Daily Archives: January 12, 2011

SIL’s Dad’s Lentil Soup

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For those of you curious about the lentil soup recipe – ask and you shall receive!

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound dried lentils, rinsed
  • 14 cups of water (I only used 10 because my pot wasn’t big enough)
  • 1/2 – 3/4 cup olive oil (I only used 1/4 cup because olive oil is expensive!)
  • 1 16 oz. can tomato paste
  • 1 16 oz. can tomato sauce
  • 1 16 oz. can diced tomatoes
  • 2 large yellow onions or 10 boiler onions, chopped
  • 8-ish tablespoons of minced garlic
  • 5-6-ish tablespoons oregano (I didn’t use but maybe half that, not a huge oregano person)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Add all ingredients except for tomato paste to the pot and slowly stir.

Start to bring soup to a boil and slowly add in tomato paste.

After bringing to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring every 7 – 10 minutes.

According to the SIL, the best side to pair it with is pita brushed with olive oil, topped with feta and toasted in the oven.

She also noted that preferred cheese pairings are Feta, Kasseri, Kefalotiri or Kefalograviera and not goat cheese :) I just used what I had on hand.

I should also point out that now that I’ve typed up this recipe, I realize that I made several mistakes. Oops. Oh well, cooking is not an exact science right? My version is still pretty good, but I have a feeling the real thing is loads better.

Enjoy!

Target Ban

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31

Thank you guys for the money-saving advice yesterday! Keep it coming if you have more.

I think I will definitely listen to Kace and the SIL and institute a Target Ban.

You see, since I started recycling per my NYR I’ve been taking it to Target because it’s so dang easy. Also, Target is the closest grocery store to my apartment – it’s literally 2 minutes away!

I will continue to take my recycling there since it’s easy and close (no point in recycling if you’re just going to burn lots of gas in the process), but I won’t be taking any money in with me and I’m going to switch my grocery shopping to a more local store that’s more or less on my way home from the gym. Easy!

Plus, Target is known for doing some pretty anti-equal rights things as far as the gay community goes and I’m not down with that.

A lot of you also mentioned meal planning and taking my lunch to work. I do both of those things and they really are some of the top money-saving things to do, bar none.

For example, Monday night I made a HUGE batch of Lentil Soup (it’s the SIL’s dad’s recipe).

I ate some for dinner for the first time last night and it was so comforting and good, which is a good thing because I have a lot more of it to eat! I added some goat cheese for a little kick as well.

lentil soup

The thing is though, just meal planning isn’t going to be quite frugal enough. I’m going to have to get pretty repetitive with my food as well. I can’t be buying ingredients for 5 different dinners and lunches each week – it’s too expensive.

So if you see less food pictures in the next few months – that’s why. However, I CAN try to repurpose the meals and make them different and exciting. I think that will be a fun challenge.

Want to know something else? I haven’t spent a single dollar since Sunday! That’s huge for me! I’m of the “you can’t take it with you” mentality so I’m a pretty big spender. If I want something or need something and the money is in my bank account I’m likely to buy it.

For example, I had to work at the running store after work yesterday. I always pack a change of clothes so I can go straight there from work but when I went to get dressed yesterday afternoon I realized I’d forgotten to pack pants. Doh!

The old over-spending me would have just bought a new pair of running pants from the store, reasoning that I’d need them eventually anyways. The new money-saving me drove her butt home and got some pants.

I was also planning to buy a Garmin with my birthday money this year. I want one with all of my heart and soul and think it would really help my running. But… I’m not going to. It’s money that I just can’t afford to part with right now.

This is really hard for me, but it’s going a lot smoother than I thought it would. I can’t wait to see how much money I save up!

I’ve been really productive already this morning, so I guess it’s time to get back to it. Work is super crazy right now. Have a good Wednesday!

Where do you do your grocery shopping? The closest place? Multiple places?