Memorial Day Weekend 5-Meal Plan

My BFF has invited myself and my hubby up to her family's cabin in Big Bear for the weekend. Since I'm currently unemployed, I was put in charge of the galley. Where else would I go if not F&E for the Memorial Day weekend awesomeness.

So I bought all F&E brand of...

• Mixed grill pack--the 4 lbs. total of 4 beef patties, 4 mild Italian sausages, 4 each chili-lime marinaded chicken thighs and wings--is on sale for $6.99. Best. Value. EVER!
• Butter-basted sliced turkey breast
• Cheddar cheese slices (12 oz)
  
• Vegetable and dip tray
  
• Arugula
• Tomatoes
• Onions
  
• 2 bags of Microwave-able Spanish rice.
• Chile Verde simmer sauce
• 1 bag each of fresh Snickerdoodles and Chocolate chip cookies.
• Hamburger buns (8 buns)
  
• Red potato salad
  
• Strawberries
  
• Apricots
• Eggs
  

My total bill was $56.02. If I had remembered to take my $10 off $50 purchase coupon, that would've been $46. But yeah, I'm silly that way. *sigh*

I'm also bringing stuff I already have at home: half a carton of milk, a stick of butter, spices and condiments. So, let's round that total up to $60/$50 with coupon.

This set of grocery will make 2 breakfasts, 1 lunch, and 2 dinners with desserts and snacks for 3 hungry people for $20/$16.67 with coupon per person, or feed 4 for $15/$12.50 with coupon.

Five meals for $12.50-$20 per person? Epic win!

How will that work? Here's my plan.

Prep

I separate the Mixed Grill Pack into separate zip top bags. I put the sausage and patties in the fridge, and the chicken in the freezer. All of my cold stuff will go in the cooler with the frozen chicken in the bottom with the ice to make sure it keeps cold during transit. Chicken will thaw out beautifully in the fridge the next day.

We are leaving after lunch so by the time we get to the cabin, we'd want quick, easy, and satisfying dinner. And that's my starting point.

Friday dinner

Cheeseburger with grilled onion and red potato salad--a double for Brandon. Cookies for dessert. Tomato slices on the side. (Brandon doesn't like fresh tomatoes.)

Saturday breakfast

Breakfast scramble: eggs, Italian sausage, red onion. Fruit for dessert.

Saturday lunch

Turkey sandwich (using hamburger buns) with cheese and arugula. Tomato slices on the side. Veggie tray. Potato salad if there was any left. Cookies/fruit for dessert.

Saturday snack

Veggie tray. Cookies. Fruit. Your pick!

Saturday dinner

Chicken braised in chile verde sauce. (The existing flavor profile of the marinade should go well with the simmer sauce.) A side of Spanish rice and arugula salad with basic oil & balsamic dressing. Cookies/fruit for dessert. While the chicken is braising, I can do a little tomato confit with either cherry tomatoes in the veggie tray or whatever is left of the vine-ripen tomatoes.

Sunday breakfast

Breakfast sandwiches (2 open-face ones and one with lid) with turkey, cheese, and fried/scrambled eggs with tomato confit. OR 2-egg omelet filled with turkey, cheese, and tomato confit...with toasted buns on the side. Fruit for dessert.

Ride Home Nibbles

We may have fruit, veggies, and cookies left to nibble on.

I hope that gives you some good idea to pack for your trip!

Review: Pinot Evil & Barefoot Champagne

Oh you guys! On New Year's Eve I went to Fresh & Easy for wine, champagne and the F&E cheese plate.

Have you tried the cheese plate? It is in the refrigerator case in the front of the store with the sandwiches and salads. It is just under $5 and has a little slice of brie, some cheddar cubes, some swiss (I think) slices, red grapes, apple slices and dried apricots. It has become one of my favorite snacks.

I picked up a bottle of Barefoot Champagne for around $6. This champagne was really good. Better than many champagnes priced far higher.

I was wandering the wine aisle thinking "what can I get that is good but also kind to my wallet?"

When what to my wandering eye should I spy but:


Pinot Evil! With the see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil monkeys on it. How could I resist buying this? I couldn't. Especially since it was only $4.99.

Pinot Evil! The BEST NAME EVER.

