Sorry I haven't posted this sooner but with the start of school I have been preoccupied!
I decided to give Once a Month Cooking another try. I had a few issues with last month's recipes and how much money I spent on food, plus the amount of food I wasted.
So this time I read all the recipes first. I got them here. From that list I decided to make Roasted Tomato Bisque, Dijon Baked Chicken, Crockpot Mongolian Beef, Spinach Stuffed Chicken, BBQ Meatballs, Orange Teriyaki Pork, and Chicken Cacciatore, plus I had some left over pork chops so I made an addition Pork marinade. The other recipes just didn't appeal to me this month, so I skipped them and made these to 6 servings.
I decided this time to do my shopping at Sam's to save money on certain bulk items. From there I purchased a large pack of chicken breasts (containing 6 VERY large breast, that I portioned out for 6 meals), a large pack of THICK pork chops (enough for 4 meals), a package of Flank Steak (which had 3 HUGE steaks, enough for 2 meals plus I cut up the last one for breakfast...steak and eggs!), about 6-7lbs ground chuck (enough for 2 meat loaves AND I portioned the rest into 4 ground beef servings to cook later), and 2 roasting chicken that were on sale...Add in most of the produce, eggs, milk, and diapers, etc and I spent $250. I did have to go to Winn Dixie for a few things I didn't need in bulk, but I only spent a little over $50. So strictly counting the food for these recipes I spent about $225.
Altogether, this yielded me 14 meals, plus 4 servings of ground beef left and 2 whole chickens! Minus the soup, because I only cooked half, which was still a HUGE pot and between my husband, my oldest son and I we ate a whole pot of it in less than a week. That figures to about $16 a meal or $4 a person...and it really is a bit less because of the soup!
I thought it went really well, and I really liked the recipes I chose. In the next few days I will go through each recipe!
Showing posts with label dining adventures. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dining adventures. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Monday, August 13, 2012
Yes I booked my dining 5 months ago...
You may have heard...I am going to Disney World next month!
In the last Disney post I mentioned that you need to plan ahead for Disney. One of the major planning points is booking dinning reservations (ADRs) 6 months in advance.
Ok, ok I hear you. How do I know what we are going to want to eat on which day for a vacation 6 months from now?! Well that's the tricky part.
What people used to do (I never did this but I have read about it) is make multiple ADRs for mealtimes and go to the one they felt like. Well Disney caught on. Now they don't allow your ADRs to overlap, plus the popular places now charge a no show fee of $10 per person if you don't cancel your ADR at least 24 hours a head of time.
So what to do? Well You can over plan, like we did in 2009. I made an ADR for every meal, for every day of our trip. It was miserable. Especially since one of A's panic attack/fit triggers is noisy crowded restaurants, where he doesn't know what kind of food they serve. Of course we didn't know this at the time.
So I learned from that for this trip. This go round, I planned out my days better. First I checked out touringplans.com for their best park for each day of our trip. It's pretty cool, they compile data from past years, they factor in tour groups or events in the area, plus I think they even factor in the weather that week.
Once I had that info, I planned one sit down meal or dinner show per day. Now we are going during the Free Dining promotion, so we have a meal plan. We upgraded to the Deluxe version of that plan, and we get 3 meal credits per day, and 2 snack credits per day. Most meals cost 1 credit, but the dinner shows cost 2. For sit down meals we get 1 appetizer, 1 entree, 1 dessert, and 1 non alcoholic beverage per person, and for counter service meals (fast food) we get 1 combo meal or 1 entree plus side and a non alcoholic beverage.
The meals I didn't plan for we will wing it. Just grab something at the resort's food court, or if the kids see a restaurant they want to try we will go there.
I prefer the dining plan because it allows us to pre-pay for all of our meals, excluding tip and any alcohol we drink. I prefer to make at least one reservation per day. It makes sure we don't have to wait too long for that meal (walking up to a table service restaurant without an ADR is tricky, sometimes you have to wait 45 minutes and longer, and sometimes they have no availability!).
