The Frugal Engineer

Tuna Noodle Hotdish

2009-08-11T18:47:00.002-05:00

Ah, a recipe from my childhood. This recipe brings back memories of all four of us (before my brother came along) stuffed into a tiny 2-bedroom graduate student apartment, along with a lab and a cat, while my dad finished his Ph.D. at Princeton.

All of the ingredients can easily be stocked during sales and kept on hand for those emergency meals when children bring friends home for dinner or there just isn't quite enough in the budget at the end of the month. I added the carrots to up the nutritional content - the original recipe only called for peas.

Makes 3-4 average adult servings

1/2 box Barilla Plus Penne or other pasta (Mom and Dad used to use egg noodles), about 8 oz.
2-3 carrots, peeled and sliced (about 1/2 c.)
1 c. frozen peas
1 can Campbell's condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/4 c. milk
1 3-oz can chunk light tuna canned in water, drained

Bring a medium pot of water to boil. Add pasta and carrots. Set timer to length of time stated on pasta box. With one minute left, add peas. Drain everything and set aside.

In hot pot, add soup, milk, and tuna. Add black pepper if desired. Stir to combine, then heat over low heat until hot. Add pasta and veggies back in. Stir to coat, and heat through if necessary. Add milk as needed to thin sauce, if desired.

Grocery budget of $80

2009-08-10T19:23:00.003-05:00

Since I was laid off, hubby and I decided to slash our grocery budget to $80/week with an extra $20 to use for back-up if it became necessary.

This is a really tight budget for us. The munchkin still uses diapers, wipes, formula, and baby cereal. In an average week, we use:
1 package of diapers (80 diapers/package): $18
1 large container of formula: $13.50
1/2 package (3 packs/package) of wipes: about $1
1 box baby cereal: $2
1 gallon whole milk (to replace formula he used to eat): about $2 right now

So just for the munchkin, we use $36.50, almost half our grocery budget. The diapers are Luvs, the formula, wipes, and milk are Target brand, and the baby cereal is an organic brand that is actually cheaper than the national brand. I make most of his baby food (we keep a couple of jars on hand for emergencies and long travel), and he eats muffins and other baked goods that I make for the whole family.

So basically, I'm trying to feed (and buy toiletries) for about 2.25 people on just over $40/week.

Sigh.

No wonder I feel like we're living on a really tight grocery budget.

This week's meals:

Saturday: Hubby went to a party with some friends, brought homemade brownies. I ate leftover black beans and rice

Sunday: Homemade spinach lasagna and bread

Monday: Homemade spinach lasagna and bread

Tuesday: Tuna noodle hotdish

Wednesday: Tuna noodle hotdish

Thursday: Either leftover tuna noodle hotdish or blackbean quesadillas and rice, depending on how many servings my hotdish recipe ends up making!

Friday: Homemade pizza

Lunches:
Hubby: Turkey sandwich, yogurt sweetened with strawberry jam
Me: Black bean open faced quesadillas
Munchkin: Mashed sweet potatoes OR pureed prunes and baby cereal

Snacks:
Hubby and me: Apples, string cheese, homemade muffin squares, homemade oatmeal cookies, bananas
Munchkin: homemade muffin squares, canned peaches, bananas, graham crackers, apple-blueberry sauce

Joining the ranks of the unemployed

2009-07-29T14:17:00.001-05:00

I was laid off from work yesterday. They're paying me through the end of this week (I was working on a contract basis), and then that's it.

So if anyone knows of any positions available for a mechanical engineer (me) or a biochemist (the hubby is also looking after finishing his Ph.D. a month ago), we'd love to hear about it!

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

2009-07-28T11:44:00.002-05:00

This makes quite a bit of sauce!

1 large onion, diced
2 T olive oil

8 cloves garlic, peeled and either minced or grated
1 T plus 1 tsp oregano
2 t basil

2 large (28-oz) cans petite diced tomatoes
1 14-oz can tomato sauce
1 6 oz can tomato paste (use two if you like thick sauce)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp black pepper (or to taste)
salt to taste

Sautee the onion in the olive oil until translucent. Add the garlic, oregano, and basil and cook for a minute or two until fragrant. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer on low for at least an hour for full flavor.

I like to start this sauce in the morning and let it simmer on the back burner all day. It makes the house smell like an Italian restaurant!

Homemade Meatballs

2009-07-28T11:40:00.002-05:00

Makes 48, 60 calories each

1 lb ground beef (I used 90% lean)
1 lb ground pork
2 Johnsonville Italian Sausage links, casing removed
1 medium onion, finely minced
1/4 c. oatmeal
1 beaten egg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 T oregano
2 tsp basil

Combine everything in a large bowl. Smoosh around and throughly mix everything together. Pat into a rectangle on a clean cutting board and cut into 48 pieces (6x8). Roll each piece into a ball shape. Either bake at 350 for 20 minutes or cook in batches on the stove, until internal temp reaches 160F.

