Weekly "Spesa" Shopping...Food for the Week
Today I did a big "spesa" for the week! The snowstorm is coming and I need to be ready!!
YES!!! I got my milk, bread and eggs!!! But that's not all... I had to think for the entire week...Its gonna be snowy, and cold and really, I don't feel like running out everyday to buy stuff for dinner!
I sat down this morning and planned out my meals for the week...Keeping in mind that Wednesday and Friday are NO MEAT days.
I made sure that I bought 3 loaves of semolina bread and I froze them as soon as I got home. Thats great since all you need to do is take out the bread when you need it and keep it out for about 15-20 minutes and let it thaw out a little and put it in the toaster oven just before serving! You can have a nice, hot loaf of semolina bread with your meal!
I'm a little bit of a coo coo bird when it comes to buying my groceries. There are specific things that I like from specific stores so I ended up going to 3 different stores to buy my stuff! I bought the bread and the cheese from one store, went to a big grocery retailer for my milk, paper dishes and frozen vegetables and finally my specialty store to pick up my meat and veggies and a nice big bag of frozen shrimp.
On the menu for today was large, round ravioli and my daughter made the sauce! She really mastered it and she's only 10 years old! I'm a very proud of my baby girl! I also bought a polenta roll that is sold pre-made.
RECIPE ALERT:
I sliced into 1/2 inch rounds and had some left over meat sauce. So I put some of the meat sauce into a small frying pan and placed 4 rounds on top at a time then flipped it. Let it cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side. It makes a great side dish with any meal.
*** I AM NOT PROMOTING ANY PRODUCTS NOR AM I RECEIVING ANY FUNDS FOR ANY PRODUCTS MENTIONED. THIS IS AN INFORMATIONAL SITE.
I also bought these breadsticks and made sure to separate each of them just a little ; not all the way through. I drizzled some olive oil on it, sprinkled some pecorino romano cheese, garlic powder, black pepper and then covered it with shredded mozzarella and made some cheesy garlic breadsticks! They were a real hit! Everyone loved them!
The menu for the week consists of my special meatloaf and believe me this ain't your ordinary meatloaf! It's delish! I also plan to make chicken marsala and I bought a beautiful cauliflower and I plan to make "A Pasta Indianata" with that. I bought 3 special cheeses for my home-made Mac and Cheese. One container has three different cheesed blended so it's really a 5 cheese Mac and Cheese! I have my frozen shrimp for Friday, I think I'll make Shrimp Oreganata....That should just about cover everyday of the week!
I like to plan ahead. It just makes it easier. I also like to cook ahead, usually on Sunday. I make my meals and put them in a silver tray, cover it and store it in the fridge until I'm ready to take it out and warm it up during the week! If I have a busy day during the week it's great to be able to come home, pull out a tray and warm it up! Voila dinner is served!
I also make sure to make a little bit more food so I have left overs to send my kids to school for lunch! My kids never eat school lunch! They always go in with Mama's food! They are the luckiest kids in school on Monday if Mama makes lasagna on Sunday! hahaha
My sister's both work and they always end up ordering out! I always tell them to cook on Sunday and save it in the silver trays so they can have a nice home-cooked meal during the week. Really...who wants to cook after a long day at work and its already 7pm??? A great tip is to make some sauce and freeze it in small containers so all you need to do is throw it in a pot and boil water for the pasta and Voilaaa you have a nice dish of pasta ca salsa for dinner. If you make soup, you can freeze it in smaller portions and keep it in the fridge for a cold night. You can come home and warm up to a nice bowl of home-made chicken soup! It's important to try to eat healthy and to eat home-made food than to constantly order. You will save a lot of money in the end, It will also teach the kids to make healthy choices!
Buon Appetito!! Enjoy!!