Some of the places we are going to eat at...
I have made ADRs to eat at Hoop Dee Doo Review- a GREAT dinner show, vaudeville style show and they serve fried chicken, BBQ ribs and fixins'...
Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show-another great show that features fire dancers and such while you feast on traditional Luau foods like roasted chicken and pineapple pork...
Cinderella's Royal Table- Dine in the the castle while Disney Princesses and Princes visit your table!
Liberty Tree Tavern-this restaurant is themed like colonial America, my husband loves this restaurant because the dinner is just like traditional Thanksgiving...
50's Prime Time cafe-Very cool restaurant! Feels like you are dining in Mom's kitchen from the 50s and 60s...they serve the BEST fried chicken!..
Rose and Crown Pub-English food, I love this place for the fruit and cheese plate, the stew and Woodchuck Cider on tap!
See at Walt Disney World eating isn't just something you have to do, it becomes an experience.
Now that we have a plan, what can we do to help A, who doesn't like strange restaurants? Well Disney is very accommodating. I will be able to email and call someone in the dining department and explain our situation. They will contact the chefs at each restaurant and let them know that our child has eating issues due to his Asperger's and they will try to make some of his foods available. For instance at the Hoop Dee Doo, the chefs will make A a pepperoni pizza or a grilled cheese. I would not have known this if it wasn't for planning, and I wouldn't know which restaurants to contact if I didn't make my ADRs back in March!
So it is worth it to book your ADRs 6 months in advance if you can!
In the last Disney post I mentioned that you need to plan ahead for Disney. One of the major planning points is booking dinning reservations (ADRs) 6 months in advance.
Ok, ok I hear you. How do I know what we are going to want to eat on which day for a vacation 6 months from now?! Well that's the tricky part.
What people used to do (I never did this but I have read about it) is make multiple ADRs for mealtimes and go to the one they felt like. Well Disney caught on. Now they don't allow your ADRs to overlap, plus the popular places now charge a no show fee of $10 per person if you don't cancel your ADR at least 24 hours a head of time.
So what to do? Well You can over plan, like we did in 2009. I made an ADR for every meal, for every day of our trip. It was miserable. Especially since one of A's panic attack/fit triggers is noisy crowded restaurants, where he doesn't know what kind of food they serve. Of course we didn't know this at the time.
So I learned from that for this trip. This go round, I planned out my days better. First I checked out touringplans.com for their best park for each day of our trip. It's pretty cool, they compile data from past years, they factor in tour groups or events in the area, plus I think they even factor in the weather that week.
Once I had that info, I planned one sit down meal or dinner show per day. Now we are going during the Free Dining promotion, so we have a meal plan. We upgraded to the Deluxe version of that plan, and we get 3 meal credits per day, and 2 snack credits per day. Most meals cost 1 credit, but the dinner shows cost 2. For sit down meals we get 1 appetizer, 1 entree, 1 dessert, and 1 non alcoholic beverage per person, and for counter service meals (fast food) we get 1 combo meal or 1 entree plus side and a non alcoholic beverage.
The meals I didn't plan for we will wing it. Just grab something at the resort's food court, or if the kids see a restaurant they want to try we will go there.
I prefer the dining plan because it allows us to pre-pay for all of our meals, excluding tip and any alcohol we drink. I prefer to make at least one reservation per day. It makes sure we don't have to wait too long for that meal (walking up to a table service restaurant without an ADR is tricky, sometimes you have to wait 45 minutes and longer, and sometimes they have no availability!).
Some of the places we are going to eat at...
I have made ADRs to eat at Hoop Dee Doo Review- a GREAT dinner show, vaudeville style show and they serve fried chicken, BBQ ribs and fixins'...
Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show-another great show that features fire dancers and such while you feast on traditional Luau foods like roasted chicken and pineapple pork...
Cinderella's Royal Table- Dine in the the castle while Disney Princesses and Princes visit your table!
Liberty Tree Tavern-this restaurant is themed like colonial America, my husband loves this restaurant because the dinner is just like traditional Thanksgiving...
