WIS, WWA | Back up to four
Hello, hello, everyone!
Mr. FG came back into town last weekend, so we were back up to four diners at the table this week.
What I Spent
I spent:
- $46 at Giant
- $30 at Harris Teeter
- $11 at Noodles and Company
- $16 on takeout for Sonia and Zoe on Wednesday
So, $103 altogether, which is not at all shabby.
What We Ate
Saturday
Mr. FG got back super late Saturday night, Sonia was at work, Lisey was visiting, and of course, Zoe and I were here.
(That makes three dinner diners, for those of you keeping track at home.)
Since a date night obviously wasn't happening, I opted to use our date night budget to get wings from Lisey's favorite local wing shop.
Sunday
We went to visit my sister-in-law for Halloween night, and we ate pizza there.
Monday
I got a rotisserie chicken, toasted some croissants, and sauteed some asparagus for an easy dinner.
Tuesday
I christened my new crockpot (!) by trying a crockpot recipe for chicken tinga, sent to me by reader Rose.
(We met Rose, who labels herself "not frugal" in this Meet a Reader post).
This used chicken thighs, which is smart for a crock-pot recipe, as they're so much less likely to dry out. We ate the chicken as a taco filling, with chips, salsa, and queso on the side, plus homemade applesauce.
Wednesday
Wednesday is my, "I'm not cooking!" night.
Mr. FG ate some Costco frozen chicken nuggets, Sonia and Zoe got fast food takeout, and I ate a Korean noodle bowl at Noodles and Company while Zoe was at youth group.
Thursday
I used the leftover chicken from Tuesday night to make burrito bowls, with rice, sauteed peppers and onions, lettuce, cilantro, cheese, and so on.
Friday
Zoe will be at a friend's house, and Sonia will be working, so maybe we will do our date night tonight!
This week, we made a plan and stuck to it! And we had a breeze cooking as a result.
Sunday we ate beetroot and sausage and had dessert (because Sunday) and cooked a casserole ahead.
Monday was casserole with potatoes and brussels sprouts
Tuesday was remainder of sausage with braised red cabbage and potatoes
Wednesday was the last casserole with peas and mashed potato/mashed celeriac, plus a hamburger for the lads
Yesterday my husband made Mac ''n cheese and we had fruits with that as well
Today I' ll be cooking kale stew with bacon.
We will be eating goat next week. Male baby goats are a side product of goat's cheese farms and the meat is lean and tender so I am told. I have some in our freezer that we should eat as our freezer will be replaced soon. I'll be trying a Portugese roast recipe but suggestions are welcome!
@J NL, I am wondering about your Kale Stew. What do you put in it? Do you have a recipe to share? Thanks!
@Bernadine,
It is simply cooking potatoes and finely cut kale in one pot until done, drain excess water, and mix with crispy chunks of bacon and fresgky ground pepper. Serve with sausage, mustard, and pickles cornichons and small onions. There is also a version with some cooked barley for more bite.
Kale is digested better when it has been frozen, so freeze the shredded leaves if the weather is not cold enough.
This stew is standard winter food in the Netherlands, it is such a healthy vegetable. I can recall my father bringing in a tub full of leaves from his allotment and we would tear the leaves from the stalks. Nowadays you can just buy kale shredded at the green grocer.
Chicken Tinga is so delicious! So how did the first time using the crockpot go?
This week, I made:
Sunday: We accidentally bought "Pork belly ribs", which is pork ribs with the belly still attached. I have very little experience cooking pork (my family doesnt eat it, so my mom never made it at home), but I managed to braise them with potatoes. Salad on the side (I think)
Monday: pasta with cipolata sausage, kale and homemade pesto
Tuesday: chicken enchiladas. My first time making/ eating enchiladas. so good!
Wednesday: leftover pasta
Thursday: leftover enchiladas
today: TBD
Sunday I knew everyone would be home for supper so I browned thick pork loin chops and then layered them in the crock pot to stew down in the homemade gravy and sliced carrots. Served with a small batch of homemade mashed potatoes ( the potatoes NEEDED used up) and a pot of rice. Served with some frozen veg.
