air for at least a few minutes each day. I think both of those are incredibly important for his stress management. While I'm positive that we could save some money if he brown bagged it, I'm not convinced the money savings outweighs the mental health benefits.
However, we eat our dinners at home a lot more often than we used to, and have greatly reduced the number of takeout nights. I could probably save more money by preparing everything myself and not using Dream Dinners, but I'm not 100% convinced that the savings would be all that great. I do cook from scratch at least once per week, and the grocery bills for those meals are roughly the same as a Dream Dinners meal. I've gotten over my guilt about "not cooking," and look forward to the different meals we get to try! Chicken Vesuvio for dinner tonight - YUM!
Aside from meals, the biggest expenses I feel the need to control are the entertainment and the miscellaneous expenses. These are the ones that I struggle with the most, and a lot of it has to do with trying to find ways to fill my day without spending money. I admittedly fail at this aspect of budgeting, and with Christmas coming, I know I will struggle with this even more. I'm not really a shopper, but I am a giver, and when I see something that reminds me of my friends or family, I will often impulsively buy things without really thinking about a budget. Combine this giving with being bored and trying to find ways to fill my day and suddenly shopping becomes a budget buster. I'm really trying to set a smaller, more realistic budget this year and I'm going to work hard to stick to it.
The flip side of the entertainment and miscellaneous expenses is that my husband hasn't stopped working hard so it's difficult for me to justify limiting his play time. Just because I'm not working doesn't mean that he can't enjoy the life he has worked so hard to create. I've been trying to find things to do that he'll enjoy while also being mindful of expenses - things like going to the discount movie theatre instead of the new release theatre, going to free festivals, and using frequent travel discounts and freebies - but I really struggle in this area a lot. Entertainment has gotten so expensive! We don't have a lot of friends in the area so we don't go to each other's house for game night or movie night, and I'm not sure that's something he'd like to do anyway - we're not really board game players. Maybe that's something we could try though, or perhaps we could find a Playstation 3 game to play together, because I'm quickly running out of ways to keep us entertained!
I know I'm completely spoiled that I can be home right now, and that we don't live paycheck to paycheck, but I also recognize that we may not always be in this position. I want to be smart about how we spend our money, but I also don't want to forget to enjoy life! It's a difficult balance and I'm still learning how to manage those competing priorities.
How do you balance your budget?
We've always been aggressive savers, especially for retirement, but we are not as careful when it comes to everyday living. We were careful about every penny in the early years of our marriage, but as our combined income has grown, we've definitely become more lax in our spending. Part of it is that we have more disposable income, but another part is that we're both spontaneous and like to have adventures while we can. We work hard and that has translated into playing hard as well.
Because I'm not working hard at the moment, I don't know that I've earned the right to play hard at this point in my life. My husband has earned this right, though - he works harder than almost anybody I know between work and getting his MBA - and I don't want to take this away from him. However, I'm trying to be sensible and recognize that although my income wasn't much, it generally paid for a lot of our adventures. This new situation makes it hard to find a balance between being financially smart and enjoying life to the fullest.
The one thing that has changed dramatically is the number of times we go out to eat, and especially the number of times that I go out to eat. I used to frequent coffee shops and places like Panera to do my work, and I always bought lunch, drinks, and snacks while I worked. Those costs definitely added up, so by staying home more often, I've definitely cut those expenses down. I suppose that I could insist my husband bring his lunch to work too. However, getting lunch is one of the only breaks he gets during the day and I'm reluctant to take it away from him. If he brought lunch, I have a feeling he would work right through lunch and never take a break. When he has to get his lunch, he gets away from his desk for a little while, and gets a little fresh air for at least a few minutes each day. I think both of those are incredibly important for his stress management. While I'm positive that we could save some money if he brown bagged it, I'm not convinced the money savings outweighs the mental health benefits.
However, we eat our dinners at home a lot more often than we used to, and have greatly reduced the number of takeout nights. I could probably save more money by preparing everything myself and not using Dream Dinners, but I'm not 100% convinced that the savings would be all that great. I do cook from scratch at least once per week, and the grocery bills for those meals are roughly the same as a Dream Dinners meal. I've gotten over my guilt about "not cooking," and look forward to the different meals we get to try! Chicken Vesuvio for dinner tonight - YUM!
Aside from meals, the biggest expenses I feel the need to control are the entertainment and the miscellaneous expenses. These are the ones that I struggle with the most, and a lot of it has to do with trying to find ways to fill my day without spending money. I admittedly fail at this aspect of budgeting, and with Christmas coming, I know I will struggle with this even more. I'm not really a shopper, but I am a giver, and when I see something that reminds me of my friends or family, I will often impulsively buy things without really thinking about a budget. Combine this giving with being bored and trying to find ways to fill my day and suddenly shopping becomes a budget buster. I'm really trying to set a smaller, more realistic budget this year and I'm going to work hard to stick to it.
