What we ate 07-04-14

Had a decent 4th of July. I worked at the airport early in the day, and Jeremy made burgers with havarti cheese when I got home. Not too many fireworks, although what I did hear was very loud. The cats thought it was the end of the world, which is always entertaining. I basically ate terribly, and have been paying for it all day today.

Breakfast: nada
Lunch: chicken gyoza (same thing as my chicken potstickers, but deep fried), cherries
Dinner: hamburgers and vegetarian baked beans
Snacks: cashews, Reese's Pieces, cashew butter and goat milk caramel sandwich
Beverages: water, root beer

Jeremy had a big ass turkey sandwich for lunch, and also shared the Reese's Pieces and root beer with me. I spent $1.75 on both, from the laundry room vending machine.

Today I stopped at QFC for cat litter and also bought a little food. I got 4 12 oz. packages of Ronzoni Smart Taste pasta  for $.49 each, and two pints of Ben and Jerry's for $2.49 each, after the coupon I had. The pasta is a pretty awesome deal, so I may stock up on more tomorrow. It has extra fiber, and tastes like normal pasta.

Soba noodles with chicken, veggies, and sweet spicy glaze

8.8 oz package of soba noodles

6 oz chicken breast

1 bell pepper, cut into strips

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 T olive oil

1/2 cup apricot preserves

1 T rice vinegar

1 t chili garlic sauce

1 T powdered ginger

1/2 t soy sauce

2 cloves crushed garlic

1/4 cup slivered almonds

Boil water, add noodles, cook and drain. Set aside. Mix together preserves, rice vinegar, chili garlic sauce, ginger, soy sauce, and crushed garlic in a small bowl. Set aside. Saute mushrooms and peppers in olive oil for 2-3 minutes. Add chicken breast and saute until just cooked. Fold in sauce until chicken and vegetables are well coated. Top with slivered almonds. For the juiciest chicken, cover the pan and allow it to rest for at least 5 minutes. You can mix the noodles right in, or serve them separately. The nutrition info is for 1/4 of the recipe.

This would probably also be good with peach or plum preserves. 

What we ate 07-03-14, and grocery shopping

Breakfast: vanilla yogurt with mango
Lunch: turkey sandwich with lettuce and lite mayo, apple
Dinner: soba noodles with chicken, vegetables, and a sweet spicy glaze
Snacks/desserts: cashews
Beverages: water, Crystal Light

Jeremy refuses to tell me what he ate. He's being weird.

I also picked up a few more things at QFC:

1/2 gallon 2% milk $1.89
12 oz jar of dill pickle relish $1.49
2 lbs strawberries $4.88
King's Hawaiian sliced bread $3.79
1.38 lbs Rainier cherries $4.13
5 bananas $1.15
King's Hawaiian hamburger buns $2.00

Total: $19.33

Chicken and vegetable potstickers recipe

best thing ever

 2 packages of gyoza wrappers (about 40-45 wrappers per package)
1 1/4 lb ground chicken breast
1 cup grated carrots
2 cups shredded or finely diced cabbage
2 T teriyaki marinade
1 t sesame oil
3 T olive oil
1 T chili garlic sauce
2 crushed garlic cloves
1 T powdered ginger

In a large mixing bowl combine the chicken, vegetables, teriyaki marinade, sesame oil, chili garlic sauce, garlic, powdered ginger and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Moisten one edge of the potsticker wrapper with cold water, add 1 teaspoon of filling, fold and seal. This video shows a few different ways to fold them. Or you can just do whatever you want as long as all the filling is securely sealed inside.

 

 

When Winter helps fold potstickers

Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil to a pan heated on medium. Place 7 or 8 potstickers in the pan, and brown for 1 minute or less. Add 1/4 cup of water to the pan and cover for about 2-3 minutes until water is mostly gone and potstickers are steamed. Remove from the pan, place on a plate, and repeat until you hvae cooked all the potstickers you want.

Uncooked potstickers can be frozen and cooked at a later date. The filling also freezes well, so you can also just assemble as many as you want and save the remainder for later. Another thing you can do to save time, and a mess, is use bagged of coleslaw mix instead of shredding your own carrots and cabbage. Just use about 3 cups. Nutrition info is for one potsticker.

What we ate 07-02-14

Breakfast: carrot cranberry granola microwaved with water, with half and half and goat milk caramel
Lunch: jalapeno havarti, cheez-its, salad with lettuce radishes and chili lime dressing
Dinner: chicken and vegetable potstickers
Snacks/desserts: lemon fried pie, vanilla ice cream with goat milk caramel
Beverages: water, Diet Dr. Pepper, Crystal Light

Jeremy had oatmeal and potstickers. I think he skipped lunch.

