Week 4, Day 7

Breakfast: Cressida and I got egg burritos - but those were the last flour tortillas so Dai and Phyllis had oamteal.  I assume Jason will eat cold cereal at work.  Jason will buy tortillas today, too.  I gave him cash this time - which usually I don't so then he uses his gas money.

Lunch: Cobre valley casserole for Phyllis and Cressida and Jason.  Dai has a PBJ.  All the girls took broccoli and romanesco.  No, we did not give anyone mayonnaise.  Cress took eggplant as her third.  Dai took an orange and Phyllis took an apple.

Dinner: Taco salad and eggplant.  Phyllis ate seconds and thirds.  Dai didn't care for it.  Jason took leftover cobre valley casserole presumably for dinner and lunch.  He has IVL tonight so doesn't eat with us.  

Week 4, Day 6

Breakfast: breakfast burritos all around.

All of the girls got showered this morning.  Usually the older girls alternate days.  Jason said to Phyllis, "If you're dressed within 10 minutes you can have an breakfast burrito - otherwise it's oatmeal for you." As she hurried out, he mused, "Not much of a threat when they love oatmeal."  I pointed out that the burrito was a carrot and the oatmeal not a stick.

However, I have noticed how my girls have gotten pickier and pickier.  Phyllis today didn't eat her broccoli and romanesco cauliflower at school because she had no mayonnaise to dip it in.  She ate it after school without - but really?  Cressida's mandarin orange was peeled and in a container but it was "too juicy" when she got it - "soggy."  Some handle it better, but still really?

Lunch: Ham for Cress and PBJ's for Phyllis.  On homemade bread - from whole wheat home ground flour and with the 1/3 cup vital gluten it is nearly as soft as white.  Yay!  Success.

Dinner:  Cobre valley casserole and salad with pine nuts and roasted eggplant.  The eggplant got done late though so only I ate it.

I also made chocolate chip cookies.  No one ever notices that they are made with whole wheat flour, which is wonderful.  I do try to grind it very fine and this time it was white hard wheat not red hard wheat.

It is funny; I wanted cookies and I knew I would have to make them.  I realized I would have to grind flour, but that didn't deter me.  For Jason, it is just enough to discourage him from baking and such.  

Week 4, Day 5

Breakfast: oatmeal with all the fixings - made on the stove top - I love it made on the stove top; less so when it is prepared in the microwave - just a different texture

Lunch: leftover potato and Persian split pea soup and 4 pot stickers per person.  We had a half bag or so left in the freezer.  Yesterday I did an organize, take stock and meal planning and decided we would have it for lunch.

Cressida got a bagel but there wasn't enough bread for all the children that line up at Sister Seamon's vehicle after church.  Cressida did break it up and share it.

Dinner:  BBQ'd hanger steak (not the BBQ needs a repair) and roasted onions, Brussels sprouts, turnips, parsnips and carrots, mashed potatoes (also found a partial box during my organizing last night) and salad with pine nuts (yes, I toast them.)  Dessert was shakes, again.  Cress didn't finish again.

Brussels sprouts, parsnips, and turnips were from the CSA.  Cleaning itty bitty Brussels sprouts from the CSA is not fun.  The girls aren't big fans of turnips and parsnips - but Jason had seconds of that, which was rewarding.

It looked so beautiful I wanted a picture - but apparently Jason though I was picturing only the spread.  Jason, said, "One of these things does not belong."  He meant the mashed potatoes because they were processed, but one of the kids suggested the beef because it didn't grow on a plant.  That worked, too.

Day 4, Week 4 and shopping update

Breakfast: oatmeal with the fixings - brought in more from the freezer - I think our container holds about 3 pounds.

Lunch: cream biscuits and Persian Split Pea Soup

Phyllis asked if it was the same soup as last night when she learned what we were having for dinner.  I told her no, and she was sad.  She said she had liked that soup.  That felt nice - even though I am pretty sure that at first she didn't think too highly of it.

The soup wasn't that great and we won't do it again - but it isn't bad.  Phyllis really liked it but I think what she liked about it was the beef - I think it could have done with less. Dai didn't finish it or her cream biscuit - she complained the bottom was sour.  They had complained that same about corn bread awhile ago - which was made in the same pan but neither Jason, Cress nor I noticed.

Dinner: taco salad.  We used CSA lettuce.  Daitarih got a bug.  Jason explained it was CSA lettuce and he did try to wash it and she replied, "It's kind of cute."  What a kid!  Cress doesn't care for the lettuce so she didn't finish.  She used to squawk about butterleaf lettuce and we were understanding but more complaining?  It is red leaf lettuce - that is pretty plain.  I am not amused.

Shopping: So, I learned that we no longer have to wait until the order forms come out to get food from the church.  We can stop by like a regular store.  That being said, I didn't get the flyer (someone is giving me a copy next week), and so I am not sure what the hours are.  Since it is out of the way - I want to wait until I know they are open for sure and I want to find out if I can make it coincide with another trip up that way.  But, as Jason pointed out, quit waiting on the black beans and just get some already.