Monday everyone home again so I invited my mom over for supper. Grilled a few small steaks from the freezer and some chicken tenders. sliced and served with Mexican rice, seasoned black beans, chips and queso and all the toppings.
Tuesday-Lots of leftovers in the fridge so everyone ate when they were hungry.
Wednesday- I tossed some frozen meatballs into a pot with jarred sauce. Served with a bag of frozen cheese ravioli, salad and air fried some garlic toast.
Thursday- I was out helping at a teacher supper but the sink was full of soaking containers so leftovers were eaten...
Friday- I realize everyone will be home for supper.. time to plan a meal for all of us tonight!
I am very impressed that your spending totals are remaining so low. Food costs have increased a great deal where I live and I think about how difficult this must be for large families.
@Bee, I was thinking the same thing. I am feeding 4 in my family and I am finding it a challenge to stay under $150/week. And that is just food not household supplies or toiletries.
I'm kind of surprised at this myself! Maybe Lisey was eating a whole lot more food than I thought she was. She's not a big person, but she was working very physically demanding jobs when she lived here. So, maybe her absence is really bringing down my food bill?
Noodle bowls sound really good to me right now for some reason. Maybe its the nip of fall in the air here! This week we ate:
Monday - Rotisserie Chicken, chopped salad with avocado (half of the chicken went into the freezer and I will make stock from the carcass)
Tuesday - I had a burger and fries after work which was free because the burger place "lost" my order on their computer system, so they just handed me the bag! Perfect because I didn't feel like cooking what I had planned.
Wednesday - Turkey Meatballs with linguini and butternut squash pasta sauce, skillet kale
Thursday - Cowboy Chicken Nachos (another freezer item) with avocado salsa, salad greens, shredded cheese
Tonight - Bruschetta Salmon, broccoli, twice bakeds {taking my car in for a minor repair in the afternoon}
Saturday - TBD, but I'm going to a winery in the afternoon to listen to live music. Maybe I will go find a noodle bowl place...
Sunday - I will probably heat up freezer leftovers or use up dabs of stuff I don't want to go bad. I pick up groceries curbside in the early morning.
@Gina,
Just a question from a non-US citizin: a winery, is that a pub that serves mainly wine? Or is it at a vinyard, just as you might taste beer at a brewery?
I've come across the expression before in the comments and am getting curious! The live music sounds like good fun anyway.
It's a vineyard. Lots of them serve food, have live music, etc.
@Rose,
That sounds like a great place for an outing- thanks for clarifying!
Saturday: We went to the village Halloween celebration, where the sole restaurant serves food. So everyone had some combination of baked potatoes, chili, enchilada casserole, and a ton of desserts.
Sunday: Pickled radishes (my mom brought a giant bag of radishes that were almost inedibly spicy--pickling tames them), tenderized beef rump steaks cut into pieces and fried in tallow with cumin, chile powder, salt, and lime juice; guacamole; tortilla chips. And then we took the children out to beg for their dessert door-to-door. 🙂
Monday: Breakfast sausage patties with some leftover cream gravy the school cook sent me home with (I had already had the sausage out to thaw--it was just a coincidence that Monday's hot breakfast at school included biscuits and gravy), leftover rice, leftover lentils, carrot sticks with ranch dip. And my husband had the remainder of the scrambled eggs and sausage that I also brought home from the school breakfast.
Tuesday: Roast beef, tomatoes, onions, and green beans all in the oven together. One of our squash I cooked to see if it will be a good substitute for pumpkin for Thanksgiving pie (it will). And some random macaroni and cheese that included the last of the gravy (which was basically a very thick white sauce with lots of pepper), leftover pureed calabaza (different type of winter squash), heavy cream, and two pieces of bacon leftover from breakfast. I was a bit low on cheese, so it could have used more of that, but it came out well enough. The kids liked it, anyway.
Wednesday: Leftover roast beef, sausage, macaroni, squash, and carrot sticks in various combinations.
Thursday: Pizza because I was making bread anyway, so I stole some of the dough for a beef break. Scrambled eggs with volunteer arugula, some of the tomatoes that are ripening on my counter still, and the last bit of feta because I only made one pizza and my husband and I don't need to eat a meal entirely comprised of pizza. Frozen peas because the garden vegetables are mostly done. Boo.
