Eating at Home More - Meal Kit Delivery

We just moved. We moved 4 miles away from our previous house into a wonderful new (to us) home.  More bedrooms, more space, more land!

Because moving is hard and EXPENSIVE we have been eating more at home.

Let me back up a bit.  Over the past several years since the meal kits have come on the market, I have been interested in trying them but every time I go to sign up, my budget minded brain says, "you can make this same meal cheaper than they can deliver the food to you", and I don't bite.

About a month ago, I was sitting in the car waiting for my son to join me for an impromptu lunch.  I had been packing all morning and was looking forward to our lunch together, just me and him.  While waiting, I was scrolling social media on my phone and yet another meal kit delivery program popped up on my feed.  For some reason, I clicked.  And for some reason, it finally clicked in my brain that it was actually more budget-friendly than I thought. Why did my thought process change? I think it had a lot to do with me being tired of eating out all the time.  I was tired of the same end of the day conversation we have. "what's for dinner?", "I don't know what do you want?", "I don't know, what do you want?", "I have chicken.", "I don't want chicken.", "It's late. By the time we fix dinner it will be even later. Let's just go out and eat.", "Kids! Put your shoes on. We are going out to eat!" And we go out.  Not to a fast food restaurant usually but to a sit down restaurant.

So here is my normal weekly money routine for food: (Family of 5, 1 in college and home on weekends, 2 in upper teens - hit or miss if they are home for dinner)

Grocery store: $200 - I end up throwing at least a third of the food away eventually because we don't eat it.
Restaurants: Breakfasts $30 (one to two times a week)
                     Lunches $100 ($25 to 30 each time we go and sometimes that is 4 to 5 times a week)
                     Dinners $350 (3 to 4 times a week and usually $75 to $100 each time)
Total:  $680 a week!!!

We also go out to eat a lot because my kids are sick of what we fix when we are in a hurry.  We have gotten into a rut and have been eating the same things over and over again.

You know (from my past posts) that we have meal planned and that works for a little while but we end up in the same boat over time, fixing the same meals.

So, that day, sitting in the parking lot, all this information running through my head, I clicked the meal kit ad.  Suddenly, it all made sense to me.

This meal kit gives me 3 meals a week for 4 people.  I spend about $75 including the shipping price a week.  I pick the meals which rotates so I can't pick the same ones over and over again week in and week out. This kit is based on whole foods.  If you have mashed potatoes on the menu, you start with whole potatoes then mash them. Nothing is prepackaged.  It is all fresh ingredients. Most meals take less than an hour from pulling out the recipe card to putting it on the table.  This includes finding all the ingredients in the box, washing all the veggies, cutting everything up, cooking or baking, and then plating. Best of all I don't get half way through a recipe and realize I don't have an ingredient I need. Even more fun, we all have LOVED every single meal we have cooked!!

So for my budget I went from $680 a week to:

Meal kit program: $75
Grocery store: $150
Restaurants: $150 (fast food lunches are reduced because we usually have left overs, we still eat or take out once or twice a week)
New Total: $375 That is a savings of $305 a week!!!

Wow!!! We use Every Plate right now as our meal kit program.  It has an app that you can use on your phone to choose your meals.  I am not giving you a special link because I don't want you to think I am seeking out affiliate credits.  I am not.  I am just giving you information that I have learned.

***added note.  Because our nation is "social distancing" right now in the wake of the Coronavirus spread, I am even more thankful that I have this meal kit service coming right to my door once a week. I am thinking about looking into a second meal kit program to further help us bring whole fresh foods straight to our door.

Yummy Grits

I like grits.  I didn't really eat grits much growing up and didn't develop a love for them until a few years ago.  I like the creamy-ness of them, the little bit of texture to them and of course butter, salt and pepper.  Yum. 

Over the last couple years I have tried many a grit.  I think I have had all the different brands my grocery store carries.  I have come to like the generic "Kroger" brand best.  Some grits have bits of the kernel skin in them and some have a lot of the skin in them.  I don't like the skins in my grits and the Kroger brand cooks up creamy and skinless.  Try a few different kinds and you will see.

Creamy Grits:
Serves 1 if you want a bowl or 2 if you want a smaller portion.