Costco
Softener Salt	8.68
Eggs	7.89
Grape Tomato	5.99
Celery	2.99
Romaine lettuce	3.69
	29.24
Grocery Outlet
Black beans	4.95
Saffron Jasmine Rooibos Tea	1.99
Instant Coffee	3.98
	10.92
Real Produce
Mandarins	8.38
Egg plant	1
	9.38
	49.54

Not on the list/Impulse shopping:

We got the mandarins at Real Produce - they were a bit more expensive and I wouldn't have done if I had known the exact cost of the ones at Costco - but they are more orange and lovely.  Not as easy to peel but good.  The egg plant also wasn't on the list but it was cheap and Cress really wanted it.  I also got the tea even though it wasn't on the list because Dai loves jasmine tea and is hopeful that she will love that one.  I also got two coffees instead of the one on the budget because it was on sale for either $1 or $2 off.

I had to use some of this week's grocery money for other things - $36 for activity days and $20 for Chinese class semesterly fees.  So, I needed it to be cheap - and I feel so pleased with this.  Now, to get a menu.

Later we bought vanilla ice-cream to make shakes - blueberry with me (using frozen fruit) and chocolate for the girls (except Cress who didn't finish dinner) and Jason.  That was $3.89 and we went to Bed Bath & Beyond and spent 10.41 on batteries for the smoke detector, a pastry brush to use in cleaning the grinder and a gallon pitcher.  We used coupons all around so that was nice.  I have about $6 left of my grocery money and gave $3 of that to Jason for flour tortillas on Monday.  I am proud of having less and making it work anyway.  But, usually when I do, then I have to buy a little extra the next pay period - I can't continue skimping for too many in a row.  

Day 3, Week 4

Breakfast: Cress had leftover rice, the rest of us had oatmeal.

Lunch: Phyllis had a bean burrito.  Dai had cream cheese on bagel and Cress had a ham sandwich on the sourdough round slices.  The liquid in the container with the pickle pleased Phyllis.  I ate the rest of the turnip soup plus some cream cheese and jelly rolled up in a flour tortilla.  For those, I almost wish we had smaller tortillas.

Dinner: Potato soup.  I used to make it all the time and vary the ingredients slightly.  We had a leek left from last week's CSA so we used that and a can of creamed corn I got ages ago plus the remaining potatoes.  Now I haven't for awhile so I couldn't exactly remember how and think it was a little thinner than usual, but it was pretty good.  Phyllis and Cress said it wasn't their favorite, but Phyllis ate two bowls anyway.  We also had salad using up the last of the Costco lettuce, the grape tomatoes and a cucumber.  Toast using the last of the sourdough round.

I loved that Phyllis had seconds of salad and Cressida had thirds.  I broke out the ranch dressing Heather gave us awhile ago.  Her husband works for Clorox so she gets freebies occasionally.  Phyllis was distraught that I didn't have any balsamic vinaigrette on hand - we used it up quickly this time - maybe I should go back to putting it in a quart jar because spooning it out makes it harder to overuse it.

Future Prep: I chopped the root veggies from the CSA so that I can quickly roast them one night this week.  Jason cooked the kale and mizuna together - it smells delicious.  I steamed the romanesco and broccoli.

I really do need to do some shopping - but I used some of the grocery money top buy Activity Days supplies - so, I do not have the full amount.  I have been so good about coming home to eat lunch though - and I wasn't always when I was doing yard duty.  So I am proud and recognize that as savings.  I also need to think about my food pantry - what is there?  What should I be aiming to use up? I have some split peas but I don't have ham.  There are ham free soups but I think split pea soup as having ham.  But using them up is being responsible - buying ham to use them up - slightly less so.

Later: I am also making Persian Split Pea Soup in the crockpot for tomorrow.  I looked through some recipes and had this - though I didn't have the leeks for which it called and am using green split peas instead of yellow and part golden raisins and part regular (I was just so proud of letting Cress use them up - dang!)  Also, I get to use stew beef from our grass fed cow and it calls for 2 tablespoons of lemon juice but I just used the juice of one whole fresh lemon.  I feel so good using fresh rather than the jar stuff - which, yes, I do have.  We have timers for the outlets - which makes it easy, too.

Day 2, Week 4

Breakfast: rice cereal

Lunches: Ham sandwiches using the sourdough round again.  I also packed three produce for each like normal and learned Phyllis doesn't like pickles in her lunch anymore because they "don't have any juice."  Apparently right out the jar is fine, but packed in a container is not.  Maybe I could put one with juice in her hot lunch container?  Jason took bean burritos.

Dinner: Breakfast burritos.  Last night we found the bacon way too salty (I usually get Kirkland bacon but this time I got something on sale on FoodMaxx) so we didn't eat most of it.  We also had some leftover tator tots.  Without salting the eggs, the salt in the bacon was mitigated.  It was pretty tasty, really.  Three days in a row of breakfast for dinner.  

Day 1, Week 4

Breakfast: Rice cereal

Lunch: ham sandwiches - for bread using a soup bowl round that we got on Sunday from Sister Seamons.

Dinner: eggs, english muffins (a donation from Heather), bacon and tator tots.  breakfast for dinner two days in a row.  

Day 7, Week 3

Breakfast: Cress, Jason and I had burritos.  Dai and Phyllis had oatmeal.  

Lunch: Phyllis had leftover cheaty pasta, Cress a ham sandwich and Dai and PBJ with honey.  I told Jason I wanted the ham finished before anything else - but he didn't know that day.  Jason took leftover soup.  When Cress got home she asked why her ham sandwich didn't have lettuce and tomatoes - so in future I will do lettuce for her but not tomatoes as they can make it soggy.  But we are working with pretty old dry bread.  

