Anatomy of a Lazy Dinner

When you’ve spent all day watching football

(and seeing your team lose!)

Then doing electrical repair, painting. , and making multiple trips to the hardware store…

You need a lazy dinner.

Which is what we did tonight.

I’m aware that I’m following up a post on homemade yogurt with an ultra lazy meal.  It’s ok.  I’ve said it before, I’m vast, I contain multitudes.

Step 1:

Buy this sauce at Costco.

It’s the best sauce ever.  It’s twice as much at the grocery store.  Costco stopped having it for a while, and we pouted.  A lot.  Because no matter how delicious it may be, we can’t handle dropping $10 on a single jar of sauce.

Step 2:

Buy these meatballs at Costco

(notice a theme in my life?)

They’re delicious.  My husband has told me I shouldn’t try and make meatballs, because compared to these, anything I made would probably be disappointing.  They’re amazing for lazy dinners (we do them with sweet and sour over rice too)

Step 3:

Boil some pasta

Whole wheat of course.  Negates the fatty meatballs, I promise.

Step 4:

Toss some spinach on a plate

(I added some olives post-picture cause I was feelin’ sassy)

Step 5:

Pasta goes on plate

Step 6:

Eat.  Then open some wine.

The closest I came to making anything myself with this meal was pouring the oil and vinegar on my salad.

I’m ok with that.  You can’t be Little House in the Big Woods every day.

Besides,  I followed this up by making a themed veggie platter for my husband to take to work.  Themed.  Veggie.  Platter.

Not kidding.

Pretty sure those balance each other out.

What are you loving at Costco right now?

(You really do need the sauce,  I promise.  )

Cheap and Easy

For everyone who asked about jeggings, mine are from Forever 21.  $15.80.  I’m a champ at cheap shopping. When I did Miss Spokane I had a friend tell me if I could bargain shop as my talent I’d win.

(I’m also that girl who when you say “I like your dress” will respond with “$5 clearance at Target!”   No shame in being cheap. )

I like cheap.   I also like easy.  No shame in that either.  So when I meal plan, I try to make things I can use more than once.   Roasted chicken becomes enchiladas, and then soup.  That sort of thing.  I multi-task on the starchy parts of meals too.

Last week, I cooked up some quinoa

(Costco baby.  Cheaper than even the bulk bins at WinCo)

I divided it in half, and with one half I sauteed onions in chicken stock

Diced a few little tomatoes

And then added the quinoa with some cumin, chili powder, and garlic.

(the weird garlic?  That for some reason says “California” on it?  I got it for free.  So I’ll use it.  Free is my favorite sort of cheap)

Plus black beans and corn

I served it up with beef quesadillas (made from a leftover roast.  Like I said, multi tasking)

Then, a few days later, I took the other half and added in black pepper and a Trader Joe’s spice mix

(see the bag of peas in the background?  They’re the cheap store brand.  Fred Meyer for some reason has an extra cheap store brand, and a normal one.  Guess which one I buy)

Plus peas and parm

You know that giant shaker of parm is from Costco.  It’s cheap and easy.  No shame in being too lazy to grate cheese all the time.

I also added a splash of this

because once the wine is out, you really have to have a glass.  Means to an end friends, means to an end.

And served it with salmon, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower.

Easy Peasy.

Do you do multi-tasking meals?  Or is this one of those weird things that only I do?

Spring has sprung?

It’s Spring break here in Oregon.  And amazingly enough there have been some days that actually felt like spring.  Madness!

Our yard is producing some gorgeous stuff

Plus, I have seeds sprouting!

Seeds make me nervous, because you have to wait to see if they’re going to show up after you plant them.  I am not good at waiting.  But I also have some indoor seeds sprouting!  Yay for not killing things.  (the picture is peas)

In addition to spring in the yard, we’ve had spring cookies

I adore Beaverton Bakery’s cookies, because they frost with CHOCOLATE.  no screwing around here.  Chocolate.

There’s been actual food in our house too of course.

We had polenta with sausage and tomatoes

Plus spinach on the side.  The fiance will now eat spinach raw AND cooked.  It makes my life better.  Except when we’re almost out and I have to share.

We had sweet and sour meatballs

The frozen meatballs at costco?  They are one of the best things ever.  Just don’t read the nutrition information.  Trust me, don’t.

Speaking of Costco, the fiance had a Dr appointment on Wednesday, so he worked from home, and guess what we had for lunch

Buck fifty sausage and soda.  Can’t beat it.

And we used more of the polenta for dinner last night

Creamed chicken + polenta = heaven.

Fatty heaven.

Which really, is the best sort of heaven.

Is it Spring where you live yet?

Working Lunch

Fingers crossed I’ll have my camera fixed soon (it’s from Costco, and they’re good about getting stuffed fixed…)

For now, cell phone pics!

I told you guys last week I got some POM in the mail.  Of course, you know where it was going

You’re not surprised.

(Delicious btw!)

I made french toast with some POM syrup that was redic, and when my silly camera works again I’ll show you!

I’ve been working all week.  IN THE SAME CLASSROOM.  It’s fabulous.  It’s also made my eats largely packed lunches.  And given me less time to blog….

My breakfasts have been provided by this new friend

(Thank you, Costco and the fiance!)

I have been eating green smoothies like they’re going out of style.  Yesterday I made one with POM and frozen raspberries.  It was insanely good.

I’m on my lunch/prep right now.  Working = packing lunches.

Daily

Carrots/celery/hummus. Crackers too but they missed the picture. I’m thinking I may have eaten my body weight in hummus this week.

Fruit of some sort is daily too.  Today it’s oranges and a banana

and something else…

Did PB and apples the other day

Yesterday

Yogurt thang.  Plain yogurt, flax, walnuts, a lifetime supply of cinnamon, and banana.

Looks gross.  Tasted good.

Today

I have no idea what this is.  I had chickpeas leftover from making my second batch of hummus this week.  And spinach, peas, parm, spices?  No idea.  But I like it.

And on the “wtf Portland” front, this was my deck on Tuesday morning.

Seriously.

Kid in a Candy Store

Hey friends!

Guess where I went this weekend?

I know, you’re all “oh, Costco.  Yeah Kalin, I go there all the time”

No, no friends.  This is not just any Costco.

It’s the WORLD’S LARGEST COSTCO

WORLD’S LARGEST.

And because that wasn’t epic enough…

Ginormous margarita.

Plus mexican foooood

Heaven.

And then last night, I went to a garden fair with the fiance, Andrea, and Kersten

After the garden fair?

Beer!  At Lucky Lab.

Plus some pizza

Beer and pizza are pretty much the fiance’s favorite things.  And since Andrea had never been to John’s Market, we followed up Lucky Lab with the beer store.

Whenever we go to the beer store, the fiance acts like a kid in a candy store.

(Or a 20 something guy in a beer store I suppose)

In fact, when I asked him to take a picture of his purchases, he already had.

So friends, favorite beer?