The theme for this week’s liners was using up leftovers. I made Mrs. C’s pot roast recipe on Monday and as usual, it turned out fantastic.
Everytime I make it my husband always says… You cannot improve on this. It’s perfect. And you know what? I agree. So well done Mrs. C! Well done.
The next day I tossed the leftover pot roast {and all the liquid} with about a pound of {soaked} beans, a chopped carrot, a handful of frozen spinach and a can of Rotel into a big pot along with a few cups of water and let it all simmer on low for about an hour.
It too turned out amazing. But then again, pretty much anything you add a can of Rotel to turns out awesome. 🙂 A pot roast dinner and two days worth of soup… I love it when meal times are simple.
Next up was Trader Joe’s Kung Pao chicken. At $5.99 a bag, we’ve found that it cooks up about 3 nice sized servings. What a deal {and way cheaper than takeout!}.
The next night I used up the leftover rice and made a batch of fried rice for dinner.
Are there any frozen pizzas that you like? We’ve been buying Newman’s Own pizzas for about 6 years now but they don’t seem as good as when we first started buying them.
Maybe we need to try something else. Someone mentioned that Costco has frozen pizzas but I totally forgot to look when we did our big stock up trip last month. Is there a frozen pizza that YOU like?
Does anyone have one of those fancy Ooni pizza ovens? I briefly thought about saving up my points for one. I think they look pretty cool, but I wonder if it would just be another silly appliance purchase that would lose its thrill after a few uses {like the HH’s smoker and his griddle?}.
Maybe we should just try and make a homemade pizza on the grill. Have you tried that? Does it work well?
Breakfast last week was toast with jam or steel cut oats with all the fruity bits {candied oranges, raisins, brown sugar and milk}.
Do you love Chick-fil-A? Did you know you can buy the sauce? Market Basket sells it here in Maine. I bet they’d have it in your neck of the woods too.
And last but not least, pickety bits. What’s a week without pickety bits? Using up leftovers and simple meals… I love an easy week.
What’s been cookin’ at YOUR place lately?
~Mavis
Total spent this past week on groceries $ 0
November Groceries $6.29
October Groceries: $1,375.30
September Groceries: $246.41
August Groceries: $115.71
July Groceries: $401.88
June Groceries: $484.69
May Groceries: $267.13
April Groceries: $135.90
March Groceries: $235.99
February Groceries: $282.90
January Groceries: $167.55
Christine says
Good morning, Mavis! When researching pizza ovens (you know husbands do those things for weeks before purchasing something) it was between the Ooni and Roccbox. We ultimately decided on the Roccbox. We use it for steak and pizza, but honestly a pizza stone on the grill works great too.
Love you blog! I’ve been following for a over 12 years.
Mavis Butterfield says
12 years! 🙂 I will tell the HH to look into the Roccbox. He loves to research stuff.
Jamie says
I second the pizza stone on a grill! Most stones can be used in the oven too and for bread baking. We have had our stone for about two years and we use it at least once a week.
jp says
we use our cast iron pans….in the oven if it’s cold out to heat the house, or on the grill if it’s hot out
Wendy C says
I love it when I can turn leftovers into some kind of soup. Last night I made the Panera Copy Cat Chicken Wild Rice soup. There will be leftovers for hubby’ s lunch today. I also made up a huge bowl of chicken salad for lunches this week. Also made a pan of baked oatmeal for breakfast. Was feeling somewhat accomplished until I just realized I did not thaw out anything to put into the crockpot for supper tonight. 🙂
Mavis Butterfield says
That wild rice soup is on my list for December. I LOVE it!!!
Cindy R says
I’ve been buying the premade fresh pizzas Whole Foods sell near their deli department. They run about $9.99 – 11.99. I remove ⅓ of the pepperoni they put on top and add extra mozzarella cheese and fresh basil. I cook it at 450 in the oven on a pizza stone for 10-12 mins. Next time I am going to cut it in half and cook half and freeze the other half. It is better than frozen pizza.
christina says
We had the OONI for pizza, the small pellet one. We bought it right after they launched and loved it at first, then it became too much work. It essentially takes 2 people to keep the fire going and hot enough and turn the pizzas. We gave it away. If you do get one , get the gas one so you can regulate the temperature easier. I’ve been making homemade pizza for years. I use a 00 flour and make 4 doughs at a time. I freeze the 3 and use the one. Then I do toppings etc. I also use the best tomatoes, San Marzano. One trick with pizza is not to overdo the toppings,keep it simple. Also I use a pizza steel not stone and it works the best.
Laura says
Christina, would you be willing to share your pizza dough and pizza sauce recipes, please and thank you?
Emily says
I would love to know how you handle the frozen dough. When in the process do you freeze? How far ahead do you thaw? Homemade pizza is a special treat in our house , but if I could batch the dough we would probably have it more often.
Dawn says
Oooh, I made pot roast this weekend too and saved the cooking liquid. Now I know what to do with it, thanks!
We got a pizza stone and use it to make pizza on the grill. My daughter does it all the time and the pizza is so good.
Catherine says
I freeze the cooking liquid in one cup increments and pull it out when I need gravy for something. Thicken and you have gravy.
Virginia says
Pizza on the grill works great. A pizza stone isn’t even necessary. I lightly “pre-baked” the crust on the grill first, removed it to put on all the toppings, then back on the grill to finish the pizza. There are plenty of YouTube videos out there.
