So fresh and so clean clean

Today, I drudged home.  I'm sure drudge isn't meant to be used like that, but what can I say?  I drudged.

I was definitely not looking forward to shopping in my blaaaah state, and I was equally sure that we had nothing in the cupboards.  I also didn't want to eat out.  I'm such a difficult case!

However, when I looked in the cupboards, I discovered they weren't so bare after all!  I found leftover bits from snacks (grapes and cucumber), half a head of lettuce, and a tangerine.  Toss on a handful of almonds from my ever-present stash, and we're in business!  Plus, it was a delight to have something so light and nourishing.  I swear, when I eat salads with minimal dressing, I can just feel all the antioxidants going to work and repairing my body.

Tom was also relieved not to do the big grocery schlep.  As the designated dish washer as well, all he has is a chopping knife, cutting board and two plates and two forks.

And, just for kicks:
Salad: $15
tangerine:  $.5
Cucumber:  $.25
grapes:  $.10
Almonds:  $.20
dressing:  $.05
Grand Total:  $.80

Carne Asada: Chicken, it's what's for dinner on those 70's style plates

Sometimes, my friends, I do not use recipes.  I just go to the store and wander around until something speaks to me.  I did this especially often when I lived in Italy and loved going to get good, fresh produce every day as much for the experience of talking to the farmers as for the fresh food itself.  There were veggies I didn't even recognize, like chard.  I don't think of chard these days as being especially Italian, but it was Italy that introduced me to that veggie.

This wandering food collection habit is rarer these days, as I require a car to get to the store, and I refuse to waste gas on such a silly habit. But every so often, such as today, I end up at a shopping center for a number of tasks and hop into a grocery.  I knew that we were running low on food stuffs at home, as it's time for me to make my list, check it twice, and hit the grocers, so I considered myself to have free reign for the evening meal.  I wandered about my favorite local chain, Sprouts, looking for low prices on things I don't usually buy, like specialty meats.  Low and behold, there were two finds, chicken basil sausage for 2.99/lb and carne asada (pollo) for 1.99/lb.  Dallasites, if those sound good to you, go forth to Sprouts.

I snatched up an onion and zucchini to go with the sausage (zucchini was significantly cheaper than peppers) and made those for lunch.  Delicious and cheaper than a lean cuisine!  For dinner, we had the carne asada over salad with a dressing I blitzed together in the Magic Bullet (cilantro, lime juice and canola oil).  We had plenty of leftovers and will use them tomorrow for omelets with black beans and cheddar.

I have decided to include costs in this blog in part so I can remind myself how much we save when we don't go out to eat.  No matter what, though, I will never stop eating the Blue Mesa Sunday Brunch.  But I digress..... Cost per person for salad:

Chicken	$.80
Lettuce	$.22
Green onion	$.05
Canola oil	$.05
Cilantro	$.05
Lime	$.05
Grand Total	$1.22

Sprouts also gives you an ingredients label on all of its meat products, and they generally look like this:  ingredients:  chicken, tomatoes, honey, herbs, spices, flavorings, lemon juice, vinegar, lime juice, water, salt.  While flavorings and spices are fairly nebulous, overall it is a good looking list of good stuff!