Rainy with a slight chance of drizzle...

This past week has been somewhat hellacious- I have worked entirely too much, had a sick pooch, and made a calm (but alarming) trip to labor and delivery.  No need to worry though, Roane is fine :-)  I have a short three day vacation just around the corner with a friend, it's overdue and much needed!  I can't wait...

On the plus side I got a sweet picture of my chubby faced bambino!

I decided to play around with some recipes and menus over the next couple of weeks to show (and mostly prove my point) that healthy eating can be done well on a strict budget.

GROCERY BILL: $84.54 

• Ingredients for 3 new recipes (see below)
• Breakfast
• Snacks (yogurt, peanuts, and fruit & veggies)
• Awesome sale items (black beans & kidney beans)

It's really important to be realistic about what you will actually consume for snacks.  It's better to run out and make a trip to the store than to have food$$$ go to waste.

So for breakfast we both eat eggs, oatmeal, and fruit-  Protein, carb, and fruit :-)

Travis made the Shrimp Fra Diavolo on Friday for dinner.  We both ate it for three dinners and two lunches, and there is still another serving in the fridge for today if he chooses to have it-  I like to almost double the recipes so that they go a little farther.  Shrimp was on sale this week at our local store, so we used 2 lbs instead of the one that it called for.  Steamed some asparagus as an extra side.

Travis is truly a bottomless pit! He eats the same amount of food as a 200lb man...  so keep that in mind with portion sizes.

Gotta include a casserole because they hold up so well for lunches that Travis takes to work.  We have our favorite "go to" Chicken Tamale Casserole.  This thing is AMAZING! We made it on Saturday and both got a couple of dinner servings out of it, and he was able to have it for lunch on 3 days.  We cheat a lot and buy a Rotisserie when they are on sale-  

The last recipe we made for dinner last night.  I forget how much I hate Roasted Chicken.  Only because you make this beautiful chicken and then you really only get 2 breasts out of it, and I don't eat anything else on the damn thing!  But it was phenomenal nonetheless...  We had dinner last night, and Travis will get to have it again tonight, or save it for a lunch.  Anyway, here's the recipe Roasted Chicken with Potatoes and Butternut Squash.

Now we have some leftover ingredients... Like chicken from our huge family size 8 pack, and butternut squash, the beans we purchased extra... So all of this will go into next weeks menu planning.  It's Thursday and time to hit up the store!

Update: Since posting this our average grocery bill has been $75!!  Type in "Cheap" on the Cooking Light Website and let the savings begin :-)

Living with Roane...

in Utero.  It's astonishing how much transition I am already experiencing in my life.  My mind, for instance, isn't following the old pattern of thinking.  I find myself in a much calmer state than I have been in in a while.  How much of it can be attributed to a phase (cycle) of my bipolar?  I have no idea...  Although, pregnancy has seemed to be a pretty good solution for avoiding my epic Hi's and Low's.  I wouldn't recommend it for everyone though :-)

Travis and I have been trying to spend some quality time together recently.  I am not sure if he is aware it's my attempt to enjoy him pre-Roane, because I know once she's here he's going to go gaga over all of her little goo goo's.  I love that we are able to take short trips over the mountain to see our friends and family-  Yes, I miss being able to consume adult beverages, which could have made our most recent trip a little more exciting, but I sufficed with a Turtle Sundae!

Of course, I have to stop in every little shop that we pass!  I'm working on my browsing technique...  It's sooooo hard for me not to spend money at every store I walk into.

Last week I discovered that I live in Oregon.  Yes, I know, where have I been all this time?  I forget how easy it is to live here.  Really!  Need to go to the grocery store?  List in hand, walk out your front door and take a right.  You'll be there in a block...or two.  It's so rewarding!  And you're not looked at funny as you return from the store with your little cart in tow full of this weeks upcoming groceries.

Speaking of which-  I made some bomb ass pork chops!  SERIOUSLY!  A must try!  I used Gorgonzola instead of Blue Cheese and I added a little bit of chardonnay to the pears :-)

Gorgonzola Pork Chops

We painted Roane's room this week too...

My impatient self missed a few spots, but it's done.  We're in a rental so I'm not too concerned about the final product as much as I know I would be in a home I own.  I think the nesting is slowly setting in-  When I look back over the last week I honestly don't know how we crammed it all in!  I guess it's best summed up by my version of a quote that Travis likes-

If I had a cape and a tiara I could save the world :-)

How he fell asleep last night...