Dinner Meals

My favorite part is putting all of this away. Only Aldi gives me all this for $20.

I can't sit here and tell you we've been awesome, but baby steps count.

I actually ordered the Forks over Knives cookbook and although it's still a little extreme (i.e. they don't even use oil and most things are so low fat they don't even utilize avocado, so that's a little disappointing - everyone eats avocado except Mr Smith) As if eating plants wasn't low fat/calorie enough?? I don't want my family to wither away and die too soon. I also wish it had more on baking breads with whole wheat, but I guess I should just write them down on notecards. (Pinterest is useless when the power is down)

So with that said, I actually do just sauté my onions in water now. Why not? It's a lot cheaper. PS - side note - did you know that cutting onions still won't make Mr Smith cry? I'm a dying mess Every.Time. We finally got a new garlic press so that helps flavor things along with some fresh herbs we recently potted: Rosemary, Oregano, Basil, Cilantro (Mr Smith allowed me as long as he doesn't taste it?!) & Chives + Green onions. We still want to see how the grocery store garlic would grow…

But I want to do jalapeño peppers too. I keep saying if we weren't renting it would be worth tilling the yard and planting, but I don't want to invest in things we must leave behind. Gardening takes a crap load of investment. But I use Cumin, Chili powder & Cinnamon enough too that we need to figure out how to grow our own. Citrus trees, berry vines, vegetable gardens . . . all in a dream

The only meatless recipe I really call successful thus far is the Vegetable Soup inspired by that FoK book. Mr Smith enjoyed it too, so we must write that one down. Although he would prefer no celery… (you hardly taste it?!?!)

4 cups vegetable broth

1 sweet onion, diced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 large tomato, diced

5 medium red potatoes

4 celery stalks

4 large carrots, diced

2 large zucchinis, diced

1 tbsp lemon juice

4 basil leaves, diced

shredded cheese for topping

Saute the onion and garlic for 5-7 min in a little water. Add the tomato for another minute or two. Then add vegetable broth. Bring to boil and add all the other vegetables. Boil for 15 minutes. Then add lemon and basil and mix. Serve yourself some. Add a little cheese on top.

I kind of made up the numbers just then, because you know me; I don't really cook to a recipe. I use recipes more as ideas. And I throw in what I have and to the consistency that looks good to me. So play with it, but that's the idea. The lemon/basil really makes it. I tried chicken broth too but I preferred veggie broth. I normally hate these kinds of soups, but alas, I enjoyed it.

I also enjoyed the brown rice & lentils cooked in beef broth with sweet potatoes, peppers, onions & zucchini sautéed on the side, but Mr Smith has yet to really enjoy that. It's a good meal for Lexi though. The texture is a little mushy, so I'm not sure what I could do to get some crunch in there…

Otherwise I've been doing pasta and broccoli - what are your feelings on using evaporated milk instead of heavy cream or cream cheese? I liked it. I add this red pesto to it or a little tomato sauce. Evaporated milk can/should be saved in food storage too and lasts for at least a year.

Fish & Chips (fried or mashed potato) with a green veggie side

We still do enchiladas, but I made them best this last time with plain yogurt instead of cream cheese. I used black beans, some shredded chicken, green chilies, sweet pepper, enchilada sauce & shredded cheese. (I have also done the can of tomato with green chills or salsa) We rolled them up, sprayed the top with cooking spray and baked them for 20 minutes.

My dinner meals still basically depend on what needs to be eaten first in my fridge, so I base the meal around a veggie or two. I still only use Spinach in my smoothie so if someone could help me out there...

I still need to utilize our hand grinder too and figure out how to bake with more wheat or how to affordably invest in other whole grains that the book spells out. I like the idea of making oat flour. I do like the Basics section in the beginning. It spells out all the ingredients found in recipes. So there is a lot to explore …

Sometimes I enjoy having a science nerd as a husband. He helped me start my first compost pile.

side note:

Mr Smith would also like to state that if one more person says how they should give up carbs he might punch them. Although hard to imagine (Mr Smith punching someone), you do need a well balanced diet and the body does enjoy grains! You just need to choose your carbs wisely, is all. 

Thank you and goodnight.