Is this thing on?

Boy do I suck. I know. And I'm sorry. So if anyone is still out there, I'm going to try and stage a comeback! No excuses - yes, I've been busy. Yes, I'm not cooking as much or as creatively lately, but really, I just hadn't made time for the blog. So, I'm back. Pictures may be a little more scarce - I leave for work at 6am and get home at about 7pm and in New England, that means not much daylight! And me and flashes and light boxes... not so much just yet. However, despite my lack of experimentation lately, I have been very diligent about my meal planning, so in the hopes that this might help others, I'm going to try and post my weekly menus and weekend prep.

I've also been trying to work the sales and save a bit of dough along the way. I'm proud to say that for the month of January, I have fed the hubs the pup and myself for just under $400! I know, it's not the end of the month, but I've already shopped this week and won't go again until after the 31st. And I know it's not exactly pennies, but for where I live and the fact that we eat mostly fresh food and organic meats, and drink our fair share of wine, I feel pretty good about it. And it does include 40 lbs of dog food. And it's breakfast, lunch and dinner because the hubs and I have also been pretty good about taking our breakfast and lunch to work too. And we've eaten well! A little planning and reading the circulars really pays off. And the freezer is a huge help. I've started keeping an inventory of stuff on the door of my fridge, and getting better at dividing up recipes so we have one for a meal now and one for the freezer.

In any event, here's this week's menu:

Saturday - Chicken Broccoli Pasta
Sunday - Going over to a friend's for dinner - yay
Monday - Shredded Beef Tacos
Tuesday - Chicken Pot Pie
Wednesday - Burgers and sweet potato fries
Thursday and Friday I'm on my own so I'll be eating leftovers.

Nothing earth shattering, all things I've done before. And it's no surprise that we have a dinner from the fabulous Jen in there. Last week I made her spinach stuffed chicken breasts and they were outstanding!

As for prep... today after shopping I started marinating the beef for the tacos, and tomorrow morning after breakfast I'll put it in to braise. Then it will go in an oven safe dish in the fridge for reheating Monday night. All I'll have to do while it heats up is mix up some guac and warm up the tortillas. Score.

I also made burgers and stuck the patties, individually wrapped in plastic, in the freezer to be pulled out the night before we eat them. I also cut up the sweet potatoes so they're ready to go in the oven - same recipe as the grill, just in a 425 oven.

The chicken pot pie and crust were made a few weeks ago so they just have to thaw, roll out the dough, and bake when we're ready. Freaking love my freezer.

Hopefully some pictures to come. In the mean time, enjoy this one of the pup. :)