The Suburban Herbivore

Goat Cheese, Roasted Red Pepper, and Artichoke Heart Pizza

I was out of commission for three days (sick), so I’m not including a list of what we ate to finish off the month. But it was primarily leftovers and “convenience” foods like Boca burgers and veggie dogs. I did do some cooking this weekend since we were snowed in. Last night I made a delicious goat cheese, roasted red pepper, and artichoke heart pizza using this crust recipe.

As January comes to a close, I’m reflecting on how and in what form to take what I learned into the next month. What did I learn? Let’s see…

• I seem to cook in fairly large quantities. Or maybe it’s just that right now, there are only two of us eating my cooking. Either way, I should be stashing leftovers in the freezer more quickly, rather than eating them day after day.
• As a vegetarian, much of what I tend to buy at the store is fresh produce, dairy, and eggs – all things that were not off-limits for this month. I don’t actually feel as though I made much of a dent in what I have in the pantry. Most of my meals ended up using one or two things from there, and fresh ingredients for the rest.
• I did save money on groceries, but not as much as I hoped. I should probably have set an amount to spend each week, rather than going wild with cheese. Not that I went wilder than usual with cheese. (Just a note that I didn’t buy the goat cheese this month – I already had it from December. So there.)
• Having some kind of parameter, such as not buying any canned goods, turned out to be just the thing I needed to reinvigorate my cooking. I brought back several meals I hadn’t made in years, tried out new ones (seven!), and even made a huge batch of pancakes, which are normally full of fail for me. I busted out my bread machine, and used it several times as well – something else I’d never done before.

Based on all this, what I’m planning to do for February is to identify ingredients that I have in the pantry that I will use up (or at least use some of) by the end of the month. This will be a slightly different challenge, as I will be free to buy whatever I need. It’s more of a creative challenge than a frugal one. I’ll try to come up with a clever name for this, but I’m not promising anything…

A very busy week at work, a trip to the mechanic, and a sick family made for a little more restaurant food than usual. But all that we bought from the grocery store this week was some milk, lettuce, and cilantro. I did not do the thing I mentioned last week where I was going to take specific things out of the pantry and use them. However, I’m thinking about continuing this challenge in some form next month – more on that next week!

Tues Jan 19
cereal
both had lunch out
leftover Spinach Tofu Curry (Jason), Ryn went out

Wed Jan 20
cereal
leftover enchiladas (Jason), leftover Spinach Tofu Curry (Ryn)
Potato Quesadillas

Thurs Jan 21
yogurt
can of soup (Jason), leftover enchiladas (Ryn)
leftover lasagna + salad + homemade bread

Fri Jan 22
peanut butter sandwich (Ryn), Pumpkin Pancakes (from freezer) (Jason)
both had lunch out
leftover Spinach Tofu Curry (Ryn), leftover Classic Macaroni & Cheese (Jason)

Sat Jan 23
scrambled egg & potato wraps
Chinese takeout

Sun Jan 24
Pumpkin Pancakes (from freezer)
peanut butter & jelly sandwich, and apple
potstickers (from freezer) and leftover Chinese takeout

Mon Jan 25
macaroni & cheese (Kraft – not homemade), Boca burger
Ginger Tofu Salad

I had several days of not really feeling like cooking, but I got over it by getting inspired. I tried out three new recipes and brought back one that I haven’t made in a few years. The refrigerator is bursting with leftovers, and there is still plenty in the pantry and freezer. While I have started to run out of some things that I typically keep on hand (tomato sauce, croutons), at this point, I  don’t think I’m going to have any problems making it to the end of the month.

I think what I may do for this week is pull a few things out of the pantry that have been hanging around for a long time (can of fava beans, I’m looking at you), and see what I can come up with. I’ll report on that after the week is up.

If you’re looking for a different sort of lasagna recipe, I highly recommend the one listed below. I made this a few times before misplacing the recipe, and then promptly forgot about it. Thanks to the magic of the Internet, I was able to retrieve it. Turns out that rosemary was one of the things I ran out of, so I used about half rosemary and half dried thyme. Not surprisingly, it was still delicious!

