What Was I Thinking?

Day One:

When did grocery prices get so high? I don’t remember the last time I spent so much money at the grocery store. I’m not even sure I got everything I really need. It was a wild-hair trip; I didn’t even take a list. I need to prepare better if I’m going to succeed with this cooking-at-home thing. I don’t know what I was thinking. There’s food in the kitchen now; it’s up to me to prepare it. I can do this, right?

Day Two:

I will take stock of what I bought yesterday and make a plan. I’m going to see exactly how much money I save by eating at home, and I’m going to see if I feel better at the end of the month when I’ve controlled everything I’ve eaten. But, let’s be honest, I really, really want to grab a pizza and be done. I don’t even want to think about meal planning, menus, or even if I need to buy more food to cook. Ugh! I should know better than to decide to do something different without a detailed plan in place first!

Day Three:

Driving home from work today was more peaceful than usual. I wasn’t worried about dinner for a change. I wasn’t looking at each drive-thru to see what was the least crowded or what piqued my interest. I opened my car door at home and immediately caught a whiff of enticing aromas. My mouth instantly watered, and I could barely wait to get inside. Armed with a new recipe, I’d loaded the crockpot and started dinner before leaving for my shift early this morning. So convenient! I hope it tastes as good as it smells! I’m trying to avoid it until everyone else is home. Maybe I should really make it a special dinner and set the dining room table instead of settling for dinner in front of the television or in the kitchen at the bar.

Day Four:

Last night’s dinner was beyond delicious! I never knew I could cook something that tasted so good. To be honest, I had felt limited to the “add a pound of hamburger and make a meal” boxed meals or breakfast foods until now. I guess my challenge for this month is two-fold then. Eat out less—well, not at all—and learn to cook REAL food for myself and my family. I’ve even surprised myself by not settling for pop-it-in-the-oven freezer meals. As a matter of fact, I only purchased one of those as a backup in case I end up working over one night or something like that. Tonight’s dinner is already in the oven, and the house smells amazing again! I could get used to this cooking thing. Maybe. Or not. I mean, at least these first couple of days have gone well. Not an abject failure. Yet.

Day Five:

Tonight, I’m attempting something new. I’m making my own pasta sauce. Normally, I grab a jar or a can of premade sauce, but I decided to try my hand at making my own. The base will be canned tomatoes because tomatoes are not in season right now, and I don’t want my sauce to taste bland. So, I chose some good quality, canned tomatoes with NO added anything. I did my research and found out what preeminent chefs consider THE canned tomato to purchase if you need to, and then I found them. Surprisingly, they weren’t that much more expensive than the store brand, and it was actually LESS expensive than my favorite pasta sauce. I sauteed some onions, bell pepper, mushrooms, and garlic together, added my tomatoes, and allowed them to slowly simmer. Then I added some fresh herbs—oregano, basil, thyme. My house smells heavenly. I do have some premade meatballs that my mom sent over that I plan to add to my sauce. Then, it’s a matter of making the pasta. It really hasn’t taken that long to make, and it already smells better than the jarred sauce I usually choose. I’m going to add a tossed salad and some garlic bread to complete the meal.

Day Six:

Well, we made it to Friday. I won’t even lie. I wanted to stop at my favorite burger place and pick up a big, juicy hamburger for dinner tonight. I didn’t, but man, how I wanted to. I have no clue what I’m making for dinner when I get home, either. Maybe I should have gone to the grocery store and grabbed something quick, but that defeats the purpose of this challenge. How do people do this ALL THE TIME?!?!

After looking in my refrigerator, I remembered I had some ground meat that I’d thawed to make my spaghetti last night, but I didn’t use it because my mom sent the meatballs she’d made. I can’t tell you how excited that makes me! I can still have my hamburger! I have some lovely brioche buns that I bought at the store, lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, and cheese. So, hamburgers for dinner it is! And that’s a fun meal that we can eat while watching a movie or binge-watching one of our favorite shows. Maybe I can do this.

Day Seven:

The urge to go out for breakfast was huge this morning. We didn’t, though. We worked together and made pancakes, bacon, and scrambled eggs. It was a good breakfast. After three cups of coffee, I felt ready to tackle the day.

Of course, I forgot we’re all home all day on the weekends. That’s three meals to plan, cook, and eat. That’s three times as many complaints from the kids about not getting to go get something. It’s also three times as much work. Thankfully, I was somewhat prepared for dinner. I made extra pasta sauce on Thursday night, so it will be used to help create a lasagna for tonight. I’ve never made homemade lasagna before. I always just bought the premade kind you pop in the oven.

But, I forgot about lunch.  Of course, it wasn’t long before the kids started begging to go out to our favorite pizza place for lunch. Instead, I made grilled cheese and tomato soup and convinced them to build a blanket fort in the family room. It would have been much easier to cave to their desire for an outing, but as I heard them playing, I knew I’d made the right choice.

Now, let’s go put together a lasagna, and I hope it’s as successful as the other meals were today.

Day Eight:

Sunday brings a whole new challenge I forgot to consider. All of our friends from church want us to go out for lunch after services. It’s not in my plan for this month, so I have to be the one to say, “Not this week, but thanks anyway.” I hate being the “no” person in the group! It makes me feel like I’m disappointing everyone, including myself.  

Luckily, I had a plan for Sunday lunch and Sunday night’s supper. The family was on board with the plan, so they were fine with telling our friends no to a day out. We went home and made homemade pizzas instead. It was fun! And, it was a learning experience for us all. We all laughed and joked, and critiqued each other. I’ll cherish those memories forever.

I’ve made it eight days. EIGHT days without stopping for so much as a cup of coffee that I didn’t make myself. I don’t know if I’ll make it all month or not, but I didn’t think I’d make it this far, either. Here’s hoping…