New Year, New Us!

Ahhhh January...

The month of endless New Years resolutions that usually end up getting abandoned after about one week. After a few months of marital bliss, it is time for us to get ourselves back on a program!

 I will admit that Austin and I are both a bit extreme, usually opting for extreme resolutions.
Instead, this year we decided to set some realistic goals that we might actually be able to achieve.
So, here are our grown up married people goals for 2018:

1. Healthier Eating:
No, we are not going Paleo, Whole 30, Keto, Gluten-Free or any other "diet." We are simply making ourselves a promise to be more aware and careful about what we are putting into our bodies.

2. No Weekday Cocktails:
We have decided to cut out all alcohol during the week. You all know how much I love a glass of wine (or three), so this was a big one. So far, this has also been our favorite. We feel amazing!
And we do things like go on walks and read books! Who knew we were so grown up???
Don't worry though, Friday counts as the weekend!

3. Spend Less Money:
Again, we are simply being more aware of our careless spending on things we don't really need. When we sat down to discuss this, we realized that a lot of our spending was coming from a lack of planning. I would decide what I was cooking each morning and was going to the grocery store almost EVERY DAY!

This is where we were able to tie all of our goals together.
We decided to make a weekly menu, shop only once and eat at home Monday through Thursday.
Welcome to our first full week!
I hope you will enjoy following along with us!

Yes, I fell into the trendy trap of the letter boards. It might be my favorite thing in my house though!

 

Y'all, do you know how much I spent at the grocery store today?

Keep in mind that I bought EVERY INGREDIENT for this week's menu,

except for a few pantry items (soy sauce, etc.)

$87.00! That's it!

Each of these recipes will make at least four servings for us.

These are large servings, as I have a very hungry husband, so you could probably get six.

Do you know what that comes out to per meal? $5.43!

Y'all, I'm just as shocked as you are that I am sitting here giving you budgeting tips,

but this is exciting!

 

So tonight was Egg Drop Soup and Turkey Lettuce Wraps and let me tell you, they were delicious!

You and your family are going to LOVE this recipe!

 

Turkey Lettuce Wraps

First, grab your extra-firm tofu and dice about 1 cup full.

In a medium non-stick pan, heat 1 tbsp. coconut oil, 3 tbsp. teriyaki sauce, a dash of cinnamon and a dash of curry powder.

 Drop in tofu and sauté until edges begin to get golden. Once the tofu starts to pop and jump around in the pan a little, you are good to go! Remove from pan and set aside.

*Note: Make sure not to overcook your tofu or it will get dry and chewy*

 

Next, grab a larger skillet. I used a cast-iron Le Creuset that I LOVE.

Heat 2 tbsp. coconut oil and add in your minced garlic and grated fresh ginger. Saute over low heat just long enough to let the oil get fragrant.

 

Now add your ground turkey and sauté until browned.

 

Now for all of the fun things!

 

One of my favorite additions to this filling is a hard scrambled egg. In a hot skillet with coconut oil,

I drop an egg in, almost as if I was going to fry it.

Once the whites get crispy, I crack the yolk and hard scramble it.

 Once it is scrambled, transfer to a cutting board and finely chop. Add to your turkey skillet.

 

Now add all of your chopped ingredients:

Green onion, mushrooms, water chestnuts, tofu, and fresh basil.

 

Mix all ingredients and heat through, allowing the vegetables to soften.

 

Now we make the sauce:

 

In a small bowl, combine the hoisin, rice vinegar, soy sauce and red chili paste.

Pour over turkey mix in skillet and sauté on low heat to allow flavors to combine.

 

Only a few steps left! Sprinkle with a little kosher salt and drizzle about 1 tbsp. of honey.

Stir to combine and sauté over low heat.

At this point when I tasted, I felt that I needed a little crunch, so I added chopped roasted peanuts.

 

Serve with Bibb Lettuce leaves and Enjoy!

 

 

We enjoyed this dish with Austin's favorite Egg Drop Soup.

I'm not going to be able to give you "my recipe" for this one.....

because it is out of a packet. I know. I'm horrible. But it is so good.

The first time I made it, Austin kept going on and on about how talented I was and how amazing it was. I enjoyed the praise at first, but eventually I had to tell him the horrible truth!

We had a good long laugh about it and I went back to the store and got more packets.

Hey, Ina says store-bought is okay! (I'm just not sure she meant this!)

 

I always love to serve any Asian-inspired dish with orange slices and fortune cookies for fun!

It makes us feel like we are at our favorite Chinese restaurant, Ding How II!

 

Click HERE for my Turkey Lettuce Wrap Recipe!