I LOVE This Salad!!! #lowcarb

Needed to make something for a family reunion yesterday, so have been thinking about it all week. This is what I came up with. It was very pretty yesterday, not so much today so no photo. People, I noticed, ate it in small quantities, like a relish. Today, though I am eating it by the bowlful! 2 large zucchini 2 large crookneck squash 1 medium sweet red onion 4 roma tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes, if you can afford them) 8 oz hard sausage carrot slivers (I bought already "shredded" to save my back) balsamic vinegar garlic clove, crushed olive oil 2 drops SweetzFree S&P freshly shredded parmesan cheese If I'd have been willing to pay $3.48 for a pint of cherry tomatoes I would have halved them to use, but I wasn't, so I cleaned out 4 roma tomatoes and chopped into small pieces - 16 pieces per tomato - then tossed them with olive oil and balsamic, seasoned, and roasted until nice and sticky. While they were in the oven I washed the squashes and made noodles out of them, using a veggie peeler, and discarding the seedy middles when I got down that far. I put the noodles into a large mixing bowl. Next I quartered the onion and cut thin slices, so to create lovely purple slivers, and put those into the bowl. I tossed 4 oz of carrot slivers into the bowl, after rinsing and patting dry. Then I diced the sausage (I got a semi-spicy summer sausage) into small (1/4-3/8") squares, and added those to the bowl. When the tomatoes were done I put the whole pan of them into the fridge to cool, and made my balsamic vinaigrette with the olive oil, balsamic, garlic, S&P, and sweetener. (When I tasted it, I just needed something to bring out the flavor of the vinegar, and just a couple drops of the SweetzFree worked quite well!) When the tomatoes were cool, I used a rubber scraper to add not only the tomatoes, but also the lovely sweet juices from the pan into the bowl. Then I tossed everything together, adding S & P to taste. I took the vinaigrette in a separate container as it was a 3.5 hour drive and I didn't want to lose the lovely vibrant colors as it traveled (in the cooler with ice of course). We tossed about 3 Tbs of the vinaigrette with the salad right before serving. And then I realized I forgot my cheese! But it was beautiful and tasted fresh and delightful anyway. And what I brought home of it, I'm eating today - WITH the cheese. The cheese really does make a difference, even just a little sprinkle over the top, so don't forget the cheese like I did :). I had one dish of it for breakfast and am eating another dish of it for lunch. With the sausage and the cheese, it is a very satisfying meal!

June Grocery Receipts To Date

June 1st:

Meijer -
yellow tomatoes (small container, about 30 of them) 70c
2# rutabaga $1.64
1.66# eggplant $1.49
2.883# daikon $6.48
a bag of mini sweet peppers - DOZENS, all colors - $4.99
total $16.28

Aldi -
2 bags veggie chips (grandson/hubby's lunches) @ $1.69 ea
2 bags jumbo in-shell peanuts (hubby) @ $1.99 ea
2 dark chocolate bars (ALL MINE!) @ $1.49 ea
2 boxes instant white rice @ $1.49 ea
3 dozen large eggs @ $1.09 ea
33.9 oz can of coffee @ $5.49
3 tri-color cole slaw mix @ $0.79 ea
3 one-pound butter quarters @ $2.29 ea
1 ranch dressing @ $1.29
1 jar SF strawberry preserves $1.99
6 yogurts @ $0.39 ea
1 ricotta cheese, 15 oz @ $1.69
1 peanut butter @ $2.29
2 cans diced tomatoes @ $0.59 ea
1 large can crushed tomatoes @ $0.99
1 24 oz cottage cheese, full fat, small curd, @ $2.29
total $45.23

June 5th:

Walmart -
2 TV dinners (hubby's lunch) $1.00 ea
1 gal white vinegar $2.38
total $3.38

June 9th:

Sav-a-Lot -
2 quarts half'n'half @ $2.19 ea
8 oz parn cheese in the can $2.99
2 bags frozen french fries @ $1.00 ea
4 TV dinners $1.00 ea
3 cans hot dog sauce @ $0.69 ea
3 packages Eckrich hot dogs @ $1.00 ea
total $18.44

TOTAL so far for June $83.33

This should be a cheap month, since I stocked up so much last month!