Friday: Bunless cheeseburgers, potatoes in some form, carrots in some form. It will all come together in the end. 🙂
Sunday was taco night, as it always is, to use up leftover meats from Saturday's homemade pizza night.
Monday one of my sons made sloppy joes in the crockpot (very good and you cook the beef beforehand, then stew it with the sauce for a few hours). We usually eat this over mashed potatoes or rice, rather than on buns. My youngest doesn't like them and had tacos with leftover sausage.
My husband was out of town, so I "only" had five people to cook for. Tuesday I wanted to make a dinner my youngest has been pining for: tuna patties. He even told me during dinner, "I would do ANYTHING for a tuna burger with cheese!" He ate three. We had crockpot fried rice as a side, as I had some cooked rice I wanted to use up.
Wednesday was kind of a hodgepodge--leftover tuna patties, fried egg sandwiches, chips and roasted broccoli and carrots--my broccoli was on the edge and when I cut it up there didn't seem enough, so i added carrots and roasted 'em. It all got eaten.
Thursday crockpot lentil soup, with roasted tofu on the side (my oldest had been talking wistfully about tofu), and onion rings, which my sons claim are an excellent side that goes well with lentil soup.
Tonight will be baked mac and cheese and green peas or mixed veggies on the side. Always a hit.
@Karen, Onion rings with lentil soup sounds good! Thanks for the idea. I'm never sure what to serve with lentil soup.
Grocery expenditures this week were $98 and some change, which included about $4 for cat treats. I spent $10 on three trays of manager special pork chops and pork steaks, and cooked those on Sunday as the meat entree for our family meal and to provide leftovers for work lunches. We managed ten plates of food out of the $10 spent.
Lunch is the big meal for us except on Sunday, when I cook a family supper, so my lunches this week were:
Monday: A really small piece of breaded fish and a few pieces of vegetarian chik'n from the freezer. These were leftover from other weeks and not enough to make a main protein on their own. Sides were an ancient grains blend of millet, buckwheat and quinoa (cooks up great in the rice cooker), cheesy broccoli, and sweet potato.
Tuesday through Friday: Main protein is one of the pork chops. Started with three, but they were a little large for me and I trimmed them down to make four servings. Same sides all week as on Monday. I usually don't get tired of leftovers.
Snacks were apple-flaxseed muffins, made with the last of October's apple purchase, and tangerines.
It was a good eating at home week for us. 🙂
Sat.: Potato Soup. I tried a new crock pot recipe and we LOVE it.
Sun.: Indian Style Creamed Spinach. Budget Bytes recipe.
Mon.: Creamy Chicken Tacos & Cowboy Caviar.
Tues.: I was more tired than hungry, so I had cereal and hubby had leftover tacos.
Wed.: Chili Mac and Potato Soup. Not mixed! Not cooking Tuesday night kind of threw our lunch game off on Wednesday. Fortunately, it's my work from home day, so I put chili in the Crock Pot and we had that for lunch, then the potato soup for dinner.
Thurs.: Potato soup for me and chili mac for hubby.
Fri.: I haven't decided. Maybe burrito bowls or tacos? I'm hoping for some inspiration in the comments!
@Danielle Zecher,
I do that too...I read the comments and jot ideas on my menu plan. Its awesome!
@Amanda, that's a good idea to write down ideas! I always think I'll remember, but then when I'm actually trying to write down a menu plan, I seem to draw a total blank.
I'm still figuring out my meals for one now, plus I was given food this week, so I didn't stay with my menu, but I managed to go without buying anything this week.
Seasoned ground pork leftovers and sauteed cabbage and... something
My daughter carved off a hunk of the yummy seasoned, smoked brisket her fiancé had made, and gave it to me along with acre peas she had cooked. I added something of my own, but I forget what.
Chicken tenders breaded in cassava and coconut flours, tostones, fruit
A big chopped salad topped with leftover chicken tenders
More of the brisket and peas, with carrots this time
MORE of the brisket (they had a huge brisket, and she gave me a huge chunk) with sauteed chard and sweet potato
Tuna salad with veggies chopped in it, cinnamon applesauce.