Lots o' food shopping

Today I bought groceries both at Grocery Outlet and at Uwajimaya in the International District. Here's what I bought at Grocery Outlet:

1 dozen large eggs $1.69
19 oz cashews $4.99
1 quart of organic vanilla yogurt $1.49
1 14 oz can of vegetarian baked beans $.69
2 cans of petite diced tomatoes (.79 each) $1.58
8 flour tortillas $2.59
3 7 oz boxes of tomato sauce 3/$1.00
7 oz wensleydale cheese with dried fruit $1.99
2 lbs. whiting fillets $4.99
jar of ground black pepper $.99
vanilla extract $1.49
8 oz. caraway havarti $1.99
4 oz. peppered soft goat cheese $2.49
2 2.5 lb bags frozen chicken tenderloins ($6.99 each) $13.98
1 lb sliced crimini mushrooms $1.99
sweet potato crackers $1.69
2 red bell peppers (.99 each) $1.98
48 oz vegetable oil $2.99
20 oz Diet Dr. Pepper $1.09
8 oz. reduced fat havarti $1.99
16 oz. turkey breast lunch meat $2.49
10 5 oz cans tuna (.63 each) $6.32

Total: $62.49

And what I got at Uwajimaya:

lemon fried pie $1.59
1/2 cup slivered almonds $2.39 (wish I had waited, as I went here first and there were much better deals on them at Groc Out)
soba noodles $1.59
3 packs of gyoza wrappers (.99 each) $2.97
1.08 lb lean ground beef $3.77
1.12 lb ground chicken breast $2.79
1 lb carrots $.89
2.70 lb green cabbage $2.13
5 honeycrisp apples $4.01
3 huge mangoes $2.64

Total: $24.77

Taco Bell breakfast menu reviews

My first mistake was wearing the most fitted, least stretchy, pair of pants I own. Combining the fact that it was over 90 degrees outside yesterday, and that I ate enough sodium before noon to last me for three or four days, it made for a certain amount of physical discomfort. When I got home from work that night I was like a pissed off Bruce Banner.

breakfast of champions

I ordered the following: 1 AM Crunchwrap, 1 sausage waffle taco, a 4 piece Cinnabon Delights, and a coffee with 1 pump of non-dairy creamer and 1 sugar.

waffle taco, aerial view

I ate the waffle taco first. I don't have a very good relationship with red meat, especially pork products, and I had a choice between sausage and bacon. I went with sausage as sometimes it has enough seasoning to disguise the porky flavor. The waffle taco was probably my least favorite item  sampled yesterday. The ratio of sausage to everything else was too high for my liking. The sausage was pretty greasy as well. The eggs were... weird, but I have no complaints about them. The taste and texture was good. It came with syrup, which I did not use. I couldn't really get behind syrup on top of eggs and cheese.

AM Crunchwrap, exterior view

AM Crunchwrap, cross section

 My next experience of Taco Bell's innovative culinary delights was with the AM Crunchwrap. I also went with the sausage on this one. Steak and bacon were the other options. This was my favorite item. Although it has exactly the same amount of sausage as the waffle taco, the ratios of sausage to other stuff is much more favorable. I didn't notice the sausage much at all, really, and could theoretically hold the sausage in the future.  It also had the same weird fluffy eggs, a hash brown, and some spicy kind of cheese sauce. It didn't taste like their nacho cheese sauce. More like a chipotle cheese sauce. The flavor of the sauce worked really well with the other ingredients, without being too spicy. Would have again.

Cinnabon thingy

The Cinnabon Delights were the last to be eaten. To be fair, I was nearly in a coma by the time I got to them. They are basically hot donut holes, filled with icing and coated in cinnamon sugar. If that sounds good to you, you will love these. Although I did like these, they are super sweet. They come in bags of four or twelve, and I cannot even imagine eating twelve of these at once.

The coffee was also fine. I am not a coffee person, so I can't be of much help there. It was big. At least 16 oz. Had I known how large it was I'd have asked for another pump of creamer.

What I bought, and what we ate 07-01-14

Today I spent $8.61 on breakfast at Taco Bell (reviews coming soon). I also went to Target after work, bought a 20 oz. Coke Zero for $1.59, and three canisters of sugar free drink mix for $3.48. They were buy two, get one free. I actually spent slightly less than that since I used my Red Card and got 5% off. I have it set up to automatically pay off the balance every month, so I don't pay interest on it.

Here's what I ate today:

Breakfast: AM Crunchwrap, waffle taco, and  Cinnabon bites
Lunch: strawberry yogurt, banana
Dinner: chicken taco salad
Snacks/desserts: vanilla ice cream with goat milk caramel sauce
Beverages: coffee with non dairy creamer and sugar, Coke Zero, water

Jeremy is pretending to sleep and will not tell me what he ate today besides that sandwich he cobbled together with salad ingredients and bread.

Chicken taco salad recipe

I had to take a few bites first, to... make sure it wasn't poison.

We had two corn tortillas left. What can you do with two corn tortillas? Make tortilla strips. I cut them into thin strips with scissors and deep fried them. It really only takes about 30 seconds. Much longer than that and they turn brown.

Jeremy mistakenly believes that he told me he didn't want salad. So we'll just pretend that he did not use some of these components to make a sandwich instead, leaving me with too much lettuce and dressing.

