Rise and Shine!

I'm learning how to cope with being unemployed. (Haven't been able to cope with not getting a call-back for eight interviews quite yet. I think when that day comes I've given up completely...)

While I'm still not waking up at the crack of dawn, I've made attempts at keeping busy. First thing in the morning I attempt to either workout (ride the bike or some OnDemand videos) or make breakfast. After my breakfast I try to watch the journal télévisé (French national news from the channel TF1, plays at 13h00 and 20h00 each day - 1 p.m. and 8 p.m.) in hopes of continuing my French skills. My ear for French has gotten a bit rusty, so this helps me hear it at a fast pace and possibly improve my grammar? Anyways, if you click the link it'll take you right to today's most recent broadcast!

While I'm already at my computer, after I watch the news, I scour job sites and apply. And then cross my fingers that something will work out. Then I shower, get dressed, and if I care enough, do my hair.

Once that's finished, I'll read either a French book or something for our book club. The current selection is Brave New World -- can you believe I've never read it before?

Then in the afternoon I have some "free" time to do whatever. Most days, I'm not gonna lie, it's watching t.v. Other days, reading blogs. And then others, if the mood strikes me, I clean. Today I have egg whites sitting on the counter so I'm hoping to make macarons with minimal success. Mine never turn out, so hopefully today's the day.

Now that you know my play-by-play, here's what woke me up this morning:

Oats with coconut milk!!!

We discovered a Sprouts market last week (more intimate and convenient than Whole Foods) and I had to pick up some coconut milk!! I still have a bunch left and don't really know what to do with it! I was thinking maybe a coconut mango smoothie? I have to be careful with how I use it, because J.D.'s allergic to coconut and I can't make anything he'll be eating.

Anyways here's the contents of my coconut milk oats:

• 1/2 c quick cook oats
• 2/3 c water
• 1/3 c coconut milk
• 1 T chia seeds
• 1 medium banana
• handful of chopped walnuts
• 1/4 c Craisins

First I boiled the water, then dumped in the coconut milk and let that simmer a bit before adding the oats and the chia seeds. The rest of the toppings I put on at the end in the bowl. That and a little splash of skim milk to cool it down a bit.

I think I might have made a little bit too much. I'm still pretty full. I think it would be really good with some pineapple or maybe a little maple syrup!

And now let's talk about my workout yesterday.

I did the above workout twice! I struggle every morning because I want to go for a long bike ride, but if I don't wake up around 6-7 a.m., it gets way too hot to do so. Luckily, we have some weird weather rolling through the desert with some thunderstorms last night. That cooled us down a bit to the 80s with a nice breeze.

Yesterday afternoon -- after I already showered -- I decided I either wanted to go for a long walk or run some errands at Target. I finally thought, "what the heck?" and opted to ride my bike to Target. This would do two things for me: save money on gas and limit what I could buy to a small backpack.

It was hot. But towards the middle of my ride, it went back into the 90s, possibly 100s. I was sweaty and gnarly in Target, so for the sake of the other customers, I toweled off and threw some cold water on my face in the bathroom. After the 2.86 mile ride there, I snacked on a Clif raspberry organic fruit bar and downed an entire bottle of water.

Like the last time, I still felt like I was going to hurl, but luckily I had a wallet with me this time and enough water to get over it. I swear, it's too hot in the afternoon to do more than a 2-3 mile bike ride. Eventually, I bought some shampoo/conditioner, face wash and deodorant for J.D., grabbed a few more Clif bars for another ride and went on my way back home.

The 2.86 mile ride home felt much easier than on the way to Target. I think I'm starting to get a hang of this bike thing. I really want to invest in some bike gloves, a solid pump and other things to get me into biking. Maybe when I have extra money to spend...

Either way, here's my attempt at working out over the past week:

It's a start!

Have a good day, everyone!

What is your schedule like? Do you even have a daily schedule? Do you need one? I sure do.

Homemade Pizza

I love pizza. But I think I enjoy making it even more.

A while back, J.D. picked up some supplies to make crust with the intention of making pizza sticks. However, the dough took waaay too long to stretch out and I got frustrated and just made a big circle for a crust instead. The bf and I also have totally different topping preferences, so the sticks would have been ideal. But then the genius idea of quartering the pizza came to mind.

On one side we have sausage and BBQ chicken with onions.