3 TBS dry grits, Kroger brand Original Quick Grits
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup water
1 TBS butter


In a small sauce pan, add grits, water and salt.  Stir to mix. 

I just eyeball the salt.  This is about a 1/4 teaspoon.  It looks like a lot in my hand but it is spread out a bit.  Ha ha ha.

 Once the grits mixture starts to boil, turn down the heat to low. I usually put in on a touch higher than low, because I am not that patient.  Also give the grits a stir. Put a cover on them and let them cook for about 5 minutes. 

 Take the cover off and give them a stir again.  The grits should be starting to absorb the water and get soft.  Cover and let them cook a few more minutes.

You can see here that they are starting to get creamy but many are still holding their shape and there is still a good bit of moisture in the pot.  They are kind of runny at this point.

 Now they have cooked a few more minutes and they are really beginning to get a bit thicker and creamier. 

At this point you can let them cook a few more minutes and they will thicken more or you can take them off the stove and serve them.

 Add in 1 tablespoon of butter and stir.  I like to do this in the pot because there is more room there for stirring.  The butter really makes them creamy!

Now put them in a bowl and top with a bit more salt if you want and pepper.

You can also add sharp cheddar cheese!  Yum!

Restarting this blog! Yay!

My sister asked me the other day, well she didn't really ask, she was saying how much she missed our dad (who has been gone for almost 10 years now) and how she wished she could facetime him and have him teach her how to cook.  I offered to step in. 

So I decided to video a few "lessons" and also take photos of my processes and share my "recipes".

I put "recipes" in quotes because mostly I just doctor up store bought foods.  I don't really have many recipes that I go by and when I do I will post where I got them and give credit where they are due.

My sister and I came up with a sort of plan.  We will create a weekly meal plan and I will search my recipes for good ones and then give her a grocery list.  Then we will start cooking.  I will try to come back and link the meals in the plan to the posts where I make them and share the recipes.

I am not sure how long this will last but I am hoping for a while..... hang in there with us.  :)

Combined my blogs together.

You can now find me and all my cooking escapades and recipes over on my A Prepared Mom blog.

The address is: www.apreparedmom.blogspot.com.

Hope to see you there!

Tri Tip Steak with Mr. Yoshida's Sauce

The other day we were in Costco and sampling their new foods.  We came across a lady in the meat aisle and she was sampling tri tip steaks.  She had marinated it with Mr. Yoshida's Original Gourmet sauce.  Oh my goodness!  This was steak heaven on a toothpick.  My whole family went CRAZY over this!  I mean the "mom you have to get this!" kind of crazy!

So I asked the lady how she prepared it and got the ingredients while I was there.  The next night we had Tri tip steak with Mr. Yoshida's Sauce and veggie kababs.  I served them over rice.

The sauce is a sweet and tangy sauce, similar to an Asian stir-fry sauce.  It is delicious with steak and veggies.  So delicious that the next day I cut up the left over steak and veggies into smaller pieces, made some more rice, and stir fried the steak and veggies.  Super yummy.

To cook the tri tip I cut it into a little larger than bite-sized pieces and marinated them for about 30 minutes in the sauce.  I cut the veggies into chunks and then put the veggies and meat on skewers.  I grilled them for about 8 minutes total, until the meat seemed done enough for us (medium).  I let the kababs rest for about 3-4 minutes before serving.

You can also cook tri tip steak on the grill in large long lengths.  Cut against the grain to make a more tender slice.

I know you can get Mr. Yoshida's Original Gourmet sauce at Costco.  I looked at Kroger when I was there but didn't see it.

Easy Chicken with Onions and Mushrooms

Last night I had mushrooms that I needed to use and we are overrun with onions from a botched attempt and having a produce stand last week.  (Don't even ask, it isn't worth the tell).  AND I had some chicken.  So what do you do with those three items.

Chicken with Onions and Mushrooms of course!

I didn't have a recipe but went on what I knew and came up with a pretty good dinner that everyone enjoyed.

First I cut the chicken breasts in half long ways to make chicken cutlets.  I had three chicken breasts to I ended up with 6 cutlets.