Final May Shopping Total

Just by picking up bits and pieces here and there (mostly half'n'half, produce, and on-sale meats) through the rest of May I added $106.55 to the bill for the month, thereby bringing the total to $391.56, and our year-to-date total to 1452.79, or about $290/mo. It's a good thing I'm not one of those who blogs for a living :). Now that my day job (work at home as an answering service/scheduler from 9-5) is getting really busy, and having my grandson here evenings and weekends, leaves little time for blogging! But I keep coming back, sooner or later, and I keep saving my receipts, stacking them under my mouse pad until I get a chance to blog 'em!

#Lowcarb May Grocery Shopping So Far

I didn't need to do any stocking up last month, so this is the month! Because grocery shopping is one of my favorite things to do, that's how I wanted to spend my birthday weekend, so that's what we did :).

May 4th
Meijer:
rutabaga @ 79c/lb $1.94
zucchini & yellow squashes @ 99c/lb $5.82
romaine lettuce @ $1.29/lb $3.21
daikon @ $2.29/lb (!) $5.02
frozen brussels sprouts, 10 oz. $2.09
(2) boxes Celestial Seasonings teas @ $2.49 ea. $4.98
1# butter $2.59
3# sour cream $4.54
10 yogurts $5.00
5# onions $2.99
7 oz instant decaf coffee $5.99
subtotal $44.57

GFS Marketplace
4# can tuna $9.99
(2) 2# frozen broccoli florets $7.58 (decided to pay a little more for the florets; I don't like the stalky parts)
(2) 2# frozen chopped spinach $5.98
(3) 2# frozen cauliflower $8.97
(2) 2# frozen whole green beans $5.98
5# shredded cheddar cheese $11.98
5# shredded mozzarella/provalone cheese $11.49
40-ct hot dogs $8.99
subtotal $70.97

May 5th
Steve's Country Meats
subtotal $124.36 which included:
9.53# English cut roast (which we cut into 12 "steaks"), 2.95 # pollock, 2.78# turkey backs, 6.75# turkey breast, 9.91# bacon, 9.46# pork tenderloin (cut free into 26 cutlets), 12.4# ground chuck, and some cocoa powder and cheese crackers from the bulk food bin. (The average price per lb of meat only works out to $2.31/lb; if I average in the 10# of pork roast I bought from Sav-a-Lot, my fresh meat averages $2.12/lb this month.)

Sav-a-Lot
2.24# cabbage $1.10
(2) frozen pizzas $5.58
33 oz can coffee $6.99
12 pack diet Bubba cola $2.79
(3) 18 ct eggs $4.35
28 oz enchilada sauce $1.49
a big green pepper $1.39
30 oz. mayo $2.49
(5) 4 oz cans mushrooms $3.45
8 oz can parmesan cheese $2.99
(2) pork sirloin end roasts @ 99c/lb $10.69
16 oz. ranch dressing $1.49
5 oz shredded parmesan $2.79
(2) pounds butter quarters $4.98
subtotal $54.12

May 8th
Walmart
(3) half-gallons half'n'half $10.74

May 9th
Bart's Fruit Market (my FAVORITE local produce market!)
3# asparagus $5.13
1 head cabbage $1.50
subtotal $6.63

Dollar General
(2) cans diced tomatoes $1.38

less food bought for others, not for our consumption <$27.76> TOTAL so far in May $285.01

That's a lot, it seems...and I will be spending more (especially now that Bart's is open for the season!). But this bounty will provide the bulk of our meals through this month and probably throughout most of the next! And it always feels so good to have my shelves, fridge, and freezer full :).

#Lowcarb Potluck TexMex Pork Casserole #Recipe

This was cheap (about $12 for the entire casserole, served about 20 people), easy, and delicious! I made it for a church potluck.

Saturday night I heavily salted a 5+ lb. pork roast (got on sale for 99c/lb!) and put it in my roasting pan with a little water in the oven. Covered, set the oven to 275F, and when I woke up the next morning it was falling-apart tender.

I chopped a couple of onions and peppers and put them in a pan to saute with some bacon fat, then used to 2 forks to shred the pork roast into a big bowl. In my food processor I put a can of enchilada sauce (much cheaper than most similar sauces) and 2 drained/rinsed cans of black beans, and processed it together into a nice thick sauce.

