Dinner Day 22 (take two)-Veg Stir Fry with Tofu

As John Steinbeck said "The best laid plans of mice and men, often go astay."

So went tonight's dinner plan.

My plan: Left-overs
Gods plan: Snow day for the kids.
The kids and hubby's plan: To eat the left-overs for lunch!

Therefore:
Veggie Stir fry for dinner.
And, Yes, it was YUM!
The best news about stir fry is that it was already on the menu for later in the week,
AND
it's very quick and easy.
No worries, Mama.
Now, I'm not sayin' every family will hang with tofu, but my family does. That makes it easy to check protein off the "must have" list.
Just another blessing, I suppose.
Thank the Lord...

Ingredients:
Onion
Garlic
Brags liquid aminos (like soy sauce but NOT full of sodium-at most heath food stores)
Red Pepper Flakes
Broccoli
Yellow and Green Pepper
Mushrooms
Sugar Snap Peas
Tofu
White Rice (if you want to go super healthy-go brown rice. My kids won't eat it)

The consensus:
Alex: I love your stir fry, Mom.
Liam: It's good. I just wish there were no mushrooms in it.
Joseph: Do you want the rest of the tofu or can I eat it?
Momma: Eat as much as you want and Liam, pick the mushrooms out.

The Cost:
$5.50 for a family of four
$1.35/person

This (especially in light of last night restaurant dinner was a BIG WIN)
Plus
we have left-overs! ;)

Dinner Day 22-Left-Overs (Again)

I don't believe in being wasteful.
That said, I'm probably far too wasteful anyway.
I turn the water on so my kitty can get a fresh cool drink.
Yes-he's spoiled.
I am spoiled, too.
Spoiled.
But
Not
Spoiled

Rotten.

In fact, I am richly blessed.

Blessed enough to have a fridge full of left-overs from the past few meals.
Left-overs which will NOT be allowed to become

Spoiled Rotten.
:)

Blessed enough to have a beautiful family to eat with, plates to eat on,
A dinning room to eat in.
Even blessed enough to have a fury little kitty car to spoil with fresh, cool, running water.


“I don't preach a social gospel; I preach the Gospel, period. The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is concerned for the whole person. When people were hungry, Jesus didn't say, "Now is that political or social?" He said, "I feed you." Because the good news to a hungry person is bread.”-
Bishop Desmond Tutu

Dinner Day 21: HELLLOOOO RESTAURANT!

Today was a crazy busy day.
My hubby was out of town on business.
My kids each had after school activities.
I had to work out after work.
Plus.
I'm
Beat.
Therefore we ventured into the world of the restaurant dinner.
The kids chose Mexican.
Here's how it played out:
Alex: Ordered Beef Nachos
I: Ordered a stuffed pablano (and it rocked so hard)
Liam: (and HERE'S THE BIG SUPRISE) did NOT order meat, but chose BEAN tacos.
Wow and Wow!

Remember:
This experiment is NOT about what we are "allowed to eat". It's about what I will prepare at home.

Liam-Mr. Meat Man-had the chance to eat the beef and chose BEANS!
Alex-Ms. Can't we just eat veggies-chose BEEF!

At the end of this month, our family takes another vote.
Will we continue on the veggie path or am I heading to the meat dept. again when I shop for groceries?
God only knows.
Truly.
I pray his will be done.
Amen.
p.s.
eating out is pretty cool from time to time.
what a blessing.

The Concensus:
Alex: I'm so full.
Liam: I'm so full.
Me: I can't believe Liam ordered beans!

The Cost:
$21 for a family of three
$7/person
note: that's more that TWICE as much as any dinner this month.
but....do dishes.

Dinner Day 20- Cheese Raviolli

Today is "National Ravioli Day".
That's Easy on Mom, right?
Right!

For dinner:
Cheese Rav's.
Note:
I went to the store and priced check the cost of ricotta and parmesan, against the cost of buying two bags of frozen or fresh cheese ravioli.
The winner:
Frozen Cheese Ravioli

The Menu:
Cheese Rav's in Marinara Sauce
Cheesy Garlic Bread
Italian Salad

The consensus:
Alex: Man! I LOVE this dinner, Mom. I love ravioli. It's feel good food.
Liam: It was good. (He ate ever bit and more)
Joseph: I loved it. I LOVED IT! Look, the kids ate EVERYTHING.
Me: This is sooo good and sooo easy. I wish I could eat infinite pasta.

