It was another great week in the meal department.
We tried a new pizza place while we were out on our weekly date {the pizza sliced we tried wasn’t spectacular but the subs were good} and there were a lot meals from scratch.
Actually, last week turned into sort of a meal prep week. Which was fine by me. With gardening season right around the corner, I suppose I should be doing more of that {meal prep} for those long days we’ll soon be spending outdoors playing in the dirt.
Here’s a look at most of the meals we ate last week:
I always go for an Italian or meatball sub….What’s YOUR favorite?
Leftover bits.
Another day, another quiche.
My favorite Panera Copy Cat Tomato Soup.
Meatballs!
The HH actually made the beatloaf, meatballs and tomato soup on his {1} cooking day {of the week}.
I made batch of oatmeal raisin, peanut butter and chocolate chip cookie dough all on the same day as a way to use up a bunch of eggs. I also made chocolate cake {and that used up 8 eggs!!} I forgot to take a picture of it though.
Now that it’s just the two of us, I really like having frozen cookie balls in the freezer. It seems to work out better because now anytime I turn the oven on to cook something else, when I’m done I can just make 2 or 4 cookies and be done with it.
Not having 2 dozen cookies sitting around staring back at you is a good thing! 😉
Another new bread recipe {I’m on a mission to find the perfect sandwich bread}.
Big purchase of the week $17.68
$12.99 for a bottle of hooch {for the sticky toffee pudding and future fruit cakes} and a gallon of milk {mostly for my tea}.
I didn’t see any deals worth going into town for and the grocery flyers were a bit lackluster this past week, but I do have a $5 off $50 coupon lingering in my Shaw’s account so if I can hatch a deal… I might pop by this week. {But I highly doubt it.}
All in all it was a good week in the food department here at Camp Butterfield.
How about YOU? Did you make anything good this past week? Curious minds want to know.
Have a great Monday everyone,
~ Mavis
*****
Total Spent This Past Week on Groceries $17.68
- Total Spent on Groceries in April $17.68
- Total Spent on Groceries in March $82.28
- Total Spent on Groceries in February $101.14
- Total Spent on Groceries in January $167.33 {this includes buying groceries on Fair Isle}
- Total Spent on Groceries in 2023 $368.43
christina says
Let me know about the sandwich bread. I’m a bread maker mostly sourdough in the dutch oven but I do like a good sandwich bread that can be sliced thin. i have a Zojurushi I use sometimes on just the dough cycle and that works fairly well. i mostly stick to KA recipes but if you find one be sure to post. BTW, I’m thinking of getting rid of the bread maker because it’s so big and takes up too much real estate in my closet. Do you think a bread maker is worth the space?
Virginia says
I got rid of mine years ago for the same reason. I don’t feel like it was a time saver, but definitely was a space hog. Sometimes simple is best.
Lana says
We have a Zo and use it 2-3 times week. It is the real workhorse in our kitchen because we do not buy bread. This is our sandwich bread and it is so good. Hubby tweaked it until we had it right but don’t substitute on the salt.
I cup whole milk, warmed for 30 seconds in the microwave
1/3 cup water
3 cups bread flour, lightly spoon into cup and sweep off the top with a knife
2 tablespoons brown sugar lightly packed
1 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 1/4 teaspoon yeast
2 tablespoons butter cut in fourths
Use the short bread cycle, light crust. When it is finished take it out of the machine and let it cool for 5 minutes before turning it out.
When I first got my Zo I was about to just throw it out because I could not make good bread in it until I discovered the short cycle and that is the game changer.
Lynn says
Thanks, Lana! I will definitely try this in my Zo!!
Lynn, in SoCal
Mavis Butterfield says
I’m still working on the cooking time for the bread, but I’ll share once I get it down. I’m not a big fan of bread makers, the bread just doesn’t come out the same as if it were cooked in a traditional oven.