50's Prime Time cafe-Very cool restaurant! Feels like you are dining in Mom's kitchen from the 50s and 60s...they serve the BEST fried chicken!..
Rose and Crown Pub-English food, I love this place for the fruit and cheese plate, the stew and Woodchuck Cider on tap!
See at Walt Disney World eating isn't just something you have to do, it becomes an experience.
Now that we have a plan, what can we do to help A, who doesn't like strange restaurants? Well Disney is very accommodating. I will be able to email and call someone in the dining department and explain our situation. They will contact the chefs at each restaurant and let them know that our child has eating issues due to his Asperger's and they will try to make some of his foods available. For instance at the Hoop Dee Doo, the chefs will make A a pepperoni pizza or a grilled cheese. I would not have known this if it wasn't for planning, and I wouldn't know which restaurants to contact if I didn't make my ADRs back in March!
So it is worth it to book your ADRs 6 months in advance if you can!
Monday, July 30, 2012
It's a Zippidee Do Da kind of day
We are going to Disney World.
Again, yes again.
I have been to the World 4 times on vacation, and dozens more while working there, first on the College Program in 2001-2002, and then for 4 months after Katrina hit in 2005-2006. Disney is my happy place. My drug.
I fell in love with the World as a 12 year old in 1995. I was supposed to go before that. My grandfather was going to take me. My dad was going around the same time, but because he thought I was going with my grandparents he didn't take me. Then my grandfather's trip fell through. So on Christmas day, 1994, when my aunt and uncle asked me if I wanted to go for Mardi Gras, I was a bit skeptical.
My mom and grandparents scrounged up the me for me to go. Funny story: My grandmother won $700 on a slot machine two weeks before we left for this Disney trip. She gave every penny of it to my uncle, for him to split between my 5 year old cousin and me. She said God gave her that money for to go and have fun. I love her!
Not knowing better, my mom packed me up, with mostly t-shirts and shorts, and a pair of Keds. I don't know if any of yall know what Keds are...but they have maybe a 1/16 of an inch of material between your feet and miles of walking! Not great Disney shoes!
Normally, my uncle likes to drive in the early morning hours, a tradition I would continue! However, this trip got delayed. My aunt and uncle owned a poboy(New Orleans style subs) shop at this time, and they had to open, and work through the lunch rush before we could leave. I remember my cousin Markie and I waiting that day. It seemed like it took forever for us to finally get on the road. I think we left sometime around 3pm.
My uncle doesn't like to stop. In fact he is one of those travelers that likes to "make good time". We eat in the car, and only stop for gas, which is where we pee as well...
We arrived around 1-2am. We stayed at Disney's All Star Music Resort, Calypso section. I was so excited. As I sleepily walked to our room, I took in the all the wonderful sights and colors...a 2 or 3 story tall pair of maracas, and everything was bright orange and pink!
I don't remember too much about that trip except for a few details. Markie and I fought like brother and sister the entire trip! I remember him singing "It's a Small World after all.." over and over again, all day, just because I told him to stop.
I remember going to eat at the Coral Reef, a restaurant that shares an entire wall with the Living Seas, a huge ass aquarium. The restaurant makes you fell as if you are dining under water. Ass you step into the restaurant, you have to step down 4 or 5 steps. On the side of these steps used to be bubble machines. Markie, who was in front of me, got distracted by the bubbles(what 5 year old wouldn't?) and to be honest so did I and he stopped mid step, and I tripped over him and landed on top of him.
Disney cast members quickly ushered us to First Aid to make sure I didn't break his arm! Almost 20 years later and I still haven't lived that one down!
I remember renting a watermouse, falling asleep at the Luau,and not wanting to ride scary rides(Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion) until they made me ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (I LOVED IT!). I remember my uncle getting sick after riding the Teacups, and I remember hearing Phantom of the Opera for the first time on the drive up there and back(my aunt and uncle had seen it recently and bought the cd, I LOVED IT, and still do!), and I remember going to mass at the Polynesian(it was outdoors and one of the most peaceful services I have ever been to!).