The Cost:
$9 for a family of four.
$2.25/person.

Total
Winner
!!!!!!
(Note: I wish the pitures of the cheesy pasta looked better online than they do with my camera. Please believe me, it looked and WAS really restaurant good.)

Dinner Day 19-Black Bean Soup

My co-worker, Ann, was warming up her soup in the microwave on afternoon and the whole radio station smelled just like heaven.
Yes, in MY heaven, there is black bean soup.
Ann was kind enough to share her recipe with me.
I love this dish because it's easy and packed up protein and fiber.
Plus, it's DE-LISH!

Ann is also kind enough to share her recipe with YOU!

Ann's Famous Black Bean Soup
2 cans of black beans (drain0
1 can of diced tomatoes with chili peppers
1 can of diced chili peppers
1 red pepper diced
1 medium onion diced
3 cloves of garlic diced
2 cups veg broth
Cilantro to taste
Chives to taste
Cheddar cheese (garnish)

Sauté the onion, garlic, diced red pepper until translucent
Add all canned ingredients and broth.
Bring to boil then reduce heat and let simmer for about 15 minutes
Remove 1/2 the soup and puree in a blender then add it back
Stir
Serve
Garnish with herbs and cheese

YUMMY!

Consensus:
Liam: Yum thanks Mom.
Alex: I love your black bean soup! (look-now it's MY black bean soup!)
Joseph: I love this stuff, but it kinda hurts my tummy.
Me: This stuff rocks! Dibs on the left-overs!

Cost:
$7.50 for a family of four
$1.88/ person

Total Winner

Note:
This is also a great dish for potlucks and small groups.
Non-Veg folks still love black bean soup!

Dinner Day 18: Another take of Breakfast

Do you know that there is a large section of vegetarians called "bacon only vegetarians"?

Google it.
You'll see.

It's easy to understand, really.
Bacon is just yummy.
One little problem.
It's real name is pig.
Just sayin'...


At church yesterday, one of the kids in youth group was wearing a t-shirt which had a cartoon drawing of a pig. It read "Please don't eat me. I love you."

Good News!
No little piggies were harmed in the making of this meal!
Bad News!
Veg bacon is kind of a joke (at least to us).
Think about that song from the 80's by MC Hammer "Can't touch this."
I could hear "real bacon" singing that song to "veg bacon".
Sigh...

We did, however, LOVE the veg sausage.

Now-meat eaters, admit it. When you eat sausage, doesn't part of your brain say "what in the world IS this?"
My brother's a full blown meat man, but still eats the veg sausage for that exactly reason.
Morning Star makes a "killer" veg sausage. (pardon the pun)

Today's meal included
Morning Star bacon and sausage
Boiled eggs
Orange slices
Buttered Toast

Consensus:
Alex: Mom, can we just stop having fake meat and just eat veggies?
Liam: I don't like the bacon but the sausage it good.
Joseph: Great. Thanks, hon.
Me: Are you going to eat your sausage?

The cost:
$7 for a family of four
$1.75/person

This meal was a win, but we are done with the veggie bacon.
I think I know where those "bacon only veg" folks are coming from.
:)

Dinner Day 17- Tostadas

There are very few things in life that I enjoy more that feeding my family a dinner that they absolutely love.

Tonight's dinner was such a dinner.

It was almost like the meal was "ruptured" more than eaten.
There
Then....

G O N E!

:)

Plus, it was super cheap and easy.
(Bonus prize)
I made this dinner in about 10 minutes!
That's 10 minutes of a gratitude for the food, stove, family and a chance to pray for the young man we sponsor in La Paz Bolivia (Waldo). He is now 5 years old. We've sponsored him since he was 2. For Christmas his family got him shoes and cooking oil.
When they write to me, they remind me that our family is in there prayers.
Humbling.


The entree: Bean Tostadas

The ingredients:
Tostada shells
Mexican style beans
Half a yellow pepper
Half a red pepper
A sprinkle of Mexican cheese
A spoon of salsa
A spoon of plain yoghurt (or sour cream)
A pinch of cilantro


The Consensus:
Liam: I love this dinner, Mom. I could eat it every day.
Alex: This is so good. I love this dinner.
Joseph: Yum
Me: Happy Mom!

The cost:
$5 for a family of four
$1.25/person

MUST DO THIS ONCE A WEEK!