Then in the back you'll see a margherita quarter (tomatoes, mozzarella and basil) next to a fig, basil and green olive quarter. Can anyone explain to me why my first instinct EVERY TIME I write out fig is to spell it figue (I just did it again)??? French isn't even my first language!

Here's an interesting little gem we picked up at Whole Foods...

...Prickly pear infused beer!!! You'd think living in the desert I'm getting sick and tired of all this prickly pear flavoring.

NOT THE CASE. I love it. It tastes so good. Exploring beer and margarita flavorings here is becoming a favorite pastime of mine. However, not my stomach's favorite.

I decided on the fig (argh, not figue) and BBQ chicken slices, while J.D. went for the sausage and margherita pizzas. It's ok though, the next day for lunch we switched things up. I went the vegetarian route, while he went for meat-only.

Making your own pizza is so awesome. Eating it's up there too. I think I'm hungry already. But first, it's off to watch the journal télévisé - I need to keep practicing my French if I'm going to continue my graduate studies in French comparative literature at Arizona State next year!! (I've even uploaded my fav French songs onto my iPhone. Such a nerd.)

Don't forget- TODAY'S the day to vote for me (and everyone else with awesome entries) for my Project Food Blog entry!! xx

My gastronomical travels

I am not a professional chef. I've never cooked for a dinner party larger than four people. I've never even had any training in the kitchen whatsoever. And I've never been in an industrial or a professional grade kitchen.

This image is so foreign to me! (Source)

But I have eaten some pretty damn good food in my life.

I consider myself to be very lucky. I've had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to live abroad -- twice. Compelled by my love of the French language, its literature and my French roots, I studied abroad in Nice, France, as an undergrad. Enchanted by the food -- which seriously changed my life -- sights, people and culture, I vowed to return. Upon graduating, I did just that. I taught English to elementary school students in France the year after college, but that was all just a ruse to take my taste buds on a whirlwind tour of Europe. While most people I traveled with shared pictures of world-renown monuments, I snapped photos of my extravagant and beautiful meals. No wonder I'm now actively blogging about foods I eat and fun recipes I stumble across. It was in France that I really spread my wings in my own kitchen and tried recreating magical meals I'd experienced in five-star restaurants.

Before my travels I was on a first-name basis with my microwave just like any college student. That, and frequent trips home to lavish in my mom's fabulous cooking. I can't believe how far from that I came after moving to France.

To say I ate my way across Europe would be an understatement. But looking at some of the pictures I saved from France, do you blame me??

île flottante - meringue, custard and a passion fruit syrup

a typical cheese display at the marché

pizza and wine in Italia

kir, one of my favorite apéritifs in Europe

tabbouleh at a Lebanese restaurant

caprese salad and bread sticks in Cannes, France

Well, after eating, cooking and baking to my heart's content, I eventually had to return home.... with a little more weight than I wanted to carry around. I've always considered myself to be a healthy eater, but the gourmande within got the best of me in France. Though literally meaning "glutton," I'm a little let down that the English translation for does not have an equally beautiful thought for this word. Glutton brings to mind a guiltless pig mindlessly stuffing his face with Lay's potato chips in front of the T.V. Whereas gourmand(e) conjures images of one who appreciates plump juicy berries ripe in their summer prime, the crunchiness of crisp green zucchini, the velvety feel of a rich chunk of chocolate rolling off the tip of your tongue or the fruity, yet peppery aroma of a finely-aged wine accompanied by the perfect blend of creamy cheeses.

In short, a gourmand(e) is one who appreciates the food he experiences on a daily basis. And unlike its English counterpart, to be gourmand is not a sin. Though after my trip, maybe it should have been!

Long story short, when I returned home, I vowed to continue cooking for myself and cut down on the American conveniences of eating unhealthy fast food and microwave dinners. I quickly realized that it's not only easy to cook delicious, healthy meals at home, but also saves me a ton of money! Recently I've begun experimenting with new recipes, tweaking classics and of course, playing with Julia Child's cookbook I received for my 25th birthday. My boyfriend and I still taste amazing food on a daily basis, either plates we've cooked ourselves, or through exploring decadent new restaurants. More often than not, I find myself venturing to try recipes that appeal to my traveler's soul.

