Save Your Money- Buy Our Groceries: Vol. 17

For the scoop on this series of posts, click here!

THIS WEEK’S MENU

Breakfast

• Quiche Muffins with Apple and Pear Salad

Lunch

• Mediterranean Chicken Pitas

Dinner

• Veggie Pot Pie

Snack

• Guilt-Free Chocolate Shake

THE GROCERY LIST  (for 2 people)

• 1 zucchini
• 5 pears
• 5 apples
• 5 plum tomatoes (or heirlooms)
• 1 head iceberg lettuce
• 1 lemon
• 1 long hothouse cucumber
• 1 bag of carrots
• 1 large rutabaga
• 6 medium parsnips
• 20 oz. cremini mushrooms
• red onion
• 5 shallots
• fresh rosemary
• fresh parsley
• 1 pack of turkey or low-fat bacon
• 3 lbs. chicken breasts
• 8 oz. swiss cheese
• dozen eggs
• small thing of heavy cream
• fat-free milk
• fat-free buttermilk
• 1 cup fat-free Greek yogurt
• 4 cups veggie broth
• whole wheat flour
• 10 pitas
• 5 cups chocolate low-fat frozen yogurt
• agave syrup

WHAT WE ALREADY HAD AT HOME

• salt
• pepper
• olive oil
• cooking spray
• cooking sherry
• dried oregano
• tahini
• garlic
• all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp. butter
• dried thyme
• unsweetened cocoa powder
• baking powder

PREP ON SUNDAY

Quiche Muffins

• 1 pack of turkey or low-fat bacon, chopped into bits
• 1 zucchini, 1/4 inch diced
• 8 oz. swiss cheese, shredded
• 1/2 of a red onion, 1/4 inch diced
• dozen eggs
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup fat-free milk
• 1/2 tsp. each of salt and pepper
• 24 small fresh rosemary sprigs

Preheat oven to 425.   Cook chopped bacon in a pan over medium high heat until well done and crisp.  Transfer to a dish lined with paper towels to drain.  Line 24 muffin tins with muffin liners.  Evenly distribute the bacon, onion, zucchini and cheese into the 24 liners.   Beat eggs, cream, milk, salt and pepper in a bowl until well blended and smooth.  Carefully pour egg mixture into the liners.  Start with a little in each first, and keep adding bit by bit until all of your liners are evenly filled and you are out of egg mixture.  Top each with a small sprig of rosemary.  Bake 15 minutes.  Let cool a bit, and then remove Quiche muffins from the tins and let cool at room temp.  Store in a container in the fridge for the week.

Chicken for the Pitas

• 3 lbs. chicken breasts, cubed
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1/2 lemon, juiced

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat until very hot.  In the meantime, mix everything together in a bowl until the chicken is well covered.  Spray the pan with cooking spray.  Cook chicken in batches.  Don’t crowd your pan; I did mine in 3 batches.  Load the pan with an even layer of chicken pieces and let them cook, without moving them around until brown on one side.  Flip each piece with tongs and cook until browned on the other side.  Remove and transfer to a bowl.  Repeat until all of your chicken is cooked.  Cover and refrigerate for the week.

Cucumber Yogurt Sauce for the Pitas

• 1/2 cucumber, seeded and shredded on a grater
• 1 cup fat-free Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 10 garlic cloves, minced
• salt and pepper

Put cucumber shreds in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze to remove some of the excess moisture.  Mix everything together in a bowl and salt and pepper to taste.   Store in the fridge for the week.

Filling for the Veggie  Pot Pies

• 1 bag of carrots, peeled and cut into hefty slices
• 1 large rutabaga, peeled and cut into about 1/2 inch dice
• 6 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into hefty slices or dice if they are super fat
• 4 cups veggie broth
• 2 cups fat-free milk
• 1/3 cup flour

Combine everything in a large pot and add just enough water so the liquid is at the same level as the veggies.  Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes or until everything is tender but not falling apart.  Remove the veggies with a slotted spoon and transfer to a very large bowl.   Transfer 1 cup of the cooking liquid to a small bowl and whisk in the flour until smooth; set aside.   Keep the rest of the liquid in the pot for now and turn off the heat.

• 20 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tsp. dried thyme

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the butter.  Add the mushrooms and thyme; saute until mushrooms are tender.  Add the cooked mushrooms to the carrots, parsnips and rutabaga.

• 5 shallots, finely chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons cooking sherry
• 1 tsp. salt

In the same pan, saute the shallots and garlic in the butter for a few minutes over medium heat.  Add the thyme, salt and cooking sherry.  Stir for about 30 seconds.  Add the pot of cooking liquid and heavy cream.  Increase the heat, bring to a boil and then whisk in the flour paste.   Continue to whisk until the mixture comes to a boil again.  Reduce heat and simmer, frequently whisking for about 12 minutes or until smooth and thick.  Pour over the veggies in the large bowl and toss to combine everything.  Store covered in the fridge for the week.

BREAKFAST- 5 minutes

Quiche Muffins with Apple and Pear Salad

I made up these Quiche muffins this week and they are SO delicious.  Imagine a cross between a frittata and a Quiche in a muffin shape!

• 1 apple
• 1 pear
• 4 Quiche muffins from Sunday

Core and chop the apple and pear and mix together.  Divide between two small bowls.  Warm the Quiche muffins up in the microwave for 30 to 45 seconds.   Serve 2 muffins with the fruit for each person.

LUNCH- 5 minutes

Mediterranean Chicken Pitas

• 1 small plum or heirloom tomato, sliced
• 8 thin slices of cucumber
• a few thin slices of red onion (from the remaining 1/2 you have from Sunday)
• handful of iceberg lettuce, chopped
• 2 tablespoons yogurt sauce
• 2 pitas, cut in half
• 1 cup chicken from Sunday, warmed in the microwave

Divide everything between the four pita halves and add a small dollop of yogurt sauce to each.  Serve each person two halves.

SNACK-  5 minutes

Guilt-Free Chocolate Shake

• 1 cup chocolate low-fat frozen yogurt
• 1 cup 1% low-fat milk
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon agave syrup

Puree everything together in a blender or with an immersion blender.   Divide between two glasses and serve!

DINNER-  55 minutes

Veggie Pot Pies

• 2 1/2 cups of the veggie mixture
• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. minced fresh parsley
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1/3 cup fat-free buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400.  Combine flours, baking powder, parsley and olive oil in a bowl until evenly mixed.  Add buttermilk, a little at a time just until it comes together into a soft, sticky dough.   Divide veggie mixture between two oven-safe ramekins or small ceramic baking dishes.   Top each with half of the dough.  Brush the tops with a little buttermilk.  Bake 45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.