Into the bowl of meat, I added the sauce, 2 cans of diced tomatoes, a can of corn, and another can of whole black beans, all drained, and mixed thoroughly. Then I added the onions and peppers which were were cooked but not soft, and a big handful of shredded cheddar cheese, and mixed again.

I pressed the mixture into my 9x13 glass baking dish (so pretty, with all those colors, through the sides!) and topped it all with a couple more handfuls of cheese.

When we got to the church it was heated in the oven until the cheese melted. I served it with a big bowl of full-fat sour cream on the side. I wish I would have taken pictures!

A couple of notes:

- Both the beans and the corn are carbier than most low carb plans allow. I mostly added the corn for the color, but it added nice little pops of sweetness among the spice. The carbs in a can of corn, divided among 20 servings, would add about 2gN of carbs per serving. I think that's worth it, you may not.

- The black beans, all told, added carbs also. If you do soy, you can use black soybeans instead. We don't, so I elected to use the real thing. Divided between 20 servings, that's another 3-4gN per serving. I could have probably omitted one of the cans in the sauce, I didn't want it to be drippy. But it would have saved some carbs.

- This would work equally well with chicken; I would have used chicken, in fact, if I hadn't found those pork roasts on sale for such a great price!

- I don't care for heat, at least not Mexican heat. (But I love horseradish - go figure!) I could have added a lot more spices rather than just going with what was in the enchilada sauce, but when serving a lot of people I opted to keep it a little milder. Maybe a jar of pepper flakes or a bottle of hot sauce on the side would be nice the next time I make this for a crowd.

I loved how the casserole looked, with the chunks of tomatoes, corn, peppers, and beans adding color. And there was a festival of textures and flavors in the mouth as well.

This is definitely something I will make again. For just the 2 of us, I will use lower carb options. But even as I made it yesterday, the carbs per serving are still very low, and it is a great satisfying complete meal!

The. Best. #Lowcarb. Cookies. EVER!!!

I have to write down this recipe before I forget, because I will want to make these delicious chewy cookies again and again! They're along the lines of an oatmeal scotchie, sort of. That's the flavor I was going for. Don't know that I hit it on the head, but they are WAY beyond delicious!!

4 eggs

1/2c coconut oil, melted 1/2 tsp vanilla 1/8 tsp butterscotch flavoring oil

1/2c granulated splenda 1/2c brown sugar sub (I used Sugar Twin brand) 1/4c polydextrose 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 1 tsp cinnamon

3/4c "oats"* 3/4c unsweetened shredded coconut 3/4c pecan meal

Whip eggs with whisking attachment

Mix together coconut oil, vanilla, and butterscotch oil; add to eggs with mixer still running; mix thoroughly; exchange whisk for paddle.

In another bowl, thoroughly blend the next group of ingredients; add to mixing bowl with mixer running on low.

When these are incorporated, add last 3 ingredients and continue to mix until blended.

Place by rounded teaspoonfuls on greased baking sheet and bake at 350 about 20 minutes, or until bottoms are medium brown; remove to cooling rack.

This made 42 walnut-sized rich cookies.

*for my "oats" I usually would use 1 part steel-cut oats to 2 parts oat bran. But I'm out of oat bran at the moment, so used just the oats this time, which makes them a bit carbier.

April Grocery Bill #lowcarb (and YTD TOTAL!)

This has been a SUPER busy month for some reason, and blogging hasn't made it into my days for the most part. So I'm sitting here with my big pile of receipts, and it would take me an hour to list everything I bought...so I'll just give an overview, and will mention the highlights.

April 6: Sav-a-Lot $38.57 butter, cheeses, meat, fish, produce, drinking water

April 6: Walmart $30.32 lost the receipt so don't know what I bought, but looked up the amount at the bank website; this may not even all be for food?

April 13: Aldi's $25.40 half'n'half, cheese, eggs, potatoes, dark chocolate

April 21: Country Corner Bulk Food $49.28 This is an Amish store. I bought lard for the first time ever; there will be a separate blog post about that. Also found Heinz "low sugar" ketchup there for 69c/bottle (recently expired) - bought a dozen. 32 oz. Kraft mayo 89c/jar, got 2. Came home with 6 bags FULL of food for this price, felt like I'd made quite a killing!