Dinner: Oatmeal for dinner.  Jason works late/has IVL so he doesn't eat with us on Tuesdays right now.  I had cooked beans and was going to refry them for burritos but Phyllis said oatmeal when she meant burritos so then I asked if they wanted oatmeal or bean burritos.  They definitely wanted oatmeal - so we did that and I prepared the beans and put them in the fridge.  

Week 3, Day 6

Breakfast: Poached eggs on pan toasted baguettes with cream or goat cheese.  Kids all did cream cheese. Phyllis skipped on tomatoes.  So good!  We also had home canned applesauce and apricots after.

Lunch: Ham sandwiches on homemade bread.  I was afraid the ham had gone bad but it was still sealed so even though it's use by date was before Thanksgiving it tasted and smelled fine.

Dinner: Cheaty pasta - I used to do cheaty pasta with a fresh veggie that I boiled with the noodles for the last two or three minutes of the noodles' cooking time and a can of alfredo sauce from Costco.  Then I got alfredo started for 99 cents from the Grocery outlet.  So, now I use that.  I sauteed canned chicken with salt and pepper.  Then I added the alfredo starter.  Then I add half a cup of cream and half a cup of parmesan to that.  I didn't have a fresh produce easily at hand, so I did a bag of frozen peas.  We also had salad,  This meal was well received.  

Week 3, Day 5

Breakfast: Oatmeal wit hall the fixings - though some girls had golden raising rather then regular.  We got them for a greens recipe we used to do quite often.  But recently Steve gave me 6 pounds of raisins - I was so excited, until I realized they had all gone bad.  So, knowing that they go bad - I let the girls have some golden ones rather than have them go bad.

Lunch: Phyllis and Cress had bread they got at church - though we realize Phyllis likely needs more than that so she won't be able to have just bread again.  Dai wasn't able to get bread for herself becuase she had picked up a baguette for me and was told only one (Phyllis still managed to get three somehow) so I made her my eggs on cheese on pan toasted baguette which was why I wanted the baguette.  She had cream cheese and I had goat cheese.  We also put slices of tomato in the cheese under the egg - so good!  Then everyone wanted one but we offered them leftovers - the usual Sunday lunch and they didn't want any so they just ate their bread.  Jason had leftover parsnip soup.

Dinner:  When the Tervalons had come over the night before, they invited us for the next night.  Actually, we kind of invited ourselves.  As they were headed out, we said than you again for the brownies and Nicole said they were making cinnamon rolls the next day.  I asked, "When should we come then?"  Half joking.  She said she was also making butternut squash soup in her pressure cooker (she loves it) that she had intended for Saturday except we invited her over so we could come for dinner and cinnamon rolls.  I told her we had a London broil marinating and that we would bring that.

So we had her butternut squash soup (had a nice ginger zing) and canned corn and our beef done on the grill.  Jason is still learning about grilling so we had to cut off a charred but but thankfully, it wasn't overcooked.  Phyllis and Kahlan wolfed down meat.  Cress didn't love the soup but she ate it so she could have dessert and actually once salt was added I think it was okay for her except when she got a chunk of ginger.  Nicole pointed out it was a warm colors meal - red meat, orange soup, yellow corn.

We needed to do a bit more shopping and Jason did it at Costco after volleyball - he dipped into next week's grocery budget.

Costco:
Balsamic Vinegar	9.99
Flour Tortillas	3.50
Sour Cream	3.99
	17.48

Knowing that I will have to write it down does make me think twice about my spending.  I have been very diligent about avoiding the hitting the drive through while driving.  I also drive less around lunch time these days.  

Week 3, Day 4

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs and tator tots

I love tator tots - even though they are processed I still love them!  We used to have them in hot lunches when I was a kid if we got hot lunches - which we didn't always but I think there was a time when we did because we got subsidized lunches. And I think subsidized lunches when I was a kid were much better than what my kids are offered.

Lunch:  leftover stroganoff.  I cooked new noodles and added a couple dollops of sour cream, some beef bouillon and some Worcestershire sauce to the gravy to make it go a little further.  But still, two kids ended up with no gravy - just noodles with butter and Parmesan.  I had thought Jason and Phyllis would be home later than they were when planning lunch.

Snack: We went to Cold Stone but they didn't have what I wanted so just the kids got some.  The kids shared  mint and M&M one and Jason and I were going to share a Banana Split Decision - which is technically off their menu - but they could have rung it up as a special anyway.  I was annoyed so we didn't get one.  Then I was annoyed watching the kids eat theirs while I had none.

When Cressida and Phyllis realized where we were going, they reminded us that we aren't supposed to spend money on eating out because we are saving for Disneyland.  I showed them that I had gift cards and they felt much better - though they called them coupons.

Dinner: Creamy Parsnip Soup made with CSA turnips, leek and celeriac.  Was quite tasty.  We also had a salad with toasted pine nuts on the side and toast using the bread I made earlier this week.  We had Nicole, Noah and Kahlan Tervalon over.  Al is in China so he couldn't come.  Kahlan is traditionally very picky but she liked the soup - whereas Phyllis and Cress didn't eat theirs.  Nicole brought brownies - yum!

Week 3, Day 3

Breakfast: Oatmeal

Lunch: Phyllis took leftover stroganoff.  Dai had a boiled egg and .  Cress was sick.  She ate a bagel with cream cheese.