Wed, Jan 13
cereal
leftover chili from freezer (Jason), leftover Don’s Pantry Curry (Ryn)
tamales (Trader Joe’s – frozen)

Thurs, Jan 14
yogurt
leftover Lentil Soup (Ryn), leftover Black Beans + Saffron Rice (Jason)
Spinach and Tofu Curry (new)

Fri, Jan 15
cereal + banana
leftover Spinach and Tofu Curry (Ryn),  Jason went out
Boca burger + salad

Sat Jan 16
scrambled eggs + toast
cheese quesadillas with sour cream and salsa
Classic Macaroni & Cheese (one-pot method) (new) + steamed broccoli & cauliflower

Sun Jan 17
Pumpkin Pancakes (new)
leftover Classic Macaroni & Cheese+ steamed broccoli & cauliflower
Roasted Butternut Squash & Rosemary Lasagna + homemade garlic bread

Mon Jan 18
Pumpkin Pancakes
Boca burgers
Chipotle Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas with Salsa Verde

I’ve been really pleased with how the month/year has been going. I’ve been revisiting some recipes I haven’t made in years, and have felt a little more creative and interested in cooking than I have in a while.

We’ve made two trips to the grocery store to pick up some produce and dairy. Interestingly, though, I don’t really seem to be spending much less than I do on a normal trip.

Here’s my list of what we’ve eaten so far. (I’ll be returning to this post to link up some recipes as I post them, so check back!)

Fri, Jan 1
Baked Garlic Cheese Grits (for potluck brunch)
leftover Chickpea Pot Pie

Sat, Jan 2
hardboiled eggs, leftover baked grits – fried in slabs
homemade pizza w/artichoke hearts & roasted red peppers

Sun, Jan 3
hardboiled eggs, leftover baked grits
peanut butter sandwich (Ryn), lunch meat sandwich (Jason)
Thai Tofu and Squash Curry + rice

Mon, Jan 4
cereal
leftover Thai Tofu and Squash Curry + rice
Roasted Corn and Goat Cheese Quesadillas + Ro-Tel rice (i.e. steamed rice mixed with a can of Ro-Tel tomatoes)

Tues, Jan 5
oatmeal
leftover Chipotle Black Bean Soup + bread (Ryn); Jason went out
hummus, avocado, and cheese sandwich (Ryn);  leftover Chilaquiles (Jason)

Wed, Jan 6
oatmeal
leftover Black Beans + Saffron Rice (Ryn); leftover pizza (Jason)
Don’s Pantry Curry + rice

Thurs, Jan 7
banana + oatmeal
leftover Pantry Curry + rice (Ryn); Jason went out
tamales (from Trader Joe’s)

Fri, Jan 8
oatmeal
leftover Pantry Curry + rice (Jason); Ryn went out
Italian Lentil Soup + bread

Sat, Jan 9
cereal
lunch at Elmo’s Diner (gift certificate)
Thai Spiced Tofu and Green Beans

Sun, Jan 10
scrambled eggs, “bacon”, toast
leftover lentil soup + bread
Penne in Tomato-Vodka Sauce

Mon, Jan 11
cereal + banana
leftover Penne
leftover Black Beans + Saffron Rice

Tues, Jan 12
oatmeal
both of us went out for lunch
leftover goat cheese & roasted corn quesadilla; Jason went out

Two of my New Year’s resolutions are to cook more often and to post more often on this blog, which already dovetail pretty nicely. Something that I hope is going to help with both is the Eat From the Pantry Challenge. I’ve been reading Money Saving Mom for a while and have gotten a lot of good tips on using coupons, as well as inspiration for trying to keep a well-stocked pantry and freezer. So I’m going to give this a try.

My goals for this challenge are as follows:

1. To only buy produce and eggs/dairy for the month of January – everything else that Jason and I eat at home will come from the pantry, refrigerator, or freezer. Or the 25-pound bag of rice I have in the liquor cabinet.
2. To try out at least five new recipes – and post about them!
3. To spend significantly less this month on groceries than we usually do.

So far we are three days into January (Happy New Year!) and there have been no emergency trips to the store for diced tomatoes…