Day One

Kay put her blog up on Blogger, here. I went to the grocery store today and spent $43.05. Kind of a lot, but I'm growing my bangs out and I needed some new hair thingies, plus a dollar cash back because the tooth fairy could be visiting Puck any night now and we need to be prepared (he's got his first loose tooth!) I don't know if Kay is counting all other things you buy at the grocery store (in addition to food) but I am. I had to get the boys toothbrushes and floss and some other things as well.

Tonight we're having Sausage & Rice Casserole

1 lb kielbasa, cut into pieces
1/2 lb cheese, grated
2 zucchini or yellow squash, sliced
2 cups rice
4 cups water

Boil rice, squash and kielbasa in water until rice is done. Remove from heat and stir in cheese.
If you're using minute rice, you'll have to cook the rice separately from the kielbasa and squash.

This is a pretty cheap dinner, but the first time we made it, we found it to be quite bland (sharp cheddar helps a little) so this time we used a rice mix (broccoli au gratin) instead of plain rice. We're also having a spinach salad using that Valdosta cranberry nut stuff. Basically, toss the Valdosta in with the raw spinach along with dark olive oil and balsamic vinegar. You can add salt and pepper to taste, although the Valdosta already has black pepper in it.

For snacks, I cut up a couple of bell peppers and put them in baggies in the fridge. We also have other things around, like raisins, fruit leather, nuts, and turkey jerky. Pete likes to have less healthy snacks and has a habit of visiting 7-11 on a regular basis. He learned this nasty habit as a kid and has been trying for years to break it. I have to say, though, he has a very physical job and probably needs the extra sugar and calories to keep him going, so he has candy bars, sun chips and soda that we buy cheap so that he has no reason to stop at the convenience store. The challenge now, is to keep the candy and soda hidden from the kids so that they don't develop the same habit.