Dinner:  Burritos with the beans and rice made yesterday - we need more tortillas.

I menu planned for yesterday and tomorrow.  Menu planning - ugh!  I know it helps but preparing the plan is boring.  

Week 3, Day 2

Breakfast: brown rice cereal from leftover rice and the two older girls ate some leftover pancakes

Lunch: boiled eggs and produce - the girls are glad to have choice and glad tomorrow is CSA day.

Dinner: Beef stroganoff but made with hamburger not thinly slice beef.  This weirded Jason out conceptually but it tasted fine.  Phyllis loved it.  I, unfortunately, overcooked the noodle - but they didn't complain.  We also had a salad.

Prepared for future: gringa beans and rice

Week 3, Day 1

Breakfast: Rice cereal - except I had fried eggs later when I finally got to eat

Lunch: The girls had either peanut butter and jelly or chicken salad plus produce.  Still very low - carrots, oranges (the last) and dried mangoes.  Jason had burritos.  I had a chicken salad sandwich.

Dinner: Bacon and eggs.  Homemade lemonade.

I made scrambled eggs with sauteed onions and garlic (sauteed before adding) and goat cheese.  The goat cheese was fine to me, though a bit strong if you got the wrong bite, but no one else liked it.  Phyllis ate all of hers.  Dai ate half and Cress took a bite or two.  Each girl got toast from the last of the bread loaf.

We had already eaten when Jason got home because we had gym and Math Olympiads and stuff.  So, when Jason walked in he said something to the effect of smells good and I said, we shall see if you like it - the girls didn't.  He asked, "Eggs and bacon?" I said, "They're schmancy eggs."  Jason took a bite and you should have seen the look on his face.  I laughed and he said, "Thank you for making dinner."  Wasn't that nice?

While the bacon was thawing in hot water Cress asked why it was there and then said, "Oh, you're letting it raw."  I said, "Thaw."  New words - that is the natural way to learn words.  Then she asked if I knew bacon was pig - which I did and she wished she had a pig for a pet.  I told her I had a pig for a pet and it wasn't all that.  She asked if we made it into bacon.  I told her that we sold it to someone else who did that.  She seemed sad about that, but was okay when she thought I had?

I made bread today.  The last loaf was hard and dry.  Vital gluten, of which we have none, is out, but Jason says that loaf had the last of the vital gluten in it, so that doesn't explain dry.  He says maybe it is because it was made Sunday and whole wheat just dries out.  He has a hearth bread he will try because I really want to use whole wheat not half and half and I have a whole wheat bread recipe from a homesteading website I will try.

I did however, make a mixed loaf yesterday.  I didn't do it in the bread machine because it wasn't that kind of recipe.  We have thought that perhaps the bread machine isn't the best for whole wheat.  I do not mind making by hand - I just need a good recipe and some practice.

I also boiled some eggs and cut up celery for future use.  We are trying to regrow the celery base - we shall see how that goes.  Even if it doesn't work well, it will be a fun activity to watch.  I sued to regrow green onion - that was easy enough.

I did get shopping done.  Budget for this week is $140, of which I had to use $3 for parking at school because Dai wasn't feeling well.

Nob Hill:
Children's ibuprofen 5.97
(note: Dai and Phyllis both did adult ibuprofen yesterday quite well so that is good news)

Costco:
Raisins	7.99
Eggs	6.89
Milk	6.29
Softener Salt	8.68
Cream Cheese	6.89
Celery	2.89
Cream	5.49
Lettuce	3.69
Mushrooms	4.39
Grape Tomatoes	5.99
Cucumbers	4.29
	63.48
Whole Foods:
Roma	8.99
Vital Gluten	6.99
	15.98
FoodMaxx:
Spaghetti	2.29
Pickles	8.34
Frozen Spinach	2.36
Sandwich bags	1.44
Fabric Softener	4.19
Egg Noodles	1.96
Salt	0.65
Saltines	1.49
Klondike Bars	3.49
Frozen Peas	4.72
Frozen Corn	10.17
Tator tots	3.29
Cucumbers	1.00
Green Onions	0.48
Bacon	5.00
Coupon	-10.00
Parsnips	7.00
	47.87
Total	133.30

Week 2, Day 7

Breakfast: Cracked wheat but I ate the three remaining pumpkin pancakes with ketchup - more like potato pancakes made with pumpkin than traditional pancakes with pumpkin in them which we used to make a lot.  Cress is not a fan but Dai loves that cereal and I know it is healthy and we have a lot of wheat on hand.  I need to go to the bishop's storehouse soon.

Lunch: Dai and Phyllis took leftover spaghetti and meatballs plus a slice of bread and butter.  Dai took an orange, a carrot and some canned apricots.  Phyllis had leftover corn from last night and a carrot.   Cress had half a peanut butter and honey sandwich, an orange, the last little bit of celery with peanut butter for dipping and apricots.  She only likes the very inside of celery because the big stalks have more fibers and are hard for her to chew up.  She also wasn't pleased that her apricots got all mashed - like apricot sauce, but she did drink it anyway.  I am pretty low on produce right now but this Friday the CSA starts up again.

I ate all manner of stuff - a couple oranges, chips and salsa, cream cheese and jelly in a tortilla.

Jason took burritos.

Dinner: Bean burritos for Phyllis, Cress and Jason (at IVL) and chicken salad sandwiches for Dai and I.

