No food today.  Instead I want to tell you about some updates and how they help me us with meal planing and grocery shopping and ultimately staying on budget.  So, basically this post is all about me, but you might find it helpful too.

I have added two features to my What’s for Dinner? link.  Now, if you are going, huh? That’s because you haven’t clicked through from your reader in awhile and that’s okay because I have sucked at updating the page.  The last several weeks months have been pretty fly by the seat of your pants cooking.  I have never been a very good meal planner even though I know what an important tool it is for saving money.  The link is at the top of the right-hand column if you are interested in finding it in the future.

So in an attempt to remedy my difficulty with meal planning I have attached two pdf files to the top of the What’s for Dinner? page.  The first is a blank weekly planning template.  It  has blank columns for breakfast, lunch, and dinner ideas, as well as a column to make notes like, “Pay Day” or “Mom’s Birthday” etc… to remind you.  I do not always write something in each box but use the columns to jot down ideas like, “Breakfast Burritos” or “Chicken Salad.”  Although, I do try to write in one dinner idea for each day of the week even if it is “Order Pizza” or “Breakfast for Dinner.”

Once you have settled on a meal plan for the week  you can print the second pdf: the master grocery list.  I have found over the years that this type of grocery list helps me come home with the things I actually need much more often than a list hand written from memory. I just circle the things I need based on my menu plan for the week.  I also circle things on the list as I run out of them so I don’t have to recall them later.  It is organized by grocery store section which means no passing up an item and having to go back.

Also, this is the list that works for me.  I think it is pretty universal but it may or may not work for you.  I write lots of notes in the margins regarding sales prices, specific varieties, amounts needed etc… There are also lots of blank lines for jotting down an ingredient not listed.  If I find I am constantly making the same notes I may update the list to reflect that but currently I believe it is complete.

Copyright Issues: feel free to print, alter or distribute the files as desired.  It would be nice if you linked back to chaos in the kitchen or left the address in the footer but I won’t ever know if you don’t-so go forth and conquer your grocery budget.

So here is my method:

1. Sunday night, I print out the menu planner and get out my coupons and sales papers.  I try to get ideas based on what’s on sale and what’s already in the pantry and then use the internet to pick recipes.
2. I write all my ideas on the planning sheet and print the corresponding recipes and the grocery list.
3. Scan the recipes for ingredients already on hand-and if you aren’t sure go look-and mark all the needed ingredients on the grocery list.
4. Add all the basic groceries you will need to the list.
5. On Monday I go shopping.
6. Hang your meal plan in the kitchen where you will see it each day and remember what you had planned.
7. Print a fresh grocery list and place it in a handy spot so you can mark items as you run out or get an idea for next week.
8. Use that grocery list on Sunday night when you start the process over again. 🙂

It is important to be flexible and realistic.  That’s what the “notes” section of the planner is for.  It helps me keep in mind that gymnastics in on Monday and we will probably go out to eat before hand.  Then I don’t waste my money buying food for a meal I am not going to cook.  If I decide to cook instead I can always bump another meal up the list.

Do you already have a method that works great? I’d love to hear it.

I have had this recipe bookmarked for ages, it feels.  It has really only been a month or so but I felt like I would never get to try it out.  It isn’t a celebratory type cake and but it is a special, grown-up dessert.  The cake itself isn’t very sweet with a fluffy, cornbread-like texture.  The glaze is lip-puckering sweet and sour but it is the sauce that brings it all together.  Slightly sweet with big berry flavor, it lends some extra sweetness and moisture to the cake and offsets the lemony glaze. 

Despite the long list below, this cake, glaze, and sauce are all very easy and pretty quick to put together.  It looks very impressive and is a nice light tasting-dessert to serve to guests.  Plus every single ingredient was already in the pantry, so it’s like free cake!

Lemon Cornmeal Cake with Blackberry Sauce

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/3 cup cornmeal
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp lemon zest (2 large lemons)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

For the Glaze

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1-2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