The flip side of the entertainment and miscellaneous expenses is that my husband hasn't stopped working hard so it's difficult for me to justify limiting his play time. Just because I'm not working doesn't mean that he can't enjoy the life he has worked so hard to create. I've been trying to find things to do that he'll enjoy while also being mindful of expenses - things like going to the discount movie theatre instead of the new release theatre, going to free festivals, and using frequent travel discounts and freebies - but I really struggle in this area a lot. Entertainment has gotten so expensive! We don't have a lot of friends in the area so we don't go to each other's house for game night or movie night, and I'm not sure that's something he'd like to do anyway - we're not really board game players. Maybe that's something we could try though, or perhaps we could find a Playstation 3 game to play together, because I'm quickly running out of ways to keep us entertained!
I know I'm completely spoiled that I can be home right now, and that we don't live paycheck to paycheck, but I also recognize that we may not always be in this position. I want to be smart about how we spend our money, but I also don't want to forget to enjoy life! It's a difficult balance and I'm still learning how to manage those competing priorities.
How do you balance your budget?
Monday, September 27, 2010
I cook, I really do!
I had a Dream Dinners session last Friday. I really look forward to my Dream Dinners sessions, and last Friday was no exception. I love cooking, but I love that someone else is cleaning up after me even more.
I made some great dishes - Beef stew, Buffalo ranch chicken, Meatball marinara stuffed french bread, Chicken and dumplings, Arroz con pollo, and a few others - and I'm looking forward to eating each dish. However, I felt a bit guilty when I emptied my cooler full of freshly prepared meals into the freezer at home. I realized I had a lot of "frozen dinners" and felt as though I was somehow robbing my husband of a home-cooked meal.
I wondered why I felt like I was shirking my housewife responsibilities and it dawned on me - I'd convinced myself that I didn't actually cook for him because it was too easy.
Dream Dinners, and most of the meal prep places, run like this: pick the items you want to make, select a session, show up at designated time, make selected items, bring home dinners and place in freezer. (This explains it much more thoroughly.) They provide the recipe, the ingredients, and the measuring tools, and I follow the recipe, assembling the ingredients in a aluminum pan or plastic freezer bag. In some ways, it's like being on a cooking show - the ingredients are at the prep station, and all the chef has to do is put them together. It's exactly what I would do at home, except I'd be shuffling around my own kitchen, chopping and measuring and mixing and marinating (creating my own mise en place), and then putting everything directly into the skillet or baking dish. Instead, I stop short of cooking and bring it home to cook it later.
I remember my mom spending Saturdays cooking and freezing a bunch of meals, and I even did these during grad school so my husband could have a home cooked meal on nights I wouldn't be home. I did them because it was important to have a home-cooked meal and because it was a way of expressing my love and care to my husband. I usually spent all day Saturday or Sunday cooking, and the kitchen was a mess by the time I was done, but I always felt it was worth it to have dinners ready for those busy nights.
So how is it different when I go to Dream Dinners?
It's not, except I don't have to shop, it doesn't take me as long (I've never taken longer than 2 hours, and that's only when I'm preparing 12-15 meals), and somebody cleans up after me when I'm finished. It's easier for me, and somehow I equated easier as not cooking. Or maybe easier meant I didn't love my husband as much because I didn't spend hours cooking and cleaning to put food on the table.
Either way, I'm over it. I no longer consider myself a bad housewife because I use Dream Dinners. My husband and I eat a variety of food I'd never think to prepare otherwise- next month we're getting chicken vesuvio which I LOVE from restaurants but have never attempted at home - and I make sure we have a home cooked dinner every night. I'm saving us money by not resorting to take out on the busy nights, and I'm feeding him healthier food overall. I cook, I just don't have to clean up as much. And since I hate cleaning anyway, I think it's a win-win.
If you're in the Charlotte/Fort Mill area and would like to try Dream Dinners, please let me know - I have a coupon for $50 off your first session at the Fort Mill store!
I made some great dishes - Beef stew, Buffalo ranch chicken, Meatball marinara stuffed french bread, Chicken and dumplings, Arroz con pollo, and a few others - and I'm looking forward to eating each dish. However, I felt a bit guilty when I emptied my cooler full of freshly prepared meals into the freezer at home. I realized I had a lot of "frozen dinners" and felt as though I was somehow robbing my husband of a home-cooked meal.
