I am at day 5 of my food experiment, and I have a few observations to comment on so far. One, I am NOT surprised at how much I have been spending on food. Two, I have not kept within my allotted budget of $85 for the week. However, I am very surprised by observation number three: how easy it has been to eat healthy, wholesome food on just slightly over my budgeted amount. I have not spent more money than the initial $71; however, I have used ingredients from my pantry to finish off a couple of the meals, namely olive oil and Kashi bars (for my son’s lunch). I also accounted for the full cost of the salad ingredients I had leftover in my fridge since I would have had to buy the larger quantity if I’d had to buy them from the start. In all I went approximately $30 over budget. Okay, so maybe that is not just ‘slightly’ over my budget…but it is great that I only spent around $100 for us to eat so well this week. I did this mainly from Whole Foods (often referred to as ‘Whole Paycheck’). The bread I used for sandwiches was the only thing not from Whole Foods…it is the Orowheat Whole Wheat Bread, which Whole Foods does not sell.

On to tonight’s meal: Goulash. Now this is not goulash in the traditional Hungarian sense of goulash. This version is the American comfort food my mom used to make, and the only thing Hungarian about it is the paprika. My mom’s version included ground beef, paprika, elbow macaroni, green bell peppers, onion, and a tomato sauce. My college roommate said her mom made the same thing but called it ‘American Chop Suey’. My version is somewhat evolved from my mom’s. My kids don’t really care for bell peppers (and by ‘don’t care for’ I mean really dislike), red or green, so they have been eliminated from the ‘original’ recipe. I do add the paprika, but I use hot paprika rather than mild. Also, I use whole wheat elbow macaroni…a healthier option. With the tomato sauce you really cannot tell it is whole wheat. Plus, whole wheat pasta tastes much better than the whole wheat pasta of only a few years back. The best part? I have enough for both tonight’s dinner and tomorrow night’s…and possibly a lunch or two. Not too shabby!!!!

So here’s the deal: We are going to a Superbowl party on Sunday (The Saints vs. The Colts) and I am bringing dessert. I originally planned to bring something easy to eat, something which does not require anything fancier than one’s own two hands – and perhaps a napkin. But then I thought, “What desserts are associated with these two areas?” Well, you know me – Google Goddess – I did a little research. As you might well expect, it was MUCH easier to find desserts for which New Orleans is known. And, surprise, surprise – Bananas Foster popped up everywhere. Not such an easy dessert to bring to a party, but I’m looking into it…

Indiana has proven to be a tad more challenging. While known more for farming and corn and livestock, Indiana doesn’t actually have a ‘state food’ as do many other states. (I did, however, come across an interesting tradition they have of spooning chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes…and to someone who has yet to eat breakfast that sounds mighty good! Aaaahhh, but I digress…) I delved deeper into the history of Indiana food traditions and eventually came across a dessert called “Sugar Cream Pie”. Actually, it is a well-known dessert in Indiana. So…I figure a pie is pretty easy to transport, and since the only other Indiana dessert I came across was Persimmon Pudding, I zeroed in on the pie. Upon perusing the various recipes I came across, I eventually homed in on one for “Hoosier Sugar Cream Pie”. This incorporates a mixture of both granulated and brown sugars, heavy cream, a little flour, and a touch of vanilla. After mixing it is poured into a pre-baked pie shell and baked for about 40 minutes. How can a pie go wrong with sugar and cream as the main ingredients??? This pie sounds simple and delicious, and I am eagerly anticipating my first bite of this pie!!!

Tonight’s dinner: Mahi-Mahi (seasoned with salt and pepper and olive oil then baked at 350 for 12 minutes), pasta salad (leftover), and peas…Filling, delicious and nutritious! By the way, the meal was cooked and ready in about 20 minutes…

As I sit here, blog-blog-blogging away, there is the wonderful aroma of breaded pork chops baking in the oven, and my whole wheat-pasta is bubbling away on the stove. I have my broccoli ready to cook – with dried cranberries to be mixed in (leftover dried fruit from what I bought for my son’s lunch…). I’m not sure what to expect taste-wise with the broccoli/cranberry mix, but the green bean/raisin combo turned out delicious yesterday. And again I lament the lack of lemon, but I must work with what I have…and now that I think of it, I may just mix the broccoli and cranberries in with the pasta so the pasta isn’t quite so bland…

Later: Dinner was ready within 35 minutes, including clean-up on anything that did not go into the dishwasher (so take that Rachel Ray!!). And the dishwasher stuff…well, isn’t that what kids are for??? 😉

I’ll admit last night’s dinner (and tonight’s as well) wasn’t anything fancy, but it was delicious. The chicken was cooked perfectly and emerged from the oven very moist…by the time the brown rice was finished cooking (just under an hour), the chicken was piping hot from the oven, and the roasted garlic and juices from the chicken added some neccessary flavor to the otherwise bland rice. I served broccoli and a salad with the meal to round it out nutritionally. Also, I put aside half of the rice to use with tonight’s meal. So far I haven’t decided if I am going to leave it plain (not really my choice) or see if I can dress it up out of the ingredients I have on hand from my shopping trip yesterday. I will admit, it sure would be wonderful to have something as simple as a lemon on hand about now!

Tonight’s after dinner results: Wild-caught Sockeye Salmon (thawed from frozen) – delicious and so much cheaper than getting it ‘fresh’ from the fish counter; Brown rice: I added some salt, pepper, mustard (okay, I cheated here and used some I had on hand) and olive oil; Green beans: I cooked them in the microwave and added raisins for the last 30 seconds of cooking time, then I added a touch of salt and olive oil. Surprisingly delicious!!! I gave my son some grapes (leftover from the chicken salad I made for his lunch), and I had a salad of lettuce and radishes…

So…I am guessing that I will end up going over a little for this week’s budget to account for stocking up on a few staples and things I bought which will last longer than this week. Already I have a couple of areas I could cut back on if I was in dire straights. I made a chicken salad for my son’s lunches this week, and to save money I could have done peanut butter sandwiches instead (and saved around $6-8). But he didn’t ask to be a part of this experiment, so I am trying to make it as painless as possible for him…Also, I bought the frozen sockeye salmon, which was $2 higher than other frozen fish, and there was some that was even less expensive…So there is around $10 right there which could be used for fresh salad ingredients and/or items to make fish tacos (corn tortillas and a slaw mix).

And there it is in a nutshell (ooooh, nuts….yum…wish I had some of those!!) for your reading enjoyment…