I still try to recreate my European gastronomic travels in my own kitchen in Arizona. I've had some pretty amazing meals in my 25 years on this planet. While I still love to indulge in amazing meals and cuisines from around the world, I'm trying to eat healthy and balanced meals to keep the French word "gourmand(e)" in its purest sense -- far, far away from its American counterpart.

By creating my own healthy, beautiful meals inspired by cuisines from around the world, I've been able to drop those extra pounds and decrease my cholesterol. I'm healthy, happy and ready to travel the world with my fork.

I'm Monique, and I would be soooo humbled if you voted for me as the Next Food Blog Star! But then again, if you don't, I'd settle with us having blog exchanges and sharing recipes!

Food is a journey. I hope you travel it with me!

I am not a professional chef. I've never cooked for a dinner party larger than four people. I've never even had any training in the kitchen whatsoever. And I've never been in an industrial or a professional grade kitchen.

What is this even?! (Source)

But I have eaten some pretty damn good food in my life.

I consider myself very lucky. I've had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to live abroad -- twice. Compelled by my love of the French language, its literature and my French roots, I studied abroad in Nice, France, as an undergrad. Enchanted by the food -- which seriously changed my life -- sights, people and culture, I had to return. Upon graduating, I did just that. I taught English to elementary school students in France the year after college, but that was all just a ruse to take my taste buds on a whirlwind tour of Europe. While most people I traveled with shared pictures of world-renown monuments, I snapped photos of my extravagant and beautiful meals. No wonder I'm now actively blogging about foods I eat and fun recipes I stumble across. It was in France that I really spread my wings and tried recreating magical meals I'd expereinced in my own kitchen.

Before that I was on a first-name basis with my microwave just like any college student. That, and frequent trips home to lavish in my mom's fabulous cooking. I can't believe how far from that I came after moving to France.

I think the best way to get to know someone is to find out how they eat. Especially people from different cultures. To me, food and cooking will always surpass any language barrier on the planet! With this mindset, I ate and I ate and I ate to my heart's content. I've had some pretty amazing meals in my 25 years on this planet. During my return stateside, I wised up a bit and changed my eating/exercise habits to follow a healthier lifestyle. While I still love to indulge in amazing meals and cuisines from around the world, I'm trying to eat healthy and balanced to sustain training for my first ever half-marathon. Now, if only my knee injury would cooperate...

My grandparents immigrated to the United States from France during WWII. The very first thing I learned how to cook were sugared crepes. Just the smell of crepe batter cooking on a grill takes me back to my childhood. That said, another staple in my pantry is extra virgin olive oil, fresh from the Mediterranean region! Everything my grandma and my mom cooked was always in EVOO. I use it as a dressing base with mustard rather than buy dressings at the grocery store. And last but not least, garden-fresh vegetables. There is nothing in the world like exploring the French markets. Farmer's markets are celebrated and locally-accepted as a daily event and most French food shines around local seasonal veggies. Ratatouille is the first thing that comes to mind in the South of France. I have had the pleasure of traveling to France nearly 10 times in my life, including living there for a year, twice. Nothing excites me more than the passion the French (my family) have for fresh, local ingredients. Dining is such an event, they reserve two hours in the middle of the day to celebrate food. It's no wonder I'm such a foodie, it's in my genes!

I'm Monique, and I would love if you voted for me for the Next Food Blog Star! But then again, if you don't, I'd settle with us having blog exchanges and sharing recipes! Food is a journey. Get lost in it. Lord knows I always do.

Take 2

After realizing that my knee's still not ready for running, I resorted to alternate workouts this week. My bike's been having some problems with tire inflation and gears, so I gave it a little check-up, tweaked some things and explored Gilbert's canal system yesterday.

Except, I had a little problem. I think every time I take my bike out I have a mishap. Remember when I took my bike for a run back in July??

I don't even think I've gone on an actual bike ride since July 2008, right before my sister's college graduation. I rode 15 miles from my parents' house in Alamo to my best friend's parents' house in Pleasanton. Except, I had an accident and wound up with some major road rash on my hand.

Yesterday I attempted a 7.0 mile ride in the middle of the day. However,, 3/4 of the way in, I was totally dehudrated and overheated. I felt like I was going to vomit. Before going any farther, I knew I had to call J.D., who luckily bailed me out (what a great boyfriend). He met me at a nearby gas station, bought me some Gatorade and turned up the AC in the car so I could cool down a bit. Then I pretty much walked my bike the final 2.5 miles home and passed out.

