Sunday Shopping....

 

I worked out a plan, a list, an idea. I had different meals for different days. But going to the store on Sunday I decided that I would rather spend  more on a few items that I could eat on all week rather than make something new every day. 

 

So for $21.69 I got breakfast and dinner for several days, leaving me $13.31 for later in the week.   I went to the self check out as I usually do and realized that two of the items came up more than I thought they would ... I thought the sausage was $3 and it was $4.42.  I thought the dried cranberries were $1.50 and they were $3.49!  Lesson learned ... next time go through a line with an actual checker so you can easily have things checked or deleted from your bill.  I thought I was only spending $18.28.

 

Bags of oranges were $1.69 a pound and grapefruit was 10 for $10.  So I got 2 of the biggest grapefruits I could find and 4 lbs of oranges and a bag of dried cranberries.  I made a citrus salad: 

• 2 grapefruit, supremed segments
• 6 oranges, supremed segments
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• Dash of salt and black pepper
• 1 Tlb honey 
• 1 Tlb olive oil

The longer it marinates, the better it will be. The cranberries will plump up.  Delicious!  

  

I also bought the makings for a giant bean soup:  (This could feed an army!)

• 1 bag of 16 bean soup mix
• 1 bag of split peas (just because I LOVE peas - any other beans would do)
• 1 large white onion
• 1 sweet potato
• 4 cans low fat/low sodium chicken stock (60 oz)
• 1 package of hot Italian sausage
• Olive oil
• Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste

I cooked the sausage and the onions over medium heat for about 30 minutes with a tablespoon of olive oil until everything was a deep brown.  I deglazed the pan with one can of chicken stock. Added the Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. I cooked that down some more to a thick, dark, meaty base. I added  the soaked beans, the sausage mixture, three more cans of chicken stock and a diced sweet potato into a soup pot.  I brought it up to a boil and then lowered it to the lowest setting and let it simmer for about 3 hours. 

(Note - I thought it was good, but the peas sort of turned to mush.  If I was serving this to guests, I'd either choose a larger bean or cook the beans separately and add them together at the end.  But for me the mushy peas were just fine.) 

 

SO GOOD! So filling! YUM! I won't mind eating on this for several days. I imagine that it's just going to get better each day as the ingredients meld together in the fridge. YUM! I was surprised how much flavor there was with so few ingredients.