Day 5, Week 2

Breakfast:  Cracked wheat cereal with the fixings, except there were only four bowls (one cup of cracked wheat can't feed all five of us) so Phyllis had rice cereal - we had rice leftover from last night. When I refer to rice it is brown.  Then Dai  had canned apricots and Phyllis ate a pint of home made applesauce.  Jason had coffee and I had Roma with non-dairy creamer.  I need Roma but payday is four days away but if I run out I can drink tea.

Lunch: The girls got bread from church.  Dai had rice and gravy and meatballs.  Jason, Phyllis, Cressida and I had salad.    I also mashed the pumpkin with butter and salt and pepper.  Jason said the flavor was ok, but he really didn't like something.  I think maybe the texture?  So I made pumpkin pancakes out of them and they seem good with ketchup.  Course, they will be cold by the time dinner rolls around.

Dinner: Corn, frozen - the last of that.  I do a lot of fresh veggies, but like to have frozen on hand for soups or for in a pinch.  So, I added that to the list to buy on Wednesday - which is really Thursday because Wednesday I have school and then babysit Gabriela Castro.  Also spaghetti.  I sauteed the rest of the mushrooms and added some sliced garlic.  To that I added a can of spaghetti sauce and some red chili flakes, basil and oregano.

Week 2, Day 4

Breakfast: breakfast burritos.  Today Jason had to coach volleyball and we had Chinese, so Cress had to go to Chinese.  Jason actually wrapped Cressida's and mine to go because we were a little behind.

Lunch: Taco Bell - totally guilty - used Jason's gas money.  Phyllis eats four items usually - but because I was walking home, she only ate three so she could leave with me.  Dai usually eats one taco - she ate two today.  Cress ate two tacos also and Jason and I ate two items.  A little more restrain than we sometimes show, he and I.  Our kids could easily wipe out the 12 pack on their own.  We had waters - so that was a little less splurgy.

Snack: Abuela brought Krispy Kreme donuts.  We each had one before the hike and one after.

Dinner: Abuela had two quesadillas.  Cress had leftover pasta but didn't finish it - so we tossed what was in her bowl and now it is all gone.  I had salad.  Cress and Phyllis had meatballs (made at Activity Days) and turkey gravy leftover from just before Christmas and freshly made rice.  They also both had salads - freshly made tonight.  Jason had a burritos right after the hike and the same food Dai and Phyllis had.  Jason said our hamburger is definitely better.  Heather had bought pounds in tubes for the Activity Days activity.  We ate in the living room watching "Croods" as a family.  I think if we had eaten dinner at the table, Cress would have finished her bowl of pasta and more of the salad would have been eaten.

Food prep:  I ground wheat for cracked wheat tomorrow.  It is soaking.  After I grind the wheat, I usually sift off the fine stuff.  It is too fine for cracked wheat cereal but not fine enough for cookies as we learned when Phyllis made cookies.  So I reground it and then we made chocolate chip cookies.   You really cannot tell the cookies are made with whole wheat flour.  I used a pretty fine grind.  We use a recipe from one of the cookbooks Abuela got for Dai a long time ago.  That is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever.  You start with melting the butter and it makes a huge difference, if you ask me.  Maybe I should put that recipe in this journal somewhere?

I made some new dressing using a recipe Lisa Rotter (Abuela) gave me ages and ages ago.  It was so tasty when I made it so long ago, but I added too much citrus this time.  It calls for juice from 1-2 lemons.  I used lemons from Lisa's tree and they had a lot of juice - so too much juice - note for future - use like a tablespoon only.  Maybe also do a little less mayo.  The dressing is in a jar in the fridge. Jason and I both had it today on our salad (Jason said it tasted like eggs and citrus.)  The girls didn't have dressing on their salad.  

I peeled and steamed our last pumpkin but we didn't eat it today - so tomorrow for that.  Those pumpkins were free so I am very pleased to be eating them.

We had a bunch of lemons from Dad and Susan's lemon tree.  Abuela was bringing us more today.  So, we juiced the old ones.  I made lemonade and we put the other juice in the fridge - oh how I wish I had a gallon pitcher!  My recipe makes 5 cups worth - but I put it in my two quart pitcher.  I can't double it in the two quart pitcher but it isn't really quite enough otherwise.

Also, I bought $2 in turkey lunch meat from Heather today.  She got it in a triple pack with two hams and one turkey - but she doesn't love turkey.

I did this journal because I know that we go through phases in our home about what we eat and i think it will be fascinating to review.  But, I also think it would be a fascinating bit of lore to have from 200 or even 100 years ago, too.  I am unsure if anyone will ever marvel over this, but I do find I don't like writing down everything I eat - lunch is what gets me because I can't just write what the family ate - as it were because we all eat separately.   Like, I had popcorn between breakfast and lunch.  It could have been my lunch if my family didn't also need feeding a bit later.

It makes me want to generalize, but then I think about the integrity of the document.  To be honest if I was reading my ancestors' info, I doubt I would care - just be interested in food types and food prep styles, I guess.  Technically, we have access to old recipe and cookbooks, but I have loads of recipe books I rarely use and those that I do use regularly - I only use a select few recipes from them.  In 100 years will they be stunned that we ate so much meat or allowed so much processed food into our diet (in which case the joke is on them because I think we eat way less than the average American)?  Or that we ate cows now that they are Buddhist?  Who knows, right?