Notes: I browned the meatballs in a pan, then finished them in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 to make sure they were cooked. They turned out really well, not too dry or anything. I have an unholy fear of undercooked pork.

meals for this week

2009-07-28T11:33:00.002-05:00

I made four dishes this past weekend for us to eat this week. The hubby is home with the munchkin, so leftovers were a bit less of a problem.

Meals I made:
Spaghetti and Meatballs (homemade sauce and homemade meatballs)
Mac and Cheese with Sausage and Onions
Zucchini and Chicken Pasta with Parmesan
Tuna Pasta Salad

Zucchini and Chicken Pasta with Parmesan

2009-07-28T10:25:00.002-05:00

Zucchini is getting really cheap around here (not that it was ever very expensive), so I've been trying to come up with healthy ways to use it. This recipe was inspired by a coworker - she brought in plain pasta dressed with nothing more than a bit of olive oil, pepper, and parmesan. It smelled divine, and I thought "Why not with some veggies and protein?"

Zucchini and Chicken Pasta with Parmesan

Serves 4

Ingredients
1 lb zucchini (I like the smaller "babies"), diced
1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 lb chicken thighs
1/4 c. olive oil, divided
1 tsp butter
1/2 c. grated parmesan (I think this is about 3 oz)
8 oz. thin spaghetti (I use Barilla Plus)
salt and pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Heat a cast iron skillet. Lightly grease with olive oil. Salt and pepper chicken thighs and lay in skillet. Cook 2-4 minutes per side until lightly browned. Place pan in oven and cook about 10 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.

Heat a pot of water and cook thin spaghetti according to package directions.

Meanwhile, heat stainless steel skillet. Melt butter in skillet and add 1 T olive oil. Cook mushrooms and onions until onion is translucent and mushrooms are soft. Remove to bowl. Add 1 T olive oil and zucchini to pan. Sautee on medium to medium-high heat until zucchini has softened and is very lightly browned. Add mushrooms and onions back in. Dice cooked chicken and add to pan.

Put spaghetti in a large bowl. Add chicken and veggie mixture. Drizzle remaining 2 T olive oil over all. Sprinkle with plenty of pepper and a touch of salt, then all of the parmesan. Toss thoroughly and serve.

Notes: As a kid, I couldn't stand zucchini in any form except bread. As an adult, I was introduced to grilled zucchini, and that has made all the difference. Cooking it in a stainless steel pan (instead of nonstick) allows it to carmelize just slightly, almost a grill flavor. Be sure to let the zucchini just sit in the hot oil for a minute or two to get that night slightly browned look.

All the olive oil really is necessary, since that plus the pepper and parmesan make the sauce. Based on calculations done in SparkPeople, this recipe is 570 calories, with 200 of those coming from the pasta, so if you want to cut calories, reduce the amount of pasta first or just serve this straight up without pasta at all. There are 22 grams of fat in the entire dish, with 14 of those coming from the olive oil, so most of it is monounsaturated fat.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

2009-06-29T17:00:00.002-05:00

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
4 T (1/2 stick) salted butter, softened
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 c. milk* plus extra as needed
2/3 to 1 c. cocoa powder
3 c. powdered sugar

Blend cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and milk* in a bowl until smooth and creamy. Stir in cocoa powder and 1 c. of the powdered sugar. Beat mixture until smooth, then add remaining powdered sugar and more milk* as needed to desired consistency. Makes more than enough to frost two 9" layers (I frosted two 9" layers, two 3" layers, and still had a lot left over!).

*The original recipe called for whole milk, and that's how I made it. However, if you want a more chocolatey flavor, use water instead of some or all of the milk - it will intensify the chocolate flavor without adding extra chocolate! You can do this in chocolate cake recipes that call for milk, too. Think of the difference between MILK chocolate and DARK chocolate - one has milk, the other doesn't.

What a weekend!

2009-06-29T15:01:00.003-05:00

Friday: Brian's defense, reception, back to work for me for a few hours, dinner out at Cheesecake Factory courtesy of in-laws, off to see the new Transformers movie while in-laws babysit munchkin

Saturday: Up at 6 with munchkin, frost cake, pick up balloons, try to schlepp everything over to the park, realize we forgot the lighterfluid, thank God we picked a park close to home, finally get everything going, worry about friends who are late to party, finally enjoy party, try to give Christopher his cake (he pretty much ignored it), serve out adult cake to friends and family (big hit!), Mom and I take munchkin back to apartment (he'd skipped a nap and was getting cranky), give the dirty little bird a bath, try to get him to bed just as in-laws and husband come home from party, everyone eventually leaves and we all fall into bed, exhausted

Sunday: Up at 6 again, coffee out with Mom and munchkin to let husband sleep, back to apartment to meet in-laws, go out for breakfast, try to keep very tired munchkin (missed another nap, the morning one this time) entertained at restaurant, munchkin spills large glass of orange juice and large glass of ice water all over husband, eventually back home where I fell into bed for a nap while husband and Mom took munchkin for a LONG walk so he could settle for an afternoon nap, then played with munchkin while husband did some cleaning, dinner, and bed, where husband and I spent about 1.5 hours having a very emotionally-intensive discussion. Fell asleep around 11, only to be woken up no less than FOUR times by siren-blaring emergency vehicles passing by our apartment! (four different calls)

I need a weekend to recover from my weekend.

