9/3/2010

Several of the blogs I read do Favorite Things Friday. It's basically a weekly post talking about current favorites. I've been toying with the idea of doing this for some time and I've decided to take the plunge! My hope is that a consistent weekly post might inspire me to be a better blogger. I guess we'll all see how that works out! :)

This week my favorites are cooking related. I've been in the kitchen lots lately. (And I promise that some outstanding recipes are coming!) So with out further adieu...

I've ALWAYS been a fan but I'm currently obsessed. I love that there is a recipe box where I can store recipes in categories that I've created. I can go back for reference and I love reading suggestions of people that have tried the recipes before. The pictures of food entice me and inspire me to try new dishes. I love the ease of the site!



Our new favorite ingredient is orzo. If you've never used it while cooking you are seriously missing out! Our current favorite use is this salad recipe. You should make it. Tomorrow. We've served it half a dozen times this summer and it's a huge hit. Seriously...make it this weekend! But promise me that if you make it you'll use good olives. The olives make it. Nothing that comes out of a can.


Coupons! I've always been a fan but now that I'm staying home we've had to tighten our budget in lots of areas but the easiest place to do that is the grocery budget. I'm proud to report that we spend $60 a week on groceries and we are able to do this by shopping sales and using coupons. And don't feel bad for us! We eat VERY well! We are eating more produce and organic than ever. It takes a little more planning but it's become a game to see how much I can save. And $60 covers ALL our meals for the entire week. We eat out together 3 times every 2 weeks (Both Sundays with friends after church and a meal together out) so this basically covers all breakfasts, lunches and dinners for a week. I'm thinking I should do a separate post about this. Is that interesting to anyone? I've loved spending time in the kitchen and making lots from scratch.


If money were no object, I would shop here exclusively. (See, don't feel bad for our meager grocery budget! I shop at Whole Foods!) If you don't live where there is a Whole Foods, I'm sorry! I've been absolutely amazed at how inexpensively I can get a few organic things here. (Although there are things here that are way over priced and just ridiculous!) Again, combining sales with coupons can make some products very affordable. And there are a few things we sacrifice for, like their granola. It's unbelievable! They offer nuts and cereals in bulk and I use these regularly. So there you have it! Some of my favorite cooking things. Hope to be back with more favorites next Friday!