I wondered why I felt like I was shirking my housewife responsibilities and it dawned on me - I'd convinced myself that I didn't actually cook for him because it was too easy.
Dream Dinners, and most of the meal prep places, run like this: pick the items you want to make, select a session, show up at designated time, make selected items, bring home dinners and place in freezer. (This explains it much more thoroughly.) They provide the recipe, the ingredients, and the measuring tools, and I follow the recipe, assembling the ingredients in a aluminum pan or plastic freezer bag. In some ways, it's like being on a cooking show - the ingredients are at the prep station, and all the chef has to do is put them together. It's exactly what I would do at home, except I'd be shuffling around my own kitchen, chopping and measuring and mixing and marinating (creating my own mise en place), and then putting everything directly into the skillet or baking dish. Instead, I stop short of cooking and bring it home to cook it later.
I remember my mom spending Saturdays cooking and freezing a bunch of meals, and I even did these during grad school so my husband could have a home cooked meal on nights I wouldn't be home. I did them because it was important to have a home-cooked meal and because it was a way of expressing my love and care to my husband. I usually spent all day Saturday or Sunday cooking, and the kitchen was a mess by the time I was done, but I always felt it was worth it to have dinners ready for those busy nights.
So how is it different when I go to Dream Dinners?
It's not, except I don't have to shop, it doesn't take me as long (I've never taken longer than 2 hours, and that's only when I'm preparing 12-15 meals), and somebody cleans up after me when I'm finished. It's easier for me, and somehow I equated easier as not cooking. Or maybe easier meant I didn't love my husband as much because I didn't spend hours cooking and cleaning to put food on the table.
Either way, I'm over it. I no longer consider myself a bad housewife because I use Dream Dinners. My husband and I eat a variety of food I'd never think to prepare otherwise- next month we're getting chicken vesuvio which I LOVE from restaurants but have never attempted at home - and I make sure we have a home cooked dinner every night. I'm saving us money by not resorting to take out on the busy nights, and I'm feeding him healthier food overall. I cook, I just don't have to clean up as much. And since I hate cleaning anyway, I think it's a win-win.
If you're in the Charlotte/Fort Mill area and would like to try Dream Dinners, please let me know - I have a coupon for $50 off your first session at the Fort Mill store!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Happy Anniversary, Charlotte!
Today marks our one year anniversary of living in Charlotte. When I think about where I was in my life a year ago compared to where I am now, I marvel at how much life has changed and how much I've personally changed.
There are geographic adjustments, of course, between Michigan and North Carolina. I fly a lot more now than I have in the past, simply because flying is necessary to visit most family and friends. I've visited places I'd never thought of visiting before, like Charleston, SC simply because it's convenient now. I find myself more concerned about hurricanes (though Charlotte is far from the ocean and hasn't been hit in more than 20 years) than snowstorms, and I've had to adjust my time line for seasonality of produce. When I shop for clothes, I invest in lightweight pants and short-sleeved shirts rather than heavy sweaters and sweatshirts. I found it necessary to invest in prescription sunglasses because I need to wear them year-round. These have been slight adjustments, but adjustments nonetheless.
Then there are actual changes I've made in my life. I exercise four to five times each week, and this is a major change for me. I exercised when I lived in Michigan, but it was inconsistent and always at the bottom of my priority list even though I wanted to do it more often. Here, I fit it into my day naturally. I started tennis lessons because it's fun, and because it's what the women do around here. I cook more often, though I admittedly use Dream Dinners to help me (I'm completely okay with that, and my husband does not care), and have greatly reduced the amount of junk that I eat. I've lost 30 pounds since moving to Charlotte which is the product of
the exercise and cooking, rather than a conscious effort to lose weight. My hair is lighter and my skin is darker from the sun, which is again natural and a product of being outside more often, and I generally look healthier than I did when I lived in Michigan.
My priorities have shifted. I've always considered my husband the primary breadwinner in our family, but I've also always considered myself a contributor to household income. I felt that because I also made money, my career was just as important as his. In the past, we've made moves in order to benefit my career and we've made moves to benefit my husband's career. After this move to Charlotte, I don't think I'd consider moving to another city to benefit my own career unless I was absolutely certain my husband was going to benefit too - as in, he also had a job opportunity that ensured greater professional and financial benefits in hand. I've always known he was smart and good at his job, but this year has shown me that he is truly remarkable at what he does, and he deserves every opportunity to develop professionally. I know, I know, I deserve the same opportunity. Except I don't. I'm good at what I do, but he is truly extraordinary. And frankly, I'll never make close to what he will and in these tough economic times, that is a very real and important factor.