Weekly Menu and Party Costs

2009-06-26T15:18:00.003-05:00

This is going to be kind of a weird week. We're having a party on Saturday for both Christopher's first birthday and Brian's "Yay, I'm done with my Ph.D.!". We're expecting about a dozen people, but the frozen hamburgers only come in sleeves of 24 at Target, and since the hotdogs were on sale when I bought them, we have 24 hamburgers and something like 24 hot dogs for 12 adults. I'm planning meals that would be easy to freeze in the event we end up with a lot of leftovers from the party. The hamburgers should probably not be re-frozen, so I'm planning to cook up what remains as ground beef. I bought a can of baked beans to make weenies and beans (which Brian had never even heard of!) for a couple of meals, and then I'll probably foist the hotdogs off on some coworkers (I'm not overly fond of them myself.

Spare meals:
Chili (makes 5 adult-sized dinner servings)
Black bean quesadillas (I have enough stuff for 4 adult-sized servings)

Hopefully our grocery budget will be miniscule this week. I ended up spending $75 on food and supplies (paper plates, paper cups, napkins, those tiny candles for the cake) for the party, and I plan to buy some balloons yet.

I do wish we had space at our place for hosting parties. We've done one 10-person dinner party one winter, and that was really pushing it. I don't think our AC could handle a dozen people in 85F+ heat. We ended up renting a picnic shelter at a local park to the tune of about $60 (the only way to guarantee access to a park grill on a Saturday afternoon/evening around here!), so the per-person cost on this party is pretty high, despite buying things like hotdogs and burgers in bulk, making Christopher's cake from scratch, and not buying any pop (I'm making some Old Time lemonade and bringing ice and water). Without the shelter rental, it'd be decent, but when I started adding everything up, I realized it probably would have been cheaper to just go to a restaurant. Originally we were planning for a much larger group - 30+ people - but several couples and one family bowed out at the last minute for things like being in another state looking for a new place to live, so we're down to 12.

Oh, well. Just some rambling on my not-so-successful attempt to have a low-cost party for Christopher and Brian.

Meatless Mondays

2009-06-25T16:41:00.001-05:00

A fellow blogger posted about going meatless at least one meal per week for both health of the body and health of the budget. I chuckled when I read the post because I've been trying to incorporate at least one meatless dinner into our menu for a couple of weeks for purely budgetary reasons. We recently made the switch from conventional to grass-fed beef and what my mom refers to as "happy chickens" - raised the way chicken should be, able to eat bugs, etc. This means our per-pound cost went from $2-$3 to $4-$6, depending on the cut and sales.

Before we fully made the switch, I started working on weaning us off 4 oz of meat every night. Some of my attempts were not good (our chili recipe made with more beans and no ground beef could definitely be qualified a failure), but some have turned out to be wildly popular (pretty much anything sandwiched between tortillas with sharp cheddar is guaranteed to be a hit!).

Our standbys:
Black bean burritos
Black bean quesadillas
Frittatas with veggies and cheese
Bean soup with bread and cheese
Homemade veggie pizza

Some things I've made for myself in the past but haven't run past the hubby yet:
Beans and rice (I grew up with this and loved it - spicy beans served over rice with cheddar on top)
Black bean fried rice with some egg
Homemade mac and cheese with onions
something with mushrooms - any ideas?

What veggie options does your family enjoy?

Greek Chicken or Meatballs in a Pita

2009-06-23T09:10:00.002-05:00

This is a recently-developed recipe that has become a family favorite. If you like gyros, you'll probably like these, too! Use yogurt with some fat in it for good results with the tzatsiki.

Marinade/Mix-in
Juice of 2 small limes
1/2 c. cilantro leaves (a good handfull)
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 T olive oil (only for marinade)

Meat
1 lb chicken thighs or breasts, thinly sliced
OR
1 lb ground meat (beef, bison, turkey, chicken, etc.)
OR
1 lb chicken thighs or breasts, whole

Tzatsiki
2 c. yogurt
1 medium cucumber - get an organic one with no food wax
1/2 c. or so cilantro
1 garlic clove, peeled
1/4 tsp salt or to taste

Instructions for Marinade
Blend all marinade ingredients in a small blender. Alternatively, mince the cilantro and garlic and mix everything thoroughly with a whisk. Put meat in a non-reactive container and pour marinade over it. Work meat a bit to get marinade to all surfaces, then allow to rest for 30 minutes, or cover and store in the fridge overnight.

