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Home > No Work Today & I Need Dinner Help

No Work Today & I Need Dinner Help

November 23rd, 2010 at 07:41 pm

My boss is out today, so I get the day off. Spending the day home with the kids. That saves money on childcare. (Yikes that's been a big bill recently) Will try to get some household chores done..I am not feeling very motivated Wink And I am making salmon for dinner tonight. Trying Monkey Mama's crockpot recipe.

This brings me to a bit of a problem I have had for awhile and would love some help with. I keep wanting to post and then forget. Really need new ideas for dinner. What is your family's favorite? And favorites that can be made ahead or frozen. Healthy is a plus, but a distant third to tasty or quick. Big Grin I bet we'll all find these recipes helpful.

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Traveling to family for the Thanksgiving holiday. We will be leaving Thursday morning and eating dinner at my mom and dad's house. My inlaws will join us there and later we will travel to their house to stay Thursday and Friday night. My DH and his dad like to shop Black Friday. I can't stand all the crowds and crazyness, so I never go out. Smile I think I will take the kids to visit my grandparents on Friday. My grandma's back has been hurting her so she doesn't want to make the three hour drive to my mom's house. I really want to see my grandparents and give them a chance to see baby DS and DD. We will save money by not having to buy food, but spend money on extra gas. It is very important to me to see my family as often as I can and especially around the holidays.

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I will be doing some kitty care next week and will make $200. Christmas money. My most recent kitty care money has gone to pay on the CC. A little to this and a little to that. Trying to balance.

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And the computer woes continue. I realized I had
pictures of myself while I was pregnant with DS on the computer that I don't think we backed up anywhere else. Frown AND, I don't have any programs! No Word, Works, Excel etc. And we can't find any disks for these. These programs were on the computer when we bought it, so shouldn't we have some way of getting them back without having to buy them?

11 Responses to “No Work Today & I Need Dinner Help”

  1. MonkeyMama Says:
    1290547715

    I don't know about Microsoft products, but you can download "open office" for free. IT's pretty much the same stuff - just a free version. (It's compatible with Microsoft files - excel, word, etc.).

    I was thinking of making the salmon this weekend, too. Yum!

  2. Ideas Says:
    1290549254

    A few ideas for dinner... layer in this order in crockpot: potatoes, sliced in thick slices, sliced onion, carrots, corn, peas, beans (whatever you have)- salt & pepper each layer. Pour a can of tomato soup over the top then fill the can with water and pour over the top of the soup. Cook all day on low. You can add any variety of veggies & meat if that's your thing.

    Another thing I do is make brown rice w/ some salsa (for color & flavor) in rice cooker and once cooked, spoon that mixture into steamed bell peppers. Sprinkle with cheese & bake in oven til cheese melts. I generally don't measure anything so I have no exact measurements ( just eye it). Smile

  3. MonkeyMama Says:
    1290549539

    P.S. We get most our recipes from "Taste of Home." They focus a lot on frugal and easy recipes.

    Text is http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes and Link is
    http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes

  4. Looking Forward Says:
    1290550062

    MMama - Thanks I am going to look for that program now. I just set up the salmon and I added a touch (sprinkle) of ginger to it too. Just felt like it might be right, I'll let you know.
    PS I remember your blog mentions of "Taste of Home" now! Thanks for the link.

    Ideas - Thanks. Those both sound yummy! And I like "eyeing" out my cooking too. Smile

  5. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1290576211

    I also use Open Office for most of my documents. Another option is using Google Docs.

  6. Looking Forward Says:
    1290577532

    FT - Thanks for the recomendation!

  7. Jane Says:
    1290621279

    Some of my quick (15-20 minutes MAX), easy, very frugal favorites (and reasonably healthy, although I admit they are not for the salt-sensitive or dieting obsessed!):

    Burritos- saute garlic and frozen corn, add 1 can refried beans (I like the ones with chilis), cook until soft and melty and add some cilantro. Spoon bean mixture onto soft burrito shell and roll up with your choice of cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, etc. You can double it to keep the filling in the fridge for leftovers.

    Haluski- cook those broad flat egg noodles, drain. Saute strips of green cabbage with butter and garlic salt at the same time. Combine and stir over heat for a minute or two to mix. Add pepper to taste. Important not to skimp on the butter.

    Oriental mock lobster sauce dish- In large pan or wok, cook protein of your choice, mushrooms, garlic, sliced water chestnuts, and baby corn (or other veggies you like) with olive oil. In a bowl mix 1 cup chicken or beef broth, 1/2 cup oyster sauce, a few green onions cut into 1 inch pieces, and 1 tablespoon corn starch. Pour sauce into wok when the other stuff is cooked, stir on medium/medium high heat until thickened. Can add an egg white at this point and stir through for extra protein if you make it vegetarian like I do. Serve over rice or rice noodles.

    Stuffed crescents- just fill crescent roll dough with cheese and brocoli or ham, then bake as usual. Children can easily do this, or each child can choose their own veggies to include.

  8. Homebody Says:
    1290640467

    We used to do some freezer cooking days when the girls were all still home, then pulled them out and baked when getting home from work, or pull out and thaw the night before. So easy.

    We made of course lasagna, chicken or turkey enchilada casserole, mexican lasagna, burritos, spaghetti sauce (just cook the noodles), taco filling, etc. Look for OAMC (once a month cooking) on google and there are sites to help.

  9. Jerry Says:
    1290809118

    Enchiladas are easy, tasty, and generally lead to a bunch of full tummies at our house. We fill them with beans or beef or chicken (whatever is available) plus rice and cheese, and cover them with enchilada sauce. Easy as pie, and it is some insurance for a fast meal as well. There are some good recipes in this thread!
    Jerry

  10. Looking Forward Says:
    1290981247

    Thanks for your help!
    I am so hungry now. Big Grin

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