Sometimes you stumble. Sometimes you fall. This week was all about stumbling and falling in My Spending Diet. As I mentioned last week, it was the first time where my kids had to do the big weekly shop with me. It turned out to be harder (on me) than I anticipated. Add in an intensely busy workweek and an otherwise crazy schedule, and I just was off. Really, really off.

First, as a reminder:

The Plan: No spending from Saturday until the following Saturday. Cash in wallet can only be used in a true emergency.

What Happened: On Saturday, the kids and I hit two stores and got most of the stuff we needed. I had trouble finding the pork shoulder that was to comprise two of this weeks meals. In the end, I didn’t end up buying quite everything we needed on Saturday.

On Tuesday, after consulting with Twitter experts, I discovered that pork butt could be used (apparently, the butt can be part of the shoulder … in a pig, at least) and I knew where to find that. We never found the taco shells I wanted for Friday’s dinner (it’s hard to locate ones without those partially hydrogenated ingredients that I avoid). But that’s okay, because we ended up ordering pizza last night. Read the rest of this entry…

Comfort food. It’s something that wraps its arms around you after a long, hard day, grounding you. It’s what we eat when we are uncertain or lost. It’s what we need when the chill in the air gets to be a little too much. It’s familiar.

This chicken dish is all that. And with the crazy spring weather we’ve been having — sunny and hot one day, cold and windy the next — it’s perfect for this time of year. I love that it’s basically a one-pot dish too (well, if you don’t count the pasta that it’s served over).

The combination of buttery chicken, spinach, tangy tomatoes and a hint of the brined feta is just so good.  This dish used to be a staple in our home, though I haven’t made it in awhile. It’s so easy, fast and comforting that it hit our table often when we were first married. It’s also one of the very first recipes that I blogged about here.

When I served it last week, it was like a homecoming. Shawn, who didn’t remember it at first, did when he took a bite. Will loved it. Paige really loved the chicken.

This version is updated from the original with a little less of the fatty ingredients, frozen spinach instead of canned and other little changes. It’s still very, very good.

Do you have a comfort food that’s special to your family? Share!

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A few years ago, I thought cornbread was cornbread: a sweet, crumbly, delicate bread that tastes so delicious smothered with butter. Then I had a bright idea to try a special recipe for Southern cornbread. Since cornbread is a Southern tradition, it had to be the best version, right?

This is the part where I am supposed to tell you that I adored it and discovered a whole new world of cornbread eating. Unfortunately, that’s not what happened. Southern cornbread is a lot different than the Northern cornbread that I grew up with. Northern cornbread is the sweet one, but Southern cornbread is savory. It’s like two different worlds of eating. Someday, I will try Southern cornbread again, but for now I am sticking to Northern — my favorite.

When I decided to serve barbecue pulled pork this week, it seemed natural to serve it with cornbread, which gave me an opportunity to try out a recipe I have been working on. This sweet, but not too sweet version, is fabulous. With a hint of butteriness, this Honey Maple Cornbread is perfect for eating with dinner.

It was a hit with the family too — Will ate his straightaway and Shawn went back for seconds.

Making this is pretty easy. The batter is mixed up in one bowl, by hand. The only bit of complication is that you want to make sure that the butter cools before it gets near the eggs … but even that is pretty easy and straightforward. All in all, you can have this mixed up and into the oven in just 10 minutes. Easy peasy.

So, what’s your preference? Southern cornbread or Northern?

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When it comes to veggies, my family loves pretty much anything roasted. Roasting brings out so many wonderful flavors that can be lost or watered down with steaming or boiling. So, recently when I was talking about that with someone an idea popped into my head: what about green beans?

Green beans are like a last hold-out. It’s a veggie that still is typically boiled or steamed, and seldom done much more with. Sure, some people stir-fry cooked ones, but there has to be more, right? Of course! So, why not roast them?

In the course of thinking, I remembered the Grilled Pole Beans that I was gaga for last summer. I still am … can’t wait for those babies to be in season again. Anyway, couldn’t a similar idea of flavoring also work for green beans? That’s how I came to a balsamic-olive oil combination.

After testing this a few times, I can tell you that I adore these beans. They are a little tangy and a teensy bit sweet (from the balsamic), with a nice crunch. Unlike other vegetables, roasting doesn’t bring out any sweetness in green beans (face it, they don’t have any!), but it does provide a nice, deep flavor.

As for the kids and Shawn? Paige likes them. Will sucked his down so fast I had to do a double take. And Shawn? He claims they are a little more tangy than he likes, though he ate all of his too … I’d say it’s a win here.

Of course, I love them.

What’s your favorite vegetable to roast? Me? Sweet potatoes!

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From the moment I saw the recipe for Vanilla Snack Cake in Family Circle, I knew we had to make it. Cakes aren’t something that I make often, but they are something that we all enjoy. That was Friday; on Saturday, we bought the ingredients and made it.

Of course … as these things go … I misjudged how much Agave Nectar we had and had to make a big substitution (a smaller amount of honey, since honey has such a dominant flavor). In the end, the cake came out a lot like the photo. Will, who made it with me, adored it.

To be honest, the cake is dense and the frosting is heavy on the cream cheese. Not my favorite, but it was pretty easy and making something that Will likes this much is 100 percent worth it.