Instructions for Mix-in
Blend all mix-in ingredients in a small blender, or mince cilantro and garlic, then combine everything in a bowl. Put meat in a medium bowl, then thoroughly combine with mix-in. Shape into 16 small balls and let rest for 15 minutes, or cover and store in the fridge overnight.

Instructions for Tzatsiki
Wash the cucumber and grate it, seeds, skin, and all. Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt and let drain in strainer over a bowl. Mince or grate the garlic into a 4-c. bowl. Add chopped cilantro and yogurt. Squeeze excess liquid out of grated cucumber and dump in bowl. Mix thorougly and taste - add salt as desired. This can be eaten immediately, but is best if it rests in the fridge overnight.

Cooking the meat
For meatballs - flatten into patties and grill, broil, or fry in a cast-iron skillet. For sliced meat - cook in a very hot pan with the marinade. For whole meat - Discard extra marinade and grill, broil, or cook in a cast-iron skillet.

Serve stuffed in pita with lettuce, tomato, and tzatsiki. Enjoy!

Menus

2009-06-23T09:00:00.001-05:00

I really do think my way through menus each week, but I've had two weeks running now of fairly major changes!

Brian is from Chicago and has a certain fondness for Chicago-style hot dogs (with steamed buns, not toasted ones!). As a Father's Day gift, I suggested we try a tiny restaurant not too far from us with a reputation for true Chicago-style dogs. I gave him the option of Saturday or Sunday. He opted for Saturday, we went, enjoyed, came home, and then he discovered they sell onion rings. So we went back on Sunday. :-) Two dinners out in a row is extremely unusual for us, lest you think we regularly throw money into the maw that is restaurant eating.

Also, I completely forgot that my in-laws are coming into town (sleeping at a hotel, though!) on Thursday for Brian's thesis defense. A tradition for their visits formed a long time ago in which they pick up pizza from a local pizzaria on their way to our apartment. In addition, they intend to take us all out for dinner following Brian's defense on Friday.

Long story short, I planned for 6 dinners (7 if you count Papa Murphy's), and in reality we'll only be eating 3 dinners at home. I always buy frozen ground beef, so that went directly into the freezer after shopping, since we won't be lacking for iron sources in all the eating out (beef in the hot dogs, etc.)

Modified menu:

Saturday: Chris and Rob's Chicago dogs
Sunday: Chris and Rob's Chicago dogs (plus onion rings!)
Monday: Greek chicken in a pita
Tuesday: Black bean burritos with Spanish rice and beans
Wednesday: Greek chicken in a pita
Thursday: Carbone's on Randolph's pizza
Friday: Celebratory dinner out

One of these weeks, I'll actually make what I plan! For next time, though, I need to pay more attention to our family calendar.

Engineering at Home - 1

2009-06-22T11:58:00.006-05:00

I'm intending for this to be the first in a series. Alea at Premeditated Leftovers gave me the idea through an e-mailed comment.

I am a mechanical engineer. When I say that, I don't only mean that I am employed as an engineer. Being an engineer is not just a job description - the skills, abilities, and passions that enabled me to make it through the required college training aren't things that simply switch off when I leave my workplace. Even if I were to become a stay-at-home mom, I would still be an engineer. I always want to know how things work, how to make things work better, do more, or be more efficient.

I look at something that isn't working the way I want it to, and I try to fix it. For example, I started using olive oil almost exclusively for everything. It has a healthier fat balance than other oils, and I wanted to incorporate it into my diet. However, olive oil has a property that is undesirable - at low temperatures, such as those present in a fridge, it solidifies. I didn't want to stop using it, so I added some canola oil the next time I made salad dressing (half of each), and the problem was solved.

How is this related to engineering?

I saw there was a problem. I observed other similar situations (my salad dressing made with canola oil didn't solidify in the fridge) and used that information to come up with a solution to my problem. Then I tried that solution to see if it worked.

Many people I've met over the years appear to be very impressed when they learn I have an engineering degree. The reality is that engineering is nothing more than observing the world around you and using the tools in your toolbox to solve problems. My tools may be a little more extensive than others - I did spend 5 semesters studying math - but most of the tools I use daily are old favorites. You don't need an expensive, specialized power tool to pound a nail and hang a picture. By the same token, you don't need an engineering degree to look around your home, pay attention, and solve those little problems in your life, like hardened salad dressing.

And, because I learned from home-based experiments, and I believe anyone can:

Experiment - Liquid Ice

Control:
Fill a small container with a lid (Glad or Ziploc 1/2 cup size work well) with plain tap water. Label this container "Control". This will be your "control" - the container to which you can compare your "experiment" containers.

