1/11/12 ~ a day late

So I completely forgot to Blog yesterday it was a busy day. I ran errands most of the day and then I had a girl scout leader meeting and 2 conference calls after that. Then I just sort of wanted to chill out. I also didn't get to exercise due to all of my running around all day and night.

I didn't really get anything done as far as slimming down anything else yesterday. But I do have a tip, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS go to the grocery store with a list. See what I do is, I plan my meals for 2 weeks at a time, this co insides with my husbands paychecks. I think look and see what ingredients I have on hand and then I make a list of what I need. Also add what you need for breakfast's and lunches. Look for coupons, you can get coupons loaded onto your savings cards. I also shop the sales flyer's and I make a list of where I can get everything the cheapest, since I have 5 grocery stores in a 5 mile radius of my home then it is not hard for me to bargain shop. I also shop at a place called Save A Lot, you can get some pretty good deals there, but watch because some things you are going to pay more for, like cheese why am I going to pay over $3 for a off brand when I can typically buy a name brand for $2.59. So just watch that. Then I get coupons that I print off line and coupons out of the paper. You can save a lot of money like that. There is also the option to grow your own fresh veggies to cut out some of that grocery bill cost, however I have a brown thumb so that would not work for me.

Last night for dinner we had Skillet Tuna Noodle Casserole. It was good and everyone liked it. I made a few changes to fit with my family's taste buds. I will put the recipe as written here and then tell you my changes after that.

Skillet Tuna Noodle Casserole

6 servings, about 1 1/3 cups each
Active Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 8 ounces whole-wheat egg noodles
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 cups nonfat milk
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 12 ounces canned chunk light tuna drained (see Note)
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup coarse dry whole-wheat breadcrumbs

Preparation

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook noodles until just tender, 6 to 8 minutes or according to package directions. Drain and rinse.
2. Position rack in upper third of oven and preheat broiler.
3. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, mushrooms and salt and cook, stirring often, until the onion is softened but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add wine and cook until evaporated, 4 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle flour over the vegetables; stir to coat. Add milk and pepper and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Stir in tuna, peas and 1/2 cup Parmesan until evenly incorporated. Then, stir in the noodles (the pan will be very full). Remove from the heat.
4. Sprinkle the casserole with breadcrumbs and the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan. Broil until bubbly and lightly browned on top, 3 to 4 minutes.

***First I could not find whole wheat noodles, so I used these egg free dumplings, they were made of veggies, they were good. They looked like a egg noodle. We do not eat onions, so I opted for onion powder instead and my hubby doesn't eat mushrooms so I left them out, he also does not eat peas so they did not go in. I served it with green beans and applesauce. The thing I will change for next time is I think I will only use 1/4 cup of the bread crumbs and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese for the topping.