Because of the realization, I've accepted more responsibility for the household tasks. I cook, I clean, and I launder (is that I word? If not, it should be and that should be the correct use for it). I'm not great at these tasks, and I doubt I ever will be. I still grumble as I do them, but I also never think "it's [husband]'s turn to do the dishes" as I unload the dishwasher. These jobs are just ways that I can contribute, and even though I feel like I'm not doing enough sometimes, I know my husband appreciates that he doesn't have to worry about them when he gets home from work.
And as I already learned, I'm happy. A year ago, if I had a crystal ball and saw what my life would be on September 15, 2010, I would've predicted I would be miserable because smart, independent, and career-driven women aren't supposed to be satisfied with life as a housewife. But I am, and it doesn't make me a less smart, independent, or career-driven woman - but perhaps now I'm a bit less selfish. I'm still trying to figure that out.
I sometimes wonder if I would've gotten to this point if we hadn't moved, and I really don't think I would have. My life would be different than it was a year ago regardless, but I'm not sure about how my priorities or my feelings or my body or my relationship with my husband would've changed, if at all. I've moved many times in my life, and I've always learned and changed as a result, but I think this is the first move in which I can say it's been nothing like I'd hoped but I wouldn't change a thing.
Happy Anniversary, Charlotte! Here's to many more!
There are geographic adjustments, of course, between Michigan and North Carolina. I fly a lot more now than I have in the past, simply because flying is necessary to visit most family and friends. I've visited places I'd never thought of visiting before, like Charleston, SC simply because it's convenient now. I find myself more concerned about hurricanes (though Charlotte is far from the ocean and hasn't been hit in more than 20 years) than snowstorms, and I've had to adjust my time line for seasonality of produce. When I shop for clothes, I invest in lightweight pants and short-sleeved shirts rather than heavy sweaters and sweatshirts. I found it necessary to invest in prescription sunglasses because I need to wear them year-round. These have been slight adjustments, but adjustments nonetheless.
Then there are actual changes I've made in my life. I exercise four to five times each week, and this is a major change for me. I exercised when I lived in Michigan, but it was inconsistent and always at the bottom of my priority list even though I wanted to do it more often. Here, I fit it into my day naturally. I started tennis lessons because it's fun, and because it's what the women do around here. I cook more often, though I admittedly use Dream Dinners to help me (I'm completely okay with that, and my husband does not care), and have greatly reduced the amount of junk that I eat. I've lost 30 pounds since moving to Charlotte which is the product of
the exercise and cooking, rather than a conscious effort to lose weight. My hair is lighter and my skin is darker from the sun, which is again natural and a product of being outside more often, and I generally look healthier than I did when I lived in Michigan.
My priorities have shifted. I've always considered my husband the primary breadwinner in our family, but I've also always considered myself a contributor to household income. I felt that because I also made money, my career was just as important as his. In the past, we've made moves in order to benefit my career and we've made moves to benefit my husband's career. After this move to Charlotte, I don't think I'd consider moving to another city to benefit my own career unless I was absolutely certain my husband was going to benefit too - as in, he also had a job opportunity that ensured greater professional and financial benefits in hand. I've always known he was smart and good at his job, but this year has shown me that he is truly remarkable at what he does, and he deserves every opportunity to develop professionally. I know, I know, I deserve the same opportunity. Except I don't. I'm good at what I do, but he is truly extraordinary. And frankly, I'll never make close to what he will and in these tough economic times, that is a very real and important factor.
Because of the realization, I've accepted more responsibility for the household tasks. I cook, I clean, and I launder (is that I word? If not, it should be and that should be the correct use for it). I'm not great at these tasks, and I doubt I ever will be. I still grumble as I do them, but I also never think "it's [husband]'s turn to do the dishes" as I unload the dishwasher. These jobs are just ways that I can contribute, and even though I feel like I'm not doing enough sometimes, I know my husband appreciates that he doesn't have to worry about them when he gets home from work.
And as I already learned, I'm happy. A year ago, if I had a crystal ball and saw what my life would be on September 15, 2010, I would've predicted I would be miserable because smart, independent, and career-driven women aren't supposed to be satisfied with life as a housewife. But I am, and it doesn't make me a less smart, independent, or career-driven woman - but perhaps now I'm a bit less selfish. I'm still trying to figure that out.
I sometimes wonder if I would've gotten to this point if we hadn't moved, and I really don't think I would have. My life would be different than it was a year ago regardless, but I'm not sure about how my priorities or my feelings or my body or my relationship with my husband would've changed, if at all. I've moved many times in my life, and I've always learned and changed as a result, but I think this is the first move in which I can say it's been nothing like I'd hoped but I wouldn't change a thing.
Happy Anniversary, Charlotte! Here's to many more!
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