Week 2, Day 3

Breakfast: Egg burritos for all but Cress who had oatmeal.  Jason made egg burritos and oatmeal for all but Dai who was in the shower.  But she competently made her own when she got out.

Lunches: Girls had peanut butter and cracker, plus leftover Oopsie bread and veggies - oranges, carrots, celery, applesauce, etc.

I had oranges and two cream cheese and jelly wraps plus a bag of popcorn.  By 2 PM, I am so hungry I have no self control.  I had the oranges on the bus and shared a slice with an old man next to me.  We just don't interact much with people anymore.  He chatted amiably after, but his voice was soft and hard to hear.

Jason had leftover nut pasta.

After school snack: remaining Oopsie bread

Dinner:  Bean and rice burritos with all the trimmings - except Cress who had some nut pasta leftovers. Peppermint chip cookies for dessert.  I had to make them myself - no girl was interested.  I did grind my own flour and they turned out fine.

Week 2, Day 2

Breakfast: Cressida had leftover rice as cereal.  Jason and I had breakfast burritos.  He didn't make me a drink this morning.  Usually he makes me Roma.  We are out of cream so he had to do non-dairy creamer yesterday.  Could that be why?

Dai had half leftover rice and half leftover oatmeal - each with the correct fixings - but in one bowl. Then she had a bowl of applesauce.  It is the no sugar added commercial stuff Tess gave us when she moved, so I sprinkled cinnamon and sugar on it.  Dai said it was sweeter than homemade but not as good.  Oh, sweet girl.

Phyllis had oatmeal that I microwaved for her.  I definitely prefer stove top cooked, but the girls don't seem to mind microwaved.  Of course she had brown sugar and raisins.  We go through a lot of raisins in this house!

Lunch: Cress had peanut butter on saltines.  My girls love saltines - often choosing them over Ritz, etc. Though I rarely get crackers anymore, and when I do it is most likely saltines for in a pinch mornings when there is no bread.  She has mangoes, applesauce with cinnamon and sugar and an orange.

Dai and Phyllis have peanut butter on pancakes (I found the ones that had gone missing in the freezer) - Dai's with honey and Phyllis's plain.  Phyllis has celery sticks with balsamic, a carrot and applesauce like I did Dai's for breakfast.  Dai has a carrot, orange and applesauce.

Jason took leftover nuts sauce and macaroni and the remaining balsamic Brussels sprouts.

I need to remember to grab oranges and cheese for me for the bus ride home.

Snack: I made Oopsie bread - basically eggs and cream cheese.  The girls liked them pretty well - I thought they were ok.  Probably will not make again.

Dinner: Leftover nut pasta.  Dai complained because there wasn't a produce with it.  That's what she called it.  She asked if she could have an orange.  I said no.

Oh, yeah, also bought $6 worth of dishwasher soap - but it lasts a good long time.  

Week 2, Day 1

Breakfast: Jason and I had breakfast burritos and the girls had oatmeal. This isn't as cruel as it sounds. Cress gets up first to be out the door by 7:10-7:15.  The other two get to sleep until at least 7, sometimes later.  Cressida doesn't like breakfast burritos and we eat while she does - thus the other two never see us eating a food they really like.

Lunch:  Cress had a peabnut butter and honey sandwich.  Cress and Dai like honey rather than jelly right now and Phyllis wants no jelly or honey.  Dai had leftover spaghetti and squash and Phyllis had leftover spaghetti.  So glad I bought those hot lunch containers.  They each had three produce.  Phyllis doesn't like oranges so she had mostly veggies. Carrots, celery, oranges, dried mangoes were the primary options.

I used to buy mangoes that were dried with sugar.  They are so good.  But, I recently started buying unsweetened dried mangoes.  The first day I gave it to Cress she brought it home to me and said, "I think these have gone bad, Mom."  That was Tuesday, maybe? Yesterday she ate them, though. Knowledge is power and having your expectations met also works.  I did mention it to her the first morning I packed them, but I think she didn't really understand.

Jason took burritos for lunch.  I forgot to pack anything and was ravenous by the time I got home after 2 PM.  I ate a burrito and the rest of the mushroom soup.  Really, more than I needed.  But I did finish the beans for tomorrow.  I added corn and two fresh cut up tomatoes.  I used to always do that to my gringa beans, but then I stopped somewhere along the way.

Snack: Toast with butter and a string cheese.  I needed to use up the last bit of bread and heels are bet

Dinner: Nila had left stuff for gluten free macaroni and cheese - technically it is also vegan so not actual cheese.  I doubled it so I added my own non-gluten free noodles. So, not really gluten free either.  The sauce was made with boiled carrots, potatoes, onion and nuts.  We thought it could use more zip but it was really interesting to boil nuts and then blend them.  Had never done that before.  We also had Brussels sprouts two ways - as Elise did them, roasted with balsamic vinaigrette, and steamed with butter added after.  If I had let him, Jason and I might picked them to death before the casserole was done.  Yummy!  We also had the vanilla jello dessert I made the day before.  Dai liked it initially but didn't finish. Phyllis didn't like it and was most dismayed to find she couldn't have one of her candies for dessert.  When I make it, you eat it or nothing.  Days I don't make dessert, then you can use your candy stash.  That will be dessert again because a lot is left.  