4 cups of lettuce, torn into bite size pieces
4 oz chicken breast
1 t chili powder
2 corn tortillas, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup oil
Juice of one lime
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 t chili garlic sauce
2 oz shredded cheese

Rub chicken breast with chili powder and grill or saute until cooked through. Set it aside to cool/rest. Heat up oil in a deep fryer or a small saucepan on high heat. Add tortilla strips and fry for about 30 seconds until crisp. Remove from oil promptly and place on a paper towel to soak up excess oil. Season with a dash of salt, if you want. Whisk together mayonnaise, lime juice, and chili garlic sauce in a bowl. Shred chicken into bite size pieces. Combine lettuce, chicken, cheese, tortilla strips and dressing in a large bowl and toss together. Your welcome. Nutrition info is for 1/2 of the recipe.

Working in Bellevue today

I worked for a spa in Bellevue for a little while last year, and when I left I stayed on the payroll. Every few months I do some sub shifts for them. Today I'm working from 10:30-5:30.

I'm very excited because I do not live anywhere near a Taco Bell, but there is one by the spa in Bellevue. I'm not usually there in the morning, but I am today. Which means I finally get to have a damn waffle taco. I have waited so long. I hope it's good.

The other good thing about this spa is that they have a mircowave, so I can have leftovers for lunch. I can't bring myself to eat cold leftovers (except pizza, but there is never leftover pizza).

Today starts a new month, and with it a new budget period. Last month we were $1.01 under budget. This month Winter will be at her dad's the whole month, so our budget is $360.

Fixing stuff, and what we ate - 06-30-14

You know how when you've had a bra for a while and the underwire pokes out and stabs you in the sideboob? Yeah, I hate that. Stitching it back up doesn't help for long. All you have to do to fix it is push the wire back inside, put a blob of Shoe Goo over the hole, and smooth it down. Once it dries it will be strong, waterproof, and flexible.

I also used Shoe Goo to fix one of the drawers from our dresser. The screws had come loose. I haven't found anything yet that couldn't be fixed with Shoe Goo. And if you can fix stuff then you don't have to pay to replace them. 

For dinner tonight I made this recipe, but used penne pasta, a 10 oz bag of frozen mixed veggies, 2 oz of white cheddar with pepper, and 2 oz of fiesta blend cheese. Same song, different words. 

What I ate today:

Breakfast: carrot and cranberry granola with milk

Lunch: peanut butter and honey sandwich, banana, dried cranberries

Dinner: pasta with cheese sauce, tuna and veggies

Snacks/desserts: Cocoa Krispies with milk, vanilla ice cream with goat milk caramel sauce

Beverage: coffee with half and half and goat milk caramel sauce, water

Jeremy had Cocoa Krispies and milk, a tuna sandwich, and the tuna pasta stuff. 

Our total spending for June was $4.97 per person per day. Yay! Next month's goal is $360. 

Mesquite chicken tacos recipe

4 oz chicken breast
1/2 cup mesquite marinade
1/4 cup dried onion
1 large Anaheim chili pepper, diced
2 oz jalapeno havarti cheese, shredded (you could also use pepper jack, or any other spicy cheese)
1 lime, quartered
3 T oil
6 corn tortillas

Marinate the chicken breast for at least a few hours. Add 1/4 cup pf water to the onions and stir. Set aside. Heat a medium or large skillet on high. Add 1 T oil. Add peppers and onions to pan and saute for a minute or two. remove the chicken from the marinade and add to the pan. Turn chicken pieces until evenly cooked. Shred or chop up the cooked chicken and mix well with peppers and onions. Turn off heat, and cover. Brown each tortilla in a teaspoon of oil. Add filling to tacos, and top with shredded cheese. Serve with lime wedges. Nutrition info is for 1 taco.

Last grocery shopping trip of the month, and what we ate 06-29-14

Here's what I bought:

3 lbs frozen chicken tenderloins $10.49
2 bananas $.53
1 Anaheim chili pepper $.72
Loaf of honey oat bread $2.50
Vanilla ice cream $2.50
Goat milk caramel sauce $2.39

Total $19.13


Here's what I ate today:

Breakfast: smoothie made with milk, strawberry yogurt, frozen banana, and frozen strawberries
Lunch: tuna salad with crackers, cherries
Dinner: mesquite chicken tacos
Snacks/desserts: vanilla ice cream with goat milk caramel
Beverages: water, Crystal Light

Jeremy had some smoothie for breakfast also, and finished the last piece of quiche, plus some leftover chicken, veggies, rice and peanut sauce.

What we ate, 06-28-14

I am on my 18th straight day of working, and I am losing my will to continue. I am going to San Diego in October for a prenatal massage class, for which I will need to miss almost a week of work. Paid time off isn't much of a thing in this line of work. Plus I'm just bad at saying no.

Breakfast: blueberry mini pancakes, carrot cranberry granola with milk
Lunch: peanut butter and honey sandwich, banana
Dinner: chicken, veggies, and rice with peanut sauce
Snacks/desserts: cherries
Beverages: Crystal Light, water

Jeremy had half of the package of mini pancakes. He also had some Cocoa Krispies. I only know this because I asked him why the cat's head smelled like chocolate.  (He had leveled off the measuring cup with his hand, then touched the cat, apparently) He had the chicken, rice, and veggie thing for dinner also. I assume he had more than that, but who knows. He's lost weight.