Food Friday - Ham, Potatoes and Beans in the Crockpot

Ham, Potatoes and Beans
adapted from Food.com

  In the effort to cut down on the grocery bill, I have been trying to use stuff in the freezer.  So, with that in mind, there has been a recipe on my Pinterest Board that I have wanted to try but was "afraid".  HA  Well, I had some ham from Christmas in the freezer and needed something to make for dinner one night last week so I pulled out some green beans from the freezer, cut up some potatoes and onions and threw it all in the crock pot.  I was really thinking this would be a fail - boring and just not note worthy but it was the complete opposite.  This was SOOO good.  The ham flavored the beans and potatoes just perfectly and everything was cooked to perfection.  This is a true 8 hour crock pot meal to ensure the potatoes are cooked all the way through :-) I think I want to get left over ham stocked up in the freezer for the summer because, as weird as it is, this would make a good dinner in the summer since it all goes into the Crock Pot and really is not "heavy". 

 

8 red potatoes, scrubbed and halved
1 (16 ounce) package frozen green beans (or fresh)
1 large onion, cut into about eight wedges
2 cups ham, cut into bite sized pieces
vegetable broth or chicken broth (1-2 cups depending on how full your crock pot really is!)
salt and pepper

Directions:

Add all of the ingredients to the crock pot and cook on low for 8-10 hours

Weekly Menu

So, first, I would like to totally acknowledge that I missed my book post yesterday.  Oops!  Now, on the the menu this week.  This is the first week of my new grocery budget challenge so to begin with I am trying to use stuff up in the freezer while using the sales to pick up meat for the following weeks.  Yes, I have written a basic menu for the month so I CAN shop sales better and get what we need for the weeks to come.  I also must say, it is really hard to come up with Dairy Free Side Dishes that aren't plain.  So much has cheese or cream in it! uugg!

Friday - Our Homeschool group is having a fundraiser - a Pasta Dinner - so the plan is to attend that and support the group.

Saturday - Mac and Cheese for the kids; Pizza/Sub for Darryl and I after the kids go to bed.

Sunday - Ham, Sweet Potatoes, Salad and Rolls (after church); Sandwiches for dinner later in the evening.

Monday -Fried Ham Slices (leftover from Sunday), Honey Roasted Potatoes, Green Beans and Rolls

Tuesday - I have a board meeting so I am going to leave Hot Dogs and Chips for the boys.

Wednesday - Ham Fried Rice and homemade Egg Drop Soup.

Thursday - This is something new . .. .We are going to try for Leftover Night on Thursday in order to use up food instead of throwing it out.  As a back up, I will always have Spahgetti on hand to cook up - it is easy and Darryl and the boys love it.

Our breakfast foods are pretty simple - the boys tend to eat 1 of 3 things - Pop tarts, Cereal or Fruit.  I usually have some cereal or treat myself to Toaster Strudel.  Lunch is a rotating cycle - I have bout 2 1/2 weeks worth of lunches that I know all three boys WILL eat like PB and J, Grilled Cheese, Spaghetti, Waffles and Sausage . .. just to name a few

A Grocery Budget Challenge

A blog that I've recently started reading called Don't Waste the Crumbs has inspired and challenged me to get my grocery budget severely back under control.  Sure, gone are the days of the $50.00 grocery trip for the week but I don't think I need to be spending $800.00 a month on groceries/toiletries either.  Geesh.  I'm the first to admit that we I buy a lot of "fun" stuff at the store and we do enjoy food :-)  Yes, I know I over spend and we sometimes are wasteful but, I've been working on changing that - I made better choices in January, used coupons and online store savings but I can still do more.  Obviously.  The author of the blog mentioned above has a grocery budget of $330.00 a month.  Now, truth be told, my grocery budget is "only" $500.00 a month (which is still huge) but we spend well over that thanks to the mid-week, sometimes every day runs to the store to get just "one" thing.  That one thing turns into a $60.00 trip (trust me, I did that on Sunday when I went for Milk and Ice.) Back to the blog author, that budget is for a family of 4 and includes paper products and toiletries.  So, what is my grocery budget goal for this month? (Drum roll please) My goal is $400.00 this month.  Sure, I'd love to do $330.00 but I think starting out by cutting it in half is a good start.  This months project is two fold.  1) To try and knock down the grocery spending but also 2)To follow the concept of keeping track of all of the grocery spending and breaking down it all down at the end of the month to see what I'm really spending on.  Then I can make a more realistic budget and maybe even save more money.  I think that in order to do this, I also need to create our monthly meal plan so that I can watch for clearance items (like my husbands favorite juice that is normally $4.00 but was "clearanced" for $1.50 a jug) and also buy items when they are on sale and match up with the digital coupons.

I will say right now, and I've said it before, we are heavy drinkers HA  - Milk, Juice, Water, Soda, coffee k-cups . . .A HUGE part of my grocery budget usually goes to drinks.  I've got to figure that out! My plan is to give you a weekly update (thrilled, aren't you) on the grocery trip, which usually occurs on Thursday evening (so look for it on Saturday!).  I am probably going to have to shop multiple stores to get the best deals - Meijer, Wal-Mart, and a local store, McCords but we'll see!  I really don't like going to multiple stores but when I know I can get a BIG box of pop-tarts for less money at Walmart and my husband and boys LIVE on those, well I need to do it!

Anyway, I plan on sharing my spending/savings on Saturdays with you (aren't you all thrilled).  I love what my husband said when I told him this.  He said, "But you still need to buy what we need so don't freak out if you can't stay under that budget."  He so gets me!