Experiment:
Fill a small container half-way with rubbing alcohol. Note that rubbing alcohol has water in it - it is typically labeled as "40%" - this means that 40% of the solution is alcohol by weight, and 60% is water. Label this container A for alcohol.

In a small bowl, mix 1 T plus a sprinkle of salt into 1 c. warm water. Stir until salt completely dissolves. Fill another small container half-way with some of the solution. Label as container S for salt.

Put lids on all three containers. Let them sit in the freezer overnight. In the morning, take them out. The "Control" container should be frozen solid. (If it is not, put all three back in the freezer until the Control container is frozen.) How about the other two containers? Are they frozen, still liquid, or slushy? How does adding salt or alcohol to water change what temperature it freezes at? How do you think the anti-freeze used in an engine works? Are icebergs salty? If you wanted to make a squishy icepack, what would you put in it?

Chicken Fajitas

2009-06-19T14:19:00.002-05:00

This recipe originated in my mom's kitchen, but I've tweaked it over the years (of course).

Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 lb raw boneless, skinless chicken meat, sliced*
Good Seasons Italian salad dressing, made per the packet except replace the water with vinegar, and use all red wine vinegar
1/2 c. salsa (pick your heat)
1/2 tsp cumin
1 bell pepper, sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 T olive oil

Mix up the Good Seasons dressing with the salsa and cumin. Put the sliced chicken meat in a bowl and pour the dressing mix over the chicken. Marinate for at least 15 minutes (long enough to chop up your toppings, the pepper, and the onion).

Heat a skillet on medium-high. Add the olive oil and cook the onion until softened. Add the chicken along with all of the marinade and continue to cook until the chicken is no longer pink and the sauce has reduced somewhat. Add the peppers and cook until heated through (they will continue to cook when you remove the mix from the stove).

Serve on tortillas with all your usual fajita toppings!

Note: You can also make this with grilled chicken. Marinate the chicken in HALF the sauce. Discard the marinade the chicken has been in and grill until fully cooked, then slice. Cook the onions as above, then add just the remaining sauce to the pan and cook until reduced slightly. Add the sliced, fully cooked grilled chicken and peppers and heat through. Serve.

Weekly Menu

2009-06-19T14:10:00.004-05:00

Here is the week's menu! I'm hoping to use the grill this weekend, but if that doesn't work out, we'll be able to do the "grill" cooking in cast-iron skillets on the stove.

Saturday - Black bean burritos with lettuce and tomato
Sunday - Greek meatballs in pitas with tzatsiki
Monday - Chicken fajitas with black beans & rice
Tuesday - Greek meatballs in pitas with tzatsiki
Wednesday - Chicken fajitas with black beans & rice
Thursday - Black bean burritos with lettuce and tomato
Friday - Papa Murphy's take-n-bake pizza

Weekend cooking:
Make whole wheat bread
Cook black beans
Make and grill Greek meatballs
Grill chicken
Make fajita filling with grilled chicken
Make tzatsiki

Windfalls

2009-06-19T08:29:00.003-05:00

Frugal Liz gives a great example of how to plan to handle a windfall.

Between Brian's undergrad and grad experiences, he spent one year working while living at home. Because his room and board were being covered by his parents, he was able to save thousands of dollars. He decided at the time that it would be used for a major purchase down the road - his wedding, a downpayment for a house, or something similar.

We ended up using it to help pay for our wedding two years ago, which was a concious decision and a fantastic party! I do not regret a single dime of the money we spent.

We have been saving since we've been married to recover that cushion so we have a good downpayment when we buy our first house, and we're almost there. However, reading Frugal Liz's post, I feel challenged to take another good look at how we handle the various windfalls in our lives. We haven't always put much of the windfalls (tax returns, gifts from family, awards, etc.) into savings, although we do work to put away some of our earned money every month.

Great post, Liz!

Hot Salad

2009-06-18T13:00:00.002-05:00

Brian was flying home from a business trip last night, so I was on my own for dinner. I had a zucchini in the fridge that needed to be used soon and a tomato on the counter that wasn't going to make it much longer.

The name for this dish popped into my head when I was putting it on the plate. It's remarkably tasty, even for someone like me who isn't overly fond of zucchini in any form except grilled.

Ingredients:
1 zucchini (choose a young one with a thing skin), chopped
1 ripe tomato, chopped
1-2 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

In a nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the zucchini, stir to coat in oil, then let it sit and sautee until it starts to brown. When the zucchini is nearly done to your taste (I like mine with some crunch remaining), add the chopped tomato, salt and pepper, and cook until tomato is heated through. Serve immediately.

I ate this with a side of tuna salad and pickles, but in future I think I'd serve it with a few sliced kalamata olives over some pasta, orzo, or rice.