Week 1, Day 7

The end of a first complete week - so far so good.  As a side, I have very little grocery money but I have plenty of food.   I am having to use some of it for parking money at school - which going to school also uses a lot of gas - but hopefully I will start doing public transit soon.

Breakfast: Oatmeal which dad made for the kids.  I will have leftover onions.  Of course, I also have Roma and cream.

Lunch: Kids have PBJ's and fruits or veggies.  Phyllis doesn't love mandarins, so she has carrots and celery.  All have pickles (Phyllis didn't eat hers yesterday) and the two have mandarins.  Cress also has dried mango but it isn't the Philippine variety so not sweetened.  We shall see what she thinks.

Dinner: Spaghetti and butternut squash.  The squash was from several weeks ago - we got two from the CSA.  Jason picked up another apparently at work today - so that was nice.  I made only one pound of noodles and we had leftovers - the girls really liked squash.  I dressed up the remnant of the Ragu sauce I got from Tess when she moved.  I rationed that big old jar she gave me out over three meals.  Tonight I added mushrooms, garlic, herbs and a can of stewed tomatoes that I pureed.

I also made a mushroom soup today which I had as a snack and Jason had a bowl with after his spaghetti and squash.  Elise had pinned the recipe.  I re-pinned and made it - it was a bit thin but could be thickened easily enough and would be much healthier than cream of mushroom condensed soup in a can.

I also made a gelatin dessert that is dissolved in milk - likely dessert tomorrow as it has to set up.
Phyllis made cookies today pretty much by herself.  First time for that.  I used fresh ground flour which we have done before but this was different.  I think maybe I didn't have the grind fine enough.

Heather and I went to Costco.  I am essentially out of grocery money - especially if I have to keep buying a parking pass the rest of this week.  But, Heather owed me $8.  So she bought me a gallon of milk (we split a Costco two pack basically) and we split a Costco salsa two-pack.

I also realized that when Nila was here, she had bought the stuff to make a gluten free macaroni and cheese type meal.  She never made it so I have the ingredients.  I got the recipe today and shall try it tomorrow.  I hate to see food go to waste (and nuts can go bad, especially I would guess raw nuts) and even more so when I didn't have to pay for it.  Not sure Jason will love it, but, that's life, I guess.  Most of my food he does.  I made him more beans, but he won't need new beans for a couple days.  

Week 1, Day 6

Breakfast: brown rice cereal for the kids and leftover tapioca for me - really not that different from cereal, not terribly filled with sugar.  Jason stayed home sick and had a egg burrito.

Lunch: PBJ's with veggies - it varies by kid, but pickles, mandarin oranges,  etc.  Only Dai finished her lunch.  Jason had a bean and rice burritos or two.  I had leftover tamale pie - but it was almost 2 by the time I got to eat so I was very tempted to grab fast food on the way home from school.  Looking back I am very glad I didn't.

Dinner: Creamed onions (Jason made them and said they were too much effort so he will never make again but I love them!), leftover pumpkin (made with balsamic and not that awesome so I threw the rest out after dinner), cornbread (leftovers from day before and we finished it up though I did have to take off the bottom part) and bean and rice burritos with all the fixings.  The missionaries came for dinner.  I made brand new rice and beans yesterday but Jason was nervous that because we had guests we would finish them all - we didn't even come close.  We did however, eat all but one tortilla.  Luckily he can get more at the Costco near his work.

I used $13 of the grocery money to get Jason Walborne.  Jason also dranks loads of tea - so glad I had it on hand.

Week 1, Day 5

Breakfast: Cressida had brown rice cereal.  Jason had cold cereal to finish it up after we went to church.  The rest fasted.

Lunch: Cress had a bagel with cream cheese.  The bagel was from Sister Seamons, whose brother works at a bakery and gives her day olds to hand out on Sunday.  Jason had a burrito with leftover beans. The rest fasted.

Dinner:  Tamale pie and salad.  We had lemon zinger iced-tea.  Jason had tamale pie as a kid but I don't think that I had.  I thought it was good, but Jason wished it had more zip.  Cress and Phyllis weren't huge fans of the topping - Jason's same complaint when he was a kid.  I made southern corn bread but it didn't cook quite right and burned to a crisp on the bottom before the inside was done.  I have made it before but the batch then wasn't as thick.  I just can't locate that recipe.  It is my favorite cornbread.

I got four recipe books from the library.  Makes me want to branch out and try new things.  

Week 1, Day 4

Breakfast: Breakfast burritos, eggs and cheese.  Dai reminded us about rice.  Cress had rice - she doesn't like burritos.  I ate two persimmons (the squishy kind) and Dai and Jason had a banana. Jason had coffee and I had Roma with cream - twice.

Lunch: turkey stew that I made from last night but it was bland so we added salt and pepper to our bowls.  Then I added more slat and poultry seasoning to the rest in the crockpot and put it back on to heat.  I had a Diet Dr. Pepper.

Snack: Cold Stone Creamery ice cream - used our gift cards

Dinner: turkey soup, sliced homemade bread, leftover salad (only enough for two) and the pumpkin I made last night and Phyllis ate one of last night's meatballs with rice.  We made lemon zinger ice-tea. Turkey soup is all gone.  We had milkshakes, except Cress who chose not to finish.

Tomorrow is fast Sunday so less need for food.

Shopped at Nob Hill for Almond Milk - $4.  Total $220 where I only get about $260 per pay period for groceries.  

