The Heat Cometh

It is mid-July and time for the heat to settle over our neck of the woods. Before it could get here I got great joy out of paying what I am sure will be the last of our low utility bills until October. In fact I was actually quite pleased to be able to say I have actually paid all of this months bills but one, which doesn't need to be paid until the end of the month. I have enough money to make our escape to the mountains this coming weekend and to buy what few groceries we will need for the next two weeks.

I have had such great success with someof our meals this week I just feel like I have to share. We are in the midst of doing a lot of freezer cabinet cooking - until I get to the point that we have to go shopping based on our two-week menu plan. Right now we base our menus on what we alreay have and what is in season at the farmers market.

Monday - we had meatloaf, mashed potatoes and corn-on-the cob
Tuesday - it was baked chicken leg quarters (I purchased at 39c/lb a couple of months ago in 10lb bag) Two leg quarters feeds our family of five. These turned out really well when I just added a bit of butter, some salt, rosemary and black pepper. We had cheesy rice and broccoli with it.
Wednesday - This is my normal night for eating light, as dh normally stays after work to participate in some golf league. But, he called in the afternoon to let me know that it was too humid and hot to play. Our normal Wednesday meal for the girls and I are baked potatoes and soup. Quickly we changed it to hamburgers on the grill, baked potatoes (already in the oven), salad, fresh fruit and baked beans (for the two little ones who don't eat baked potatoes yet). For a last minute, thrown together meal it was a great meal and ended up being a wonderful family night.
Thursday - DH did daddy/daughter night with MB and K. So they went out to dinner. Em and I had grilled cheese and soup.
Friday - Mom and neice passed through for the night before flying west. She treated us to take-out chinese - which I am still eating on.
Saturday - I had a great meal planned, but DH took MB out in the evening to play golf and got back too late. So we ate leftovers for dinner.
Sunday - I got to fix the meal that was planned for Saturday. It started with a recipe for spaghettini with garlic and olive oil. I diced a chicken breast, sauteed that with the oil and garlic. Added some pepper, basil and thyme to the mix. Then tossed the pasta into the pan with the chicken and garlic. Added parmesan cheese - voila. It was really good. We had it with salads and french bread. Even the girls loved it - calling it 'white spaghetti' I think that it would be even better with one sweet italian sausage added.

So, that is how we eat when we are trying to only eat out of our stock foods. The funny thing is that we eat better and cheaper this way. I find myself being much more aware of what we eat and more creative with what we have. It is a lot of fun for me!!

This weekend was mainly just chores and some family time. A time to catch up between trips out of town. My laundry basket is all but empty this morning - yeah!!! DH and the girls took both the cars and washed and vacuumed them. They look great, except for the very noticeable scratches on my van :(

Today I will be ordering an auto paint kit to fix the scratches on our car that resulted when the handle bar grips came off K's bike and someone didn't watch what they were doing - several times - ouch!! It looks like dh can fix it for less than $50, much better than an auto shop. If the car was older it wouldn't be such a big deal, but we have not even had the car one year.

I think we might head out to the library - to use someone else's air conditioning this morning. Then a quick trip to the grocery store to pick up some necessities and a few produce items they have on sale. Back to the house for school this afternoon (fingers crossed).

Stay cool

Peace,

Amy