A day unlike any other

2009-06-18T08:49:00.007-05:00

One year ago, I was at this moment in the throes of labor at St. Joe's in Minneapolis.

That's right - today is Christopher's birthday! It's hard to believe that this cheerful little munchkin has been in our lives for one whole year. I thought the newborn stage would never end, and suddenly we're nearly into toddler-hood!

How much changes in a year:

My dad feeding Christopher shortly after he was born:

Christopher in his birthday crown at daycare:

Italian Pasta Salad

2009-06-16T12:00:00.002-05:00

I think we're finally firmly in summer here in Minnesota. The weather couldn't make up its mind for a while - hot, then down into the 50s and rainy, then hot and sunny again. We desperately need some rain, but I think I can finally put away my sweater!

When I was 4, Dad embarked on a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at Princeton University. Prestigious? Yes. Cheap? Definitely not. We (Mom, Dad, Sister, and me, with Brother to follow) moved into a 600-square-foot, 2-BR apartment in graduate student housing. Translation: Old Army barracks with no air conditioning.

Mom decided heating up the miniscule kitchen every night was just not worth it. Hence, this family favorite was born. I've tweaked it a bit myself over the years, but the essentials have remained the same.

For 4-6 adult-sized dinner servings:

1/2 lb rotini or other pasta
Veggies (see below)
Onion, diced
Pepperoni, cut up (about 2 oz)
Olives (kalamata or black, about 1/2 c. sliced)
Cooked chicken, if desired (4-6 oz, diced or shredded)

Mozzarella (shredded or pearl, drained - a few ounces)
Italian Dressing (see below - this is important!)

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add the pasta, cover, and turn off the heat. The residual heat in the water will cook the pasta without steaming up the kitchen. Add a few minutes to the cooking time, then check. Drain, run cool water over the pasta, and drain again.

In a large bowl combine all of the ingredients except the dressing and cheese. Add the mozzarella* and half the Italian Dressing and stir. Taste, add more dressing as desired, and mix thoroughly. Cover and store in the fridge. Salad tastes best after sitting for a few hours, but can be eaten right away. Keeps for several days.

*Note: The shredded mozzarella gets a little weird if you leave it in the pasta salad, so if your'e using that, store it separately and serve salad topped with cheese.

Veggies: You can use almost anything, but if you put in cherry or grape tomatoes, don't cut them up - they last longer if they remain whole. The usual in our household: Fresh broccoli florets, cut into bite-size pieces; bell peppers, all colors, diced; carrots, diced, celery, diced.

Italian Dressing: 1/2 c. red wine vinegar, 1/4 c. olive oil, 1/4 c. canola oil (olive oil will harden in the fridge, the addition of canola prevents that), 1 packet of Good Seasons Italian Dressing mix. Combine mix with vinegar, then add oil and whisk very well.

Enjoy Life!

2009-06-16T09:53:00.004-05:00

I read an article on what our kids teach us about happiness. I especially enjoyed the story of a mother who "picked happy".

I struggle with maintaining perspective, especially when we're in the midst of stress. The first few months of Christopher's life were very difficult for me - I was sleep-deprived, in a lot of pain early on (yay, third-degree tear), and couldn't see that this eat-sleep-poop-repeat stage wouldn't last forever. Christopher was a very happy baby, but he was still a needy newborn, and I felt like I couldn't get my life to work. Brian bore the brunt of my unhappiness, which we finally got diagnosed as mild PPD, but fortunately maintained his own equilibrium.

Now that the hormonal dust has finally settled (I went through my first complete month without getting mad at Brian for something insignificant - a sign that things are definitely back to normal!), I'm able to see how much Christopher has to teach us about happiness. So, in the interest of spreading the joy:

Because, really, what could be more fun than wearing a plastic bowl on your head? ;-)

Tasty Scrambled Egg Whites

2009-06-16T09:00:00.000-05:00

My grandfather has eaten eggs for breakfast nearly every day of his life. A number of years ago, he had a heart attack and was told to substitute EggBeaters for his regular whole eggs. He detested the taste, experimented for a while, and finally discovered the trick to turning EggBeaters (or egg whites) into scrambled eggs that actually taste like regular eggs - add cottage cheese.

1 tsp olive oil
1 T fat-free cottage cheese, drained (just use the spoon to drain off some of the whey)
3 egg whites

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and cottage cheese and continue to heat until the cheese starts to melt and bubble a little. Stir in the egg whites and scramble as you would regular eggs. Keep in mind that the egg whites need to cook a bit longer than regular scrambled eggs.

A note on meal plans

2009-06-15T13:05:00.000-05:00

I'm new to posting my meal plans, but I've been planning meals since before I moved out of my parents' house. My mother always planned out the week's meals, then wrote it on the calendar along with the page number and cookbook if it was a new recipe. Whoever came home first was responsible for starting dinner.