Not only does he like this cake though, he’s also so proud of it – sprinkles and all (though he did note that the one in the magazine didn’t have sprinkles). To hear him talk about it is amazing … but what totally made me all gooey was when Shawn complimented Will on the cake and thanked him for dessert the other night. “Daddy, thank Mommy too. She made it too,” he said. He totally could have basked in the limelight for making a tasty snack cake … but he didn’t just do that: He made sure that everyone knew that we made it together. Love that.

P.S. One of my lovely readers nominated me for Babble’s Best Mom Food Bloggers. If you have a second, please let Babble know how much you like Sarah’s Cucina Bella by giving me a thumbs up next to Sarah Caron! (Thanks, Toni!)

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This week’s meal plan is …

Monday: BBQ Pulled Pork from Everyday Food; Honey Maple Cornbread (new recipe); Sweet Potato Fries; Vinaigrette Coleslaw (new recipe)

Tuesday: Pulled Pork Wraps (new recipe); Lime-Cilantro Red Beans and Rice; Corn

Wednesday: Asian Turkey Burgers with Stir Fried Rice; Salad

Thursday: Teriyaki Beef Kabobs; Roasted Green Beans; Grilled Potato Wedges

Friday: Tacos with Homemade Mild Taco Seasoning, avocado, sour cream, cheddar and salsa; Yellow Rice, Salad

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Four weeks! I can’t believe it! Seriously, I really can’t. When I started my spending diet four weeks ago, I doubted it would last more than two weeks. But week two was easier and week three even easier and now I have ventured into finding ways to simply spend less.

As a reminder:

The Plan: No spending from Saturday until the following Saturday. Cash in wallet can only be used in a true emergency.

What Happened: This week flew by. Really, it did.

We followed our meal plan almost completely this week. The only change up was on Tuesday, when I served the Salmon Cakes over a salad instead of on a roll because we ran out of rolls on Monday. But it worked out better that way. They were fab on the salad.

We did run out of a few things – for instance, I failed to purchase half and half for an Easter recipe, and accidentally used all of my husband’s. He picked up a new carton of it. We also are out of bleach, which I will totally buy tomorrow (promise, Shawn!).

As I mentioned last week, the urge to shop midweek is pretty much gone. Although, I will readily admit that when we had balmy summer temperatures this week, I was very tempted to go to the local garden center in search of plants for my garden. I didn’t. It’s still early in the season, and it wasn’t Saturday.

Spending: The kids and I had lunch out once this week (which we’ve done pretty much every week). Cost: about $10. My spending is way down, even with a big holiday meal served this past weekend.

About My Saturday Shop: I’ll be the first to admit that my shopping list left a little bit to be desired this week. It’s largely due to Easter, which I cook for every year. I was so caught up in making sure that we had everything we needed for the holiday that I forgot to do the same for our eating during the week. We didn’t go hungry — we just didn’t have a lot of extras. Read the rest of this entry…

When I talked about cooking from magazines last week, I mentioned this recipe from Cooking Light. We liked it so much that I planned to make it again this week — totally a sign of a good recipe. (I didn’t make the suggested sides this time though … I was the only one who enjoyed them last time.)

I made one small change this time: instead of broiling it, which the recipe calls for, I grilled it (or more accurately, I had Shawn grill it). Turns out that while it was great under the broiler, it was exceptional from the grill. This will definitely hit our table several times this summer. What I really like is that the marinating time is so short, so it falls into my normal dinner cooking time without forcing me to prep dinner during time I have blocked off for my kids or work.

This time, I served it with a big salad of romaine lettuce, tomatoes, sunflower seeds and gorgonzola cheese. For the carb, I whipped up a batch of Whole Wheat Biscuits while Shawn grilled the flank steak. And this time? Everyone was happy.

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Canned meats totally and utterly freak me out. Seriously, they do. My husband happily enjoys canned tuna and chicken, but I cringe at the site of the stuff. However, when I saw a food magazine that I like tout the wonderful ease of using canned salmon, I was intrigued and bought a can. Naturally, it sat in my cupboard for months … completely unused.

Then, a week or so ago, I saw a post on The Perfect Pantry about Lydia’s Salmon Croquettes and I was totally intrigued all over again.

When I developed this recipe, I decided to make it devoid of breadcrumbs, betting that the egg would be enough of a binder — it was. The sweet red pepper bits and garlic make this a really dreamy combination.

From Will’s cleaned plate and Paige’s devouring, I would say this was a big SCORE!

Honestly, the portion size here isn’t huge — but with a big salad or maybe some rice and veggies, it’s just perfect for a light spring or summer dinner. Another good one to try? My Tuna Cakes. They won’t disappoint.

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A few months back, Shawn looked at the ingredients in the Taco Kit that we always bought and found a few that we try not to eat. Scary. Who knew that such unnatural things could make their way into spice packets and crispy shells? Since then, we have switched to more natural, organic shells. But the seasoning has been a challenge.

A few years ago, I experimented with making my own seasoning and it was good. The only problem was that it was a spicy seasoning — and neither my husband or my children like things as spicy as I do. So, I set out to make an all new seasoning that has high-flavor without the six-alarm heat. This is the result.

The kids like this seasoning even better than the packets they are used to. It’s flavorful enough that I am happy too — and if I want more heat, I can always add some chopped jalapenos or hot salsa to mine. Everybody’s happy, and that makes me even more happy.

Are you a fan of spicy foods? Read the rest of this entry…