Tonight is anyone's guess. We are rainy and chilly today, but I won't be home to make a pot of soup, so unless I make it in the pressure cooker tonight, it will have to be something else.
Monday and Tuesday were my first days back in the office so I picked my two very easiest meals for those days. Going forward I think I might make those days the same each week (like sandwich mondays, taco tuesdays) to keep it easy.
Saturday - takeout pizza
Sunday - we hosted our families for Halloween (everyone wants to see the kids in costume) so I got cold cuts, rolls, chips, veggies and fruit and put it all out on the table so I wouldn’t need to be cooking or preparing anything while everyone was there.
Monday - spaghetti and meatballs (jarred sauce, frozen meatballs, very easy)
Tuesday - chicken patty sandwiches, French fries (straight from freezer to oven, my other easy meal)
Wednesday - creamy mushroom ramen (trying to incorporate one vegan meal a week, this one was a big hit!)
Thursday - made chicken stock in the slow cooker all day, then used it to make chicken noodle soup, served with biscuits
Friday - homemade pizza, with pepperoni and mushrooms
So did you like the chicken tinga? Twas a hit at our house. I should make it again, actually....
It was good! And it worked great for burrito bowls. Thank you for sharing!
We had a fairly disjointed week but we stuck with our plan!
Sunday: We had chili and corn muffins because that is our Halloween tradition
Monday: Teen was at a rehearsal during dinner time, she brought leftover chili in a thermos for her dinner and the rest of us had chicken tikka masala.
Tuesday: Taco Tuesday for all
Wednesday: Husband at a conference, younger daughter and I had some Asian chicken that I had made and froze previously. Teen made herself a breakfast sandwich and took it to rehearsal.
Thursday: Husband still at conference, younger daughter and I made baked potatoes with toppings, teen took pasta in thermos to rehearsal.
Friday: We will order pizza with some family members who are visiting, husband will return from conference but maybe not by dinner time.
This week I made a meal plan and it made life much easier!
Monday: Frittata and frozen pierogies
Tuesday: Pizza
Wednesday: spaghetti and meatballs (I'd made triple-batch and frozen them) and spinach salad.
Thursday: Some baked breaded chicken that my mom made and froze for us, soup that my in laws made and froze for us, and matzah balls that I made and froze for us. And leftover spinach salad.
Friday: To my parents' house we go! Hurrah!
Oh, and on Sunday we were at a friends and all threw in to get Japanese takeout. Since we were each paying our own, I splurged and got a bento box with a side order of veggie tempura. What a treat!
Sunday - We served at a Trunk or Treat that our church sponsored and I knew we would arrive home tired without the energy to cook so I stewed pork chops in the crockpot and we ate those with rice, mustard greens, and corn.
Monday - Leftovers
Tuesday - I had a huge harvest of green bell peppers from our garden so I tried a new recipe for stuffed bell pepper soup using leftover rice. Soup was tasty but next time I will leave the soup part and the rice separate as it soaked up most of the broth after it was cooked. I delivered soup to my sister's family as well to give her a break.
Wednesday - I threw a whole chicken into the crockpot, made a quick gravy with the broth from the chicken, and we had mashed potatoes, green peas, and sour cream muffins.
Thursday - Family date night so we went for a pizza.
Friday - Clean out the fridge. Leftover soup, leftover winner, winner chicken dinner. Lingering veggies. Really trying to avoid food waste as costs keep rising and we want to get the biggest bang for our buck.
Saturday - This will be a batch cooking day and we have a couple of cold days coming up so chili or soup of some kind. I will bake a cake or some muffins and probably a loaf of bread to help us enjoy some pumpkin butter that I cooked up from last years pumpkins.
Enjoy the weekend ahead everyone!
Chicken breasts don't dry out either if you only cook them for 90 minutes. Or even 60 minutes., 🙂
Crock pot recipes have cooking times that are way too long.
