No Meat Monday

Field Roast Grain Meat Taco

My son is now committed to a meat free diet. He made these tacos from Field Roast Mexican Chipotle Grain Meat. Damn good food!

New Years Toast!

This time of year we tend to hibernate. We have made resolutions to eat healthier and not spend money like we had a lot. With those resolutions in mind Avril made bread and I butchered avocado for this delicious toast.

Avocado Toast

Peanut Butter Jelly Time!

Peanut Butter Jelly Time!

Alvarado St. Bakery sprouted California Style Bread,  Bonne Maman Strawberry Preserves,   Trader Joe's salted creamy style peanut butter,  Rustic cutting board from Minkoff Custom Knives Astoria Oregon.

Pastry Love

Pastry Love

I think the photo speaks for itself!
Creekside Bakery Novato, Ca.

Cofee and Camera in the Garden

Every year we plant a small garden off the back deck. This year has been a slow starer but we are finally seeing some results. Early morning is a great time for photos so I gathered my coffee and camera and came up with some tomato still life photos. Nothing better than home grown tomatoes!

Meal Inspiration

As I surf the inter-webs sometimes ideas leap into my brain. In a Bon Appetit "Road Trip Week" article, by Rick Matinez,  he remembers tacos his parents brought along for their road journey. My kids'  memories would be of Triscuits and Easy Cheese, our warm weather road trip staples. In our defense we got a lot more creative after our arrival. During our vacations to Disneyland we would rent a hotel with a small fridge and a microwave. It was long before the days of prerequisite free hotel breakfasts, so we  brought our  Black + Decker toaster oven. It was almost like having our own secret kitchen. Breakfasts of toasted bagels with cream cheese or peanut butter were favorites. On a couple of days we bought very inexpensive Pan Dulce and orange juice from the Mexican Market next door. Trying to usher four kids around the market was like herding cats, so i promised them they could split  two packages of Pinguinos if they were good. Dinner items included hot dogs, frozen pizza and macaroni - cheese. For the vegetable-fruit meal components we bought snack packs of carrots, celery and sliced apples. We had the best times and did not bust the bank.

We decided on a small road trip to a local park today so I used Mr. Martinez taco for frugal inspiration. I put together some breakfast tacos and a thermos of coffee for less than three bucks. We drove past the Starbucks and headed to the park. Happy weekend!

Frugal Breakfast Taco

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

The low cost home family meal experience continues. The family style platter below features citrus marinated chicken tenders (Kirkland), harvest grain blend (Trader Joe's) and garlic spinach ( Costco). This was a huge amount of food for the two of us! We used the leftovers for a fritatta breakfast  the next day. The total food cost was under six dollars! Eat good and be frugal.

Citrus Marinated Chicken Tenders