Maybe biking's not for me??

Or maybe it is....

After rolling out of bed at 6:30 this morning, I set out for a 1.5 hour bike ride that spanned 12 miles. I was ready for a COOL ride and packed a bag with water, Gatorade a Clif bar and some honey stinger chews. All of which I utilized during the 12 mile ride. Clearly, I am not even in biking shape. My legs killed me, I felt winded and I’m pretty sure my bike isn’t suitable for riding that far. It basically runs like a cruiser with 10 speeds. Maybe I’ll get more serious about this and save for a new bike when I have a job!

Until then, I can take my time having leisurely rides and snapping photos of horses, cows, ducks, turtles, carp, mountains and rodeos.

Post ride, I rocked a breakfast of home made raspberry scones with lemon curd and plain Greek yogurt with fruit, honey and walnuts. Oh yeah, and a soy mocha latte.

I haven’t only been exploring the desert canals. I’ve also been experiencing new restaurants and tapping back into my French roots! With all the hype surrounding the food world about food trucks, I did a search on Phoenix food trucks and found Torched Goodness, a crème brûlée truck!

Last weekend we sampled peanut butter crème brûlée, the creamiest dessert I think I’ve ever tasted! I HAVE to find this truck again in the near future.

That inspired a trip to a local market that carried specialty French foods. And guess what, we had a “picnic” French lunch!

The meal entailed a demi-baguette, French butter, brie, figs, Italian white wine sausage and Mediterranean olives.

Finally, there was Pastis, a European restaurant we stumbled upon during the NFL’s opening week. Originally we planned to grab some burgers and beers at a sports bar and grill, but it was sooo packed with football fans, there wasn’t anywhere to park. Continuing down the road, we found Pastis.

We had drinks…

…zucchini and taziki sauce…

…paella…

…and strawberry Nutella CRÊPES!

Oh it was heaven. I think I’m going to like exploring my new desert home. But for now, I’ve taped a few episodes of Glee. I didn’t watch it last year, but I think I might be hooked this year :)

What season premieres are you excited for?! (I can’t wait for Grey’s, Private Practice and How I Met Your Mother)

Running Frustrations and Panko "Fried Chicken"

Let me preface this post by saying I'm not a Southern girl, but I do like me some fried chicken! However, I'm not really a big fan of actually frying things. Lately I've been doing a great job of keeping my cholesterol in check and I'd like to continue to do so :) So get ready for my take on "fried chicken," which is a misnomer since there's nothing fried about this chicken at all.

...After hearing about my recent return to running. As you see on the sidebar to the right, before yesterday morning, I hadn't ran in nearly 2.5 months. And I died a little bit inside not to doing so. Several weeks ago, I severely injured my knee. I'd seen two sports therapists, have been using Rock tape and have several stretches I do every few days for my knee and ankle and all the muscles in between. After going that long without running, I started to lose it.

How am I supposed to workout without running if I can't afford a gym membership (without a job), don't have access to a free pool and my knee hurt after even limited motion cardio activities?? I basically was restricted to OnDemand yoga and stretching, but nothing gave me that same feeling as when I ran. I think this triggered a minor bout of depression for me. Well, maybe that or being rejected by SEVEN companies I've interviewed with now.

Either way, I felt the need to test the water yesterday. My knee wasn't crackling as much and at 10 a.m. the weather in Phoenix had cooled down to 81°!!! It seems as if all signs were point to run.

Except, my knee is not yet ready for it. I could only manage 1.49 miles before it started to bother me. Post-run I underwent some major icing, stretching and then a warm bath.

I'm still extremely overwhelmed. Am I going to be able to run again?? How long is it going to take to get back into it?? How come there are people who run multiple marathons a year, and when I started conservatively training for a half marathon, I could only make it to 8 miles before blowing out my knee?? And am I going to get a job SOON before being rejected by yet another company so I can afford to go to a physical therapist again?

So many unanswered questions. I'm feeling miserable about this entire situation, so I guess I'll stick to my OnDemand workouts until I can ease back into running at the right time...

Let's move in a happier direction, shall we??? How about that recipe I promised you before my running rant.