Next in a large non-stick pan I put about two TBS of veggie oil in the pan and heated it up on medium high heat.  I added a whole Vidalia onion, sliced into the pan and sauteed.  When they were about half way done I added the sliced mushrooms, about 2 cups. Maybe more. I put a top on them to begin to cook them down. When things began to get nice and caramelized I added about  1/2 a can of chicken stock to the pan.  At that point I turned off the heat for a few minutes.  I wasn't ready to finish the sauce yet.

In a cast iron pan I heated the pan and about 2 TBS of veggie oil and cooked the chicken about 4-5 minutes on each side until the cutlets were done and had a nice brown color on them.  I then took them out of the pan and let the sit for a minute on a plate.

Back to the sauce.  I heated the onions and mushrooms back up with the chicken broth.  I stirred together 1 1/2 TBS of cornstarch with about 1/4 cup of broth and stirred it up until it was nicely blended and had no lumps.  Then I added this to the pan with the onions and mushrooms.  I stirred letting it thicken a bit.  For me it was a bit thick and I added a bit more chicken broth to the pan until it was a bit thinner but not watery.  At this point I also added about 1/4 tsp of ground black pepper and about 1/2 tsp of salt.

I put the chicken in a serving dish and poured the onions and mushroom sauce on top and served it over penne pasta.  Next time I will put the penne on the bottom of the serving dish, then the chicken and then the onions and mushrooms sauce.  It was really yummy and the kids even ate it well.

Recipe:

Chicken with Onions and Mushrooms

6 chicken cutlets
3 TBS vegetable oil, divided
1 can chicken stock or broth (about two cups), divided
1 large onion sliced
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBS cornstarch
1 lb Penne pasta, cooked
1/2 tsp fresh parsley, chopped

In a cast iron pan (or non-stick)over med-high heat 2 TBS of vegetable oil and cook chicken cutlets about 5 minutes on each side until done.  Set aside on a plate.  In same pan (or different pan if you choose) add additional TBS of oil and saute the onions until about half way done, then add the mushrooms and continue until all are caramelized (about 15 to 20 minutes).  They will be a medium brown color. Add 1/2 the can of chicken broth and bring to a boil, reduce the heat to simmer.  In a dish add 2 TBS of cornstarch to about 1/4 cup of chicken broth and stir until smooth and no lumps.  Add this mixture to the onions and mushrooms pan and stir until all is medium brown and thick like sauce.  Adjust the sauce thickness with the remaining chicken broth until desired consistency. (not too runny) Sprinkle ground black pepper and salt to taste.

In a serving dish cover the bottom with cooked Penne pasta, then add the chicken and pour the onions and mushrooms sauce over the entire dish.  Sprinkle with fresh parsley for color.

For a fun variation add a cup of thawed frozen peas at the end. Heat until hot in the sauce and serve as above.  The peas will add some much needed color.

Additional side dishes can include fresh bread and garden salad or fresh green beans or peas on the side.

Fresh Peaches "Dump Cake" Cobbler

Last night I made a peach "dump cake" cobbler.  I went out on the internet, like I do many recipes and scanned several recipes and read the reviews. Most of them were pretty much the same thing. So here is what I did.

I had fresh peaches instead of canned peaches.  I put sugar on the cut peaches and let them sit for a couple hours to let them macerate.  They got good and juicy.  I put them in the bottom of a baking dish.  Then I poured a box of cake mix on top.  The dry cake mix.  I used Spice Cake mix because 1. that is what I had and 2. I thought it would be good with peaches. (spiced peachy right??)  Then I cut butter into bits and put it all over the top of the cake mix.  I baked at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  It looked done and I pulled it out and let it sit for about 30 minutes to cool slightly before busting into this.

The top was crusty and the peaches were soft and juicy underneath.  I topped it with some vanilla ice cream, sat down and dug in.  Peaches, yummy and tangy, not too sweet at all (note to self - put a bit more sugar in it next time).  The cake part was crusty like you would think peach cobbler would be.  I couldn't really taste the spice part. It was more like just the crusty crumbs of a topping. The taste I tasted though was strongly tainted with baking powder.  I was a bit disappointed.  I was expecting some sugary, buttery, crunchy taste or even a spicy(cinnamon and nutmeg perhaps).  I just got a strong baking powder taste. Hmm....