Thursday, January 12, 2012

Thursday's Kichen Cupboard

Another week as passed but the pantry stock only went down I am afraid this week other than a batch of buckwheat pancakes that I whipped up and froze for my brother's breakfast.  Also made Artisan white bread dough.  One loaf was baked for bread over the weekend and the rest of the dough is waiting to be baked.

Thursday night we went all out for dinner.  Pan seared NY Strip with reduced red wine sauce, Baked Potato, Canned green beans from the garden and Cabbage with cheese sauce from the garden.  No price.

Friday night one meal was free.  It was a TV dinner made with left overs pulled from the freezer.  The other was Liver and Onions, Baked Potato and Cabbage in Cheese Sauce  total $1.55

Saturday night was dinner for 4.  Roast pork, boiled potatoes with gravy, boxed stuffing and green beans Almondine with frozen green beans from the garden.  Total cost $8.00

Sunday night Spaghetti and Meat Balls.  No price

Monday night one meal was free.  Another TV dinner made from leftovers.  The other was just a burger with onions.  About $1.50

Tuesday night Left over Roast Pork with gravy, box of stuffing and Green Beans Almondine.  Only cost was the stuffing.  $1 plus another TV dinner is now in the freezer with all of the leftovers.

Wednesday night is dinner for one.  It was shrimp Scampi over rice with Basil/Garlic compound butter.  Normally this is made with 6 Shrimp and would cost about $2 a person but since it was the end of the bag of Shrimp it was a feast with more shrimp.

Since I mentioned on Monday's Harvest the next Basil I picked I would make the compound butter thought I would share it here.
Basil/Garlic Butter

2 oz Fresh basil leaves (about 2 bunches)
10 oz Butter, softened (2-1/2 cubes)I use margarine and only 8 oz.
1 tsp Garlic, minced
1/4 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp Black pepper
3 T Grated parmesan cheese plus additional for garnish
1 T Grated romano cheese 

Once it is made I roll it into a log and freeze it for future use.  I probably use about 3 T. for the shrimp.
It is part of a recipe where it is all used on a pound of shrimp and a pound of pasta.

This post is part of The Gardener of Eden Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard.  Be sure to visit there to share recipes and see how others are using their harvest. 

8 comments:

  1. That shrimp dish looks fantastic. My family doesn't like sea food so I only get to have it when we go out some where. It looks great!!

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  2. There is one advantage of cooking for just 2. My brother who I am the caregiver doesn't eat a lot of things I like so that is one of the reasons I do a lot of TV dinner type meals in the freezer with leftovers. I make what I want and give him a very good meal from the freezer that all I have to do is heat it up and it is considered a free meal as the cost has already been figured in when it was originally made.

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  3. You always amaze me with the things you come up with and your food budget.

    This butter recipe will come in handy!

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  4. Another week of yummy food. I have copied down your recipe and now I need to get my hands on some fresh basil!!

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  5. What a great way to preserve basil. That sounds absolutely delicious!

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  6. I must wait patiently for my garden fresh basil to make your compound butter.
    Did you get snow yesterday? We had a whole day of rain and more rain today.

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  7. Robin thanks. It is not hard to eat on a budget and still have good meals. The key is having enough freezer space to be able to buy meat only when on sale and in quantity at that time. My food savers is the other big thing. I don't try to cook for 2 anymore. If the recipe is for 4 so I make TV dinners or we eat the same thing another night in the week

    MP, glad you liked the recipe. I got it from a friend on a gardening board and have used it every since. Not a traditional sauce for shrimp scampi but I love basil and don't have a problem with cheese with seafood if garlic is involved. I love the fact that I can grow basil all winter in my aero garden. Now that I have 2 I am going to try tomatoes and peppers next year also.

    Liz I do love my basil anyway I can keep it.

    Norma, we got about 4" of snow yesterday and so far have 4 hours into snow blowing and have a couple of more hours to go once it stops raining. It appears to be changing to snow now at 10:30 however. As I said to MP I just love the fact that I can grow all winter in the aero garden. Would like to build a bigger hydroponics set up. For some reason however can't get lettuce going. Just won't germinate and I have tried 2 different kinds. May just be the seed but am going to plant it again for the 3rd time.

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  8. Yum. Looks good. Thanks for the compound butter recipe. It sounds delicious! You've done really well with your challenge.

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