For the Sauce

• 2 cups blackberries
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease a 9 inch baking round, also line the bottom with parchment. Don’t skip this step like I normally do, my cake tried to stick mightily.
2. Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
3. Combine buttermilk, eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla in another bowl.  Add melted butter once cool enough to not cook your eggs.
4. Pour liquids into flour mixture and stir until just combined.
5. Pour into greased, lined cake pan.
6. Bake for about 30 minutes or until tester comes out clean from the center.
7. While the cake is baking, make the glaze by combining powdered sugar and lemon juice.  If mixture seems too thick allow to rest for several minutes.  If it is still too thick add small amounts of lemon juice, milk, or water until thin. You want it to be thick but pourable, it will smooth itself out over the hot cake, so err on the thick side.
8. Make the blackberry sauce by combining 1/2 the black berries and the other sauce ingredient in a saucepan.
9. Heat the pan over medium heat and stir until combined.
10. Allow mixture to simmer until berries get soft and liquid thickens a little (it doesn’t get very syrupy) about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
11. Add remaining berries and crush them gently with a spoon.
12. Chill sauce until ready to serve (it will be thicker cold).
13. Once cake has finished baking, remove to a rack, then use a second rack to flip the cake right side up.
14. Spread or pour the glaze over the hot cake and allow it to cool on the counter.  The glaze will settle in the center of the cake, you can spread it towards the edges and allow it to run over a bit. 
15. Once cake is cool, slice and serve with a large spoonful of sauce.

Cost Analysis: Again, every single one of these ingredients would be in the typical baker’s pantry.  I got the blackberries for $1/pound but there is a bush in my yard that would have yielded as much.  So my vote is: free cake.

Wow! Have you had kettle corn?  I am not talking about the sucralose sweetened microwaveable stuff either.  I mean real, freshly made kettle corn.  This stuff is fantastic.  Crunchy, salty, slightly sweet: what’s not to love?

You know, I never bought a bag of popcorn kernels before this recipe.  I figured that stuff was for people who owned popcorn poppers.  Just a little FYI: there is a recipe on each bag that tells you just how to make the popcorn in a pot on the stove-top, no machinery required.  Here’s how you make kettle corn:

Kettle Corn

• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
• 1/4 cup sugar
• salt to taste (1-2 tsp)

1. In a large pot with a lid, add oil and three kernels of popcorn. Get your pot holders ready.
2. Turn on the heat to medium and cover the pot.  Listen carefully, when the third kernel pops, your oil is ready.
3. Add the rest of the popcorn and the sugar.  Give it a quick stir to combine and fully coat.
4. Cover the pot again and heat for three seconds, then lift off the heat with your pot holders on and shake vigorously up and down for three seconds.
5. Repeat heating the pot for three seconds and shaking for three seconds and continue repeating for about 5 minutes (hey, you didn’t think this deliciousness would be effortless, right?).
6. Check the kettle corn for color and continue heating and shaking until popping stops or kettle corn is sufficiently golden brown.
7. Pour popcorn into a large bowl and toss with salt while still hot.
8. Taste and salt as desired once cool.

Cool or what? And so easy!  Thanks to chad for making me realize there was an actual recipe for this stuff.

Oh yeah, and no Cost Analysis for this one because it basically pays you to make it.

I know you never expected to read a post on my blog with the words “Ramen Noodle” and “Salad” in the title-I, at least, am shocked.  Truth is, this salad contains no Ramen noodles because I just couldn’t bring myself to add them.  I have had it both ways, and I really don’t think the Ramen noodles are necessary, but in case they are a favorite ingredient of yours I will include them in the directions.

It is a cabbage (I had to make something with all that Napa Cabbage left over from the dumplings) base with green onions, oil and vinegar, all tossed with toasted sesame seeds and almonds.  It think it is delicious and crunchy and nutty all on it’s own.  I have always been a fan of non-mayo based cabbage slaws and I am in love with sesame seeds, so I really enjoyed it.

My friend Kelly who doesn’t like nuts said it didn’t gross her out. So there.

Any suggestions for a name? I can’t call it Ramen Noodle Salad, and for some reason calling it Nutty Slaw makes me think of bad words.

Ramen Noodle Salad (aka ______ ? )

• 2 tbsp oil (a nut oil like peanut or sesame would be nice)
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 3 tbsp sesame seeds
• 2 packages Ramen Noodles, crushed (optional)
• 1 head of cabbage, chopped
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup salad oil
• 4 tbsp seasoned rice wine vinegar
• 4 tbsp sugar (I used 1 tbsp)
• salt and pepper

1. Saute almonds, sesames seeds, and crushed Ramen noodles in 2 tbsp oil until toasted.
2. Combine 1/2 cup salad oil, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper.
3. Combine cabbage, green onions, and nut mixture in a large bowl, toss with desired amount of dressing.

This is best the first day it is made, it breaks down a lot by the next day (although I thought it was still delicious).

Cost Analysis:

• 1/2 cup sliced almonds: $0.75
• 1 head of cabbage (I used Napa): $1.68
• 3 green onions: $0.35
• Total cost for 4 servings: $2.78 or 70¢ per serving