We've got a really busy week this week, so I'm relying on the slow cooker and a big batch of seasoned ground beef to get us through it. Use these recipes to cook twice and enjoy leftovers the rest of the week.
When I cook this way, I try to find ways to make the leftovers feel like a different meal. For example, use the seasoned beef for tacos one night, but buy some extra ingredients when you shop so you can have burrito bowls later that week. I usually build burrito bowls with the usual taco ingredients over rice and black beans.
Enjoy.
Recipes
Babalu Guacamole
If you're in the Memphis area and have been to Babablu, you've probably had their guacamole. I'm not the biggest fan of guac in general, but it does make for an easy appetizer to bring to parties. And since there's a big football game coming up, thought you might want to have this handy.
Slow Cooker Chicken Spaghetti
One of the first things my mom showed me how to make when I had my first apartment and another cheap pasta option. At some point I'll post recipes on here that are not just pasta, but today is not that day.
If you want to eat this on multiple days, I've experimented with only cooking enough pasta to eat for one meal, and adding the sauce to the pasta (but keeping the pasta separate). That way you can always have fresh pasta and not deal with the mediocrity that is reheated noodles. The sauce keeps quite awhile as well.
Taco Potion #19
I don't know what became of the previous eighteen versions of this taco seasoning, but #19 from Alton Brown is my go-to. I'll be making ground beef tacos this week, and this seasoning allows for adding a bit of water so that you end up with saucy beef reminiscent of my favorite fast-food: Taco Bell.
Note: I've tried this on chicken, I was not a fan. This seasoning is built for beef.
Misc
Survey Results
Got a whopping 13 replies to the shopping survey, so don't take these results too seriously, but here's the report I promised. If you haven't taken it yet, go for it.
When do you go to the grocery store? A three-way tie between Friday, Sunday, and Monday.
What time do you go to the grocery store? Afternoon was the clear winner here.
Do you make a list before you go to the grocery store? 90% of you do, nicely done!
What best describes your shopping style? 54% say they go to one store and buy all the stuff for the whole week. Everyone else was split evenly over the other options.
What is your #1 challenge when it comes to grocery shopping each week? This was the most interesting part of the survey. Seems like almost everyone has issues with coming up with ideas of what they'd like to cook in a given week, so I really hope this newsletter is addressing that problem in some small way. I agree, that is the hardest part.
Thanks for playing!