Verdict: Pinot Evil, Barefoot Champagne and F&E Cheese plate: Heavenly

Grown Up Lunch: Parma Ham Charcuterie Plate

@fresh_and_easy Twitter feed led me to the LA Times article on 40 ways to pack a "grown-up" lunch. Some of those points were a bit too complicated for me to even think to do. (i.e. A dandelion greens and goat cheese empanada? Please. Would I go through all that trouble?). But some were easy.

And so it inspires the new topic of Grown Up Lunch!

Like pack your own charcuterie plate.

And there was the last pack of Parma Ham staring at me from the bargain bin at 8 p.m. last night for about $1.50 discount, destined to be the star of today's lunch.

So, for this Grown Up Lunch, mix and match the following from F&E:

• Parma Ham
• Bocconcinis (little mozzerella balls)
• Roasted tomatoes (marinated in olive oil)
• Olive tapanade
• Baby bagette
• Fruit salad -- Pick out apples and and honeydews to go with the ham. The rest is dessert.
  

I ate about 4 slices/half the pack of the Parma Ham and half of the baby bagette, 3 bocconcinis and 3 slices of tomatoes, and about 1/3 the tub of tapanade.

I washed that down with a can of San Pellegrino Limonata. Not from F&E but from BevMo.

So, technically, you *can* repeat the performance with everything a day or two after this. Parma Ham instruction said it should be eaten within 3 days of opening. And who knows how long the bagette will hold. As for the marinaded stuff in the tubs, those guys can go the distance.

As for me, because my Parma Ham is pushing it already, I plan to make a little breakfast sandwich with the leftover ham, apples, and bagette. :)

Grown Up Lunch: Mediterranean Bruschetta

Here's a little something I whipped up tonight using only ingredients found at my local Fresh & Easy. First the list of ingredients:

• F&E Ciabatta sandwich rolls - 4 to a pack
  
• F&E Crumbled Feta Cheese
  
• F&E Traditional Olive Tapenade
  

Heat the rolls in the oven for about 5 minutes, or until crispy on the outside and softer inside.
Cut lengthwise and spread the tapenade over the entire face of each side of the roll. Sprinkle the crumbled feta over the top of the tapenade covered roll to taste. Personally, I like it completely covered in feta.

Enjoy!

Amy

Dinner Possible: Roast Beef and Havarti Melt

Here's a little something I whipped up last night using only ingredients found at my local Fresh & Easy. First the list and prices--

• F&E Sliced Roast Beef 8oz $3.98
• F&E Stramato 9 oz TODAY'S SPECIAL $.75 (I have no idea what a stramato is, but they looked like little roma tomatoes on the vine)
• 2 F&E French Demi Baguette TODAY's SPECIAL $.50 X 2 = $1.00
  
• F&E Sliced Havarti $2.89
• Girardi's Greek Vinaigrette Dressing $3.39

Total: $12.01

I sliced the bagutte lengthwise and poured the Girardi's Dressing on both halves of the bread. I used 3-4 slices of roast beef on each side of bread. This will be an open faced sandwich. I sliced several of the stramatos and covered the roast beef with them. Then I put the havarti cheese over it all and placed them in the broiler for about 3-5 minutes.

SO SO SO OMGBBQ Yummy.

I made this again today with the other baguette and served it to my 85 year old Grandfather and his 79 year old brother. They loved it.

My one issue with the F&E products listed above is one of personal preference--I like my roast beef on the pink side and this was definitely not on the pink side. But the meat was seasoned well and delicious. I would buy again.

Enjoy!

-Amy

Dinner Possible: Fajitas

Dinner for 2-4 in a jiffy, y'all!

Buy one each of the Fajita Marinaded Beef and Chicken. Toss all in a pan and cook according to the instructions. Chunky chicken tenders were totally satisfying and juicy and the beef also in good portion and tender. Brandon is not big on bell peppers so we only used the portion from one package. Mmm...cumin-y goodness! And even better as leftover.

Normally, I would prefer to dress this up a little more with onions and a side of guacamole. But for a quick dinner, this was plenty tasty by itself.

The fact that it's really, SUPER easy to whip up is a major plus.