April 22: Walmart $18.22 half'n'half, produce, sweetener

April 23: Sav-a-Lot $19.34 yogurt, meats, butter

April 30: Sav-a-Lot $7.36 butter, coffee, drinking water

TOTAL for April $188.73

TOTAL so far for 2012 $1061.23, averaging about $265 per month

WOOHOO!!!

Final March #Lowcarb Grocery Tally

So far in March I posted $205.51 in grocery receipts. Then I didn't post any of the others that I had accumulated through the rest of the month. So here they are :).

Walmart, 3/9/12:
Orville's popping corn, jar is about a quart $4.98
Coconut Oil $5.98
EV Olive Oil, about a quart but it's in metric $10.48
Blue Bunny no-added-sugar ice cream $3.97
TOTAL $25.41

Sav-a-Lot, 3/10/12 (These items were for a stay-at-home "date" from my husband)
.81# Kogels Viennas $3.64
8 ct. hot dug buns $1.09
(2) cans hot dog sauce @ $0,69 ea $1.38
(3) bags of salad on sale for $0.99 ea $2.97 (just because they were on sale)
TOTAL $9.08

Merchandise Mart, 3/15/12
I picked up some SF juice for my grandson, some little snacky things for hubby's lunches and for grandson, some pumpkinseed & oat crackers that I love, and some Miracle Noodles (just $0.79 each!) - too much to list, got a lot of stuff for my $24.57

Aldi's, 3/23/12
(7) quarts half'n'half $12.53
rice $2.70
(3) 8 oz cream cheese $2.97
cheese crackers for grandson $1.49
TOTAL $19.69

GFS, 3/23/12
Spent $52.62 on meats, frozen vegetables, spices, and a 5# bag of peanuts for hubby

Glen's, 3/24/12
Almost 3YO grandson wanted to go to the store for "fishsticks, raspberry tea, and waffles" - lol. With my coupons and a certificate I got this $18 order cheap @ just $2.42!

Glen's, 3/29/12
(2) big ranch steaks, last day markdown, $5.79 (close to 3# total)
(2) big turkey thighs, about 3#, $5.19
(1) big chunk of ham $8.24 (could have gotten cheaper elsewhere but too tired)*
about 6.5# of green cabbage $3.79*
10# yellow onions $4.00 on sale*
(6) sweet potatoes @ $0.99/lb $$3,19
* for the church potluck dish to pass
TOTAL $30.20

MARCH TOTAL - $369.50

Pretty high this month! Of course I did some stocking up, that always adds a lot...we had our "date", and I bought special food for the potluck, whereas typically I would use what I already had. Plus, of course, my little grandson's shopping trip (he was so cute!)...but it will all average out in the end - always does :).

End of March

I have gotten SO busy it's not even funny this month. There's a stack of grocery receipts sitting next to me on the table, I'm hoping that tomorrow I will get a chance to put them in and come up with our grand total for March!

Thrown-Together #Lowcarb Lunch - Another WINNER!

I had about 7-8 small zucchini in the fridge so I cut off the ends and scooped out the few little seeds that were in there, tossed them with a little olive oil and roasted them in the oven at 425 on the top rack until they were crispy on the edges.

Meanwhile I mixed together a leftover half-can of chili (the kind made for chili dogs, which we had over the weekend) with an equal part of shredded colby-jack cheese. When the zucchini were ready I spooned the chili mixture on top, the covered it with more shredded cheese and put it back in the oven for about 5 minutes - until the cheese was melty, and the part that had fallen on the pan was brown and crispy.

I used a big pancake turner to lift it out onto 2 plates, topped with a generous amount of full-fat sour cream, then the little crispy cheese bits.

Even though I just ate it, my mouth is watering just talking about it, it was SO SO SO good! I'd even say it was better than the chili dogs we had on Saturday...thinking next time I'll also roast some onion and, yeah, maybe put some hot dogs in it too!

Crispy Light #lowcarb TOAST!

There are lots of toasted bun recipes out there, and I'm sure they're all good, and mine is probably no better. But this was so good that I have to write it down so I don't forget how I did it, and what better place than here?

I don't pay much attention when I make the microwave bread anymore, I just toss in a little of this and a little of that and it usually turns out fine for a sandwich, and I have never toasted it.