Panko "Fried Chicken"

• 6-10 chicken breast tenders
• 1 1/2 c Panko breadcrumbs
• 2 t Italian seasoning
• 2 t garlic powder
• 1 t cumin
• 1/2 c flour
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 t pepper
• 2 eggs
• oil spray

Cooking directions: Preheat oven to 350°, while it's heating, coat a cookie sheet with oil spray (I used extra virgin olive oil). The prepare three shallow bowls for the chicken. In one, combine flour, salt and pepper. Crack two eggs in a second bowl. In a third final bowl, mix Panko, cumin, Italian seasoning and garlic salt.

Note: I only used six chicken tenders and found this was more mixtures than I needed. It could easily be cut in half, or use double the chicken.

Coat a chicken tender into flour, dip into egg mixture and then give them a final dunk in the bread crumbs. Repeat for all the chicken tenders then place them on the cookie sheet.

The chicken tenders should bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.

We had ours alongside sweet potato fries, dipping sauces of ketchup and apricot BBQ sauce and a big bowl of salad. Oh yeah, plus a chilled glass of white wine, which kept me amused during my wait for the tenders to cook!

Enjoy! They're a little different than your usual fried chicken, but still juicy and tender inside with a proper crisp on the outside! Dipping them in BBQ sauce was also fabulous :)

Tomates farcies: A little taste of Southern France

I had some of the best meals of my life in France. From visiting my family, to studying abroad and then later, teaching English, my parents, sister and I have been to the Southern region of Provence close to 10 times (and it still isn't enough if you ask me)!

Châteauneuf-du-Pape vineyards

One of the 100 fountains in the city of Orange in Provence

Me in Cannes, when my dad came to visit!

(If you want the story behind these photos, check out the recap from my oooold blog)

As I set to enjoy my leftovers again, I'm reminded of two nights ago. For some reason, the idea of tomates farcies (stuffed tomatoes) remain trapped in my mind. I don't think I've even eaten them for several years, but was determined to try and make my own. This is a very regional cuisine, specific to the South of France, much like socca (chick pea crêpes), salade niçoise and ratatouille.

Traditionally, tomates farcies are stuffed with beef and other flavors. But I wanted to make my own twist on the dish, since it was a side to roasted pork.

TOMATES FARCIES:

• 6 tomatoes (I made the mistake of using small ones; the larger the better!)
• 1 t herbes de Provence (generally a mixture of savory, fennel, basil and thyme)
• 2 T chopped parsley
• 2 t salt
• 1 t pepper
• 2 T minced garlic
• 1/2 onion (chopped)
• 1/2 c panko (in place of ground beef)
• 3 T olive oil
• 1/3 c shredded parmesan cheese

To cook: Hollow out the tomatoes, setting aside the inside pulp. Caramelize that onion in the olive oil until golden brown then adding garlic, salt, pepper, parsley and herbes de Provence. Add panko bread crumbs until golden brown. Stuff the hollowed out tomatoes with the bread and herb mixture. Line a shallow baking dish with foil, place the stuffed tomatoes inside and cook at 400° for about 28 minutes. Remove tomatoes, top them with cheese and return to the oven for two more minutes.

Enjoy! :)

They were just as good as I remembered, although a little lighter than the last time due to the lack of meat. We ended up having waaay too much stuffing left over, so you could probably cut it in half, or use gigantic tomatoes. Maybe more than six!

As I mentioned earlier, the tomates went with a gigantic piece of pork that will probably give us three more meals and garlicy butternut squash (recipe is linked). That's probably the first time I've had savory butternut squash and I think I like it much better than maple butternut squash (eh, probably not!) ;)

I think it's safe to say that fall is here (maybe not in Phoenix, it's still 103° outside). Come back next time for another recipe involving panko bread crumbs and fried chicken!

Dining out on a budget

When you don't have a lot of money, it's sometimes hard to turn down a meal out. I find myself often doing just that. But then again, you don't always have to, if you're smart about dining out.

The easiest way to save a ton of money at restaurants is by deal shopping and clipping coupons! All these goodies came in the mail today and I immediately filed them in my new coupon organizer.

The day that I went to Arizona State to sit in on a French class, I had to either make or grab something portable since the class took place during lunch hours and I was going to meet with the professor an hour after class got out. Instead of driving back home to grab some grub, I stayed on campus, ate a sensible meal and roamed the university until our meeting arrived.