Most of all I remember having to get a wheelchair on the 3rd day because those wonderful Keds I wore gave me blisters on every area of my feet...I couldn't even tie the laces, let alone walk! Another thing that I haven't lived down yet!
This trip started a lifelong love affair for me with the Mouse. In my next few posts I will talk about my first trip with my husband, our first trip with our children, and planning our current trip-a trip with 8 y/o with ADHD, a 6 y/o with Asperger's, and a toddler!
Again, yes again.
I fell in love with the World as a 12 year old in 1995. I was supposed to go before that. My grandfather was going to take me. My dad was going around the same time, but because he thought I was going with my grandparents he didn't take me. Then my grandfather's trip fell through. So on Christmas day, 1994, when my aunt and uncle asked me if I wanted to go for Mardi Gras, I was a bit skeptical.
My mom and grandparents scrounged up the me for me to go. Funny story: My grandmother won $700 on a slot machine two weeks before we left for this Disney trip. She gave every penny of it to my uncle, for him to split between my 5 year old cousin and me. She said God gave her that money for to go and have fun. I love her!
Not knowing better, my mom packed me up, with mostly t-shirts and shorts, and a pair of Keds. I don't know if any of yall know what Keds are...but they have maybe a 1/16 of an inch of material between your feet and miles of walking! Not great Disney shoes!
Normally, my uncle likes to drive in the early morning hours, a tradition I would continue! However, this trip got delayed. My aunt and uncle owned a poboy(New Orleans style subs) shop at this time, and they had to open, and work through the lunch rush before we could leave. I remember my cousin Markie and I waiting that day. It seemed like it took forever for us to finally get on the road. I think we left sometime around 3pm.
My uncle doesn't like to stop. In fact he is one of those travelers that likes to "make good time". We eat in the car, and only stop for gas, which is where we pee as well...
We arrived around 1-2am. We stayed at Disney's All Star Music Resort, Calypso section. I was so excited. As I sleepily walked to our room, I took in the all the wonderful sights and colors...a 2 or 3 story tall pair of maracas, and everything was bright orange and pink!
I don't remember too much about that trip except for a few details. Markie and I fought like brother and sister the entire trip! I remember him singing "It's a Small World after all.." over and over again, all day, just because I told him to stop.
I remember going to eat at the Coral Reef, a restaurant that shares an entire wall with the Living Seas, a huge ass aquarium. The restaurant makes you fell as if you are dining under water. Ass you step into the restaurant, you have to step down 4 or 5 steps. On the side of these steps used to be bubble machines. Markie, who was in front of me, got distracted by the bubbles(what 5 year old wouldn't?) and to be honest so did I and he stopped mid step, and I tripped over him and landed on top of him.
Disney cast members quickly ushered us to First Aid to make sure I didn't break his arm! Almost 20 years later and I still haven't lived that one down!
I remember renting a watermouse, falling asleep at the Luau,and not wanting to ride scary rides(Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion) until they made me ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (I LOVED IT!). I remember my uncle getting sick after riding the Teacups, and I remember hearing Phantom of the Opera for the first time on the drive up there and back(my aunt and uncle had seen it recently and bought the cd, I LOVED IT, and still do!), and I remember going to mass at the Polynesian(it was outdoors and one of the most peaceful services I have ever been to!).
Most of all I remember having to get a wheelchair on the 3rd day because those wonderful Keds I wore gave me blisters on every area of my feet...I couldn't even tie the laces, let alone walk! Another thing that I haven't lived down yet!
This trip started a lifelong love affair for me with the Mouse. In my next few posts I will talk about my first trip with my husband, our first trip with our children, and planning our current trip-a trip with 8 y/o with ADHD, a 6 y/o with Asperger's, and a toddler!
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Who brings their pet to a buffet?!
Last week my family got together and decided to go to Golden Corral. I know, I know...that was our first mistake!
