Food for Thought

Hope everyone had a happy St. Patrick's Day. I was tempted to pinch all the people on the Metro not wearing green, but thought I might get thrown off and I was already running late to work.

Have I already mentioned our menu making venture on here? I don't think I have. Anyhow, Jeff and I have been making out dinner menus for a week to two weeks in advance. While this requires a bit of effort, it's more than worth it in the long run. Having a menu means that we know what we're going to eat when we come home and thus don't spend a good 15 minutes opening and closing the cabinets and refrigerator deciding what to eat. We also save money at the grocery by just buying what we need. And we have more variety in our menu. Chicken, being the easiest thing to thaw on short notice and the most versatile in cooking, had been the staple of most of our meals. But now we're incorporating all kinds of main dishes and we're looking up recipes and trying lots of new things. I highly recommend this method.

Here's what this week's menu looks like
Saturday - Shrimp with Mango & Basil, Rice
Sunday - Stuffed Peppers
Monday - Roast Chicken, Spicy Baked Macaroni, Salad
Tuesday - Honey Ginger Salmon, Whipped Potatoes, Brocolli
Wednesday - Tacos
Thursday - Chicken & Rice, Green Beans
Friday - Pasta with Shrimp & Tomatoes in Wine Sauce

I also have to say how much I love stores that sell bulk spices (not sell me bulk amounts, but have bulk amounts that I can buy from). Tonight's dinner calls for turmeric, which is a spice I don't use much and thus don't have around. At the regular supermarket, I could buy a container of turmeric for nearly $5. Not only is that a lot of money, it's highly unlikely I would make even a dent in it before the turmeric expired. At My Organic Market, however, I was able to buy just the amount I needed - for all of 10 cents. That's seriously awesome.