This week I'm going to work on some planning for the month and come up with some menus.  My husband told me that our local market has chicken leg quarters on sale for $0.57 a pound so I know I want to pick up some of those to use in soup and some of our favorite chicken thigh recipes.   I also plan on going through the pantry, freezers and cupboards and cleaning stuff out plus making a list of everything I have on hand so I can use what we have and work towards buying stuff on sale. 

Things My Kids Say

* One day last week, Nate came walking into the kitchen, pulled down his pants, turned around and mooned us . . .and laughed.  This happened the day he returned from Papa and Nana's which tells me one thing - he learned that at their house! HA!

* Nate was eating a popscicle one afternoon when he ate the end of it (he usually just licks them and throws them away).  He said, "Mom, I ate the big part, I'm so proud of myself." :-)

* Nate picked out socks to put on before going outside but they happened to be slightly different. He said it was ok because that is how God made them at his sock factory in heaven. 

*It is so much fun to watch my kid with a vivid imagination teach the kid that is realist how to play make believe. "Come on, Josh those are hot lava rocks, jump over them", "Where, Nate, that's just the floor", "No LOOK, they are so hot don't touch them", (Josh) - "Ohhhhh I think I might see them now." hahahahaha

 

Snow, Snow Snow!

Michigan has gotten hit hard in January with snow and freezing cold temperatures.  Be freezing I mean air temperatures that feel like -30 below.  Every day the boys open the door to see if it is too cold out and, it has been for weeks.  We have told them that their ears would fall off and China, the dog, would eat them as snacks.  I know, I know, but at least they stop asking to go outside.  Well, yesterday it was finally a nice day; in the upper 20's without any wind so after lunch, the boys and I headed outside.  I was able to get most of the Christmas stuff done . . .. except the lights and extension cords that are frozen under 8 inches of snow . . .and another 8 inches of ice under that!  Then, we had fun.  Our plow guy has made huge drifts along the driveway so we got the sleds out and, let me tell you, a 6 foot drift to a 4 and 5 year old is the perfect sledding hill :-)

 Josh quickly mastered getting up the hill,getting on his sled and getting himself down the "hill".

 Nate needed a  little help controlling his sled while he was getting on it so his best friend helped him out . . Josh.  These two boys have become each others "I've got your back" friend and it is awesome.

 I love the smiles - they had so much fun!!!

 Josh had to take a rest after a few trips down the "hill".

 Nate was in and out about 3 times throughout the afternoon but Josh stayed outside for about 3 hours before finally coming inside.

 

The boys ended the day by playing games with Darryl.  They played Bingo, Memory and Trouble.  They are just now starting to learn how to play by the rules . . . . well, kinda.  If Josh starts losing he wants to quit . . or cheat HA! 

We are home today ready for another "huge" storm.  It's supposed to decent temperatures though so who knows, the boys may end up back outside before the day is done! 

Food Friday - Applesauce Glazed Pork Chops

Applesauce Glazed Pork Chops
Adapted from Show Me Nan

  I've been on the search for some new recipes that we like and that don't require me to make changes and eliminate dairy for Darryl.  This were so easy and tasted so good!  I did cook the pork chops for 45 minutes . . .20-25 just didn't seem long enough to get the meat cooked through. 

 Ingredients

4 bone-in pork loin chops (7 ounces each)
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon barbecue sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper


Directions

Place pork chops in a 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; spoon over chops. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a thermometer reads 160°. Yield: 4 servings.

Weekly Menu - The one with the Superbowl

Yes, we love Football so therefore we love the Super Bowl!  Past years, we've had all kinds of awesome snacks and dips and enjoy them all day long.  Well, the hubs and his "dairy issues" have put a nix on a lot of our favorite snacks and I've discovered that it is so easy to come up with "main dish" snacks but so hard to come up with snacky snacks!  And wait, can you believe that it is going to be February?

Here's the plan for this week:

Friday - I'm trying to get back into "Taco Night" but I came across a recipe for Baked Chicken Chimichangas that looked super good so I figured that kinda fit.  I'm going to make homemade salsa and guacamole to go along them and, of course, chips.

Saturday - Mac and Cheese for the Kids and we are going to order in.  I love getting a pizza and Darryl loves getting a Subway sub so we both are happy :-)

Sunday - So, today is Superbowl Sunday.  I have to main goals - 1)To have good food and 2)To have very little prep work or extensive cooking.  I picked stuff that could be prepped on Saturday for the most part or that went into a crock pot/large soup pot to cook all day!  We really have to eat lunch, then snack all afternoon, and have "dinner" so here's the plan.  After church, we are going to have Fajitas.  Simple Chicken Fajitas along with homemade salsa and quac.  Then for the rest of the day - Baked Teriyaki Chicken (More for when the game starts), Maple Meatballs (in the crock pot to nibble on all day), Bruschetta (to snack on all day), Fruit Salad (again, to snack on throughout the day), Southwestern Salad Dip (to snack on), Pineapple Cheese ball (for me) and crackers, Hummus (for Darryl) and crackers.  I also plan to make Molasses Cookies and Tie Die Cupcakes (for the kids!)

Monday - So, today I wanted something simple so we will have Goulash and bread.

Tuesday - Santa Fe Chicken, Green Beans and Corn Chips

Wednesday - Lemon Chicken, Asian Coleslaw, Carrots

Thursday - Chicken Fried Steak, Quick Cherry Marinated salad, Corn and Gravy

*As a disclaimer, we tend to have rolls with almost every meal because my kids eat them HA!

That's a lot of food but it sure does sound good!