Week 1, Day 3

Breakfast: leftover cracked wheat cereal with the fixings.  Except Cress had oatmeal since she was still asleep when we ate and we finished up the leftovers.  The leftover pancakes have mysteriously disappeared.  Phyllis ate a little bit of leftover pumpkin because she was still hungry - but she was mad that I didn't let her have applesauce instead.

Lunch: Peanut butter and honey for Dai.  Peanut butter and banana for Cress and Phyllis.  I had cream cheese.  We all had toasted hamburger buns as the bread because I had them in the freezer for a long time and hadn't made bread yet.  Phyllis and Cress split a banana and they each had a cookie from yesterday.  I had more (but don't tell.)

Dinner: Brown rice with meatballs and brown gravy.  Salad - same type as last night.  Leftover pumpkin.  I did roast some with balsamic but it wasn't done in time.  We have a lot of leftover rice so we will do that for breakfast.  It looked so nice in bowls down the table.

As a side, we are using English cucumbers - about a half per salad.  And the tomatoes are not really in season, but luckily cheap anyway if a touch green.

Grocery shopped today. Has to renew Costco membership so that took most of this pay period's grocery money but we are fine.  I went to Fresco and Costco.

         Costco

eggs	$8.29
cheese	$12.39
sour cream	$3.99
mushrooms	$8.78
mandarin oranges	$5.99
Brussel sprouts	$5.99
Costco membership	$110.00
stamps	$45.75
	$201.18
Fresco
onions	$2.00
potatoes	$3.84
boiling onions	$3.98
tomatoes	$4.45
	$14.27

With Jason's raise we are less tight so I wasn't going to itemize, but I reviewed some old entries and how it made me more accountable.  So, I did.

I am making turkey soup in the crockpot tonight.  Using homemade turkey stock and half a pumpkin, celery, carrots, onions, potatoes, turkey, seasonings.  Hope it is good.  

Homemade Vinaigrette

Phyllis loves this so I am writing it down for future reference.  It seems to be pretty popular.

3/4 c balsamic vinegar
3/4 c plus 3 T olive oil
1/4 c water
4 garlic cloves
1 t garlic powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
2 t brown sugar
1 t honey
1 T Dijon mustard

I used to make a light and a regular and store them in two small pint canning jars with lids and rings, but of course not sealed.  As they got lower, I mixed them and realized that seemed so much easier - so there it is.

I also have a Caesar dressing I have made in the past that I like well - so I will give that a try again and see how it goes.  

Week 1, Day 2

Breakfast: Cracked Wheat cereal with milk and brown sugar and raising and bananas an sauteed mushrooms

I grind the wheat myself - made way too much this time but a few days ago it was too little.  Ach so! I had bananas and had some mushrooms that I was afraid would go bad if we didn't get to them so I sauteed them.  Phyllis,Cress and I ate those.  Cress woke late so she didn't have a banana.  Jason had coffee and I had Roma with cream.  

Lunch: We had scrambled egg tacos - two each, I think.  The girls say that was their idea since I was serving warmed up corn tortillas and scrambled eggs.  They did ask for cheese, but really?  What e;se you gonna do with a tortilla and eggs?  Each girl also had a string cheese.  

For lunch Jason took leftover gringa beans and tortillas.  I guess two people at his work have commented on his near professional burritos wrapping skills.  

Dinner: Bean burritos, a salad made with lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes. toasted pine nuts for the salad (on the side) and homemade balsamic vinaigrette, except Dai who had store bought buffalo ranch from ages ago.  We also had iced-tea made with a loose-leaf herbal blend Nicole Tervalon gave us and sealed in teabags Lisa Hansen gave me for Christmas.  

Phyllis asked, as I was preparing to toast the pine nuts, if they could be eaten untoasted.  I said, "Yes, but they aren't as good" and she and Cress tried one - neither liked it.  After Phyllis had a big salad she asked if she could have some plain toasted pine nuts.  Since we said no, she had another big salad with nuts.  Then I divided the rest up between Cress, Phyllis and me before clearing the table.

We had bought ice-cream yesterday for after our hike, but never got to it, so we had milkshakes for dessert.  The girls had chocolate, I had blueberry (made with frozen blueberries that Tess Douglas gave us when she moved), and Jason had mint chip (made with leftover slow churn ice-cream Elise left behind when she was here in the first part of December).  Dai also made chocolate chip cookies today because she was looking for something to do.  We gave 10 to the Castros.  

Week 1, Day 1

I am still interested in what we eat.  As a nation as well as a family, but I can look at it on a family scale.  So here goes - again.I think I will also include some family favorite recipes, etc.  Of course, that doesn't mean I will never blog about food on my other blog...

Breakfast: Pancakes with maple syrup or applesauce

We use a whole wheat recipe but we also had 1.5 cups of a whole wheat mix that Tess Douglas gave us when she moved.  We used that up, too.  We have some leftovers in the fridge.

Lunch: Chicken salad and oranges

Jason used the last sandwich thin and the rest of us had crackers.  Cressida did not really like it but dad was sharing chocolate with those who finished, so she did.  Plus we were going hiking and required some fuel in her body.

Snack: Oranges and string cheese (we finished the oranges that Grandpa and Grandma Hansen gave us last Saturday from their tree)

Dinner: burritos with gringa beans and rice and all the fixings, except guacamole