Lynn says
I also have a Zo bread maker, in fact, I have two! I use the dough cycle exclusively. I was never happy with the bread cooking in the machine. It just never came out right. Years ago, I was watching an old Julia Child cooking show on PBS, and she had a guest that used it as a dough mixing machine. I tried it, fell in love with the method and have been making homemade bread that way for about 20 years. I’ve made every kind of bread imaginable, except No Knead and Sourdough. I’ve tried other bread machines, but the double paddles in the Zo machines really mix the dough well. If making bread, after the dough is finished, I take the dough out, shape it and put it in a bread pan, and put in a warmed oven to rise again for about 30 minutes, then bake in the oven for 30 minutes. If I’m making pizza, I don’t let it rise again, but I do let it set a bit, to relax the dough before using. I’ve make whole wheat, raisin, pizza dough, etc. Yes, it does take up counter space, but it’s totally worth it to me to have homemade bread!
Holley says
I have a recipe that’s for the bread machine that is soft bread for slicing. I’m sure you will know how to make it by hand! https://deedeedoes.com/favorite-squishy-white-bread-recipe/
Can’t wait to see YOUR sticky toffee pudding!!!!
Amanda says
Thanks Holley! I plan to try this tomorrow.
Dawn says
Try this recipe-so good!
Buttermilk Honey Bread
a Beth Hensperger recipe from The Bread Bible
Ingredients:
¾ c. warm water ( 109° F )
1 tbsp. active dry yeast granules
1 tsp. sugar
1 ½ c. buttermilk, room temperature
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
3 tbsp. honey
1 ½ tsp. salt
About 6 c. unbleached bread flour
Optional: egg glaze for brushing loaves before baking
Making the Bread:
Pour the warm water into a small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast and sugar over the water. Stir them in and set the mixture aside for about ten minutes, until the yeast and sugar foam up and form a froth.
Combine the buttermilk, honey, melted butter, and foamy yeast mixture in a deep bread bowl, whip together well with a hand mixer.
Add the salt and 2 c. of the bread flour and continue mixing to make a smooth and satiny batter-like dough.
Switching over to a mixing spoon, mix in ½ c. bread flour at a time, stirring well before adding more.
When the stirring becomes too difficult, sprinkle some of the flour measure onto a kneading surface and begin to knead in the last of the flour measure a couple tablespoons at a time.
Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, creating a smooth elastic dough that is not sticky and springs back when you prod it with your fingers.
Clean out the bread bowl, lightly grease it, and turn the dough ball intoit. Turn the dough to grease the top and sides.
Cover and let the dough rise for 1 to 1 ½ hours in a warm, draft-free place.
Gently press the dough ball down and let it rest a few minutes, while you grease two round casserole dishes or line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Divide the dough ball in half and form two round balls of dough.
Place them on their baking pans or in the casseroles, cover and let rise for about 45 minutes or until doubled.
Place baking tiles on the lower and middle racks of the oven and pre-heat the oven to 450° F. Do this a half hour before you intend to bake the bread.
Just before baking, brush the tops of the loaves with an egg wash OR spritz the inside of the oven with a blast of water from a spray bottle.
Place the breads on the center rack, right on the baking tiles, close the oven up and immediately lower the oven temperature to 375°.
Bake the bread for about 45 minutes or until the loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when rapped with your fingertips.
Cool completely on racks before slicing into the bread
Rosemary Calhoun says
Italian subs – #1
Meatball Subs & Italian Sausage Subs – #2
The chicken wings I made in the air fryer were delicious! Hubby said it’s a keeper!
If anyone is interested, here is the recipe I used: https://domesticsuperhero.com/air-fryer-bbq-chicken-wings/
Terry McA. says
I’m a fan of pizza subs, myself. Please let me know if you have a good recipe for a seeded rye or pumpernickel rye bread, those are my favorite besides the crusty dutch oven bread.