@April, agreed, at least when the meat is the primary ingredient. I have decreased the time on many of my crock pot recipes. The only time I have found this to be untrue is with this recipe: https://www.budgetbytes.com/taco-chicken-bowls/ and I think it's because the chicken breast stews in so much liquid. I can get away with putting this on first thing in the morning and having it for supper, making it a great workday recipe. Otherwise, if I need a meal to cook all day in my crock pot, I go for soups and stews.
@Kris, one of the reasons I don’t like using the crockpot is that the vegetables and meat often aren’t done at the same time! Such as hard crunchy potatoes and overdone chicken! Underdone carrots and way-too-done beef, etc. cooking in an oven or pot on stove I can manage much better. But it sounds like there are some recipes that might work.
Saturday- takeout pizza
Sunday- bacon wrapped chicken, grilled sausage, broccoli, French bread
Monday- bratwurst and sauerkraut, German potato salad, peas, and rolls
Tuesday- chicken tortilla soup and bread
Wednesday- Italian sausages and meatballs, spaghetti squash, sourdough bread
Thursday- leftover night
Friday- homemade pizza, garlic knots, and salad
I also made navy bean soup and took some to my mom- put some in the freezer for us for later. I cooked chicken breasts and shredded them and made vegetable broth and chicken broth for the freezer. I ordered some amazing heirloom beans from Rancho Gordo and they arrived this week so I will make some sort of bean-centric dish next week and freeze part of it- that’s my new thing now- freeze part of what I make for future meals because otherwise we get tired of having a dish for too many meals or let it go to waste. We also had sourdough waffles last Sunday using sourdough discard and my daughter loved them (highly unusual for miss picky) so I think a breakfast dinner with waffles as the centerpiece will be on the menu next week.
Still staying under my 90 dollar grocery budget. Fall soups are helpful to frugal grocery budgets.
Sat and Tuesday: broccoli cheese soup and tuna sandwiches in a pita
Sunday: out for brunch
Monday: lemon pepper chicken and air fryer sweet potatoe chunks with steamed Brussels sprouts
Wed and Thursday: a new to me chili rice skillet. It was fast and yummy. We ate it with tortilla chips and sour cream topping!
Friday: always pizza and salad. We mix it up between frozen. Take and bake. Homemade. Etc. tonight will be semi homemade on naan flatbread.
- Roasted vegetable and lentil loaf
- Portobello mushrooms filled with artichoke-spinach puree
- Three kinds of homemade soup: wild rice, pumpkin and tomato
- Plate of roasted veggies: acorn squash, mushrooms, and cauliflower
- Popcorn and fruit
I have no idea what we ate over the weekend. Monday we grilled salmon and had that with cous cous with green peas and feta, and roasted cauliflower.
Tuesday I used the crock pot to cook a "Cuban mojo" pork roast from Sam's. We had it for pork tacos with slaw, rice and beans.
Wednesday we had grilled chicken, salad, and leftover brown rice / cous cous
Thursday we had bbq pork sandwiches with leftover pork from Tuesday along with slaw and roasted potatoes.
Tonight we're making pizza with mushrooms. We'll probably have a salad with that. Thankfully I have a 20 minute pizza dough recipe because we'll be gone most of the day and will get home about an hour before dinner...
$16 Market Basket; $16 Star Market
Sat: went to wedding. Both partner and I had salmon that was served with roasted potatoes & Swiss chard.
Sun: drive home from wedding. Ate leftovers.
Mon: congee topped with Chashu pork, sesame-sautéed cabbage & red peppers, chili crisp, sliced radishes, cilantro & green onion.
Tues: leftover congee with leftover turkey meatballs in coconut and red curry sauce from last week (still so good!)
Wed: MORE leftover congee, this time a repeat of Monday's toppings
Thurs: homemade shaved steak & cheese sandwiches with sautéed onions and peppers. I get home around 7:30 after driving for 3.5 hours, so it needs to be a fast meal....
Fri: I think black bean, chicken, and kale enchiladas. I have all of the ingredients and the chicken and tortillas need to be used before they go bad....
Be sure to get crockpot liners. They will save all that cleaning. To me, the cost ($3/8 ?) is so worth it.
