My Afflation

At some point in the near future I will remember to hit publish before Friday since I menu plan and grocery shop on Sunday .... This week I realized that in trying to use up all of the meat in the freezer and keep my grocery bill as low as possible (between checks and all that), everything I planned was hearty one-skillet meals. WIN! Less clean up. Also, the grocery bill was $84. It hasn't been that low in months ! It's also the week that my daughter returns to school and I try to get on an earlier schedule for work. So having an easy menu makes for more time for ... homework. Monday : Beef and Bean Chili Verde - super easy because I simply use Fresh & Easy green salsa. It's much spicier than their salsa verde. Bonus, there's enough left overs for both me and Joy to have hot lunches. Tuesday : Blackened (Cajun) Chicken (tenders) over zoodles (with sauteed zucchini) and avocado (sauce). The recipe is here . I improvise for time and kept it in one skil...

Summer isn't over! What do you mean school is starting tomorrow?!?! That's me crying, not my daughter. I actually miss the days when school started the Monday after Labor Day. That makes sense . My daughter is mostly excited that school is starting even though in the last three weeks there was a major SNAFU and I had to pull a miracle out of my ass (with help from the The Teen (who is now the the College Student, stop growing already!) and her dad. But she's enrolled, excited, school clothes and supplies for the first day obtained and I was good and planned the menu yesterday morning so the Teen/College Student could go grocery shopping for me today (Thank goodness for Fresh and Easy Coupons !) because I spent yesterday re-arranging furniture, buying new seat cushions for the dining table and getting a migraine. Then starting 5 loads of laundry. No, I am no insane. Just been busy. And so .... here's dinner. Breakfast will consist of either cold cereal or eggs a...

We're back to almost vegetarian in my household and Sunday nights are either gourmet or leftovers. We're out of leftovers. Tonight's dinner is Portobello mushrooms with a side of summer squash and baked potatoes. It took about 20 minutes - less if your grill doesn't run out of gas! Portobello Mushrooms with Summer Squash Recipe by Annette Holland Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 20 minutes Total time: 30 minutes Yield: 4 servings Ingredients 4 portobello mushrooms 1/2 cup Fresh & Easy Classic Balsamic Vinaigrette 1/2 cup Fresh & Easy Burgundy Wine Simmer Sauce 1 package summer squash 4 Yukon Gold potatoes Cooking Directions Grilled portobello mushrooms are delicious, but our grill was out of gas and it was too hot to broil. I made due with the griddle. Lightly oil with olive oil, then spoon either the balsamic vinaigrette or burgundy wine simmer sauce over the ...

Sometimes I can't pull dinner out of a hat. I have the ingredients but no clue how to pull them together. It's rare. Today was one of those days. We are on a mission to eat everything in the house before going grocery shopping again. Too much food has been going to waste. The chest freezer is almost empty (which the Teen pointed out has never happened in his memory). <a href="http://storify.com/dananner/crowdsourced-dinner" target="_blank">View "Crowd-sourced Dinner" on Storify</a> Recipes: Butternut Squash Soup It's a little watery since I omitted the heavy cream, but both the Hunk and the Teen approve. Ingredients 2lbs butternut squash, diced 1 onion - diced 2 cloves garlic or equivalent garlic powder 4-6 cups chicken or vegetable broth nutmeg, salt, pepper, and cinnamon to taste 1 TBSP olive...

Herb-Roasted Lamb Loin Chop Last night I was at a loss as to what to prepare for dinner.  We had these tasty lamb loin chops from F&E that I was saving for Easter dinner, but two people I cook for don't like mint jelly. What's up with that???? Also my daughter was going to be at her Dad's for Easter, and since lamb is a family tradition I opted to make it early. I present herb-roasted lamb loin chops.  Sides were F&E brand three cheese risotto and steamed broccoli.

DSC_0121 Originally uploaded by Oakmonster(TM)

Eat well dessert? Originally uploaded by Nannerlady Since Fresh&Easy doesn't have a dessert line out for "Eat Well" yet, I took matters into my own hands : -)  Lunch was the creamy basil chicken. Dessert is the no sugar added, gluten free French vanilla pudding. It even has 4g of protein and only 110 calories. Bon appetite! ~~blogged from my phone

Melts in Your Mouth - Fresh and Easy Sweets Review , originally uploaded by Nannerlady . So I had had a  satisfying dinner  and needed dessert. Then I remembered that I hadn't opened up my latest Fresh & Easy box. I was not disappointed. I have a new Hunk to enjoy on V-Day, some Swiss truffles that positively melt in your mouth and some kid-tested, mother-approved Snickerdoodles. Onto the cookies. I don't make these but my mom does, so here's her review: Pros: - Throughly cooked. Neither over- nor under-done - Not overly sweet - Quote "For a store bought cookie these are pretty good. I would buy these." Cons: - Not much crinkle on top - Needs more cinnamon. It should be evenly distributed over the surface of the cookie, not concentrated in the center. Kid (that would be me) tested - cinnamon and sugar in a cookie. 'Nuf said. Crumbly, sweet, delicious. Now where's my cup of milk? These would probably taste even better slightly w...

Let me start by saying "mmmmmmmmmm". This pudding beats Jell-O® hands-down. So very yummy. I've been craving chocolate and Fresh and Easy's Dark Chocolate pudding hits the spot. It's thick, creamy, smooth, and most importanly, very chocolaty. The secret? Real ingredients. Milk, chocolate, vanilla, etc. I sighed in pefect contentment as the smooth chocolate pudding hit my expectant taste buds. It was the perfect ending to a stressful night. It's also the perfect size for dessert or a mid-afternoon snack. Bonus, it's all-natural and gluten free. And in my case tonight, guilt-free too.