I quickly realized that I am far less regimented in my meal-planning than my mother. I aim to cook three or four meals on the weekend to eat the rest of the week. This may include making spaghetti sauce from scratch on Saturday, throwing it in the fridge, then reheating it and cooking the spaghetti on Tuesday. Sometimes I just do all the meal prep - marinate meat, cook rice, and cut up all the veggies for stir-fry to eat on Monday night. In the winter, I tend to prepare the whole meal, as it's generally soup, stew, or chili, then just reheat for dinner.

Because I am less regimented, I also tend to come home from grocery shopping and change up my meal plan at the last minute. I use the same ingredients, but make a different dish.

This week's examples:

Saturday we were supposed to have grilled chicken, grilled veggies, and fresh fruit. Christopher woke up Saturday morning screaming at 4 am. I finally got him settled back down around 6. I had gone to bed after 10 pm, so I was sleep-deprived. After visiting the farmer's market and all the various Saturday chores, I just couldn't face all the work required to set up the grill. We live in an apartment building and keep our little charcoal grill in our storage unit, taking it out the parking lot to use. There are three flights of stairs between the back door and our apartment, so getting all the food and equipment down to the parking lot is no small task.

We had leftover spaghetti sauce from earlier in the week. I had purchased chicken, zucchini, and mushrooms to grill, and we had a bag of shredded mozzarella in the fridge, so... Chicken and mushroom pizza! I saved the zucchini to make into zucchini brownies.

Monday and Wednesday were supposed to be salad with grilled chicken, but since I wasn't pulling out the grill, instead I decided to make chicken in masala sauce. I didn't have the 1 1/2 c. of heavy cream the recipe requires, so I modified it - more tomato paste and replacing the extraordinary amount of heavy cream with about 1/2 c. of half-and-half. I have a large variety of spices in the cupboard, and masala sauce is really just a tomato cream sauce with lots of onion and spices. We keep rice on hand, too, so this will be an easy dinner, served with a side salad using the lettuce I originally purchased for salads. The extra lettuce will be used with the tuna melts.

Just some insight into how meals plans work in a real household. ;-)

Meal plan - week of 06/13

2009-06-11T14:00:00.000-05:00

I do my meal planning throughout the week and my grocery shopping on Saturday morning, so my meals start with Saturday night.

Saturday: Grilled chicken, grilled veggies, fresh fruit
Sunday: Bacon, asparagus, and asiago frittata with muffins
Monday: Salad greens with grilled chicken
Tuesday: Tuna melts
Wednesday: Salad greens with grilled chicken
Thursday: Tuna melts
Friday: Take-n-bake pizza from Papa Murphy's

Cooking to do over the weekend:
Bake whole-wheat bread
Assemble tuna salad mixture
Grill chicken and veggies for dinner on Sat
Grill chicken for weekday salads

I'm trying something new this week - shopping at Target during my lunch hour on Friday, then heading to the Farmer's market and the food co-op Saturday morning. Hopefully we can find some cheap, local, tasty in-season produce!

Frittata

2009-06-11T11:29:00.000-05:00

Frittatas are a great way to get rid of leftover veggies and meat. Basically a baked omelet, they remind me very strongly of quiche, but are a lot more forgiving.

Basic Frittata (for 2 people)
4 eggs
splash of milk or cream
Veggie (figure 2 T diced per person)
Meat (1-2 oz per person)
Cheese (about 1 oz per person)

Preheat broiler or preheat oven to 500F. In an oven-safe skillet, cook your Meat. If you're using a leftover meat with little fat, add a teaspoon of olive oil. Add the Veggie and cook until desired doneness or it is at least warm. Beat eggs and milk in a bowl with a whisk until foamy. Add to pan. Top with shredded or crumbled Cheese. Cook on the stove until egg starts to set. Transfer to oven and broil for a few minutes until egg just starts to brown and Cheese is melted. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.

Some good combinations:
Red pepper, spinach, asiago
Ham, onion, swiss
Broccoli, cheddar
Bacon, asparagus, asiago
Smoked turkey, green pepper, onion, cheddar
Taco meat, tomatoes, cheddar
Leftover hashbrowns, sausage, green pepper, onion, cheddar
Chicken, onion, cheddar

Quick Nachos

2009-06-10T14:18:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite workplace lunches because it can be made in the microwave. I have made these with leftover taco meat, that last little bit of chili, even leftover spaghetti sauce into which I stirred a bit of chili powder. It's a great way to get rid of the tail ends of leftovers. My usual filling if I don't have anything to use up is 1/2 c. cooked black beans, drained and rinsed, plus 1/4 c. frozen corn.

1 oz. baked Tostito Scoops! chips
Filling
1 oz. Kraft 2% Sharp Cheddar

Heat filling in a microwave-safe bowl until warm. Spread chips on a microwave-safe plate. Top with warmed filling and cheese. Microwave 10-30 seconds until cheese melts and bubbles.