I was having a really bad day Friday and Saturday (very sleep-deprived, bad headache, no energy, etc.), so I didn't end up really planning much this week. Fortunately, I am not the only adult in my household! My spouse did the shopping on Saturday, and we talked through what was available in the freezer before he went.
Saturday: Pulled pork (freezer) on buns with coleslaw (coleslaw mix, mayo, apple cider vinegar, pepper, sugar)
Sunday: chili (we always make chili for trick-or-treating!)
Monday: Leftover chili turned into nachos
Tuesday: Leftover pulled pork
Wednesday: Game Night with our neighbors! I made spaghetti and meatballs (note: to make meatballs dairy-free, substitute red wine for the milk. It works really well!)
Thursday: Leftover night
Friday: Oh, we are SO having pizza this week. It's been a rough week. I'm married to a man who loves making the family pizza recipe I taught him. I am blessed.
This week:
1. Minestrone Soup (using potatoes instead of pasta)
2. Deconstructed Eggroll (tofu, slaw and rice mix)
3. Teryiaki Tofu, Rice, Broccoli
4. French Bread Pizza
5. Wendy's Takeout (special thanks to my husband who picked this up when he realized I had to work extra late this day)
6. Pasta with Marina Sauce
7. Squash/Kale Salad w/Krusty Bread-I think... still deciding :).
Curious: what's Krusty bread?
I love the crockpot! I work late on Monday nights, so in the fall and winter I try to use it to avoid the rest of the family having to fend for themselves or eat leftovers (which translates to cooking extra over the weekend. I didn't grocery shop this week, so I spent zero at the market, but we did have date night last night at a local diner that cost us about $27. Here's what we ate:
Saturday - Broiled haddock and shrimp with grilled asparagus and salad.
Sunday - Garlic chicken, baked potatoes, sautéed summer squash and zucchini.
Monday - Leftover garlic chicken, steamed green beans, pineapple chunks.
Tuesday - We had a dinner meeting for work that included pizza and wings. I took some leftovers home to the family.
Wednesday - Seared venison steaks with garlic portabella mushroom sauce, baked potatoes, pineapple chunks.
Thursday - Date night at the local diner. He had a turkey club and I had eggs and corned beef hash (they have the best breakfast menu).
Friday - Moroccan-spiced shish kebobs, rice and steamed broccoli.
You're just now getting a crock pot with a removable crock???!!! Game changer! (When I got married in 1981, non-removable was about all there was. When my sister got married in 1984, she got more than one crock pot. Our aunt, who had given her one of them, said, "I'll be happy to return mine, but the removable crock is really nice for cleanup.") I was ecstatic when I finally "needed" a new one and was able to get the removable crock. The liners take things to a whole 'notha level, but I forget to put one in over half the time.
Yes, a non-removable crock is super irritating! It really makes you not want to use it.
@Kristen, I can't even picture a crockpot without a removable pot. My first wedding present in 1977 was an early model with a metal pot that sat on top of a sort of burner thing. then just the pot part got washed.
I've been slacking on meal planning the last month or so, so thank you for the reminder to make a plan! This last week we had skinnytaste's drunken noodles, Papa Murphy's jack o'lantern pizza, pizza chicken (thin chicken breast as the crust, basically) with salad, pancakes, zuppa toscana, and nachos for dinners. Off to go make a plan for this next week ...
Last week was kind of weird. My mom was in the hospital over the weekend with Covid. She is nearly 86. I am happy to report she has already bounced back and is on the mend. She had pneumonia too. So the week is kind of a mish-mash in my brain. I know we had chili on Halloween, and one day I made a pork roast with carrots and potatoes. Oh yes, I also did the rotisserie chicken, with mashed potatoes and a veggie I can’t remember.
Oh my goodness, what a week for your mom! I am so glad that she is on the mend already.
Sat: Family "Octoberfest/Halloween" gathering
Sun: Pizza (take out) From a place that we go to regularly but not very good this time, especially for what it cost. Pizzas have become very expensive. I am going to stock dough in the freezer to have available when we want it.
Mon: Marinated steak. I had a couple of steaks in the freezer. baked potatoes, brussel sprouts and asparagus. Want to clean out the freezer.
