Week 2- The $50 a week grocery challenge!

well we were so proud of ourselves for such a successful first week that we went out last friday for dinner.  but then it was back to the drawing board for this weeks meals. 

one thing that i mentioned in last weeks blog was that i make a batch of muffins at the beginning of the week.  however, i don't think i gave away my other secret of making a batch of dough as well.  i've already given credit to artisan bread in five minutes a day, but this has sort of been key to making this work.  the dough can be made into any number of things, pizza, calzones and assorted breads.  this week i tried out their rye bread recipe and it was delicious!  so here's the rundown...

cranberry and walnut muffins-
using the recipe listed last week i just substituted the blueberries with dried cranberries and walnuts...they came out a little dry so next time i think i'll add a bit more milk.

pizza and greek kale salad-
i used the basic pizza dough recipe from the artisan bread in five minutes a day cookbook and threw on whatever we had for toppings...a perfect match with the kale salad! this fed us once for dinner and twice for lunch.

tuna melts w/ swiss cheese on rye
yummmmmmm....

creamy asparagus soup- crock pot recipe
as i said last week, soup is so cheap!  freeze leftovers or eat it for a few days...this fed us quite a few times this week. janel joined us for this meal and brought some delicious rosemary potato bread!  as you can tell, we love our bread!

1 lb fresh asparagus
2 onions finely diced
2 potatoes peeled & diced small
2 ribs celery, diced small with tops included
2 carrots, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 tsp. granulated veggie bouillion (or your own broth if you have it)
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp. worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup fresh parsley or 1 tbs. dried
2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 tsp. dried
1 tsp. dried tarragon
1/4 cup fresh basil or 2 tsp. dried
1 tsp. seasoned salt
1/2 tsp. white pepper
1/4 cup conrstarch
2 cups half and half (or heavy cream if you want to really make it creamy)

break off and discard the tough end of each asparagus spear.  chop spears in 1/4 inch slices and add to crock pot along with all ingredients down to white pepper.  add water within 1 inch of the top of pot.  cover and cook on high for 6-7 hours.  about two hours before serving, remove bay leaf and using a slotted spoon, remove most of the veggies and puree in blender.  add back to the soup.  repeat once or twice.  add 1 cup half and half to soup.  add cornstarch to the remaining half and half in the carton and shake vigorously.  add mix to soup.  cook on high for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

bean burritos- this is another one of those standby meals for us.  this year, we canned salsa and jalapenos, making it even easier to throw something like this together.  if you aren't a canner, i highly recommend stocking up on items when they're on sale...butter can be frozen and canned goods keep for quite a while...keep that in mind when shopping.  anyway, it's a bean burrito, nothing special...so i'm not bothering with a recipe. 

sicilian lentil soup with pasta-
i chose to make this because i knew we would have leftover veggies from the other soup i made.  and i still have ditalini pasta leftover from the last time i made it. 
this is another favorite of mine...my only complaint is that because it contains pasta, it sucks up liquid like a dry mop...so always add a little more water when reheating.

2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 cup each finely chopped onion, celery and carrots
1/4 cup chopped celery leaves
3 cloves garlic
1 1lb can chopped tomatoes, undrained
4 cups veggie broth
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup lentils, uncooked
1 bay leaf
1 tsp each dried oregano & basil
1/4 tsp pepper
3/4 cup ditalini pasta, uncooked
grated parmesan cheese

heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  add onion, celery, carrots, celery leaves and garlic.  cook, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes.  add remaining ingredients except pasta and cheese. bring mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally.  reduce heat to med-low, cover and simmer 40 minutes or until veggies are tender.  stir in pasta and cook, covered, for 10 minutes.  remove bay leaf.  top each serving with parmesan cheese.