Tuna Melt

2009-06-10T14:11:00.001-05:00

A quick, tasty meal. Makes 4 open-faced tuna melts

Tuna Salad ingredients:
2 cans chunk light tuna, drained
equal parts mayo and mustard, to taste
a splash or two of Worchestershire sauce
Fresh ground pepper
diced onion
diced pickles
diced celery (if desired)
frozen peas (if desired)

Sandwich ingredients:
4 slices whole-wheat bread
4 oz. sharp cheddar, shredded
8 slices tomato

Mix all the salad ingredients together. If possible, mix it up in the morning or the night before so it has time for the flavors to mellow.

Toaster oven method:
Microwave the tuna mixture to warm it slightly. Toast the bread. On a foil-lined baking sheet that fits in the toaster, assemble two sandwiches at a time - tuna, 2 slices tomato, then top with cheese. Toast in the toaster oven until cheese melts. Serve immediately.

Stove-top method:
Microwave the tuna mixture to warm it slightly. Lightly butter or oil one side of each slice of bread. In a heavy skillet (preferably cast-iron), place the bread buttered side down. Top with tuna mixture, tomato slices, and cheese. Cover and cook on medium-low until bread is toasted and cheese has melted.

Breakfast

2009-06-10T12:47:00.000-05:00

Breakfasts of late are pretty predictable in our household:

Brian - 2 eggs on toast, OJ or water, cereal (All-Bran mixed with Kashi's Heart-to-Heart) with skim milk

Me - 3 egg whites scrambled with 1 T fat-free cottage cheese and 1 tsp olive oil, toast with 2 T low-fat cream cheese, cholesterol-reducing OJ

Christopher - Bottle, Cheerios

However, I would like to switch from conventional eggs to locally-produced eggs that are higher in omega-3's. In other words, from chickens who eat what chickens were meant to eat (bugs, etc.) rather than chicken feed. Then instead of 3 egg whites, I would feel more comfortable eating the whole egg. I have high cholesterol, so it just doesn't seem worth it to consume the extra sat fat and cholesterol in the conventional egg. My local co-op sells organic eggs, but I'm not convinced they'd be worth the price. This week I plan to ask about the raising practices behind the bulk eggs at the co-op and possibly check out the farmer's market.

Homemade Hummus

2009-06-10T10:21:00.000-05:00

Hummus is incredibly expensive, given the inexpensive ingredients! Growing up, my parents and siblings loved hummus, but hated the price, so my mom start experimenting with homemade hummus. After I grew up, moved out, got married, etc., I came up with my own version:

Basic Hummus

Ingredients:
2 cans garbanzo beans,* drained, reserve liquid from one can
1/2 c. plus 2 T lemon juice
1/4 c. tahini
2-5 cloves fresh garlic, peeled
sprinkle of cayenne pepper
1/2 to 1 tsp salt (to taste)
1-2 T olive oil (to taste and texture)

Process:
Blend all ingredients in a food processor. Add the reserved liquid as necessary to get the texture you want. If the hummus seems grainy, just blend longer. It will smooth out.

*A note on garbanzo beans - you can cook dried garbanzos and use them in this recipe. About 1/2 lb of dried beans should be sufficient. Add more salt to taste if you cook the beans in unsalted water. Reserve some of the cooking water

This is a pretty basic recipe. To mix things up, try adding the following while blending:
Roasted red peppers (coarsely chop before adding)
Toasted pignoles (pine nuts)
Basil (coarsely chop)
Kalamata olives (coarsely chop)

Time constraints

2009-06-10T09:17:00.000-05:00

There is really no excuse - an update with our food spending for March, April, and May will be forthcoming. My goal for this weekend is to post a picture of what we purchase and the amounts after grocery shopping on Saturday.

Introduction

2009-03-17T14:43:00.000-05:00

Inspired by thefrugalgirl, I have decided to set up a blog to track my family's food spending and other topics related to living a frugal lifestyle.

A bit of background: My husband and I will celebrate our second wedding anniversary in May. Our son is almost 9 months old, born last June. I work as a mechanical engineer, and my husband is finishing his Ph.D. in biochemistry. He earns a modest stipend as a grad student. We are fortunate to be at this stage in our lives with very little debt and over 4 months' expenses in our savings account. Our only remaining debt, my student loan left from college, will be paid off by this October. Our car is paid off. We live in a 1-bedroom apartment in a residential area of St. Paul, MN. I am 26 and my husband is 28.

Our short-term goals:
Finish paying off my student loan.
Reduce our monthly grocery budget (including toiletries, baby stuff, and alcohol) to $450.

Our long-term goals:
Buy a house in about 5 years with a 10-20% downpayment.
Have a total of 4 children.
Arrange our lives so that one or both of us stay home enough to eliminate weekly daycare.