From Crystal: What We Ate and What We Bought at the Store This Past Week

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We had snow on the bottom for 8 complete days — all of final week and spilling into this week. Which suggests it was what is taken into account “very chilly” right here in these elements of TN (and truthfully, 2 levels is tremendous chilly… although I do know some locations have been seeing temperatures of one thing like unfavorable 37, so 2 levels sounds balmy!!).

When there’s snow and ice and chilly, all the things shuts down right here as a result of we don’t have the tools to clear off all of the ice and snow. So, our youngsters had been off faculty all final week! We stayed house and did plenty of cozy issues like baking and studying and watching motion pictures/reveals (Jesse and I completed watching the newest season of The Superb Race! Have you ever seen it! We actually loved it and had been rooting for all three finalist pairs!).

My First Makes an attempt at Sourdough Bread

One of many issues I used to be most enthusiastic about was truly making sourdough bread and it TURNING OUT! I’ve been so scared off by sourdough bread for years. It felt so time intensive and scientific and I simply was certain I might fail at it miserably.

However I discovered this account referred to as Acts of Sourdough in December and I watched her step-by-step movies (I’m very a lot a visible learner!) and I used to be like, “I actually assume I can do that!”

So I ordered the starter from her and adopted the instructions. And, get this, my starter began effervescent after which it doubled in measurement after which it tripled in measurement! I used to be so excited that it was truly working and it wasn’t in any respect as arduous as I’d envisioned!

I had set the objective to learn to make sourdough bread as a yearly objective since I figured it could take me plenty of tries to get loaf of bread. To my shock, my very first loaf turned out fairly fantastically and tasted scrumptious!

I’ve since made three extra loaves and every has gotten progressively higher! I truthfully can’t imagine this! The truth is, I’m feeling so inspired by this entire expertise that I ordered a Kombucha Package and a Water Kefir equipment and am decided to learn to make these subsequent.

Folks on instagram are joking that that is my Ma Ingalls 12 months. I’m probably not certain what to name it, however we’ll simply say that I’m loving it and will even begin sharing some sourdough recipes right here as a result of it’s so cheap (simply flour, water, and salt!) and SO, SO straightforward!! Plus, the bread is simply superb!

I made Sourdough Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins with among the sourdough discard — and I had been exterior quite a bit that morning, so I used to be nonetheless sporting my coat and hat whereas I used to be nonetheless thawing out!

If you happen to’re new right here, I don’t do a inflexible meal plan most weeks; I normally simply make certain we’ve got sufficient available for 8-10 totally different dinners after which I plan that day what we’re having based mostly upon the time I’ve and what sounds good.

I do know that this technique doesn’t work for everybody, nevertheless it’s labored fairly effectively for this season. I additionally make certain to have back-up emergency dinner choices within the freezer (hen nuggets/strips + frozen pizza) in order that if I simply don’t really feel like cooking in any respect or run out of time, we nonetheless have choices which can be a lot inexpensive than takeout.

If you’re the kind who wants a structured meal plan and you are feeling caught in a rut, take a look at my 10 Weeks of Cash-Saving Menus for a few of our very favourite cheap and straightforward recipes — all performed for you, full with grocery lists! (And you may also obtain my FREE 60 Meals to Make As a substitute of Getting Takeout listing for some nice last-minute dinner concepts.)

What We Ate This Previous Week

Monday: Sourdough Pancakes + Mac & Cheese

Tuesday (the youngsters had been gone at buddies’ homes): Jesse went out to drop the youngsters off and ran by the shop and picked up a Rotisserie Hen + Caprese for us to have for dinner.

Wednesday: Leftover Hen and Twice-Baked Potatoes

Thursday: Sausage and Potatoes and Banana muffins

Friday: Hen Barley Soup, Sourdough bread, and apple slices

Saturday: Fend For Your self

What I Purchased on the Grocery Retailer

Due to the snow, I wasn’t capable of do my standard grocery pick-up order (they had been under-staffed and also you needed to wait not less than 4 days to do a choose up order), so I ended up making an attempt grocery supply. I paid about $20 further to have somebody store and ship groceries (that was for the price + tip), which truthfully wasn’t too dangerous. I used to be additionally very impressed that they didn’t mess something up on my order and I obtained all the things I ordered!

(The final time I attempted grocery supply via Instacart, I had a less-than-great expertise. Examine it right here.)

I stocked up on cereal, shampoo, and sausage and was excited in regards to the deal on strawberries ($1.99 with the digital coupon — although they didn’t look that nice!).