I know people complain about Walmart and all the unwashed masses (frankly our Walmarts aren't that bad, but maybe I AM one of the unwashed masses...) but THIS place is what I imagine Walmart haters see.
First, walking in I immediately felt over dressed in my jeans and blouse. I didn't know that the proper attire was clothing that is too tight, see through, or visibly dirty. Second, let me just say, for a restaurant where you are supposed to get up and down to go to the buffet, the tables are sooooo close together! I hit a lady with the high chair as I was trying to squeeze past to get to my table.
So we are there, and we are me and my husband, our 3 kids(7, 6, and 1), my mom and her husband and his grand daughter(2), and my uncle and his daughter and her friend(both 10). The kids are eating, well all of the kids except for my middle son, who is eating cotton candy....Why is their cotton candy on the buffet?
Yes my 6 year old ate cotton candy for dinner at this place. He has Autism and doesn't like most restaurants. My husband gave him the cotton candy to prevent a melt down. I saw you shitheads staring at us and I don't give a fuck. Better he quietly ate cotton candy than loudly had a full melt down...which you then would be staring at the horrid parents who can't control their kids!
Anyway, The food was mostly lukewarm, greasy, and unappetizing to look at let alone eat. Not to mention someone really smelled bad near the buffet and that just threw me off....
As we were finishing up a family walks in and sits behind us. My mom then says "That lady has a dog with her!"
I, trying not to make snap judgements at weird things I see, said "Well maybe it is a working dog...You know like a seeing eye dog, but for anxiety or seizures..." My mom starts laughing at me, having never heard of such things. I finally get a look at said family and the dog is licking the table! It is now obvious that his is not a working dog(they are trained to behave better, and it wasn't wearing a vest)!
Well that just put the cherry on the top of the sundae that was this meal!
We high-tailed it out of there so fast! The strange thing was that this lady was giving everyone this look like they were so out of line to stare at the crazy lady who BROUGHT HER DOG TO A BUFFET AND LET IT LICK THE TABLE!
eww eww eww!
I know people complain about Walmart and all the unwashed masses (frankly our Walmarts aren't that bad, but maybe I AM one of the unwashed masses...) but THIS place is what I imagine Walmart haters see.
First, walking in I immediately felt over dressed in my jeans and blouse. I didn't know that the proper attire was clothing that is too tight, see through, or visibly dirty. Second, let me just say, for a restaurant where you are supposed to get up and down to go to the buffet, the tables are sooooo close together! I hit a lady with the high chair as I was trying to squeeze past to get to my table.
So we are there, and we are me and my husband, our 3 kids(7, 6, and 1), my mom and her husband and his grand daughter(2), and my uncle and his daughter and her friend(both 10). The kids are eating, well all of the kids except for my middle son, who is eating cotton candy....Why is their cotton candy on the buffet?
Yes my 6 year old ate cotton candy for dinner at this place. He has Autism and doesn't like most restaurants. My husband gave him the cotton candy to prevent a melt down. I saw you shitheads staring at us and I don't give a fuck. Better he quietly ate cotton candy than loudly had a full melt down...which you then would be staring at the horrid parents who can't control their kids!
Anyway, The food was mostly lukewarm, greasy, and unappetizing to look at let alone eat. Not to mention someone really smelled bad near the buffet and that just threw me off....
As we were finishing up a family walks in and sits behind us. My mom then says "That lady has a dog with her!"
I, trying not to make snap judgements at weird things I see, said "Well maybe it is a working dog...You know like a seeing eye dog, but for anxiety or seizures..." My mom starts laughing at me, having never heard of such things. I finally get a look at said family and the dog is licking the table! It is now obvious that his is not a working dog(they are trained to behave better, and it wasn't wearing a vest)!
Well that just put the cherry on the top of the sundae that was this meal!
We high-tailed it out of there so fast! The strange thing was that this lady was giving everyone this look like they were so out of line to stare at the crazy lady who BROUGHT HER DOG TO A BUFFET AND LET IT LICK THE TABLE!
eww eww eww!
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