Tues: Leftovers, green beans, mashed potatoes. It turned out there were 2 good-sized steaks from Monday, so there was enough left for us to have an easy supper--it's my work day.
Wed: Chicken breast, green beans, roasted potatoes.
Thurs: Pork chops, asparagus, garlic risotto
Fri: Veggie burgers baked beans. I did not really like the veggie burger but I finished it.
My husband went to the butcher shop today and bought himself salami; and for dinner tomorrow, we will be having the pastrami he bought. I'll have to get some rolls and sides.
Hi Kristen.... Would you mind sharing the crock pot recipe for chicken tinga?
This week I made Asian pulled pork using a crock pot. I used the meat to make Asian tacos using naan bread and topped with Asian coleslaw and Sriracha sauce.
I used the sauce from after cooking the meat and mixed it with plan cooked ramen and served the pork over it. Both dishes were delicious.
I stole it from the New York Times, so it's probably not cool for Kristen to share it. But I can! Ha.
Slow Cooker Chicken Tinga Tacos
•
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes, preferably fire roasted (about 9 ounces)
• 5 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
• 1 to 3 chipotle chiles, minced, plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce (from 1 can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce)
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 fresh or dried bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 white or red onion, thinly sliced
• Coarse kosher salt
• Kernels cut from 2 small ears fresh corn (about 2 cups) or 10 ounces frozen, thawed corn
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• Juice of 1/2 lime (about 2 teaspoons), plus more to taste
• 8 corn tortillas or tostadas
• Mexican-style crema or sour cream, for serving
• Sliced avocado, for serving
PREPARATION
1. In a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker, combine the chicken thighs, crushed tomatoes, garlic, chipotle chiles and adobo sauce, tomato paste, vegetable oil, bay leaf, oregano, cumin and half the onion. (Reserve the other half for serving.) Stir to combine and season with 2 teaspoons of salt. Cook on low until the chicken is very tender, about 6 hours.
2. About 15 minutes before serving, turn the heat to high and stir in the corn kernels, onion powder and lime juice. Cook until the corn is warmed through, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, if using tortillas, warm them.
3. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Using two forks, coarsely shred the chicken. Taste the tinga and add more salt or lime juice if necessary. Serve the tinga on tortillas or tostadas, topped with the remaining sliced onion, the crema and the avocado.
also if anyone hasn't heard: use an electric hand or stand mixer to shred chicken! Way less effort than using two forks.
@Rose, lol- cooking can be a good upper-body strength exercise
First-time commenter but avid comment section reader here! I love cooking but struggle with planning in advance. I tried this week inspired by you all!
Monday - instant pot pea and mushroom risotto!
Tuesday - sirloin steak and pasta arrabbiata (random meal but it worked!)
Wednesday - instant pot jap chae (nice springy glass noodles!)
Thursday (diwali!) - roti (chapathi), potato sabzi (stir-fried veg) and dal!
Friday - NYTs Jalapeno pork chops - so so good!
Another south Indian friend is coming over this weekend with his spouse! All of us grew up on the coast in India - so I am getting some fish from my fishmonger in NYC and cooking us a seafood feast. Fingers x.
The chicken tinga looks good. I've been wanting to try a recipe....
Let's see what we had for dinner. It was pretty laid back and one was a fail....
- Enchilada casserole (too lazy to make individual servings and I didn't have a lot of stuff)
- Smoked chicken sandwiches ( hubby loves to smoke everything)
- Pepperoni pizza (son works at a local pizza shop)
- Chicken & rice (from a bag)
- Chicken & wild rice soup (more like porridge)
Oh gosh, what did we eat?
-Beef & barley soup with homemade bread (of course, your recipe!)
-Chicken & dumplings (crockpot recipe)
-Spaghetti & meatballs. Sauce made from a variety of fridge "use it up" items
-Chicken wings & pot stickers
-Leftovers
I also inventoried the freezer, and now have a list of "hard to use up" items that are lingering. Those are on my plan for November. So far, used up two bags of grilled tomatoes, by chopping them & including them in the spaghetti sauce.