The daily grind

Lately I am getting very burned out trying to figure out what to have for dinner every night. I love to cook, although my desire to spend a long time in the kitchen preparing anything is gone now that I am using up my energy chasing a toddler around. I try to spend around 30 minutes tops during the week, then one night out on Saturday, then a little more involved or special meal on Sunday.

But trying to eat healthy on a budget is taking it's toll on me. Sometimes I just stare into space when I'm supposed to be thinking of menus the night before my big grocery trip. I have a sectioned notebook where I try to jot down any recipe or meal combination that we like. And I have a great Betty Crocker quick meals cookbook, and a huge recipe binder filled with ones I've either tried and liked or would like to try someday. The last few months though, I don't even want to flip through them.

One thing I've gotten better about, though, is looking through my pantry, fridge and freezer before making my list to take full advantage of eating up stuff we already have. I've noticed a HUGE difference in the amount of food that gets thrown away. I've also done better about planning multiple meals using an ingredient if a recipe only calls for a small amount of it, like a jar of roasted red peppers or Kalamata olives, or a bag of spinach.

Last night we had a Cafe Madrid at home night. I attempted for the first time to make a Spanish omelet. I overcooked my potatoes (they were more like potato chips when I got through with them), so the result wasn't anything like the wonderful fluffy omelet from the restaurant. But I nailed the red peppers, goat cheese and capers, which almost made up for the crunchy omelet. Next time, along with knowing I need to cook my potatoes less than the recipe suggests, I also hope to find some white asparagus or saute some spinach. Or maybe we'll just head to Dallas for the real thing!

On a side note, Gabriel's appetite has become almost as unenthusiastic as my desire to plan menus. He just picks at his food, or plays with it. He's eating less than half what he used to, which I guess I'm glad to see. If he had kept going at the pace he's had up to this point, we would've had to start him on the South Beach Diet.