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This week's haul focuses on easy, comforting meals! Trying out a few new recipes and including some old favorites. I also did a freezer inventory and realized I"ve got a lot of things that I need to use up! You'll see those under "items I already had" and they won't be included in the total haul price. If you haven't done a freezer inventory or a pantry/freezer challenge lately, I highly recommend it! It's a great way to use up what you've got and to save some money!
Okay friends, let's do this.
This week: $91 + items I already had on hand (pantry, fridge/freezer or garden).
Weekly Menu
Broccoli cheddar soup with hunks of crusty bread
Notes: This is a copycat Panera recipe. I doubled this to have enough for the whole fam plus leftovers. There are a couple of options in this recipe. For mine, I used Trader Joe's organic chicken broth, half & half, 2 diced carrots, 12 oz shredded sharp cheddar and 4 oz shredded mild cheddar.
I served with hunks of crusty organic baguette so I could really emulate Panera's style!
Greek meatball rice bowls with tzatziki sauce
Notes: She's got a great looking recipe for tzatziki sauce, but to make this even easier, I bought the prepared version from Trader Joe's. To make this more kid-friendly, I'm omitting the mint and red pepper flakes.
I'll serve these in bowls filled with basmati rice (cooked in rice cooker), shredded romaine lettuce, sliced green bell peppers, halved cherry tomatoes, fresh dill, crumbled feta cheese, halved kalamata olives and the prepared tzatziki sauce.
Rigatoni with chicken in sundried tomato cream sauce
If you're not already following Diane Morrisey on instagram, you are truly missing out! I've typed out her recipe below since she doesn't have a blog that I can link.
Rigatoni with Chicken in a Sun-dried Tomato Lemon Cream Sauce
1 lb dry pasta ( I used Rigatoni)
4 chicken breasts, cut into slices
2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tbsp butter
1 onion chopped
3 garlic clove chopped
1 6oz can tomato paste
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp chili flakes
1 cup white wine
1 1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes packed in oil and drained
3 large handfuls baby spinach
1 cup grated parmesan
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 cup pasta water
1/2 cup chopped parsley chopped
Heat oil in a large non-stick pan, over medium heat. Add chicken (in batches) and sear both
sides with salt and pepper until golden brown and cooked through. Remove, set aside in
bowl, continue until all are done.
To the drippings, add butter to the pan and melt. Add onions and garlic and cook until soft.
Add wine and let reduce for 2 minutes. Add tomato paste, paprika, chili flakes and cayenne,
stir and cook for 3-4 minutes.
Stir in cream and spinach and sun dried tomatoes, bring to a simmer and add chicken, 1/2
cup parmesan, parsley, lemon juice and zest.
Stir in cooked pasta. Serve with additional parmesan cheese.
Notes: I'll be using Trader Joe's rigatoni (so budget-friendly at only $.99/lb). I'll leave out the cayenne and pepper flakes and I'll cube the chicken for ease of eating for the kids! I'll likely use a whole jar of sundried tomatoes and a bag of baby spinach.
Cheeseburgers, crinkle cut fries and dipping sauce
For easy cheeseburgers, I use the Trader Joe's burger patties and just season them with pepper and Lawry's seasoned salt before grilling. We will top with white American cheese. Adults usually will add some pickled jalapeno, fresh sliced tomato and lettuce. Trader Joe's didn't have burger buns, so I'll grab those from the regular supermarket.
I have a huge bag of crinkle cut fries from BJ's wholesale store. I'll fry those up in our deep fryer and serve with this dipping sauce.
Pizza and salad
This week I planned on using the prepared pizza dough from Trader Joe's (see my highlights on instagram for tips on working with it!) but they were all out. I grabbed the prepared rectangular pizza crusts instead. We will top with Trader Joe's pizza sauce (the one in the refrigerated section) and shredded mozzarella. For adult pizza, we'll be adding pepperoni, sliced green bell pepper, sliced black olives, sliced red onion and chopped garlic. For kids, we'll just be adding pepperoni.
I'm serving this with Italian chopped salad. For this, I chop/slice the following ingredients: romaine lettuce, pepperoncini peppers, cherry tomatoes, black olives, red onion, salami and provolone. Trader Joe's sells a small package of salami and provolone which is perfect for this salad. I love to stack the 2 in alternating layers then slice into strips. I'll toss with Trader Joe's italian dressing right before serving.
Penne a la vodka with pancetta and cheesy bread
To make this super easy, I'm using Trader Joe's bottled vodka sauce. I heat some oil in pan, then saute cubed pancetta (Trader Joe's sells a small package of cubed pancetta) until crispy. Then I pour in the bottle of vodka sauce, add some extra heavy cream and grated parmesan then heat through and toss with penne (cooked al dente in heavily salted water then drained). Add some fresh basil, red pepper flakes and grated parm on top if desired.
For cheesy bread, I use a crescent sheet and unroll it onto a parchment lined baking sheet. I put shredded mozzarella down the center of crescent sheet, then sprinkle italian seasoning on top of the mozzarella. I fold the left and right sides in and press the seam together. Then I sprinkle garlic salt and grated parm on top. Bake 10-15 minutes at 375° then cut into slices.
Leftovers buffet
Life hack: give something a fancy name and it will automatically sound more appealing!
On this night I put all of the leftovers on the island and let everyone pick and choose as they wish! There's no rules on leftovers buffet night so if the kids want only white rice and salad.. then that's what they eat! They love this!
Trader Joe's Shopping List
Bread for dipping in soup (I bought 2 organic french baguettes)
Hamburger buns
Parsley
Dill
Cucumber
2 green bell peppers
Cherry tomatoes
2 bags broccoli florets
Carrots
Basil
Baby spinach
2 packages pizza dough (or 1 package pizza crusts)
1 refrigerated tub of pizza sauce
Half & half
Tzatziki sauce
Feta cheese
Sharp shredded cheddar
Shredded mozzarella
Salami/provolone package
Rigatoni
Penne
Jarred vodka sauce
Chicken broth
Hamburger patties
Cubed pancetta
Pepperoni
Basmati rice
Sundried tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
2 cans sliced black olives
Dry white wine
Items I Already Had
Honey
Yellow mustard
Dijon mustard
BBQ sauce
Mayonnaise
Lemon
Cream
Smoked paprika
Olive oil
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
Salt
Pepper
Cumin
Oregano
Red pepper flakes
Red onion
Garlic
Romaine lettuce
Kalamata olives
Butter
Onion
Flour
Paprika
Crescent dough sheet
Italian seasoning
Garlic salt
Lawry's seasoned salt
Chicken breast (4)
Italian dressing
Crinkle cut french fries
Vegetable oil (for frying)
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