Maxwells Meals.

[Justme]

Kids love pizza. My child could eat it everyday if allowed. ;)

[Terrie]

Looking at the shopping list, what the heck is "salad cheese"?

[Bella99]

We like queso fresca and feta for garnishing salads. Maybe one of these?

[twin2]

Looking at the shopping list, what the heck is "salad cheese"?

I would guess it means shredded cheese.

[MamaJunebug]

Haha, same here. We have a lot of food on Christmas Eve, and then Christmas mornings are crazy, with the kids opening gifts, and preparations being made for company and a big Christmas dinner. We always have Pillsbury cinnamon rolls and coffee (kids have milk) for breakfast.

:lol: Well, there's our problem, guys -- we spend Christmas Eve day prepping, attend church early in the evening and nosh and open gifts after that. Christmas morning at Chez Junebug is probablyobviously not the norm! :)

[clibbyjo]

Christmas Eve is our "big day" as well. We eat nonstop and my mom sends us home with leftovers so we always have ham for x-mas breakfast(usually ham and eggs)

[clibbyjo]

I hate boring meals. I try for no repeats in the month. Maybe pizza or burgers in the summer would repeat because those are favorites. If I make burritos(which I would stuff with cheese or cheese/meat and serve the beans on the side),I could still have Mexican that month, but it would be quesadilla's or something else the next time. I made homemade chicken noodle soup yesterday with homemade buttermilk bread on the side(everyone is sick here). It was cheap because I used legs for the meat and the stock. I already had everything but the chicken and buttermilk.The leftovers are lunch the next day. If I make something expensive like steaks(or order Chinese) I will make up for it with a cheap dinner the next day so it balances out.

I am actually surprised the Maxwell's don't hunt. A couple of deer would get them through the winter with lots of free meat.

[desertvixen]

I can't get through without repeats, but I can't deal with the same thing EVERY week.

One of the things I do is make homemade spaghetti sauce, which means plenty of leftovers. I freeze it, and when I heat it up (on the stove), I always add more tomatoes because I like the flavor of the meat, but don't want to eat a ton of it every time. In fact, that's what I'm eating right now.

[Lillybee]

Somewhere in their blog, Sarah said that they buy half a cow each year, so they do use meat.

[Vex]

I hope they do get variety. Generally, I really hate eating (there are some foods that are exceptions) and getting no joy out of eating is no fun at all.

That said, the girls stay at home all day doing 'feminine' chores, so even with their frugality there's no reason not to cook with plenty of variety. Even if you use the same base ingredients you can change up sauces/toppings/extras to make things interesting. I swear, the best thing I ever learned to cook was a basic roux, which can be transformed into just about anything. My favourite roux variation is made with two types of cheese (preferably a freshly-grated Parmesan and Jarlsberg), sweet basil and crushed pepper. It's my own invention, and everyone adores it. I can toss it through pasta, or use it as a sauce for a chicken bake, or pour it over steamed veggies, or use it as a white sauce when making lasange. It's not hard, and I'm not some super homemaker.

[AmeliaM]

Hmm, I don't really think much of their menu. I think they're giving a basic skeleton, and not a lot of detail. The other night I made homemade chicken tortilla soup, which was loaded with chunks of chicken, tomatoes, onions, and black beans - and served tortillas on the side, along with grated cheese and avocado slices. It was a filling, hearty meal, and we had leftovers. But maybe if I was making a quick menu sample, I might say "soup and tortillas" without all the details. There are a lot of things to snark about on the Maxwells, but I just think some people are reading too much into their menu. They all look fit and healthy, not skinny, and maybe they're "pale" because they're Irish like me.

For large and busy families I think a basic menu tends to work better also and is usually a lot better for the budget.

[Alcyone]

Vex, you make me feel like less of a freak. I don't like eating, either, or anything to do with food: cooking, washing dishes, shopping, menu planning, etc. It is a real pain for me because I do have to deal with cooking and cleaning up after three meals a day for my family. I am not a creative cook, either, even though I love variety. My basic roux only turns out right about half the time. The other half of the time, it never thickens correctly.