No shopping again this week, (hooray!) but we did have some excellent meals from the freezer. Breakfasts were scrambled eggs with smoked salmon or scrambled eggs with turkey sausage, lunches were leftovers. For dinner last week, we had pork chops with honey mustard, apple kale salad and roasted asparagus, salmon with roasted potatoes and brussel sprouts, steak with loaded fingerlings, and smoked pork chop with potato pancakes. A few days I could barely move, so cooking was minimal, either soup from the freezer or a quick turkey melt on mini naan bread.
Hoping for another $0 week next week!
Amy says
If I had made that beautiful quiche and taken that beautiful photo, I would get a big print made, frame it, and hang it on the wall in a place of honor.
Sue S. says
Mostly picky bits for us since Thursday because little one had a stomach bug which still hasn’t subsided. Do you have a recipe for the oatmeal, chocolate chip, and peanut butter cookies?
Mavis Butterfield says
Yes. All the links are in the post. You just need to click on the the highlighted green text. 🙂
Anne says
I honestly thought your picture of the quiche was framed artwork.. Beautiful.
debbie in alaska says
It took me a few seconds to figure out if you made beetloaf with meat or beets!
Michelle S. says
I love a good Italian sub or a tuna/avocado sub. Now l want a sandwich!
This week l made your lemon marmalade, a triple batch of orange curd (l froze most of it), and a batch of orange marmalade. I was gifted a bunch of beautiful citrus and l wasn’t going to let it go to waste!
Teri says
Easter ham is only .97/lb here at Safeway/Albertsons. And digital coupon for asparagus is .97 too!
Ashley Bananas says
I haven’t done a lot of shopping lately, yet the shopping I do do seems to be so expensive. We are eating at home a lot more. I work full time and my son is in high school. It seems like a chore to cook. I love my days off where I can cook breakfast and things more leisurely. Thankful for a productive Sunday where I cooked a few things and we have been able to eat them for the rest of the week. Packing lunches, and making meals has become more and more on trend in my househould.
Amber says
There’s a local sub place in the city I grew up (so about 30 minutes away from me now haha) that has a grilled club on sub bread – the best! But if I’m elsewhere, Italian sub is #1!
I have a great French bread recipe that I turn into sandwich bread. My teenage son LOVES it, and so do we!
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cup warm water
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp yeast (I typically use active dry)
3/4 tbsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
5 1/2 – 6 cups flour
Directions:
In the bowl of an electric mixer using your dough hook:
1. Combine water, yeast, and sugar.
2. Add salt, olive oil, and 3 cups of your flour, then mix briefly.
3. Gradually add in the remaining flour, starting with a little at a time while mixing on med-low until the dough is not very sticky or elastic. You may need just 2.5, 2.75, or the full 3.
4. Flour a surface and knead the dough into a ball for 2-3 minutes. Be sure to smooth the dough as much as possible, and shape by tucking and turning.
5. Grease a bowl with some olive oil and rest the dough in it, covered to rise, for about an hour.
6. Once the dough has risen, grease a surface with some olive oil, turn out the dough, and split it in half.
7. Shape each ball of dough by flattening into a rectangular shape and then rolling up to form a loaf, making sure to anchor by tucking the ends on a long roll.
7a. If you want to form the dough into a sandwich loaf, roll it from the shorter side and bake it in a loaf pan.
7b. If making long rolls, set them on a nonstick baking pan or on parchment paper.
8. Score the loaves and let rise for an hour, covered. After the loaves have rested for 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 375.
9. Bake for 25-30 minutes. You want the bread to sound hollow on the bottom when done, and hard to tapping on the top.
If you prefer a crusty bread, leave it be. If you’d like it softer, spread butter on the tops to help soften it up. Allow to cool completely on a rack before slicing.
This recipe makes two loaves, freezes beautifully, and is nice and soft. The recipe is from @joyinthewilderness on Instagram, and she has a highlight showing how she makes the bread. I took the info from there and typed it up to make it easy to make. 🙂