BeeZee

Have gone one week + 2 days without shopping since I gave my husband a more "focused" shopping list (based on actual meal planning vs random). No wastage of produce, although the fresh pineapple that I cut up and froze for less than a week didn't really defrost as well as I had hoped. I really would like to stretch to full 2 weeks, but I know he's getting nervous. He actually called his buddy who went shopping at Wegmans this morning and asked how the stock levels were (not as good, was the report).

Tilapia again (IQF fillets) well seasoned and sprinkled a mix of panko and dukkah on top before baking. Instant mushroom flavor couscous, salad. Tilapia is tolerable with enough seasoning and crunchy crumbs.

The yeast I ordered from King Arthur on 4/4 finally shipped, I may be able to make bagels this weekend.👍 I have the wrong kind of flour, but I don't care at this point, I'm ready for a project. I've saved some "cheater" recipes which will be fine for a newbie like me.

Whole wheat spaghetti with tofu, veg, and peanut sauce.

Actually I've been planning on making chicken enchiladas, I have most of the ingredients on hand (need to get a few minor items at the next shopping trip). It will probably be mostly inauthentic, but I will at least make my own enchilada sauce! A great freezer meal, as well.

reheated two little eggplant/mushroom patties that I had previously made/frozen - microwaved on a plate (30 sec/flip/30 sec) - then a squirt of catsup and sprinkle of parm.

Mixed trail mix (cranberries, pepitas, sunflower seeds, almonds, golden raisins) and pretzels.

Sunday dinner was leftover Chinese food from our Saturday takeout meal, bulked out the leftover white rice with some previously roasted cauliflower which I chopped into bits and made fried rice.

Applesauce muffins made with half WW four and half almond flour. May go 2/3-1/3 next time. Very moist, they are supposed to be better the next day. They sank as they cooled. I think my baking powder is too old, also.

Ordered take out Chinese (online order/pay), total of $50 including tax and tip, we have enough for another meal. Husband observed that the portions seemed larger than what we had gotten when dining in previously.

Last night was creole shrimp with brown rice. I will repeat this, as we often have shrimp in the freezer these days and it requires minimal pantry items and the veg used are ones that are long lasting.

Guaranteed that is a couple of months old, my sister went through a phase of making pumpkin soup...

My sister texted me this photo of her pantry after her Sicilian husband went grocery shopping

Baked tilapia filet...put some horseradish on the flesh before sprinkling some seasoned panko crumbs (mixed with a little oil) on top. That fish is so bland, it really needs seasoning and texture. Salad. Spanish flavor “Right Rice” which is made from veg flours.

Another adventure in food shopping, as DH brings home groceries with varying success (at the store just after 6am). Got the last good chunk of fresh ginger. No scallions. No peanut butter. Very little yogurt (I asked for the big tub of Fage 2% plain, he bought the little cup of 0% plain...sigh). Thankfully, I found that Target had peanut butter and some other canned goods I can use...so I hit that up for delivery. Grocery delivery time slots are impossible at this point.

I can't imagine that a mild vinegar wouldn't serve the same purpose (whatever it may be), with that small of an amount.

Last nights dinner...eggplant/mushroom “meatballs” (after cooking half in that form, decided they worked better in patty form), sauteed chicken breast with tahini sauce/gravy (recipe found online, not the normal tahini sauce, too salty but has potential), peas. DH informed me that he isn’t crazy about peas, so another freezer staple veg is crossed off the list...

Or maybe something as simple as undersalted pasta cooking water...linguini might need more salt vs capellini because of the thicker strands?

This week I told my husband that we are going to pick recipes and make a shopping list focused towards those, rather than purchasing random items (or the same items over and over again). I've gotten pretty good at figuring out the expected life of certain produce, so I know what can stay for an entire week (or more) without degrading too much. Only casualty so far has been a bag of chopped salad mix that he kept saying he would eat...until I finally opened it and confirmed it had gone slimy. Saved the dressing packet and bag of crunchy garnishes, though. Once it warms up a bit and we can bring out the grill, I plan to make good use of that for cooking large quantities of chicken and vegetables for freezer stock.

As a matter of fact, leftover Thai red curry was present in our dinner of leftovers last night. Curry is very forgiving of the odds and ends we may have of veg/meat, you are spot on!

Agreed, I'm making sure I don't buy things I know I wouldn't normally use. I have always been a light user of flour and had kept it in my fridge, so that continues (and I only buy the 5 lbs bags). Although there are some tempting recipes now that time/boredom is abundant, I'm generally resisting any that require specialized ingredients. It has been satisfying to work my pantry reserves down over time, as well. The other possibility is that offices (when they re-open) will be flooded with baked goods...

Toast it and make panzenella (if you can tolerate bad tomatoes)?

Peeled the ginger that hubs had bought at the supermarket yesterday, one finger was too woody so I sliced it up. Ate a clementine and scraped the pith off the skin. Threw ginger and clementine skin in a small saucepan with some water and one tsp of sugar and let it simmer away for a while. The straight liquid (more dilute than simple syrup) is spicy, but it's nice added to a glass of water or seltzer. The citrus adds a nice note

Canned dolmas, homemade hoummus, tasteless tomato.

Considering pre-crisis I could buy that can of tomatoes at my local supermarket for 99 cents...