The day before I got Einstein Bros. coupons in the mail. The one that really caught my eye was $1.99 for a turkey bacon and avocado bagel thin sandwich!

I think I paid $2.06 for the sandwich (originally $4.99!) and brought my own bottle of water and a granola bar. There, an entire lunch for under $3! And part of it was purchased at a restaurant :)

Same deal with this afternoon. I knew I had to run a few errands near the Whole Foods market shopping center. Luckily, I finished around lunchtime! I normally would have been tempted by the idea, but turned it down in favor of some home-cookin' but on Wednesdays the salad bar/hot foods buffet at Whole Foods is reduced from $7.99/lb to $5.99/lb! I filled up my box with salad fixings, hummus, pita and falafel and paid for my meal and sat down to enjoy. Granted, this isn't fast food, so it was a little more expensive, but for around $8 I had lunch, dessert for later (see below) and brought my own water again.

I may have also splurged at the deli for a "snickers brownie" that cost me $1.99. It was HUGE! I only ended up eating about 1/3 of the brownie and put the rest in the fridge for after dinner or after tomorrow's lunch. Oh man, it was so worth it though...

So you see, you don't have to skip out on restaurants just because you're on a budget! Just be aware of price cuts and special deals, then supplement main courses with drinks and sides brought from home :)

Stretching out leftovers

I know I've been gone awhile, it's been sooo busy in my life! I've been sitting in on French classes at Arizona State, working athletics events (not a full-time job, just game-day stuff), writing my personal statement and also putting together a four-minute spoken segment for my graduate application!

I also got to attend my very first college football game, EVER (for free)!!

That being said, a few posts ago, I gave you guys some of my tips on how to limit spending on groceries. Now I'm going to follow that up with a meal for four that I was able to stretch into several meals. J.D. and I each had a serving's worth of Indian food for dinner the first night. We really enjoyed assembling the meal and also the new experiences in cooking and eating tofu.

So with half the serving still left over into the fridge it all went for another day of leftovers. Tofu with fire roasted tomatoes and a curry simmer sauce, stewed spinach with paneer and finally chunky spicy chick peas.

Oh and don't forget about the naan still remaining! I guess we were inspired to make Indian after watching our very first episode of Aarti Party. I absolutely love Aarti and am so excited she won Next Food Network Star!!

Dinner becomes breakfast...

Anyways J.D. surprised me with a "special breakfast" on Tuesday. He wanted to make me a spinach omelet, but since we didn't have any spinach at the time, he mixed my egg whites with the spinach and paneer and also some of the roasted tomatoes. You know, your typical egg, cheese, spinach and tomato omelet! Oh and in lieu of toast, he warmed me up a big piece of naan to go with my breakfast!

Dinner turned into lunch...

I was really inspired by how much I loved Chino Bandito earlier in August. You remember, that restaurant in Phoenix that serves Asian/Jamaican food inside of Mexican preparations?! I never thought I would have loved my Jade chicken quesadilla.... but since I did, I've tried to replicate that at home. With some left over stir fry a few weeks back, I threw that bad boy right into a whole wheat tortilla. And it was AMAZING. You see where this is going....

For lunch yesterday, I did the same thing. I had all the essentials for any burrito. Whole wheat tortilla, check. Jasmine rice, check. Beans... not quite, but the spicy chick peas worked just like magic! Vegetables and cheese, check, in the form of spinach, paneer and tomatoes. Protein, check, with the tofu and curry simmer sauce!

Oh my gosh, it was so good!!! I even threw in a tiny bit of salsa, you know, just to make it more weird that it already was. Seriously guys, I challenge you to make weird combos like this. First of all, it's fun! But secondly, you might happen across something you absolutely love and can't live without!!

If you're still skeptic, it's really not all that weird (with the exception of the salsa). Just think about any Asian-inspired wrap you've had in the past. Because that's all this really is! If I wanted to get funky, I could have ditched the tortilla in favor of a naan wrap :) Did I mention that I still had enough left for one small lunch bowl?

So in conclusion, it is soooo easy to keep a simple batch of leftovers going for several meals! A "normal dinner for four" was able to stretch into two dinners, a breakfast and two lunches with just a little bit of creativity and outside ingredients.

Next time you make dinner or feel like you're in a pinch, go ahead and make way more than you need for one meal. You'll thank yourself later when you end up having two+ meals for a rainy day :)