Verdict: Nirvana

Brandon likes Flour Tortilla and I like Corn Tortilla, so I bought both kinds. Unfortunately, both of them didn't work out very well. Both seem a bit too dry, not pliable. I even heated them up under damp paper towel first. But the flour tortilla wouldn't hold when I wrapped up the meat. The corn one, forget it. It doesn't even bend well before ripping.

Flavor wise, the corn was disappointing. It tasted like cornmeal rolled out into a flat bread. Cardboard is not quite the texture but I think the flavor might be close. I don't know about the flour though but Brandon doesn't have any complain.

Flour Tortilla - Verdict: Earthbound
Corn Tortilla - Verdiect: Hell

Party for $20

Actually, less than that.

I wish I wasn't in such a rush that I ran out of F&E on Friday without my receipt.

But just for $16.91 after the $5 coupon is applied, I managed to buy these for a barbecue with my out-of-town friend in Fullerton.

• Big bottle Tropical Iced Tea
• Big bottle Limeade
• A package of Dixie plastic cups
• 3 bags of Kettle Chips (Jalapeno Cheddar, Hickory Barbecue, and Original salted)
• Pretzel chips
• Raspberry Swirl Shortbread
• Chunky chocolate chip cookies (in a tub, not from the bread aisle)
• Small bag of Cheetos (to hold me over for the drive over)

We were expecting a lot of people, but it ended up just 4 of us. We took a few swills out of the drinks and dipped into the cookies a little bit.

The only thing of these that got consumed in its entirety is the Jalapeno Cheddar Kettle Chips. Salty and a little bit spicy without being overwhelmingly cheesy or that fake Jalapeno flavor you get sometimes. It was perfect. And even yummier when crushed and sprinkled over your hot dog a la Latin American style. ...oh god. Now I'm craving THAT.

Verdict: Nirvana

The Raspberry Swirl Shortbread was good. VERY buttery andso deliciously crumbly I wouldn't eat this on a couch...or at the office. Delicious buttery crumbs everywhere! It's tasty, however, it doesn't incite the same craving for the next bit like Walker's Shortbread does for me. You know the "I must eat the whole box" feeling. Must be the whole European v.s. American butter thing.

Verdict: Heavenly

Dinner Possible: Roasted Chicken and Croutons

I am quite addicted to Jamie Oliver's Jamie At Home program on Food Network. I was supremely inspired after watching him made the Proper Chicken Salad.

Essentially, he roasted chicken thighs in a pan on top of pieces of ciabatta bread which turned out to be some awesome croutons in the process. He also made his salad dressing from scratch.

By the time I got to the store, I was slightly distracted by a run-in with Brenda and what not. So I decided to buy a bottle of fresh dressing instead of making my own.

And along with that, instead of buying a head of romaine to chop up, I just bought a bag of pre-washed, pre-cut romaine.

Didn't I tell you guys I was lazy?

However, I did follow Jamie's recipe on the chicken and ciabatta almost to the tee, except that I substitute thyme for rosemary (Brandon doesn't like rosemary), added a few lightly smashed clovers of garlic in the mix, and used bacon instead of pancetta. Also, after laying on the bacon, I roasted it up to 30 minutes extra because the bacon refuses to crisp up.

The bacon layer:



The chicken layer:



The crouton layer:



I also served the meal differently. Instead of shredding the chicken for a salad, I featured the chicken thigh, bacon, and the croutons as a main course with salad on the side. It worked out very well that way as well.

Caesar dressing: $1.99
Ciabatta loaf: $2.89
Center-cut bacon: $3.69
Romaine lettuce: $1.98
Chicken leg quarters: $4.61
I already have thyme, garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil at home.

Total with tax: $16.31.

That's $4.08 a person. PLUS 2 extra chicken thigh (which I froze to use in making chicken soup from scratch later...freezer burn doesn't affect the stock that much, heh), 4 strips of bacon (perfect for breakfast for 2), and salad dressing for at least another meal for 4.

Oh, and I don't know how but we ended up with a handful of romaine, a few croutons and strips of bacon leftover to have for lunch the next day.

It's soooooo easy and so cheap!



ETA: When I made this again for the pictures, I also made pan sauce by adding flour to the grease, cooked that up, and deglazed with chicken stock. Yum!


P.S. Fresh Caesar Dressing - Nothing memorable, but definitely tasty. I'd give it an earthbound.

Verdict: Earthbound