Life On The Central Coast

This week really got away from me! I did make a pie but I haven't had time to write the blog. For this week's pie, I decided to try a different crust. Making a good crust is the biggest problem for me when it comes to piemaking.  I can't seem to get it to the perfect wetness/ dryness and have it roll out nice. The crust for this week comes from the King Arthur website for a two-crust pie. It made two crusts and I used the food processor to make it up. I like that it was mostly butter but had just a bit of vegetable shortening and I think that helped it have that perfect moistness. Once I rolled it out I used a stainless steel ring to cut the size I needed. You can find these pie cutting rings HERE . And for my pie dish, I used a little pie dish I found at Aldi's last Fall. I only picked up two but wished I had gotten more like 4 or 6. How fun to have a party and have individual pie for each guest! I hope they bring them back sometime this year! I wasn...

Hey everyone!  HAPPY FIRST WEEK OF SPRING! Are you meal planners or wondering each and every night what you will make your family for dinner? We try to meal plan because it saves us so much money! We shop only for those items we will be using in the upcoming week. We have cold cereal, oatmeal with yogurt, eggs and toast for most breakfasts. Our lunches are mostly the previous night's leftovers and we really try to use up everything during the week in some form. We have one Date Night per week, and we also allow ourselves one lunch out during the week. Here's how a typical week looks.  SUNDAY Beef Barley Soup With Homemade Sourdough Bread & Butter 1 1/2 lb Leftover Cooked Pot Roast  1 32 oz. Carton Beef Broth 1 Pkg. Au Jus Gravy mix 1 Pkg. Beef Gravy Mix 1 10 oz. Can or Jar of Mushroom Stems & Pieces (and the liquid) 1/2 Cup 10 min Barley from Trader Joes 1 tsp. Garlic Powder 1 tsp. Onion Powder  1 tbsp. Parsley Flakes 1/2 Tsp ...

Friday  3/17 Winner, Winner Taco Dinner This is a good little meal for two. The quantity of taco meat will actually make several meals for us. I had 1 taco and Wes had 3 tonight so 4 tacos total. We like coming up with meals that we will be able to make in the future with our own garden produce. Grow what you eat!! Tonight, 2 tomatoes and 1 head of lettuce was $1.35. And we have enough left over to do a nice salad in the upcoming week. The chicken came from Costco in 2 breast packages which is perfect for the two of us. The taco shells were a pack of 10! Very economical and tasty!  You will need: 1/2 Cup  Shredded Mild Cheddar cheese 1 Cup      Shredded Lettuce 1             Roma Tomato Cut up 4             Stand & Stuff Taco Shells (Old El Paso) Chicken Taco Filling (recipe follows) Other ideas for toppings: sliced avocado, sour cream, hot sauce or ranch dressing, olives, ric...

One of the ways we save money during the week is to have a couple of meals that are meat"less" and by that I mean way less meat. We are not vegetarians and on those meat"less" days we DO have eggs, cheese, butter and milk.  Tonight for dinner, we will be having Cheesy Polenta with Roasted Vegetables.   (click on link to be taken to recipe) We try to eat seasonally and locally and because the temperatures on the Central Coast of California are still cool,  we have access to both butternut squash and Brussels sprouts at our local Farmer's Markets. As gardeners, we also grow both of these items and they can both be readily found at most grocery stores.  And let me tell you, if you have never had polenta before.... WHY NOT!!?? You are going to love the rich cheesy, corny taste and how it mixes perfectly with the sweet butternut squash and the smokey Brussels Sprouts. You have GOT to try this dish out. So the cost breakdown for the end of Fe...