This morning I wanted fried eggs on toast, so I greased a dish, blended an egg, added about 1/4t of baking powder, 1/4c of Carbquik, about a heaping Tbsp of golden flax meal, and a few drops of white vinegar. Mixed, it became a paste, so I drizzled in some half'n'half until it was the right consistency (like a cake batter maybe? thinner than peanut butter). I would have used heavy cream but I don't buy that too often anymore because it is so expensive.

Once I whisked everything together I put it in the microwave on high for 2 minutes.

(Note: I've started adding at least a little Carbquik to my microwave breads, just because I like the texture and taste of the end result. But certainly I've made it plenty of times without, and it's ok too. Just like it a little better with Carbquik - either a little, or a lot.)

When it was done I cut the "bread" in half and popped it in the toaster. Now maybe all of these other microwave breads would have been just as good, but I gotta say that the outside toasted crispy and almost like what I'd imagine panko crumbs would be like, before they were crumbed. And the inside was tender, almost fluffy. I've never had toast like this before!

I've been wanting more of this ever since this morning, but I try to eat the grain-based stuff twice a week or less. I may hold out until tomorrow...but in the morning, all bets are off, and I KNOW I'll be having more for breakfast!

WOOHOO! The Cupboards are full! #lowcarb shopping

Things were getting a little bare in my freezer, so I finally had to put everything else aside, bite the bullet, and go shopping! This first week in March I seriously needed to do some stocking up of just about everything (and still need to place a couple of online orders!), so it will be a big month for our food bill. It isn't often that I need to stock up on everything in the same month - thank God!

I started out at Steve's Country Market in Harrison, MI - LOVE that store! - where I spent $82.02 on over 33# of meat: chicken leg quarters were 79c/lb, pork chops (good fatty ones!) were $1.89/lb, bacon (ends and pieces, with LOTS of good big chunks!) was $2.19/lb, both tilapia and catfish were $1.99/lb, and the chuck roast was $3.19/lb! Overall, I paid less than $2.50/lb for my meats...and it's all (except the fish) FRESH and better than anything I can find in a local grocery store!

Then we went over to Cadillac where we enjoyed lunch at our favorite restaurant, and went to Meijer and GFS.

Meijer:
(2) rutabagas $1.73 ($0.79/lb)
6.62# squash $6.66 (lots of zucchini/yellow squash, 1 butternut @ $0.99/lb)
(1) daikon $3.18 ($1.39/lb)
(2) bundles of fresh asparagus $2.27 ($0.99/lb)
TOTAL - $13.73

GFS:
3# pollock "fish sticks" (for grandson) $6.99
(3) 2# frozen cauliflower $8.97
(2) 2.5# bags whole green beans $5.98
(1) 5# bag peanuts in the shell $8.99
(1) 2# frozen broccoli florets $3.79
(1) 2# frozen chopped spinach $2.99
TOTAL - $37.71

Then yesterday we had to go to Saginaw for an appointment, so we stopped at Aldi's for another big "stocking up" trip:
(2) 24 oz cottage cheese @ $2.29 ea
(2) 11.3 oz decaf coffee @ $2.79 ea
(1) 33.9 oz regular coffee $5.49
(4) 1# butter quarters @ $2.29 ea
(1) big can crushed tomatoes $0.99*
(5) cans diced tomatoes @ $0.59 ea*
(3) cans beans @ $0.55 ea*
(1) 16 oz processed american cheese slices $0.99
(1) 16 oz swiss cheese slices $1.79
1.87 lb ground beef $6.13*
(6) small cans mushrooms @ $0.59 ea
(2) 8 oz cream cheese @ $1.19 ea
(3) 15 oz sour cream @ $1.29 ea
(6) quarts half'n'half @ $1.79 ea
(1) 8 oz. can parm cheese $2.39
(4) bags pork rinds @ $0.89 ea
(1) jar mayo @ 2.19
(1) 100 ct sweet'n'low (their own brand) $1.19
(2) big bars dark chocolate @ $1.49 ea.
*I'll be making a big potful of chili for hubby and grandson (I don't care for it.)
TOTAL $72.15


So, the first week of March I've spent $205.61. By the time I place my online order for baking supplies I will probably be at, or above, the $300 mark, and will also need odds and ends between now and the end of March.

IMPORTANT POINT: Comparing last month's many mini-trips and how much they cost with this month's planned shopping, I've already gotten a LOT more food even though I've spent less so far.