Pauline in Upstate NY says
Let me put in a plug for Motor City pizzas, a square, deep-dish pie, available frozen in a two-pack at Costco for about $13, also at Walmart and Wegmans (northeast regional chain) for about $8-9 in a single pack. They come in a cardboard-ish oven-safe dish, so no mess. I think they are excellent (but they will NOT appeal to the thin-crust aficionados).
Kim says
100% agree! Love these. Best frozen pizza around and at Costco!
wendy panozzo says
I have the Ooni. There is a learning curve to the temperature. It has to be very hot to cook the bottom and top evenly. At first just the top was cooked perfect but the bottom wouldn’t get that crispy crust I love. It now sits in the garage. Not a necessary gadget. You could try making pizza crusts and par-baking them, then freeze until you want pizza. Then use a pizza stone in the oven to finish off the baking. You’ll get a better, fresher, pizza with your own toppings.
J in OH-IO says
Questions for those that use a pizza stone- can one use a pizza stone without heating it in the oven first and how do you clean the stone? I have read you can’t use dish soap on stone – is this true?
Jamie says
Most pizza stones are made of unglazed clay and shouldn’t be washed with soap. We cool our stone, scrap off any debris with a spatula or stiff brush, then we wash with warm water and scrub with a Scrub Daddy. We dry with a cloth and then let it air dry completely. Things are more likely to stick to a cold stone.
Beccah says
We make homemade pizzas every week. Once I got my dough recipe down, it takes about 5 minutes of hands on time and the Kitchen Aid does the rest. You can par bake the crusts for about 5 minutes until set, let cool, and then freeze. When you want one, top with sauce and whatever else you want and pop in a hot oven. We haven’t purchased a frozen pizza in… months?
Costco does have some pretty good premade pizzas! Get from the refrigerated section, not the freezer.
Lana says
Our favorite frozen Pizza is Screamin’ Sicilian thin crust. But we are more likely to buy a pizza from out and freeze the leftovers. A Sam’s Club pizza is three meals for us and cannot be beat at $8.98. We used to make the best homemade pizzas but then we got a new Jenn-Air stove and the oven is the worst for pizza.
Jenell says
We love cooking pizza on the grill.Makes even a frozen pizza taste better.
Nicole says
My daughter and son-in-law have a small, gas-powered Ooni. ‘Use it all the time. A hit when entertaining. They’ve even taken it camping.
I’ve never thought of using our pizza stone on the grill. I’ll have to try that.
Trader Joe’s sells fresh pizza crust dough in the deli area for $1.49, Plain or Garlic-Herb. Makes 4-6 personal pizzas. Daughter and son-in-law have decided it makes using the Ooni regularly quite easy and the small cost is a time saver.
Honeybee says
I put my Lodge castiron pizza pan in a 500 degree oven for 30 minutes. After it is screaming hot I tell everyone to stand back and pull it from the oven.
Next I carefully place the homemade crust on the pan, add homemade sauce (made in batches and frozen), shredded mozzerella and minimal toppings.
This goes back in the 500 degree oven for 8 miunutes. it is removed from the oven when the crust is crispy and the cheese is bubbly. It is slid onto a large cutting board cut and eaten! We love it.
Mrs. C. says
I’m on a list to make meals for our priests, and I’m going to make them that pot roast in January! I got an Ooni as a gift, but haven’t tried it yet. When I do, I will report back!
Mrs. C. says
Shockingly, our favorite store-bought pizza is from Aldi. They have some fresh and some frozen. Thin crust is the one I like the best.
Karen says
I agree totally about the fresh also pizza. Best around….very large and great amount of toppings!!
Brianna says
The family likes Urban Pie Company. Their frozen pizzas are reasonably priced and have uncured meats and good combinations. I personally eat Amy’s frozen pizza, they are good, but not great. I also bake homemade pizza at home, but I just use the oven and nothin fancy. When I go out, I love brick oven pizza. I cannot tolerate most National chain pizzas, so we never order those. I like the really chewy crust and the “oven” flavor on the brick oven pizza. I do not like limp, soggy, or greasy pizza.
Rita says
We really like Costco’s Motor City Pizza Co Double Pepperoni Detroit-Style Deep Dish Pizza. Whew! That’s a mouthful! There’re 2 to a pack for $12.50.
Sharon L Thompson says
I agree that the Costco’s Motor City pizza is great!
Sue says
We also love the motor city deep dish pizza. We alternate Fridays (pizza day ) one week motor city and the next day homemade on a pizza Steel in the oven. Love your blog Mavis!
Lynda Rees Kling says
I’ve made pizza at home. Don’t like any of the frozen ones. Have decided I’d really prefer it fresh from the pizza shop, so if we want it, we get it there.. don’t eat it that often, so it’s a treat
Kippy says
We really like the thin crust (puff pastry like) pizzas from Trader Joe’s. Just right for two people.
SueD says
We like the thin crust fresh pizza at ALDI. We’ve frozen them as well as cooked them from fresh. I prefer to make my own pizza, though.
charwelsh says
Another fan here of Screamin’ Sicilian. Thin crust DiGiorno is pretty good too.
Vy says
You definitely levelled up my pot roast, it’s our family staple now on Christmas Eve (when I host, so everyone else can scatter on Christmas Day)! I have so much trust in your taste that I have now made the drive to Trader Joes to check off some of your favorites. Looking forward to that freezer full of goodness! I do love Chick-Fil-A! But … I had to stop going in support of my friends and family that identify as LGTBQ, because I love them more, WAH! No judgment to anyone, just my own story!